Chapter 825 - 369: Sea Turtle Treasure (Part 3)

Chapter 825: Chapter 369: Sea Turtle Treasure (Part 3)

This reason, both romantic and irrefutable, instantly struck the softest part of Riven’s heart.

"But..." Riven wanted to argue, "it’s too valuable..."

"Sometimes partners need gifts too, don’t they?" Lin Yu’an interrupted her, his gaze becoming deep and sincere.

"Captain Mike is right, countless legends of Spanish treasures circulate around these waters."

"I guess, having grown up with these stories, you must also have your own treasure hunting dream, right?"

Riven’s breath caught; she hadn’t expected Lin Yu’an to see through to that little girl fantasy deep inside her heart.

"So," Lin Yu’an continued, "think of it as... a belated birthday gift to help fulfill that dream. Accept it, Captain Riven."

"To me, it’s just a number in a bank account, but it will make you happier, won’t it?"

Riven looked at him, his blue eyes, always flickering with confidence, were now covered with a sparkling layer.

She tightly grasped the coin in her hand, still warm from Lin Yu’an’s touch, her heart filled with mixed emotions.

The value of this coin far surpassed those tens of thousands of US Dollars. It carried her childhood dream and the "gratitude" of the sea turtle.

And it also carried the subtle, yet profoundly gentle kindness of the man in front of her...

"...Thank you, Lin." She could only squeeze out this somewhat choked phrase from her throat at last.

She no longer said silly words about "splitting" or "purchasing," because she knew doing so would insult this sentiment.

She simply resolved in her heart to repay this heavy "favor" in her own way.

And Lin Yu’an, looking at the coin shining in the sunset and the immensely happy Riven beside him, smiled.

To him, the origin of this coin was indeed unimportant; its greatest value was perhaps not those tens of thousands of US Dollars.

But rather the unique encounter it brought to this journey, and the pure, child-like smile it brought to his partner’s face.

Riven held that coin tightly in her palm, as if holding the treasure of her entire childhood.

She calmed her emotions and her face once again bloomed into a brilliant smile, like a child eager to share a secret.

"However... I still can’t believe it..." she murmured and began to tell Lin Yu’an the legendary story of the coin.

"Moreover, the places we explored have been combed through countless times before, yet we could still make such a significant discovery!"

"Lin, do you know? This is not just a coin, this is a legend! A golden dream buried beneath the seas of Florida and the Bahamas for three hundred years!"

Her voice was filled with passionately vibrant energy: "In 1715, Spain had just ended a treasury-exhausting war for succession."

"The new King Philip V urgently needed gold to hold his second wedding and rebuild the nation."

"So, he ordered all the gold and silver treasures accumulated over years in the colonies of the New Continent (modern-day Colombia, Peru, and Mexico) to be shipped back to Spain!"

"It was one of the most luxurious treasure fleets ever, composed of twelve ships!"

She gestured with her fingers in the air, "They were loaded with chests of gold coins, silver ingots, precious jewels! The total value... calculated in today’s terms, might exceed billions of US Dollars!"

[Billions of US Dollars?! My god! A floating gold mine!]

[No wonder it’s called a treasure fleet, this is outrageous!]

[It’s all plundered loot! Key point, plunder! Plunder!]

"The fleet set sail from Havana, Cuba, sailing north along the Florida coastline, hoping to use the power of the Gulf Stream to return to Europe."

Riven’s tone shifted, bringing a hint of dramatic mystery, "But, they encountered the one thing they should never have met."

"A monstrous storm dubbed by historians as the ’hurricane of the century’!"

"On the night of July 30, 1715, the hurricane, with thunderous force, smashed the entire fleet into the Florida coastline."

"Twelve ships, eleven sunk! Countless treasures and lives were swallowed by the raging sea overnight."

"Although the majority of the wrecks were dashed upon Florida’s coastline, some ships were completely torn apart by the hurricane."

"Countless coins might have drifted with the Gulf Stream in these waters for three hundred years, until today..."

She held the coin up to the sunlight, the golden radiance gleaming on it.

"And the royal coin we hold, it is very likely one of the countless lost treasures from that disaster back then!"

"It should have been presented to King Philip V, but instead lay dormant under the sea for over three hundred years, until today, we... guided by a sea turtle, have seen it anew!"

This was her first time truly touching those legendary treasures she had only seen in books and museums.

Having grown up listening to treasure hunting tales from her father and grandfather, it felt as if her most unreachable childhood treasure dream had come true at this moment.

The immense joy of a dream come true made her whole person glow.

This perfect dive concluded with a discovery full of miraculous colors and a fairy tale warmth, a complete full stop.