From Apocalypse Boss to Farmer: My Vegetables Make Me Stronger!-Chapter 134 - 125: Everyone is Poor in Their Own Way

Chapter 134: Chapter 125: Everyone is Poor in Their Own Way

Li Ming’s physical condition was truly terrible.

By the time Gu Xi had finished thoroughly combing through his body with her ability, Li Ming could no longer hold on and had fallen asleep in his wheelchair.

He was so thin. The degree to which his life force had withered away was shocking to Gu Xi.

She didn’t know what had happened over the years to make Li Ming neglect his own body so much, and his ability...

The situation was dire. Gu Xi’s heart felt heavy.

Although she could maintain Li Ming’s life force for now, if she wanted to completely reverse his current state and restore his body’s vitality, there was only one way... to help his ability break through to the next level.

This was both easy and difficult.

Gu Xi looked at the withered old man in the wheelchair, her gaze lowering slightly.

After a long moment, she sighed softly and bent down to lift Li Ming, only to realize how light he was. And his legs...

Gu Xi couldn’t bear to look and was about to turn her eyes away.

Just then.

"Xiaoxi?" Li Ming was startled awake. He subconsciously grabbed a nearby blanket, wanting to cover his unsightly legs.

But he quickly let go.

’With Xiaoxi’s spiritual power, she probably sensed it long ago. Why am I trying to delude myself?’

Gu Xi secretly took a deep breath to keep from crying. With a composed expression, she placed him on the bed and said softly, "Ming, you should get some more sleep. I’m going to take a look outside."

Seeing that she didn’t ask about his legs, Li Ming secretly sighed in relief.

It wasn’t that he didn’t want to tell her, but rather that he didn’t know how.

"Alright." He smiled. "I am indeed a bit tired. But Xiaoxi, you know this is the underground black market, after all. Some things..."

"Don’t worry, I know how to handle myself." Gu Xi nodded, pulling the blanket over him.

Li Ming wanted to say more, but he lacked the mental energy. That, combined with his exhaustion from the evening, caused him to quickly fall asleep again.

Gu Xi stared down at Li Ming on the bed for a long moment before silently withdrawing her soothing spiritual power and turning to leave the damp, gloomy room.

This underground black market, located on the outskirts of the capital, was like a vast subterranean labyrinth with winding, twisting paths. If an ordinary person entered without a guide, they would likely have a hard time finding their way out again.

But for Gu Xi, none of that was a problem.

Her immense spiritual power spread out silently from beneath her feet...

When Li Ming woke up, he was suddenly startled.

Gu Xi was gone.

He struggled to sit up in bed and pulled the wheelchair over. Just as he was about to move into it, Gu Xi pushed the door open and walked in.

"Xiaoxi, you...?" When Li Ming saw what she was holding, he couldn’t help but freeze.

"Ming, you’re awake?" Gu Xi half-knelt in front of him and casually tossed her newly acquired spoils of war onto the bed. "I just took a walk outside and ran into a few guys who didn’t know their place..."

"But they were all too poor to compensate me for my mental distress, so they had to give me their weapons instead," Gu Xi said casually.

After all, in a place like the black market, might makes right.

If anyone was to blame, it was those guys for being blind and messing with the wrong person.

Li Ming lowered his gaze slightly, the corner of his eye catching her "spoils," and suddenly smiled. "I thought..."

Gu Xi looked up at him.

"Nothing." Li Ming smiled and shook his head. Looking at Gu Xi, whose face was calm and whose eyes were still clear and bright, he suddenly said, "Xiaoxi, you should go back."

’Gu Xi just arrived at the Central Base and then suddenly disappeared. Things outside must be in an uproar by now.’

"No rush. I think this place is pretty nice." Gu Xi bent down, lifted him into the wheelchair, and met Li Ming’s eyes calmly. "Ming, let’s go out for a walk. Just like when we were little..."

When they were children, Li Ming would often sneak little Gu out of the Abnormal Ability Research Institute, and they had visited several black markets during those times.

Two children, with no adult around, and dressed quite well... In the black market, that was like a fat sheep with a miner’s lamp on its head—exceptionally conspicuous.

Thieves, robbers, human traffickers... In the darkest and filthiest alleys of the black market, a young Li Ming, wise beyond his years, led little Gu and showed her all the ugliness and depravity of human nature.

Because even back then, Li Ming knew that only after witnessing all that ugliness could the soft, innocent little girl harden her heart and learn how to survive in this wretched apocalypse!

And surviving... that was their only goal at the time.

Li Ming clearly remembered those days as well. As they passed a cabinet, he leaned over, pulled open a drawer, and took out a compressed energy bar, handing it to Gu Xi.

Gu Xi stared at the black energy bar in her hand, unable to process it for a moment.

’This thing...’

"Surprising, isn’t it?" Li Ming didn’t seem surprised at all. He smiled and pointed at the energy bar in Gu Xi’s hand. "They stopped making these years ago..."

Because it contained the pure energy of a Plant Crystal Core, even ordinary people could consume it directly.

But ever since the second great mutation of plants back then, they no longer produced Crystal Cores.

So, the few remaining Plant Crystal Cores from that time became incredibly precious.

Their value even far exceeded that of Zombie Crystal Cores.

After all, ordinary people couldn’t use those Zombie Crystal Cores.

Over the years, the supply of Plant Crystal Cores had dwindled with each one used. The compressed energy bars made from them naturally became peerlessly rare items that had long been out of production.

The one in Gu Xi’s hand was something Li Ming had gone to great lengths to acquire through the black market.

And it was the only one he had.

Yet Li Ming had just given it to her so easily...

"You should eat something first. I know you can’t stomach the food in the black market..." Li Ming turned back and looked at her with a smile.

Gu Xi gripped the energy bar tightly and said slowly, "Ming, I met a new friend. He’s a pretty good cook..."

"I know." Li Ming smiled. "Jun Han told me everything. I hear Wei is very good at making desserts?"

Gu Xi paused, her mind inexplicably drifting to the bag of walnut pastries.

Then she heard Li Ming sigh. "I haven’t had a proper meal in many years. I really miss it. It’s a shame... I’m afraid I won’t get the chance to taste Wei’s cooking this time..."

Gu Xi understood his underlying meaning. She frowned slightly and said firmly, "You have to come with me this time."

"Xiaoxi..."

"Ming, you have to listen to me this time." Gu Xi cut Li Ming off. She pushed the wheelchair forward a few steps, then turned back, picked up the spoils of war she had tossed on the bed, and placed them in Li Ming’s hands.

"Ming, you know this place better than I do. Let’s go take a look outside later and see if we can trade these for something good..." Gu Xi pushed Li Ming out of the room.

Unfortunately, after a full tour, they came up with nothing.

It couldn’t be helped. Life in the apocalypse was hard.

Even at the Central Base, everyone was poor in their own way.

Gu Xi glanced down at the few wild fruits Li Ming had traded her spoils for and suddenly felt like she’d gotten a raw deal.

But after a moment’s thought, she didn’t say anything.

「...」

Meanwhile, the black-robed man, codenamed 01, who had been having Gu Xi monitored, wore a grim expression.

He stared grimly at the figures on the Light Screen and said in a cold voice, "It’s almost dawn. You still haven’t found her?" ’A bunch of useless fools.’

"What’s the rush?" someone sneered lazily. "My people have been keeping an eye on the Shen Family..." ’After all, she can’t escape her ties to them.’

"I heard Zhou Jinyu’s people are also looking for her?" another person said in a hoarse voice. "Ever since the military started having all those problems, something’s been off with the Abnormal Ability Research Institute. What does the Boss have to say about this?"

As soon as the words fell, the figures on the screen all looked up at the black-robed man, 01.

Although every one of them was a core member of this organization, the only one who had ever seen the Boss’s true face was 01. 𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂

They weren’t without their complaints about this, but they were all good actors.

"Zhou Jinyu doesn’t know anything. Ignore him." 01 sneered, his gaze dark as he stared at the person on the Light Screen. "Besides, this is not your concern."

"Is that so?" The person chuckled, seemingly unimpressed by 01, who was clearly on a power trip. His tone was odd as he said, "But don’t forget, Zhou Jinyu was by Ye Xin’s side for so many years. Who knows how much he’s guessed..."

looked up at him, his expression dark.

Of course, he knew that the current Zhou Jinyu was not easy to handle.

He might have been an ordinary person who acted low-key and was gentle with everyone, but he was cunning to a fault, his mind riddled with more schemes than a honeycomb briquette has holes.

Even he had to be cautious when dealing with Zhou Jinyu now.

’If it weren’t for...’

A thought seemed to cross 01’s mind, and he suddenly snorted coldly.

"Someone is already keeping an eye on Zhou Jinyu. You don’t need to worry about him." He slowly looked up at the others, his gaze sinister. "The most important thing right now is to find that person as soon as possible."

"Don’t forget how all of you advanced your abilities over the years..."

looked up and warned them grimly, "So, I advise all of you to put away your petty schemes and find her immediately. Otherwise... if the experiment cannot continue, you’ll have to fend for yourselves."

With that, his Light Screen abruptly went dark.

The dark space instantly fell silent.

After a long moment, someone snorted with a laugh and rose lazily. "Alright, let’s all disperse. Go find her. Otherwise, our dear Boss is really going to be unhappy..."