Chapter 78

Chapter 77: How a Veteran Sets Up Defense (2)

After giving a few tips, Jinhyuk glanced up at the sky.

It's about time for them to appear...

Just as he thought that,

Ding!

[The 'Solar Energy' for the first wave has been calculated.]

Sure enough, they appeared right on time.

Jinhyuk smiled in satisfaction.

[You have obtained a total of 1,500 'Solar Energy'.]

The power of the sun gained from defeating the zombies.

With this, he could cultivate a wider variety of more powerful defense plants.

'Obviously, relying solely on projectile plants won't cut it.'

The projectile plants that blocked the first wave were powerful, but due to their delay, they were insufficient to stop a large-scale invasion.

Especially as the waves progressed, zombies with drastically enhanced bodies and even special zombies falling from the sky appeared.

Naturally, the plants had to diversify accordingly.

The tightrope walking between zombies and plants was the key to conquering this floor.

[You have obtained the 'Botanist' title due to the remarkable amount of energy you have acquired.]

[Botanist]

Acquisition Difficulty: SS for Floor 4 only

Description: The performance of all plant defense towers increases by 10%. While it is commonly believed that plants lack intelligence and emotion, this is incorrect. Plants resonate with the Botanist's heart and respond to it, destroying his enemies.

The amount of Solar Energy obtainable from the first wave is usually only 300.

This is due to the slow blooming speed and difficulty of cultivating plants.

Therefore, most players ignored the plants, which boasted an extremely high difficulty level.

However, Jinhyuk chose the wide base of Sangam Stadium and dealt with an enormous number of zombies, securing a whopping five times the Solar Energy.

This completely changes the game.

[Melee Plant / Destruction Type / Required Solar Energy: 300]

[Ice Plant / Ice Type / Required Solar Energy: 350]

[Rock Plant / Defense Type / Required Solar Energy: 250]

[Rampage Plant / Rampage Type / Required Solar Energy: 600]

There are four types of plants to choose from for the second wave.

Of course, he had already decided where to place each plant.

"I'll plant a Melee Plant on the east and south sides and place an Ice Plant in the center. One Rock Plant on the west side should be enough."

Finally, he put the Rampage Plant seeds in his pocket.

'Good. Then next is...'

Jinhyuk also bought additional items from the coin exchange.

'10kg of Dried Plateau Cow Dung', '5 bales of Last Autumn Leaves', '100 Pentelas Dung Beetles', '100 Gray Worms'.

All these were materials to make fertilizer.

Of course, not all fertilizers are the same.

Finding the optimal combination among countless possibilities was a privilege only a veteran could enjoy.

[The plants' leaves tremble.]

[They savor the sweetness they have never tasted before.]

Hearing the plants' inner thoughts was a characteristic of the Botanist.

"Yeah, yeah. Eat up and grow big."

Jinhyuk murmured as he generously sprinkled the fertilizers.

In contrast, the faces of the others, who saw Jinhyuk giggling, were more distorted than ever.

"Sister, I think my brother has gone crazy."

Lee Taemin swallowed hard.

"I see it too. How long must he have been stuck in the tower to become like this?"

"I'm scared too. Jinhyuk seems to be communicating with the plants, doesn't he? Surely, it's just my imagination, right? Please tell me it's my imagination."

Yoo Yeon-hwa and Teresa shook their heads as if denying reality.

"He might really be capable of that. He's just... unpredictable."

Even Cheon Yu-seong frowned in fear.

Unaware of everyone's thoughts,

"Hehehe. Anastasia. Yes, yes, chew well and eat. Christina."

Jinhyuk stroked the plants lovingly.

***

About five minutes later, Jinhyuk, having entrusted the base to the four of them, immediately left the stadium.

"First, secure food. We need to loot all the convenience stores in the alleys. Got it? Food and water are the top priorities."

"We'll take care of the medicines and essentials. It'll get harder to go outside as time goes on, so we need to secure as much as possible early on."

"Try to avoid fights with other guilds if possible, but if it can't be helped, take them all out."

The streets were bustling with many players.

With time left before the next wave, they were farming in the streets to prepare for the next wave.

'Tsk tsk. They shouldn't be preparing for that...'

Jinhyuk sighed as he leisurely crossed the crowd.

They came here unprepared, yet they think they can prepare for a long-term battle?

The probability of the base falling before the later stages is much higher.

It would be better to pour all their coins into strengthening their defense towers to survive one more wave.

'Well, if they knew that, they wouldn't have struggled so much on the third floor.'

Most players lack information about the tower.

It's almost like they're encountering it for the first time.

So, they end up doing such foolish things.

'I keep forgetting that I shouldn't judge by my standards.'

Jinhyuk chuckled.

While looking around, he soon arrived in front of a building next to a mart.

Unlike the mart guarded by the Wu Lin and the Triad, no one had chosen this place as a base.

It had no defensive advantages and was not a resource-rich area, so it was an abandoned building.

Jinhyuk walked inside.

[You have entered the base 'Eccentric's Fine Art Storage'.]

Medieval armor made of iron and ceramics were lined up.

Most of the display cases were broken, and the floor was covered with dust from lack of use.

A place where the lost history of the fallen modern world overlapped.

'Really been a long time.'

Almost eight years ago?

While testing how long he could run from the tens of thousands of zombies, he stumbled upon this place.

Jinhyuk looked at the dozens of paintings hanging on the wall.

Faded landscapes that once decorated a corner of an art gallery.

Back then, with no weapons left and cornered, he reached out to tear a frame to smash a zombie's head.

Jinhyuk reached out to the frame just like back then.

Then,

Whirr!

His hand passed through the painting.

The wall, which seemed perfect from the outside, had now turned into a passage leading to the adjacent mart.

'I knew it would be like this.'

Jinhyuk's lips curled into a smile.

A kind of bug.

A bug that hadn't been fixed in the game was also present in reality.

Jinhyuk quickly moved to the other side.

'No one is on watch here.'

As expected.

Zombies and intruders would all come through the entrance, so naturally, all forces would be concentrated there.

They wouldn't even imagine a hidden passage at the back.

Jinhyuk looked at the mountain of food and supplies.

This amount would be enough for at least a few hundred people to survive for 2-3 weeks.

That's why marts are so good.

"Thanks to this, our little darling can eat to her heart's content."

The last plant he didn't plant at the base.

[Rampage Plant]

It required a huge amount of energy, but wasn't there already an abundance of food here?

There was no reason to feel sorry about it since it wasn't his.

[The Rampage Plant savors the taste.]

In the depths of the neglected food storage.

Chomp! Chomp! Chomp!

The red plant began to grow rapidly.

***

"Ugh! Damn brat. I'll definitely tear him apart. I can't let that guy live!"

Jeong Geol-cheon spat out a curse filled with anger.

His still pale face looked quite painful.

Bang!

A water bottle shattered, and water splashed everywhere.

"I agree with Cheon. We don't need to take in a troublesome guy just to go up the tower, do we?"

Dang So-ha also chimed in with Jeong Geol-cheon.

"..."

Hwang Bo-gun-ak remained silent.

Then he casually asked Nam Gung-hyun, who was standing next to him.

"Hyun. Do you think the same?"

"I... I..."

Nam Gung-hyun trailed off.

Hwang Bo-gun-ak's eyebrows furrowed.

"What? Are you scared or something?"

"Me, scared?"

"Exactly. You look like a scared stray dog with its tail between its legs."

Hwang Bo-gun-ak deliberately used provocative and stimulating words.

If he got angry, he could overcome his fear.

However, Nam Gung-hyun didn't even respond to those words.

He was completely frozen.

Because of the person named Kang Jin-hyuk.

'So that's how it is.'

A wall that only the parties who faced him could feel.

Perhaps, they were trying to bring in a player they couldn't handle.

"Everyone..."

Just as Hwang Bo-gun-ak was about to speak,

Bang!

A tremendous explosion shook the entire mart.

"Ugh!"

"Ah!"

"Help! Someone, help!"

Terrifying screams erupted from all over.

"What's happening!"

Hwang Bo-gun-ak drew his sword and kicked open the door.

There was still time before the second wave.

So, this shock wasn't due to zombies.

Moreover, with the highlight video already released, no crazy person would dare to invade here.

Everyone knew which base was the strongest on the fourth floor.

No, there was one person.

A guy with guts enough to do such a thing.

"Can't be..."

Dang So-ha's forehead creased.

"Th... There's a large plant in the warehouse, an incredibly large plant!"

"The players are all being eaten! Ugh... We can't do anything. We can't!"

It had to be him.

"Damn it! My base!"

Hwang Bo-gun-ak shouted in despair.

With the second wave approaching, losing the base now would mean the worst-case scenario.

They had to prevent losing this place at all costs.

But it was too late.

Crash!

The ceiling collapsed, and the pillars shattered.

The entire mart began to collapse.

And in the midst of it,

"Um. I brought a little gift, but our cherry has such a big appetite. I'm really sorry."

Jinhyuk scratched his head with an innocent smile.