"I hope you can take my grandson in. He’s very clever and capable—he’ll definitely be able to help you!" the old man pleaded, then watched Qin Haonan anxiously.
"No, Grandpa, I want to stay with you!"
The boy understood now. His grandfather was trying to leave him with someone else.
The old man raised a hand to stop the boy from speaking. Looking at Qin Haonan, he begged, "He doesn’t eat much. He won’t use up too much of your food!"
The moment Qin Haonan arrived, he had opened a line of communication with Ren Yuanyang, so Ren Yuanyang heard the old man’s plea as well.
"Aren’t you afraid I’ll abuse your grandson? Or use him for experiments, like they do in Lvzhi Country?" Ren Yuanyang’s voice suddenly crackled from Qin Haonan’s phone.
The sudden sound of a fourth person’s voice made both the old man and the boy freeze. They turned to look at Qin Haonan nervously.
Qin Haonan held up his phone and explained, "This is the leader of our Peach Blossom Base. He’s the one who decides whether we take your grandson in."
The old man reacted instantly. Cupping his hands in a fist-and-palm salute again, he said, "Sir, from the way you conduct yourselves, I can tell you’re not a tyrannical leader. Of course, I have no other choice right now. It’s become too difficult to survive while looking after him."
His words were sincere.
"And what about you?" Ren Yuanyang asked, though the answer seemed obvious.
The old man gave a serene smile. "I already have one foot in the grave. It doesn’t matter what happens to me, as long as he’s taken care of."
Tears welled in the boy’s eyes, but his tone was unshakeable. "Grandpa, I’m not going anywhere! I’m staying with you!"
Ren Yuanyang suddenly asked, "Boy, if you don’t go anywhere, how are you going to provide for your grandfather?"
His words left the boy stunned.
Qin Haonan, who was standing by, understood Ren Yuanyang’s implication. He quickly prompted them, "What are you waiting for? Thank the leader! He’s planning to take both of you in!"
The boy was still stunned, but the old man had already snapped out of it.
"Sir, are you really planning to take in a useless old man like me?" the old man asked, finding it hard to believe.
In the current situation, all the bases were hoping to recruit strong, able-bodied survivors in their prime. The elderly were the last thing anyone wanted.
And even if a base did take them, it would probably just be to use them as cannon fodder or... food.
But the old man had a feeling Ren Yuanyang wouldn’t treat him as cannon fodder or food.
"You have a grandson, don’t you? As long as he can provide for you, that’s fine. I don’t interfere in the family matters of my base members," Ren Yuanyang replied. "Also, let me make things clear upfront. Once you join our base, you must follow our rules to the letter. If you disobey, you won’t be leaving here alive. Understood?"
The boy, who had just snapped out of his daze, felt a flicker of fear upon hearing this.
But the old man replied instantly, "Don’t worry, Sir. We will strictly abide by the base’s rules!"
"Alright, you can discuss the rest with Haonan," Ren Yuanyang said finally, preparing to end the call.
Qin Haonan quickly asked, "Leader, should I bring them straight back?"
"What do you think? You’re the one who picked them out, you bring them back. Did you expect me to go get them myself?" Ren Yuanyang retorted, then added, "And take their phones first!"
"Yes, Leader!" Qin Haonan replied with a cheerful grin.
It was only then that the boy finally processed what was happening.
"Sir, did the leader just now mean I can bring my grandfather with me to join your base?"
"Of course, if you’re willing," Qin Haonan said with a nod.
"That’s great! I’m willing!" the boy answered eagerly.
Qin Haonan held out his hand. "Since you’re willing, hand over your phones."
Without any hesitation, the old man and the boy immediately handed over their phones.
Noticing their raft had no shelter whatsoever against the wind and waves, Qin Haonan thought for a moment before saying, "You can stay on the speedboat’s deck, but you can’t enter the cabin. Any problem with that?"
"No problem. Thank you!" the old man said, cupping his hands in gratitude.
Riding on the speedboat was certainly a huge improvement over their raft.
"Tie your raft to the speedboat and secure your belongings. We’re leaving immediately!" With that, Qin Haonan walked back to the cockpit and started the engine.
The old man and the boy quickly climbed onto the speedboat’s deck, stowed their belongings, and tied their raft to the stern.
"Ready?" Qin Haonan’s voice called from the cabin.
"Ready!" the old man called back.
Qin Haonan immediately hit the throttle, and the speedboat shot forward.
"Grandpa, is that Peach Blossom Base a big ship?"
"They can send speedboats out on patrol, so it must be a big ship. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have enough diesel fuel."
"So will we get to live on the big ship?"
"Probably not. Space on a large ship is limited, and they’ll need to reserve areas for growing crops. We’ll likely have to stay on our own raft."
The boy nodded, his eyes full of hope. "We should be able to eat until we’re full on the big ship, right?"
"I wouldn’t count on it. Food is scarce everywhere right now. When you get there, you must listen to their orders and work hard. You might not get to eat your fill, but you should at least be able to survive."
"Okay, I’ll definitely work hard. But... the leader did say I could provide for you. Maybe food isn’t as scarce there."
"Perhaps," the old man replied ambiguously, not having the heart to dash his grandson’s hopes any further.
The boy gazed in the direction they were headed. The speedboat’s beam cut through the darkness, illuminating the sea around them and scattering the gloom in his heart.
Feeling the sharp wind against his face, the boy added, "I wonder which Second-level Wind Sea Region this big ship is in."
"Without the map on the phone, there’s no way to tell our direction," the old man said, shaking his head. "But that doesn’t matter anymore. Wherever they are, that’s where we’re going."
"That’s true." The boy huddled on the deck behind the cabin, sheltering from the direct blast of the wind and wrapping himself tightly in his raincoat.
「By the time Qin Haonan made it back to the base, it was already two-thirty in the morning.」
When the old man felt the speedboat come to a stop, he woke instantly. He looked around frantically. Qin Haonan had already turned off the boat’s main lights, but there seemed to be some small light bulbs outside. By their faint glow, he was shocked to see... trees nearby?
’Trees growing in the water?’ the old man wondered in amazement, then gently shook the sleeping boy awake.
"Grandpa, are we here?" the boy asked, still half-asleep.
"Yes," the old man grunted.
The boy looked around curiously. "Where’s the big ship?"
Qin Haonan finished mooring the speedboat and stepped out of the cabin. "There’s no big ship here," he said with a smile. "Wait here a minute. I have to go turn in these plants."
As he spoke, he jumped right off the speedboat, causing both the old man and the boy to gasp.
Then, to their astonishment, they saw that Qin Haonan hadn’t fallen into the water. He was walking on its surface as if it were solid ground!
The old man peered closer and saw a layer of Duckweed on the water. ’But... those Duckweed plants are huge!’
"Grandpa, what’s going on?" The boy felt like he was still dreaming.
The old man was just as shocked, but he replied, "It seems we’ve joined a truly extraordinary base!"

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