Teddy left the day before yesterday, and the St. Petersburg finally arrived late.

This military submarine stopped at the pier of Yalong Bay, sending signals to the Red Kestrel.

"Friends, your warrior 'St. Petersburg' has arrived!"

"Due to the annual inspection in Peace City, there was a delay. But rest assured, St. Petersburg will not let friends suffer a loss. I will compensate with an additional two months of service at the end of this year to express my apologies."

"However, this place is indeed not easy to find, with too many rapids and high-pressure areas to the east. I took quite a detour to get here; no wonder I haven't seen any other submarines nearby."

Zhou Yi arrived at the pier aboard the Hunter.

From the snow cigar-shaped black submarine, the voice emanating from the bridge was clearer and louder than before, evidently having undergone maintenance and replacement.

Switching to a serious and rigid tone, it said, "Soldier 'St. Petersburg', reporting to the commander! Please issue your orders!"

Zhou Yi thought to himself that their professionalism wasn't bad.

"My first order is to have a chat with me as friends."

"Yes, Commander!"

The St. Petersburg warmed up immediately: "My friend, long time no see! This place seems to be well-chosen and well-managed, free of warfire, with no large threats from the Guangna Species nearby, and not in the core area of resource contention. It looks very stable."

Zhou Yi informed it, "This place will be safe for a short time, but in a month and a half…"

After hearing about the Forbidden Weapon Relics, the St. Petersburg immediately responded, "Rest assured, Commander, I will tune myself to optimal condition within this month and a half to ensure safety at sea during this outing."

Learning that the Sea God had been activated, it was both surprised and happy: "This is important good news. I was worried that as a solitary sea unit in the Dead Sea, I could not focus on both defense and offense. Combat requires formation."

"Now with the addition of a second submarine unit, I and it can form a single-column escort to cover both offense and defense."

Zhou Yi also felt this way.

In the battle outside Shell City, if it weren't for the cover and support of Buildings 2, 3, and 4, Jade City First Building would have been besieged. A concentrated effort with large amounts of Light-blocking Oil and chains would make the combat intense and much harder.

Duke Baili used a system of combat, covering with the Sea Horse Shooters on the walls, Illusion Fish spewing Death Bubbles as heavy firepower blockades, Thorny Birds bombing and harassing from the air, and the core Sea Warriors ambushing and pulling at the spaces.

The combined operations of multiple combat units caused Zhou Yi considerable trouble.

If at that time Duke Baili had not chosen to flee but instead ordered all warriors to fight with their backs to the water, the outcome of the battle would still be uncertain.

The sea lord should not be underestimated.

It was because of this combat experience that Zhou Yi realized the need to supplement more architectural life, to form a more three-dimensional city defense system, preventing problems before they occurred.

Soon, the two submarines commenced joint training on the Dead Sea.

The St. Petersburg was dissatisfied with the Sea God.

"Single-column formation places each ship's bow and stern in a straight line, with the column line coinciding with the course direction; maintaining consistent speed and spacing are essential. Otherwise, a sudden environmental change or unstable speed could cause collisions."

"Repeat! Keep an eye on the spacing!"

"Next, while maintaining speed and spacing, conduct our first simple coordinated combat exercise, towards a target at a 90-degree direction, 20,000 meters away!"

"Too slow, too slow! If this were real combat, the enemy would have already run away! Every attack round is crucial! Often, the difference between life and death in combat is one more round of effective strikes!"

"Repeat! What are you dawdling for?"

"…"

The Red Kestrel found itself enduring the torment of an old soldier's scolding.

Although the Sea God was operated by it, rescue and combat were two entirely different fields. As a drone in combat, it was just a rookie, previously relying entirely on the speed and firepower of its body. It knew almost nothing about the specialized underwater combat of the Dead Sea submarines.

However, the Red Kestrel continued its grueling practice in silence.

Seeing that St. Petersburg had the ability to train, Zhou Yi then brought Lie Hai for it to train.

"No problem. The more varied the combat units, the better. This way, more offensive spaces can form in battle, and more mobility is achievable."

Zhou Yi suddenly thought, "Can the samurai crabs participate in the training?"

"Samurai crabs? Of course, they can. However, they are a species that is quite difficult to coordinate, still being flesh-and-blood life, so communication and integration may be a challenge."

"Don't worry about that aspect; our company's samurai crabs have always grown up from young, and cooperation has become a habit. It's just that they can only understand sounds…"

The St. Petersburg stated that was not a problem: "I have a translator installed. When I issue commands inside me, they can understand."

"They are common in the Dead Sea and serve as a natural camouflage. Usually staying inside my body, when needed, they can be sent to infiltrate, ambush, and place strategic tools. They are excellent engineers, very good, very good!"

Zhou Yi felt relieved.

Following that, the St. Petersburg conducted training every day. It used the controlled coastal area of Yalong Bay as a real training ground, starting exercises such as beach landing, long-range synchronized attacks on targets, infiltration, defense placements, and three-dimensional combat.

The Hunter complained incessantly from fatigue.

It sneaked over to complain, "Chairman, you need to control the St. Petersburg, save me! Its demands are impossible, asking me to hit targets at extreme distances, while extending the attack window and angle synchronization…"

The St. Petersburg's standard was to achieve pinpoint accurate strikes while moving at high speeds, and it also required Lie Hai to learn to deploy every attack from trapezoidal prisms when surrounded in combat.

Zhou Yi said, "Ramp it up!"

He scolded Lie Hai, "Pay attention and learn well. Now you have such a good teacher to teach you; knuckle down, and if you slack off or mess around, see how I'll deal with you!"

"…"

"In the future, you'll have to join me in cross-realm operations in the Dark Domain. Do you think you're up to the task with your current capabilities? Even if it's for avenging your mother, you need to brace yourself!"

Unable to weep his way out of it, Lie Hai had no choice but to toughen up and train hard.

However, it's worth mentioning that Lie Hai was quite the anomaly. When whining, it seemed utterly defeated, but under intense pressure, it could rapidly adapt to high-intensity practical training.

High-intensity training also meant high consumption.

The St. Petersburg estimated that about 1,000 Light Seeds would be needed each month, which was a hefty expense.

This made Zhou Yi truly understand that maintaining an army was difficult, but training one was even harder.

Fortunately, now he had multiple sources of income, and his savings were more than sufficient, so he didn't skimp on these investments.

Logistics need to be ample!

Zhou Yi paid close attention to the training situation in the Yalong Bay area every day.

The St. Petersburg truly had its specialties.

Under its series of high-intensity training drills, the shells of the samurai crabs were continuously darkening—an indication of the evolutionary advancement brought about by combat.

Sea God finally caught up with the pace and the offensive and defensive rhythm of St. Petersburg, working in coordination and providing mutual cover, becoming increasingly in sync.

In this new troop, the Hunters endured the most intense training.

Each day, they had to first fly back and forth at high speed over the Dead Sea, then, upon exhaustion, were ordered to attack designated areas, ensuring that they destroyed their targets even when their bodies were in poor condition.

Next came shooting, defense, and tactical interjection drills.

Later, the St. Petersburg would engage them in combat, often knocking them out of the sky into the sea.

An old mechanical soldier commented, "Physical life has great potential for growth. The Hunters should not be limited to only this level. I know that within the A-level Skywalkers, Hunters exist."

"Therefore, I must unleash its potential, get Lie Hai accustomed to high-pressure combat, and learn to develop reflexive attacks. This will help overcome its fear and lack of confidence in high-intensity battles."

"Combat ability, like any other skill, requires a wealth of experience to master."

The results proved that the St. Petersburg was right.

After initial embarrassment and injuries, Lie Hai had visibly become more composed in actual combat, adept in offense, defense, and evasion.

Previously it was just a little thug that needed its own kind to bolster its morale, but after a month of formal high-intensity training, Lie Hai started to exhibit a bit of the authoritative air of a soldier.

...

While the military training continued, the farmlands were also embracing the spring harvest.

The second season's sweet potatoes and peanuts were ready to be picked.

The fields were filled with busy farmers picking and loading the crops, and two transport vehicles shuttled non-stop, delivering the food from the land to the base in Jade City.

Tie Ma proudly presented his report.

"Chairman, the spring harvest has been fully accounted for."

"The 1,000 mu of sweet potato fields yielded a total of 211,200 kilograms of sweet potatoes, and the 1,000 mu of peanut fields produced 123,300 kilograms of peanuts."

"To minimize damage to the soil, it's now time for a fallow period. These 2,000 mu of land should rest over the summer, moving to the second cultivation round in autumn. This will sustain soil fertility and benefit the production of high-quality food."

Zhou Yi said, "We'll do as you suggest in this regard. Let's let the land rest over the summer."

Then he added, "Tong Niu and I plan to care for the melon field while attempting to plant some legumes to see which variety will best suit the soil here. The Sand Port Region can also grow beans since they can survive in barren and arid conditions."

"Chairman, although the melons we planted are late-ripening and will not be fully mature for another month, we could actually start harvesting them now. Would you like to give them a try? The human farmers who tasted the damaged melons said they were sweet and crispy."

Tie Ma was always energetic when talking about crops.

Zhou Yi repressed his impulse to eat the melons: "Let's wait. Good melons are worth waiting for."

"Alright."

After finishing his report, Tie Ma busied himself with other tasks.

...

Zhou Yi brought Zheng Tao to discuss the peanut oil extraction plan.

He said, "Previously, we didn't have enough peanuts, so I didn't bring it up and just handled it internally. Now with this quantity, how much oil can we produce? Is the technology for oil extraction demanding?"

Zheng Tao thought for a moment: "Extracting oil from peanuts yields an oil rate between 30%-40%, depending on the technology and equipment. If we purchase pressing machines from Mechanical City, we can reach 45%."

"Based on our current stock, if we use all of it for oil extraction, we can produce at least 36,900 kilograms of oil. Oil as a commodity has a higher value and can be preserved for a long time if sealed in containers. The residue after oil extraction also tastes good and provides premium food for valuable livestock."

He continued, "Oil is an important raw material, but I still need to confirm the pricing."

Zhou Yi shook his head: "For now, we'll prioritize using the oil ourselves. For instance, frying peanuts, deep-frying chicken skeletons; after dipping them in sweet potato flour, deep-fry the chicken… These finished foods are more valuable than just selling the oil."

Cooking cannot be without oil and fats.

Now with the oil in hand, Zhou Yi could finally start preparing the dishes he craved.

After hearing his description of these divine foods, Zheng Tao's eyes lit up: "Great, great, all great items! Aside from deep-fried peanuts, none of the other two are even available in the markets of Jin City."

They went their separate ways to work.

Zheng Tao took the funds allocated by Zhou Yi, drove to Sand Port to purchase equipment, and returned to start oil extraction.

Zhou Yi rummaged through the warehouse for pots and pans, and pulled out cookbooks to begin learning cooking techniques on the spot.

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