Kenji tugged at it, but it didn’t move. The chain was old, encrusted with salt and rust. “This isn’t just debris,” one man said. “Someone buried it here.” Kenji’s pulse quickened. He felt like he was standing on the edge of something important—something forgotten. “Help me dig,” he said quietly. “We’re not leaving until we find out what this is.”
They dug for nearly an hour, their hands raw from the cold. Beneath the barnacles and rust, they uncovered what looked like a hinge—an actual hinge, heavy and mechanical. Kenji leaned closer, brushing away the sand with trembling hands. “It’s a container,” he whispered. The others exchanged glances, realizing they might have stumbled upon something far greater than they expected.
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