In those days of Plants vs. Zombies

"Hey, little brother, I heard that they are recruiting people here. Is this true?"

Hearing the question, Klein turned his head and immediately saw a wanderer wearing a military cloak.

The other person's face was hidden under the hood of the cloak, and Klein could only see a pair of sharp brown eyes.

He had only seen the same look on the face of Nata, who was positioned as a sniper.

"Yes, we are hiring in Courtyard 5905."

Klein nodded and pointed to the homeless people queuing up to register their information not far away. "They all came here for this reason. They want to become new members of the War Courtyard."

"Wow, there are quite a lot of people here."

The wanderer in a military cloak glanced at the group and whistled happily: "So, little brother, you are a soldier too?"

"Yes, I am Private Klein Rhinelot, a plant spirit warrior assigned by the 59th Federal Army to serve in Courtyard No. 5905."

When Klein mentioned his identity, his tone revealed a hint of pride, and he introduced himself to the other party very formally.

Of course, the pride was not because of his identity as a federal soldier, but because he was a member of Courtyard No. 5905.

Such a subtle emotional fluctuation was easily captured by Simmons.

The corners of his mouth curled up slightly, and he casually asked, "Oh, is this courtyard really as good as you said?"

"Of course, I'm sure there's no better courtyard in War Zone 59 than Courtyard 5905."

As one of the first plant spirit warriors sent to serve in this courtyard, Klein witnessed the continuous growth of Courtyard No. 5905 with his own eyes.

It can be said that on the topic of "Courtyard No. 5905", this child and the other three plant spirit warriors who arrived at the same time (Eve, Anton, and Ford) have the most say.

As Klein spoke, Simmons either nodded in agreement or opened his mouth in surprise.

He cooperated with the former very actively, and asked a few questions from time to time, seeming to be full of curiosity and yearning for Courtyard No. 5905.

In fact, this is exactly the case. Simmons kept asking questions, inquiring and collecting all the information about Courtyard No. 5905.

Perhaps due to his young age and lack of experience, Klein was completely unaware of this and commented that his vigilance needed to be improved.

If it were a veteran like Norman or Zhao Tong, they would probably become suspicious of Simmons.

This is also the reason why Simmons chose Klein among the several plant spirit warriors who could be approached for a conversation.

There's no other reason, it's simply because the child is young, so it's easy to get the hang of things.

Of course, Simmons had no bad intentions. He simply wanted to gain a deeper understanding of the future working environment for himself and his colleagues.

After all, he had made up his mind to go to Courtyard No. 5905 to make a living.

He approached Klein to talk because of his two companions who gave him so much worry.

If something goes wrong before we understand Courtyard 5905's attitude towards zombies, it will be difficult to deal with.

"Little brother, what do you think of zombies?"

"Zombie? Are you asking about the imperial soldiers?"

"Yes, compared to the wanderers, plant spirit warriors like you who are assigned to serve in the courtyard should have more dealings with them."

Pretending to know nothing, Simmons cleverly tested Klein.

Faced with this seemingly simple but actually extremely complicated question, the latter did not answer immediately as Simmons expected.

After a moment of silence, or perhaps reflection, Klein finally spoke: "If it were before, I would have thought they were all bad people."

After a brief pause, he continued, "The Imperial forces will massacre the captured courtyard communities and execute captured plant spirit warriors."

"So what do you think now?"

"Me now? I don't think that way anymore. I've come to understand that this world is very complicated. Race, identity, and faction all affect everyone.

My brother and sister told me that they had fought against some very bad humans and plant spirits. They were not zombies, but they were worse than zombies.

On the streets of the metropolis, I have also seen some zombies from the Empire. They were allowed to enter by the metropolitan government and were merchants who came to the Federation to do business.

The owner told us many stories, one of which left a deep impression on me. He said that there was a small town in the modern world where all races could live in peace.

Now I don't think all zombies are bad, but I won't harbor false illusions about the entire group just because of a few isolated cases."

Klein blinked and added, "The same goes for plant spirits and humans."

It is hard to imagine that a twelve-year-old child can have such clear cognition, which makes Simmons look up to him.

With his second-day skill of "reading the words and expressions", Simmons was able to accurately judge the truthfulness of the other party's words.

After possessing this chosen skill, the user can analyze a person's true inner thoughts by observing their expressions and language.

This is an auxiliary skill that does not consume much plant spiritual power, and it is perfect for use in social occasions.

What he just said came completely from his inner thoughts, without any concealment.

This was the conclusion Simmons came to after observing Klein's words and expressions.

Combining with the other party's just-mentioned remarks, Simmons keenly perceived the source of the child's clear cognition.

The answer is actually very simple, the environment.

In other words, it was the overall atmosphere of Courtyard No. 5905 that allowed the child to think about these complex issues in addition to living, studying, and fighting.

This also made Simmons more interested in this courtyard. You know, before this, all the courtyard plant spirit warriors he met had extreme hatred towards the zombies without exception.

Their reaction was not difficult to understand, as the Empire's loss of comrades or loved ones was common in this war zone.

Hate all zombies? That's perfectly normal.

The maturity and clarity displayed by Klein may be the uniqueness of Courtyard No. 5905.

What kind of courtyard could produce such a sensible plant-spirit warrior? And what kind of owner could lead such a courtyard?

Simmons couldn't wait to go and find out.

······

"Little brother, what kind of person can become the new resident of your courtyard?"

"Hmm... Anyone willing to work for compensation, possessing a special skill, or possessing a specialized occupation, can register their information. We will select suitable candidates for acceptance."

"So, what do the former Federation soldiers say?"

"Former Federation soldier? Of course, we need people like that!"

Irving, who happened to be passing by, came over immediately when he heard these words from Simmons, and looked at Simmons with curious eyes.

"Fourth brother?"

Klein was startled by him, but Owen ignored his younger brother for the time being and stared at Simmons: "You just said former federal soldiers, don't tell me..."

"Well, it's pretty much what you thought."

Simmons lifted his hood, revealing his young and handsome face, and at the same time took off his sniper rifle and carried it on his shoulder.

"Former Federation Sergeant, Simmons Levi, a Coconut Sniper Plant Spirit with third-level plant spirit power. I wonder if you would be willing to let me join you?"