"Cough, cough! By the way, what's going on with your Sea Wolf?"
Chu Xiaoxiao set aside her conflicted feelings about "Aunt Shu Yun," coughed twice, then looked over the Sea Wolf they were standing on and asked, puzzled.
At the moment, the fishing boat Sea Wolf had little more than its hull and sails left. It looked strangely bare.
Nie Yun looked a little embarrassed. He coughed twice and said, "Cough, cough. Well, lately I've felt like the Sea Wolf's gotten a little fat, so I decided to put her on a diet!"
Chu Xiaoxiao: "..."
Could he come up with a more ridiculous excuse?
Nie Yun couldn't help it, of course. He'd just tested it that morning: a fishing boat made entirely of alloy really would sink...
In the end, he could only make a stripped-down version, which was what the Sea Wolf looked like now.
Nie Yun glanced around and changed the subject. "You've really gone all out. This is almost like a national leader's motorcade!"
Since Chu Xiaoxiao insisted on coming in person to hand over the goods to Nie Yun today, Chu Feng, worried she might run into trouble again, had assigned twice the usual number of people to protect her.
There were eight bodyguards around them, spread across three boats and surrounding the pair. The nearest one, a female bodyguard, stood not far away. Their conversation carried clearly to her ears, and she kept casting strange looks at Nie Yun.
However you looked at it, a rich young lady like Chu Xiaoxiao would have no reason to associate with someone like Nie Yun.
This shabby fishing boat was proof enough!
"I can't help it. My mom doesn't feel safe letting me come out alone," Chu Xiaoxiao said, a little helplessly. She'd never liked making such a spectacle.
"Yeah, that makes sense. By the way, do you know who the people who kidnapped you were?" Nie Yun asked.
"We're still not sure, but the mastermind was most likely someone from the Riyao Group... Never mind, why am I telling you all this?" Chu Xiaoxiao stopped herself halfway through.
She didn't want Nie Yun getting caught up in a power struggle between people at their level.
"The Riyao Group!" Nie Yun silently memorized the name and didn't ask any more questions.
"Come on, let's go take a look at your ship and cargo!"
After saying that, Chu Xiaoxiao led Nie Yun aboard the cargo ship.
As soon as they got on board, a middle-aged man in a suit hurried over and bowed respectfully to Chu Xiaoxiao. "Miss!"
"Mm. Manager Wu, introduce his new ship to Captain Nie," Chu Xiaoxiao said, pointing at Nie Yun.
Manager Wu saw how young Nie Yun was, and what he was wearing... Uh, it certainly had character!
A dusty gray tank top, jeans rolled up to the knees, and skin tanned all over. Anyone who didn't know better would have taken him for a fisherman. Even his ride was a strangely shaped fishing boat!
Was he cosplaying or something?!
"Damn, these rich kids sure know how to have fun," Manager Wu cursed inwardly, while keeping a flawless professional smile on his face.
"Captain Nie... hello!" After thinking it over, Manager Wu settled on calling him Captain Nie.
When Nie Yun heard both Chu Xiaoxiao and Manager Wu calling him Captain Nie, his whole body felt as though he'd eaten a ginseng fruit. Every pore tingled with pleasure.
"Hello, hello!" Nie Yun gave Manager Wu his brightest smile, leaving the latter somewhat flattered.
"Captain Nie, this cargo ship, the Chengjiang, was launched in 2009. It has a displacement of 2,100 tons, is 96 meters long and 17.55 meters wide, and has a main engine output of 1,427 kilowatts. It uses a hybrid diesel-electric system and has a top speed of 20 knots.
"It's equipped with a hydraulic straight-boom crane with a maximum lifting radius of 15 meters and a lifting capacity of 5 tons. It can carry shipping containers or bulk cargo.
"It also has a large harpoon gun and a net-launching system, allowing it to do some fishing. Overall, it's a multifunctional vessel that can transport cargo and fish.
"The ship's interior is equipped with advanced detection radar and sonar systems, as well as extensive surveillance and communications equipment and automated controls. As a result, a standard crew of just ten can handle all the ship's operations.
"It was designed for rivers and coastal waters in Rabbit Country. However, as long as the weather isn't too rough, it can also operate offshore. Still, for safety reasons, we don't recommend doing so.
"Although it's a secondhand ship, the previous owner's company was poorly managed, and the ship didn't travel many miles, so it still has plenty of useful life left."
As Manager Wu explained, Nie Yun gained a general understanding of his new ship.
"Mm, this ship's great!" Nie Yun nodded in satisfaction.
The ship was built entirely of steel. The Mechanical Insect would have plenty to keep them busy if they modified it.
Manager Wu muttered to himself, "Of course it's great. Even secondhand, a ship like this would cost at least fifteen million. I wonder what kind of relationship the young lady has with this young man. She sold it to him for less than ten million!"
Manager Wu then took Nie Yun around to see the ship's various cabins and introduced the equipment and its functions.
"Great. Since Captain Nie has no complaints about the Chengjiang, let's go ahead and sign the sales contract," Manager Wu said with a smile.
Nie Yun had no objections. He signed his dog-scratch of a signature on a stack of documents, and while Manager Wu's eye twitched, Nie Yun became the Chengjiang's actual owner.
Seeing Nie Yun beaming, Chu Xiaoxiao was in a good mood too. She smiled and said, "Next, let's go to the cargo hold and check out the things you asked for!"
The group headed to the hold below the deck.
It was already packed full. Aside from some equipment and machinery, most of the space was taken up by scrap metal and oil drums.
"Over there are the fuel and scrap metal you wanted: fifty tons of diesel and thirty tons of scrap. Over here are a solar generator, a diesel generator, and a wind turbine, one of each," Chu Xiaoxiao said.
"Mm-hm!" Nie Yun looked happily at his cargo, then scanned it and felt as though something was missing.
"My water... I mean, where are my robots?" Nie Yun asked, looking around in confusion.
"They're over there. See?" Chu Xiaoxiao said smugly, pointing beside the solar panels.
"Where? I don't see them," Nie Yun said. He looked from left to right, then from right to left, several times, but still couldn't spot them.
"Look down!"
"Hm?" Nie Yun paused, then looked down. Oh! They really were there!
They were a pair of humanoid robots, with sleek, streamlined aluminum-alloy shells, black, white, and red paint, and adorable big eyes. On either side of their heads were receiver antennas that were broad at the bottom and pointed at the top.
They looked pretty cute. But could someone explain... why they were so tiny?!
Had anyone ever seen a sailor just twenty centimeters tall? Huh?!
And even more baffling, they really did come as a pair!
One wore a little tank top and jeans with the legs rolled up, looking a bit like Nie Yun. The other wore a pink dress and was clearly the female version of the robot.
Did they really have to match?!
"Could... could you explain? Why are these robots miniature, and why are they dressed as a couple?" Nie Yun asked, his eye twitching as he looked at Chu Xiaoxiao.
Before you continue