"Of course, among speedboats of this class, ours is absolutely unbeatable!" Ji Yizhi added.
"I really learned something," Qin Haonan nodded.
「An hour later.」
Qin Haonan and the others were approaching Peach Blossom Base. The Banyan Forest there had grown quite large, now forming a near-perfect circle with a radius of about five hundred meters.
Upon seeing the Banyan Forest, Long Zhan and Ji Yizhi were completely stunned.
Qin Haonan just loved seeing the awestruck looks on the faces of newcomers.
"How can there be a forest out here?" Ji Yizhi asked, his face filled with shock.
"Because of our leader. Didn’t you already get the Enhancement Seeds?" Qin Haonan replied with a smile.
Ji Yizhi immediately understood. "Of course. But this is the Seventh-level Wind Sea Region. How do you keep so many trees anchored?"
"This is a Banyan Forest. Our leader planted an enhanced banyan tree before the winds picked up, and it gradually grew into what you see now," Qin Haonan explained briefly as he steered the speedboat into the forest.
After they entered the Banyan Forest, the wind died down significantly. After a few turns, they could barely feel it at all.
Finally, they stopped next to a yacht. Qin Haonan called out, "Alright, hop on out!"
When they saw Qin Haonan jump straight from the speedboat and land among the banyan roots, their eyes widened.
"H-how are you able to stand there?" Long Zhan was so shocked he started to stutter.
At that moment, there was only a layer of Duckweed beneath Qin Haonan’s feet, and he wasn’t holding onto anything for support.
Qin Haonan chuckled and gave the Duckweed a firm stomp with his foot. "Don’t worry," he replied. "This is nothing. In the beginning, our leader lived in a shipping container held up entirely by this stuff!"
"This Duckweed is really that buoyant?" Ji Yizhi’s eyes widened.
"Don’t be so surprised. You’ve seen enhanced crops, right? They can mature in two days. By the same logic, this Duckweed has just had its buoyancy boosted a little! Now, hurry and come down. The leader should be waiting for us on the yacht," Qin Haonan urged with a smile.
Long Zhan and Ji Yizhi carefully stepped off the speedboat and onto the Duckweed. It felt no different from solid ground, mainly because the water’s surface here was perfectly calm, with almost no ripples.
"With this Duckweed, it’s just like being on land, isn’t it?" Ji Yizhi remarked. "No wonder Master was unwilling to relocate Peach Blossom Base. If it were me, I wouldn’t want to leave either!"
Long Zhan nodded furiously beside him.
Qin Haonan led them to the yacht, and they climbed aboard.
Ren Yuanyang was already on deck, waiting for them.
"Welcome to Peach Blossom Base, Captain Long, Captain Ji," Ren Yuanyang said with a smile.
Long Zhan and Ji Yizhi immediately waved their hands in a gesture of refusal.
"Master, we’re the ones who’ve come to learn this time. We wouldn’t dare offer any guidance!" Ji Yizhi replied hastily.
"Let’s go inside and talk," Ren Yuanyang said, leading them into the yacht’s cabin.
Once they were all seated, Long Zhan asked with concern, "Master, are you feeling better now?"
Ren Yuanyang nodded slightly. "I’ve mostly recovered. It was mainly due to overexerting my Mental Energy last time. All I needed was some proper rest to get back to normal."
"Captain Wang asked us to bring this ginseng. We can’t tell the quality, but it’s a big one!" Long Zhan said, handing over the gift.
Ren Yuanyang gestured for Lu Jiamei to accept it and said with a smile, "That’s very thoughtful of Captain Wang."
"If the Aircraft Carrier Base weren’t so far away, Captain Wang would have certainly come himself," Ji Yizhi added.
"It is quite a distance," Ren Yuanyang agreed with a nod. "But once we have more of these modified speedboats, travel will be much more convenient."
Seeing Ren Yuanyang bring up the subject, Ji Yizhi seized the opportunity. "Master, would you be able to help our two bases modify some of our ships as well?"
"Of course," Ren Yuanyang nodded. "But we’ll have to take it slow. After all, my Mental Energy is finite."
"That’s fantastic!" Long Zhan exclaimed excitedly. "Also, Master, the destroyer you modified for us was damaged in the last battle. Our Maintenance Engineers and Gold-Type Evolvers haven’t been able to fix it."
"Bring it over when I’m working on the next ship," Ren Yuanyang replied. "However, you all need to focus on improving your own Mental Energy. You can’t just send every broken thing my way!"
"You’re right, Master. We’ll be sure to push all our Evolvers to increase their Mental Energy as quickly as possible," Long Zhan immediately agreed.
"Master, what about the spoils from the last battle, and the prisoners? What are your thoughts on how to handle them?" Ji Yizhi asked.
Ren Yuanyang pondered for a moment before replying, "Leave two destroyers and two frigates for us here. Send the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier over as well; I want to study it. You can handle the other ships as you see fit. As for the prisoners, put them to indefinite hard labor for now."
"Understood." Ji Yizhi noted everything down without any objection.
"From now on, send one ship—under two hundred meters in length—over each day, and I’ll enhance it for you," Ren Yuanyang continued. "As for the speedboats, just take turns bringing them over during your daily trade runs."
"Yes, sir!" Long Zhan replied. ’He’s going to modify all of them!’ The very thought was exhilarating.
’If they’d had three ships with this kind of performance during the last battle, Xi’an Base wouldn’t have even gotten near the Seventh-level Wind Sea Region before being crippled!’
"The patients at the Aircraft Carrier Base and Dawn Base should all be treated by now, right?" Ren Yuanyang asked.
Ji Yizhi replied respectfully, "Once today’s shipment of medicinal herbs reaches the Aircraft Carrier Base, it will be enough to treat everyone."
"Good. In that case, let’s use the speedboats mainly for transporting seeds from now on," Ren Yuanyang said with a slight nod.
"Understood." Ji Yizhi hesitated for a moment before asking cautiously, "Master, this Duckweed Continent of yours at Peach Blossom Base... can it be replicated?"
"Of course it can. Are your two bases thinking of creating a Banyan Forest as well?" Ren Yuanyang nodded, then explained, "The Duckweed requires relatively still water, otherwise it will just drift with the currents and be unstable. However, if you can find another way to anchor it, that would also work."
Ji Yizhi’s eyes lit up. "Master, our two bases have large populations. A Duckweed Continent would make management much easier, and farming on it would be more convenient. So yes, we would very much like to create a Banyan Forest!"
Ren Yuanyang thought for a moment, then said, "Why not just move the Aircraft Carrier Base over here? It would be much more convenient for everyone to communicate if we were closer."
"No problem! I’ll go talk to Captain Wang!" Ji Yizhi agreed at once, confident he could persuade Wang Jun to relocate the Aircraft Carrier Base.
With that, he immediately pulled out his phone and started a video call with Wang Jun.
"Old Ji, Minister Qin should have reached Dawn Base by now, right? Is there something you need to video call about?" Wang Jun asked with a smile.
Ji Yizhi shook his head. "We’re already at Peach Blossom Base."
"What?" Wang Jun was astonished. "How did you get to Peach Blossom Base so fast?"
"The speedboat Minister Qin was piloting has been modified by Master. It can reach speeds of 250 kilometers per hour!" Ji Yizhi explained.
Wang Jun sucked in a sharp breath. "That fast?!" he exclaimed.
He then continued, "Since you’re with Master, you should just follow his lead on everything. Why do you need to contact me?"
"Master suggested we move the Aircraft Carrier Base over here," Ji Yizhi replied.
Wang Jun paused, taken aback. "Relocate the Aircraft Carrier Base? Does that mean giving up our strategic position at the World’s Roof?"
"That unknown app on our phones told us we have five months. Do you really think these floodwaters will recede in five months? If not, there’s no point in us holding our position at the World’s Roof!" Ji Yizhi argued. "Besides, we have another option now. Master can help us create a landmass on the water!"
"Huh?" Wang Jun was completely baffled. "A landmass on the water? How?"
Ji Yizhi gave a quick nod to Ren Yuanyang, indicating that he was going to step outside to give Wang Jun a firsthand look at the Banyan Forest and the Duckweed Continent within.
Ren Yuanyang nodded slightly, gesturing for him to go ahead.
Ji Yizhi adjusted his phone’s camera and said, "Take a look at this!"
A vast forest suddenly filled the screen, and then the camera’s view plunged downward—Ji Yizhi must have jumped off the yacht.
Then the camera pointed down at the Duckweed under his feet. Ji Yizhi deliberately pushed aside a section of it to reveal the water below, even splashing it with his foot.
"See this? The buoyancy of this Duckweed is incredible! It can fully support us living and farming right on top of it!"
Ji Yizhi propped his phone on a nearby tree branch, getting his whole body in the frame, and then jumped up and down forcefully several times.

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