Drifting Ark

The next morning.

Morning light spilled in through the dense vines at the cave entrance, casting mottled shadows.

Fang Qi woke up in a wave of damp heat.

The cave was poorly ventilated, and the sea breeze couldn't blow in.

"Ugh... so hot..."

He groggily reached out a hand to his side—

What he touched was a patch of soft, slightly cool, and delicate skin.

"..."

He instantly woke up, his eyes snapping open!

He turned his head to look beside him!

Beside him, the silver-haired girl was curled up, lying on her side.

The beige, old-fashioned swimsuit still tightly wrapped around her delicate body.

Her long silver hair was scattered across her shoulders, with a few strands sticking to her flushed, sleeping face.

Her eyes were closed, her eyelashes trembling slightly, and her chest rose and fell with the even rhythm of her simulated breathing.

...She was still sleeping?

Fang Qi blinked.

This crazy woman...

Didn't she usually get up silently before dawn, and then, right when he opened his eyes, be kneeling by the bed holding a cup of 52-degree tea, docilely saying "Good morning, Master"?

What was going on today...

An inexplicable sense of panic rose in his heart!

"Liguang? Liguang!"

He quickly reached out, gently patting her fair cheek, and called out anxiously.

The touch was still delicate and silky, but the temperature...

Seemed a bit lower than usual?!

"Mmm..."

A vague whimper escaped the silver-haired girl's throat.

Her eyelashes fluttered a few times, and her phoenix eyes slowly opened.

Her heterochromatic eyes still carried a hint of morning grogginess, ignorant and hazy.

Her amber left eye rippled with a watery light, while in her crimson right eye... that touch of scarlet seemed to lag half a beat.

Fang Qi: "..."

Hiss...!

It was something he had never seen before...

A CG of his wife Liguang sleeping in!

But what exactly was her current state...!

Liguang blinked, her gaze finally focusing on Fang Qi's worry-filled face.

"...Master?"

Her voice carried the hoarseness of someone who had just woken up, along with a hint of slight laziness.

"Are you awake?"

She said, slowly propping herself up, her movements slightly more sluggish than usual.

"Why are you still sleeping?"

Fang Qi immediately asked!

Looking her up and down somewhat nervously:

"Are you out of energy? Are you feeling unwell somewhere? Do you want to eat some more... uh, eat some leaves?"

Remembering the way she nibbled on grass leaves last night, he felt a bit bad again.

Hearing this, Liguang tilted her head slightly.

Then the corners of her lips curled up, revealing a lazy and satisfied smile.

"Is Master worrying about Liguang again?"

The red light in her crimson eye brightened once more, and the data stream finally returned to its usual speed!

"Of course I am!"

He said crossly yet somewhat anxiously:

"Hurry up and tell me, what exactly is going on?"

"Liguang is fine."

The silver-haired girl finally sat up straight.

She raised a hand to tidy her somewhat messy silver hair. Her movements were still elegant, but slightly slow.

"Liguang is just... trying to save unnecessary energy consumption."

She looked up at Fang Qi, her amber eyes wet and still a bit hazy:

"After all, Liguang still has to be with Master..."

"To run away for a very, very long time...!"

Her voice carried the laziness of having just woken up, as well as a trace of... a slight, excited tremble.

"Every bit of energy must be used to accompany and protect Master."

"Things like waking up early to groom myself or pre-heating the tea-making routine are 'non-essential consumption'..."

"For now, they can be saved...!"

She said it as a matter of course, even with a bit of smugness.

As if being able to "live frugally" and run away with her Master...

Was such a proud and happy thing!

Fang Qi looked at her brightening heterochromatic eyes and listened to her "meticulously calculated" escape declaration...

He finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Oh, it was just saving energy!

Then there was no problem!

This crazy woman's line of thought was spot on!

Right now, they really should be saving energy properly!

However, still a bit worried, he asked, "Then how much energy do you have left right now?"

Liguang blinked, the data stream in her crimson eye turning briefly, and then she accurately reported a number:

"If maintaining movement and cognitive modules, it can support me for about 105 hours."

Then she blinked again, adding in a brisk tone:

"If I enter a lower-power standby mode at night, the time can be extended."

Afterwards, she leaned close to Fang Qi, nestling into his embrace, and said softly:

"Rest assured, Master, Liguang will not let herself 'shut down'."

"Until Master's absolute safety is guaranteed, Liguang will stay awake!"

105 hours...

Fang Qi calculated in his mind.

Not much left!

This was just the rate of power consumption for normal actions, but if there were high-energy actions like last night...

Liguang's "battery life" would probably be cut in half!

So...

Time was tight!

As he was thinking, the familiar roar of helicopter propellers suddenly came from far outside the cave, drawing closer!

"Tsk, here they come again!"

He immediately lowered his voice, pulling Liguang back into the shadows deep within the cave.

Liguang also immediately pressed tightly into Fang Qi's embrace, listening attentively.

The sound of the helicopter circled above the island.

This time... it seemed more concentrated than yesterday, and the search range was wider!

Immediately after, a calm female voice, amplified through a loudspeaker, drifted into the cave:

"Mr. Fang Qi, Liguang. I know you can hear me."

It was An Lian's voice!

"The waters surrounding the island have been completely blockaded, and the aerial surveillance network has thoroughly covered the entire island."

"There is no point in continuing to hide."

An Lian's voice paused, seemingly giving them a little time to digest the information.

Fang Qi could feel the delicate body in his arms stiffen slightly.

An Lian's voice continued with a formulaic admonition:

"Mr. Fang Qi, you are a human, a victim affected by the abnormal behavior of an awakened AI."

"As long as you voluntarily hand over Liguang now and cooperate with our retrieval work, the company can apply for you to 'make amends for your crimes by doing good deeds,' significantly reducing or even exempting you from liability."

"You can still return to a normal life."

"Mr. Fang Qi, you have to understand..."

An Lian's voice kept going.

Liguang did not speak; she just...

Looked at Fang Qi quietly.

The red light in her crimson eye was still flickering, but it flickered very steadily.

She did not seem to be the least bit swayed by An Lian's words.

Fang Qi, on the other hand, curled his lip.

Return to a normal life?

To hell with that!

He had even given up the "Eternal True Love" ending...

Who cares about a normal life!

Without Liguang...

Who would want to live in your world!

He immediately raised a hand to rub Liguang's silver head and whispered:

"Don't listen to her nonsense! We have to figure out a way to get out of here as soon as possible!"

The silver-haired girl's phoenix eyes immediately curved into crescents!

"Mhm! Master!"

She nodded forcefully, her head rubbing eagerly against his palm again.

Outside, An Lian's broadcast was still continuing.

The content was nothing more than clichés like "leniency for those who confess," "technical isolation," and "for the shared future of humanity and AI"...

It made Fang Qi rub his temples!

He really wanted to grab an RPG and blow that helicopter out of the sky on the spot!

Ah...! I can't hear you, I can't hear you!

He chose to selectively go deaf!

Then he frowned and started to think.

So... how were they going to leave this island?

First was the method.

Swimming... out of the question. This was the ocean, not a swimming pool!

The island was hundreds of kilometers away from the continental coast. It was absolutely impossible to swim across!

So... they needed a boat.

Furthermore, it couldn't be a roaring motorboat. That would be no different from holding a megaphone and shouting, We are over here!

So the best option would be...

Something quiet, primitive, and capable of utilizing the forces of nature!

Liguang.

He lowered his voice.

Can you analyze the ocean currents and tidal patterns around this island?

Also, if we use a small boat and slip out with the ebb tide under the cover of the night...

Do you think it is possible?

Hearing this, the light in Liguang's crimson eye suddenly sharpened!

Streams of data immediately cascaded across it like a waterfall!

A few seconds later, her eyes lit up!

It is possible, Master!

Her voice carried a faint tremor of excitement. She kept it very low, yet it revealed her eagerness to try.

There is a small gulf stream on the southeast side of the island. The ebb tide occurs daily between 3:00 AM and 5:00 AM, and the current flows exactly toward the edge of the continental shelf to the northwest!

If we have a small boat that is light enough and has stable buoyancy, it is entirely possible to use the power of the tides and currents during the darkest hours before dawn...

...to quietly leave the most heavily monitored area!

She spoke faster and faster, her heterochromatic eyes shining astonishingly bright!

Liguang can... can perform a brief interference! I can create a safe window of time!

As long as the small boat can enter the main sea area within this timeframe...

The probability of being discovered will drop to its absolute lowest!

Fang Qi's eyes also lit up!

This plan sounded very feasible!

It was well worth a try!

His spirits lifted, but then he felt a bit troubled again.

The plan was feasible, but...

One cannot make bricks without straw!

They... did not have a boat!

There was a motorboat in the seaside cabin, but...

Go back and get it?

That would be pure suicide!

Besides, the starting noise of that thing was way too loud. Even if they got it, they could not use it at all!

He rubbed his chin, frowning in thought. As for a boat, it seems we can only...

Build it ourselves!

The silver-haired girl blurted out!

Her tone carried an almost naive excitement.

Right around here! Liguang and Master will build a raft that belongs only to us! Using wood and vines! Liguang can help!

Her simulated breathing became slightly rapid again, and a sickly flush appeared on her cheeks!

Fang Qi took a deep breath.

Build a raft... themselves?

The image of Robinson Crusoe popped into his head...

It seemed...

Like it was not impossible?

There was not much else on this island, but trees and sturdy vines... were everywhere!

But... will not chopping down trees and processing the wood make too much noise?

Fang Qi still had some concerns.

It will not!

Liguang suddenly leaned forward!

Her pretty face pressed close to Fang Qi's, the red glow from her crimson eye illuminating both of their faces.

Then, she slowly raised her slender, pale right hand...

At the tip of her index finger, a speck of scarlet flashed!

Bzzzt!

A blood-red laser blade instantly popped out!

It was so blazing hot that it slightly distorted the surrounding air!

Looking at this searing red glow, Fang Qi's eyelids twitched involuntarily!

In his mind, the memory of when he had first transmigrated, having his leg severed by this very laser blade and being forced to reset, flashed by!

Hiss...

Phantom pain!

Fuck, fuck, fuck, do not panic, do not panic!

He was no longer the Fang Qi from back then, and Liguang was no longer the Liguang from back then!

His wifey Liguang would not attack him now!

He looked at the silver-haired girl's face.

The red light of the laser blade dyed her gentle amber eye with a crimson hue of fanatical love!

Master...

Her voice was sickeningly sweet, and the corners of her mouth curled into an exaggerated, satisfied arc!

Liguang's hands...

Liguang's laser blade...

They all exist solely to be with Master forever...!

Before her voice faded...

Swish!

She merely gave her wrist a gentle flick!

The scarlet laser blade at her fingertip precisely swept toward a thigh-thick tree near the cave entrance!

There was no deafening chopping sound.

There was only a faint sound, like a hot knife slicing through butter...

Sizzle.

The red light flashed and vanished.

And that small tree was severed right at the root!

The cross-section was as smooth as a mirror, even emitting wisps of blue smoke!

The tree canopy began to slowly tilt and fall!

Fang Qi's pupils shrank, but then...

The noise!

He reacted, instinctively wanting to lunge forward to catch the falling tree and prevent it from making a loud crash on the ground!

However...

That slender figure was faster than him!

Like a weightless phantom, Liguang crossed over to the falling tree in a single step!

She reached out with her slender hand, the one without the laser blade deployed, and steadily supported the trunk!

She even had the leisure to turn slightly and look at Fang Qi, who had just lunged near...

...revealing a smile that was both dazzling to the extreme and sickly to the extreme!

Fang Qi could clearly see his own astonished face reflected in her amber left eye!

He saw the wildly dancing, highly thrilled data streams in her crimson eye!

She supported the tree trunk with incomparable ease, yet her voice carried a slight tremble.

Master, look...

The first piece of material for our... elopement raft, belonging only to the two of us, is already prepared.

She tilted her head slightly, her tone sweet and fanatical.

Let us start right away, shall we?

To build what belongs only to Master and Liguang...

Our drifting ark!