79: Shipborne drone hive

The first ray of morning light pierced through the curved porthole, casting a long, warm strip of brightness into Lin Mo's room.

He awoke from a deep sleep, surrounded by the almost imperceptible low hum of the ship sailing steadily.

A long-lost tranquility.

Lin Mo got out of bed, and after a quick wash, walked towards the living area.

A rich aroma of wheat, mixed with the charred scent of fried eggs, precisely guided his direction.

In the multi-functional dining room, Gu Nianqiu was humming an off-key tune, wearing her pink bear apron, as she placed the last breakfast item on the table.

Seeing Lin Mo, she immediately broke into a bright smile.

"Brother Mo, good morning!"

"Morning."

Lin Mo pulled out a chair and sat down. On the table was golden-crisp toast, next to a perfectly runny sunny-side-up egg, and a steaming cup of milk.

Simple food, yet it exuded an enticing aroma, enhanced by the ‘Fortified Wheat’ and fresh milk.

"Where is my sister?"

Lin Mo took a bite of toast and asked casually.

"My sister is still sleeping in!"

Gu Nianqiu propped her chin with her hand, a hint of helplessness on her small face.

"I just went to call her, but she didn't react at all, just like a little pig."

Lin Mo smiled.

It seemed the ‘Estate Vintage’ from last night had quite a kick.

"Then let her sleep."

"Brother Mo, what are we doing today?"

Gu Nianqiu took a sip of milk, her pure, large eyes filled with anticipation for the new day.

"Can we go play with the new facilities that came with the upgrade? I saw there's a really big swimming pool!"

Lin Mo looked at her eager little face, and his heart stirred.

"Yes."

"When your sister wakes up, we'll have a pool party today."

"Pool party?"

Gu Nianqiu paused for a moment, then her large eyes instantly lit up, filled with surprise.

"Yay! Yay! Pool party!"

The young girl cheered happily, as if she could already see the splashing water.

After breakfast, Lin Mo felt he should still check on Gu Zhixia.

He arrived at Gu Zhixia's door and knocked gently.

No response.

He tried to push the door open; it wasn't locked.

The thick curtains were drawn in the room, making it dim, and a faint aroma of red wine still lingered in the air.

Gu Zhixia was completely curled up under the covers, only a mass of dark, smooth long hair visible.

Lin Mo softened his footsteps and walked to the bed.

He could hear her even, long breaths; she was in a deep sleep.

"Mmm... stop it..."

She suddenly let out a dreamy murmur, seemingly in the middle of a dream.

Lin Mo shook his head helplessly and sat down on the edge of her bed.

Perhaps feeling the mattress sink, the figure under the covers stirred.

The next second, Gu Zhixia suddenly rolled over, her arm precisely extending from under the covers, wrapping around Lin Mo's waist. Her cheek rubbed against his side, then she stopped moving and continued to sleep soundly.

Lin Mo's body instantly froze.

He looked down at the fair arm wrapped around his waist, then at her defenseless sleeping face, and his heart softened.

What a little sleepyhead.

He reached out and gently shook her shoulder.

"Zhi Xia, wake up."

"Mmm..."

Gu Zhixia let out a disgruntled grunt, her brows tightly furrowed.

She slowly opened her eyes, her phoenix eyes, usually as sharp as knives, now clouded with the hazy moisture of just waking up.

It took her several seconds for her vision to finally focus.

Then, she saw Lin Mo close at hand.

She also saw her arm, tightly clutching his waist.

Boom—

She felt her cheeks instantly heat up, burning all the way to her earlobes.

Last night's memories, like broken film, began to flash rapidly through her mind.

Drinking, chatting, she said so, so many things... and then... and then... she seemed to have kissed him.

Gu Zhixia abruptly let go, retracting her arm into the covers like lightning, wrapping herself into a tight spring roll.

Lin Mo looked at her adorable reaction, a subtle curve playing on his lips.

"Hurry and get up; Nianqiu has already made breakfast."

"Later, we'll have a pool party."

"..."

The person under the covers was silent for a moment, then a muffled, barely audible response came.

"Oh."

Lin Mo didn't tease her further and got up and left the room.

Gu Zhixia lingered in bed for a few more minutes before, with a flushed face, she slowly shuffled towards the dining room.

Lin Mo, meanwhile, went directly to the cockpit.

He sat in the spacious commander's chair and brought up the Natural Selection's holographic status panel.

After a day and a night of cruising, the experience points were full again.

"‘Natural Selection’ level increased to LV21!"

"Basic structural strength slightly increased."

"Energy core output power slightly increased."

Lin Mo's gaze fell on another system prompt.

It was a special lottery opportunity awarded by the system when he reached LV20; he had been busy exploring the portal at the time and hadn't had a chance to use it.

Now was a good time.

"System, use the special lottery opportunity."

He gave the command.

On the holographic screen before him, a giant, technologically advanced wheel, composed of countless golden data streams, instantly appeared.

The wheel began to spin rapidly, its prize sections covered in dazzling light, making the contents impossible to see.

The pointer swept across the spinning wheel, leaving trails of afterimages.

Lin Mo's heart also rose.

Finally, the wheel's speed slowly decreased.

The pointer ultimately stopped in an area shimmering with brilliant golden light.

"Congratulations! You have received a Gold-quality reward: ‘shipboard drone hive’ blueprint × 1!"

"Bonus: ‘hornet’ Type I reconnaissance/attack drone × 4"

Something good arrived.

Lin Mo's eyes lit up, and he immediately clicked on the detailed information of the blueprint.

An incredibly precise and complex three-dimensional structural diagram appeared before him.

It was a drone Hangar that could be built into the ship's interior, like a beehive, capable of automatic maintenance, recharging, and ammunition resupply for drones.

The four accompanying ‘hornet’ drones also had extremely sleek and cool designs.

They were entirely black, their shape referencing the biological structure of a hornet, exuding a cold industrial aesthetic. Beneath the fuselage, a small-caliber rapid-fire machine gun was mounted, and under each wing, two small high-explosive warheads were attached.

They could perform high-speed reconnaissance and also form a deadly attacking swarm.

With this, future landing explorations or dealing with small aerial enemies would offer more tactical options.

Their combat power had once again achieved a qualitative leap.