Ren Yuanyang couldn’t be bothered with him and turned to Hua Lingfang. "Have you gone to check on the growth of the licorice Lin Mu is tending to?"
Hua Lingfang nodded. "I went and looked. It’s growing well. According to Lin Mu, we should be able to harvest some licorice root tomorrow evening!"
"That’s great! This way, our experiments can continue," Ren Yuanyang’s eyes lit up. "How many of the semi-finished Evolution Potions from the Aircraft Carrier Base are left?"
"We’ve already used one hundred vials, with two hundred remaining," Hua Lingfang replied after a moment’s thought.
"If all goes smoothly, those two hundred should be enough," Ren Yuanyang nodded.
"Chief, now that our base has established so many departments today, shouldn’t we celebrate?" Qin Haonan asked, his face full of anticipation.
"You’re just craving chicken again, aren’t you?" Ren Yuanyang shot him an annoyed glare, then instructed Xin Wan, "You handle the arrangements. Bring out a few of the unfertilized eggs, too."
"Yes, Chief!" Xin Wan smiled and nodded.
Although he was sharp-tongued, Ren Yuanyang actually doted on his subordinates.
"I knew the Chief was the best!" Qin Haonan exclaimed happily.
"Go on, get out of here," Ren Yuanyang scolded jokingly. "Get to work right after you eat. Otherwise, you won’t be worthy of the two chickens we’re slaughtering tonight!"
"Two of them! Long live the Chief! I fucking love you!"
When Qin Haonan heard they were actually preparing to slaughter two chickens today, he jumped to his feet.
"Whoa, easy there. I’m straight!" Ren Yuanyang said, rolling his eyes. "Your reaction makes it seem like I’m abusing you and not letting you eat your fill!"
"Hehe, that’s not it. I just wanted a change of pace!" Qin Haonan replied with a laugh.
Ren Yuanyang ignored him and focused on his meal.
"Chief, will it be buffet-style this time as well?" Xin Wan asked.
"Mhm, it’s more convenient that way." Ren Yuanyang nodded slightly. "Make use of the food we’ve caught, too."
"Understood!" Xin Wan replied.
"Have Si Youqin’s group finish their work two hours early to decorate the yacht. Have them help prepare the ingredients as well," Ren Yuanyang continued to instruct.
"Yes, sir!"
After lunch, Lu Jiamei immediately went to the yacht.
There were only a few people cleaning on the yacht. When they saw Lu Jiamei approach, they all greeted her respectfully, "Hello, Minister Lu!"
Lu Jiamei nodded in response. "Hello. Where is Si Youqin?"
"They went to work right after eating! Sister Qin should be where they’re extracting diesel fuel," one person replied.
"Alright, carry on." Lu Jiamei turned and left the yacht, heading for the extraction area.
"Didn’t the Chief say you have a two-hour break at noon? Why did you all come back right after eating?" Lu Jiamei asked with a smile when she saw Si Youqin.
"The work we do is pretty light, so we don’t need a break at noon," Si Youqin replied, taken aback for a second.
Lu Jiamei felt a bit helpless but didn’t dwell on the issue. She began to relay Ren Yuanyang’s orders, "To celebrate the establishment of the specialized departments in Peach Blossom Base, the Chief has decided to hold a dinner party tonight. Just like last time, your group will finish work two hours early, go back to decorate, and also help Minister Xin’s side with the ingredients."
Si Youqin was stunned again, then nodded. "Yes, I’ve got it!"
After relaying the orders, Lu Jiamei left. The other workers who were extracting diesel fuel had naturally overheard the order and grew excited as well.
"We just had a big feast two days ago, and we’re having another one tonight?"
"I wonder if there will be chicken. Just thinking about it makes my mouth water!"
"Aren’t you supposed to be on a diet? What are you doing eating chicken?"
"I’ll start after this meal. It’s not often we get to eat chicken, I can’t possibly miss it!"
"Speaking of which, does our base have a lot of chickens?"
"I don’t know, but even if we have a lot, they’ll be gone soon if we keep eating them like this."
"You’re overthinking it. The Chief only said we’re having a dinner party today. Who told you a dinner party automatically means chicken?"
"That’s true. I guess I got ahead of myself."
"Even without chicken, getting to eat Minister Xin’s cooking is a treat in itself!"
"That’s right, Minister Xin is a really great cook!"
Listening to everyone’s discussion, Si Youqin spoke up. "Alright, everyone, let’s focus on our work for now. We get to leave two hours early today."
"Yes, Sister Qin!" the crowd replied in unison, then worked with even more enthusiasm.
「At that moment, on the edge of the Seventh-level Wind Sea Region where Peach Blossom Base was located, a speedboat was still roaming about. It was the team from Dawn Base that had been searching for Si Youqin’s yacht.」
"Captain, is there really any point to this? That yacht probably capsized long ago after entering the Seventh-level Wind Sea Region. Even if it didn’t, who knows where it was blown off to. There’s no point in us just wandering around here!"
Listening to his crewmate’s complaint, the captain shook his head helplessly. "These are the ship captain’s orders. He told us to search for one more day. If we don’t find anything by six this evening, we can head back."
"I feel like we could go back right now. This is a complete waste of time!" the crewmate muttered, pouting.
Just then, the crew member on lookout duty suddenly shouted, "Captain, large vessels spotted! More than one!"
Hearing this, the captain rushed outside. In the heavy rain, he could only faintly make out the silhouettes of several large ships.
"Halt our advance immediately!" the captain ordered in a low voice. After scrutinizing them for a moment, he commanded, "Fall back ten kilometers!"
"Yes, sir!" The pilot immediately turned the boat around and headed back.
At the same time, the captain immediately began reporting to the ship captain.
"Reporting to the ship captain, we’ve spotted five large ships approximately fifty kilometers northeast of the Seventh-level Wind Sea Region. Each one is about the same size as our Dawn Cruise, some even slightly larger."
Upon receiving this news, the ship captain of Dawn Base immediately perked up.
’So they really are near the Seventh-level Wind Sea Region!’ "Try to get a little closer and observe, but be careful. If they send out a team to pursue you, retreat immediately!"
Having received the ship captain’s order, the team captain had no choice but to bite the bullet and lead his team closer to the five large ships. But just as they got within about ten kilometers, a speedboat shot out from the side.
"Captain, a speedboat is approaching us!" the lookout reported at once.
"Retreat!" the captain gave the order without hesitation.
He had learned about the battle from earlier this morning through the information provided by the staff officer. He knew Peach Blossom Base was incredibly powerful; their own base had dispatched more than ten speedboats and still couldn’t handle a single one from Peach Blossom Base. Their lone speedboat would be a sitting duck.
Hearing the captain’s order, the pilot immediately turned the boat around and fled.
The speedboat behind them gave chase for a while, then gave up.
Only then did the captain breathe a sigh of relief and report back to the ship captain.
"Ship Captain, they have patrol speedboats on their perimeter. We’ve been spotted!"
The ship captain was a bit frustrated, but not surprised.
’A base as strong as Peach Blossom Base would definitely have patrols on its perimeter.’
"I understand. Come on back," the ship captain replied helplessly.
"Yes, sir!"
Receiving this order, the team captain’s tone was clearly much more relaxed.
The ship captain shared this information with his staff officer.
"It’s highly probable we’ve found Peach Blossom Base. What are your thoughts?"
The staff officer nodded. "That should be Peach Blossom Base, which matches our previous speculation. I just didn’t expect them to have five large ships. They’re much stronger than we are."
Dawn Base only had one large vessel, the Dawn Cruise, while the other side had five. The difference in strength was starkly clear.
"Since the gap is so obvious, let’s leverage the other survivors," the ship captain nodded slightly. "Release the coordinates we found."
"Yes, Ship Captain!" the staff officer acknowledged, then began composing the message.
"Greetings, fellow survivors. Our previous speculation was indeed incorrect. Peach Blossom Base is not inside the Seventh-level Wind Sea Region, but near it. Our team has discovered Peach Blossom Base approximately fifty kilometers northeast of the Seventh-level Wind Sea Region. That area is also a Second-level Wind Sea Region."
This time, he didn’t try to guide the other survivors toward Peach Blossom Base; he simply shared this piece of intelligence.
And this piece of intel once again sparked heated discussions among the other survivors.

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