From Apocalypse Boss to Farmer: My Vegetables Make Me Stronger!-Chapter 35 - 32: This is Unscientific (Part 2)

"Over the years, the major bases have not only strictly controlled the mutation levels in the food supply, but they’ve also standardized their detection methods... Anyone detected with an abnormality is taken away and put into quarantine..." Wei Heng said in a low voice.

’Quarantine?’

’X Energy can’t be absorbed by the body, nor can it be expelled through metabolism... Once the signs of mutation appear, even if someone is quarantined immediately, what happens after that?’

Gu Xi didn’t press the issue. Some questions were only crueler once voiced.

"Don’t overthink it." Wei Heng comforted her, a wry smile on his face. "It’s not like the higher-ups are completely helpless. Years ago, research from the Abnormal Ability Research Institute showed that while the Healing System can’t purify or expel X Energy, it can temporarily pacify it..."

Unfortunately, there were still far too few healers.

Besides, a temporary reprieve was hardly a long-term solution.

The destructive effect of X Energy on the human body was far beyond what an ordinary person could imagine. The healers’ pacification only treated the symptoms, not the root cause. If a large-scale outbreak ever occurred...

Humanity would likely plunge into its second great era of chaos since the apocalypse, just like when the end of the world first descended upon them.

At this thought, both of their moods grew heavy.

This was especially true for Gu Xi. She had personally lived through the darkest period at the dawn of the apocalypse. Humanity had struggled so hard to survive that era and restore order...

Gu Xi did not want to go back.

She liked these days—the ones where she could do a little farming, eat and drink her fill, bask in the sun, and still get a peaceful night’s sleep.

That night, Gu Xi lay in bed and began to habitually review the day’s events.

The little green sprout emerged from her fingertip at some point, affectionately nuzzling the pad of her finger. Gu Xi gazed down at the two tender leaves at its tip, lost in thought.

’The zombie virus, X Energy, the food crisis, the mutated, and my own ability... And then there was that drink from all those years ago, and the thirty years I inexplicably lost!’

’It was as if an invisible force was weaving all of this into a great web.’

’And just what kind of secrets were hidden behind this web?’

...

Early the next morning, the freeloading trio promptly arrived at her door, firewood in their arms.

They had just finished squatting at the edge of the field and eating sweet potatoes when they saw a large armored vehicle approaching in the distance.

When she saw the familiar insignia of the Abnormal Ability Research Institute on the vehicle’s front, Gu Xi lowered her eyes.

Beside her, Wei Heng and Shen Yue both frowned, rising to their feet and exchanging a look. ’So it’s unavoidable?’

Fortunately, they had made some preparations the night before...

The armored vehicle soon came to a stop in front of Gu Xi and the others.

The first person to jump from the vehicle was a man with piercing eyes and a frigid aura. His long, straight legs, clad in combat boots, carried him straight toward them.

Though it was her first time seeing his face, Gu Xi recognized him in an instant.

Ye Junhan.

Looking at the man’s flawless face, even Gu Xi had to admit that the black mask he’d worn before had successfully concealed much of his striking presence.

Just like last time, he was still dressed in a black combat uniform. This time, however, his face was free of its mask. His hair, a very short crew cut, revealed facial contours that were nothing short of flawless.

His sharp eyes were intense and imposing. Below a high-bridged nose were thin lips, slightly pursed. When he wasn’t smiling, he looked exceptionally cold and remote.

He was a young, handsome, and aloof man, possessing a powerful aura that would be very attractive to young women.

But Gu Xi only gave him a dispassionate glance before her gaze shifted to the young woman who jumped out of the vehicle after him.

The young woman was beautiful, the kind of beauty that would immediately catch one’s eye in any setting.

In a white blouse and a red skirt, she was endlessly charming and radiant in her splendor.

"That’s Qi Xiang," Wei Heng leaned in and whispered, his brow furrowed. "But why is she here too?"

Qi Xiang was beautiful and exceptionally lucky. Adopted by the renowned Dr. Qi as a child, she never wanted for food or clothing and had a bright future ahead of her... Many said that someone like Qi Xiang had truly won at life.

But right now, this person who had won at life in everyone’s eyes was enthusiastically fawning over his Gu Xiaoxi.

’If Qi Xiang weren’t also a woman, Wei Heng would have suspected she was deliberately showing off her charms and trying to hit on their Gu Xiaoxi.’

It was probably because the sight of Gu Xi when he first found her—pale, cold to the touch, her breathing faint—had been so shocking that it left a deep and lasting impression.

As a result, Wei Heng always saw Gu Xi through a heavy filter. He felt that she was a young woman, all alone and helpless, and since he was the one who had brought her back, he had a responsibility to take good care of her.

But Wei Heng was an orphan who had grown up in the military. He had very little experience interacting with women, let alone knowing how to take care of one.

He constantly worried he wasn’t doing enough, which often left him in a state of anxiety and self-doubt.

This doubt wasn’t just directed at himself; he began to suspect everyone who got close to Gu Xi:

Shen Yue, for instance, constantly hanging around Gu Xi and trying to get her attention, was a man with ulterior motives, deliberately trying to seduce her.

And now this Qi Xiang, fawning over Gu Xi with a gentle voice and cheerful smiles, clearly had ill intentions and was up to no good.

In short, he was a young, unmarried man worrying himself sick like a doting father.

Anyone else in her shoes would probably have felt that he, an outsider, was being a bit too meddlesome.

But Gu Xi didn’t think there was anything wrong with it at all.

Back in her old squad, she had been the captain, the team’s primary muscle. As for daily life, that was mostly handled by Ye Xin and Li Ming.

And if they weren’t available, there was still Qee Ran and Xiao Yu.

In short, everyone on the team went on missions together, each with their own role. It was no different from how she and Wei Heng were now partnered up, farming and getting by.

But Qi Xiang was different.

Her ability was rather special. The moment she first saw Gu Xi, her eyes lit up...