"This won't be a problem."
Lu Ao stared at the silt blanketing the seabed ahead. "Let's collect some samples first."
"Right. We can analyze the composition of this silt when we get back. Maybe we'll find clues about the wreck."
The operator nodded and manipulated the submersible, scooping up some of the silt and seawater below and depositing them into the sample container.
Once he had finished, Lu Ao said, "Move five meters southwest and take another sample."
Without asking any questions, the operator followed his instructions, moving southwest and collecting another sample.
Lu Ao said, "Another five meters southwest."
"Yes."
"Three meters east."
"Yes."
"One more meter east."
"Yes."
The archaeologist listened to Lu Ao's instructions in complete confusion. "What are we doing?"
"I think I can see the outline of a shipwreck, if there really is one here." Lu Ao narrowed his eyes. "One meter south."
The operator manipulated the mechanical arm and collected another sample.
This time, when the mechanical arm extended downward, it clearly struck something hard. Faint resistance traveled back through it, and the computer immediately processed the relevant data, concluding there was an eighty percent chance that the object it had touched was wood.
The operator perked up. He had not expected there to really be something here.
Lu Ao said, "Do we have any other lights? Turn on a brighter one and take a look."
"Yes! Please wait."
No longer caring about conserving energy, the operator switched on the main light, illuminating the seafloor as brightly as day.
Before their eyes, a distinctly undulating shape made it vaguely apparent that something enormous was buried beneath it. It might have been a shipwreck, or perhaps whale bones, but it was definitely not a rock formation on the seabed.
It was too large, too distinctive,