From Apocalypse Boss to Farmer: My Vegetables Make Me Stronger!-Chapter 174 - 165: Insatiable Greed

Meanwhile, in a valley dozens of miles away.

A man in a black cloak, wearing a Blood-colored Shura Mask, was glowering at Li Xiao.

He demanded, "Why did you do that? Dragging all the ability users into this at the joint meeting is no different than pushing them all over to her and the military..."

No one understood the power of Blood-colored Asura’s appeal back then better than old-timers like them who had lived through it.

She was the hero of an era, the spiritual backbone for everyone in a time of darkness and despair!

Now, with Li Xiao stirring things up, once those ability users learn what she has to teach, they will naturally side with her in the future... This was definitely not a situation they wanted to see.

"What’s the rush?" In response to the cloaked man’s accusation, Li Xiao gave him a lazy glance, completely unconcerned.

He activated his personal terminal and projected the Light Screen in front of the cloaked man, gesturing for him to look before saying another word.

The cloaked man gave it a suspicious glance and frowned slightly. "Why are you showing me this?"

The Light Screen displayed the internal document on how to control one’s abilities with precision and finesse—the very one that had been circulating widely among ability users recently.

The cloaked man had seen it before. It was all solid information, very helpful for improving one’s abilities. If it were him, he would never share such valuable experience...

’Idiot.’

Li Xiao saw right through the cloaked man’s thoughts.

He pointed at the document on the Light Screen and said pointedly, "You don’t actually think this is all Blood-colored Asura has to offer, do you?"

"What are you trying to say?" The cloaked man looked at Li Xiao with suspicion, completely unable to figure out what he was planning.

Li Xiao hid the fleeting contempt in his eyes. ’This idiot. I’ve already spelled it out for him, and he still doesn’t get it.’

’No wonder he was cast aside as a pawn.’

Li Xiao looked toward the Central Base and said confidently, "There’s an old saying: a scoop of rice is a kindness, but a sack of rice creates a grudge..."

At first, when the ability users get a taste of the good stuff, they might be grateful to her. But what happens when one day they want more, and she’s no longer willing to give it?

Will they still be grateful to her then?

No. They won’t. They’ll only complain that she isn’t giving them enough!

Ah, human nature... so selfish, ugly, and vile...

The cloaked man grew thoughtful.

Then, it suddenly dawned on him. "This document... you’re the one who leaked it?"

Li Xiao simply smiled without answering.

’At this point, it no longer matters who leaked the document.’

’What matters is that you should always leave yourself a way out, no matter what you do.’

’Come to think of it, his cousin was the one who personally taught him that lesson...’

’And right now, whatever is hidden in Area 0569 is another fallback plan he’s prepared for himself.’

’Although he still didn’t know what was hidden there, since that woman, Ye Xin, was going to such great lengths to find it, he had to get his hands on it!’

After Li Xiao left, the cloaked man remained where he was, watching as Li Xiao’s figure gradually vanished into the darkness. The shock on his face faded, replaced by an expression of disdain and mockery.

’A member of the Li family, through and through. As expected, they’re experts at scheming.’

’A pity... the BOSS saw through Li Xiao’s petty tricks long ago.’

’Now that he’s willingly taken on this hot potato and paved the way for us, it saves us the trouble.’

...

「Central Base, Military Planting Research Base」

A group of ability users stood in a cornfield, idling in the shade and gossiping.

One of them complained sourly, "That Miss Gu is so stingy. She clearly has good stuff but refuses to share it..."

Another chimed in, "I know, right? To think I actually believed she was generous after reading that document. Turns out she’s just hoarding the really good stuff and not teaching us at all..."

Someone said snidely, "Teach your apprentice everything you know, and the master starves. You should be grateful for what you got!"

But one person hesitated. "That can’t be right... Don’t you think you might have misunderstood? If Miss Gu were really that kind of person, she wouldn’t have shared the internal document in the first place..."

"What do you know?" another scoffed. "If she didn’t release that document, how else would she win people over?"

Someone added in a sour tone, "And with that contribution, didn’t she secure herself a firm position in the Military Department? Who knows how many ability users who don’t know any better are secretly grateful to her..."

Yet another added with an air of unparalleled wisdom, "You’re still young. You have to learn. You can’t just judge things by their surface..."

Not far away, Ye Nan coughed loudly twice. The group of ability users, who had been chattering away just moments before, froze sheepishly before scattering in all directions.

Ye Nan bit her lip, her expression complex.

Ability users naturally have sharp hearing and sight. ’Those words just now...’ She glanced cautiously at the girl beside her and said in a comforting tone, "Gu Xi, don’t be angry. They’re just talking nonsense..."

Ye Nan wasn’t good at comforting people. As a young lady who had always been the center of attention, she was used to being the one receiving comfort. After racking her brain for a long time, all she could manage was a lame, "Anyway, not everyone thinks like that. Don’t be upset."

"I’m not upset." Gu Xi lowered her gaze to the cornfield. The stalks, now taller than a person, were already beginning to ear up. Their growth cycle was a bit faster than she had anticipated.

’As for what those people said... it was just a case of human greed. It was nothing to her. She had heard far worse things back in the day.’

’Back then, people had called her cold-blooded and selfish, saying she had a dimensional space full of supplies but was unwilling to share with the refugees in the camps outside the city.’

’People had called her vicious and hypocritical. If she had the power to slay the Zombie King, why didn’t she leave the city to eliminate the threat sooner? Why did she have to wait until the last possible moment, when the city was besieged by zombies, to finally make her move?’

’Wasn’t it just so everyone would be grateful to her? Wasn’t she just using countless lives to build her legendary reputation as the Blood-colored Asura!’

’Others had cursed her for...’

In any case, Gu Xi was long used to it.

At first, she would get upset, but later, Li Ming told her that while words could be hurtful, they couldn’t truly harm someone who was genuinely strong.

And so, that little girl who used to hide in corners, secretly wiping away her tears and sulking, grew stronger and stronger...

Bones of steel, skin like iron, impervious to any blade.

’This little bit of gossip?’

’It couldn’t hurt her anymore.’

Gu Xi calmly broke off an ear of corn. She peeled back the husk and took a bite. The flavor was good, but it was still a little young and not quite sweet enough...

"Actually..." Ye Nan stood to the side, watching Gu Xi earnestly munching on the raw corn. She hesitated for a moment before lowering her voice. "The higher-ups are already investigating. Someone is probably manipulating public opinion on purpose..."

’As for the motive, that was simple.’

’Someone didn’t want the Military Department to use Gu Xi to win the hearts of the people—especially not the hearts of a special group like the ability users. So, they decided to attack the source, twisting Gu Xi’s good intentions to make it seem like she had an ulterior motive.’

’Ye Nan despised these kinds of dirty tactics, but having grown up in these circles, she knew very well that this was just another political maneuver.’

’She couldn’t say anything. She didn’t even dare to consider whether the Abnormal Ability Research Institute had a hand in this... or whether her own mother, Ye Xin, was involved.’

"I know." Gu Xi broke the remaining half of the corn in two and handed a piece to Ye Nan. "Want to try? It’s not bad."

’She knew someone was manipulating public opinion behind the scenes. It was just a feint, with a different ultimate goal.’

’But the Military Department would have its own way of handling it, so she couldn’t be bothered to waste time guessing. She’d rather use the energy to plant a few more fields.’

Beside her, Ye Nan looked down at the piece of young corn in her hand, taken aback for a moment.

A complex emotion flickered in her eyes.

She looked up at Gu Xi.

Standing in the cornfield under the sun, the young woman looked both dazzlingly radiant and perfectly at ease.

’And it is human nature to be drawn to beauty and admire the strong.’

’Even she couldn’t help but feel drawn to a girl like this. No wonder Jun Han was attracted to her...’

Ye Nan lowered her gaze to hide the bitterness in her eyes and took a bite of the corn.

’It was sweet. Sweeter than any corn she had ever eaten before.’

Ye Nan took another large bite.

’No wonder Qi Xiang had said that if you could spend your days eating and drinking well and just living a carefree life, what difference did it make whether you had a man or not?’

’In that moment, she felt like... she was suddenly beginning to understand Qi Xiang.’