Tomb raiding: Today is another day I don't want to go home.

Chapter 48 Host, Please Calm Down (Part 2)

It really is true! Wu Xie was overjoyed; he never expected they would meet again.

Sure enough, the cabin door opened the next moment, and Fatty Wang's smiling face appeared. He spread his arms and hugged the thin Wu Xie tightly: "Oh, it really is you, Little Innocent! I've missed you so much!"

Wu Xie hugged him back, laughing and scolding, "You fatso, what are you doing in Hainan?"

“Of course I’m here for the underwater tomb! Every underwater tomb is bound to yield oil. I’m a bit short on cash lately, so I can’t miss such a great opportunity to make a fortune. Besides…” Fatty Wang glanced at A Ning standing next to him, then leaned close to Wu Xie’s ear and whispered, “Besides, this is a lama from a foreigner’s camp. How can we let those foreign devils get our stuff for free!”

"I knew you were up to no good," Wu Xie rolled his eyes, but couldn't hide his delight. He shifted his gaze to another person in the cabin. "And who is this?"

Just as Fatty Wang was about to introduce himself, he noticed that Professor Zhang was staring intently at Wu Xie, his eyes even gleaming slightly. So, he turned his gaze to the side and stood there watching the show with a sly grin.

Ah Ning originally didn't want to say anything, but in order to ensure the smooth progress of the subsequent work arrangements, she still introduced him: "This is Professor Zhang, the consultant we invited for this operation. His research focuses on geology."

"Oh, Professor Zhang, hello!" Wu Xie extended his right hand to the person in front of him out of politeness.

Zhang Qiling, behind the human skin mask, pretended to have just come to his senses. He quickly stepped forward and grasped Wu Xie's hand, his fingers casually stroking the back of Wu Xie's hand.

"Hey~ Miss Aning, you flatter me. I'm not an advisor at all. I'm just someone with some achievements in geology. May I ask how this young man is called? With such a handsome appearance, how did you end up dealing with underwater tombs?"

"I..." Wu Xie's lips stiffened slightly. He tried to pull his hand away, but to his surprise, the guy opposite him looked old, but his strength seemed to be greater than his own!

"...My name is Wu Xie, I'm just interested in ancient tombs!"

"Oh~ then may I ask where Brother Wu works?"

"Ha... I'm just an architecture student, I don't have a high-ranking position." Wu Xie's smile was forced, and he gave Wang Pangzi a pleading look as he spoke.

Fatty Wang suppressed a laugh, and A Ning also gave him an expression as if she hadn't seen anything. Seeing this, Wu Xie could only curse and wail inwardly—Old man, let go of me!

"Brother Wu, you're too modest. You're clearly a young prodigy with a bright future ahead of you!" Zhang Qiling seemed oblivious to Wu Xie's expression. Not content with just clenching his right hand, he wrapped his left hand around Wu Xie's hand as well, patting the back of Wu Xie's hand a few times as he spoke.

Wang Pangzi and A Ning felt sorry for Wu Xie when they heard that sound.

Wu Xie couldn't even maintain his fake smile anymore. He forcefully pulled his hand back, his face turning red, and he said through gritted teeth, "Professor Zhang, you're too kind!"

Zhang Qiling wanted to say something, but before he could speak, the fishing boat, which had been sailing smoothly, suddenly shook violently, as if it had hit something.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, Wu Xie finally managed to pull his hand back. He and Fatty Wang grabbed the wooden crates containing seafood on their sides, while Zhang Qiling and A Ning on the other side grabbed the door frame of the cabin.

The group waited cautiously for a moment, and only after confirming that the boat had truly regained its stability did Ah Ning frown and ask coldly into the communication headset, "What just happened?"

"Captain...we don't know either! The fishing boat has been avoiding the reefs the whole time, so it shouldn't have hit anything. Besides, the ship's radar hasn't detected anything..."

Upon hearing this, Ah Ning lowered her eyes and pondered for a moment. She recalled what Liu Tai and the others had encountered before, and a sense of unease began to rise in her heart: "Everyone, be on guard. Except for necessary patrols, no one is allowed to approach the edge of the ship."

"Yes!"

After instructing her team members, Ah Ning turned to the group in front of her and said, "You should also try to stay in the cabin. You can distribute the equipment inside yourselves. I will contact you again once we find out the approximate location of the underwater tomb."

"No problem!" Fatty Wang raised his hand and gave an OK sign, appearing incredibly carefree, as if what had just happened had no effect on him whatsoever.

“We’ll be fine here, but you guys need to be careful.” Wu Xie had come to his senses by now. He recalled the tremor he had just experienced and realized that it was somewhat unusual.

"Yes, yes! Be careful. If there's anything we can do to help, just call us!" Zhang Qiling chimed in, but a deeper meaning flashed in his eyes when no one was watching.

The journey that followed was beyond everyone's expectations, except for Zhang Qiling, of course. The fishing boat sailed very smoothly, and the sea remained unusually calm.

However, the sky turned extremely gloomy in the evening, which is a normal phenomenon before the arrival of the windy season. What made everyone anxious was that they only had less than six hours left.

"We're about ten kilometers from the approximate location of the underwater tomb. Our detection equipment has already mapped out four areas. Once we get there, we..."

"Captain, there's a situation!"

Ah Ning's words were interrupted by the patrol team members outside the cabin. She frowned, stood up and walked outside: "I'll go take a look."

"Let's go take a look!" Wu Xie had been cooped up in the cabin ever since boarding the ship, and was feeling really stuffy. It was a good opportunity to get some fresh air.

Zhang Qiling and Fatty Wang had no objections, so the four of them got up and walked out together.

"Fatty's back is amazing! I'd have to do a Yangko dance for you guys even if we had to go out somewhere!"

"Fatty can even do the Yangko dance?" Zhang Qiling joked casually to avoid ruining his persona, but he was actually a little absent-minded.

"That's right, Fatty knows a whole lot of things!"

"Really? Don't end up hurting your back before you even get to the dance. If you can't use it right away, don't blame me!"

"You little naive thing, you'd better hope for something better for Fatty!" Fatty Wang quickly hooked Wu Xie's neck and the group laughed and joked their way out of the cabin.

However, this joy did not last long, because something happened outside.

"What's going on?" Ah Ning asked, her voice tinged with coldness as she looked at the panicked group on the deck.

"Captain, it's a ghost ship..." The patrol member stood next to Ah Ning and said in a trembling voice. Then he closed his eyes and pointed his raised finger at the distant sea.

In the dark of night, rain began to fall in a drizzle. On the distant sea, a rusty fishing boat bobbed and creaked as it approached.

"Turn around, remember, don't listen, don't look, and don't pay attention!" Ah Ning's face was a little pale. As she turned around, she also turned Wu Xie away.

"why?"

I'll explain later.

Wu Xie stood there blankly. The rain began to intensify, and a sea breeze picked up on the sea. The creaking of the ghost ship was getting closer to their fishing boat, affecting their original voyage.

Wu Xie looked up, his vision blurred by the rain, and inadvertently swept across the glass of the fishing boat's cockpit. Then, he saw a huge shadow standing upright, staring at them menacingly...