I Can Add Passives to Plants

The Puff-shroom's cap swayed lightly.

The movement was so slight that Lin Yue would hardly have noticed if he hadn't been staring at it. The edge of its cap lifted faintly, as if it had understood him—or as if it had merely been stirred by the wind.

On the neighborhood road, the only thirty-odd survivors gathered together to hold a trade fair.

The trade fair was set up on the widest stretch of gray stone road in the center of the neighborhood.

Many people brought out everything they had managed to save over this period. Their possessions were scattered sparsely across the ground: a few shriveled seeds, half a bundle of wood, a notched shovel, and, occasionally, one or two wilted seedlings carefully placed in the most conspicuous spot.

Of course, Lin Yue didn't fall behind either. He brought out the five Peashooters he had prepared to sell.

When Lin Yue pushed the Lawn Mower out of his front door, quite a few people along the way glanced at it, their eyes filled with envy.

The five Peashooters squatted in neat rows inside the mower's tray, their stalks straight and their leaves glossy green. Amid the surrounding pile of yellowed, withered trade goods, they stood out almost painfully.

He chose a flat patch of ground in the middle of the street, parked the mower securely, then bent down and pulled out a wooden sign he had carved last night from beneath it. He propped it up in front of the mower. Several large characters were scrawled across it in charcoal.

"Peashooters for sale. Fair prices."

He had just squatted down to straighten the sign when a figure hurried over from diagonally across the street.

The student from No. 2 High School had his uniform sleeves rolled up to his elbows, with two bandages stuck to his forearm. Dry mud speckled his trouser legs. He had clearly rushed over after cleaning up his own yard. He squatted in front of the mower and stared at the row of Peashooters for three or four seconds. His Adam's apple bobbed before he looked up and asked, "Bro, how much?"

Having one more Peashooter now increased one's chances of survival by even a little.

"Resources. One hundred units of wood or twenty units of iron ore. If you don't have resources—three plant seeds or any living seedling. I'm not accepting Sun or Coin trades for now. No haggling."

Lin Yue stated the price clearly and crisply.

This was a standard he had settled on after thinking about it for several nights. It wouldn't keep most people from buying, while still allowing him to accumulate a useful supply of urgently needed building materials.

The wood and iron ore were for upgrading the courtyard facilities. The seeds and living seedlings were for filling out the backyard. He wasn't short of Sun or Coins for the moment, so there was no need to stuff his pockets with things he couldn't use yet.

The boy gritted his teeth and rubbed his palms against his knees twice, as if rapidly going over the calculation in his head. Then he nodded hard. "All right, I'll take one. Save one for me. I'll go back and get the wood."

He stood and ran. After two steps, he turned back and shouted, "Don't sell it to anyone else! I'll be right back!"

Lin Yue waved at him.

After the first sale got things started, the excitement in front of the stall never died down.

People came over in twos and threes, squatting in front of the mower to look and touch. Some hesitated for a long time before gritting their teeth and bringing out wood. Others unwillingly asked three or four times, "Can't I really use Coins?" only to be shut down by Lin Yue's single reply: "No haggling."

By noon, four of the five Peashooters had already been sold. The bottom of the Lawn Mower now held a full three hundred units of wood and a small pile of iron ingots. Two unknown seeds still wrapped in dried mud had also been carefully stored in cloth bags in the corner.

It could be said that they had sold remarkably quickly. Some people had even begun regretting that they hadn't saved more wood.

The light in front of him suddenly dimmed.

A shadow fell between him and the sun. Long and thin, with slightly hunched shoulders, it stood silently before the stall.

Lin Yue looked up and saw a face he nearly failed to recognize.

Zhao Lei.

He stood there with both hands hanging at his sides. His school uniform was zipped all the way up, the collar standing high and covering half his chin.

His cheekbones were much more prominent than before, and his eye sockets had sunk in. Heavy dark circles hung beneath his eyes, as if he hadn't closed them in a long time.

There was no smile at the corners of his mouth, nor the deliberately displayed, slack superiority he used to wear. His entire face was taut. His gaze rested on the last Peashooter in the mower, making him look like a piece of wood left to dry beneath the sun.

He was completely different from the Zhao Lei who had blocked the road two weeks ago.

Lin Yue kept hold of the watering can. He looked the other man up and down. Something stirred faintly inside him, but he didn't speak first.

Zhao Lei squatted down in front of him. His posture was somewhat clumsy, and his knees bent more slowly than an ordinary person's, as if he had injured his lower back at some point.

Once he had settled in front of the mower, he looked up at Lin Yue. His eyes no longer drifted or circled as they had before. Instead, they fixed squarely on Lin Yue's face. His voice was several tones deeper than Lin Yue remembered. "Bro Hao, I won't beat around the bush. Dare to make a bet?"

Lin Yue screwed the cap back onto the watering can, set it on his knee, and looked at him.

"What kind of bet? Bet on what?"

Seeing that Lin Yue was interested, Zhao Lei pressed his advantage and explained his idea.

"Bet that I can survive—get out of this trial alive. When the time comes, I can get you a Tier-2 Plant or a Rare Plant. The system can make an agreement for us."

To be honest, a Tier-2 Plant didn't attract Lin Yue much. The Rare Plant, however, made him somewhat curious.

There were quite a few rare plants in Plants vs. Zombies. In fact, the plants from the first game were the most common ones throughout the Blue Star Federation.

Of course, that excluded the Purple Cards from the first game.

Lin Yue was silent for two or three seconds. He didn't rush to answer.

Zhao Lei seemed to see through his hesitation. He shuffled his crouching position forward and added, "You should know that my dad really is a congressman of the Ninth Federation. He funds our entire school."

His speech sped up slightly, as if he were racing against time. "And my dad is in charge of plant evolution research in the Federation. As long as you don't want Ash Plants—things like Cherry Bombs and Jalapenos that are under military control—I can basically find a way to get you a Rare Plant of any other species."

After saying this, he pressed his lips together and slightly tensed his jaw as he waited for Lin Yue's answer.

Lin Yue sat on the edge of the mower and looked down at Zhao Lei squatting in front of him.

His gaze swept over the dark circles beneath the other boy's eyes, the loose threads poking out from his uniform cuffs, and the large patch of unwashed black mud smeared across his trouser leg. All of them silently told the story of how he had spent these past two weeks.

Two weeks earlier, Zhao Lei had stood in the middle of the street with his hands in his pockets and his head tilted, using "My dad is a congressman" as leverage to pressure people. Back then, Zhao Lei had believed the word "congressman" was a universal pass. He could open his mouth and buy his way through anything.

Now, those same words—"My dad is a congressman"—were pressed beneath his tongue and cautiously spat out as his final trump card. He was no longer relying on his father's title to demand something. He was using it to trade for a way to stay alive.

Lin Yue now understood why Zhao Lei had joined forces with Luo Chen last time. He must have agreed to give up something as well.

[Please confirm the agreement]

The system panel unfolded between them, blue words floating line by line in the air.

Lin Yue scanned the agreement. Zhao Lei would personally provide Lin Yue with one Tier-2 Plant or Rare Plant after the trial ended. The deadline for delivery was the end of the trial.

Once he confirmed that the agreement on the system panel had taken effect, Lin Yue handed the last Peashooter to Zhao Lei.

"Stay alive. I never thought you'd be capable of changing like this."

Hearing Lin Yue's words, Zhao Lei was overwhelmed with emotion.

"Only now do I understand how to live. Staying alive is more important than anything else. Only now do I understand what my dad said."

"I'm sorry about what happened before, Bro Hao."

After saying that, he didn't linger. He carried the pot holding the Peashooter and turned away.

House Level 3

Lin Yue stood in the exact center of the backyard, gripping the system panel. When his fingertip passed over the "Confirm House Upgrade" button, an indescribable feeling welled up inside him.

An entire month. Thirty days.

Every day, he had mined, watered and fertilized plants, killed Zombies, and accumulated materials. Finally, today, he had pushed that shabby little wooden hut that leaked wind and rain all the way to Level 3.

[Confirm house upgrade. This upgrade consumes 500 wood, 200 units of stone, 100 iron ore, and 10 units of glass]

Confirm.

The ground beneath his feet trembled slightly, as if something heavy were slowly rising from deep underground.

The wooden hut that had accompanied him for an entire month began to change... The gaps between the boards seemed to be smoothed over by an invisible palm. Dark gray bricks rose layer by layer from the base of the walls, unhurried, surging upward like a tide.

The roof tiles rearranged themselves into a denser pattern. The brick rim around the chimney thickened, and the door became sturdier.

When the radiance faded, a solid brick-and-stone cottage stood before Lin Yue.

The gray-brown stone walls were thick and smooth. New glass had been installed in the window frames, so clear that it reflected his figure standing in the courtyard.

Lin Yue pushed open the door and walked inside.

The sensation beneath his feet changed from the soft springiness of wood to the solidity of stone. It was cool and steady, each step firm beneath him.

The interior was nearly twice as spacious as before. A small windowed attic had been added on the second floor, but the building's footprint remained unchanged.

Two brand-new workbenches had appeared in the corner...

[Tool Bench: Craft tools. Consumes materials. Requires learning tool blueprints.]

[Synthesis Station: Combines plants, soil, and water to generate Plant Cards.]

The Synthesis Station.

Making Plant Cards was a function most players needed at least two months to unlock. Lin Yue, however, had used the Coins earned from Marigolds to purchase many from other people.

With the Synthesis Station, he could turn excess plants into cards and trade them whenever he wanted.

Just as he was about to squat down and carefully study the Synthesis Station's interface, the sound of footsteps came from outside. "Tap, tap." They approached from a distance, and then the fence gate was pushed open a crack.

"You finished upgrading?"

Bai Qingfeng's voice came from the doorway, carrying the lazy nasal tone unique to the morning.

She held an enamel mug in one hand and the doorframe with the other. She leaned half her body inside and glanced at the brick walls and new windows. Her almond-shaped eyes widened slightly for a moment before she pursed her lips and nodded. "That was fast! I'm jealous."

"Yours hasn't been upgraded yet?"

"I'm short twenty iron ore." She walked in and placed the enamel mug on the table. Fine white steam still rose from the hot soy milk inside. "I'll worry about it after we get through today."

After all, Bai Qingfeng had also made a fortune selling information every day throughout this month.

Lin Yue casually picked up the mug and took a sip of soy milk. It was scalding hot, its rich bean fragrance warming him all the way down his throat.

A strong pea flavor... It had been fine at first, but now he was practically sick of the taste.

"Hey, you! Why are you drinking mine?"

"I'm so mad. Then... see you at school tomorrow, you big jerk... You'd better make it back alive."

The Chomper squatted at the far end of the sixth row.

Its stalk was nearly twice as thick as when it had first arrived. Its purple petals were thick and broad, their edges carrying a layer of dark green luster.

The number on its health panel had already risen to 1,500, while its digestion time had dropped from the initial forty seconds to thirty.

Even its attack range had increased from one tile to 1.2 tiles.

"You're so fat!" Lin Yue said as he looked at the Chomper.

The Chomper slapped its leaves against the ground twice, as if saying, "You're the fat one."

The Wall-nut in front of the Chomper stood silently in the sixth row, eighth column. Most of the old and new bite marks and claw scratches on its surface had already been smoothed over by repair fluid. Only several slightly darker lines remained embedded in its shell, like the growth rings of an old tree stump.

Its health had already risen to 8,600 through the stacking effects of the Thick Shell passive and daily growth. Its body was even a full size larger than a normal Wall-nut.

Even if a fully healed Pole Vaulting Zombie came charging at it, Lin Yue wasn't sure whether the pole could carry it over.

"Wall-nut, thanks for your hard work."

The Wall-nut swayed slightly, which counted as a response.

In the first row, Peashooters and Torchwoods formed an entire line of firepower.

Nourished by the daily Sun, the Peashooters' projectiles had swollen to twice the size of ordinary peas, and their damage had increased significantly.

Most Zombies couldn't withstand three shots at all. The first two broke their arms, the third shattered their skulls, and the shots even had a knockback effect.

The Torchwoods stood three tiles in front of them. The flames at the centers of their stumps had changed from the slightly yellowish sparks they possessed when first planted into a searing pale purple. The charcoal fire burned hot and steadily, the result of being fed wood throughout this period.

Any pea that passed through a Torchwood would gain a burning effect. Not only would its damage double, but it would also continue scorching the Zombie's body.

"Firepower all the way through." Lin Yue counted it over once himself. "It's basically complete."

Lin Yue silently added in his mind: Once I get Gatling Peas in the future and fill this entire row, that will be true firepower suppression.

His gaze finally settled on the fifth row—the lane he had deliberately left empty, with only the Puff-shrooms squatting there.

The little things stood quietly in the morning light. Their caps had spread to nearly twice their size from a month ago, and their eyes were filled with unshakable determination.

During this month, the Puff-shrooms had gone through two genuine trials of life and death.

The first came on the morning of the sixteenth day.

That day, the Puff-shroom's panel changed.

A new line appeared in the passive column:

[Transformation One: Early Bird—Can fight during the day without Coffee Beans.]

The second transformation occurred at dusk on the twenty-third day.