"An electric snake?" Qin Haonan’s eyes widened.
Jianghu, who was standing beside him, frowned. "This must be the legendary electric eel!"
"Electric eel?" Qin Haonan was taken aback.
"I’ve heard they’re like high-voltage lines in the water. They can knock a person unconscious!" Jianghu nodded. "This electric eel must be an evolved one, too. Otherwise, it couldn’t have knocked out Yu Ren!"
"So what do we do now?" Qin Haonan asked, frowning.
"If I remember correctly, we need to get it to discharge all its electricity before we can catch it," Jianghu said, though he didn’t sound sure.
"Discharge all its electricity?" Qin Haonan looked at the still-unconscious Yu Ren. "He won’t get electrocuted to death, will he?"
"Probably not. Besides, it’s not like we have any other options right now," Jianghu replied helplessly.
"I guess Yu Ren will just have to enjoy a little electrotherapy, then!" Qin Haonan found a pair of insulated gloves in the cabin and started prodding the electric eel with the fork he was holding.
At the same time, he reported the situation to Ren Yuanyang.
"The thing chasing Yu Ren was an electric eel?" Ren Yuanyang sounded surprised after hearing the report.
"Yeah, look. It’s still wrapped around him!" Qin Haonan aimed the camera at Yu Ren.
Ren Yuanyang saw that whenever Qin Haonan’s fork touched the eel, it would release an arc of electricity. The arc didn’t travel up the metal fork, but instead jumped onto Yu Ren’s body.
The unconscious Yu Ren convulsed with every jolt.
"Is Yu Ren going to be okay?" Ren Yuanyang frowned slightly.
"He should be fine. I got zapped a couple of times myself, and it doesn’t feel lethal," Qin Haonan replied.
Ren Yuanyang nodded. "Once you’ve subdued that eel, send it back here along with Yu Ren."
"Got it!" Qin Haonan replied. "Sister Wan should know how to cook this, right? It’s gotta be delicious!"
Ren Yuanyang rolled his eyes. "Is eating all you think about? How many of the cultivation manuals have you memorized?"
"Uh, well, I have to keep draining this eel. Talk to you later!" Qin Haonan immediately hung up.
With Qin Haonan’s relentless prodding, the arcs of electricity from the eel grew smaller and smaller until they vanished completely.
Its body, which had been wrapped tightly around Yu Ren, finally went slack.
Qin Haonan immediately formed a cage out of metal and locked the eel inside.
Stimulated by the constant shocks, Yu Ren slowly began to wake up. However, he still twitched from time to time—an apparent side effect of being electrocuted so much.
"W-what’s going on?" Yu Ren asked, still twitching.
Seeing Yu Ren twitching uncontrollably, Qin Haonan suppressed a laugh and replied, "It’s nothing. You just got targeted by an electric eel. Luckily, we pulled you out in time!"
Yu Ren froze for a second before it dawned on him. "So the thing chasing me wasn’t some device from Dawn Base?"
"Of course not. This is the electric eel that zapped you!" Qin Haonan said, pointing to the cage beside them.
Yu Ren looked at the listless electric eel and nodded slightly. "So it was this thing."
"The leader said you’re to take the eel back to the base," Qin Haonan relayed Ren Yuanyang’s orders.
Yu Ren nodded, got into the other speedboat, and headed for Peach Blossom Base.
Once Ren Yuanyang received the photos from Yu Ren, he immediately sent them to Wang Jun and the others.
Wang Jun and the others were surprised when they saw the photos.
The photos had clearly been taken from the water’s surface at extremely close range. They hadn’t expected Peach Blossom Base to have someone capable of infiltrating Dawn Base’s territory.
"Brother Yang, your recon specialist is incredible!" Wang Jun exclaimed.
"He risked his life to get those shots," Ren Yuanyang said with a slight shake of his head. "The water is still extremely dangerous."
Wang Jun passed the photos to the intelligence analysis department, then asked with concern, "Did your scout run into trouble in the water?"
"Yes, he ran into an electric eel. Almost died," Ren Yuanyang replied.
"An electric eel? Was it an Evolutionary Form?" Wang Jun asked.
Ren Yuanyang nodded. "Yes. Ordinary fish can hardly harm our scouts anymore."
"It seems we’ll have to be more careful in the water from now on," Ji Yizhi said gravely.
These photos were much clearer than the last batch, and the intelligence department quickly confirmed the status of the ships.
"Dawn Base’s combat-capable fleet still consists of five battleships and three frigates. The two newest arrivals aren’t combat ships; we judge them to be cargo freighters."
Upon receiving the feedback from the intelligence department, Wang Jun immediately shared the news in the group chat, making sure to tag Long Zhan.
"Understood," Long Zhan replied. "If that’s all the resistance they have, I’ll end the battle before 10 a.m. tomorrow."
"That’s for the best. A swift victory is what we need," Ren Yuanyang nodded slightly. "We have to take down Dawn Base before Xi’an Base has time to react."
"No matter how close they are, it’ll still take their large ships around ten hours to reach Dawn Base. I’m sure Old Long can capture Dawn Base within that time," Ji Yizhi replied.
"Hmph. Who are you looking down on? You think eight combat-capable ships can resist our attack for ten hours?" Long Zhan scoffed. "If they can hold out for even one hour, I’ll admit defeat!"
"Then we’ll all be waiting to see your performance," Wang Jun said with a smile.
"Don’t worry. Leave it to me," Long Zhan replied.
"It’s getting late. Everyone get some rest and build up your strength. Tomorrow, we take Dawn Base in one fell swoop!" Ren Yuanyang glanced at the time and ended the conversation.
Two hours later, Yu Ren returned to Peach Blossom Base. He brought the electric eel directly to the base office.
Ren Yuanyang took the eel and said to Yu Ren, "Thanks for your hard work. Take a couple of days to rest. Have Elder Hua take a look at you."
Yu Ren smiled. "It’s fine. After that jolt from the eel, I actually feel stronger!"
After resting on the trip back, Yu Ren’s condition had indeed returned to normal. There was no sign he had been electrocuted at all.
"Let Elder Hua confirm that, just in case," Ren Yuanyang insisted.
"Yes, sir. Thank you, Leader," Yu Ren nodded and left Ren Yuanyang’s office.
Ren Yuanyang looked at the nearly dead eel in the cage and immediately began to enhance it.
’Enhance electricity generation and voltage. Grant immunity to dizzy fish grass...’
[Enhancement successful...]
[Enhanced Electric Eel: Can discharge two hundred times per second. Maximum voltage of ten thousand volts. Immune to the repellent effects of dizzy fish grass...]
’This is as much as I can enhance it for now. Once my Mental Energy increases, I’ll get it up to a hundred thousand volts. Then it’ll be able to give Pikachu a run for its money!’ Thinking this, Ren Yuanyang released the Enhanced Electric Eel back into the water.
With this eel around, the waters near Peach Blossom Base would be much safer.
With that thought, Ren Yuanyang returned to his room to rest.
「The night passed uneventfully.」
The next morning, Ren Yuanyang woke up early and began his routine Cultivation.
Meanwhile, the fleet led by Long Zhan had already arrived near Dawn Base.
Although Peach Blossom Base had provided a great deal of intelligence, Long Zhan didn’t advance rashly. He dispatched a few speedboats to scout ahead.
After confirming that the situation at Dawn Base was exactly as the intelligence described, Long Zhan gave the order: "All forces, attack!"
The principle was simple: if you have ten times the enemy’s strength, surround them; if five times, attack them. Long Zhan’s fleet outnumbered Dawn Base’s ships several times over, making a direct assault the obvious choice.
Dawn Base soon spotted the fleet from the Aircraft Carrier Base.
"Report! A large number of ships have appeared to the west of our base and are approaching rapidly! They appear to be ships from the Dragon Country!"
Hearing her subordinate’s report, Hailan’s brow furrowed. "How many enemy ships are there?"
"Based on current observation, no fewer than thirty!" the subordinate replied, flustered.
"Are they all warships?" Hailan’s frown deepened.
The subordinate nodded in confirmation.
"Call for reinforcements immediately! At the same time, have the research vessels evacuate at once!" Hailan gave the order after only a moment’s hesitation.
"Yes, ma’am!" The soldier turned and hurried away.
Two research ships immediately began to sail away from Dawn Base.
This scene was witnessed by Qin Haonan, who immediately sent a message to Ren Yuanyang.
"Leader, two of Dawn Base’s ships are trying to escape!"
When Ren Yuanyang saw the message, he immediately relayed it to Long Zhan.
"Don’t worry, they won’t get away," Long Zhan replied with extreme confidence. "Have your scout team stay safe. Tell them to keep their distance from the battlefield to avoid friendly fire."
Ren Yuanyang was taken aback for a moment, then nodded. "Alright, I’ll tell them to pull back."
Since Long Zhan was so confident, Ren Yuanyang didn’t worry about it. He sent a message directly to Qin Haonan: "The Aircraft Carrier Base is aware of it. They’ll handle it. Just focus on your own safety and stay clear of the battlefield."
Qin Haonan was a little surprised, but he acknowledged the order and began piloting the speedboat away from the area.

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