After Wei Heng left, Qi Xiang suddenly thought of something. 𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

She snatched a freshly peeled tangerine from Yang Chi’s hand. "Technically, since Gu Xi is injured, weak, and having trouble with her superpower, shouldn’t we call for some backup to ensure her safety?"

After all, the only high-end combat power they had at the farm was Wei Heng, plus Qin Yi at most. She and Yang Chi were completely useless in that regard.

If something really happened to Gu Xi, they should have brought in some experts to protect her.

But Yang Chi disagreed. "No way."

He looked resentfully at the sweet tangerine that the bandit Qi Xiang had stolen and already eaten half of. He had specifically picked it out for being the sweetest, and he hadn’t even had a single bite after peeling it before the female bandit snatched it away.

Yang Chi felt wronged, but he didn’t dare say a word.

When Qi Xiang shot him a glare, Yang Chi forced his gaze away from the tangerine and said righteously, "In our plan, the fact that Gu Xi is injured and having trouble with her superpower needs to be kept strictly confidential. So how can we call for backup at a time like this?"

Besides, you’d be calling in experts. Wouldn’t that be blatantly telling everyone that something’s wrong with Gu Xi?

Qi Xiang had a different opinion. "But in our plan, Gu Xi being injured and having superpower problems is the core element. Based on that logic, we *should* secretly bring people in to protect her."

That’s the only way people will believe that something has genuinely gone wrong with Gu Xi.

"But that’s not logical," Yang Chi argued forcefully. "If this needs to be kept secret, we can’t let outsiders find out. So, by that logic, we have to pretend nothing is wrong with Gu Xi. How could we possibly call for backup?"

The two argued for a while, realizing it seemed to be a paradox.

Just then, Qin Yi, who had finished off an entire bowl of bright red strawberries, wiped her mouth and said, "Actually, there’s something I’ve never understood..."

Seeing the others look at her, Qin Yi said a little sheepishly, "Why does Gu Xi have to be ’weak’ right now?"

She felt that with Gu Xi’s strength, there was no need for this. Couldn’t they just take care of it directly?

Yang Chi and Qi Xiang exchanged a glance.

"Because Gu Xi has been acting too domineering ever since she entered City A," Qi Xiang explained. "When she’s that powerful, some people won’t make a move."

And once the enemy hides and stays put, it becomes difficult to find their den.

And Gu Xi clearly didn’t want to spend too much time on this.

She was getting impatient.

She was also homesick and wanted to get back to South City sooner to live that leisurely life of lying in the sun and only occasionally needing to farm.

Once Qi Xiang explained it, Qin Yi understood. "So, we’re showing weakness to the enemy to lure the snake out of its hole?" ’And then we strike right at their heart?’

"It’s not just about luring the snake out of its hole," Yang Chi added. "It’s also to give certain people some reassurance."

"Reassurance?" Qin Yi frowned, confused.

Yang Chi glanced at Gu Xi, saw her looking down and carefully peeling an apple, then paused before whispering to Qin Yi, "The relationship between *that person* and Gu Xi isn’t a secret to some people. They’re also afraid..."

"Afraid that Gu Xi will reconcile with him? And then turn around and deal with them?" Qin Yi vaguely felt like she understood something. ’No wonder Gu Xi only became ’injured and weak’ after meeting with that person...’

Unexpectedly, Yang Chi shook his head slightly at her. "Not exactly ’reconcile’."

"Then what is it?" Qin Yi had only said it casually. In fact, right after saying it, she realized "reconcile" was probably the wrong word.

She glanced at Gu Xi a little sheepishly and noticed she seemed to be spacing out, lost in thought.

Yang Chi said, "That person is bent on getting the Superpower Seed. The higher-ups are probably worried that in order to get it, he’ll offer some... some conditions that would tempt Gu Xi. If Gu Xi were to form an alliance with him, then they’d be completely cut out of the picture..."

"After all, Gu Xi could totally ally with him first, wait until they’ve dealt with those people, and then the two of them could decide a winner. It’s not like that’s impossible."

Of course, the twists and turns involved were definitely more complicated than just that, but Yang Chi gave Qin Yi a simple analysis.

After listening, Qin Yi’s eyes glazed over. ’This is... so exhausting.’

By now, Qi Xiang had finished her second tangerine. While trying to use her plant abilities to conjure some water to wash her hands, she said, "So, we’re back to where we started."

"Since my Mr. Huo has already spread the news, should we or should we not secretly call for backup to protect Gu Xi?" she asked.

"No way!"

"I think we should."

Yang Chi and Qin Yi said at the same time.

Qi Xiang ignored them both and looked directly at Gu Xi.

"Not for now," Gu Xi said after a moment’s thought. "Let’s see what happens on Huo Changzhou’s end."

"Alright..." Qi Xiang nodded. "But once Mr. Zhou has secretly spread the news and you go to the planting area, some people probably won’t be able to sit still."

The people who come to scout for information, or even those who make a move to test Gu Xi directly, will probably come one after another. Dealing with them... will also be a hassle.

But Yang Chi said, "Isn’t that perfect? Gu Xi can just pretend to be pushing herself and wipe out a batch of them..." ’It would also save me from being watched by so many pairs of eyes even when I go to the bathroom.’

If this kept up, he was going to die of annoyance.

Just then, Yang Chi’s personal terminal beeped.

He opened it, glanced down, and frowned slightly.

"What’s wrong?" Qi Xiang leaned over to ask.

"Huo Changzhou’s personal terminal signal suddenly disappeared." Yang Chi placed his hands over the light disk and tapped quickly a few times.

At that moment, Gu Xi looked up. "Where did it disappear?"

While tracking Huo Changzhou’s terminal signal, Yang Chi said, "After leaving the farm, Huo Changzhou didn’t return to A City Base. Instead... he went to the southern suburbs?"

’The southern suburbs? The military district?’

Qi Xiang and Qin Yi exchanged a look. ’Isn’t that where the Liu Family’s main base is?’

Yang Chi had already enlarged the map of the southern suburbs. Gu Xi looked up, her gaze falling on a specific point on the map. "Gu Garden?"

"That’s right." Yang Chi didn’t actually understand the questioning tone in Gu Xi’s voice. He spread his hands to expand the map and compared it with the last known location of Huo Changzhou’s signal. It was indeed very close to Gu Garden.

Qi Xiang stroked her chin. "I know about this Gu Garden. It’s said that Mr. Liu had it built back in the day for his wife as a private garden to ease her homesickness after she married so far from home. The scenery inside is supposedly modeled after the Gu Family’s old residence..."

Speaking of gossip, Yang Chi, young man that he was, also had something to say. "I came across a post about this on the forums before. Everyone says our Mr. Liu dotes on his wife..."

Qin Yi cut in from the side, "But building such a large estate must have cost a lot of money, right? The funds allocated to the Military Department by the authorities have been decreasing year by year, and that Mr. Liu doesn’t have much of a family fortune. If he suddenly built such a large residence, wouldn’t people..." ’Suspect him of corruption and taking bribes?’

"Not likely," Yang Chi said when he saw Qin Yi’s confused expression. "You forgot, the Mrs. Liu he married is the eldest daughter of the Gu Family."

The Gu Family is the number one wealthy family.

They’re loaded.

Qi Xiang said, "It’s said that the Gu Family actually funded the construction of that residence back then. And I also heard that later on, when Mrs. Liu saw how difficult life was for her husband and the front-line soldiers, she donated all of her private savings to supplement the military supplies..."

Gu Xi wasn’t interested in this gossip.

She suddenly remembered something. Shen Yue had called earlier, saying that Tang You had called him for help. The Liu Family had set up a treacherous banquet for him at Gu Garden, and the time seemed to be... tomorrow?

’So Huo Changzhou rushing to Gu Garden at this time... was he also going to the banquet?’

’Now that’s interesting.’