Most importantly, this team included a woman, Lu Jiamei, and from the way she’d shouted just now, Xin Wan could tell she was free!
Under the current circumstances, it was extremely rare for a woman to remain free within a group of survivors.
Of course, Xin Wan had no other choice. Her speedboat was powerless. Her earlier claim that she would turn away was just a lie to Ren Yuanyang.
At the time, she had only been trying to buy some time and had even been considering how to end her own life if she fell into their hands!
But Lu Jiamei’s shout had rekindled her hope for survival.
"I’m sorry, I just lied to you. My speedboat is out of fuel, so I can’t turn it. I’m the only one on board, and I want to join you!" Xin Wan said, putting down the dagger in her hand and raising her voice. "I hope you’ll take me in!"
Her voice trembled, though it was unclear whether it was from the strain of shouting or weakness from hunger.
Ren Yuanyang was slightly taken aback. He lowered his voice to ask Lu Jiamei for confirmation, "Is she really a chef? Couldn’t she just be someone propped up by a professional team?"
In his view, online influencers always had a team managing them, capable of making someone famous even if they lacked real skill.
Lu Jiamei replied in a low voice, "Her cooking skills are genuinely amazing. My mom wanted to learn her recipes, so I looked into her. She’s reached the highest level for a chef, the equivalent of a Senior Technician!"
Ren Yuanyang nodded slightly and shouted back, "Since you say you’re the only one on the speedboat, open all the curtains and come on out!"
Lu Jiamei and Xin Wan had only met once before, so neither she nor Ren Yuanyang could be sure of Xin Wan’s character.
So, it was best to be cautious.
As for why Ren Yuanyang was considering accepting her, it was actually because he had his eye on her speedboat.
Generally speaking, speedboats came with electrical systems. Even the most basic one was something Ren Yuanyang needed right now.
Besides, he needed a chef anyway, so he wasn’t opposed to letting Xin Wan join.
Of course, the main prerequisite for Xin Wan joining his team was that she would have to obey his orders completely.
Hearing Ren Yuanyang’s words, Xin Wan knew he was still suspicious. She propped up her weak body, pulled open all the surrounding curtains, and then took heavy steps to go outside.
At this point, the speedboat was only two or three meters from the shipping container. Ren Yuanyang stood at the container’s entrance, but because of the difference in height, he couldn’t see clearly inside the speedboat’s cabin.
But Lu Jiamei, who was on top of the container, had an unobstructed view.
"Boss, the speedboat cabin is full of Duckweed and aquatic plants!" Lu Jiamei’s voice was filled with delight!
Seeing Lu Jiamei stare with such delight at the aquatic plants she’d gathered, Xin Wan felt a sense of resignation. ’Looks like this team is out of food, too.’
She had thought that by joining this team, she might not get to eat her fill, but she would at least get something normal to eat. It seemed she would have to keep eating aquatic plants.
Hearing Lu Jiamei’s report, Ren Yuanyang was stunned for a moment, then he too became excited and asked, "Confirm there’s no one else?"
"None sighted!" Lu Jiamei replied immediately.
Ren Yuanyang nodded, grabbed the nearby Boning Knife, and climbed onto the roof of the container. He ordered, "Wait for her speedboat to get close, and we’ll go over and have a look. If you spot anything unusual, open fire immediately!"
"Yes!" Lu Jiamei tightened her grip on her pistol, continuing to watch as the speedboat slowly drifted toward the container.
Ren Yuanyang held out an oar to brace against the speedboat. The boat was already drifting over very slowly, and with this resistance, it came to a gradual stop beside the container.
This prevented a hard collision, and any minor scrapes were within an acceptable range.
After stopping the speedboat, Ren Yuanyang climbed aboard, while Lu Jiamei warily watched Xin Wan, who was standing to the side.
Ren Yuanyang walked to the cabin, and a fishy, foul stench hit him in the face. The cabin was piled with a large amount of Duckweed and aquatic plants.
’An unexpected haul!’ Ren Yuanyang thought with some emotion. He immediately carried the Duckweed and aquatic plants out, spreading them on the Duckweed floating near the container entrance.
Having been piled up together, some of it was already beginning to rot; Ren Yuanyang needed to salvage it.
This Duckweed was all Round Duckweed, a variety with larger leaves. In the current environment, only this kind of Duckweed was noticeable. The smaller types were impossible to see in the heavy rain, let alone gather.
The aquatic plants were all the common bitter grass.
"Have you been surviving on this Duckweed and bitter grass lately?" Ren Yuanyang asked, looking at Xin Wan, who was kneeling off to one side.
Xin Wan nodded. "I’ve been eating it for almost a week!"
Hearing this, Ren Yuanyang felt a pang in his heart.
’A whole week! How much Duckweed and bitter grass must she have eaten!’
"Where did you find all this Duckweed and bitter grass?" Ren Yuanyang continued to question her.
Xin Wan shook her head. "I don’t know where it was. I just happened to run into a large patch of aquatic plants. I was so hungry at the time, I scooped all of it up!"
Ren Yuanyang nodded slightly. Standing at the entrance to the speedboat’s cabin, he scanned the interior once more. It was clear the cabin was a later modification; normally, this kind of mini-speedboat would only have a simple canopy at most.
He also found what he was looking for: two power outlets, one labeled AC 220V and the other DC 220V.
’The electrical system must have been modified, too!’
"The power output is quite comprehensive. It has both AC and DC!"
Ren Yuanyang was very satisfied with this speedboat. Next, it was time to discuss the terms for absorbing her into the group!
"If you want to join us, ownership of this speedboat will belong to me. After you join, you’ll be responsible for logistical support, including but not limited to cooking, cleaning, and other tasks I might assign you," Ren Yuanyang laid out his conditions. "Do you agree?"
Xin Wan was stunned for a moment, then immediately nodded in response, "I agree!"
Cooking was her specialty, and the other tasks didn’t sound that difficult.
As for the speedboat, it was out of fuel and useless to her, so giving it to him made no difference at all.
Therefore, his conditions hardly even felt like demands to her!
Most importantly, the young man before her hadn’t made any outrageous demands. This caused her favorable impression of Ren Yuanyang to skyrocket, but at the same time, it made her a little doubtful of her own charm.
’Did eating bitter grass for a week make me ugly?’ Xin Wan herself was surprised that such a thought would pop into her head at a time like this.
"Lu Jiamei, get some compressed biscuits for her to eat. After she’s done, have her clean the speedboat and organize the supplies," Ren Yuanyang ordered.
"Yes!" Seeing that Ren Yuanyang had accepted Xin Wan’s entry, Lu Jiamei put away her pistol.
Ren Yuanyang returned to the container and began to strengthen the Duckweed and bitter grass he had just obtained.
Xin Wan had gathered far too much Duckweed and bitter grass. With his current Mental Energy, he could only strengthen a small portion, rest for a while, and then repeat the cycle.
Meanwhile, Lu Jiamei had come aboard the speedboat with a small piece of compressed biscuit.
"It’s raining hard out here. Let’s go eat inside the cabin," Lu Jiamei said.
Xin Wan paused, then asked cautiously, "This speedboat belongs to him now. Is it appropriate for us to just go inside?"
Lu Jiamei was taken aback for a moment, then replied with a smile, "Our boss just said the ownership belongs to him, but we can still use it. If we couldn’t, he would have told us in advance."
Xin Wan was taken aback once more. "The boss... is he really that nice?"

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