Wang Jun paused for a moment, then nodded. "Good. I happen to want to see their raw materials for myself. Have someone organize our supplies and see how many cargo ships we can free up. We’ll send them all over this time!"
"Yes, sir!" Ji Yizhi replied, then immediately passed the order down the line.
Though it was the middle of the night, the Aircraft Carrier Base was bustling with activity.
They needed to consolidate the supplies, so many soldiers were busy moving materials.
When the other survivors saw this, they immediately started discussing it amongst themselves.
"What’s going on? Is the Aircraft Carrier Base planning to relocate?"
"I don’t think so. From the looks of it, they’re just consolidating supplies onto a few ships!"
"Isn’t this a sign they’re about to run for it? We’re going to be abandoned after all!"
"That can’t be right. If they were going to abandon us, there would have been no need to distribute the fever-reducing medicine!"
"Yeah, someone next to me was critically ill and was taken directly to a medical ship for treatment!"
"Then what are they doing?"
Under the puzzled gazes of the crowd, they managed to free up a total of ten massive cargo ships.
In addition to its original three carrier fleets, the Aircraft Carrier Base also had many large cargo ships, all prepared for rescuing resources and various flora and fauna.
As supplies were consumed, those cargo ships had gradually been emptied.
The Aircraft Carrier Base had originally planned to use the empty cargo ships to grow crops, but energy was more important now. Priority had to be given to the deal with Peach Blossom Base!
Soon, the empty giant cargo ships and ten supply ships, escorted by five frigates, set sail for Dawn Base.
The survivors watched the fleet depart and began to speculate again.
"Where are those empty ships headed?"
"The ships loaded with supplies are still at the base. That means the Aircraft Carrier Base isn’t planning to run away!"
"Anyone with half a brain would know the Aircraft Carrier Base isn’t running. The entire Blue Star is covered in water, where could they even go? Besides, moving that many ships in the carrier fleet would consume an astronomical amount of fuel. Where would they get that much fuel?"
"I suspect those empty ships went to pick up supplies!"
"You’ve got a wild imagination! In this situation, where would anyone find that many surplus supplies? And to send so many empty ships to get them?"
"You guys really have too much time on your hands. The virus problem isn’t even solved yet, and you’re worried about where some empty ships are going?"
"I’ve already been infected and recovered. I have antibodies now, so I’m not afraid of the virus!"
"Hey buddy, don’t you know you can get reinfected even after you’ve already had it?"
"Don’t you fucking jinx it!"
After the fleet from the Aircraft Carrier Base departed, Wang Jun sent an update on the fleet’s status to Long Zhan.
Long Zhan was already resting. Seeing no reply, Wang Jun didn’t send any more messages. In any case, it would take the fleet at least thirty-odd hours to reach Dawn Base, so Long Zhan could read the message tomorrow.
Meanwhile, at Peach Blossom Base, James and his group were enjoying a late-night meal after finishing their work.
"I never would’ve thought we’d be having barbecue for a late-night meal!" Des said, staring at the grilled meat in front of him, utterly astonished.
James nodded. "The leader is so generous. We’ll have to work even harder from now on!"
"Don’t worry. Just for this meat, everyone will give it their all at work!" Des said with a laugh.
Si Youqin walked over and announced, "To reward you for your excellent performance on this job, all of you are free to move about this supply ship, but you are not allowed to disembark!"
This news didn’t mean much to James and the other Evolvers, but for the ordinary crew members, it was fantastic news!
Before, they could only move around in the bottom-deck compartments. Now they could finally come up!
"Thank you, Leader!" the captives said in unison.
James looked through the dining hall porthole and saw the five supply ships next to them slowly pulling away. He remarked with feeling, "Those five supply ships are worth a fortune!"
Des, standing beside him, deeply agreed. "Yeah. Any base that saw this much fuel would probably be green with envy!"
"No matter how much Bao Mu schemed, he probably never calculated that Peach Blossom Base would be this powerful!" James said with a cold laugh.
"He must have sensed Peach Blossom Base’s strength. Xi’an Base was completely defeated in their past few clashes! And with the Aircraft Carrier Base in the picture, Xi’an Base definitely won’t dare to make any rash moves," Des said, shaking his head.
"And now there’s the threat of the virus. Knowing Xi’an Base’s usual methods, they’ll probably just let it rip for herd immunity," James said with a sneer.
"A lot more people are probably going to die," Des lamented.
"That’s their fate. We can’t worry about them," James replied.
There wasn’t much barbecue at the late-night meal, but there were plenty of other fruits and vegetables to eat their fill.
After eating their fill, James and the others returned to the lower deck to rest.
They could move freely around the supply ship, but their bunks were still on the lower deck.
In truth, aside from feeling a bit more oppressive, the lower deck was the same as the upper levels, since the ventilation and air conditioning systems were always on.
Some of the captives were too excited to sleep and were chatting in the lounge or on deck.
Soon, the time came to five in the morning, and the five supply ships, now fully loaded, finally arrived at Dawn Base.
After being filled with cargo, the supply ships’ speed had decreased a bit.
On one of the five accompanying speedboats, Qin Haonan watched the ships with an anxious expression. "These supply ships are way too slow!"
"Good thing we’ve arrived!" Jianghu said with a smile.
Long Zhan was already up and waiting on the outskirts of Dawn Base. When he saw the five supply ships, he immediately ordered, "Prepare to receive the cargo!"
"Yes, sir!" his aide replied.
The fleet led by Qin Haonan sailed into Dawn Base, and Long Zhan was the first to greet them. "Minister Qin, you’ve worked hard!"
"It wasn’t that hard, but the supply ships are just too slow. If we could get some faster ones, we wouldn’t have to waste so much time on the road!" Qin Haonan complained.
Long Zhan was taken aback for a moment, then shook his head with a wry smile. "I’d like to go faster too, but this is the most economical speed. Adjusting it would involve a lot of issues, like engine technology, a larger engine room, the hull’s shape and strength, and so on. A speed of thirty knots is already near the peak of what’s possible with our current engines and propellers. It’s very difficult to improve upon."
Hearing all this, Qin Haonan was also stunned. "It’s that complicated? I guess I was being too idealistic."
"Unfortunately, the weather is bad right now, and with all the damage to our precision instruments, we don’t dare risk flying any planes. Otherwise, using aircraft would be much faster!" Long Zhan’s voice was filled with helplessness.
Qin Haonan nodded. "Yes, for now, we can only transport things slowly by ship."
"Right. Please wait a moment. Our people are unloading the cargo now; it’ll be done soon," Long Zhan replied.
The five supply ships, of course, didn’t need to be unloaded. However, quality inspection personnel had already boarded them and begun taking random samples for testing.
The herbs from the five speedboats were quickly unloaded. Qin Haonan didn’t linger, bidding farewell to Long Zhan and leaving Dawn Base.
Just then, the test results for the fuel came in!
A quality inspector rushed over to Long Zhan, unable to contain the excitement in his voice. "Captain, the specs for all the fuel types on those supply ships are optimal grade! Our aircraft carriers, ships, and planes can all use it!"
Hearing the inspector’s report, Long Zhan immediately commanded, "Send the five supply ships, along with the herbs from the four speedboats, to the Aircraft Carrier Base!"
The aide at his side paused. "Captain, aren’t we keeping one of the fuel ships for ourselves?"
Long Zhan replied with a smile, "We’re so close to Peach Blossom Base, we can buy more from them anytime. The Aircraft Carrier Base needs this more than we do!"
The aide paused again, then nodded. "Right. I understand. I’ll arrange for their departure immediately!"
Long Zhan immediately shared the good news with Wang Jun and the other.
"Old Wang, Old Ji, the test results are in. The fuel is perfectly compatible with our requirements, and all the specs are optimal. You can rest easy!"
Seeing this message, Wang Jun and Ji Yizhi were overjoyed.
"Fantastic! Taoyuan Yang has given us another huge surprise!" Ji Yizhi said with a laugh.
Wang Jun nodded as well, then asked Long Zhan, "Did you see the message I sent you last night?"

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