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

Chapter 262 - 253: The Rat’s Last Straw

The temperature plummeted that night, and a light drizzle began to fall again.

With their energy supplies running low, Qi Xiang shivered as she huddled by the fire in the new earthen hut Wei Heng had built.

"This damn weather," she said, turning to Wei Heng, who was busy with a spatula nearby. "Any idea when Ye Junhan and his group will get here?"

"Hard to say." Wei Heng looked toward the Southwest. "No one knows what the situation is like over there. If Ye Junhan gets tied up, he might not be able to make it in time to rendezvous with us."

Yang Liu leaned against the doorframe, the flickering firelight illuminating his lowered head as he tinkered with one of his drones. ’He sighed inwardly. So many of his babies had been damaged in battle. He had finally managed to salvage and reassemble a few, but now they were useless because of signal issues.’

Shen Yue pushed aside the door flap and entered. "Our supplies are running low. We need to figure something out, and fast."

He meant they needed to get to a supply point as soon as possible.

For one, they were in desperate need of supplies and energy. For another, if Ye Junhan couldn’t find them on the road, he would also head for a supply point.

It was the only rendezvous point with a confirmed location that everyone knew of.

Wei Heng understood what he was getting at, but...

"The location of the supply point isn’t a secret."

In other words, if they knew where it was, so did everyone else. If someone was out to get them, the supply point would be the perfect place for an ambush.

"But we need energy," Yang Liu said, looking up. "And we need to contact command as soon as possible."

At this, Qi Xiang suddenly asked, "Have those people from the research team woken up yet?" ’The incident with Zheng, the convoy’s signal communicator being sabotaged... it had to be connected to them.’

Shen Yue turned, grabbed a head of cabbage, and handed it to Wei Heng. His expression was complicated. "They’re awake, but..."

They’re all just regular people with poor constitutions. The rough journey shook them up so badly it feels like their organs got rearranged. They have concussions, too. Right now, they’re so out of it they don’t even have the strength to talk.

’So them being awake is useless.’

"What does Zheng have to say?" Gu Xi asked, looking up at Yang Liu by the door.

Yang Liu, still tinkering with his drone, slowly shook his head. "He has no idea how it happened to him..." ’To take down a high-level super without them even knowing it... whoever did it is seriously skilled.’

Qi Xiang, however, suddenly thought of the cocoons still hanging in the woods.

"What are we going to do about those people in the trees?" She frowned slightly, looking at Gu Xi. "We can’t just leave them hanging there forever..."

’Gu Xi is just too soft-hearted. If it were up to me...’ ’In any case, the wilderness is a dangerous place. It’s perfectly normal to lose a few people on a mission.’

Qi Xiang nonchalantly toyed with a lock of her long hair, her gaze distant.

"I have my uses for those people," Gu Xi said, offering no further explanation. Shen Yue, however, seemed to guess at her intentions and met her gaze.

"The most important thing right now is still energy," Yang Liu said, suddenly looking up at the group. "Why don’t we wait for the rain to stop, then have Qian Shan take a few men to scout out the nearest supply point?"

Shen Yue said nothing, casually stroking the triangular military bayonet at his waist.

Gu Xi also looked up, her gaze fixed on the distant mountain forest.

The night rain shrouded the landscape in mist. The rolling green mountains appeared serene, but everyone knew that countless dangers lurked beneath that calm facade.

These dangers came not only from nature, but also from their fellow humans.

A breeze swept by. Gu Xi lowered her gaze, pulling her attention back.

’She knew perfectly well that Yun Ye had deliberately revealed his presence that day to lure her away from the convoy. Of course, with Wei Heng, Shen Yue, and over a dozen soldiers from the Special Service Team there, they could certainly protect themselves in an emergency.’

’Even so, she didn’t dare to leave them.’

’Li Ming had said that Yun Ye... was a man of profound cunning.’

"Alright." After a moment of silence, Wei Heng lifted the lid off the pot, his face obscured by a cloud of steam. "Have Qian Shan take a few more men..."

Just then, Shen Yue spoke up. "I’ll go."

Gu Xi raised an eyebrow at him. Shen Yue just gave her a lazy smile in return.

Nearby, neither Wei Heng nor Yang Liu said a word.

Qi Xiang keenly sensed the atmosphere in the room suddenly turn strange.

’Who knew what silent signals they were sending now? Especially Shen Yue, a man whose mind was a honeycomb of schemes...’

She glanced from one person to another before shuffling over to Gu Xi’s side and letting out a lazy yawn. "I don’t care where you’re all going. I’m sticking with Gu Xi."

’Men are so unreliable these days. You have to stick with your girls.’

"...Fine. Take Qian Shan and his men with you." Wei Heng glanced at Gu Xi before finally agreeing.

After dinner, Shen Yue departed, taking over half of the Special Service Team with him.

Now, the only ones left at the temporary camp, aside from Gu Xi’s core group, were either wounded or harboring ulterior motives.

...

The rain stopped later that night, but the clouds hung low, creating an inexplicably oppressive atmosphere. Qi Xiang pulled her blanket tighter, yawned, and subconsciously scooted closer to Gu Xi.

"I’m going to go check on the woods," Wei Heng said as he got up, his eyes fixed on the large, green cocoons swaying in the wind in the distance.

Qin Shi, who was fiddling with her Superpower Gun, looked up. "I should go instead."

’She didn’t know why Gu Xi wanted to keep those people hanging there, but Qin Shi had a gut feeling... Could it be related to the terrifying presence that was secretly watching them?’

"...Alright." Wei Heng turned to Gu Xi. "What about *him*...?"

Gu Xi slowly shook her head.

Just then, Qin Shi chimed in at the perfect moment. "Hey, do you think we should bring some food to the people in the trees? They’re supers with strong bodies, sure, but no food, no water, out in the wind and rain... even an iron constitution can’t hold up forever."

Wei Heng glanced at Gu Xi. "Alright, I’ll go with you. There should be some compressed biscuits in the vehicle..."

After the two had walked off, Qi Xiang picked up a dry twig and used it to pull a sweet potato from the embers where she had buried it earlier. She gave it a poke, and seeing that it wasn’t soft enough yet, she pushed it back into the coals.

"Gu Xi, I want some chicken soup," she said, turning to Gu Xi with a pitiful look.

"No chicken soup." Ouyang and Fang Rui walked in, and Ouyang dangled something from her hand. "How about some mutated rat meat?"

"No way," Qi Xiang said, her face a mask of disgust.

Gu Xi’s gaze fell on the enormous rat in Ouyang’s hand. "...Where did you catch it?"

’This must be the Mutated Rat King that attacked Lin Jin’s vehicle during the day. She’d been busy saving people at the time, and since the injured Rat King had hidden itself far away and hadn’t reappeared, she hadn’t bothered to hunt it down and finish it off.’

’Who would have thought it would end up in the Special Service Team’s hands after all.’

"It delivered itself right to our doorstep," Ouyang said. Looking down at the thing in her hand, she too wore a complicated expression.

Hearing this, Qi Xiang stared thoughtfully at the huge, motionless rat in Ouyang’s hand, which was as plump as a piglet. "So, you’re saying it’s still alive?"

"So it’s playing dead?" a shocked Qin Yi whispered from the side. "Pretty smart."

Qi Xiang stared at the feigning Mutated Rat King for a moment. Then, an idea sparked in her eyes. She seductively swept her long hair back. "I’ve heard the smarter the animal, the tastier the meat... Why don’t we just butcher it and make a stew?"

The Mutated Rat King, which had been playing dead just a second ago, abruptly shot its head up and shrieked angrily at Qi Xiang, "SQUEAK!"

Ouyang: "..."

Fang Rui: "..."

"Hah." Qi Xiang let out a soft laugh. Linking her arm through Gu Xi’s, she sauntered forward, borrowing a bit of the other woman’s intimidating presence. "Not playing dead anymore, are we?" ’Little thing. How dare you glare at me?’

’Doesn’t it know whose side I’m on?’

Qi Xiang lifted her chin, looking triumphant.

"SQUEAK SQUEAK!" *This is unbearable!* The Mutated Rat King furiously raised its claws... It was going to teach this woman a lesson.

"Gu Xi, it’s being mean to me!" Qi Xiang instantly shrank back, turning to Gu Xi with a wronged expression.

The Mutated Rat King instantly froze, as quiet as a mouse.