chapter 63

At night, after his parents had fallen asleep, Ryan quietly gathered a large number of supplies and transported them to the Tim Hortans Grocery Store.

Using his newly acquired life magic, he examined the dragon grass on the counter and quickly discovered the reason why it hadn't grown. It turned out that when he injected high-level energy into the plant, it lacked a soul—an essential element for a magical plant's development. In the magical world, dragons were among the most powerful creatures, and their energy was too advanced for a soulless plant to process. Because of this, the dragon grass had been unable to mature. After all, the growth of a plant's soul took a significant amount of time.

However, Ryan had a theory. His upcoming trip to the Plants vs. Zombies world might yield something useful—perhaps an object or method that could accelerate the plant's soul development.

After making a mental note of this, he activated a space door leading to the Plants vs. Zombies world.

A Transformed Town

As soon as he stepped through, Ryan found himself in the middle of the familiar yet changed town. It was already afternoon. He took a careful look around and noticed that the town was drastically different from his last visit.

The debris and fallen zombies had been completely cleared away. The barricades that once littered the roads were gone. The houses on both sides of the street had been repaired, and signs of human activity were now visible. People had returned to their homes, bringing life back to the town.

But the most striking change was at the town's center. A huge energy tower stood in the small square in front of Dave's old house. Even from a few blocks away, Ryan could clearly see its towering presence.

Curious, he made his way to Dave's house. Before he could even knock, the door swung open.

"Oh! My friend from another world!" Dave greeted him enthusiastically. "The plants told me you were coming! It's been a long time, Ryan. I've really missed you—welcome!"

With a hearty slap on Ryan's shoulder, Dave ushered him inside.

A New Invention

The house was much tidier than before. Noticing Ryan's gaze, Dave grinned and said proudly, "Ever since I built these robots, our defenses have expanded considerably. Now, ordinary folks who used to hide in the mountains can return to town. And most importantly—I can finally enjoy hot, fresh meals!"

As if on cue, a small robot whirred past, diligently wiping down furniture with a cleaning rag.

"These little guys are incredible," Ryan commented, watching the robot work. "I admire how your civilization managed to build such intelligent machines using only perforated steel plates and steam engines."

Dave chuckled. "Oh, you haven't seen anything yet! I have something even more impressive to show you. You'll never guess what it is!"

With an air of excitement, he led Ryan outside toward the energy tower. As they approached, Ryan noticed something peculiar—only a faint wisp of white steam was rising from the top of the tower's chimney.

That didn't make sense. Even in the Ice Age World, where energy towers were originally developed, coal combustion at maximum efficiency still produced black smoke and sparks. Yet, here, the chimney released only clean white steam.

Intrigued, Ryan turned to Dave. "How did you manage to make the energy tower smokeless?"

Dave smirked. "Ah, that's thanks to my secret weapon."

He nodded to the engineers standing guard around the tower before guiding Ryan closer.

At the base of the tower, where the combustion chamber should have been, Ryan saw something unexpected. The usual fireproof glass wasn't just an observation window—it looked like a greenhouse.

A greenhouse?

Realization struck him like lightning. He sprinted forward and peered inside.

Sure enough, a group of torch stumps with blue flames were burning inside the glass chamber.

Dave caught up, wrapping an arm around Ryan's shoulder. With a triumphant grin, he pointed at the torch stumps.

"See, my friend? Instead of using coal, I feed them coffee beans and sunshine crystals, and they burn forever! No pollution, no energy crisis—just clean, endless energy. If that's not genius, I don't know what is!"

Ryan laughed. "I have to admit, Dave—you are a genius. This is an incredible idea."

Dave beamed at the praise.

A Trade and a Mission

Changing topics, Ryan said, "This time, I've brought some valuable production processes and technologies for daily necessities. I also have some magical plant seeds that I recently acquired from a Nordic country.

"And one more thing—I'd like to practice my magic on zombies."

Dave eagerly accepted the documents Ryan handed over, giving the seeds to a nearby robot. He glanced through the papers, nodding approvingly.

"These will be incredibly useful," he said. "Now that we've secured our town, people no longer have to worry about basic survival. Naturally, they'll start needing daily necessities. The problem is, most of the pre-disaster supplies we scavenged have expired. Your contributions will help solve that issue."

Then, he shook his head and chuckled. "But next time, you should bring a removable storage device—so many paper documents are a hassle to carry around."

Ryan shrugged. "I wish I could, but the world on my side is at least a decade behind yours. You wouldn't happen to have an ancient computer that can read floppy disks, would you?"

Dave burst out laughing. "Fair enough." He handed the documents to his staff before turning back to Ryan.

"You mentioned fighting zombies?" Dave said. "Well, you've got great timing. We've just gathered enough strength to retake the first city. Stay here tonight—we're launching the attack tomorrow. You can come with us."

Ryan's eyes lit up. "That sounds perfect."

"Oh, and by the way," Dave added, as if suddenly remembering something. "Your house has been fully cleaned and restored. The friend you introduced last time—Kenway—is living there now. But don't worry, the house is big enough for both of you."

Ryan nodded and bid Dave farewell before heading to his house.

A Familiar Face

For the first time, Ryan took a proper look at his home. It was a two-story red-brick house with three bedrooms and a warm fireplace.

He knocked on the door. After a moment, a young girl opened it. It was Jennifer Scott, the daughter of the man he had helped escape last time.

Jennifer's eyes widened. "Dad! The brother who sent us here last time is back!" she called into the house.

A moment later, Kenway emerged, dressed in casual home clothes. His face lit up with a warm smile.

"Ryan! Welcome back! Please, come in—you must be hungry. I'll call the restaurant and have dinner brought over."

Ryan stepped into the cozy living room and settled onto the sofa. Kenway poured him a cup of black tea and sat across from him.

"I see you've adapted well," Ryan said with a smile. "You even know how to order takeout now."

Kenway chuckled. "It's all thanks to you. After I arrived, Dave read your letter of introduction and offered me a position on the reconnaissance team. It suits me well—this time, I can be sure that my targets are actual enemies, not innocent people.

"Also, Dave made sure my daughter could attend school with the other children. She's much happier now."

Ryan took a sip of his tea and smiled. "I'm really glad to hear that. A promise is a promise—I wouldn't want anything bad to happen to the people I help."

Kenway nodded gratefully.

Tomorrow, the real battle would begin.

And Ryan couldn't wait.

FOR MORE CHAPTERS

patreon.com/STEPHENHART427