"There’s no need to discuss the details of the trade just yet. You still haven’t met the prerequisite, have you?" Ren Yuanyang countered.
Wang Jun was taken aback for a moment, then replied, "Alright. We’ll discuss this again after we drive away the Feixiang Aircraft Carrier!"
"When can the other two fleets get here?" Ren Yuanyang asked casually.
"The one farthest away is expected to arrive by dawn tomorrow," Wang Jun replied.
"I see. I wish you a swift and decisive victory!"
"Alright. We’ll contact you again after we drive off the Feixiang Aircraft Carrier!"
「By the time the chat ended, it was already six in the morning.」
Xin Wan had already prepared breakfast.
Ren Yuanyang and the other two stepped outside. The rain had dwindled to a light drizzle, but dark clouds still roiled across the sky.
"Looks like even the heavens need to catch their breath," Ren Yuanyang remarked. "Everyone, finish your breakfast quickly. We need to dispose of those bodies."
Lu Jiamei and Qin Haonan nodded in agreement.
Ren Yuanyang’s breakfast was, as usual, crocodile blood congee and crocodile meat. The others had plain congee with fish slices.
"Boss, the power on this speedboat is almost out. We’ll have to cook the next meal on the one we just captured," Xin Wan reported during breakfast. "Also, we’re almost out of rice."
"Okay, let’s finish off the rice we have left," Ren Yuanyang said with a slight nod.
’As for the power, the system indicated that the enhancement for the Diesel Tree would be complete today. Once I have diesel, I won’t have to worry about electricity anymore.’
"Understood!" Xin Wan replied.
After breakfast, the rain outside had become even lighter.
"Boss, how should we handle the hero’s remains?" Lu Jiamei asked, her brow furrowed.
"We don’t have the proper means, but thankfully the weather is on our side. We’ll cremate her," Ren Yuanyang replied. "Along with our two other compatriots."
Lu Jiamei nodded and then asked, "And the bodies of those brutes?"
"They’ll accompany her in death," Ren Yuanyang replied coldly. "Haonan, bind the hands of those ten brutes’ corpses. We’ll burn them all together! Let our compatriot take her anger out on them in the afterlife."
Qin Haonan froze for a second, then immediately nodded and ran over to bind them.
’Was there any point in doing this?’
Ren Yuanyang didn’t know. ’Maybe,’ he thought. ’If I could cross over into this world, perhaps there really is another one after death.’
Ren Yuanyang gathered a patch of Round Duckweed and laid several panels from the shipping container on top of it.
Lu Jiamei placed their compatriot’s remains in the center. Qin Haonan arranged the corpses of the Lvzhi Country soldiers in a kneeling circle around her, their hands bound behind their backs.
"Boss, we might not have enough gasoline," Lu Jiamei reminded him.
The small boat they’d captured didn’t have much gasoline, and without it, they wouldn’t be able to get a fire started.
"Use the Iron Melons. The ones on the tree are about ripe," Ren Yuanyang replied. "Be careful not to pull off the stem, or they’ll explode!"
Lu Jiamei nodded and led Qin Haonan to harvest the Iron Melons. They squeezed the gasoline from the pulp, collected it, and doused the bodies.
Once everything was ready, Ren Yuanyang said in a somber voice, "May you find peace."
Then, he tossed the torch in his hand onto the panels.
WHOOSH!
A raging fire instantly engulfed the panels.
In the inferno, the bodies of the Lvzhi Country soldiers seemed to bow even lower, while the hero’s arm, frozen in the air, finally, slowly, relaxed.
"Boss, what should we do with their ashes?" Lu Jiamei asked.
"Let them return to nature," Ren Yuanyang said, turning back toward the shipping container. ’The dead are gone, but the living must go on.’
Fortunately, the panels were made of heat-resistant, fireproof material and hadn’t been damaged. Once their surfaces had cooled, Qin Haonan paddled over to handle the ashes.
As he drew near the panels, he spotted a blue bead among the hero’s ashes.
"What is this? It burned for an hour and wasn’t destroyed?" Qin Haonan said, surprised. He picked up the blue bead and shouted toward the shipping container, "Boss, you should come take a look at this!"
Hearing Qin Haonan’s shout, Ren Yuanyang came out.
Qin Haonan had already paddled to the container’s entrance and handed the bead over.
As he looked at the blue bead, a system prompt immediately appeared.
[Biological Energy Crystal detected. Energy can be used to unlock Animal Enhancement. Absorb?]
Ren Yuanyang froze for a moment when he saw the prompt. He took the blue bead and thought, ’What is a Biological Energy Crystal?’
[It is an Energy Core that concentrates the vast majority of a creature’s power.]
’Is this the Energy Crystal that formed inside that Water-Type Evolver?’
[It should be. However, generally speaking, low-level Evolvers do not form Energy Crystals.]
Apparently, the appearance of this Energy Crystal had caused the system to glitch.
Seeing Ren Yuanyang standing there stunned, Qin Haonan couldn’t help but ask, "Boss, what is this thing?"
Hearing Qin Haonan’s shout, Lu Jiamei and Xin Wan hurried over as well.
Ren Yuanyang began to explain, "This is a Biological Energy Crystal..."
After hearing Ren Yuanyang’s explanation, Lu Jiamei, Qin Haonan, and Xin Wan were all stunned.
"Like the Core Formation Stage in Cultivation novels?" Qin Haonan suddenly asked.
Ren Yuanyang paused, then shook his head. "I don’t know. For now, it just seems to be a way for High-Level Evolvers to store Energy."
"She was already a High-Level Evolver?" Lu Jiamei said in shock. "No wonder she could use her Superpower to escape the pursuing speedboats. She was incredible!"
Ren Yuanyang nodded slowly, his gaze falling upon the hero’s ashes. He bowed once more.
"Thank you," he murmured.
’She gave her life to expose the atrocities of the Feixiang and warn the world!’
’She brought back the experimental data and the Evolution Potion for our people to study!’
’And now, she’s left behind this Energy Crystal, giving me the chance to unlock animal enhancement!’
"Boss, is this Energy Crystal that useful?" Qin Haonan asked, confused by Ren Yuanyang’s words of thanks.
Ren Yuanyang nodded. "Her sacrifice saved countless unsuspecting survivors. It will advance the development of the Evolution Potion and help us survive."
Qin Haonan was still confused. He had only asked about the use of the Energy Crystal, but the boss had launched into a grand speech.
"You’ll understand later," Ren Yuanyang said. "Go on, get back to it."
After Qin Haonan and the others left, Ren Yuanyang immediately issued the command. ’System, absorb the Energy Crystal and unlock Animal Enhancement!’
[Absorbing... Unlock successful...]
The blue bead in Ren Yuanyang’s hand instantly turned white and fractured, dissolving into powder that scattered in the air.
"I never would have thought something like that existed," Xin Wan marveled after returning to the speedboat.
Lu Jiamei nodded. "To be honest, I was against the Boss’s decision to cremate them at first. Even though we have gasoline, we can’t afford to be so wasteful. But now, it seems his decision was the right one."
"Maybe it was fate," Xin Wan replied. "I just wonder what use that Energy Crystal is to the Boss."
"It probably enhances his Mental Energy," Lu Jiamei speculated.
"If so, that would solve our biggest problem," Xin Wan agreed with a nod.

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