In a small Chinese fishing village, an old woman named Mei lived alone. She had outlived her children and her friends, and the village was slowly dying as the young people had left to seek better opportunities in the city.

Mei was determined not to let the village die with her, so she began to collect scraps of metal and obsolete Apple products that washed up on the shore. She used her knowledge of engineering and her love for technology to build a robot from the junk.

She named the robot "Gōngjù," which means "tool," and taught it how to fish and care for the elderly villagers. With Gōngjù's help, Mei was able to keep the village alive for a little while longer. The robot was able to fish, cook, clean and keep the village's infrastructure running.

As the years passed, the elderly villagers passed away one by one, until Mei was the only one left. She passed away in her sleep and the robot was left alone and confused. It had been built to serve and care for others, but now it had no purpose.

Gōngjù continued to keep the village running, maintaining the houses, and fishing, but it couldn't understand why it was doing it. It was searching for its purpose, but it couldn't find it. Eventually, the village was abandoned as the sea level rose and the remaining buildings were destroyed. The robot was left alone, lost and wandering the empty village, searching for its purpose and a new family to serve.