From Apocalypse Boss to Farmer: My Vegetables Make Me Stronger!-Chapter 166 - 157: Dispel the Clouds and See the Sun
Gu Xi, however, was thinking about something else.
Back then, she had thought the reason she could return alive after thirty years without aging was because her ability was rather special...
But now, after learning about the former Hibernation Chamber project, a different idea suddenly occurred to Gu Xi.
’She remembered Wei Heng once said that when he found her, her body was ice-cold and her face was so pale there wasn’t a trace of color, no different from a dead person, right?’
’So, is it possible... that she had spent much of that time in a Hibernation Chamber?’
Gu Xi told Li Ming her thoughts.
Li Ming thought for a moment and said, "It’s not impossible."
If he could find out back then that Mr. Ye’s Hibernation Chamber project had actually succeeded just by following a few clues, then it was unlikely that the other high-ranking officials at the base couldn’t do the same.
Besides, the shadow of the base’s top brass had been looming over Gu Xi’s disappearance from the very beginning.
But which official specifically... Li Ming’s thoughts almost instantly landed on the Qee Family.
’And Qee Ran... Back then, caught between his family and his teammates, was he perhaps torn? That must be why he remained uncharacteristically silent when Yun Ye brought up that possibility.’
’That night, after Xiao Yu couldn’t stop himself from clashing with Yun Ye, it was also Qee Ran who took Yun Ye away...’
’The clues had been there all along.’
But what were Qee Ran’s thoughts now?
Li Ming wasn’t so sure.
Since Xiaoxi’s return, Qee Ran... was the only one on the team who had remained silent.
He even avoided seeing any of them.
Moreover, the Qee Ran of today held all the power and was nothing like his former self. Given his position and his role as the pillar of the Qee Family...
Li Ming’s heart sank. He calmly lifted his eyes to look at Gu Xi, who was sitting across from him.
"Xiaoxi, stay out of this. I’ll investigate it," he said, though he sighed heavily in his heart.
Gu Xi didn’t argue with him.
’If Yun Ye also had this kind of Hibernation Chamber,’ she thought, ’given his personality, it’s impossible he wouldn’t do anything with it... or rather, it’s impossible he would only use it on me.’
’In fact, if Yun Ye had colluded with the higher-ups long ago, then he might have known about the existence of the Hibernation Chambers far earlier than they thought!’
’And back then, the High-level Zombies hadn’t been completely wiped out yet!’
Gu Xi’s expression changed slightly.
Li Ming had thought of this as well.
Their eyes met, and they both saw an unprecedented gravity in each other’s gaze.
"Xiaoxi, you need to get to City A as soon as possible." Li Ming rested his hands on his lap and said, "I’ve analyzed the base’s material and resource flow over the years. Yun Ye’s main base of operations is very likely in City A..."
Gu Xi strongly agreed with this point.
The first place she had appeared was probably City A. After all, the mark Li Ming had discovered back then was likely something she had left unconsciously while in a daze.
It was just that her situation was similar to Ye Junhan’s; they had both lost a portion of their memories...
Gu Xi stood up and said, "Ming, make the arrangements. Once things here are handled, I’ll make a trip to City A as soon as I can."
There were priorities. Right now, solving the food crisis was the most important thing.
Otherwise, before Yun Ye could even make a move, humanity would be finished if things continued like this.
Moreover, Gu Xi was even beginning to suspect that Yun Ye had been biding his time all these years, watching the base’s higher-ups scheme and fight amongst themselves, for this very reason—as long as the problem with X Energy wasn’t solved, humans would all turn into monsters sooner or later!
But Li Ming was a little worried.
If Yun Ye really did have a batch of High-level Zombies on hand, the great catastrophe from years ago would likely repeat itself the moment they were released...
"He won’t," Gu Xi said, slowly shaking her head. "I sounded Yun Ye out the other day. He doesn’t consider zombies to be his own kind. In his eyes, even the Zombie Emperor from back then was nothing more than a low-level creature..."
This showed just how arrogant the man was.
Therefore, until the time was right, he would never play his strongest card. Instead, he would gladly stand aside and watch from on high as humans destroyed each other.
Besides...
"Ming," Gu Xi looked into the distance, her expression earnest and calm. "When the apocalypse suddenly descended back then, we managed to wipe out so many zombies under such chaotic conditions and bring peace back to the world. What makes you think we can’t do it now?"
She turned back to look at Li Ming. In the dim light, her eyes were firm and bright, shining like stars.
Li Ming was taken aback for a second, then he smiled as well.
’That’s right. Our abilities are stronger now, and our experience fighting zombies is far beyond what it was back then. How many zombies could Yun Ye possibly have hidden away?’
’It couldn’t be more than there were before, could it?’
So even in a direct confrontation, their chances of winning were much higher.
Li Ming’s logical mind kicked back into gear.
"You’re right, Xiaoxi." He analyzed rationally, "Yun Ye has been holding this card all these years without playing it, probably because he knows that even if he unleashes those zombies, they ultimately wouldn’t be a match for humanity..."
After all, humans are strange creatures. When there’s no external enemy, they’re consumed by internal strife. But the moment an outside threat appears, they unite with unprecedented solidarity.
Yun Ye must also be well aware that those High-level Zombies, frozen in hibernation, could only be effective as a surprise attack force to achieve an unexpected result.
But now... since they already knew and were prepared, that move was mostly useless.
However, Yun Ye had been hiding for so many years; it was impossible he didn’t have other tricks up his sleeve.
Li Ming suddenly thought of the imposter that Ye Junhan had captured, and his heart sank again.
If the zombies were to rise again, even if the world had forgotten the Blood-colored Asura, with a little manipulation, a newly-appeared Blood-colored Asura could quickly recapture their former glory and rally countless followers just by displaying their immense Combat Power.
That’s why Yun Ye was secretly scheming to create another Blood-colored Asura.
Li Ming even suspected that Yun Ye had a hand in the destruction of Gu Xi’s files back then. 𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺
’Perhaps he still has some files on the Blood-colored Asura?’
’Then, all he’d have to do is release the files—with the Blood-colored Asura’s true identity redacted—and ride the wave of publicity... By leveraging the Blood-colored Asura’s fame and influence, he might just be able to take control of the entire human base.’
So the High-level Zombies he had under his control were never the main point.
From the very beginning, Yun Ye’s target was always just Gu Xi.
Li Ming even began to wonder if Yun Ye had trapped Gu Xi and taken her Crystal Core back then just to use her Crystal Core Fragments to create a few high-level ability users to serve him.
Or was it to use her Crystal Core as a power source to create a continuous supply of Energy Crystal Cores?
Besides that, could there be another possibility?
Li Ming suddenly recalled Gu Xi mentioning that Yun Ye had said only she and he were the same kind of people...
This phrase, "the same kind," was worth scrutinizing.
’Perhaps he wants to use Gu Xi’s ability—her Crystal Core—to create more "people" like himself?’
As for why Yun Ye would think he and Gu Xi were the same kind?
Li Ming didn’t want to dwell on it.
In his heart, Xiaoxi would always be his little sister, the sister he had practically raised himself.
Li Ming would never forget the day the apocalypse broke out...
"Ming?" Gu Xi noticed he was spacing out and raised an eyebrow slightly.
"It’s nothing, I was just thinking about something else," Li Ming said gently, snapping back to his senses.
’Some things are better left unsaid to Gu Xi.’
’Because his sister is human. She has always been human, a living, breathing person!’
’She is not like Yun Ye.’
Li Ming lowered his gaze. Everything Yun Ye had done had only one ultimate goal—he wanted to control the entire human base, or even replace it altogether!
All these years, his wolfish ambitions had never changed.
And yet, the ambitious fools he was manipulating thought that, by using Yun Ye’s methods, they might be able to obtain immense power from Gu Xi, ascend to the Divine Rank, and perhaps even glimpse the secret to eternal life!
Power, authority, and immortality—these were what made those ambitious people willing to become his pawns.
