From Apocalypse Boss to Farmer: My Vegetables Make Me Stronger!-Chapter 111 - 102: It’s Not the Grass’s Problem

Deep within the tall grass, the four of them stared silently at the behemoth ahead. No one made a sound.

All was quiet. The only sound in the entire canyon seemed to be the rustling of grass in the wind.

’For some reason, Qi Xiang suddenly felt on edge, as if every shadow held a hidden threat. Her heart seemed to be beating a little fast, and she instinctively pressed a hand to her chest.’

But the black-and-green cow in the distance merely lifted its eyelids to glance at them before indifferently looking away.

It seemed to pay no mind whatsoever to the four bipedal creatures who had appeared and disturbed its ascension.

After a long moment, Qi Xiang subtly sensed that the cow had no intention of attacking them. She whispered, "Did you guys feel that...? The way it just looked at us was like it was looking at dead people."

Lu Shiliu didn’t turn around, only muttering in a low voice, "Be more confident. Drop the ’like’."

Qi Xiang: "..."

Ahead, Lu Shiliu’s brow was furrowed.

As a Beast Tamer, he could most easily perceive an animal’s emotions.

This cow, which had suddenly changed color, truly wasn’t taking them seriously.

Moreover, it was refusing to communicate with him...

Lu Shiliu suddenly let out a bizarre, strange sound, leaving Gu Xi and the others baffled.

But the cow up ahead didn’t even spare him a single glance.

Lu Shiliu’s face paled slightly as he took a few more steps forward. 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

Wei Heng slowly frowned, discreetly retreating to Gu Xi’s side. He kept his voice extremely low. "Inside this cow... there are two streams of energy."

Besides the energy released by its own Crystal Core, there was another current of energy trying to envelop the ascending Crystal Core.

’But this energy is strange, or perhaps... sinister?’

It seemed to have no source, yet it permeated the cow’s entire body, staining it an eerie black-green.

This couldn’t help but make Wei Heng think of those mutant plants—also without a Crystal Core, also bizarrely suffused with X Energy...

"You’re saying... there’s something wrong with this grass?" Qi Xiang subconsciously glanced at the surrounding reeds, which were much taller than a person. ’That makes sense. Hasn’t the cow turned the exact same color as the grass around it?’

Wei Heng wasn’t sure. He looked up at Gu Xi.

Gu Xi shook her head slightly and stated with certainty, "It’s not the grass."

’Then what is it?’

Qi Xiang and Wei Heng exchanged a glance, then followed Gu Xi’s line of sight forward.

However, the surrounding aquatic plants were too dense and tall, completely blocking their view.

But if they listened carefully, they could hear the sound of waves lapping against a shore.

’The natural lake in the distance?’

A strange thought suddenly flashed through Qi Xiang’s mind.

Just then—

"Run!"

Lu Shiliu abruptly turned and shouted at the other three.

Qi Xiang instinctively started to run, but the moment she turned, she realized something was wrong.

Neither Gu Xi nor Wei Heng had moved.

Qi Xiang quickly retreated back to Gu Xi’s side.

At the same time, Wei Heng activated his power. A huge sphere of earth rapidly formed around them, instantly enclosing them.

In the instant the light vanished, Qi Xiang heard a loud POP, like a balloon bursting.

Qi Xiang grew curious and tugged on Wei Heng’s sleeve.

In the blink of an eye, the earthen sphere that had just enveloped the three of them dissolved into sand, cascading to either side. Daylight burst from above, but Qi Xiang turned her head and let out an agonized retch.

The behemoth in the distance had been reduced to a pile of flesh and blood!

The thick stench of blood mixed with the natural odor of the mutant plants, creating a nauseating smell in the air.

Nearby, splattered head to toe in blackish-green blood, with bits of gore clinging to his hair and the bridge of his nose, stood Lu Shiliu. Looking like he’d just crawled out of a sewer, he stared at them with a haunting gaze, his eyes a silent accusation.

The sight was truly too gruesome to bear.

Wei Heng shifted uncomfortably and averted his gaze. "..." ’It really wasn’t on purpose. Besides, Lu Shiliu ran off too quickly. It’s not like my earth sphere can move with him, right?’

When Qi Xiang saw Lu Shiliu’s utterly wretched state, she couldn’t help but feel how lucky she was. ’Thank goodness I didn’t listen to him just now, otherwise...’

But feeling relieved at a time like this was clearly a bit heartless.

After a moment’s thought, Miss Qi tactfully suggested, "Why don’t you... go wash up in the lake over there?"

Lu Shiliu nodded numbly and started walking toward the lake.

As he passed by, Qi Xiang and Wei Heng exchanged a look and silently took a few steps back.

It wasn’t that she found her companion smelly, it was just that the stench... really... *retch*. It was a visceral reaction, completely beyond her control.

But who would have known? Just then, one of the aquatic plants by the shore, which had seemed to be merely swaying in the wind, suddenly bent down, wrapped itself around Lu Shiliu’s waist, and yanked hard.

Simultaneously, more plants began to writhe madly, snatching up the scattered bits of flesh and blood on the ground and dragging them toward the lake.

Their speed was astonishing.

Lu Shiliu’s reaction was just as fast. The moment he was pulled to the ground, he drew the dagger from his waist and slashed at the plant wrapped around him.

But just then.

"Don’t move!"

Gu Xi suddenly cried out. Without a second thought, Lu Shiliu froze.

Gripping his dagger in one hand and propping himself up on the grass with the other, he let the plant drag him backward, twisting his head to look toward Gu Xi. Only then did he realize he wasn’t the only one under attack.

Wei Heng was protecting Qi Xiang and Gu Xi, fighting as they retreated. Judging by their direction, they were also being forced toward the lake.

Lu Shiliu fell into thought. ’Gu Xi just told me not to move, and she hasn’t made a move herself...’

’Throughout this whole ordeal, only Wei Heng has been fighting.’

’And from the looks of it, he’s struggling, appearing a bit battered...’

’This doesn’t seem like the full strength of the Superpower Special Team’s former deputy captain.’

And so, entangled with the plants, the four of them soon reached the lakeshore. The aquatic plants attacking them were, in fact, shooting out from the lake itself.

Seeing that Lu Shiliu was already half-dragged into the water, Qi Xiang figured that after being rinsed for a good while, the stench should have mostly dissipated. Only then did she run over from behind Wei Heng, a panicked expression on her face.

With both of them submerged up to their waists, Qi Xiang half-dragged, half-supported Lu Shiliu. Under the cover of their struggle against the plants, she lowered her voice and whispered quickly into his ear, "Be ready to act on my signal."

Lu Shiliu froze, then quickly turned his head to look at the other side of the lake.

At some point, the black-and-white dairy cows over there had all turned black-green. Several kelp-like plants, each as thick as a water bucket, shot out of the lake and wrapped around the cows.

Countless tiny mouthparts emerged from the sides of the plants and began to suck the flesh and blood from the cows. As they fed, the plants’ color grew even more bizarre...

Behind Wei Heng, Gu Xi’s hands clenched into fists. ’I can’t believe those people are so audacious, daring to target even a military livestock station.’

’So arrogant.’

’Absolutely rampant.’

Wei Heng lowered his voice and asked, "What do we do now?"

"Wait a little longer." Gu Xi quickly retracted her extended Spiritual Net, discreetly "looking" at the thing at the bottom of the lake.

’It seems Zhang Cheng really does know some of the inside story behind Incident 176, but why would he be kind enough to warn us?’

’Is he trying to surrender to us? Or does he want to use us to break free from the faction controlling him? Or maybe... he’s luring me into a trap?’

’But regardless, it’s a good thing I got here in time. Otherwise, this place might have become the next ’176’.’

’And the methods of those people are truly unexpected. To think they’d hide something right under the military’s nose... Is this what Li Ming once said? The most dangerous place is often the safest?’

Gu Xi frowned slightly.

’I’ve found the thing now, but there’s still a problem. Lu Shiliu said this location was chosen several months ago, but the incident in the NX1984 Area hadn’t happened yet...’

Looking again at the malignant, kelp-like mutant plants shooting out from the lakebed, and the large dairy cows that had suddenly changed color... a faint guess began to form in Gu Xi’s mind.