The New Sea Wolf

"Nie Yun, could you try to have a little ambition? Even if you just put that ten million in the bank and live off the interest, you could eat beef noodles every day!" Chu Xiaoxiao was clearly exasperated with him.

"Fine, then I'll put it in the bank!" Nie Yun immediately agreed to that investment plan.

"Beep, beep!" The call ended on the other end.

Ten minutes later...

"Ahem, Xiaoxiao, don't be mad. I was just joking earlier." Nie Yun smiled ingratiatingly. He couldn't help it—he hadn't gotten the money yet. If she got angry and sent him several million servings of beef noodles, who could he complain to?

"Hmph!" She clearly hadn't calmed down yet.

"By the way, Xiaoxiao, if I wanted to use the money to buy a large fishing boat..."

"Beep, beep!"

Nie Yun stared at the phone that had been hung up on him again, a series of black lines appearing across his forehead. What was wrong with buying a fishing boat? It wasn't as if he wanted to buy a pirate ship!

But since the money was in her hands, he had to put up with it.

Nie Yun had considered that although he'd found a large ship, if he remodeled the Sea Wolf to match its design, he'd probably be wanted all over the world the very next day. The charge would be arms smuggling!

Besides, once it was built, it still wouldn't have a ship's license. It would be like an unregistered vehicle, so that wouldn't work either!

A ship's license was like a car's registration. If you didn't have one and got caught, it wasn't as simple as paying a fine. Having the ship impounded would be getting off lightly.

Could he really say, "Oh, I'm sorry, Officer. I was in a hurry when I left home today and forgot my ship's license!"

In short, without a ship's license, he couldn't even dock at a pier!

After thinking it over, the most convenient option was to buy a large ship that could withstand inspections!

Ten minutes later...

"Um, Xiaoxiao, if I wanted to buy a ship, do you have any suggestions?" Nie Yun asked cautiously. Then he relaxed a little when the call didn't get cut off.

"Mm! What kind of ship are you planning to buy?" Chu Xiaoxiao asked, holding back a laugh and deliberately putting on an angry tone.

"I'll leave it to you. Whatever you say we should buy, that's what we'll buy!" Nie Yun was finally catching on.

"Mm! Tell me exactly what you're looking for." Chu Xiaoxiao finally let him off the hook.

"Well, ideally, it'd be a secondhand, all-steel ship of at least a thousand tons. I know a friend—oh, right, the one who builds aircraft carriers. He can renovate and refit it for me at a very low price.

"And it'd be best if it were fairly advanced, with plenty of electronic equipment. Global positioning, sonar, radar, seawater purification—don't hold back, install all of it. I don't have any other requirements."

In the end, Nie Yun decided to keep up with the times and stride boldly toward electrification!

"Mm! I've made a note of it. I'll ask around for you. But operating a large ship requires quite a few crew members. Our group knows a lot of headhunting companies. Would you like me to find some sailors for you?"

"Ahem, there's no need for that. I know plenty of sailors, so you don't have to go to the trouble," Nie Yun said hurriedly. As if he were joking—there were too many secrets aboard the Sea Wolf. How could he let other people on board?

"All right, then. But I've helped you with so much. How are you going to thank me?" Chu Xiaoxiao asked, sounding a little shy.

"I'll sell that silver coin, and you can have whatever's left after I buy the ship!" Nie Yun said generously, waving a hand.

"Beep, beep!"

Nie Yun: "..."

What did I say wrong this time?

Mechanical Insect: "..." (What a moron of a master!)

At midnight on the second day after Nie Yun decided to buy a ship, in the South Nanhai Nanao Sea Area.

"Gurgle, gurgle!" Bubbles welled up across the calm sea. The shadow beneath the surface grew larger and larger, as if some monstrous beast from the depths were about to burst through the waves!

Not far away, on the bare Sea Wolf, Nie Yun gripped his fishing rod with both hands. The fishing line was rapidly reeling itself in.

"Come on out! The new Sea Wolf!" Nie Yun yanked the rod and roared.

"Rumble!" A bow covered in seaweed broke through the surface. A colossal ship, bearing the marks of centuries, had returned to the world!

"Boom!" The bow slammed down onto the sea, sending up waves several meters high and stirring up a vast stretch of choppy water. The Sea Wolf rocked beneath Nie Yun's feet.

"Hahahaha! Hahahaha! Hoohoo!" Nie Yun clung tightly to the bow, soaked to the skin, and laughed and howled wildly amid the waves.

He loved this feeling!

The sea gradually settled. Nie Yun piloted the Sea Wolf alongside the new Sea Wolf, which was still draining water.

The battered warship he'd named the new Sea Wolf was about a hundred meters long, over twenty meters high, and more than ten meters wide. Beside it, the Sea Wolf looked like a baby next to a strongman.

The several gaping holes in the ship had now been patched by the Mechanical Insects. The silvery-white patches stood out like bandages!

There were twenty-five gun ports on each side, arranged in two levels. The Mechanical Insects had sealed them all, and a little seawater was still being pumped out here and there.

Naturally, Nie Yun hadn't caught this warship with his fishing rod. The method was actually simple: the Mechanical Insects dug away the silt, then made countless tiny balloons to pump out the water inside the hull. The ship floated up on its own.

Before that, though, the Mechanical Insects had reinforced the hull. Otherwise, the rotten wood wouldn't have been able to withstand the buoyancy and would have snapped apart. Luckily, there were plenty of shipwrecks on the seafloor, so materials weren't in short supply.

Climbing the rope ladder the Mechanical Insects had put together, Nie Yun boarded the ancient warship.

The various tools formed by the Mechanical Insects were still busy cleaning the ship and repairing and reinforcing the damaged areas. After eating more than fifty cannons, their numbers had grown considerably. There were enough of them now to fill the Sea Wolf, but spread across the new Sea Wolf, they still seemed rather sparse.

"There aren't enough of you yet, and you need more strength!" Nie Yun watched the Mechanical Insects working tirelessly, wearing the expression of a capitalist.

Then the Mechanical Insects dismantled the Sea Wolf and joined the army repairing the new Sea Wolf.

Looking at the Sea Wolf, now completely gone from the surface of the sea, Nie Yun made an awkward cross over his chest.

"Brother, from now on, our children will be with you! The Sea Wolf and the new Sea Wolf have become one, inseparable. I bestow upon you the name—the Sea Wolf!"

Mechanical Insect: "..." (What's the difference?!)

The Mechanical Insects, who had been working at full tilt, seemed to freeze for a moment, then resumed their work.

From now on, whenever Nie Yun needed it, the Mechanical Insects could quickly reassemble into a complete Sea Wolf. The all-alloy fishing boat, the Sea Wolf, had in a sense become a reality! Of course, that was assuming it didn't sink...

But men did like things big, didn't they!

Nie Yun happily went to inspect his new ride, while the Mechanical Insects diligently worked the sails and headed farther out to sea...