The Scrapped Sea Wolf

Nanwan Pier, a small dock in Haiying Town, a coastal town in the southeast of the Rabbit Country.

Aside from the occasional medium-sized cargo ship passing through, the pier is mostly occupied by fishing boats. Haiying Town has a thriving fishing industry, and many of the townspeople are fishermen.

However, most people's fishing boats are medium-sized. Single-operator fishing boats like the one Nie Yun uses are becoming increasingly rare. Industrialization has brought about a cluster effect, and the catch efficiency and profits of large and medium-sized fishing boats are countless times higher than those of small boats like Nie Yun's.

In fact, given Nie Yun's excellent fishing experience and skills, many fishing boat owners have extended olive branches to him. However, Nie Yun cannot bear to part with his Sea Wolf, so he has always lived a precarious, hand-to-mouth life as a lone wolf.

The sun slants low, and as dusk approaches, fishing boats return to the pier in twos and threes to anchor, the fishermen laughing loudly as they discuss the day's haul.

On the pier, amidst a crowd of fishy-smelling fishermen, a beautiful young girl in a white dress stands perfectly still, gazing out at the distant sea like a tranquil statue of a woman waiting for her husband.

The sea breeze lifts the girl's white skirt and the strands of hair on her forehead, revealing an exquisite face. Her quiet temperament makes her look completely out of place among the mud-caked fishermen, and the surrounding men instinctively keep their distance, as if afraid to ruin such a peaceful and beautiful scene.

Not far away, a few younger boys shyly steal glances at the girl, but after hesitating repeatedly, none have the courage to approach her. The two sides seem to be from different worlds, within sight but out of reach.

"Oh, look! It's the Sea Wolf! Something's wrong!" A fisherman's grating voice shouts, breaking everyone's immersion in the scene. The crowd glares at him in annoyance before looking in the direction he is pointing.

The incredibly dilapidated little fishing boat is trailing black smoke from its stern. Its sails are already lowered, and it is moving at a snail's pace. A figure on board is constantly bailing out water; it is clear the boat is leaking.

This is indeed Nie Yun's Sea Wolf. After more than two hours of continuous emergency navigation, and with his fuel exhausted, he has finally approached Nanwan Pier.

A medium-sized fishing boat happens to be passing by. As it nears the Sea Wolf, a mocking laugh rings out from above: "Oh, look, isn't it our 'Captain' Nie Yun? Tsk tsk! Did you run into pirates, or did you hook a big fish? Hahaha!"

Nie Yun looks up to see a sailor with a black headscarf and a dark complexion looking down at his Sea Wolf and laughing heartily.

"Baldy, stop with the snide remarks and help me out!" Nie Yun rolls his eyes and shouts.

This guy is Liu Xiaoniu. He is two years older than Nie Yun. Because he suffered from a strange illness as a child, he went bald in his early teens, earning him the nickname "Baldy"—a nickname, of course, that Nie Yun gave him when they were kids.

However, although the two have been rivals since childhood, they can also be considered best friends. Their bond has been tested for over a decade and is incredibly solid.

Don't let his mocking fool you; the moment Nie Yun finishes speaking, Baldy tosses down a mooring line, clearly having been prepared to help all along. Nie Yun catches the line and begins tying it to the bow.

"Thump!" "Ouch!" Baldy is still craning his neck to make fun of Nie Yun when a sharp rap on the head descends from above. Then, a deep, gruff voice booms from behind him.

"You brat, get down there and help already!"

A bearded, middle-aged face appears, and the man, puffing on a pipe, shouts down at Nie Yun: "Kid, are you alright?"

"Uncle Liu, I'm fine, not even a scratch!" Nie Yun says with a grin.

This is Liu Xiaoniu's father. He watched Nie Yun grow up and was a sworn brother to Nie Yun's father. He has always taken good care of Nie Yun, often helping him out when he couldn't afford a meal.

Baldy jumps onto Nie Yun's boat, looking reluctant, but he works hard to help bail out the water.

With the help of the Liu father and son, it still takes over ten minutes to bring the nearly sunken Sea Wolf to the dock. As soon as they land, Uncle Liu runs onto the boat to inspect the Sea Wolf, then frowns and asks: "Kid, what happened? How did such a big hole get here, and what's with your clothes?"

Nie Yun's tank top is shredded in the front and back, essentially a rag, but he doesn't look injured, which is quite strange.

"Eh, I don't know if it was a plane or a UFO, but someone was throwing trash from the sky, and this hole is what I got hit with! My clothes got torn when I was trying to fix the boat." Nie Yun doesn't know how to explain being hit by a meteor and coming out unscathed, so he just makes up a random excuse.

"Haha! You're so unlucky! You get hit by something falling from the sky just by going out on a boat. Did you pee into the sea or something? That's so cursed! Haha... ouch!" Baldy gets another rap on the head the moment he finishes speaking and dares not make another sound.

After disciplining his son, Uncle Liu circles the large hole twice, then frowns: "It hit right at the keel. This is going to be trouble!"

Nie Yun asks nervously: "Is it very bad? How much will it cost to fix?"

Ever since his father passed away, the Sea Wolf has been his lifeline. Hearing Uncle Liu's words, his heart immediately jumps into his throat.

Uncle Liu shakes his head: "It's not about the money. The keel has been pierced; even if you patch it, the boat's structure and stability will be compromised, and it will still leak. Unless you replace the entire keel, but that would mean dismantling the entire main body of the boat. The cost would be higher than building a new one.

In other words, the Sea Wolf is likely a total loss!"

When Nie Yun hears this, his brain goes blank, and the only thing echoing in his ears is "total loss."

He lowers his head, saying nothing, his eyes turning slightly red. Looking at the large hole in the Sea Wolf, the memories of the past dozen years flash through his mind.

The Sea Wolf is the tool he relies on for survival, his home, and his brother. And now... it's a total loss?!

Seeing this, Baldy falls silent. He looks at Nie Yun and wants to say something, but is held back by Uncle Liu.

"Kid, maybe it's for the best. I've told you before, the Sea Wolf is way past its prime. It's dangerous to take it out to sea like this. Even without today's incident, it wouldn't have lasted another two years!

Give up on the Sea Wolf and come work on my boat! Your old man told me to take good care of you before he left, but you're just too stubborn and insisted on keeping this boat. Now, just pack up and come with me! From now on, my place is your home!" Uncle Liu takes a deep puff of his pipe, exhales a ring of smoke, and looks at Nie Yun.

Nie Yun says nothing, just stares blankly at the Sea Wolf. After a long while, he says in a hoarse voice: "Thank you, Uncle Liu, but I want to stay with the Sea Wolf tonight."

Uncle Liu nods and walks away. Baldy moves his lips, but in the end, he can only sigh, pat Nie Yun on the shoulder, and follow his father.

Nie Yun slowly sits on the edge of the boat, his mind in a state of chaos. A flood of thoughts rushes in—memories of his father, memories of the Sea Wolf...