The World Watched; I Salvaged Scrap

Lin’s fingers stilled. Eight years ago, Lin Haichuan had vanished during a salvage operation in the southeastern trench. No body was recovered. His debts and this ruined boat drove his son out of a marine-engineering laboratory and back onto the deck. Lin sealed his diving mask. “That’s why I keep the extra five.” The sea closed overhead, and the world went quiet. Silver dust drifted through the water. Blue arcs flashed far below. The slab’s edge looked paper-thin, yet hydraulic shears could not bite it. His handheld spectrometer spat nonsense and went black. “Patrol aircraft incoming!” Han shouted through the headset. “Three minutes.”