"Are you sure you saw that right? Who would head into the Seventh-level Wind Sea Region?"
"The rain has let up a lot today, so visibility is decent. I’m sure I wasn’t mistaken. And it wasn’t just one boat—it was a fleet of six, big and small, including two speedboats!"
Seeing this, Ren Yuanyang knew they had to be talking about him.
"Boss, a small boat has appeared to our port side, heading in the opposite direction!" Lu Jiamei had also spotted them.
"Right. As long as they don’t approach us, just ignore them," Ren Yuanyang replied.
"Understood!" Lu Jiamei began to keep a close eye on the small boat.
Meanwhile, the owner of that small boat continued to complain on the regional channel.
"What a shame. Two speedboats, too!"
"Maybe they’re just picking someone up and will turn right back. No one’s stupid enough to deliberately go into a Level 7 wind and wave zone! Besides, speedboats are fast. There are still ten days left; they have plenty of time to come back."
"They must have plenty of fuel prepared."
"Even if you have plenty, you can’t just waste it like that!"
"Could there be something good in the center of the Level 7 wind region?"
"Even if there is something good, you have to be alive to use it!"
"Whatever, there’s still time. I’m going to go check it out!"
"Go on, then. Good advice is wasted on those who are determined to die. Isn’t it better to use that energy to catch some fish or scavenge some supplies?"
"What if there are even more supplies in the Level 7 wind region? It’s not that far, anyway!"
For a moment, a few survivors actually started heading toward the areas with higher wind levels.
Ren Yuanyang shook his head helplessly. He never thought his actions would be interpreted as a search for supplies.
’Let them go. When they don’t find any supplies, they’ll naturally turn back.’
Two hours later, Ren Yuanyang and his group slowly came to a stop.
According to the map, they had arrived at the center of the Level 7 wind region.
"Boss, what’s the plan now?" Qin Haonan asked, running over immediately after docking his speedboat.
"Patrol the perimeter and watch for any other survivors approaching," Ren Yuanyang replied. "And keep an eye out for supplies, especially plants!"
"Understood!" Qin Haonan responded in a low voice.
At this point, some of the survivors who had headed for the Level 7 wind region had arrived.
Staring at the empty sea around them, those survivors cursed under their breath before leaving the Level 7 wind region.
"Damn it, there’s nothing here! Don’t bother coming, everyone!"
"I told you! There’s no way there’d be supplies. Even if there were, someone else would have scooped them up long ago. And you still insisted on wasting your energy to go there!"
"I didn’t waste any energy. My boat has plenty of gasoline, and I was close by!"
"Holy shit, so you’re one of the big shots with an engine. No wonder you’re so reckless!"
"Hey, what do you guys think is the purpose of these new map prompts?"
"To warn us which sea regions will have strong winds and waves, so we have a better chance of survival?"
"Why do I get the feeling it’s trying to herd us all together?"
"That actually seems possible. Herd us together for a mass execution?"
"Probably not. If they really wanted to kill us, there’d be no need to warn us about these potential storms."
"That makes sense, I guess. In any case, let’s just stay away from those high-wind regions for now!"
At that moment, Ren Yuanyang had already begun to reinforce the banyan sapling.
According to the system prompt, this banyan sapling was a fast-growing type. After reinforcing its growth cycle eight times, the cycle had been shortened to just two days.
He could have continued with a ninth reinforcement to shorten the growth cycle even further, but to ensure the banyan tree had sufficient strength, he used the final reinforcement on its branch integrity!
A Level 7 wind was strong enough to snap trees, but after Ren Yuanyang reinforced the branch integrity, it would be difficult for such a wind to break most of the banyan’s branches.
After finishing the reinforcement, Ren Yuanyang immediately planted it on the water’s surface outside.
The banyan sapling instantly began to grow at a speed visible to the naked eye.
Lu Jiamei and Xin Wan, who were squeezing fruit from the Diesel Tree, were utterly astonished when they saw this.
The previous Iron Melon Tree and Diesel Tree had already been mature trees. Although they knew Ren Yuanyang had reinforced the two trees, it hadn’t felt too outrageous to them. But seeing this banyan grow before their very eyes was a far greater visual shock.
Xin Wan couldn’t help but exclaim, "Has the boss gotten even stronger?"
"It’s possible. No wonder the boss is so confident about facing the Level 7 winds and waves!" Lu Jiamei replied with a nod.
At this, Xin Wan frowned slightly. "Can this banyan tree really act as a windbreak and stabilize the waves, just like it would on land?"
"If the boss says it can, then it should be fine!" Lu Jiamei answered with a smile. "Besides, the wind will pick up gradually. If it really can’t hold, we can still retreat in time."
Xin Wan nodded slightly, the motion of her hands squeezing the Diesel Tree fruit speeding up a little.
Only having enough diesel could set her mind at ease!
Ren Yuanyang didn’t just stand there watching the banyan tree grow. He turned and went into the container, turning over the rice ears that were drying.
The rice ears near the Drip Guanyin’s flowers were almost completely dry.
Ren Yuanyang picked up some of the dried ones, put them in a small basin, and walked out.
"Xin Wan, I left some rice grains on the speedboat. Process them when you have a moment!"
Hearing Ren Yuanyang, Xin Wan immediately replied, "Okay, I’ll go right now. We don’t have enough rice for dinner, so this is perfect timing!"
After a quick word with Lu Jiamei, Xin Wan stood up and returned to her own speedboat. When she saw the basin of dry rice ears, she was completely stunned.
"They’re... dry?"
In Xin Wan’s mind, these rice ears must have just been harvested by Ren Yuanyang. If the banyan tree grew that fast, the rice would naturally be fast too.
But it had been raining constantly outside. Even though it had let up a little today, it hadn’t stopped.
In this kind of weather, freshly harvested rice ears should have been damp. Yet the ones before her were as dry as if they’d been basking in the sun for days.
’How on earth did the boss manage that?’ Xin Wan wondered, as she started to process the rice ears.
She was still using the most primitive method: rubbing the grains off the stalk and then grinding them to remove the husks.
Night fell, and Qin Haonan, who had been patrolling the area, returned.
When he saw the banyan tree, which was now taller than a speedboat, he was completely dumbfounded.
"Boss, this thing grew way too fast!" Qin Haonan swallowed hard and asked.
"If it didn’t grow quickly, how would we fend off the coming storm?" Ren Yuanyang retorted.
Qin Haonan was taken aback for a second, then nodded in deep agreement.
"Boss, dinner’s ready!" Xin Wan called out.
"Alright, we’re coming," Ren Yuanyang said, leading Qin Haonan toward Xin Wan’s speedboat.
As he stepped into the speedboat, Qin Haonan took a deep sniff of the fragrant rice aroma in the air.
"Sister Wan, the rice porridge seems extra fragrant today!"
"You’ve got a sharp nose. Today’s porridge was made with freshly harvested rice, so it is indeed more fragrant than before!" Xin Wan explained with a smile.
"Freshly harvested? Boss, why didn’t you call me! You can leave that kind of work to me!" Qin Haonan said immediately.
"The container has limited space, and the planting area isn’t large. I can handle it myself," Ren Yuanyang replied with a smile. "Don’t worry, there will be plenty of opportunities in the future!"
Qin Haonan nodded.
Xin Wan couldn’t help but voice the question that had been puzzling her: "Boss, how were those rice ears you just harvested so dry?"

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