Reborn As Super Heiress

Chapter 1052: Chapter 1048: The Mantis Stalks the Cicada, Unaware of the Oriole Behind

After the end of World War II, this giant ship was mentioned more than once, and Huaxia Country also arranged for the Maritime Affairs Administration and numerous professional divers to dive in search of it, attempting to salvage the sunken ship.

But unexpectedly, when Huaxia Country found the specific location of this sunken ship and conducted an underwater survey, it was discovered that there was no so-called 40 tons of gold among the wreckage on the seabed, not even a trace of gold fragments.

According to the inventory records of that year, many items within the sunken ship were located, but that 40 tons of gold were nowhere to be found.

From the time the ”Awa Maru” was loaded until it was sunk, the ship never stopped, so how could 40 tons of gold just disappear?

This not only puzzled the Huaxia Government but also left the world bewildered. Who took the 40 tons of gold? It remains a mystery sunk at the bottom of the sea.

Regarding this issue, some people have even spawned a series of conspiracy theories, positing that it’s somewhat suspicious for a massive ship like the Awa Maru to be taken down so swiftly by just three torpedoes.

There’s also speculation that perhaps during World War II, the American military used a special torpedo device to attack the Awa Maru to achieve some goal, and after being hit by torpedoes, the Dongyang side activated a self-destruction mechanism to swiftly destroy the Awa Maru to cover up some kind of secret on board.

Huo Sining had once seen a post on an exploration forum where the Awa Maru was explored and speculated upon.

The forum host believed that by 1945, Dongyang was already at the end of its rope, knowing well they were doomed to lose if the fight continued, so they dispatched many ships to gather treasures from Huaxia and Southeast Asia.

At that time, Dongyang also conducted biological research within Huaxia Country and established bacterial warfare units, and to destroy this evidence, they loaded these biological weapons onto the ship with the intention of returning them to their homeland for destruction.

This is why the Dongyang Army, when hit by the American torpedoes on their return, chose to trigger the self-destruct mechanism, preferring to perish along with the American forces rather than accept rescue, knowing that if they were rescued ashore, the secrets on the ship would be leaked.

Although these conspiracy theories have not been confirmed, they have left a deep impression in the minds of many, keeping countless people perplexed and hoping that one day this unresolved mystery can be solved.

Huo Sining was also among the puzzled crowd. She couldn’t understand why if there was truly 40 tons of gold on the Awa Maru, those treasures had vanished; it was indeed bewildering.

Huo Sining had secretly suspected in her heart that this might be a play staged by the American military itself or a smokescreen released by Dongyang, suggesting perhaps that the Awa Maru never had the 40 tons of gold mountain. Even if the tanker self-destructed, the gold couldn’t just vanish, yet those things disappeared without a trace, leading Huo Sining to believe it might all be a monumental lie to cover up some unspeakable secret.

But after hearing Etsuko Misaki’s words, Huo Sining genuinely felt a sense of enlightenment and awakening.

Indeed, what if all this is based on the premise that the wreckage off the Mindong coast is not actually the Awa Maru?

Could all this then be explained?

If, as Etsuko Misaki says, that shipwreck isn’t the true Awa Maru but just another tanker posing as one?

And if the real Awa Maru did not sink in the Mindong Sea Area but met some accident on the way back to Dongdu Port?

Then it would perfectly explain the unexplained disappearance of the gold, and also why after America sank a non-combat ship, the Dongyang suddenly renounced its claims for compensation against America in the military court.

Thinking about this possibility, Huo Sining’s eyes lit up. She was not concerned about what secrets the so-called Awa Maru was hiding that day, but rather the whereabouts of that 40 tons of gold.

This is 40 tons of pure gold, not grams or kilograms, but tons!

A full forty tons of gold—if the Awa Maru’s sinking location isn’t Mindong, if this shipwreck and the gold mountain are quietly lying at the ocean’s depths, who wouldn’t want to claim such wealth as their own?

Even someone like Huo Sining, who now has wealth totaling over a billion and even discovered a large Dahongpao bloodstone mine, couldn’t help but feel excited at the thought of so much gold being so easily attainable.

She didn’t feel there was anything wrong with following behind Fujiwara Seiho and the others.

The mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind—this voyage by Fujiwara Seiho to find the sunken ship was undoubtedly a private endeavor. No need to think too hard to know it certainly wasn’t authorized or sanctioned by the Dongyang Government. Although Huo Sining didn’t understand Dongyang’s legal system, by normal reasoning, it was definitely illegal.

Moreover, regardless of legality, just speaking of the origin of the gold and other items on the Awa Maru, these are spoils looted by the Dongyang Expeditionary Force from Huaxia Country and Southeast Asia. They would be deemed illegally obtained in international military courts. Now, the ship has sunk, its goods hidden underwater; whoever retrieves the items reveals their abilities.

If this had been a year ago, perhaps Huo Sining wouldn’t have had any means regarding the sunken ship and gold, but now she thought differently.

With the Water-Repelling Pearl, she could move freely in the sea, and the Heavenly Eye could detect the treasure’s location, and with the storage ring to hold it, as long as she knew the true location of the sunken ship, she could easily haul that forty-ton gold mountain from the sea.

Despite Huo Sining’s doubts regarding the truthfulness of Etsuko Misaki’s words, holding the thought that she’d rather work in vain than miss out, she boarded the ship closely following Fujiwara Seiho and his team when they embarked on a private yacht.

But after boarding, Fujiwara Seiho entered the cabin, and Etsuko Misaki headed to the bridge to inquire with the captain about the installation of the ship’s equipment.

The captain explained in a flurry of words, essentially saying that for this voyage, the ship had been specially modified, with the engine replaced with the best diesel engine, and even the nautical charts and maritime satellite phones were the latest versions, ensuring no problems.

Etsuko Misaki couldn’t understand those technical terms, but when the captain assured there were no issues, she refrained from asking more questions, nodded, checked the time, and signaled the captain to set sail on schedule.

Following Etsuko Misaki, Huo Sining soon found herself inside the cabin, where Fujiwara Seiho was standing, gazing at the undulating waves outside the window.

”Master, everything is ready.”