National destiny: Starting with a coffin, building an aircraft carrier is broadcast live globally.

He casually pinched the freshly baked fish stick, and fell silent for a moment.

Klaus clearly misunderstood the silence; he puffed out his chest and proudly nudged Renyi's arm with his elbow.

"How is it? I melted the Moon God Titanium Alloy into it, and I also put the runes inside according to Sita's method."

"...Where's the fishing line?" Renyi asked.

He simply couldn't resist.

"Fishing line?" Klaus looked at it with an air of nonchalance. "Take it apart. That thing is the weakest part of the whole structure; its strength is completely inadequate for the rod body. What's the point of keeping it?"

As expected of you...

His thinking is so unique that he can break down the two characters "竿" (gan, rod) and "钓" (diao, fishing) in the Chinese character for fishing rod to understand them.

He took a deep breath and silently opened the system panel.

He wanted to see what this thing, which had been "optimized" down to just a stick, really was now.

【Pudu (Lv5)】

Feature 1: Toughness.

[Trait 2: Lure. Continuously attracts rare creatures when no bait is available.]

[New Feature 3: Hands-off Manager. When actively activated, it will automatically locate and guide enemies within a 10-kilometer radius.]

[New Slot: 1 (Can be socketed to change fishing line properties)]

[Evaluation: You have successfully mastered the essence of "hitting exactly where you aim." A truly skilled angler should personally wade into the water to invite their prey to dinner. PS: It might, perhaps, possibly... fight back.]

Fine.

As soon as he closed the panel and turned around, Klaus was still praising him with a look of anticipation on his face.

"Well done."

Klaus was visibly pleased to receive the affirmation; even his gray eyes brightened.

"I knew it! In the [Ocean Era], abandoning the traditional fishing rod design is the most reasonable approach φ(≧ω≦*)♪"

Technology liberates productivity!

Ren Yi didn't reply, but instead held the novel-looking Luna titanium alloy rod in his hand, a hundred ways to explain what "fishing" was flashing through his mind.

Fishing is about the process.

Sitting quietly by the water... watching the float rise and fall, wondering if there's a loach or a shark underneath.

Pulling, wrestling, outwitting and outmaneuvering, even if it means disengagement—

This is the soul of the sport!

As for the catch?

That was just a side benefit—material rewards...

Now, with Klaus's transformation, the soul and variables have been completely removed, turning it from movement into labor.

What's the point of fishing here?

Why not just take a speargun and dive into the sea to fight the fish?

However, seeing Klaus's excited expression, Renyi swallowed his anger.

What bad intentions could an engineer possibly have?

He just wanted to eliminate unnecessary steps and create the perfect tool.

He casually hefted the heavy metal rod, trying to console himself:

"That's good. Without the wire, there won't be any more disconnections. It's a very meticulous approach."

"I knew it!"

Upon hearing this, Klaus straightened his back even more.

"The simpler the design, the lower the probability of malfunctions, from an engineering perspective—"

"Pfft..." A laugh interrupted him.

Nathan, who had been listening intently from the folding chair next to him, burst out laughing without any attempt to hide it. He then leaned over with his glass of ice water, scrutinizing the avant-garde-looking "Pudu" from head to toe.

"Excuse my bluntness, but can this even be called a fishing rod?"

He slowly swirled the mint leaves in his glass:

"We generally call this kind of detection and guidance system radar."

[Hahahaha, Nathan's a master of finishing blows! The Engineer's going to be crushed!]

[Klaus: What did I do wrong?!]

[...Primarily focused on practicality, with absolutely no romantic flair whatsoever.]

[This is the only hobby this master has... His self-cultivation is unparalleled, hahaha.]

The "Rising Coffin for Fortune" ship has now officially entered the high-tech era, although its radar is a fishing rod = = ]

As a fishing rod, it is probably very unqualified.

But as a radar...

"Boss, want to give it a try?"

Nathan, always eager for a good show, egged them on, while Klaus waited earnestly for the review.

With a gentle tug on the trouser leg, Xiao Jiu nimbly climbed up and expertly draped herself over Renyi's shoulder.

One tentacle poked its face, while the other pointed at "Pudu," its beady eyes full of anticipation.

"A big crab!"

"..."

Well, not only are people looking forward to it, but the mascot is also waiting for its meal.

Without further hesitation, he picked up the [Salvation] scroll and activated the [Hands-off Manager] skill.

woo-

After a soft sound that almost blended into the sound of the waves, the moon-white surface of the "Pudu" seemed to glow, and the strange symbols on the handle lit up one by one like LED lights that had been turned on.

Under the watchful eyes of four pairs of eyes.

The pointed tip shot out a straight green beam of light, which looked like a green crosshair in mid-air.

"Wow..."

Nathan raised his eyebrows. "I take back what I just said. This thing could be used to make a sci-fi movie, or a game."

The green crosshair began to slowly rotate clockwise, as if it were performing a large-scale scan.

The description of the "hands-off manager" is to scout for enemies and lead the way, with a range of ten kilometers.

However, no bait was used.

In other words, it is very likely that it will have the combined effect of the second characteristic, [temptation].

Locate targets within a 10-kilometer radius that match the 'rare creature' label and provide directions.

It is useful...

In his mind, this should have been Sotoma's job!

After the crosshair spun about four or five times, the speed of rotation suddenly increased, and the green light changed to a rapidly flashing pattern.

At last.

The beam of light fixed itself at a point slightly southeast of the [Deep Sea Shadow], then stopped moving and pointed into the thick sea fog.

"Found it," he said softly.

"Ha!" Klaus looked like he wanted to spin around twice on the spot.

Nathan whistled, turned around, and opened the hatch—

"Ladies and gentlemen, there's plenty of fun on deck, don't miss it!"

Before his exaggerated shout had even faded, Ivan burst out shirtless:

"Is there a fight going on?"

Aurora and Sita followed closely behind.

After hearing Klaus's brief explanation, everyone stared intently at the direction locked by the green crosshair, both excited and nervous.

The boat sailed along the signs for about 15 minutes. The sea became increasingly calm, and they entered the thick fog again, but the green crosshair still did not slide into the sea.

"...What's going on...Could the target be—?"

Not in the sea?

Before Ivan could finish his question, a song suddenly drifted into their ears.

"Yohohoho~ Yohohoho~"

"Yo ho ho... After looting the treasure, we'll grab the good wine. A cannon is no match for a sip of wine... Can't catch up, swoosh swoosh swoosh~"

"Dear Mom..."

"Brothers, I hear a man singing..." Ivan said, looking puzzled.

"I hear children singing!" Aurora said, then turned to Renyi with a serious expression.

"Boss, did you hear that?"

He frowned and slowed the boat down.

"I heard... someone crying."