Gu Qingcheng said, "Dad, Mom, let's go to Jinsha Mountain to collect more supplies. After all, this boat consumes a lot of coal."
The water level rose sharply, and Jinsha Mountain was also threatened. Anyone who wasn't foolish would have abandoned the mining pits halfway up the mountain and fled to the higher peaks.
This was their prime opportunity to harvest resources.
Outside the south gate of the city, there was a patch of lush poplar trees, over 20 meters tall. As the water level rose, the previously towering poplar forest now appeared like clumps of bushes in the water.
Passing through the poplar forest, Gu Qingcheng steered the boat towards Jinsha Mountain.
Miguo was on deck admiring the scenery when she suddenly exclaimed, "Sister, what's that on the water?"
Gu Qingcheng looked ahead and saw a straight line of disturbed water rapidly approaching them.
Gu Zhaobei also saw it and said nervously, "It's a big fish, or some large aquatic creature. The water disturbance is caused by it swimming underwater. This fish is definitely not small, weighing at least a hundred to two hundred catties."
"What do we do? It's charging straight at us, will it capsize our boat?" Hu Lanfang asked in panic.
Gu Zhaobei's expression was grave as he looked around, wondering if his daughter had life jackets so they could put them on quickly.
Only Gu Qingcheng remained calm and comforted them, "It's okay. If it really hits us, it depends on whether my boat is sturdier or its head is."
As soon as she finished speaking, the water line struck the side of the boat. With a heavy "bang," the boat vibrated slightly, but the underwater creature that had collided with it vanished.
Hu Lanfang, still tense and expecting a second collision, was reassured by Gu Qingcheng's laughter, "Mom, it's alright, don't be nervous. That silly thing hit itself half to death and can't hurt us anymore."
The others couldn't see it, but Gu Qingcheng could. A prompt popped up in the system:
Yacht absorbed 90% of impact wave energy. Self-damage: 0.01%.
Result: Impact successfully evaded.
Gu Qingcheng smiled with satisfaction. It seemed the yacht's automatic defense system was no joke; it was truly useful and came through in a pinch! The slight ripple just now was the effect of the yacht absorbing the impact wave energy.
Soon, everyone saw a giant fish floating on the surface behind the boat.
"Wow, it's a big fish! It's huge, bigger than a cow!" Miguo exclaimed excitedly.
"Let's go back and collect it," Gu Qingcheng said and steered the boat back towards where the fish had surfaced.
This giant fish seemed to be fierce and prone to attacking people. But its desperate charge, made with all its might, hadn't capsized the boat; instead, it had left itself near death.
The yacht sailed alongside the fish. It was still alive, its mouth opening and closing as it gasped for air. Gu Qingcheng lowered the ramp, held onto the safety rope, and touched the fish, collecting it into the storage cabinet.
"It's a giant catfish, nearly 3 meters long and estimated to weigh around 300 kilograms," Gu Zhaobei said, awestruck. Having been part of a fishing association, he was familiar with fish species. He hadn't expected to encounter such a massive fish, likely a world record. It was a shame, he mused, that he hadn't caught it himself, which would have cemented his place in fishing history.
"This fish is fatter than the pigs in our village. If we take it back, it'll be enough for everyone in the village to have a good meal," Miguo said cheerfully. The giant fish had disappeared without a trace, but Miguo wasn't surprised; he considered it a feat of divine power.
Every time Miguo offered such explanations, Gu Qingcheng couldn't help but think that in modern society, when faced with inexplicable phenomena, humans would attribute them to concepts like the "gaze of four-dimensional space" or "higher-dimensional beings." Perhaps, there was some truth to it.
After collecting the fish, Gu Qingcheng continued to pilot the yacht towards Jinsha Mountain.
Hu Lanfang, having experienced the ordeal, felt much safer and said with a smile, "It seems the yacht is indeed very safe. Even a fish that big couldn't damage us in a full-force collision."
"Yeah, Mom. Otherwise, we couldn't have gotten from Phoenix Village so quickly. We owe it all to the yacht," Miguo added.
Gu Zhaobei and Hu Lanfang were completely reassured. If a fish this large couldn't damage the boat, there were unlikely to be any larger underwater creatures inland.
Upon arriving at Jinsha Mountain, Gu Qingcheng asked Miguo and Hu Lanfang to stay on the boat while she and her father went up the mountain to collect supplies. They were familiar with the area, having been there before. Besides, more people would only be a hindrance. It was better for them to wait on the boat. With the yacht's defense system active, their safety was guaranteed, so Gu Qingcheng didn't worry about leaving her mother behind.
Hu Lanfang, being sensible, readily agreed to stay on the boat with Miguo.
As they had expected, Jinsha Mountain was experiencing a dramatic rise in water levels, reaching the locations of the coal and gold mines they had previously excavated. If the water rose further, these resources would be submerged. Fortunately, they had arrived in time; a little later, and the water would have flooded the mine entrances, making their task impossible.
This time, there was no need to climb the mountain; they could simply dock at a gently sloping section of the shore with calm water. Gu Qingcheng instructed the yacht to extend its ramp, delivering her and her father directly to the shore. They then proceeded less than 100 meters inland to the coal mine they had previously visited.
Just as they had anticipated, with the rapidly rising water levels, the miners had evacuated. Whether they had left the area or fled further up the mountain, the site was deserted. The excavated coal was still piled up, forming small coal mountains. Gu Qingcheng began to collect it in earnest. There must have been tens of thousands of tons of coal visible. As for the unexcavated coal within the mine, it was a pity they couldn't collect it.
After collecting the coal, the two continued their ascent towards the gold mine. They encountered no one along the way, but they did find abandoned coal trucks by the roadside, which Gu Qingcheng collected, adding another thousand tons of coal to their haul.
The situation at the gold mine was similar to the coal mine; there were no people to be seen. The sudden, fierce flood had likely terrified everyone into fleeing for safety. Gu Qingcheng wouldn't have imagined the water would rise so high; who wouldn't be afraid of drowning? The absence of any supervisors indicated that everyone had been in a state of panic. Gu Qingcheng collected the formed gold nuggets one by one, adding billions in wealth to their store. Finally, Gu Qingcheng even collected the mining and refining tools, which could be useful if they discovered gold mines in the south in the future.
After gathering these items, they retraced their steps, spending approximately an hour on the mountain. They could see Hu Lanfang waiting for them on the boat from a distance. She was likely worried and had been scanning the horizon from the deck. Seeing them descend from the mountain, she was overjoyed and waved enthusiastically at them.