But as I looked closer, I felt a surge of confusion. The cruise ship initially appeared magnificent, but a careful inspection revealed dried seaweed draped in various corners of the vessel.

Patches of paint had chipped away from the hull in numerous spots, exposing rusted metal beneath. Daxiong clearly noticed it too, exclaiming, "What's odd about this ship?" Standing at the forefront, Xie Yuting remained silent, proceeding to climb the ladder onto the ship on his own.

He walked all the way onto the deck before turning back to look at us. Seeing that we were all lingering on the shore, he smiled meaningfully and remarked, "A luxury cruise liner wouldn't venture into these waters.

The expertise of the Xie family extends beyond tomb exploration; it includes salvaging shipwrecks." I understood the implication of his words: the vessel before us was, in fact, a sunken ship! However, judging by its condition, it seemed to have sunk quite recently.

Despite some blemishes, the structure appeared generally sound. I had no idea where Boss Wu had salvaged this ship from, but since he could pilot it here, it ought to still be seaworthy.

"What? Afraid to come aboard?

You lot are now famous Chinese exploration teams; this hardly seems like your style," Xie Yuting mocked, his tone laced with derision. "Famous Chinese exploration teams?" The rest of us exchanged bewildered glances, unsure where he had gotten that idea.

Seeing our collective confusion, Xie Yuting retrieved a rolled-up newspaper from his satchel and tossed it down to us. Nie Chuan reached out and caught it, unfolding it as I leaned in for a look.

It was a copy of a prominent Chinese publication, XX Daily, featuring a sensational headline: "Nie Chuan, Grandson of Renowned Scholar Nie Haiyun, Turns to Tomb Raiding; Underground Ruins in Lop Nur, Xinjiang, Revealed to the World." Beneath this main title was a subtitle: "Four Major Criminals Accused of Stealing National Treasures Have Fled Abroad." Under the subtitle were clear, high-resolution frontal photographs of myself, Daxiong, Liang Qian, and [Name Redacted/Placeholder for Original Text]. Seeing this, my head nearly exploded.

When the hell did I start stealing national treasures? I never took a single blade of grass or twig from the Lop Nur ruins!

Filled with a volatile mix of anger and indignation, I scanned the accompanying article. It turned out we ended up in the papers because the old guide who led us into Lop Nur had snitched.

Not only did he reveal the location of the subterranean passage in Lop Nur to the police, but he had also somehow managed to secretly photograph the four of us and hand the pictures over to law enforcement. The police, following a series of investigations, discovered the underground ruins in Lop Nur.

To probe these ruins, local PLA units were deployed, leading to fierce confrontations with the mechanisms and ferocious beasts within the site. After suffering heavy losses, they finally reached the large ruins of the subterranean royal city, which, due to the difficulty in dating, they classified as one of the civilizations from the Thirty-Six Kingdoms of the Western Regions.

As for why we were accused of stealing national treasures, it was because personnel provided a video recording allegedly documenting my entire process of appropriating these treasures. The newspaper did not elaborate on the specifics of this video, which only deepened my bewilderment.

And that scoundrel Old Ni had even pinned a further charge on me: being responsible for the deaths of the entire scientific research team from Singapore to prevent leaks. Reading this, the desire to tear Old Ni to shreds surged within me, reaching a boiling point of rage.

He hadn't witnessed the facts, made reckless assumptions about our intentions, and then reported us—it was utterly incomprehensible. Nie Chuan also ground his teeth upon reading the contents, bitterly remarking, "We shouldn't have let that ungrateful wretch go back then." Daxiong, however, seemed disconnected from our shared outrage, pointing at the four photos on the paper and asking, "Why isn't Boss Wu's picture here?

Damn it! Is it just because Boss Wu gave him money?" Xie Yuting, still on the ship, interjected, "The Wu family's methods are far more sophisticated than even ours in the Xie family.

Having been in the ancient tomb business for so many years, they naturally have ways to avoid the newspapers." I thought to myself, Great, they just pick on us naive youngsters. Daxiong’s face flushed crimson with anger, but he couldn't retort.

He simply asked Nie Chuan, "What do we do now? We're wanted criminals; if caught, they might shoot us.

Should we even go back?" Nie Chuan frowned slightly and replied, "Go back? Why not?

We haven't done anything wrong from start to finish. If we don't return, we'll truly look like we're fleeing guilt.

The only way to clear our names is to go back and explain everything." I pondered his words, feeling Nie Chuan was slightly off the mark, and added, "Turning ourselves in isn't the way to go. You know the authorities' methods.

Now they have witnesses, potentially material evidence, and video footage—you won't be able to explain your way out. Our primary goal in returning is to investigate the matter of the Transparent Bead.

Clearing our names is secondary for now. Besides, even if we didn't take anything in Lop Nur, we did take things in Black Bamboo Valley.

If we're talking about crime, we're technically guilty of something." I glanced at Daxiong as I finished. Daxiong had been bitten by a Centipede Spider while trying to carry out the gold bars from Black Bamboo Valley; the evidence of his transgression was quite concrete.

Nie Chuan sighed after hearing my assessment, conceding, "[My Name/Placeholder] is right. It seems we must lie low for a while and avoid public view." "Famous explorers, are you coming aboard or not?

It's getting late," Boss Wu called out to us, checking his watch. Nie Chuan looked up at Xie Yuting, hesitated for a moment, and then said, "Let's go.

We'll board first." So, our group followed Nie Chuan onto the ship. Once we reached the cruise liner's deck, we saw that the vessel was indeed luxurious.

Not far in front of us was a large swimming pool, with wooden lounge chairs and brightly colored, seven-hued umbrellas dotted around the perimeter. However, upon seeing these arrangements, I grew suspicious.

If, as Xie Yuting claimed, he salvaged this ship from the sea, then when it sank, these chairs and similar items should have been washed away or submerged. How could they be set up here?

Xie Yuting seemed to sense our confusion and explained, "The original lounge chairs were all washed away, of course, but the storeroom had some spares. I specifically had people set them out to welcome you.

The water in the pool has also been freshly changed; you can use it without worry." He pointed to the three decks of cabins behind us. "The first floor holds the Presidential Suites, the second floor has the [Gaming/Recreation] room and a game room, and the third floor is the panoramic dining hall.

I purchased all the furnishings aboard when we stopped in Hokkaido; everything is functional. Please feel free to use whatever you need." Daxiong froze for a moment, then asked inanely, "You mean...

there's food in the restaurant?" Xie Yuting chuckled and replied, "Steak, pasta, prawns sautéed in butter, cheese, sushi, Japanese ramen. What would you like?" Daxiong let out an undignified gulp, looked at us, and stammered, "I'll...

I'll go check if anything is poisoned first!" Nie Chuan made no move to stop Daxiong, merely watching him leave before turning his sharp gaze back to Xie Yuting. "With all this meticulous planning, what exactly is your objective?" Xie Yuting made himself comfortable on a lounge chair, picked up a drink garnished with a slice of lemon, and took a sip.

"Do I really need an objective just to entertain you? I arranged this to apologize for the last kidnapping." He paused, then added, "In truth, you shouldn't be so impressed by the luxury here.

This ship had an incident half a month ago, and everyone aboard died. So, there might be over a hundred lingering spirits wandering around.

This is a ghost ship, after all." I frowned, feeling an immediate sense of unease. Nie Chuan, like all of us, clearly didn't buy Xie Yuting's spooky story, continuing to stare intently at him.

Seeing that none of us moved, Xie Yuting sighed, set down his drink, and confessed, "Fine, the real story is this. Recently, a group of rich little Japanese devils have taken up this fad for 'ghost ship exploration.' They specifically seek out sunken ships where people have died.

A wreck like this—from salvage to equipping it—cost less than a hundred thousand US dollars. But selling it to a high-society paranormal society in Japan fetches up to eight hundred thousand dollars.

That's quite a profitable business, wouldn't you say?" Xie Yuting stood up from the chair, straightened the collar of his pink shirt, and continued, "To heighten the thrill of the adventure, we've also designed some elaborate little tricks aboard the vessel." As he snapped his fingers, the swimming pool began to bubble vigorously. Then, a patch of crimson water, resembling blood, erupted from the azure pool, creating a scene of profound eeriness.