Global Flood: I Survive on Duckweed

Chapter 108: Chapter 107: Evolution is Difficult, an Invitation to Join

”Can’t take it anymore?” Ren Yuanyang raised an eyebrow, a smile playing on his lips.

Qin Haonan grimaced. ”It’s not that I can’t take it. There are just too many private messages!”

”We’re the ones in charge of these trades. Prioritize the ones we urgently need and that are on our route. We can deal with the rest slowly. There’s no rush,” Ren Yuanyang replied with a smile.

Qin Haonan froze for a moment, then his eyes lit up. ”Does that mean I have full authority to decide?”

”Of course. But once you get back, we’ll all discuss it together,” Ren Yuanyang nodded.

”Alright, got it. I’ll make an announcement in the regional channel first!” Qin Haonan replied, then ended the chat.

At that moment, the three captains of the Aircraft Carrier Base received a report from their information department.

After listening to the report, Wang Jun was a little surprised. ”Has the faction behind Tattooed Haonan finally surfaced?”

Wang Jun had been in constant contact with Tattooed Haonan. Now, in the regional channel, Tattooed Haonan was completely following the orders of someone calling himself Taoyuan Yang from the Peach Blossom Base. This was enough to prove that Tattooed Haonan was just a pawn sent out by the Peach Blossom Base.

The other two captains initiated a video conference call.

”Captain Wang, you’ve seen the news in the regional channel, I assume,” Ji Yizhi said, getting straight to the point.

Wang Jun nodded. ”Yes. I didn’t expect a simple taunt from a survivor would be enough to draw out the faction behind Tattooed Haonan.”

”I’m guessing it’s a base founded by a bunch of young people,” Long Zhan speculated.

Ji Yizhi shook his head. ”I don’t see it that way. Based on our two trades with Tattooed Haonan, they’re exceptionally cautious. Revealing their identity in the regional channel now is likely just a convenient way to promote themselves.”

Wang Jun paused, then nodded. ”That’s probably it. But by advertising so openly in the regional channel, aren’t they afraid someone will use a trade to set a trap for them?”

”They’re the ones who decide the trading location, so it’s not easy to ambush them,” Ji Yizhi shook his head again. ”Besides, their speedboat is incredibly fast. They’re quite safe.”

”According to the public discussion, the Peach Blossom Base might have an Iron Melon Tree that produces gasoline. Is that true? Do either of you have a tree like that?” Long Zhan asked urgently.

If there really were a plant that could produce gasoline, planting enough of them would completely solve the energy problem!

”We have similar plants, but their oil yield is low, and the oil they produce requires special processing before it can be used,” Wang Jun replied, shaking his head. ”Things aren’t like they used to be. We used to have plenty of power and manpower, but now those are limited resources. Pursuing this seems like the costs outweigh the benefits.”

”I see. In that case, couldn’t we cultivate some and let them soak in this rain? If they happen to evolve, it’d be a huge gain, right?” Long Zhan suggested.

Although no one knew for sure how the plants evolved, it was definitely related to the rain. Any survivor with the means to grow crops would soak some of them in the rain, hoping they would evolve.

”Yes, we’ve already started doing that,” Wang Jun replied. ”But we haven’t had any results so far.”

”Evolutionary Plants are just too hard to come by,” Ji Yizhi lamented.

Long Zhan nodded. ”Relying on plants to evolve on their own is too unreliable. We need to focus on developing an Evolution Potion.”

The other two nodded in agreement.

They had already confirmed that the Cherry Tomatoes were not an Evolutionary Form. This suggested that the Peach Blossom Base likely had a large number of Wood-Type Evolvers; otherwise, they couldn’t have grown the Cherry Tomatoes so quickly.

”Since they have so many Evolvers, should we try inviting them to join our Aircraft Carrier Base?” Ji Yizhi said after a moment of thought.

Wang Jun shook his head, looking helpless. ”It’d be difficult under the current circumstances. With so many Wood-Type Evolvers, they can survive just fine on their own. If they joined us, they’d have to take on the burden of caring for other survivors.”

”Based on your interactions, I get the sense that the Peach Blossom Base is a respectable group. It’s worth asking. Even if they don’t join, we can still maintain a good relationship,” Long Zhan suggested.

”Okay, I’ll give it a try,” Wang Jun agreed, then asked, ”Have you two managed to repair the equipment that was damaged by the geomagnetic storm?”

Ji Yizhi and Long Zhan both shook their heads.

”Less than one in ten of our advanced, high-precision instruments survived. It’s nearly impossible to manufacture more using just the fleet’s production lines, especially since those lines were damaged too!” Ji Yizhi was overwhelmed.

”The biggest issue is power. Only a few small generators are still working. The rest are under repair, and we don’t even know if they *can* be fixed,” Long Zhan said with a sense of helplessness.

”Sigh, we’re all in the same boat. Fortunately, the crude wind turbines we built weren’t affected, so they can at least provide some electricity,” Wang Jun sighed. ”Let’s leave it at that for now. I’ll contact the Peach Blossom Base.”

After ending the chat, Wang Jun immediately sent a message to Qin Haonan.

”So you’ve finally revealed your base’s name.”

Qin Haonan was taken aback for a second, then replied with a smile, ”We weren’t exactly hiding it! You never asked, so I never told you.”

Wang Jun paused, then nodded with a smile. ”Fair enough. The reason I’m contacting you is to ask if your Peach Blossom Base has any interest in joining our Aircraft Carrier Base. You’d join as equals, on the same level as us, not under our command.”

This time, Qin Haonan was genuinely surprised. He hadn’t expected the Aircraft Carrier Base to hold them in such high regard.

”I can’t make that call. You should add our boss, Taoyuan Yang, as a friend.”

Wang Jun wasn’t surprised by Qin Haonan’s reply. ”Alright. Please let your boss know that I’m adding him now.”

”Okay, hang on a moment,” Qin Haonan replied, then immediately sent a message to Ren Yuanyang. ”Boss, Captain Wang Jun wants to recruit you...”

When Ren Yuanyang saw the screenshot of Qin Haonan’s chat with Wang Jun, he smiled. ”Okay, tell him to add me.”

After getting Qin Haonan’s response, Wang Jun immediately sent Ren Yuanyang a friend request.

Ren Yuanyang accepted it instantly.

”Hello, I’m Captain Wang Jun of the Jianfu aircraft carrier fleet.”

”I know. We’ve actually spoken many times already, so we’re hardly strangers,” Ren Yuanyang replied with a smile.

Wang Jun paused for a moment, then immediately understood what he meant. Although he had always been in contact with Tattooed Haonan, it was undoubtedly Ren Yuanyang who had been directing the conversations.

”Since we’re already acquainted, I’ll get straight to the point. I’m contacting you to invite you to join our Aircraft Carrier Base. You’d be on equal footing with our three fleets. We could join forces to create a better chance of survival. What do you say?” Wang Jun stated his purpose.

Ren Yuanyang replied with a smile, ”If we’re equals, then we can cooperate just as well with our current relationship. There’s no need to worry about the formality of joining.”

Wang Jun wasn’t surprised at all by Ren Yuanyang’s reply.

”You’re right. Then let’s maintain our current cooperative relationship,” Wang Jun paused for a moment, then continued, ”By the way, does your base have many Wood-Type Evolvers? You don’t have to answer if it’s inconvenient.”