From Apocalypse Boss to Farmer: My Vegetables Make Me Stronger!-Chapter 207 - 198: Waiting for the Little Thief

Gu Xi could tell at a glance that Ye Junhan and Shen Yue were keeping a secret.

’And this secret is probably related to the G01 Project?’

Right now, both of them were looking at her. One appeared nonchalant, the other calm, but Gu Xi didn’t even need to use her abilities to sense the nervousness and anxiety beneath their placid exteriors.

’Forget it. Surviving the apocalypse is hard enough; everyone has their own secrets.’

Since they didn’t want to talk, she wasn’t going to press the issue.

Gu Xi’s gaze fell on the malignant mutant plants that had been blasted to bits. She began to suspect their sudden mutation was related to that thing that had appeared earlier.

After all, when she had come out to plant vegetables in the evening, she had carefully scanned the area. There hadn’t been any plants on the verge of malignant mutation within a fifteen-mile radius of the camp. For this to happen so suddenly... it could only be related to that creature that kept sending her "team-up" invitations.

’It’s certainly got some skills.’

Gu Xi looked around, her brow furrowed slightly.

The research personnel accompanying their team had previously run tests. A certain unknown substance extracted from the soil near the deep pit showed a clear repulsion to X Energy.

So, that raised a question:

If that unknown substance was truly related to the creature in the deep pit, then how did it cause these plants, which had mutated due to X Energy, to suddenly turn malignant?

Gu Xi didn’t really understand such scientific matters.

But her intuition told her it might be very important.

Just then, Yang Liu’s voice came through Ye Junhan’s walkie-talkie. "Captain, the drone has spotted a large number of fully bestialized mutants to the east of the camp."

Their intentions were hostile.

The three exchanged a look, and Ye Junhan and Shen Yue immediately headed back.

Gu Xi lingered for a moment. She could clearly sense that the creature was somewhere in this valley; she just couldn’t pinpoint its location yet.

As her gaze slowly swept over every inch of the valley, a strange thought suddenly popped into her head:

’Could the bestialized mutants that appeared near the camp also be related to this thing in the valley?’

’Thinking about it, this really seemed like what Li Ming used to call... a diversion tactic?’

’But if that’s true, then she would have to re-evaluate this thing’s intelligence.’

’And... the purpose of those who originally sent the mutants to Area YY7749.’

Gu Xi narrowed her eyes. On the way back, she suddenly glanced behind her.

...

When she returned to the camp, Gu Xi found it brightly lit. There didn’t seem to be any chaos, and quite a few survivors with minor injuries had gone to the ruins, hoping to salvage some useful supplies.

Li Shen was patrolling nearby with several members of the Special Service Team, while Yang Liu was in command at the mobile command vehicle.

Qi Xiang came over and explained in a low voice, "The drone spotted them in time, so Wei Heng took a team to intercept them right away..." With the later addition of two powerhouses, Ye Junhan and Shen Yue, the bestialized mutants were stopped at a distance and hadn’t reached the camp yet.

However, that was only temporary.

After all... Qi Xiang’s gaze swept across the entire camp, finally landing on the research institute’s area.

Just then, Ye Nan walked over.

"Miss Gu, I heard you found malignant plants in the nearby mountains." Ye Nan looked up at Gu Xi. "Did you bring back any specimens? I’d like to..."

Gu Xi held out a small, charred piece of what looked like a plant root. It was the best-preserved sample she could find in the valley. Ye Junhan had blasted the rest to bits, and Shen Yue’s strong winds had scattered even the ashes.

Ye Nan stared at the object, stunned. Gu Xi raised an eyebrow. "Is it unusable?"

Ye Nan snapped back to reality and hesitated for a moment. "I’m not sure. Let’s give it a try."

After taking it, she turned and ran toward the research institute’s area.

A temporary laboratory had already been set up at the research institute’s station. When the other researchers saw that Ye Nan had brought back a sample of the malignant plant, they were all very interested.

The group quickly got to work.

Say what you will, but the people from the research institute were true professionals in this field.

Gu Xi leaned against the doorframe with her arms crossed, waiting for the results.

"Hey, come look at this... It seems there’s something extra in this sample," one of the researchers said. They gathered together, marveling at the data, which was unlike anything they had seen before.

Just then, Qi Xiang arrived in a hurry, leading the research personnel assigned to Gu Xi’s team.

Chen Jia, the lead researcher for Gu Xi’s team, heard this and quickly pushed through the crowd with his people. Staring at the data on the instrument’s display, he frowned. "This looks a lot like what we discovered before..."

Seeing the researchers from the institute all turn to look at him, Chen Jia explained, "Previously, in the soil near the valley where we found Unknown No. 1, we discovered a new, unknown substance..."

Unknown No. 1 was the creature in the large pit in the valley.

"But the strange thing is," Chen Jia said, pushing up the cool frames of his glasses, "we’ve run experiments on it before. That new, unknown substance shows a clear repulsion to X Energy..."

"Then how did it end up inside a malignant plant?"

"Maybe it’s not the same substance?"

"No, look..." Chen Jia opened his personal terminal and shared his previous findings.

The group of researchers huddled together, launching into a heated discussion.

Qi Xiang had also been a student at the Agricultural University and had even spent a year as a lab assistant for two professors. She quietly perked up her ears and moved closer to listen in.

As for Gu Xi... although the two professors in South City had forced a lot of theoretical knowledge on her, she was ultimately just an amateur and couldn’t understand most of the technical jargon.

Gu Xi averted her gaze.

’Yep, scientific research really isn’t for me. I still prefer fighting, and... farming.’

Seeing that the discussion wasn’t going to end anytime soon, Gu Xi thought for a moment, then found the Qin sisters and left the camp.

She deliberately found a slope far from the camp and had Qin Shi turn over a small plot of land. Then, she carefully selected a few watermelon seeds.

Qi Xiang, who had followed a step behind, froze when she saw the watermelon vines spreading toward her feet.

She carefully avoided the rapidly growing vines, walked over to Gu Xi, and muttered, "Why did you have to plant watermelons..."

"What’s wrong with watermelons?" Qin Yi said from the side, resting her chin in her hand as she imagined the future. "After we deal with those mutants outside, we can have hot pot at night, and then make some watermelon juice... Qi Xiang, what’s wrong? Why do you look so pale?"

Qi Xiang, her face deathly pale, waved her hand dismissively. She was fine, she just couldn’t stand hearing about watermelon juice. The moment she heard those two words, she was reminded of the watermelon full of insect eggs she had seen under the high-powered microscope that day... GACK!

Just then, a large, green-skinned watermelon swelled up rapidly before her eyes... Qi Xiang couldn’t take it anymore. She clapped a hand over her mouth, squatted down, and began to dry heave.

Qin Yi and her sister exchanged a glance. Although Qi Xiang had mentioned the bug incident in the group chat earlier that day, how should they put it? Since they hadn’t seen it with their own eyes, they didn’t have the same visceral reaction.

Besides, the two sisters had seen all sorts of disgusting, bloody scenes while fighting mutant animals on the front lines before.

’It’s just bugs. It should be fine... right?’

But seeing how incredibly distressed Qi Xiang was, Qin Yi suddenly wasn’t so sure.

Qin Shi, however, glanced at the large, ripe watermelons in the plot and walked up to Gu Xi. "Aren’t you going to harvest them?"

"No." Gu Xi slowly shook her head, her gaze fixed on the distance.

"You planted these watermelons to..." Qin Shi followed her gaze into the darkness, a thoughtful expression on her face.

Gu Xi crossed her arms, leaned against a large nearby tree, and closed her eyes. "To wait for a little thief."