Chapter 282

Lin Mo took a close look, but because each box was secured with a rust-flecked iron lock and he didn’t have any tools, it was impossible for him to open them with his bare hands.

More importantly, several hours had already passed since low tide, and high tide was approaching soon. The seawater would once again submerge and fill this entire area.

The priority was to quickly get these things out. As for what was inside, it could wait until after they were safely removed.

Making up his mind, Lin Mo untied the rope from his waist and secured it to the lightest treasure chest, weighing around two to three hundred kilograms, and then slowly pushed it toward the “lake water” nearby.

Once at the edge of the “lake water,” Lin Mo contacted Zhang Li and the others above via the underwater intercom.

[Can you hear me?]

[Hello?]

[Reply if you can hear me.]

Directly transmitting signals to the shore would have been impossible to hear, but fortunately, they had two underwater robots acting as relay stations, so the voice could be successfully transmitted to the surface.

[Received, is there a situation?]

Zhang Li’s voice came through, a bit hoarse but clear.

Lin Mo instructed, [I’ve found something here. When I signal you to pull the rope, pull it with all your might!]

[Alright, do you need me to go down and help?]

[Not for now, we’ll deal with the rest after I get out!]

After going over the precautionary matters, Lin Mo began to push the treasure chest out with a sense of unease, worrying that the chest might get stuck in the narrow water tunnel, not only wasting time but also posing a danger to himself.

Hence, he chose to drag the chest in front of him, inching it through the water tunnel bit by bit.

Fortunately, being in the water, buoyancy took care of most of the weight, so the process was relatively easy.

Once the treasure chest was fully inside the tunnel, Lin Mo issued an order through the underwater intercom: [Pull it out.]

Soon, a force began to transmit through the rope.

Perhaps because the rocky ground was very slippery and wet, the chest slid surprisingly smoothly without any snag.

It made sense; after all, whoever had hidden this treasure originally must have brought it in through this water tunnel, likely using the same dragging method.

Before long,

Lin Mo was the first to crawl out of the rocky cave, then joined forces to haul up the treasure chest from below.

“Is there really treasure down there?”

“Wow, son, you’re amazing!”

“What could be inside this chest?”

Seeing that there really was a treasure chest, the expressions of Lin Changshui, Li Jinshan, and Zhang Li, who had been waiting on the shore, lit up with excitement.

They had been nervous, but if it weren’t for their trust in Lin Mo’s judgment and seeing his confident demeanor, they would never have undertaken this task.

Indeed,

who would have thought that a casual trip to the island would yield such an unexpected find?

“Phew…”

After emerging from the water, Lin Mo wiped the seawater from his face, looked at the distant ocean, and knew it wasn’t time for chatting. He gestured and said, “I don’t know what’s inside, they are locked, and there are still more than a dozen chests like this down there.”

“Xing Jiang, you come down with me this time. Dads, secure the rope to the winch, that’ll save us some energy.”

“The tide is about to rise, we need to speed up and try to get as many chests out as possible, or we’ll have to wait until tomorrow.”

“Okay, no problem!” Zhang Li nodded repeatedly, gearing up with the diving equipment again.

“Right, then, we’ll go get the winch now.” Lin Changshui also nodded in agreement.

Li Jinshan, eager to help, asked, “Should we carry this treasure chest over there first?”

Lin Mo shook his head, “No need to carry it now, these chests are heavy, a few hundred kilograms each, carrying them over would be too time-consuming. First, secure the treasure chests to the fishing boat ahead with the rope. That way, even if the tide comes in, the sea will only rise about a dozen meters and won’t wash them away. We can move them after the tide has risen, no hurry.”

“Okay, no problem, I’ll take care of it!” Li Jinshan also got busy.

With all matters delegated, Lin Mo wasted no time and, each bearing three ropes, ventured back into Jiaoshi Cave with Zhang Li.

The seawater was cold, instantly enveloping him in a chill.

With the experience gained from before, Lin Mo quickly passed through the narrow water tunnel and reached the underground lake-like area.

“Wow! There’s actually an environment like this underwater!” When Zhang Li emerged from the water, he too was astonished by the scene before him.

He still couldn’t quite believe that they had actually found a treasure – it was like a dream!

“Don’t just stand there, we’re short on time. Hurry over and help move things; it’ll be troublesome if the tide comes in!”

Lin Mo urged, then swam toward the shore. Once on land, he secured his waist rope to a chest just like before.

With two people lifting together, things moved much faster. Once the chest was at the tunnel entrance, Lin Mo told Zhang Li to haul it out while he continued to tie ropes to the other chests.

And so,

They took turns, one trip each, and since they were using the winch rather than human strength, they quickly transported 8 chests out of the rocky cave.

Seeing chest after chest being hauled from the large pool, Lin Changshui couldn’t help but remark, “How can there be so many?”

“Are there more inside?”

Lin Mo nodded, “Yeah, there’s still about half left. But we can’t go back in now; the seawater is about to rise. Going down now would be too dangerous.”

“Dad, give us a hand. You handle moving the water pump and the rest, and Zhang Li and I will take care of transferring these chests.”