From Apocalypse Boss to Farmer: My Vegetables Make Me Stronger!-Chapter 138 - 129: Who Is That?

Qi Xiang stood up, her face twisted in a grimace.

She put down the snack in her hand, clutched her stomach with one hand, pointed toward the bathroom for Gu Xi with the other, and rushed off without a word.

Gu Xi: "..." ’Just as I thought. Besides me, with my immunity to all poisons, no one else can handle Ye Xin’s cooking.’

Qi Xiang was in the bathroom for a long time. Just as Gu Xi got up, intending to check on her, the door to the inner study opened.

A young female assistant in a white lab coat walked out of the study with a blank expression. "Miss Gu, Dr. Qi will see you now."

Gu Xi thought for a moment. ’This is Qi Xiang’s home, after all. And given Qi Xiang’s strangely good luck... it should be fine.’

She nodded at the assistant and turned to walk toward the study door.

Outside, in front of the surveillance monitor, Ye Xin looked up at Li Xiao. "Oh, right, I forgot to ask earlier. To what do I owe the honor of your visit today, Mr. Li?"

Li Xiao stared at the screen, watching the door slowly close behind Gu Xi. He looked up at Ye Xin with a grim face and said, "Li Ming has gone to Zone 2."

Zone 2 was military territory. It was also a place they had spent years trying, and failing, to infiltrate.

He refused to believe that this woman, Ye Xin, didn’t know what that meant.

But to his surprise, Ye Xin merely raised an eyebrow at his words and said nonchalantly, "So what?" ’Now that Xiaoxi is back, isn’t it perfectly normal for Ming to go to Xiao Yu’s territory?’

Li Xiao’s expression darkened. He stared at her gloomily without saying a word.

’It seems this woman, Ye Xin, already has an exit strategy planned...’

’Fortunately, I have an ace up my sleeve, too.’

...

The door slowly closed behind her. Gu Xi looked up at the man standing with his back to her by the window.

After a long moment.

"Doctor," she said calmly.

After a moment, Dr. Qi turned to face her. "Xiaoxi, long time no see."

Gu Xi sighed. "Doctor, it seems you’ve known for a while that I was back."

"Not at all." Dr. Qi shook his head, his expression complicated. "Xiaoxi, Li Ming did a very good job with Xv Yiyisan over the years. The file he created on you was so convincing... that at first, none of us thought it was really you who had returned."

Gu Xi cut straight to the point. "Us?" ’Who is ’us’?’

Dr. Qi smiled gently but bypassed the question, changing the subject to get to his own point. "Xiaoxi, what happened back then had nothing to do with me."

"Oh?" Gu Xi raised an eyebrow noncommittally.

’If it really had nothing to do with you, why would you be so direct with me the moment I walked in?’

"Xiaoxi," Dr. Qi sighed, his tone gentle, as if they were back in the past. "When you suddenly disappeared all those years ago, I initially thought Yun Ye had taken you away to live in seclusion."

"Yun Ye never got along with Li Ming and the others, so at the time, I thought that was why you left without saying goodbye..."

As Dr. Qi recounted the past, he subtly observed Gu Xi’s expression.

But even after he finished speaking, Gu Xi’s face remained perfectly calm.

Not even the name "Yun Ye" could cause the slightest ripple in her emotions.

Dr. Qi’s heart sank.

"Initially?" Gu Xi picked up on something different in his words.

"Yes." Dr. Qi poured her a cup of hot water, his gaze calm and sincere. "Initially, that’s what I believed. Until a few years later, when a mysterious organization suddenly contacted me, wanting to cooperate..."

Gu Xi’s heart skipped a beat. "Cooperate?"

She held the warm cup in both hands, slowly stroking its surface.

"Yes," Dr. Qi said, sitting down across from her. He paused for a moment before admitting, "They sent me some Crystal Core Fragments. The moment I saw them, I knew they belonged to you."

"So, you guessed back then that something had happened to me?" Gu Xi looked up, her eyes calm.

But perhaps because her gaze was *too* calm, Dr. Qi suddenly felt a pang of panic.

In fact, it was an emotion he hadn’t experienced in many years.

For it to surface so suddenly...

Dr. Qi looked at the inscrutable Gu Xi.

’Honestly, I can’t quite figure her out anymore.’

After a long while, he sighed. "Yes, I knew then. I went to find Ye Xin that very day... and we had a furious argument."

"Not long after, Ye Xin volunteered for the G01 Project, bringing a six-year-old Ye Junhan with her."

He paused there, looking up at Gu Xi, seemingly waiting for her to ask the next question.

But Gu Xi wasn’t sidetracked. She stuck to the main point. "Who is in that mysterious organization? What did they want to cooperate with you on?"

’So there’s no avoiding it, huh?’

’Right. The person in front of me is no longer the young girl from years ago who seemed strong on the outside but was softer than anyone on the inside.’

Dr. Qi sighed but didn’t hide anything. "Over the years, they’ve been very cautious and low-key. I’ve never met their leader, so I don’t know who they really are. As for the content of our cooperation..."

He shook his head with a bitter smile and looked at Gu Xi. "Xiaoxi, you’ve probably already guessed. They want to create an artificial energy source... Over the years, they’ve sent many of your Crystal Core Fragments, as well as many High-level Zombie Crystal Cores, but the progress of my experiments..."

Dr. Qi handed a palm-sized box to Gu Xi, glancing at her. "The most successful attempt was with that suspected Zombie King Crystal Core from the NX1984 Area... but I never expected it would go so wrong in the end."

"Afterward, I contacted them and confirmed they had tampered with it. As for their motive, perhaps it was to warn me? Or to pressure me into being more obedient?"

"After all, you know me. Even when I’m cooperating, I’m not exactly one to follow orders..."

Dr. Qi gave a self-deprecating laugh, laying out the whole story without holding anything back.

His attitude seemed completely sincere.

Gu Xi stared at the box in silence for a long moment before looking up. "Doctor, if you knew from the start that it was my Crystal Core, why did you continue the experiments?"

Dr. Qi met her gaze calmly. "Xiaoxi, you should know me. I’ve dedicated my entire life to scientific research. Although social order had been restored by then, the problem of energy depletion was already on the horizon..."

He paused, glanced at Gu Xi, and continued, "And in the entire Abnormal Ability Research Institute, I was the one who understood your ability best. To others, the solution they proposed seemed fantastical, but I knew it was feasible."

As he spoke, a strong, fanatical light suddenly gleamed in Dr. Qi’s eyes. "Those are Divine-level Crystal Core Fragments! If I could unravel their secrets..."

"Even if it meant imprisoning me and using me as an energy source?" Gu Xi cut him off coldly. "Doctor, your joint project couldn’t have just been about artificial energy, could it?"

She watched him as she took a sip of water from the cup in her hands.

Dr. Qi’s expression didn’t change as he nodded in acknowledgment. "Yes, it involved more than that. But I was only responsible for that one part."

’As for the rest, I won’t say a word. I *can’t* say a word.’

Gu Xi glanced at him but didn’t press further. Instead, she asked, "Then what about the G01 Project?"

Instantly, Dr. Qi’s expression grew complicated, but he ultimately answered frankly, "The G01 Project... I was one of the participants. But I was not the one leading it."

"Then who was?" Gu Xi asked, placing the cup she’d been holding on the table in front of her.

Dr. Qi stared at her for a long moment, his expression complex. "Xiaoxi, are you sure you want to know?"

Gu Xi nodded calmly.

After a long pause, Dr. Qi sighed and said—

"It was Chen."

’It was her?’ 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎

Gu Xi raised an eyebrow in surprise.