From Apocalypse Boss to Farmer: My Vegetables Make Me Stronger!-Chapter 94 - 88: Staying Out of It

"Gu Xi?"

Gu Xi snapped back to reality and looked up to meet Lu Chenyuan’s worried eyes.

"I’m fine." She shook her head, her fingertip tapping lightly on the tabletop. "About Yu City Base..."

Seeing she didn’t want to elaborate, he changed the subject for her. "After what happened, the base’s high command is in chaos. A huge shake-up is inevitable. The military has now taken complete control of Yu City Base."

"I see." Gu Xi seemed lost in thought.

Lu Chenyuan glanced at her and finally said, "Gu Xi, Yu City Base’s leadership is about to undergo a complete overhaul. You... should not get involved in this."

Gu Xi paused for a moment before she understood. She looked at Lu Chenyuan and said seriously, "Lu Chenyuan, don’t worry. I will not get involved in this."

Li Ming said she didn’t understand politics. She admitted that, which was why she’d never thought of playing political games.

She had just been dazed because she was thinking... ’Judging from the previous attempt to bury me alive, there must be at least two factions behind that laboratory under Moon Bay.’

’Now that the lab has been deliberately pushed into the spotlight to serve as a scapegoat... is it possible that this incident will cause infighting among the factions behind it?’

’Once conflict arises between them, it creates an opportunity for outsiders.’

Gu Xi felt this might be her chance.

"Lu Chenyuan," she said, propping her chin on her hand, "I’d like to stay for a few more days."

"That’s no problem," Lu Chenyuan replied without a second thought. Although the military had taken over the base, it was still facing a massive food crisis.

Yu City Base was in desperate need of Wood Element users!

They would be thrilled that Gu Xi was offering to stay.

But...

"If you stay here, what about the NX1984 Area...?" Lu Chenyuan asked. 𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦

"That’s not urgent." Gu Xi looked up, a slight smile on her lips, but her eyes were calm and unflappable. "Let’s leave the stage to others for now."

On the surface, for the ordinary people living in South City Base, the matter was over now that the malignant mutant plants in the ruins of the NX1984 Area had been completely wiped out.

But in reality, for certain people, the great game hidden in the shadows was only just beginning.

Gu Xi wanted to step back and see who would try to stay out of this affair, and who was already mired in it up to their necks.

...

「Meanwhile, at South City Base.」

Zhou Jinyu and the others had also confirmed through a live satellite feed that Ye Junhan’s team had the situation completely under control. They were now in the cleanup phase, checking the scene for any stragglers.

Zhou Jinyu’s gaze shifted from the Light Screen. He let out a breath, his expression gentle as he smiled. "It seems we underestimated Ye Junhan."

"But then, Ye here seems to know Jun Han quite well." He looked up at Ye Nan, who was sitting in the corner, and teased her with a smile.

Ye Nan smiled but said nothing. The fingertips of her hand, hanging at her side, dug deep marks into her palm.

The other three people in the conference room, however, had extremely grim expressions.

Now that Ye Junhan’s Special Service Team had wiped out all the malignant mutant plants, they no longer had an excuse to urge the military to launch the N001 missile!

This was not good news for them.

"Mr. Zhou, about this matter..." Zhang Cheng asked Zhou Jinyu, stealing a glance at Liou Zhenyuan.

"It’s a good thing," Zhou Jinyu said gently. "The malignant plants in the NX1984 Area have been wiped out, and the crisis for South City Base has been resolved."

His words made Liou Zhenyuan and the other two men’s faces change slightly. ’This old fox! He’s trying to stay out of it and hold our feet to the fire!’

’But the Abnormal Ability Research Institute was the one who spearheaded that whole affair from the shadows... And now this old fox Zhou Jinyu wants to push all the responsibility onto the three of us?’

’He can forget it.’

Zhang Cheng couldn’t hold back a sarcastic retort. "Aren’t you worried, Mr. Zhou, that Ye Junhan might discover something in the ruins of the NX1984 Area?"

Zhou Jinyu looked up, his expression still gentle, but the smile had vanished from his eyes. "Discover what? The reason the mutant plants all turned malignant? That would be a good thing..."

After a pause, he looked directly at Liou Zhenyuan. "Wouldn’t you agree, Mr. Liou?"

Zhou Jinyu’s tone was as gentle as ever, but to Liou Zhenyuan and the other two, his words were a blatant threat.

Although the Abnormal Ability Research Institute had instigated it from the shadows, they were indeed the ones who, greedy for merit, had acted rashly behind their superiors’ backs. And now that disaster had struck...

The people from the Abnormal Ability Research Institute could wash their hands of it, but as the primary leaders of South City Base, they probably couldn’t.

In that instant, the hearts of all three men sank.

This was especially true for Liou Zhenyuan.

He had been against it at first, but the temptation of becoming a Divine Rank user was just too great. If he could have obtained that final Synthetic Crystal Core and successfully advanced to Divine Rank, then... what he could control would be far more than just South City Base.

The temptation was too great. So in the end, he had tacitly approved of everything.

Although he had never actively participated in the matter from start to finish, it now seemed he had just been too clever for his own good. It was utterly ridiculous.

Looking at Zhou Jinyu across from them, with his smiling expression as if he had nothing to do with any of this, Liou Zhenyuan and the other two would have to be complete fools not to realize they had been royally screwed by the Abnormal Ability Research Institute!

’The Divine Rank Crystal Core synthesis experiment... The whole thing was probably just a front from the very beginning!’

’We’ve been completely and utterly used!’

But it was obviously too late to be saying any of this now.

"Mr. Zhou is right. It is a good thing." Liou Zhenyuan stood up, his gaze dark as he stared at Zhou Jinyu. "There are many things at the base waiting for me to handle. I’ll be taking my leave."

After Liou Zhenyuan left, Zhang Cheng and Wu Yue exchanged a look, then also departed in a hurry with grim expressions.

Zhou Jinyu remained seated. He removed the glasses from his nose, took out a snow-white handkerchief, and carefully wiped the lenses, a gentle smile still on his face.

Inside, however, he was seething.

’The situation in the NX1984 Area has clearly slipped out of my control. There’s obviously another faction involved that I don’t know about.’

Zhou Jinyu did not like this feeling of things spiraling out of his control.

And along with his displeasure came a faint sense of unease.

Ye Nan sat quietly in the corner, her head slightly lowered, carefully committing to memory the veiled barbs these men had just exchanged.

Just then, Zhou Jinyu’s personal terminal chimed.

It was a call from Ye Junhan.

He smiled gently, put his glasses back on, and then accepted the video call.

"Jun Han, good work," Zhou Jinyu said with a warm expression. "I saw everything just now... Your Special Service Team deserves the highest credit for resolving the crisis in the NX1984 Area so quickly."

"It’s my duty; I dare not take credit." Ye Junhan’s expression was as cold as ever. He sent Zhou Jinyu a collection of photos from the scene and battle footage that had been recorded earlier.

According to procedure, after they had wiped out the malignant plants, the next step was for the Abnormal Ability Research Institute to send a sampling list. They would then collect samples on-site according to the list before beginning cleanup operations.

This time, however, Zhou Jinyu said, "Jun Han, the mass corruption of the mutant plants is a grave matter. Video footage alone is not enough to determine many things. Someone has to go to the scene to see for themselves..."

The fingertips of Ye Junhan’s hand, hanging at his side, tapped lightly. His voice was cool. "Mr. Zhou, although the malignant plants here have been cleared, no one can guarantee that more mutant plants won’t turn malignant on-site. Compared to sample collection, your safety is clearly more important."

But Zhou Jinyu just smiled and said gently, "Jun Han, don’t worry. I’m well aware that I’m just a scholar and would only get in your way. What I mean is, we should have a helicopter send Ye Nan over..."

Ye Nan’s head snapped up, clearly surprised.

Zhou Jinyu smiled and beckoned her over. He said to Ye Junhan, "You know Ye. She’s been learning from her mother since she was a child... I’d feel much more at ease with her in charge of this matter."

Ye Junhan raised his eyes and looked impassively at Ye Nan.

His expression showed not a flicker of emotion.

Just then, Zhou Jinyu suddenly added, "Of course, the sample collection can’t wait. So, before Ye gets there, Qi Xiang will be in charge of sampling on-site."

This arrangement was rather puzzling.

Even Ye Nan, who was standing nearby, looked up in surprise...