Chomper's Passive Ability

[Please log in to the Plant Garden System]

[Please select a login method]

Lin Yue blinked and instinctively looked up to scan the surroundings.

Almost at the same time, the classmate sitting beside him suddenly slapped the desk. "There's someone talking in my head! It even asked me what my name is!"

"Me too!"

"+1!"

"+10086! That voice is even inside my head!"

Teacher Zhao adjusted his glasses on the podium and coughed lightly. "Don't make such a fuss. That's the login interface for the Yard System.

"When logging in, choose the option on the right. The one on the left is an invalid entrance. Apparently, that crazy Dave added the code by mistake when he was drunk back then. Clicking it will freeze the system. Remember, choose the right one."

Lin Yue hurriedly gathered his thoughts and looked at the two lines of options floating in his mind.

[ID Verification] [Guest Login]

Without giving it any thought, Lin Yue instinctively hovered his finger over "ID Verification," then suddenly froze.

No.

He slowly pulled his finger back, closed his eyes briefly, and opened them again.

The words were still there, perfectly clear.

"ID Verification." In this world, Federation residents had always possessed an identity consisting of a string of numbers. The format began with an A, followed by eleven mixed letters and digits.

But the login window before him was unmistakably the identity-verification interface from his previous life, with that eighteen-digit numerical format he knew by heart.

His ID number from before he transmigrated.

"I... fucking hell... I'm really going to become Jiahao now."

Lin Yue cursed under his breath. His heartbeat skipped, but his finger seemed to be pulled down by an unseen force. Almost unconsciously, he entered the string of numbers that had long since been carved into his instincts: 1, 5, ... all eighteen digits, not one missing.

[Login Successful]

Crazy Dave won't find me and open an account, will he?

[Please Confirm Name]

Lin Yue thought for a second. "Chomper's Dad," "Salty Fish Man," and "Lying-Flat Man" drifted through his mind, but he deleted them all and seriously typed in two characters: "Jiahao."

[Welcome, esteemed player "Jiahao," to the Plant Garden System]

[Helpful Tip: Please protect your brain. To Zombies, it is a delicious delicacy.]

Lin Yue stared at the last helpful tip and fell silent for two seconds. The corner of his mouth twitched.

All right. This style is very Dave.

The sunlight outside the window had completely brightened. Golden rays slanted into the classroom, enveloping all the plants in a warm halo. The Sunflower immediately turned its flower disk toward the window.

Chomper contentedly narrowed its eyes inside the cart, its purple leaves glowing with a faint violet sheen in the light. The damp classmate beside it was still wiping slime off his school uniform, while everyone else tacitly avoided looking at him and chatted with their own plants.

Lin Yue leaned back in his chair, drew a deep breath, and slowly exhaled.

"Lin Yue, what name did you choose? Add me as a friend."

"Jiahao."

"Okay, I've added you. My name is Primal Peashooter, Bro Hao."

"Seriously, Bro Hao, that name suits you perfectly."

Before long, the students in the class began adding one another as friends. There was a rumor that when entering the Plant Garden, those who had added friends beforehand had a very high chance of being matched into the same residential area.

If the people in the neighborhood were acquaintances, then even if the starting situation was truly terrible, they could ask their classmates for help.

However, Lin Yue had a much bigger problem to solve now.

[Dear player, hello!]

[The following functions have been unlocked especially for you]

[Zen Garden, Slot Machine, Adventure Mode, Boss Mode, Dave's Shop]

Zen Garden: You can grow random plants in the garden. Seeds have a 100% survival rate, and their growth speed is twice that of plants in the yard. This includes the Aquatic World and the Night Mushroom Forest.

Slot Machine: Want to give it a spin? It only costs 100 sun. (The position where the wheel stops determines the type of prize. Friendly reminder: Dave has never disclosed the prize-pool odds.)

Adventure Mode: Play an exciting game based on the plants you already own. Levels you have cleared can be swept daily.

Boss Mode: Records and archives the various forms of Dr. Zomboss you will encounter in the future. Each completed level grants a large number of rewards.

Dave's Shop: Wabby... bab... wab... wab... bab... Did that come out wrong?

Chomper's Passive

[Please bring your personal belongings. Teleportation beginning]

Hearing the voice in his head, Lin Yue casually grabbed Chomper beside him.

After just two seconds, he felt solid ground beneath his feet.

Lin Yue stumbled, steadied himself, and opened his eyes.

The scene before him left him stunned for a moment.

A shabby little wooden house stood crookedly in the middle of the yard.

Dark-brown patches of mold covered the wooden walls. Several boards had come loose, creaking loudly whenever the wind blew.

Several dark-gray roof tiles were missing as well. One hung precariously at the edge of the eaves, swaying as if it could fall at any moment.

The wooden door was half ajar. At a glance, it clearly wasn't a very good door.

"Pretty damn shabby."

The yard enclosed by the fence, however, was maintained quite well. A circle of white wooden railings surrounded it. Although the paint was somewhat mottled, everything was still orderly overall.

A neat lawn stretched across the front of the yard. The blades of grass were neither too tall nor too short, growing evenly together. They felt soft beneath his feet and carried the fresh scent of grass after a rain.

A Lawn Mower was piled in the corner of the yard wall. Its metal frame had been coated with dark-red rustproof paint. The paint was old, but the wheels were intact, so it should roll smoothly.

A shovel stood beside it. Its wooden handle had been polished smooth and glossy, while the blade was free of rust, as if it had been carefully maintained.

"As expected, heaven doesn't mistreat an exceptional man like me."

On the right side of the yard was an extremely luxurious breeding area. A ring of clear glass surrounded the outside, while the interior was woven from delicate wooden racks into row after row of compartments. If he wasn't mistaken, this should be the Zen Garden.

Why was Lin Yue so certain?

Because there was a snail sleeping in it.

A snail the size of a fingernail was curled up in the shadow beneath the racks. A fragment of leaf clung to its shell, and it slept soundly inside, its two feelers trembling faintly.

This was the Zen Garden.

There was also a large pit in the floor of the Zen Garden. Looking inside, he caught the scent of mushrooms. That should be the Night Mushroom Forest.

The Zen Garden even contained an aquarium for aquatic plants.

Lin Yue glanced around twice without rushing to investigate. He turned, passed through the wooden house, pushed open the back door, and entered the backyard.

The backyard consisted of a large, perfectly square plot of land divided into fifty-four neat planting beds across six rows and nine columns. Every bed had already been tilled. The dark-brown soil was loose and fertile, and when he leaned closer, he could smell its distinctive plant-like scent.

The middle two columns were shallow pools. The water was clear enough to reveal the fine white grains of sand at the bottom. Shimmering light rippled across the surface like a mirror that had been shattered and pieced back together.

His luck wasn't bad. At least he could grow aquatic plants.

And Chomper was planted in the seventh spot of the sixth row.

Its purple fleshy leaves stretched slightly in the wind, while its thick stem was firmly rooted in the soil. Its iconic huge mouth hung half open, a glistening strand of slime trailing between its teeth as if it were greeting Lin Yue.

"You sure know how to pick a spot." Lin Yue crouched down and patted Chomper's thick stem, the corners of his mouth lifting. "Solo guarding the bottom lane? Not bad."

As soon as he finished speaking, the familiar green light in his mind suddenly lit up. A line of information steadily surfaced deep within his consciousness.

[Player talent detected: Passive Scripting]

[Scripting Rules: Independent passive entries may be added to plants within the yard. Passive entries must conform to the plant's growth habits and logic of existence.]

A translucent information panel floated above Chomper's head, like a status bar suspended over a game character.

Chomper (Mature)

Health: 200 (Normal Average: 180)

Ability: Devours a single Zombie unit of similar size or smaller

Passive: Awaiting Scripting

Lin Yue sat down in the dirt and fell into deep thought.

Adding "Increased Digestion Speed"? Too ordinary.

"Expanded Attack Range"? That would work too, but it isn't exciting enough.

Lin Yue suddenly remembered a game he had played before transmigrating: League of Legends' Cho'Gath, the Big Worm.

It used its ultimate to bite enemies to death and permanently increase its health and size. In the late game, it could grow into a small mountain, and merely standing there was enough to scare the enemy away.

"I've got it. Let's do that."

Lin Yue closed his eyes, sank his consciousness into the green light, and began constructing the idea.

[Passive: Whenever Chomper devours an enemy unit, its maximum health increases according to the enemy unit's size, while its own size also increases slightly.]

He pressed Enter in his mind.

[Determining...]

[Determination passed. Actual effect has been standardized. Please review.]

Lin Yue opened his eyes and looked at Chomper's panel.

Name: Chomper (Mature)

Health: 200

Ability: Devours a single Zombie unit of similar size or smaller

Devouring (Passive): Each time an enemy unit is devoured, its size is assessed. Maximum health increases by 10 to 50 points, while body size grows slightly. (No limit on number of activations)

"Holy shit... If my Chomper had never been born, the plant world would have been trapped in eternal darkness."

Lin Yue couldn't hold back his profanity. He threw himself at Chomper's stem and hugged it like a thick utility pole, rubbing and patting it from side to side while babbling excitedly. "Buddy, whether I can show off in the future will depend entirely on you. Stand tall for me from now on. When we go out, we'll bring our own special effects!"

Chomper's leaves shook twice with a rustle. It tilted its head and stared at him for two seconds before its huge mouth suddenly shot out like lightning.

"Who turned off the lights again!"

Lin Yue's upper body was neatly swallowed into that purple maw. His legs kicked twice outside, and his muffled cries leaked out through the gaps between Chomper's teeth.

Warm, moist tooth pads pressed against his face and shoulders. Slime poured down from the top of his head and ran along his neck into his collar. It was sticky and cold.

Chomper spat him out with a "pfft." Lin Yue landed hard on the ground, slime covering his face and hair, his school uniform soaked through once again.

He slapped Chomper's stem hard, half angry and half amused. "I almost died before accomplishing anything! If you do that again, I'll... I'll ignore you for an entire day..."

Before he could finish, Chomper bent down a leaf and clumsily rubbed the top of his head. The soft fuzz tickled his forehead and hair, like a puppy that had done something wrong and was trying to please its owner.

Lin Yue hurriedly shut his mouth. He swallowed the words "turn you into plant oil."

Sitting on the ground and looking up at the old companion he had raised since childhood, he remembered an evening many years ago, when his father had placed the seed in his palm.

His father had crouched down, patted his head, and said, "Take good care of it. It will protect you."

He had been six at the time. Holding the purple seed, about the size of a peanut, he had crouched in the corner of the yard, dug a hole, buried it, and watered it for an entire half month before the first tender sprout finally broke through the soil.

From that day onward, the first thing he did after school every day was run over to check on it. He loosened the soil and removed insects, then crouched beside it to do his homework until dark. He had even suspected something was wrong with the seed, digging it out of the soil several times before planting it again.

Chomper, thank you...

Later, it grew bigger and bigger. Its leaves grew thicker, and its mouth grew fiercer. But Lin Yue knew that Chomper was still that same family member.

Lin Yue stood up from the ground and brushed the dirt from his trouser legs. Lowering his head, he muttered, "All right, Azi. I won't hold it against you."

He pretended not to notice Chomper's leaves shaking cheerfully twice more.

A tiny Chomper, effortlessly tamed.