Too many searchlights were fixed on Qin Haonan’s yacht. Despite the heavy rain, everyone could still see the round objects he was throwing.
The guards on the speedboat blocking Qin Haonan’s path also saw the spheres flying toward them.
"Damn it! It’s those exploding Iron Melons! Get back!" someone yelled.
After suffering a setback at Qin Haonan’s hands, Dawn Base had meticulously analyzed Peach Blossom Base’s offensive tactics and briefed all their combat personnel.
That was why the guards’ first reaction upon seeing the round objects was that the enemy had thrown Iron Melons.
They reacted quickly, but the two speedboats were too close. It took time to get their own boat moving, so they had no chance of dodging the Iron Melons.
To make matters worse, Qin Haonan had thrown seven or eight Iron Melons, blanketing almost their entire vessel.
No matter which way they moved, a few were bound to land on the speedboat.
Even knowing they couldn’t evade them all, the pilot still desperately tried to get the speedboat moving, hoping to dodge at least some of the Iron Melons.
The speedboat had just begun to move when the Iron Melons landed on deck.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The Iron Melons on the speedboat exploded instantly. Hard fragments of their shells flew in all directions, shattering the boat’s windows. Even the crudely made bulkheads were riddled with holes.
These were just ordinary civilian pleasure craft, the kind that wouldn’t even be taken out in slightly choppy water. The materials used for their hulls were subpar and stood no chance against the force of the exploding Iron Melons.
The guards who had taken cover inside the cabin suffered injuries of varying severity and began to cry out in agony.
Sitting at the stern, Lin Mu and Jianghu heard the agonized cries and exchanged a look of shock.
"What was that?" Jianghu, who had only ever been on cleaning duty, knew nothing about Iron Melons.
He didn’t have a phone, and his life was a monotonous routine of work and rest. Naturally, he’d had no opportunity to hear about such things.
"An Iron Melon! To be precise, an evolved version of one. The original kind explodes, too, but not this powerfully," Lin Mu explained in a low voice.
"An Iron Melon? Is that a plant? A plant that explodes?" Jianghu had never heard of such a thing.
Lin Mu nodded. "The last time a team from Dawn Base tried to seize a speedboat from Peach Blossom Base, they were wiped out. A whole squad was reduced to just three survivors. They brought back intel on Peach Blossom Base’s weapons, and the Iron Melon was one of them."
"What was the other?" Jianghu asked, his curiosity piqued.
"The Spray Melon. It can rapidly eject its seeds. After evolving, the ejected seeds have the force of bullets—or even greater!"
As a botanist, Lin Mu had been immediately called in to identify these two plants. That made him the foremost expert on them at Dawn Base.
"Plants can be used like guns?" Jianghu felt like he understood this world less and less.
Lin Mu shook his head with a sigh. "Forget you—even I, someone who knows so much about plants, was completely baffled when I saw a Spray Melon being used to kill someone."
Peering through the observation port, Qin Haonan saw the enemy speedboat’s direction and speed. He took out several more Iron Melons, shook out his arm, and began another volley.
At the same time, he yelled to Si Youqin, "Sister Qin, get us moving and follow them! Don’t worry about ramming them!"
Si Youqin gave a slight nod, gunned the engine, and their speedboat closed in on the enemy.
’Since we’ve started fighting, I might as well make it hurt,’ Qin Haonan thought. This time, he aimed mainly for the cockpit.
The next volley of Iron Melons landed squarely near the enemy speedboat’s cockpit.
With the windows already shattered, the explosive shrapnel tore into the cockpit unimpeded.
A piece of shrapnel sliced a deep gash across the pilot’s neck. He clamped his hands over the wound, but blood still streamed from between his fingers.
These men had never been in a fight like this. They hadn’t even seen the enemy’s face, and they were already suffering heavy casualties from the explosions.
Watching their comrades’ lives slip away, some of the guards immediately broke down.
"I’m done! I surrender! I don’t want to die!"
The squad leader on the speedboat immediately barked, "Even if we surrender, they won’t spare us! And even if they did, the Captain would never forgive us! The only way our families will survive is if we carry out the Captain’s orders to the letter!"
"I want to complete the mission, too, but we can’t even see the target! How are we supposed to do that?" the guard sobbed.
"Kill anyone who disrupts morale!" The Captain’s voice crackled through the squad leader’s earpiece. He had apparently overheard what was happening on the speedboat.
The squad leader hesitated.
"If you don’t want anything to happen to your children, then follow your orders immediately!" the Captain said coldly.
Hearing this, the squad leader could only apologize silently in his heart as he drew his pistol and shot the crying guard.
The others were stunned into silence.
"The Captain’s orders: kill anyone who disrupts morale!" the squad leader said, his face contorted in pain as he looked at his remaining men.
The remaining men instantly understood their leader’s predicament and could only nod helplessly in acknowledgment.
Just then, the speedboats closing in from behind opened fire. They were aiming for the fuel tank.
RAT-A-TAT-TAT!
CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!
Listening to the incessant gunfire and the sound of bullets striking their boat, Lin Mu couldn’t help but worry.
"Can this boat really withstand such a heavy barrage?"
Jianghu nodded slightly. "It should. After all, there’s a Gold-Type Evolver on board."
Hearing the gunfire intensify behind them, Qin Haonan immediately yelled, "Sister Qin, give it more gas! Weave left and right as we go!"
Si Youqin immediately began steering the speedboat in a serpentine pattern.
Once the speedboat started weaving, it became much harder for them to hit their target. After all, they weren’t professional Warriors.
But the enemy didn’t give up. Instead, they rapidly closed the distance.
They could already see the light of victory.
Under the glare of the searchlights, the area around the fuel tank was already pockmarked with dents. It looked like it was about to be breached at any moment.
"Keep it up! We’re almost there!"
"Focus your fire! Once we destroy their fuel tank, they’ll be sitting ducks!"
"But watch out for their plant weapons!"
"We have this many automatic rifles. You think we should be afraid of his plant weapons?"
"You can’t be too careful. Everyone, maintain some distance. Don’t get too close!"
"Yes, sir!"
Just then, someone suddenly yelled, "Hey, look! The fuel tank—it looks like it’s repairing itself!"
Everyone stared. The previously pockmarked surface was becoming smooth again. It even looked a bit thicker!
"It’s the Gold-Type Evolver! I thought he’d used up all his Mental Energy blocking our bullets. I can’t believe he can still repair the damaged hull!"
"So we’ve just been wasting our time! We’ll never be able to destroy their fuel tank!"
"We’re running low on ammo! Should we ask the Captain to send more?"
"Right, I’ll request it from the Captain!" The leader of the pursuit team immediately sent a message. "Captain, we’re almost out of ammo. We need support!"
"What? You brought that much ammunition with you. How could you possibly be out already?" The Captain’s brow furrowed.
"Conditions at sea are difficult, and our accuracy is low, so we’re burning through it faster than expected!" the team leader explained. "Plus, they have a Gold-Type Evolver who’s constantly repairing the damage. If we’re going to take them down, we’re going to need a lot more ammo!"
’The Captain did order us to stop them at any cost,’ the team leader thought. ’If he wants them stopped at any cost, he’s got to give us enough bullets to do it, right?’

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