After the small boat departed, Xin Wan immediately asked, "Chief, did we catch any other fish?"
Ren Yuanyang nodded, seeming to understand her confusion. "Ask Lu Jiamei for the details," he replied.
His mind was already completely focused on the tree.
Lu Jiamei immediately came over to the speedboat and quietly told her about the Cannibal Fish.
Hearing that Ren Yuanyang had dragged his ex-girlfriend’s family underwater without a second thought, Xin Wan was stunned. From their brief time together, she had thought him a bright, cheerful young man. She never expected him to be so decisive and ruthless!
However, Xin Wan didn’t think he had done anything wrong. His ex-girlfriend’s family were terrible people!
Just then, the tree Ren Yuanyang couldn’t stop thinking about was finally pulled back. As for getting the plastic barrels back, that had just been an offhand remark.
When he first saw the tree, Ren Yuanyang had considered killing them and taking it by force. He could have snatched their working boat in the process.
These people had tried to rob Xin Wan of her supplies and speedboat from the start. It was only fair to rob the robbers.
They were bad news anyway. Robbing them would be doing the world a favor.
But Lu Jiamei only had three bullets left in her handgun. With the number of people on the other boat unknown, there was no guarantee his side would win if a real fight broke out.
Besides, their boat had fuel. If they decided to flee, Ren Yuanyang wouldn’t be able to stop them.
Taking all this into account, Ren Yuanyang had proposed a trade instead. Even if they simply took the Cannibal Fish and gave him nothing, it wouldn’t be a loss, since he’d had no intention of eating them anyway.
If, on the other hand, the threat of the handgun convinced them to trade, he would gain a new type of plant.
Ren Yuanyang’s Enhancement System had only unlocked plant enhancement. Everything he had now came from enhanced plants, so he couldn’t afford to pass up any new specimen he encountered.
The tree was now pulled alongside the speedboat, and Ren Yuanyang reached out, grabbing a branch that jutted out.
[Found Iron Melon Tree. Enhance?]
Ren Yuanyang paused at the system prompt. He had never heard of this kind of tree before, so he browsed the system for more detailed information about the plant.
After reading, his eyes lit up. "This is incredible!"
He muttered, stroking the Iron Melon Tree as if it were a priceless treasure.
Lu Jiamei and Xin Wan were both stunned to see Ren Yuanyang acting like he wanted to pull the tree into his arms and kiss it.
He hadn’t given either of the two beautiful women before him a look that was even half as smitten.
"Chief doesn’t have some kind of fetish, does he?" Xin Wan whispered.
Lu Jiamei paused, then replied uncertainly, "I... don’t think so!"
Ren Yuanyang paid no mind to their hushed discussion. Instead, he asked inwardly, ’If I enhance both the fruit’s explosive power and its fruiting speed at the same time, do I have enough Mental Energy?’
The Iron Melon, also known as the Cannonball Fruit or Bomb Tree, is native to tropical rainforests. It was introduced domestically as an ornamental tree due to its long fruiting period.
When an Iron Melon ripens, its fruit explodes with enough force to maim, or even kill, small nearby animals.
The Iron Melon has no actual relation to watermelons; they just look alike. This was why the survivors on the boat that had been chasing Xin Wan mistook it for food.
The pulp of a ripe Iron Melon contains large quantities of hydrocarbons, the main component of gasoline. Eating it would be like eating solid gasoline!
It is precisely these hydrocarbons that cause the Iron Melon to explode.
This single tree, therefore, was a solution for both weapons and gasoline. And after being enhanced by Ren Yuanyang, its effects would surely be even greater.
[Not enough. You do not have enough even to enhance one property. According to calculations, the Host’s Mental Energy must be sufficient to enhance the buoyancy of Duckweed in a two-meter radius in a single use. Only then will you be able to enhance one of these properties.]
Initially, Ren Yuanyang could only enhance the buoyancy of Duckweed in a one-meter radius. The system used this as a benchmark, which made it easier to understand.
In other words, his maximum Mental Energy needed to double before he could enhance the Iron Melon Tree.
Ren Yuanyang frowned. ’Is there a more specific value for Mental Energy?’
[Not at this time. Specific numerical values will be available once the Host can project Mental Energy externally.]
Ren Yuanyang was taken aback. ’Projecting Mental Energy? That’ll happen when pigs fly!’
Then he continued to ask, ’So what’s my current Mental Energy level?’
[At full capacity, you can enhance the buoyancy of Duckweed in a 1.9-meter radius in a single use.]
Ren Yuanyang was surprised by the system’s prompt. He hadn’t realized his Mental Energy had nearly doubled.
’How did my Mental Energy increase so quickly?’ Ren Yuanyang pressed.
’Lately, all I’ve done is frequently use my Mental Energy to enhance plants. Could it really be that simple to raise my maximum Mental Energy?’
[By consuming evolved crocodile meat and repeatedly using Mental Energy at high intensity.]
Ren Yuanyang paused. The system had listed eating the evolved crocodile meat first. This implied that consuming the flesh of evolved animals was at least as effective for increasing Mental Energy as repeated, high-intensity training.
"I never thought this evolved crocodile meat would be such a treasure," Ren Yuanyang remarked.
This made him think of the evolved Cannibal Fish.
’Maybe I should have Xin Wan prepare them?’ Ren Yuanyang hesitated. After all, they had other food now, and he still couldn’t quite get over the psychological barrier.
’Forget it. I’ll decide after we finish the crocodile meat,’ Ren Yuanyang shook his head. He then directed the bitter grass to pull the Iron Melon Tree over to the shipping container while setting a reminder in the system. ’Notify me the moment my Mental Energy is high enough to enhance the Iron Melon Tree!’
[Understood.]
Seeing Ren Yuanyang let go of the tree, Lu Jiamei walked over. "Chief, what kind of tree is that? It seems really precious to you."
Ren Yuanyang smiled. "It absolutely is."
Then he looked at Xin Wan. "And I have you to thank for bringing them to me!"
Xin Wan was momentarily stunned. She had been worried that Ren Yuanyang would blame her for leading other survivors to them.
Before Xin Wan could say anything, Ren Yuanyang asked, "Does your speedboat use diesel or gasoline?"
Xin Wan blinked, then immediately replied, "Diesel. Both the speedboat’s engine and the small generator are diesel-powered."
"Diesel, huh," Ren Yuanyang said with a look of regret, which made both Lu Jiamei and Xin Wan look at him in confusion.
"Chief, is there a problem with it being diesel?" Lu Jiamei asked curiously.
"No problem, really. But if it used gasoline, we could get it running!" Ren Yuanyang said with a shrug.
"Huh?" Xin Wan was taken aback again, then asked uncertainly, "Chief, are you saying we can get gasoline?"
Ren Yuanyang nodded, pointing to the tree being towed away. "Do you two know what kind of tree that is?"
Lu Jiamei looked at the few glossy green "watermelons" hanging from it and shook her head.
"I’ve seen one before, at a tourist spot on the southern coast. I think it’s called an Iron Melon?" Xin Wan said, sounding uncertain.
Ren Yuanyang was surprised. "I didn’t realize you were a plant expert on top of being a food expert!"

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