From Apocalypse Boss to Farmer: My Vegetables Make Me Stronger!-Chapter 69 - 64: This Has Nothing to Do With the Chicken

Chapter 69: Chapter 64: This Has Nothing to Do With the Chicken

After returning, Gu Xi didn’t go back to her small wooden cabin. Instead, she went to find Qi Xiang.

"Gu Xiaoxi?" Qi Xiang, who had been sleeping soundly, heard the knock. Groggy, she opened the door in the dark to find Gu Xi standing there. She froze for a moment before quickly stepping aside. "Hurry, come in."

After Gu Xi came inside, Qi Xiang yawned and asked, "What brings you here so late?"

"There’s something I need your help with," Gu Xi said, her eyes scanning the room. She noticed that the great beauty’s room was, well... a bit too casually arranged.

To put it bluntly, it was a mess.

Qi Xiang had always harbored a secret worry that Gu Xi was only interested in her Golden Carp Luck and was just keeping her around for the time being.

That meant if Gu Xi ever lost interest, Qi Xiang could lose her long-term meal ticket at any moment.

Qi Xiang didn’t want to lose that meal ticket.

So, the moment she heard Gu Xi say she needed help, all her drowsiness vanished, and she was wide awake. ’Gu Xiaoxi came to me for help, alone, in the middle of the night!’

’What does this mean?’

’It means Gu Xi sees me as one of her own!’

’It also means my long-term meal ticket is secure!’

"Go on, what is it?" Qi Xiang instantly straightened her back, ready and waiting.

’This is the first time my meal ticket has asked for anything. I have to seize this opportunity to prove my worth.’

Gu Xi stood across from her, looked her in the eye, and said slowly, "I’d like you to help me investigate someone."

"Huh?" Qi Xiang was taken aback. ’Isn’t this the kind of thing she should ask Shen Yue to do?’

But she quickly recovered and immediately agreed. "Of course, no problem. Who do you want to investigate?"

Gu Xi gave her a name.

Qi Xiang was a little surprised.

’I don’t get it. Why does Gu Xi want to investigate this person?’

But Qi Xiang was smart enough to suppress her curiosity and didn’t ask any questions.

She just put on a solemn expression and said, "Don’t you worry. Leave it to me."

"Thank you," Gu Xi said sincerely.

’If Wei Heng really is an "eye" someone deliberately placed by my side, then what will the person behind the scenes do when that unwitting eye starts to spin out of control?’

’They’ll definitely find a new eye for me.’

’And then, they’ll quietly and seamlessly place this new eye by my side.’

After leaving Qi Xiang’s cabin, Gu Xi stood alone in the courtyard, silent, for a long time.

So long that Da Hong, resting in a corner of the yard for the night, couldn’t take it anymore and kept stealing glances at her.

’This human woman is so weird tonight. She’s been up for ages, and now she’s out here threatening a chicken? So what if I just stole two of her eggs?’

’Didn’t I work hard to hatch and raise those little hens? So what’s the big deal if I take two eggs?’

Da Hong felt deeply wronged.

But Da Hong didn’t dare say a thing.

Because Da Hong was a chicken who knew what was good for it.

Just before dawn, Wei Heng was the first to wake. He saw Gu Xi standing alone and silent in the courtyard. He opened his mouth to speak, but ultimately said nothing, simply turning and heading silently to the kitchen.

The other day, before he went to see Huang Er, he had sought out Ye Junhan...

After exchanging some intel in code, Ye Junhan had casually asked him why he chose to come to South City after leaving the Special Service Team.

The tacit understanding built from years of fighting side-by-side allowed Wei Heng to instantly grasp the unspoken question: Was his arrival at South City a coincidence? Or had he been subconsciously influenced by something?

Wei Heng wasn’t stupid.

He hadn’t been suspicious before only because he hadn’t considered it. Besides, back then, he was just a cripple...

’Who would bother scheming against a cripple?’

’But thinking about it now, what if this entire affair was a conspiracy from the very beginning?’

’Someone had targeted Gu Xi long ago. They used that incident to cripple me and then quietly maneuvered me to her side...’

The more Wei Heng thought about it, the more horrified he became.

’Had I... unwittingly become someone else’s eyes all along? Or maybe... a pawn used to probe Gu Xi?’

After Gu Xi left last night, Wei Heng had tossed and turned, unable to sleep. He meticulously replayed the events of the past year in his mind, over and over again.

In the end, he became certain of one thing...

Just as Wei Heng left, Shen Yue pushed open his door. He walked straight up to Gu Xi and looked her up and down. "What are you doing standing here? Didn’t sleep all night?"

Gu Xi turned to him. "Has there been a resolution regarding the mutated people from the lab?"

Shen Yue smiled, his charming eyes narrowing slightly as he said meaningfully, "And here I thought you were never going to ask."

Gu Xi stared into his eyes and said slowly, "Grain is the foundation of a nation. If Experiment No. 1 can truly stabilize the mutation coefficient, it will inevitably become a focal point for all major powers."

"It’s impossible that there aren’t eyes on it," Gu Xi finished, looking up toward the mountain forest behind them.

Thirty years after the apocalypse, although human order had been restored, the major bases were far from a unified monolith.

This was evident from the South City Restaurant incident and the subsequent Incident 176.

The two professors were from the Central Base, but the experimental fields were in South City.

Meanwhile, Shen Yue, who was responsible for the professors’ safety, was from the military.

It was like seeing a leopard through a tube; even with limited information, Gu Xi could discern that there were numerous issues at play.

Shen Yue shrugged and moved to stand beside her, following her gaze toward the mountain forest.

The first rays of dawn were breaking, and the mountains were wreathed in clouds and mist. It was beautiful, but also eerie.

After a long moment, he glanced over at Gu Xi. "Don’t worry. With that kid Yang Chi around, nothing will go wrong at the lab."

Gu Xi turned back to meet his gaze calmly, her expression noncommittal.

Just then, Wei Heng poked his head out from the kitchen and yelled, "We’re short on eggs! Hey, you! Go check by Da Hong and grab a few..."

"Hey, you" was Shen Yue.

Shen Yue rubbed his nose and ambled lazily toward the chicken coop.

A few days ago, the little hens had started laying eggs, and Gu Xi had Wei Heng boil them.

At first, Wei Heng and the others had refused to eat them for anything.

Later, they couldn’t get enough.

Gu Xi wasn’t a stingy person, so she had Wei Heng boil some every morning...

When it came to food, Shen Yue was always as sharp as a tack.

After walking around Da Hong to the coop behind it, Shen Yue frowned. ’Something’s not right. I feel like there are a few eggs missing today.’

After a moment of silence, Shen Yue slowly looked up at Da Hong. ’Alright, fess up. Was it you?’

Da Hong put on an innocent face. ’It wasn’t me! I didn’t do it! It has nothing to do with this chicken! Don’t you go framing an innocent chicken!’

...

After breakfast, Shen Yue and the others could tell Wei Heng had something to say to Gu Xi, so they all found excuses to head out early.

After cleaning up the kitchen, Wei Heng found Gu Xi in the courtyard lecturing Da Hong.

"You’re a chicken. What are you doing stealing eggs from your own home?"

"And you call yourself the Wild Chicken King? For shame!"

Gu Xi nonchalantly poked Da Hong’s comb. Beside her, Little Green Sprout swayed left and right, brandishing its power with obvious menace.

Da Hong knew its Combat Power wasn’t high enough, so it didn’t dare make a peep as the human woman poked its comb. It just curled into a ball, feeling even more aggrieved.

’You may have been the one to nurse those hens back to health,’ it thought, ’but I’m the one who incubated the eggs and herded the chicks! Even if I don’t get credit, I put in the effort... So why can’t I eat any eggs?’

Da Hong didn’t dare argue with Gu Xi, so when it saw Wei Heng approaching, it quickly lifted its eyelids and shot him pleading glances.

Wei Heng: "..."

For some reason, the sight of this scene instantly swept away the heavy burden that had been weighing on his heart.

Wiping his hands dry, Wei Heng walked over to Gu Xi’s side and looked at her.

"Gu Xiaoxi, have I ever told you how I left the Superpower Special Team?"

At his words, Gu Xi finally stopped tormenting Da Hong. She looked up at him, assuming a posture that said she was all ears.

Beside her, Da Hong also snapped its head up, looking at Wei Heng in perfect sync with Gu Xi. ’Mr. Wei, you’re a good man!’

Da Hong was deeply moved. It flapped its wings and flew off.

Wei Heng: "..." ’You’re a chicken, why are you so dramatic?’