"Understood!" Bao Mu nodded.
Just then, the fleet they were discussing arrived at the outskirts of the Peach Blossom Base!
The members of the Peach Blossom Base were quite surprised to see the twenty massive ships.
"How come so many big ships are here again!"
"I see the insignia on them. They must be ships from the Aircraft Carrier Base!"
"Looks like we’ve got another big job ahead of us!"
"I’m actually really curious. We’re sending so many supplies to the Aircraft Carrier Base, but what are they using to pay for it all?"
"Huh? Yeah! Logically, our base isn’t short on anything. What could the Aircraft Carrier Base possibly have to trade with us?"
"It can’t be that our Chief is just giving it away for free, right?"
"You guys don’t know, do you! I heard the Aircraft Carrier Base is trading with seeds from the National Seed Bank!"
"Seed Bank? You mean ’seeds’ for those little movies?"
"What are you thinking? I’d love to install a toilet in your head and flush out all the filth! I’m talking about seeds for all kinds of plants!"
"We already have all the basic food crops. We have no worries about food and drink, so why do we need more plant seeds?"
"Isn’t it obvious! Look at the Duckweed that can support our weight, the constantly-fruiting Diesel Trees, the glowing cacti, and so on. You still don’t get it?"
"Get what?"
"Our base must be able to make plants evolve in certain ways, which is how we get these special-purpose plants. If we collect other plant seeds, they might be useful in the future!"
"Right, the Peach Blossom Base was trading food for all sorts of plants before. It was probably for the same reason!"
"Oh, I see! Since the Aircraft Carrier Base sent twenty big ships, they must be offering up a lot of seeds!"
"Who knows, but it’s definitely a lot. After all, our base doesn’t have a high demand for those seeds—we just want to collect them. But the fuel we have is extremely important to the Aircraft Carrier Base!"
"Yeah, right now there’s no other place that can produce all these different types of fuel. We’re the only game in town!"
After the freighters and supply ships arrived at the Peach Blossom Base, Ren Yuanyang immediately gave instructions to Xin Wan.
"Split the personnel into two groups. One group will harvest the fruit and load it onto the freighters. The other group will continue pressing oil and fill up the supply ships!"
"Yes, Chief!" Xin Wan replied.
The entire Peach Blossom Base immediately bustled with activity!
James and the others directly requested to work in three shifts to ensure the harvesting and oil-pressing work would not stop.
"Do you think the Chief will give us extra food for requesting this?" Des asked, a bit uncertain.
James smiled faintly. "Based on past precedent, he probably will. Even if we don’t get extra meals, there should be a meat reward after we finish the work!"
Si Youqin soon brought them good news.
"The Chief has approved your request and decided to improve your meals. From now on, it will be one meat and two vegetable dishes!"
Hearing this, James was overjoyed. "Thank the Chief, and thank you, Captain Si!"
Si Youqin waved her hand. "Don’t mention it. As long as you work hard, your lives will keep getting better!"
"Please rest assured, we will definitely work hard and not disappoint the Chief!" James immediately promised.
Si Youqin nodded slightly. "Alright. Organize the shifts on your end. Make sure no one works more than eight hours a day!"
"Yes, ma’am!" James replied.
Returning to the cabins where the prisoners lived, James announced the good news.
Everyone erupted in excitement!
"We finally get meat with every meal? These conditions are too good!"
"Even Bao Mu couldn’t guarantee meat with every meal!"
"Of course not. I heard he only gets to eat meat once a day, and only a tiny bit each time. Meat is scarce at the Xi’an Base too!"
James clapped his hands, signaling for everyone to quiet down, then said, "In a bit, Des and I will make a shift schedule. Everyone will work according to the schedule. No slacking off. If I catch you, you’re dead meat!"
"Don’t worry, Captain! For those one-meat-two-veg meals, we definitely won’t slack off!"
Someone immediately shouted back, making everyone laugh!
The scheduling was actually very simple. The prisoners on the ship were divided into three equal parts, as were the Evolvers. The three groups would just work in rotation.
Time slowly passed as everyone worked with great enthusiasm. At noon the next day, Qin Haonan once again delivered the processed herbs to the Dawn Base.
Long Zhan still kept two speedboats’ worth of herbs, sending the remaining eight to the Aircraft Carrier Base. This time, however, each speedboat was equipped with two Gold-Type Evolvers.
"Be careful on the way. It’s highly likely the Xi’an Base will try to ambush you!" Long Zhan warned.
"Yes, Captain, rest assured. We’ve got it!" the transport team leader replied in a low voice.
"Good. You can depart!" Long Zhan nodded.
The eight speedboats immediately left the Dawn Base and headed for the Aircraft Carrier Base!
Two hours later, the team spotted the Xi’an Base’s ambush. After all, with the heavy rain, visibility was poor. By the time they spotted the enemy, the enemy had also spotted them. The distance between them was not great!
"Hard to starboard! Maintain speed!" the captain commanded in a grim voice.
The eight speedboats turned right in unison, while the Xi’an Base ambushers also sent out speedboats in pursuit!
"Captain, they’re catching up!" a scout reported immediately.
The captain nodded slightly. Before he could issue an order, a shell landed to their port side, causing a massive explosion!
"Everyone, watch out for the artillery from their large ships!" the captain said gravely. "All Gold-Type Evolvers, on deck and stand by!"
"Aye!" everyone responded in unison.
Following that, dozens more shells came flying. The Gold-Type Evolvers continuously called out warnings to the pilots to evade the shells, but two speedboats were still hit.
Fortunately, their propulsion systems were not damaged. With repairs from the Gold-Type Evolvers, they quickly returned to normal and escaped the artillery range.
Because the shelling had slowed them down, the pursuing speedboats quickly closed in.
"Captain, the enemy is within range of our rocket launchers. Do we engage?" a team member requested instructions.
"Hmph. Open fire immediately!" the captain snorted in response.
Rockets immediately flew from the eight speedboats, streaking toward the pursuing vessels!
The pursuing speedboats scrambled to evade, and the distance between the two groups widened again!
"Their firepower is too intense! We can’t get close!" the pursuers immediately reported to their own captain.
The Xi’an Base ambush captain frowned deeply. After a moment of thought, he reluctantly gave the order: "Abort the pursuit!"
As long as the enemy could successfully escape the artillery range of their large ships, it would be very difficult to catch them.
Moreover, the Dragon Country’s team was exceptionally formidable in combat, and they only had ten speedboats. They stood no chance of winning a head-on fight!
"Yes, sir!" Upon receiving the captain’s order, the crew members on the speedboats breathed a sigh of relief. They had no confidence in going head-to-head with the Dragon Country’s forces.
Seeing that the pursuing team had given up, the transport captain from Dawn Base immediately reported the situation to Long Zhan.
"Just focus on getting the herbs to the Aircraft Carrier Base as quickly as possible. You can play with them on your way back!" Long Zhan instructed.
"Yes, Captain!"
The Xi’an Base team also reported the matter to Bao Mu. The captain concluded, "Sir, our resource consumption rate here is quite high. They’ve spotted us this time, so they’ll definitely be prepared next time. I suggest we return and reconsider our strategy! At the very least, we need to change this ambush point!"
Hearing this, Bao Mu pondered for a long time before sighing, "Alright, I understand. Come back for now."
After ending the call with the captain, Bao Mu shared the news with the staff officer beside him. He still couldn’t quite figure it out. "Why did they send eight speedboats instead of those big ships?"
"Could it be that the Aircraft Carrier Base anticipated our ambush?" the staff officer asked with a frown.
Bao Mu was slightly taken aback. "Are they that vigilant?"
"When it comes to strategy, the Dragon Country should never be underestimated!" the staff officer reminded him.
Bao Mu nodded. "It seems we need to find another ambush point! Those twenty large ships will have to return to the Aircraft Carrier Base eventually. A little patience will pay off!"
"Sir, I’m afraid we don’t have enough fuel!" the staff officer couldn’t help but remind him.
The mention of this gave Bao Mu a headache, but there was no good solution at the moment.
He rubbed his forehead and grumbled, "Why does the Aircraft Carrier Base have so much fuel for their ships to just come and go as they please?"

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