Accustomed to the automatically balanced systems on luxury yachts, riding this primitive cargo ship was indeed a bit too bumpy to bear.
Seeing that the wind direction had stabilized, Xiaopeng happily took out a tool bag he had found on the ship, retrieved a fishing rod he had stumbled upon, and announced he was going to fish.
"Why fish?" Gu Qingcheng blurted out subconsciously, catching Xiaopeng off guard.
"For food." Xiaopeng put on a thrifty air. "We can eat fresh fish these past couple of days. We're quite good at cooking fresh fish."
It turned out Xiaopeng was worried about not having enough vegetables for the journey.
They didn't know Gu Qingcheng had the Mountain Cat Supermarket, with its inexhaustible supply of rice, flour, oil, and vegetables. So, their thought of catching fish from the river was normal.
"No need. The fish in this river have too many bones and are a bit fishy. We don't really like them. Let's just eat the dried fish Chief Liao gave us. We also have some preserved vegetables and cured meat on the boat, but it's enough for a few more days."
Upon hearing that the Gu family didn't like river fish, Xiaopeng put away his fishing gear.
Gu Qingcheng didn't want to make them feel disgusted. She guessed that during their escape by water, the two brothers had probably fished and eaten river fish quite often.
Since they had already eaten it, why bring up the matter of floating corpses in the water and make them uncomfortable? There was no need.
At noon, Migguo eagerly took charge of cooking.
He prepared braised pork with preserved vegetables, dried fish stewed with ginger and garlic, soup with preserved pork ribs and kelp, and white rice.
The brothers, Dapeng and Xiaopeng, ate with such gusto that they practically licked their plates clean.
"Young Master Gu Er, I never knew you were such a master chef."
Xiaopeng, with his sweet tongue, praised Migguo to the skies.
Dapeng, being more direct, gave a simple, honest smile. He scraped the leftover crispy rice from the bottom of the pot. Seeing that everyone had eaten their fill, he poured the remaining soup, dried fish, and braised pork into his own bowl and ate with his head bowed, using his actions to commend Migguo's culinary skills.
As someone who enjoyed cooking, Migguo's greatest sense of accomplishment came from watching others devour his food.
Seeing the plates and bowls licked clean of rice and dishes was his greatest achievement.
After adapting to the new ship for half the morning, Hulánfāng and Gu Cháoběi miraculously stopped feeling seasick. They got up and ate a large bowl of rice with side dishes, just like everyone else.
Gu Qingcheng was relieved to see her parents adapt so quickly. They were indeed a man and a woman enhanced by the Strengthening Pills.
Due to the weak winds, the cargo ship sailed very slowly. A journey that would have taken only a day and a half by yacht took them a full five days.
The long time spent on the cargo ship made Gu Qingcheng feel as if time had stood still.
Fortunately, there were no floating corpses or debris in the water now, so there was no foul odor. The water's purification capacity was quite strong, making it bearable on the cargo ship.
The next day, as they passed a village submerged by water, Xiaopeng excitedly pointed to the half-submerged village and said:
"Look, there are still people in the village waving at us. Young Master Gu, do you want to save them? Give them a ride?"
The ship wasn't theirs, so they naturally had to consult Gu Qingcheng, the owner, first.
Gu Qingcheng raised her binoculars, and her expression changed.
"Row away quickly, row further away. It'll be bad if they catch up to us. Those are zombies, and they can swim."
Fortunately, they hadn't killed anything on the ship for days, so there was no smell of blood. Otherwise, would these zombies have been "waving friendly"?
They probably would have jumped into the water with a "plop" and chased after them.
If it were a luxury yacht, Gu Qingcheng wouldn't have cared about these zombies, as the yacht would have activated its automatic defense system. However, this was an ordinary cargo ship. If a few zombies chased after them, it would be manageable. But if they came in swarms, she feared they might swim and climb onto the ship, which would be troublesome.
Xiaopeng was startled by her words. The ship had already gotten closer to the ones "waving enthusiastically." Xiaopeng looked closely and indeed saw them—zombies with grotesque appearances.
He was so scared that his hands and feet felt weak. This was the first time he had faced zombies directly, and their appearance was exactly as people described, truly unappealing.
Trembling, Xiaopeng quickly adjusted the sail's direction and steered away rapidly from the "friendly" "villagers."
Seeing that the zombies weren't chasing them, Xiaopeng wiped the sweat from his forehead and said:
"Thank goodness for Young Master Gu's foresight. Otherwise, if I had rashly sailed the ship closer and they had caught up, it would have been dangerous."
As he spoke, they heard faint "plop" sounds from the shore. Everyone looked in the direction of the sound and saw that several zombies who had been standing on the shore had indeed jumped into the water and were chasing them.
Gu Qingcheng guessed that when the ship turned, they heard the unusual noise. Zombies were quite sensitive to noise.
This was Xiaopeng's first encounter with zombies, and his face turned a little pale when he saw them chasing. He said:
"What do we do? The wind isn't strong now, and they're swimming quite fast. Will they catch up?"
"Don't worry, them being able to swim so well is perfect for me to verify something."
Gu Qingcheng, however, looked unhurried.
Of course, she wasn't worried. People with a trump card in hand always had more confidence than ordinary people.
First, they could fight back. Second, if there were too many zombies and they couldn't win, they could abandon the ship, release the yacht, and board it. With the automatic defense system, what was there to fear?
Gu Qingcheng was full of confidence, holding many trump cards. Naturally, she was calm and composed. Seeing her like this, Xiaopeng also calmed down.
He was also a military man and not so timid. Now that he had a leader, he became bolder. He quickly said:
"It's my first time encountering them, so I was a bit nervous. Please tell me what to do, Young Master Gu."
"Not yet. Let me deal with them."
Gu Qingcheng finished speaking and left the deck. A moment later, she returned, holding a bow and a quiver of flaming arrows. She asked Migguo to light a pot of oil. Then, she drew her bow, nocked an arrow, and aimed the flaming arrow at the swimming zombies.
What was Gu Qingcheng's archery skill? Naturally, she hit the mark every time.
Although the zombies swam as flexibly as fish underwater, they couldn't escape Gu Qingcheng's divine archery.
Seeing the flaming arrow hit its target, the water line of the swimming zombies in the water suddenly stopped, followed by a burst of fire...
Gu Qingcheng's face lit up with joy as she said:
"So, they're afraid of fire even underwater and can be ignited."
Gu Qingcheng muttered to herself.
She kept talking but her hands didn't stop. She shot several more arrows, and indeed, bursts of fireworks exploded on the water's surface.
"They're truly flammable! It seems that even in water, they don't lose their fear of fire. Everything in nature has its counter."
Seeing this, Migguo also felt itchy fingers. He asked his sister for his bow and started shooting zombies as well.
There weren't many zombies chasing them, perhaps around twenty. With one arrow from his sister and one from him, they were completely annihilated.
Xiaopeng stood by, dumbfounded.