Chapter 106 - 105: Seems Like a Loss, Online Dispute
Hearing what Black Dragon said, the captain of the Dawn Cruise immediately realized that the Iron Melon Tree his team had acquired was from Black Dragon.
The captain immediately asked for specifics about the Iron Melon Tree, which Black Dragon provided truthfully.
After getting the information he wanted, the captain signaled for his secretary to end the chat.
"Understood, thank you for the information!" the secretary replied, preparing to end the conversation.
Black Dragon quickly asked, "What are the effects of the tree after it evolves?"
The secretary glanced at the captain, who replied, "Tell him we’re not sure yet, but it’s most likely related to growth speed!"
"Yes!"
The secretary relayed the captain’s message to Black Dragon and then ended the chat.
Black Dragon stared at his phone, lost in thought.
’Dawn Base definitely hasn’t fully gotten a handle on that tree yet. Otherwise, they wouldn’t need to confirm its characteristics with me!’
’The "evolution of its growth speed" they mentioned was probably just a casual excuse to brush me off. That tree has likely evolved some incredible ability!’
But at the time, they had checked it over and over—from the roots to the trunk, from the leaves to the fruit—and not a single part was edible. The flesh inside the fruit, in particular, gave off a strange smell.
’For Dawn Base to be so interested in a tree with no food value, it just proves that its evolutionary ability is anything but simple!’
"Boss, we caught another netful of fish! We won’t go hungry anymore!"
The voice of one of his men interrupted Black Dragon’s thoughts.
Black Dragon nodded slightly. "We’re going to the Aircraft Carrier Base. See if we can trade this fish for some other food!"
"Yes, Boss!" the others answered, then immediately started paddling the small boat.
Their gasoline was limited and had to be saved for critical moments; for now, they used manpower.
After a moment’s thought, Black Dragon sent a message in the regional channel.
"Does anyone know about a plant fruit that grows on a tree and looks a lot like a watermelon?"
"You mean the Iron Melon, right? I heard that stuff can explode and even produce gasoline!"
"Dude above, don’t spout nonsense. That’s been debunked for a while. At most, an Iron Melon will fall and crack open when it’s ripe. It’s not an explosion by any means, and producing gasoline is just ridiculous!"
"Have you tested the liquid squeezed from an Iron Melon’s flesh? How can you be so sure it doesn’t contain hydrocarbons?"
"I haven’t tested it, but have you?"
"At least I don’t make definitive statements about things I know nothing about!"
Watching their discussion, Black Dragon instantly understood. The Iron Melon Tree’s evolutionary path was most likely related to explosions or gasoline!
’I actually traded an evolved Iron Melon Tree for a few fish?’ Black Dragon wanted to slap himself right now.
’If I still had that Iron Melon Tree, I’d be set. Whether used as a weapon or for producing gasoline, both are extremely useful right now.’
’No, I can’t let them get away with this so easily!’ Black Dragon immediately picked up his phone and started typing a message.
Even though Dawn Base already knew about the evolved Iron Melon Tree, they clearly didn’t want to publicize it.
So Black Dragon decided to blow the whistle. ’At the very least, it might affect the price Ren Yuanyang’s side is paying to acquire plants!’
"No wonder someone was willing to trade ten Cannibal Fish for that Iron Melon Tree I found. Only now do I realize it was an evolved one. I thought I got a good deal, but I actually lost big time! Everyone, be more careful when you’re trading away plants in the future!"
"The tree you just asked about, is that the same one you traded for ten fish last time?"
Black Dragon had mentioned in the regional channel before that he’d traded a tree for ten fish. Many people remembered it, mainly because it was so strange—no one would trade fish for a big, inedible tree.
"Yeah, now I hear that tree was an Evolutionary Plant. I regret it so much!" Black Dragon replied, his tone full of remorse.
"Speaking of which, didn’t you even try to assess the tree yourselves when you found it?"
"We’re not professional botanists, we have no idea how to assess it!"
"You should have at least cut open one of the fruits to check!"
"We did! At the time, we just noticed a weird smell, but thinking back now, it really was a bit like the smell of gasoline!" Black Dragon responded.
"It didn’t explode? Then its evolutionary direction probably isn’t explosions. Was there a lot of liquid in the flesh?"
Seeing this message, Black Dragon paused for a moment, then replied, "There didn’t seem to be that much liquid!"
"Then you didn’t lose out. Based on your description, that Iron Melon Tree wasn’t necessarily an Evolutionary Form. Getting ten fish for it is a great deal!"
Black Dragon paused again, frowning. "How can you be so sure it’s not an Evolutionary Form?"
"Evolutionary Forms all have very distinct characteristics, but from your description, the tree sounds very ordinary. Even if it is an Evolutionary Form, its degree of evolution must be extremely limited!"
"Whatever the case, everyone should still be cautious when trading plants in the future. Don’t get tricked! Once a plant evolves, its uses can be immense!"
"Is that so! Then did I just take a loss by trading away the bamboo I had?"
"How many fish did you get for it?"
"I didn’t trade for fish. I got ten Cherry Tomatoes."
"What? You actually managed to trade for fresh fruit!"
"That’s way more valuable than fish! Evolved or not, you definitely came out ahead. Don’t eat them all at once! You can use the seeds from those Cherry Tomatoes to grow more!"
Black Dragon was still fanning the flames from the sidelines: "You can’t just say that. After a plant evolves, you never know what kind of immense uses it might have!"
"Then I guess we should ask for higher prices from now on!"
At this moment, prompted by Lu Jiamei, Ren Yuanyang also noticed the discussion in the regional channel.
Seeing this, Ren Yuanyang sneered and immediately replied, "Our base does not negotiate when acquiring plants. If you think what you have is an Evolutionary Plant, then keep it for yourself and don’t trade with us!"
"And another thing—to the survivor named Black Dragon. The Iron Melon Tree we acquired from you before was just an ordinary tree. I wonder who told you it was an Evolutionary Plant?"
Black Dragon was slightly stunned when he saw Ren Yuanyang’s message, but he immediately realized that this survivor named Taoyuan Yang must be the person who had traded with him before.
"It’s not important who told me. Can you prove that the Iron Melon Tree I gave you was just an ordinary one?" Black Dragon shot back.
’They can’t find me anyway. I can say whatever I want online!’
Ren Yuanyang snorted coldly and retorted, "You claim it’s an Evolutionary Plant. How are you going to prove that?"
"Someone has already discovered it. Are you still going to deny it?" Black Dragon continued to make things up.
Ren Yuanyang’s brow twitched. "If it’s been discovered, then show us the proof. Or is it just empty words?"
This time, Black Dragon had no response. He had no evidence whatsoever, and the few questions from Dawn Base proved nothing.
When the other survivors saw Black Dragon go silent, they immediately started to chatter.
"Got any proof? If you don’t, then stop spouting nonsense and misleading everyone!"
"Yeah, I still want to trade plants for food in the future! If you piss off the big shots and they really stop trading, what then?"
"Actually, I don’t think Black Dragon would say this for no reason. He must have heard some rumors, but he has no way to confirm if the intel is accurate!"