There were quite a few moths and butterflies in this forest. Gu Xi didn't even have to lift a finger; soon enough, Qin Yi had caught a whole string of them on her own.
Figuring they had caught enough, the two of them headed back the way they came.
Wei Heng was a diligent man, quick and efficient. By the time they returned, more than half of Gu Xi's hundred acres of wasteland had already been cleared.
Meanwhile, the cool and aloof Qin Shi stood on the cleared land, using her ability to shred the root systems of plants deep underground.
Qin Yi took one look, handed the moths and butterflies to Gu Xi, then excitedly ran back across the stream to get the watermelon seeds.
When he heard there would be watermelon, Wei Heng's eyes practically went wide with envy.
He hopped down from the farming tiller and asked the two Wood Element users present, "Which one should we plant first?"
"Watermelon," Gu Xi and Qin Yi said in unison, without a moment's hesitation.
Gu Xi had actually wanted to see what plants grown by other Wood Element users would be like, but to her surprise, Qin Yi directly shoved the watermelon seeds into her hands.
And the reason she gave made it impossible for Gu Xi to refuse.
"Gu Xi, with the watermelons I've grown before, only one or two out of every ten attempts were even edible, and their mutation coefficients were all very high. As for the taste... let's not even talk about it. It was nothing like what they described in those pre-apocalypse food videos."
"Besides, these are the only watermelon seeds I have left. If I fail again, we won't have any watermelon to eat," the sweet girl said pitifully.
Watermelon seeds were extremely rare in the major bases. If she applied for more, there was no telling how long she would have to wait.
Gu Xi fell silent.
Soon, she understood why Qin Yi's attempts at planting had failed.
The watermelon seeds contained a significant amount of that strange energy. According to current measurement standards, their mutation coefficient was around 2.5.
'If the seeds are already like this, how could anyone possibly grow watermelons with a low mutation coefficient?'
Logically, with the situation still so unclear, Gu Xi shouldn't have revealed her abilities.
But she really, *really* wanted to eat watermelon.
As the saying goes, skill breeds boldness.
With Qin Yi, another Wood Element user, standing right beside her, Gu Xi was extremely careful this time.
After infusing her ability into the watermelon seeds, she didn't devour the strange energy but instead directly enveloped it before stimulating growth, germination...
A minute later, when the watermelon vines began to flower, Qin Yi acted without a word from Gu Xi. With nimble fingers, she wove a cage from rose vines, trapping all the moths and butterflies over the watermelon patch.
After waiting a few more minutes, Gu Xi resumed using her ability to accelerate their growth.
Soon, large, ripe, green-rind watermelons covered the ground.
Only then did Gu Xi discreetly withdraw her ability. From start to finish, she had never once tried to devour that strange energy.
Seeing that the watermelons were ripe, Wei Heng and Qin Yi exchanged a look and then both excitedly lunged toward them.
Even the cool and composed Qin Shi had a hint of anticipation on her face.
Soon, the pair picked out the largest watermelon. Qin Yi, too impatient to even grab a knife, condensed water into a blade and split the melon into four large pieces.
Gu Xi took a piece and tasted it. The flavor was a far cry from the watermelons she had eaten in the past; it was, at best, barely edible.
But the other three were eating with expressions of pure bliss and satisfaction.
"Delicious!" Qin Yi's eyes lit up after one bite. "This is way better than any of the watermelons I've grown."
"Not bad." As the older sister, Qin Shi was much more composed. Before taking a bite, she even took out a portable Abnormality Detector to test it. "The mutation coefficient is only 2.7. Gu Xi, you're very impressive."
Qin Shi had been the one to apply for these watermelon seeds, so she was naturally aware of their initial state.
To be honest, a mutation coefficient increase of only 0.2 was something she had only ever seen at the Central Base Superpower Research Institute.
And the person who had managed it that time was a level-9 High-level Wood Ability User.
Qin Shi couldn't help but give Gu Xi another look. 'Perhaps this woman's control over the Wood Element is even more impressive than my sister's.'
'No wonder the higher-ups are taking this so seriously...'
Gu Xi didn't know what Qin Shi was thinking and simply offered a faint smile when she met her gaze. Secretly, however, she discreetly used her ability to "Purify" the slice of watermelon in her hand.
With the strange energy gone, Gu Xi tasted that familiar flavor from her memories and her eyes narrowed in contentment.
'To avoid leaving any traces,' she decided, 'I'll eat the rind too.'
After being Purified by her ability, even the watermelon rind was exceptionally crisp, fragrant, and sweet.
Qin Yi was stunned to see her eating the rind. "Gu Xi, even if you like it that much, you don't have to go that far! There are plenty more in the field..."
Just as Gu Xi was trying to figure out how to brush off the question, Wei Heng coughed twice and said in a low voice, "Um, Gu Xi used to live all by herself in the ruined zones..."
Qin Yi immediately fell silent. 'Making a living in the ruined zones... food and water are the most important things. As long as something is edible, you don't waste it...'
Qin Yi felt a bit apologetic. After a moment's thought, she said to Gu Xi, "Gu Xi, you grew these, so they're all yours. But could you give me some of the seeds, so you can grow more watermelons for me to eat in the future?"
Gu Xi thought for a moment and agreed.
After all, she was dirt poor and didn't have a single coin to her name.
Besides, she really couldn't bring herself to refuse such a small, reasonable request from the cheerful and adorable girl.
After finishing their slices, the four of them eagerly turned their attention to the watermelon patch. The melons had to be harvested as soon as possible. If they were left on the vine, who knew if their mutation coefficients would suddenly spike?
After they finished harvesting the watermelons, Gu Xi decided the butterflies they had caught shouldn't go to waste. She went back into the house and brought out some tomato seeds.
She repeated the process—practice makes perfect, after all. The tomatoes were a great success. Because the seeds' mutation coefficient was relatively low to begin with, the resulting fruit tasted even better than the watermelons they had just eaten.
Wei Heng alone ate four of them in one go!
And these were mutated tomatoes, with each one weighing over a pound.
And that was on top of the slice of watermelon he'd just eaten, which had to weigh at least five pounds!
After they were done with the tomatoes, Gu Xi checked the time, then went to the kitchen and brought out a pot of large sweet potatoes she had steamed that morning.
The moment they took their first bite of the sweet potatoes, the expressions in the Qin sisters' eyes changed completely.
Ever since the great mutation of flora and fauna thirty years ago, it was extremely rare to find food with a mutation coefficient below 1.0!
Let alone these sweet potatoes, whose mutation coefficients were all around 0.5.
This was the first time the two sisters had ever eaten food that tasted so pure and sweet!
Even someone as composed as Qin Shi seemed to have tears welling in her eyes.
The two sisters secretly exchanged a look.
Gu Xi held her sweet potato, her eyes lowered as she took small bites. A tiny green sprout secretly emerged, twirling around her fingertip.
She wondered, 'Where did that bag of sweet potatoes I gave away yesterday afternoon end up?'
Having struggled to survive for years during the darkest days of the apocalypse, Gu Xi was habitually vigilant—no matter how deeply she slept, she would startle awake at the slightest disturbance.
Last night, Gu Xi had detected someone the moment they approached the opposite bank of the stream.
She had seen too much darkness and depravity in the apocalypse... Worried about the two young women living across the way, Gu Xi had released a wisp of her spiritual power.
And then she had "seen" a figure in black take the large bag of sweet potatoes she had given the sisters that day...
Just then, Qin Yi suddenly spoke up. "Gu Xi, how about my sister and I come work for you? We don't want anything else, you can just pay us with a few sweet potatoes..."
But before she could even finish, Wei Heng cut in with a firm refusal. "No way. Gu Xi only needs one worker, and that's me!"
'Gu Xi only has a hundred acres of wasteland in total,' he thought. 'And she's a dual Earth and Wood Element user herself. With just this little bit of land, why would she need anyone else working for her?'
'I'm more than enough!'
Wei Heng was determined to protect his job and would absolutely not give anyone the chance to snatch it away.
Gu Xi: "..."