From Apocalypse Boss to Farmer: My Vegetables Make Me Stronger!-Chapter 97 - 91: Just the Tip of the Iceberg
Lu Chenyuan obviously realized something as well, his expression changing slightly.
"You’re saying..." He looked up at Gu Xi abruptly. "Someone is stealing the Crystal Cores from the brains of mutants for experiments? And it’s related to the NX1984 incident?"
Gu Xi nodded. "Back then, after the 176 incident in South City, Mr. Zhou said one Crystal Core was missing from the scene..."
She looked out the window, half of her face silhouetted against the light, her expression unreadable. "Supposedly, it was the Crystal Core of a Level 9 ability user who had mutated."
Because of this, the South City Base was under martial law for quite some time, and Gu Xi and her two companions were also brought in for questioning.
At the time, Gu Xi had only thought the missing Crystal Core was an excuse, a cover story for what happened at the South City Restaurant.
But now, it seemed that might not have been the case.
"What are your thoughts?" Lu Chenyuan asked, looking up at Gu Xi.
Gu Xi didn’t look at him, analyzing calmly, "When the 176 incident first broke out, I found it very strange. If it was just about silencing witnesses, there was no need to make such a huge scene..."
"So," Gu Xi finally turned back to look at Lu Chenyuan, "I suspected at the time that someone wanted to take the opportunity to muddle the waters..."
But back then, she lacked too much key intelligence. Although she had a nagging feeling that something was wrong, she could never figure out the perpetrator’s motive.
’Now, however... it seems the mass killing at 176 wasn’t just to silence witnesses related to the South City Restaurant incident. It was also because someone was desperate to cover up the secret hidden within 176.’
’Because someone had already gotten their hands on 176 long ago!’
But because of the South City Restaurant incident, three wanted criminals were imprisoned at 176. This inevitably drew a lot of attention to the facility.
So, someone got scared. Worried that their actions would be discovered, they used this incident as a pretext. Under the guise of a monster rampage, they activated the self-destruct device inside 176, blowing everyone who was still breathing to smithereens to completely cover up the matter.
But it was also possible that a third party was stirring up trouble.
After Gu Xi finished, Lu Chenyuan hesitated for a moment before asking, "You suspect that the people behind the 176 incident... had nothing to do with the people behind the three wanted criminals? That it was someone else trying to fish in troubled waters?"
Gu Xi slowly shook her head. "More than that. I’m afraid several factions are involved..."
"First, there’s the Abnormal Ability Research Institute. After all, they were the ones who directly issued the arrest warrants for those three criminals."
"Second, there’s that secret lab in Moon Bay. At least three factions are involved with that:"
"One faction knew my true identity and didn’t want to kill me—this should be the group that initially plotted against me."
"These people want to obtain great power from me, to uncover the secret of breaking through to the Divine Rank, and maybe even the key to longevity."
"Another faction didn’t know who I was. They just thought I had somehow discovered the secret of the underground lab and wanted to kill me to silence me. This is likely related to local forces in Yu City."
"But these people don’t know the whole picture; they’re probably just driven by immense profit."
And Gu Xi suspected that behind both of these factions, there was another force, hidden in the shadows, fanning the flames and controlling the entire situation.
They wanted even more—not just great power and immense profit, but also to use energy as a bargaining chip to secretly control the major bases, and even to sway the future and destiny of all humanity.
And this force is clearly connected to the mass malignant mutation of mutant plants in the NX1984 incident.
But this also involved the upper echelons of the South City Base.
After all, whether it was conducting secret experiments at NX1984 or smuggling the imprisoned mutants and their Crystal Cores out of 176, you couldn’t bypass the base’s leadership.
But judging from the final outcome, it’s highly likely the leadership of the South City Base was used.
’And the carrot dangled in front of them, tempting them...’
Gu Xi looked up and asked Lu Chenyuan, "The leadership of the South City Base—are they ordinary people or ability users?"
"Liou Zhenyuan. He was transferred to the position of South City Base Director ten years ago and has served ever since. He’s a Level 9 ability user." As Lu Chenyuan spoke, he recalled the details and opened his personal terminal, quickly pulling up the files on the current leaders of the South City Base.
"Initially, Liou Zhenyuan was the only Level 9 ability user in the South City Base. But three years ago, his deputies, Wu Yue and Zhang Cheng, also broke through to become Level 9 ability users. In addition..."
After listening, Gu Xi nodded.
’Very good. Now I know what carrot was dangled in front of them!’
Gu Xi looked up, watching the setting sun gradually sink in the west.
The truth of the matter seemed to be slowly surfacing, but Gu Xi knew that this was just the tip of the iceberg.
The full story was definitely far more complicated than she had guessed.
Lu Chenyuan stood behind her, silent.
「After a long moment.」
He turned his head to look at the girl beside him. "Gu Xi, you missed something."
"This matter is probably also related to the military!" ’Otherwise, those people wouldn’t have set their sights on the N001 missile!’
Gu Xi turned back. It was as if she saw something in his eyes, but it vanished before she could get a clear look.
"What are you trying to say?" she asked, her expression serious.
"The major bases are not monolithic blocs," he said in a low voice, looking down at her. "The Abnormal Ability Research Institute is no different."
Gu Xi had already thought of that.
After the years of chaos during the early apocalypse, human society gradually restored order. This was inevitably the result of multiple, deeply entangled factions vying for power.
Driven by power, desire, ambition, or profit, these factions had woven a great net that had ensnared everyone.
’And back then, she had probably stood out too much, becoming a focal point in that net...’
’The tree that stands tallest in the forest is the first to be blown down by the wind.’
It was an age-old truth, so Gu Xi wasn’t surprised.
’But...’
Gu Xi looked out the window at the encroaching darkness.
After a moment, she suddenly spoke. "Lu Chenyuan, what you’re really trying to talk about are my former teammates, aren’t you?"
Lu Chenyuan fell silent.
Not long after Gu Xi’s sudden disappearance all those years ago, the Doomsday Squad that had been formed around her immediately fell apart.
Qee Ran followed his family’s arrangements and went into politics; Xiao Yu joined the military; Ye Xin, after disappearing for a while, suddenly joined the Abnormal Ability Research Institute; and Shen Zhi single-handedly formed an adventurer’s club, gathering the vast majority of civilian ability users and operating between the military and political spheres.
As for Li Ming, after serving as the head of intelligence for the Central Base for several years, he suddenly resigned and has remained in seclusion ever since.
Her former teammates were all now in positions of power and influence, yet they seemed to have forgotten... their former captain.
And then there was that other man—the one who had supposedly retired to a secluded life with Gu Xi, who had also been missing for thirty years, and whose very name they all refused to mention, a man they hated to the core...
"Over the years, they’ve come to you, haven’t they?" Gu Xi suddenly asked in a low voice.
"Yes. They’ve come looking for me more than once." Lu Chenyuan looked directly into Gu Xi’s dark eyes, which were exceptionally calm in the night. "But, Gu Xiaoxi, do you know what I’ve found out over the past thirty years?"
The more he found, the colder his heart grew, colder and colder.
So cold that if Gu Xi hadn’t suddenly returned, he feared he might never have found his old self again.
Lu Chenyuan lowered his gaze slightly, avoiding Gu Xi’s eyes.
Gu Xi said, "But I’ll always remember the moment they rushed toward me, heedless of their own safety."
That year, she was thirteen. To help her break through to Level 10 as quickly as possible and become a top-tier human combatant capable of fighting the Zombie Emperor, the base sent her to the Deserted City to face the endless hordes of the Zombie Army alone.
At the last moment, as night fell, just before she collapsed from exhaustion, it was her teammates who defied the high command’s orders and rushed recklessly to her side!
Gu Xi would never forget that scene.
At that moment, the line of Lu Chenyuan’s jaw tightened visibly. ’He had missed so much of her past. They had met too late...’
In the darkness, the man’s voice was low and deep. "I know."
He looked up at her, his gaze calm—the forced calm that comes after suppressing great emotion. "That’s why you’ve been unwilling to seek them out since you came back..."
But Gu Xi shook her head. "No. After I came back, I didn’t contact them, initially because there was no need. You know I always thought a quiet life of farming would be nice. As for later..."
She looked up at Lu Chenyuan, her expression earnest. "I did suspect them. But I’m not avoiding them because I’m afraid to face that suspicion. It’s because... it’s not time yet."
Lu Chenyuan was stunned.
’It seemed he still didn’t understand her well enough, after all.’
The man lowered his eyes, his restrained calm hiding another, deeper and more inscrutable emotion. "Then, that glass of wine back then..."
"That glass of wine might have been an accident, or it might have been a conspiracy." Gu Xi finished calmly, then added, "So, now... I’m waiting." 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚
’Waiting for what?’
Lu Chenyuan turned his head to look at her.
In the darkness, Gu Xi was silent.
’This time, did the military ultimately decide not to launch the N001 missile purely because of Xiao Yu’s opposition, or was it because... the military high command had also noticed something? Back then, my sudden disappearance probably had nothing to do with the military. That much could be confirmed, both from Shen Yue’s previous behavior and from the information Lu Chenyuan had gathered over the years. But now, based on the news from Lu Shiliu, it’s clear that Shen Yue is also being watched... In other words, the military has likely been dragged into this. This is definitely not a good sign.’
In the darkness, Gu Xi frowned imperceptibly.
