Chapter 363: Chapter 348: Farming Is Just an Ideal and a Hobby, Killing Is the Craft I’ve Learned Since Childhood

Just then, Huo Changzhou came running over with a large group of people.

"Hey, that looks like the farm’s security department!"

Someone shouted from a distance.

There hadn’t been too many people working nearby, but with that shout, everyone in the vicinity instantly turned to look. Seeing that the security personnel seemed to be carrying weapons, many of them started running toward Gu Xi.

Most of them were just coming to watch the commotion, but a fair number were genuinely worried that something had happened... and of course, there were also prying eyes from other factions.

Gu Xi paid them no mind. She simply stood up and waited quietly for Huo Changzhou to approach.

Huo Changzhou seemed to be in a great hurry, running until he was drenched in sweat and panting for breath.

"Mr. Huo, what’s with you... Did a mutant dog chase you all the way here?" Qi Xiang asked with a grin.

She was the most familiar with Huo Changzhou, so her tone was very casual.

As soon as she said this, ripples of boisterous laughter erupted from the surrounding crowd.

Huo Changzhou was inwardly annoyed, but he put on a helpless, wry smile. He gasped, "Little... Little Junior Sister, you... you should stop teasing... teasing me."

With that, he looked up at Gu Xi, took a deep breath, and said, "Miss Gu, something terrible has happened."

Gu Xi looked over calmly. She heard Huo Changzhou say impatiently, "The security team found traces of mutated beasts in the mountain forest on the farm’s perimeter. Miss Gu, as you know, all the ability users responsible for the farm’s security have been reassigned, and we have so many ordinary people gathered here..."

He frowned, his face filled with worry. "Miss Gu, if something were to happen, what would we do?"

Gu Xi found him rather interesting. If he were truly worried about an accident, why would he say such a thing in front of the hundreds of ordinary people present?

’Doesn’t he worry that what he just said will cause a panic among the crowd and lead to other incidents?’

"Then what is your suggestion, Mr. Huo?" Gu Xi asked him calmly.

Huo Changzhou felt that Gu Xi’s attitude was a bit off, but he stuck to the script he’d been given and continued his performance. "Right now, the city garrison’s forces are all in the disaster-stricken areas, and as for the Liu Family..."

He glanced at Gu Xi and trailed off, feigning uncertainty about how to proceed.

But Qi Xiang was the one who acted particularly considerate and understanding, stepping forward to finish his sentence for him. "Mr. Huo, are you saying that because the Liu Family is unhappy with Gu Xi taking over City A, they’ll only pretend to help if the farm asks for it? That they’ll go through the motions but not actually contribute? Or even secretly cause trouble?"

Huo Changzhou couldn’t help but silently give his "junior sister" a thumbs-up in his mind.

’That’s exactly what I meant, but it wasn’t something I could say outright; I could only hint at it. I never thought my junior sister and I would have such great chemistry!’

Huo Changzhou nodded, suppressing his delight and forcing a worried expression as he looked at Gu Xi. "Miss Gu, I’m afraid we can’t count on the Liu Family. And Mr. Shen won’t be able to spare any people for a while either. So, you see..."

Gu Xi nonchalantly fiddled with the small green sprout on her fingertip and looked up at Huo Changzhou. "So what would you have me do?"

Huo Changzhou was also watching her. He ventured a suggestion, "Miss Gu, I hear you have a close relationship with Mr. Ye of the Special Service Team..."

’So they’re targeting Ye Junhan and the Special Service Team.’

Gu Xi understood. It seemed Shen Yue’s recent moves within City A’s military had shaken the Liu Family to their core, so they... wanted to cut off her allies one by one.

This also meant the Liu Family was getting truly desperate.

To prevent them from taking desperate measures, Gu Xi agreed. "Fine. I’ll contact Ye Junhan and have him lead a team to investigate the danger in the nearby mountains."

Huo Changzhou had wanted her to leave and contact Ye Junhan immediately, but ability users nearby who had heard the news began to crowd around.

"Miss Gu, we heard something happened at the farm?"

"Miss Gu, just tell us what to do!"

"Miss Gu..."

The round-faced girl who had been the first to speak with Gu Xi that day squeezed to the front. "Miss Gu, I... my ability has leveled up. Is there... anything I can do to help?"

The girl was probably so excited that she was stammering.

Her ability, which had been stagnant for years, had leveled up.

Gu Xi sensed the girl’s ability, thought for a moment, then took a small pinch of seeds from her dimensional space and handed them to her. "Can you grow these?"

The young woman was a little confused, but she took the seeds and sensed them carefully for a moment before saying, "I think so, but the mutation index of these seeds is a bit high. My ability..."

The round-faced girl hesitated. Gu Xi smiled faintly and encouraged her, "Why not give it a try first?"

"Okay." The girl began to channel her ability. The seeds in her hand quickly transformed into a tall, long mutant plant resembling a cactus tree.

Just as the mutant plant began to flower, the girl stopped, her face pale.

With her current ability, this was as far as she could push it.

"Miss Gu, I..." The girl’s face was pale as she lowered her hands, a hint of disappointment in her eyes.

Gu Xi patted her on the shoulder and looked up at the others. "Does anyone else want to give it a try?"

The people around her hesitated for a moment, but soon, two other ability users stepped forward.

Gu Xi had them continue to accelerate the mutant plant’s growth, offering a few pointers along the way.

To the side, Huo Changzhou’s brow furrowed slightly. He didn’t understand what Gu Xi was doing!

’I clearly told her about the danger around the farm, but instead of calling for help, she’s here teaching these ability users how to farm?’

’This woman really is as shortsighted as they say. Can’t she even get her priorities straight?!’

Huo Changzhou’s expression soured. Just as he was about to interrupt Gu Xi’s live demonstration, she suddenly looked up at him.

"Mr. Huo, you don’t actually think that the method I’m teaching them for channeling their abilities can only be used for farming, do you?"

Huo Changzhou froze, a little confused.

"Miss Gu, I think the most important thing right now is..."

Huo Changzhou wanted to bring up contacting Ye Junhan and having him bring people to the farm again, but Gu Xi had already looked away.

She raised her gaze to the endless mountain range in the distance and said softly and slowly, "Farming is just my dream and my hobby. Killing... now that is a craft I’ve been learning since I was a child."

After speaking, she turned back to look at Huo Changzhou.

Her voice was cold and her eyes were calm, but that one profound, placid glance sent goosebumps all over Huo Changzhou’s body.

"M-Miss Gu..."

He subconsciously took a step back, but Yang Chi, who was standing beside him, reached out and held him in place.

"Mr. Huo, what’s the matter?" Yang Chi kept one hand on his shoulder while using the other to push up the cool frames of his glasses. A somewhat shy smile appeared on his face. "It’s just a few mutated beasts found in the surrounding mountains. Look at how scared you are..."

’That’s right, the mutated beasts!’

Huo Changzhou snapped back to his senses. He raised a hand to wipe the cold sweat from his forehead, but he instinctively avoided Gu Xi’s eyes. "It’s not that I’m a coward or trying to be an alarmist, but we’re not talking about just one or two mutated beasts..."

"According to drone footage, there are at least a hundred mutated beasts gathered in the surrounding mountains."

Huo Changzhou’s voice was just loud enough for everyone in the vicinity to hear.

Sure enough, as soon as he finished speaking, a series of sharp, successive gasps could be heard from the crowd.