Long Zhan spread his hands. "Like I said before, the Liaoyuan aircraft carrier fleet’s research capabilities are very weak. Even if we knew the right direction, it would take a massive amount of effort to develop it. We might as well focus that energy on other things and just wait for you all to figure it out. Of course, even now, I still believe Peach Blossom Base will produce a perfect Evolution Potion faster than you will!"
"That’s a bit of blind faith, don’t you think?" Ji Yizhi couldn’t help but say.
"It’s not exactly blind faith. Even if you develop it first, you’re not going to refuse to sell it to me, are you?" Long Zhan replied with a smile.
"Hmph, as if I’d sell it to you! At the very least, I’d wait until everyone in my own fleet has become an Evolver before selling it to outsiders!" Ji Yizhi said irritably.
Long Zhan’s brow furrowed slightly. "Do you really think it’s a good thing for everyone to become an Evolver?"
Wang Jun and Ji Yizhi both froze, not expecting Long Zhan to suddenly switch the topic to this question.
"Not necessarily. Without enough power to manage the Evolvers, the entire base could quickly fall apart," Wang Jun said, shaking his head.
"We definitely need to control the number of Evolvers," Ji Yizhi agreed.
Seeing the serious looks on their faces, Long Zhan smiled. "Let’s not get too anxious about this problem for now. After all, we haven’t even developed the Evolution Potion yet!"
Wang Jun paused for a moment, then also smiled. "True. We can think about it slowly. We still need to create the Evolution Potion first!"
Ji Yizhi nodded. "I’ll contact Dawn Base now."
The three of them ended the video chat. Long Zhan pondered for a moment, then sent a private message to Ren Yuanyang: "Taoyuan Yang, the experimental data from the Han Jin Association has been recovered. Based on the news that’s been revealed so far, their success rate with the Evolution Potion has already reached 10%. You guys need to step it up!"
Ren Yuanyang was a little surprised when he saw the message. "Do you know what substance they’re using to mitigate the Evolution Potion’s volatility?"
"I wasn’t involved in their trade with Dawn Base. They most likely wouldn’t show me the data even after they get it." Long Zhan sent a shrug emoji’s equivalent in text. "If you want to know, you can ask Wang Jun directly. He’ll probably tell you."
Ren Yuanyang chuckled and shook his head. "Never mind. I was just curious. We’re not on the same path, so their data is useless to me."
Long Zhan nodded slightly. "I hope your path progresses a little faster, then!"
"Don’t worry, we’ll definitely be faster than the Sea Eagle Country!" Ren Yuanyang said, full of confidence.
"Then I’ll just be waiting for Peach Blossom Base’s Evolution Potion!" Long Zhan laughed heartily.
After ending the chat, Ren Yuanyang muttered to himself, "Still, the Sea Eagle Country’s technology shouldn’t be underestimated."
’Without the Enhancement System, even using the highest quality licorice would probably only increase the success rate of the Evolution Potion to about 10%.’
’The Sea Eagle Country most likely developed some kind of compound to increase the success rate.’
"Time to go see how that enhanced licorice is growing." Ren Yuanyang got up and walked toward Lin Mu’s location.
「Meanwhile」 Ji Yizhi was communicating with Jing Shu.
"I saw the screenshot you sent. It looks like the Han Jin Association’s Evolution Potion experiments have made some progress. In our Aircraft Carrier Base’s labs, the success rate has reached 8%, which already comes close to the figures in their email. Have you finished recovering the data on your end? Only the actual experimental data is meaningful."
Jing Shu pursed his lips as he read Ji Yizhi’s message.
’Ji Yizhi’s meaning was obvious. The Aircraft Carrier Base’s research progress was similar to the Han Jin Association’s. Moreover, the 10% figure was just from an email, so the actual specifics were still uncertain.’
’In short, the Han Jin Association’s experimental data was of limited value to the Aircraft Carrier Base. He was just saying all this to drive down the price.’
"The experimental data has been fully recovered. I took a look, and the success rate seems to be slightly higher than 10%. In this kind of scientific research, even a single percentage point increase is incredibly difficult to achieve," Jing Shu replied.
Ji Yizhi grew more excited, but he maintained a calm facade. "You’re not wrong about that. So, how do you want to trade for this data?"
"One hundred tons each of rice, wheat, soybeans, and corn, plus one thousand liters of diesel. In addition, if you develop a perfect Evolution Potion, our Dawn Base gets the right of first refusal," Jing Shu stated his terms.
Ji Yizhi shook his head decisively. "That’s way too much food. Our base doesn’t have that much. The price we can accept is: one hundred tons total of those four food types, and two hundred liters of diesel."
"That’s far too little. The experimental data I have is definitely worth more than that!" Jing Shu refused.
Ji Yizhi replied, "We have to survive first before we can research the Evolution Potion. If we give up that much food at once, all of us will go hungry. If you don’t agree, then forget it. We’ll just research it slowly on our own."
Seeing that Ji Yizhi seemed genuinely ready to walk away from the deal, Jing Shu frowned. ’Is he just haggling, or is he truly not interested in the data?’ he wondered.
Jing Shu thought for a moment before making a decision. "Thirty tons of each of the four food types, and five hundred liters of diesel. That’s our bottom line. If you think that’s too expensive, then we’ll just keep it and research it slowly ourselves."
"I need to discuss this with the other two captains first. I’ll get back to you with an answer shortly," Ji Yizhi replied, ending the chat.
He sent Dawn Base’s demands to Wang Jun. When Wang Jun saw the terms, his brow furrowed. "This is blatant extortion!"
"They asked for even more at first," Ji Yizhi replied helplessly. "However, if the data they have is really as he described, with a success rate over 10%, I think it’s worth that much food."
"The rampaging Evolutionary Fish destroyed our surface planting bases. Our food supplies will only get tighter. Are you sure you want to trade so much food for that experimental data?" Wang Jun was still hesitant.
"It’s like I said: if we can develop the Evolution Potion, we can definitely solve our food crisis," Ji Yizhi replied.
Wang Jun contemplated for a long time before finally nodding. "Alright. We’ll each provide half. But we have to make sure there are no problems with that experimental data."
"Mhm, I understand. I doubt he’d dare to deceive us," Ji Yizhi said with extreme confidence.
"Okay, then you go ahead and make the trade," Wang Jun replied.
After finishing his call with Wang Jun, Ji Yizhi contacted Jing Shu again. "After some discussion, we at the Aircraft Carrier Base agree to your terms. How do we make the trade?"
Seeing this message, Jing Shu secretly breathed a sigh of relief. At the same time, he wondered if he had asked for too little.
But the price was set now, so he didn’t dwell on it.
"Let’s choose a neutral location for the trade," Jing Shu suggested.
"No problem, but we need to verify the experimental data first," Ji Yizhi responded.
"That’s fine. I trust the Aircraft Carrier Base’s integrity when it comes to trades," Jing Shu readily agreed.
The two sides confirmed the trading location and arranged for their teams to head out.
Wang Jun watched the food being transported away, feeling a pang of reluctance. Every bit of food they used was a bit they no longer had.
Although the Aircraft Carrier Base was also growing crops, they needed time to mature, and under the current conditions, the yield couldn’t be guaranteed.
"I hope the experimental data from this exchange can really accelerate our research on the Evolution Potion," Wang Jun murmured, watching the boats recede into the distance.
"Captain, report! The whale shark escaped!" a soldier exclaimed, running up to Wang Jun and saluting.
"Even ten times the dose of anesthetic couldn’t take it down?" Wang Jun’s brow furrowed tightly.
"No, sir. The whale shark is simply too massive. On top of that, it’s an Evolutionary Form, so our anesthetic had almost no effect on it," the soldier replied, shaking his head.
"How much of our surface planting base was destroyed?" Wang Jun pressed on.
"Over seventy percent of the planting bases were destroyed," the soldier replied.
Wang Jun’s brow twitched. He ordered, "Repair those planting bases immediately and replant them as soon as possible!"
"Yes, sir!" The soldier turned and left.
Wang Jun immediately sent a message in the captains’ group chat: "Have you all dealt with the rampaging Evolutionary Fish?"
"Not yet! I’ve got a whole school of them over here. They’re all small, but there are just too many. They’re about to gnaw through all the crop roots!" Long Zhan replied, sounding frustrated. "We’re trying to save the crops now, but I don’t know how much we’ll be able to salvage."

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