36: uninvited guest

It was 2 AM.

The sea breeze, carrying the chill of the deep night, swept across the deck.

Lin Mo leaned against the railing alone, his deep gaze fixed on the moonlit sea, which had been turned silver.

Just then, a faint rustle of footsteps came from the direction of the cabin.

Lin Mo did not turn around, merely stating indifferently, “It’s not time yet.”

Gu Zhixia was dressed in a black athletic shorts and a white T-shirt, suitable for movement, and still carried the inseparable Six-Harmony Long Spear in her hand.

She walked up to Lin Mo, her gaze habitually sweeping the empty sea once before settling on him.

“You’re working too hard,” her voice was softer than usual, with a hint of imperceptible concern. “If I come earlier, you can get a little more sleep.”

Lin Mo turned his head, a faint smile playing on his lips, and just looked at her.

“So you care about me that much?”

Gu Zhixia’s cheeks instantly flushed a light red. She abruptly turned her head away, her voice returning to its usual cool tone.

“No way! I just don’t want to have to take care of you after you fall ill! It’s such a hassle!”

Lin Mo chuckled softly, straightened up, and stretched his somewhat stiff joints.

“Alright, I know.”

With that, he turned and walked towards the cabin without any hesitation.

Gu Zhixia watched his retreating back, her lips moved, and finally, two words squeezed out from her throat.

“Good night.”

Her voice was very soft, as if afraid of being scattered by the wind.

After saying it, she immediately turned her head to the other side, pretending to look at the scenery.

“Good night.”

Lin Mo’s voice came from ahead; he had already disappeared into the shadows of the cabin.

Gu Zhixia stood there for a while, feeling a strange sense of relief, yet at the same time, an inexplicable feeling of loss welled up within her.

She shook her head, shaking off these cluttered thoughts, and went to the bridge alone, sitting down in the captain’s chair to begin her night watch.

Time passed by minute by minute.

The sea remained calm and peaceful, and the radar screen was a serene green.

Just as a sliver of dawn appeared on the horizon, and Gu Zhixia was starting to feel drowsy…

Beep! Beep! Beep!

A series of urgent alarms suddenly blared from the control panel, instantly shattering the pre-dawn tranquility!

Gu Zhixia jolted, instantly awake, and sat up straight!

She stared intently at the radar screen, where, at the edge of the screen, behind the light dot representing their position, more than a dozen dazzling red dots had appeared at some point!

Those dots were arranged in a standard attack formation, charging straight towards their direction at an extremely high speed!

“How could this be…” Gu Zhixia’s heart instantly leaped to her throat.

She immediately activated the radar detection system, zooming in on the display.

It was a massive fleet consisting of more than a dozen warships!

Leading the way was a gigantic destroyer, entirely black, covered in menacing cannon muzzles!

Behind it followed more than a dozen frigates and sailing ships of the same specifications, each with a flag depicting a ferocious black dragon soaring flying from its mast!

Longxiang Fleet!

The name instantly popped into Gu Zhixia’s mind!

It was them! It was that massive power that hadoverbearingly announced in the regional channel that it would establish a new order!

How did they find this place?

A chill ran down Gu Zhixia’s spine. The enemy was coming fiercely, with a clear objective; it was definitely not as simple as just passing by.

What to do?

Should she wake Lin Mo immediately?

But he had overdrawn his mental energy so much yesterday, and had only just fallen asleep less than six hours ago… She bit her lip, caught in a fierce internal struggle.

No! This was no longer a situation she could handle!

Gu Zhixia suddenly stood up, no longer caring about anything else, and rushed to Lin Mo’s berth at top speed.

She even forgot to knock, pushing open the slightly ajar door.

“Lin Mo! It’s bad, there’s a situation!” Her voice carried a hint of panic and urgency she hadn’t even realized herself.

On the bed, Lin Mo’s eyes snapped open almost the instant she pushed the door.

There was no trace of post-sleep haziness in his deep eyes.

He instantly sat up, his mental energy already connected to the entire Natural Selection.

The image on the radar screen was clearly projected in his mind.

“Longxiang Fleet…” Lin Mo’s expression darkened.

Gu Zhixia stood at the doorway, looking at Lin Mo, who had instantly entered combat mode, and said anxiously, “They’re very fast, and they’re getting closer to us! Let’s quickly activate flight mode and shake them off!”

In her opinion, given the enemy’s numerical superiority, a head-on confrontation would definitely be the most foolish choice.

“No rush.” Lin Mo shook his head, threw off the covers and got out of bed, without a hint of panic on his face. “After a night of charging, the power is full, and we can fly at any time. But there’s no need to reveal our trump card so early.”

He patted Gu Zhixia’s shoulder, his voice steady and strong, carrying a reassuring power.

“Don’t worry, let’s see what tricks they want to pull first.”

Just then, a sweet, soft voice accompanied by a “thump-thump-thump” of footsteps came from the other end of the corridor.

“Brother Mo, wake up! Breakfast is ready!”

Gu Nianqiu, like a lively Little Girl, skipped over, and just as she was about to push the door, she saw her sister standing at the entrance.

The Little Girl blinked her innocent big eyes, tilted her head, and asked curiously.

“Oh? Sister, did you also come to wake up Brother Mo?”

“I…” Gu Zhixia’s face instantly flushed.

She opened her mouth, but found herself unable to explain why she was standing alone at Lin Mo’s berth door just as dawn broke.

For a moment, she froze there, wishing she could find a crack in the ground to crawl into.

“Yes.” Lin Mo’s voice sounded at the right time. He had already dressed and walked out of the berth, standing between the two sisters without a trace of emotion, naturally taking over the conversation.

“Your sister found something happening and came to inform me.”

“Oh oh! So that’s what it is!” Gu Nianqiu suddenly understood, and didn’t think much of it. She took Lin Mo’s and her sister’s hands, urging, “Then let’s go eat breakfast quickly! We’ll have the strength to fight bad guys after we eat!”

The three came to the dining room.

A sumptuous breakfast was already laid out, but at this moment, no one was in the mood to enjoy it.

Gu Zhixia looked worried, glancing at the radar screen from time to time; those dozen red dots were like a dozen towering mountains pressing on her heart.

Lin Mo, on the other hand, appeared much calmer.

While he unhurriedly ate his fried egg, he opened the ship’s information panel.

Escaping death was not without its rewards.

The thrilling battle on the Isle of Wisdom had caused the Natural Selection to level up twice, directly reaching LV12.

【Ship Exchange Points】: 22

“In a little while, neither of you should show your faces.” Lin Mo took a sip of milk. “I’ll go negotiate with them alone.”

“If the other party is ill-intentioned and wants to gang up on us, we’ll just take off and run. If they want to trade or seek cooperation, then we’ll discuss it further.”

Gu Zhixia nodded; Lin Mo’s arrangements were always the most secure option at the moment.

“They’re very fast. I estimated their cruising speed is at least 25km/h, and we’re only at 18km/h right now.” She added, her voice full of worry. “They’re still over twenty kilometers away from us, so we’ll be caught up to in at most four or five more hours.”

“Four or five hours, that’s enough.”

The corner of Lin Mo’s mouth curved into a cold arc.

He cast his gaze upon the ship’s upgrade panel, a module he had always wanted to unlock but didn’t have enough exchange points for.

【Electromagnetic Defense Barrier】

【Requires 20 exchange points to unlock. Can generate an energy shield covering the entire ship, defending against physical and energy attacks. Shield value is linked to ship durability and consumes electricity to maintain.】

This was a true life-saving artifact!

“Exchange.” Lin Mo did not hesitate.

【Confirm consuming 20 exchange points to build the Electromagnetic Defense Barrier module?】

“Confirm.”

The command was given, and a slight hum came from deep within the hull.

An invisible, faint blue energy field instantly covered the entire hull of the Natural Selection, then disappeared from sight.

He wanted to see what this so-called “Longxiang Fleet” truly intended to do.