Level 1 Little Zombie Doomsday Growth Diary - Chapter 47

Chapter 47

[ Bonded with special-grade mutated plant “Little Pink Mushroom”! ]

[ Little Pink Mushroom’s Loyalty has increased significantly, reaching 100%! ]

Through the crack in its broken eggshell, the first person Little Mushroom saw upon opening its eyes was Qian Hui.

It froze for two seconds, then immediately clung to the edge of the shell, trying to flip itself out while waving its slender arms excitedly. “Uhm…”

Perhaps because its consciousness had been dormant for so long, Little Mushroom’s body felt stiff, its movements clumsy and uncoordinated.

Afraid it would fall, Qian Hui quickly steadied it with his hand. “Slow down, slow down…”

Carrot helped remove the eggshell, and Little Pink Mushroom promptly wrapped its arms around Qian Hui’s fingertip, nuzzling it vigorously and planting a kiss.

It was small and adorable, barely reaching the height of an adult’s finger when standing. Its round, plump body was topped with a full, curved cap edged with a delicate white pattern. Its slender arms and legs were a soft pink.

After kissing Qian Hui’s fingertip, Little Mushroom moved to the edge of his palm, tilting its head up in a gesture that clearly meant, “Hold me!”

Qian Hui brought his hand closer, and Little Mushroom pressed against him repeatedly, even giving him a kiss on the cheek.

“Xiao Fen, I’ve missed you so much too,” Qian Hui murmured, cradling Little Mushroom in his palm and gently stroking its cap. “How are you feeling? Is anything still bothering you?”

“Mmm…” Little Mushroom pondered for a moment, then shook its head.

But it remembered being captured by humans… or at least, it thought it did.

Little Mushroom’s gaze turned hazy. It couldn’t quite recall what had happened after its capture. It felt like it had slept for an eternity, and when it woke up, Qian Hui was there.

It wobbled its cap, finally taking in its surroundings from Qian Hui’s palm. It realized it was in an unfamiliar forest, surrounded by countless other plants.

Carnivorous Flower had been waiting patiently. Seeing Little Mushroom wave excitedly, it reached out with a leaf to scoop it into its embrace.

Little Mushroom rolled around in Carnivorous Flower’s leaf several times, then leaned in to kiss its nose before turning to Cabbage.

It wasn’t just Qian Hui and Carnivorous Flower—Cabbage, Carrot, Sunflower, Nut… they were all there!

Little Mushroom was overjoyed, hugging each plant and rubbing its leaves or cheek against them, then giving them two kisses.

Nut, lacking leaves or hands, lay down in the grass. Little Mushroom patted its belly, then leaned in close with open arms.

Cabbage stood nearby, unable to hold back its “woo woo” sounds as tears threatened to fall again. It had learned the news too late; though Little Mushroom had successfully revived, Cabbage hadn’t fully recovered from the shock, torn between relief and sorrow.

Carrot quietly patted Cabbage to calm it down.

Little Mushroom remained in the grass with Nut, surrounded by Sunflower and Carnivorous Flower.

When it looked up, it saw several unfamiliar plants.

Potato and Corn crouched nearby, while Chili Pepper and Durian waved warmly.

Behind them stood even more plants: Little Bamboo Shoot, Apple, Tulip…

So many new faces, all plants Little Mushroom had never met before. Curious, it gazed around and stepped forward.

Nut helped flatten the weeds. Potato watched Little Mushroom approach, nervously clasping its hands behind its back, wanting to touch it but too afraid to.

In contrast, Little Mushroom was much bolder. It approached Potato, sniffed its scent, and bumped its umbrella cap against it, as if to say, “We’re acquainted now.”

It sniffed the remaining plants and bumped them with its cap. When it reached Little Cabbage, Little Mushroom let out a soft “hmm,” widened its eyes to scrutinize it, then turned to look at Cabbage.

To be precise, it was looking at Cabbage’s boxing gloves.

Little Cabbage stood shyly and greeted Little Mushroom with a soft “woo…”

Next to Little Cabbage was Little Succulent. Little Mushroom’s eyes lit up at the sight of it. It circled Little Succulent once, then took its hand.

The two plants were roughly the same size and color. Little Mushroom wore its umbrella cap, while Little Succulent wore succulent petals on its head, making them quite similar.

Little Succulent seemed equally fond of Little Mushroom. It leaned in to sniff it and gently touched the patterns around the edge of its umbrella cap.

After Little Mushroom had acquainted itself with all the unfamiliar plants, it finally stood before Nan Tingjin.

It didn’t approach, but tilted its head back and stared at Nan Tingjin intently for a long moment, as if only then remembering who he was.

It shook its umbrella cap, huffed, and turned away.

By now, Little Mushroom was feeling quite tired. It yawned, rubbed its eyes, and looked around for Qian Hui.

Carnivorous Flower picked it up and carried it back to Qian Hui’s side.

“Are you hungry?” Qian Hui took the food Carrot offered and fed it to Little Mushroom.

The biscuit was broken into small pieces, and the dried meat was torn into tiny strips. Little Mushroom didn’t have a big appetite; it was full after just a few bites.

Qian Hui then used a bottle cap to give it water and a high-grade universal medicine.

With its belly full, Little Mushroom grew even sleepier.

Sitting in Qian Hui’s palm, it glanced at Carnivorous Flower and the other plants. After a moment of hesitation, it ultimately chose Qian Hui, wanting to sleep with him.

Fortunately, Qian Hui’s jacket had a small pocket on the chest. Sunflower tucked two petals inside, and Little Mushroom burrowed in, curled up, then popped its head out to wave at everyone.

The plants waved back, Little Succulent waving the most enthusiastically. It climbed onto Little Cabbage’s head, afraid Little Mushroom wouldn’t see it otherwise.

Qian Hui stroked Little Mushroom’s cap. “Sleep now.”

“Mm!” Little Mushroom burrowed back into the pocket, wiggled a bit, and settled down quietly.

Through the fabric of his pocket, Qian Hui gently stroked Little Mushroom, letting out a slow breath of relief.

The plants around him reacted similarly. Carnivorous Flower pressed closer, while Nut leaped into Qian Hui’s arms.

Even the plants seeing Little Mushroom for the first time sensed the atmosphere—a mix of joy, excitement, and restrained silence, all trying to avoid disturbing Little Mushroom’s rest.

“Xiao Fen is probably just tired,” Qian Hui whispered, reassuring the still-anxious Carnivorous Flower. “It’s fine, its condition is good.”

Little Mushroom showed no injuries and remembered all the plants. Its Encyclopedia entry indicated excellent health.

However, all the skill slots in its Encyclopedia were grayed out. When Qian Hui tried to view them, a notification popped up: “This mutated plant is in prolonged hibernation and is recovering.”

This was likely due to Little Mushroom’s previous death. Although its body had been well-preserved and the Resurrection Bean took effect in just a day, it had only successfully repaired its physical form.

Moreover, while Little Mushroom seemed mentally alert after waking up, it clearly tired more easily than before.

I wonder if giving it more Skill Point Pills or zombie crystal cores would help…

Normally, special-grade mutated plants don’t require crystal cores, but Little Mushroom’s case might be unique.

As Qian Hui pondered this, Chili Pepper seemed to sense his thoughts and brought over a small backpack.

It opened the backpack to reveal it was filled with crystal cores—the Plant Squad’s harvest from the previous day.

Because everyone had been anxiously awaiting Little Mushroom’s awakening or worrying about Qian Hui’s health, the crystal cores hadn’t been distributed yet.

Having just witnessed Little Mushroom fall asleep so quickly again, Chili Pepper thought they could try feeding it some crystal cores.

Chili Pepper gently touched the pouch where Little Mushroom was sleeping, then held up a crystal core for Qian Hui to see, its eyes full of anticipation.

“Alright,” Qian Hui said, picking up Chili Pepper. “Thank you, Xiao Jiao.”

The crystal cores were temporarily stored in the backpack until Little Mushroom woke up.

By nearly noon, the plants were hungry. Brittle Peach and Morning Glory followed Soft Vine, distributing food to everyone.

The new plants continued to follow their respective “Group Leaders” as before. Qian Hui habitually checked their status and Loyalty in the Encyclopedia before approaching Potato and Big Cherry.

Potato was feeding Big Cherry, shaping a tracking missile and casually tossing it backward.

Big Cherry lay on its back in the grass, a missile curving around from behind to drop into its wide-open mouth.

Qian Hui approached and sat down, picking up Cherry from the ground. “Are you feeling better?”

Cherry had used its berserk skill yesterday and hadn’t fully recovered yet.

Its basic and advanced skills revolved around consuming and digesting various explosives, converting them into its own energy. It lacked any active offensive abilities.

Therefore, whenever Cherry truly engaged in combat, it had to activate its berserk skill, unleashing all its stored energy in a single explosive burst.

This skill was incredibly powerful, with virtually no upper limit, but the berserk skill couldn’t be used consecutively. Without Potato, Cherry would struggle to find enough explosives to consume.

Thanks to Potato, Cherry’s Loyalty had already reached 80%, the fastest growth among the new plants.

Big Cherry let out a soft “woo,” opened its mouth to catch another missile, and rubbed against Qian Hui’s palm while eating, indicating it was feeling better.

With several tens of thousands of credits newly added to his balance, Qian Hui bought Cherry some Skill Points and a bottle of Evolution Liquid.

However, perhaps due to the plant’s unique skills, Cherry only consumed the Skill Point Pill, sniffing the Evolution Liquid but refusing to drink it.

“Alright,” Qian Hui said, putting the bottle away and patting Big Cherry. “You’re so well-behaved.”

He ultimately gave the Evolution Liquid to Mimosa. Qian Hui had intended to buy it for Mimosa earlier, but Mimosa had refused, preoccupied with the plants imprisoned in the base.

Now that Mimosa’s Loyalty had reached 85%, it had fully become a member of the squad.

After drinking the Evolution Liquid, Mimosa didn’t gain any new skills, but its existing abilities were significantly enhanced, making its olfactory senses even more acute.

Mimosa grew slightly larger, its tendrils curling around the empty bottle. Its leaves trembled, pointing into the distance.

It communicated to Sunflower that two unfamiliar mid-grade mutated plants were in that direction, their bodies carrying the scent of flowers.

Carrot overheard this and secretly slipped away, planning to capture the mutated plants and surprise Qian Hui.

Qian Hui, oblivious to Carrot’s actions, lowered his head and purchased more Skill Points and Evolution Liquid from the Shop.

In the original squad, Apple and Little Succulent were both low-grade, but Apple’s grade display was unique, and Little Succulent’s camouflage skill proved highly useful.

Hoping to continuously strengthen all the plants, Qian Hui bought the upgrades for them as well.

Among the new plants, Big Cherry, Cactus, and Pumpkin showed the highest Loyalty and received Evolution Liquid.

The remaining plants didn’t receive Evolution Liquid for now, but they all received a Skill Point Pill.

After Qian Hui finished his tasks and checked the Encyclopedia, the Plant Squad’s Overall Combat Power had soared to 26,000.

26,000 Combat Power met the requirements for establishing a base.

However… Qian Hui sensed that the current Combat Power value likely didn’t include Little Mushroom, probably because its abilities hadn’t fully recovered yet.

Back in the Plant Little Courtyard, Little Mushroom rarely needed to participate in battles, usually just hiding safely in the wooden hut.

But now that it was here, like the other plants from the Little Courtyard, it was a special-grade mutated plant, meaning its abilities must be exceptionally powerful.

Qian Hui reviewed the Encyclopedia entries for all special-grade mutated plants. Six were already illuminated, leaving five still unrevealed.

From the faint silhouettes in the Encyclopedia, Qian Hui could identify the remaining five as Red Chili Pepper, Pea, Pomelo, Timothy, and Lettuce.

Red Chili Pepper was different from the Chili Pepper by Qian Hui’s side; it was a plump bell pepper. Along with Pea and Lettuce, these three plants had always shared a close bond with Qian Hui.

As for Pomelo and Timothy… In Qian Hui’s memory, Timothy was aloof, barely acknowledging anyone. Pomelo, on the other hand, was somewhat reclusive, often hiding in corners and disappearing for half the day.

Yet Qian Hui believed that if he found them, they would surely want to stay by his side and rebuild the Plant Little Courtyard.

Qian Hui closed the game and lowered his gaze to the pocket where Little Mushroom was sleeping.

Everything had gone remarkably smoothly so far. The plants had been found one by one, and Little Mushroom had been successfully resurrected.

But now… he wasn’t satisfied with just that. He wanted to strive to establish a base for the plants, continue earning more credits, and retrieve all the special-grade mutated plants.

Leaning against the tree trunk, Qian Hui fell into silent contemplation when footsteps suddenly approached.

Nan Tingjin came to stand beneath the tree and reached out to touch Qian Hui’s slightly cool cheek.

Qian Hui leaned in, carefully turning his body to avoid pressing on Little Mushroom in the pocket, and embraced Nan Tingjin.

Nan Tingjin stroked his hair. “How are you feeling now?”

Understanding his meaning, Qian Hui mumbled, “I’m really fine now.”

Yesterday, when Big Cherry had single-handedly blasted twenty or thirty zombies to death, his mental state had immediately recovered by more than half.

The connection between these events was uncanny. No wonder his physical condition had gradually improved so much since coming here.

The most obvious change was in his skeletal joints. Qian Hui had genuinely believed Nan Tingjin’s hand massage had healed them…

Nan Tingjin still seemed concerned, whispering, “If you ever do something like this again, tell me first.”

Hearing this, Qian Hui felt a pang of guilt. He remembered the Game Notification: a Resurrection Bean cost 300,000 credits, and the optimal time to buy one was when his balance reached 600,000.

He had been a bit hasty, but if given another chance, he would still buy it without hesitation.

“But,” Qian Hui murmured, “Xiao Fen is my friend. If…”

His voice trailed off, his expression shifting to one of confusion and hesitation.

Qian Hui had wanted to say that the Resurrection Bean could be used on any living creature. If Nan Tingjin were ever in danger, he would buy one for him too.

As this thought surfaced, a strange sense of familiarity washed over Qian Hui.

It was as if… this had actually happened before, or perhaps he had considered it once before.

Noticing Qian Hui’s distraction, Nan Tingjin squeezed his hand. “What’s wrong?”

Qian Hui shook his head. “Nothing…”

He pushed aside the jumbled thoughts. According to the Game’s description, Nan Tingjin’s original fate was to disappear. Yet here he was, safe and sound by his side.

But to the Black Ridge Mountain Base, he did indeed appear to have vanished…

Qian Hui looked up and asked, “Will you… ever go back to Black Ridge Mountain?”

Nan Tingjin paused for a moment before replying, “Not for the time being.”

Meanwhile, at the Black Ridge Mountain Base:

A deafening crash echoed outside the Outer Gate as a figure slammed heavily into the ground, unable to rise for several moments.

Yuan Ji strode forward, planting his foot on the fallen man’s chest. His cold gaze swept across the crowd. “Anyone else want to rebel?”

The fallen man was Shan Jun, blood gushing from his mouth and multiple wounds marring his body.

The surrounding crowd remained silent, watching helplessly as Yuan Ji beat Shan Jun to within an inch of his life before dragging him to the dungeon.

Days earlier, Yuan Ji had discovered Shan Jun secretly contacting Sky Base and rallying a group of Ability Users within the base to support the appointment of a new captain as leader.

Knowing Yuan Ji had no ambition for the leadership position, Shan Jun had planned to eliminate him directly. However, his plot had failed.

Shan Jun was punished, and his former followers swiftly defected, pledging their loyalty to Yuan Ji.

Yuan Ji desperately wanted to imprison them all, but Nan Tingjin had yet to return, and the situation remained uncertain. If he locked up a group today, Wen Jue might send his forces to the base tomorrow.

With Nan Tingjin now on the Sky Base’s assignment list, Black Ridge Mountain Base’s position had become precarious, vulnerable to attack and annexation by other bases at any moment.

The base was teeming with powerful High-Tier Ability Users. Even if they were dispersed among other bases and forced into compliance through special means, they could still prove invaluable.

Moreover, Yuan Ji had heard rumors that Wen Jue was secretly conducting Ability Transplantation experiments.

The drugs produced by Sky Base were likely unsafe. Fortunately, Nan Tingjin had always despised pharmaceuticals and forbade his subordinates from using them.

Only a few desperate individuals secretly purchased the drugs. Most of the base’s Ability Users still relied on alternative methods to alleviate the symptoms of the Lost State, avoiding Sky Base’s products entirely.

After dealing with Shan Jun, Yuan Ji returned to his quarters.

His trusted subordinate, seeing they were alone, mustered the courage to ask, “Captain, don’t you have any ambitions…?”

With Nan Tingjin gone, Yuan Ji was the most likely successor to the Leader position. He met all the qualifications and would undoubtedly gain widespread support.

Yuan Ji entered his room and collapsed onto the sofa.

He closed his eyes. “No ambitions.”

What was so great about being the Leader? He preferred being the second-in-command, wielding real power without the burden of responsibility.

But now Nan Tingjin had vanished without explanation, as if he had no intention of returning.

Frustrated, Yuan Ji sighed and pulled out his communicator.

He pulled up Qi Yue’s communication number, intending to subtly inquire about Yun Chuan and the other bases’ current stance—whether they still followed Wen Jue’s orders.

However, the real-time communication attempt went unanswered for a long time.

Busy?

Yuan Ji sighed again and tossed the communicator aside.

Meanwhile, Qi Yue heard the communicator vibrate but couldn’t spare it a glance.

“Retreat immediately!” he shouted urgently.

A massive horde of zombies surged from the intersection ahead, led by three high-grade specimens.

After returning from Sky Base, Qi Yue had led his squad on another mission, using the opportunity to search for mutated plants and Nan Tingjin’s whereabouts.

Late last night, they had heard explosions in this direction and decided to investigate.

They hadn’t expected to find such a massive concentration of zombies here…

The squad of over twenty members had parked their modified car at a distant intersection to approach the area stealthily, initially giving them a decent chance of success.

But then their instruments detected a surge of energy, suggesting the presence of a Zombie King.

If a Zombie King was nearby, there would undoubtedly be even larger Zombie Hordes.

Qi Yue immediately ordered a retreat, avoiding direct confrontation with the Zombie Horde. He hoped they could reach the modified car and escape before the Zombie King revealed itself.

Lingering behind to cover their retreat, Qi Yue ordered his squad to move faster. He unleashed a wind blade that struck the nearest high-grade zombie, slowing its advance.

In the distance, a round, shadowy figure crouched furtively among the ruins, peeking out from behind debris.

Big Pea poked its head out cautiously, munching on a crystal core in its hand.

Fight! Fight!