Gu Xi noticed that ever since delivering that pot of sweet potatoes in the evening, Wei Heng kept giving her the strangest looks.
’What’s wrong with him?’ Gu Xi arched an eyebrow.
When Wei Heng shot her another one of his strange looks, she put down her bowl and chopsticks and looked up at him. "Is there sothing you want to say?"
Wei Heng hadn’t planned on saying anything.
But now that she’d asked, he couldn’t hold it in any longer. He muttered in a low voice, "Gu Xiaoxi, you’d better not be fooled by Shen Yue’s handso exterior. I can tell he’s up to no good. Getting close to you like this... I bet he’s just after your sweet potatoes..."
Gu Xi: "..." ’As if you’re any different.’
Wei Heng: "..." ’Alright, fine. In this day and age, who doesn’t want to eat well?’
Of course, Gu Xi knew Shen Yue was deliberately trying to get close to her. Back when she was still the Blood-colored Asura, far too many n from the major bases had tried the sa thing.
They would always show up where she could see them, making it look like an accident or a coincidence.
Even if Gu Xi were slow on the uptake, she was bound to catch on after it happened so many tis.
She had encountered n like Shen Yue before.
Besides, the things he’d seemingly let slip to her today... that wasn’t the kind of inside information a typical security guard would have access to.
However, though Shen Yue seed laid-back, Gu Xi could see integrity, fearlessness, and courage in him.
’I’ll just wait and see.’
The matter with Shen Yue wasn’t urgent. There was, however, sothing else she needed to discuss with Wei Heng...
Gu Xi told Wei Heng about the construction team that would be coming.
Since they had decided to reclaim the land, farm, and make a life here, continuing to live in a shipping container ho wasn’t a long-term solution.
Besides, she had always been out on missions in the past, drifting from place to place with no permanent ho. So deep down, Gu Xi desperately yearned for a ho of her own.
A ho where she could sit and idly watch petals fall in the yard, a place to wait for the clouds to gather and scatter.
Wei Heng, of course, had no objections.
The two of them quickly reached an agreent on building a house.
That left just one problem—the money to build the house!
Gu Xi glanced at the wasteland outside. ’It’s ti to build up our savings,’ she thought.
Although both professors had suggested they wait, recomnding they let the land recover for another ten to fifteen days.
But Gu Xi was determined to have her own little house as soon as possible, so she decided not to wait.
This ti, she wasn’t going to plant sweet potatoes. She was preparing to plant one hundred mu of land with big waterlons!
What could she do? She was short on cash.
When the Qin sisters heard about it, they also offered to help. Even Shen Yue lazily tagged along.
Wei Heng was still a bit wary of him, but Shen Yue said just one thing—
"I have a Wind Skill."
Wei Heng fell silent. A person with a Wind Skill could pollinate far faster than any bee or butterfly.
Seeing that the young people were planting waterlons, Mr. Zhao and Mr. Zhang ca over, full of interest. For one, they wanted to check on the upland rice stalks that had not yet fully matured.
And for another, the two professors were extrely curious about Gu Xi’s farming thods.
Gu Xi did not disappoint. After Wei Heng and Qin Shi finished tilling the soil, with help from Qin Yi and Shen Yue, she had the field covered in large, green-skinned waterlons in under half an hour.
Although the two professors had seen many Wood Elent skill users plant crops before, this was the first ti they had witnessed a thod so brutally efficient.
It left the two of them repeatedly exclaiming in amazent.
Afterward, the two professors asked Gu Xi for so waterlons and their vines to use as research samples.
Gu Xi, of course, agreed.
When planting the waterlons, she once again used her skill to envelop the X Energy. This ti, however, she first stripped a portion of the X Energy from the seeds beforehand.
This was different from how she’d planted the mutant upland rice yesterday, where she had directly stripped the seeds and perford a complete Purification. ’Hopefully, these differences will be helpful to the professors’ research...’
Of course, waterlons grown this way would have a lower mutation coefficient, a better flavor, and naturally, a higher price.
A hundred mu of waterlons covered the fields from end to end. A few large trucks clearly wouldn’t be enough to carry them all.
After a mont’s thought, Gu Xi decided she and Wei Heng would first take one truckload of waterlons back to the camp to see what the market was like.
When they arrived at the camp that afternoon, Gu Xi discovered that it had changed dramatically in just a few days.
Not only had its area expanded considerably, but many new buildings had also gone up. More importantly, the camp was full of new faces and was much livelier.
It already had the makings of a small town.
Wei Heng knew the way and drove the large truck directly to the official purchasing station.
Waterlons were already a rare commodity, and the batch Gu Xi brought had an incredibly low mutation coefficient. After running a sample test, the purchasing agent imdiately offered a price Gu Xi couldn’t refuse.
They even offered to pick up the rest on-site!
Gu Xi was very satisfied. Now they wouldn’t even have to pay for transport.
After getting the money from the sale, the two of them went straight to the construction team in the logistics departnt.
An hour later, after leaving the eting with the construction team, Wei Heng noted it was still early and suggested they take a stroll through the newly built comrcial street on the east side of the camp.
Gu Xi glanced down at the balance in her account and readily agreed.
The comrcial street was bustling with people, but not many shops were actually open for business.
After picking out a few items each, they were about to head to the camp’s only supermarket when Gu Xi suddenly stopped short. She then turned and walked into a nearby general store.
The shop wasn’t large, but it sold a wide assortnt of miscellaneous goods.
Gu Xi picked out a dictionary printed before the apocalypse and an old radio. The total ca to thirty-eight thousand.
Seeing her about to pay without batting an eye, Wei Heng couldn’t help but whisper a reminder, "That’s a bit expensive." ’Besides, you can usually haggle in shops like this.’
Before Gu Xi could even respond, the shop owner objected. "Young man, this stuff is all antique! And of course it’s expensive!"
’What kind of "antiques" are these?’ Wei Heng thought. ’Even if they were real, you can’t eat or drink them. Who besides a total sucker would buy this stuff...’
He looked up just in ti to see Gu Xi—the sucker herself—finish paying and casually shove the items into his hands.
Wei Heng subconsciously clutched the thirty-eight-thousand-credit purchase to his chest, a pained look flashing in his eyes.
He shot Gu Xi a wounded look, opening his mouth to speak but then thinking better of it. ’Gu Xiaoxi, we just clawed our way out of poverty and are barely scraping by. Is it really okay to be spending money like this?’
Gu Xi glanced at him. "We still have tens of thousands left from the waterlons, don’t we? Co on, didn’t you say you wanted to check out the supermarket?"
Wei Heng: ’Yes, we have tens of thousands, but at the rate you’re spending, it won’t last long at all.’
Wei Heng sighed.
An hour later, when the two of them erged from the supermarket with only three digits left in their account balance, Wei Heng secretly swore to himself that he would bring Gu Xi to the camp as little as possible from now on.
The girl’s shopping style was just like her farming style—brutally simple. The type to buy things without even glancing at the price tag.
...
anwhile, after Gu Xi and Wei Heng had left, Shen Yue and Qin Shi exchanged a look. They left Qin Yi to look after the two professors and headed for the small hill behind the fields.
Half an hour later, Qin Shi pointed to a spot up ahead. "This is the place."
She was pointing to the exact spot where Gu Xi had stood watch all night before getting into a fight with a malignant mutant plant.
Shen Yue activated his personal terminal and compared the view to several photos sent from the base. After confirming this was the right location, he took a few more steps forward.
Qin Shi followed behind him, saying in a low voice, "The day I got the report, I rushed over here imdiately to check... I didn’t see the malignant mutant plant, but all the other mutant plants in the vicinity had withered, and there were clear signs of a battle..."
But several days had passed since then. The withered mutant plants had long since decomposed and beco nourishnt for the earth. Even the hilltop they once occupied had now been overrun by new vegetation.
The two of them walked through the knee-high wild grass.
Suddenly, Shen Yue stopped short, his eyes narrowing...
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