From Apocalypse Boss to Farmer: My Vegetables Make Me Stronger!-Chapter 72 - 67: Late-Night Chicken Soup

In the evening, after Qi Xiang returned, she sidled up to Gu Xi and whispered, "I’ve got a lead on that thing you asked me to look into."

Gu Xi raised an eyebrow and looked over.

Qi Xiang said excitedly, "During my lunch break, I took a stroll through the staff dorms over there and found out a lot... Among the people around him, Liu and Chen were getting a little flirty a while back, but recently it seems one of them has set her sights on Yang Chi..."

"And then there’s Fangfang, the quiet, taciturn one. I heard her family is really well-connected. Oh, right, and that Liu Yan has been chasing after some guy on the security team lately..."

Gu Xi was speechless. ’What is all this? It’s nothing but pure gossip.’

’She was even starting to wonder if asking Qi Xiang to investigate that person had been the right decision.’

"Is that all?" Gu Xi asked after a moment.

Qi Xiang’s eyes danced as she gave Gu Xi a look that said, ’You just don’t get it, do you?’ She said unhurriedly, "Gu Xiaoxi, you have to understand, it’s human nature to love a bit of drama."

Even specially trained individuals, living in that kind of atmosphere for a long time, are bound to be affected to some degree.

Besides, to fit in, they’ll willingly share some gossip that they might see as trivial while joining in on the drama.

But a truly smart person can unravel those threads and get the information they want.

Qi Xiang concluded her theory with a flourish. "Otherwise, where do you think information brokers get their intel? Why do you think they spend years hanging around common marketplaces?"

’Isn’t it all because it’s human nature to love a spectacle?’

’Sometimes, the one thing people can’t control is their own mouth.’ Miss Qi rested her chin in her hand and sighed profoundly.

Gu Xi grew pensive and agreed with her theory. "You’re right." ’Didn’t Li Ming say something similar once?’

However...

"So what have you managed to analyze from all this gossip?" Gu Xi asked slowly.

Qi Xiang froze for a moment, then said brazenly, "...Well, I’m great at digging up gossip, but analyzing intelligence... that’s not exactly my strong suit."

Gu Xi raised an eyebrow. "...So?"

Qi Xiang offered a suggestion. "For that, you need to find Yang Chi. That kid’s got a quick mind..."

In short, professional matters should be left to the professionals.

Gu Xi was speechless.

Yang Chi snuck over in the middle of the night.

For his troubles, Gu Xi had Wei Heng stew a large pot of shiitake mushroom chicken soup as his overtime compensation for the night.

Fresh mushrooms and chicken were already a perfect match.

After Gu Xi’s Purification, the pure, fragrant mushrooms and a young hen free of the foul stench of Abnormal Energy were simmered for hours, their flavors melding together perfectly.

The soup was so rich, savory, and exquisitely delicious that the young people ate without even looking up.

Yang Chi, in particular, was tasting this divine delicacy for the first time. He downed three large bowls of soup before he was satisfied enough to stick his chopsticks into the earthenware pot to snatch some meat, not forgetting to exclaim:

"This is amazing! I’ve never eaten meat this good in my whole life. Xiaoxi, you’re the one who really cares about me. Unlike some people..."

Yang Chi shot a disgruntled look at his own cousin, taking a blatant dig at him.

"All he knows is how to hog the good food for himself, never thinking about his own little brother... Xiaoxi, you’re still the best to me. From now on, you’re my real sister."

"Through mountains of swords and seas of fire, as long as you say the word... Mmmph..." ’Cousin, what are you doing!?’

"Can’t this meat shut your mouth?" Shen Yue shoved a chicken neck into the kid’s mouth and snorted. Finally, some peace and quiet.

Yang Chi saw his cousin shove a chicken neck in his mouth while snatching a large drumstick for himself, and he was having none of it.

Forgetting about talking, he immediately rolled up his sleeves and joined the fight for the meat.

The Qin sisters snickered on the side. Gu Xi slowly finished the soup in her bowl, then picked up a chicken wing for Yang Chi. "If you like it, eat more. Don’t worry, there’s plenty of chicken."

’Worst case, we’ll just slaughter another chicken. The fire in the stove hasn’t gone out yet.’

Gu Xi was always generous with useful people.

Besides, Da Hong was very productive and was already hatching her second batch of chicks.

Yang Chi was extremely touched. With his mouth greasy from gnawing on the wing, he didn’t forget to pledge his loyalty. "Gu Xi, you’re too good to me. From now on, I’ll do whatever you ask..."

’Yang Chi was filled with regret.’

’If he had known there was so much good food at Gu Xi’s place, he never would have listened to his cousin’s nonsense about how intelligence operatives have to stay behind the scenes and shouldn’t make public appearances...’

’All that blabbering was just because he was afraid I’d come over and compete with him for food!’

’He’d figured it out. His cousin did it on purpose.’

’What a devious bastard. Scheming against his own little brother just for a bite to eat...’

’The thought that his cousin had been freeloading over here, eating well every day, while he was across the way eating scraps and living miserably...’

’No, the comparison was too cruel.’

Yang Chi felt a pang in his chest. He had to ladle another bowl of broth to soothe his poor, wounded heart.

Shen Yue felt embarrassed. He looked at his little cousin, who was wolfing down his food, with utter disdain. ’Look at the way you eat, like you haven’t had a meal in eight hundred years.’

Just then, Wei Heng suddenly remarked, "Shen Yue, it’s no wonder you and Yang Chi are cousins."

’What does that mean?’

After Shen Yue belatedly realized the implication, he was about to defend himself when he saw that Wei Heng had already looked away and was ladling another half-bowl of soup for Gu Xi.

Shen Yue thought, ’Forget it. I’m the bigger person (and a sensible one). I won’t argue with the cook at the dinner table.’

After eating his fill until his stomach was round, Yang Chi slumped back in his chair and got down to business. "That guy is holding steady. But after Qi Xiang left this afternoon, Number One and Number Three both contacted the outside. I checked the information hub’s display—it was a coded message..."

At the side, Qi Xiang asked curiously, "How do you know? Did you hack their personal terminals?"

Yang Chi said smugly, "I made a little gadget of my own... You could say that right now, not a single information ripple from anyone at the experimental fields can escape my notice..."

Gu Xi was a little surprised and raised an eyebrow, looking at him.

Wei Heng placed a piece of shiitake mushroom in her bowl, then looked up and asked Yang Chi, "You’re from an Agricultural University studying vegetable cultivation. How do you know how to do this?"

Yang Chi lifted his chin slightly and said with false modesty, "I’m not that amazing at it... I just know a thing or two."

Wei Heng was speechless. ’Not that amazing? Hah. These two cousins from the Shen Family really inherited the same thick skin in some respects.’

"What about Zhou Jing?" Shen Yue frowned and looked over, his concern elsewhere. "Did she contact the Central Base?"

This afternoon, while Gu Xi and the others were working in the orchard, Zhou Jing had been quietly doing sampling work nearby. She only chatted with Qin Yi occasionally, never asking too many questions or looking around too much...

She acted completely normal.

Yang Chi rubbed his stomach and frowned. "This Zhou Jing is a bit strange..."

Qi Xiang was curious. "Strange in what way?"

Yang Chi said, "After she went back this afternoon, she didn’t contact anyone. Instead, she went to the core lab..." To prevent data leaks, the core lab was equipped with the military’s latest signal jammers, making it impossible to contact the outside world.

’For Zhou Jing to go to the core lab at a time like this... it’s almost as if she was deliberately trying to avoid someone.’

Yang Chi couldn’t figure it out.

But Shen Yue scoffed, "What’s so strange about that? If she has half a brain, she should know that there’s more than one person at the lab keeping an eye on her right now."

After all, Gu Xi had never hidden her talent for planting from the very beginning.

Now, forget the official farms on the outskirts; who knows how many people from the two professors’ side alone are watching Gu Xi?

Zhou Jing had just been in close contact with Gu Xi today. Naturally, the "eyes" watching Gu Xi wouldn’t let an opportunity like this slip by...

Besides, Zhou Jing’s identity... it’s not exactly a huge secret. If they could find out, others could too.

’Just wait and see. There’s plenty more drama to come.’

Of course, to avoid alerting the enemy, Shen Yue wouldn’t make a move against those "eyes" for now.

This was also so that at a critical moment, he could let them fight amongst themselves and muddy the waters.

In short, a certain someone was playing a fine game of checks and balances.

"But the fact that she was in close contact with Gu Xi this afternoon should have been reported back to the Central Base, right? Didn’t anyone from there try to contact her?" Qi Xiang asked, confused.

"That’s why I said it’s strange," Yang Chi said, rubbing his stomach. "And I checked. The number she contacted at noon... its registration is listed in City A."

City A?

Wei Heng and Gu Xi exchanged a look.