After getting confirmation from Hua Lingfang, Qin Haonan immediately placed the remaining fifty kilograms of Cherry Tomatoes on the inflatable boat, then slowly steered his speedboat away from it.
At the same time, Qin Haonan sent a message to Wang Jun: "The tools check out. No problems. I’ve placed the remaining fifty kilograms of Cherry Tomatoes on the inflatable boat. Wait until I’ve moved away before you come get them!"
"Alright, a pleasure doing business with you!" Wang Jun replied with a smile.
Just as they were finalizing the trade, a drone from the Dawn Cruise’s reconnaissance team began slowly approaching the inflatable boat.
"Get closer. I want a clear look at what they’re trading!" the recon captain ordered in a low voice.
"Captain, if we get any closer, we’re likely to be spotted!" the soldier operating the drone said worriedly.
"Then get as close as possible!"
"Yes, sir!"
At that moment, the speedboat from the Aircraft Carrier Base approached the inflatable boat again. They pulled back the raincoat covering the baskets, revealing several more crates overflowing with Cherry Tomatoes.
This time, the team from the Dawn Cruise finally made out what they were: crate after crate of Cherry Tomatoes!
"Captain, they’re cherry tomatoes! They look so fresh!" a soldier at his side exclaimed in utter shock, swallowing hard.
’To be trading so many cherry tomatoes with the Aircraft Carrier Base... could they have an Evolutionary Plant?’ the captain mused, his brow furrowed.
"An Evolutionary Plant!" all the soldiers beside the captain whispered in astonishment.
They all knew the extraordinary value of Evolutionary Plants. The Dawn Cruise itself had an evolutionary apple tree whose specific trait was its yield; that single tree produced over a thousand apples.
A normal apple tree at its peak could only produce about two hundred.
Now, hearing that the survivor might have an Evolutionary Plant, their eyes lit up.
"Captain, should we make a move? We could just take those Cherry Tomatoes," a soldier suggested.
If they could get the Cherry Tomatoes, they would naturally get the seeds!
All the soldiers looked to their captain. If he gave the order, they would move immediately.
The captain considered it for a moment before finally shaking his head.
"Captain, this is a golden opportunity. Are we really not going to act?" the soldier beside him asked, confused.
"Between our Dawn Base and the Aircraft Carrier Base, who do you think is stronger?" the captain countered.
All the soldiers paused, taken aback.
"The Aircraft Carrier Base, obviously!" one soldier answered.
"Then tell me," the captain shot back, "why didn’t the Aircraft Carrier Base just take it by force?"
"Captain, are you implying the faction behind this speedboat is powerful?"
The captain nodded slightly.
"Couldn’t it be that the Aircraft Carrier Base is worried they can’t catch the speedboat, so they’re settling for a trade? After all, a successful trade still gets them the seeds for the evolutionary Cherry Tomatoes," the drone operator suddenly interjected. "Look, that speedboat is keeping a constant distance from the Aircraft Carrier Base’s boat!"
The captain froze, then frowned. "That’s a possibility, but we still can’t act rashly. Follow him for now. I’ll report this to the Ship Captain!"
Just then, a drone dispatched by Ji Yizhi spotted the Dawn Cruise’s drone.
"Old Wang, we’ve spotted another drone. It wasn’t sent by you, was it?" Ji Yizhi immediately asked Wang Jun.
Hearing this, Wang Jun paused for a second before quickly shaking his head. "No, I didn’t send any drones over."
Long Zhan, who had seen their exchange, chimed in, "Neither did I."
"Since it doesn’t belong to any of us, I’m taking it down," Ji Yizhi said coldly.
"Hold on. Let me tell Tattooed Haonan first to avoid any misunderstandings," Wang Jun said, immediately sending a message to Qin Haonan.
’I don’t know what other aces Qin Haonan has up his sleeve,’ Wang Jun thought, ’but these last two trades have gone pretty well. If he has other valuable goods, it’s best to maintain a good relationship for future deals.’
"Fine. I’ll keep an eye on the drone for now," Ji Yizhi replied. "Just be quick about it."
Wang Jun nodded. He had already sent the message to Qin Haonan.
"We’ve just spotted an unknown drone approaching. We’re going to open fire and shoot it down. We hope this doesn’t cause any misunderstanding on your part!"
Seeing the message, Qin Haonan paused for a moment. "Since it has nothing to do with me, I’m heading out!"
He sent the reply to Wang Jun as he started his speedboat and sped away.
Wang Jun was left a little speechless at how decisively he left.
The Dawn Cruise’s drone immediately gave chase.
At that moment, several soldiers on the Aircraft Carrier Base’s speedboat immediately started spraying bullets into the sky.
Because the rain was getting heavier, the drone had to fly low to monitor the sea’s surface. As long as they knew its position, it could be shot down with rifle fire!
Hearing gunshots behind him, Qin Haonan glanced in his rearview mirror. He saw that they weren’t firing at him; instead, a black shadow seemed to be falling from the sky.
His video call with Ren Yuanyang was still connected. Ren Yuanyang faintly heard the gunfire and asked with concern, "What’s happening? Why is there shooting?"
"It looks like Wang Jun’s group spotted an unknown drone, and they’re shooting it down," Qin Haonan quickly explained. "They actually gave me a heads-up before they opened fire, so I just left."
"Okay, just be careful," Ren Yuanyang said, breathing a small sigh of relief. "It looks like your trade has been spotted by another faction. You’d better take the long way back."
"I understand," Qin Haonan replied.
"Keep the line open!"
"Right."
The moment their drone was shot down, the Dawn Cruise team knew they’d been exposed. The recon captain immediately gave the order: "Pull back now and follow that speedboat!"
The pilot immediately turned the boat and sped off in the direction Qin Haonan had gone.
At the same time, they launched another drone to continue tracking Qin Haonan.
As far as they were concerned, the Aircraft Carrier Base was a behemoth they could never hope to challenge. Qin Haonan, on the other hand, seemed like a much softer target.
The Aircraft Carrier Base had also deployed a drone to track Qin Haonan, and it too spotted the new drone from the Dawn Cruise.
"Captain, we’ve spotted another unknown drone. Based on its profile, it appears to be the same model as the one we just shot down! They must have the same target we do!"
After receiving the report from his subordinate, Ji Yizhi frowned. He asked the other two in the group chat, "Should we go find the team that was spying on our trade? They must be after Tattooed Haonan, too!"
"Absolutely!" Long Zhan immediately responded. "They’re being so sneaky. They must want to monopolize our connection with Tattooed Haonan!"
Wang Jun nodded. "I agree. This gives us the perfect excuse to tag along!"
Just as they were preparing to dispatch a team to find the group from the Dawn Cruise, something unexpected happened.
CRACKLE!
A shower of sparks suddenly erupted from the monitor, and the soldier on duty immediately cut the power!
At the same instant, every drone they had in the air plummeted.

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