Nie Yun fiddled with the satellite phone. There was rarely any signal out at sea, and he didn't have many friends, so he didn't even own a cell phone.
It had to be said: Nie Yun had always been like a fisherman living in the 1970s, practically cut off from the rest of the world. Fishermen as "simple" as him belonged in a museum!
"This thing's so intricate, and it's got plenty of nonmetal parts. If I eat it, will I still be able to change back?" Nie Yun stared at the satellite phone, conflicted. He'd heard these things cost ten or twenty thousand yuan apiece, so he had to be cautious—no, extremely careful!
In the end, though, Nie Yun decided to eat it!
Three minutes later, Nie Yun was holding a gleaming silver satellite phone. "Looks like this thing doesn't need charging? I just have to let the Mechanical Insects sunbathe every day? Come to think of it, I'm not just a firearms expert now—I could probably pass myself off as an electronics and machinery expert too, right?"
Through his connection with the Mechanical Insects, he was astonished to discover that he understood the satellite phone's entire structure. His brain had already moved beyond the realm of ordinary people; it could probably give a computer a run for its money!
"I didn't even finish elementary school, and I'm getting less and less human by the day!" Nie Yun remarked smugly.
Just then, the phone suddenly rang, startling Nie Yun. He checked who was calling, then answered with practiced ease.
"Hello! Nie Yun?" It was Chu Xiaoxiao's voice.
"Huh! Why is it you?" Nie Yun asked in surprise.
"Dummy, I saved your number! Also, you're almost out of credit, so I topped up this number with ten thousand yuan. You won't have to worry about running out of credit for a year!" Chu Xiaoxiao said generously.
Ten thousand?! What a spendthrift!
If Chu Xiaoxiao knew what he was thinking, she'd probably chase him down the street with a kitchen knife.
"Oh, thanks. Actually, I don't usually use a phone..." Nie Yun was cut off before he could finish.
"Are you selling that ancient coin or not?"
"Selling, selling! Sure, sure. Actually, I think I need to keep in touch with you regularly, so it makes sense to have a phone." Nie Yun wiped away a bead of sweat.
Before Chu Xiaoxiao left, Nie Yun had asked her to help appraise the ancient coin he'd found. If it wasn't worth much, he'd give it to her; if it was valuable, he'd ask her to sell it for him.
His words had naturally earned him an eye roll from Chu Xiaoxiao. Who talked to a girl like that? "If it's not worth much, I'll give it to you"!
"That's more like it. I'm home now. I've also had someone take that silver coin to be appraised. I'll let you know when I hear back. You... where are you right now?"
Nie Yun scratched his head and looked around. A sheen of sweat appeared on his forehead; he'd drifted off without knowing where he was. "Ahem, I'm fishing. Pretty good catch today!"
He made up an excuse.
"Fishing..." Chu Xiaoxiao seemed momentarily at a loss for words.
"Tell me, do you really want to spend your whole life fishing?"
"What's wrong with fishing?" Nie Yun sat at the bow, swinging his feet. He was happy enough to sit there chatting with a beautiful woman.
"Have you never thought about making something of yourself?" Chu Xiaoxiao said, frustrated by his lack of ambition.
"Of course I have! I'm a man with dreams!"
"Oh? What's your dream?"
"Obviously, to become the greatest fisherman in the world!"
"You... Forget it. Do whatever you want! I can't be bothered with you!" Chu Xiaoxiao hung up in a huff.
Nie Yun put the phone away, baffled. He had no idea what had gotten that young lady so worked up.
"City folks are so strange!" Nie Yun turned around and looked behind him. Nearly half the hull was gleaming silver.
"Ah, brother, looks like the antiques route isn't going to work. We'd better keep up with the times and step into the new era!" Nie Yun patted the deck of the Sea Wolf.
"But why is the draft so deep today?" Nie Yun looked down at the sea, which was licking his toes. When he sat at the bow, he didn't usually get to soak his feet like this.
"Holy crap!" It took Nie Yun a moment to realize what was going on: the ship was overloaded!
Indeed, the Sea Wolf had originally been a wooden fishing boat, and its hull design was what it was. Thinking he could turn it into an all-alloy fishing boat was just wishful thinking!
"This... Looks like the Sea Wolf Completion Project has a huge flaw. What am I supposed to do now?" Nie Yun was dumbfounded.
You only realize how little you know when you need to know it! An elementary-school education really was pathetic!
Nie Yun pondered for a long time. First of all, the Mechanical Insects absolutely had to keep expanding their numbers! There was strength in numbers, and there clearly weren't enough of them yet. Their strength wasn't great enough! How else could they work miracles?!
The development center without birth control absolutely couldn't be shaken!
So expansion was the only option. In the end, Nie Yun came up with two plans.
One: Eat other large ships and upgrade them as a whole!
Two: Build a bigger version of the Sea Wolf!
"Brother, tell me: if you were getting a makeover, would you choose a whole new face, or a bigger butt and **?"
"Rustle!" The Mechanical Insects carried on working away, oblivious.
"Hmm, I knew it. Every man likes a bigger size!" Nie Yun nodded knowingly.
Mechanical Insects: "..." (→→)
Half an hour later, Nie Yun, panting with exhaustion, stared at the Sea Wolf, now a lumpy mess, with parts sticking out here and there. The hull was tilted, and one side of the deck was almost touching the sea. It looked like it could capsize at any moment.
"Huff... huff... Damn it! This... this elementary-school education really is useless. Brother, it's not that I won't help you. Some things are just born with a certain size!
My obsession is the root of suffering. Letting go is the only way to be free!" Nie Yun pressed his palms together, like a venerable monk.
And with that, the "Wolverine" Plan was declared bankrupt!
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