From Apocalypse Boss to Farmer: My Vegetables Make Me Stronger!-Chapter 51 - 48: Farming Team

The chicks (or were they ducklings?) were about to hatch. Wei Heng and Qi Xiang were thrilled, staring wide-eyed at the nest under Da Hong’s backside.

But Da Hong was perfectly calm.

It merely shot the two humans a disdainful glance before looking away. Its gaze then fell upon another woman.

Gu Xi: "..." ’How strange,’ she thought. ’Did I just see a chicken trying to curry favor with me?’

Faced with Gu Xi’s quizzical look, Da Hong had no choice but to silently shift its backside, doing its utmost to maintain the calm, elegant, and majestic bearing of the Wild Chicken King?

Gu Xi: ’What a strange chicken.’

She glanced at it, then bent down to scoop up the newly hatched chick (or was it a duckling?). The little green sprout emerged silently as well, twining around the little creature’s claws.

’Previously, Gu Xi had suspected that mutated animals don’t produce X Energy directly. Do they instead absorb it through the food chain?’

’If so, the source must be the plants.’

However, at the military farm, she had made a new discovery after inspecting the chicken droppings. There was no residual X Energy in them, but there seemed to be something else that could suppress the energy’s activity.

And her own little sprout had been listless and droopy for several days on the way back, ever since it had burrowed into a pile of chicken droppings...

Little Sprout: ’My shameless master, did it ever occur to you that I might have just been grossed out?’

Gu Xi had originally planned to bring some of the chicken droppings back for the two professors to analyze, but then she thought of Da Hong. With a fresh supply, she wouldn’t have to put up with holding her breath on the road.

Gu Xi had discovered before that both chicken eggs and duck eggs contained a certain amount of X Energy.

But the X Energy inside this newly hatched chick (or duckling?) seemed to be slightly lower than when it was still in the egg.

’Does an egg consume its internal X Energy during incubation?’

The little green sprout had already released the small creature’s claw and retracted to Gu Xi’s fingertip, looking limp and listless.

Gu Xi smiled. ’Her little sprout was getting more and more expressive, its personified emotions becoming increasingly obvious.’

Nearby, Wei Heng and Qi Xiang had gathered around. They were debating whether the hatchling in Gu Xi’s hand was a chick or a duckling.

Wei Heng pointed to its sharp beak, insisting it was a chick.

But Qi Xiang, who had seen more of the world after her trip to the military farm, argued that it could also be a duckling.

She explained that the mutated ducks’ beaks were just as sharp, losing nothing in comparison to the mutated chickens’.

Gu Xi didn’t join their debate. She was thinking about something else. 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

’If these mutated animals only ingest X Energy through the food chain, how can I raise a healthy and delicious chicken (or duck)?’

’Should I pen it up and only feed it Purified plants?’

’But Wei Heng said that according to pre-apocalyptic information, free-range chickens that roamed the mountains and forests always tasted the best...’

This was quite the dilemma.

Just then, Qi Xiang suddenly asked, "Wei Heng, do you know how to raise chickens? What do these little things eat?"

"I do," Wei Heng said without hesitation.

When he saw Gu Xi turn to look at him in surprise, Wei Heng quickly added with a bit of humility, "I just looked up a bunch of information on the forums while you guys were away..."

’Though, that information didn’t seem very reliable.’

’For instance, one post said you shouldn’t clean up a mutated animal’s droppings. Another said you had to regularly help them file their claws, and even take them for frequent walks.’

’All in all, it was very strange.’

But Wei Heng didn’t think it was a big deal.

’Experience is the best teacher, after all. If worst comes to worst, he could just figure it out through trial and error...’

Just then, a series of "CRACK" sounds rang out from under Da Hong’s backside. Soon, more than a dozen little creatures had broken out of their shells.

Now, Wei Heng and Qi Xiang could clearly tell which were chicks and which were ducklings.

—Although all the hatchlings’ beaks were sharp, the ducklings’ were wider than the chicks’.

With its task complete, Da Hong raised its head and crowed triumphantly.

The commotion drew out the Qin Family sisters and Shen Yue.

"What’s happening?"

Shen Yue saw the big, dark-feathered rooster flapping in mid-air and crowing loudly. He thought its aggressive nature had been triggered and it was about to attack Gu Xi’s group, and he almost intervened.

Thankfully, Gu Xi was quick to stop him.

After the ensuing chaos died down, Gu Xi looked up at Da Hong, still flapping its wings and crowing in mid-air. ’Da Hong is so capable,’ she thought. ’I might have to change my original plan.’

’Maybe I should pick one of these newly hatched little ones?’

’But Wei Heng’s body probably can’t wait that long...’

The next moment, the little green sprout on Gu Xi’s fingertip shot out, growing explosively. It snaked through the crowd of hatchlings, then plunged straight into the body of one of the ducklings.

The sudden move left everyone stunned. After exchanging bewildered glances, the young people all turned to look at Gu Xi.

Only Wei Heng seemed to have realized something, and he gave her a complicated look.

Clearly, Gu Xi had her secrets.

And this secret was likely more than just her ability to perform Purification on X Energy.

Wei Heng couldn’t help but recall when he had first found Gu Xi. Back then, her face had been deathly pale, her body was ice-cold to the touch, and her breathing had been incredibly faint...

’It was hard to imagine what this girl must have gone through!’

That was why Wei Heng never thought there was anything wrong with Gu Xi hiding her secrets from others.

But now, she had just used her ability right in front of Shen Yue and the others, without a moment’s hesitation...

Wei Heng watched as Gu Xi, her expression cold and severe, retracted the little green sprout. She frowned slightly as she picked up the clearly dead duckling, and he felt like he should do something.

But Gu Xi simply turned and tossed the dead duckling to him.

Wei Heng caught it reflexively. He then came to his senses and looked up at her.

Gu Xi said, "See if you can cook it. If not, just find a place to bury it. These hatchlings are too weak. They can’t withstand my ability... We’ll have to wait a bit longer to solve your problem."

Wei Heng was shocked and stunned.

Although he’d had his suspicions when Gu Xi used her ability in front of everyone, he never imagined she would bring up his problem so openly in front of Shen Yue and the others.

Shen Yue and the others were stunned as well.

’What did Gu Xi just say? Whose problem was she going to solve?’

’Did we mishear her? Or...?’

After a long moment, the young people finally recovered from their shock and exchanged glances.

"Gu Xi..." Shen Yue’s throat felt a little dry. He had long suspected her ability was extraordinary, but he never imagined... it was *this* extraordinary!

「Just then.」

Da Hong suddenly landed in front of Gu Xi, obediently lowering its noble, Wild Chicken King head.

Shen Yue gave the person and the chicken a strange look, then muttered thoughtfully under his breath, "You really know how to..." ’...make things difficult for me.’

’Was Gu Xi’s direct approach tonight a sign of trust, or was it a test?’

’Or was it both, leaving them to make a choice?’

Shen Yue gave a wry smile, his voice low and indistinct.

But Gu Xi heard him clearly.

"I thought you had already made your choice." Gu Xi gently stroked the tip of the little green sprout and slowly looked up at him. "Besides, I never intended to hide it forever."

Shen Yue was a smart man.

He naturally understood the subtext in her words.

In that moment, Shen Yue felt he had a much clearer understanding of the young woman before him.

This young woman was intelligent and direct, powerful and self-assured, yet also straightforward and brutally efficient.

Subtle schemes and roundabout tactics wouldn’t work on her.

Being a smart man, Shen Yue didn’t hesitate for long before making his choice.

He shrugged and extended a hand to Gu Xi. "So, does this mean we’re on the same team from now on?"

Gu Xi took his hand and extended a sincere invitation. "Welcome to my Farming Team."