Level 1 Little Zombie Doomsday Growth Diary - Chapter 54

Chapter 54

The edge of the forest connected to the city ruins, where low- to mid-grade zombies occasionally wandered. Higher-level mutated plants, disliking zombie disturbances, typically resided deep within the forest.

The remaining weaker plants, unable to compete for territory, were forced to stay on the outskirts, where they could still hunt zombies and consume their crystal cores to enhance their own strength.

The human squad that had ventured into the forest was targeting these outer-dwelling mutated plants, particularly those with low combat capabilities and abilities leaning toward support.

Their first encounter was with a Rose, its vibrant color striking, yet its thorns were remarkably accurate and carried a paralyzing effect.

Recognizing the Rose’s abilities, the squad wasted no time, ignoring it and circling around to the other side.

It was at this moment that Winter Melon was spotted. Its camouflage barrier, created from its seeds, was exposed, and it was wounded by a long-range attack from a human ability user.

It frantically fled, its movements hampered by its injuries, and soon stumbled, nearly within reach of its pursuers.

The Ability User behind it hurled a translucent net. The net was large enough to completely envelop Winter Melon.

The Electric Net crackled with currents, far more effective than ordinary tranquilizer guns. Even high-grade mutant plants couldn’t break free and would be rendered unconscious within half a minute.

Winter Melon was in despair when suddenly, a blur flashed before its eyes.

A small, yellow Mango appeared, gripping Winter Melon’s leaf-hand tightly.

In an instant, both plants vanished, reappearing two or three meters away half a second later.

The Electric Net missed its target, surprising the Ability User on the other side.

“It’s a Mango, small in size, estimated to be mid-grade or lower,” the captain reported into his Communicator. “Its ability is… teleportation? But the range seems very short.”

“It doesn’t seem aggressive. Let’s capture them both.”

The man hesitated for a moment before replying, “Alright.”

He raised his hand, signaling the others to continue pursuing Winter Melon and the Mango that had voluntarily presented itself.

Among mutated plants, assisting their own kind was rare. However, since these two plants resided in the same area and were likely familiar with each other, such cooperation was possible.

Recently, rumors had been circulating about a Plant Squad composed of several mutated plants. Not only did they cooperate and support each other, but their combat prowess was also exceptionally high, even breaching a branch of Sky Base.

They couldn’t be that unlucky, could they…? The squad venturing out this time was small. If they did encounter the Plant Squad, their only option would be to flee for their lives and immediately report the coordinates to the Main Base.

A Plant Squad… it was truly unimaginable without witnessing it firsthand.

Several members of the squad carried Detection Instruments with the widest possible range. Two modified cars stood ready outside, prepared to evacuate at the first sign of danger.

Their objective was clear: capture two or three Support-Type Mutant Plants, mid-grade or low-grade would suffice.

After the captain issued the order, the others retracted the Electric Net from the ground and immediately gave chase.

With Mango’s assistance, Winter Melon was both astonished and deeply moved, whimpering, “Woo woo.”

Mango, too preoccupied to speak, tugged at Winter Melon, urging it to run faster.

Its abilities were limited; this was all it could do… To teleport again, it would have to wait another two minutes.

Two minutes seemed like a short time, but Winter Melon, injured and unable to run fast enough, was closely pursued by the humans. When the ability’s cooldown ended, Mango used teleportation again.

However, the teleportation distance was less than three meters, far too short to escape the human ability users’ pursuit.

Three more humans had circled around from the side, attempting to encircle them.

Realizing escape was impossible, Winter Melon nudged Mango, urging it to leave him behind.

Mango was uninjured and had a chance to escape alone. If it stayed, both plants would be captured.

“Woo…” Winter Melon murmured softly. In the next instant, Mango vanished, reappearing a few meters away before darting into the undergrowth.

…It really left on its own!

Mango didn’t look back. Truth be told, it wasn’t very close to Winter Melon; they’d even had a fight last month.

Well, I did my best… I’ll miss you, Winter Melon!

Noticing the plants had split up, the pursuing ability users launched a ranged attack.

Two earth chunks hurtled through the air. Hearing the wind rushing behind it, Mango dove sideways, rolling twice as the chunks narrowly missed it.

Nearly two minutes had passed. Just as Mango was about to use its ability again, the human ability user behind it suddenly shouted in alarm, “Run!”

Mango twisted its head to look. The humans who had been relentlessly pursuing it moments ago were now in a panicked retreat, as if they were the ones being chased.

What’s going on…?

Mango was puzzled. Have they finally realized how powerful I am and gotten scared?

Nearby, Winter Melon lay on the ground, trapped under the Electric Net, its condition unclear.

The human squad didn’t even have time to retract the Electric Net. They abandoned Winter Melon along with the net and fled toward the edge of the forest.

At that moment, dozens of carrot thorns rained down from the sky, shattering the squad’s defense barrier.

Mango rolled over and sat up in the grass, its eyes widening slowly.

It saw a series of plants landing one after another: Pea, Chili Pepper, Corn, Cactus… a total of eight plants.

Bringing up the rear was a familiar Carrot. With a kick, it freed Winter Melon from the Electric Net and shouted, “Woo!”

Big Pea, wearing a delicate mechanical mouthpiece, spat out green peas that split into three each, multiplying their quantity without significantly diminishing their attack power.

The remaining plants swiftly launched their attacks. Chili pepper seeds and corn balls exploded upon impact, their destructive force doubled.

Dragon Fruit, Starfruit, and Pomegranate also wore mechanical mouthpieces. Cactus’s device, fastened to its arm, differed in design. The thorns it hurled expanded dozens of times in mid-air, their piercing power greatly enhanced.

The dense forest terrain hindered Durian’s movements. It merely enlarged its body slightly and rolled toward the humans, firing its Electromagnetic Gun. Several trees struck by its thorns were instantly riddled with charred holes.

Corn wielded two weapons, both strapped to its neck. However, its Sprayer seemed to require energy buildup before activation, and with its energy reserves still depleted, it couldn’t use it yet.

Moreover, with only eight humans to deal with, Carrot and Big Pea could easily handle them all. The main reason for bringing so many plants was to test the new weapons’ capabilities.

Carrot had classified the Plant Squad as the “Mechanical Group.”

Durian was overjoyed to be on a team with Carrot again, charging fearlessly to the front lines.

In contrast to Durian’s enthusiasm, Big Pea remained nonchalant, launching only a single attack at the enemy.

Big Pea felt there was no need for it to intervene, so it retreated to the rear and crouched down to check on Winter Melon.

Winter Melon was injured, but it seemed to be in no serious danger, merely knocked unconscious by the Electric Net.

Pea retrieved a pill Qian Hui had prepared in advance, pried open Winter Melon’s mouth, and forced it down.

The pill dissolved instantly upon entering Winter Melon’s mouth, ensuring its effectiveness. As Big Pea finished, it heard rustling nearby.

Turning its head, it spotted a small yellow Mango crouching a short distance away, its eyes sparkling brightly.

Carrot led the Plant Squad in a full-force assault, overwhelming the enemy squad with no chance of retaliation.

The humans wore uniforms with two symbols on their sleeves. One was the Sky Base logo, suggesting they were either a branch of the Sky Base or closely affiliated with it.

With this confirmation, Carrot showed no further restraint. Since the humans had provoked them, they would pay the price.

In the end, the Plant Squad chased the enemy out of the forest and detonated their modified cars parked outside, completely eliminating the human squad.

Chili Pepper made a point of searching the corpses and retrieved an intact Communicator, intending to bring it back to the Main Base.

Deep in the forest on the other side, Qian Hui waited anxiously until Mimosa reported that Carrot and the others were making excellent progress. Only then did he relax.

After waiting a long while, he saw a string of plants flying back through the air and simultaneously received a Game Notification.

[ Faction Conflict #11 has ended. Congratulations to our side for winning! Reward: 100 Prestige Points! ]

The Plant Squad returned, a Winter Melon hanging from the tip of Carrot Thorn. It was now awake, its leg injury mostly healed.

Once released, Winter Melon timidly hid behind a bush, cautiously surveying its surroundings.

In addition to Winter Melon, Big Pea was also carrying a Mango.

Seeing Mango, Little Mushroom’s eyes lit up. It hopped off Carnivorous Flower’s head and scurried over.

It circled Mango once, then offered the half-eaten biscuit in its hand.

Mango accepted without hesitation, stuffing it into its mouth in a few bites.

Chili Pepper deactivated the electromagnetic gun around its neck and hurried over to Qian Hui, handing him the Communicator.

The Communicator had no password and was easy to use. Under Nan Tingjin’s guidance, Qian Hui sent a message to the contact at the top of the communication log, labeled “x Manager.”

“Your people are all dead. If you dare to capture or abuse mutated plants again, your fate will be the same.”

Currently, there was no base offering sanctuary to mutated plants, and Qian Hui couldn’t protect all of them simultaneously.

This message served as both a threat and a warning to humans. If they feared death, they would surely restrain themselves.

Chili Pepper watched intently, carefully memorizing the steps for using the Communicator.

After sending the message, Qian Hui temporarily put the Communicator away, storing it in his backpack.

With this crisis resolved and two plants successfully rescued, Qian Hui had to leave without further delay.

He found Winter Melon hiding behind a bush and gently reassured it, “Don’t be afraid.”

Winter Melon had never seen so many special-grade mutated plants in its life. Terrified and uneasy, it huddled in place, too frightened to move.

Seeing this, Qian Hui left some food and pills nearby.

Winter Melon was simply too timid, and they were in a hurry to move on. Taking every plant they encountered wasn’t realistic.

The area was relatively safe, with lingering traces of several special-grade mutated plants’ auras. Other plants wouldn’t dare approach for a while.

Winter Melon could stay behind to recover, and they had enough food to last until its aura completely dissipated.

Qian Hui hadn’t expected much from the other plant they brought back. But when he turned around, he saw a familiar Mango “fighting” with Big Pea.

The “fight” looked more like play. Mango vigorously swung its fists, aiming for Big Pea’s waist.

Big Pea leaned against the tree trunk, motionless, occasionally letting out a “woo” to signal that the massage felt good and to urge Mango to apply more pressure.

Hearing this, Mango grew a little annoyed and ran off to punch Cabbage, only to be intercepted by Little Cabbage.

Little Cabbage, in a flurry, had only managed to put on one of its leaf-glove fists and was about to strike when Mango, relying on its teleportation ability, instantly dodged the blow.

Mango let out a defiant “hmph” before suddenly being scooped up into someone’s arms.

Qian Hui crouched down, patting Mango’s head. “It seems quite lively…”

He remembered this Mango. Carrot had captured it once before, and it had probably been hiding nearby ever since. Little Mushroom had even been searching for it that morning.

Though it was a low-grade mutant plant, Little Mushroom liked it, and having it around as a playmate wouldn’t be bad…

Qian Hui asked earnestly, “Do you want to stay?”

Mango sat obediently in his palm, tilting its head in thoughtful contemplation.

Mango had seen these plants before. They had suddenly appeared in the forest one day, traveling together in large numbers, accompanied by a strange zombie and a human with an intimidating aura.

That carrot had even grabbed it once… but hadn’t harmed it afterward.

It had also discovered that these plants had many delicious things to eat, having secretly stolen a bit yesterday.

Mango knew these plants were high-grade, but it had always been bold. In the past, whenever it fought with other high-grade mutant plants in the forest, they would amuse themselves for a long time, letting Mango snatch food and escape.

Over time, Mango had come to believe that all high-grade mutant plants were the same—not at all formidable.

Until recently… the Plant Squad had descended from the sky, displaying extraordinary bravery as they wiped out all the villains.

Mango, filled with admiration, had eagerly asked Pea to bring it along.

Pea nodded and let out a soft “woo.”

Qian Hui smiled and reached out to stroke Mango. “Such a good boy.”

Mango instinctively wrapped its tendrils around his finger and nuzzled closer, sniffing.

Qian Hui’s scent was particularly pleasant… Mango had no desire to fight him. It tilted its head and rubbed against his fingertip.

Thus, another member joined the Plant Squad.

Brought back by Pea, Mango immediately followed it into the Carnivorous Flower’s maw.

Once all the plants were inside, Qian Hui and Nan Tingjin settled onto the Carnivorous Flower’s neck. The creature raised its head and began weaving through the forest.

After leaving the woods, the Carnivorous Flower sped toward Black Ridge Mountain.

As its silhouette vanished completely into the ruins, a high-grade zombie emerged from the forest’s edge.

Clutching Zombie King 03’s severed head, it twitched its nose, sniffing the air, before turning and departing.

Two days later, at Black Ridge Mountain Base.

Yuan Ji stood on the watchtower beside the Inner Gate, raising his binoculars. At the edge of his vision, several modified cars were speeding toward the base.

Several subordinates stood nearby, their faces grim with anxiety and worry.

“They’re here so soon…” one of them murmured. “Wen is determined to take this place.”

“Since they suspect the Leader has returned, why not just open the gates and let them search?”

“Use your head! If we open the gates, do you think they’ll just search and leave?”

Another turned to Yuan Ji. “Captain, what’s the plan?”

Yuan Ji lowered his binoculars and said coldly, “Hold the gates. Let them make the first move, then retaliate.”

“But if they outnumber us…”

Yuan Ji had also imprisoned a group of untrustworthy individuals, including Shan Jun and his group, further reducing the base’s combat power.

The stored supplies could last for a long time, but the real threat was Wen Jue’s influence. If he managed to gather enough Ability Users, a fierce battle would be inevitable, and their chances of victory were slim.

“What’s there to fear?” Yuan Ji said, showing no concern. “The Leader will return. We just need to hold out for two or three days.”

But… will Nan Tingjin really come back?

The others exchanged glances, wisely keeping their doubts to themselves.

Nan Tingjin had been out of contact for so long, and Yuan Ji had suddenly claimed to have reestablished contact. Yet even Yuan Ji didn’t know the specifics: where Nan Tingjin was, where he had gone, or when he would arrive.

Moreover, even if Nan Tingjin did return… there was no guarantee of victory.