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

The sea is at its darkest before dawn.

That friendly sonic signal acted like a shot of adrenaline, injecting into Su Ming's nearly exhausted body.

He slowly stood up and looked in the direction from which the signal came.

Where the sea meets the sky, a silhouette deeper than darkness is breaking through the thin mist, silently and resolutely approaching.

That's neither a fishing boat nor a cargo ship.

Its lines are powerful, with a high bow and a long hull; the oppressive sense of industrial aesthetics can be felt even from several nautical miles away.

It's a warship!

As the distance closed, its enormous body gradually became clear.

The stealth-designed hull, the towering phased-array radar, the imposing main gun at the bow... every detail highlights its status as a "major national weapon".

Su Ming narrowed his eyes.

This is incomparable to the "Sea Eagle," the island chain nation's ship he sank before. This ship is larger, more advanced, and more intimidating.

The sun rises in the east.

The first ray of golden sunlight pierced through the clouds, sprinkling onto the sea and illuminating the mast of the giant ship.

A bright red flag slowly unfurled in the morning breeze.

That dazzling red color and those five brilliant golden five-pointed stars seemed even more dazzling than the rising sun at this moment!

It's the flag of the Dragon Kingdom!

On the high seas, after a life-or-death struggle, seeing that familiar flag again warmed his heart.

That's a sense of security, a sense of belonging, the relief of finally seeing family after endless grievances.

Even Su Ming, who was usually so resilient, couldn't help but feel his eyes welling up with tears.

"Buzz—"

The massive warship stopped about 500 meters from the "Breaking Waves" and did not approach, seemingly worried that its surge would hasten the sinking of the wrecked ship.

A calm, loud, and authoritative voice came from the warship's public address system.

"Calling 'Deep Sea,' calling 'Deep Sea.' This is the Type 052D destroyer 'Nanchang' of the Chinese Navy. You have approached our territorial waters, and we are ordered to provide assistance."

The voice paused for a moment, as if he was carefully choosing his words.

"Well done, comrade. Welcome home."

With a simple "Comrade" and "Welcome home," Su Ming's nerves, which had been stretched to the limit, finally relaxed.

He almost collapsed to the ground, but he still managed to stand up straight and gave a salute to the national flag that was waving in the wind, though it wasn't a perfect salute, it was extremely solemn.

"Rumble..."

On the aft deck of the "Nanchang", a Z-20 utility helicopter quickly took off, and the huge airflow generated by the rotor made the sea waves roll.

The helicopter hovered over the "Breaking Waves" and lowered the rope ladder.

Several naval special forces soldiers, dressed in blue ocean camouflage combat uniforms and fully armed, nimbly slid down the rope ladder and landed steadily on the half-submerged deck of the "Breaking Waves".

The leading major quickly walked up to Su Ming, stood at attention, and saluted.

"Report! The Dragon Kingdom Navy's 'Jiaolong' Special Forces have been ordered to take over the scene! Please provide instructions!"

He looked at the young man in front of him with both awe and curiosity in his eyes.

They witnessed the entire final, unbelievable battle via satellite.

The young man in front of them, who looked even more inexperienced than the youngest soldier in their team, single-handedly destroyed three speedboats and captured six frogmen.

This is simply a myth!

Su Ming waved his hand, swayed slightly, and said in a hoarse voice, "The people... are all there. The things... are in the cabin."

He pointed to the frogmen tied up in a string, and the massive core component he had dragged into the cabin.

"clear!"

Without asking any further questions, the major immediately ordered his team to take over the prisoners and carefully enter the cabin to prepare for securing and transferring the core components.

A military doctor quickly stepped forward and supported the swaying Su Ming.

"Comrade, you've worked hard. We'll take you aboard the ship for inspection right away."

Su Ming nodded, letting the military doctor help him onto the helicopter's rope ladder.

As he was pulled onto the helicopter and looked down, the deck of the "Breaking Waves" was completely submerged by seawater, with only the roof of the cockpit stubbornly sticking out, like an unyielding tombstone.

The "golden mountain" that he had dragged up from three thousand meters deep in the sea was being steadily lifted off the surface by the huge crane of the "Nanchang" ship, reflecting a cold metallic luster.

Su Ming leaned against the cabin wall, unable to hold on any longer, and closed his eyes in exhaustion.

Before he completely lost consciousness, he heard the captain of the "Nanchang" reporting to the highest command, his voice filled with barely suppressed excitement:

"Reporting to headquarters! Reporting to headquarters! 'Deep Sea' has successfully made contact! All 'cargo' has been recovered!"

"Double! 'Deep Sea' alone brought back a mountain of gold!"