That lucky guy never spoke in the regional channel again.
"What’s going on? Did the Dawn Cruise team kill him?"
"If he resisted, that’s probably what happened!"
"Our Dawn Cruise would never harm an Evolver. He chose to join us and is currently receiving the royal treatment. Once he’s well-rested, he’ll chat with everyone!"
"Cut the crap with your high-and-mighty act. In a world like this, there’s no need to be coy. If you’re powerful and successful enough, you can control the fate of others!"
"The way I see it, Evolvers are in a precarious position. On one hand, the large vessels need Evolvers, but they’re also afraid of losing control of them. So, any Evolver who joins these factions won’t be killed, but they won’t be treated especially well either!"
"Aren’t there any decent leaders out there?"
"If someone’s rise to power threatened your own, wouldn’t you try to control them?"
"You guys actually have the nerve to be gossiping about others? Have you even figured out how to survive yourselves?"
"Seriously, I’m starving to death. Can anyone bring me some food?"
"I’ve been filling my stomach with rainwater, but I’m so hungry!"
"When will this damned rain ever stop?"
Reading this far, Ren Yuanyang switched back to the group files. Lu Jiamei suddenly asked, puzzled, "Boss, why do you think the Dawn Cruise would send out a speedboat to search for survivors? Do they have that much diesel or gasoline?"
Ren Yuanyang paused for a moment, then shook his head decisively. "That speedboat must have been on another mission. They definitely weren’t just looking for survivors. Under these circumstances, they’d never waste fuel searching for survivors!"
The entire world’s landmass was submerged, and there was no telling where any survivors might be. Actively searching for them would consume a massive amount of fuel.
The large vessel needed that fuel too, and it was a finite resource. They wouldn’t send out a speedboat unless it was for a crucial mission.
"So they just picked up that survivor along the way?" Lu Jiamei asked, a little surprised.
"Most likely," Ren Yuanyang replied.
"Does that mean we’re actually safe, then?"
Ren Yuanyang shook his head. "Not necessarily. They might have other ways of finding survivors. We can’t let our guard down. You still need to keep a close watch on our surroundings."
For instance, when his ex-girlfriend’s family had approached, Lu Jiamei’s timely warning had given Ren Yuanyang enough time to prepare and position the Round Duckweed at the container’s entrance.
The only problem was, their container had no propulsion. If a large vessel actually found them, they’d have to play it by ear or be forced to join them, just like that "lucky" guy.
Lu Jiamei gave a slight nod. She climbed back on top of the container to observe the surroundings.
Ren Yuanyang was desperate for some plants with more offensive power. ’The bitter grass I have now is still a bit too weak!’
"Boss, should we do something to hide how buoyant the Duckweed is?" Lu Jiamei’s voice came from above. "It would be best if no one found out the Duckweed is what’s keeping the container afloat."
As long as others couldn’t tell there was something special about the Duckweed, they probably wouldn’t send a team over, even if they were spotted.
They would only come over for a look if Ren Yuanyang’s group happened to be directly on their mission route.
Ren Yuanyang nodded. "You’re right, we need to camouflage it."
"But a container is so heavy. Anyone would be able to tell at a glance that something is fishy!" Lu Jiamei said, distressed.
"Then we’ll camouflage the container itself!" Ren Yuanyang said after a moment of thought.
Lu Jiamei paused, frowning. "But how? We don’t seem to have any materials."
Ren Yuanyang replied with a smile, "Wrap the container with the wooden planks. There’s rope on the small boat. The messier the bindings, the better!"
"I get it! I’ll get right on it!"
The container doors could swing open two hundred and seventy degrees. Lu Jiamei opened them all the way, using the planks to completely cover the sides.
She used more planks to build a sixty-centimeter-high flood barrier across the wide-open entrance.
She piled the remaining planks on the container’s roof, extending them outward to create an awning against the rain.
Then she wound the rope around and around it all. She inserted a wooden stick into the ropes and twisted it several times, and the once-slack lines grew taut.
Lu Jiamei shook the planks. They didn’t budge an inch. Satisfied, she nodded.
Ren Yuanyang then found some tarps and draped them haphazardly over everything.
"Too bad it’s not one big piece, or we could have just covered the whole container," Ren Yuanyang lamented.
"This is great, though. At least it makes it look like we don’t have any supplies!" Lu Jiamei was very pleased with their handiwork.
From the outside, it was now impossible to tell it was a shipping container.
It looked more like a crudely modified houseboat.
With the camouflage complete, the bitter grass that had been holding the planks was freed up. Ren Yuanyang immediately sent them out to scavenge for items.
After all that exertion, Lu Jiamei’s stomach started to growl. After all, she had done all the physical labor while Ren Yuanyang was just the hands-off boss.
Lu Jiamei had no choice but to return to her room, where she opened a soda and carefully took a sip. ’This bottle has to last for five days!’
Just then, something came flying over from Ren Yuanyang’s side of the container.
While a partition separated their two "rooms," it didn’t reach the ceiling.
Lu Jiamei caught it reflexively. It was bread!
"Good work. This is for you," Ren Yuanyang’s voice drifted over.
Lu Jiamei paused, then said gratefully, "Thank you, Boss!"
Although they had taken his ex-girlfriend’s family’s supplies, there hadn’t been any food among them.
The rice cooker couldn’t run on the DC power from the storage battery, though the hair dryer could.
Eating cooked food wasn’t going to be possible anytime soon.
They also had two lighters on board, but currently had nothing flammable to ignite.
’For Ren Yuanyang to give her some bread was incredibly generous!’
"Don’t mention it. I’m sure we’ll be eating cooked food soon enough," Ren Yuanyang replied.
Lu Jiamei nodded. She opened the bread, carefully ate half of it, and then put the rest away.
She returned to the top of the container once more to keep watch on the surroundings.
Just then, a system notification suddenly chimed.
[Cordgrass discovered. Strengthen?]
Cordgrass grows in coastal marshes. It is salt-tolerant, flood-tolerant, and silt-tolerant. It has salt glands that can excrete absorbed salt, much like how humans sweat.
’With more bitter grass plants out scavenging, the efficiency has really gone up!’ Ren Yuanyang glanced at the enhancement options and immediately made his decision. ’Enhance its ability to secrete salt!’
[Enhancement successful.]
[Cordgrass (+1): Can secrete 10g of edible salt per hour...]
Ren Yuanyang had been planning to use their compressed biscuits to supplement their daily salt intake. Now, with the enhanced cordgrass, he no longer had to worry about salt.
He glanced at the alligator’s corpse and thought, ’Finally, I can prepare the alligator meat!’

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