From Apocalypse Boss to Farmer: My Vegetables Make Me Stronger!-Chapter 23 - 21: She Touched the Threshold

To spare someone the future embarrassment, Gu Xi decisively ended the topic and asked, "Mr. Xv, why are these plants mutating?"

’I heard the little crybaby is an expert at the Abnormal Ability Research Institute now. Considering the Institute has been researching this for thirty years, they must have some findings, right?’

Mr. Xv, who was always cold and aloof in public, now seemed amiable and approachable.

He followed behind Gu Xi, patiently explaining, "These plants mutate because they contain a special kind of energy we call X Energy."

Gu Xi nodded. ’So X Energy is the official name for that bizarre energy.’

Seeing her interest, Xv Yiyisan continued, "After this X Energy enters the human body through the food chain, it can’t be digested, absorbed, or expelled through metabolism..."

He paused before adding, "When this energy accumulates to a certain level in the body, it causes devastating damage..."

Xv Yiyisan’s expression grew solemn, his thoughts seemingly turning to something unpleasant.

After a long moment, he lowered his gaze and sighed softly. "...Perfectly normal people end up turning into mindless monsters."

And he didn’t just mean "monster" in a figurative sense.

Because X Energy not only causes a complete loss of sanity, but it also brings about physical changes:

Some grew scales, others tails. Some had their hands and feet contort into sharp talons, while others sprouted bone spurs from their backs. Some even grew fangs, and some had tongues that could stretch out over three meters long...

In terms of destructiveness and danger, these humans-turned-monsters were every bit as fearsome as the zombies of the past.

Gu Xi hadn’t seen such a monster since she woke up.

While there was occasional talk about them on the forums, no pictures or videos were ever posted. Hearing Xv Yiyisan’s description, Gu Xi was intrigued.

After a moment of thought, she asked, "So where does this X Energy come from? And how does it get into plants and animals?"

Xv Yiyisan, assuming the young woman was simply curious, didn’t think much of it and replied, "We suspect this X Energy is likely related to the zombie virus that suddenly vanished all those years ago..."

This matched Gu Xi’s own suspicions.

But Gu Xi still couldn’t understand how this bizarre energy actually entered plants and animals.

She had once used her superpower to carefully sense her surroundings, only to find no trace of this special energy in the air, water, or soil.

It was as if it materialized out of thin air inside plants and animals, and at a surprisingly rapid rate.

’I wonder if the Research Institute has figured this out after all these years of work?’

Gu Xi looked at Xv Yiyisan earnestly.

"As for how this X Energy appears inside plants..." Xv Yiyisan hesitated.

"I’m ashamed to say," he began with a sigh, "that over the years, we’ve tested the air, water, and soil from countless different environments... We’ve run a massive number of analytical experiments, but we’ve never managed to solve this puzzle."

"Although, a few years ago, someone did propose one possibility..." At this, Xv Yiyisan’s expression turned strange, and he fell silent.

Gu Xi glanced at him in surprise.

Xv Yiyisan seemed to snap out of it, his expression complex. "A few years ago, someone suggested that the reason X Energy appears in plants and animals might be... genetic mutation."

Gu Xi: "...?" ’I must be poorly read, because I had no idea energy could be inherited.’

Xv Yiyisan explained, "Some have hypothesized that when the zombie virus suddenly disappeared, it somehow became dormant within plants and animals. Later, an unknown change caused the virus to fuse with certain genetic fragments of those plants and animals..."

"Then, this was passed down to the next generation through reproduction. As these new generations of plants and animals grew, those fused and altered gene sequences underwent yet another unknown change, which is what gave rise to X Energy..."

Gu Xi listened intently.

It felt like she understood some of it, yet at the same time, understood nothing at all.

Finally, after a moment’s thought, she offered a diplomatic, "...That’s fascinating."

Seeing her expression, Xv Yiyisan couldn’t help but smile. "Sounds pretty absurd, doesn’t it? In fact, when the theory was first proposed, it wasn’t accepted by the mainstream either."

"But it wasn’t long before someone managed to extract a unique set of genetic fragments from the bodies of those who had turned into monsters..."

This proved that X Energy did, in fact, alter certain human gene sequences.

Since X Energy could alter human gene sequences, it followed that it could also alter the genes of other plants and animals.

So, taking it a step further and working backward—could the X Energy that suddenly appeared in plants and animals have originated from certain unique genetic fragments?

That’s how someone came up with the genetic mutation theory.

However, because we have yet to extract the same or even similar genetic fragments from mutant plants and animals, the hypothesis remains unproven for now.

As Gu Xi washed her hands, she thought, ’Even though I don’t get it, it all sounds incredibly profound.’

"Xiaoxi, if there’s anything else you want to know, feel free to ask me." Xv Yiyisan sat down on a large rock by the stream, turning to smile at Gu Xi.

’This is my sister’s child. She has the right to know everything!’

Gu Xi tilted her head to look at him, and after a moment’s thought, she suddenly asked, "I want to know about the malignant transformation of the mutant plants. What exactly is it? When did it start? And were there any warning signs beforehand?"

Having just fought a malignantly transformed mutant plant a few days ago, this was the one thing Gu Xi wanted to understand most.

She had discovered that after a mutant plant underwent this transformation, it produced another, much purer form of energy—an energy that made her own superpower thrum with excitement.

After Gu Xi’s superpower broke through the tenth rank to reach the Divine Rank at age fourteen, it had remained stagnant ever since.

Everyone believed the Divine Rank was the highest possible level for a superpower.

But Gu Xi, who had been at this ’max level’ for many years, had long felt that there must be a higher realm beyond the Divine Rank.

She could vaguely sense its existence but had never been able to find the threshold.

That is, until that night, when by continuously plundering the bizarre energy from within the mutant plants, she witnessed the malignant transformation process firsthand.

It turned out that before undergoing a malignant transformation, a mutant plant would absorb massive amounts of energy from other mutant plants in the vicinity, causing them to wither and die.

The result of this process, which was akin to survival of the fittest, was that the victorious mutant plant produced another, even purer and more advanced form of energy during its transformation.

This new energy made her Little Green Sprout particularly excited.

And after plundering this energy, Gu Xi felt as if she had finally, faintly, touched that threshold.

That’s why she wanted to find out more about the malignant transformation of mutant plants.

But the authorities had suppressed all information about it, leaving Gu Xi with no way to learn more.

However, from what Wei Heng had said, it seemed all data concerning the malignant transformation of mutant plants was now in the hands of the people at the Central Base Superpower Research Institute.

Even the military had very little information.

And Xv Yiyisan just so happened to be from the Abnormal Ability Research Institute. On top of that, he had a special status and had mentally cast himself in a new role...

’This might be my only opening to get access to that data,’ Gu Xi thought.

So, although she knew it was a risky question, Gu Xi decided to ask it anyway.

But at the same time, she noticed that the instant she asked the question, the Qin Family sisters and Shen Yue all snapped their heads up to look at her.

Even Xv Yiyisan’s expression faltered...

The way they looked at her was completely different.