Never Abandon, Never Give Up

But Blue Whale was simply too big, and there were too many Zombies. This level of firepower was like trying to put out a forest fire with a water gun.

Lin Yue... had seen a submarine get swept into two full flips by the current from a single lash of Blue Whale's tail. Its durability was almost completely depleted.

The people inside that submarine didn't hesitate. While the vessel was still spinning, they directly selected the exit option. A flash of light later, the submarine vanished into the seawater.

Then came the second submarine, and the third.

One player after another who had still been holding the line ahead chose to leave. Their submarines vanished in flashes of light, leaving the Seaweed Guards to face the combined assault of Blue Whale and the Zombies alone.

(There are still a few players...)

Lin Yue saw a Seaweed Guard's leaf get swept by Blue Whale's tail fin. The strip of seaweed connecting it to two fellow plants snapped instantly.

The Seaweed Guard beside it immediately took its place, using its remaining leaves to hold up the net. But its stalk was trembling violently as well.

It was afraid... but it still stepped up...

It couldn't hold on anymore.

Lin Yue knew it very clearly. This defensive line couldn't last much longer.

Maybe ten minutes from now. Maybe only five. The Kelp Defense Line would be completely crushed by Blue Whale.

And those Seaweed Guards—the marine creatures that had always stood in front of the submarines, blocking the Zombies with their leaves...

Those big green fellows—their homes and their people—were falling one after another.

Lin Yue's hand still hovered above the exit button.

Pressing it would let him leave safely. He wouldn't have to face Blue Whale, the defense line that was about to collapse, or take responsibility for anything.

No one would blame him...

As Lin Yue hesitated—the situation changed... The Seaweed Guards moved...

Lin Yue saw the two Seaweed Guards that had been guarding both sides of his submarine move.

The Seaweed Guards... had also seen the tragedy unfolding ahead.

They could see their own people suffering broken leaves and bent stalks beneath Blue Whale's assault. They could see the net ropes of the defense line snapping one by one as Zombies gnawed at them.

Seaweed Guard: (((;°□°;))) ...Its entire body of seaweed shook violently.

The Seaweed Guard's leaves were... trembling.

Not because of the currents, and not because of fear, but because of an emotion buried even deeper.

It slowly turned its leaves toward Lin Yue. On that green seaweed face, the calm and dignified "goofball expression" it had worn before was gone, as was the secret smugness it showed whenever it was praised.

Seaweed Guard: ( o _ o? )--(.í _ ì.)

Its leaves made a gesture Lin Yue had never seen before. First, it pointed at the defense line collapsing ahead. Then it drew back and pressed against its own stalk, at the position of its heart.

Seaweed Guard: "Heart... Tatakae..."

The Seaweed leaf... reached toward Lin Yue and made a silent farewell.

It... left!!!

That Seaweed Guard, which hadn't taken a single step away from either side of the submarine since entering the defense line—the Seaweed Guard that had clearly agreed to leave with him... had gone to protect its own people.

(The seaweed are hurt. I'm going to help... Farewell... my new friends!)

The Seaweed Guard... charged out!!!

The two Seaweed Guards charged out at the same time, their emerald leaves trailing behind them as if trying to tell Lin Yue something.

They rushed toward the weakest point in the defense line. Blue Whale was ramming that spot repeatedly, and more than half of the dozen-plus Seaweed Guards there had already fallen. The few remaining ones were still holding on desperately, the cracks in their leaves deep enough to expose the white fibers within.

Lin Yue's hand... moved away from the exit button—

He didn't know when it had happened.

When... had he become so cowardly?

Was it because his parents had always drilled into him that "staying alive is the most important thing"?

Or because he had always treated this battle for survival as a game?

Lin Yue only knew one thing... he couldn't abandon his comrades. Something hot enough to burn was surging up in his chest.

(The red spirit!)

"Damn it! What am I hesitating for?"

Lin Yue roared it out, his voice even cracking slightly.

Cattail Cat was feeling sentimental... and the shout made it jump.

Kitty saw Lin Yue's eyes—there was fire in them, the kind of fire that had been ignited by something and was now crackling fiercely.

Cattail Cat: "Master... he's burning up!!!"

Lin Yue raised his head and looked at all the plants aboard the submarine.

The four Starfruits stopped spinning and stared at Lin Yue in perfect unison.

The military helmet on the Peashooter flashed beneath the lights.

Bok Choy lowered its arms from where they had been folded across its chest.

Magic-shroom also haughtily lifted its top hat.

Chomper and Toadstool stopped chewing at the same time.

The five Puff-shrooms lined up in a row, their ten little black eyes staring without blinking.

Snow Pea, Oxygen Algae, and Power Lily... were also waiting for Lin Yue's orders—

To the plants, abandoning someone was the wrong choice.

"Brothers, our future brother—the Seaweed Guard—is in trouble."

Lin Yue took a deep breath. "Can you work overtime?"

Chapter 69: No Abandoning, No Giving Up

"Brothers, our brother—the Seaweed Guard—is in trouble."

Lin Yue took a deep breath. "Can you work overtime?"

The submarine was silent for 0.5 seconds.

Cattail Cat was the first to react.

It stretched... more thoroughly than it ever had before. Its body popped section by section from head to tail, and its tail rose toward the ceiling.

Then it shook out its fur, its pupils narrowing into two slits. The corners of its mouth pulled wide, revealing a tiny, sharp canine tooth.

Cattail Cat: (??????? )+?

(Meow, I just love working overtime. It's definitely not because I want to help the seaweed. Saying "overtime" is only to support your call as a human, and has absolutely nothing to do with those two stupid green big guys.)

(All right, let's go. If we keep dawdling, the defense line will break.)

The four Starfruits lit up at the same time.

They began spinning faster, faster than ever before—so fast that the "Undersea Mahjong" group, which had been formed less than five minutes ago, abandoned their game and reported for duty.

The Starfruits: ??(ˊωˋ*)??

(Go! Go! Go! Mahjong can't actually be played, but if the seaweed are gone, they're really gone! The entire Mahjong Association—go help the Seaweed Guards!)

Chomper hurriedly swallowed the Rice Dumpling it had been secretly eating and wiped its mouth with a leaf.

It opened its great maw, revealing rows upon rows of teeth, and let out a loud belch.

Chomper: ???

(I'm still not full. Those were only appetizers. I hear the Zombies over there are unlimited? As long as there's enough, that's fine. Just don't fight me for a spot.)

Toadstool's tongue flicked out and stole a Rice Dumpling, treating it as overtime pay by default.

Its cheeks were still puffed out, but its eyes had already lit up. It was very much in agreement with its big brother Chomper.

Toadstool: "+1."

The Puff-shrooms collectively volunteered for battle. The caps of the five mushrooms swelled up in perfect unison, and the grayish-purple spores in their spore sacs were ready to fire.

(Master protected the Puff-shrooms... so the Puff-shrooms have to protect others too, because... that's what Master does.)

Snow Pea and Peashooter exchanged glances. The two ranged plants nodded to each other.

Snow Pea condensed a thin layer of frost over its muzzle. Peashooter pulled its military helmet lower, covering one eye, while narrowing the other as it aimed ahead.

Puff-shroom, Snow Pea, Peashooter: "+10086."

Bok Choy said nothing.

It stood there with both arms hanging at its sides, its thick fingers slightly curled, as if reminiscing about the thrill of beating Zombies.

It didn't wave its fists as it usually did, nor did it let out its signature "Ora" roar.

It lowered its head and looked at its own fists, as though lost in thought.

Then it raised its head and looked toward the backs of the two Seaweed Guards charging toward the breach in the defense line.

Bok Choy remembered something.

The first time it had thrown a punch, it hadn't known why it was punching.

Plants fought Zombies. It seemed like the most natural thing in the world, something that needed no reason.

When Zombies came, they fought. When Zombies left, they rested. It was a process that required no thought.

Before... when it followed Dave, there had been no reason at all.

Bok Choy was a little confused...

But later, aboard Lin Yue's submarine, during those quiet moments and the occasional silence after a battle, it began to wonder about something—what else could these fists of its do besides beat Zombies?

Now it had the answer.

Fists could protect.

Protect the submarine, protect its teammates, protect those big green fellows who would stand in front of you and say, "You fight the Zombies. I'll protect you."

Protect its friends.

A force surged out—not a force of anger. In the past, it had relied on anger when throwing punches, the instinctive, thoughtless fury it felt toward the Zombies.

But this force was different.

It wasn't hot. It was warm.

It wasn't hasty. It was steady.

It wasn't called anger. It was called—"protecting others."

Bok Choy clenched its fists.

The "clack-clack" of its cabbage ribs rang out more crisply than ever before.

Bok Choy's appearance hadn't changed, but... at this moment, the power of the heart was infinite.

It raised its head... and its eyes no longer held simple anger. Instead, they contained something deeper and brighter.

Bok Choy: (?o.o)?

"To throw a punch to protect my friends—I understand now."

[Bok Choy Fist breakthrough—Attack increased... Speed increased]

[Learned... Block, for the sake of protection]

Lin Yue watched the faint green light covering Bok Choy's fists, and the corners of his mouth slowly curved upward.

"I didn't expect the Cabbage Gang to have such a big-brother personality."

The exit button... was cast aside, replaced by the command for the submarine to advance at full speed.

The four Starfruits simultaneously pushed their rotation speed to the limit. The entire submarine surged forward at a speed it had never reached before.

Ahead, the Kelp Defense Line was collapsing.

At the largest breach in the center of the defense line, Blue Whale's body had already forced its way into the cracks in the seaweed barrier. Every swing of its tail fins tore apart more leaves, while more than a dozen Seaweed Guards used their bodies to plug the gap. Fragments of broken leaves drifted through the seawater like rain.