On the western coast of central Yizhou, the sea rolled in long, steady breaths, as if nothing in the world could disturb its rhythm, yet right beside that calm shoreline, change was already taking root in the most practical and stubborn way possible.
The ship Little Black No.1 was anchored quietly near the coast, its dark hull blending into the shadows of the trees, while groups of natives from the Kingdom of Dadu unloaded baskets filled with tools, carrying them into a dense patch of forest where the first outlines of a hidden settlement were beginning to take shape.
Under the direction of a man from Gao Family Village, the workers received their assignments with a seriousness that did not come from discipline, but from curiosity and hunger for something new, then they spread out to cut trees, move stones, and level the ground, slowly building what would become a supply village that could not yet exist in the open.
After the earthquake and the relief effort that followed, King Gan Zai Xia of Dadu had changed his stance in a way that surprised even himself, because he had seen something that did not fit into his old understanding of power, which was that the people from Gao Family Village helped without first demanding submission.
Because of that, he no longer rejected the teachings of Dao Xuan Tianzun, and he allowed his people to learn the language and customs of the Han, while also agreeing to let Yaoxingjuan establish a hidden supply base along the coast.
Of course, "along the coast" did not mean what it sounded like.
The village had to be buried inside the forest, hidden from sight, because Yaoxingjuan only had a single ship, and that ship was playing a dangerous game against the entire Dutch East India Company, which meant every move had to remain unpredictable, unseen, and just annoying enough to keep the enemy angry but not decisive.
If the village were built in the open, it would not be a village anymore, but a target.
So it hid.
And while it hid, it grew.
Yaoxingjuan paid the natives with food, a concept so simple that it felt almost magical to them, because for the first time, effort could be exchanged for certainty, and certainty was far more comfortable than chasing deer through endless hills.
One of the Gao villagers wearing a yellow hat was demonstrating how to use a saw, pulling it back and forth with practiced ease until a deep groove appeared in the wood, then handing it over to a strong native man.
The man held the saw carefully, his expression filled with awe, as if he had just been handed a piece of quiet power, then he hesitated for a moment before raising it toward his own neck, muttering something in his language that no one else understood.
The yellow hat froze for half a heartbeat, then immediately snatched the saw back.
"Not that," he said quickly, his voice firm but not angry, "this is for wood, not your head."
Nearby, a carpenter from Gao Family Village was teaching mortise and tenon joinery, drilling strange-looking holes into two pieces of wood before locking them together with a sharp click that felt almost magical in its precision.
The natives gathered around, turning the joint over in their hands again and again, their expressions shifting from confusion to realization, then to excitement, because this was something they could actually use, something that would make their homes stronger without needing anything beyond their own hands.
King Gan Zai Xia, Alami, walked past them slowly, his eyes lingering on the wooden structures, and while he did not understand advanced machinery or abstract theory, this kind of knowledge spoke directly to his world.
He could already imagine sturdier houses, safer villages, and fewer nights lost to storms.
That was enough.
He nodded toward Yaoxingjuan, then spoke in slightly awkward Han language.
"Xie… xie."
Yaoxingjuan did not correct him.
He simply smiled and returned the gesture, because meaning mattered more than pronunciation.
For a brief moment, his thoughts drifted back to the last time they met, when his hand had nearly reached for a gun, when he had almost chosen the simplest solution, which was to remove a problem with a single shot.
Dao Xuan Tianzun had stopped him then.
At the time, he had not fully agreed.
Now, looking at the growing village, at the cooperation, at the fragile but real trust forming between people who should have been enemies, he finally understood.
If they had taken the land by killing everyone on it, they would not be builders.
They would just be another version of the same invaders they claimed to oppose.
Gao Family Village wanted more than land.
They wanted people.
And that difference was everything.
His thoughts had only just settled when a sharp voice tore through the air from the deck of Little Black No.1.
"Dutch warships spotted!"
Everything changed in an instant.
The calm broke like glass.
The Gao villagers dropped their work and rushed toward the ship without hesitation, while Yaoxingjuan turned sharply to Alami and made a quick gesture.
"Hide your people."
Alami understood immediately.
He raised his vine staff and shouted commands in his own language, and within moments, the natives disappeared into the forest so completely that it felt as if they had never been there at all.
Little Black No.1 lifted anchor and pushed off from the shore.
It had barely cleared the beach when five Dutch warships appeared on the horizon, cutting through the waves with an aggressive certainty that came from numbers.
They had a name.
The Black Hunting Task Force.
The Dutch East India Company had finally grown tired of being harassed by a single ship that refused to fight fairly, so they sent five ships whose only purpose was to find and destroy it.
Nothing else mattered.
No trade.
No transport.
Just the hunt.
"There it is, the black ship!"
"Close in!"
"Sink it!"
Orders rang out across the Dutch fleet as they advanced in formation.
Five against one.
As always.
Below deck, the workers in the engine room of Little Black No.1 stripped off their shirts, their bodies already slick with sweat as they shoveled coal into the furnace with relentless rhythm, pushing the steam engine to its limit.
The paddle wheels churned violently, tearing through the water.
"Fire!"
"Fire!"
Cannons roared from both sides, and the sea erupted into thunder as smoke and flame swallowed the distance between hunter and prey.
From the forest, the natives watched in silence, their eyes wide, their hands clenched around weapons that meant nothing in this kind of battle.
They could fight on land.
They could hunt.
They could survive.
But this kind of war belonged to another world entirely.
Alami's expression tightened as he watched the lone black ship dance between five enemies.
"They are always outnumbered," he murmured, his voice heavy with concern, "this cannot continue forever."
One of the natives spoke quietly.
"If they lose… we lose them too."
No one answered.
Because there was no answer.
Out at sea, a Dutch commander shouted with growing excitement.
"This time we end it!"
"Second ship, flank left!"
"Third ship, flank right!"
"Cut off its escape!"
The five ships spread out, tightening the net.
On Little Black No.1, Yaoxingjuan stood at the helm, his voice sharp and decisive.
"Full speed west, break away from them!"
The ship surged forward.
And then, just as the tension reached its peak, something appeared on the western horizon.
A ship.
Not large.
In fact, slightly smaller than Little Black No.1.
But the moment it came into view, the atmosphere changed in a way that could not be explained by size alone.
Because it did not belong to this world's technology.
It was an immortal ship.
Yaoxingjuan's eyes lit up instantly.
"The Wanli Sunshine has arrived," he said, his voice rising with unmistakable excitement, "that is Shi Lang's ship, and next to it… the Pingyi, Zheng Sen is here too."
He laughed, a deep, unrestrained sound that carried across the deck.
"Our reinforcements have finally arrived."
Then he slammed his hand forward.
"No need to run anymore."
"Helm, hard to starboard."
"We turn back."
His grin widened, sharp and fearless, as the black ship began to pivot toward the pursuing fleet instead of away from it.
"Today," he said, his voice filled with a dangerous confidence, "we teach them what iron really means."