Level 1 Little Zombie Doomsday Growth Diary - Chapter 41

Chapter 41

The plants confined in the room were all mid-grade or high-grade, including the unconscious Cherry.

Special-grade mutated plants were difficult to find and even harder to capture, while low-grade plants were too weak unless they possessed particularly unique abilities.

The captured plants typically served three purposes.

First, researchers attempted to uncover why mutated plants didn’t succumb to the Lost State. They subjected the plants to various methods, constantly provoking them to unleash their attacks while monitoring their physical conditions with instruments.

Second, they selected plants with exceptional abilities for domestication, aiming to harness them for the base’s use. However, most mutated plants refused to obey human commands, necessitating harsh methods and constant control.

As for the third purpose…

The third purpose had only recently been approved by the Main Base. They recruited a small group of volunteers to undergo plant ability transplantation.

Wen Jue had speculated that the reason humans fell into the Lost State while plants didn’t might lie in their abilities.

Ordinary humans, upon reaching a certain age, had a chance to awaken an ability. This process was entirely random, irreversible, and impossible to extract.

If they could successfully transplant plants’ abilities into humans, the results might be extraordinary.

But even in the Doomsday era, the other two Great Bases would never approve of such research. Therefore, the first batch of volunteers was selected entirely from within the base.

The project was kept strictly confidential, hidden from outsiders.

However, progress had been painfully slow. One volunteer and two plants had already died in accidents.

Wen Jue’s condition continued to deteriorate. If he were to fall into a permanent coma, Sky Base would likely crumble and be absorbed by another base.

The subordinate standing in the center of the room scanned the area, confirming the quantity of mutated plants was correct. He ordered the cages to be moved to a more secure underground chamber and placed under heavy guard.

Tools, records, and miscellaneous items were also packed away, to be retrieved only after the crisis had passed.

Before leaving the corridor, the subordinate glanced down at the communicator in his hand.

The final instruction from Main Base was this:

If they failed to defend the base… they were to activate the self-destruct sequence, reducing the entire facility to rubble.

In the afternoon, Qian Hui had already purchased ample supplies: food, water, and various medicinal pills.

The plants were resting and recuperating, conserving their energy for tonight’s operation.

The timing was tight, but to avoid any unforeseen complications, they needed to act swiftly.

With Nan Tingjin joining them, Carrot’s confidence soared.

The plants no longer needed elaborate feints or stealthy infiltration tactics; they could simply charge straight in.

Having been through so much together, the Little Team had developed a strong rapport, capable of handling any situation.

As for Nan Tingjin, he would operate independently, not coordinating directly with the plants, but remaining vigilant to avoid friendly fire.

Carrot’s only concern was Qian Hui.

During the base assault, the plants would need to focus entirely on the battle, and Nan Tingjin wouldn’t be by Qian Hui’s side. Qian Hui would be hiding inside the Cabbage Shell with Sunflower and the others, and Carrot worried about the potential dangers they might face.

Qian Hui reassured Carrot, “With Little Succulent here, we’ll be fine.”

Little Succulent’s ability could conceal the auras of itself and nearby creatures for 50 seconds at a time, up to ten consecutive uses.

Whenever they heard nearby movement, Little Succulent would help them hide their auras, preventing them from being detected by zombies or other humans.

Still worried, Carrot had Potato create several bombs for Qian Hui to carry, in case of trouble.

The bombs were loud enough that Carrot could hear them detonate and rush back if necessary.

Potato quickly crafted five of its largest bombs, ready to be thrown and detonated, and buried two landmines near the entrance of the low building.

Qian Hui, equally concerned for the plants, packed Sunflower and Money Tree’s small backpacks with pills to replenish their stamina and energy.

After that, Qian Hui scrolled through the Game Shop, looking for anything else useful.

Medical Supplies seemed sufficient, food wasn’t immediately needed, and Construction Materials & Weapons…

Hesitantly, Qian Hui opened the final category to browse the weapons.

There were many types, some usable by both humans and plants, such as knives, hammers, helmets, and shields.

The rest were plant-exclusive, with names unfamiliar to Qian Hui: “Missile Head,” “Jet Gun,” and more. These weapons couldn’t be previewed before purchase and were extremely expensive.

Without a strategy guide or usage instructions, Qian Hui didn’t understand these weapons. The plants were more accustomed to their usual attack methods, and might not be able to use the new weapons effectively.

On top of needing to buy a Resurrection Bean, Qian Hui had been careful not to waste his remaining credits on anything beyond daily necessities.

But this upcoming attack on the human base was far more challenging than previous missions, and they had more time to prepare. Qian Hui decided to buy a few items to test.

He started by purchasing several helmets and shields. When buying, he selected the corresponding plant from the Encyclopedia, and the size would automatically adjust.

The Carnivorous Flower and Nut didn’t need these items, so Qian Hui bought them for the remaining plants participating in the battle.

Corn was the first to rush over when he spotted the new gear, picking up the helmet and examining it closely.

The helmets were miniature, designed to fit different plant sizes. Some covered both the front and back, resembling small suits of armor.

Only Corn and Durian’s helmets were different. Their skills changed their body shapes, so their helmets were smaller, just a small piece covering the vulnerable top of their heads—and the cheapest.

Qian Hui used the free cloth strips to secure the iron plates for them, then lifted Potato, whose entire body was almost completely covered by its armor. “Is it too heavy?”

Potato shook its head, jumped down, picked up a shield, and waved it vigorously. “Woo!”

Durian, still cradled in Qian Hui’s arms, shook its head, feeling quite content. It retracted its sharp thorns and nuzzled Qian Hui’s palm.

Durian was closest to Carrot, with Qian Hui being its second-closest companion. Its Loyalty had reached 70%, though it wasn’t as clingy as Potato or Chili Pepper.

Qian Hui patted Durian’s head and bought it a bottle of Evolution Liquid.

Curious, Durian leaned in to sniff the liquid before gulping it down in one go.

A few seconds later, it began to sway and roll to the ground, growing larger with each roll. Its thorns sharpened until it stood as tall as a doorway, at which point its growth ceased.

Durian excitedly tested its new abilities. Carrot, while putting on its helmet, urged it to familiarize itself quickly, as they would need to use them that night.

The remaining plants donned their helmets one by one, some taking shields, others not.

Qian Hui browsed the mall and purchased two plant-exclusive weapons: the Three-Shot Machine Gun and the Electromagnetic Induction Gun.

After careful consideration, he chose these two, believing their names suggested they would be easy to use. The total cost was 8,000 credits.

After the credits were successfully deducted, a soft click sounded as the items were temporarily stored in Qian Hui’s game backpack.

He immediately opened it to check. The Three-Shot Machine Gun showed “No plant adaptation available,” while the Electromagnetic Induction Gun had several compatible plants: Carrot, Chili Pepper, Corn, Durian… all could use it.

Looking at the Three-Shot Machine Gun in his backpack, Qian Hui felt a pang of regret for spending 4,000 credits.

He decided not to buy any more weapons recklessly, resolving to wait until he could afford Resurrection Beans.

Besides, he wasn’t even sure if these expensive weapons would be effective.

Qian Hui took out the Electromagnetic Induction Gun, thought for a moment, and decided to give it to Carrot. It was clever, agile, and had the widest attack range.

“Carrot!” he called, waving it over. “Take a look at this.”

The Electromagnetic Induction Gun was surprisingly small. Despite being called a “gun,” it resembled a circular, miniature pendant. Using it was simple: just wear it.

Carrot took the pendant and examined it closely. It removed its helmet and fastened the mini-gun around its neck.

After putting its helmet back on, Carrot touched its forehead, and a carrot thorn materialized in its hand.

At first glance, the carrot thorn looked no different from usual, though its color seemed slightly darker. A faint crackling sound, like electricity, emanated from between the two green leaves at its tip.

Carrot’s eyes lit up as it took the thorn to a corner to study it alone.

All the plants were preparing anxiously. Little Bamboo Shoot, having adjusted to the helmet, practiced slashing at the air with its blade to confirm its agility remained intact.

Cabbage sat nearby, applying a thick paste of crushed chili pepper seeds and corn balls to its gauntlets. Little Cabbage helped, carefully spreading the mixture with a small brush made from a corner of a towel.

Qian Hui turned off the Game and approached Nan Tingjin.

“You need to be careful too,” he said anxiously. “Last time at Back Mountain…”

Qian Hui had sensed something unusual back then, but it was so faint it hadn’t affected him. He didn’t know what had caused Nan Tingjin’s discomfort, but he instinctively felt something was wrong, fearing the Sky Base might use the same method if they discovered Nan Tingjin’s presence.

“I know,” Nan Tingjin replied. “I’ll be careful. Don’t worry.”

As he spoke, he pulled Qian Hui into his arms.

Qian Hui, unusually docile, leaned into the embrace and couldn’t resist asking, “What kind of commission do you want? I’d like to prepare in advance.”

Commissions could take many forms: universal currency, food, medical supplies, or other resources.

He doesn’t have any currency, Qian Hui thought. But I can offer plenty of food and medical supplies.

Unsure what Nan Tingjin meant by “not much,” he tentatively prepared ten thousand credits.

Nan Tingjin held Qian Hui close and whispered, “Just a kiss for now.”

Qian Hui froze, sensing something was slightly off.

But with nightfall approaching, Nan Tingjin and the plants were about to depart. Qian Hui had recently hugged each plant individually, comforting and encouraging them. Only Nan Tingjin remained.

After staring at Nan Tingjin for a moment, Qian Hui slowly leaned in and pressed a kiss to his cheek.

He tightened his arms around Nan Tingjin’s waist and murmured, “Come back soon.”

As dusk approached, Qian Hui led the plants around him into the Cabbage Shell.

The Cabbage Shell sealed completely, activated its invisibility, and vanished from its spot.

Nan Tingjin waited outside the low building as the Plant Squad prepared to depart.

Before leaving, Potato reminded everyone not to step on its Potato Bombs, carefully smoothing the soil around them.

Mimosa clung to the Carnivorous Flower’s eyelid, tasked with locating the imprisoned plants.

Inside the Cabbage Shell, Qian Hui listened as the sounds of the outside world grew fainter.

The Sunflower in his arms glowed softly. He took several deep breaths, waiting anxiously.

Little Cabbage stood guard for a while before quietly slipping over to the backpack.

It burrowed into the backpack and rummaged through a corner until it found two leaves.

The leaves had been given by Money Tree and torn into thin strips. Little Cabbage selected two strips, rolled them into balls, and tied them to its hands, creating makeshift boxing gloves that resembled miniature Cabbage fists.

It swung its fists forcefully, punching the backpack zipper a few times, then activated its invisibility.

While its body turned invisible, the two “boxing gloves” remained visible.

Little Cabbage froze, scratching its head with one of the gloves. Well, this might work too, it thought.

It punched the zipper again, then emerged from the backpack after its invisibility wore off. Donning the “boxing gloves,” it resumed its guard beside Qian Hui.

Meanwhile, inside the base:

Night was approaching. The guards stationed along the perimeter wall rotated shifts, maintaining vigilant watch over the surrounding area.

After dispatching urgent requests for reinforcements during the day, two or three nearby teams had responded, but their arrival time remained uncertain.

Everyone was on edge, bracing for the mutated plants’ imminent assault.

As darkness fully descended, a hot wind swept in from the distance.

Simultaneously, several people heard an ominous sound, like the thunderous approach of a stampeding horde of beasts, growing louder and closer by the second.

One of the guards raised his night-vision binoculars, scanning the direction of the disturbance.

Moments later, his lips trembled. “They’re coming…”

In the distance, a Giant Nut rapidly rolled toward the base from the ruins.

The base immediately activated its mechanical defenses along the perimeter wall. Several Ability Users positioned themselves inside, enveloping the entire base in a thick defense barrier.

The ground trembled faintly as the Giant Nut drew closer. With a deafening boom, it slammed into the base wall.

Three layers of the defense barrier shattered, but they quickly regenerated. The wall itself remained intact for now.

A sudden silence fell over the area as everyone stared at the perimeter wall. Had it… held?

Then they heard the Giant Nut retreating.

It backed up slightly, then charged forward again, repeating the motion with increasing speed.

Bang!

Bang!

By the sixth impact, cracks began to appear in the wall. The Base Director watched in disbelief.

This Giant Nut had slumbered for years at the Black Ridge Mountain Base, and no one had ever truly understood its full strength… or underestimated it so badly.

Bang!

On the ninth impact, a section of the wall collapsed with a thunderous crash, leaving a gaping hole.

The Giant Nut rolled straight through the breach, found its position, and came to a halt.

Immediately afterward, a rain of carrots began to fall from the sky.

Each carrot thorn was as sharp as a sharpened iron spike, glinting faintly as it plummeted. When they struck the ground or human ability users, they exploded with considerable force.

The crowd scrambled back, hastily raising their defense barriers again.

A barrage of attacks rained down on the Giant Nut, but they seemed to have no effect on its hardened shell.

Under the moonlight, a string of objects glided down from the sky and landed on the Giant Nut.

They were… a group of mutated plants wearing miniature helmets.

Carrot adjusted its helmet, summoned a second wave of sharp thorns, and waved its hand, shouting, “Woo!”

The battle erupted instantly. Beside it, Corn chimed in loudly, hurling a massive cluster of corn balls, followed by Potato Bombs of various sizes and chili pepper seeds.

Another figure landed swiftly, its size expanding in an instant to the height of seven or eight stories.

The Giant Carnivorous Flower lowered its head and roared furiously, unleashing a powerful gust of air from its mouth that instantly knocked down several human ability users on one side.

On the other flank, Cabbage led Durian and Little Bamboo Shoot, charging rapidly into the human ranks.

Cabbage knocked down one human with every two or three punches, while Durian eagerly unleashed its newly evolved skill, its massive body rolling back and forth across the open ground.

Little Bamboo Shoot, though small, compensated with agility and surprise attacks, slashing several humans’ legs with its blade.

The plants attacked with overwhelming force and ferocity. Sensing the tide turning, some humans tried to flee through the breach in the wall.

While fending off ranged attacks, they quietly circled around to the rear.

At that moment, a figure emerged through the breach in the collapsed wall.

The group initially rejoiced, believing reinforcements had arrived. But when they recognized the newcomer, the human ability user leading the group paled.

“Leader Nan?” he asked, clutching his wounded arm and subtly retreating. “What’s the meaning of this…?”

Nan Tingjin glanced up, his right hand lifting slightly.

Before the group could react, an invisible force hurled them into the air.

He strode forward, slaughtering everyone in sight without the slightest attempt at concealment.

Seeing Nan Tingjin among the attackers, clearly assisting the mutated plants, the Base Director’s expression darkened.

His trembling hand fumbled for his communicator, desperate to know when reinforcements would arrive. Otherwise, they would all die here tonight.

Just as he sent a message, the Base Director suddenly found himself paralyzed.

A moment later, he screamed as his arms and legs were systematically broken.

Nan Tingjin approached and picked up the communicator that had fallen to the ground.

A reply had already come through: “Immediately.”

Nan Tingjin crushed the communicator and surveyed the surroundings.

The plants had eliminated a small human squad during the day, and the base’s wall had been breached far more easily than anticipated.

Confirming the Plant Squad’s overwhelming advantage, Nan Tingjin returned to the breach in the wall.

He glanced at Carrot, who was standing on Nut’s back. “I’ll go check it out.”

Carrot nodded. “Woo!” Alright!

Trusting Nan Tingjin completely, it didn’t ask any further questions and immediately began summoning a new wave of carrot thorns.

I must say, the new weapon Qian Hui gave me is quite effective…

Meanwhile, not far from the base, several modified cars were approaching.

This was the support team, consisting of members from two different bases who had happened to meet in the same area and decided to join forces.

Urged on by the Sky Base Director, the captain floored the accelerator, pushing the cars to their maximum speed.

As the modified cars drew closer and saw the gaping hole in the base’s collapsed wall, everyone’s faces grew grim.

“Have those plants gone mad? What are they trying to do?”

“Everyone, be careful… There are several special-grade mutated plants.”

“But don’t you find it strange? Why…”

Before the sentence could be finished, the lead car screeched to a halt, its front end crumpling as if it had slammed into an invisible wall.

The surrounding area was a wasteland of rubble, and the following cars were forced to brake abruptly, nearly colliding with each other.

“What’s going on…?”

“Who’s there?”

The captain looked up through the windshield and saw a man standing in the middle of the road.

His brow furrowed. “It’s Nan Tingjin…”

Rumor had it that the Black Ridge Mountain Leader had disappeared again, likely with the mutated plants, but his name wasn’t on the official assignment list.

What was happening now?

The group hesitated, observing the scene.

Suddenly, the surrounding rubble and debris began to tremble violently, levitating into the air before hurtling toward the modified cars.

The car windows shattered instantly as dust and sand poured inside. The captain shouted into the real-time communication system, “Move! Get out of here!”

This was an uncleared low-risk zone, filled with countless movable objects within the ruins.

The modified cars at the rear, having sustained less damage, were the first to retreat.

Reacting swiftly, they immediately distanced themselves from Nan Tingjin.

The lead modified car bore the brunt of the attack, its chassis half-flipped over.

The passenger-side team member leaped out, grabbed the damaged window frame, and used their ability to forcibly yank it backward, breaking free from Nan Tingjin’s control.

The team member then vaulted onto the car roof, and all the modified cars rapidly retreated to a safer distance before turning back.

Only when Nan Tingjin’s figure had completely vanished did the captain glance into the rearview mirror and exhale in relief.

Yet his emotions were conflicted.

Nan Tingjin had clearly been trying to stop them, and with lethal intent.

He knew Nan Tingjin’s terrifying strength. With two squads trapped here and the possibility of more mutated plants lurking nearby, their chances of survival were slim.

Even if they managed to break through, the situation at the base remained uncertain.

Neither squad belonged to Sky Base. They had been assigned to the mission and, encountering resistance, had chosen to retreat—a reasonable decision under the circumstances.

But… Nan Tingjin’s actions were tantamount to declaring to everyone that he, a human ability user, was genuinely assisting the mutated plants.

Why…?

The captain pondered this, slamming on the brakes.

He gazed into the pitch-black night behind them and said, “Let’s go back and observe from a distance. We won’t assist for now.”

The other squad members and the other squad agreed. They took a detour, quietly circling around to the side.

Meanwhile, the situation inside the base grew increasingly chaotic.

Nan Tingjin had vanished, and the reinforcements hadn’t arrived. The remaining defenders couldn’t withstand the mutated plants’ relentless assault and were being pushed back steadily.

Several people tried to retreat into the base’s interior, seeking hidden places to hide. But Cabbage, with its sharp eyes, spotted them and chased after them, delivering a swift punch.

Outside, Carnivorous Flower surveyed its surroundings.

Almost done here. I can hand this over to the other plants. Mimosa and I need to find the imprisoned plants.

Mimosa, perched on Carnivorous Flower’s eyelid, raised its leaves to guide the way. Shrinking its form, it quickly led Carnivorous Flower to a low building tucked into a corner of the base.

The building’s main door was locked tight, but Carnivorous Flower simply smashed it open. With Mimosa’s help, it located a hidden basement.

Sniffing the doorknob, Carnivorous Flower used brute force to kick open the basement door.

The commotion startled all the plants inside, who instinctively curled up and trembled in their cages.

But the scent emanating from the doorway… wasn’t that of a familiar human Ability User.

In the dim light, a few plants dared to peek out and saw a creature with a massive head, a mouth full of sharp teeth, and a height nearly matching the doorframe…

—Carnivorous Flower.