Crew

Ye Yuan looked through the various items in the shop. When he saw the robots, a bold idea came to him.

Didn't I need more hands? Could robots serve as crew members? That would ensure confidentiality, and they'd be absolutely loyal to me.

Whether it would work or not, he would only know after exchanging one. He spent 5,000 points and chose to redeem it.

A robot with an entirely metal shell appeared before him. The moment Ye Yuan saw it, his heart went cold.

Wasn't it supposed to be highly realistic? What kind of realism was this?

Then the robot spoke in its distinctive mechanical voice. "Robot initialization. Please assign a name, Master."

Ye Yuan casually said, "Ding Yi."

"Initialization complete. Network detected. Connect to network?"

"Connect."

"Connection successful. Reading data from this planet. Read successful. Loading..."

"Please select Ding Yi's simulated form: human, animal, bird, or other."

"Human."

As the questions continued, a muscular man of around thirty eventually appeared before Ye Yuan.

"Ding Yi, what can you do?"

"As long as Master commands it, I can learn everything that can be learned online."

"Good. Don't call me Master from now on. Call me Boss," Ye Yuan instructed Ding Yi.

"Understood."

"You don't have an ID card. That could be a problem."

Ye Yuan suddenly remembered a very serious issue.

"Boss can use points in the system to exchange for an identity. Identities exchanged through the system genuinely exist," Ding Yi replied in a very human-like manner.

"The system can do that too?"

Ye Yuan opened the shop and found an identity exchange button behind the robot listing. The required points were unspecified, as different technological civilizations required different amounts.

That was the system's explanation.

He directly tapped "Exchange."

An ID card appeared in Ye Yuan's hand. Exchanging for it had cost 500 points.

The name on the ID card was Ding Yi. (Don't ask how the system managed that. It was simply that magical.)

After giving the ID card to Ding Yi, Ye Yuan checked his points. He had originally wanted to exchange for another robot, but discovered he no longer had enough points. By then, the yacht was already far from shore, and Ye Yuan prepared to dive in and earn some points.

At that moment, Ding Yi walked over. "Boss, I need to connect to the network for an hour to conduct an in-depth study of this world."

"Sure. Connect to my phone's network. I'll go take a look underwater, and you can stay on the boat and study."

"Understood, Boss."

Holding Ye Yuan's phone, Ding Yi went into the cabin to study.

Ye Yuan descended to the seabed. The water here was already two hundred meters deep, and the seafloor teemed with all kinds of fish. After over an hour of catching them, he earned 1,000 points. When he returned to the boat, he exchanged for another robot and named him Ding Er.

Ding Er looked slightly different but was very similar to Ding Yi. That was deliberate on Ye Yuan's part; he would tell outsiders that the two were biological brothers.

After explaining their relationship to both of them, Ye Yuan had Ding Yi pilot the boat and Ding Er cook. He himself went straight to the deck to cultivate the Water Control Art. He had a feeling that his Water Control Art was about to make a breakthrough.

As the sky gradually darkened, they arrived at Fishing Bay Island. Ye Yuan had Ding Yi dock the boat at the pier.

Many villagers saw that Ye Yuan had brought back such a luxury yacht and came over to watch. A few curious people even wandered around the boat. When Ye Yuan spotted Ye Zhuang among them, an idea suddenly occurred to him.

Ye Zhuang was honest and knew how to repay kindness. He had no relatives and few friends, making him a perfect fit to work aboard Ye Yuan's boat.

A typical luxury yacht required more than a dozen staff members. Ye Yuan did not need that many, but Ding Yi, Ding Er, and himself were still a little short-handed. He would not be exchanging for robots in bulk anytime soon, so he could only find trustworthy people around him to join the crew.

Ye Yuan brought Ye Zhuang aboard and spoke with him briefly. He offered him a monthly salary of 8,000 yuan, with additional allowances for voyages into the open sea and monthly bonuses depending on the circumstances. The exact amount would depend on their income.

Ye Zhuang was delighted. After all, he only earned around 4,000 yuan a month from fishing, and he worried every day about whether he would catch enough fish. Now, he had a fixed income.

Ye Yuan's parents also arrived at the pier then. Someone from the village had gone to the Ye family home and told Father Ye that his son had brought back a luxury yacht, so both parents hurried over.

Ye Yuan gave Ding Yi and Ding Er some instructions. The two of them would stay aboard the boat that night, and Ye Zhuang saw this and wanted to go home to fetch his luggage as well.

Ye Yuan quickly stopped him and told him he could stay at home. Ye Yuan would notify him whenever they needed to head out to sea. Ye Zhuang agreed; being on land was more comfortable than being on a boat.

Ye Yuan showed his parents around the yacht and told them about his trip to Shangjing to gamble on stones. They did not believe him at first, so Ye Yuan had no choice but to call Eldest Brother. Only after Eldest Brother explained it to them did they believe it.

Eldest Brother, Zhao Chuan, had once spent an entire summer vacation at Ye Yuan's home without returning to his own. Ye Yuan's parents knew that Zhao Chuan's family ran a major business in Shangjing. His monthly living expenses alone amounted to tens of thousands of yuan, enough for a family in their small fishing village to live on for a year. That was why Zhao Chuan's words were more convincing than Ye Yuan's.

After returning home, Father Ye was still muttering, "Good heavens... What kind of stone sold for twenty million? And you, honestly, he's your brother. Selling it to him for such a high price—isn't that taking advantage of him?"

Ye Yuan laughed loudly at his father. "Believe it or not, he even thanked me for selling it to him at that price. If you don't believe me, call and ask him."

Father Ye shot Ye Yuan an irritated glare before speaking. "What are your plans for the future? Even if you become a fisherman, you can't spend all 365 days of the year at sea, can you? You need a home on land too. Now that you can earn money, your mother and I can finally stop worrying. But have you thought about where you want to buy a house?"

Ye Yuan had actually already formed a plan. Before, he had lacked the capital, but now that he had funds, he could begin putting it into action.

He first asked his father many questions about Fishing Bay Island. Father Ye knew some of the answers but not others, so he simply invited the village chief to their home. He had Mother Ye prepare several dishes, and the group chatted while they ate.

Ye Yuan wanted to lease Fishing Bay Island. He had already decided on it while returning home.

The village chief was delighted to hear that Ye Yuan had such an idea. Everyone had lived on that island for generations. Although they were about to relocate, the thought of handing the island over to outsiders still made him uncomfortable.

He was delighted that such a capable young man had emerged from their village and could lease the island. He immediately agreed to contact the county and find out the specifics for Ye Yuan.

Several island villages in Pinghai County were directly administered by the county. The village chief could speak directly with the county magistrate, so regardless of the hour, he immediately called the deputy county magistrate in charge of investment promotion.

He asked about the situation briefly. The call was on speakerphone, and Ye Yuan also raised some questions. After their simple discussion, Ye Yuan became even more confident that he could secure Fishing Bay Island.

Among the villages being relocated, Fishing Bay Island was the one farthest from the mainland. Its area was not particularly large, and developing tourism there was unrealistic. So far, the county had not received a single bid from any company.

Ye Yuan's purpose in leasing Fishing Bay Island was to develop aquaculture. He wanted to lease Fishing Bay Island and the surrounding waters to establish his own marine aquaculture farm.

After hearing this, the deputy county magistrate immediately gave his approval, saying there was no problem. He could even help Ye Yuan apply to the city for subsidies.

In recent years, offshore fisheries had been depleted, and many coastal cities faced numerous problems. Blue Island City had been promoting marine aquaculture for years, so it also had a comprehensive subsidy program in place.

PS: Thanks to 08a for the reward, and thanks to everyone who voted with recommendation tickets.