71: Chapter 71 Gaze from the Dark

When the blue whale returned to the Funafuti pier, the setting sun was burning the western horizon into a sheet of golden red.

President Chen Ran stepped onto the swaying pier, his legs still a bit weak from the muscle fatigue caused by deep diving and prolonged water pressure, but his spirits were high.

He had Fortress take some men to unload the few crates of ordinary equipment used as a cover from the ship, while he returned to the Presidential Palace first.

Calling it the Presidential Palace was a stretch; it was actually just that two-story building.

The first floor had now been partitioned into temporary office and living areas, while the second floor contained the rooms for President Chen Ran and his core personnel, as well as a small command room.

President Chen Ran didn't rush to rest. He took a simple fresh-water shower—fresh water was a precious, strictly rationed resource here—changed into dry clothes, and sat down at that old desk.

Paper and pen were spread out on the table, but he didn't need them.

He closed his eyes and let his consciousness sink into the System Space.

The specially designated material storage area was packed full at this moment.

The most conspicuous items were the neatly stacked gray metal ingots—tin ingots.

The system thoughtfully provided an accurate count: 1,427 pieces.

According to the scan, the standard weight of each piece was approximately 25 kilograms.

President Chen Ran calculated quickly: 1,427 pieces multiplied by 25 kilograms equaled 35,675 kilograms, over 35 tons of tin.

He quickly connected his tablet to the satellite network to check the recent international spot price for tin ingots.

Influenced by supply fluctuations in some mineral-producing countries and demand from the electronics industry, prices were fluctuating at a high level, roughly between $28,000 and $32,000 per ton.

Taking a median value of $30,000, these 35-plus tons of tin were worth around $1.07 million.

This was the raw material price; if processed into tin products or special alloys, the value could multiply several times or even dozens of times over.

Next to it was another pile of darker, irregularly shaped blocks: natural rubber.

The quantity was less than the tin ingots; the system count was 588 blocks, with an estimated weight of about 30 kilograms each, totaling about 17.6 tons.

Natural rubber prices also fluctuated significantly. Recently, due to climate and policies in major producing regions, prices had risen to roughly $1,800–$2,200 per ton.

Calculating at $2,000, this batch of rubber was worth about $352,000.

Tin plus rubber—the raw material value alone exceeded $1.4 million.

This wasn't cash, but it was harder currency than cash, especially for Deep Blue Nation, which was about to begin large-scale infrastructure construction. These were solid building materials and industrial staples.

Whether using them himself or finding channels to liquidate them, both could solve many problems.

Besides these, there were those miscellaneous spoils: that rusty but intact Eagle Country captain's sword, a few brass ship bells, and some porcelain shards.

The historical value of these items outweighed their economic value, but in the future, they could be placed in the planned maritime museum, serving as a testament to the prequel of Deep Blue Nation's history.

What interested President Chen Ran most were the deep-sea creatures in the specimen area.

That one-meter-long deep-sea anglerfish specimen was unexpectedly well-preserved. Under the special lighting of the System Space, its silver-gray skin shimmered with a cold light. The pair of small horns on its head and the structure of its bioluminescent organ were clear, and its large mouth was packed with dense, fine teeth.

There were also those deep-water amphipods that looked like little alien shrimp, slowly paddling their appendages in a dedicated small tank. They had transparent carapaces and long antennae, and were an important link in the deep-sea detritus food chain.

That cluster of white deep-sea bamboo coral had a graceful form, like a miniature jade tree.

These were all residents of the 500-meter deep sea, rarely seen under normal circumstances.

"Not bad, a great start." President Chen Ran exited the System Space with satisfaction.

This salvage operation not only provided the urgently needed startup resources but also verified his strengthened deep-diving ability and the convenience of the System Space collection function. More importantly, this was obtained entirely through the power of Deep Blue Nation itself, which was highly significant.

Just then, the system prompt sounded in his mind:

[Successfully completed the first deep-sea shipwreck resource salvage and recovery independently.]

[Evaluation: Clear objective, autonomous execution, considerable harvest. Conforms to the 'Deep Blue Pioneer' behavioral pattern.]

[Reward Points: +500 points.]

[Current Points: 1370 + 500 = 1870 points.]

500 points!

It perfectly offset the cost of exchanging for fish affinity.

President Chen Ran felt even better. Points were the future; they were the capital for exchanging more technology and dealing with more crises.

He picked up the satellite phone and called Victor, who remained on the island, briefly reporting the successful salvage and general haul, and instructed him to start contacting reliable international raw material traders to evaluate the best ways to liquidate or swap this batch of tin and rubber.

At the same time, he also had him start planning a small temporary warehouse to store some items that might need to be taken out for display or use in the future.

After handling these matters, President Chen Ran finally felt a wave of fatigue wash over him.

He walked to the window and looked at the sea and sky, which had turned completely black outside. Only the few temporarily rigged lights on the pier emitted a dim, yellowish glow.

The first night of Deep Blue Nation, amidst the sense of fulfillment from the harvest, seemed not so unbearable after all.

President Chen Ran fell asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow.

At the same time, thousands of miles away, in Hangzhou.

The bell for the end of the school day at Hangzhou No. 7 High School had rung a while ago, and the noise in the campus was gradually subsiding.

In the corridor of the senior high school building, Chen Yan was holding two review books, chatting and laughing with her deskmate as they walked toward the school gate.

Ever since the explosive news that her brother President Chen Ran had become the president of Deep Blue Nation spread, Chen Yan's treatment at school had completely changed.

Before, she was just an ordinary girl who was pretty, lively, and had above-average grades, occasionally talked about at most because she had a brother who got rich salvaging shipwrecks.

Now, she had almost become the focus of the entire school.

Wherever she went, she could feel gazes cast from all directions: curious, envious, jealous, and inquisitive.

During breaks, students from other classes or even other grades would often pretend to pass by their classroom door just to get a glimpse of what the president's sister looked like.

The number of people looking to borrow her notes, ask her questions, or even just strike up a conversation had suddenly increased several times over.

Chen Yan was not stupid; she could distinguish between simple curiosity and ulterior motives.

She maintained politeness but kept a good sense of distance. Most students also knew when to stop, and the commotion dissipated after a few days.

But some people were not so easy to dismiss.

For example, Zhou Ziming.

Zhou Ziming was Chen Yan's classmate, who had joined after the streaming of arts and science classes in the second year of high school.

His father was a bureau chief of a powerful municipal department, his family was well-off, and he was tall and thin, wore glasses, and looked quite refined.

He hadn't been particularly active in class before, but his grades were good, and he was the study committee member.

Recently, the number of times Zhou Ziming approached Chen Yan to discuss studies had increased significantly, and he could always find very legitimate reasons: "This math problem has a clever solution," "How do you interpret that physics model?" or "Shall we share materials for this essay?"

Sometimes after school, he would even walk with her to the school gate on the way.

At first, Chen Yan didn't think much of it; discussing studies between classmates was normal.

But after it happened many times, the way Zhou Ziming looked at her, and the timing of his appearances just when she needed help, made Chen Yan feel a bit uncomfortable.

She had politely declined walking home together a few times, and Zhou Ziming wouldn't force it, just smiling and saying, "See you tomorrow." His attitude was impeccable, but that subtle, condescending attentiveness made Chen Yan feel uncomfortable.

Another person was named Li Junfei.

He was not a student at No. 7 High School but a senior at an international school next door.

His family was in the foreign trade business, which was said to be very large, with companies in both Hangzhou and Shanghai.

Li Junfei had found out about Chen Yan after seeing her by chance at the municipal library one weekend.

From then on, whenever Chen Yan went to the library on weekends, she would always encounter him nearby.

Li Junfei and Zhou Ziming were two different styles; he dressed fashionably, spoke directly, and drove a bright yellow sports car.

He would walk straight up to her, greet Chen Yan with a smile, and invite her to have authentic Blue Mountain coffee, or suggest that the newly opened Japanese restaurant was very good.

Even after being rejected, he wouldn't get angry. Next time, he would still "run into" her and invite her again, only the gifts changed from expensive imported chocolates to hard-to-buy limited-edition anime merchandise.

These two people—one subtle and polite but carrying the sense of superiority from being within the system, the other direct, enthusiastic, and loaded with cash—seemed to have agreed to surround her from different angles.

Chen Yan was annoyed and rejected them both clearly.

She had even hinted to her homeroom teacher that she was being harassed by a male student from another school. The homeroom teacher had communicated with the teachers at Li Junfei's school, but it had little effect; Li Junfei just became more covert in his "chance encounters."

"It's so annoying!" Once, while eating with her best friend in the cafeteria, Chen Yan couldn't help but complain in a low voice, "That Zhou Ziming asked me again today if I've considered going abroad for university, saying his dad has connections to apply to the Ivy League... Who wants his help! And that Li Junfei, he's like a ghost that won't leave; I don't even dare go to the bookstore I usually frequent on weekends anymore."

"Who told you to be Her Royal Highness?" The best friend whispered jokingly, then said seriously, "But you have to be careful. I heard... that position of Zhou Ziming's dad has quite a lot of power. And Li Junfei's family goes without saying; money makes the mare go. They are still maintaining some decorum now, but who knows what they will do later? Especially that Li Junfei; that crowd at his international school plays very recklessly."

Chen Yan nodded.

She wasn't afraid, but she was very vigilant.

The two female bodyguards her brother had arranged for her lived near the school and picked her up every day. Although they couldn't be by her side inside the school, she was absolutely safe at the school gate and on the way home.

Her mobile phone had a direct emergency alarm device.

As long as she didn't leave the school grounds and didn't go to strange, remote places alone, she was basically safe.

She also tried to minimize unnecessary off-campus activities.

However, as her best friend said, you never know what those people with backgrounds, who feel they have lost face after being rejected, will do to achieve their goals.

Especially when these two people found out about each other's existence during a private gathering, and with a competitive and show-off mentality, things began to slide toward an uncontrollable edge.

That night, in a high-end club with excellent privacy in Hangzhou, Zhou Ziming and Li Junfei happened to sit on the same sofa.

Their fathers had some business dealings, so they were considered acquaintances.