FWF Chapter 40: To get an extra 5 minutes of sleep, they hung a solar-powered artificial moon in the sky
Chapter 40: To get an extra 5 minutes of sleep, they hung a solar-powered artificial moon in the sky
Even with the heavy blackout curtains drawn tightly, they still couldn't block out the scorching sunlight on a June morning.
A beam of golden light pierced through the gap in the curtains and entered the holographic bedroom, striking Lin Xian's eyelids precisely.
Lin Xian rolled over and buried his head in the soft, zero-gravity waterbed, trying to block out the annoying light.
The pain of being interrupted from sleep caused the manor owner, who just wanted to lie down, to furrow his brow into a deep frown.
He irritably threw off the silk summer quilt that smelled of orange blossoms and sat up with his messy hair.
This damn sun comes out to clock in every day, even more punctually than the time clocks in big factories in Shanghai.
If they can't even let people have a peaceful nap, then the rules of this world need to be changed.
A series of crisp footsteps came from outside the door, and Xia Anran walked in carrying a bag of washed, chilled mutated blueberries.
"Brother Xian, the temperature outside has soared again today. The weather station said there's a red alert for high temperatures today."
Xia Anran placed the iced blueberries on the bedside table, fanned herself with her hand, and her little face turned bright red from the heat.
Lin Xian popped a refreshingly cool blueberry into his mouth; the sweet and sour juice slightly calmed his morning grumpiness.
He walked to the French windows in his flip-flops, yanked open the curtains, and stared coldly at the dazzling fireball in the sky.
This thing hanging in the sky is really an eyesore. Let's just put some sunglasses on it to cool it down.
Lin Xian summoned the system shop in his mind, his slender fingers quickly swiping across the azure virtual panel.
His gaze lingered on a section of advanced technology that included life-saving features, rather than the weapons themselves.
"An optically shielded, solar-powered artificial moon, priced at two million comfort points."
The product description states that the device can perfectly simulate the moon's gravity and gentle moonlight, and completely block direct stellar heat radiation.
This is the ultimate sun umbrella, perfectly tailored for sleeping in late in the summer.
Lin Xian didn't even blink before pressing the gold button for full payment.
A streak of pale blue light, invisible to the naked eye, shot out from the energy matrix at the bottom of the manor in an instant.
This streak of light pierced through the clouds at an altitude of 10,000 meters, heading straight for near-Earth orbit with a ferocious speed exceeding the first cosmic velocity.
At this moment, in the courtyard of the village committee in Qingshui County, Wang Fugui was holding a large palm-leaf fan, panting heavily from the heat.
As soon as he finished speaking, a deep humming sound suddenly came from the sky, as if a giant curtain was being drawn back.
A small, yet gleaming silver metal sphere hovers steadily in the stratosphere directly above Qingshui County.
The metal sphere unfolds eight thin solar panels, each as thin as a cicada's wing, which instantly combine to form a giant reflective shield.
This shield was precisely positioned at the angle between the sun and Qingshui County, blocking all the harsh rays of sunlight into outer space.
One second it was a bright, scorching summer day, and the next second the entire Qingshui County was plunged into darkness.
An artificial moon emitting a soft, cool light hangs prominently in the sky above Qingshui County.
The sweltering heat of 38 degrees Celsius instantly dropped to a cool and pleasant 22 degrees Celsius after the sun was no longer shining directly on the ground.
A gentle evening breeze carrying the fragrance of osmanthus blossoms drifted slowly down the valley into every household in the village.
Wang Fugui dropped the palm-leaf fan from his hand and stared blankly at the cold, silvery moon in the sky.
Weather monitoring centers around the world were thrown into complete chaos by the sudden appearance of this small moon.
"Its optical refractive index is a perfect 100%, creating a partial darkness even during the day!"
The director of the weather station slammed his coffee cup onto the screen, and brown liquid dripped down the LCD panel.
Top astronomers around the world put down their research and stared intently at the small Chinese county town shrouded in artificial darkness.
In the underground laboratory of the manor, Zhong Xiaoai and Tang Wu, two national treasure-level female scientists, were hugging each other and shouting.
Zhong Xiaoai pushed up her gold-rimmed glasses, her hand crumpling the draft paper in her hand.
"Using a prototype Dyson sphere in near-Earth orbit to block the sun is like using a nuclear weapon as a lighter to light a cigarette!"
Tang Wu was so excited that she forgot to put on her white lab coat and started spinning around barefoot on the laboratory floor.
"The boss's brain is truly amazing; he's practically rewritten the laws of Earth's revolution just to take a nap!"
In the floating living room of the manor, Su Qinghan changed into a black silk nightgown, took a glass of red wine, and walked to the floor-to-ceiling window.
Mu Qingxue walked over in high heels and poured Su Qinghan a small half-glass of fine vintage Romanée-Conti.
The two big stars, Chu Yiyi and Shen Youran, even spread out picnic mats on the lawn and started a pajama party under the moonlight.
Mu Xiaotian was holding a big bag of potato chips, eating them while pointing at the moon and showing off the amazing treatment she received at the manor to viewers in the live stream.
In this man's territory, all the infighting and dangers are kept outside the starry sky.
In Lin Xian's bedroom, the temperature had dropped to twenty degrees Celsius, the perfect temperature for sleep, as he was the instigator of all this.
Lin Xian patted the pillow with satisfaction and lay back down in the embrace of the zero-gravity waterbed.
The twin sisters, Ye Qingbing and Ye Qingxue, dutifully stood guard on either side of the bed, a hint of relaxation appearing in their usually cold and beautiful eyes.
Lin Xian pulled the thin blanket up to his chin, muttered "Finally, some peace and quiet," and then instantly fell into a deep sleep.
He slept soundly, so soundly that even the system's notification of a surge in territory experience couldn't wake him.
When he stretched and opened his eyes again, the clock in the bedroom already pointed to two o'clock in the afternoon.
Lin Xian yawned, feeling a bit hungry, and prepared to go downstairs to the kitchen to ask Yan Guhong to make him a bowl of braised pork rice.
He walked to the floor-to-ceiling window, looked at the dark sky outside, and casually pressed the button to retract the artificial moon.
The metal sphere in near-Earth orbit instantly retracted its shielding plate, transforming into a streak of light and disappearing back into the depths of space.
The long-awaited sunlight once again pierced through the clouds and shone on the asphalt roads of Qingshui County, and the temperature slowly rose again.
Wang Fugui was sitting at the village entrance eating watermelon when he saw the sky suddenly brighten. He rubbed his eyes and continued spitting out watermelon seeds.
Lin Xian pushed open the bedroom door and strolled to the haystack in the backyard of the manor, which was filled with mutated spiritual herbs.
Suddenly, a piercing sound of tearing fabric came from the sky, accompanied by a girl's terrified scream.
Lin Xian looked up and saw a pink and white parachute hanging precariously on a high-voltage power tower on the back mountain.
The umbrella cord snapped instantly in the wind, and the petite figure under the umbrella crashed straight down into the backyard of the manor.
Lin Xian didn't even move a finger, and the invisible gravity field underground automatically released a gentle traction beam.
The girl's downward momentum was instantly slowed, and she landed lightly on the soft haystack like a feather.
The haystack was smashed into a deep crater, and dry hay clippings flew everywhere. The girl lay motionless at the bottom of the crater for a long time.
The girl was wearing an elaborate and gorgeous European-style retro princess dress, with large rhinestones embedded in the hem.
Her long, naturally curly blonde hair was covered in hay dust, making her look like a down-on-her-luck Cinderella who had just escaped from a fairy tale.
The girl rubbed her sore back and groggily climbed out of the haystack. When she looked up, she was met with Lin Xian's lazy face.
Her emerald-like eyes were filled with tears as she grabbed Lin Xian's trouser leg and pleaded loudly in a sobbing voice.
"Help! I don't want to go back to inherit the throne of that lousy country! I want to stay here and farm!"