Level 1 Little Zombie Doomsday Growth Diary - Chapter 37

Chapter 37

This branch of Sky Base was built in a remote, low-risk area, surrounded by uncleaned city ruins. Few humans ventured near, and even zombies avoided the place.

Cabbage lay still for a while before getting up to explore the surroundings. It managed to find two or three wild berries growing in the cracks between rocks, each smaller than its pinky finger and extremely sour.

It ate them with its eyes closed and returned to its original spot to lie down again.

Special-grade mutated plants were incredibly resilient and could survive for a month or two without food. Cabbage, however, had a low tolerance for hunger.

Gazing at the cotton candy-like white clouds in the sky, Cabbage wondered when it should leave.

Just two more days… no, maybe just a day and a half.

Mutated plants had only emerged after the apocalypse, and most had little inclination to help their own kind. Cabbage wasn’t particularly close to any of them either.

But since it had stumbled upon this situation, it couldn’t pretend not to know. Just last month, it had helped a Winter Melon fend off a zombie ambush.

The Winter Melon had been deeply grateful and even wanted to follow Cabbage, but Cabbage had coldly refused.

It preferred to roam alone and didn’t want any companions. After confirming the Winter Melon’s safety, it had quickly slipped away.

This time, Cabbage thought, as long as it had done its best, that was enough.

Recalling the miserable state of the two plants when they were captured, Cabbage sighed again.

The plants I know… surely wouldn’t suffer such a fate, would they?

Meanwhile, at the distant base, everyone remained on high alert, conducting another thorough inspection of the base, both inside and out, to confirm that Cabbage was the only intruder.

Aside from several injuries and some structural damage from the fighting, there were no other losses.

It was unclear why Cabbage had come. Perhaps it realized the base was too heavily guarded and its chances of victory were slim, so it quickly retreated.

Normally, conflicts between human ability users and mutated plants were common occurrences in the field. But a direct assault on a base was exceedingly rare.

The Branch Base commander immediately sent a message to the Main Base, reporting the situation and requesting further instructions on whether to reinforce defenses or take other measures.

The Main Base received the message and relayed it to Wen Jue.

Wen Jue was still at the Black Ridge Mountain Base, having not yet returned. He had taken multiple doses of medication to suppress his Lost State.

He accepted the communicator from his subordinate and mused, “Another special-grade mutated plant…”

The Carnivorous Flower had only recently escaped. Even if it knew the coordinates of the Branch Base, it couldn’t have arrived so quickly.

This mutated plant wasn’t with the others.

Wen Jue slowly closed his eyes, sitting motionless in his chair.

His subordinate knew this was the state he entered when using his ability and quietly withdrew.

After a long while, Wen Jue opened his eyes.

“It hasn’t left. It’s hiding in the southeast,” he said. “Don’t alarm it yet. Find a way to capture it alive.”

The subordinate immediately replied, “I’ll notify them at once.”

Since the mutated plant had come to them, there was no reason to let this opportunity slip away.

However, in Wen Jue’s precognitive vision, he saw the special-grade mutated plant being located and the base secretly surrounding it. Beyond that, the vision became unclear.

Wen Jue pressed his temples, his face etched with deep fatigue.

He had been exhausted these past few days, which likely affected his ability’s accuracy.

The Carnivorous Flower had vanished without a trace, and no other instances of mutated plants coordinating their attacks had been observed. Logically, no further incidents should occur.

Unless…

Wen Jue glanced sideways at the portrait beside him—Qian Hui’s.

Several bases had never seen Qian Hui before. After years of the apocalypse, records from the past were nearly impossible to find.

Yet despite being unable to precognize or uncover any useful information, Wen Jue had a strong intuition.

The sudden coordination among mutated plants was precisely because of Qian Hui.

His ability… must also be of great importance.

In any case, despite the loss of many lives, this personal visit had yielded some gains.

Wen Jue was even curious to see how far a team composed of mutated plants could go.

Unfortunately, their infiltration of the base to kill humans, regardless of their motives, meant they had to be dealt with swiftly to prevent further threats.

Images of Qian Hui and several other mutated plants, including the Giant Nut, had been distributed to all bases this morning.

Anyone who spotted them was to report their location immediately. The primary objective was to capture Qian Hui alive; the other mutated plants could be killed on sight if necessary.

This directive had been issued by Sky Base to all bases, and even providing mere clues would earn a substantial reward.

As for Nan Tingjin, the Black Ridge Mountain Base insisted he had been abducted by the mutated plants. Without concrete evidence, he wasn’t added to the wanted list—but only temporarily.

On the table, beside Qian Hui’s portrait, lay a small red device.

This was the very device Zhao Xing had used to target Nan Tingjin. Judging by the situation at the time, it seemed to be effective.

The bloodstains on the device had been cleaned off, and it was ready to be taken back to the base to produce more.

Waking up too early, Qian Hui sat inside the Carnivorous Flower’s mouth, yawning repeatedly.

He was so tired he wanted to nap.

Nut enlarged itself slightly, hoping to serve as Qian Hui’s pillow. But while it was warm, it was too hard. Qian Hui ended up using it as a hug pillow, leaning against his backpack to sleep.

Normally, when he wanted to rest, he would go to Nan Tingjin’s side, and Nan Tingjin would hold him.

Today, however, they were far apart—or rather, Qian Hui had deliberately kept his distance from Nan Tingjin.

Carrot glanced between the two, recalling the scene before they set out.

Are they really fighting?

Carrot looked around, calculating the probability of the squad uniting to give Nan Tingjin a good beating.

Back in the Plant Little Courtyard, no problem was ever too big to solve with a good fight.

And if one fight wasn’t enough, they’d just have another one.

But now they had serious business to attend to and couldn’t afford to waste time bickering.

In a corner, Qian Hui hugged the Large Nut, seemingly already asleep.

In the dim light, Nan Tingjin watched him quietly.

After a while, he stood up and approached Qian Hui.

The surrounding plants, accustomed to their closeness, instinctively made way.

Nan Tingjin gently lifted Qian Hui and cradled him in his arms.

Startled awake, Qian Hui groggily opened his eyes.

Recognizing Nan Tingjin, he instinctively snuggled closer, wrapping his arms around him and drifting back to sleep.

Carrot watched the scene quietly, feeling somewhat reassured.

The Carnivorous Flower continued its steady advance. One of Mimosa’s leaves grew larger, pointing the way while diligently sensing the surrounding environment to guide the Carnivorous Flower along the optimal route.

Suddenly, Mimosa’s leaf trembled violently, signaling movement ahead.

The Carnivorous Flower also detected an anomaly, halting its advance and scanning the surroundings.

To reach their destination quickly and rescue Mimosa’s friend, the plants had initially decided to accelerate their journey, bypassing any obstacles they encountered.

However, the only path forward seemed to be straight ahead. Detouring would cost them precious time…

Upon learning the situation, Carrot glanced at the sleeping Qian Hui and decided not to wake him.

It emerged from the Carnivorous Flower’s mouth with Durian, intending to investigate the situation first.

The Carnivorous Flower lowered its head, concealing itself behind a tall, partially collapsed wall to wait.

Carrot pulled out a carrot thorn and glided into the air, Durian clinging to its foot below.

After flying some distance, the two plants landed on a high-up ruin, observing from the shadows.

Carrot carefully scanned the scene and identified a human squad under attack by several zombies.

The squad appeared to be on a supply run, as three modified cargo trucks were parked nearby. One truck had a flat tire and lay tilted to the side.

The six or seven humans fought fiercely, but they also had to protect their supplies. The zombies included one high-grade zombie and five or six mid-grade ones.

The high-grade zombie possessed a fire-type ability, making it an extremely formidable opponent. Its entire body blazed with flames, spewing fire jets that reached two meters.

Having assessed the situation, Carrot led Durian back the way they came.

Upon returning to the Carnivorous Flower, it relayed everything it had seen to the other plants.

The human squad was clearly at a disadvantage and would likely be overwhelmed by the zombies soon.

Carrot didn’t recognize the insignia on the humans’ clothing—it definitely wasn’t from Sky Base.

The plants had little sympathy for unfamiliar human ability users. They had never held much affection for humans in the first place and began discussing whether to wait for the zombies to leave before continuing their journey.

If they went straight ahead, the three factions would clash head-on. The best-case scenario would be eliminating both the human squad and the zombies.

Several plants huddled together, conversing. Nut opened its eyes, eager to listen in.

The moment it stirred, Qian Hui woke up.

Realizing he was in Nan Tingjin’s arms, he froze for a moment, then noticed the Carnivorous Flower had stopped moving.

Qian Hui pushed away from Nan Tingjin and looked up, bewildered. “Where are we?”

Seeing him awake, Carrot scurried over, using Sunflower’s light to convey the situation and ask for his opinion.

“Zombies and a human squad?” Qian Hui frowned, his delicate eyebrows furrowing. “If we can’t detour, then…”

Killing zombies earned credit rewards, so those few zombies definitely needed to be dealt with.

As for the other human squad… Carrot said they weren’t from Sky Base.

Qian Hui had very little contact with other humans. Apart from Nan Tingjin’s subordinate, Yuan Ji, he had only exchanged a few words with a guard when he first secretly infiltrated Sector 5.

It was the same with the plants. Without any prior grudges, these humans weren’t allies, but neither were they objects of hatred or disgust.

Carrot also mentioned that the small squad appeared to be transporting supplies, as flour and fabric had spilled from the overturned vehicle.

Qian Hui pondered briefly before making a decision: “Let’s prioritize eliminating the zombies first. We’ll deal with the human squad later.”

This approach would indirectly assist the human squad.

Qian Hui felt there was no immediate need to wipe out the human ability users. If they attempted to attack, he would devise a new plan.

Moreover, the supplies they were transporting might be related to the zombies’ Hidden Mission.

Carrot nodded, nuzzling Qian Hui’s hand.

It knew Qian Hui was kind-hearted and soft-hearted, which was precisely why the plants loved him and followed him so closely.

With a wave of its hand, Carrot signaled the group to move out.

The Carnivorous Flower and other non-combat plants remained behind to guard Qian Hui and Nan Tingjin.

Nut wasn’t originally meant to join the mission—Carrot hadn’t even planned to bring Money Tree or Sunflower, aiming for a swift resolution.

But Nut jumped closer, its eyes silently pleading to come along.

Carrot scratched its head. “Woo!”

Fine!

Once everything was prepared, Carrot led the Plant Squad toward their destination at full speed.

When they arrived, the human squad was indeed on the verge of collapse.

Only one member of the team possessed a defensive ability. He quickly swallowed several pills, but the defense barrier he conjured was swiftly shattered by the zombies.

Flames spewed from the high-grade zombie, engulfing two or three members who couldn’t dodge in time.

The captain, hearing their screams, had no time to spare. Sweat streamed down his forehead as blood continued to flow from his wounded arm.

Barring a miracle, they would all die here today…

It had started with just a few mid-grade zombies attempting to seize the supplies they were transporting.

If they had abandoned the vehicle and fled then, they might have had a chance. But they made the fatal mistake of believing they could handle the mid-grade zombies.

They hadn’t anticipated the high-grade zombie with fire-type ability lurking behind the mid-grade horde.

Now they were trapped, with no time left to escape…

Just then, a scorching wind swept through the narrow street.

The ground trembled slightly, as if a massive stampede of beasts was about to erupt.

The zombies’ attention was diverted, and they turned their heads in unison.

They sensed danger in the air, but before they could react, a two-story-tall Large Nut rolled toward them.

The high-grade zombie roared, and it and the other zombies quickly retreated from the middle of the road.

The human squad was positioned on the outer edge. The Nut rumbled past, crushing none of them, and the wind generated by its rolling shell conveniently extinguished the flames clinging to several humans.

The Nut came to a stop and abruptly stood upright.

Simultaneously, a cascade of plants rained down from the sky above.

Potatoes, Corn, Chili Peppers… even Durian and a Bamboo Shoot clung together in a chain, topped by a Carrot.

The overwhelming aura of the special-grade mutated plant washed over the battlefield. Sensing imminent danger, the zombies tried to flee.

But the plants were faster. After securing their positions atop the Nut, they unleashed a barrage of ranged attacks.

The high-grade zombie roared in fury, but its flames proved utterly ineffective against the Giant Nut.

To prevent their escape, Little Bamboo Shoot and Durian split into two groups, blocking the zombies’ rear flanks.

In the blink of an eye, three mid-grade zombies collapsed one after another.

Seizing the opportunity, the human squad retreated behind their modified car.

Realizing the plants were only attacking zombies, they quickly bandaged their wounded comrades and administered first aid.

One member was severely injured, his legs burned by flames, making it impossible for him to walk.

He urged his companions, “Go on without me. Forget about the supplies in the car.”

But everyone else was also injured, and without the modified car, they wouldn’t get far.

To drive the car away, they would need to circle around the Large Nut.

Just as the captain hesitated, the plants’ astonishing combat prowess had already annihilated all the zombies.

The Nut settled back down and rolled away with a rumbling sound.

A team member cautiously peeked out and saw the mutated plants gathering. Carrot tossed a carrot thorn into the air and leaped up to grab it.

The other plants followed suit: Durian grabbed Carrot, Corn grabbed Durian…

A large green Chili Pepper frantically dug out all the zombies’ crystal cores, landing last and seizing Little Bamboo Shoot’s foot.

They flew away in the same chain formation they had arrived in.

Everyone witnessed this scene, initially bracing for an attack from the mutated plants. But to their surprise…

“These plants,” the captain frowned, “do they look familiar?”

Hiding behind their vehicles, they remained cautious, unwilling to make any sudden moves. Before long, another massive figure appeared at the end of the street.

The figure moved swiftly, darting past the modified cars without so much as a glance.

A team member whispered in alarm, “It’s a Carnivorous Flower!”

The Carnivorous Flower’s distinctive appearance made it instantly recognizable. They all remembered the transmission they had received earlier, which included descriptions of several mutated plants, though detailed images were only available back at the base.

The captain opened the transmission and compared the descriptions to the plants they had just seen.

“Carrot, Corn, Durian…”

The matches were perfect.

They had encountered the Plant Squad mentioned in their mission briefing.

All of them were injured, and with their current strength, they couldn’t even track the squad. However, they could provide the Plant Squad’s coordinates and still earn their commission.

The team members exchanged uneasy glances. One of them asked the captain, “Should we report this?”

Even though… from the outcome, they had been saved by this Plant Squad.

Those mutated plants were so powerful, effortlessly killing several zombies. They could have easily killed the humans too.

The captain pondered for a moment, then glanced in the direction where the Carnivorous Flower had disappeared.

He put away his communicator and whispered, “Don’t say a word. Let’s pretend we saw nothing.”

They all knew how much Sky Base loved capturing mutated plants.

The commission for providing clues wasn’t worth risking their lives, especially since the mission involved Black Ridge Mountain Base.

It was best to stay out of it. They’d just pretend they’d encountered… “a helpful ordinary plant.”

The rest of the team agreed. They righted the overturned vehicle, cleared the surrounding area, and quickly left the vicinity.

Meanwhile, Carrot crouched atop the Carnivorous Flower’s head.

After confirming the humans weren’t pursuing them, it twisted around and burrowed into the gaps between its teeth.

Qian Hui woke up feeling much more refreshed.

He opened the Game and saw that the progress on the Hidden Mission near the Zombie Faction had indeed increased slightly.

A human squad transporting supplies… and zombies?

Were the zombies trying to steal the supplies? But they can’t even use those things.

Recalling that Black Ridge Mountain Base had also accepted similar missions, Qian Hui instinctively turned to Nan Tingjin, wanting to ask him about it.

But when their eyes met, he remembered their argument before setting out.

Qian Hui abruptly turned away, closed the Game, and hugged Nut, facing away from Nan Tingjin.

Well, I can’t complete the mission right now anyway… I can always ask later if the opportunity arises.