From Apocalypse Boss to Farmer: My Vegetables Make Me Stronger!-Chapter 142 - 133: Long-term Cooperation

Gu Xi clearly understood his unspoken message.

But today’s incident clearly wasn’t the decision of any single party. The military wanted to use the opportunity to fish, someone wanted to test her, and others were fanning the flames from behind...

Ye Junhan might not have known the full story. He was likely just following orders by showing up here today.

However, since he offered to give her an explanation, she certainly had no objection.

So, Gu Xi nodded at Ye Junhan, then turned and headed back to the planting area.

Before this, she had already signed a formal agreement with the military through Shen Yue. From now on, she was their military provisions supplier.

A long-term partnership. It wasn’t an official position, but it was the kind where she got paid.

The gentle breeze in the fields swept through her long hair, but instead of the pleasant fragrance of plants and earth, it carried the repulsive stench of blood.

The field was still a mess. The men in black had been taken away. Gu Xi looked at the good portion of cabbages that had been ruined, her heart aching slightly.

’With this delay, the cabbages’ mutation coefficient will surely exceed 0.5. That means the military’s settlement price will be different.’

Shen Yue ambled along behind her. After what had just happened, he didn’t dare let Gu Xi wander around the fields alone.

"Gu Xi, something was off about those assassins," Shen Yue said, getting straight to the point.

"Something was," Gu Xi agreed, walking toward the pile of seeds.

From the start, their biggest tell was that they were using melee weapons.

That was why Gu Xi had made a split-second decision to have Sprout change its method of attack. As they sliced through the wall with their blades, she took the opportunity to leave a little something inside their bodies.

"I think they were definitely trying to test for something, right?" Shen Yue said with conviction.

But even for a test, they shouldn’t have used melee weapons. What could that possibly prove?

It wouldn’t draw out Gu Xi’s true strength at all.

Besides, they knew he and Ye Junhan were right there. Gu Xi could have just chosen not to make a move.

’So, maybe what they wanted to test only required Gu Xi to be near those people, even if she didn’t do anything... But what could that be?’

Shen Yue couldn’t figure it out.

’But maybe Ye Junhan knows something?’

At the thought of Ye Junhan, Shen Yue’s expression suddenly turned strange.

Gu Xi was picking out seeds. When she turned back, she saw Shen Yue giving her a strange look and raised an eyebrow. "?"

Shen Yue circled her twice, tutting softly. "Gu Xiaoxi, you and Ye Junhan..."

Seeing Shen Yue’s wiggling eyebrows and suggestive glances, Gu Xi was completely lost. "...What on earth are you trying to say?"

Shen Yue cleared his throat. "Gu Xiaoxi, don’t you think what Ye Junhan said just now was a little strange?"

Then, mimicking a certain someone’s aloof and indifferent demeanor, he repeated, "I will give you an explanation for this."

’She was just looking for an explanation, yet he was volunteering to personally answer for it? Tsk...’

Gu Xi looked at him calmly. "Is there a problem?"

Shen Yue: "...It’s nothing."

Shen Yue stood up and patted the dust off his clothes. ’Oh, well,’ he thought. ’This is fine, too.’

...

Zhou Jinyu took a deep breath. He tore his gaze away from the large monitor in the center of the room and turned to the person beside him. "What exactly are you trying to show me?"

As a non-combatant, he truly couldn’t see anything wrong with the scene he had just witnessed.

Besides, he remained suspicious about why these people had brought him here today.

The man sitting beside him wore a Blood-colored Asura mask and remained silent. Zhou Jinyu couldn’t see the problem, but the masked man was different.

For years, he had been studying the Blood-colored Asura’s combat patterns.

He had seen Gu Xi’s reaction to the attack with perfect clarity. To say it was similar to her old self would be an understatement; it was exactly the same.

She wasn’t even hiding her combat habits like she had before. Even before she hit the ground rolling, the vines in her hand had swelled violently, baring their fangs.

If Shen Yue hadn’t glanced at her at the critical moment, she likely wouldn’t have held back at all.

And what would have awaited those assassins wouldn’t have been a harmless green wall.

’How arrogant,’ he thought. ’To know she’s being watched and still dare to bare her fangs. Truly the Blood-colored Asura of old.’

The man’s hand, hanging below the long table, clenched slightly before he nonchalantly relaxed it. He even forced himself to press down on the knuckle of his left index finger.

Across the long table, Li Xiao and Ye Xin sat side by side.

Ye Xin’s gaze remained fixed on the monitor, her brow furrowed. ’Something’s not right...’

She abruptly activated her personal terminal and ordered the technician on the other end, "Slow down the footage of Gu Xi’s ambush and put it on a loop."

Soon, the scene of the little green sprout exploding in size, rapidly weaving with other plants into a green wall in front of Gu Xi, only to be slashed apart by the men in black, began to loop on the main screen.

Ye Xin stared intently at the screen, her brow furrowed in concentration.

Beside her, Li Xiao suddenly sneered. "So that’s all she’s got."

The words had barely left his mouth when both Ye Xin and the masked man across the table turned to look at him.

"What, did I say something wrong?" Li Xiao said coldly. "I’ve said it before: this isn’t the Blood-colored Asura’s era anymore. Even if she has returned..."

Li Xiao glanced at the main screen, just as it showed the part where Gu Xi rolled on the ground.

Just a few level-nine ability users were enough to force the once-great Blood-colored Asura into such a pathetic state... Li Xiao’s lips curled into a sneer.

At his words, Ye Xin elegantly rolled her eyes. ’This idiot,’ she thought, ’must have had it too easy for too long. His brain has probably rusted over...’

Ever since Li Xiao had taken over Li Ming’s position as head of the department, he’d grown accustomed to looking down on everyone from his lofty perch. Who would dare to roll their eyes at him so brazenly?

He slammed his hand on the table in a fit of rage. "Ye Xin, what’s the meaning of this!"

Ye Xin lowered her gaze, blew on her freshly manicured nails, and couldn’t even be bothered to spare him a glance.

’Idiot.’

Li Xiao’s face went pale with rage. He whipped his head toward the masked man at the head of the table. "Aren’t you going to rein her in?"

The man merely shot Li Xiao a placid glance before looking away, turning his head to ask Zhou Jinyu, "Mr. Zhou, what are your thoughts?"

Zhou Jinyu had been wondering if the reason these three had dragged him here was related to Gu Xi’s identity. ’The situation with Xv Yiyisan is clear, but Li Ming’s attitude toward Gu Xi is what raises my suspicions.’

’If Gu Xi was truly the daughter of the Blood-colored Asura and *that* man, then given Li Ming’s attitude toward the Blood-colored Asura, how could he not have looked out for her?’

’At the very least, today’s incident could have been avoided. With Li Ming overseeing Zone 2, it would have been impossible for their people to meddle with the planting base and sneak assassins inside.’

’But Li Ming had already gone to Zone 2, yet he allowed this incident to happen...’

’Something’s strange.’

Just then, the man called his name, and Zhou Jinyu snapped out of his reverie.

He raised a hand to adjust the cool frames on his nose and slowly shook his head. "I can’t speak to anything else, but the speed at which she grows plants is far greater than any other Wood Element user..."

Her control over her abilities is clearly extraordinary.

’She’s worth recruiting,’ Zhou Jinyu thought.

"What’s so special about that?" Li Xiao retorted reflexively. "If the Blood-colored Asura didn’t even have that much skill, why would we need to be so afraid of her?"

’Idiot.’

Ye Xin shot him a look, unable to resist a sarcastic jab. "Have you really not noticed that there was something wrong with those assassins?"

Only then did it click for Li Xiao. His gaze snapped to the monitor, and a moment later, a realization struck him, sending a chill down his spine.

The next moment, he jerked his head up to look at the man across the table. "You sent *those* people?" He thought they were insane. How dare they send *those* people to face the Blood-colored Asura!

They knew the energy in their bodies was already unstable! And since it’s naturally suppressed by a Crystal Core, it was highly likely to be affected by Gu Xi’s abilities. Once they got close to her, they could mutate at any second!

Now that those men were in military custody, if they mutated right then and there, wouldn’t the military easily discover the problem with the Crystal Cores inside their bodies?

When that happened, it would expose everything, and they would be in deep trouble!

Just then, the image on the monitor flickered and dissolved into a screen full of static.

The surveillance feed suddenly disappeared.

The people on both sides of the long table shot to their feet.

Zhou Jinyu discreetly sized up the other three. ’They clearly have secrets they’re hiding from me, yet they insisted on dragging me into this... I’d be a fool not to suspect something.’

’Heh, do they really think I’m a fool?’

Zhou Jinyu placed both hands on the tabletop, looked to the technician at the side, and asked in his usual, mild-mannered tone:

"What happened? Is there a problem with the equipment? Have someone check on it immediately."