"Needless to say, the Xi’an Base’s aircraft carriers are extremely powerful, but the ones from the Lvzhi and Magpie Fleets are a different story! Wasn’t one of the Lvzhi Fleet’s carriers taken out by the Dragon Country before?"
"Hmph! That was just an ambush where they ganged up on us. One-on-one, they’re not necessarily our match!"
"Stop trying to flatter yourself. I heard their Jianfu Aircraft Carrier took down your Feixiang all on its own, while their other two carriers were busy pinning down the Sea Eagle Country’s carriers!"
"That was still an ambush!" the captain of the Lvzhi Fleet insisted, still trying to preserve his fleet’s dignity.
"That’s enough. There’s no point in dwelling on the past!" Bao Mu cut off their argument. "Furthermore, I’ve contacted three of the Sea Eagle Country’s aircraft carriers. With a combined force of eight carrier fleets, you think we can’t defeat their two?"
The other fleets grew excited when they saw the news.
"With this, it’s a sure win!"
"Excellent! This time, we can definitely take the Aircraft Carrier Base in one go!"
"I hope we get a share of the spoils after we take the Aircraft Carrier Base!"
"Rest assured, everyone. Once we take the Aircraft Carrier Base, I will certainly share those fast-growing, high-yield crops with all of you!" Bao Mu began making lofty promises.
"Thank you, Sir!" they all replied.
Just then, the captain of the Lvzhi Fleet spoke up cautiously. "Sir, our three carriers are running low on fuel. If the rendezvous point is too far away, we’ll only be able to send two!"
"Two will have to do," Bao Mu replied with a slight frown.
In any case, he was only sending these fleets over to act as a diversion. One less aircraft carrier wouldn’t have much of an impact.
The other fleets didn’t mind either. As they saw it, the main force consisted of the Xi’an Base’s carriers and the three from the Sea Eagle Country; the rest were just there to pad the numbers.
After setting a rendezvous point with them and having his adjutant arrange for two cruisers to head over, Bao Mu turned his attention elsewhere.
The Aircraft Carrier Base soon received intelligence that the fleets were forming an alliance. The report was immediately placed on Wang Jun’s desk.
Wang Jun read through the intelligence summary, his brow furrowed. He then forwarded the information to the captains’ group.
"This is a completely undisguised plot," Ji Yizhi remarked immediately after reading the report.
Wang Jun nodded. "Indeed. Whether they’ve truly allied or not, we can’t afford to make any rash moves."
"It seems the Xi’an Base knows a thing or two about strategy," Long Zhan said with a slight frown.
"Which means Peach Blossom Base will have to rely on you," Wang Jun said gravely.
Long Zhan gave a wry smile. "No matter how powerful my carrier is, it can’t fend off an attack from three carrier fleets. We’ll most likely have to evacuate Peach Blossom Base."
Ji Yizhi nodded in agreement.
Naval and land warfare are vastly different. On land, one can use varied terrain to outmaneuver the enemy, but at sea, there are no such topographical advantages.
"That’s right. But from the looks of it, Master doesn’t want to move Peach Blossom Base," Wang Jun sighed. "Old Long, don’t let up on your patrols. The moment you spot the enemy carrier fleets, notify Master immediately! We’ll persuade him to evacuate together."
Long Zhan nodded. "Alright, you can count on me. I absolutely will not let Master and Peach Blossom Base be put in harm’s way!"
Meanwhile, Peach Blossom Base was a hive of activity, with everyone hard at work.
As the concentrations of toxins and viruses decreased, the temperature gradually returned to normal.
"The weather is so nice now. We don’t even need to run the air conditioning at night," James remarked with a sigh.
Des, standing nearby, nodded. "Yeah. I wish life could stay like this forever."
James shook his head, then glanced around to make sure no one else was nearby before lowering his voice. "I accidentally overheard some of the patrol members talking. I think the Xi’an Base has found us."
At these words, Des was stunned. "Really?"
James nodded.
"This is bad!" Des’s brow furrowed in worry. "If Bao Mu has found us, he’ll definitely come for us. He might even call in his underlings from the Sea Eagle Country. And our base doesn’t have any aircraft carriers, does it?"
As the former captain of a supply ship from the Xi’an Base, he was naturally very familiar with it.
"I know," James said with a sigh. "Our only hope is that the Aircraft Carrier Base can send reinforcements. Otherwise, our chances don’t look good."
"Sigh... why did the Leader have to make a deal with the Aircraft Carrier Base? We could’ve just stayed hidden here and gotten rich on our own!" Des couldn’t wrap his head around it.
"Perhaps it was for all those plants," James speculated.
"But we don’t need so many different plants. As long as we have the staple crops, we can develop steadily on our own," Des countered.
James shrugged. "That, I don’t know. The Leader must have his reasons."
"I hope the Leader has a plan for dealing with the Xi’an Base. I really don’t want to go back to the miserable life we had before," Des began to pray.
"Speaking of the Leader, I feel like I haven’t seen him around for a few days," James said with a slight frown.
Previously, Ren Yuanyang would lead a group to the Cultivation Pods every morning. Since the pods were on their supply ship, James and the others saw him frequently.
"I heard the Leader is in ’closed-door Cultivation’?" Des replied. "I don’t really understand what that means."
"Closed-door Cultivation? The Xi’an Base is about to attack, and the Leader picks now to go into seclusion?" James was momentarily stunned, his face a mask of confusion.
Seeing that Des didn’t understand, he explained what "closed-door Cultivation" meant.
After listening to the explanation, Des was also dumbfounded. "That’s... really hard to understand. No matter how strong his Mental Energy is, it’s not like he can take on an entire aircraft carrier fleet! Especially since there might be more than one!"
"Well, it’s not like we can influence the Leader’s decision. All we can do is follow our orders," James said, shaking his head in resignation.
Des thought for a moment before speaking up. "We may not be able to sway the Leader’s decision, but we should still warn him! I’m worried he doesn’t know that the Xi’an Base can summon the Sea Eagle Country’s carrier fleets!"
James paused, then nodded. "Right. Let’s go find Minister Lu together."
The two left the supply ship and found a nearby security guard on patrol, requesting a meeting with Lu Jiamei.
The guard relayed their request to Lu Jiamei.
Lu Jiamei arrived shortly after. "You were looking for me? What is it?"
"Minister Lu, I happened to overhear that the Xi’an Base has discovered our location," James began. "We feel it’s our duty to remind the Leader to be on guard against an attack. And also that the Xi’an Base can call on the Sea Eagle Country’s carrier fleets, so he must be extremely careful!"
Lu Jiamei nodded slightly. "Alright, I will pass this intelligence on to the Leader."
"Thank you for your trouble, Minister Lu," James and Des replied gratefully.
After Lu Jiamei left, Des frowned. "I get the feeling Minister Lu already knew all of this. She wasn’t the least bit panicked."
"Maybe our base already has a plan to deal with it, and we’ve been worrying for nothing," James replied with a smile.
Des nodded. "Let’s hope so."
「Two more days passed.」
A number of fleets had gathered around the Aircraft Carrier Base. These were not the ones allied with the Xi’an Base, but fleets that had come to trade.
They traded metal for food, and after eating their fill, they didn’t leave right away, instead choosing to linger near the Aircraft Carrier Base.
The Aircraft Carrier Base didn’t drive them off. It merely demanded that all fleets, unless they were approaching to trade, stay outside a one-hundred-kilometer radius. Any who violated this rule would be attacked immediately.
Meanwhile, the allied fleets were assembling at a location one hundred and fifty kilometers east of the Aircraft Carrier Base.
The fleets quickly noticed that something was off.
"Where are the Xi’an Base’s aircraft carriers?"

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