After the Five Barbarians entered the Central Plains, many families from Qingzhou and Xuzhou with seafaring experience set sail to escape the ravages of war. From then on, shipbuilding technology from the Central Plains spread overseas. According to historical records, these Han people who traveled far abroad even sailed as far as the Ryukyu Islands. Their descendants established the Ryukyu Kingdom, and after the wars in the Central Plains subsided, the Ryukyu Kingdom requested to submit to the Sui Dynasty. In contrast, shipbuilding technology in the Central Plains began to decline, and many techniques were eventually lost.

　　Once the initial shock subsided, the refugees from north of the Huai River immediately recalled the many tales of neighbors who had taken their families and sailed across the sea—large ships, only such massive vessels could carry them out of hell. Hadn't Mr. Isaac Hall promised them this?

　　People couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief, and the impatient even burst into cheers.

　　"What a huge ship!" Sean Walker murmured softly beside Isaac Hall, "I was worried that there were too many refugees, but now that I've seen this ship, I feel at ease."

　　Seagulls rose and fell over the sea, and the boundless ocean seemed completely unaware of the war and slaughter on the continent. The calm, unruffled surface shimmered with scales of light, and from time to time, a dolphin or swordfish would leap from the water, splashing before returning to the sea.

　　"No," Isaac Hall said with a curl of his lips, "this is still a small ship." Isaac Hall opened his mouth as if to say something more, but in the end, he didn't. He turned around, gazing intoxicated at the great sailing ship, and softly added, "I spent two years building this big ship. I originally planned to set sail across the sea, but in the end, I couldn't bear to leave... I just couldn't let go."

　　Couldn't let go? Couldn't let go of what? Wealth? Land? Elders, wife, and children? Sean Walker looked up at Isaac Hall. At this moment, Isaac Hall's gaze passed over the fjord, staring longingly at the land beyond, as if lost in memory. The muscles on his face twisted—at times ferocious, at times resolute, at times serene...

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　　Lightning flashed again and again, and the sea, as if enraged, heaved up waves as high as five or six stories. Amid the crests, a white sailing ship tossed up and down. Giant waves swept from bow to stern, washing the deck clean, while at the stern, an unyielding figure clung tightly to the wheel, struggling desperately against the raging wind and waves.

　　Amid the surging waves, that figure nearly shouted at the top of his lungs: "Don't even think about it! You think a little storm like this can defeat me? Never! Come on! I will never yield, never give up." Yet this full-throated roar seemed so feeble in the face of the roaring wind and waves. But even the wildest storm could not suppress that indomitable fighting spirit.

　　This was Isaac Hall, Isaac Hall from another time and space. Back then, he wasn't even called Isaac Hall, but now it was meaningless to ask what his name was, because as soon as he finished shouting, he silently vanished from that world.

　　Bolts of lightning struck the sea, jagged flashes illuminating the dark surface in an instant. After the flash, Isaac Hall's vision was a blur of white. He gripped the wheel with all his strength, steering the ship diagonally toward the crest of the wave.

　　The giant wave surged high, and as it rose, the sailing ship, angled into the wave, was lifted to the very top. Isaac Hall held the wheel with all his might, desperately turning, hoping the ship would tilt and slide down the slope of the wave like a slide, to avoid being crushed into the trough.

　　The ship creaked and groaned, the deck straining under the storm. Under Isaac Hall's efforts, the sharp, upturned bow slowly but stubbornly turned. Suddenly, a sense of foreboding surged in Isaac Hall's heart, but before he could react, a bolt of lightning struck the ship squarely atop the wave. In an instant, the entire ship shone brilliantly, and then its outline grew fainter and fainter, as if the tens of thousands of degrees of heat had vaporized it into molecules.

　　No one knows how much time passed before Isaac Hall awoke from unconsciousness. Opening his eyes, the first thing he saw was his own sailing ship, still intact and cutting through the waves. The previous storm had been so fierce that, to avoid being swept overboard, Isaac Hall had tied himself to the wheel. Now he lay beside it, the wind blowing gently, the ship gliding briskly across the water, leaving a long white wake behind. The sea was so blue, the sky so clear. Yet Isaac Hall felt a strange sensation, a chill creeping over his heart.

　　Untying the rope, Isaac Hall secured the wheel and hurriedly picked up his sextant to measure his position. The result left him baffled—he was actually in Bohai Bay. No, to be precise, he should be not far from Yingkou, Liaoning, thousands of nautical miles from the stormy sea.

　　"How long was I unconscious?" Isaac Hall was full of questions. At the speed of a fast sailing ship, it would be impossible to travel thousands of nautical miles in a day and a night. Yet as Isaac Hall moved his body, he felt no hunger at all, not even any muscle soreness.

　　As a master's graduate in mechanical engineering, Isaac Hall had grown up by the sea. He ran a small company, doing machining work for others. Isaac Hall neither smoked nor drank; his only hobby was sailing. This sailboat was built by Isaac Hall himself, gathering materials bit by bit. His friends, knowing his passion, eventually introduced him to participate in a solo transoceanic race.

　　It was his first time competing. Isaac Hall had plenty of shipbuilding knowledge, but his sailing skills were worlds apart from those of the veterans. On top of that, the newly built sailboat's components hadn't fully broken in, so not long after setting out, Isaac Hall fell far behind the rest of the fleet.