From Apocalypse Boss to Farmer: My Vegetables Make Me Stronger!-Chapter 183 - 174: Fencesitter and Banana

A day had passed, and there was still no news of Wei Heng.

After finishing her work, Gu Xi checked the time. It was already midnight.

She returned to her room, slowly lay down on the bed, and lowered her gaze, fiddling with the small green sprout twirling around her fingertip. She replayed the events of the past few days in her mind.

For now, she wasn’t too worried about Wei Heng’s safety.

Because the Chen sisters clearly valued their own lives more than anyone.

And with Wei Heng in their hands, he was only useful as a pawn if he was alive. If anything happened to him, it would only infuriate her. The Chen sisters were smart; they wouldn’t do something so foolish.

Besides, Wei Heng wasn’t without the ability to protect himself. The lack of news probably meant he was just trapped somewhere.

She believed the Chen sisters would resolve this matter perfectly for her.

But then there was Zhou Jing...

Zhou Jing had suddenly come to see her last night, and Gu Xi had found it strange at the time.

Zhou Jing’s background was complicated. On one hand, Yang Chi had already confirmed that she was indeed Zhou Jinyu’s illegitimate daughter. On the other hand, there was her birth mother... From what Zhou Jing had said last night, Gu Xi guessed that her mother was likely no ordinary person either.

Her sudden visit last night must have been at Zhou Jinyu’s behest.

But Zhou Jing clearly didn’t want to be controlled by Zhou Jinyu, nor did she want to completely burn her bridges with him, so she had revealed quite a bit of information last night.

As for the purpose of Zhou Jinyu’s move...

Many people believed Zhou Jinyu had climbed to his current position because of his past relationship with Ye Xin, riding her coattails to become a department head.

But Gu Xi didn’t think so.

That day at the Superpower Union Headquarters Building, she had tested Chen...

If she wasn’t mistaken, this Zhou Jinyu had been Chen’s man from the very beginning!

Gu Xi even suspected that it was Chen who had "guided" him from behind to get close to Ye Xin back then.

But Zhou Jinyu was undoubtedly a smart man—and a very pragmatic one at that.

He might not know her identity, but he had probably long since realized that Chen’s power was waning and that his fall was only a matter of time.

So he wanted to find an escape route for himself in advance. That’s why he sent Zhou Jing to her, even mentioning Zhou Jing’s birth mother during their conversation...

Zhou Jinyu was always very purposeful in his actions. Every word he had Zhou Jing convey must have had a deeper meaning.

’So what exactly was he hinting at?’

Gu Xi had a gut feeling that this was a very important clue.

But the man was too cautious. Before the situation became clear, he obviously wanted to remain a fence-sitter, not offending anyone. So even if she went to him now, he probably wouldn’t talk.

Then there was the last thing Chen Lu said today—"Xiaoxi, I’ll be waiting for you in City A."

Chen Lu had deliberately mentioned City A, clearly implying to her that this matter was related to Yun Ye.

But Gu Xi knew it couldn’t be Yun Ye.

After all, he was bent on turning her into one of his own kind.

So not only would Yun Ye not stop her from going to City A, he would actually try everything to lure her there.

So who was the person hiding in the shadows, secretly preventing her from leaving the Central Base?

On the surface, it looked like some people were dissatisfied with the military’s arrangements and wanted to plant their own people around Gu Xi, so they chose this method to make a show of force against the military.

However, the military had already agreed to share the reverse evolution project for plants. Why did they insist on keeping such a close watch on her?

If it was for a power grab, that was hardly necessary. After all, the military was the main player right now.

At the end of the day, she was just a country girl who farmed.

Unless... they were certain they could gain even greater value from her, so much so that they were willing to go head-to-head with the military to the very end.

Which brought up a question:

Few people knew her true identity now, and even fewer knew the secret of her superpower.

So, who had leaked the information about her value?

Anyone who could become the leader of a faction in the apocalypse was not to be underestimated.

Such people would never be easily convinced by a few glib words.

Unless the person who leaked the information was very special... or he had some concrete evidence in his hands that forced others to believe him.

Ultimately, the factions currently obstructing Gu Xi’s departure were just being used by that person.

And the person truly hiding in the shadows seemed to know her very well—he knew many things about her.

Including her biggest secret.

Gu Xi closed her eyes. ’Who could this person be?’

’It seems... he only wants to trap her in the Central Base?’

’That’s a bit strange.’

Early the next morning, Gu Xi discovered many new faces in the planting base.

The way they looked at Gu Xi—as if she were a rare treasure to be hoarded. They wanted to possess her exclusively, yet they were also wary of her.

Gu Xi didn’t pay them much mind and went about her business as usual. Qi Xiang, on the other hand, was getting angry just watching them.

"Gu Xi, what’s with these people? They’re constantly circling around you, ’bumping into’ you eight hundred times a day, and they don’t even try to hide the way they’re staring," Qi Xiang said, rolling her eyes. She flicked her long hair back and sneered, "Do they really think we’re pushovers they can just mess with?"

"Why bother with them?" Gu Xi closed her Light Screen and handed her a banana.

"You’re right." Qi Xiang deftly peeled the banana. There really was no point in getting worked up over a bunch of people destined to be cannon fodder.

The peeled banana gave off a cloyingly sweet scent. Qi Xiang lowered her head to take a bite, then paused.

She looked up and asked, "Gu Xi, where did you get this banana?"

Gu Xi looked over, her gaze falling on the banana in Qi Xiang’s hand. "It’s from Lab 3... Is something wrong with it?"

Lab 3 had just successfully reverse-evolved a banana tree two days ago. The Wood Element user over there had ripened this one just this morning and sent it over for Gu Xi to try.

Gu Xi hadn’t had a chance to eat it yet. Seeing Qi Xiang storm in just now, she had casually broken one off and given it to her.

Qi Xiang looked as if she wanted to say something but held back, finally shaking her head slightly. "Nothing’s wrong."

Gu Xi glanced at her, thought for a moment, then broke off one for herself and took a bite.

Then she met Qi Xiang’s gaze.

There was nothing wrong with the banana, it was just... the taste was a little strange. It seemed a bit too cloying, perhaps?

Gu Xi looked down at the banana in her hand, considered it, and said, "Maybe it’s a new variety they’re cultivating in the research lab?"

Qi Xiang casually stuffed the rest of the banana into her mouth, a noncommittal smile playing on her lips.

If she remembered correctly, a certain someone from Lab 3 had been trying to squeeze into Gu Xi’s team from the very beginning. He had even tried to use a honey trap on her several times, but it had never worked because Shen Yue was always there to run interference.

Now that the military had made a concession, and Shen Yue had left the Central Base early in the morning...

Thinking of this, Qi Xiang looked up and asked Gu Xi, "Do you think Shen Yue and Qin Yi will be able to pick up Qin Shi without any trouble?" For some reason, she felt that was a bit up in the air.

Dr. Qi had said that if they stayed at the Central Base, they would only hold Gu Xi back. So, after Qi Xiang got back, she went to find Shen Yue...

The two of them had put their heads together and decided to leave the Central Base first, so that Gu Xi wouldn’t be held back by them and fall into someone else’s trap.

But neither of them had told Gu Xi about this.

Shen Yue had left with Qin Yi early this morning to pick up Qin Shi. Qi Xiang had originally wanted to go with them, but Gu Xi had made her stay.

Qi Xiang didn’t know if Gu Xi had already guessed their plan, and she couldn’t help but feel a little anxious.

Gu Xi, however, was very calm. She looked out the window. "They will." ’And if they can’t, it doesn’t matter,’ she added in her mind. ’Worst case, I’ll go get her myself.’