Chapter 237 - 228: Differential Treatment
Just as she’d expected, the thing then proposed that it wanted to leave for a while.
Gu Xi, of course, wouldn’t agree.
The thing possessed its own consciousness, could devour superpowers, and could parasitize any other species. It was silent and stealthy, making it impossible to guard against.
It was, quite simply, a ticking time bomb of immense power.
How could Gu Xi possibly let such a dangerous entity escape her perception?
But using force wouldn’t work either.
Ultimately, Gu Xi could sense it, but she couldn’t capture it.
Her only option was to coax it patiently.
Fortunately, while the thing wasn’t unintelligent, it considered Gu Xi its companion and was very close to her, so it let its guard down.
Soon, Gu Xi learned through their connection that the reason the thing wanted to leave was that it had discovered a very interesting place while wandering nearby.
It was right below the cliff.
It even indicated that it had smelled a familiar scent beneath that cliff.
Gu Xi noticed that the thing became extremely excited when it mentioned that place.
Having no other choice, she had to promise to find an opportunity to go there with it as soon as possible. Only then did she temporarily placate the restless creature.
Gu Xi stared at the fire beside her, her gaze lowering. ’The thing is far too uncontrollable. I have to find a way to deal with it for good, and soon.’
She looked down and poked the two leaves on top of the little green sprout. ’Come on, Sproutling, you have to step up.’
Sproutling twisted its body pitifully. ’That thing is a total coward. It refuses to let me parasitize it, so what can I do?’
Gu Xi was at a loss for words.
「Meanwhile, on the other side of the camp.」
"Captain, the signal is back."
Yang Liu stared at the screen in front of him and suddenly spoke.
Ye Junhan strode over, his eyes narrowing slightly as he stared at the image on Yang Liu’s Light Screen. The crooked-neck tree stood silently in the darkness, showing no abnormalities.
After watching it for a moment, Ye Junhan suddenly turned and walked toward a nearby fire.
Gu Xi was beside the fire, poking a dry branch with her head slightly lowered, seemingly in a daze.
Ye Junhan walked over and sat down beside her.
The firelight flickered across their faces, casting them in shifting light and shadow, making it impossible to read the emotions in their eyes.
After a long moment, he turned to look at her. "What’s under that cliff?"
Gu Xi glanced up at him.
Ye Junhan looked down at her, his voice steady and calm. "When we passed through that area earlier, you were unsettled."
Gu Xi fell silent for a moment.
Just then, her personal terminal rang.
Ye Junhan glanced down at her wrist. "Aren’t you going to answer that?"
Gu Xi raised her hand to look at her personal terminal. It was an unknown number.
She wasn’t in the habit of answering calls from unknown numbers.
A moment later, a message came through from the same number.
"Hello, Miss Gu. I am Wang Fei, personal assistant to Base Commander Gu Yumin. The Base Commander is aware that you have arrived near City A and is very concerned for your safety. He has already coordinated with the administration of City A, who will offer their full cooperation for your operation. If you need anything, you may contact me directly."
Gu Xi frowned slightly after reading the message.
After a moment’s thought, she looked up at Ye Junhan. "Are the Gu Family and City A on good terms?"
It wasn’t surprising that Gu Yumin knew she had come to City A. After all, members of the base’s Guard Team and the Research Institute were still in their convoy.
After learning she had single-handedly slaughtered all the plant-people, some of them had likely gotten the wrong idea. For the past few days, they had been as timid as quails, doing their best to avoid her. But their communication with the Central Base had never ceased.
Yang Chi had even monitored several special signal frequencies that had been communicating with the Central Base with particular frequency over the last few days.
Clearly, someone was feeding them information.
However, even though Gu Yumin was the commander of the Central Base, it was no simple matter for a figurehead commander to coordinate relations and regulate resources with City A.
After all, in the wake of the apocalypse, while the major bases nominally acknowledged the Central Base’s leadership, they all largely governed themselves in practice.
This was especially true for City A, whose situation was unique due to its high mountains, dense forests, vast territory, and sparse population.
Ye Junhan looked up at Gu Xi. "As far as I know, the clearing missions around City A have been controlled by the Liu Family for years. And the Liu Family is connected to the Gu Family by marriage..."
Gu Xi frowned slightly. "What about the authorities in City A? And its Base Commander, Sun Kuang—whose man is he?"
Yang Chi had said Sun Kuang had a background with the Research Institute, but Gu Xi felt something was missing.
’To have been the commander of City A for a decade, a background with the Research Institute wouldn’t be enough.’
’After all, this was Yun Ye’s territory.’
Ye Junhan gave her a deep look, his gaze finally landing on the small green sprout at her fingertip. He frowned slightly.
’Just now, for a moment, he thought he’d sensed its emotions.’
’How strange.’
"Sun Kuang was a captain in the Research Institute’s Guard Team." Ye Junhan averted his gaze and suddenly stood up. "He’s a superpower user who awakened in the early days of the apocalypse. Mr. Li suspects that before the apocalypse, he was one of the orphans adopted by the Gu Family."
Gu Xi frowned slightly as she watched him stride away.
’Why does it feel like his steps were a little stiff as he walked away? It almost looked like he was fleeing in a panic.’
’What happened?’
Just then, Qi Xiang leaned in, pointing at Sproutling. "What’s up with it?"
Gu Xi looked down to see Sproutling hastily retract its sneaky little tendrils and wrap itself around her fingertip again.
A thoughtful expression crossed Gu Xi’s face as she looked up again at his retreating figure. ’No wonder...’
’Sproutling might be mischievous, but it was one of her own, after all.’
Gu Xi poked it twice, warning it not to tease boys so casually next time, then looked up at Qi Xiang. "Let’s go."
Qi Xiang had come to get Gu Xi for dinner.
A crowd had already gathered around Wei Heng’s large pots. He held a large wooden spoon, stirring the sweet potato congee. Nearby, Ye Junhan was talking with Shen Yue. Just as Gu Xi approached, Ye Junhan seemed to sense her and glanced up.
Their eyes met through the billowing steam from the pots.
"Mr. Wei, can we eat yet?!"
"Mr. Wei, how about letting me have the first taste?"
"Mr. Wei, can we get some more of those pickled cucumbers from last time? They were perfect with the food."
"Mr. Wei..."
Amidst the boisterous shouts of the Special Service Team members, the two held their gaze for a second before calmly looking away.
Ever since Gu Xi had revealed her spatial ability, she and Wei Heng had become the two most popular people in the convoy at mealtimes.
"Miss Gu, you’re here."
A quick-witted team member pulled two freshly roasted sweet potatoes from the embers under the pot. He thoughtfully used a piece of ice to cool their surfaces, and once they weren’t too hot to hold, he turned and enthusiastically offered them to Gu Xi. "Freshly roasted sweet potatoes! They’re super sweet. Please, have a taste."
"Thank you," Gu Xi said politely, accepting them.
Nearby, Qi Xiang shot the team member an annoyed glare. ’Gu Xi grew those sweet potatoes. I picked them out and put them in the fire myself half an hour ago, and Wei Heng watched them while they roasted. But this punk swoops in at the last second to curry favor.’
’Talk about presenting a gift that isn’t his to give.’
Qi Xiang huffed.
Seeing this, the young team member grinned, pulled two more sweet potatoes from the fire, juggled them from hand to hand a couple of times, and offered them to Qi Xiang. "You have some too, Miss Qi."
Qi Xiang stared at the steaming, scorching-hot sweet potatoes and let out a laugh of pure exasperation.
’When he handed them to Gu Xi, he knew enough to cool them with ice. But when it’s my turn, he skips that step?’
’Could the difference in treatment be any more obvious?’
’So in your eyes, I’m not a delicate girl who needs to be coddled?’