Taking off my diving helmet, Uncle Mei, Yu Xiaobo, and I stood on the ship's railing, gazing at the vast, blue sea in the distance, our hearts heavy with complex emotions.

At that moment, Yu Xiaobo sighed, saying quietly, "Looks like Brother Long was a bit unlucky and couldn't make it back alive."

I felt a pang of sorrow, and muttered, "I survived with number 14, but Brother Long didn't."

"It's a real pity," Uncle Mei said, his voice pained. "Hai Long was the most skilled and experienced among the four of us. In the end, he was the one who didn't make it."

Yu Xiaobo shook his head. "The sea is unreasonable. It doesn't care about your skills or experience. When it wants to devour, no one can escape. It's just bad luck for Brother Long this time."

As he spoke, I faintly saw several dark shapes floating on the distant surface. They looked like human remains. I roughly counted four or five that I could see.

These should be the bodies of the divers who died in the water. I didn't know if Ma Hailong was among them, but the currents quickly swept them into the depths, so I didn't have a chance to see who they were.

After a while, most of the others had come up. Those who hadn't resurfaced by now likely wouldn't.

I quietly counted the number of people, and saw that fourteen had returned.

More than twenty of us had gone down. Let's say twenty. Fourteen returned, meaning a survival rate of seventy percent. According to Yu Xiaobo, a seventy percent survival rate was pretty good.

It seemed this sea area wasn't particularly dangerous.

It was just a pity that Ma Hailong didn't make it back.

Once everyone was accounted for, it was time to hand over the goods. Everyone lined up in order, submitting the treasures they had salvaged, and then, after submitting them, choosing one treasure as their reward.

Yu Xiaobo led us to the back of the line, telling us to watch what treasures the others picked so we could learn from them.

However, Uncle Mei and I had basically made up our minds to take the night-luminescent pearls from the cave walls. None of the treasures we had were more valuable.

Yu Xiaobo was the first among the three of us in line, so he could set an example for us.

We watched quietly from the back of the line. The treasures that the divers in front had salvaged were nothing more than jewelry and the like. The most valuable items were Buddha statues.

The one that impressed me the most was a watermelon-sized Buddha head that a Thai diver had salvaged. The Buddha head was carved lifelike and was very exquisite. It was obviously worth a lot of money.

The other divers were all envious, asking him where he had found it.

Soon it was our turn. Yu Xiaobo went first, taking out the treasures from his backpack one by one.

Because Ma Hailong's backpack was also with him, he took out a lot of treasures. The surrounding divers stared with wide eyes, and the boss nodded with a smile, seemingly satisfied with Yu Xiaobo's "performance."

After taking out treasures like armor and Buddha statues, Yu Xiaobo slowly took out the main event from the inner pocket of the backpack – the night-luminescent pearls!

Because Ma Hailong's night-luminescent pearls were also with him, he took out several night-luminescent pearls at once. The largest was the size of an egg, and the smallest was the size of a quail egg!

It was a pity that it was daytime, so the light of the night-luminescent pearls wasn't so dazzling, but even so, the boss's eyes lit up when the pearls were taken out!

Anyone who had been salvaging treasures at sea for many years knew the value of night-luminescent pearls!

The night-luminescent pearls in Yu Xiaobo's hand were all priceless treasures!

Yu Xiaobo held the treasures and looked proud. He handed the other night-luminescent pearls to the boss and picked the largest one as his reward.

This night-luminescent pearl should have belonged to Ma Hailong, but unfortunately, Ma Hailong had an accident, so it naturally belonged to Yu Xiaobo.

The boss looked at the top-quality pearl in Yu Xiaobo's hand, his eyes green with envy, but there was nothing he could do. Rules were rules. According to the rules, divers could take any treasure they salvaged, and the boss could only let go with a heavy heart.

Fortunately, the remaining pearls that Yu Xiaobo had were also top-quality treasures. Yu Xiaobo made a lot of money, and the boss didn't lose out either.

Then, Uncle Mei and I stepped forward in turn, and each of us also kept a night-luminescent pearl.

Our night-luminescent pearls weren't as big as Yu Xiaobo's, but they were also quite good.

After we handed over the treasures, Yu Xiaobo led us back to the cabin and whispered to us, "You must be careful. These night-luminescent pearls are rare treasures and are most likely to attract thieves. Before we go ashore, we can't let our guard down."

Uncle Mei and I nodded quickly.

I couldn't help but complain in a low voice, "Brother Bo, didn't you say before that everyone on the ship pays attention to not revealing their wealth, and that the treasures salvaged are personal privacy and won't be leaked? Why was there a crowd of people watching when we handed them over just now?"

Yu Xiaobo shook his head helplessly and said, "The ship is only so big, where is there any privacy? They say they want to protect personal privacy, but it all depends on self-discipline. These divers are all uncivilized and very curious. They don't care about your privacy. Even if you hide in the cabin to hand it over, they will stick their necks out to peek. There's nothing we can do."

Uncle Mei sighed and said, "There's nothing we can do. We can only be more vigilant. By the way, Xiaobo, how long until the ship goes back?"

Yu Xiaobo said, "Very soon. Once the boss hides the goods, we'll return immediately. We should be able to go ashore before dark."

"Then let's persevere and rest after we go ashore. Stay alert while on the ship and guard these night-luminescent pearls," Uncle Mei said firmly.

Yu Xiaobo and I both nodded in agreement.

At this time, Yu Xiaobo said again, "By the way, Mr. Song instructed me earlier that he has some matters to deal with in Bangkok these days and doesn't have time to entertain you two for the time being. He told me to arrange for you two to find a place to have fun first, and then meet up with him when he's done. Do you two have anything you want to do?"

Uncle Mei and I were both thinking about going back to treat Little Mei as soon as possible. After all, since we rescued Little Mei from the Qu Shang underground palace, we hadn't had a proper conversation with her.

We really weren't interested in eating, drinking, and having fun.

Uncle Mei quickly said, "Forget about the entertainment. We just want to sell these night-luminescent pearls as soon as possible, exchange them for money, and then return to China."

I also nodded and said, "Yes, yes, yes, we still want to go back as soon as possible."