From Apocalypse Boss to Farmer: My Vegetables Make Me Stronger!

Regardless, Gu Xi... needed to rest.

Gu Xi thought for a moment and nodded. She took a sleeping bag, tent, and other supplies out of her spatial storage. Wei Heng set up the simple shelter nearby, and the Qin Family sisters carried the items inside, quickly getting everything ready.

Qi Xiang pushed her inside. "Go get some sleep. We’ll handle things out here."

’I should be able to get some more information out of 039.’

’And when it came to prying information out of people, she had a few tricks up her sleeve.’

After Qi Xiang pushed her into the tent, Gu Xi lay down on the sleeping pad. She thought she wouldn’t be able to sleep, but unexpectedly, she fell into a deep slumber the moment she closed her eyes.

In her dream, she was in the familiar laboratory.

And a Blood-colored Shura Mask...

Gu Xi looked down at the mask in her hands, a little dazed.

The feeling was strange. She knew she was dreaming, yet everything in the dream felt far too real.

It was as if... there were two of her.

One was her real self, and the other was her dream self.

And now, her real self was watching her dream self from a detached perspective, like a cold observer.

Her dream self was lying on a strange machine, a hazy halo of light hovering above it.

A researcher in a white hazmat suit plugged in the machine, preparing to lower the hazy halo over her.

The thirteen-year-old girl watched with a blank expression as the halo slowly descended toward her head, her eyes calm and cold.

She knew what they wanted to do, but she didn’t care.

Just then, someone violently kicked open the laboratory’s main door.

Xiao Yu and Qee Ran, like a pair of savage wolf cubs, shoved the researchers aside and beat them viciously.

A still boyish Li Ming ambled up to the machine with a wide grin. "Not getting up yet? Isn’t the bed in Villa No. 9 more comfortable than this machine?"

Gu Xi remained on the machine, unmoving.

Li Ming wasn’t in a hurry. He even found a small stool from somewhere, sat down in front of her, and tilted his head. "Xiaoxi," he said, "you don’t have to be so obedient anymore."

Lying on the machine, Gu Xi reached up and poked the halo above her head, frowning slightly. "Is it broken?"

"It’s not broken." Li Ming grinned, his eyes fixed on her small, expressionless face. "Xiaoxi, we’ve grown up."

At the time, Gu Xi didn’t quite understand what ’growing up’ meant. After all, even a few years prior, no one in the base could defeat her.

Seeing that the halo wasn’t descending, she suddenly lost interest. She turned her head and fixed her gaze on a Blood-colored Shura Mask on another machine, which was also bathed in a halo of light.

Li Ming caught her hand. Grinning, he asked, "You like it?"

Gu Xi didn’t know whether she liked it or not. She just stared at the mask, her mind suddenly going blank for an instant.

In the dream, Li Ming said something else, but she could no longer hear his words clearly...

In a daze, the mask fused with her face. It felt as if she had truly become the Blood-colored Asura, an emotionless human weapon.

Gu Xi hated it.

Even knowing it was a dream.

She raised her hand to rip the mask off, but it seemed to have fused with her skin. The moment she pulled, blood streamed down her face...

Amidst the searing pain, Gu Xi slowly opened her eyes.

"You’re awake?" Qi Xiang lifted the tent flap and peered inside. She met Gu Xi’s eyes, which had just snapped open yet were perfectly calm and lucid, and she froze for a second.

"Yes." Gu Xi slowly sat up, suppressing all the emotions from her dream. She got up, walked out of the tent, and sat down by the fire. Looking up at Wei Heng, she asked, "Any news from Ye Junhan?"

Wei Heng slowly shook his head and handed her a bowl of hot water.

"And Yang Liu?" Gu Xi asked.

"We just made contact ten minutes ago. Everything’s normal at the camp." Wei Heng paused, gesturing for her to drink first. Once Gu Xi had finished the water, he continued, "Liu Jia’s research team is all awake... and there’s nothing unusual to report from Zheng."

Qi Xiang muttered from the side, "They’re certainly good at keeping their cool."

Just then, Zhao Li strode in from outside. "Lin Jin and Liou He brought the person back to camp, but it’s started raining again..."

Gu Xi poked the small green sprout on her fingertip as her mental threads spread out limitlessly. Sure enough, a light drizzle had started to fall outside.

Staring at the fire, Qi Xiang suddenly spoke up. "Actually, 039 is a pretty good cook. If they weren’t so full of schemes, it wouldn’t be the worst thing to keep them around."

Wei Heng slowly turned his head to look at her but said nothing.

’Uh-oh,’ Qi Xiang thought. ’Did I just say the quiet part out loud and offend our team’s cook?’

Gu Xi suddenly asked, "Is Shen Yue back?"

"No." Zhang Wen poked at the fire, a hint of anxiety in his voice. "That supply point isn’t too far from here. It’s been hours, and Qian Shan hasn’t sent a message back either. I’m worried something happened."

The supply point was also within the earthquake’s range... Normally, even if there was a problem there, Qian Shan would have found a way to get a message back. He would never go this long without contacting the team.

Qi Xiang asked, "Could it be because they’re too far away for the walkie-talkies to work?"

"That’s possible," Zhao Li said. "But in that case, they’d usually send someone back or fire a signal flare."

"A signal flare?" Something clicked for Gu Xi. She looked up. "What kind of signal flare? Did Ye Junhan’s group take any?"

"It’s a special flare issued by the Military Department." Zhang Yali glanced at Gu Xi and, knowing she wasn’t from the military, explained, "The captain’s group has them too."

’That’s strange, then.’

’Ye Junhan still hasn’t returned. Why wouldn’t he fire a signal flare to contact the main party?’

Just then, the Mutated Rat King, which had been playing dead in the corner, suddenly lifted its head and let out a cry. "SQUEAK!"