The plant in the photo was laden with bright red tomatoes, with a stick in the middle to support it.
"Bro, send me your coordinates! I’ll follow you!"
"So many tomatoes! Can you give me one? I’m willing to trade other resources for it!"
"You two above, save it. In this situation, no one’s willing to take on followers. Even if they did, they’d probably just treat them as walking rations. Food is too important; there’s no way they’d trade it away!"
"Who says it’s impossible? I just traded a tree for five pounds of Cannibal Fish meat!"
Reading this, Ren Yuanyang’s eyes narrowed. He knew this survivor with the ID Black Dragon had to be one of the people from the small boat earlier!
’Looks like we’re about to be exposed,’ Ren Yuanyang thought.
Seeing the message from Black Dragon, other survivors immediately started asking questions.
"@Black Dragon, please tell us where you traded! I’m about to starve to death!"
Seeing someone asking, Black Dragon smiled. ’I’d like to see just how many bullets you have in that gun of yours!’
With this in mind, Black Dragon immediately posted a location and added, "It’s somewhere around here. They have two boats, but they seem to have lost power and are just sitting there!"
At the time, when Black Dragon and his group approached, they had only seen the speedboat and the shipping container disguised as a boat. They hadn’t noticed the small boat between the two.
When Lu Jiamei and Xin Wan saw Black Dragon’s message, they were first filled with anger, then with worry.
"Black Dragon is trying to get someone else to do his dirty work!" Lu Jiamei said in a low voice.
Xin Wan was worried. "The boss’s Mental Energy isn’t high enough yet, and our Iron Melons can’t be used as weapons. If other survivors show up now, it could be a huge problem!"
"Don’t panic," Ren Yuanyang replied. "Other survivors won’t necessarily believe Black Dragon. And even if they do, it will take time for them to get here. We still have time to prepare. Still, everyone does need to train up. Better safe than sorry."
The two women nodded.
Just then, someone on the regional channel did indeed question Black Dragon’s words.
"You just post some random location and expect to lure us over?"
"Yeah, what if it’s a trap you set up? We’d be walking right into it."
"You have a point. I’m not too far from that location, I was about to head over. Thanks for the warning! I’m so hungry I’ve let my guard down completely!"
Black Dragon’s brow furrowed. ’If no other survivors help waste Ren Yuanyang’s bullets, how am I supposed to get my revenge on him?’
"Believe it or not, it’s up to you. In any case, I’ve already gotten my Cannibal Fish!" Black Dragon employed a strategy of feigned retreat, simultaneously taking a photo and posting it.
The photo showed several Cannibal Fish lying in the boat’s cabin.
"There really are Cannibal Fish, and they don’t look small!"
"He probably caught them himself. In this situation, it’s best not to trust anyone!"
"But what if it’s real? I’m starving. Maybe I’ll go take a look. I’ll just be careful!"
"There’s no saving those who are determined to die. Suit yourselves!"
"Whoever wants to go can go. Right now, I just want to know, has that tomato plant from the picture earlier really evolved?"
"Based on my experience, it takes about two months for tomatoes to grow and ripen. But according to that survivor’s description, it grew to that state in just one month. That means its growth cycle must be half of what it used to be!"
"It’s that fast now? So if I find an evolved bok choy, does that mean it could mature in just ten days?"
"That’s right, but first you have to find one!"
"Why hasn’t the cucumber seedling I fished out evolved? I wonder when it’ll bear fruit."
"It’s all up to luck. I even fished out some Duckweed with extremely high buoyancy! It must have evolved too!"
Seeing this, Ren Yuanyang froze for a moment. ’Could that Duckweed have been washed away from my place?’ he wondered.
Lu Jiamei had only managed to collect two plants, but more than two had been swept away.
"Boss, the Duckweed that survivor found must be yours, right?" Lu Jiamei asked.
"Maybe," Ren Yuanyang could only guess. He couldn’t be sure without seeing it himself.
"Even the plants have evolved. I understand this world less and less," Xin Wan said, shaking her head with a wry smile.
"The root of it all is the rain. Where on earth is this rain coming from?" Lu Jiamei’s brow was tightly furrowed.
"Whatever it is, it’s definitely not part of our planet’s normal water cycle. Even the higher-ups haven’t figured it out, so there’s no point in us getting hung up on it. Our mission right now is just to survive," Ren Yuanyang replied.
Lu Jiamei and Xin Wan both nodded in unison.
[Reminder: Host’s Mental Energy has reached the level required to strengthen the Iron Melon Tree...]
The sudden notification from the system was a pleasant surprise for Ren Yuanyang.
"Alright, you two figure out the watch schedule. I’m going back to rest," Ren Yuanyang said, picking up his phone and standing up.
"Yes!"
Back at the entrance to the shipping container, the Iron Melon Tree was still floating horizontally on the water’s surface.
Ren Yuanyang immediately began the strengthening process. "System, strengthen the fruit’s explosive power!"
[Strengthening...]
Ren Yuanyang felt his Mental Energy being completely drained.
[Strengthening successful.]
[Iron Melon Tree (+1): Gasoline content in fruit increased. Explosive power of fruit strengthened. To ensure safety, Iron Melons will not detach on their own even when ripe. The host may pick them with the stem attached. Before throwing, pull the stem to arm, then toss...]
Seeing the system’s notification, Ren Yuanyang was incredibly pleased. ’I can’t believe the system even considered safety. It’s basically a grenade now, just a little on the large side!’
After he completed the strengthening, the Iron Melon Tree righted itself in the water. The five remaining Iron Melons on it all instantly reached maturity—a bonus from the system.
Ren Yuanyang used a strand of bitter grass to pull the Iron Melon Tree to one side of the shipping container. Given the tree’s height, he could easily pick the Iron Melons by standing on the container’s roof.
After taking care of that, Ren Yuanyang rubbed his dizzy head and collapsed onto his bed.
’Strengthening the Iron Melon Tree really takes a toll on my Mental Energy!’
Muttering this, Ren Yuanyang was out like a light.
Meanwhile, Lu Jiamei and Xin Wan had worked out the watch schedule for the night. Xin Wan would take the first half, and Lu Jiamei the second.
This was a consideration for Xin Wan, who had just arrived.
"I’m going to do one more patrol, then I’ll come back and sleep," Lu Jiamei said, putting on her raincoat and heading outside.
"Okay!" Xin Wan nodded.
Just as Lu Jiamei stepped out of the speedboat’s cabin, she noticed some vague shapes near the shipping container. Her heart tightened.
’What is that?’
She quickly took out her Fluorescent Cactus. By its light, she could see the top of a tree sticking out near the container. After a closer look, she breathed a long sigh of relief.
"Oh, it’s the Iron Melon Tree. Wasn’t it lying flat in the water?" Lu Jiamei muttered, then immediately realized, ’The boss has already strengthened it!’
’This is great! Now we don’t have to worry about other survivors coming for us anymore!’ Lu Jiamei was overjoyed.
After patrolling the area and finding nothing out of the ordinary, Lu Jiamei returned to the speedboat and told Xin Wan what she had discovered.
"Our boss’s Mental Energy is growing that fast?" Xin Wan asked, surprised.

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