At that moment, hearing Wang Guan's request, Master Jiang's mouth twitched, barely suppressing the urge to curse loudly, and then he said coldly, "The reef is a continuous mass; unless it's cut into pieces, salvage is extremely difficult."

Not difficult, but utterly impossible. If it weren't for the clue Wang Guan had found, Master Jiang probably wouldn't even have the mood to explain.

"That reef doesn't seem connected," Wang Guan chuckled. "Its shape is quite unique, and it could make a wonderful display stone, so I was hoping Master Jiang could do me a favor..."

Master Jiang frowned slightly, ready to refuse outright. However, just then, Yu Feibai leaned closer and asked curiously, "Wang Guan, what are you trying to salvage?"

"A stone, a very peculiar-looking stone," Wang Guan emphasized.

"Then let's get to it, let's fish it out," Yu Feibai waved his hand. "We're idle anyway; consider it practice, a good start for salvaging shipwrecks."

Hearing this, Master Jiang was completely speechless. The other crew members exchanged glances, unsure of whose instruction to follow. Although Master Jiang was in charge, Yu Feibai was the boss, the financier who paid them to assist.

If the person in charge and the financier disagreed, the crew would naturally be caught in a dilemma. Fortunately, such a situation didn't materialize; seeing Yu Feibai support Wang Guan's decision, Master Jiang said no more.

"Forget it. Using the equipment costs money anyway, and since it's not my money, why bother worrying so much?" With this thought, Master Jiang completely washed his hands of the matter, allowing Wang Guan and the others to fuss about.

Seeing Master Jiang acquiesce, the crew members were glad to cooperate with Wang Guan. They retrieved the pontoon assembly from the ship's hold, filled them with water, and sank them to the seabed. Then, accompanied by a diver, Wang Guan slowly descended to the seafloor, located the reef he had designated, and secured steel cables around the stone to the pontoons...

Everything ready, the compressors on the tender started up. Under Wang Guan's watchful eye, the pontoon group slowly began to rise, gently bringing the reef up from the sea surface.

"Hey, give us a hand!" a crewman called out, skillfully operating the machinery. The steel cable lifted the reef easily out of the water, slowly maneuvered it over the tender's platform, and gently lowered it down.

At the same time, everyone naturally gathered around, closely examining the peculiar reef Wang Guan had mentioned. At first glance, they realized Wang Guan was right; this rock was indeed strange. One side was thin, the other thick, with a certain curvature in the middle, looking much like...

"A shell, a massive shell," Qiao Yu had a flash of inspiration and immediately understood, laughing, "Now I finally know why Wang Guan insisted on salvaging this rock."

Indeed, upon closer inspection, it was immediately apparent that the reef resembled a giant clamshell magnified hundreds of times, with even the texture of the shell clearly visible.

"Eh."

Just then, Master Jiang's gaze also flickered over, his expression subtly changing. He quickly walked over and leaned entirely over the stone, examining it closely.

"What's wrong with Master Jiang?" Everyone else was naturally curious, exchanging confused glances.

"Could the rock be strange somehow?"

Yu Feibai was very intrigued and walked over to study it as well. After looking for a moment, he turned back in astonishment. "Little Qiao, you might be right; this thing really seems to be a shell."

"What?" Everyone was stunned.

"It strongly resembles a fossil of a giant clam shell," Yu Feibai tapped the stone, uncertainty coloring his tone. "The problem is, did such a huge bivalve creature even exist?"

"What exists or doesn't exist?"

At this moment, Wang Guan, having taken a shower and changed into dry clothes, slowly walked out, chuckling, "Well, isn't the display stone nice?"

"What display stone? It's clearly a fossil," Yu Feibai said with a mix of suspicion and amazement. "But the shell is too large; I can't be sure if the fossil is genuine."

"A fossil?" Wang Guan feigned surprise, but a slight smile played in his eyes. He pondered, "It doesn't look like one."

"How can it not be? Look at these striations, this texture..." Yu Feibai carefully pointed out. "And the whitish color after the seawater dried—it’s the typical appearance of a fossil. Master Jiang, wouldn't you agree?"

"Yes."

Master Jiang nodded gently at this time, his expression somewhat odd. "Moreover, if I'm not mistaken, this thing isn't just any common clam; it appears to be mother-of-pearl."

In an instant, except for a few who were slightly bewildered, most eyes lit up. Mother-of-pearl is the direct source of pearls, possessing an extremely high probability of producing them. However, the glint in many eyes soon dimmed. After all, it was a fossil, not a living pearl oyster.

"Ah, what a pity," Yu Feibai sighed. "If it were still alive, imagine how large the pearl it produced would be—it might surpass the one stored in the Bank of San Francisco..."

In the vault of the Bank of San Francisco was stored the world's largest pearl, weighing 6350 grams and measuring 27.94 centimeters in diameter, comparable to an adult's head, valued at over four million US dollars.

Shaking his head, Yu Feibai spread his hands. "Wang Guan, your luck seems quite good, but perhaps not so excellent. You found a big clam, unfortunately, it's a fossil."

"What's wrong with a fossil? A fossil is quite good too," Wang Guan smiled gently. "I can display it at home as a treasure to guard the house."

"Right, very right," Yu Feibai said casually. "Since you already have Little Shell, adding a Big Shell makes a perfect pair..."

Wang Guan smiled, about to speak, when he suddenly heard the sound of wind cutting through waves. He quickly turned, seeing another yacht approaching rapidly on the water nearby. Others also looked over curiously.

At first, everyone thought the yacht was just passing by, but after a few minutes, its course remained unchanged, speeding straight toward them. They realized the yacht was heading for their tender.

"Feibai, who else did you invite?" Wang Guan asked, somewhat puzzled.

"No one," Yu Feibai responded inexplicably. "Everyone who was supposed to be here is here... perhaps someone uninvited has arrived."

Suddenly, Yu Feibai's eyes flashed, and he mused thoughtfully, "Wang Guan, maybe the local snakes you mentioned have arrived."

"The Su family?" Wang Guan's eyes narrowed, and as his gaze focused, he saw clearly on the deck of the approaching yacht a beautiful woman standing against the wind—it was Su Yu.

Moments later, the yacht slowed to a stop beside their tender. Under everyone's gaze, the Su family yacht extended a stable gangway, and Su Yu slowly stepped down.

"Your relative is here; hurry up and greet her..." Wang Guan nudged Yu Feibai forward.

Yu Feibai secretly pursed his lips, then hurried forward, a brilliant smile instantly appearing on his face. "Cousin, you've arrived."

"Yu... Cousin," Su Yu sounded slightly surprised. "Why are you here?"

"Here to handle some business," Yu Feibai sighed. "A few days ago, I intended to come congratulate the Old Master on his birthday, but I was tied up. Now that things have settled down, I felt awkward visiting without an invitation. I was wrestling with it, and here you are, Cousin."

"There's quite a commotion over here; Grandpa sent me to see what's happening," Su Yu’s eyes flickered, and she asked casually, "Cousin, what exactly are you all busy with?"

"Uh... busy fooling around," Yu Feibai's eyes darted around, and he quickly laughed. "It's all Wang Guan's fault. He suddenly got interested in underwater fossils and asked us to help salvage one."

"Fossils?" Su Yu froze, then noticed the massive fossilized giant clam shell on the tender.

"Yes, a clam this large, I'm sure you haven't seen one either, Cousin," Yu Feibai grinned, trying to divert Su Yu's attention, though it wasn't particularly effective.

Su Yu remained noncommittal about the fossils, glancing at them dismissively before pointing excitedly at a pile of broken porcelain shards on the deck. "What is this?"

"Those are broken bowls and plates," Yu Feibai lied with a straight face. "A large wave hit just as we were eating breakfast, and we accidentally smashed the tableware. They're piled there, ready to be thrown out."

Su Yu was genuinely speechless for a moment, gaining a profound appreciation for her 'cheap' cousin's brazen cheek.

"Thud, thud, thud..."

Just as Su Yu was considering whether to directly expose Yu Feibai's lie, she saw Wang Guan suddenly pick up an iron wrench from a nearby toolbox and gently tap the giant clam fossil.

"Oh!"

Everyone was momentarily stunned, not understanding the meaning behind Wang Guan's action. Only Yu Feibai reacted quickly, blurting out, "The fossil seems to be hollow..."

In an instant, the others realized it too; the sound of tapping the fossil was an empty resonance, not the crisp sound of solid material.

"Strange."

At this point, Yu Feibai lost interest in Su Yu. He lunged toward the giant clam fossil and asked curiously, "Wang Guan, how did you discover the fossil was hollow?"

"I started doubting it when I saw the lifting slings," Wang Guan explained, mixing truth with fabrication. "After all, lifting a rock this large without much strain on the slings—it seemed very light. So, I just gave it a few taps..."

"That makes sense; the ropes didn't look very taut just now," Yu Feibai reflected, sounding somewhat surprised. "A hollow fossil, that's truly rare."

"Not necessarily rare," Wang Guan smiled. "Aren't most bivalve fossils like this?"

"Perhaps."

At this moment, Yu Feibai had a sudden thought. "Do you think there might be something inside? Even though the giant clam is dead and its shell is fossilized, the pearls wouldn't have turned to stone, would they? Besides, if pearls fossilized, they'd probably be even rarer."

"Hmm?" Wang Guan glanced at Yu Feibai, sighing inwardly. He truly was a good brother; he was just wondering how to lead the conversation, and Yu Feibai delivered the excuse right to him.

With that thought, Wang Guan hesitated no longer. He raised the iron wrench and struck hard, and under everyone's astonished gaze, he smashed open the fossil shell, revealing a faint fissure...