The young man’s long, straight legs landed in military boots. It was a simple movent, yet the black combat uniform he wore only served to outline his physique—clean, sharp lines that spoke of imnse strength and explosive power.
One look was enough to tell this was the fierce formidability of soone tempered by countless life-or-death battles and the crucible of war.
Once upon a ti, her own body had possessed that sa kind of powerful beauty.
But now... in the words of Miss Qi beside her, the current Gu Xi was, at a glance, the very definition of delicate, soft, and easy to push over.
Gu Xi suddenly felt a pang of envy.
Beside her, however, Qi Xiang looked at her as if she wanted to say sothing but was holding back.
Gu Xi: "?"
"There are so things... I’m not sure if I should say them..." Qi Xiang hesitated, her brow furrowed slightly.
"?" Gu Xi was a little surprised. In her experience, this young lady was always blunt and outspoken; it was rare to see her like this.
"I was with the Special Service Team for half a month this ti." Qi Xiang decided to speak after a mont’s thought. "Even though ’those things’ ultimately got to Lu Shiliu by way of Ye Nan, I’m pretty sure Ye Junhan already suspects ..."
’Getting those things to Lu Shiliu in the Southwest, right under the noses of the Special Service Team and Zhou Jinyu, was clearly no easy feat.’
’Although Qi Xiang hadn’t said it herself, Gu Xi knew sothing must have happened in between...’
Gu Xi nodded, saying nothing and simply listening intently.
Qi Xiang glanced at her, but then changed the subject. "Gu Xiaoxi, you have to understand, a woman’s jealousy can sotis be the most terrifying thing in the world!"
Gu Xi: "?"
Qi Xiang sighed and looked into the distance. "This ti, I used Ye Nan’s jealousy to successfully smuggle those things out. I actually... I suspect that Ye Junhan intentionally let all of it happen."
"And the reason?" Gu Xi asked calmly.
"Because of you," Qi Xiang said bluntly, turning to look at her.
"?" Gu Xi was confused.
"Yes, you." Qi Xiang suddenly laughed again. She leaned in close to Gu Xi, lowered her voice, and said with a gossipy look, "Gu Xiaoxi, I suspect you’ve successfully caught a certain soone’s attention..."
Gu Xi: "..."
Her expression unchanging, she brushed Qi Xiang’s hand away. "Let’s get back to business."
Qi Xiang paused, then gave her a strange look. "Gu Xiaoxi... I’m realizing you and a certain soone are a perfect match." ’They’re both just as clueless about romance.’
"..." ’What is all this nonsense?’ Gu Xi asked her directly, "You were at the South City base with the Special Service Team for over half a month. What did you find out?"
"Oh, I found out a lot." Qi Xiang imdiately puffed out her chest. "Thanks to that Miss Ye, I managed to sneak into Zhou Jinyu’s office this ti..."
Of course, what Qi Xiang didn’t ntion was that she had nearly been discovered that ti, and it was Ye Junhan who had ultimately gotten her out of trouble.
After finishing her story about Zhou Jinyu, Qi Xiang brought up sothing else. "There’s about to be a major shake-up in South City Base."
Gu Xi looked up at her.
Qi Xiang hesitated for a mont before saying, "The information isn’t confird yet. I only heard my foster father ntion it in passing..."
"’In passing?’" Gu Xi raised an eyebrow. That word felt... subtle.
"Alright. Maybe he said it for to hear on purpose." Qi Xiang seed a little dejected, then continued, "Speaking of which, this also has to do with Zhou Jinyu."
"The official investigation into the ’No. 176’ incident is closed. Zhou Jinyu submitted a final investigation report of over one hundred pages."
"Sounds like a pretty detailed investigation," Gu Xi remarked casually.
But Qi Xiang looked up at her and said seriously, "Because of this incident, and the subsequent mass mutation of the NX1984 mutant plants, the higher-ups have decided to have Liou Zhenyuan resign and take responsibility..."
Gu Xi frowned slightly. "I rember Liou Zhenyuan is a Level-Nine ability user..." ’Life in the apocalypse is hard. Any high-level ability user is a precious national asset. There’s no way the higher-ups would give up on a Level-Nine powerhouse so easily.’
"He is," Qi Xiang said, looking at her. "So after Liou Zhenyuan is transferred back to the Central Base, there’s a high probability he’ll be assigned a position at the Abnormal Ability Research Institute."
"Is the information reliable?" Gu Xi asked, looking up, her interest piqued.
"I think so." Qi Xiang emphasized again, "This is sothing my foster father, Dr. Qi, ntioned in passing when he called this afternoon..."
Qi Xiang’s repeated emphasis on the phrase "in passing" made Gu Xi wonder if Dr. Qi had given her specific instructions.
Gu Xi: "..." ’Fine. If they’re going to bring it up over and over, then it’s clearly sothing I need to think about seriously.’
After thinking for a mont, she asked, "What about South City Base, then? Who’s the new base commander?"
"Speaking of which, that’s even stranger." Qi Xiang’s expression was odd. "The new base commander is neither Zhang Cheng nor Wu Yue, who everyone was guessing it would be. Instead, it’s an ordinary person sent down from the Central Base."
"An ordinary person?" Gu Xi raised an eyebrow.
"Yes," Qi Xiang nodded. "And an obscure one at that. The kind with a completely ordinary background and nothing remarkable about them."
"That doesn’t make sense," Gu Xi mused.
’The commander of a major faction like South City Base, with its population of hundreds of thousands, is basically a warlord with imnse power in this apocalyptic world. How could such an important position fall into the hands of a plain, obscure, ordinary person?’
’Unless... that person must have so extraordinary qualities.’
...
That evening, because Gu Xi had returned, everyone finally got to enjoy a long-awaited feast.
Gu Xi herself wasn’t a picky eater and didn’t have strong cravings, but she couldn’t argue with Wei Heng’s excellent cooking. He was also convinced that she had lost a lot of weight on her trip and insisted on fattening her up.
"It’s too late today. Let’s butcher a chicken tomorrow," Shen Yue said, looking at Gu Xi in agreent.
These words startled Da Hong, who was not far away. The chicken jolted, then lowered its head listlessly, the picture of utter despair.
’I must be the most miserable chicken in history,’ it thought. ’I finally get a few days of peace and quiet, and now I’m right back to being a chicken that has to carry a bag into the woods to find mushrooms for *that woman* to make chicken soup with...’
Gu Xi nodded but didn’t reply.
Beside her, Shen Yue and Wei Heng exchanged a look. Just as they were about to say sothing, a "DING—" sounded.
Gu Xi’s personal terminal suddenly vibrated with a new ssage.
She didn’t try to hide it from the others, calmly tapping it open. It was a shipping notification.
The ssage inford her that a package from an anonymous sender at an unknown address had been delivered to Camp No. 9527, and that she should go pick it up.
Beside her, Qi Xiang and the Qin Family sisters were all very surprised to see this ssage.
Even Shen Yue and Wei Heng looked up.
With resources and energy so scarce these days, logistics and transport were even more difficult. So, unlike before the apocalypse, very few people chose to shop online. For one, the shipping costs were too high; for another, you never knew how long it would be delayed on the road.
Besides, Gu Xi was a young woman who had only returned from the ruins a little over a year ago. How many friends could she possibly have?
’Could it have been sent by Lu Chenyuan?’
The three girls exchanged a curious glance, only to see that Gu Xi didn’t look surprised at all. In fact, she even seed vaguely relieved.
Across from them, Shen Yue and Wei Heng quickly exchanged a look. They seed to have thought of sothing at the sa ti, and their expressions turned a little strange.
Gu Xi, however, just calmly closed the Light Screen.
’She had told Lu Chenyuan back at Yu City Base that she had, in fact... been waiting all this ti.’
’And now, it had finally arrived.’
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