I started by watching videos, and I chose 10,000 combat power.

Shen Yi's ship left first.

Several young people stood at the stern of the boat, waving in this direction.

Li Xiulan stood on the reef, waving and muttering "Be careful on the road" until the ship became a white dot and disappeared on the horizon. Only then did she lower her hand, turn around, and smile.

"These kids are pretty good."

She spoke to Luo Weidong in a tone as if she were praising a younger member of her own family.

Luo Weidong hummed in response but didn't reply, his eyes still fixed on the buoy on the sea surface—he hadn't given up.

But the fish really wouldn't bite his hook.

Another half hour passed, and Luo Weidong's float still didn't move, as if it were nailed to the surface of the water.

He stared at the float for a long time, his expression shifting from anticipation to helplessness, and then to a resigned calm. Finally, he reeled in his fishing rod, wound up the line, hooked the hook, and wiped the rod clean, moving very slowly.

"Not fishing anymore?"

Upon seeing this, Li Xiulan asked, her tone tinged with schadenfreude.

Luo Weidong ignored her, leaned his fishing rod against the rocks, stood up, dusted off his pants, and walked towards the beach. Li Xiulan followed behind him, a smirk playing on her lips.

This beach is not large. It is located on the west side of the island and is surrounded by reefs on both sides, forming a semi-circular arc. The sand is not very fine and it is a bit rough to walk on, but it is clean, with no garbage or oil stains. The waves wash over it again and again.

Li Xiulan took off her shoes and stepped barefoot onto the sand, hissing as she heard it was a bit hot.

She hopped a couple of steps, stepping onto the cool, wet spot left by the waves. It felt so refreshing, and she let out a long sigh of relief.

Luo Weidong didn't take off his shoes; he walked on the beach with them on, his steps slow. The two of them walked slowly along the coastline, one in front of the other.

Xiao Lin and Xiao Wang followed behind, keeping a distance that was neither too close nor too far.

The two of them didn't say anything, just followed along, their eyes looking around and their ears perked up.

Li Xiulan took a few steps, bent down and picked up a seashell, about the size of her palm, white, its surface smooth and shiny from being polished by the seawater. She looked at it in the sunlight, then put it in her pocket with satisfaction.

She walked a few more steps and picked up another one, this time smaller, pink, and spiral-shaped. She held it up for Luo Weidong to see: "Isn't it pretty?"

Luo Weidong glanced at it and said, "It looks good."

Her tone was perfunctory, but Li Xiulan didn't care. She continued searching with her head down, her pockets getting fuller and fuller, making a rustling sound as she walked, like a string of wind chimes.

Luo Fei did not go for a walk with his parents.

He stood on the reef, watching his parents walk away, with Xiao Lin and Xiao Wang following behind.

He withdrew his gaze and turned to walk deeper into the island.

When he reached the edge of the woods, he stopped and looked back at the shore. Old Li and A-Jie were packing up their barbecue grill, and Xiao Chen was picking up trash. No one paid any attention to him.

His body floated up gently, silently ascending into the air. He passed through the treetops, over the hillsides, and flew towards the highest point of the island.

The mountaintop was smaller than he had imagined.

On a flat area of ​​several dozen square meters, an aluminum alloy flagpole stands in the middle. The flag is newly replaced, its bright red color as if it had just been dyed. The wind blows from the east, and the flag flutters in the wind.

Luo Fei landed and stood under the flagpole, looking up at the flag.

I reached out and touched the flagpole; the aluminum alloy pipes were scorching hot from the sun.

After an unknown amount of time, he turned around and faced the sea.

From this height, the sea appears wider and more expansive than when viewed from the shore.

The horizon is a slightly curved arc.

On the distant sea, there was a tiny white dot, so small it was almost invisible.

That was Shen Yi's boat; it had already gone quite far and was about to disappear from sight.

He stared at the white dot until it completely disappeared below the horizon before turning his gaze away.

Luo Fei stood there for a while, then turned around, lightly leaped up, and silently floated down the mountain back to the shore.

Old Li had already packed up the barbecue grill, folded it up and leaned it against the rocks, extinguished the charcoal ash with seawater, put it in a bag, and was ready to take it back to the boat to deal with it.

Ah Jie and Xiao Chen picked up all the trash, put it in several large bags, and stacked them on the shore to wait for it to be transported.

The beach was spotless, as if no one had ever been there. Luo Fei glanced at them, nodded, said nothing, and turned to find Captain Sun.

Captain Sun stood at the stern, holding a telescope and looking out at the sea.

Hearing footsteps, he put down his binoculars, turned around, and looked somewhat serious.

"Mr. Luo, the tide is going out. The water isn't deep enough where we are now. In another hour, the boat will run aground. We need to get out of here quickly."

Luo Fei glanced at the seawater around the bottom of the ship—it was indeed a bit shallower than before. The reefs next to the ship, which were originally submerged, were now partially exposed, covered with seaweed and barnacles, glistening wetly in the sunlight.

He nodded and said, "It's almost ready. Let's get everyone on board."

Captain Sun responded and turned to walk towards the bridge, shouting a few words into the walkie-talkie as he went.

Xiao Lin and Xiao Wang followed Li Xiulan and Luo Weidong back from the beach. Li Xiulan's pockets were bulging and made a rustling sound as she walked. She covered her pockets with one hand to prevent seashells from falling out, and held onto Luo Weidong's arm with the other. The two of them stepped on the rocks, moving slowly and deliberately.

A-Jie and Xiao-Chen carried the garbage bags onto the boat, while Lao-Li carried the barbecue grill and the remaining ingredients onto the boat as well.

The last item was loaded onto the ship, the last person stepped onto the ramp, and Captain Sun pressed a button in the bridge. The anchor winch started, the chains rattled, and the anchor claws were pulled out from the seabed.

The ship began to move slowly.

The Diaoyu Islands gradually shrink behind us.

Li Xiulan stood at the stern, holding onto the railing, watching the direction in which the island disappeared. She stood there for a long time until she could see nothing anymore before turning around and walking back into the cabin.

The boat had been sailing for over half an hour, and the sea was very calm.

Luo Fei stood on the deck at the bow of the ship, enjoying the sea breeze. His mind was blank; he just stood there, gazing at the boundless blue expanse.

Captain Sun was in the bridge, one hand on the steering wheel and the other holding a teacup, taking sips from time to time, looking very relaxed.

Suddenly, his brow furrowed.

He saw the shadows of several ships on the sea ahead.

They are two fishing boats from China.

Not far from the fishing boat, there were several larger boats, gray-white patrol vessels with sharper hulls, flying the Japanese flag.

Captain Sun's expression changed.

He put down his teacup, picked up the binoculars, adjusted the focus, looked for a few seconds, and his face darkened.

He put down his binoculars, turned and walked out of the cockpit, quickly walked to Luo Fei's side, pointed ahead, and said in a low voice, "Mr. Luo, there's been an accident up ahead."

Luo Fei looked in the direction the finger was pointing.

His eyesight is much better than that of ordinary people; he can see distant scenes clearly without a telescope.

He saw three Japanese patrol boats, spread out in a fan shape, encircling the two fishing boats.

The distance is decreasing; the patrol boat is much faster than the fishing boat and can catch up in just a few minutes.

After Captain Sun finished speaking, he quickly walked back to the bridge, picked up the walkie-talkie, tuned the channel, and said in a low voice, speaking very quickly: "Old Wu, three Japanese patrol ships have been spotted ahead, driving away two of our Chinese fishing boats. They are located about fifteen nautical miles west of Diaoyu Islands. Requesting instructions."

There was a two-second silence on the walkie-talkie, then Old Wu's voice came through, calm and composed, without a trace of panic: "Roger that. I see it. The coast guard vessel is accelerating. Do not approach, maintain a safe distance."

Captain Sun put down the walkie-talkie and glanced at Luo Fei.

Luo Fei's expression didn't change much, but his eyes remained fixed on the direction of those ships, his gaze icy.

He turned and walked back to the cabin, to his parents' side.

Li Xiulan was sitting on the sofa in the living room looking at her phone, while Luo Weidong was dozing off beside her. Neither of them knew what was happening outside.

"Mom, Dad," Luo Fei said earnestly, "you two go back to your rooms and rest for a bit. It's windy outside, don't catch a cold."

Li Xiulan looked up at him, wanting to say "I'm not cold," but seeing her son's expression, she swallowed the words back.

She knew her son didn't usually have this expression. Without asking further questions, she stood up and tugged at Luo Weidong's sleeve: "Come on, let's go back inside and lie down for a while."

Luo Weidong groggily opened his eyes and followed her.

Luo Fei walked back to the deck, stood at the bow, gripped the railing with one hand, and looked at the distant sea.

The two fishing boats slowed down, not because they couldn't escape, but because they didn't want to.

The two ships were moored side by side, turning their bows toward the patrol vessel, as if preparing for battle.

The net at the stern had been pulled in, and several people were standing on the deck. Their faces were obscured, but their posture was clear—one hand on their hip, the other holding a cleaver or harpoon, heads tilted back, waving them at the approaching patrol boats.

The nearest patrol vessel was less than 500 meters from the fishing boat.

The ship's loudspeaker blared, speaking in Japanese. The sound was loud and shrill, carried intermittently by the sea breeze.

Luo Fei released his hand from the railing, leaving several faint fingerprints on it.