Captain Zao

Captain Zao is a ghoul living in the Yangtze submarine in 2287.

Background
Captain Zao is a former captain of the Chinese Navy. He is the captain of a Yangtze class Submarine; the Yangtze-31. He has been observing Boston for centuries, ever since the Yangtze hit a mine and became stranded. The rest of his crew are feral, but he cannot bring himself to kill them. He mentions that he has to fend off raiders at times.

Zao recalls firing his ship's nuclear salvo as ordered, though it is not clear if he is responsible for the nuclear detonations specifically in the Commonwealth. He reflects on his actions with guilt, regretting the destruction he caused. It is possible that one of his ship's fired warheads was the large one that created the Glowing Sea.

He seems to consider the liberation of Anchorage "a joke". He is clearly aware of the war being over, but he still holds traditional values of the old world. He refers to the Sole Survivor as "capitalist" and "American".

Quests
Here There Be Monsters: The Sole Survivor can help Zao repair the Yangtze submarine.

Effects of player's actions

 * Should the Sole Survivor call Zao "commie", they will demand that he dies for destroying your country, and Captain Zao will immediately turn hostile and try to kill the Sole Survivor.
 * Should one help him repair the Yangtze's reactor, he rewards with homing beacons for small tactical nukes fired from the Yangtze, saying "I do not want to bring the fire home." Zao will also give the player character a Chinese officer sword named Zao's Sword, if all three Charisma checks asking for money are passed.

Appearances
Zao appears only in Fallout 4.

Behind the scenes

 * 'Zao' is probably a misspelling of the common Chinese surname 'Zhao'（赵）, since there is no real-life Chinese surname called 'Zao'. That is, however, assuming that 'Zao' is Captain Zao's surname.
 * He often mixes Chinese with English in his speech, including:
 * Yangtze=扬子, The Yangtze River of China.
 * He ping=和平, Peace.
 * Jang Shi=僵尸, Zombie.
 * Qian ting=潜艇, Submarine.
 * Wei xian=危险, Danger.
 * Gu shi=故事, Story.
 * Bao Wu=宝物, Treasure.
 * Shi de=是的, Yes.
 * Tong ku=痛苦, Pain & Suffering.
 * Xing yun=幸运, Luck/Fortune.
 * Bu xing=不幸, Misfortune.
 * Xie xie=谢谢, Thanks.
 * Zhongguo=中国, China.
 * Jia=家, Home.
 * Zu guo=祖国, Motherland.
 * Xian jin=现金, Cash.
 * Yi han=遗憾, Regret.
 * Jian=剑, Sword.
 * Gong zuo=工作, Work.
 * You xiu=优秀, Excellent/Outstanding.
 * Bei=悲, Sadness. (however, Bei is usually associated with other adjectives instead of on its own.)
 * Jia ren=家人, Family.
 * Jue wang=绝望, Despair.
 * Ji dan=鸡蛋, Chicken's egg.
 * Xiao xin=小心, Careful.
 * Si wang=死亡, Death.
 * Bao zha=爆炸, Explosion.
 * If turned hostile, he will say "Zhu! Ze ben jia! Die!", which means: "Pig (idiot)! Capitalist! Die!

Capitán Zao Капитан Цзао