From Apocalypse Boss to Farmer: My Vegetables Make Me Stronger!-Chapter 92 - 86: The Powerful

Meanwhile, at the South City base.

Liou Zhenyuan hurried to a small courtyard residence in the eastern part of the city.

Although he was the Base Chief of South City, holding power over the entire city, this was his first time visiting this place.

Because this was the Abnormal Ability Research Institute’s office at the South City base.

The Abnormal Ability Research Institute was a murky, treacherous world. As a smooth operator, Liou Zhenyuan had always made a point of not getting involved in its affairs. 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎

But this time, he had no choice.

Liou Zhenyuan stood at the courtyard gate, took a deep breath, and stepped inside.

After passing through three security checkpoints, Liou Zhenyuan arrived at the research building deep within the courtyard.

A few researchers in white lab coats merely glanced sideways at his entrance before indifferently looking away.

’Right,’ Liou Zhenyuan thought with a self-deprecating smile. ’In their eyes, the Base Chief of South City is just another ordinary ability user.’

’If they needed to, they could use the ’greater good’ to force him to make any sacrifice at any time...’

"Mr. Liou?" Ye Nan had just stepped out of the elevator when she saw him, and she couldn’t help but freeze for a moment. "What brings you here?"

Ye Nan was very surprised.

As far as she knew, this Mr. Liou was always unwilling to set foot on the Abnormal Ability Research Institute’s turf. But today, he...

"Ah, Ye Nan." Because of that incident years ago, Liou Zhenyuan was quite wary of Ye Xin. Now, facing her daughter, he secretly raised his guard and subtly changed the subject. "Where is Mr. Zhou? I have some business with him."

"He’s in the third-floor conference room." Ye Nan had originally planned on leaving, but she changed her mind. "Mr. Liou, you need to swipe an ID card to get to the third floor. Let me take you up."

"Thank you." Liou Zhenyuan nodded.

The two of them entered the elevator together. In front of him, Ye Nan opened her personal terminal, aimed it at the elevator’s identity confirmation device, and scanned it.

Liou Zhenyuan frowned slightly.

At that moment, in the third-floor conference room, there were two other visitors besides Zhou Jinyu himself.

Liou Zhenyuan stood at the doorway, his gaze sweeping across the room. When he saw who the two men were, his expression instantly darkened.

’Excellent. My deputy base chief and my security minister have already beaten me here and become Zhou Jinyu’s honored guests.’

When Zhou Jinyu saw him arrive, he pointed to an adjacent seat and said with a gentle smile, "Mr. Liou, you’re just in time. The joint video conference with the military is about to begin."

The other two men, who were already seated in the conference room, stood up with awkward expressions when they saw Liou Zhenyuan enter. "Base Chief, you’re here."

Liou Zhenyuan gave a humorless smile. "Zhang, Wu, you two certainly got here early."

The two men laughed awkwardly, their gazes simultaneously shifting to Zhou Jinyu, who sat at the head of the table.

Zhou Jinyu spoke gently, "Mr. Liou, please sit. We were just waiting for you."

"Mr. Zhou, is everyone here?" Liou Zhenyuan asked after sitting down.

Zhou Jinyu nodded. His gaze swept over Ye Nan, who was sitting in a corner, but he didn’t ask her to leave. Instead, he gave her a gentle smile before looking forward and saying seriously:

"I’m sure you all know why I’ve asked you to come here today..."

"Regarding the mass malignant mutation of mutant plants in the NX1984 Area—and whether we need to launch a missile to bombard the region—the military has a differing opinion. Therefore, our Abnormal Ability Research Institute has taken the lead in organizing this video conference..."

As soon as he finished speaking, the vast conference room suddenly dimmed, and then, one after another, giant Light Screens lit up.

The joint conference had officially begun.

On the several Light Screens, the faces of several major figures—people an ordinary person would rarely ever see—appeared in sequence.

"Everyone." Zhou Jinyu, who was chairing the meeting, glanced at Liou Zhenyuan before opening his personal terminal to display videos and photos. "These are the images just captured by satellite. A mass malignant mutation of mutant plants has suddenly occurred in the NX1984 Area..."

"Mr. Zhou is correct," Liou Zhenyuan was the first to speak up. The NX1984 Area also falls under the jurisdiction of the South City base. If the situation there gets out of control, he, the Base Chief, would be the first to be held accountable.

Therefore, as the Base Chief, he had to do something at a time like this.

Even if he was reluctant.

Liou Zhenyuan took a deep breath, looked forward, and said to everyone, "Although Ye Junhan has already gone there with his Special Service Team, and I trust that with Jun Han’s abilities, the situation will soon be brought under control."

But then, his tone shifted. "However, this time is different from the past. Before, Jun Han and his team only dealt with individual cases of malignant mutant plant mutation. But this time..."

Liou Zhenyuan stood up and pointed to the video data on the side. "As you’ve all seen, there are far too many plants that have mutated this time. Therefore, we at the South City base hereby request military support to launch Missile N001 and conduct a full-scale bombardment of the NX1984 Area."

Someone nodded in agreement. "That’s right. Even if Ye Junhan is exceptionally capable, with so many mutant plants mutating simultaneously, his Special Service Team may not be able to handle it. If even one of the mutated plants escapes to a nearby safe zone, the consequences will be unimaginable."

But someone else countered, "It is precisely because so many mutant plants have mutated at once that I believe we must be even more cautious."

"Correct. At the very least, we should figure out what caused this mass mutation of the mutant plants..."

"By the time you figure out the cause, those mutated plants will have long since escaped! What happens when people get hurt? What about the panic it will cause in society!"

"That’s no reason to blindly launch a missile! The power of Missile N001 is enough to blast the entire NX1984 Area to smithereens. Nothing will be left. How are we supposed to investigate the cause of the mass mutation then...?"

Just then, on the centermost Light Screen, the man who hadn’t spoken a word suddenly lifted his eyelids and asked lazily, "Mr. Zhou, what is the Abnormal Ability Research Institute’s position?"

"Mr. Xiao." Zhou Jinyu’s expression was gentle. He crossed his hands in front of him and said calmly, "This matter ultimately depends on the decision of you, the military, and the South City base..."

Wu Yue, sitting to his right, immediately interjected, "Mr. Xiao, this matter truly cannot be delayed. You know the consequences of a malignant mutant plant mutation. With so many mutating at once, it will be utter chaos if those ’vicious plants’ get out."

The deputy base chief, Zhang Cheng, who was sitting next to him, also chimed in, "That’s right. If we let those vicious plants run rampant, I’m afraid the tragedy from decades ago will repeat itself..."

Xiao Yu raised a hand to straighten his military uniform, then looked up and scoffed, "A repeat of the tragedy? Back then, zombies and vicious plants covered the land, and we still survived it, reclaiming our nation! Now a few vicious plants pop up, and you’re all scared to death?"

At these words, Liou Zhenyuan’s expression finally turned grim. "Mr. Xiao, I am the Base Chief of South City. I am responsible for the hundreds of thousands of people in this city."

Xiao Yu met his gaze and casually tossed out a question, "And your so-called responsibility is to launch a missile carrying nuclear hazards less than three hundred kilometers from their homes?"

His words made the expressions of everyone at the meeting change.

Several of them subconsciously looked up at Zhou Jinyu.

Zhou Jinyu’s expression remained gentle. He looked up at Xiao Yu. "Then what is your opinion, Mr. Xiao?"

"You can forget about launching a missile. As long as I, Xiao Yu, am in command, I will never approve it. Alright, everyone, the Military Department is busy, and I have other matters to attend to, so I’ll be taking my leave. As for the rest of you... do as you please."

After speaking, Xiao Yu stood up to leave. He had confirmed what he needed to confirm; there was no need to stay and waste any more time.

"Mr. Xiao!" Wu Yue and Zhang Cheng both spoke up at the same time, anxiously trying to make him stay.

Xiao Yu paused and looked back, but his gaze fell on Liou Zhenyuan’s face.

He said meaningfully, "I know what you’re worried about, and I know what you want. But before that, perhaps you should all go to the NX1984 Area yourselves and see if that... thing... is still there."

With that, he strode away without a single glance at the others in the room, whose expressions had all changed once again.

After Xiao Yu left, the representatives of the other factions also vanished from the Light Screens one by one.

The vast conference room instantly fell silent.

The expressions on the faces of Liou Zhenyuan and his two subordinates were extremely grim.

Zhou Jinyu, however, still had a gentle expression. He looked up at Ye Nan, who was sitting in the corner. "Ye, what do you think?"

"Mr. Zhou." Ye Nan looked up, her expression serious and her tone firm. "I trust Jun Han."

Zhou Jinyu was taken aback for a moment, then he smiled gently.

"Yes, we should all trust Jun Han."

As he spoke, Zhou Jinyu issued a command, transferring the real-time satellite feed to his personal terminal.

He looked up at the three leaders from the South City base. "Mr. Liou, why don’t you three stay and watch as well?"