Chapter 135 - 130: Massive Supplies, a Temporary End
After sending the message, Ren Yuanyang ignored the regional channel. The speedboat had already entered the waterway east of the Banyan Forest.
After Qin Haonan pulled the speedboat over and stopped, Ren Yuanyang leaped off. He landed on the Duckweed and steadied himself against the trunk of a nearby banyan tree.
System notifications flooded his mind once again!
[Ding! The bitter grass has entangled an item...]
Ren Yuanyang froze for a second before it dawned on him.
This was the bitter grass he had planted in the Banyan Forest. Practically the entire area beneath the forest was now a network of its stolons.
He had originally planned to use the bitter grass to salvage supplies from the open water. He never expected a massive amount of supplies to start churning up right here, beneath the Banyan Forest!
"Quick, pull up the stolons on the speedboat and collect the supplies they’ve snagged!" Ren Yuanyang commanded. He then began reinforcing the ordinary Duckweed he had prepared nearby.
The supplies pulled from the water had to be placed somewhere. The only solution was to reinforce some of the Duckweed and place it in the channel they’d cleared out, creating a temporary platform for the goods.
Some of the metal machinery became incredibly heavy out of the water, and Si Youqin and the others couldn’t budge them.
Seeing this, Ren Yuanyang immediately shouted, "Where’s Jin Ziyu?"
A head popped up from the speedboat, still chewing on something.
"Boss, you need me for something?" Jin Ziyu asked, taking another bite of the peach in her hand.
"Stop eating and get to work! Help them pull out those metal items. Anything that can’t be used, turn it into a metal block and put it aside!" Ren Yuanyang was exasperated but still pointed toward Si Youqin as he gave the order.
"Okay, Boss!" Jin Ziyu quickly devoured the rest of her peach and leaped off the speedboat.
With a Gold-Type Evolver helping, the task became much easier for Si Youqin and the others. They had Jin Ziyu handle anything metal, and none of the other items were especially heavy.
With everyone working together, they finally managed to haul all the supplies out of the water.
Staring at the mounds of supplies, Si Youqin and the others were ecstatic. These resources would raise their quality of life to a whole new level!
"Haonan, keep heading out to salvage supplies and bring them back!" Ren Yuanyang continued to command.
"Yes, sir!" Qin Haonan replied, immediately steering the speedboat away.
Lu Jiamei was also getting excited. "Boss, should we start sorting through these supplies now?"
Ren Yuanyang shook his head. "First, let’s pull up all the supplies our bitter grass has salvaged from under the Banyan Forest!"
Lu Jiamei blinked, then asked in pleasant surprise, "There are supplies welling up under our Banyan Forest, too?"
"Yeah. Take the others to the edge of the forest. I’ll control the bitter grass to drag the supplies over to you. The rest is up to you all!" Ren Yuanyang nodded. "Just find a place to pile the supplies you retrieve anywhere inside the Banyan Forest, as long as they don’t sink!"
"Yes, sir!" Lu Jiamei replied, leading Si Youqin and the others toward the edge.
"Boss, should I go over too?" Jin Ziyu asked, stating the obvious.
Ren Yuanyang was exasperated but replied anyway. "Of course. We still need you to handle the large metal items!"
"Okay!" Jin Ziyu nodded and hurried to catch up.
"If it looks like it might be useful, keep it!" Ren Yuanyang added.
"Got it!"
Ren Yuanyang immediately began controlling the bitter grass, directing it to pass the entangled supplies toward Lu Jiamei’s group.
Even as the supplies were being relayed, the bitter grass continued to entangle more items!
Lu Jiamei and her team were frantic. They couldn’t salvage the items fast enough; it was an endless tide of goods!
Just then, Qin Haonan returned on the speedboat from another run!
To save time, Qin Haonan parked the speedboat right at the edge of the Banyan Forest where Lu Jiamei’s team was working. Everyone pitched in to haul the supplies up.
This went on for two hours. When Qin Haonan returned from his next trip, he discovered the bitter grass wasn’t catching anything anymore.
"Boss, I think the undercurrent is over," Qin Haonan said, casually pulling up a bitter grass stolon. It was completely bare.
"This wave must be over." Ren Yuanyang rubbed his forehead; continuously controlling the bitter grass to ferry supplies was mentally exhausting. "According to Captain Wang, more undercurrents might appear later."
Lu Jiamei shook out her arms to relieve the soreness. "Finally, a chance to catch our breath!"
Lu Jiamei had been eating evolved meat with Ren Yuanyang for days, so her constitution was much stronger than an average person’s. If even she felt sore, it went without saying for Si Youqin and the others.
By now, they could barely lift their arms.
Seeing them plop down right on the wet Duckweed, Ren Yuanyang smiled. "Great work, everyone! You all did an excellent job today, and our base has gained a massive amount of supplies. Take a break for now. We can sort through everything slowly later! There’s no rush. Xin Wan, go get some fruit for everyone so they can replenish their Energy!"
"Okay!" Xin Wan nodded and turned to leave.
Jin Ziyu’s Mental Energy had been nearly depleted from constantly manipulating metal, but she perked right up at the mention of fruit.
Xin Wan soon returned with two large baskets of peaches. Qin Haonan grabbed two buckets of purified water from the speedboat and brought them over.
"Help yourselves!" Ren Yuanyang said with a smile, gesturing to the two baskets of peaches.
The words were barely out of his mouth before a figure shot forward. Ren Yuanyang didn’t even have to look to know it was Jin Ziyu.
"There’s enough for everyone, no need to rush!" Ren Yuanyang said with a sigh of resignation. He was slowly getting used to her insatiable appetite.
Jin Ziyu paid Ren Yuanyang no mind. She rinsed a peach in the bucket of water and immediately started gobbling it down.
Lu Jiamei shook her head with a smile and gestured for Si Youqin and the others to come get some peaches.
As the sweet, juicy flavor of the peaches exploded in their mouths, Si Youqin and her group felt a wave of pure bliss.
They never thought they’d get to eat fruit while on the job!
Ren Yuanyang opened his phone and saw a message from Wang Jun.
"It seems this wave of the undercurrent has ended. Could you please give me a heads-up when the next one begins?"
"Sure. If I notice it, I’ll let you know right away," Ren Yuanyang readily agreed.
Seeing Ren Yuanyang’s reply, Wang Jun grew thoughtful. He had sent the message to confirm whether Peach Blossom Base could truly predict when the undercurrents would start.
’It seems Peach Blossom Base really might have that capability!’
"Okay, thank you very much!" Wang Jun replied. "After you asked last time, I checked with the lab about the problems they’re facing with the Evolution Potion research. Should I send you the details?"
Ren Yuanyang was stunned by the message. He’d only asked casually last time, not actually expecting Wang Jun to share details about the problems and progress with the Evolution Potion.
’I can’t believe Wang Jun actually went to the trouble of looking into it, and now he’s offering to share the information with me?’
But since Wang Jun had offered, Ren Yuanyang was definitely going to accept.
"If it’s not too much trouble, please send it over," Ren Yuanyang replied immediately.
"Alright, I’ll send it in a moment. If you have any thoughts, contact me right away. Brainstorming will help us develop the Evolution Potion much faster!" Wang Jun stated his true purpose.
Ren Yuanyang paused, inwardly amused. ’He must think Peach Blossom Base has a lot of researchers and scientific equipment.’
"If I have any ideas, I’ll contact you directly," Ren Yuanyang replied.
’Since he’s already mistaken, I might as well let him stay that way.’
Wang Jun immediately sent over the files detailing the problems.
After Ren Yuanyang received the files, he set them aside. There were still too many supplies to sort through; he had no time to look at research data right now.
’Even after taking in Si Youqin and her group, it still feels like we’re short-staffed!’
’This is where the advantage of an Aircraft Carrier Base becomes clear. With so many people, they work faster and more efficiently!’
Of the three aircraft carrier fleets, the Liaoyuan’s had harvested the most supplies this time. Long Zhan was the first captain to decisively order the salvage operation. Even though he was only a few minutes ahead of the other two fleets, those few minutes had allowed them to gather a significant amount of resources.
Ji Yizhi’s fleet had harvested the least. He was already filled with regret for not ordering the salvage operation immediately.
"Old Wang, have you spoken with Peach Blossom Base? Could you ask them to give us a heads-up before the next undercurrent?" After being so suspicious of Peach Blossom Base, Ji Yizhi ultimately couldn’t help but eat his words. Now, he was the one proactively asking for their help.