From Apocalypse Boss to Farmer: My Vegetables Make Me Stronger!-Chapter 172 - 163: Who Is Gu Xi?

Three days later, a conspicuous notice suddenly popped up on the official forums.

——The military, in conjunction with various departments, would be openly recruiting ability users nationwide to participate in research on the reverse-evolution of plants, with the goal of completely solving the food crisis.

Moreover, the recruitment conditions were quite broad. There were no restrictions on level or ability type; as long as you were an ability user, you could sign up!

The moment this notice was released, it set off a massive uproar across the country.

Nearly all ability users signed up on the forums—the gene for cultivation was deeply ingrained in the soul of this nation!

Besides, in this day and age, who wouldn’t want to eat a safe, delicious, and uncontaminated meal?

Immediately after, the officials released several more pieces of news. One of them was that from this day forward, the scope of seed cultivation and the rights to sell them would be fully opened to the public!

Food is paramount to the people. Being able to buy better crop seeds through more channels was, naturally, a wonderful thing for the common populace.

As for the subsequent news about malignant plant mutations, it didn’t make much of a splash.

For one, everyone’s attention was currently focused on the several pieces of uplifting good news announced earlier.

And for another, no one had ever encountered this "malignant mutation" business. They just heard about it and let it go. Besides, hadn’t the authorities said the military would be conducting strict screenings?

But a few clever people keenly sensed a hint of tension in these announcements, like the calm before a storm.

—The winds of change were coming.

Even within the military, things were not calm.

As for the ability users who had been studying under Gu Xi for some time, they were a bit dumbfounded when they heard they would also have to start teaching classes. They felt... the pressure was a little immense.

After all, they had barely learned the material themselves.

So, some of them, worried they would lead students astray, went to Gu Xi and tactfully expressed their desire to continue studying with her for a while longer.

Gu Xi comforted them, saying they had more or less learned all the theoretical aspects. As for the practical application... she had already taught them everything she could. There wasn’t much more to teach; they just had to go out and practice on their own.

And so, the first batch of ability users who had followed her scattered across the country.

At the same time, an internal document on how to control one’s abilities with precision and finesse began circulating among the special community of ability users.

And rumor had it that this document was provided by an ability user named Gu Xi...

—But who was Gu Xi?

Many people didn’t know.

But because of this document, more and more ability users came to remember the name.

To some, however, the name was not unfamiliar at all.

Chen Yun knew her state of mind had been off these past few days.

After Xiao Yu’s visit the other day, she had originally planned to use the joint conference as an opportunity to openly plant her own people around Gu Xi through military channels, hoping to regain control of Blood-colored Asura—the sharpest blade in the mortal world.

But unexpectedly, right when her plan was coming to fruition, Li Xiao had interfered and completely upended everything.

—He had dragged every single ability user into the mess!

Outsiders only saw the benefits of this matter, but Chen Yun knew very well that Li Xiao’s actions, while seemingly only weakening the military’s influence, were in fact a fatal blow to their Abnormal Ability Research Institute as well.

Compared to other departments, the Abnormal Ability Research Institute had the most ability users.

Originally, they should have been able to second the most people to assist the Military Department.

But now, the few people she and her sister had been cultivating in secret would barely make a ripple if mixed into the army of nearly a million ability users.

Let alone any of their other plans.

Seeing the plan she had plotted for days on the verge of success only to fall apart at the last moment, the old lady, in her anger, couldn’t help but feel a growing sense of impatience.

Fortunately, she still had a backup plan.

"Ye," said Chen Yun, her hair now completely silver, as she looked at the woman on the Light Screen who was still as youthful and charming as ever. Suppressing the unidentifiable emotion in her heart, her face was full of warmth. "Is everything going smoothly on your end?"

Ye Xin rested her chin on one hand and slowly shook her head. "Mr. Chen, I’m afraid we’ve been played this time... I’ve looked. The item isn’t in Area 0569."

"Are you sure?" Chen Yun clearly didn’t believe her. "But according to my information, the last batch of cell cryopreservation fluid disappeared in Area 0569 back then."

Ye Xin leaned back slightly. "Are you saying you don’t believe me, Mr. Chen? Fine, I’ll head back right now and leave everything here to Twenty-nine..."

Before she could finish, the old lady on the other side shot her a reproachful look. "Ye, how old are you, still throwing a tantrum?

I raised you myself. I’ve always treated you like my own daughter. If I can’t even trust you, who else can I trust?"

Ye Xin lowered her gaze, her tone a mix of petulance and insinuation. "And here I thought the person you trust most was Twenty-nine!"

"No matter how capable Twenty-nine is, they belong to the other side," the old lady said confidentially. "I’m not senile yet. I can still tell who’s close to me and who isn’t."

’Is that so? Then who are the people hiding in the shadows and watching my every move all day?’

Ye Xin lowered her eyes, hiding the flash of ridicule in them. They say if you use someone, you don’t doubt them, and if you doubt them, you don’t use them. But the Chen sisters were the complete opposite: they wanted to use her, yet they didn’t trust her at all.

They were even on guard against her at every turn.

Even this time, when they sent her to Area 0569, they only told her beforehand that she was looking for a batch of supplies.

It wasn’t until she arrived that Twenty-nine revealed their true objective: to find a batch of long-lost Hibernation Chambers.

And before this, Ye Xin, despite being the vice-director of the Abnormal Ability Research Institute, had no idea the Institute even had a Hibernation Chamber project!

How ridiculous was that?

It was a clear sign of how deeply the Chen sisters guarded against her.

Luckily, her mind was clear enough. Without letting on, she wheedled the whole story out of Twenty-nine.

It turned out these Hibernation Chambers had disappeared over thirty years ago, and the Chen sisters suspected their disappearance was connected to Yun Ye. That was why they had dispatched her, the vice-director who had some acquaintance with Yun Ye, for this mission.

On her end, Chen Yun was growing displeased with Ye Xin’s posturing and silence, but she let none of it show on her face. Instead, she offered a few more placating words to Ye Xin.

Ye Xin clearly understood the principle of quitting while she was ahead. Her expression turned serious. "During this time, under the guise of searching for experimental plant candidates, I’ve turned Area 0569 upside down, but I still haven’t found the Hibernation Chambers you mentioned..."

She looked up at Chen Yun. "Could it be that your source of information..."

"There is absolutely no problem with the source," Chen Yun cut her off, shutting down any further probing.

After a moment of thought, she said, "How about this, Ye, try to sound out 01... Ye, you should know that the situation is critical. A power reshuffle among the leadership is imminent, and this batch of items is especially important to us."

Ye Xin lazily agreed. "I’ll give it a try then. But you know how 01 is with me. I can’t guarantee I’ll succeed."

Chen Yun frowned slightly, but she also knew that saying too much at this juncture would only arouse Ye Xin’s suspicion. So she changed the subject. "Right, how is your plant reverse-evolution experiment coming along?"

The military was now willing to share data regarding plant reverse-evolution, so Ye Xin’s experiment was no longer as critical.

However, if they could independently complete the plant reverse-evolution experiment before any other faction, it would undoubtedly give them a greater say in the decisions to come.

"The experiment..." Ye Xin sat up straight and slowly shook her head. "There’s been no progress for now."

"How could that be?" Chen Yun frowned slightly, feigning surprise. "But wasn’t that Cheng Chen..."

"Oh, you mean that counterfeit..." Ye Xin raised an eyebrow, her tone mocking. "She does look a bit like Xiaoxi did back then, but on the inside..."

She clicked her tongue, leaned back in her chair with a lazy air, the mockery in her eyes impossible to miss.

"What exactly is going on!" Chen Yun’s heart stirred, but she put on a grave expression.

But Ye Xin knew very well that although the Chen sisters had schemed against that counterfeit in the past, ever since Gu Xi returned... they were probably the ones who most wanted something to go wrong with her now.

This act right now was just a test.

And so...

"What else could it be? She’s all form and no substance." Ye Xin nonchalantly blew on her freshly painted nails. "I tested her myself. The counterfeit’s ability looks the part, but when it comes to actual control..."

"Her own life-bound plant is already heavily corroded, and you expect her to help us reverse-evolve other plants?" Ye Xin looked up at the old lady on the Light Screen and asked lazily, "Do you think that’s possible?"

’It’s just an act. After playing this part for so many years, I’ve at least gotten this good at it.’