Mermaid Reef

1959, Jamaica Island.

Under the sea breeze at night, there is a layer of blue fluorescent transparent substance floating on the beach.

That's jellyfish brought in by the seasonal tides.

The locals are used to such a scene and don't find it surprising.

And such a "beautiful scene" only brings troubles. The sting of jellyfish will empty the fish in the shallow sea, and it will sting fishermen if they are not cleaned up on the beach in time.

"...that is the fire of the souls of the dead, lingering above the city of sin."

The one who spoke was a local man with dark skin, who was making the sign of the cross with his fingers on his chest as he walked.

He stood on the cliff by the sea, with his eyes closed, unwilling to approach at all.

"Hey, Nick, don't be so scared."

A Latino man with a large hiking bag said briskly, "Imagine this sinful city that sank to the bottom of the sea more than 250 years ago, and there are countless gold buried there. It is a big treasure house!"

Black Nick shook his head frantically and said, "Believe me, digging brings misfortune!"

The Latino man spread his hands, pointed to a large tent below and said, "Nick, this is just a job. The government hired the best team and signed a contract with the world's most famous underwater archaeologist, as long as the treasure If you are discovered, your country will soon be rich. At that time, whether it is welfare or education, it will become great, and many tourists will come to visit this former capital of pirates."

Nick's expression changed.

"But……"

"Think about the future, Nick, isn't your mother selling coconut water on the nearby beach? Believe me, you'll soon be able to buy a store, open a restaurant or a hotel."

The Latino man, a surveyor on the excavation team, hired Nick as a guide and temporary assistant.

This cliff is not very easy to climb. Only local people know where to stay on the rock wall and which depressions are easy to borrow.

The surveyor was very pleased with this assistant, because Nick worked hard and was not the kind of guy who slacked off.

The only downside, presumably, is that Nick has always been somewhat resistant to digging.

Tonight, when he saw the jellyfish brought by the tide, Nick couldn't hold back his emotions completely, and began to read some goddamn words.

"Sir, I admit that what you said makes sense, but there is really a curse underwater..."

"Call me by my name, Nick. We're friends."

The surveyor opened the mountaineering bag and picked up the binoculars to observe the sea.

Nick still didn't want to get close to the edge of the cliff. For him, the scene surrounded by blue fluorescent lights on three sides was really too suffocating.

"Well, Mr. Juan, it is precisely because we are friends that I say this." Nick crossed himself again, and said in a trembling voice, "If you think about it, everyone knows that there is a treasure here, but Has anyone dug up anything?"

Surveyor Juan was stunned, then turned his head with a puzzled expression: "No?"

Nick said loudly, "Not a single one!"

The sea breeze cools down for a while, looking down at the dark blue glowing sea, the originally magnificent and wonderful scene made the surveyor Juan's heart sink inexplicably.

Strange, is he overly sensitive?

Juan believed in science, he was not a devout believer and had no interest in cursing.

Just like what he said to encourage Neil just now, Juan thinks that the discovery of the pirate capital Port Royal this time is a good thing.

Because the treasure is sleeping on the bottom of the sea, if you leave it alone, someone will steal it sooner or later.

Especially those adventurers supported by financial groups, they are a group of robbers and bandits, always destroying precious monuments and buildings.It's better to let this country take the lead, so that archaeologists have made amazing discoveries and become famous in the world, and the country's economy can also be revitalized to a certain extent.

The surveyor shook his head, then smiled and said: "The divers went down to investigate, and Port Royal sank at a depth of 23 to 36 feet (7 meters to 11 meters). People couldn't salvage treasures before, right? Invented the mask submersible, now with more advanced equipment, can stay underwater for two hours. After all, it is excavation, you should know that it is very laborious to dig even on land, and we are going in a city Treasure hunt."

Even if Port Royal was the capital of pirates back then, and it was full of gold, it was still a city.

What does the city look like?

Will there be gold where slaves live?Will there be gold in the tavern where the sailor gets drunk?

Only by finding port warehouses, or trading places for pirates, can you gain anything.

"Even if it's an empty city on the ground, it would take us a few days to go in and find gold casually, let alone a city under the sea sunk in the mud."

Juan patted his assistant on the shoulder and comforted, "It's not that easy to dig out treasures. Even with a professional team like ours, it's impossible to finish the work within a few months. Think about those explorers who are full of dreams of getting rich. Do you have the patience?"

Nick looked hesitant.

In fact, the locals tried to catch it.

Who hasn't had a dream of getting rich?

But no one, including divers sent by the government, found gold in Sin City.

If it is not really impossible, how can you hire a foreign archaeological team?

Maybe it's really because of lack of technology that I didn't find it, it's not a curse...

Nick tried to convince himself.

"We're going to wait for the sunrise here." Juan talked about his plan.

The tide recedes at four o'clock in the morning, and the sun will rise soon, when the seabed topography can be clearly observed.

"...helicopters are too budget-intensive and too loud."

Juan pinched his ears and confirmed the situation with Nick, "The tide will take these jellyfish away!"

Now looking at the dreamy beauty, when it's time to work, these clear gels are a nuisance.

Nick nods.

Juan breathed a sigh of relief.

He rubbed his eyes and began to call Nick to set up a tent.

"There are no mosquitos here, it's not bad." Juan rubbed his fingers, lit a bonfire, and prepared to skewer corn to roast.

Unfortunately, the wind was too strong. He tried twice without success, so he had to give up regretfully.

Juan dug the can out of his backpack.

It was good stuff, and he got by on canned fruit and corned beef all the way from Spain to the Caribbean by boat.

"Come and taste it." Juan warmly greeted Nick.

Nick was not very interested. There were too many fruits and other things on the island. As for the canned corned beef, Nick thought it was very unpalatable, much worse than fish.

Unaware, Juan put the corned beef in the bread, dug out half a bottle of jam, and spread it all over.

"We have to wait a long time, Nick, you should rest first!"

Juan watched as Nick got into the tent, picked up the binoculars in one hand, and walked to the edge of the cliff with a homemade sandwich in the other, wanting to take a good look at this seasonal fluorescent beach.

Those shifting glowing blue lights are really mesmerizing.

"If this is the soul of the dead, it's easy." Juan couldn't help laughing, and said to himself, "They can tell me what happened on that day in 1692, and it's better to talk about the pirate warehouse. Location."

Juan yawned, fell asleep without knowing why, and didn't even finish his sandwich.

"...Juan?"

When the surveyor was woken up by Nick's vigorous shaking, his face was pale and his body was hot.

"Sir, have you been blown sick?" Nick said worriedly.

Juan struggled to get up. He felt like he had a nightmare, but he couldn't remember what he dreamed at all.

I only feel that my body is extremely heavy and my head hurts.

At this time, the sun has risen from the horizon, and the magnificent golden light covers the sea surface, and the jellyfish last night really disappeared without a trace.

"I have to work."

Juan pressed his fingers on his forehead, and suddenly he saw the cracks in the rocks around him shining.

"Nick, did you see that?"

"what?"

Black Nick looked blank.

Juan picked up a tool and pulled up the cracks in the stone: "There is something here, my God, if it weren't for the light of the sunrise, no one would have seen it at all."

"You have a fever..."

"It's okay, it's just a nightmare."

Juan didn't know why, from the moment he saw that flickering light, he was like drinking a glass of strong wine, his headache disappeared and his spirits lifted.

It didn't take long for Juan to find his first treasure.

"compass?"

Juan took the gold chain that was not stained for some reason, opened the compass, and found a crystal ball stuck in the groove inside. The chassis was shiny, and he didn't know what material it was made of.

"It's not like the craftsmanship of the 17th century. This shell... was made by British craftsmen at the beginning of this century. It is not an antique. The year is still engraved here. It was a shop in London in 1927."

Juan was very disappointed, but the thing was exquisitely made and looked very valuable, so he put the compass in his pocket anyway.

"Probably lost by explorers of old who were obsessed with pirate treasure."

Juan happily said to Nick, "According to the contract, all the pirate treasures excavated must be handed over to the government, but these are not antiques and can be distributed freely. When we return to the city, we will ask the price."

***

In 1692, the island of Jamaica where time stopped.

The waves are rolling, and a giant humpback whale wearing gold jewelry is cruising.

Jason sat on its back.

"The scope of this time rift is mainly on that island, and it has come to an end here, and there is no way to go there."

The humpback gently bumps its head forward.

An invisible barrier lit up.

Jason and Gemil felt intense dizziness at the same time, which was the influence of the laws of the universe.

If you want to break it, you have to pay a price, or have enough power to disrupt the order.

Originally, the ancient gods could do it, but the problem is——

"If both your and Gu Keluo's strength are suppressed, it means that you can't open a new channel, how can we go back?"

Jason's question made Seagod fall into silence.

The humpback turned slowly and swam back to Port Royal.

"We need an external force to break this time gap." Gemil thought for a long time and came up with an idea.

Jason said worriedly: "Where did the external force come from? No one of the same kind knows that we are trapped in this place."

Looking at its glistening body, the humpback suddenly had an idea.

"The book says that this port will sink to the bottom of the sea, and it also says that this is the capital of pirates?"

Gemil knew that pirates liked gold.

In Norse mythology, all sunken ships will enter the treasure house of Gemil, the sea god. People are afraid of the wrath and power of the sea god, and want to gain wealth through sailing. Among them, pirates are the most devout to the sea god.

"Isn't that adventure novel written? Humans have always wanted to salvage pirate treasures, so..."

"Can we get an investigator?"

Jason watched the humpbacks, and the humpbacks watched him.

A tacit joy, like new shoots radiating from the soil.

"...where should the 'connection' be placed?"

"It can't be in the port, nor can the house, it will all collapse by then."

Gemil changed back into human form, and suggested positively, "I don't know how deep it will sink in the bottom of the sea, so it's not easy to be found."

"How about that sea cliff?"

Jason pointed to the cliff he had climbed before, which was high and far from the town, so he should be able to survive.

Jason took out the compass in his pocket, held it up to the dazzling sun, and opened it with a "click".

The crystal ball in the compass was dyed gold by the sun.

Jason looked at the compass, smiled and said, "It takes enough willpower and luck to see it, and then we meet this lucky guy in the dream, and let him deliver the news for us."