"Yes, sir!" The captain could only brace himself and agree.
After the call ended, the adjutant frowned. "Sir, what do we do now?"
Bao Mu contemplated for a moment before replying, "Arrange for speedboats to patrol a two-hundred-kilometer radius. Since they used speedboats to chase our team away, they probably haven’t pinpointed our location yet. We don’t need to move for now!"
"Yes, sir! I’ll go arrange it immediately!" The adjutant turned and left.
Bao Mu had made this decision primarily because the Xi’an Base’s fuel reserves were nearly empty, making it difficult to move the entire fleet.
Of course, Bao Mu wasn’t overly concerned about a single aircraft carrier. Although the Dragon Country’s forces were formidable, naval battles were largely decided by advanced weaponry.
Even if the Dragon Country’s weapon technology was on par with their own, it was still anyone’s guess who would win if they went head-to-head.
The Dragon Country would only have a chance of defeating him if they sent two or more aircraft carriers!
Meanwhile, the surveillance team had already been pursued for over three hours.
"Captain, if we keep going like this, we won’t have enough charge to make it back to the base!" the driver shouted.
The captain frowned slightly. "Don’t worry about our charge for now. Sir said he’s sending a team to support us."
"Yes, sir!" the driver replied. He glanced back at the relentless pursuit from the Dawn Base team and cursed, "Are these Dawn Base people insane? Or do they just have fuel to burn?"
"It is strange. How could they have that much fuel? Teams travel back and forth between the Aircraft Carrier Base and the Dawn Base every day. The fuel consumption must be astronomical!" The captain couldn’t figure it out either, but he didn’t dwell on it. After all, the Dawn Base team was still right behind them.
"Halt the pursuit after three hundred kilometers," Long Zhan ordered the teams chasing the speedboats.
Both Ren Yuanyang and Ji Yizhi had warned him not to pursue too deeply, lest the enemy had set a trap.
"Yes, sir!" The pursuit teams immediately halted as ordered.
The surveillance team from the Xi’an Base, however, continued for a good while longer before noticing that their pursuers were nowhere in sight.
"Captain, it seems they’ve stopped chasing us?" a spotter said, sounding uncertain.
The captain froze for a second, then rushed onto the deck to look back. The pursuing team was indeed gone. He breathed a small sigh of relief.
"Don’t stop yet. Keep going a while longer!" the captain ordered.
"Yes, sir!"
They continued onward for some distance, and after confirming there were truly no pursuers, the captain finally reported to Bao Mu, "Sir, the enemy is no longer chasing us!"
"They were probably afraid we’d set an ambush," Bao Mu surmised, his eyes narrowing.
"That must be it," the captain agreed.
Bao Mu warned, "Don’t let your guard down, though. They could be scouting the area for ambushes. Once they confirm it’s clear, they might start chasing you again!"
"Yes, Sir!" the captain acknowledged with a nod. "But we no longer have enough charge to make it back to the base. Please arrange for resupply as soon as possible, Sir!"
"Mm, they’re already on their way," Bao Mu replied.
"Understood. Thank you, Sir!"
The Dawn Base’s supply ships were currently distributed around the base, allowing their speedboats to refuel from them at any time!
They hadn’t even finished pressing the fruit from the first freighter that returned from the Peach Blossom Base, and it had already filled ten supply ships. Including the two sent directly from the Peach Blossom Base, a total of twelve fuel-laden supply ships were already en route to the Aircraft Carrier Base!
Long Zhan had arranged for five frigates to escort the supply ships.
"Old Wang, twelve supply ships are on their way to the Aircraft Carrier Base. You can go ahead and send over all your empty ones. Otherwise, I’m going to have to halt my pressing operations here—all the ships’ fuel tanks and the supply ships are topped off! I’m having to tell the patrol boats to just run around aimlessly to burn some of it off!" Long Zhan said with a humblebrag.
Wang Jun rolled his eyes. "If anyone from the other fleets heard you, they’d probably want to come over and beat you up!"
"The oil content of the Peach Blossom Base’s fuel crops is just ridiculously high. I have no idea how they cultivated plants like these. It’s unbelievable!" Long Zhan exclaimed with immense feeling.
Wang Jun nodded. "I know. Your pressing operations can’t stop. If you run out of containers, just have the Gold-Type Evolvers make some."
"I’ve thought about having them make containers, but you need metal for that. The scant amount in the surrounding environment is nowhere near enough!" Long Zhan said, sounding frustrated.
Wang Jun frowned slightly, then replied, "I’ll have the supply ships bring some metal with them. That should tide you over for now. It’s been almost a month since the last dark tide, hasn’t it? I wonder if another one is coming."
"It probably will," Long Zhan replied. "But with the Peach Blossom Base around, all we need to do is wait for them to let us know."
Wang Jun was taken aback for a moment, then nodded. "That’s true. Should we remind Master to keep an eye on the dark tide situation?"
"We’d better remind him. If Master forgets and we miss a dark tide, that would be a huge loss!" Long Zhan said.
"Alright, I’ll mention it in the group chat right now." Wang Jun immediately tagged Ren Yuanyang in the chat. "@Master, judging by the date, it’s been almost a month since the last dark tide. If you notice one starting, please don’t forget to remind us!"
Seeing the message, Ren Yuanyang paused for a second, then replied with a smile, "Don’t worry. If a dark tide appears, I’ll definitely be the first to know, and I’ll notify you all at the same time."
"Thank you, Master!" Wang Jun replied. He hesitated for a moment before asking, "Master, how is food production at the Peach Blossom Base?"
"Is the Aircraft Carrier Base running out of food?" Ren Yuanyang countered.
"Our current inventory can last a while longer, but because of the toxins and viruses, we can’t grow anything on the open sea. Relying solely on the cultivation chambers within the ships isn’t nearly enough to support the whole base’s consumption," Wang Jun explained.
"I see." Ren Yuanyang considered this for a moment. "How about this? Shipping grain directly is inefficient. I’ll just give you some enhanced seeds. You can grow them yourselves, which will also create some jobs for you."
"Are they the kind with short growth cycles and high yields?" Long Zhan chimed in.
Ren Yuanyang nodded slightly. "As long as the nutrients keep up, you can harvest them in two days."
"Two days!" All three men were shocked.
"That’s right. This is why the Peach Blossom Base never has a food shortage," Ren Yuanyang confirmed.
"Can *any* crop be harvested in two days?" Ji Yizhi couldn’t help but ask.
"Mhm. Some with naturally short growth cycles can even be harvested in under a day," Ren Yuanyang nodded.
The three men gasped in unison, their minds reeling from the shock.
’What kind of technology could make plants grow that fast?’
"Master, you’re fucking incredible!" Long Zhan exclaimed excitedly. "With these seeds, we’ll never have to worry about food again!"
Ji Yizhi nodded. "But we must maintain strict control over these seeds, including the produce they yield. They absolutely cannot be allowed to leak out."
"That’s right. These critical food seeds definitely need to be managed carefully," Wang Jun chimed in.
Ren Yuanyang gave a slight smile. "You only need to control the seeds I give you. The rest isn’t that much of a hassle. Have you forgotten that the seeds produced by our base’s Evolutionary Plants are just ordinary ones?"
The three men were stunned once more. Then they immediately recalled Ren Yuanyang telling them previously that the seeds from the fuel-producing fruits were ordinary.
"So all of the Peach Blossom Base’s plant-type Evolutionary Forms only last for one generation?" Long Zhan couldn’t help but ask for confirmation again.
Ren Yuanyang nodded slightly. "Correct. That’s why you don’t need to waste energy controlling the crops you grow from them."
"I understand," Wang Jun nodded.
Ji Yizhi immediately asked, "In that case, wouldn’t it be best to plant perennial woody plants? That way you could harvest their fruit continuously, couldn’t you?"
"Precisely. That’s how we’re able to produce so much fruit for fuel," Ren Yuanyang nodded slightly.
"In that case, Master, shouldn’t you be giving us some fruit trees?" Long Zhan asked with a grin.
"I have no problem with that," Ren Yuanyang countered, "but do you have enough space to plant them?"

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