Level 1 Little Zombie Doomsday Growth Diary - Chapter 90

Chapter 90

The four mushrooms gathered around the wooden table were each a different color. The table itself was small and exquisitely crafted, bearing an emblem and the inscription “World Will Management Bureau.”

The electronic documents in the mushrooms’ hands pertained to World No. 29734—the very world they inhabited.

“Um…” The mechanical figure lowered its head. “I did make some programming modifications.”

This was 889, the newly appointed Host Assistant, still undergoing training.

World No. 29734 was among 889’s first assigned missions. By the time it arrived with the data, the world had been pushed to the brink of system collapse by Ability Users.

First, Nan Tingjin’s ability had torn the world apart, causing it to crumble. Then, Wen Jue used his ability to attempt Time Reversal.

During the reversal process, 889 detected an isolated mass drifting outside the timeline.

It was a sphere composed of rubble, forcibly separated by a unique spatial ability. Within lay Nan Tingjin, Qian Hui, and eleven mutated plants.

Nan Tingjin likely intended to die alongside Qian Hui. Their spatial ability originated from Timothy, who was now exhausted and on the verge of death. The other ten mutated plants, having been confined for too long, were also in dire condition.

Originally, 889 could have simply ignored them, focusing solely on ensuring the world’s smooth reset and preventing any further glitches.

But… after reviewing the records of the two men, 889 felt a pang of sympathy.

The young couple’s fate was truly tragic. They had been on the cusp of being together when the world suddenly descended into chaos.

Fortunately, Nan Tingjin possessed a powerful ability that allowed him to protect Qian Hui. Later, when they separated, it was because Nan Tingjin had to embark on a mission, leaving Qian Hui at the Sky Base, the safest place available, with plans to return for him once the mission was complete.

However, another calamity struck: the Leader of the Sky Base turned out to be a villain!

In the end, one died and the other was wounded. Qian Hui forcibly resurrected Nan Tingjin, sacrificing a massive amount of his own life force in the process, leaving him on the brink of becoming a zombie.

889 had run simulations and predicted that if it did nothing, the world would reset smoothly, and this entire tragedy would replay itself.

It was as if their fate had been written in a script. Though minor details might vary, the overall trajectory remained unchanged.

In other words, Nan Tingjin and Qian Hui’s encounters would endlessly repeat in a cycle.

889 couldn’t bear such a plot, especially since one of the eleven mutated plants was an adorable Little Pink Mushroom.

After much deliberation, it decided to take the two men and the plants away separately. The rest of the world would continue to reset, automatically patching bugs like erasing the two men’s existence.

Then, 889 took two more actions.

First, it transformed the isolated area into a more normal-looking environment. Nan Tingjin, deemed the culprit behind the world’s collapse and a high-risk individual by the System, was confined to a forest.

Qian Hui and the plants, severely injured, were placed under a Nurturing System disguised as a simple working game to keep their brains active during their slumber.

Later, as Qian Hui and the plants gradually recovered, they were allowed to awaken for one day at regular intervals.

Second, 889 turned Qian Hui’s ability into a game system, allowing him to maintain a delicate balance between humans and zombies.

In the Game Shop, all the pills and Resurrection Beans were manifestations of Qian Hui’s ability. Purchasing them drained his own energy, so 889 changed the recovery method to killing zombies.

Coincidentally, the mini-game within the Nurturing System involved killing zombies. This meant that even while Qian Hui was asleep, his recovery could be accelerated. 889 congratulated itself on its genius!

Later, driven by its own selfish desires, 889 continuously evolved the eleven mutated plants within the Nurturing System until they all reached special-grade status.

When the world reset, the memories of all native NPCs were erased, including those of Qian Hui, the plants, and Nan Tingjin. However, perhaps because Nan Tingjin had ultimately destroyed the world, he retained his memories in the Plant Little Courtyard.

By the time the world reset was complete and the group needed to be sent back, Qian Hui had actually arrived six years earlier. But his half-human, half-zombie constitution was too weak, and after the transfer succeeded, he fell into another six-year slumber.

Under these circumstances, the System calculated that Nan Tingjin’s danger level remained extremely high. 889 simply erased all of Nan Tingjin’s memories.

Initially, Nan Tingjin remembered nothing. Qian Hui and the plants retained only fragmented memories from their time being nurtured in the Little Courtyard.

After Qian Hui awakened, 889 secretly visited him several times, subtly dropping Plot Point hints within the bounds of its operational parameters.

Seeing the eleven mutated plants finally reunited, 889 breathed a sigh of relief.

In truth, the Bureau of Management bore some responsibility for the cataclysm that had befallen this world.

Under the world’s self-adaptive mechanisms, invisible rules bound the outcome: the more powerful the awakened abilities of humans, the more tragic the final outcome tended to be.

Qian Hui could resurrect all living beings except himself, yet lacked self-defense capabilities, making him vulnerable to those who coveted his power.

Nan Tingjin’s deep emotional attachments made Qian Hui his weakness, ultimately leading to his death because of him.

As for Wen Jue, he was undeniably villainous, a classic antagonist in any setting. However, his Lost State symptoms were the most severe, causing him prolonged suffering.

With Qian Hui, Nan Tingjin, and the eleven mutated plants excluded from the reset, many circumstances would unfold differently, granting them a chance to start anew.

By daylight, Wen Jue’s death had been recorded, completely altering the outcome, and 889 had finished writing its mission report.

Looking at the four mushrooms sitting in their places, it felt deeply uneasy. It cautiously began, “But… in Qian Hui’s Game Shop, I only created the ability-conversion pills. I’m not sure about the rest…”

Many functions of the System could now self-adapt and automatically repair themselves. 889 hadn’t found any programming traces, so it couldn’t be certain whether Qian Hui’s Game had evolved on its own.

At that moment, the White Mushroom at the table cleared its throat softly.

Its gaze flickered, and it touched its cap. “Woo.”

The lifestyle category in the Shop… it had added that itself.

889 exclaimed in surprise, “Eh?”

The White Mushroom coughed again and explained further.

Having heard that a world had evolved mutated plants, it grew curious and came to observe. Then, it casually…

The Blue Mushroom beside it chuckled and confessed as well.

“That’s right, it came with White Mushroom!”

“Blue Mushroom loves those biscuits! They’re so good!”

Across from White Mushroom, Pink Mushroom, with a tuft of pink hair sticking up from its head, spoke up: “Me too.”

It had also contributed some weapons and building materials—wood, bricks, cement, helmets, and some basic weapons.

889 was shocked, frantically scrolling through the System’s logs. “But… the Flyers…?”

“Exactly.”

Gray Mushroom, seated at the head of the table, set down the documents in its hand and said gravely, “I added the Prestige Point Shop.”

Among the four Mushrooms, Gray Mushroom had the most distinctive appearance, resembling a… mechanical Mushroom.

Gray Mushroom also wore a mini ID badge with just two words: “Host Assistant.”

As soon as it finished speaking, the other Mushrooms and 889 immediately turned their gazes toward it.

Gray Mushroom remained calm and composed. “I just made a new batch of weapons and wanted to test their effectiveness. It wasn’t expensive.”

Looking at the four Mushrooms, 889 felt a complex mix of emotions.

Well, no wonder I couldn’t find any record of these changes in the System logs. Their access privileges are all higher than mine!

With the mission report review complete, 889 finally relaxed.

Under its expectant gaze, Gray Mushroom stood up and patted its shoulder. “You did a great job.”

The Plant Base below remained shrouded in darkness. After an indeterminate amount of time, the four Mushrooms and the mechanical figure quietly landed.

They casually strolled around, inspecting the base’s various environments.

Blue Mushroom particularly liked the place, already planning a future clandestine visit for some proper fun.

As they approached the small wooden cabin, Pink Mushroom immediately spotted Little Pink Mushroom nestled within the Carnivorous Flower’s leaf. It couldn’t resist the urge to get closer for a better look.

White Mushroom stopped it with a shake of its head.

“That’s someone else’s child,” it warned. “If it wakes up and sees us, it’ll be trouble.”

Gray Mushroom glanced at the scene before activating the teleportation portal. “Let’s go. It’s time to head back.”

The miniature white portal opened, and the four Mushrooms entered one by one, followed by the mechanical figure.

Before leaving, 889 cast one last look at the base, silently cheering on the plants.

With Wen Jue dead, Qian Hui’s game system was just one step away from “clearing” the Main Mission.

—

Qian Hui woke up around ten in the morning, having gone to bed late the night before.

Opening his eyes, he gazed at the bright sunlight streaming through the window, feeling an inexplicable sense of being in another world.

The sun rose as usual, and the sounds of plants running and playing filled the air outside.

The Game Interface remained, and Nan Tingjin lay beside him, everything as it had always been.

Qian Hui took a deep breath, wrapped his arms tightly around Nan Tingjin, and buried his face in his chest, reluctant to get up.

Yesterday, he had told Nan Tingjin everything—the explainable and the inexplicable, the understandable and the incomprehensible, his fears and worries—laying bare his soul.

Some things Nan Tingjin already knew or suspected, such as the incident with Little Mushroom’s resurrection.

When Qian Hui revived Little Mushroom, he had suddenly fainted, proving that his “Game” was connected to his own being and not something that existed in a vacuum.

As for the things he couldn’t understand, Nan Tingjin’s reassurances helped him let go of those thoughts.

Wen Jue was dead, all the plants from the Little Courtyard had been recovered, and the base was fully stocked with supplies. Even if his Game System disappeared now, it wouldn’t cause any significant disruption.

Nan Tingjin stroked Qian Hui’s silver hair and leaned down to kiss him. “Want to eat something before going back to sleep?”

“I’m awake…” Qian Hui mumbled, dragging himself out of bed to wash up.

He woke up so late that he ate breakfast as lunch. By lunchtime, he had no appetite left, so he sat at the table, keeping the plants company.

Yuan Ji brought over several live fish, and Carrot dragged Little Lotus Root along to watch.

Timothy was still recovering, with White Hydrangea and Little Cabbage sitting on either side of it, one feeding it rice and the other soup.

The base settled into a peaceful routine for several days.

During this time, the remaining members of the River-Sea Base and Sky Base were gradually captured, and more bases joined the Plant Little Courtyard’s independent allied faction.

Zombie King 02’s whereabouts remained unknown, so the base couldn’t relax its guard. However, the process of accepting new plants continued.

Qian Hui and the plants devised a plan: they wrote a message in plant script and gave it to several allied bases to print in prominent locations on their modified cars.

The message roughly translated to: “These humans are friends of the Plant Base and can be trusted. If you want to reach the Plant Base, hitch a ride with them.”

Cloud River Base acted the fastest, already forming a dedicated squad to test the method’s effectiveness.

Two days later, Qi Yue’s subordinate sent a message confirming the method’s effectiveness. They had successfully retrieved two mutated plants and were en route to Black Ridge Mountain.

The plants were overjoyed, eagerly awaiting their arrival alongside Qian Hui.

However, just as the team transporting the mutated plants was nearing their destination, a new crisis emerged.

The captain’s panicked message crackled through the comms: “Zombie Horde detected!”

The team appeared to have been ambushed by a massive zombie horde, including two high-grade zombies.

The attack site was dangerously close to Black Ridge Mountain, raising suspicions of the Zombie King’s involvement.

Carrot checked the coordinates and immediately summoned the Plant Squad, preparing for a rescue mission.

Yuan Ji urgently contacted Chili Pepper via real-time communication, reporting: “We have a situation.”

Massive zombie hordes were rapidly converging on the outer perimeters of both bases, their numbers swelling continuously. The exact quantity remained undetermined.

At that moment, Qian Hui received a Game Notification:

[ Zombie King 02 detected. ]

[ Quest Log updated! ]

[ Main Mission: Elevate the Plant Faction Rank to first place. ]

[ Mission Reward: +100,000 Faction Points, +100,000 Prestige Points ]