The Story of a Ship

"Grandpa, what does the number '10' on your chest mean?"

The clear and innocent voice of a child echoed in my ears.

Bo You, the director of the Ring Research Institute, sat on a blue stone in the suburbs. A five or six-year-old boy was pushing a wooden toy boat in a puddle in front of him.

The Bo You looked at the innocent child with kind eyes and said, "This is my name tag from work, and the number '10' is my job title. I am a level 10 employee."

The little boy squatted on the ground, tilted his head, and said, "Level 10, that's a very high level."

Bo You chuckled, "Well, in the world of single digits, it's an unattainable height."

"I know that, I've studied math."

The little boy nodded, then asked, "Grandpa, what brings you here?"

"Me."

The Bo You looked back into the distance and saw a dozen or so members of the Ring Research Institute, dressed in white coats, directing various giant machines to dig something on the surface.

The elderly Bo You laughed and said, "I'm here to find something."

At this very moment.

The little boy's parents were locked in a house some distance away, with guards in white coats standing beside them.

The boy's parents were terrified, because they knew very well that the seemingly kind old man was a brutal thug. Just as the huge white building landed, the old man had signaled his men to kill a Guardian tried to block their way.

The boy's parents had blue devices around their necks, rendering them unable to move or make a sound. They could only anxiously watch their young son talking to the assailant through the window.

"Grandpa, what are you looking for?"

"I heard from my parents that there are some mines underground."

The little boy's attention was still on his toy boat. He squatted on the ground with his back to the ground and asked.

"I'm here to find those minerals; I need them to repair some things."

As the Bo You spoke, he glanced at the Ring Research Institute parked in the distance. From a distance, the building looked the same as before, but upon closer inspection, one could see many subtle blackenings in the details, and many of the white panels covering the building's exterior were peeling or even damaged.

"What can those ores be used to repair?"

As the little boy was talking, he suddenly let out a scream, which startled his parents who were far away.

But actually, it was just that the little boy's toy wooden boat was damaged, the cabin was leaking, and it sank into the puddle.

The Bo You got up, patted the little boy's head, then rolled up his sleeves and pulled the sunken ship out of the puddle.

He pointed to the hole under the boat and laughed, "Now we're facing the same problem: the boat's broken."

"Yours is a toy model."

"And mine is a 'Ship of Theseus'."

The little boy asked, puzzled, "What's the Ship of Theseus?"

"You little rascal, you're curious about everything."

The Bo You chuckled again, "Simply put, it's like a ship that needs constant repairs. Although it will inevitably experience damage, no matter what, it will continue to sail steadily and forever."

"As for the meaning of 'Theseus'?"

Many people have doubts and pondered deeply, trying to find an answer and prove whether this ship is the same ship as before.

"Actually, I, this old man, have already made up my mind: it is that ship, and that will never change!"

A four- or five-year-old child can't possibly understand the meaning behind the Bo You's words; all their attention is focused on their beloved toy boat.

He said, "Grandpa, what nonsense are you talking about?"

But then the Bo You gradually stopped laughing, looked down and searched around, and slowly picked up a Shitou.

The boy's parents, watching from a distance, felt a sudden jolt of fear and their eyes widened in shock.

The Bo You found a suitable-sized branch under the Shitou, pressed it against the sloping edge of the toy boat, and carefully tapped it with Shitou. In a moment, the branch perfectly blocked the gap.

The Bo You smiled with satisfaction, then turned and handed the repaired toy boat to the little boy, saying, "Here, your boat is fixed, you can sail again."

"Thank you, grandpa!"

The little boy was overjoyed and immediately put the boat into the water. Sure enough, it stopped leaking. "Grandpa, you're amazing! I hope your boat will be fixed soon!"

The Bo You slowly sat down on the Shitou again, looked back at the construction site, and said slowly, "Of course."

Just then, a doctor in a white coat, looking anxious, rushed over, "Dean, the copper-uranium mica is missing!"

The Bo You's expression froze. "What did you say?"

"Copper-uranium mica, a natural mineral with a tetragonal crystal system, contains approximately 42% uranium. It is one of the 22 naturally occurring radioactive substances in nature, but also the only one that can be used to purify 'special uranium'."

"It's one of the essential repair materials for our Ring Research Institute."

The man in the white coat was slightly sweating. "This place, in the southwest of China during the Republic of China era, should have contained 0.7 tons of copper-uranium mica, and was the only area where copper-uranium mica was deposited in large quantities. Now... all the copper-uranium mica has disappeared."

The Bo You suddenly stood up and stared intently at the person in the white coat.

The man in the white coat, around 30 years old, wiped the sweat from his brow. "Dean," he said, "The soil there is very dry, and we can still find some broken rocks. Someone... dug up the copper-uranium mica before we arrived, and then restored the land."

The Bo You's expression flickered continuously.

At that moment, he was certain of one thing: the loss of the ancient meteorite was by no means accidental.

There is an unseen and intangible enemy on the other side of time, opposing itself and the entire Ring Research Institute!

and.

Lu Guang died inexplicably in the flow of time.

Lu Guang said that the enemy they were fighting against was the Qin Yiguan.

The Bo You frowned deeply.

That's impossible!

The Bo You are quite certain that Qin Yiguan lacks the ability to manage time!

Who exactly is working against me?!

Cough cough cough!

The Bo You coughed violently, and the doctor in the white coat next to him immediately took out various pills from his pocket and helped the Bo You take them.

After a moment, the Bo You's symptoms eased slightly, but his expression became extremely unpleasant. He strode out to the wooden house in the distance, pushed open the door, and stared at the little boy's parents.

But the parents, whose restraints had been lifted, immediately knelt down and begged for mercy, "Two days ago, a scholar in an ancient robe and a bald little monk came here. They operated a wooden machine and mined away all the minerals. We know nothing else. Please spare us! Please spare our child!"

"Ancient scholar".

"A bald monk?"

The Bo You's thoughts were somewhat confused.

"Please, let us go!"

The couple was still pleading.

At this moment, the Bo You's expression turned stern. "Take your children and leave here immediately! Although the copper-uranium mica has been removed, the soil is still radioactive. No one cares about your lives, but don't let your ignorance harm your children!"

That's all.

The Bo You led a group of people in white coats into the Ring Research Institute, and the white building suddenly took off, as if it were invisible, and gradually disappeared into the sky.

Only a couple remained in the room, staring blankly at each other.