Level 1 Little Zombie Doomsday Growth Diary - Chapter 56

Chapter 56

In that instant, countless possibilities flashed through Yuan Ji’s mind.

He recognized the Giant Nut immediately—the special-grade mutated plant that had slumbered for ages in the Back Mountain, only to vanish suddenly on the day of the incident.

Yuan Ji had considered the possibility that Nan Tingjin might be connected to the mutated plant and might bring it back, but the thought was too audacious to dwell on.

So, what was happening?

Don’t tell him the Nut missed its old home and came back to help?

No… the most likely scenario was that the mutated plant was also planning an assault on Black Ridge Mountain Base, and it just happened to coincide with Wen Jue’s attack.

While Yuan Ji stood frozen in shock, the Ability Users along the perimeter wall also spotted the rolling Giant Nut.

Despite its massive size, the Nut moved with surprising agility, effortlessly leaping over rubble and obstacles.

Boom! Boom!

With a series of thunderous crashes, the Nut rapidly closed in.

Both the defenders inside the wall and the attackers outside were stunned, watching helplessly as the Giant Nut crushed several modified cars under its weight.

The guard in the Watchtower struggled to breathe, gritting his teeth as he reported over the comms, “Special-grade mutated plant detected…”

The mutated plant was seizing this opportunity to attack Black Ridge Mountain Base—that was everyone’s first reaction.

In the blink of an eye, the Giant Nut had crushed several more vehicles and was closing in on the perimeter wall.

Caught off guard, the outer teams didn’t bother consulting their commander and immediately chose to retreat.

They didn’t know much about this special-grade mutated plant, but its terrifying strength and impenetrable defenses were obvious. A direct confrontation was impossible.

If this mutated plant was targeting Black Ridge Mountain Base, they had even less reason to intervene.

Moreover, the Giant Nut was on the Assignment List. If it had arrived, did that mean the other mutated plants were here too…?

Amidst the chaos, only the Sky Base personnel remained calm.

They didn’t seem particularly surprised. Their captain sent a message through his Communicator while quietly leading his subordinates to a safer position.

The most desperate were the people of Black Ridge Mountain Base.

Their chances of survival were already slim. They had been clinging to the hope that Nan Tingjin’s return might turn the tide, but now…

Instead, they were faced with a Giant Nut.

Now they had to defend against both the Ability User teams outside and the mutated plant itself.

Yet even so, the Ability Users guarding the perimeter wall refused to give up. They poured every ounce of their energy into reinforcing the defense barrier, desperately trying to withstand the Giant Nut’s impact.

But—

Just as the Giant Nut was about to collide with the perimeter wall, it suddenly stopped, then nimbly swerved sideways, rolling along the wall’s edge.

It maintained a consistent distance from the wall, avoiding both the wall itself and the defense barrier while simultaneously forcing back the attacking forces outside.

The base’s occupants were stunned until Yuan Ji shouted over the comms, “It’s here to help us!”

They almost thought they’d misheard him. Yuan Ji continued, “Don’t hurt it!”

By then, the Giant Nut had already circled the base once, leaving countless wounded among the besieging forces.

Finally, it positioned itself at the main gate, swayed slightly, and split into an identical Giant Nut.

The second Giant Nut stood beside the original, leaving a small gap between them, and then split into a third, a fourth… until there were ten.

Ten Giant Nuts now completely surrounded the base, clearly adopting a protective stance.

This was the Nut’s berserk skill, allowing it to split into ten copies of itself for twenty minutes.

Though gaps remained between the ten Nuts, their presence provided a massive boost to the base’s defenses.

This sudden reversal left the attacking forces in utter shock.

What was this special-grade mutated plant doing? Was it protecting Black Ridge Mountain Base?

Before anyone could react, another bizarre phenomenon occurred.

High above, a massive carrot rain slashed through the night sky, hurtling toward the base’s outer perimeter.

Simultaneously, a long string of objects flew rapidly toward the base and landed atop one of the Nuts.

In the Watchtower nearest the wall, a guard peered intently through his binoculars.

It was… a chain of mutated plants, clinging to each other and dangling from a carrot thorn.

There were over a dozen mutated plants: Corn, Chili Pepper, Potato, Cactus, Starfruit, Dragon Fruit, Carrot, Tulip, Pea… and more.

They were mostly small to medium-sized, clad in mismatched “armor” resembling helmets, and nearly all carried gray miniature backpacks.

Several of the plants wore delicate iron muzzles, giving them an unusually refined appearance.

The guard stared blankly, picked up his Communicator, and hesitated to speak.

Are these… are these mutated plants attacking the base…?

Immediately afterward, the Plant Squad sprang into action.

The Carnivorous Flower was absent. At Carrot’s command, Durian led the heavy attack team, rolling onto the ground and expanding to their maximum size.

The Light-Attack Team was divided into armed and unarmed squads, evenly distributed across the battlefield. They positioned themselves atop the Nut, responsible for long-range attacks.

Cabbage led the Support Guerrilla Team, consisting of Little Bamboo Shoot and Four-Leaf Clover. These three plants enjoyed the greatest freedom of movement and autonomy.

Tulip and Money Tree remained in the safest positions. Tulip’s ability had an exceptionally wide range, capable of providing attack buffs to nearly all Ability Users in the base, as well as the Nut and plants on the periphery.

Money Tree served as backup support. With Sunflower absent, injured plants or those needing energy replenishment could retreat into its defense barrier to consume healing potions.

With the arrangements finalized, the plants dispersed, launching attacks on all visible enemy forces.

Carrot stood atop the Giant Nut, splitting off a second wave of carrot thorns.

Clutching its helmet, Carrot turned its head and locked eyes with a guard on the Watchtower.

Carrot’s eyes widened. “Woo?!”

What are you just standing there for?!

Two human ability users stood beside the guard. Stunned by the sudden appearance of the Plant Squad descending from the sky, they remained frozen in shock, unable to react for a long moment.

Yuan Ji’s voice boomed through the real-time comms in everyone’s ears: “What are you all standing around for?!”

The moment his words echoed, the ground trembled again, but this time it wasn’t the Nut.

Just beyond the base, vast stretches of uncleared ruins churned like boiling seawater. Shattered walls and debris erupted from the earth, while modified cars parked nearby were hurled into the air by immense force.

A storm of dust and sand swept forward, each particle seemingly controlled, transforming into critically dangerous weapons that sliced through the invaders’ bodies.

Nan Tingjin had returned.

The dark clouds overhead suddenly parted, bathing the scene in the radiant glow of the moon. Seeing this, the base’s defenders finally snapped out of their shock from the mutated plants’ arrival.

“It’s the Leader!”

Though still bewildered by the sight of the mutated plants protecting the base, they didn’t care.

Nan Tingjin’s timely return, coupled with the assistance of the mutated plants, had turned the tide decisively in their favor.

Cheers erupted from the base as a fresh wave of long-range attacks soared over the Giant Nut, striking the outer ranks of the enemy forces with deadly accuracy.

The Plant Squad fought fiercely, especially those equipped with new weapons. Durian exploded on impact, while chili pepper seeds and corn balls detonated with miniature electromagnetic bombs. Cactus, Dragon Fruit, Pomegranate, and Starfruit amplified their attacks tenfold, each strike leaving a crater.

Corn, its face alight with excitement, eagerly unleashed its charged attack.

Its body swelled and then shrank back to normal size, expelling corn jelly that the Sprayer pulverized into fine particles, tripling its attack range.

The corrosive jelly fragments melted through the Ability Users’ defense barriers, forming a sticky, jelly-like web that forced several of them to cling to their comrades.

Corn chuckled, buried its face in a handful of mana medicine, and continued launching electromagnetic corn balls.

The combined assault from the base and the Plant Squad proved overwhelming. The outer teams were completely outmatched, forced to dodge falling debris from behind while fearing they might become the next targets, paralyzed by an unseen force.

The captain of Sky Base, serving as overall commander, had yet to issue further orders. With no time for hesitation, the various teams immediately began to retreat.

They converged in unison, forcing a breakthrough to withdraw.

All the modified cars near the base were destroyed, leaving only a handful operational. But as the retreating teams withdrew beyond a certain perimeter, the Plant Squad fell silent.

The base gates remained tightly shut, and those inside showed no intention of pursuing further.

The message was clear: they only sought to defend their base and had no immediate plans for total annihilation.

The Sky Base squad was among the retreating crowd. In the dim light, with everyone dressed similarly, it was impossible to distinguish which base each person belonged to.

Under the cover of darkness, several Ability Users discreetly gripped red devices in their hands.

These devices, previously used against Nan Tingjin in the Restricted Zone of Black Ridge Mountain Base, had proven somewhat effective.

Once activated, the devices would emit undetectable sound waves that disrupted the state of human ability users.

At best, the waves would temporarily suppress their abilities. At worst, they would induce a Lost State, though the effects wouldn’t manifest immediately, acting more like a slow-acting poison.

Sky Base had developed these devices long ago but had never publicly revealed them.

After ensuring their earplugs were securely in place, the group exchanged distant glances and simultaneously activated the devices.

Multiple sonic waves erupted simultaneously, covering an even wider area than before, even reaching some members of the Black Ridge Mountain Base.

Everyone felt a sudden buzz in their heads, followed by waves of indescribable dizziness and discomfort.

The defense barrier that had risen earlier vanished, and the retreating group froze in their tracks. As the discomfort began to subside, someone was the first to realize, “I can’t use my ability anymore…”

“Me neither… What’s going on?”

Just then, someone suggested, “It must be the mutated plant. The Assignment List mentioned a Mutated Chili Pepper that can temporarily disable abilities.”

Many had heard of the Mutated Chili Pepper’s ability and immediately accepted the explanation without question.

But this was no time for speculation. The crisis hadn’t passed, and now that their abilities were temporarily useless, escaping as quickly as possible was paramount.

Everyone carried Healing Potions and quickly consumed some before continuing their retreat.

Three undamaged modified cars were arranged to carry the most severely injured first. Someone immediately contacted the nearest base to request assistance.

The siege had lasted less than two hours before the operation was declared a complete failure.

As the squad retreated further, a masked Sweet Pepper emerged from behind a roadside boulder.

It glared at the departing figures, then shifted its gaze to the Giant Nut protecting the base.

Mutated Chili Pepper… they definitely weren’t talking about me. I don’t have that skill.

So, when did Nut and Carrot start siding with humans?

And they replaced me with some new Chili Pepper?!

Though the plants from the Little Courtyard had never intended to stick together after arriving here, each going its own way to enjoy its freedom, Sweet Pepper still felt indignant, letting out a cold hmph.

It slowly retreated to its previous hiding spot, resuming its surveillance.

Meanwhile, as the device’s sonic waves erupted, Little Mushroom popped out of Qian Hui’s pocket.

It looked around in confusion, then let out a tiny sneeze.

Qian Hui patted Little Mushroom’s cap, peering through the gaps between the Carnivorous Flower’s bared teeth at the pitch-black night sky.

With the Plant Squad gone to assist and Nan Tingjin temporarily away, the Carnivorous Flower remained behind, tasked with protecting Qian Hui and the remaining plants.

Little Cabbage clung to Qian Hui’s hem, Soft Vine and Morning Glory twining around his arm.

Big Cherry crouched at the edge of Carnivorous Flower’s sharp teeth, Mango nestled beside it. “Woo?”

Mango quietly asked Big Cherry when they would get to go fight and participate in “Missions” too.

Big Cherry scratched its head thoughtfully before replying, “Woo!”

Once we’re full, probably!

Mango seemed to understand, though it remained pensive.

Qian Hui constantly checked the Encyclopedia for status updates when suddenly a Game Notification appeared.

[ The 12th Faction Conflict has ended. Congratulations to our side for winning! Reward: 500 Prestige Points! ]

So many!

Qian Hui looked up in surprise, watching the Giant Nuts protecting the base gradually disappear into the distance, leaving only the original Nut behind.

This was the prearranged signal indicating the problem had been resolved and the area was completely safe.

Carnivorous Flower saw it too and immediately rose to its feet, heading toward the signal.

On the way, Carnivorous Flower first found Nan Tingjin, who was acting alone.

He had deliberately waited along the most direct route. Carnivorous Flower stopped, its jaws opening slightly as Qian Hui peeked out, revealing half his face. “Xiao Jin!”

The Faction Conflict had been resolved much faster than anticipated. Nan Tingjin appeared unharmed, but once he entered the Carnivorous Flower’s mouth, Qian Hui noticed his body temperature was unusually high.

Immediately anxious, Qian Hui leaned closer and touched Nan Tingjin’s cheek. “Are you feeling unwell?”

Nan Tingjin took Qian Hui’s slightly cool hand in his own and replied softly, “I’m fine.”

He had sensed a slight discomfort earlier but had forcibly suppressed it.

Perhaps because they were far from the epicenter of the sonic attack, he had only been slightly affected, allowing his ability to function normally.

These symptoms were similar to what he had experienced after their encounter in the Restricted Area Back Mountain.

If it was the Sky Base… with teams from all factions still present, they were showing utter disregard.

Nan Tingjin retrieved his Communicator and sent a message to Yuan Ji.

The Carnivorous Flower maintained its speed. Noticing Nan Tingjin’s still-pale complexion, Qian Hui purchased universal medicine.

Sitting beside Nan Tingjin, Qian Hui saw the message and roughly guessed its contents.

“What should we do?” Qian Hui asked anxiously. “Should we take more medicine?”

“Don’t worry,” Nan Tingjin said, taking the pill from Qian Hui’s hand. “A few days of rest will do the trick.”

Yuan Ji’s reply arrived almost immediately: the effects seemed to target only Ability Users, leaving the mutated plants unharmed.

The attacking forces, however, were likely suffering the worst symptoms.

Wen Jue’s true target in this base assault had included those very individuals.

Regardless, the Black Ridge Mountain Base had sustained minimal losses.

Nan Tingjin reached out and pulled Qian Hui into his arms, closing his eyes and exhaling deeply to suppress the agitation churning within him.

Soon after, the Carnivorous Flower arrived at the base’s entrance.

The main gate stood wide open. Nut had shrunk to a medium size, standing two meters tall as a precaution.

The other plants that had participated in the battle stood guard beside it, waiting. As soon as they saw the Carnivorous Flower approach, they rushed forward to greet it and escorted it into the base.

Inside the base, Yuan Ji hurried over with his subordinates.

With the attacking forces gone and Nan Tingjin’s message received, Yuan Ji had ordered the Outer Gate opened in advance, but the Inner Gate remained sealed.

Through the thick iron gate, he watched a group of mutated plants enter the base and gradually approach along the road.

Several Ability Users retreated to a safe distance, while most, like Yuan Ji, remained inside the Inner Gate.

As the Carnivorous Flower approached the Inner Gate, it lowered its massive head, opened its gaping maw, and several unfamiliar plants leaped out.

Immediately afterward, a familiar figure emerged.

Everyone unconsciously held their breath as Nan Tingjin turned, supporting a silver-haired youth, and stepped out of the Carnivorous Flower’s mouth.

The youth had silver hair, crimson eyes, and striking features. His posture seemed vaguely familiar, and he cradled a faintly glowing Sunflower in his arms.

Wait… silver hair? Crimson eyes?

Yuan Ji’s pupils constricted as he stared intently at the scene.

Once the pair had emerged, the Carnivorous Flower raised its head, its colossal form casting a vast shadow that felt even more oppressive than the earlier Giant Nut.

It stood on high alert, its gaze sharp, as if poised to strike at any moment.

Nan Tingjin shielded Qian Hui beside him and swept his gaze upward. “Open the gate.”