Chapter 362 Good News and Bad News
Xiao Peng's room was filled with a lot of salvaged items. Although they were ancient and well-preserved due to the low-oxygen environment, they were truly worthless. Looking at these items, Xiao Peng wished he could throw them all back into the sea. This time, he had really lost a lot.
"Don't be so sad, everyone makes mistakes sometimes," said Fabian.
Pascal said, "Fabian, you might as well not say that. Are you sure you're here to comfort Xiao?"
Xiao Peng sat up from the bed. "Do I need comfort? I'm just upset. What's the saying? The greater the hope, the greater the disappointment. You said I put my heart and soul into this salvage operation, looking up so much information to find this smuggling route, but in the end, there are so many shipwrecks but we didn't get rich."
"You can't say that," Fabian said. "What's the purpose of our visit this time? We were searching for Doroshenko's shipwreck, and now the shipwreck has been found, right? So many ocean exploration companies gathered in the Black Sea, and they all arrived before you, but it was us who finally found the ship. In that sense, we're the best ocean exploration company, right?"
Xiao Peng shook his head. "Everything is about money now. We've lost too much money this time. Things haven't been going well for me since the Turkey incident. In all our years of marine salvage, when have we ever been so unsuccessful as we are now?"
Fabian shook his head. "Xiao, I think it's good that things aren't going smoothly. It's because we're doing so well that so many people are jealous of us. Otherwise, how could they have surrounded us at the Odessa dock?"
Xiao Peng was stunned for a moment, then came to his senses: Hadn't he come to the Black Sea just to show others that he was normal? This should have achieved his goal. He felt a little better at the thought. But a glance at the mess of salvaged items on the ground instantly destroyed his good mood.
At this moment, the intercom suddenly rang, and Morrow's voice came from it: "Boss! You'd better come over and take a look!"
Xiao Peng picked up the intercom: "What happened?"
Moro said, "We must have been targeted by the Vulture."
"'Vulture?' Are you sure?" Xiao Peng asked.
Moro's voice came over: "We can confirm that according to the AIS system, there are seven ships approaching us. Two of them belong to different ocean exploration companies. The lead one is the Ifrit, which belongs to the Dutch company Arden Ocean Exploration."
Xiao Peng, Pascal, and Fabian exchanged glances and laughed bitterly: "I never thought that the day would come when we would be targeted by the Vulture."
"Vulture" is also an ocean exploration company. It refers to those people who do not investigate the seabed conditions but follow the old ocean exploration companies to search for shipwrecks. In fact, almost all ocean exploration companies have done such work. Even the biggest "Odyssey Ocean Exploration Company" has been a "vulture". This is an unwritten practice of ocean exploration companies.
After all, ocean exploration companies mostly work on the high seas.
The high seas does not mean that there are no laws here. Some international regulations must be observed on the high seas. For example, you cannot fly national flags randomly. If you fly the flags of two or more countries, you will be regarded as a stateless ship; no country can obstruct ships of other countries sailing legally on the high seas; the captain must be responsible for collisions, shipwrecks, etc., etc.
But this does not mean that everyone at sea abides by these rules. At sea, especially on the high seas, the law of the jungle prevails, and whoever is tougher has the final say!
Fabian asked hurriedly: "Xiao, what should we do next?"
Xiao Peng jumped up from the bed: "Let's go to the cockpit!"
When the three of them arrived at the cockpit, Chen Cheng and Moro were standing there. Seeing Xiao Peng and the others approaching, Chen Cheng said, "Boss, the AIS shows they're about 17 nautical miles away. We should be able to see them soon. What should we do?"
"Have you called them? Have you told them that this is our working waters?" Xiao Peng asked.
Chen Cheng said, "I've called, but there's been no response. I've tried both VHF and regular calls. It seems they're up to no good. Boss, what should we do?"
Xiao Peng looked at Chen Cheng: "Chen Cheng, you are the captain, tell me what to do now?"
Chen Cheng asked, "Hit them?"
Xiao Peng simply waved his hands speechlessly: "Just pretend I didn't ask anything."
Chen Cheng asked curiously, "How did these people know we were here? We've been here for so long and no one has come. Why are they here all of a sudden?"
Xiao Peng pointed to the sky and said, "We're launching the Deep Sea Warrior repeatedly here. Anyone with an eye on us will surely notice. This continuous launching method will make anyone wonder if we've made a major discovery. Now I don't know who's watching us."
Chen Cheng was about to speak when Xiao Peng asked, "What are the firefighting equipment on board?"
Chen Cheng replied, "In addition to ordinary fire extinguishers and other firefighting equipment, we also have firefighting equipment connected to diesel engine pumps. As long as the two diesel engines on our ship are not out of service, we can connect the firefighting water cannons and directly spray them with firepower... Wait! Boss, you're not planning to use water cannons, are you? The diesel engines on our ship are powerful 9,000 horsepower ones. The power of those water cannons is incredible!"
Xiao Peng said, "Those who come with ill intentions will not come. Hua Chong, take your men and get ready!"
Hua Chong nodded after hearing this, and just as he was about to leave, he suddenly stopped and said, "Boss, I have a good idea!"
"What good idea?" Xiao Peng asked.
Hua Chong said, "How about connecting the water pump to the diesel engine boiler and the water-cooling compartment and spraying boiling water when the time comes?"
Chen Cheng was anxious after hearing this: "Hua Chong, what kind of bad idea are you coming up with?"
Xiao Peng's eyes lit up after hearing this. "What kind of bad idea is this? This is a fantastic one! Hua Chong, let's do it! My grandfather taught me that we should always plan for the worst and be prepared for the best. If they come here to be 'vultures', we can just ignore them. They usually can't find the shipwrecks under the whirlpool anyway. But if they come here to cause trouble? Haha, serve them with boiling water!"
"Yes!" Hua Chong ran out happily.
Chen Cheng shook his head. Is this guy just afraid of chaos in the world?
"What should we do next?" Chen Cheng asked, "Should I notify everyone and let them get ready?"
"What preparations are you making?" Xiao Peng held out his hand: "Give me the satellite phone!"
Chen Cheng handed Xiao Peng the satellite phone. Xiao Peng dialed a number and soon the call was connected. Ivan's voice came through: "Xiao, are you here to tell me the good news?"
"I have good news, but I also have bad news. Which one do you want to hear first?" Xiao Peng said happily.
"Well, let me hear the bad news first!"
"No, you have to hear the good news first."
“…”
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