In truth, the Dragon Country People who had defected from the Aircraft Carrier Base had long since been filled with regret.
After fleeing to the Xi’an Base, they were immediately taken into custody. They were given only a single bowl of watery porridge each day to keep them alive.
Some were even dragged away for human experimentation, never to be seen again. Everyone lived each day in terror.
They dreamed day and night of returning to the Aircraft Carrier Base. Now, the Xi’an Base had been defeated, and their captors were, to their surprise, fellow Dragon Country People. This made them incredibly excited!
Who had the power to defeat the Xi’an Base now? Without a doubt, only the Aircraft Carrier Base stood a chance!
They never imagined they would return to the Aircraft Carrier Base like this. Just when they thought their suffering was over, they found themselves still imprisoned as captives.
"Let me out! I’m from Dragon Country! You can’t treat your own countrymen like this!"
"That’s right! We’re starving! Hurry up and get us some food!"
"Are you all deaf? Open the door and let us out!"
A guard shot them a glance and snorted. "When you defected from the Aircraft Carrier Base, did you ever imagine this day would come? Since you chose to turn traitor, you shouldn’t have come back. The Aircraft Carrier Base doesn’t welcome you!"
The guard then raised his gun, aimed it at the group, and said coldly, "From now on, if anyone makes another sound, my gun might just ’accidentally’ go off."
Seeing how unyielding the guard was, the captives immediately fell silent.
The guard shot them a contemptuous look and resumed his post by the door.
When dinnertime arrived, their meal consisted of only a single bowl of watery porridge. Meanwhile, the Xi’an Base soldiers nearby were eating rice and vegetables!
"This isn’t fair!" one of them yelled.
The guard immediately drew his pistol and aimed it at the man, who quickly raised his hands and said with a fawning smile, "Sir, I was wrong. I just wanted to ask, why do we only get watery porridge while they get rice?"
"This is your punishment for betraying the Aircraft Carrier Base!" the guard retorted, then turned to leave.
"Guard, sir, we know we were wrong! Please give us something to eat, we’re about to collapse from hunger!" the man pleaded hastily.
The others quickly chimed in.
"Suck it up!" The guard raised his weapon again. "Keep making a fuss, and don’t blame me for what happens next!"
The group immediately lost their nerve and obediently sat back down.
"Sigh... why did we have to leave? Now we can never go back."
"We can’t blame anyone but ourselves. We were just too short-sighted."
"Let’s just stop talking and save our strength. At least the porridge at the Aircraft Carrier Base is thicker than what we got at the Xi’an Base. As long as they don’t kick us out, we should just quietly accept our re-education through labor."
The crowd fell silent. They picked up their bowls and quietly drank their porridge.
Meanwhile, at the Peach Blossom Base, Lu Jiamei made an announcement before dinner.
"In light of their outstanding performance and reliable loyalty in today’s battle, James and fifty others are hereby relieved of their captive status. They are now officially ordinary members of the Peach Blossom Base, effective immediately!"
Upon hearing this news, James and the others immediately burst into cheers.
The other captives who had been taken alongside them watched with immense envy.
They had originally thought that following the leader out to face the Xi’an Base fleet was a suicide mission.
But the outcome had stunned them. The leader had actually defeated the Xi’an Base fleet with a single supply ship.
It felt less like a tall tale and more like a legend from mythology.
They had missed their chance, and no amount of regret could change that.
’We have to stick closely to the leader from now on!’ the captives all thought with a sigh.
With their new status as ordinary members, James and his group could now freely choose from the base’s supplies—though they would, of course, have to earn the money to buy them.
Some supplies were rationed, but for personal use, what was available was more than enough.
James and Des immediately bought some meat and fruit.
Though they’d had some on occasion before, it was nothing like the freedom they had now!
"Hahaha! I knew following the leader was the right choice!" James laughed, gnawing on a chicken leg.
Des nodded in full agreement. "Yeah. Thank goodness we chose to follow him. Otherwise, who knows how long it would have taken to shed our captive status!"
"Still, that supply ship was unbelievably powerful after the leader modified it!" James exclaimed.
"I know, right? I’ve never seen a ship that size move so fast!" Des agreed.
"How do you think our leader even did that? Even a Gold-Type Evolver shouldn’t be able to modify a ship like that!" James said, his curiosity piqued.
Des pondered for a moment, glanced around, and lowered his voice. "It must be one of our leader’s special abilities. Just like the Evolutionary Plants at our base."
James paused. "You mean... the leader is responsible for the Evolutionary Plants, too?"
Des gave a slight nod. "It’s highly likely. Of course, it doesn’t really matter either way. As long as it’s our base that’s responsible for it, that’s good enough."
"That’s true!" James replied with a laugh. "Plenty of food, advanced ships... our base is already a paradise on earth!"
"Exactly. Plus, the base doesn’t have many people right now. If we’ve become ordinary members at this stage, we might even be considered founding members later on," Des said pointedly.
James paused for a second, then immediately gave him a thumbs-up.
At that moment, Lu Jiamei and the others were gathered in the largest room on the yacht. Hua Lingfang was taking the pulse of Ren Yuanyang, who lay on the bed, while the others looked on with worried expressions.
"There’s no need to worry. The leader’s pulse is very steady. He should wake up after some rest." After finishing the diagnosis, Hua Lingfang said to the group, "You should all go get something to eat. Standing around here won’t help him wake up any faster."
Lu Jiamei nodded. "Right. Let’s all go out and let the leader get some proper rest."
Lu Jiamei’s group walked out of the room to find Si Youqin and the others standing in the yacht’s main cabin.
"How’s the leader?" Lin Mu asked, voicing the question on everyone’s mind.
"It’s nothing serious, but he needs to rest. Let’s all eat first," Lu Jiamei replied in a somber tone.
Only then did everyone breathe a sigh of relief.
If before today Ren Yuanyang was the pillar of the Peach Blossom Base, then after today, he was its god—a true god who could never be replaced.
They had seen with their own eyes as Ren Yuanyang instantly transformed a mundane supply ship into a vessel that could go head-to-head with battleships. That was the kind of power only a god should possess.
The temperature had recently begun to return to normal, but everyone still lived on the yacht.
The living facilities were quite comprehensive, and with the expansion of the Banyan Forest, the yacht was now essentially located within it. It was no longer rocked by the Level 7 winds and waves, making it almost as stable as being on solid ground.
Living together also made it more convenient to communicate.
Of course, the only inconvenience was that with so many people, it was a bit crowded.
However, after this victory against the Xi’an Base, they should be able to acquire a few slightly larger yachts or even cruise ships.
As long as they could be brought into the Banyan Forest, they wouldn’t have to worry about the ships rocking.
"We took down an entire fleet from the Xi’an Base this time. The Aircraft Carrier Base won’t try to keep all the ships for themselves, will they?" Yu Ren asked during the meal.
"Would they dare?" Lu Jiamei asked back with a smile.
Qin Haonan shoveled a mouthful of food and mumbled, "After seeing what the leader can do, they’ll definitely hand over all the ships to us!"
"It would be great if they gave us that aircraft carrier. Then the leader could modify it. An aircraft carrier as fast as a yacht... just thinking about it is thrilling!" Yu Ren said with a laugh.
Lu Jiamei shook her head. "The leader fell into a coma just from modifying two ships. I suspect modifying an aircraft carrier would be a bit difficult."
"Yeah, an aircraft carrier is just too big," Xin Wan agreed.
Qin Haonan swallowed the food in his mouth and said, "If you ask me, it would be more practical to modify our speedboats. We wouldn’t have to waste most of our day traveling."
As the one in charge of external trade, Qin Haonan had complained about the ships’ speed more than once. Now, it looked like there was finally a chance to solve the problem.
Hua Lingfang gave him a thumbs-up. "Exactly. If we could increase the speed of the ships we use for regular trade, our efficiency would skyrocket."
"Mm. And not just that. If the speedboats are faster, our patrols will become much more convenient. A route that used to take an hour might only take twenty minutes," Lu Jiamei added with a nod.
’I hope the leader wakes up soon and modifies a speedboat for me!’ Qin Haonan prayed.

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