From Apocalypse Boss to Farmer: My Vegetables Make Me Stronger!-Chapter 182 - 173: She Doesn’t Like It
After Li Ming finished telling this story, he turned to look back at Gu Xi. "All these years, I never told you about this because..."
"I know." Gu Xi calmly interrupted him, meeting his gaze. "Ming, I feel the same way you do. That thing... I’m afraid it’s no good."
Li Ming lowered his gaze. "Later, I also tried to sound out Miss Chen and her sister a few times, but they were very tight-lipped..." That was why, even now, Li Ming still didn’t know why they suspected the object’s appearance was connected to the start of the apocalypse.
Gu Xi, however, was reminded of something else.
"Ming, I remember that year, on a mission in the remote regions of the northwest, you asked me to destroy a meteorite, didn’t you?" she asked, looking up at Li Ming.
Li Ming smiled. "So you remember?"
Gu Xi raised an eyebrow. "So that meteorite... was just a decoy?"
Li Ming nodded and admitted frankly, "At the time, I wanted to destroy that thing, so I placed it in a groove on the meteorite’s surface..."
The meteorite and the small stone were nearly identical in appearance and characteristics, blending together perfectly.
Even back then, Li Ming had realized that keeping the object was a potential disaster, so he wanted to destroy it for good.
But he had tried many methods in private, none of which had succeeded, so he eventually decided to use Gu Xi’s ability.
But ultimately, he failed.
"No wonder..." Gu Xi recalled that after she had destroyed the meteorite, Li Ming had bent down and picked up a few small fragments from the gravel, saying he would take them back for research.
Just then, Li Ming suddenly spoke. "Later, I used certain methods to run some tests on that thing..."
Seeing Gu Xi look up, Li Ming said, his expression complex, "...It’s more than just an energy body. I suspect... it might be a living organism?"
"A living organism?" Gu Xi raised an eyebrow, though inwardly she wasn’t very surprised. ’Something that could sustain a newborn infant was obviously more than just an energy body.’
’But if it really is alive... then how did it end up in my hands in the first place?’
’Was I born with it? Or... did the object choose me after I was born?’
’Li Ming suspected his ability appeared because of that object. So what about me?’
’As a newborn, I held that thing and gnawed on it for over a month... If Li Ming hadn’t stopped me, what would have happened in the end?’
Suddenly, Gu Xi didn’t dare to think about it any further.
She suddenly realized that the secrets surrounding her seemed to be growing more and more numerous...
Gu Xi lowered her gaze, her eyes dark and unreadable.
At that moment, Li Ming asked, his gaze lowered, "Xiaoxi, about this... what are you thinking?" His hands, resting on his thighs, curled slightly. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢
For all these years, he hadn’t told Gu Xi about this, not just because he suspected the object was no good, but more importantly... because when he first hid it, he had done so for selfish reasons.
He was afraid that if Gu Xi found out, it would damage their sibling-like bond.
He didn’t want Gu Xi to know that he, too, had such a base side to him.
The more he cared, the more he feared letting Gu Xi know.
And as he learned more over time, Li Ming grew worried that the object would ultimately harm Gu Xi.
Most importantly...
Li Ming looked up at Gu Xi, wondering how she would ultimately deal with the object.
Gu Xi thought for a moment before saying, "I don’t know. Let’s wait until Wei Heng brings it back. We’ll decide after we’ve seen it."
Li Ming nodded, but his tone suddenly shifted. "Xiaoxi, if you don’t like staying at the Central Base, you can leave now. I’ll handle everything else..."
Gu Xi froze for a moment. She looked over and saw Li Ming gazing up at the sky outside the window, his voice deep and weary. "Xiaoxi, in these chaotic times, no one is anyone else’s responsibility." Not them, and certainly not those young people.
Gu Xi fell silent for a moment.
She walked up behind Li Ming, following his gaze out the window. "But Ming, humans are social creatures..." ’As long as you live in a large, communal environment like this, many things are simply out of your hands.’
’In the past, people always told me that with great power comes great responsibility. Later, I was forced to become the Blood-colored Asura, getting swept up in all kinds of duties, compromising and giving ground time and time again.’
’It wasn’t that I wanted to back down.’
’It’s just that with these things, once you give in the first time, it’s bound to happen again and again.’
’It has nothing to do with Wei Heng, or anyone else.’
...
In the afternoon, Gu Xi returned to the Military Department’s cultivation base. The person in charge informed her that the inspection team she led would likely need some adjustments and that they would have to rest and reorganize at the Central Base for a few days.
Although the supervisor very formally assured her that her opinion as team leader would be sought regarding member assignments, Gu Xi knew the military was preparing to yield.
’It seems some people really see me as a prize, trying every trick in the book to plant their own people by my side.’
’Fine by me.’
Gu Xi voiced no objections, agreeing to follow the organization’s arrangements. As for whether those people could make it back alive after they arrived? That was none of her concern.
After all, everyone knew the wilderness was teeming with countless dangers...
That evening, Shen Yue came to find her, saying he was taking her somewhere interesting.
When they arrived, Gu Xi discovered it was the military’s pilot breeding farm.
The farm raised all sorts of livestock: chickens, ducks, geese, pigs, cattle, sheep...
The two of them followed a staffer on a tour and discovered that while the animals here weren’t numerous, they appeared to be newly developed breeds. From birth, they were fed plants that had been cultivated after successful reverse evolution. They had short growth cycles and grew to be exceptionally large...
The mutation coefficient of these animals was extremely low; they just seemed a bit listless.
Shen Yue explained quietly from the side, "The military started working on this ever since the sweet potatoes were successfully reverse-evolved..."
To put it bluntly, it was no different from a pre-apocalypse factory farm. It was all for the meat.
After all, front-line soldiers burn a lot of calories. Who could stand a long-term vegetarian diet?
They needed meat every once in a while.
They lacked the means before. And while things were still difficult, there was at least a glimmer of hope now.
The staffer had disappeared at some point, and Shen Yue led Gu Xi to the deepest part of the farm—the hatchery.
Gu Xi raised an eyebrow at Shen Yue, a ghost of a smile playing on her lips.
Shen Yue sighed, his casual, devil-may-care air becoming even more pronounced.
He knew he couldn’t hide his little scheme from Gu Xi, so he decided to just come clean. "Gu Xi, can you give me some eggs?"
Although the mutation coefficient of the livestock outside was extremely low, they couldn’t compare to the ones Gu Xi possessed. Now that there was a better option, why wouldn’t he try to get his hands on it?
Gu Xi glanced at him but didn’t speak.
’Giving him a few eggs was no big deal, but Li Ming’s words from earlier today had reminded her of some very unpleasant things.’
’To put it bluntly, I hate the feeling of being strong-armed.’
’Whether by responsibility, debts of gratitude, or so-called morality.’
’I don’t like any of it.’
’The reason I was willing to cooperate with the military on the reverse evolution project for plants wasn’t because Shen Yue was part of the military, nor was it because I had a sudden bout of altruism and wanted to be a savior!’
’It was because in a situation this complex, I needed an ally—a reliable partner—to eliminate any future threats for good.’
’And under the current circumstances, the military was my best option.’
’That’s all there was to it.’
’But cooperating with the military doesn’t mean I have to solve all their problems for free and without limit.’
’This isn’t about a few eggs.’
’It’s about principles and boundaries.’
’Ultimately, these things aren’t my responsibility, and I have no obligation to do them.’
They stared at each other for a moment before Shen Yue sighed.
"Don’t worry, I’m not asking for a handout." With that, he opened his personal terminal and transferred a huge sum of money to Gu Xi.
A moment later, Gu Xi’s personal terminal chimed, but she didn’t move.
Shen Yue smiled and pointed a finger at the surrounding surveillance cameras.
"I’ve already taken care of everything. No one who shouldn’t know will ever find out about what happened today... Besides, Gu Xi, don’t you think this makes for the perfect bait?"
Gu Xi stared at him for a while before finally opening her personal terminal. Looking at the figure in her account, she nodded in satisfaction.
’This was a good deal. For that much money, I can spare Shen Yue a basket of eggs.’
But Shen Yue only took half of them.
Gu Xi glanced at him but said nothing, simply returning the remaining eggs to her space.
