Chapter 108 Finding Information about the Shipwreck
Xiao Peng was still sleeping when he was woken up by shouts from downstairs: "Boss! Boss!"
"If you don't give me a fucking explanation, I'll twist your head off with my own hands!" Xiao Peng opened the window and shouted outside, "If you have any fucking problems, why don't you call me?"
Moro stood outside the door with a look of grievance on his face: "But your phone is not turned on!"
"I turned off my phone because I didn't want anyone to disturb me!" Xiao Peng opened the gate and said, "Come in quickly! I'm freezing to death!"
When Xiao Peng finished dressing and went downstairs, Moro was already waiting for him in the living room: "Boss, I'm here to tell you good news!"
"I really hope it's good news." Xiao Peng yawned and said, "Do you know how many hours I slept last night? Five! Five!"
Moro blinked and said, "I know. I just saw the owner of Hull Bar. Boss, tell me the truth, you are not planning to marry her, are you?"
"Would you believe me if I slapped you?" Xiao Peng made a striking gesture. "She could be my grandmother! I was there to enjoy life! Are you French?"
Moro coughed twice and said, "I prefer to go to bars with more young people and more energy rather than a country bar like this full of old people."
Xiao Peng said angrily, "Stop talking nonsense and tell me what you want from me."
Moro pulled out a document from his briefcase. "Boss, I've been busy for over three months. I need to be worthy of the salary you pay me! Do you know the merchant ship 'Pescara'?"
Xiao Peng said helplessly: "If you have something to say, just say it, don't beat around the bush!"
Moro explained: "The Pescara was an Italian merchant ship during World War II. It was sunk by a British submarine in the Tyrrhenian Sea on April 15, 1941."
Xiao Peng was stunned. "Britain had submarines during World War II? I thought only German submarines dominated the oceans during that period!"
Moro's face darkened after hearing this. "Boss, are you kidding me? Don't be fooled by those historical dramas! Although submarines played a secondary role in the British Navy during World War II, their main mission was to protect sea lanes, you must not underestimate British submarines! Their main combat style was dispersed hunting. The only underwater sinking of a ship during the entire Second World War was achieved by a British submarine! The British had approximately 200 submarines in combat throughout the Second World War, and post-war statistics show that 74 were lost, 42 of which sank in the Mediterranean! This is the main battlefield for British submarine operations! The one that sank the Pescara was a British Royal Marine T-class submarine."
Xiao Peng waved his hand. "Okay, let's put the history lesson aside for now. Tell me what happened to the merchant ship 'Pescara'. So many merchant ships were sunk back then. What's the value of salvaging this one?"
Moro said, "Boss, do you know the German ME-163 Comet fighter during World War II?"
Xiao Peng nodded and said, "I know about this. It was the world's first fighter jet powered by a rocket engine. However, due to a shortage of engines, production was limited. By the end of World War II, they had produced fewer than 70."
Moreau snapped his fingers. "You've hit the nail on the head! Why can't they supply engines? Because they lack a crucial raw material: rhodium. Italy obtained some rhodium from the North African battlefield to support its allies, but it was sunk. In fact, this rhodium would have been of great help to Germany during World War II."
Xiao Peng became interested: "Is this batch of 'rhodium' so important?"
"Although war is full of random events," Moro said, "this batch of rhodium was indeed very important for that period."
"Is it necessary to salvage it?" Xiao Peng asked.
Moro nodded and said, "Of course it's necessary! If the data is correct, there should be over 200 kilograms of refined rhodium on board. In fact, many salvage companies are now eyeing this ship, but an accident occurred back then: the British submarine that sank the Pescara was attacked by the Italian escort destroyer after completing its mission and was also sunk. Therefore, the Pescara's exact sinking location is still unknown. According to my research, the merchant ship sank at the junction of the Tunis Strait and the Tyrrhenian Sea between Sicily and Tunisia. I determined the location between these longitude and latitude, you can take a look!"
"Two hundred kilograms? That doesn't sound like much. We're going to get caught in the Mediterranean rain with just this little bit of metal? Do you think that's a good idea?" He took the note Moro handed him, glanced at it, and exclaimed, "Oh my god, you just drew a circle and you created such a large area? With current technology, it would take at least five months just to search this place, right?"
It's winter in the Mediterranean. The Mediterranean climate is indeed beautiful in the summer, with sunshine and no rain. But in winter, it's a completely different story. It's cloudy and rainy every day, especially at sea! Going to the Mediterranean sea right now is definitely not a good idea.
Moro blinked. "Five months? With all the equipment we have on board, I'm initially planning on exploring for three years!"
After 'Neptune's Asylum' went bankrupt, Xiao Peng took over their salvage ship 'Neptune of Marseilles' and renamed it 'Dragon Boat'. He renovated the ship in the past three months. Now the twenty-year-old ship looks brand new and is ready to set off at any time.
But it's not a new ship after all, and we can't afford to buy new equipment. That's why Moreau said that.
"Then take a rest!" Xiao Peng said, "It's almost Christmas, isn't it? This is your most important holiday. It's not worth it for us to suffer for this meaningless 'rhodium'! You should stay home and spend more time with the children. It wasn't easy for Xiao Pa to help you get your daughter back."
After hearing this, Moro was silent for a while and then said, "Boss, don't you know the value of 'rhodium'?"
"Isn't it just some kind of metal? If you'd said it was 200 kilograms of gold, I might have given it a try. But this 'rhodium'... Damn it, if you keep looking at me like you're caring for a mentally retarded child, I'll really gouge your eyes out."
Moro coughed dryly. "Boss, although the price of rhodium isn't at its all-time high, it's still over 400 per gram. Do you think it's worth the trip?"
"400 per gram? Are you talking about Euros?" Xiao Peng widened his eyes.
Moro nodded: "Of course!"
"You said there were over 200 kilograms of rhodium on board?"
"Indeed!"
"Damn it!" Xiao Peng cursed and then picked up his phone to make a call. "Fabian, you and Xiao Pa, come to my house right now! What's going on? We're an underwater salvage company, so of course we have to go to work! What? It's almost Christmas, and those crew members might not want to go out? Then tell them to get the hell out! There's a fortune worth 80 million waiting to be salvaged!"
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