"Alright," Du Lanxing said helplessly, "I'll head back first. This matter still needs to be kept from Mom and Dad, otherwise, if they find out, they'll worry themselves sick."
"Okay."
Gu Qingcheng didn't have time to think, let alone ask who Du Lanxing's parents were. She just wanted to persuade Du Lanxing to go home quickly.
After everyone had left, she slipped out the back door.
The sender of the letter had not asked her to wait, but to go to Shuixing Island alone. They had also threatened her, saying that if she didn't arrive before dark, they would sell Du Lanyue to a brothel.
Gu Qingcheng was at a loss and enraged that they had dared to lay hands on her friend.
The sender had also stated in the letter that she was to go alone, without any servants.
For Du Lanyue's safety, Gu Qingcheng naturally had to send everyone away.
She knew that if she told everyone the truth of the letter, they would definitely not let her go alone.
Therefore, she had to choose to conceal the true content of the letter.
After seeing everyone off, Gu Qingcheng went directly to the cargo dock from the back door.
One convenience of her residence was its proximity to the cargo dock.
At this time, the cargo dock was still in its nascent stages, and it would take several more months to complete. Workers were diligently toiling on the dock.
Here, wages were paid daily and disbursed punctually, so the workers never slacked off.
Gu Qingcheng skirted around the crowded areas of the cargo dock, finding a secluded, deserted waterway to launch her luxury yacht.
Gu Qingcheng boarded the ship, and upon doing so, established a connection with it. It responded to her commands as if it were an extension of her own limbs. She locked onto Shuixing Island as the target and steered the vessel towards it.
She was going to take on the bandit lair alone.
Gu Qingcheng certainly wouldn't go into battle unprepared.
While on the ship, she didn't idle.
She went to the sports goods section of the Mountain Cat Supermarket and found an antique-style chainmail. She purchased it for 300 cool points, and wearing it would protect her.
It was still the age of cold weapons, and with such chainmail, her safety could be greatly ensured.
It was a pity there were no firearms. Otherwise, her chances would have been even higher.
But even without firearms, she still had her terrifying props…
After securing her personal defenses, Gu Qingcheng began the most crucial task: upgrading the yacht.
Previously, to upgrade the yacht, she had to search the entire city of Jinsha for iron. But now, Gu Qingcheng possessed her own iron mine, so iron was no longer a problem, and she didn't have to scavenge for even a spatula like before.
After obtaining the iron ore, Gu Qingcheng didn't immediately upgrade the yacht because she considered it not a necessity at that time. There were too many places in the village that required iron, such as agricultural tools and defensive swords and knives.
Therefore, Gu Qingcheng did not upgrade the yacht right away.
This time, she happened to have a batch of iron ore in her storage cabinet, which she had originally intended to take back to the village for their use.
But with the current urgent situation, Gu Qingcheng decided to use it to upgrade the yacht.
After this upgrade, the yacht would be able to self-repair in a damaged state.
After paying the upgrade fee of 10,000 cool points and 25 tons of iron, the yacht's upgrade was instantly completed.
Gu Qingcheng checked the yacht's data and found that its original speed and power parameters remained unchanged. The only change was in the yacht's repair data, which now displayed: Automatic Repair Function Enabled.
Gu Qingcheng couldn't help but give herself a thumbs-up!
If she had known that having this feature would bring her such a strong sense of security, she should have upgraded it immediately.
She thought of herself as too generous, always prioritizing the village's affairs over her own. It seemed she needed to change this mindset in the future.
After all, the supermarket she owned was the guarantee of the entire village's happy life.
Checking the time displayed in the system, she saw that it would take about three hours to reach Shuixing Island. Gu Qingcheng calmed herself down and went to sleep to rest and recuperate.
Of course, to avoid missing the time, Gu Qingcheng set an alarm. Two and a half hours later, she was woken up by the alarm clock. By then, she was fully energized and ready for battle.
The condition in the letter was to arrive before dark.
When Gu Qingcheng arrived, the sky was still bright, with about an hour left before sunset.
Upon reaching Shuixing Island, Gu Qingcheng found a secluded waterway to disembark. She stored the boat in the storage cabinet and then proceeded on foot to the agreed-upon location.
As Gu Qingcheng walked along, she realized that Shuixing Island had no residents.
However, the sharp peaks of temporary structures occasionally appeared in the jungle.
Gu Qingcheng suddenly realized that the entire island might be a bandit lair, and she had walked right into a trap.
But for Du Lanyue's safety, she had to go through with it no matter what.
Since the other party had played their hand openly, Gu Qingcheng abandoned the idea of a stealth attack, as facing so many enemies alone was impossible.
Perhaps the other party's intention in luring her deep into this place wasn't to take her life, but to take something else from her. Thus, they had used Du Lanyue as bait to lure her here.
Having made up her mind, Gu Qingcheng walked openly on the main road.
It was then that she noticed that the seemingly peaceful island was not a paradise.
In the ditches along the roadside, the bodies of several zombies occasionally appeared, left uncollected, thrown into the water to rot and fester.
Besides zombie corpses, there were also the bodies of horses and other livestock submerged in the foul ditches.
Such slovenliness and disregard for the environment were indeed characteristic of desperadoes living on the edge.
As she saw more temporary dwellings appearing around her, a group of people suddenly appeared ahead. They were dressed in military uniforms and formed an orderly procession.
Upon seeing Gu Qingcheng, the leading officer was taken aback, clearly not expecting an outsider to appear there.
"Who are you?"
Gu Qingcheng announced her identity and produced the ransom letter.
"Someone sent me here!"
The officer, who looked to be in his early forties, appeared mature and steady. He had one of his subordinates take the letter from Gu Qingcheng. Upon opening and reading it carefully, he immediately said,
"Escort this young lord to the General's mansion."
"General? Which General?"
Gu Qingcheng had a strange feeling that she must know this so-called "General."
The officer did not answer but instructed his subordinate to escort Gu Qingcheng.
At this point, the atmosphere seemed very relaxed. The soldiers leading the way were not hostile and even appeared somewhat courteous, making Gu Qingcheng feel less like she was there on a rescue mission and more like a guest.
Of course, Gu Qingcheng did not lower her guard.
The soldier led Gu Qingcheng through winding paths, and in a valley, a long stone wall appeared. Behind the wall were numerous buildings, resembling a military camp rebuilt after a disaster.
Between the walls was a tall gate made of logs. The soldier led her through the wooden gate.
Gu Qingcheng observed carefully; there were quite a few soldiers around, all looking at her with curiosity. More importantly, they all seemed to be living quite comfortably, at least none of them appeared thin and gaunt.
"General, we have a visitor!"
The soldier entered the military camp to report.