Global Flood: I Survive on Duckweed

Chapter 49: Chapter 49: A Big Tree, It Can Be Eaten, Right?

Just as Ren Yuanyang was wondering what he would do if Qin Haonan was really being brought over as a hostage, a message suddenly popped up on the chat interface.

Qin Haonan had sent a direct video call request, and Ren Yuanyang’s anxious heart finally settled.

When he answered the video call, a soaking wet Qin Haonan appeared on his phone screen.

”You went in the water again?” Ren Yuanyang asked, his brow furrowed slightly.

’Even though Qin Haonan is a good swimmer, the water is still dangerous!’

Qin Haonan nodded and replied with a grin, ”Boss, I nabbed something huge! Just finished tying it to the boat!”

”It’s still too dangerous to go in the water. Try to do it as little as possible!” Ren Yuanyang warned, then asked curiously, ”Something huge? What is it?”

”Okay, okay, I’ll be more careful next time!” Qin Haonan said dismissively, then continued excitedly, ”It’s a huge tree, and it’s covered in fruit! Maybe they’re all edible!”

”Don’t you dare eat any of them. Just bring it back and let me take a look first,” Ren Yuanyang instructed.

Qin Haonan chuckled. ”I’m not an idiot. I won’t eat them.”

Ren Yuanyang rolled his eyes. ”Next time something like this happens, you need to give us a heads-up. We thought you’d been taken hostage!”

”Boss, is that concern I hear in your voice?” Qin Haonan shoved his entire face up to the camera lens.

”I was worried you were going to steal my boat,” Ren Yuanyang retorted testily. ”It was hard enough finding that outboard motor. If you ran off with it, I’d be at a huge loss!”

”Boss, you’re breaking my heart!” Qin Haonan replied, grinning.

”Enough joking around. Just get back here,” Ren Yuanyang said, a laugh mixed with his scolding.

”Yes, sir!”

It was another awkward, clumsy salute.

Ren Yuanyang shook his head and walked outside. Lu Jiamei was still on top of the shipping container, scanning the horizon.

”You can stop looking for him. I just got in touch. That guy found a huge tree and is on his way back now.”

Lu Jiamei paused at his words, then let out a sigh of relief as well.

”That kid has some serious luck, doesn’t he?” Lu Jiamei said with a laugh.

Xin Wan, standing nearby, chimed in, ”If we hadn’t gotten that outboard motor, he probably wouldn’t have been able to find any tree, no matter how lucky he is.”

”True. And if the Boss didn’t have that gasoline-producing plant, we couldn’t have sent him out on patrol in the first place. When you get right down to it, our Boss is just incredible!” Lu Jiamei added with a smile.

”That was some really clumsy brown-nosing. You should probably just stop,” Ren Yuanyang said, rolling his eyes as he walked toward the container. ”I’m going to go restore my Mental Energy. When he gets back, make sure he eats first.”

”Yes, Boss!” Lu Jiamei replied.

After Ren Yuanyang left, Xin Wan spoke up. ”I heard Qin Haonan say the tree he found is covered in fruit. Maybe it’s a fruit tree!”

”Our food supply just keeps growing!” Lu Jiamei marveled.

”That’s mainly because our Boss is a plant-based Evolver,” Xin Wan continued. ”Otherwise, even if we found these plants, they wouldn’t be very useful. We could only eat the plant itself as food, at best.”

”Good point. You’re pretty good at sucking up yourself, you just didn’t do it in front of the Boss!” Lu Jiamei gave her a thumbs-up with a laugh.

Xin Wan was rendered speechless. ”I was just stating a fact!”

An hour later, Qin Haonan finally returned, piloting the small boat.

From a distance, a patch of dark green trailed behind the small boat. The part of it visible above the water was nearly the same size as the boat itself!

”It really is a huge tree!” Xin Wan exclaimed in amazement from the deck of the speedboat.

Lu Jiamei nodded. ”I’ll go tell the Boss. You get Haonan’s food ready.”

”Okay!” Xin Wan replied, turning to enter the speedboat’s cabin.

Qin Haonan maneuvered the small boat to a slow stop beside the speedboat. After spending the better part of the day on patrol, he had become much more skillful at handling it.

”The Boss said you should eat first. Get your bowl out!” Xin Wan called to Qin Haonan on the small boat, holding a container of food.

Hearing her voice, Qin Haonan was taken aback for a second. It clearly wasn’t Lu Jiamei.

”Okay!” he replied, muttering to himself, ’The Boss’s team actually has two women! So which one is the boss’s wife? Or... are they both?’

As he was thinking this, Qin Haonan took his bowl out from the boat’s canopy, and Xin Wan poured food into it.

The two slices of meat in his bowl instantly snapped him out of his thoughts.

The meat was a deep color—it obviously wasn’t fish!

Seeing Qin Haonan staring at the meat, Xin Wan explained, ”It’s from an evolved crocodile the Boss killed. It’s not bad. He saved some for you.”

”Thank the Boss for me!” Qin Haonan replied instantly, then asked with a smile, ”And how should I address you?”

’I already guessed wrong once. Better ask this time!’

”I’m a few years older than you. You can call me Sister Wan,” Xin Wan replied.

”Okay, thanks, Sister Wan!” Qin Haonan said with a smile.

”Go on, eat,” Xin Wan said with a slight nod.

Just then, Ren Yuanyang and Lu Jiamei came out of the shipping container.

Qin Haonan, who had been about to eat, immediately set his food down inside the boat’s cabin. He pointed excitedly at the massive tree floating in the water beside them. ”Boss, this is the tree I found! Take a look, can we eat these fruits?”

Ren Yuanyang nodded and carefully examined the tree.

[Diesel Tree discovered. Common name: Jatropha. A plant of the Euphorbiaceae family...]

The Diesel Tree’s vegetation contains compounds that can be used to create biopesticides. Its fruit has an oil content of 57% and can be used to produce biodiesel of a quality even higher than standard No. 0 diesel fuel...

Ren Yuanyang’s excitement surged as he finished reading the system’s notification.

This was just what the doctor ordered. Only yesterday, Xin Wan was complaining about their lack of electricity, and today, Qin Haonan had brought back a Diesel Tree!

With diesel, they could not only solve their power problem but also get Xin Wan’s speedboat running!

Xin Wan’s speedboat was a custom model with a powerful engine. If they could get it running, it would be more than capable of towing the shipping container.

The shipping container was heavy, but it was being supported on the water’s surface by the Duckweed. Since the friction between the Duckweed and the water was minimal, it wouldn’t require an enormous amount of force to pull it horizontally.

It wasn’t like a normal boat, which has a hull below the waterline creating drag. This container was more like a hovercraft; if you ignored the Duckweed, it was essentially floating on the water’s surface.

Of course, they would have to be careful when pulling it. The Duckweed mat underneath could shift, and the container had to remain supported, or it could lose its balance and slip into the water.

That wasn’t a major issue, either. Ren Yuanyang could simply use the stolons of his bitter grass to pull the Duckweed mat along with the container, keeping it stationary relative to their base.

At this thought, Ren Yuanyang grew even more excited.

Seeing his reaction, Qin Haonan asked eagerly, ”Boss, the fruit on this tree must be edible, right?”

’In his mind, only food could make the Boss this excited!’

Lu Jiamei and Xin Wan also turned to look at Ren Yuanyang, waiting for his explanation.

”Eat them?” Ren Yuanyang shot him a glare. ”If you’re in a hurry to die, go ahead and eat a couple!”

All three of them were completely stunned.