"Let me think, this boat..."
Xu Ming gestured for everyone to gather around while racking his memory.
"The hull uses fiberglass with high-strength fiber interlayers. The bottom has titanium alloy anti-collision armor that can withstand heavy waves."
"The keel has built-in lead alloy counterweights—extremely stable. It can even right itself if capsized."
"With both masts fully rigged, it can reach up to 13 knots. It's equipped with an automatic sail adjustment system and a wind power generator at the stern for electricity. The lower cabins can be converted into cargo holds, hydroponics areas, living quarters, rest areas... Boss, this is practically tailor-made for our current needs. Moderate tonnage, strong wave resistance, spacious yet fuel-efficient."
"Oh? That impressive?" Seeing Xu Ming's excited expression, Han Ning felt equally delighted. "Then what are we waiting for? Let's go check it out."
Just as they began paddling toward the Wind Chaser, about a dozen figures emerged from the other side of the thick fog, clearly drawn to the relatively intact sailboat.
Leading them was Vice Chairman Zhao, who had previously suffered serious injuries, followed by seven or eight Awakened, their demeanor aggressive. After treatment, he had regained some mobility.
"Damn, Brother Zhao, this is a Wind Chaser sailboat—top-tier stuff!"
Beside Vice Chairman Zhao, a dark-skinned man showed an expression of delight similar to Xu Ming's upon seeing the sailboat. Clearly, Xu Ming wasn't the only one who recognized various types of vessels here.
"If we can get this boat, our quality of life will improve significantly..."
He rattled off the boat's specifications to Vice Chairman Zhao.
"Good, very good! Brothers, hurry! Secure it!" Vice Chairman Zhao's eyes gleamed as he urged his men to move faster.
Suddenly, the mist to their left rippled.
Three people swam out, heading straight for the Wind Chaser's deck.
"It's Han Ning..." Vice Chairman Zhao recognized the newcomers, his face instantly darkening.
"Brother Zhao, what do we do?" The underlings stopped swimming.
Vice Chairman Zhao's expression twisted in conflict before he finally sighed in resignation. "We can't afford to mess with him. Let it go. Find another boat."
The underlings nodded in agreement, none daring to voice dissent.
...
Han Ning observed the situation nearby.
Seeing Vice Chairman Zhao hold back, he paid them no further attention. In the face of absolute strength, any covetousness was futile.
Snowflake leaped up first, her sharp claws easily gripping the slippery gunwale as she nimbly flipped onto the deck, scanning it warily for threats.
Once she confirmed it was safe, Han Ning and Xu Ming followed closely behind. Yu Na trailed after Xu Ming like a dutiful caretaker. She didn't maintain her psychic protection constantly—only when Snowflake strayed too far, conserving energy as much as possible.
As the three boarded the deck, a foul stench of rust, rotting seaweed, and something indescribably fishy assaulted their senses.
The deck's condition was worse up close than it had appeared from afar.
The surface was covered with a thin layer of silt and scattered aquatic weeds.
Some areas showed pitted indentations.
The guide rails of the automatic sail adjustment system were slightly damaged, but the main frame remained intact.
The blades of the small vertical-axis wind power generator at the stern were tangled with algae, their condition unknown.
"Good stuff..." Xu Ming ran his hand along the sturdy gunwale and stomped on the deck a few times.
"The structure is solid. Boss, there must be titanium alloy plates reinforcing the hull, and the keel ballast is definitely still there—otherwise, it wouldn't be this stable."
"Let's check the cabin."
Han Ning stepped in front of Xu Ming and carefully opened the watertight door leading to the cabin.
Inside, the light was dim, and the air was even murkier.
The lower cabin was spacious, with the guest quarters largely undamaged—at least, there was no water ingress.
The engine room, however, was in worse shape. A layer of water had pooled on the floor.
Although the main body of the diesel engine was still intact, some pipes were severely corroded, the critical control panel was shattered, and some transmission components were clearly missing or deformed.
Xu Ming inspected the engine and transmission system closely, his frown deepening.
"These areas are heavily damaged, especially the drive shaft here—there's obvious deformation and missing parts."
"Boss, to be honest, ship equipment repairs usually fall under the chief engineer's responsibility... My knowledge is limited. For damage this severe, whether it can be fixed, how to fix it, and what specific parts are needed—I can't say for sure without the repair manual."
"For private sailboats like this, if equipment breaks down, the captain usually checks it themselves first using the manual. Only if they can't handle it do they take it to a shipyard."
As he spoke, Xu Ming rummaged through the engine room.
Finally, inside a sealed box, he found a thick stack of documents.
"Found it!" Xu Ming's eyes lit up as he pulled out a booklet and flipped through it. "With the repair manual, I have a decent chance of fixing this stuff."
"In its current state, can we sail it away?" Han Ning asked the most pressing question.
Xu Ming closed the manual and analyzed seriously:
"If we really push it... we could try starting the auxiliary diesel engine."
"But there are two major problems—first, where do we go?"
"If we retrace our path and head toward the city, toward Azure Cloud Resort, the water along the way is too shallow."
"Even empty, with no cargo, this ship has a draft of about two meters."
"That route is flooded urban ruins, full of submerged construction debris. Taking the ship there would guarantee running aground, or even wrecking the hull."
"Unless... unless we use large transport equipment to move it there."
"..."
"The other option is to head out of the harbor, toward what used to be the ocean."
"I don't know if the water's deep enough there. If it's deeper, we could follow the submerged city's edge, loop around, and find a way back into the city through lower-lying areas with fewer buildings. That would be much safer for navigation."
Xu Ming's face was full of concern:
"The biggest issue is—what's the situation like out there beyond the harbor? Are there even more terrifying monsters? Will the water stay that deep? If the water level suddenly drops mid-voyage, or we run into a horde of monsters we can't handle... those would be serious problems."
"Alternatively, we could leave the ship here and wait for the water to rise high enough before sailing it away."
"Besides, even if we can barely start it now, without proper maintenance, this ship won't get far and could break down completely at any moment."
"Boss, if safety can be ensured, I think our top priority should be to immediately scavenge the engine rooms of other nearby shipwrecks."
"We need to find usable diesel, replacement transmission parts, control panels, or components that can serve as substitutes."
"If we don't get our hands on these things quickly, others will snatch them all up soon."
"That's true," Han Ning agreed.