In those days of Plants vs. Zombies

"Old Yan, where do you think this car convoy came from?"

On the rooftop, a robust, blond young man stretched his shoulders and turned to ask a curious question to an elderly man with a mustache next to him who was holding a large pipe.

Exhaling a string of elegant smoke rings, the old man known as "Old Man Smoke" replied unhurriedly, "In this abandoned city, how much power do you think the Xu family has to organize such a large convoy?"

The handsome, cowboy-looking man twirled his revolver and casually chimed in for the young man, "Besides the two army groups of the Federation and the Empire, I'm afraid only those wealthy and powerful war gardens could manage that."

The gloomy woman dressed as an assassin didn't speak, but simply nodded in agreement.

With one hand cupped over his eyes, the blond youth muttered to himself, "Eleven large vehicles, all completely modified, each with an automatic assault rifle, and the potted plants are all filled with machine gun pea shooters. Wow, this is quite a grand gesture. It must be at least a second-tier courtyard."

Taking a satisfying puff of his pipe, the old man put it down and said, "Young people are really making a fuss over nothing. By the way, has there been any news about Lin Qin from the Wulan family?"

The cowboy uncle shrugged helplessly: "Not yet. Maybe Apple Girl is delayed by something. She's always been a punctual girl."

"Well, that makes sense. Ringo knows what she should do."

Old Man Yan squinted, looking down at the convoy that was gradually disappearing into the distance: "As for this convoy, no matter which faction they come from, they have nothing to do with us, the Harmony Walkers."

The female assassin crossed her arms: "Old Yan is absolutely right."

"Let's go and continue our mission."

"clear."

Without glancing at the convoy again, the figures of the peaceful travelers vanished from the rooftop in an instant.

······

"Target analysis complete. Conclusion: An armed convoy consisting of four mining trucks and seven buses, originating from a federal courtyard that is at least Tier 1 Ultimate."

A cold, emotionless electronic synthesized voice echoed in the pink, fairytale-style cockpit decorated with many cartoon stickers.

The loud noise immediately woke up the adorable twin-tailed loli girl who was lying on the mecha's cockpit with a lollipop in her mouth.

"A convoy? From the Federal Court?"

The pink-haired loli suddenly sat up straight, her twin ponytails swaying merrily with her large movements, and the lazy sleepiness in her eyes was quickly replaced by excitement.

He quickly clicked on the pink buttons on the control panel, which was covered with plush ornaments, and the parameters and information about the convoy on the ground immediately appeared on the screen in front of him.

"Wow, this looks interesting. I wonder how many times they can withstand my overwhelming firepower? Should we give it a try?"

Just as the little girl activated the mecha's weapon system and locked onto the convoy, that annoying synthesized electronic voice rang in her ears once again:

"Negative, this machine refuses to execute the attack command."

"Huh? Why now? Ugh! Why can't I even watch some fireworks?!"

The little girl's puffed-up cheeks looked like those of a squirrel with its mouth full of pine nuts. She waved her pink little fist at the air, clearly dissatisfied.

"Reason: Delay. Attention, pilot. You are on an important mission with this aircraft. Navigate to Imperial War Fortress No. 59. Order source: Legion Elder Z."

The mecha's notification instantly dispelled the little girl's dissatisfaction. She pouted and canceled the weapon system's lock on the convoy.

"Hmph! I know, you're so long-winded!"

Unable to resist grumbling, the little girl took out a lollipop from the storage box under the control panel: "Let's speed up the flight and get to the fortress as soon as possible. Tell the commander of the 59th Army about that stupid girl."

The pink mecha suddenly accelerated and quickly disappeared into the horizon.

······

In the driver's cab of the lead car in the convoy, Chloe, who had been resting with her eyes closed, suddenly opened them.

Upon seeing this, the guards who were driving immediately asked with concern, "Captain, what's wrong?"

"I have a feeling that we've somehow escaped a disaster."

A chill ran down Chloe's back as she shakily raised her hand to wipe away a few drops of cold sweat dripping from her forehead.

"Survived a disaster? What does that mean?"

The guards were somewhat confused and subconsciously glanced at the rearview mirror, looking behind them.

Apart from the low-level zombies on the roadside and the other vehicles following closely behind the lead car, there was nothing else.

"Captain, there's nothing wrong. Could it be that you're just too nervous?"

The guard scratched his head and pointed to the sky: "There can't be something in the sky, can there?"

Chloe peered out at the dimly lit sky, finding it empty. The feeling of unease that lingered on her back came and went quickly, as if it were merely a figment of her imagination caused by her own nervousness.

"Let's hope so. Keep going, we'll be there soon."

Chloe took a deep breath and leaned back in her chair, relaxing her clenched fist.

"understand!"

······

In a room of a rented residential building in courtyard 5905, in a university-populated area.

Ulanlinqin, who had just woken up, rubbed her sleepy eyes and asked Su Nuan, who was already dressed, with curiosity, "Sister Su Nuan, do you get up this early every day?"

"Yes, it's become a habit. In Long'an, farmers always get up early to work in the fields so that they can reap a good harvest after their hard work."

Su Nuan smiled as she answered Wu Lanlinqin's question, and casually handed her a cup of hot tea: "Little Apple, would you like a cup?"

"Okay!"

Eagerly taking the tea from Su Nuan's hand, without even glancing at it, Wu Lanlinqin tilted her head back and drank the tea in one gulp.

The next second, she coughed a few times, an incredulous expression on her face: "Sister Su Nuan, why did you put garlic slices in the tea!"

The spicy garlic flavor intertwined with the slightly bitter tea flavor in her mouth, instantly sweeping away Ulanlinqin's drowsiness and making her feel much more awake.

"Sorry, Little Apple, let me make you a fresh cup."

Feeling a little embarrassed by her habit, Su Nuan quickly took the teacup from Wu Lanlinqin's hand and brewed her a fresh cup of tea. Of course, this time she didn't add any garlic slices to the tea.

Just then, there was a soft knock on the door, followed by Eve's voice: "Sister Su Nuan, Sister Lin Qing, are you awake?"

"Wake up, wake up!"

Ulan Ringo quickly opened the door and welcomed Eve, who was waiting outside the room.

Su Nuan asked curiously, "Are we about to set off?"

Eve nodded slightly: "Yes, Senior Norman asked Eve to inform everyone to gather in the square of the settlement."

"Sister Su Nuan, let's set off quickly. I'm really looking forward to seeing what courtyard number 5905 is like. How about you?"

"Yes, me too."

Eve led Su Nuan and Wu Lanlin out of the room after they had packed their luggage. Along the way, they also saw many homeless people with their families coming out of other rooms.

Several plant spirit warriors from courtyard 5905 were maintaining order, and many plant spirits dressed as mercenaries were assisting them.

Norman was already waiting at the entrance to the settlement, holding a pocket watch and occasionally looking into the distance.

A moment later, the sound of mining truck horns came from afar, finally giving Norman a sigh of relief.