Outside the mouth of the Yangtze River, dark clouds hung low, and the sea breeze carried a salty smell, rolled up gray-white foam, and slapped the steel hull of the archaeological work ship over and over again. There were drops of water on Zhang Wei's bronze face, and he couldn't tell whether it was sea water or sweat. He wiped his face roughly, pushed his diving goggles to his forehead, and breathed heavily. Another underwater exploration failed. He tried in vain to wring out the hem of his wetsuit, and turbid water droplets fell on the deck along with his movements, spreading dark water stains.
