The player with the eagle-eyed ability took a closer lookâand sure enough, trailing behind the tomato plant was a massive dandelion.
Its yellow bloom hadnât wilted yet, and it was bobbing along, chasing after the tomato.
âThere really is one!â
He gasped in amazement. âYou could even guess that? No wonder youâre friends with Da-ge!â
Fu Changxun felt a little awkward. He didnât bother explaining that this particular dandelion was technically his âitem.â
Instead, he quickly changed the subject. âAnd behind the dandelion? Anyone else following?â
The player squinted into the distance, then slapped his forehead. âWait, isnât that our Da-ge back there? Donât tell me you predicted that too? Holy shitâdo you have the Prophecy ability?â
The more he praised, the worse it sounded. Thankfully, the three figures in the distance were moving fastâwithin moments, theyâd closed to just over a hundred meters away.
Fu Changxun waved. âXiao Pu! Da-ge! Are you planning to stop it?â
The city wall had already been patched and reinforced. At this point, they had no choice but to stop the tomato. Letting it go was out of the question.
Before Dagong could respond, Fu Changxun heard the dandelion yelling from afar, loud and clear: âYou stop right there! Youâre not leaving until you explain yourself!â
The tomato panicked and picked up speed, its roots grinding shorter as it fled.
âCoward!â the dandelion yelled.
Dagong trailed steadily behind themâcalm, but not lagging in the slightest.
âStop it,â he called. âCan you handle it?â
Fu Changxun instinctively looked at Dong Zi, who nodded. âIâll try.â
He moved to a spot with clear line of sight and fixed his gaze on the incoming trio.
As the tomato neared the wall, about to dig its roots under and climb up from below, Dong Zi gave a slight blink.
In an instant, the tomato vanished from its original path and reappeared directly in front of the charging dandelionâwho promptly grabbed it by the stem.
Dagong arrived a moment later.
Fu Changxun let out a sigh of relief. âThatâs the fourth one weâve intercepted. We either neutralized or let the others go. How about your side? Did the dandelion give you any trouble?â
His tone was a bit like a worried parent. Dagong chuckled and shook his head.
âWent pretty smoothly,â he said. âThis tomato should be the last one.â
The dandelion continued pummeling the tomato into the dirt, yelling insults as it beat the poor plant. The tomato tried to roll away, left, rightâno use. Eventually, under the barrage, it curled into a pitiful ball and morphed into a sapling.
The dandelion beamed. âNow thatâs more like it.â
Apparently finding the whole thing hilarious, it started kicking the sapling around like a ball, thoroughly enjoying itself.
Fu Changxun hesitated, unsure how to parent a child who treated other “kids” like soccer balls. But seeing how happy it looked, he decided not to interfere.
Tomato: â???â
How noble of youâto treat me like a goddamn toy!
Just in case, the players conducted a sweep along the entire city perimeter, inspecting every abandoned factory and residential building to confirm there were no more mutated plants.
The wall was finished. The plants were gone.
The crisis that had lasted two days and three nights was finally over.
That said, the number of surviving players had likely dropped to double digits.
And yetâĤ the instance was only halfway through.
***
Back at their lodgings, Dagongâs first act was to announce the end of C Cityâs chaos.
A broadcast echoed through the streets: âFollowing a full sweep, the number of mutated plants in C City has been reduced to zero. You may now go outside! I repeat: you may now go outside! Be aware of heavy damage in some areasâexercise caution and travel in groups if possible. Also, we welcome volunteers for the rescue squad to help free companions trapped under rubble!â
The NPCs hadnât reacted yet, but the players erupted in cheersâeveryone had been holding their breath for far too long.
Fu Changxun finally returned to the inn.
