From Apocalypse Boss to Farmer: My Vegetables Make Me Stronger!-Chapter 32 - 30: Golden Carp Luck

After that, Wei Heng and Qin Yi absolutely refused to accompany Gu Xi to her "work" (classes) anymore.

It was just too horrifying, too torturous.

Fortunately, the laboratory was completed over the next few days, and more equipment was delivered. The two professors had to inspect the lab and calibrate the instruments, which meant they didn’t have as much time to teach Gu Xi.

Gu Xi felt like she could finally breathe again.

Early one morning, after finishing his sweet potato, Shen Yue drove his large SUV over.

The professors were busy today, so Gu Xi didn’t have class. The group decided to go explore the nearby area.

Of course, that was just their cover story.

In reality, Shen Yue had asked Gu Xi a few days ago to help him produce a batch of grain with a low mutation coefficient as quickly as possible. The frontline combat troops were in desperate need.

Gu Xi thought about it and agreed.

However, given her planting methods and speed, planting in a fixed location was unrealistic. After all, the land needed time to rest and recover; you couldn’t just force it to produce repeatedly.

But fortunately, there was uncultivated wasteland everywhere, so as long as they had the people, land wasn’t an issue.

After getting Gu Xi’s answer, Shen Yue contacted his old man and had him dispatch all available Earth and Wood Element ability users from the nearby frontline troops, along with an entire transport company.

The troops had already arrived last night. Now, they were just waiting for Gu Xi.

"Ready to go?" Shen Yue asked, leaning lazily against the SUV. Their destination was by the Heng River, over eighty *li* away.

Even by car, it would take over two hours.

Gu Xi had chosen the location.

She hadn’t set the location by the Heng River because she was craving pickled fish soup or steamed fish head with diced hot peppers. Rather, she hadn’t been able to find any mutant animals nearby these past few days, so she’d set her sights on the mutant fish in the river.

—She wanted to test her theory about plant mutation again.

A little over two hours later, the group of four arrived at their destination.

Shen Yue’s men had already worked through the night to clear over a thousand *mu* of wasteland. Gu Xi obviously couldn’t plant it all by herself, and even if she could, she didn’t want to work herself to death.

Fortunately, the military had arranged for enough Wood Element ability users to come. All Gu Xi needed to do was help them cultivate the seeds and raise the seedlings.

At three in the afternoon, after planting three consecutive crops of grain, Gu Xi stopped.

She closed her eyes, sensing the fishy smell of water on the wind, and started walking toward the river.

Wei Heng, who had been by her side the whole time, saw this and was about to follow when Gu Xi stopped him.

"Some of the mutant fish in the river are very dangerous." Wei Heng’s eyes were filled with strong disapproval as he looked at Gu Xi, whose face had turned slightly pale.

Not far away, Qin Yi also turned her head, her expression tense. "Gu Xi, Wei Heng is right. Why don’t you let us go with you?"

But Gu Xi said, "No, thanks. I want to take a walk by myself."

The two were about to argue further, but Shen Yue stopped them with a look.

Wei Heng was still a little worried, but seeing Gu Xi’s insistence, he could only give her a few more warnings before letting her go alone.

Half an hour later, Gu Xi stood on the bank of the Heng River.

She closed her eyes slightly.

After carefully sensing the Abnormal Energy fluctuations in the river, a small green sprout shot out from her fingertip, accurately striking a mutant fish over a meter long.

The moment the plunder began, the strange energy inside the mutant fish started to fight back violently, trying to devour Gu Xi’s ability in return...

’Just as I expected.’

A moment later, Gu Xi opened her eyes.

’It seems that mutant animals, unlike plants, probably don’t have the ability to suppress and seal that X Energy. So that strange X Energy is active inside them from the very beginning...’

Gu Xi went on to test several other types of mutant fish, and the result was the same every time, without exception.

...

Because they were delayed for a while by the river, it was almost dark by the time Gu Xi and the others headed back.

They had thought that after a busy day, they could go back, eat a good meal, and get a good night’s sleep.

But unexpectedly, before the SUV could even make it back to the creek, they were stopped on the outskirts.

The ones who stopped them were all strangers.

Gu Xi subconsciously looked at Shen Yue.

Shen Yue frowned slightly, his fingertips tapping nonchalantly on the steering wheel. The people blocking them weren’t the patrol members he’d assigned to the two professors. Judging by their formation, they were probably the garrison force from South City Base.

It was like the difference between police and field troops before the apocalypse; they weren’t part of the same system.

Qin Yi had already gotten out of the car to investigate.

She quickly returned and informed the others, "They said the area ahead has been cordoned off."

As she spoke, she glanced at Shen Yue. Seeing he didn’t stop her, she lowered her voice and continued, "It’s probably about that forest. People from the Central Base’s Abnormal Ability Research Institute have arrived, too..."

After Qin Yi finished speaking, she subconsciously looked up to see Gu Xi’s and Wei Heng’s reactions.

Wei Heng was in the front passenger seat, his head slightly lowered and his eyes downcast, so his expression was unreadable for the moment.

Gu Xi, on the other hand, showed a timely look of surprise and confusion.

She thought about the situation with that forest...

’For the Abnormal Ability Research Institute to be alerted and to set up such a conspicuous cordon, the only possible cause was that malignant mutant plant she had spawned the other day.’

That night, Gu Xi had accidentally discovered that after its energy was plundered, the malignant mutant plant withered and decayed much faster than the other mutant plants around it.

To avoid anyone discovering the anomaly later, after that fight, Gu Xi had used her Wind Skill to slice the withered malignant mutant plant into fragments. She then scattered them with the wind under the vast patch of other withered mutant plants, letting them merge completely into the cycle of nature.

In the following two days, she also discovered that the mutation coefficient of the new mutant plants on that slope was slightly lower than in other places...

So, Gu Xi thought about it and plundered that area one more time, making their mutation coefficient basically the same as the surrounding area.

She had originally thought her plan to destroy the evidence was flawless and that no one would ever discover a malignant mutant plant had once appeared there.

But now... it seemed her clever plan had backfired.

Of course, strictly speaking, it wasn’t that Gu Xi hadn’t been cautious enough. Rather, she had been disconnected from this world for far too long.

’To have inexplicably disappeared for thirty years... As a result, Gu Xi had no idea just how far the most advanced technology and monitoring methods of this era had developed.’

Just then, Wei Heng suddenly looked up and asked, "Do you know who from the Abnormal Ability Research Institute came this time?"

Qin Yi shook her head.

Shen Yue had already opened his personal terminal, his fingertips tapping rapidly on the Light Screen. 𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎

Gu Xi noticed that Shen Yue’s expression had turned a little strange.

The corners of his lips curled into a faint, humorless smile, but his face was as dark as the bottom of a sooty pot.

"Mr. Shen?" The Qin sisters also noticed something was wrong and looked over at him at the same time.

"It’s Dr. Qi." Shen Yue clicked his tongue, leaned back lazily in his seat, and added in a casual tone, "Ye Junhan came, too."

Hearing this, Qin Yi and Wei Heng, who were beside her, paled slightly. They exchanged a look and simultaneously sucked in a sharp breath.

Gu Xi raised an eyebrow. ’?’

Fortunately, she didn’t have to ask. Wei Heng turned to her and explained, "Dr. Qi is a man of real power in the Abnormal Ability Research Institute. He’s a bit... forceful..."

Even though he doesn’t hold any administrative position, the directors and deputy directors of the Abnormal Ability Research Institute all have to show Dr. Qi some deference.

’But even so, their reactions seemed a bit over the top.’

’Gu Xi didn’t get it. She and Dr. Qi were old acquaintances, after all...’

Then she heard Wei Heng suddenly lower his voice, his expression full of nuance as he said, "Over twenty years ago, Dr. Qi adopted a little girl. That girl’s ability is a bit special. It’s a lot like the legendary Golden Carp Luck. They say her luck is ridiculously good..."

This time, Gu Xi was genuinely surprised. ’Golden Carp Luck? An ability like that actually exists?’

’She had never heard of it before...’

"Of course, that’s not even the most important part."

Seeing Gu Xi’s confused look, Wei Heng put on a gossipy expression and continued, "Qi Xiang—that’s the girl Dr. Qi adopted—publicly declared eight years ago that she wouldn’t marry anyone but Mr. Ye, Ye Junhan, in this lifetime!"

’What was it she said back then—I will marry no one but you?’

Wei Heng gave her a series of meaningful winks and nudges.

Gu Xi: "..." ’You’re unbelievably gossipy.’

Seeing that she still didn’t get it, Wei Heng had to give her a more subtle hint. "Since Mr. Ye is here, Ye Nan must be here too. And for all these years, Dr. Qi has taken Qi Xiang with him wherever he goes..."

’Tsk, on one side, you have the girl who swore she’d marry no one but him, and on the other, you have the childhood sweetheart...’

"Gu Xiaoxi, you get it now, right?" Wei Heng said, wiggling his eyebrows at her.

Gu Xi: ’Thanks, but I’d really rather not get it.’