From Apocalypse Boss to Farmer: My Vegetables Make Me Stronger!-Chapter 161 - 152: But After All, She Is Human, and Only Wants to Be Human
"You’re awake?"
Inside a special hospital room, Gu Xi leaned forward slightly, looking at the man lying on the bed. "Do you remember who I am?"
On the hospital bed, the man slowly opened his eyes. His vision blurred for a moment before the young woman’s face gradually came into focus. She didn’t look as disheveled as when he had seen her during the assassination attempt. Instead, she exuded a calm and steady confidence, as if she held all the cards.
After a long silence, he spoke slowly. Having just woken from a coma, his throat was dry and his voice was extremely hoarse. "You saved me?"
"That’s not wrong, I suppose." Gu Xi nodded, not denying it.
’Of course, saving them was just a casual act. The main reason was—’
’They say a game requires two players. Since the other side has already put out several pieces of bait, wouldn’t it seem disingenuous of me not to retaliate a little and put out a few of my own?’
’That would be too impolite.’
The man fell silent again.
He had just regained consciousness and his mind wasn’t very clear. He only remembered being sent with a few of his brothers to assassinate the young woman before him.
But they had failed and been captured.
His memory stopped at the moment he was taken back to the Military Department. He couldn’t remember anything that happened after that.
The man frowned slightly.
Gu Xi wasn’t in a hurry. She said leisurely, "If you don’t want to talk, I won’t force you."
Just before leaving, she offered him a reminder. "But since you’re awake now, you should think things through. Don’t go and foolishly throw away the life you just barely got back."
The man remained silent, just watching her retreating back, his thoughts unreadable.
Around the corner, Gu Xi saw a man leaning lazily against the wall. She raised an eyebrow slightly. "What are you doing here?"
"Gu Xiaoxi, you’ve really outdone yourself."
Shen Yue lifted his gaze to glance at her, stuffing the cigarette he was about to light back into his pocket. He just flicked his lighter open and shut, saying coolly, "Spill. What’s the deal with you and Ye Junhan?"
Gu Xi paused. ’Me and Ye Junhan... there’s nothing going on, is there?’
Seeing her reaction, Shen Yue felt a surge of irritation and snapped, "The Special Service Team is a total mess. Everyone else avoids it like the plague, but not you. You’re practically begging to get involved..."
This time, Gu Xi finally caught on to something. She gave Shen Yue a somewhat surprised look. "You..."
Because her intelligence sources were limited, and with a thirty-year gap in the middle, there were many things Gu Xi didn’t understand.
Under these circumstances, she could only wait for others to make the first move.
But this was, without a doubt, a very passive position.
And Gu Xi had never been one to let others control her.
So, after figuring out her situation, she hadn’t hesitated to proactively display her abilities, baiting one fish after another...
After a process of elimination and several rounds of probing, she ultimately chose to cooperate with Shen Yue. This wasn’t just because he was backed by the military and she wanted to find a powerful patron for herself.
It was also because at that time, Gu Xi truly needed this intelligence channel.
Gu Xi had made this clear from the very beginning: she was trading food for information.
Even though she didn’t completely trust Shen Yue back then, she believed that someone as smart and unconventionally savvy as him would not make a choice that would disappoint her.
And Shen Yue was well aware of this.
So, in the year since he joined the Farming Team, he knew Gu Xi was hiding many secrets, but he never pried. He only did what he felt he ought to do. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢
He never crossed the line.
By now, it was likely he had guessed Gu Xi’s identity, yet he used his actions to show her his stance—no matter who she used to be, now and in the future, she would always be his friend, his teammate, the person he knew as... Gu Xiaoxi.
This approach from Shen Yue had undoubtedly earned Gu Xi’s trust.
Now, she truly considered him a teammate.
But at this moment, Gu Xi sensed something different in his attitude... ’Is he... starting to probe my secrets on his own initiative?’
’No, ’probe’ doesn’t seem quite right, either.’
Gu Xi didn’t know how to describe this feeling.
’It just felt a bit strange.’
But Shen Yue suddenly let out a soft scoff, interrupting her train of thought. "I was just asking casually. If you don’t want to say, then forget it...
But let me give you a heads-up, Gu Xiaoxi. Don’t be fooled by the Special Service Team’s glamorous facade. It’s actually a pile of unresolved messes, and the waters there run deep. You know what happened with Wei Heng back then..."
At this, he lifted his eyes to look at Gu Xi. ’So wise up, Gu Xiaoxi. Whatever you do, don’t be fooled by that face of Ye Junhan’s.’
Gu Xi: "..."
She looked up at him and spoke slowly, her expression serious. "I know."
"You know?" Shen Yue lowered his gaze to the lighter flickering in his hand. He knew his previous words had been a bit impulsive, but since they were already out, he didn’t regret them.
Shen Yue turned to the young woman beside him and asked grimly, "What do you know?"
Gu Xi thought for a moment. "Leaving aside other things, Ye Junhan’s background as the captain is extremely complex. He was raised by Ye Xin, and after joining the Special Service Team, he was later sent by Ye Xin to Xiao Yu’s side..."
"Although Ye Xin and Xiao Yu were both once members of the Doomsday Squad, it’s clear they went their separate ways many years ago..."
’The relationship was already delicate enough, not to mention Li Ming is mixed up in it as well.’
Of course, what Gu Xi didn’t say was that Ye Junhan was a person—a living, breathing person with his own thoughts and feelings, not a puppet to be manipulated by others.
Just like her former self. Even when people had tried everything to strip away her emotions and sense of self, to forge her into a cold, emotionless, humanoid weapon for the base to wield.
But in the end, she was human, and all she wanted was to be human.
’And being human means having your own thoughts...’
’This was true for the Blood-colored Asura of the past, and it was also true for the Ye Junhan of today.’
Shen Yue snapped his lighter shut, glanced up at her, and raised a lazy eyebrow. "Good. Seems like you’ve still got a clear head on your shoulders and haven’t been captivated by a certain someone’s good looks..."
Gu Xi: "..." ’That "certain someone" is a bit pointed.’
"How have things been outside these past few days?" Gu Xi decided to skip over the topic and get straight to business.
"Them?" Shen Yue sneered. "Right now, they’re all guessing where you’ve gone and what your next move will be...
From the looks of it, they’re in a state of utter paranoia. And what’s most interesting is that Mr. Li has recently acquired several high-level bodyguards..."
Gu Xi: "...So, not a single person believes I actually came here to farm?"
"Probably because you don’t look like a farmer," Shen Yue said seriously, stroking his chin as he looked her up and down for five seconds.
Gu Xi remained expressionless. "So I guess it’s my fault for picking up the wrong script?"
In fact, she had already been slogging away in the experimental fields for three days. It was only this morning that the agricultural experts specially hired by the Military Department had let her go, giving her a chance to come over and check on things.
Shen Yue looked at her and thought for a moment before saying, "Well, you can’t really blame others..." ’In Gu Xiaoxi’s situation, who would believe she willingly set foot on the Military Department’s turf just to farm?’
Shen Yue glanced at her. ’Right?’
Gu Xi: "...If I recall correctly, it was your suggestion that I come to the Military Department to farm and cooperate with the crop reverse-evolution experiments, wasn’t it?"
"It was my suggestion, that’s right." Shen Yue nodded in admission. "But other people don’t think that way."
Gu Xi thought about it. That made sense.
’Oh well, whatever. Let them think what they want.’
Just then, a message from Li Ming came in—
There’s movement in City A.
Gu Xi stopped in her tracks, silent for a moment.
’Wei Heng’s side was just tested, and the true information about the assassins was just leaked from the Military Department. And someone’s already getting antsy.’
’It seems my previous guess was right...’
Shen Yue turned his head to look at her. "Gu Xi?"
Gu Xi thought for a moment, then said, "The plan for the experimental fields... I’m afraid we’ll have to speed things up."
Shen Yue frowned slightly. "You want to complete the experiments ahead of schedule?" ’The Military Department’s team of agricultural experts would certainly cooperate fully, but... this isn’t necessarily a good thing for Gu Xi.’
Gu Xi nodded.
Shen Yue’s frown deepened in disapproval. "But have you thought about it? If people find out your ability can induce the reverse evolution of a crop in just a few days, then..."
Gu Xi nodded. Of course, she knew the consequences of doing this. She didn’t like being in the spotlight, especially since that kind of attention often signaled immense danger.
But this time, she had to put herself in the spotlight.
