Chapter 26: Addicted to Fighting Zombies

The zombies moved very slowly, and with their cartoonish design, they weren't terrifying. However, Jessica Thompson still felt a bit of tension as the zombies slowly approached the two Peashooters, making her somewhat nervous.

At this point, the two Peashooters began spitting peas, with a continuous "pop pop pop" sound, as the peas hit the zombies.

Soon, the zombie's arm fell off, and shortly after, its head dropped off, leaving the headless zombie to collapse and die.

Jessica relaxed, thinking to herself, "Is that it? This is easy. It's indeed a casual game, not very difficult."

"But the concept is quite interesting. How did they come up with the idea of plants fighting zombies? It's strangely appealing."

Jessica quickly cleared the first level and earned a new card: Sunflower. She proceeded to the next level.

The early levels were not difficult at all. As long as you played carefully, you could clear them quickly. Following the instructions, Jessica continued unlocking new plants.

Sunflower, Cherry Bomb, Wall-nut… one by one, new plants were unlocked.

The combat attributes of these plants perfectly matched their characteristics, making them easy to remember.

The various plants, zombies, and even the quirky neighbour "Crazy Dave" all fit perfectly, creating a cohesive and immersive game world without any jarring elements.

Although this game was casual, it was crafted with great care and was very engaging. Jessica soon found herself hooked.

She couldn't stop playing, advancing through the adventure mode rapidly.

Before she knew it, she noticed a prompt in the bottom right corner of the screen: five minutes remaining until her hour was up.

Jessica was surprised. "That fast? It feels like I've only played a few levels. How has an hour passed already?"

Not wanting to overthink it and enjoying herself too much to stop, she scanned her phone to pay for another two hours.

A casual game should be completed within these additional two hours, right?

By noon, Jessica took a sip of her coffee and continued playing.

By this stage, she started facing some challenges. Many levels restricted plants, making her uncomfortable.

Additionally, new types of zombies appeared, such as Pole Vaulting Zombies, Disco Zombies, Newspaper Zombies, and Door Zombies. Each had its own characteristics that required specific plants to counter them.

Jessica was caught off guard by these new zombies' abilities and had to restart several times.

However, these minor setbacks didn't dampen her enthusiasm. Instead, she found the game more exciting and challenging and felt exhilarated by the mental exercise required.

Unknowingly, it was already noon.

Jessica glanced at her phone and was surprised to find it was already past noon.

Looking over, she saw Alex still at the bar, intently focused on his laptop screen, deep in thought.

"Hey, store manager," Jessica called out.

Alex looked up, "Is there a problem with the game?"

Jessica replied, "No, I just wanted to ask if you serve lunch here?"

Alex shook his head, "No, but restaurants and fast-food places are across the street. You can also order takeout."

Jessica's big eyes blinked, "Store manager, what are you eating? Could you go buy food and bring me something, too?"

Alex's mouth twitched. What? Is she ordering me around now? Should I put up a sign: 'No boss orders allowed'?

"This experience store doesn't provide meal delivery, and you can't eat inside the store. If you need to eat, you'll have to do it in the meeting room," Alex said.

Jessica asked, "Then where do you eat?"

Alex replied, "I usually eat on the second floor."

Jessica said, "Then I'll eat on the second floor, too."

Alex was speechless, "The second floor is a private space, no entry allowed."

Jessica pouted, "Stingy."

Alex: "..."

Jessica said, "Fine, then help me order some takeout, and I'll eat it in the meeting room. I'll transfer the money to you."

Alex replied, "Can't you order it yourself?"

Jessica said, "Oh, I'm busy here, can't you see? I'm hungry. Hurry up."

After saying this, Jessica focused on the screen again, continuing her battle.

Great, now I've nurtured a gaming addict.

Alex hadn't expected Jessica to get so engrossed, even neglecting her meal. Feeling hungry himself, he ordered takeout from a fast-food place, ordering two portions.

Alex got up from the bar, walked around to stretch, and checked Jessica's game progress.

The screen showed a nighttime scene, indicating she was in the second primary level, the nighttime mode. Football Zombies started appearing, and it seemed Jessica had failed this level once and was now better prepared. As soon as a Football Zombie appeared, she began planting plants aggressively in that row, trying to suppress it with firepower.

However, while she managed to eliminate the Football Zombie, the other rows, lacking enough firepower, were overrun by zombies, leading to a game over.

"Ah! Damn it!" Jessica, frustrated, took another sip of coffee and restarted.

Alex couldn't help but chuckle. This was normal. In "Plants vs. Zombies," the sun in each level was limited. Spending too many resources on a single Football Zombie would leave the other rows under-defended.

The best way to handle Football Zombies was with Hypno-shrooms, but Alex didn't plan on giving her that tip. A true gentleman never gives away his secrets while watching a game. Spoilers would ruin the experience.

It wasn't because he still held a grudge from her earlier sharp comments.

Seeing Jessica so immersed in the game, Alex felt much more at ease. Classic games seemed to remain classics even in this parallel world. Fun games never go out of style or fail to adapt.

For a skilled player, completing the adventure mode of "Plants vs. Zombies" would take about five hours for the first playthrough and about eight hours to fully complete the entire adventure mode.

Adding in the mini-games, even the most gifted and dedicated players would need two days to finish everything.

Of course, the Endless Mode was a different story—it could be played indefinitely.

For new players, it was impossible to breeze through the levels without any pressure. They would need time to learn and figure things out.

A casual game wasn't meant to be played obsessively. Playing two hours a day, with some time spent learning and experimenting, would mean exploring the game entirely for almost a month.

Even after completing everything, Endless Mode and friend rankings remain, making it a bottomless pit of gameplay.

So, Jessica's thought of finishing the game in another two hours was, in Alex's mind, simply naive.