Chapter 878 You Don’t Need to Explain in Such Detail

Xiao Peng rested his chin on his hand and thought for a moment before saying, "You two, you want me to find the 'Mistletoe'? At this critical juncture? I'm afraid your purpose isn't pure, is it?"

Michael Higgins laughed and said: "We are just here for the remains of our ancestors, what's the problem with that?"

Xiao Peng spread his hands and said, "Mr. Higgins, if you told this to others, they might believe you, but I make a living from this. Even if the remains have been on the seabed for so long, they'll be nothing more than bone fragments that crumble away at the slightest touch. You might not understand, but let me explain: Shipwrecks are the perfect food for marine life. Scavengers like hagfish, crabs, starfish, and octopuses will flock to feed on the soft tissues of the corpses. Some even burrow into the carcass and begin consuming it from the inside. Even after the carcass is reduced to a skeleton, the process isn't over. The next stage is called the 'chemoautotrophic phase.' Worms and anaerobic bacteria inhabit the sea, and they enter the bones, breaking down the fat and producing hydrogen sulfide gas. During this phase, the sulfur-rich environment surrounding the shipwreck provides these worms and anaerobic bacteria with energy. This process can last for decades or even centuries, depending on the natural environment. During this time, the skeletons form a miniature ecosystem, nourishing countless invertebrates until the organic matter in the bones is completely broken down. At this point, the bones are like potatoes."

He put the potato on the fork on the plate and pressed it with the fork, and the potato turned into mashed potatoes.

Alena Foster's face turned pale when she heard this: "Mr. Xiao, you don't have to explain it so clearly."

She now felt a little nauseous looking at the food in front of her.

Xiao Peng snapped his fingers: "Actually, this is not the biggest problem."

"Isn't this the biggest problem?" Michael Higgins asked puzzledly.

Xiao Peng nodded: "You hope to find remains, but if you really find remains, it means that this ship cannot be salvaged."

"Hmm? What do you mean?" asked Michael Higgins.

"Every industry has its own rules. As long as remains are found on a ship, they cannot be salvaged. We have to contact the country where the ship is located and confirm salvage permits, etc." Xiao Peng explained.

After hearing what he said, Alena Foster said directly, "Wait, you're saying that if wreckage is found, it can't be salvaged? As far as I know, there were wrecks on the Titanic when it was discovered, but they were still salvaged. Also, there should be wrecks on the ship that Germany is salvaging now, right?"

Xiao Peng spread his hands and said, "The two situations are different. In the former, salvage was also prohibited at the beginning. Large-scale salvage was allowed only after a series of operations. Now the company responsible for salvaging the ship applied for the so-called 'sole cultural relic protection salvage' and presented the judge who was in charge of the case at the time with two objects salvaged from the 'Titanic'. The court then allowed them to become the only company allowed to salvage the 'Titanic'. I think you understand this better than I should. Your 'Shipyard Museum' here should also have relics from the 'Titanic', right? They must have been purchased from them, right?"

"So what's the situation in Germany?" Arlette Foster continued to ask without dwelling on the topic.

Xiao Peng spread out his hands: "I can't give you an answer to this question, but I guess that even if the Germans found the remains, they would pretend not to see them. Of course, this is just my personal guess. And they can do this, but I can't. I am a law-abiding person, and I have to abide by the rules in this line of work. I am an individual and cannot go against the country, right? The country can do such things, but individuals cannot. And you also said that these are the remains of your ancestors. I don't think you will destroy the remains of your ancestors, right? So you want to salvage such a sunken ship? How is that possible? Don't say you want to salvage the entire ship. If that happens, even if you cooperate with China to build a ship, it will take at least six years to build a ship that meets your needs."

Arlette Foster and Michael Higgins looked at each other. They didn't expect Xiao Peng to give them such an answer.

Xiao Peng gave them some time to think about it, while he continued to eat the Irish lamb stew in front of him.

I have to say that this Irish lamb stew is quite interesting. It is stewed with rye beer, wine, cream, potatoes, carrots and lamb. In fact, Xiao Peng doesn't like carrots very much, but after stewing it like this, the lamb is soft and juicy and the sauce is full of flavor, which tastes unique.

"Is this lamb shoulder?" Xiao Peng gave a thumbs-up. "It tastes really good!"

Arlette Foster hesitated for a moment and said, "Mr. Xiao, is what you just described about the seabed true? Have you seen a lot of it?"

Xiao Peng nodded and said, "I don't deny it. I've seen a lot. In fact, the most terrifying thing is probably the Black Sea. There are basically no living things under the Black Sea except for anaerobic bacteria, so corpses decompose slowly. I've seen many half-rotten corpses, like human specimens soaked in formaldehyde."

"Aren't you afraid?" Arlette Foster asked. "Can you eat it?"

Xiao Peng nodded and said, "How could I not be afraid? People's first reaction when seeing a corpse is fear. It's because I'm too scared that I need to eat more to calm my nerves!"

"..." Arlette Foster and Michael Higgins looked at Xiao Peng together. This guy is really skilled and brave.

Looking at Xiao Peng feasting on his meal, Michael Higgins thought for a moment and said, "Mr. Xiao, do you like these dishes?"

Xiao Peng nodded: "Yeah, I like it very much."

Michael Higgins said: "Then I extend my most sincere invitation to you, otherwise how about you stay on the island of Ireland for a while longer?"

Xiao Peng spread his hands and said, "Mr. Higgins, maybe you don't know, but I came out this time because I wanted to hide my tracks for some reasons. I came to see you and then wanted to go to Dublin to rendezvous with my ship and continue south. I really want to play in Ireland for a while, after all, this is my first time here, but I'd better keep a low profile for now."

Michael Higgins blinked. "Hide your tracks? Your Luna? Do you know how we knew we had to pass through the Irish Sea?"

"How did you know?" Xiao Peng asked curiously, "The warships are waiting here, so they must have known my whereabouts in advance!"

Michael Higgins said, "Five days ago, the newspapers reported that you were going to pass through the Irish Sea. Xiao, everyone who pays attention to the deep-sea salvage industry has their eyes on you! You want to hide your tracks? Are you kidding me?"

"Well……"