Bao Mu nodded. "That’s what I was wondering about, too. I recalled the team monitoring the shipping routes and am preparing to send them to the vicinity of Dawn Base."
"Your Excellency is wise!" his advisor chimed in, quick to offer a bit of flattery.
The surveillance team quickly returned to Xi’an Base. They hadn’t even had a chance to get back to the main ship for some rest before they immediately received a new mission.
"What? We just got back, and we have to go out on a mission again?"
"Can’t they send another team? They can’t just keep sending us."
"These are direct orders from His Excellency Bao Mu. Do you dare to disobey?"
"I thought I’d get to sleep soundly on the main ship, but I guess it’s more time drifting around on a speedboat!"
"Sigh, what a miserable life."
After a brief rest, the surveillance team switched to fully charged speedboats, gathered some supplies, and headed in the direction of Dawn Base.
"Captain, they’ll probably just chase us off if we get near Dawn Base!"
"Yeah, what’s the point of going over there then?"
"His Excellency ordered us not to get too close. We’re mainly to monitor ships leaving Dawn Base!" the captain replied, sounding a bit helpless.
"What’s the point of that? Any ship leaving Dawn Base is obviously headed for the Aircraft Carrier Base. What’s there to watch?"
"Orders are orders. We just have to follow them," the captain replied, once again helpless.
The crew’s spirits sank.
When the surveillance team got within a hundred kilometers of Dawn Base, they were surprised to find one of its patrol speedboats.
The patrol speedboat immediately rushed toward them, its crew shouting over a loudspeaker, "You have entered the restricted waters of Dawn Base! Leave immediately!"
Everyone on the surveillance team was stunned.
"Dawn Base is treating the entire hundred-kilometer radius around them as restricted waters?"
"Can they afford the fuel for something like this?"
"Shit, if that’s really the case, how the hell are we supposed to conduct surveillance? We can’t get anywhere near Dawn Base!"
The captain frowned. "This must have been a coincidence. There’s no way they can cover such a vast expanse of sea!"
The other team members were taken aback for a moment, then nodded in agreement.
"Still, this proves that something is definitely up with Dawn Base," the captain said, his eyes narrowing. "We’ll try to penetrate their perimeter from another direction!"
After shaking off the patrol boat, the surveillance team changed course and once again approached Dawn Base from a different direction.
But once again, at the hundred-kilometer mark, another patrol speedboat appeared, shouting the same warning and driving them away.
"Are we really this ’lucky’? We can just pick a random direction and run into one of Dawn Base’s patrol boats?" The captain’s brow furrowed. "Try another direction!"
The surveillance team from Xi’an Base once again adjusted direction and headed towards Dawn Base.
The result was the same: they ran into yet another patrol speedboat from Dawn Base.
"Captain, I don’t think this is luck. It seems like Dawn Base has actually deployed a large number of patrol boats to cover the entire hundred-kilometer perimeter!" a team member exclaimed in disbelief.
"Imagine how much fuel a patrol like this must burn!" the captain marveled, then immediately reported the situation to Bao Mu.
"What? How is this possible!" Bao Mu was just as shocked. "Are you sure you tried three different directions?"
The captain immediately sent over their navigation logs. "Your Excellency can pull up our recorder data for confirmation!"
Upon seeing the navigation chart, Bao Mu’s doubts vanished. He was certain his men wouldn’t dare lie to him about this.
"Does Dawn Base have that much fuel?" Bao Mu’s brow furrowed.
The captain didn’t respond to the comment, but instead asked, "Right now we can’t get close to Dawn Base, and the surveillance work can’t proceed. Should we continue to stay here?"
Bao Mu thought for a long moment before replying, "Stay where you are. Conduct your surveillance from outside the hundred-kilometer perimeter. I’ll send ten more speedboats to reinforce you. Surround Dawn Base and monitor all their ship movements!"
The captain was completely baffled by the order. ’This kind of surveillance is totally pointless!’
Bao Mu noticed his perplexed expression and explained, "Dawn Base doesn’t possess rapid herb cultivation technology. The fact they suddenly have it means it couldn’t have come from the Aircraft Carrier Base. It must be coming from an external source. Dawn Base might just be a transfer station!"
Hearing this, the captain had a sudden realization. He nodded. "I understand!"
If the Aircraft Carrier Base had the rapid cultivation technology, there would be no reason for Dawn Base to be shipping them herbs. The Aircraft Carrier Base could just grow its own.
If Dawn Base was just a transfer station, then its ship movements would eventually reveal some clues.
If they could find the fleet supplying herbs to Dawn Base, they could follow the trail straight to the source.
Although Xi’an Base now had a method to treat that virus, rapid cultivation technology wasn’t just for herbs—it could be used for all sorts of crops!
If they could get their hands on this technology, Xi’an Base’s food supply would become abundant!
Understanding this, the captain was suddenly filled with motivation. After all, he was sick and tired of eating the fish paste that came in their rations.
By this time, reports of the surveillance team’s probing attempts had reached Long Zhan, who immediately shared them with Wang Jun and Ren Yuanyang.
"So, they’ve finally targeted Dawn Base," Wang Jun remarked, not surprised in the least.
With transport teams moving so frequently between the two bases, it was inevitable that some information would be exposed. Xi’an Base was bound to notice something was off sooner or later.
"Old Wang, do you think Xi’an Base’s aircraft carrier will come directly?" Long Zhan frowned slightly.
Wang Jun thought for a moment, then shook his head. "They probably won’t, not for now. We must have made them burn through a good bit of their fuel these past two days. Without a significant incentive, they won’t make any rash moves."
"If that’s the case, we can’t let them discover the secret of Peach Blossom Base!" Long Zhan’s brow furrowed. "But they’re right on our perimeter. The moment our freighters start moving, they could be spotted!"
Just then, Ren Yuanyang said with a smile, "The solution to this problem is simple. You’re not short on fuel anymore, are you? Just keep on their tail. Let’s see how long they can last."
"Uh, isn’t that a bit of a waste?" Long Zhan asked, taken aback.
"As long as our base is around, you’ll have a constant supply of fuel. What’s there to worry about?" Ren Yuanyang asked with a laugh.
"Great! Now that I have your word, I’m not worried at all!" Long Zhan laughed. "I’ll chase them until they drop!"
"Just be careful not to fall into one of their traps," Ji Yizhi chimed in with a warning.
"That’s right, don’t pursue too far," Ren Yuanyang agreed with a nod. "To intimidate Xi’an Base, I suggest moving one of the aircraft carriers to Dawn Base. I’ll cover the fuel cost for the transfer."
Hearing this, Long Zhan’s eyes lit up. "Old Wang, Old Ji, you heard the Master. What do you think?"
He had led the fleet to capture Dawn Base without bringing his own aircraft carrier. Now that Ren Yuanyang had suggested it, his carrier could finally join him!
Without an aircraft carrier, Dawn Base’s deterrent capabilities were still insufficient.
Wang Jun smiled. "The only reason we didn’t move a carrier before was the fuel consumption. Since that’s no longer an issue, I have no problem with it."
"Excellent! My Liaoyuan is finally coming back to me!" Long Zhan said excitedly.
Ji Yizhi pursed his lips. "You make it sound like someone was deliberately keeping your Liaoyuan from you."
"Tch. Why don’t we have them send your Lu Ban over, too? Then you’d know how it feels!" Long Zhan retorted with a grin.
Ji Yizhi immediately replied, "I’ve been at the Aircraft Carrier Base the whole time. Why would I send the Lu Ban to Dawn Base?"
"You two, stop bickering. To get the Liaoyuan over here, we’ll need Old Ji to make the trip as well," Wang Jun interjected, cutting off their banter.
"Understood," Ji Yizhi replied in a serious tone.
"Old Ji, when you get here I’ll treat you to barbecue!" Long Zhan immediately said with a laugh.
"You’re just going to use the Master’s supplies to treat me, aren’t you? Talk about being generous with someone else’s things," Ji Yizhi retorted irritably.
"So are you eating or not?" Long Zhan immediately asked.
"I’m eating! Why wouldn’t I? It’s the Master’s stuff!" Ji Yizhi replied defiantly, craning his neck.
Wang Jun sounded helpless. "The two of you are a hundred-plus years old combined, yet you act like children. The Master is right here, can you two tone it down a bit?"
"There’s no need to put on an act in front of the Master!" Long Zhan said with a laugh. "Isn’t that right, Master?"
Ren Yuanyang hadn’t expected the three captains to interact like this in private. He smiled and replied, "That’s right. This is fine."
"See? The Master doesn’t mind!" Long Zhan beamed.
"Alright, you’d better hurry up and deploy the speedboats to swat away those flies from Xi’an Base," Wang Jun said, exasperated and eager to change the subject. "The Liaoyuan will depart immediately as well."
"You got it!"

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