The First Federation... No Good People

(That fist grazed the algae!!! It was really just a tiny bit away! Just a tiny bit! The algae almost became seaweed mush!)

The leaves trembled for quite a while before finally recovering and unfurling again, obediently continuing to release oxygen.

Fourth row, third column, Power Lily quietly watched the scene.

Her layered petals trembled slightly, and a new patch of green light condensed in the center of her stamen, all absorbed from the Zombie that had just died.

The corners of Power Lily's mouth curled upward into a faint arc, revealing a sweet smile tinged with embarrassment.

Power Lily: (⊙?⊙)

"So I'm actually this useful." Her smile held a pure sense of satisfaction—not pride, but the relief of discovering that she could help after all.

"Ribbit—"

Before Power Lily could savor this feeling of accomplishment for more than a few seconds, Toadstool had started up again.

First row, the last Zombie—Toadstool's tongue shot out as precisely as if it had been fitted with a scope.

The tongue was covered in fine, dense mucus glands. It traced an arc through the water, wrapped precisely around the Zombie's waist, and suddenly tightened.

The Zombie did not even get the chance to struggle.

Its body was dragged toward Toadstool's mouth by the tongue. Its rotting hands futilely paddled twice through the water, but it was useless.

(Toadstool: The more you resist, the more excited I get.)

Toadstool opened wide and swallowed it in one bite, her cheeks bulging as though she had stuffed a basketball inside.

She chewed forcefully twice. A muffled sound came from her throat, followed by a satisfied gurgle.

[Health +20]

[Rice Dumplings +2]

Toadstool burped, golden light flashed over her body, and 50 sun points burst out.

Lin Yue leaned against the control console and raised a hand to wipe away the fine sweat on his forehead. The main reason was that Bok Choy's attack had been truly astonishing.

Lin Yue lowered his head and looked at the panel. His fingers slid across the screen, bringing up the current resource data.

The blue light from the screen reflected in Lin Yue's pupils. The numbers on it made him relax slightly.

Sun: 150.

Rice Dumplings: 116.

One hundred and sixteen Rice Dumplings was already quite a lot.

He quickly ran through the plant exchange list in the event shop. This number was enough to exchange for a rather good plant.

But which one should he exchange for?

Lin Yue frowned and thought for a moment before making his first decision.

Spend 150 sun points to summon Chomper in the first row, fourth column.

Chomper's roots pierced down into the submarine's planting slot, making a faint "pop" as if suction cups had firmly attached themselves to the surface.

Her iconic mouth was tightly shut, a ring of fine little spikes lining the edge of her lips. She faced right, toward the area in the first row that even Bok Choy's ultimate could not cover.

With Chomper stationed there... it could be said to be quite safe.

Then he opened the Rice Dumpling exchange interface.

Lin Yue's fingers slid past one plant after another before finally stopping on a yellow five-pointed star.

Starfruit.

The Starfruit veteran players of the first game always talked about.

Five points, five directions, five projectiles.

In this submarine environment, surrounded by Zombies from all directions, this omnidirectional firepower was practically tailor-made. Starfruit's ultimate, in particular, could solve most problems.

[100 Rice Dumplings consumed—Exchange: Starfruit]

Starfruit

Health: 200

Ability: Five-Point Star (Fires stars in five directions)

Passive: Waiting for Scripting...

A golden-yellow Starfruit appeared on the submarine.

Its body was shaped like a plump five-pointed star. Its surface was smooth, like amber solidified from sunlight. The tips of its five points glimmered faintly, poised to strike.

"Passive ability, waiting for scripting." Lin Yue stared at this line and began operating the panel again.

Every time the system allowed him to customize a passive, it meant another test. The system would judge the passive effect he entered. Something too outrageous would be rejected; only something written just right would pass. The system might even patch it.

Lin Yue turned his head and glanced at the busy Cattail Cat.

If only Starfruit could share some of Kitty's burden.

A thought suddenly flashed through Lin Yue's mind—rotation.

True, high-speed, controllable rotation.

If Starfruit could rotate, then the stars fired from its five points would no longer passively cover five fixed directions. Their angles could be adjusted at any time to support any lane.

If Zombies came from the left, it would turn left. If the right side was under pressure, it would angle right, like a rotating turret that could adjust its field of fire whenever necessary.

Kitty would not have to work so hard, either.

And the more Lin Yue thought about it, the more excited he became. Starfruit's Plant Food ultimate fired five streams of stars in five directions simultaneously.

If the ultimate were used while facing fixed directions, at most one stream would hit the direction where the Zombies were densely packed. The other four would most likely fire into empty space, completely wasting firepower.

But what if rotation were added?

During the ultimate, Starfruit would spin rapidly. Five streams of stars would sweep through the water like five golden whips, covering all 360 degrees without a blind spot—

(Equivalent to getting a free skin... an angel.)

The sight would be too beautiful.

The entire screen would be cleared by a barrage of golden stars.

Lin Yue stopped hesitating and entered two characters in the passive scripting field: Rotation.

[Rotation... Judgment passed—]

These green words popped up on the screen. Before Lin Yue could celebrate, the prompt box continued with the second half.

[Additional effect: The faster the rotation speed, the faster the attack frequency]

Lin Yue stared at the panel and blinked once, then blinked again.

"So that means... the faster it spins, the more bullets it fires?"

He read the system description once more, confirming that he had not misunderstood.

He had originally only wanted a simple rotation function so Starfruit could flexibly adjust its firing direction.

But the system had other ideas. It thought the passive "Rotation" was too simple and not exciting enough, so it had casually added an extra effect: attack speed was linked to rotation speed.

The faster the rotation, the higher the frequency of the stars' attacks. Then, as long as it spun fast enough, could it release its ultimate at any time?

Lin Yue's breathing stopped for an instant.

He began imagining it uncontrollably.

If its rotation speed were high enough, to what extent would Starfruit's damage soar?

What if it used its ultimate in this state?

The ultimate already fired five streams of stars at once. With the bonus from an ultra-high attack speed layered on top, Starfruit's ultimate while spinning at high speed—

Wouldn't that clear the entire screen? Of course, it might not do much against certain Zombies like bosses, but for clearing minor enemies, it would be absolutely incredible—

Lin Yue pulled his drifting thoughts back and forced himself to stop dreaming for now, focusing on the matter at hand.

Starfruit's planting location was decided: first row, second column.

He had considered this position carefully.

Chomper was in the first row, fourth column, facing right and responsible for intercepting Zombie attacks from that side.

Toadstool was in a position slightly to the left in the first row, facing left and defending against scattered Zombies from that side.

With its rotation, Starfruit could support both directions and even help relieve pressure in the other lanes.

Chapter 54: First Federation... No Good People

Chomper and Toadstool's health was not low, but once the Zombies became numerous, relying on them alone was still not reliable enough.

Starfruit was different. While covering both sides, it could also provide firepower reconnaissance ahead, support the rear from behind, and help finish off enemies in the other rows during quiet moments.

The golden five-pointed star slowly rotated in its planting slot, the light on its five points alternating between bright and dim like breathing.

"Starfruit... I'll be counting on you from now on."

Starfruit's five points trembled lightly, as if nodding vigorously.

The golden light surrounding it suddenly brightened, brimming with energy.

Starfruit: ☆(≧?≦)☆

With Starfruit's addition, the situation became much easier in the time that followed.

Scattered Zombies occasionally poked their heads out of the darkness. Either Kitty's spikes picked them off from afar, or they wandered into Starfruit's firing range and were battered by the golden star barrage until they went searching for their heads all over the seafloor.

When Star Projectiles flew through the water, they left behind glittering golden trails. Upon striking a Zombie, they made a crisp "ding," like the sound of clashing metal.

Snorkel Zombies' bodies jerked with every hit. They could not walk more than a few steps before sinking to the seafloor.

Only Deep-Diving Zombies had a chance of getting close... but that was all they did—get close.

Lin Yue also discovered an interesting phenomenon. When Starfruit rotated at high speed, the edges of its five-pointed body stirred the water and generated a faint thrust.

The force was not strong, but it truly pushed the submarine along, slowly changing its direction.

The movement was extremely subtle, but at a critical moment, it might cause some strange chemical reaction.

Then Lin Yue noticed another detail that was even more exciting.

Planting Power Lily... began.

When Bok Choy defeated those Zombies, something strange happened.

Whenever a Zombie was defeated—whether it had been shot by Kitty or taken down by someone else—several minuscule green specks floated out of its remains the instant its body dispersed.

Those specks were smaller than green beans. They were translucent emerald green and drifted slowly through the seawater like fireflies scattered by the wind.

They did not sink. Instead, they floated against the current, one by one, all being drawn toward Power Lily.

The green specks landed on Power Lily's petals and merged into them, causing the surface of the petals to glow faintly.

As more and more specks accumulated, the Energy Pea inside Power Lily also began condensing faster. What had originally required a long time to condense now visibly accelerated.

The Zombies' corpses nourished Power Lily, while Power Lily provided ultimate energy to Bok Choy and Starfruit.

It was a perfect cycle.

Lin Yue was so excited by this discovery that the corners of his mouth lifted involuntarily—

"Boom—"

A deafening explosion erupted from the darkness ahead. The sound passed through the water and submarine hull, deep and heavy, like someone striking a massive bell on the seafloor.

Cattail Cat's fur stood on end, and her tail rose like a feather duster.

Lin Yue abruptly raised his head and looked toward the observation window.

Ahead, in the waters that had originally been pitch-black, a submarine came lurching out of the darkness.

The submarine's hull was battered and pitted, covered in dents and scratches left by impacts. A half-meter-long gash ran along its side.

Even more horrifyingly, the submarine was surrounded by a dense mass of Zombies.

Deep-Diving Zombies, Conehead Zombies, ordinary Zombies—the varieties were complete, and their numbers were massive. A rough glance showed at least twenty of them.

They clung to the hull, pounding it with their fists, biting it with their teeth, and scraping it with their fingernails, producing a dense and ear-piercing grating sound.