Ren Yuanyang, the very person being discussed, suddenly sneezed. He rubbed his nose and grumbled, "Who’s badmouthing me now!"
He quickly pushed the thought aside and began reinforcing the Wine Bamboo he had acquired today.
[Reinforcement Successful!]
[Reinforced Wine Bamboo Seed: Growth speed enhanced, alcohol yield increased, can produce 75% alcohol...]
Seeing the system’s notification, Ren Yuanyang nodded in satisfaction and immediately went to plant the Wine Bamboo.
After finishing all that, Ren Yuanyang reinforced a few more plant seeds he needed, completely exhausting his Mental Energy before collapsing into bed and falling asleep.
The next day, after Ren Yuanyang led everyone through their routine Cultivation, Xin Wan cautiously spoke up at the breakfast table. "Chief, Tu Chong and the others have been working very diligently and putting in their all. Do you think... maybe we could reward them with an Evolution Potion?"
Tu Chong and the others were among the survivors Yu Ren had brought back. They were all ordinary people and naturally felt an immense envy toward the Evolvers. Ever since they heard the base could produce Evolution Potions, they’d been dreaming of the day they might receive one.
Ren Yuanyang paused, slightly taken aback.
Qin Haonan spoke up. "They’ve only been here a few days. Isn’t it a bit premature to be rewarding them with Evolution Potions already?"
"Actually, I agree with Xin Wan," Lu Jiamei voiced her opinion. "We have a lot of new members in the base. Right now, we’re only keeping them loyal with food. Over time, they’re bound to start getting other ideas. Rewarding Tu Chong’s group with Evolution Potions now serves as a clear message. It will also motivate them, and everyone else, to work even harder!"
Qin Haonan paused for a moment, then nodded in complete agreement. "Sister Mei, you always think of the bigger picture!"
Ren Yuanyang also nodded slightly. "Yes, Jiamei’s idea is a good one. Let’s do it."
"On behalf of Tu Chong and the others, thank you, Chief!" Xin Wan said happily.
Ren Yuanyang waved his hand. "They’ve earned it. Tu Chong has been handling the butchering every day, hasn’t he? It’s tough work. Becoming an Evolver will lighten his load."
After breakfast, the broadcast systems on every ship crackled to life.
"To recognize the diligent work of Tu Chong and others, the Chief has decided to reward each of them with an Evolution Potion. This is given as an encouragement, with the hope that they will continue to strive and make greater contributions to the Peach Blossom Base. The recipients are as follows: Tu Chong, Aiti..."
The new members were stunned when they heard the broadcast.
"An Evolution Potion? I thought that stuff had a super high failure rate."
"Yeah! That’s not a reward, it’s a punishment!"
"Is our base experimenting with Evolution Potions too? Looks like we can’t escape our fate as test subjects after all."
"Sigh. Before, I wouldn’t have been afraid to be a test subject. Life was so hard, it was worth taking a gamble. Succeed, and you’re set for life. Fail, and at worst, you die. But life is good now... I really don’t want to take that risk."
"But we don’t have a choice now!"
Si Youqin overheard their discussion and immediately reported it. The broadcast crackled to life again, this time with an explanation about the Evolution Potion.
"To all members of the Peach Blossom Base: our base’s Evolution Potion has a one-hundred-percent success rate, and the process is nearly painless. Please rest assured! On this point, you are welcome to verify with those who arrived before you."
Hearing this, everyone was stunned.
"A one-hundred-percent success rate? How is that possible?!"
"Does that mean anyone can become an Evolver?"
"It sounds too good to be true!"
Si Youqin walked over to them and said, "You’ve probably noticed that most of the people leading your work groups are women, and that all of them are Evolvers. To be honest, we were all rescued by the Chief. We became Evolvers because we used the Evolution Potion."
"So that’s how so many people have awakened their powers! It’s because our base has Evolution Potions!"
"Doesn’t that mean our base has struck it rich? I want to be an Evolver, too!"
"That explains a lot. No wonder the plants on the base grow so fast. We must have a lot of Wood-Type Evolvers!"
Si Youqin shook her head. "You’re mistaken about that. Ordinary Wood-Type Evolvers can’t control the plants on our base. That’s because they’ve all been reinforced by the Chief!"
"What? The Chief is that powerful?"
"Doesn’t that mean the entire Peach Blossom Base is supported by the Chief’s Superpower?"
"What else did you think?" Si Youqin retorted.
The crowd was stunned.
Meanwhile, a similar scene was playing out on the other ships.
When James heard the broadcast, he was completely stunned.
He knew how difficult developing the Evolution Potion was. The Xi’an Base had poured immense manpower and resources into it, and their success rate was still only an estimated twenty percent. He had never imagined that the Peach Blossom Base could have developed a version with a one-hundred-percent success rate.
"No wonder Captain Si and her people are all Evolvers!" James couldn’t help but marvel. "No wonder the Peach Blossom Base doesn’t care about our status as Evolvers. It turns out they can make as many as they want!"
He had always believed he could leverage his status as an Evolver to get better treatment.
But the Peach Blossom Base had always treated the Evolver captives the exact same as the ordinary crewmember captives, with no special privileges whatsoever.
Now, he finally understood why.
Des rushed over to him. "Did you hear that?"
James nodded, a bitter smile on his face. "Of course."
"Is what they said on the broadcast true?" Des asked, still in disbelief.
"It must be," James replied. "Otherwise, how could the Peach Blossom Base have so many Evolvers?"
"How is that possible? Is the Dragon Country’s scientific prowess really that strong?" Des asked with a frown.
James shook his head. "I wouldn’t know about that. But even before the flood, the Dragon Country’s scientific capabilities were nothing to scoff at. Maybe they’ve just been hiding their true strength all this time."
"But shouldn’t it be the Aircraft Carrier Base that developed it, then?" Des still couldn’t wrap his head around it.
"There’s no point getting hung up on it," James replied. "We just need to see if the people who received the reward actually become Evolvers. Then we’ll know if the broadcast was telling the truth."
Des nodded. "Let’s wait and see."
At that moment, Ren Yuanyang stood before a stalk of bamboo. He used his dagger to drill a hole into its side, and a clear liquid immediately began to flow out. The rich scent of alcohol filled the air.
"Truly amazing," Ren Yuanyang couldn’t help but remark.
Seeing is believing.
He had only read about the Wine Bamboo producing alcohol in files and system descriptions before. Seeing it in person was still astonishing.
Ren Yuanyang filled a bucket to the brim with the alcohol and carried it over to find Hua Lingfang.
The plague in the Peach Blossom Base had been completely eradicated, so now Hua Lingfang only needed to supervise the cultivation of the medicinal herbs required for the Great Cyan Dragon Soup. These herbs were being prepared for the Aircraft Carrier Base.
Seeing Ren Yuanyang approach, Hua Lingfang immediately went to meet him. "Chief, is there something you need?"
Ren Yuanyang handed her the bucket. Hua Lingfang took it, puzzled, and opened the lid. A strong, rich scent of alcohol wafted out.
"Is this alcohol?" Hua Lingfang asked, her voice filled with pleasant surprise.
"Yes. It’s 75% alcohol, a purely plant-based product. You could even drink it, if you can handle it!" Ren Yuanyang replied with a smile.
Hua Lingfang couldn’t help but give him a thumbs-up. "You’re incredible, Chief. I’ll arrange for people to collect more of this alcohol right away. We’ll have everyone disinfect everything to prevent a resurgence of the plague."
"Good. If you need people, just ask Xin Wan directly," Ren Yuanyang nodded.
Hua Lingfang immediately hurried away.
Ren Yuanyang paid a visit to the livestock pens, reinforcing the newborn poultry and animals, before returning to his office to continue his Cultivation and increase his Mental Energy.
Ren Yuanyang had just returned to his office when he received a message from Long Zhan.
"Brother Yang, good morning! I was up all night looking through those classic texts but couldn’t make heads or tails of any Cultivation Technique. Did you really discover your Cultivation Technique from texts like those?"

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