Level 1 Little Zombie Doomsday Growth Diary - Chapter 59

Chapter 59

Little Mushroom ate a few bites of shredded meat, then yawned, feeling sleepy.

It hadn’t been playing nearby for long when it suddenly felt both hungry and tired. Little Bamboo Shoot glanced warily at Yuan Ji.

But Yuan Ji remained seated, doing nothing but saying “Hello.”

Little Bamboo Shoot had been observing Yuan Ji and the surrounding Ability Users earlier, but it hadn’t seen Little Mushroom’s actions clearly. It assumed the little mushroom had simply been fiddling with the grass.

The other plants were still busy, either carrying bricks to build walls or helping spread cement.

Little Bamboo Shoot turned its head to look around. Qian Hui was further away, standing with Nan Tingjin.

So it peeled off a layer of its bamboo shoot sheath, letting Little Mushroom and Little Succulent crawl inside. Like an open backpack, it carried them to find Qian Hui.

Halfway there, Little Mushroom fell asleep. Little Succulent quietly perched on the edge of the sheath, reaching out to touch the passing grass.

By the time Little Bamboo Shoot reached Qian Hui, a wooden cabin had already been “built” at the foot of the mountain.

The Giant Carnivorous Flower raised its head, using its teeth to gnaw off excess branches from the roof.

Qian Hui stood outside the cabin, examining it. “Xiao Zi, that’s enough.”

He had originally wanted a stone cabin, like the one in the forest near the Plant Little Courtyard, but unfortunately, there were too few stones here, making them difficult to find.

Nan Tingjin used the same method as before, moving dozens of trees to form a complete circle.

For the remaining roof, he planned to call in some subordinates to handle it, along with bringing over some furniture and other supplies.

Water supply was a trickier issue. Qian Hui had purchased a complete well-digging kit from the construction shop, but hadn’t yet had time to figure out how to use it.

Now that they had their own base, accepting more plants in the future meant they couldn’t just find random spots for eating, drinking, bathing, and sleeping like before.

Recalling the layout of the Black Ridge Mountain Base, there were residential areas, training areas, rest areas… even the rooms and bathrooms were separate.

Plants didn’t need such elaborate arrangements, but basic necessities were essential. For example, Qian Hui wanted to dig a lake where the plants could swim and bathe.

The walls and wooden huts were only half-finished. In addition to the lake, he also wanted separate areas for the plants to train and spar…

Less than half a day after starting construction, Qian Hui realized that building a proper base was far more complex and challenging than he had imagined.

Nan Tingjin reassured him, “There’s no rush. We can take our time. We don’t have to live here right away.”

Once the walls were reinforced, the Black Ridge Mountain Base next door would always keep its doors open to Qian Hui and the plants.

With the assistance of human Ability Users, the base’s development would proceed much faster.

Qian Hui hummed in agreement, lowering his head to take Nan Tingjin’s hand and carefully count off the tasks: “After the walls are repaired, there’s the cottage, the well and water pool, the training grounds…”

There were also many base-specific weapons they hadn’t tested yet, and he had promised Potato a flying vehicle.

Once they selected suitable transportation, they could venture out to gather new plants for the base.

As he was planning, Little Bamboo Shoot arrived, carrying two small plants on its back.

It waved at Qian Hui and made a shushing gesture, careful not to wake the sleeping Little Mushroom.

Qian Hui approached and gently scooped up all three plants.

Little Bamboo Shoot let out a soft “woo” and pointed toward Yuan Ji, still worried and wanting Qian Hui to check on Little Mushroom’s condition.

“What’s wrong?” Qian Hui noticed the concern in Little Bamboo Shoot’s eyes and opened the Encyclopedia.

To his surprise, Little Mushroom’s ability slot had changed from gray to white. Faint characters were visible, but the color was so pale they were barely legible.

Is it recovering?

Qian Hui grew anxious and cautiously touched the curled-up Little Mushroom inside its bamboo shoot shell.

Its body temperature was normal, and the Encyclopedia indicated its condition was good. There shouldn’t be any problems.

The Carnivorous Flower shrank its form and leaned closer to examine Xiao Fen.

“Don’t worry,” Qian Hui whispered. “Xiao Fen is fine.”

The Little Bamboo Shoot felt much relieved and stopped bothering Qian Hui and the Carnivorous Flower. It decided to take a quiet walk elsewhere.

Qian Hui gave it a mana medicine pill to give to the Little Mushroom when it woke up.

The Little Bamboo Shoot accepted the pill, tied it to its body with a grass root, and waved goodbye to Qian Hui, the Carnivorous Flower, and Nan Tingjin standing behind them before circling around the wooden cabin and leaving.

Just then, Nan Tingjin’s Communicator beeped.

He glanced down, his brow furrowing slightly. “A Sweet Pepper?”

Qian Hui immediately turned his head. “What?”

The subordinate who had encountered the Sweet Pepper earlier had reported the incident to their captain. The captain first led a team to search the area where the Sweet Pepper had appeared, but found nothing. Sensing the situation might be more complex than initially thought, they urgently contacted Yuan Ji and Nan Tingjin.

Yuan Ji also received the message, pondering with a puzzled expression. “A masked… Sweet Pepper?”

He didn’t recall seeing any Sweet Peppers among the plants that had entered last night.

But since it was a mutated plant, he decided to treat it as a guest for now and leave it alone.

Yuan Ji stood up, took a medicine bottle from his pocket, paused, and then put it back.

The brief rest had seemed to help him feel much better.

Meanwhile, Qian Hui anxiously checked the messages on Nan Tingjin’s communicator.

A masked Red Sweet Pepper… If he wasn’t mistaken, it was the plant from the Little Courtyard.

Just then, a carrot thorn flew through the air, a carrot dangling from it, shouting loudly to Qian Hui, “Woo woo! Woo!”

Sunflower had gone to the wall to replenish the energy of the plants building it. Qian Hui couldn’t understand what Carrot was saying, but he sensed the urgency in its voice.

The Carnivorous Flower beside him immediately perked up, its round eyes widening.

What… Sweet Pepper has kidnapped Chili Pepper?!

Nearby, Little Mushroom also caught sight of Sweet Pepper’s name.

It groggily opened its eyes, but still very sleepy, it rolled over and went back to sleep.

Half an hour earlier.

Carrot had returned to the low building with Durian and Chili Pepper, intending to retrieve their backpacks and some supplies from upstairs to take to Back Mountain.

Before heading to Back Mountain, no one had anticipated the base’s construction would proceed so smoothly that they’d already begun building the perimeter wall.

The backpack was stuffed with various items, including Little Cabbage’s Cabbage Shell, several helmets shed by the plants, and a telescope they wanted to bring along.

Originally, Carrot had only brought Chili Pepper. Durian, seeing this, insisted on joining, claiming its Electromagnetic Gun and helmet were hidden in a corner of its room where the others wouldn’t find them.

Carrot scolded Durian the entire way, warning it never to hide weapons carelessly again. What if you lose them and some villain picks them up? Carrot demanded. If you’re worried about mixing things up, just wrap each item in a separate leaf!

Durian remained obediently silent throughout the lecture. Upon entering the low building, it immediately headed to the bedroom, feeling around in the gap between the wardrobe and the wall until it retrieved a small piece of helmet armor and the Electromagnetic Gun pendant.

This time, Durian dutifully placed the items in the backpack, “woo woo”-ing apologetically to Carrot.

Chili Pepper, absorbed in organizing the backpack, suddenly saw a flash of red.

A crimson shadow darted past the doorway with such speed that even Carrot didn’t react in time.

The backpack clattered to the floor, and Chili Pepper vanished from the spot.

Carrot and Durian looked up to see a masked Sweet Pepper standing on the coffee table.

The Sweet Pepper exuded a menacing aura as it held Chili Pepper captive with one hand, pressing a makeshift knife against Chili Pepper’s neck.

It glanced at Carrot, then swept its gaze over Durian, letting out a heavy “Hmph!”

Durian gasped in alarm, “Woo!”

Unfamiliar with Sweet Pepper, Durian immediately hurled several sharp thorns at it while fumbling for the Electromagnetic Gun in its backpack.

Sweet Pepper easily dodged the thorns while simultaneously flinging two chili pepper seed darts.

Moving with lightning speed, Carrot yanked Durian out of the way just in time. The darts struck the door behind them, embedding themselves halfway into the wood.

Seeing this, Carrot’s leaf trembled. “Woo…”

It’s you… When did you arrive? You concealed yourself so well I couldn’t sense even a trace of your presence.

Noticing that Carrot seemed to recognize the unfamiliar mutated plant, Durian paused, then edged closer to Carrot.

Sweet Pepper didn’t reply, instead turning to survey the room.

Chili Pepper remained stiff and motionless in its grasp, afraid to move.

Carrot quickly urged Sweet Pepper to release Chili Pepper, pleading it not to harm it.

Sweet Pepper bristled, even more displeased. It grabbed Chili Pepper and leaped out the window.

Carrot immediately drew its thorn, ready to give chase, but Durian grabbed its foot in time. The four plants exited the window in quick succession.

Clutching Chili Pepper, Sweet Pepper had to evade the human ability users in the base, slowing its movements considerably.

Even so, Carrot could only manage to keep up, unable to catch up.

As Sweet Pepper darted through the base, it scrutinized Chili Pepper, leaning in to sniff it.

Only mid-grade… nothing special.

Yet, despite Chili Pepper’s low grade, Sweet Pepper sensed there might be something unique about it.

With this thought, Sweet Pepper stopped and released Chili Pepper.

It offered Chili Pepper another assembled pocketknife and beckoned with a wave. “Woo!”

Come on, let’s fight!

Chili Pepper shook its head frantically, its voice trembling as it asked if Sweet Pepper was also from the Little Courtyard.

It couldn’t detect Sweet Pepper’s aura and was unsure if it was special-grade.

The Little Courtyard? This Chili Pepper even knows about the Little Courtyard!

Sweet Pepper grew displeased again, glaring at Chili Pepper and insisting on giving it the knife.

Just then, Carrot and Durian finally arrived in a hurry.

Seeing the two plants had caught up, Sweet Pepper tightened its grip on Chili Pepper, its eyes flashing with menace.

“Woo!” It ordered Carrot to summon Nut, Carnivorous Flower, and all the other plants—it knew they were nearby.

Once they all gathered, Sweet Pepper planned to challenge Chili Pepper to a duel in front of the entire plant community, to prove once and for all who was stronger!

Carrot, growing increasingly agitated, demanded that Sweet Pepper release Chili Pepper first, promising to explain everything calmly afterward.

Sweet Pepper refused, declaring that it would leave immediately after the fight and never return.

Carrot’s anger flared. “Woo?!”

Really? Fine! I’ll go get reinforcements right now!

Sweet Pepper scoffed dismissively.

Among the offensive plants in the Little Courtyard, its combat prowess wasn’t particularly high. However, its agility and lightning-fast reflexes, combined with its near-perfect accuracy with chili pepper seed darts, made it equally formidable in one-on-one duels and group brawls.

It sat on the ground, its small knife still pressed firmly against Chili Pepper’s neck, watching Carrot leave Durian behind and glide away alone on its carrot thorn.

Durian had grown slightly larger, its eyes fixed on Sweet Pepper to prevent another escape.

Chili Pepper, surprisingly the calmest of the three, tried to communicate with Sweet Pepper, but before it could speak, a hard flatbread was shoved into its mouth.

“Woo woo!” Sweet Pepper threatened, tearing off another piece of flatbread and taking a couple of bites.

Soon after, some human Ability Users passed by at a distance, seemingly noticing the commotion but avoiding getting closer.

Sweet Pepper continued eating the flatbread. After about ten minutes, it finally saw the Carnivorous Flower.

The Giant Carnivorous Flower swung its flower stalk, rapidly weaving through the base’s streets. Carrot flew overhead, returning with a string of plants dangling from its feet.

Perched on the Carnivorous Flower’s neck was a silver-haired boy with crimson eyes.

Thud—

Sweet Pepper’s gaze went blank, and the flatbread and knife slipped from its hands, clattering to the ground.