There were quite a few moths and butterflies in this forest. Gu Xi didn’t even have to lift a finger; soon enough, Qin Yi had caught a whole string of them on her own.
Figuring they had caught enough, the two of them headed back the way they ca.
Wei Heng was a diligent man, quick and efficient. By the ti they returned, more than half of Gu Xi’s hundred acres of wasteland had already been cleared.
anwhile, the cool and aloof Qin Shi stood on the cleared land, using her ability to shred the root systems of plants deep underground.
Qin Yi took one look, handed the moths and butterflies to Gu Xi, then excitedly ran back across the stream to get the waterlon seeds.
When he heard there would be waterlon, Wei Heng’s eyes practically went wide with envy.
He hopped down from the farming tiller and asked the two Wood Elent users present, "Which one should we plant first?"
"Waterlon," Gu Xi and Qin Yi said in unison, without a mont’s hesitation.
Gu Xi had actually wanted to see what plants grown by other Wood Elent users would be like, but to her surprise, Qin Yi directly shoved the waterlon seeds into her hands.
And the reason she gave made it impossible for Gu Xi to refuse.
"Gu Xi, with the waterlons I’ve grown before, only one or two out of every ten attempts were even edible, and their mutation coefficients were all very high. As for the taste... let’s not even talk about it. It was nothing like what they described in those pre-apocalypse food videos."
"Besides, these are the only waterlon seeds I have left. If I fail again, we won’t have any waterlon to eat," the sweet girl said pitifully.
Waterlon seeds were extrely rare in the major bases. If she applied for more, there was no telling how long she would have to wait.
Gu Xi fell silent.
Soon, she understood why Qin Yi’s attempts at planting had failed.
The waterlon seeds contained a significant amount of that strange energy. According to current asurent standards, their mutation coefficient was around 2.5.
’If the seeds are already like this, how could anyone possibly grow waterlons with a low mutation coefficient?’
Logically, with the situation still so unclear, Gu Xi shouldn’t have revealed her abilities.
But she really, *really* wanted to eat waterlon.
As the saying goes, skill breeds boldness.
With Qin Yi, another Wood Elent user, standing right beside her, Gu Xi was extrely careful this ti.
After infusing her ability into the waterlon seeds, she didn’t devour the strange energy but instead directly enveloped it before stimulating growth, germination...
A minute later, when the waterlon vines began to flower, Qin Yi acted without a word from Gu Xi. With nimble fingers, she wove a cage from rose vines, trapping all the moths and butterflies over the waterlon patch.
After waiting a few more minutes, Gu Xi resud using her ability to accelerate their growth.
Soon, large, ripe, green-rind waterlons covered the ground.
Only then did Gu Xi discreetly withdraw her ability. From start to finish, she had never once tried to devour that strange energy.
Seeing that the waterlons were ripe, Wei Heng and Qin Yi exchanged a look and then both excitedly lunged toward them.
Even the cool and composed Qin Shi had a hint of anticipation on her face.
Soon, the pair picked out the largest waterlon. Qin Yi, too impatient to even grab a knife, condensed water into a blade and split the lon into four large pieces.
Gu Xi took a piece and tasted it. The flavor was a far cry from the waterlons she had eaten in the past; it was, at best, barely edible.
But the other three were eating with expressions of pure bliss and satisfaction.
"Delicious!" Qin Yi’s eyes lit up after one bite. "This is way better than any of the waterlons I’ve grown."
"Not bad." As the older sister, Qin Shi was much more composed. Before taking a bite, she even took out a portable Abnormality Detector to test it. "The mutation coefficient is only 2.7. Gu Xi, you’re very impressive."
Qin Shi had been the one to apply for these waterlon seeds, so she was naturally aware of their initial state.
To be honest, a mutation coefficient increase of only 0.2 was sothing she had only ever seen at the Central Base Superpower Research Institute.
And the person who had managed it that ti was a level-9 High-level Wood Ability User.
Qin Shi couldn’t help but give Gu Xi another look. ’Perhaps this woman’s control over the Wood Elent is even more impressive than my sister’s.’
’No wonder the higher-ups are taking this so seriously...’
Gu Xi didn’t know what Qin Shi was thinking and simply offered a faint smile when she t her gaze. Secretly, however, she discreetly used her ability to "Purify" the slice of waterlon in her hand.
With the strange energy gone, Gu Xi tasted that familiar flavor from her mories and her eyes narrowed in contentnt.
’To avoid leaving any traces,’ she decided, ’I’ll eat the rind too.’
After being Purified by her ability, even the waterlon rind was exceptionally crisp, fragrant, and sweet.
Qin Yi was stunned to see her eating the rind. "Gu Xi, even if you like it that much, you don’t have to go that far! There are plenty more in the field..."
Just as Gu Xi was trying to figure out how to brush off the question, Wei Heng coughed twice and said in a low voice, "Um, Gu Xi used to live all by herself in the ruined zones..."
Qin Yi imdiately fell silent. ’Making a living in the ruined zones... food and water are the most important things. As long as sothing is edible, you don’t waste it...’
Qin Yi felt a bit apologetic. After a mont’s thought, she said to Gu Xi, "Gu Xi, you grew these, so they’re all yours. But could you give so of the seeds, so you can grow more waterlons for to eat in the future?"
Gu Xi thought for a mont and agreed.
After all, she was dirt poor and didn’t have a single coin to her na.
Besides, she really couldn’t bring herself to refuse such a small, reasonable request from the cheerful and adorable girl.
After finishing their slices, the four of them eagerly turned their attention to the waterlon patch. The lons had to be harvested as soon as possible. If they were left on the vine, who knew if their mutation coefficients would suddenly spike?
After they finished harvesting the waterlons, Gu Xi decided the butterflies they had caught shouldn’t go to waste. She went back into the house and brought out so tomato seeds.
She repeated the process—practice makes perfect, after all. The tomatoes were a great success. Because the seeds’ mutation coefficient was relatively low to begin with, the resulting fruit tasted even better than the waterlons they had just eaten.
Wei Heng alone ate four of them in one go!
And these were mutated tomatoes, with each one weighing over a pound.
And that was on top of the slice of waterlon he’d just eaten, which had to weigh at least five pounds!
After they were done with the tomatoes, Gu Xi checked the ti, then went to the kitchen and brought out a pot of large sweet potatoes she had stead that morning.
The mont they took their first bite of the sweet potatoes, the expressions in the Qin sisters’ eyes changed completely.
Ever since the great mutation of flora and fauna thirty years ago, it was extrely rare to find food with a mutation coefficient below 1.0!
Let alone these sweet potatoes, whose mutation coefficients were all around 0.5.
This was the first ti the two sisters had ever eaten food that tasted so pure and sweet!
Even soone as composed as Qin Shi seed to have tears welling in her eyes.
The two sisters secretly exchanged a look.
Gu Xi held her sweet potato, her eyes lowered as she took small bites. A tiny green sprout secretly erged, twirling around her fingertip.
She wondered, ’Where did that bag of sweet potatoes I gave away yesterday afternoon end up?’
Having struggled to survive for years during the darkest days of the apocalypse, Gu Xi was habitually vigilant—no matter how deeply she slept, she would startle awake at the slightest disturbance.
Last night, Gu Xi had detected soone the mont they approached the opposite bank of the stream.
She had seen too much darkness and depravity in the apocalypse... Worried about the two young won living across the way, Gu Xi had released a wisp of her spiritual power.
And then she had "seen" a figure in black take the large bag of sweet potatoes she had given the sisters that day...
Just then, Qin Yi suddenly spoke up. "Gu Xi, how about my sister and I co work for you? We don’t want anything else, you can just pay us with a few sweet potatoes..."
But before she could even finish, Wei Heng cut in with a firm refusal. "No way. Gu Xi only needs one worker, and that’s !"
’Gu Xi only has a hundred acres of wasteland in total,’ he thought. ’And she’s a dual Earth and Wood Elent user herself. With just this little bit of land, why would she need anyone else working for her?’
’I’m more than enough!’
Wei Heng was determined to protect his job and would absolutely not give anyone the chance to snatch it away.
Gu Xi: "..."
User Comments
0 comments from readers