The Power to Break Shackles

After completing the modification and finalization of the Sea Wolf, Nie Yun saved this warship model into the Mechanical Insect model library. This way, the next time he needed it, a single thought would be enough to make the Mechanical Insects instantly assemble into the Sea Wolf.

Subsequently, he excitedly boarded the modified Sea Wolf for its maiden voyage.

On a night with a bright moon and sparse stars, the strangely shaped silver warship sailed out of the base for the first time, revealing its form beneath the sky.

Nie Yun sat in the captain's chair in the captain's quarters. The front and sides were made of transparent glass, providing an unobstructed view.

Directly in front of him and slightly below, several Xiaohai robots were operating the radar, sonar, and other equipment that Nie Yun had copied from the Chengjiang. Beside him, as per custom, stood a secretary—though now, it was Nie Yun's deputy.

"Sea Wolf! Dead ahead! Full speed ahead!"

The secretary beside him, "Xiaohai," emitted a sweet female voice: "Command confirmed! Sea Wolf! Dead ahead! Full speed ahead!"

Following his command, the three propellers beneath the sea surface began to spin rapidly. The powerful recoil pressed Nie Yun firmly against the back of his seat.

The silver warship carved a slightly curved white trail across the sea surface, charging toward the front left...

"Uh... it seems the center of gravity wasn't adjusted properly!" Nie Yun said, feeling a bit embarrassed as he adjusted to the acceleration.

However, for him and the Sea Wolf, this was just a minor issue. Nie Yun immediately began to adjust the structural layout of the Sea Wolf.

Consequently, in this stretch of sea, a magnificent silver-white warship moved in S-curves and B-curves, leaving behind quite a flamboyant trail of movement.

If a military observer were present, they would likely comment: "Hmm, the evasive maneuvers are very professional!"

It wasn't until half an hour later that Nie Yun managed to get the Sea Wolf to move in a standard straight line.

He wiped away a cold sweat and coughed awkwardly.

"Ahem, these are all minor issues. The path of life has always been winding!"

Sea Wolf: "..." (My inner workings are currently feeling quite twisted as well...)

"Alright, the surface test ends here. Next, let's test the Sea Wolf's deep-sea diving capability. I order: maximum speed, dive!"

"Sea Wolf! Maximum speed, dive!" Xiaohai repeated the captain's order.

The next moment, a large amount of bubbles and spray began to churn around the hull of the Sea Wolf. It gradually sank into the sea, and within a minute, it had vanished from the surface, leaving only a shallow wake behind.

"Diving depth: 100 meters!"

"Diving depth: 300 meters!"

"Diving depth: 800 meters!"

As Xiaohai continuously reported the diving depth, the scenery before Nie Yun's eyes also constantly changed.

With a thought, the surroundings shifted. The ceiling and surrounding bulkheads suddenly became transparent, enveloping the captain's quarters like a glass dome.

Nie Yun saw silver moonlight projecting onto the tranquil seabed, appearing like light refracted and analyzed through a spectrum, colorful and magnificent.

For a moment, he was actually stunned by the sight.

Although he had grown up with the ocean as his companion, this was his first time diving to such a deep area, and his first time seeing the other side of the ocean—or rather, this was the true ocean.

The bow of the ship turned on two spotlights, casting light onto the colorful coral reefs on the seabed and creating all sorts of enchanting scenes.

Schools of fish of various colors swam between the corals or circled the Sea Wolf out of curiosity.

This place was filled with the colors of life, a miracle of life that ordinary people could never experience firsthand.

As Nie Yun immersed himself in this bizarre and colorful world, a sentence suddenly surfaced in his mind.

"Human progress is too slow!"

--Jules Verne, from Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea

This was one of the few books Nie Yun had read, and it was also his favorite.

What left the deepest impression on him was the lonely yet proud figure in the book.

Only by being in this environment now could he truly understand the urgency and longing contained in that sentence. Yes, human progress is truly too slow!

Even now, space and the ocean remain virgin territories yet to be conquered.

Fortunately, I possess the Mechanical Insects!

He vaguely sensed that what the Mechanical Insects could bring to him and to humanity might be the very power to break through all these shackles.

"Continue diving! I want to see the Sea Wolf's... no, I want to see where my limits lie!" A hint of longing appeared in Nie Yun's eyes.

"Diving depth: 1000 meters!"

"Diving depth: 1500 meters!"

"Diving depth: 2000 meters!"

It still wasn't enough. Nie Yun could feel that the Mechanical Insects were far from reaching their limit; they could still hold on!

"Diving depth: 7000 meters!"

"Diving depth: 7500 meters!"

"Creak, creak!" It wasn't until the Sea Wolf descended to around 7,500 meters that a sound of twisting steel emanated from the hull.

"Is this as far as we can go for now?" Nie Yun muttered, halting the further descent of the Sea Wolf.

The water pressure here was already terrifying; at this moment, a force of ten thousand tons was acting upon the Sea Wolf, which was about as deep as the world's most advanced submersibles could reach.

That the Sea Wolf could descend to this depth with such a thin hull was already a miracle of black technology.

"Sooner or later, I will conquer you!" A sharp glint flashed in Nie Yun's eyes.

"Sea Wolf! Return to base!"

"Yes, Captain! Sea Wolf! Returning to base!"