Level 1 Little Zombie Doomsday Growth Diary - Chapter 68

Chapter 68

All the plants gathered around Qian Hui, listening as Lettuce described its encounter with Pomelo and Timothy.

Not long ago, Lettuce had wandered over from Sector 6, passing through a Medium-Risk Zone when it heard the sounds of fighting.

It cautiously approached to investigate and discovered several human ability users under attack by a mutated plant—Pomelo.

The human squad’s modified car had a damaged wheel, preventing their escape. Despite being outnumbered and clearly outmatched, Pomelo didn’t harm them, simply snatching two backpacks before fleeing.

Lettuce immediately gave chase, following Pomelo into a nearby low-risk zone.

This area had been cleared of vegetation, leaving only rubble and debris—a desolate and isolated place.

Pomelo, with its solitary nature, likely preferred such an environment, finding it conducive to solitude.

As for stealing the backpacks, it was probably for food.

Lettuce searched the area thoroughly but couldn’t find where Pomelo was hiding, nor could it tell if Pomelo was deliberately avoiding being seen.

Unconcerned, Lettuce figured that as long as Pomelo was safe, that was all that mattered.

Even though Pomelo was hiding in a low-risk zone, the surrounding area still contained numerous medium-risk zones and a couple of human bases. Human squads frequently passed through, ensuring Pomelo wouldn’t lack opportunities to scavenge food.

Later, Lettuce left that place.

“Woo!” Lettuce said with certainty.

It hadn’t been long since then, so Pomelo was definitely still in its original spot, but…

It didn’t have a map, only a vague memory of the area’s location. If it went back, it should be able to find it again.

Chili Pepper thought it was simple. If they couldn’t remember the exact coordinates, they could scatter wooden chips all over the area for Pomelo to see.

Carrot, however, shook its head.

Pomelo had a rather eccentric personality, preferring solitude and rarely interacting closely with others. Even if it knew the new “Little Courtyard” had been built and Qian Hui had returned, it might still refuse to show itself.

Durian, listening curiously, had assumed that special-grade mutated plants all knew each other and had close relationships.

For example, Carrot and Cabbage bickered daily, Nut remained silent and taciturn, and Sweet Pepper became aloof and distant when wearing its mask… Yet whenever a crisis arose, they united fiercely.

Carrot patted Durian’s head and let out a soft “woo.”

Most plants still maintained good relationships, after all, having lived together for so long.

Pomelo was rarely seen outside of work hours, deliberately avoiding everyone.

So, Pomelo might not want to return.

Timothy’s situation was likely similar.

Lettuce had last encountered Timothy over half a month ago, at the border between Sectors 6 and 7.

The area was a vast forest, classified as a high-risk zone due to its high concentration of mutated plants and its proximity to another high-risk zone infested with zombies. Few dared to venture there.

At the time, Lettuce had just captured a mid-grade zombie and found half a broken bamboo chair in the ruins. Before leaving, it spotted Timothy lying on a rock at the edge of the forest, sunbathing alone.

Lettuce waved, but Timothy immediately turned and disappeared into the trees.

After finishing, Lettuce took two gulps from its water cup and sighed, “Woo…”

Even though Timothy had ignored it, they had at least met once. Timothy was likely still in that forest.

Sweet Pepper patted Lettuce’s hand in comfort.

Don’t worry, Sweet Pepper said. Timothy’s just got a bad temper. It used to turn and walk away whenever I tried to talk to it.

Timothy didn’t just ignore Lettuce and Sweet Pepper; it ignored all the plants in the Little Courtyard.

Like Pomelo, it preferred to keep to itself, but it wasn’t exactly withdrawn. More like…

Proud and aloof, it disliked all living things equally, and sometimes it was even a bit fierce.

Once, Big Pea touched its tail and was chased and beaten by Timothy for three whole days.

So Timothy… might not want to come back either.

This time, Carnivorous Flower also shook its head, while Little Mushroom perched on its head, looking deeply worried.

Pomelo was withdrawn, Timothy was proud, and both plants had been separated from the group for so long…

Qian Hui reassured the plants, “Let’s try first and see what happens.”

He carefully recalled that Pomelo and Timothy were indeed different from the other plants.

Pomelo was timid, often hanging its head and looking gloomy. But once, when Qian Hui had gone to the forest cabin to find Nan Tingjin and returned late, he rushed back to the Little Courtyard, only to hear rustling in the roadside bushes. When he approached, he found it was Pomelo.

Pomelo didn’t speak when it saw him, but curled up its limbs and rolled away.

Qian Hui followed behind, Pomelo maintaining a steady distance—neither too close nor too far—until they were almost at the Little Courtyard.

Several plants were deeply concerned about him, pacing anxiously along the path outside the courtyard, ready to greet him the moment he arrived.

Qian Hui turned his head again and noticed Pomelo had already slipped through the gate unnoticed, slowly making its way along the wall toward the Back Courtyard.

There was also Timothy, the cat-tail grass. For a long time, Qian Hui had delivered food daily to the wooden chair where it often slept. The other plants avoided the area, fearing they might accidentally provoke it and suffer its wrath.

Yet Qian Hui found Timothy surprisingly gentle; it had never lost its temper with him. Once, while basking in the sun in a particularly good mood, Timothy had even rubbed its leaf-tail against him affectionately.

In any case, regardless of the outcome, they had to make the effort to try.

Now that they had located both plants, they no longer had to search blindly. They could first send the Flying Squad to distribute wooden chips and then assess the situation.

The return of a special-grade mutated plant would significantly boost the base’s combat power. Moreover, keeping everyone together would reduce the risk of accidents.

Just like what happened to Lettuce… it had nearly been captured by the Zombie King.

Nut pressed its lips together and nodded, preparing to make more wooden chips.

Chili Pepper flipped through the Plant Dictionary, planning to revise the messages on the chips.

Beside the Rubber Tree, Big Peanut sat obediently, hugging its knees.

Big Peanut had originally planned to sneak over and eavesdrop, but Mango spotted it and dragged it over.

Lettuce had already finished speaking. Big Peanut held its breath, its pitch-black eyes widening slightly.

The Plant Base and these special-grade mutated plants actually had a history!

No, no, I need to stay a few more days and see if the “Pomelo” and “Maomao” Qian Hui mentioned will return.

If they do, would this Plant Base then possess all the special-grade mutated plants…?

Big Peanut counted on its fingers. Beside Qian Hui, Chili Pepper put away the Plant Dictionary and retrieved its small backpack.

It opened the backpack and pulled out a massive crystal core, faintly tinged with purplish-red.

This was the crystal core of the Black-Reef Zombie King. After the battle, the ordinary crystal cores had been distributed, but this unique one remained unclaimed, as no one knew how to allocate it.

The crystal core had been stored with Chili Pepper for far too long. It only remembered it this morning when it encountered another Zombie King while searching for Lettuce.

Chili Pepper cradled the crystal core and handed it to Qian Hui.

The Giant Corpse’s sudden departure from its original area and arrival here was likely no coincidence.

If it was due to Black Reef’s death, then this crystal core should be disposed of as soon as possible.

“This…” Qian Hui gazed at the massive crystal core in his hand. “Can we break it open?”

Chili Pepper nodded, and Nut eagerly volunteered to squeeze forward.

Several plants spread a thin towel on the grass, and Qian Hui casually opened a Game blind box, pulling out a wooden brick to place on top.

The crystal core was set on the brick, secured by Soft Vine.

Nut hammered at it for a long time, reducing the core to small fragments. The largest piece was about the size of a fingernail, while the smallest were as tiny as sesame seeds.

Qian Hui gathered the fragments, deciding to distribute them among all the plants, ensuring every one received a share, including the newcomers still undergoing their probationary period.

The plants lined up, each taking a small piece from Qian Hui before returning to the end of the queue, repeating the process until all the fragments were gone.

The newly arrived plants were remarkably self-disciplined, taking only the smallest pieces and withdrawing after the third round.

Though small, these were fragments of the Zombie King’s crystal core.

Big Peanut took two pieces and rubbed against Qian Hui’s hand affectionately.

Except for the special-grade mutated plants, which didn’t need crystal cores to enhance their strength, every plant in the base received two to three pieces.

Apple had the best luck. One of the pieces it received was tiny, but it seemed to be from the core’s very center, its color intensely concentrated.

Apple devoured all three crystals at once, crunching them with a loud snap.

Qian Hui was opening the Encyclopedia, intending to check the new plants’ status and Loyalty levels, when Apple’s grade suddenly skyrocketed.

From its original Level 12, it rapidly climbed to 20, then 25, 30…

Finally, Apple’s grade settled at Level 35.

The surrounding plants subtly sensed the change and turned to look.

Confused, Apple burped, accidentally expelling a puff of smoke.

It burped again, releasing more smoke…

The plants stared in astonishment as the smoke, instead of dissipating, coalesced into a dense cloud that gradually drifted upward, eventually vanishing into the sky.

In the Encyclopedia, Apple’s advanced skills now included a new entry:

[ Maze Mist: Automatically identifies allies and enemies, persists indefinitely, and can be freely absorbed and released. ]

Carrot extended its sharp spines and soared into the sky, discovering that the smoke Apple had expelled remained, though it was invisible from within the base.

From the outside, the massive gray mist had transformed into ordinary clouds and fog, shrouding the Plant Little Courtyard and obscuring its exact location.

Carrot returned, described what it had seen, and combined with the Encyclopedia’s skill description, it wasn’t hard to deduce the mist’s purpose.

To truly understand the effects, they needed to test it on a stranger—a human, plant, or zombie.

Big Pea stroked its chin, finding this arrangement quite satisfactory. It was certainly safer.

The Plant Squad prepared to venture out again, scattering wooden chips while searching for Pomelo and Timothy. If zombies attacked the base during their absence, the fog layer would provide an additional layer of protection.

Apple, still dazed and disoriented, huddled in Qian Hui’s arms. Only after receiving a few compliments did it slowly regain its composure.

Seeing this, Little Cabbage quickly offered Apple the crystal core fragment it hadn’t finished eating. Unable to refuse, Apple consumed it and leveled up twice.

Curious, Little Mushroom leaned closer to examine Apple, sniffing the smoky scent clinging to its body.

The smoke was gray, but it smelled pleasantly fragrant, just like the kind they used when playing hide-and-seek. Little Mushroom reached out to touch Apple, yawning at the same time.

So much had happened since dawn, but now things had finally settled down. Qian Hui, equally exhausted, cradled Apple and Lettuce in his arms as he lay down sideways in the grass.

The midday sun beat down warmly, making the sun-baked grass thick and comfortable. One by one, the plants settled down around Qian Hui.

Lettuce reached out to pull Little Mushroom closer, preparing for an afternoon nap together.

Qian Hui closed his eyes, his breathing gradually deepening.

Carnivorous Flower sprawled nearby, while Pea plucked a leaf from Cabbage, earning itself a playful punch. Undeterred, Pea fashioned the leaf into a makeshift eye mask and gently placed it over Qian Hui’s sleeping eyes.

Carrot pulled Little Cabbage, Soft Vine, and Morning Glory aside, tasking them with weaving a small hammock for Lettuce.

Three days later, a large batch of new wooden chips was ready.

Chili Pepper slightly modified the information on them, writing the coordinates in greater detail and adding the quantities of special-grade mutated plants and all base members.

During those three days, the new plants had fully adapted and all agreed to join the base.

Based on their grades and abilities, they were assigned to the Carnivorous Flower, Sunflower, Tulip, and Little Cabbage.

For now, the new plants wouldn’t need to go outside or participate in combat; they could simply stay at the base.

The Rubber Tree desperately wanted to follow Lettuce, but Lettuce had joined the Flying Squad and was about to head out to help search for Pomelo and Timothy.

Left with no choice, Lettuce soothed the Rubber Tree with a few words before leading it over to Tulip.

With plans to travel even further afield, Qian Hui intended to buy new Flyers and modified cars, but his Prestige Points were still insufficient.

Just then, Yuan Ji sent a message saying someone from Cloud River Base had arrived and wished to meet Qian Hui and the plants.

The visitor was none other than Qi Yue. He had also sent a message to Nan Tingjin, but upon arriving, he couldn’t locate the Plant Base.

Qi Yue was one of the humans Qian Hui trusted most. It was he who had proactively warned them when Sky Base plunged a large number of Ability Users into a Lost State.

After obtaining Qian Hui and Nan Tingjin’s consent, Yuan Ji brought Qi Yue over.

Emerging from the dense fog, he finally saw the lush green meadow. At the same moment, Little Mango rushed toward him.

Yuan Ji leaned closer and whispered to Qi Yue, “Don’t mind it. It’s just saying hello.”

Qi Yue obediently stood still, letting Mango pummel his ankles with tiny fists.

Moments later, the Giant Carnivorous Flower arrived, carrying Qian Hui and Nan Tingjin.

A temporary table and chairs had been set up near the entrance. Qi Yue had just sat down when he began, “Chief Qian, I…”

Before he could explain his purpose, Qian Hui received a game notification:

[ Cloud River Base will become an allied independent faction. Do you wish to form a bond? ]

Qi Yue continued, “You’ve probably guessed why we’re here… We want to purchase the method for treating the Lost State.”

Yuan Ji had already told him everything about the incident that day, and had even released the three survivors who attacked the base.

These three had experienced the effects firsthand. When the devices they carried activated, they were at the epicenter of the sonic waves and suffered the full impact.

As the light appeared, they all shared the same dream: they were in a forest.

They felt themselves transforming into mushrooms, each blade of grass around them towering and the damp earth beneath them teeming with nourishment.

After waking up, their Lost State had completely vanished, and they learned the truth from Yuan Ji.

By the time the three returned to their respective bases, a storm of chaos had already erupted outside. Yet Qian Hui’s camp remained eerily calm, as they were busy preparing for their upcoming expedition, seemingly isolated from the world.

Qian Hui hesitated. “Wait a moment,” he said.

He pulled the shrunken Carnivorous Flower aside and quietly asked, “Xiao Fen, should we help the other humans?”

A Little Pink Mushroom peeked out from between the leaves on the Carnivorous Flower’s chest.

Now that the news had spread, multiple bases would undoubtedly want to purchase the “medicine.”

The Little Mushroom’s berserk skill had a wide range, but using it wasn’t easy. Gathering large numbers of Ability Users from different bases in one place would be troublesome and could easily lead to conflict.

Upon hearing this, the Little Mushroom made a soft “hmm” sound.

After a moment of contemplation, it turned to the Carnivorous Flower and whispered something.

The Carnivorous Flower opened its small backpack, took out a bottle of water, and unscrewed the cap.

The Little Mushroom leaned closer, rummaged through its umbrella-shaped cap, and finally sprinkled something into the bottle.

The water immediately turned a pale pink, and the Little Mushroom chirped happily, “Ang!”

The Carnivorous Flower wrote the number “20” on the ground, indicating that the bottle of water could be used on twenty people.

Qian Hui’s eyes lit up. He had almost forgotten that Little Mushroom’s advanced skill had the exact same effect as its berserk skill, and both could be used.

The Mushroom Water produced by the advanced skill could be “sold.” If the situation at the base became too dire, he would consider going there directly.

Little Mushroom continued rummaging inside its cap. Qian Hui bought more water, and in no time, it had produced another five bottles of Mushroom Water.

Since using the berserk skill three days prior, its abilities had fully recovered. Unlike before, when it took a long time for mushroom powder to grow, it now produced it readily.

Little Mushroom’s actions showed its willingness to help other humans. It seemed to be its nature—it couldn’t bear to see any living being suffer such pain and torment.

Qian Hui patted Little Mushroom’s cap. “Alright, I understand.”

Little Mushroom hugged his fingertip and kissed it before burrowing back into the leaf.

When Qian Hui returned with the five bottles of Mushroom Water, he gave two to Qi Yue and selected “Yes” in the Game Notification.

Simultaneously, two messages popped up:

[ You have performed an extraordinary act that will have a profound impact on the Human Faction. Reward: 2000 Prestige Points, 1000 Faction Points. ]

[ Bonded with Cloud River Base. Viewable in the Encyclopedia. ]

[ Cloud River Base has become your independent allied faction. Reward: 3,000 Faction Points and 1,000 Prestige Points. ]

With an immediate gain of 3,000 Prestige Points, Qian Hui could now afford another Flyer.

“These two bottles contain enough Mushroom Water for forty people,” Qian Hui said.

Qi Yue, overwhelmed with excitement, quickly accepted them. “May I ask the price for these?”

In the Doomsday environment, all bases had adopted the practice of rarely offering resources for free.

Qian Hui pondered for a moment. “Take them back and use them first. The price… I haven’t decided yet.”

The base currently lacked almost nothing, and the plants had no use for human currency.

Qi Yue was even more grateful, repeatedly expressing his thanks.

Two bottles of Mushroom Water capable of treating forty people—this was something he hadn’t dared to imagine before arriving.

“I promise you,” Qi Yue said, “Cloud River Base will always be ready to assist you with any needs you may have.”

Qian Hui looked at him, his expression hesitant.

Before venturing out to find more base members, Pomelo, and Timothy, there was indeed one more thing he wanted to do.

Thanks to Little Mushroom’s timely intervention, Wen Jue’s latest plan had failed, but that didn’t mean the matter was over.

Moreover, Yuan Ji had promised to help him avenge Little Mushroom.

Before Qi Yue’s arrival, Qian Hui had been preparing another method to earn Prestige Points.

In the distance, Big Cherry squatted on the grass.

Potato stood beside it, feeding it two landmines while nervously talking to it.

Big Cherry let out two “woo woo” sounds and vigorously patted its chest, signaling that it had the situation completely under control.