From Apocalypse Boss to Farmer: My Vegetables Make Me Stronger!

Chapter 380 - 365: Family Background

The reason Gu Xi hadn’t refused Yun Ye’s offer this time wasn’t entirely because he’d used Li Ming, Wei Heng, and the others to threaten her. It was mostly because of the Superpower Seed.

No one knew that ever since her last superpower upgrade, Gu Xi had been constantly restraining herself from absorbing the energy of the Superpower Seed.

But this craving for immense power was a fundamental instinct for creatures of the universe, and restraining it was, in truth, very difficult.

Anyone else would have likely found it impossible. Only someone like Gu Xi could manage... The environment she grew up in had made her emotions and desires muted. Furthermore, she had truly stood at that peak before, so the position held no attraction for her. It was simply lonely at the top.

But even so, it was still incredibly difficult.

Ever since she absorbed the power of another Superpower Seed, both her sprout and her personal space had developed an almost instinctual craving for that energy.

It was the kind of power that one could easily become addicted to.

Fortunately, from the information Yun Ye had previously revealed, Gu Xi had long suspected that if she completely absorbed the Superpower Seed, she would likely cease to be human.

And Gu Xi, deep down, had a stubborn insistence on remaining human.

This, in turn, presented her with a dilemma: what was she to do with the two Superpower Seeds?

She couldn’t trust anyone else to absorb them, nor was she willing to let them. But hiding them... wasn’t safe either. After all, the second Superpower Seed was far too infectious. No matter how she tried to hide it, an accident was bound to happen.

...One only had to look at what happened to 027, and that pile of droppings Bai left behind.

As for destroying them... years ago, Li Ming had tried to destroy her first Superpower Seed. Unfortunately, with the power humanity currently possessed, it was completely impossible to destroy the damn things.

But keeping them in her personal space indefinitely wasn’t a solution either.

Her space, it seemed, would actively absorb the Superpower Seeds’ energy. The process was incredibly slow, but over the long term... Gu Xi was faintly worried.

So the problem came full circle—it seemed the best solution was for her to absorb them herself.

But as for the consequences of absorbing those things... no one could say for sure.

In the end, it all came down to the fact that they knew far too little about Superpower Seeds.

That’s why Gu Xi wanted to probe Yun Ye for more information about the Superpower Seeds. Her reason for not refusing his offer this time was precisely to learn what she could from him.

As for Yun Ye’s threats—a man like Li Ming, who had survived this long, was not someone who could be easily threatened.

Ultimately, Yun Ye had underestimated Gu Xi, underestimated Li Ming, and most of all, underestimated the unspoken understanding between them.

Initially, when Li Ming didn’t reply to her messages, Gu Xi had indeed assumed he was just tied up with something. But when Yun Ye mentioned Li Ming and subtly used him as a threat, Gu Xi realized—this was all probably part of Li Ming’s plan.

Soon after entering the Land of Death, Gu Xi and Li Ming had discussed the Superpower Seed. They both agreed that the seeds were too much of an unknown for them at their current stage. If they wanted to learn more, their only option was to get information from Yun Ye.

But Yun Ye was dead set on obtaining the Superpower Seeds, so how could he tolerate anyone else coveting them? He would be unwilling to tell them much on the subject.

To create an opening, they needed to find the right opportunity.

An opportunity that would make Yun Ye open up on his own.

So when Yun Ye used Li Ming to threaten her, Gu Xi knew that their opportunity had arrived.

However, the opportunity was still missing its final piece.

And that final piece, it seemed, was about to fall to the man before her: Mr. Huo.

"It seems Mr. Huo has already found out?" Gu Xi’s gaze swept over the Light Screen in front of him, finally landing on Mr. Huo’s face. She sighed. "Oh dear, what’s to be done?"

Her voice was soft and slow, but to Huo Changzhou’s ears, it was like a clap of thunder.

It shattered him completely, leaving only one thought in his mind: ’She’s going to kill me to silence me.’

"M-Miss Gu." Huo Changzhou looked at Gu Xi. He was so terrified that a chill ran through him, as if his blood had turned to ice. His face was deathly pale.

Huo Changzhou had no idea how to convince Gu Xi to spare him. After all, he had—it seemed, he had possibly, he had probably... discovered her greatest secret?

At this thought, Huo Changzhou was filled with dread. His gaze flickered to Qi Xiang, and after a moment’s hesitation, he said, "Actually, there’s something I’ve never known how to tell... Qi Xiang..."

Qi Xiang froze for a second, then the corners of her mouth turned up in a faint smile.

’I never would have guessed,’ she thought. ’An unexpected bonus?’

Qi Xiang discreetly shot Gu Xi a look.

"Oh?" Gu Xi raised an eyebrow. She glanced at Huo Changzhou and nonchalantly tapped the little green sprout on her fingertip. "Let’s hear it."

As she spoke, the little green sprout that had been limply draped over her fingertip suddenly shot out, coiling around Huo Changzhou’s body. The sharp, slender thorn at its tip came to rest right between his eyebrows.

Huo Changzhou was so frightened he didn’t dare to breathe. He swallowed hard, his body rigid. "Actually, years ago, our teacher found out about Qi Xiang’s family background..."

’Qi Xiang’s family background?’

Gu Xi glanced up at Qi Xiang. Qi Xiang was sitting on a stool, head down, with one hand cupping her chin. Her eyes were lowered, her thoughts unreadable.

A thought struck Gu Xi just as she heard Huo Changzhou continue, "Qi Xiang... she’s very likely a daughter of the Gu Family..."

’The Gu Family?’

’What a coincidence.’

This time, Gu Xi was genuinely surprised.

Nearby, Wei Heng glanced at Gu Xi, then at Qi Xiang. After a moment’s thought, he led everyone else out of the room, leaving Gu Xi and Qi Xiang alone.

After the door closed, the room became exceptionally quiet.

Gu Xi looked at Qi Xiang, but for a moment, she didn’t know what to say.

Instead, it was Qi Xiang who smiled.

"Actually... I know." Qi Xiang couldn’t quite describe what she was feeling at that moment. The people and events she thought she had forgotten were, in fact, still vivid in her memory.

"When I was little... I mean, before I was adopted by Dr. Qi, someone secretly came to see me several times..." Qi Xiang had always remembered the woman’s face, though she never knew who she was.

As a child, she just thought she was lucky to have a kind person secretly looking out for her and didn’t think much of it.

It wasn’t until much later, probably after she had made a name for herself at the Central Base. "That day, I saw that woman again at the research institute..."

"She was in Dr. Qi’s office," Qi Xiang said slowly, looking up at Gu Xi.

She should have told Gu Xi sooner, but once she began to suspect that Gu Xi might also be from the Gu Family, she didn’t know how to bring it up. She was afraid... afraid that her encounter with Gu Xi had been a conspiracy from the very beginning.

After all, it had been Dr. Qi who had tacitly approved of her going to South City and getting close to Gu Xi.

That was why Qi Xiang had always been hesitant and hadn’t dared to tell anyone.

Even though it wasn’t her intention, what if their entire meeting had been a pre-planned conspiracy targeting Gu Xi?