"We are indeed low on water and food, but medicine is what’s truly rare," Wang Jun replied flatly.
Seeing that Wang Jun was holding his ground with no intention of backing down, Anderson considered for a moment before speaking. "Fine, we’ll accept that ratio, but we demand three fully supplied large ships!"
"You’ll have to discuss that with Nelson. After all, those ships are the private property of the River Bird Fleet. I won’t get involved in their specific distribution. Nelson entrusted the seeds to us, so that’s what I can make a decision on," Wang Jun said, waving a dismissive hand.
Nelson immediately spoke up. "You can have the three fully supplied large ships, but you’ll have to trade your twenty percent share of the seeds for them!"
Hearing Nelson’s words, Wang Jun couldn’t help but sigh to himself. ’He’s even more ruthless than I am! I guess I’m too merciful.’
Anderson froze for a second, then laughed. "Nelson, we’re countrymen, for god’s sake. Is this really how you treat your own people?"
"Ungrateful backstabbers like you don’t deserve to be called our countrymen!" Nelson’s face was grim.
Anderson snorted. "And I have no desire to associate with a bootlicker like you!"
"In that case, there’s nothing left to discuss!" Nelson looked as if he was ready to flip the table.
Anderson’s brow furrowed. He turned to Wang Jun, who was standing to the side. "Captain Wang, playing games like this is beneath you, isn’t it?"
He assumed Wang Jun was deliberately using Nelson to put the squeeze on them. Even if that wasn’t the case, saying it out loud would make the people watching the live broadcast think Wang Jun was the one causing trouble.
Wang Jun’s brow twitched. "This is a private matter for your River Bird Fleet. I wasn’t going to get involved, but since you’ve brought it up, I suppose I have to. Nelson, negotiate with them in good faith."
Nelson was taken aback. He didn’t understand. By playing hardball, wasn’t he helping the Aircraft Carrier Base save a large number of Evolution Potions?
’Why is Captain Wang telling me to negotiate in good faith? It’s almost like he wants this deal to go through.’
Though confused, Nelson did as Wang Jun asked. "Three ships is out of the question. One, at most. As for the seeds, we can give you a 15% share, maximum. Otherwise, the deal’s off!"
Anderson did a quick mental calculation. ’Based on the 1.2 million varieties in the seed bank, 15% is 180,000. That translates to 180,000 vials of Evolution Potion. We only have about three thousand people. That’s more than enough!’
’We’ll even have a huge surplus to trade for other supplies!’
At this thought, Anderson stopped hesitating and nodded. "Alright, we accept those terms! But you have to throw in three speedboats."
Nelson gave a slight nod.
Anderson then continued, "As everyone knows, there are at least 1.5 million varieties in the International Seed Bank. Let’s use that number for our calculations."
"Stop spouting nonsense! The last time we took inventory, there were only one million seed varieties in the bank!" Nelson lied with a straight face.
But Anderson and his men were just ordinary members; they had never been involved in managing the seed bank. They could only rely on officially released public data.
Anderson frowned. Considering they needed to leave the Aircraft Carrier Base as soon as possible, he finally nodded. "Fine. We’ll calculate it based on one million."
Nelson froze for a moment, thinking to himself, ’Did I still give too high a number?’
"Now that we have an agreement, let them return to their ship. I’ll arrange for their things to be brought aboard," Wang Jun said, before turning and leaving abruptly.
Anderson and his men immediately erupted in cheers.
"Now get the hell back to your ship and get out of the Aircraft Carrier Base!" Nelson snarled from the side, his expression venomous.
Anderson waved his arm grandly. "Let’s go! And keep the live stream running without interruption!"
The other members of the River Bird Fleet who had stayed behind saw that they had actually succeeded and felt a pang of envy.
"I should have gone with Anderson!"
"Are you so sure? Even if you had Evolution Potions, how would you solve the food problem?"
"Exactly. From what I’ve heard, the chances of becoming an Intelligence-Type Evolver are extremely low. And even if you do awaken a Wood-Type Superpower, the ability to grow plants is limited."
"Ah! In that case, forget it! At least we won’t starve here at the Aircraft Carrier Base. The food these last couple of days has been way better than before!"
"But I heard the Aircraft Carrier Base is also running low on food."
"Relax, no way! If they were running short on food, why would they give so much to us outsiders?"
"That’s true. You think Anderson and his crew will be the first Evolvers to starve to death?"
"Probably not. They’re getting a lot of Evolution Potions this time. They can definitely trade them for food with other large fleets."
"So Anderson’s group will have it pretty good! They get to become Evolvers, and they won’t starve to death."
"But there’s an old saying in the Dragon Country: ’Innocent is the man, but his treasure makes him guilty.’ With so many Evolution Potions, they’re bound to be targeted by the larger bases."
"It’s that dangerous? Never mind then. It’s safer to stay here at the Aircraft Carrier Base."
Amidst the murmurs of the crowd, Anderson and his group boarded the large ship that had been assigned to them.
Although it was called a large ship, it was still a tight squeeze for three thousand people.
"Captain Anderson, it’s way too crowded!" someone complained.
Anderson smiled. "What’s the rush? With this many Evolution Potions, do you really think we won’t be able to trade for more ships?"
"Exactly! Who knows how many bases are desperate to get their hands on Evolution Potions right now!"
"We can trade the Evolution Potions not just for ships, but for food, water, and all sorts of other supplies!"
"We’re going to be living the good life from now on!"
Anderson smiled and nodded.
A short while later, a large ship emerged from the Aircraft Carrier Base. Wang Jun stood on its bow and called out, "As per our agreement, here is your fifteen percent—one hundred and fifty thousand seeds! Please accept them!"
Hearing this, Anderson and his men were all stunned.
"Wait, we wanted Evolution Potions!" Anderson said, starting to panic.
Wang Jun shot him a look. "On what grounds are you entitled to Evolution Potions? Your contribution was to the seed bank, so we are returning your share of the seeds. This is perfectly fair and reasonable."
Anderson said frantically, "Then we want to trade these seeds for Evolution Potions!"
"I’m sorry, we decline the trade." Wang Jun smiled faintly. "We already have all of these seeds."
Anderson was instantly enraged. "You set me up!"
"What on earth are you talking about?" Wang Jun retorted. "We have fully complied with your request and returned the share of seeds that belongs to you. It would be inappropriate to push your luck. Now, please vacate the area controlled by the Aircraft Carrier Base, or we will be forced to open fire."
With that, Wang Jun turned and entered the ship’s cabin.
Everyone on Anderson’s ship panicked. They had managed to leave the Aircraft Carrier Base as they’d wanted, but they had failed to secure the Evolution Potions.
"Captain, what do we do now?"
"Yeah, without the Evolution Potions, maybe we should just go back to the Aircraft Carrier Base!"
"It’s over. I can’t believe Captain Wang is so devious!"
Anderson’s face was grim. "Stop dreaming. The Aircraft Carrier Base won’t take us back now. Our only choice is to leave!"
The other survivors watching this unfold on the live broadcast immediately began to comment.
"That move by Captain Wang was brilliant! Anderson tried to use moral blackmail, but it backfired on him spectacularly!"
"Serves him right for being an ungrateful traitor. If it were me, I might have just wiped them out. But this is way more satisfying. It’s morally unimpeachable, and they have to suffer in silence!"
"Hey, people from Xi’an Base? Are you still willing to take in Anderson and his crew?"
An aide from the Xi’an Base saw the discussion on the regional channel and frowned. "Sir, since these people failed to get the Evolution Potions, they’re worthless to us."
Bao Mu mulled it over for a moment, then replied, "No, proceed with taking them in. After all, that’s three thousand test subjects."
The aide was taken aback for a second, then nodded. "I understand."
Bao Mu immediately posted on the regional channel: "Captain Anderson, don’t you worry. We aren’t like the profit-driven Aircraft Carrier Base. We still welcome you to join the Xi’an Base!"
"Holy crap, is the Xi’an Base really that generous? They’re willing to take them in even after all that?"
"They’re just saying that. You don’t actually believe them, do you? Who would do something like that for nothing?"
"You mean the Xi’an Base is after their one hundred fifty thousand seeds?"
"It’s more than just that. People are a resource, too."
"I get it now. The Xi’an Base hasn’t successfully developed its own Evolution Potion yet. They probably need a large number of test subjects!"
Anderson and his crew had been overjoyed to see Bao Mu’s message, but after reading the other survivors’ analyses, they immediately realized the horrifying truth.
"The Xi’an Base isn’t actually going to use us as test subjects, are they? What are we supposed to do now?"

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