Ren Yuanyang and his group rapidly approached the speedboat where the fight had just taken place.
Aboard the speedboat, the battered and bruised Yu Ren was starting to feel suffocated. The blood loss didn’t seem too severe, though; he probably hadn’t damaged a major artery.
He didn’t dare pull out the Earth Spike currently embedded in his neck.
’Pulling it out could easily cause further damage!’
He found it harder and harder to breathe. Just then, he heard the roar of an engine nearby.
’It’s over. I’m dead for sure this time!’ Yu Ren knew it had to be people from Xi’an Base.
He was filled with regret. ’If I hadn’t been so reluctant to abandon my team and supplies, I could have jumped into the water the moment I broke free. No one would have been able to stop me!’
’But now it’s too late. I might even end up as someone’s experiment!’
Just as his mind was wandering in a daze, someone boarded the speedboat.
"First, get everyone under control!" Ren Yuanyang commanded in a low voice. "And be careful!"
"Yes!" Qin Haonan and the others responded.
Qin Haonan and Jin Ziyu took the lead, maneuvering a massive metal shield as they boarded the two speedboats, one on each.
Ren Yuanyang followed Qin Haonan onto the speedboat where Yu Ren and two others had fought. He frowned slightly as he looked at the dead foreigner.
"Leader, look at this man!" Lu Jiamei said in surprise, pointing at Yu Ren.
The scales on Yu Ren’s body and the gill covers on the sides of his neck all marked him as someone extraordinary.
"Is he a merman?" Lu Jiamei asked.
Ren Yuanyang shook his head. After observing him for a moment, he ordered, "Get a basin of water. Submerge the sides of his neck!"
Lu Jiamei froze for a second, then nodded.
Yu Ren felt like he couldn’t breathe at all. Just as he saw his great-grandmother beckoning to him, the suffocation suddenly vanished. His great-grandmother could only wave goodbye and turn to leave, ready to try again next time.
As he recovered from the suffocation, Yu Ren slowly opened his eyes. He found his neck and head partially submerged in water, the gill covers on either side of his neck opening and closing as they filtered oxygen from it.
He could absorb oxygen from the air through his trachea, but he could also use his gills to get it from water.
The Earth Spike had injured his trachea, causing blood to flood in and create a blockage. Fortunately, someone had put his head in water.
Meanwhile, Wu Jin, who had been beside him, had already grown cold from excessive blood loss.
Qin Haonan and Jin Ziyu quickly finished searching both speedboats and had secured everyone aboard.
"We’re pulling out now! Head away from the Seventh-level Wind Sea Region!" Ren Yuanyang ordered immediately. "Abandon all the small boats and rafts!"
"Yes!"
Qin Haonan, Jin Ziyu, and Jianghu each piloted a speedboat, immediately heading off into the distance.
Just then, the silhouette of a speedboat appeared in the distance, rapidly heading their way.
"Leader, another speedboat is approaching!" Lu Jiamea reported at once.
Ren Yuanyang nodded slightly. "We’ll circle the area for a bit. Let’s see what kind of force we’re dealing with."
With that, he leaped onto the speedboat Jin Ziyu was piloting. This was the very boat Yu Ren had stolen from Xi’an Base, and all of Yu Ren’s subordinates were on it.
Of Yu Ren’s men, only the pilot had been killed by Wu Jin; the rest had been knocked unconscious by Jim.
Now, they were all slowly beginning to wake up.
They trembled in fear at the sight of Ren Yuanyang, who had suddenly appeared before them.
’He’s not Yu Ren.’ This meant they had fallen into the hands of another force. Their lives from now on would likely be miserable.
"Is anyone willing to tell me which base or force you belong to?" Ren Yuanyang asked.
One man cautiously raised his hand.
Ren Yuanyang gave a slight nod, gesturing for him to speak.
"We’re just a survivor settlement. Our leader is Lord Yu Ren!" the man said quickly.
"Yu Ren? The Mutant with scales and gills?" Ren Yuanyang asked after a brief pause.
The men all nodded in unison.
"What a fitting name for a Mutant," Ren Yuanyang mused, then continued, "So, what force were you fighting against? Do you know?"
"We heard it was Xi’an Base. Last night, they tried to forcibly absorb our group. Luckily, our leader is powerful. Otherwise, we’d have been taken to Xi’an Base by now!" Seeing that Ren Yuanyang wasn’t some vicious brute, the man began to speak more freely.
"So the speedboats you fought today were also from Xi’an Base?" Ren Yuanyang asked.
’The two speedboats are the exact same model. They must be from the same force.’
The man nodded.
"Were they looking for the team you wiped out?" Ren Yuanyang asked, then immediately felt it was a pointless question.
To his surprise, the man shook his head. "I don’t think so. From inside the cabin, I thought I overheard them say they were coming for Peach Blossom Base?"
Ren Yuanyang froze at his words. ’So it wasn’t a pointless question after all. I hit the nail on the head. Those speedboats were coming for us!’
"Xi’an Base?" Ren Yuanyang frowned. "Have we ever crossed paths with them?"
He was deeply puzzled as to why a force would appear out of nowhere to target them.
Beside him, Lu Jiamei thought for a moment before shaking her head. "I’ve never even heard of them. We shouldn’t have any connection. I suspect they’re after the fresh fruit we’ve been showing."
Ren Yuanyang nodded slightly. Without dwelling on it, he looked back at the men and asked, "Aren’t you afraid of that Mutant?"

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