Searching for someone in northern Myanmar, and you call that earning tuition fees?

September 9th, 10:00 AM.

When the "Breaking Waves" sailed out of the outer perimeter of Jiangnan Port, Su Ming stood in the cockpit, staring at his phone screen for a long time.

The screen displays the latest message from Xiaoqi.

"Sir, there's something we need to explain to you—regarding the search and rescue progress of the 'Voyage,' intelligence agencies from thirteen countries are currently monitoring the situation. Your voyage will likely be under satellite surveillance. To protect your identity and safety, we suggest you start a public live stream and conduct the operation as a 'civilian volunteer.'"

Su Ming narrowed his eyes.

Live broadcast?

He quickly understood what Xiao Qi meant.

If he sneaks out to sea, and is spotted by foreign forces, it could easily be classified as a "secret operation by the Chinese government," which could cause diplomatic trouble.

But if he openly goes live and presents himself as a "passionate college student who went out to sea at his own expense to find a boat," that's a different story—

A poor student taking a risk in international waters in a dilapidated boat is considered a "spontaneous act by civilians" under international law, and the government can completely absolve itself of any responsibility.

Moreover, if something goes wrong, the pressure from public opinion will be much less.

"Quite smart."

Su Ming muttered to himself, his fingers tapping rapidly on the screen.

"Live streaming is fine, but I have two conditions. First, my real identity and location cannot be revealed. Second, all proceeds from the live streams belong to me."

Xiaoqi replied instantly: "Deal. The platform has opened a dedicated 'Dawn Vision' channel for you, with the highest privileges. All tips, after deducting platform maintenance fees, will be yours. In addition, we will implement signal encryption at the technical level to ensure that your coordinates cannot be tracked."

Su Ming glanced at the secondhand camera he'd taken from Lao Hua on the bulkhead, thought for a moment, and then fixed it to the top of the cockpit.

The camera was pointed at the sea in front, capturing the bow of the ship and the distant horizon, but not his face.

After adjusting the angle, Su Ming opened the "Dawn Vision" APP and clicked "Start Live Stream".

A line of text pops up on the screen:

[Livestream ID: Dawn-001]

[Title: One man, one boat, searching for the "Voyage" in international waters]

Currently online: 0 people

Su Ming stared at the "0" for two seconds, then pursed his lips.

"True, who would watch a wrecked ship set sail?"

He turned off his phone and turned his attention back to the nautical chart.

According to satellite data provided by Xiaoqi, the official search and rescue team finally located the coordinates at 21°34′N, 118°42′E, about 200 nautical miles from Jiangnan Port.

But Su Ming frowned deeply as he looked at the dense ocean current markings on the nautical chart.

"wrong……"

He muttered to himself, sliding his finger along the direction of the ocean current arrow.

"If the 'Voyage' lost contact at this location, based on the direction of the monsoon and ocean currents at the time, the ship's drift trajectory should have been shifted southeast, not due east..."

He picked up a pen and drew an arc on the nautical chart.

"The search and rescue team's search area is entirely north of this line, but if my calculations are correct..."

The pen tip eventually landed on an area marked "Deep Sea Trench".

"The ship should be here."

at the same time.

Jiangnan University, Building 6, Room 407.

Zhang Hao, a fat man, was scrolling through short videos on his phone when he suddenly came across a notification.

[Shocking! A freshman from Jiangnan University sets sail alone, seemingly in search of the "Voyage"!]

Zhang Hao paused for a moment, then clicked on it.

The video shows a rusty iron-hulled ship slowly sailing on the vast ocean. The camera wobbles, and waves crash against the deck at the bow, making a dull thud.

There is a caption at the bottom of the video:

[Host: Dawn-001]

[A freshman from the Finance Department of Jiangnan University goes on a self-funded voyage to search for the missing cargo ship "Yuanhang"]

Zhang Hao's eyes widened.

"Holy crap?!"

He sat up abruptly and held his phone up to his tall, thin roommate.

"Look, look! Someone has set sail to find the 'Voyage'!"

The tall, thin man pushed up his glasses, glanced at the screen, and scoffed.

"It's just another attention-seeking stunt. How far can this dilapidated boat go? It'll probably have to call for help as soon as it leaves port."

"But he said he's from our school!" Zhang Hao said excitedly, "A freshman in the Finance Department!"

The tall, thin man paused for a moment, then took the phone and looked at it carefully.

In the live stream room, the chat was already flooded with comments.

Was this boat salvaged from a junkyard?

[Hilarious! If this ship can even sail into international waters, I'll do a handstand and have diarrhea.]

Is the streamer genuinely brave, or genuinely foolish?

[Stop cursing, upstairs. They're probably desperate for fame.]

The more Zhang Hao looked at it, the more familiar it seemed.

"Wait... this ship... I feel like I've seen it somewhere before..."

He suddenly remembered that the last time he went to the dock to help his father deliver goods, he seemed to have seen an identical wrecked ship in warehouse number 3.

"No way..."

He opened the school forum and found the "mysterious back view" photo that Lin Xiaoyue had posted before.

In the photo, a boy wearing a faded white T-shirt is walking along a campus path with a canvas bag on his back.

Zhang Hao looked at the photos, then at the shaky camera in the live stream, and suddenly felt a chill.

"Holy crap...could it be...?"

He suddenly turned his head to look at Su Ming's bed.

empty.

The quilt was folded neatly, and there was only one book on the desk: "Fundamentals of Fluid Mechanics".

Zhang Hao swallowed.

"Third brother... do you think... Su Ming from our dorm... could he be this streamer?"

The tall, thin man remained silent for a few seconds.

"...Probably not. He seems pretty normal."

"But he hasn't come back yet!" Zhang Hao became more and more agitated as he spoke. "And look at this live stream title—'Freshmen of Finance at Jiangnan University.' Our department only admitted eighty people this year. How many of them are capable of sailing a boat out to sea?"

The tall, thin man was speechless.

The two exchanged a glance and simultaneously opened their live streams.

At this point, the number of viewers in the live stream had jumped from 0 to 327.

The live chat was still flooded with comments.

[Can someone knowledgeable explain to me whether it's legal for this type of ship to sail on the high seas?]

[Legal my foot, this is suicidal]

I bet a bag of spicy strips, the streamer won't last tonight.

[Police have been notified]

Looking at the mocking comments, Zhang Hao suddenly felt a pang of heartache.

"These people are going too far... What if it really is our Old Su?"

The tall, thin man didn't say anything, but silently followed the account.

---

3 PM.

The number of viewers in the live stream exceeded 100,000.

The incident started when an official account verified as "China Deep-Sea Salvage Association" posted a comment in the live stream.

[Association Vice President Yuan Zhonghai: This student, the sea conditions in international waters are complex. Please return to port immediately. Don't gamble with your life.]

The moment this comment appeared, the live stream chat exploded.

[Holy crap? Even Yuan Longping is offering advice?]

[If you don't know Mr. Yuan, look him up yourself; he's a top-tier figure in the industry.]

Even Yuan Longping warned of the danger, so why isn't the anchor turning back?

[Is the streamer deaf?]

Su Ming sat in the cockpit, watching the comments scrolling across his phone screen, and twitched the corner of his mouth.

Yuan Zhonghai.

That's the old man who mocked him at the dock that day.

He thought for a moment, then, for the first time ever, typed a line and posted it on the public chat.

[Host: Mr. Yuan, you said last time that ocean current patterns are pseudoscience. Well, I'll show you some pseudoscience now.]

send.

The live stream was silent for three seconds.

Then the comments section exploded like a waterfall.

[What? The streamer is going head-to-head?]

Good heavens, this is a declaration of war against Yuan Longping!

Young people lack martial ethics

Support the streamer! Let's take him down!

Yuan Zhonghai sat in the association's office, staring at the line of text on the screen, his face ashen.

Several young assistants around him looked at each other, not daring to speak.

"Investigate," Yuan Zhonghai said coldly. "Find out who this streamer is, what kind of ship he's using, and what his current coordinates are."

The assistant immediately went to do it.

Ten minutes later, the documents were delivered to Yuan Zhonghai.

[Streamer Information: Dawn-001, real identity encrypted, cannot be verified]

[Vessel Information: Registered with Jiangnan Port Huayang Leasing Company, vessel name "Polang", age 23 years, displacement 800 tons]

[Current coordinates: 21°18′N, 117°56′E, speed 12 knots, heading southeast]

Yuan Zhonghai frowned even more as he looked at the coordinates.

"Southeast? Wasn't he going to the coordinates marked by the search and rescue team?"

The assistant shook his head: "No. His course is at least fifty nautical miles off the search and rescue area."

Yuan Zhonghai remained silent for a few seconds, then suddenly let out a cold laugh.

"If you're trying to gain attention, don't blame me for being ruthless."

He picked up his phone and dialed a number.

"Hello, is this the Maritime Safety Administration? I want to report a civilian vessel that has illegally set sail..."