Just as Ryan returned to the surface, a gust of wind blew past, carrying a note through the open window. The paper smacked against his face, and as he pulled it off, a strong, metallic scent of blood filled his nostrils.
Unfolding the note, he saw a line of crooked letters scrawled in dark red blood:
"We will visit soon. Welcome to join us! - Your friend"
The battle was about to begin. The electronic alarm clock in the living room suddenly flashed red, blaring a piercing siren. A countdown appeared—two minutes.
"You go to the empty house next door," Dave instructed hurriedly. "You won't have to face the main zombie horde there. Just help by taking down the scattered ones that retreat. I've already set everything up for you."
Before Ryan could respond, Dave rushed out the front door. But just as quickly, he ran back inside and plopped a brand-new iron wok onto Ryan's head.
"With this, you can direct the plants using your mind," Dave explained before dashing out again.
After closing the door, Ryan slipped through the back exit and made his way to the designated house.
Back in his previous life, he had been a seasoned Plants vs. Zombies player. Now, finding himself in a real-life version of the game, he felt a mix of nervousness and excitement.
When he arrived, he found four bags of seeds neatly placed inside the house. The labels read:
Sunflower (50)
Peashooter (100)
Cherry Bomb (150)
Wall-Nut (50)
A note beside them explained the battle mechanics. In combat mode, sunflowers produced a burst of sunlight every 30 seconds. This sunlight could be used to grow plants, but they would only last for three days. The iron wok on Ryan's head acted as a sunlight collector, and everything functioned just like in the game. To start, he had 50 points of sunlight stored.
Without wasting time, Ryan planted a sunflower seed in the yard and channeled sunlight into it.
Like a time-lapse sequence in a nature documentary, the seed rapidly sprouted into a fully grown sunflower within seconds. Soon, the plant produced a glowing orb of light. Guided by Ryan's thoughts, the orb floated into the wok, and an illusory "25" appeared in the upper left corner of his vision.
Just as he finished setting up, the sound of zombies clambering up wooden planks reached his ears. Moments later, the first zombie poked its head over the fence.
It let out a guttural growl and staggered forward.
Up close, the zombies didn't look as cartoonish as in the game. Their skin was an eerie shade of turquoise, their tattered clothes hung loosely on their frames, and their bulging eyes gave them an unsettling stare. Most had only a few yellowed teeth remaining, and their stiff, jerky movements made them appear even more menacing.
As one or two zombies stumbled into the yard, Ryan used his stored 50 sunlight points to plant another sunflower. Then, he cast a Petrification Charm on the advancing zombies.
The spell wasn't strong, but it was enough to freeze each zombie in place for five to six seconds—just enough time to prepare his defenses.
With the help of the two sunflowers, Ryan quickly accumulated enough sunlight to plant his first Peashooter.
As the zombie shuffled closer, the Peashooter fired a series of green peas, pelting its target. After taking several direct hits, the zombie's neck twisted unnaturally, and it collapsed into the yard.
As the body hit the ground, a shimmering silver coin materialized above it. Curious, Ryan reached into his pocket and pulled out a sunlight crystal.
"This world is pretty interesting," he mused. "Sunlight crystals inside zombies? That doesn't make any scientific or magical sense."
Over time, as more sunlight accumulated, Ryan planted two rows of sunflowers at the back of the yard. In front of them, he placed three Peashooters per row, and a sturdy row of Wall-Nuts at the front to act as barriers.
With this formation, the zombies became easy targets. They fell one after another under the relentless assault of the Peashooters. Ryan even took advantage of the battle to practice his spellwork.
Occasionally, when too many zombies clustered together, he used a Cherry Bomb to clear the area.
After several hours of fighting, just as Ryan was getting more confident in his spellcasting, an alarm blared from Dave's house.
The final wave was approaching.
A massive horde of zombies stormed forward, led by a flag-bearing zombie. Ryan's slowing spells were now practically useless against such a large swarm.
The zombies advanced quickly, trampling over the corpses of their fallen. Under the relentless barrage of Peashooters, they reached the Wall-Nuts and immediately began gnawing away at them.
Ryan hastily tried to plant a Cherry Bomb inside the mob, but the zombies devoured it before it could explode.
With no other choice, he began placing Cherry Bombs around the edges of the horde, chipping away at their numbers layer by layer—like peeling an onion.
Finally, after an exhausting battle, when the last of the Wall-Nuts were nearly devoured, Ryan managed to eliminate the remaining zombies.
He considered chasing after the retreating ones, but Dave's earlier warning made him hesitate.
His instincts were right.
Moments later, a few zombies suddenly emerged from the soil, lying in ambush.
A cold sweat ran down Ryan's back. The hours of non-stop fighting had drained his energy. He slumped onto the doorstep and let out a long sigh of relief.
After a while, he noticed Dave stepping out of his house, driving a tractor.
Curious, Ryan walked over to the road and saw that Dave was planting permanent plants along the roadside.
"Come and help," Dave called out. "Once we plant these, zombies won't be able to invade this area in large numbers anymore. We're reclaiming this land from them."
Ryan hesitated, but then Dave added, "Your house is in this area too."
At those words, Ryan's reluctance vanished. Back in his previous life, property prices had been a nightmare. The thought of securing land was enough to make him step forward and start helping.
Using a Levitation Charm, he assisted in transporting the supplies.
As they worked, Ryan found it strange that Dave was fixing the fence manually.
"Uncle Dave," he asked, "you have a high-tech underground lab and even a smart AI assistant. Why not just build some robots to do this kind of work?"
Dave took a sip of water before answering.
"You think I want to do all this by hand?" he said with a sigh. "The problem isn't me—it's the zombies. They're not just mindless creatures; they're masters of robotics. I can only keep my technology safe inside a shielded underground lab. The moment I bring robots outside, they'd get hacked and turned against me."
Ryan was stunned. He hadn't expected the zombies to be so technologically advanced.
Sighing, he realized they'd probably be stuck doing manual labor for a long time. For an 11-year-old like him, this kind of work was brutal.
Then, suddenly, an idea struck him.
"Uncle Dave," Ryan said, a mischievous grin forming. "We don't have to keep doing this hard labor. I think I just came up with a perfect solution to the robot problem!"
End of Chapter
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