The Fatty couldn't wait to ask, "What is it? A river snail demon or a mermaid inside?" Uncle Ming wiped the rainwater from his face; though drenched, a fire was rising within him, making his throat utterly dry. He swallowed hard twice before managing to speak, "A mermaid with jade wings and golden scales, no doubt about it. Looks like she's been dead inside that man-eating clam for many years. If wealth doesn't force a man to his knees, it crushes him when it arrives—we've hit the jackpot this time. It’s worth far more than diamonds of the same volume... far more valuable..." His voice choked towards the end, tears streaming down in excitement: "Fisher King, Dragon King, Heavenly Empress, open your eyes! Let me, Lei Xianming, reach this day, to obtain the Ancestor of the Green Head! A man being carried on a railway track—this life has been worth it! Even if I die right now, it won't have been in vain..."

I quickly clamped my hand over Uncle Ming’s mouth, telling him not to talk nonsense. What did he mean, it was worth dying for? Having obtained this rare treasure of the sea, dying now would be a complete waste. Uncle Ming suddenly realized his error and slapped himself hard twice, continuously praying to the dark, vast sea that everything he had just said was utter rubbish and that not a single word should count.

The Fatty and I ignored the emotionally unstable Uncle Ming and both shoved our heads under the raincoat covering the giant clam, eager for a glimpse of what this Ancestor of the Green Head actually was. The moment we looked, nothing remained in our minds but sheer astonishment. I consider myself well-versed in the countless rare treasures seen in ancient tombs, yet all of those combined seemed to pale in comparison to what lay within this clam.

There, nestled in the slightly trembling flesh of the bivalve, was a grotesque fish, about the size of a small child. Its form was that of a human head upon a scaled body, though calling it a "human head" was merely a loose approximation; it differed greatly from a true human. It resembled some undeveloped monstrosity. Its two fins, like human hands, and its dorsal ridge were an ethereal green, smooth and lustrous, catching the light and complementing the dazzling, golden scales that covered its body, creating a sight both bewildering and bizarre. I realized the fish’s body had undergone petrification for many years. The only reason it still emitted light was that the fish's head—resembling a woman's head—was gaping open, revealing a half-clenched, luminous pearl within its mouth. The pearl's essence streamed forth, bathing the golden scales and jade wings in a moonlight effusion that made it impossible to look at directly.

My eyes blurred from the sight, and I quickly rubbed them, pulling the raincoat back over us. I asked Uncle Ming how the corpse of this aquatic being had ended up this way. It was truly inconceivable, something impossible to rationalize. Just how valuable was it?

Uncle Ming declared the object too precious, truly a miracle born of heaven and earth beneath the sea. He mused that the ancient clam, in incubating its pearl (or egg), must have undergone a transformation from the immaterial to the material. Water is the essence of the moon, and the pearl is the essence of the moon. The old clam, relying on millennia of absorbing lunar essence, achieved this spiritual pearl of the ocean depths. If the moon did not shine, clams and conches in the sea would not harbor pearls. During every full moon, the old clam would play with its pearl, attracting countless aquatic creatures. It must have happened on a certain full moon night centuries ago: a fully formed mermaid, drawn by the luminous pearl within the man-eating clam, swam stealthily closer. With a speed faster than lightning, she darted into the open shell of the Tridacna gigas (the giant clam), swallowed the spiritual pearl in one gulp, and attempted to flee.

Among the coastal tribes, this action by a sea creature has always been called "Soul-Stealing." Although this mermaid could glide over the waves, and though she swam fast underwater, she could not move as quickly as the man-eating clam could snap its two shells shut. She was enveloped and killed by the old clam. As for why the mermaid's skeleton has not decayed after so many years, but has instead mineralized like jade, the reason lies in this exceedingly rare "Southern Pearl." Since ancient times, it has been known as the "Youth-Preserving Pearl." If a deceased person held it in their mouth, their body would remain unblemished and undecayed, eventually turning into a dried corpse. In ancient times, wealthy and noble individuals, when buried, always had something held in their mouth. Holding a piece of cool jade was considered medium grade, while an "Mouth-Plugging Coin" (a copper coin) was secondary. Holding a "Youth-Preserving Pearl" was the highest selection, making it the premier item among all the Mingqi (spirit objects) found in ancient tombs.

The mermaid seized the pearl but perished within the clam, her remains resisting decay for a thousand years. The Tridacna gigas clam, unwilling to part with its spiritual pearl, resulted in this scenario: "the clam holding the fish, the fish holding the pearl." This situation is entirely logical and easy to deduce. This golden-scaled, jade-winged South Sea mermaid only exists in the ocean's deepest trenches; it is likely extinct for hundreds of years now. This specimen is perfectly preserved, and furthermore, it holds the Youth-Preserving Pearl in its mouth—this alone will cause its value to multiply exponentially, soaring to the heavens.

The Fatty and I were overjoyed; ten yachts should be achievable this time! We quickly used a waterproof blanket to carefully wrap the mermaid's corpse from inside the man-eating clam and moved it to the lower hold for safekeeping. When we returned, Ruan Hei and his men surfaced from the depths. Judging by their expressions, their second haul was also substantial. Uncle Ming, meanwhile, wanted to slaughter the man-eating clam, scrape off the flesh, and take the Tridacna gigas shell back with us.

Knowing that Shirley Yang didn't want the men to casually kill this thousand-year-old creature, I stopped Uncle Ming and pulled Shirley Yang aside to the stern. I told the others that this old clam had endured countless cosmic upheavals in the sea over its long life, and it was difficult enough for it to survive to this day. I urged them to release the thousand-year-old clam back into the ocean. Our policy is leniency for confession; since it has already relinquished the treasure in its shell, it would be better to show it mercy. Besides, we had collected an abundance of Green Heads this time and weren't left empty-handed just because of this one. We shouldn't end its life. We have acquired many Southern Pearl secrets this voyage, but at the same time, we have depleted the spiritual energy created by heaven and earth; thus, we must leave some room for maneuver and not push things to the absolute limit, lest something unexpected happens on our return journey.

Shirley Yang wholeheartedly agreed, though only the Fatty and Uncle Ming were reluctant. After paying homage to the Fisher Jade, how could they possibly return such a thing? The Fatty came up with a malicious idea. He snatched Uncle Ming's Dragon Arc Blade and carved several lines of text onto the clam shell, establishing ownership. He inscribed: "Tomb Raider Colonel, concurrently Coastal Tribe Member Wang Kaixuan, bringing his subordinates here for a visit. We stand tall and see far, our hearts fixed on the Motherland, our gaze upon the world. We are currently pressed for time rushing to America to secure funds, so we are temporarily leaving the man-eating clam here, awaiting our return after the success of the world revolution to exchange it for money. Any who dare to harvest this clam without our permission will surely suffer divine lightning strikes and perish without a burial spot at sea. Below: Year, Month, Day." Only then was the already near-lifeless giant clam hoisted up and tossed back into the water, allowed to seek its own survival. Having lost its spiritual pearl, the man-eating clam was like a phoenix stripped of its plumage; it managed to escape death at the hands of other clams and creatures and retreated into the depths shamefacedly.

Afterward, everyone sorted the spoils from the egg harvest: a total of thirty-two Lunar Light Pearls, one jade body of the pearl-swallowing mermaid, and one ancient stone-coffin mirror. When briefly displayed in the lower hold, they illuminated the entire compartment with a brilliant, radiant light, making one feel as though they were in a crystal Dragon Palace. However, no one dared to examine them closely for long, quickly tucking them away. Firstly, they feared that being removed from the undersea environment would cause these treasures to lose their spiritual essence. Secondly, the treasure energy in the cabin was overwhelming; every item was the refined essence of the sea. We worried that it might provoke vengeful underwater creatures—whales, sirens, fish, or dragons—to risk their lives to seize them. It is better to offend a mountain than to provoke the water; it is best not to stir up things in the sea unnecessarily.

As dusk settled, Uncle Ming went to the cockpit to monitor the sea surface, while the rest of us ate in the cabin. The boat captain, Ruan Hei, and his two apprentices were utterly exhausted, but Ruan Hei stated that as professional coastal tribe members, their constitutions were naturally piscine; they could endure long periods underwater. After resting a bit and eating dinner, since the waves were not too high, they could go down again to collect eggs. These two trips only cleared out the largest snails around the biggest 'iron trees.' There were still many such old trees in the underwater forest; opportunity knocks but once. The Southern Pearl resources in this world were entirely depleted by the Qing Dynasty. Since we managed to catch this final deep-sea cycle, we shouldn't stop until we've harvested to our heart's content.

I listened, my heart chilling secretly. I used to think that coastal tribe members, who risked their lives for a living based on their craft, were much like Tomb Raider Colonels. Now, I finally understood. Looking at Ruan Hei’s eagerness, even amidst his fatigue, he seemed not to take the underwater dangers seriously at all, willing to die from decompression sickness if necessary. Human nature is secondary to destiny, but pearl collecting was more important than destiny. Moreover, he had no clear idea how much profit he would receive from the Green Heads we currently had in the hold. Ruan Hei had seen little money and lacked a concept of large sums, nor did he understand market value like Uncle Ming did. Ruan Hei simply believed that the more eggs collected, the more money he would make.

I truly didn't know how to explain the principle of not being overly greedy to the captain, Ruan Hei. I had to take a hard line with the three of them. I informed them that fish-dragons haunted the deep trenches, and now that the sudden rain had passed, the high tide that night, coupled with the darkness, would bring the sea serpents lurking beneath the surface up to the water level. I emphasized that the funds for tonight's descent were provided by me, and the method for entering the Coral Spiral was my invention. Bluntly put, the Tomb Raider Colonels were the bosses on this ship, and the coastal tribesmen were the hired hands. From now on, I call the shots.