Upon hearing the system’s notification, Ren Yuanyang noticed a broken plant inside the plastic bag.
The remaining half of a leaf was incredibly wide, like half a shield! This had to be the Dripping Lotus the system had mentioned.
Ren Yuanyang’s eyes lit up as he glanced at the possible enhancement options.
’Enhance its water-producing function!’ Ren Yuanyang thought.
[Enhancement successful.]
[Dripping Lotus (+1): Can drip 10 ml of pure water per minute...]
The Dripping Lotus, also known as Drip Guanyin, has poisonous sap. When sufficiently hydrated, it drips water from the tips or edges of its leaves.
Normally, this water would also be unsafe to drink, but after the system’s enhancement, the Dripping Lotus had turned into a full-fledged water purifier!
More importantly, while the Dripping Lotus normally grows in soil, the system’s enhancement had turned it into an amphibious plant.
This meant the Enhancement System didn’t just strengthen his chosen attribute but also provided a basic, all-around boost. The attribute he selected simply received a much stronger enhancement!
Seeing Ren Yuanyang carry the plastic bag back into the tent like it was a treasure, the woman couldn’t help but ask, "That little bit of soil doesn’t seem very useful, does it?"
Ren Yuanyang ignored her completely. He took the Dripping Lotus, pot and all, out of the plastic bag and placed it in a corner of the tent.
Then he went back outside and found a plastic bottle with a wide opening.
After filling the bottle with water, he transplanted the Dripping Lotus from the soil into it.
Even without any soil for support, the Dripping Lotus stood perfectly upright in the water.
’System products really are top-notch!’
Ren Yuanyang mused to himself, then chugged a bottle of mineral water and let out a burp. He then used a string to hang the empty bottle from the tip of the Dripping Lotus’s leaf, catching the pure water that was constantly dripping down.
As if on cue from his burp, the woman’s stomach began to protest.
Since the plank was connected to his Duckweed platform, Ren Yuanyang heard her stomach growling. He considered for a moment before speaking. "I don’t support freeloaders. Introduce yourself."
The woman was taken aback. Her intuition told her the young man before her wasn’t a bad person. He was a bit of a rogue, but he was straightforward about it.
After a brief hesitation, the woman introduced herself.
"My name is Lu Jiamei. Before the flood, I was a traffic police officer. I’m in decent shape, so I can definitely be of help."
Ren Yuanyang was a little surprised. "Traffic cops are issued guns?"
Lu Jiamei explained, "After the rains had lasted for a month, chaos began to break out. That’s why they issued us handguns, just in case."
"I see." Ren Yuanyang nodded slightly. "If you choose to stay, I can provide you with a platform. But you must obey my orders in all things. If you can’t agree to that, you can leave right now."
Lu Jiamei rolled her eyes, speechless. She had nothing left; if she left, she wouldn’t last more than a few days.
This wasn’t really a choice at all. She had to stay.
"Fine. I’ll follow your orders," Lu Jiamei replied with resignation.
"Good. Since you’ve chosen to stay, you have to follow my rules," Ren Yuanyang continued. "First, do not come within five meters of this tent without my permission."
"Understood!" Lu Jiamei answered decisively, secretly pleased.
’I was worried he’d make some kind of inappropriate demand, like forcing me to sleep with him. I can’t believe his first rule is just to stay away from his tent!’
"Second, you are responsible for gathering the supplies I salvage. You have the right to collect them, but not to use them."
Lu Jiamei nodded. "No problem."
Ren Yuanyang fell into thought for a long moment before finally saying, "That’s all I can think of for now. I’ll add more rules as they come to me."
"Okay," Lu Jiamei said, her brow furrowed. "But I could be washed away by the waves. How am I supposed to stay near you?"
"I’ll use a strand of bitter grass to keep you tethered," Ren Yuanyang replied.
"Bitter grass?" Lu Jiamei looked at Ren Yuanyang, confused.
Ren Yuanyang shone his flashlight on the runner wrapped around her hand. "Bitter grass is a type of aquatic plant," he explained. "This is one of its runners. This is how we’ll catch supplies."
Realization dawned on Lu Jiamei. "Can you control them?" she asked, curious.
"Only to an extent." Ren Yuanyang shook his head but didn’t elaborate. "If I had full control, my Duckweed platform wouldn’t have been scattered, and you never would have found me."
Lu Jiamei nodded. "So, can you untie me now?"
"In a minute." Ren Yuanyang reached out and pushed the plank away from his Duckweed platform.
Lu Jiamei’s heart seized up when she saw him do this.
’Is he going to abandon me?’
The plank drifted away until it was about five meters from the Duckweed platform, where it stopped abruptly as if something was holding it in place.
Ren Yuanyang then immediately released the runner binding her. He used another runner to push some of his spare Round Duckweed over to her, distributing it evenly beneath the plank.
The previously unstable plank instantly stabilized.
Lu Jiamei finally breathed a sigh of relief. She stood up carefully. Although the plank still rocked with the waves, it no longer tilted precariously to one side.
She stretched her arms and legs, complaining to herself.
’He has no idea how to be gentle with a woman. Did he have to tie me up so tightly!’
’And he’s such a coward, pushing me this far away before he dared to untie me.’
’I wonder if he’ll just make me work and not feed me.’
At this thought, Lu Jiamei decided to test the waters again. "What should I call you?"
"Boss, Chief, Sir, Big Bro, pick whichever you like. It’s just a title," Ren Yuanyang said, completely unconcerned.
"Are you even older than me? ’Big Bro’ seems a bit much," Lu Jiamei said, rolling her eyes.
"True, you’re bigger than me," Ren Yuanyang shot back instantly.
Even through the curtain of rain, Lu Jiamei felt his gaze sweep across her chest.
Remembering the humiliating way she had been tied up, Lu Jiamei muttered under her breath again, "Pervert!"
Despite calling him a pervert, her impression of Ren Yuanyang was actually quite good.
An open rogue was far better than a self-righteous hypocrite who’d stab you in the back.
"Chief, what’s next?" Lu Jiamei asked, settling on the title that felt the most natural.
"Rest for tonight," Ren Yuanyang replied. "We’ll salvage and sort the supplies caught by the bitter grass in the morning."
Lu Jiamei asked again, cautiously, "What about food...?"
Ren Yuanyang raised an eyebrow. "You should still have food on you, right? Eat that for now. As for tomorrow’s food, that depends on your performance."
Lu Jiamei was stunned. She never expected him to know she still had food on her. She could only reply, "Okay, I understand."
She sat cross-legged on her plank, pulled a small compressed biscuit from inside her raincoat, and popped it into her mouth, chewing slowly.
This improved her impression of him even further. He knew she had food but hadn’t tried to search her or take it by force. In this kind of world, that was incredibly rare.
As for Ren Yuanyang, letting Lu Jiamei stay and allowing her to keep her food was a decision he had made only after careful consideration.

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