118: Tidal Lock and General's Bureau

Time passed, second by second.

In the bay, the air seemed to have frozen. Uncle De leaned against the bow, smoking one cigarette after another, his gaze complicated as he watched the young man putting on simple diving equipment, muttering "Crazy, all crazy" under his breath.

Wang Dalong, meanwhile, was like an ant on a hot pan, pacing around Lin Feng at least a dozen times, his lips nearly worn out from talking.

"Brother Feng, I beg you, can we please not take this risk? No matter how important the treasure is, it's not worth your life! Let's go back, tell Sister Jiang about this, and let the country send a professional diving team with a submarine! That would be foolproof!"

"It's too late." Lin Feng tied a tough climbing rope around his waist and handed the other end to Wang Dalong. "By the time they get here, survey the area, and come up with a plan, the opportunity will have long passed. Besides, do you think this place can be known by so many people?"

He looked up at the sky and continued, "This 'Tidal Lock' is a gambit set up by Zhang Shijie. A scheme to deceive everyone, one that even few of his own people knew about. He used the entire bay as a chessboard and the tides as chess pieces, calculating that for hundreds of years to come, no one would be able to crack it. This gambit is all about 'timing.' If we miss today's window, the next time it opens might be months or even years from now."

Wang Dalong gripped the cold rope, his palms drenched in sweat. He knew Lin Feng was right. A discovery of this magnitude, once reported, would inevitably enter a long, drawn-out process. And Lin Feng's system mission clearly wouldn't give him that much time.

"But you still can't..."

"Fatty." Lin Feng interrupted him, patting Wang Dalong's shoulder with heavy force. "Trust me. I know my own body."

After multiple system enhancements, his physical fitness had long surpassed that of ordinary people. Although he hadn't undergone professional diving training, he had absolute confidence in his breath-holding, pressure resistance, and underwater movement capabilities.

Wang Dalong looked into Lin Feng's chillingly calm eyes, and the rest of his words got stuck in his throat. He gritted his teeth, wrapped the rope around his arm several times, and tied a dead knot with all his strength.

"Brother Feng! I don't care what you see down there—five minutes! Five minutes at most!" His eyes were red, and his voice was hoarse. "Once five minutes are up, whether you have a signal or not, I'm pulling you up! Dead or alive, we brothers stay together!"

Lin Feng nodded and said no more. He fixed an ultra-small waterproof camera to his diving mask, connecting the signal to a tablet.

On his retina, the cold countdown had already entered its final minute.

"It's coming!" Uncle De suddenly shouted, pointing toward the center of the bay.

The mirror-like black water surface began to stir. A tiny whirlpool quietly formed in the center, its rotation speeding up and its range expanding.

"Whoosh—whoosh—"

The sound of the rotating current went from barely audible to a dull roar.

Ten seconds.

Nine seconds... three seconds.

Two seconds.

One second!

The moment the countdown hit zero, the entire bay seemed to be stirred by an invisible giant hand!

"Rumble—!"

A loud boom echoed from underwater, and the vortex that had only been spinning on the surface suddenly plunged downward! A massive whirlpool over five meters in diameter roared into existence! The black seawater was violently sucked in, forming a bottomless, spinning underwater passage!

The entire process lasted less than three seconds. After three seconds, a stable, clear underwater tornado that seemed to lead straight to the center of the earth appeared before them.

"Now!"

Lin Feng put on his diving mask, and without even having time to say another word to Wang Dalong, he took a deep breath and leaped directly into the center of the spinning whirlpool!

"Brother Feng—!" Wang Dalong let out a piercing cry as the rope in his hand instantly pulled taut with immense force, rapidly extending underwater!

Uncle De fell back onto the deck in shock, his face full of horror.

Wang Dalong stared intently at the tablet.

On the screen, the camera footage was spinning wildly. Countless bubbles and turbulent currents rushed past, making everything a blur. Lin Feng's body was being pulled into the abyss at a terrifying speed by the massive suction!

The numbers on the depth gauge were jumping frantically.

Thirty meters!

Fifty meters!

Eighty meters!

Wang Dalong's heart was about to leap out of his throat!

The moment the depth gauge crossed the hundred-meter mark, the image on the screen suddenly cleared!

All the turbulence and bubbles vanished.

Lin Feng seemed to have passed through a "membrane" made of water, entering another space.

Wang Dalong saw that he was in an incredibly massive, dry underground cavern!

The ceiling was rough rock, and beneath his feet was a solid floor paved with bluestone!

No water! Not a single drop!

The whirlpool passage leading to the surface was like an elongated jellyfish, suspended at the top of the cavern, emitting a faint blue light.

Wang Dalong was dumbfounded, his mind a complete blank.

Lin Feng steadied himself and turned on his headlamp.

A bright beam of light pierced the darkness.

Where the light reached, Wang Dalong and Uncle De on the boat saw through the small screen a sight they would never forget for the rest of their lives.

In this underground space as vast as a mountain's hollow, rows upon rows of massive ancient warships were neatly arranged!

Not one, not a few, but an entire fleet!

Dozens of Fuchuan, Haigu, and Lou-ships of various sizes sat quietly in simple, man-made docks. Many clearly leaked, but on their hulls, the original black paint and exquisite carvings were still faintly visible. Though weathered by time, they still exuded an unyielding majesty.

This was the final reserve of the Southern Song Dynasty. It was the last spark of national restoration that Zhang Shijie had preserved for the empire through a grand deception and a heaven-defying engineering project!

Lin Feng's breathing sounded exceptionally clear in the empty cavern. He controlled the camera, moving it slowly.

The light beam swept over one warship after another, eventually settling on the most majestic flagship at the very front of the fleet.

On the flagship's high bow, a tattered battle flag still hung.

After seven hundred years, its once bright red color had long since faded, becoming gray and dilapidated.

But by the light of the headlamp, one could still clearly identify the large character in the center of the flag, written in blood ink with powerful, vigorous strokes.

Zhang.