Jiang Chao, a scientific expedition researcher, travels through time to a primitive, desolate sea sealed off by year-round storms. Facing desperate circumstances, he relies on modern medicine, fishing and hunting, and engineering knowledge to overcome one crisis after another. He cures an infected child and builds his initial wealth through fine salt and dried fish. He subdues sea bandits, forms alliances with neighboring tribes, builds large ships, digs canals, smelts bronze, and constructs docks. From surviving alone to leading an entire tribe, and from an isolated island settlement to a deep-water city-state, he leads his people through towering waves and countless crises to forge a path toward civilization. Just as the walls of Tide Harbor City rise, the silhouette of a giant ship slowly emerges on the horizon beyond the storm wall.