Chapter 826 - 370: The Secret on the Reverse Side of the Gold Coin!

Chapter 826: Chapter 370: The Secret on the Reverse Side of the Gold Coin!

[Bahamas Time, 5:30 PM, Polaris Deck]

The sun set in the west, bathing Nassau Port in a warm golden glow.

The excitement of discovering the treasure still lingered on the deck of the Polaris, with Riven still like a child, lovingly playing with the Royal Gold Coin that carried three hundred years of history.

Lin Yu’an had already closed today’s live stream, which over the past few hours had witnessed this adventure together with hundreds of thousands of viewers, its heat had already topped the charts.

"The Turtle’s Reward," "1715 Fleet Royal Gold Coin," and other phrases were rapidly trending on social networks.

The last gust of sea breeze carried away the day’s heat, and Captain Mike came out of the cabin with three bottles of chilled Kalik beer, the Bahamian local brew, handing them to Lin Yu’an and Riven.

"To the two great adventurers," he raised the beer bottle, wearing a relaxed smile, "Let’s celebrate our perfect first day in Nassau. And our upcoming next stop."

His gaze fell on the large nautical map spread out on the teak dining table, his finger resting on the name that all sailors yearn for—Havana.

The atmosphere instantly shifted from the joy of discovering treasure to a serious discussion about the future voyage.

"Cuba..." Mike took a big sip of beer, his brow furrowing again, "Lin, Riven, this plan is crazy, I love it. But we have to face the real problem."

He looked at Lin Yu’an, then at his daughter, speaking deliberately, "We are United States citizens, sailing under the American flag."

"If we travel to Cuba for tourism without special permission from the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), it is illegal."

"Ordinary tourists might be able to skirt the rules, blending in with tour groups departing from Mexico or Canada."

"But we can’t, we’re sailing on our own ship, too conspicuous, and..." He pointed at the now closed live streaming equipment.

"Every move we make is under the spotlight. Once OFAC deems it an ’illegal transaction’ or ’illegal tourism’, the consequences will be very severe."

Mike’s words were not ignorant but rather filled with precise anticipation of legal risks and a professional attitude of responsibility to the team.

The atmosphere on the deck, due to this insurmountable legal obstacle, suddenly became somewhat heavy. The grand plan that was just decided seemed to be shelved before it even began.

Riven, who had been silently playing with the coin, suddenly burst out laughing, "Dad, are you... overthinking things?"

Mike looked at her confused.

Riven calmly placed the immensely valuable coin down, then pulled a document from her sailing bag.

It was a printed official OFAC regulation file, with several paragraphs marked clearly with yellow highlighter.

"OFAC does indeed prohibit travel to Cuba for tourism." She first confirmed Mike’s worry, then shifted gears.

"But, the regulations clearly list 12 travel categories that can obtain a general license without prior application."

"Dad, do you remember Aunt Margaret?"

"Hmm?" Mike was a little puzzled.

"Margaret?" Mike paused, seeming to recall a distant name.

"You mean... the cousin who fell out with the family and eloped to Cuba for a poor artist?"

"Yes, that’s her! Margaret Montgomery. But it seems now, her brave decision back then has become our perfect pass today!"

"Among OFAC’s 12 clearly permitted travel categories, the first one, and the highest priority one, is ’family visit’."

"We don’t need to prepare any complex itineraries supporting the Cuban people, nor need to keep every receipt proving we’re not on a leisure trip."

"We just need a reason—we’re going to Havana to visit our lonely, years unvisited, poor American cousin."

She picked up the satellite phone, dialed a number directly. The phone rang a few times and was answered, Riven instantly began speaking fluent Spanish:

"Aunt Margaret! How are you? It’s me, Riven!"

A surprised cheer in Spanish echoed from the other end. Riven enthusiastically chatted for a few minutes, discussing her voyage and being close to her.

After hanging up, Riven looked at Mike and Lin Yu’an, "Done. I’ve already arranged with Aunt Margaret, we’re going to visit her."

"She was so excited she almost cried over the phone, saying she hasn’t seen anyone from the Montgomery family for many years."

She spread her hands and showed a mischievous smile, "Who can reject this reason? OFAC? Or the U.S. Customs?"

"I believe no official would dare obstruct such a humanitarian-family reunion occasion."

Mike also recovered from the shock, "My goodness... I almost forgot we have such a relative... Sweetie, when did you think of this plan?"

"When Captain Lin first put the word Cuba on the voyage plan." Riven mischievously winked.

"A good mate should always be prepared for the captain’s wild plans, shouldn’t they?"

"Wait..."

"No, it’s still not right. Sweetie, your plan only solves the ’family visit’ issue for you and me as American citizens."