The fact that a patrol officer armed with a firearm was forced to abandon ship meant the situation on board must have been dire.
Ren Yuanyang could find out the specifics later.
Besides, Lu Jiamei might have a way to contact other vessels.
Ren Yuanyang wanted to learn more about the outside world, and Lu Jiamei was an excellent starting point.
As for whether she would attract other groups, Ren Yuanyang considered the probability to be very low.
Lu Jiamei had so many bottles and cans on her plank, which meant she’d been adrift at sea for a while. If she was going to attract help from her superiors, it would have arrived long ago.
The fact that no one had come yet could only mean one of two things: either her superiors were too preoccupied to mount a rescue, or Lu Jiamei hadn’t been able to contact them. Whatever the reason, Ren Yuanyang didn’t have to worry about it for the time being.
On top of that, Lu Jiamei had brought him a weapon, a Drip Guanyin, and food. Plus, she seemed like a person of integrity, and he couldn’t just repay kindness with cruelty, could he?
He would never admit he was letting her stay because of her figure and looks.
’I’m not that shallow!’ Ren Yuanyang, who had already lain down, rolled over. The image of her tied up just moments before flashed through his mind.
Lu Jiamei was beautiful, but Ren Yuanyang wasn’t some animal who only thought with his dick. He was still wary of her.
She was a patrol officer and had survived at sea this long, which meant she had to be in excellent physical condition. It was hard to say how she stacked up against others, but she was most likely stronger than him.
Even though he had the pistol, he was completely unfamiliar with it. For that reason, Ren Yuanyang had pushed Lu Jiamei more than five meters away before releasing the bitter grass’s hold on her.
’There’s probably no one who can do a standing long jump of over five meters, right?’
And if Lu Jiamei tried to approach him through the water, she would inevitably be entangled by the bitter grass.
Drifting into a daze, Ren Yuanyang fell asleep.
An unknown amount of time later, Ren Yuanyang woke up. It was probably daytime. It was still dim outside the tent, but visibility was slightly better than it had been during the night.
The water bottle hanging on the Dripping Lotus was full, and a large amount of purified water was overflowing into a large basin Ren Yuanyang had prepared. The basin, of course, was also something he’d taken from Lu Jiamei.
He splashed some of the purified water from the basin on his face, waking himself up considerably.
Ren Yuanyang looked over at the plank five meters away. Lu Jiamei was lying there, curled into a ball.
"Time to get to work!" Ren Yuanyang shouted.
Lu Jiamei was a light sleeper. She woke instantly at his shout, wiped the rainwater from her face, and sat up.
"What do you need me to do?" Lu Jiamei asked.
"In a moment, I’ll use the runners to bring the things I’ve collected over to your plank. You sort everything, then send it back to me," Ren Yuanyang replied. "And keep an eye on our surroundings!"
"Okay. But... could you give me the flashlight? I can work better with it," Lu Jiamei asked tentatively.
"No problem. I’ll send it over on a Round Duckweed. Be ready to receive it."
Ren Yuanyang found an empty can, put the flashlight inside it, placed the can on a Round Duckweed, secured it with some bitter grass, and sent it over toward Lu Jiamei.
"Oh, and if you spot any plants, collect all of them," Ren Yuanyang added.
Lu Jiamei paused for a second, then quickly replied, "Okay!"
Seeing the miraculous bitter grass and Round Duckweed, Lu Jiamei already had her suspicions. ’He must have awakened some kind of special plant-based ability!’
But since Ren Yuanyang didn’t bring it up, she was tactful enough not to ask.
The bitter grass’s runners had yielded a bountiful harvest overnight.
Three bottles of coke, five packages of bread, and a good number of ordinary Round Duckweeds.
Seeing the coke and bread, Lu Jiamei couldn’t help but swallow. She desperately wanted to tear open a package and devour a loaf of bread right then and there. After a moment’s hesitation, she resisted the urge, placed all the supplies into a basin, and set it on the Round Duckweed.
Although Ren Yuanyang couldn’t see the actual items, he could sense the total count.
When he received the sorted supplies, Ren Yuanyang noted that the count was correct. In other words, Lu Jiamei hadn’t skimmed anything for herself. He nodded in satisfaction.
This had also been a test for Lu Jiamei.
If her character was questionable, he wouldn’t keep her around, no matter how beautiful she was.
After moving the supplies from the basin into his tent, Ren Yuanyang took out a container of yogurt, one loaf of bread, and the unopened bottle of mineral water, placed them all in the basin, and sent it back to her.
"Make it last. That’s your food for the day!" Ren Yuanyang called out toward the plank.
’The food haul was bigger today, so giving her one of the loaves was a reward for her honesty.’
’Based on his memory of the date and the yogurt’s production date, he figured it was at least half a month past its expiration date!’
’He didn’t feel too bad about giving one to Lu Jiamei!’
’With his enhanced Dripping Lotus, Ren Yuanyang no longer had to worry about purified water, so he generously gave the unopened bottle to Lu Jiamei.’
Hearing Ren Yuanyang’s voice, Lu Jiamei breathed a small sigh of relief. She had been worried he wouldn’t give her any food, in which case she definitely wouldn’t have lasted more than a few days.
When the basin with the food arrived next to her plank, Lu Jiamei was shocked to find a loaf of bread, a container of yogurt, and a bottle of mineral water inside!
She never would have expected Ren Yuanyang to be so generous. Not only did he share one of the loaves of bread they’d found today, but he even gave her extra yogurt and a bottle of water!
’Looks like I made the right bet,’ Lu Jiamei thought.
From the moment Ren Yuanyang subdued her, she knew her fate was in his hands. But after their brief interaction, she realized he wasn’t a bad person, and he possessed some kind of special ability. That was why she had decisively chosen to stay and throw her lot in with him.
Lu Jiamei glanced at the expiration dates on everything, then decisively tore open the yogurt.
"It only expired a little over half a month ago. Should be fine," Lu Jiamei muttered, pouring the yogurt into her mouth.
If she let it sit any longer, it might actually spoil, so she dealt with the yogurt first.
After finishing the yogurt, she opened the bottle of water, took two careful sips, then screwed the cap back on tightly. She placed it in a nearby can along with the bread.
Just then, Ren Yuanyang’s voice came over again.
"Don’t throw away the bottle when you’re done with the water. I have more purified water, so you can use that bottle to store it from now on."
Hearing this, Lu Jiamei’s eyes widened. "How many jugs of water did you manage to find?"
"Don’t ask questions you shouldn’t. Just do your job," Ren Yuanyang retorted.
Lu Jiamei pouted but picked up the flashlight and began to survey the surroundings.
Ren Yuanyang’s bitter grass only had a capture range of twenty meters, but with the powerful flashlight, Lu Jiamei could faintly see what lay beyond.
"Boss, over in my direction, maybe thirty or forty meters out, I think I see a huge crate!" Lu Jiamei suddenly shouted.
Ren Yuanyang froze for a second, then frowned. "Are you sure it’s a crate and not some creature?"

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