The tale commences with the unearthing of a roughly crafted object by archaeologists who are conducting an archaeological investigation before submerging the entire region due to the establishment of the Three Gorges Dam. The researchers determine that the inventor of the artifact is Mak-zi, commonly referred to as "McFat," who was a Chinese philosopher of ancient times that created countless advances considered to be ahead of its time, such as numerous electronic gadgets before electricity was discovered. Nonetheless, due to the crudeness of the object, it has been discarded by all museums in China and abroad. Therefore, to avoid its destruction, the artifact is placed on a floating platform and continuously drifts along the Yangtze River. The narrative progresses with McDull (Kwok Kwan Yin), Mak-zi's eighteen-generation descendant, a preschooler residing in Hong Kong.