"That won’t work. We have to stall until the joint fleet gets here!" Qin Haonan was starting to get anxious. "Sister Mei, what’s our plan?"
Lu Jiamei thought for a moment, then replied, "Head for that big ship from our country!"
Although Qin Haonan didn’t understand what Lu Jiamei was planning, he immediately followed her orders.
The speedboat sped toward the large vessel.
They were quickly spotted. The large ship immediately assembled a combat team, aiming all their weapons at the speedboat.
Lu Jiamei immediately switched on the loudspeaker. "Run! The five big ships behind us are coming!"
With that said, Lu Jiamei signaled for Qin Haonan to get them out of there.
Qin Haonan immediately veered to the side and sped away.
The crew of the large ship were stunned when they heard Lu Jiamei’s shout.
"So that’s not a speedboat from Peach Blossom Base?"
"Didn’t they say Peach Blossom Base’s fleet was on its way? We should fall back!"
"Yeah, that speedboat must have been carrying those survivors from the regional channel who wanted to check out the situation!"
Clearly, everyone on this ship thought the five approaching vessels were from Peach Blossom Base.
Their captain didn’t hesitate for a second. "Set a course to fall back, immediately!" he ordered.
Seeing the large ship begin to move from a distance, Lu Jiamei smiled. "Alright, we’ll leave the stage to them. Let’s head back!"
"You got it!" Qin Haonan replied, steering them on a wide course around the area.
Soon, the Han Jin Association Fleet also noticed the large ship was retreating.
"What? Didn’t we chase off their reconnaissance speedboat? How did they detect our fleet’s movement?" President Park Yiye’s brow furrowed.
"Could it be they got scared precisely because we drove off their scout boat?" one of his advisors guessed.
Park Yiye nodded slightly. "That’s possible."
The advisor spoke again. "I’ve been wondering, if we reveal our identity, do you think the Dragon Country ships would still band together to attack us? After all, we aren’t Peach Blossom Base. We don’t have that many resources!"
Park Yiye shot him a speechless glance. ’His last guess was reasonable enough,’ he thought. ’How can he sound so stupid now?’
"It seems you don’t understand Dragon Country very well." Park Yiye shook his head. "Without an external enemy, they’ll fight amongst themselves. But the moment an outsider appears, the vast majority of them will unite against the common foe. Take Lvzhi Country, for example. The moment they showed the slightest sign of trouble, three aircraft carriers were deployed. Can you imagine the fuel cost? They’re absolute madmen."
The advisor was taken aback for a second, then nodded.
Park Yiye continued, "If we reveal who we are, do you think those three aircraft carriers might pay us a visit?"
The advisor quickly took out a handkerchief and wiped his forehead. "President, I was being presumptuous!"
"They haven’t discovered that we’re experimenting on Dragon Country People, but there’s no guarantee they won’t come sniffing around. To be safe, we cannot reveal our identity," Park Yiye said gravely.
"Thank you for clarifying, President!" The advisor bowed. "So, should we continue the pursuit?"
Park Yiye shook his head. "All these large ships have similar speeds. We might not even catch them if we chase, and it would be a waste of fuel. We’ll hold our position here. Dragon Country has strict weapon regulations, so they certainly won’t have any heavy armaments. Thinking they can take us down is just a pipe dream!"
The advisor nodded. "Yes, I understand!"
The Han Jin Association Fleet immediately came to a halt, while the Dragon Country vessel continued its retreat.
"Captain, we can’t just keep falling back. We should send out a speedboat to scout their movements," someone suggested.
The captain nodded slightly and immediately dispatched a speedboat.
Soon, a message came back from the speedboat. "The Peach Blossom Base fleet has stopped! They’re no longer at their previous position!"
"Stop the ship immediately! Damn it, if I’d known, I wouldn’t have come out here so early. What a waste of fuel!" The captain was pained by the loss.
"According to the other captains, they should be able to reach us around midnight tonight," the first mate said.
"Good. That’s still a long time from now. Get two speedboats to keep a constant watch on Peach Blossom Base. Report any movements immediately!" the captain commanded.
"Yes, sir!"
Meanwhile, the ship from Dawn Base had arrived in the vicinity, rendezvousing with the speedboat that had first spotted the Han Jin Association.
"You’ve rendered a great service this time. Go get some rest. As a reward, you’ll each get half a bowl of rice!" The captain of the Dawn Base ship said, looking approvingly at the speedboat crew.
"Thank you, Captain!" the team leader replied excitedly.
They usually only got thin gruel; solid rice was a luxury.
The captain was actually rewarding them with half a bowl of rice. They could finally eat something solid!
After sending that crew off to rest, the captain immediately dispatched two more teams to scout the Han Jin Association Fleet.
Of course, in his eyes, it was the Peach Blossom Base fleet they were scouting!
Qin Haonan circled the speedboat one last time. After Lu Jiamei confirmed there were no other survivor groups nearby, they slipped into the Seventh-level Wind Sea Region.
They finally made it back to the base by seven in the evening.
Seeing the base’s speedboat return, Hua Wen waved excitedly.
Qin Haonan pulled the speedboat right up alongside the yacht.
"You’re finally back! We were just waiting for you two!" Hua Wen said with a grin.
"I was wondering why you were out on deck to welcome us back. Turns out you were just waiting for us so you could start eating!" Qin Haonan said, rolling his eyes.
"Brother Nan, you can’t say that. When have I ever not been out here to welcome you back?" Hua Wen retorted with a laugh.
"Alright, let’s hurry inside. We shouldn’t keep the leader waiting," Lu Jiamei said, heading into the yacht first.
The yacht was bustling with activity, everyone chatting happily.
Jin Ziyu’s cheeks were puffed out, as she was once again sneaking a bite of something.
Nearby, Jianghu could only watch with envy as the delicious dishes were brought out, swallowing hard.
Lin Mu and Wang Feng, who were attending their first base banquet, stared in utter shock at the scene before them.
It felt as if they had returned to the world before the flood, but the gentle rocking of the yacht pulled them back to reality.
Si Youqin came over carrying a large platter of braised chicken with potatoes, the savory aroma of the chicken wafting into their nostrils.
Lin Mu and Wang Feng were immediately captivated by the dish.
"This is the star of tonight’s show. Minister Xin butchered two whole chickens for it!" Si Youqin explained.
"Two chickens?" Lin Mu’s eyes widened. "You mean they were freshly slaughtered?"

Comments

Loading...