From Apocalypse Boss to Farmer: My Vegetables Make Me Stronger!-Chapter 100 - 93: Not a Big Deal

The next morning, Gu Xi returned to Camp No. 9527 alone.

After confirming her identity, a staff member at the camp’s logistics point handed her a small, flat, palm-sized box. "I’m not sure what this is," the staffer said. "It came from South City. You should check it..."

Logistics fees were astronomical these days, yet someone had paid a fortune to send such a tiny box. The staffer, worried it might be something valuable and that they’d be held responsible for any problems, asked Gu Xi to inspect it on the spot before taking it.

"Thank you." Gu Xi took the box and glanced down at the shipping label. Other than her name and contact information, there was nothing else on it at all.

’An anonymous package?’

’I wonder which of my old friends sent this?’

Gu Xi pondered for a moment, then opened the box in front of the staff member.

The palm-sized box didn’t contain anything valuable, only a small, handwritten card.

Seeing this, the staff member gave Gu Xi a surprised glance, muttering to themself, ’I wonder what kind of game some rich person is playing, spending a fortune just to send a card that looks like a child’s doodle?’

Gu Xi looked at the stick-figure drawing on the card and suddenly smiled.

After thanking the staff member again, Gu Xi left Camp No. 9527.

Along the way, the jeep suddenly made a turn.

She had been gone for over a month before returning to South City this time, and now there were even more eyes on her.

’If I’m not mistaken, the contents of that card have probably been seen by many people by now.’

’In that case... let them guess.’

The jeep stopped deep in a dense forest.

The door opened, and the young woman’s figure moved like the wind, quickly vanishing into the mountain woods.

Half an hour later, Gu Xi bent down and picked up a personal terminal from a hole in the ground, raising an eyebrow slightly.

’She’d seen this model of personal terminal on the forums before. It had been a popular style a few years back, but almost no one used it anymore.’

’But the one in her hand was clearly new...’

Just then, the personal terminal in her hand suddenly vibrated.

Someone was initiating a video call.

Gu Xi was dazed for a moment before pressing the accept button.

The video call connected quickly.

A man with a full head of white hair, looking exceptionally gaunt, appeared on the screen.

Judging by the background, he was sitting sideways by a window where light and shadow intertwined. His eyelids were half-closed, and the visible half of his face was deeply lined, exuding an ashen aura of encroaching death.

Seeing the old man on the screen, Gu Xi froze for a second. "Li Ming, you..."

She found it incredibly difficult to connect this weathered old man on the screen with the vigorous, cunning-as-a-fox, gentle young man deep in her memories.

In that instant, an indescribable feeling of sorrow welled up in Gu Xi’s heart.

Li Ming on the screen exuded the air of a man with one foot in the grave, but when he slightly raised his eyes to meet Gu Xi’s face, he smiled as gently as she remembered:

"Xiaoxi, long time no see."

Gu Xi was silent. For a moment, she simply didn’t know what to say.

On the other end of the call, Li Ming raised a hand and helplessly rubbed the bridge of his nose, but his tone was remarkably indulgent. "Xiaoxi, don’t look at me like that. It makes me feel..."

As if she knew what he was about to say, Gu Xi cut him off coldly. "Li Ming, I remember that thirty years ago, your ability had already broken through to level nine!"

"You noticed?" Li Ming chuckled, sounding unconcerned. "Don’t worry, it’s not a big deal. Just a small problem with my ability. I’m not dying just yet..."

"Not a big deal? Not dying?" Gu Xi was suddenly furious.

The old man on the other side just smiled gently. "Yes, it’s not a big deal. At least I waited until you came back, didn’t I?"

Gu Xi’s breath hitched. She suddenly realized something: in the thirty years she had been missing, what had her former teammates sacrificed to find her...

Gu Xi suddenly didn’t dare to think about it any further.

Li Ming had always been an expert at reading people.

And Gu Xi was used to never hiding anything from him.

At that moment, a flicker of pain crossed Li Ming’s face as he watched the young woman on the video, but it quickly gave way to his usual calm and gentle expression. He was just too old now. Even his forced composure was tinged with the weary pallor of a life about to be extinguished.

Gu Xi took a deep breath and quickly composed herself.

"Right, you’re right. It’s not a big deal," she said, her tone light. "Because I’m back..."

On the other end, Li Ming smiled too. "Welcome back, Gu Xiaoxi."

Gu Xi, however, frowned slightly. "Don’t change the subject. Where are you now? Since you knew there was a problem with your ability, why didn’t you come find me right away? Li Ming, you know I can..."

"Yes, I know." Li Ming interrupted her, his voice gentle but firm. "Xiaoxi, I know that as long as you’re back, my problem is no longer a problem. But Xiaoxi, if possible, I’d rather you not contact us old-timers from the past..."

Gu Xi’s perception was sharp. "You knew I was back a long time ago?"

"Yes. I’ve known for a while." Li Ming nodded calmly, not hiding anything. "More than half a year ago, someone sent me a watermelon... Xiaoxi, you should know that the watermelons you grow are different from anyone else’s. I was suspicious back then."

’Gu Xi remembered. It was shortly after she had woken up. She and Wei Heng had contracted a plot of wasteland, and then they’d met the sisters from the Qin Family. Qin Yi had given her the watermelon seeds...’

’She remembered that batch of watermelons was later sold to the camp. She never expected them to end up at the Central Base.’

Gu Xi’s heart sank.

’If Li Ming could think of her after seeing a watermelon, what about the others?’

Li Ming continued, "Your bizarre disappearance back then was strange in itself. I guessed you might have returned, but I didn’t dare make it public. Around that time, the Central Base happened to be dispatching some agricultural experts to the regional areas to guide agricultural production..."

Gu Xi instantly understood. "So, you arranged for Xv Yiyisan."

Her tone was certain, without a hint of a question.

"Yes." Li Ming nodded gently, smiling. "I pulled some strings to get Xv Yiyisan assigned to South City. I figured that since you hadn’t contacted us immediately after returning, you were probably..."

"But Xv Yiyisan is different from us. He was still young when you disappeared, not an official member of our squad, but he was a kid you watched grow up. You probably wouldn’t be as wary of him."

’Although Li Ming didn’t say it outright, Gu Xi knew he had already guessed that she might be suspicious of them...’

The tacit understanding built from years of fighting side-by-side led them to skip over the topic in unison.

Gu Xi’s feelings were complicated.

After a moment of thought, she asked, "So you were the one sending me messages over the broadcast during this time, weren’t you."

’Li Ming had always been good at reading people, and he had watched Xv Yiyisan grow up. He would naturally be able to predict all of Xv Yiyisan’s reactions after meeting her...’

’Including the fact that Xv Yiyisan would shove that thing into her hands.’

For a moment, Gu Xi felt as if she had returned to the past, when Li Ming was still her vice-captain, the squad’s crafty strategist.

Gu Xi couldn’t help but let out a dazed smile, but the bitter sorrow in her heart spread silently.

’It didn’t hurt, but the ache was suffocating.’

"As expected, nothing gets past our captain."

Li Ming smiled too, as if he had also returned to the days when they all fought side-by-side. "So, Xiaoxi, I knew you were back so long ago, but I never contacted you. Do you know why?"

Gu Xi fell silent.

’Of course, she knew.’

’But some things were even crueler when spoken aloud.’