Level 1 Little Zombie Doomsday Growth Diary - Chapter 40

Chapter 40

Qian Hui crouched down, and Cabbage, who had been rushing toward him, suddenly leaped into his arms.

Cabbage was strong and much heavier than other plants, nearly knocking Qian Hui over.

“Xiao Juan!” Qian Hui hugged Cabbage tightly. “It’s you!”

Cabbage let out a soft “woo woo,” its wide eyes fixed on Qian Hui, the rims glistening as if it couldn’t quite believe its eyes.

The gauntlets on its hands loosened, and its leafy hands gripped Qian Hui’s sleeve tightly, refusing to let go. It leaned in, sniffing him repeatedly, then gently touched his cheek and hair.

Qian Hui looked exactly as Cabbage remembered, his scent unchanged, except for his silver hair, which had turned a light orange.

Upon closer inspection, the color of his hair was uneven and mottled, and it smelled faintly of carrots…

Noticing Cabbage’s curiosity about his hair, Qian Hui explained, “Carrot and the others dyed it for me. It’ll all fall out in a few days.”

Dyed?

Cabbage’s eyes widened with curiosity. Only then did it notice the several unfamiliar plants standing beside Qian Hui.

Sunflower was there too, standing beside Money Tree, Apple, and Little Succulent.

A vine coiled around Qian Hui’s wrist, a slender tendril peeking out from his sleeve. A mimosa leaf, no larger than a fingernail, clung to one of the tendrils.

Woo woo, it’s been so long! Qian Hui is still so beloved by plants…

Cabbage felt a pang of inexplicable sadness and deep regret. If only I had met Qian Hui sooner! So much must have happened to him after he left the Plant Little Courtyard.

It clung to Qian Hui, burying its head against him and nuzzling fiercely.

“It’s okay, don’t be scared. Everything’s alright now,” Qian Hui reassured it, his voice still trembling slightly. “Thank goodness we got here in time… Why were those humans attacking you?”

The Plant Squad, who had been trailing behind, returned and gathered around Qian Hui.

Cabbage whimpered, its words translated and relayed by Sunflower, who had been pushed to the side.

All the plants listened intently. Carnivorous Flower raised its head, scanning the surroundings to ensure their safety.

At that moment, Sunflower’s leaves rustled, and Little Cabbage, almost completely hidden beneath them, cautiously peeked out.

It gazed at Cabbage, its eyes gleaming faintly.

Little Cabbage and Cabbage looked remarkably similar.

The main difference between the two plants was that Little Cabbage had a darker green crown, resembling a plump little ball.

Cabbage, on the other hand, was a lighter shade of green throughout its body, which was slightly flattened.

Their sizes also varied greatly. Cabbage stood as tall as an adult’s lower leg when upright, while Little Cabbage was only palm-sized, utterly miniature.

Apart from these differences, their leaf patterns, the way their leaves wrapped around their bodies, and even the slight upward curl of the leaf edges at their crowns were identical.

Plants with such striking similarities in appearance, even if not of the exact same species, were generally related.

For example, Chili Pepper and Carrot came in various colors. Little Succulent, who had once lived on a human’s balcony filled with succulents, claimed that the other succulents there were its elder siblings.

So Little Cabbage wondered, could Cabbage be…?

But Cabbage was so powerful—a special-grade mutated plant—while Little Cabbage was of the lowest grade and didn’t even know how to fight…

The light in Little Cabbage’s eyes dimmed slightly as it instinctively hid behind Sunflower, continuing to observe Cabbage.

After hearing the full account of Cabbage’s attack on the base, Qian Hui frowned. “That was too dangerous. Don’t ever do that again.”

Cabbage had always been prone to reckless behavior. Despite its brittle leaves and weak defenses, it insisted on standing at the front lines to fight zombies.

Fortunately, its strength had allowed it to escape successfully after its initial raid on the base.

And thankfully, the Plant Squad had arrived in time. Otherwise, even if Cabbage had managed to break through, it would have been severely injured.

Carrot stood nearby, scoffing. “Hmph.”

Daring to infiltrate a human base all alone? Quite the feat… You should be thanking me! I didn’t sleep all night, and if I’d arrived even a moment later, things would have gone terribly wrong.

Cabbage didn’t argue, too lazy to deal with Carrot for the moment. It nestled into Qian Hui’s arms, whimpering softly.

It still longed to hear about Qian Hui’s past experiences, but the ruins near the base weren’t safe.

Moreover, the base had just lost a squad. Now that they knew the plants were here, they would undoubtedly be on high alert.

To rescue the plants imprisoned inside, a more detailed plan was needed.

The Carnivorous Flower expanded its body, allowing Qian Hui and the other plants to enter, then retreated to a safer distance.

Cabbage refused to leave Qian Hui’s arms. Qian Hui picked it up and patted its head. “Xiao Juan seems heavier now.”

Hearing this, Cabbage looked up bashfully and pointed to its stomach, indicating it was very hungry.

Qian Hui quickly pulled out half a pack of dried meat from his pocket and fed it to Cabbage, sighing with concern.

The surrounding area was nothing but city ruins, with little food to be found. Cabbage had likely been guarding outside the base for a long time.

If it hadn’t tried to help the two plants, it might never have encountered Qian Hui again.

Qian Hui carried Cabbage into the Carnivorous Flower’s mouth. Once Nan Tingjin and the other plants were inside, the Carnivorous Flower turned and swiftly departed.

Sunflower intensified the glow of its petals, replenishing the energy of the plants exhausted from the battle while illuminating the surroundings.

Cabbage, ravenously hungry, devoured the dried meat, then devoured four or five packs of biscuits and dried fruit.

Qian Hui prepared water for Cabbage and patted it tenderly. “Slow down, slow down. There’s plenty more here.”

To show its friendliness to the new companion, Potato even offered Cabbage a piece of candy.

After giving the candy, Potato scurried back to Corn and whispered, Why does Cabbage look so much like Little Cabbage? Could they be related?

Corn glanced left and right, then shook its head.

It didn’t think they were related, but Little Cabbage might be Cabbage’s old boxing glove that had fallen off!

Potato gasped and fell into deep thought.

Finally full, Cabbage gulped down the entire bottle of water in one go and lay back for a moment.

It scratched its face and sensed a faint gaze, instinctively looking over.

A small plant was hiding beneath Sunflower’s leaves, only half its body visible.

Noticing Cabbage’s gaze, the small plant quickly retreated further into the shadows.

Standing in the dim light and quickly ducking behind the leaves, Cabbage couldn’t make out its features clearly.

After a moment of recollection, it assumed it was that red Apple.

Cabbage turned its head again, glancing at Nan Tingjin.

Cabbage remembered this was Qian Hui’s boyfriend, Nan Tingjin. It had seen him two or three times before when he drove Qian Hui to the forest cabin.

Nan Tingjin glanced over, and Cabbage waved its hand in greeting.

About twenty minutes later, Carnivorous Flower found half a building and selected a clean, spacious room inside. It opened its mouth wide.

The plants who had participated in the battle had mostly rested. Qian Hui called everyone over and introduced Cabbage.

The plants lined up and approached Cabbage one by one, sniffing each other’s scents as a way of getting acquainted.

When it was finally the last turn, Qian Hui suddenly realized Little Cabbage was missing.

He looked around. “Where’s Little Cabbage?”

Little Cabbage was usually the most eager during these introductions.

Qian Hui called out again, almost thinking they had left Little Cabbage behind, when Sunflower lifted its leaf, revealing a tiny figure.

“Come here!” Qian Hui beckoned to Little Cabbage.

Little Cabbage hesitated for a moment, then slowly approached.

It looked timid, but its gaze toward Cabbage held a hint of anticipation and longing.

Cabbage took a closer look and exclaimed in surprise, “Woo?”

How could this little plant look so much like itself!

The large and small plants drew closer, startling Qian Hui.

Earlier, having found Cabbage, he hadn’t paid much attention to anything else. But now, looking again… When he first encountered Little Cabbage, he had noticed their striking resemblance.

Cabbage was large and flat, while Little Cabbage was round and small, about the size of Cabbage’s gauntlet.

Little Cabbage stood nervously in place, its slender leafy hands fidgeting.

Seeing Cabbage approach, it tensed even more, closing its eyes and barely daring to breathe.

Curious, Cabbage leaned closer, circling Little Cabbage once, comparing its gauntlet to the smaller plant, and then sniffing its scent.

Little Cabbage couldn’t resist opening its eyes, glancing up.

Realizing Cabbage didn’t seem to dislike it, its eyes lit up, and it eagerly rushed to Cabbage’s side, hugging the gauntlet.

Little Cabbage gazed up with adoration, “Woo…”

Cabbage froze, suddenly feeling a little nervous itself.

Despite its strength and combat prowess—whether back in the Plant Little Courtyard or since arriving here—other plants had always expressed gratitude and admiration.

Yet the small plant before it, though strikingly similar in appearance, felt profoundly different.

It was a subtle sensation, like suddenly encountering another version of itself—both familiar and foreign—and receiving its absolute approval.

Cabbage lowered its head to gaze at Little Cabbage, growing fonder with each glance. It unfurled its gauntlet and gently scooped up the tiny plant.

Little Cabbage was overwhelmed by the attention, so excited that it accidentally spat out a Mini Cabbage Lamp.

The finger-sized Mini Cabbage Lamp rolled onto the ground. Cabbage picked it up and examined it. “Woo!”

So small! And it glows!

Little Cabbage promptly spat out several more, eager to offer them as a greeting gift.

Cabbage accepted them all without hesitation, tucking the lamps into the gaps between the leaves on its head.

Then, holding its breath for a moment, Cabbage removed one of its gauntlets and presented it to Little Cabbage.

Cabbage’s gauntlets naturally shed and regrow periodically. By removing this one early, the gauntlet remained intact.

Little Cabbage carefully accepted the gauntlet, nearly fainting from joy. “Woo woo…”

Seeing the two plants interacting harmoniously, Qian Hui didn’t disturb them.

He opened the game on the side. Cabbage’s Encyclopedia entry was already lit up, and with the addition of a new special-grade combat-type mutated plant, the Plant Squad’s Combat Power had risen to 19,000.

His balance stood at 150,000 credits, with 4,000 Faction Points, totaling 230,000.

Just 70,000 more to go.

If possible, after rescuing the plants from the base, they might try searching for the Zombie Horde.

And then there was the Zombie King, Number 03.

How much credit reward would killing a Zombie King yield…?

Qian Hui glanced at Cabbage playing with Little Cabbage and closed the Game Interface.

He and the plants shared a tacit understanding; none of them mentioned Little Mushroom’s condition.

We’re so close… Just 70,000 more credits, and Little Mushroom can be revived. Then we won’t have to be sad anymore.

Carrot, who had been waiting nearby for a long time, coldly interrupted Cabbage and Little Cabbage: “Woo?”

It was getting late, and they still needed to discuss their battle plan for rescuing the plants from the base.

Little Cabbage, being very sensible, voluntarily jumped down from Cabbage’s head.

It gave Cabbage one last nuzzle, picked up the gauntlet, looked around, and scurried away.

The gauntlet felt soft when pressed firmly, and Little Cabbage, afraid of damaging it, peeled off a layer of its hard cabbage shell.

As long as it didn’t use them up, Little Cabbage could keep two Cabbage Shells as spares. After opening the outer shell, it stored the gauntlets inside, where they fit perfectly.

With everything done, Little Cabbage pried open the shell slightly and touched the gauntlets inside.

If only I could be as strong as Cabbage someday…

Meanwhile, the plants gathered in a circle.

Qian Hui asked Cabbage to describe what it had seen during its previous infiltration of the base.

Cabbage scratched its head. “Woo?”

The situation had been too chaotic for it to see clearly. It only remembered that there were many humans and a lot of weapons.

Carrot punched Cabbage in frustration. What’s the point of saying that?

Durian sat beside Carrot as usual, his mind wandering. He glanced at Little Cabbage, then back at Cabbage across from him.

Cabbage looked genuinely innocent. It hadn’t known what would happen back then.

Still, it had probably memorized the patrol patterns and frequency outside the walls, which might prove useful.

But breaching a base would be far more difficult than dealing with an equal number of human ability users.

Carrot considered the possibility of a direct assault. Perhaps they could have Nut grow large and ram through the walls.

After several successful battles, the Plant Squad was confident in their collective strength.

Now there was another, more pressing problem: the enemy already knew the plants were coming and would undoubtedly prepare countermeasures in advance.

This situation would significantly increase the difficulty of their mission.

Carrot racked its brains, desperately trying to devise a flawless rescue plan.

The other plants fell silent, their expressions grave.

Suddenly, footsteps echoed from behind.

Nan Tingjin approached Qian Hui and crouched down beside him.

“Need any help?” he asked, his voice flat, as if discussing the weather.

The atmosphere around them seemed to freeze, all eyes turning to Qian Hui.

Qian Hui paused, then hesitantly asked, “Would you?”

Hearing this, Carrot immediately discarded its previous ideas and began formulating a new plan.

If Nan Tingjin were to intervene, their chances of breaching the base would skyrocket.

“I can,” Nan Tingjin replied softly, “but I’ll need a commission.”

Qian Hui blinked in surprise. “A commission?”

Black Ridge Mountain Base thrived on accepting various commissions and bounties. Asking Nan Tingjin to assist the Plant Squad—against humans who were technically his allies—seemed to warrant payment.

But Qian Hui had no conventional currency; the only resources he could offer were those from the Game.

After a moment’s thought, he asked nervously, “How much do you want?”

“Not much,” Nan Tingjin said with a faint smile. “You can pay me later.”

Deep within the city ruins, at a branch of Sky Base, the confirmation of an entire squad’s death sent everyone scrambling back to the base, preparing for a major attack.

The base commander activated the perimeter wall’s maximum defenses, stationed several Ability Users to monitor the surroundings, and brought out all the firearms from the armory.

But the perimeter remained eerily quiet. The plants seemed to have withdrawn.

This was hardly reassuring. Had the plants come here solely for that Cabbage?

Many had heard of the mutated plants’ combat prowess. If the reports were accurate…

Their ranks included two special-grade combat-type mutated plants, a Sunflower with extraordinary healing abilities, a recently awakened Giant Nut, and a Mutated Chili Pepper with unique abilities.

Combined with several other high-level mutant plants, their coordinated efforts could unleash unimaginable potential.

The base commander broke into a cold sweat, repeatedly contacting Main Base for operational directives.

Upon learning that the Plant Squad had arrived and Cabbage had escaped, Wen Jue’s body finally gave out.

He collapsed into unconsciousness, or perhaps slipped into a Lost State. Despite his subordinates administering medicine, he remained unresponsive.

With Wen Jue incapacitated, the remaining managers at the Main Base were left to make critical decisions.

Their first thought turned to the plants imprisoned at the Branch Base, speculating whether the mutated plants had come specifically for them.

But secretly transferring the imprisoned plants carried immense risks. If discovered, the consequences would be catastrophic.

Defending the base seemed equally futile. The Main Base was too far away to send reinforcements in time.

In the end, the managers issued a Second Mission to all bases, requesting nearby teams to provide immediate support.

While this approach also carried risks… they reasoned that as long as they were careful, no one would discover the plants imprisoned within the base.

Upon receiving the order, the Branch Base leader immediately began preparations.

He urged his subordinates to clear away any clutter and move all the cages containing the plants to a more secure underground chamber.

The subordinates hurried to the tightly locked door, ready to carry out their orders.

As they walked down the corridor, they saw a room filled with iron cages of various sizes, each containing a mutated plant.

Most of the plants appeared listless and withdrawn. When they saw humans approaching, they retreated to the corners of their cages, trembling and remaining silent.

As the subordinate entered, a cage near the door suddenly rattled violently, emitting two loud bangs.

He looked down and saw an enormous cherry, larger than a basketball.

The cherry was restrained by several electrical wires, baring its teeth and glaring at the humans while growling fiercely.

The subordinate frowned. “Has it still not been tamed?”

“No,” the person beside him replied. “It’s incredibly stubborn.”

The cherry had been captured some time ago, but no matter how it was treated, it remained defiant, preferring death to submission.

If it couldn’t be tamed and utilized, it would likely be sent to the Main Base to be handled by Wen Jue’s staff.

The cherry slammed against the cage again, its sharp teeth gnawing at the metal bars.

Growing impatient, the subordinate pressed the device above the cage. The cherry was instantly electrocuted, collapsing unconscious.