The siblings continued on their way as they spoke.
At noon, the sun blazed like fire. While people feared the heat, animals were far more resilient. Cicadas, whose origins were unknown, chirped incessantly from the trees, their calls sounding like a sudden burst of suona music, making one's ears ring.
After walking for another ten li or so, Gu Qingcheng saw a vast barrier lake appear before them, likely formed by the collapse of some dam.
Seeing this, Gu Qingcheng was delighted. She quickly deployed the yacht and, along with Migguo, boarded the comfortable vessel.
Once aboard, they were attended to by the constant temperature air conditioning, instantly feeling refreshed.
Having learned their lesson, they went to the bathroom to wash off the sweat before heading straight for the yacht's luxurious suite to enjoy the air conditioning and a good sleep.
The yacht navigated autonomously, requiring no input from Gu Qingcheng. It even provided advance warning upon reaching its destination. Having used it once before, Gu Qingcheng knew its automation was practically perfect, so she felt at ease and drifted off to sleep.
She slept until the system notification:
"Host, the yacht has docked."
Only then did Gu Qingcheng open her eyes, stretch, and ask:
"Have we run out of waterways?"
"No, it is nightfall. We are docking to rest."
The system replied considerately.
So, it also needed to rest?
Not working overtime even at night?
Alright, Gu Qingcheng got up.
She checked the system's time display. It was 8 PM. She had slept enough and felt fully energized.
After getting up, Gu Qingcheng washed up. Seeing that Migguo was still asleep, she decided to prepare dinner.
The yacht's central air conditioning was operational around the clock, keeping it pleasantly cool, which helped restore her appetite.
Gu Qingcheng cooked tomato and beef stew rice, its sourness very appetizing.
For soup, she made mantis shrimp and cabbage soup.
Just as she finished, Migguo also woke up.
Gu Qingcheng told him to wash his face to freshen up before drinking soup and eating.
Migguo quickly finished, sat at the dining table, and his appetite was greatly stimulated by the steaming beef rice and light mantis shrimp and cabbage soup.
The siblings enjoyed a delicious, albeit late, dinner.
After eating their fill, Gu Qingcheng went up to the deck.
It was then that she noticed the yacht was docked beside a meadow. Fireflies flitted through the grass, leaving trails of faint green light, a beautiful sight. Migguo also came up to the deck, and they admired it together.
On the deck, they watched the starry sky, felt the cool breeze, drank several bottles of cold beverages, and ate iced watermelon, enjoying a leisurely evening.
After staying up late, Gu Qingcheng said, "Let's get some rest. We have to set off again tomorrow. Who knows how long we'll be able to travel by boat. We might have to walk again."
"Okay," Migguo replied.
As the two were about to leave the deck, a shadowy movement was suddenly spotted in the meadow.
Gu Qingcheng initially thought she was seeing things, but her innate alertness made her quickly focus her gaze on the dark shape.
However, when she looked again, there was no movement.
Gu Qingcheng retrieved an infrared telescope from the storage cabinet and aimed it at the shadow to investigate.
Good heavens, she wouldn't have known if she hadn't looked! It turned out that over a dozen people were lurking in the meadow opposite.
They were clever enough to cover themselves with thick turf, camouflaging themselves perfectly against the surrounding grass. Even in daylight, they would have been overlooked if not for careful observation.
But fortunately, they chose to lie in wait at night, and with the infrared telescope, Gu Qingcheng could see them clearly.
Gu Qingcheng said to Migguo:
"Enemies approach, prepare for battle!"
With that, Gu Qingcheng took out a head-mounted infrared night-vision device and helped Migguo put it on.
Seeing another of his sister's miraculous artifacts, Migguo was startled when Gu Qingcheng helped him put it on. He looked at his sister and saw her as a mere phantom.
Gu Qingcheng explained, "This thing is for detecting the tracks of people and animals at night. Look across."
Migguo followed his sister's instructions and looked across, only to be shocked to see that more than a dozen people were hidden in the seemingly calm meadow.
"Sister, it seems they want to rob us while we're asleep and board the ship."
"Hmph, that depends on who they are targeting."
Gu Qingcheng sneered.
They would ultimately be disappointed, as the yacht wasn't something they could simply board.
In fact, as soon as she fell asleep, the ship would activate its defense system, making it impossible for outsiders to climb aboard.
However, since their intentions had been discovered, she wouldn't let them get away with it.
"Haha, they've got the wrong idea," Migguo laughed.
"Yes, let's take this opportunity to deal with these petty thieves," Gu Qingcheng said.
"How do we do it?"
"We'll pretend to go to sleep and see what their next move is."
Gu Qingcheng said.
From the meadow opposite, the robbers could only see shadows moving on the large ship. They couldn't hear what was being said or what was being done, which was a testament to the difference in their capabilities.
Gu Qingcheng, with her modern equipment, could see them clearly, while they could only observe them vaguely.
"Boss, why haven't they gone to sleep yet?"
On the meadow, one of the robbers asked his companion.
"Keep your voice down. Are you afraid they won't notice you?
They're dawdling. Maybe they're enjoying the cool breeze on the deck. This ship is huge. If we capture it, we'll be masters of this area."
The robber, called the boss, encouraged him.
"Sigh, I'm starving. It was too cold before, now it's hot again, and there are mosquitoes everywhere. I'm covered in bites."
"Stop complaining. If you keep talking, I'll kick you into the river to feed the turtles!"
"Okay, okay, I won't complain anymore. Hey, Boss, they've gone inside. They've even put out the oil lamps. Looks like they're going to sleep."
"Yes, wait a while longer. We'll board the ship after they've fallen asleep."
"Okay."
After another half an hour, seeing no candles or oil lamps lit in the ship's cabin, the bandits, at their boss's command, attempted to climb aboard the large ship.
The robbers waded through the shallow water and reached the underside of the large ship.
"Huh? I clearly saw a rope ladder hanging down earlier, but why can't I see it now?"
One of the robbers said.
"You must have seen wrong. The rope ladder is here."
At this moment, another robber called out softly.
The robber boss looked at the rope ladder and felt something was amiss. He clearly hadn't seen the rope ladder placed there before.
Huh? Perhaps he had been lying in wait for too long and his eyes were playing tricks on him.
So, he didn't dwell on it further and began to climb up the rope ladder.
Gu Qingcheng and Migguo were waiting for them at the bow of the ship, so repositioning the rope ladder to this spot was intended to allow them to attack from above.
The robbers climbed up the rope ladder one by one.
The first one to show his head was shot in the chest by Gu Qingcheng. He let out a cry of "Ah!" and fell into the water.
The ones behind him were still unaware of the situation. They climbed up a few steps and peered over, only to be met with another arrow...
After three consecutive falls, even the slowest among them realized something was wrong. They hesitated to climb further, but as they debated whether to retreat, Gu Qingcheng voluntarily showed herself, bared her teeth at them, and shot them one by one...
With the help of the infrared scope, Gu Qingcheng eliminated five of them. The rest were left for Migguo.
Migguo was not to be outdone, also shooting one by one...
Alas, these robbers, who had endured mosquito bites and waited for hours, were about to enjoy the fruits of their labor when they were heavily bombarded by the siblings and all fell into the water, lamenting their fate.
Gu Qingcheng briefly checked and found no further activity in the meadow. She then felt at ease and went to sleep.
After all, once she fell asleep, the yacht would activate its automatic defense system.