Plant Zombies: I Can Add Passives to Plants

Dave's Special Beginner Reward

Just then, the system notification sounded again.

Its tone was as crazed as ever, carrying the tangy stench of an over-fermented pickle jar.

[Wabby... Baboo! Neighbor! Wabby Baboo! Long time no see! I prepared a welcome gift for you, wabby... baboo~ Next time, make sure you bring burritos to visit me... baboo!]

Five grayish-brown clay flowerpots suddenly appeared out of thin air in the open space at the center of the yard. The pots were mature plants as well. Each contained a tiny seedling with tender green leaves no larger than a fingernail, swaying shakily in the breeze.

[Unknown Seedling x5 (Carefully selected by Dave for his neighbor. Raise them well, and they will surprise you.)]

Lin Yue crouched down and lightly touched one of the seedlings. Its leaves were thin and brimming with life. It seemed Dave had not lied to him.

He carefully moved the five flowerpots onto the shelves in the Zen Garden and lined them up neatly.

Sunlight filtered down through the glass at the top of the shelves, warmly spilling over the seedlings and making the edges of their leaves sparkle.

The snail extended its two antennae and wiggled them before beginning to patrol around the five pots of seedlings.

Lin Yue patted the dirt from his hands and glanced at the panel floating above the flowerpots.

Name: Flowerpot (Mature)

HP: 100

Ability: Can be used to plant plants. Can be used on special terrain such as rooftops.

Passive: Awaiting creation

"Flowerpots..." Lin Yue stroked his chin as a new idea began to turn in his mind.

At its core, a flowerpot was simply a container for plants. Its purpose was to carry and provide Nourishment. Of course, it was most useful on rooftops.

Simply helping other plants grow faster was useful, but it was too ordinary. There was no imagination in it.

Could he turn the flowerpot itself into a source of "nutrients" for plants?

Not merely speeding up growth, but slowly and continuously delivering the nutrients within the pot to the plant, permanently making the plant growing inside stronger?

In the early game, I grovel. In the late game, you kneel and watch.

[Passive: Flowerpots will continuously deliver their nutrients to plants growing within them, permanently increasing the plant's base HP.]

[Judging...]

[Judgment passed. The actual effect has been standardized. Please check.]

Name: Flowerpot x5 (Mature)

HP: 100

Ability: Can be used to plant plants. Can be used on special terrain such as rooftops.

Nourishment (Passive): Continuously supplies nutrients to plants growing within it, permanently increasing maximum HP by 5 points while increasing growth speed by 50% (effect doubled within the Zen Garden: +10 HP, +100% growth speed)

After reading the entire panel, Lin Yue took a deep breath and slowly let it out.

"I'm fucking genius," he muttered.

The Lawn Mower and shovel in the corner waited quietly for him.

Lin Yue went over to inspect them. The Lawn Mower was a little old, but its wheels were nimble and its frame sturdy.

The shovel was brand-new, with a sharp blade and a wooden handle that fit comfortably in his hand.

Lin Yue slung the shovel across his back, pushed the cart out of the Plant Garden, and took his first step.

Creak. The door hinge let out a long groan.

The street stretched out before him.

The streets of Happy Residential Community were straight gray flagstone roads, smooth and solid, with scattered fallen leaves and small stone chips lying across the pavement.

Other players' courtyards were neatly lined up on both sides. Every home had the same wooden-house layout enclosed by a fence, appearing identical at first glance.

Yet strangely, every courtyard was shrouded in a thin layer of gray mist. Only vague outlines could be seen; the details inside were impossible to make out.

The mist was like frosted glass, blocking every prying gaze.

Lin Yue looked back at his own home.

From outside, there was a thin mist above his yard too, but it did not block his own vision. Only the crooked wooden sign at the entrance was clearly visible, with the words "Jiahao's Home" carved neatly upon it, like an identity plaque engraved for him by the system.

Inside the courtyard wall, the shelves of the Zen Garden and the five seedlings were faintly visible, with a sleeping snail shell lying beside them.

This layer of mist probably only blocked other people's sight.

"Business first."

Lin Yue withdrew his gaze and pushed the cart down the street.

The feel of the gray stone road traveled through the cart's wheels into his palms. The wheels rattled steadily, monotonous but reliable.

He carefully examined the outer walls and cracks around the courtyards on both sides. Occasionally, he saw one or two clumps of weeds squeezing out from between the bricks, but there was no sign of any plants.

When he reached the middle of the street, a figure darted out from a side road and stopped directly in front of him.

"Bro! Bro, wait!"

He was a boy around Lin Yue's age, tall and skinny, with slightly protruding cheekbones. One button on his school uniform shirt was fastened wrong, and the hem had not been tucked in. He looked sloppy and flustered. His uniform appeared to belong to a student from First High School.

He was from the Ninth Federation too, but weren't First High School students supposed to be good students? Why did he look so disheveled?

The wind had blown the boy's hair into a mess, and a thin layer of sweat covered his forehead. His eyes were fixed on Lin Yue's Lawn Mower before sliding to the brand-new shovel on his back. He swallowed and forced an overly enthusiastic smile onto his trembling lips.

"Bro, could I borrow your Lawn Mower? Just for a little while! Ten minutes! I'll only look around nearby. I definitely won't take up much of your time!"

His voice was urgent and rapid, as if he feared Lin Yue would push the cart away if he spoke one second too slowly.

His hands were twisted together in front of him, his thumbs picking at the skin around his nails, yet his gaze remained locked on the Lawn Mower and the shovel behind Lin Yue.

Lin Yue stopped and looked at him.

His gaze swept over the street beyond the boy's shoulder. There were two or three people pushing carts at the intersection, all stopped by others trying to talk to them.

Not far away, a boy without a shovel was shouting at the top of his lungs, "Who has a shovel? Let's cooperate!" In this community, the number of people with both a cart and a shovel could be counted on one hand.

"I haven't even started searching."

Lin Yue pulled the cart handle closer to himself and replied evenly, "Ask someone else."

"No, no, no, bro!" The boy took a big step forward, nearly pressing himself against the Lawn Mower. His voice rose half a pitch. "I really need it urgently! You don't know how miserable my start was. Five seeds! All garbage seeds! Not a single living seedling! I can't even grow a Peashooter. How am I supposed to survive, bro?!"

When he mentioned "five seeds," the grievance in his tone did sound convincing. His eyes even reddened slightly.

But Lin Yue's gaze fell on his fingers. As he spoke, his index finger unconsciously curled into his palm and clenched, his knuckles turning white, as though he were holding back a deeper emotion.

It was not grievance.

It was something else.

"You're so lucky. You started with both a cart and a shovel, while I have nothing..." The boy's voice suddenly dropped, his ending cut off as if someone had grabbed him by the throat. "What's wrong with sharing a little with me? I promise I'll give you a plant once I have one, okay?"

Bang!

The sound of iron striking stone rang out. Before the boy could react, Lin Yue directly slammed the shovel from his back onto his head.

It was not lethal, but enough to knock the guy out for a while.

Lin Yue had not expected someone to actually use the method his homeroom teacher taught them to scam a Lawn Mower.

Did he think Lin Yue was a child? Even if the guy really was not acting, he still deserved that shovel. What if he stole Lin Yue's Lawn Mower and shovel? Who would Lin Yue go to for justice then?

Lin Yue had seen that look before.

Whenever the class rankings were announced in high school, several people in the corner would look at him that way. His family was doing alright, both his parents were alive, and they had enough resources to feed a Chomper.

Their mouths said, "I'm so jealous of you," but their eyes burned with, "Why you?"

Not letting that First High School student continue was the right call. He was obviously trying to scam something. Taking one hit meant he had borrowed the shovel after all.

"Sorry, coming through."

Ignoring the strange looks from the people around him, Lin Yue first put away the shovel, now stained with a trace of blood, then pushed the cart past the boy.

"That Ninth High School guy is not someone to mess with!"

"It's only the first day, and he already knocked someone out. Sheesh..."

Seeing how decisive Lin Yue was, the other newcomers nearby decisively backed down as well.

However, several people from Ninth High School seemed to recognize Lin Yue. One of them was even his classmate.

They had never expected Jiahao, who usually behaved so strangely, to handle trouble in such a simple manner.

A Soft, Cute Loli Came Knocking

"Hello, can we talk? I don't mean any harm... really?"

A soft, sugary little girl's voice came from behind Lin Yue. It was timid, carrying a hint of cautious probing.

Lin Yue turned around, but saw no one.

"Look down..."

His gaze lowered halfway, and he froze.

A tiny loli whose height barely reached his chest stood behind him, tilting her head up at him.

Her face was round and fair, and her almond-shaped eyes were big and bright. Her eyelashes were long enough to fan the wind, while the corners of her eyes drooped slightly, giving her an innate innocent childishness. If someone punched her, she would definitely cry for a long time...

She wore two loose braids tied at the ends with red rubber bands, one of which was crooked halfway down. It seemed she was hopelessly clumsy with her hands!

Her school uniform was clearly one size too big. The cuffs had been rolled up twice just to reveal her fingertips, and the hem covered the tops of her thighs. It had been washed until it was somewhat faded, with fine fuzz worn along the edges.

The collar buttons were fastened properly all the way to the top, but even so, the faded school uniform could not conceal the curve of her chest rising and falling. It bulged heavily, stretching the front of her uniform taut.

Baby face! Huge boobs! Loli!

Lin Yue's gaze shamelessly roamed over her before finally stopping at the left chest of her uniform.

It bore the school emblem of Ninth Federation No. 2 High School. Beside it was a white student name tag attached to the fabric with a paper clip. Three characters were written neatly upon it: Bai Qingfeng.

Bai Qingfeng suddenly noticed something strange about his gaze and followed it downward.

She was stunned!

"What are you looking at... you pervert!"

Realizing where he was looking, Bai Qingfeng's face turned red with a whoosh, like Cattail, a kitten whose tail had been stepped on.

She suddenly hopped half a step backward and covered her chest with both hands. Her hands curled into kitten paws, her ten fingers opening and closing as she bared her teeth and let out a little "Hah!" at him.

The pointed little fang on the left side of her mouth only made her look even cuter.

Bai Qingfeng glared at him while hissing, her eyes wide and round, but for some reason, the glare had no intimidation at all. Instead, she looked like an adorable milk kitten begging for food.

When she realized Lin Yue was unmoved—

She even unconsciously shrank her neck, as if she was more nervous than the person she was trying to threaten (°ー°〃).

Lin Yue remained where he was, but the pixels at the corners of his mouth could not help rising a few degrees.

After all, he had lived two lives. He had some skill at reading people.

That boy who had blocked his path earlier had clearly been up to no good, full of bullshit.

But this little girl named Bai Qingfeng was different. When she covered her chest, her fingers were loose. She was not guarding herself, blocking him, or afraid of being taken advantage of. It was simply a pure reflex born from panic.

People in real life probably stared at her chest often, so it had become an unconscious habit.

When she bared her teeth, her eyelids lowered a little, showing that she herself thought the gesture was somewhat stupid, yet she stubbornly forced herself to finish it.

Compared to the guy earlier, this little loli was practically a transparent sheet of paper. Everything she thought was written on her face.

Unless she was an extremely skilled actress, but no matter how he looked at her, she did not seem like one.

"If you have something to say, say it. If not, I still need to search for things." Lin Yue switched the cart handle to his other hand, his tone softening a little.

"If you waste my time, I'll spank your butt hard."

Bai Qingfeng puffed out her cheeks and gave a little "Hmph" through her nose, but she still swallowed twice to calm herself. Her hand remained over her chest.

Her eyes darted around as though she were making sure no one else was eavesdropping. Then she lowered her voice and spoke in what she believed was an imposing tone.