Chapter 103: The Growth of Plants

Wang Ling possessed the attribute bonuses of the "Heart of the Azure Wonder" and the "Golden Red Mask," and his Dragon Soul awakening had reached 2%. His current strength stood at 47 points, which was already quite high; unfortunately, it still failed to meet the equipment requirements for the Great Tree Club.

As for the other two Dreamers who focused primarily on strength, Caslo and Cai Qing, neither had encountered any fortuitous events. Their strength was actually lower than Wang Ling's, making them even less capable of meeting the requirements.

Seeing a powerful weapon placed before them that they could not use was undoubtedly frustrating. After inspecting the data of the Great Tree Club, everyone let out sighs of regret.

Wang Ling gazed at the weapon, pondered for a moment, and then said, "Besides the 3,300 currency points, 1 attribute point, and the sapphire that can be exchanged for 1,000 currency points from opening the treasure chest, I will take these four plant seeds. How about you four divide the green-tier equipment, the Great Tree Club?"

In reality, Wang Ling had 9 free attribute points; he could have equipped the weapon by investing 8 points into strength, but he chose to forgo it. First, the Great Tree Club was too heavy; even if he could use it, swinging it would inevitably affect his agility. Second, using this weapon would expose his strength stats. Wang Ling knew that sniper attacks from enemies were inevitable in the future, and the less his true strength was revealed, the more the enemy would underestimate him—playing the pig to eat the tiger was quite satisfying. Third, the plant seeds were rare; although they were quest items, he felt they might have great utility.

Giving up an unwieldy green-tier club weapon to take everything else was a compromise that wouldn't cause too much dissatisfaction among the others, as green equipment was quite valuable.

Caslo and the others had no objections to Wang Ling’s request. Or rather, it wasn't easy to voice any. After all, the Great Tree Club was indeed a decent weapon; even if it couldn't be used, it could fetch a fair amount of currency points at the free market. If they could obtain the other two pieces of the set in this world, its value would increase significantly.

A single weapon was difficult to distribute among four people. Under Su Na's suggestion, the group held an auction. Ultimately, Caslo obtained the Great Tree Club, and the other three each received 3,000 currency points from him. Compared to getting nothing at all, this was much better; it was a win-win situation.

The Blood-Patterned Dragon had sustained severe injuries while fighting the Gargantuar. While the dinosaur could recover health by consuming flesh, the zombie's green blood and stiffened flesh had no effect. Mini Miku only had 2 points of spirit left and could not sing for the time being. Wang Ling had no choice but to take out a vial of minor health potion, open the lid, and let the Blood-Patterned Dragon swallow the liquid to recover from its injuries.

After packing away his share of the items and carrying his backpack and plastic bag, Wang Ling briefly discussed what had happened after they parted ways with Caslo and the others.

"The Whirlwind Team has indeed been wiped out..." Caslo’s expression was extremely grave. "We lost three people. With the strength of six Dreamers against nine enemy Dreamers, plus the zombie horde, the situation is likely to be very dire... Not to mention anything else, if two monsters like the Gargantuar appear at once, coupled with the Dreamers' attacks, I fear we will all perish!"

Su Na applied a bottle of "healing ointment" to her leg to treat her external wounds. Seeing the grim expressions on everyone’s faces, she tried to comfort them: "Don’t be so pessimistic. Think about it—if those battle plants are as powerful as they are in the game, it will be the enemy Dreamers who have to worry."

"By the way, wasn't there one more person? Where is Yamada?" Wang Ling suddenly asked.

Caslo, who was deep and calculating, said nonchalantly, "He separated from us a long time ago. I assume he went to complete his mission alone."

Hearing this, Wang Ling immediately understood that Yamada had likely been tailing him and the Whirlwind Team to gather combat intelligence. Silently noting this, he checked the countdown via his badge and said to the group, "Everyone has finished their tasks, right? There isn't much time left, so it's time to head back."

Storing the Blood-Patterned Dragon in his space bag to recuperate and dismissing the last remaining member of the Dark Fighters, the Thug Strongman, the group returned together, quickly arriving back at the house base.

Crazy Dave was waiting on the lawn in the yard. Wang Ling had called Wang Long and the others back on the way. The Japanese man, Yamada, was actually there and seemed to have already completed his mission. Seeing so many people returning together, the muscles on Yamada's face twitched involuntarily.

After returning to Plant Town, he had wanted to regroup with Caslo and the others, but since they weren't there, he had to accept a quest from Dave. He had spent his time collecting plant seeds and searching, but to no avail. Seeing Wang Ling with Caslo and the others, he immediately realized that Wang Ling must be suspicious of him.

"Damn it... I'm in danger in this world. I must be careful of Wang Ling’s schemes. I cannot separate from Caslo and the others. In front of so many people, he shouldn't dare to kill me openly... If necessary, I'll just finish this guy off! Although his summoned characters and that dinosaur are strong, his own strength is too weak. If I seize the opportunity, my strength is enough to kill this kid!"

After making up his mind, a sinister smile appeared on Yamada's face.

"Master, these are the seeds the four of us collected, plus a strange object. They are all here."

Lan Yue handed the large cloth bundle she had been carrying on her back to Wang Ling. Upon opening it, he saw over thirty seeds and a road cone helmet.

Caslo and the others first heard how Lan Yue addressed Wang Ling; with the Dreamer Badges, they naturally understood the meaning. Then, seeing the number of seeds inside, a look of envy appeared on each of their faces.

"Neighbors, it seems you have all obtained the necessary seeds... Come, hand the seeds to me, and Dave will teach you how to turn the seeds into powerful helpers! Hahahaha..." Amidst his crazy laughter, Dave began to collect the seeds everyone had gathered.

Caslo and his three companions each had over ten seeds, but the number of plant seeds Wang Ling had was quite monstrous—over fifty in total, including not only regular plants but also many powerful, special ones.

After putting the plant seeds away, Dave picked out a sunflower seed, dug a hole, and buried it in the lawn. He then took out a green watering can and said to everyone, "Plants need sunlight and water to grow... With the sun above and the watering can here, you can make the sunflower grow."

As he spoke, he sprinkled water on the lawn with the can. A miracle occurred: the seed buried in the soil quickly took root and sprouted. A bundle of tender shoots broke through the ground, growing at a speed visible to the naked eye until it became a miniature sunflower seedling.

It was a plant very similar to a sunflower, but strangely, it had eyes and a mouth on its yellow flower head, with a bundle of green stalks and two open leaves below, and roots anchored in the ground.

"Hi, I'm Sunflower, it's nice to meet you. Are those annoying creepy uncles coming again? I can't fight them, but I can still be useful, though I must grow up first!"

The sunflower had the voice of a little girl; it sounded very crisp. About five minutes later, the seedling-like sunflower grew to half a person's height. It stretched its body, and amidst a radial light like a searchlight, it transformed into a card slightly larger than a playing card.

Everyone watched this in astonishment. Dave picked up the card and explained, "This is the battle plant growing up... to store power and play its role when necessary... self-sealing... I call this a Plant Card... Well, now I have a Sunflower Card, and next, I will use this card."

The card in Dave's hand vanished, and a half-person-tall sunflower appeared on the lawn in front of him. As if stepping to a beat, the sunflower swayed left and right. Its flower head began to release a yellow light that, while not particularly bright, was extremely warm, enveloping an area of about four square meters: "Plant my friends of other types beside me. I will shine upon them and help them grow quickly."

"Cute little thing... so glad to see you again."

Dave touched the sunflower's flower-face, then planted a Peashooter seed on the lawn next to the sunflower. He watered it, and soon a bundle of tender shoots emerged. A few minutes later, a strange, bright green plant seedling with a trumpet-shaped mouth and eyes appeared.

"Hey, I'm the hardworking Peashooter. Where are the zombies? Are they attacking? But I'm still very small; I have to grow up before I can teach them a lesson with peas... What do I see? There's a sunflower beside me! That's great, I'll grow up quickly!"

After greeting everyone, the Peashooter seedling shook its body, absorbing the light emitted by the sunflower.

"That's it!"

Dave clapped his hands forcefully and said to everyone, "Battle plants need to absorb a lot of sunlight to grow... but the sun in the sky doesn't provide enough warmth... First, rely on the sun to grow sunflowers, and then you can... obtain more sunlight. Other plants grow very slowly, so you must find ways to provide them with more sunlight... Of course, it's not just sunflowers that provide sunlight... there are also Sun-shrooms."

"But all mushrooms are night owls... they sleep during the day and only wake up at night, unless... unless you feed them a little something that refreshes them. What was it? I don't seem to remember clearly..."

Tapping the frying pan on his head, Dave began to mutter to himself. This behavior, resembling a mental breakdown, was naturally ignored by the crowd. Everyone, including Wang Ling's four summoned characters, watched the sunflower and the Peashooter with curiosity.

Ten minutes later, the Peashooter suddenly twisted its body and shouted, "I feel like I'm going to grow up! So fast! Thank you, Sunflower!"

Amidst the shouting, the seedling grew rapidly, becoming half a person's height. At the top of the thick green stalk, the trumpet-shaped mouth looked like a cannon, appearing quite imposing!