From Apocalypse Boss to Farmer: My Vegetables Make Me Stronger!-Chapter 47 - 44: A Bit Too Greedy

To be honest, Gu Xi could understand the base’s decision.

In a situation like that, a united, cohesive, and representative team of heroes was clearly a more suitable idol for the whole nation than a single, individualistic doomsday hero.

What’s more, she had also suddenly disappeared back then.

Regardless of how she disappeared, the base had to give the public an explanation. So, as a matter of course, her Doomsday Squad was pushed into the spotlight.

As for what Xv Yiyisan said about certain people deliberately erasing all trace of her...

’No big deal. I can fix it.’

’After all, I’m still alive, aren’t I?’

Gu Xi thought for a moment, then asked Qin Yi, "For a team as amazing as the Doomsday Squad, is that really all of them?"

"Ah..." Qin Yi paused, taken aback for a moment, before confirming, "Yeah, that’s everyone..."

However, after a pause, she added, "I guess some must have been sacrificed in the early years, but that era was so chaotic that none of the heroes’ records were preserved."

"In the end, the only ones left for later generations like us to remember and admire are these surviving heroes..." Qin Yi sighed, but then her tone immediately shifted.

"But they’re truly incredible. Not only did they team up to destroy the Zombie Emperor back then, but even now, they’ve all made extraordinary achievements in their own fields. Take Mr. Qee... and Mr. Li... and Mr. Xiao is even more amazing..."

Gu Xi noticed that Qin Yi had praised almost every single one of her old companions, but had specifically skipped Ye Xin.

After all, Ye Xin was now the deputy director of the Abnormal Ability Research Institute, one of the most powerful figures in the Central Base.

’So why did Qin Yi happen to leave only her out?’

Gu Xi lowered her gaze slightly. ’It seems that even after thirty years, the Abnormal Ability Research Institute... is still just as disliked as ever.’

But there was one thing Gu Xi couldn’t understand.

’Ye Xin used to hate the people at the Abnormal Ability Research Institute more than anyone, so how... how did she end up joining it?’

’And her and Dr. Qi... Back then, pretty much everyone assumed they were a couple, but now... Never mind going their separate ways, it seems they’ve practically become enemies?’

’And everything Xv Yiyisan said today... Things are probably even more complicated than I initially suspected.’ Gu Xi thought.

After a long silence, Gu Xi sighed.

Just then, Qin Yi leaned in close, a smile revealing her two small dimples. "Gu Xi," she said mysteriously, "didn’t you want to raise some poultry?"

Gu Xi glanced at Wei Heng.

Wei Heng was just about to speak when Qin Yi stepped forward and linked her arm with Gu Xi’s. "Don’t listen to this blabbermouth..."

Wei Heng protested, "...Hey, how am I a blabbermouth?"

Qin Yi shot him a massive eye-roll.

Gu Xi smiled faintly. She knew they were worried she’d be dwelling on things after Xv Yiyisan’s visit, so they were intentionally putting on a little act to cheer her up.

"You don’t have to do this." Gu Xi thought for a moment before explaining seriously, "Mr. Xv did need to see me about something, but it’s nothing serious..."

Seeing her calm expression, which didn’t look at all like someone weighed down by a serious matter, Wei Heng and Qin Yi exchanged a glance and silently breathed a sigh of relief.

That Mr. Xv was from the Central Superpower Research Institute, and they were genuinely worried that a young woman like Gu Xi, having just returned from the ruins and knowing nothing of the world, would be easily tricked.

After all, that bunch from the Abnormal Ability Research Institute was famous for their dirty dealings.

Gu Xi decided to change the subject.

"About the poultry, you have a lead?" she asked, looking up at Qin Yi.

But Wei Heng suddenly cut in, "Let’s not rush this. We can talk about it when we get back."

Gu Xi glanced at him but said nothing.

...

After they returned the next day, by noon, Gu Xi and the others were feasting on bright red strawberries and crystal-clear green grapes.

Shen Yue even dramatically declared that he would offer his life in marriage for these delicious fruits, and was promptly ganged up on and thrown out by the other three "workers."

Of course! With food this good, who wouldn’t want to offer themselves (for a lifetime of freeloading)?

The question was, did he really think he’d be the one to get so lucky?

After the playful chaos died down, Gu Xi took another bowl of freshly washed strawberries from Wei Heng, set it on the table, and turned to Shen Yue. "I want to raise some poultry. I heard you have connections?"

"I do, I do," Shen Yue said, his hands moving like lightning to snatch a few big strawberries from the bowl. He stuffed them in his mouth and mumbled, "But for that, you’d be better off finding Qi Xiang and having her go with you..."

The two professors’ experimental field was nearing completion, and a large shipment of lab equipment had just arrived. It was their busiest time, so Qi Xiang had gone over early in the morning to help and hadn’t even had time to come back for lunch.

Gu Xi nodded. "Alright, I’ll talk to her directly when she gets back tonight."

Unfazed by Wei Heng’s menacing glare, Shen Yue grabbed a few more large strawberries. Then, after snagging two freshly steamed sweet potatoes from the pot, he finally looked up at Gu Xi. "So, when are you planning to plant the other fruits?"

Gu Xi glanced at the strawberries in his hand, then at the pot. ’Is this what they call "eyeing the pot while still eating from the bowl"?’

’A little too greedy.’

Shen Yue wolfed down the strawberries, then grabbed a large bunch of grapes. He puffed out his chest and met Gu Xi’s gaze, looking completely justified.

’I’ve lived for twenty-nine years, and this is the first time I’ve eaten something this good! You think it’s been easy for me?’

’So what’s wrong with eyeing the pot while eating from my bowl?’

Gu Xi was speechless. ’Fine. Food is the staff of life. There’s no shame in that.’

’Though one doesn’t live just to eat, if you can’t even get a bite to eat, there’s nothing else worth talking about.’

’Survival is, and always will be, the most fundamental problem humanity faces.’

Shen Yue handed the sweet potato, which he’d cooled by tossing it in his hands, to Gu Xi. He continued eating his grapes—skins and all—and mumbled, "How about we plant some oranges this afternoon? I hear they’re delicious..."

Gu Xi was speechless.

’These days, who wouldn’t want to eat delicious fruit?’ 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

Gu Xi certainly did.

’She wasn’t just craving oranges; she was craving pears, bananas, plums, loquats...’

’Basically, if it was a fruit, she loved it.’

’The problem was, the remaining fruits weren’t like strawberries and grapes, which grow on vines. After she force-ripened them, the plants would wither quickly without arousing suspicion.’

’But for something like an orange tree... She couldn’t just have a giant, super-mutated fruit tree wither away after a single harvest, could she?’

’Never mind how wasteful that would be; it would definitely attract suspicion.’

’After all, the two professors’ experimental field wasn’t "clean"... Who could guarantee that besides the person who mutated the other day, there weren’t other eyes watching?’

Of course, Gu Xi could always take Wei Heng into the woods in the middle of the night to eat in secret.

But after spending this much time with them, especially after the incident with the Mutated Locust Tree, Gu Xi felt that hiding from Shen Yue and the three Qin sisters to eat alone would be a bit ungenerous.

And Gu Xi was a generous person.

’So, this would have to depend on Mr. Zhao’s progress.’

Besides the upland rice plants, watermelon vines, and sweet potato seedlings from before, Gu Xi had been deliberately controlling her ability’s consumption rate, allowing her to send many more samples of the rice plants to the two professors’ lab.

’Qi Xiang had mentioned that Experiment #1 seemed to have had a breakthrough, right?’

’If the same technique could be applied to fruit trees... her options would expand greatly.’

’More than just achieving fruit freedom, Gu Xi wanted to achieve it openly and legitimately!’

But that could wait.

The watermelons, strawberries, and grapes would last them a while. And if worst came to worst, they still had sweet and tangy tomatoes. What worried Gu Xi more right now was Wei Heng’s condition.

At this thought, Gu Xi looked up toward the kitchen.

The young man was over there, starting a fire, washing a pot, and getting ready to cook. In the firelight, the grayish-blue tinge on his thin, pale face was faintly visible—a bit more obvious now than when she had first met him over a month ago...

Gu Xi looked away, her gaze falling. The pad of her finger gently brushed over the tender tip of the little green sprout.

’Wei Heng’s condition can’t be put off any longer.’