From Apocalypse Boss to Farmer: My Vegetables Make Me Stronger!-Chapter 214 - 205: A Little Annoyed

For the time being, Gu Xi couldn’t get involved with the mutants.

But the thing that had crawled out from the bottom of the deep pit... she was likely the only one who could handle it.

Gu Xi spent the better part of the night coaxing and deceiving it, finally managing to piece together from its vague signals what kind of entity she was dealing with.

—It was some kind of intelligent microorganism or energy body, invisible to the naked eye. It could be perceived with spiritual power, yet it couldn’t be captured.

This microorganism or energy body could invade other species, controlling their behavior and growth patterns... but this control required energy to sustain it.

And its favorite kind of energy was superpowers of all sorts.

As for the eggs in the watermelons... it staunchly refused to admit that those low-level insects, which knew only how to reproduce, were its kin.

Through some special sense, it smugly informed Gu Xi that it was a fully evolved, higher intelligent life form. The insects that had failed to evolve, on the other hand, were just insects.

Originally, they had all been dormant in a large experimental pod at the bottom of the pit. However, the failed specimens woke up first and left.

But because their evolution had failed, the specimens were naturally suppressed by X Energy. So even after escaping the pod, faced with hills and fields of plants saturated with X Energy, they could only lie dormant in the nearby soil, unable to hatch and successfully reproduce... 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎

That is, until Gu Xi appeared and planted the melon patch. The failed specimens’ eagerness to reproduce led to their discovery, and the one that proclaimed itself a higher intelligent life form also awoke from its slumber... and followed her here.

Gu Xi sighed.

’She guessed the original purpose of researching this thing was probably to address the food crisis, to find a way to deal with the X Energy in plants.’

’The intention was undoubtedly good.’

’But somewhere along the way, something went wrong, and it diverged.’

’One part failed to evolve and was, in turn, suppressed by X Energy. The other part, however, underwent some unknown evolution, becoming a new species capable of devouring superpowers and controlling other living beings.’

’Simply put, the thing was out of control.’

’After someone realized this, they wanted to see if they could use her ability to bring it back under control.’

’That was why the special, ship-like experimental pod appeared on a path she was bound to take.’

But Gu Xi didn’t want to be used, so she hadn’t acted at the time.

But no one could have expected that the creature’s evolution had surpassed all their imaginations.

It had developed intelligence and gained its own consciousness. Now, it was completely out of control.

Gu Xi stared at the campfire, the dancing flames reflecting in her eyes.

’The failed specimens should be easy enough to handle. They don’t have the ability to devour superpowers; their only skill points, so to speak, have been put into reproduction. So, as long as we have people scorch the land near the pit a few times, that should be enough to completely eradicate them.’

’The successful specimen was the real problem.’

’Originally, Gu Xi had planned to take advantage of the fact that it considered her one of its own. She would coax and deceive it into latching onto Sprout.’

—The most terrifying thing about the creature was its ability to devour superpowers, and as it happened, Sprout had never lost when it came to devouring.

’Gu Xi figured that if she could just trick the creature onto Sprout, even if Sprout couldn’t devour it completely, its abilities should be enough to suppress the creature and lock it away in her space. That shouldn’t be a problem.’

But unexpectedly, it was incredibly clever.

Gu Xi had spent over an hour trying to coax and deceive it. While it acted very familiar and was willing to hide its presence and follow her, it absolutely refused to parasitize Sprout.

’This made things difficult.’

Gu Xi frowned. ’So far, the creature hasn’t shown any malice toward humans, but if I let it roam free, it will always be a latent threat.’

’—While it couldn’t defeat her, she couldn’t catch it, either.’

’Just... a real headache.’

’Unless her superpower could take that final step in a short period of time, breaking through the Divine Rank and entering an entirely new stage.’

’But that obviously wasn’t something she could achieve in a short amount of time.’

’I still have to find a way to trick it into Sprout’s grasp.’

’But of all things, deceiving people... I’m really not very good at it...’

’It’s... so frustrating.’

Gu Xi sighed, her gaze falling back to the Light Screen.

Li Ming still hadn’t replied to her last message.

Gu Xi thought for a moment and sent him another message. ’For something like this, asking Li Ming is definitely the right move...’

Just then, Qi Xiang nudged her arm.

Gu Xi closed the Light Screen and looked up, her gaze landing on Ye Nan, who was walking toward them. After a moment’s thought, she stood up and walked over to her.

Soon, the two of them were heading toward the medical area.

In the northeast corner of the camp, He Yue stood in the shadows, watching the scene with a smile that didn’t reach his eyes. He said to Xu Hai beside him, "See that? Miss Ye and your research institute might not be on the same side anymore."

Xu Hai didn’t say anything, his expression simply grim.

At the camp’s outer perimeter, Dongfang, who was leaning against an off-road vehicle and inspecting his weapon, looked up at his companion. "Captain’s not back yet?"

Zhao Qingxiao shook his head, wiping the Superpower Gun in his hands.

Behind him, several young people, all clad in black combat uniforms, were either leaning or sitting against a heavy armored vehicle, casting occasional glances in Gu Xi’s direction.

Liu Hao sighed as he checked a magazine. "We all know what Xiaonan is after. Her going to see Miss Gu right now... why do I have such a bad feeling about this?"

Li Shen, leaning against the armored vehicle with a long saber in his arms, shot him a look. "What’s there to have a bad feeling about?"

Liu Hao glared at him indignantly. "I’m worried it’s going to affect our food supply for the rest of the trip, that’s what!"

Li Shen: "..."

The others: "..."

How painfully true.

Zhao Qingxiao glanced at them, feeling weary. "Both of you, quiet down. Xiaonan took Miss Gu to the medical area..."

Liu Hao immediately tensed up, craning his neck to look over while clutching his gun. "Is Miss Gu hurt?" ’We have to tell the Captain right away!’

’Opportunities like this to score points are rare. He has to seize it.’

Ye Junhan had just finished reporting the situation to headquarters. He heard this the moment he returned. He glanced at his teammates, then turned and headed for the medical area. He was still a good distance away when he heard Qi Xiang’s unhappy voice—

"Be gentle! You’re hurting our Gu Xiaoxi."

Ye Junhan’s steps faltered for a moment. He pursed his lips and strode forward.

The moment he walked in, his eyes landed on Gu Xi.

She wasn’t hurt.

But Tuan Fugui was crouching in front of her, one hand on her wrist and the other holding a syringe.

Qi Xiang was watching the two of them with a nervous expression.

Ye Nan was standing nearby as well. Ye Junhan noticed her gaze was fixed on the tip of the needle, which was just about to pierce the vein in Gu Xi’s arm.

’She wants Gu Xi’s blood?’

Ye Junhan narrowed his eyes. Just then, Qi Xiang snatched Gu Xi’s hand back again. She frowned at Gu Xi and said, "Why don’t we just forget it? Wei Heng said you have symptoms of anemia. You need to take good care of yourself..."

’I’m really not that fragile,’ Gu Xi thought.

"It’s fine." Gu Xi patted her hand reassuringly and held out her right hand to Tuan Fugui again. "Go ahead."

Tuan Fugui was just about to reach out when Qi Xiang shot him a menacing glare.

Fugui: "..."

"...Why don’t you two sort it out first and then come back?" Fugui glanced at the captain who had just entered and felt an inexplicable sense of dread.

Ye Nan saw Ye Junhan too. She bit her lip and stepped forward to explain, "Jun Han, why don’t you try to persuade Miss Gu..."

Ye Junhan’s gaze swept past her and finally landed on Gu Xi. "Drawing blood?"

He hid all of his emotions behind those two words.

Gu Xi looked up, meeting the man’s deep, calm black eyes, and hummed softly in affirmation.

Ye Junhan didn’t ask why she was getting her blood drawn. He just tossed out, "Get ready. The convoy leaves in an hour," and strode out the door.

Gu Xi froze for a second. ’Why do I get the feeling he’s angry?’ she wondered.