Jin Ziyu froze for a second, then replied uncertainly, "I think so!"
All she knew for sure was that her own appetite had grown since becoming an Evolver; she couldn’t speak for anyone else.
"If that’s true, doesn’t that mean Evolvers get hungry more easily?"
Jin Ziyu frowned slightly. "It seems so. But as your strength increases, it should be easier to get food, too!"
"Evolvers are naturally given special treatment by the big ship-bases, but everyone has limited food. It’s not easy to get your fill!"
"Yeah, Peach Blossom Base is probably the only place with enough food. No other base would let us eat this much in one sitting, let alone leave leftovers for a midnight snack!"
Hearing the other two’s comments, Jin Ziyu felt even more strongly that Peach Blossom Base was a wonderful place!
The promise of being able to eat her fill by following the boss was an immense temptation for Jin Ziyu.
Time slowly crept toward five in the morning. Ren Yuanyang and his group were already up and practicing the Five Animals Qigong.
The women on the yacht began to wake up as well. It had been the best night’s sleep they’d had in months.
Even with the yacht’s slight rocking, they had slept soundly.
"Sister Qin, the yacht is almost out of diesel fuel!" one of the women reported, hurrying over to Si Youqin.
Si Youqin nodded slightly. "I know. I’ll report it to the boss later. Let’s make breakfast first."
There were still some dishes left over from last night, so they cooked some porridge and reheated the leftovers for breakfast.
By the time they finished breakfast and cleaned up, it wasn’t yet seven o’clock.
"Sister Qin, what do we do now?"
Hearing their question, Si Youqin shook her head. "I don’t know either. Let’s just wait for the boss."
The women nodded, then stepped out of the yacht and onto the deck. They watched the Banyan Forest swaying violently in the wind.
"These branches are so strong. Hasn’t a single one broken?"
"You’re right. Look, even the thinner branches are holding up perfectly!"
"Could all these big trees be Evolutionary Forms?"
"They have to be. Otherwise, how could they grow in water and be so lush?"
"The boss is incredible!"
Si Youqin didn’t join their discussion. Instead, she turned to Jin Ziyu, who had just finished her watch. "Your group worked hard. You should all get some rest during the day."
Jin Ziyu shook her head. "I don’t need to. Didn’t I already get some sleep during the first half of the night? I’m not sleepy at all!"
The other two women from her shift nodded in agreement. The same went for the three who had worked the first half of the night; they had rested for the entire second half and were now full of energy.
They were all trying their best to make a good impression. After finally finding a friendly base with plenty of food, the last thing they wanted was to be thrown out.
Seeing they were all in good spirits, Si Youqin didn’t press the issue.
They ended up waiting until past eight o’clock. When Ren Yuanyang arrived with his men, he found the women already waiting on deck.
Ren Yuanyang was taken aback for a moment. "You don’t need to wait outside in the future," he said. "Everyone, head on in!"
After ushering them all inside, Ren Yuanyang asked, "You’ve all had breakfast, right?"
Si Youqin and her group nodded at once, their hearts touched.
For the past two or three months, no one had shown them any concern.
Ren Yuanyang continued, "Starting today, you’ll begin integrating into this base. I need to re-emphasize a few points. First, secrecy. If we discover anyone has dared to leak any information about our base to outsiders, they will be killed without mercy! Second, you will likely encounter many evolved plants while working, so don’t be too surprised. Third, you must obey all assignments. Whether the work is assigned by me or the other four, you must obey. Any questions?"
"No!" the women replied in unison.
"Good. In a moment, they will give you a quick tour of the base, and then you can start your work." Ren Yuanyang nodded, satisfied. "Lu Jiamei, they’re all yours."
Lu Jiamei stepped forward and said, "Everyone, with me!"
As she led the group out, Ren Yuanyang suddenly noticed Jin Ziyu was among them.
"Weren’t you on watch last night? You can take today off," Ren Yuanyang called out to stop Jin Ziyu.
Si Youqin quickly explained, "I told them that, but they said they’d already rested for half the night and didn’t need the day off. I saw that they were in good spirits, so I didn’t force them to rest!"
Ren Yuanyang nodded slightly. "Since you’re not resting, Elder Hua could use your help with something. Go find him directly."
He didn’t stand on ceremony, assigning her a task right away.
"Okay!" Jin Ziyu answered, then headed in Hua Lingfang’s direction.
"You should go with them and listen to Lu Jiamei’s introduction first. You need to at least get a basic understanding of our base!" Hua Lingfang gestured for Jin Ziyu to follow Lu Jiamei for now.
Jin Ziyu nodded and hurried to catch up with the main group.
As Si Youqin and the others stepped into the Banyan Forest for the first time, they were incredibly curious about the Duckweed beneath their feet.
Lu Jiamei explained as she led them deeper into the forest.
"This Duckweed we’re standing on—it’s also an Evolutionary Form. It can support an incredible amount of weight. All the paths and clearings inside the Banyan Forest are paved with it!"
Everyone was stunned by Lu Jiamei’s explanation.
The common duckweed, usually found floating in water, could actually grow this large and be so strong?
It seemed incredible, but once the word "evolution" was involved, they found they could accept anything, no matter how illogical.
"Then if we had enough of this Duckweed, couldn’t we just pave over the whole world? We wouldn’t need boats anymore!"

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