Chapter 34: 360-Degree Omnidirectional Barrage

The corn stalk began to shudder violently. Its leaves curled inward, and the silk started to shed. The husk slowly parted, revealing golden, plump kernels. Tang Miao held her breath. Was it time to launch the corn?

In the next second, the corn began to spin at high speed, while the stalk remained perfectly still. Kernels were flung outward like a 360-degree barrage. Tang Miao quickly dropped to the ground.

"Skinny-Tall" was a bit slow to react. A single kernel struck him square in the forehead, exploding into popcorn upon impact and driving him deep into the soil.

Boom!

As the corn transformed into popcorn, it smashed through the roof of Tang Miao’s bedroom.

"Alright! Stop, stop, stop!"

The corn obeyed, ceasing its barrage. Its leaves unfurled once more, and the cob was neatly wrapped back in its emerald husk.

Tang Miao went to rescue Skinny-Tall. The popcorn pinning him down was about the size of a basketball, and when she touched it, her hand stuck to the surface. Upon closer inspection, the popcorn showed signs of melting where it touched Skinny-Tall, fusing his head firmly to the ground.

"Roar..." Sister Miao... save me...

The other zombies, including "Chubby," who had hidden early in the artificial lake, heard the terrifying commotion stop and slowly poked their heads out. The corn stalk and the pea plant seemed to sense them and turned in unison, scaring the zombies back into the large pit by the lake.

Tang Miao finally used her mental energy to separate the popcorn from Skinny-Tall. She comforted him, promising to hatch a chick for him to eat tomorrow as a reward.

For the third pot, Tang Miao decided to play it safe and took it to the bottom of the large pit at the artificial lake for testing. She let Zhang Xinrou and the others out, asking them to help restore the bedroom, otherwise, they would have nowhere to sleep tonight.

Zhang Xinrou quickly organized Skinny-Tall and Chubby to handle the repairs, while she laid on the ground, peeking over the edge to see what was happening in the pit.

Lin Chaofeng silently joined in. "That invincible spinning popcorn barrage from the second pot was insanely cool. This third one has to be even more explosive, right?"

"Shh, watch quietly. Don't disturb Tang Miao."

The soil in the third pot pushed up a small mound, but there was no sign of further growth. Tang Miao tentatively channeled a bit of mental energy into it, but found that the plant was repelling her. She waited quietly for nearly half an hour, but there was still no movement.

What was going on? Did they give her a dud?

[Host, please wait. Confirmation complete. The deployment is normal, and the seed status is normal. Host, I checked the handbook; some plants have special environmental requirements. You may want to try different approaches.]

Why wasn't there information about them in my handbook? Do I have to reach a certain revenue target to unlock it? Let me tell you, I can at any time...

[Host, calm down! Let me tell you quietly: it is active at night and dormant during the day.]

I see. Fine, then.

Lin Chaofeng stretched his neck. "Sister Miao, what happened? Why won't the third pot grow?"

"It's fine. It likes to sleep during the day. We'll try again tonight."

Zhang Xinrou brushed the dirt off herself, looking excited. "Tang Miao, do they listen to you too?"

Tang Miao struck a thoughtful pose and shook her head. "I'm not sure. You guys can take a pot of peas and try it out. The corn one is too intense; let's not test that one."

Zhang Xinrou and Lin Chaofeng had been waiting for exactly those words!

Zai Zai cheered and jumped into Zhang Xinrou’s arms—he wanted to play too! Song Mingchen didn't show much emotion, but he followed closely behind Zhang Xinrou and Lin Chaofeng. Seeing them leave, Tang Miao controlled the redwood tree to open a small door, letting them go outside the farm to experiment.

"Why aren't you going?"

Lin Yue shook her head, her fire-colored earrings swaying. "It's... it's too scary."

Noticing Tang Miao’s gaze on her, Lin Yue awkwardly raised a hand to tuck her hair, revealing the string of gold and jade bracelets on her wrist. "I... I..."

"Don't worry. Everything in your room was prepared for you by Xinrou. She got it from me, so I know all about it."

"But if you gave it all to me, do you and Xinrou have any left?"

The room was filled with gold and silver jewelry, and the cosmetics were all high-end brands. Even the bag on her nightstand was a Louis Vuitton.

Tang Miao turned to wave at Jiang Nanxing in the distance while responding to Lin Yue.

"I have mountains of these things here. We're actually worried about not having enough places to use them. Once work is finished tonight, why don't you come to our room and pick out a few outfits you like?"

Zhang Xinrou had told Tang Miao that she was worried about Lin Yue’s preferences and sizes, so she had only grabbed a few things that would suffice for now.

Lin Yue quickly agreed and then went to her small kitchen to prepare lunch. On the way, her heart fluttered. So, while she was starving, shivering, and constantly on guard against being captured by monsters in the Red Fire Safe Zone, Tang Miao and the others were living without a care in the farm.

Every day they just dug in the soil, raised chickens and ducks, sold goods at their leisure, wore designer clothes, and let jewelry pile up in the dust. Living in the same apocalypse, why were they so free and comfortable?

The shelves in the small kitchen were divided into two sides. The left side was marked with green labels for human food, and the right side with red labels for zombie food. Even the cooking utensils were divided into two sets. Lin Yue couldn't understand it—the ingredients looked exactly the same; was it really necessary to distinguish them so clearly?

It was mealtime again. Today, they were once again divided into two tables, with Zai Zai sitting beside Tang Miao. Just as Tang Miao was about to pick up her chopsticks, Jiang Nanxing from the next table walked over and stopped her.

"Miaomiao, your dishes are a bit strange."

Hearing this, Zhang Xinrou and the others stopped midway through reaching for their food. Lin Yue’s hands tightened, and her heart began to race.

Tang Miao put down her chopsticks. "What’s the problem? They look no different from what we usually eat."

"Exactly." Lin Chaofeng, not believing it, picked up a piece of braised pork. "Lin Yue is truly amazing. The food is perfect in color, aroma, and taste. It’s finally not that big iron pot of stew anymore."

Seeing Lin Chaofeng eat, Jiang Nanxing didn't stop him, but instead took Tang Miao's bowl away.

"Blech—"

Lin Chaofeng had only chewed twice when a strange taste rushed to his brain. He hunched over and vomited everything in his stomach until he felt slightly better. Tang Miao told him to go drink some spring water to soothe himself.

Seeing this, Lin Yue’s hands trembled. Could it really be that bad?

Zhang Xinrou asked softly, "Lin Yue, did you accidentally mix up the ingredients from the two shelves while cooking?"

Tang Miao asked Jiang Nanxing to move all the dishes from their table to the other, then turned to comfort Lin Yue. "It's fine. They look identical, so it's normal to get them mixed up. Just remember to keep them separate next time."

Zai Zai nodded too. "Aba aba." It's okay, Sister Yue.

Lin Yue’s face burned, and she hurriedly explained, "I didn't mix them up when I took them. I grabbed from the green-labeled shelf. Maybe the auntie misclassified them when she organized them before. I'll go make some more food right now."

With that, she ran toward the kitchen without looking back.

Watching Lin Yue’s fleeing figure, Song Mingchen chuckled. "Tang Miao, I didn't support you saving her from the start. Now look, so much food has been wasted."

"Wasted?" Jiang Nanxing’s gaze shifted coldly. "Are you saying that it’s a waste to give this food to us?"