"So we just kill them?" Long Zhan asked, testing the waters.
"Of course. Wasn’t that the plan we already agreed on?" Ren Yuanyang retorted, as if it were obvious.
"Right. Men, take everyone slated for execution and shoot them in front of the other prisoners!" Long Zhan nodded and gave the order decisively.
This was also meant to intimidate the other prisoners.
"Sir!" a soldier responded before turning and walking out.
"You’re not even going to tell Captain Wang?" Ren Yuanyang asked, surprised.
"Didn’t we already discuss this? No need to ask again," Long Zhan said, waving his hand dismissively. "Even if Old Wang disagrees, I can just say they were accidentally killed in battle. Wouldn’t that be a perfectly normal thing to happen?"
Ren Yuanyang paused for a moment, then gave him a thumbs-up.
"Enough about the prisoners. Let’s talk fuel," Long Zhan said, leaning forward. "We’ve used up most of our fuel on this expedition. Can you sell us some? At least enough to give us some peace of mind."
"Of course. Didn’t we already agree on this? We can trade anytime," Ren Yuanyang replied with a nod.
"That’s fantastic!" Long Zhan said excitedly.
Just then, a soldier hurried in.
"Report! Many members from the original Dawn Base are showing symptoms of a cold!"
Hearing this, Long Zhan frowned and immediately gave an order: "Isolate everyone with symptoms!"
"The medical department has already begun doing so," the soldier replied.
Ren Yuanyang was surprised. "I thought people didn’t really get sick after the downpours?"
Long Zhan nodded. "That’s right. For this to happen so suddenly... it’s not a good sign."
BEEP! BEEP!
The phones on both of them rang at the same time.
Ren Yuanyang and Long Zhan opened their phones to find a message from Wang Jun in the group chat.
"Many survivors at the Aircraft Carrier Base are showing cold symptoms. Dawn Base and Peach Blossom Base, be on high alert. Isolate anyone with symptoms immediately!"
Reading the message, Ren Yuanyang and Long Zhan were both stunned.
Long Zhan immediately replied, "Many people at Dawn Base are showing cold symptoms, too!"
"This isn’t some global flu, is it?" Wang Jun typed, worried.
Ji Yizhi rushed into Wang Jun’s office, his expression grave. "The lab detected an unknown virus in the rainwater. It causes flu-like symptoms."
Hearing this, Wang Jun’s expression darkened. He immediately gave an order: "Have everyone quarantine on their own boats. No one is allowed to move around for the time being. The base will provide water and food, and designated personnel will deliver it to them."
"Yes, sir!" Ji Yizhi nodded and immediately relayed the order.
If this unknown virus were to truly break out, the entire Aircraft Carrier Base would likely be lost.
Wang Jun immediately shared this information with Ren Yuanyang and Long Zhan.
"An unknown virus?" Long Zhan’s eyes widened. "From the rain again? Damn it, it’s like the heavens are really trying to kill us!"
"The toxins from last time haven’t even fully dissipated, and now a virus appears. There’s never a moment of peace," Ren Yuanyang said, his brow tightly furrowed. He then added, "Captain Wang, don’t forget to notify the River Bird Fleet on your end."
Wang Jun nodded. "They’ve already been notified. I’m planning to announce this on the regional channel. Brother Yang, what do you think?"
"Good idea. We should warn everyone to be careful," Ren Yuanyang replied.
’Although there are some foreign powers on the regional channel, most of them should be our countrymen. A warning might help them survive.’
"Alright, I’ll broadcast our findings now," Wang Jun replied.
Ren Yuanyang nodded slightly, then got up to leave.
"I need to get back to my base and check on the situation. We can arrange the trade over our phones."
Knowing the situation was critical, Long Zhan didn’t try to make him stay.
"Alright. If your base develops a treatment for the illness caused by this virus, you have to help us out," Long Zhan requested directly.
"Don’t worry, we will," Ren Yuanyang replied before leaving Dawn Base with Qin Haonan and another man.
By this time, Wang Jun had already posted about the unknown virus on the regional channel. Every survivor who saw the message was stunned.
"An unknown virus that causes flu-like symptoms?"
"I was wondering why I kept sneezing today. Don’t tell me I’m infected!"
"No doubt about it, you’re definitely infected. If the virus is in the rainwater, and the rain isn’t stopping, then it’s probably in the air. You can get infected just by breathing, unless you wear a mask 24/7."
"So, does that mean we’re all screwed?"
"We just have to tough it out! We made it through the last one, we can definitely make it through this one too!"
"Damn it, this is giving us no way to survive!"
"Don’t tell me this is the Sea Eagle Country’s doing again! Did the monkeys from their virus lab escape again?"
"Fuck you, that’s slander! This has nothing to do with us! Our labs were flooded and submerged a long time ago!"
"Nothing to do with you this time? Are you saying it *did* have something to do with you last time?"
"No! It had nothing to do with us last time either! Stop making baseless accusations!"
"So you really are in our Dragon Country’s territory! Get the hell out!"
"It’s all water now. How can you be so sure this is your territory?"
Another flame war broke out on the regional channel.
Ren Yuanyang boarded a speedboat and headed for Peach Blossom Base, contacting Hua Lingfang on the way.
"Elder Hua, you saw the news on the regional channel, didn’t you?" Ren Yuanyang said gravely.
Hua Lingfang nodded. "I did. I’ve already halted all work and am checking on everyone’s condition. So far, no one is showing any flu-like symptoms."
"Good. We can’t just wait around. You need to start preparing medicine. Just tell me what herbs you need," Ren Yuanyang replied.
"Alright." Hua Lingfang thought for a moment before replying, "The herbs we’ve grown recently should be enough for now."
"It’s not just for our base. We may need to prepare enough to support the Aircraft Carrier Base and Dawn Base as well," Ren Yuanyang reminded him.
Hua Lingfang was taken aback for a second, then replied, "In that case, we’ll need to start planting more herbs."
"Prepare as much as you can. It’s better to be safe than sorry," Ren Yuanyang said gravely.
"By the way, Leader, you should hurry back. There are already sick people at Dawn Base, so it’s not safe for you," Hua Lingfang added.
"We’re already on our way back," Ren Yuanyang replied.
"That’s good." Hua Lingfang relaxed a little.
At Peach Blossom Base, on the supply ship, everyone had received the notice: suspend all production, monitor your condition, and report immediately if any flu-like symptoms appear.
Everyone was a bit dazed by the notice; they hadn’t been sick in months.
To make everyone take it seriously, Ren Yuanyang had Lu Jiamei inform them about the unknown virus in the rainwater.
Even the prisoners from Xi’an Base were given the news.
Hearing this, everyone on the supply ship panicked. Given the situation, it seemed inevitable that everyone would get infected.
"Are we going to be abandoned by the base?"
"I don’t think so! You all know how the base has treated us!"
"That may be true, but in a situation like this, without proper medical facilities, we’ll probably be abandoned if we get sick. Unless we can pull through on our own."
"Yeah... All we can do is hope we get lucky."
The prisoners from Xi’an Base, however, were even more desperate.
"I really thought a better life was just around the corner. I never expected fate to play another joke on us," Des said with a helpless, bitter smile.
James shook his head. "Yeah. If one of us does get infected, being left to fend for ourselves would be a blessing. I’m afraid we’ll all be... ’humanely’ put down."
"Sigh... I just hope the leader shows us some mercy," Des lamented.
"ACHOO!" A crew member suddenly sneezed.
The crowd around him instantly scattered.
Seeing their reaction, Des said, "It’s no use. No matter how far away you get, we’re all still in the same cabin. There’s no escaping it."
"Check his temperature!" James immediately ordered someone to check the temperature of the crew member who had just sneezed.
An Evolver immediately walked over with a forehead thermometer gun.
BEEP!
"101.3°F!"
Seeing the number on the thermometer, everyone took another step back, distancing themselves from the man.

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