Some immediately understood the significance of this and rushed forward.
But others were slower to react. By the time they realized the benefits, the five spots had already been filled, leaving the rest full of regret.
Lu Jiamei nodded. "Well done. You’ll get extra rations tonight. James, as a reward, the five of you will each get a roast squab."
Upon hearing this, James grew excited. "Thank you, My Lady!"
Lu Jiamei corrected his form of address. "From now on, call me Minister Lu."
"Yes, thank you, Minister Lu!" James immediately corrected himself.
"There must be some of Bao Mu’s trusted men among the regular crew," Lu Jiamei continued. "Go walk the ship, find them, and kill them. Remember, this is Peach Blossom Base—Dragon Country territory. You need to know your place."
"Understood!" James nodded.
"And don’t forget to clean this place up." Lu Jiamei turned and left, with Yu Ren following her out.
"Minister Lu, Elder Hua’s method is really effective!" Yu Ren remarked with a sigh.
Lu Jiamei nodded and asked with concern, "Were you injured just now?"
"Of course not." Yu Ren smiled and shook his head. "Their attacks barely scratched me."
"I really must thank you for what just happened," Lu Jiamei said, clasping her hands in a fist-and-palm salute.
Yu Ren waved it off. "It’s my duty. If you’d gotten hurt under my protection, I’d have no way to answer to the Chief. I might not even get my daily antidote!"
Lu Jiamei smiled and shook her head. "Is the Chief really that harsh?"
Yu Ren considered it seriously before replying, "The Chief isn’t really harsh, but he’s incredibly good to his own people."
"You’re one of his own people now, too," Lu Jiamei said with a gentle smile.
Yu Ren was slightly taken aback. "Really?"
"Of course," Lu Jiamei said with absolute certainty. "Otherwise, why would the Chief entrust you with guarding these important prisoners?"
Yu Ren smiled. "I’m glad to be one of his own, then!"
"I’m heading back to the base office. The situation here is still unstable, so I need you to keep an eye on things," Lu Jiamei said before leaving the supply ship.
"Minister Lu and the Chief can rest assured. I’ll keep a close watch on this supply ship!" Yu Ren immediately declared, looking even more motivated.
James and the others cautiously stepped out of the confinement hold. Feeling the brisk sea breeze on their faces, they savored the taste of freedom.
"I can’t believe we’re already out and walking around," Des remarked, leaning against the railing.
James nodded, then smiled. "Good thing I held you back, right?"
"Yeah! It’s a good thing you did. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have even known what hit me," Des said, nodding emphatically.
"That strange-looking guy is too powerful," James continued. "I almost feel like he’s immune to our Superpowers."
"I don’t think he’s completely immune, we’re just not strong enough," Des said, shaking his head. "I saw our Superpowers leave a mark on him. It wasn’t obvious, but it was there."
"Perhaps. For now, we should get to work finding all of Bao Mu’s loyalists. This is our chance to earn their trust; we can’t waste it," James said gravely.
"Right. Let’s get to it now," Des agreed.
Des was the captain of the supply team and the ship itself, so he knew the crew quite well.
Bao Mu might have had other aces up his sleeve, but Des was confident he could root out most of his men.
Just then, an Evolver pointed to the Banyan Forest in the distance. "There’s a whole forest over there!" he said, astonished.
The hold where the prisoners had been kept was windowless, so none of them had seen the Banyan Forest of Peach Blossom Base.
Seeing the vast expanse of the Banyan Forest now, they were naturally stunned.
"Is it possible there’s a piece of land here that hasn’t been submerged?" Des was utterly shocked.
James shook his head. "The sea level has already submerged the highest peak on Blue Star. It’s impossible for any land to have survived."
"Then what’s going on here?" Des asked, completely baffled.
"I have no idea, but I’m sure we’ll find out eventually," James replied. "Alright, time to get to work."
Des nodded, called over all the Evolvers who were still staring in a daze, and started assigning tasks.
Lu Jiamei returned to the base office and reported everything that had just happened.
Ren Yuanyang gave Hua Lingfang a thumbs-up.
"Elder Hua, you’re truly brilliant!" Ren Yuanyang praised. "With one move, you’ve pretty much eliminated all the unstable elements on that supply ship!"
Hua Lingfang smiled and waved it off. "It’s mainly because the living conditions at our base are so good. Some of the prisoners were bound to be inclined to stay. Once there’s a difference of opinion, you can exploit it to divide them."
Ren Yuanyang nodded. "That makes sense. I think you can go ahead and prepare the poison. James is a smart man. I’m sure he knows which choice to make."
Hua Lingfang smiled, picking up several small pouches. "Already done."
"Then let’s wait until they’ve finished screening the regular crew," Ren Yuanyang said as he walked back to his office to continue memorizing the classics.
Meanwhile, James and his group had arrived at the hold where the crew was being detained.
When those crewmen saw Des, they all got excited.
"Captain, why are you here? Have you retaken control of the ship?"
"He must have! Didn’t you see the other Evolver masters with him?"
"Great, we can go back to Xi’an Base!"
Des raised a hand, gesturing for quiet. The crowd immediately fell silent.
"I’m sorry to report that I have not retaken control of this ship. I’ve decided to defect to Peach Blossom Base, and they’ve granted us partial freedom."
Hearing Des’s words, all the crew members were stunned!
Immediately after, some crewmen started to curse.
"Des, you turncoat! Lord Bao Mu thought so highly of you, yet you betray Xi’an Base!"
"You ungrateful bastard, you traitor! If I ever get back to Xi’an Base, I’ll be the first to report you to the Lord!"
"It seems you’ve forgotten how Lord Bao Mu treats traitors!"
But the vast majority of the crew remained silent. For the past two days, they had eaten much better than they ever did at Xi’an Base, and they hadn’t been forced to do any hard labor.
At Xi’an Base, these regular crewmen could never get enough to eat and were in constant danger of being dragged into a lab as test subjects. They lived in constant fear.
Des didn’t stop the men who were shouting curses; he just watched them quietly.
After a while, their throats raw from shouting, the men finally fell silent.
Des glanced at James, who immediately gave the order. "You all got a good look? Seize everyone who was just shouting."
"Yes, sir!" The other Evolvers immediately charged into the crowd.
Only then did the shouting men realize something was wrong. They tried to push their way deeper into the crowd, but the other crewmen formed a human wall, blocking their path.
"What are you doing? Are you all betraying Xi’an Base, too?" one of them roared.
But no one paid him any attention.
Even without the human wall, the Evolvers could have easily captured the dissenters.
Without firearms, ordinary people stood no chance against Evolvers.
Soon, all the men who had been shouting were dragged out.
"Should we just kill them?" Des asked James.
James thought for a moment. "Let’s report this first and see what the Chief decides."
"Good idea." Des had the men escorted out, then turned back to the remaining crew. "You all can feel it. This place is a thousand times better than Xi’an Base. As long as you swear loyalty to Peach Blossom Base, you can enjoy a better life, too!"
The crewmen nodded one after another.
Suddenly, one person shouted, "Pledge loyalty to Peach Blossom Base, and live the good life!"
The others immediately followed suit and started shouting.
Des nodded slightly. "Behave yourselves, and you’ll earn your freedom sooner rather than later."
With that, he, James, and the other Evolvers turned and left the hold.
Though James and his men had been given their freedom, Yu Ren still had to keep an eye on them, so he stayed close by.
James approached Yu Ren and asked respectfully, "Sir, we’ve screened the regular crew and identified Bao Mu’s loyalists. What are your orders for how to deal with them?"

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