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

Chapter 423 - 408: To Be Old and Not Die Is to Be a Thief

Late at night. A certain plantation on the outskirts of W Base.

Old Master Gu gave his son beside him a look. Second Master Gu nodded slightly, then turned with a warm, friendly smile to personally lead several High-level Healing Ability Users out the door.

After the black-suited bodyguard who had been standing guard by the door closed it, the amiable smile on Old Master Gu’s face, who was lying in bed, instantly darkened.

He was already one hundred forty-four years old. If he hadn’t used every method at his disposal to awaken his ability and become an ability user after the apocalypse began, his bones would have long since turned to dust, nourishing some unknown mutant plant.

But even so, at his age, he was no longer young even among low-level ability users.

What’s more, back then, in order to awaken his ability... he had used some special methods and taken some risks. His body was naturally no match for those who had awakened their abilities naturally.

As a result, his body grew weaker by the day. The life force in his organs was gradually fading, and he was now like a lamp running out of oil, kept alive only by various biological serums and a few High-level Healing Ability Users who were constantly on call.

But now, it seemed they could no longer keep him alive.

In truth, even without those High-level Healing Ability Users spelling it out for him, he could feel it himself. He was on death’s door, with one foot already in the grave. He probably only had a few days left.

They say that birth, aging, sickness, and death are a natural part of life, but he just couldn’t accept it.

The secret to long life was right in front of him! The opportunity had practically been delivered into his hands!

He was just one step away, but now he had to watch it all slip away. How could he possibly resign himself to that?

But what did it matter if he was unwilling? In his heart, Old Master Gu knew better than anyone that he didn’t have many days left.

Unless... his little granddaughter, whom he had never met, was willing to save him.

After a moment of thought, Old Master Gu summoned his assistant.

When the assistant pushed the door open and entered, the old master was slumped against the headboard, seemingly drowsy and no different from any other dying old man in the world. But the moment the assistant stepped inside, he subconsciously felt his scalp tighten.

It was as if the vigilance of every cell in his body had been raised to its highest level.

And just then, Old Master Gu lifted his eyelids and looked over.

"Is there any news from the Eldest Young Master?" he asked, his voice heavy with the air of old age. A sharp glint flashed through his murky, aged eyes.

The middle-aged assistant nodded. "According to the report from our informant in W City, the Eldest Young Master just returned to the number two old residence. What are your instructions...?"

’He was an orphan sponsored and raised by the Gu Family before the apocalypse. After graduating from university, he had worked for the Gu Family continuously and had now served Old Master Gu for several decades. He couldn’t claim to guess all of the old master’s thoughts, but he could get about fifty or sixty percent of them right.

Over the years, as the old master’s health deteriorated, the conflict between the Eldest Young Master of the first branch and the other branches of the family had grown increasingly fierce.

But the old master had always turned a blind eye, pretending not to know.

He let them make a fuss.

But there was one thing the old master never spoke of, yet cared about deeply.

That was why this time, even though the old master knew the second and third branches had schemed against the Eldest Young Master, he ignored it and let him go to A City Base. It was likely all for the sake of that little miss.

After speaking, the assistant stood silently to the side, his head slightly bowed as he stared at the tips of his shoes.

He knew the old master was deeply resentful, always feeling he hadn’t lived long enough and wanting to keep on living.

It made sense. No one wanted to die, especially a man like Old Master Gu. Before the apocalypse, he’d been wealthy enough to rival a nation. After the apocalypse, he became a powerful figure who owned Diaoyu Island from behind the political situation, long accustomed to being high and mighty, coldly looking down on others as they struggled to survive.

The apocalypse was indeed difficult, but that was only for ordinary people.

For someone like Old Master Gu, the apocalypse... was actually an opportunity.

Otherwise, the Gu Family wouldn’t have invested in so many bio-genetic research labs before the apocalypse broke out; after it began, they were the ones who rapidly and single-handedly pushed for the establishment of the Abnormal Ability Research Institute.

The number of biological laboratories the Gu Family had funded and controlled over the years was beyond the imagination of any ordinary person.

It was just a shame that, for all the biological research labs the Gu Family invested in, and for all the results they produced, not one of them could restore the old master’s youth or make him immortal.

In the end... it all came down to that little miss.

But unfortunately, that little miss was far too dazzling—back then, the hopes of all humanity rested on her. With the authorities acting as her guarantor, even though Old Master Gu could use the people he had planted in the Abnormal Ability Research Institute to secretly tamper with her, there were some things he simply didn’t dare do too openly.

Later, the little miss did not disappoint, successfully slaying the Zombie Emperor and resolving a major crisis for humanity.

And just as Old Master Gu had predicted, certain people among the authorities began to worry that the little miss’s accomplishments were so great they overshadowed the throne. If she also had the support of the Gu Family, they feared it would threaten their own interests, so they too made plans to discard her once she had served her purpose.

At that time, the various factions had a tacit understanding and tampered with the little miss’s victory banquet. But just as Old Master Gu believed his wish was about to be granted, *that one* made a move.

It is said that those who are not our kin must have different hearts. Although *that one* had cooperated with them to some extent, and even later brought over some of the little miss’s Crystal Core Fragments as a show of good faith in their cooperation with human leadership...

But it was such a tiny amount... To put it bluntly, the Gu Family’s direct lineage alone numbered in the hundreds. How could such a minuscule amount possibly be enough?

Besides, she was the Gu Family’s treasure to begin with. How could they let others benefit from her for free?

So, over the years, while the attitudes of the various direct branches of the Gu Family toward the little miss seemed to differ, each of them harbored their own ulterior motives.

The Eldest Young Master of the first branch probably wanted to use a soft touch; after all, if one could get such a powerful weapon in hand, what grand ambitions could not be achieved?

That’s why Eldest Young Master Gu also lent a hand in the affair two years ago.

It was just that an accident occurred later. After leaving that laboratory, the little miss suddenly regained her senses for a time and unleashed her formidable ability. No one could control her...

The Gu Family failed to bring the little miss back as they had hoped.

However, the Eldest Young Master did contribute to the matter. He was probably counting on that to give him the confidence to sneak off to City A this time, wasn’t he?

But in his opinion, it was unlikely the little miss would appreciate the gesture.

Of course, the Eldest Young Master knew this as well, but he was simply unwilling to give up, always feeling he still had a chance to win over the little miss, curry favor with Old Master Gu, and thereby inherit control of the Gu Family.

Meanwhile, because of past events, the second and third branches wished for nothing more than to crush that little miss underfoot, to drink her blood and eat her flesh. As for the fourth and fifth branches, they were probably content to sit on the mountain and watch the tigers fight for now.

And then there were the few young ladies who had married out of the family...

In short, the assistant truly wanted nothing to do with this whole mess that was the Gu Family.

That’s why, for all these years, he had always acted as a completely loyal subordinate—he only ever acted on Old Master Gu’s orders.

This approach had probably pleased the old master, as his trust in the assistant had only grown over the years.

There were many matters that Old Master Gu didn’t entrust to his own sons and grandsons, instead having his assistant handle them in private.

And because of this, the assistant actually had a clearer understanding of some of the old master’s thoughts than anyone else in the Gu Family.

And... it was all the more terrifying.

Take this incident, for example. If sacrificing the direct heir of the first branch could lessen the little miss’s resentment toward the Gu Family—and if they were lucky, perhaps even earn a tiny bit of filial affection in return—it was clearly a worthwhile bargain.

Even if it couldn’t, it would at least serve to probe the little miss’s attitude toward the Gu Family.

Besides, the Eldest Young Master was, after all, one of the heirs Old Master Gu had personally raised and groomed from childhood. The old master had placed high hopes in him—surely sending him to the little miss’s side in this fashion would have some kind of effect.

As for the Eldest Young Master’s ultimate fate?

Oh, to Old Master Gu, that probably wasn’t important.

After all, if the plan succeeded, even if Old Master Gu didn’t achieve immortality, he could at least regain his youth. At that point, with the Gu Family’s wealth, power, and influence, how many young, beautiful wives could he not have?

He could have plenty more sons, so what did the sacrifice of a single grandson matter?’

The quiet and reserved assistant kept his head down, staring at his shoes as he awaited Old Master Gu’s next instruction.