Looking at the panting Zhao Jun, Long Zhan replied with a smile, "You’re too late. I’ve already used it!"
"Captain Long, that was too dangerous!" Zhao Jun said, his face etched with anxiety.
"Didn’t we test it before?" Long Zhan countered. "Aside from the process being a little painful, the Evolution Potions from Peach Blossom Base are perfectly fine!"
Zhao Jun caught his breath and frowned. "But this potion is different from the last batch. Peach Blossom Base said so themselves. We should have tested it!"
"Peach Blossom Base only gifted the three of us captains a total of three potions. Whose did you plan on using for the test?" Long Zhan retorted with a smile.
Zhao Jun was taken aback for a moment, but he still argued his point. "Even if they’re rare, we can’t gamble with your lives!"
Ji Yizhi mulled it over for a moment before speaking. "It should be fine. Peach Blossom Base has no reason to poison us. It wouldn’t benefit them in any way."
"’Should’? What if there’s a problem?" Zhao Jun shot back.
"If there really is a problem, it will only affect Captain Long and me. Captain Wang can still oversee the situation, so you don’t need to worry," Ji Yizhi replied gravely. "Besides, we don’t even know if Peach Blossom Base will sell us this Advanced Evolution Potion in the future. Wouldn’t using one on a test be a terrible waste?"
Zhao Jun’s brow furrowed. "But..."
Captain Wang cut him off. "No ’buts.’ Captain Long, Captain Ji, just in case, you should both brief your seconds-in-command. According to the information from Peach Blossom Base, the evolution takes twelve hours to complete. So, we’ll wait twelve hours."
’It’s better to be decisive than to keep hesitating like this!’
In truth, Captain Wang was also inclined to trust Peach Blossom Base.
Seeing that Captain Wang had made his decision, Zhao Jun could only nod in helpless resignation.
In fact, Zhao Jun was already satisfied with this outcome. At least his own captain, Wang Jun, hadn’t used the Evolution Potion yet.
Under the care of professional medical personnel, Ji Yizhi was also injected with the Evolution Potion.
To make monitoring them easier, Long Zhan and Ji Yizhi were placed in the same room. The seconds-in-command from both of their fleets also hurried over.
The organizational structure of each aircraft carrier fleet was robust. Even without a captain, the second-in-command would naturally step up to ensure normal operations continued.
Long Zhan and Ji Yizhi had just called their subordinates over for a chat to make sure they were prepared.
"I’ll be fine, no doubt about it," Long Zhan said as a final instruction. "You go ahead and move forward with administering the Evolution Potions. Explain the potential risks to the kids and let them make their own choice."
"Sir!" his second-in-command replied with a salute.
Nearby, Ji Yizhi’s second-in-command asked quietly, "Should we proceed with administering the Evolution Potions as well?"
Ji Yizhi shook his head slightly. "I’m already taking part in this test. You all should wait. We’ll decide after the results from Captain Long’s side come in."
"Sir!"
Captain Wang didn’t leave that night. He sat in a recliner nearby, chatting idly with his two old friends. The three of them had survived the grueling wars of the Dragon Country together. Many of their comrades had fallen, leaving only the three of them.
The three of them talked for a long time before finally drifting off to sleep.
At five in the morning, all three woke up right on schedule. It was their internal clock; no matter how late they went to bed, they would always wake up at five sharp.
The moment Captain Wang woke up, he immediately looked toward Ji Yizhi.
Long Zhan was already an Evolver with a strong constitution, so the chances of him having a problem with the potion were low. Ji Yizhi, however, was just an ordinary person. If there was something wrong with the potion, he would have a hard time pulling through.
Ji Yizhi’s face was a mask of joyous surprise. He could clearly feel that his physique had improved dramatically, and he had become a Gold-Type Evolver!
"How do you feel?" Captain Wang asked, even though he could already guess the answer from Ji Yizhi’s expression.
"It worked. I’m a Gold-Type Evolver!" Ji Yizhi replied, short and to the point.
Just then, Zhao Jun rushed in. After checking Ji Yizhi’s vitals, he was equally stunned. "It really worked!"
"What’s the status of Captain Ji’s vitals?" Captain Wang asked gravely.
"They’re completely in line with the benchmarks for an Evolver. So far, there don’t seem to be any issues!" Zhao Jun reported. "I can’t believe Peach Blossom Base managed to shorten the evolution time to just twelve hours! How on earth did they do it?"
Captain Wang had no time for awe and pressed on, "And Captain Long?"
Zhao Jun immediately pulled up the data monitoring Long Zhan’s vitals. After a careful look, he replied, "Captain Long’s vitals haven’t changed much. It seems the Evolution Potion has no effect on a natural Evolver."
Hearing this, Long Zhan shrugged helplessly. "Looks like I wasted an Evolution Potion for nothing!"
Captain Wang shook his head. "It wasn’t a waste. We can share this finding with Peach Blossom Base."
Long Zhan paused for a second at those words, then immediately understood.
"You’ve still got the sharpest mind!" Long Zhan gave Captain Wang a thumbs-up.
By sharing this finding, Captain Wang would demonstrate to Peach Blossom Base that the Aircraft Carrier Base had used their Evolution Potions immediately, a clear sign of trust.
It was a good way to build goodwill with Peach Blossom Base, which would facilitate future trade and cooperation.
Zhao Jun spoke up again. "Captain Ji, Captain Long, would it be possible to draw some of your blood for analysis?"
Ji Yizhi and Long Zhan both extended their arms without a word, gesturing for him to take what he needed.
Zhao Jun immediately had someone draw blood samples and sent them to the lab for testing.
"Becoming an Evolver really does heal old wounds!" Ji Yizhi remarked with emotion. He’d suffered a gunshot wound to the shoulder in a previous battle. Even after surgery, it had never felt right, and it would ache persistently, especially during the continuous rainy season.
But today, he woke up to find the pain completely gone.
Long Zhan let out a hearty laugh. "I told you so, but you wouldn’t believe me!"
"Well, you made it sound too good to be true!" Ji Yizhi retorted helplessly, then turned to Wang Jun. "Old Wang, you can use yours now. I can tell you, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with my body!"
Captain Wang nodded.
The results from Zhao Jun’s tests came back quickly. The vitals for both Ji Yizhi and Long Zhan were consistent with those of other Evolvers, showing no abnormalities.
"How on earth did Peach Blossom Base do it?" Zhao Jun felt a wave of helplessness. "No matter how we try to concentrate the licorice soup, we can’t get this kind of result."
He had already tested countless concentrated versions of the licorice soup, all to no avail.
’Can they really make the licorice itself different?’
Captain Wang had told him before that the licorice Peach Blossom Base used was different from the ordinary kind. He had always been skeptical, but now it seemed the raw materials really might be the key.
Although Zhao Jun still believed the Evolution Potions from Peach Blossom Base might carry unknown risks, Captain Wang had already made up his mind to use his.
Before using it, Captain Wang sent a message to Ren Yuanyang.
"We tested the Evolution Potion as soon as we received it. It seems to have almost no effect on a natural Evolver."
Ren Yuanyang was taken aback when he saw the message. He hadn’t expected the Aircraft Carrier Base to actually use one of their own Evolvers as a test subject.
"Thank you for your trust!" Ren Yuanyang replied. "It seems Evolvers really don’t need the Evolution Potion, then."
"It would seem so," Captain Wang replied, then added another question. "What’s the production rate for your Advanced Evolution Potion?"

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