From Apocalypse Boss to Farmer: My Vegetables Make Me Stronger!-Chapter 33 - 31: Not Necessary

’Even if we’re not from the same division, we’re all on the same side in the end.’

With Shen Yue’s position, getting back wouldn’t be a problem as long as he was willing to reveal his identity.

After all, he was officially still responsible for the security of two professors.

But Shen Yue didn’t.

He leaned lazily against the car seat, his fingertips tapping unconsciously on the steering wheel as his gaze drifted to the rearview mirror, discreetly observing Gu Xi.

’This girl probably doesn’t want to go back right now, huh?’

Gu Xi, on the other hand, was indifferent.

Dr. Qi had seen her as a child and knew the Blood-colored Asura was actually Gu Xiaoxi, but in truth, they hadn’t seen each other for many years.

’Gu Xi vaguely recalled... the last time Dr. Qi saw her face was back in Year 13 of the apocalypse?’

’By that count, it’s actually been forty-five years.’

’So even if Dr. Qi saw her now, he might find the name "Gu Xi" familiar but still fail to recognize her... unless he was somehow connected to the thirty years she was missing!’

Human nature could never withstand scrutiny. Without any supporting evidence, Gu Xi had no intention of testing or probing anyone.

’There was no need.’

’And it wasn’t the right time yet.’

However, she was quite curious about the girl rumored to possess the Golden Carp Luck ability.

The sky darkened bit by bit.

Gu Xi sat in the car, watching through the window as the last rays of the sunset faded below the horizon.

She suddenly turned around and asked, "How wide is the base’s current surveillance range? What’s the status of the satellites? And..."

Gu Xi fired off several questions in a row. Before the Qin sisters could react, Shen Yue, who was in the driver’s seat, tapped the steering wheel. "That’s hard to say offhand. I’ll put together a report and send it to you when we get back."

"Gu Xi?" Qin Yi didn’t understand why Gu Xi was asking these things. Just as she was about to say something, Qin Shi tugged her sleeve, silencing her with a look.

She had no choice but to rub her empty stomach and force a change of subject. "I wonder how much longer this cordon will be in place? I’m starving..."

She had just gone to ask around. The official story was that a potential threat had been discovered nearby, necessitating the security cordon. They would only be allowed to go home after the higher-ups had completely neutralized the danger.

Wei Heng, for some unknown reason, suddenly smirked. "Tsk, those people from the Abnormal Ability Research Institute really love their pomp and circumstance..."

Gu Xi rested her chin on her hand and gazed out the window without a word.

Meanwhile, on the very hillside Gu Xi had guarded all night while harvesting.

Ye Junhan stood alone, leaning against a tree trunk with his arms at his sides, his gaze slowly sweeping across the surrounding woods.

Not far away, Dr. Qi was leading several researchers, collecting samples from the area.

The wind was a bit strong tonight.

Qi Xiang lifted a hand to smooth the strands of hair the wind had blown across her face and started walking toward him.

"Mr. Ye, what are your thoughts?" she asked, her smile radiant.

"My mission here is to ensure Dr. Qi’s safety." Ye Junhan glanced at her before looking away and drawing the curved blade from his waist in a smooth, backhanded motion.

The cold moonlight glinted off the full-moon-like curve of the blade, casting a ghostly gleam across his face. It only served to accentuate his sharp features and stern, piercing aura, a coldness refined to its absolute peak.

Qi Xiang: "..."

’Tsk. This Ye Junhan is even colder than Xidao. Utterly boring.’

’Aside from his face and physique, his voice was his only other redeeming quality. Deep, like a cello, it held the crisp clarity of pearls striking a jade plate and the chill of a spring flowing over ice. It was definitely the kind of voice that could capture a young girl’s heart.’

Qi Xiang grumbled internally for a moment, but she didn’t leave.

Ye Junhan completely ignored her brazen stare, remaining silent as he leaned against the tree. His long, narrow eyes were slightly narrowed.

After a moment, he took out a white handkerchief and, lowering his gaze, began to meticulously wipe his blade, acting as if there wasn’t a peerless beauty standing right before him.

Qi Xiang mentally rolled her eyes.

’How dull.’

’Ye Junhan, a man true to his name—he seemed like a reserved gentleman, but was in fact profoundly apathetic.’

’Everything about him, inside and out, screamed a cold indifference that kept everyone at arm’s length.’

’If his reputation weren’t so useful, if he weren’t the perfect tool for the job, if her adoptive father weren’t pressuring her, and if her ability weren’t... she wouldn’t waste a second on him.’

Qi Xiang glanced around, found a waist-high boulder, and sat down on it unceremoniously, tilting her head to look at Ye Junhan.

Sizing him up, clear as day.

Not far away, a man with salt-and-pepper hair and an indeterminable age walked over to Ye Nan. "Ye, what are your thoughts?"

"Dr. Qi." Ye Nan seemed distracted. She quickly snapped back to attention at his voice. "I haven’t found anything on my end yet..."

Dr. Qi smiled, his gaze following Ye Nan’s to the young man and woman a short distance away. "Ye, you don’t need to be so tense. And don’t take anything Qi Xiang says to heart..."

Ye Nan flushed slightly, clearly unwilling to discuss her personal life in such a setting.

She looked down at the small testing device in her hand, which held a plant sample, and tried to change the subject. "Dr. Qi, the test results for these plants show..."

’If the satellite hadn’t actually detected energy fluctuations that night, and if the drone hadn’t followed up with those photos, Ye Nan wouldn’t even be able to confirm if a malignant mutant plant had ever been here at all!’

’Everything seemed far too normal.’

"Ye," Qi Xiao suddenly interrupted her with a gentle smile. "Although your mother and I have had our disagreements over the years, in private, you can still call me Mr. Qi..."

"Mr. Qi." Not wanting to argue, Ye Nan obediently switched how she addressed him. "I think something isn’t right. The mutation coefficient of the newly grown plants here doesn’t seem to have changed at all..."

This was a stark contrast to what they’d observed after discovering malignant mutant plants in the past.

Ye Nan’s brow furrowed slightly.

"Something is indeed a bit off," Dr. Qi agreed with a gentle nod, but he didn’t elaborate.

Judging by appearances, he was a renowned, refined scholar from the Central Base. Even in his older years, his voice remained warm and clear, but his methods were as uncompromising as ever.

Within the Abnormal Ability Research Institute, Dr. Qi had numerous followers.

In truth, Ye Nan was a little afraid of Dr. Qi.

Her mother, Ye Xin, had privately warned her many times to keep her distance from the man.

If the Special Service Team hadn’t been suddenly assigned this mission, and if Jun Han himself hadn’t been leading it, she never would have come.

But now...

Ye Nan subconsciously glanced toward him, but out of the corner of her eye, she saw Qi Xiang, who was standing near him, suddenly give her a wink.

Ye Nan: "..."

After a moment’s thought, she walked over to the pair. "Jun Han, we’ve pretty much finished collecting samples here. I’d like to check out the woods over there..."

Entering the woods at night was extremely dangerous.

But with Ye Junhan around, Ye Nan never worried about her own safety.

After speaking, Ye Nan looked at the handsome young man before her, at his stern and beautiful features. The cold moonlight fell upon him, making his tall figure seem as cool and remote as jade. He was like the chilling blade in his own hand—

standing peerless and incomparably sharp, as if nothing in this world could possibly move him.

Ye Junhan’s brow twitched. He looked up toward the group in the distance, his gaze finally landing on Dr. Qi.

Just then, Qi Xiang came over and squeezed between them. "Oh, good idea! I was just thinking I’d like to check out the woods, too."

"How about you take me along, Mr. Ye?" She flicked a lock of her long hair and gave him a playful, bewitching wink. "Who knows, I might just bring our dear... Miss Ye some good luck."

Ye Nan wanted to say, ’Thanks, but no thanks,’ but when she thought about the woman’s unbelievably strange good luck, she kept her mouth shut and simply looked to Ye Junhan.

Ye Junhan didn’t even glance at her as he sheathed his blade at his waist.

After a moment, he finally lifted his gaze to Qi Xiang and said, "Fine."

With that, the young man turned, his long legs in military boots striding purposefully toward Dr. Qi. In any case, he had to inform the doctor they were heading into the woods.

Behind him, Qi Xiang shot Ye Nan an elegant eye-roll that clearly said, ’He’s so cold and boring. I have no idea what you see in him.’

Even though she had witnessed the woman’s lightning-fast changes in expression many times in private, Ye Nan still found it hard to get used to.

’Sometimes, she even wondered if Qi Xiang really liked Jun Han as much as she claimed.’