From Apocalypse Boss to Farmer: My Vegetables Make Me Stronger!-Chapter 122 - 113: Nothing More Than This

She sent the message, but there was no response.

Ye Nan’s brow furrowed slightly as she stared at the "read" status on her light screen. A bad feeling suddenly welled up inside her.

’Her relationship with that team member was actually pretty good, and it wasn’t like she was asking about anything important. Yet, he still hadn’t replied... Could it be that Jun Han said something to the team?’

Ye Nan took a deep breath, trying her best to ignore the nagging irritation and unease in her heart. She forced her attention back to her work.

Recently, her mother, Ye Xin, had suddenly become very interested in the reverse evolution of plants.

But the experiment had made no progress. A few days ago, it had even produced a malignantly mutated plant...

Ye Nan couldn’t help but think of what Mr. Zhou had said to her that day.

’All these years, she had never made any real progress with the Purification of plants, and the public’s patience had a time limit.’

’This plant reverse evolution experiment in South City... it might be an opportunity for her...’

’Even if it meant she was suspected of plagiarizing, she had been carrying far, far too much on her shoulders all these years.’

’The expectant gazes of the world, the trusting eyes of her teammates... All of it was about to suffocate her.’

’’Light of the Apocalypse’... How glorious it sounded.’

’But what if... she could never manage to purify X Energy?’

’What would people think of her then?’

Ye Nan knew she couldn’t hold on for much longer.

’But she really couldn’t do it. She had already tried her best!’

Zhou Jinyu’s words from that day kept echoing in her ears. In the end, Ye Nan couldn’t resist sending that person a message.

Ye Nan: [Hello, this is Ye Nan. Mr. Zhou said that if I needed anything, I could ask you for help.]

「South City Base.」

Zhou Jing had just returned from taking samples at Gu Xi’s orchard. When she saw the message from Ye Nan, she stopped in her tracks, stunned for a moment.

But she quickly adjusted the cold frames on the bridge of her nose, a frigid, mocking amusement flashing in her eyes.

After a moment’s thought, she sent a reply to Ye Nan.

Zhou Jing: [What’s this? Does the great Miss Ye need my help as well?]

’Both of them were that man’s daughters. One was the beloved, adored Miss Ye, hailed as the ’Light of the Apocalypse.’ The other was scorned by her parents, forced to live like a rat in a gutter...’

’How unfair fate had been to her!’

Zhou Jing raised an eyebrow mockingly.

On the other end, Ye Nan’s brow furrowed instinctively when she read the message. Beneath the seemingly joking tone, she felt an overwhelming sense of mockery.

’But she didn’t know the person on the other end... It must be my imagination.’

Ye Nan decided to cast aside this strange feeling and get straight to the point.

Ye Nan: [I hear you work at Mr. Zhao’s experimental fields in the South City Base. Could you please send me a copy of the research report concerning the reverse evolution of the grapevines? Thank you.]

When Zhou Jing saw this message, the mockery in her eyes intensified.

’So, the great Miss Ye, the ’Light of the Apocalypse,’ needs to plagiarize other people’s research results too?’

Still, after a moment’s thought, Zhou Jing logged into the lab’s internal network and sent the relevant research report over.

After reading it, Ye Nan’s brow furrowed slightly.

’The experimental procedures are identical. Why did our grapevines end up mutating malignantly?’

Ye Nan knew perfectly well that every plant was unique. Varying levels of X Energy meant that the balancing point for manual intervention and the amount of energy required would never be exactly the same.

But the experimental procedure she and her mother had designed was a hundred times more refined than South City’s. Even the configured Energy Crystal Cores were more precise and their use more rational.

Furthermore, the ability user her mother had employed was a Level 9 High-level Wood Element Superpower User. No matter how you looked at it, they were in no way inferior to the team in South City...

’Ye Nan couldn’t understand. Why had her experiment failed?’

’And why had the seemingly cruder experiment in South City succeeded against all odds?’

After a moment’s thought, Ye Nan sent another message.

[Are you certain all the experimental procedures are in the report? Is it possible... that something was left out?]

Although she knew it was impolite to ask, Ye Nan sent the message anyway.

When Zhou Jing saw the message, a mocking smirk tugged at the corner of her lips.

’Heh, so this is the ’Light of the Apocalypse’ everyone adores?’

’Nothing so special after all.’

Zhou Jing: [There’s nothing wrong with the research report. If Miss Ye doesn’t believe me, why ask in the first place? Or... is Miss Ye trying to imply something?]

Ye Nan stared down at the message, inexplicably sensing a strong hostility from the sender.

’But she didn’t even know this person...’

’What a strange person.’

After a moment’s thought, Ye Nan decided not to contact this person again. Instead, she sent a message to Zhou Jinyu.

...

「Meanwhile, at the South City Base.」

Gu Xi had been cooped up in the hospital room all morning, struggling to write her paper. Beside her, Qi Xiang rubbed her temples in agony.

Gu Xiaoxi had only managed to write a handful of words all morning. Qi Xiang didn’t know if Gu Xiaoxi was tired, but she was certainly exhausted just from watching.

Thankfully, Shen Yue, who had left and now returned, came to her rescue.

"So, what’s wrong with Miss Qi today?" Shen Yue asked from the driver’s seat, glancing over at her. "You look awful."

Qi Xiang shot a forlorn glance at Gu Xi next to her and waved a hand dismissively. "Don’t even ask. Let’s just get going."

Gu Xi got in the car and leaned against the back seat. "Will we get into trouble for leaving now?" ’There are quite a few people watching me right now, after all.’

"We won’t," Shen Yue said, tapping the steering wheel. "The old man has already made all the arrangements..."

Just as he was speaking, Gu Xi’s personal terminal suddenly rang.

It was a call request from an unknown number.

Gu Xi was a little surprised. She casually accepted it, and the person who appeared on the screen was none other than Zhou Jing.

"Surprised to see me, Miss Gu?" Zhou Jing pushed up the cold frames of her glasses. She stared at Gu Xi through the call, a distinctly villainous smile on her face.

Gu Xi: "...Is there something you need?"

Zhou Jing suddenly felt as if she’d thrown a punch into a bale of cotton, which in turn made her feel inexplicably annoyed.

"Ye Nan came to me," Zhou Jing said abruptly. "She took the research report on the reverse evolution of the grapevines."

Gu Xi’s hand, which was resting at her side, twitched, but her expression remained completely unchanged. "And?"

’It had been several days since she’d actively sent the signal of her return, but there had been no movement from Ye Xin.’

’And now her daughter was asking for the research report from an experiment she had participated in...’

It was hard for Gu Xi not to read into it.

"Does it not bother you at all? Forgive me for being blunt, Miss Gu..." Zhou Jing’s face was openly mocking. "Her reason for wanting that research report probably isn’t as simple as you think."

Gu Xi said nothing. She found Zhou Jing’s motive for making this call rather strange.

’Was she trying to tip me off? Or was she hinting at something?’

’Or... did she just want to watch the drama unfold?’

After a moment’s thought, she asked slowly, "And? What are you trying to say?"

Perhaps it was because Gu Xi’s gaze was too placid, but after meeting her eyes for a moment, Zhou Jing’s own gaze suddenly drifted away. Her voice, however, grew sharper. "Miss Gu, I’m just giving you a friendly reminder. Some things aren’t as simple as they seem."

After listening, Gu Xi decided that made sense. So, she asked with an air of sincere humility, "For example?"

Zhou Jing was suddenly at a loss for words and hastily ended the communication with a sharp CLICK.

Gu Xi: "..."

Beside her, Qi Xiang and Shen Yue exchanged a look. Both of them found Zhou Jing utterly baffling. "Why on earth did she make that call?"

Gu Xi shook her head. "I don’t know."

’However, Zhou Jing’s words did serve as a reminder. If Ye Nan could think to ask for the research reports, what about others?’

After a moment’s thought, Gu Xi opened the official forums.

Sure enough, the web was already buzzing with posts discussing the successful reverse evolution of the plants. From the looks of it... things were getting quite heated.

’So, someone was trying to wield the sword of public opinion?’

’But for what purpose?’

’To force her to release her research data? Or to guilt-trip her into it?’

’Or... was someone trying to blow this whole plant reverse evolution business out of proportion for their own ends?’

Gu Xi lowered her gaze, lost in thought.