76: Chapter 76 Jiang Yuan's kindness can never be repaid!
Round 18.
A wave of Giga-gargantuars, accompanied by swarms of fodder, surged forward as the flags refreshed.
Six Cob Cannons fired in two groups of volleys. After two rounds of bombardment, the Giga-gargantuars had lost nearly half their health, yet they continued to charge forward head-on through the artillery fire.
The Gatling Peas on the side lanes immediately redirected their fire. Fire Peas struck the Giga-gargantuars with precision, pouring out sustained high damage; their single-target efficiency was significantly higher than that of Winter Melons.
Before the Cob Cannons could finish their next reload, the low-health Giga-gargantuars were beaten down and collapsed.
But an even more troublesome problem followed!
Once Fire Peas hit a zombie, they immediately cancel out the slow effect of the Winter Melons. Ye Qing keenly noticed that some low-health zombies with the fire debuff managed to slip through, wiping the slow effect from entire rows clean away.
The Giga-gargantuars that weren't slowed moved nearly twice as fast as those in other lanes, threatening to disrupt the rhythm of the Cob Cannon volleys.
"No, the core suppression for full-health Giga-gargantuars still has to rely on Cob Cannon volleys."
"The Gatling plus Torchwood setup has truly fierce single-target burst, way more efficient than Winter Melons, but its coverage for clearing mobs is nowhere near as good as the Cob Cannons. Plus, the side effect of breaking the ice slow is too fatal."
As he talked to himself, he immediately adjusted his strategy.
The Cob Cannons maintained their fixed rhythm of volleys, primarily responsible for clearing clusters of regular zombies, Coneheads, and Bucketheads, while preemptively blowing up Zombonis and Jack-in-the-Box Zombies as they entered the field, using the volleys to suppress the advance of all Gargantuars.
The Gatling Peas, meanwhile, focused specifically on finishing off low-health Giga-gargantuars in the side lanes. This way, there was no need to waste a cannon shot on a single low-health giant and disrupt the overall cycle.
With this division of labor, the Cob Cannon cycle became even more stable than a pure Eight-Cob formation; he no longer had to force an early shot for a single low-health Giga-gargantuar.
The wear and tear on the front-line Pumpkin shells also visibly decreased, and the entire formation's margin for error increased significantly.
The rounds continued to climb.
By the time he reached Round 60, Ye Qing's formation had completely stabilized.
Six Cob Cannons were arranged in three groups in the back of the land lanes, with each side lane equipped with a Repeater + Gatling Pea + Torchwood combo.
The pool lanes were filled with Winter Melons to apply a global slow, and the second column from the left was packed with Gloom-shrooms fed with Coffee Beans. Whether it was Digger Zombies coming from underground or Snorkel Zombies creeping along the edges, they were cleared by spores the moment they popped their heads out.
He also specifically added two Cattails in the back to deal with Balloon Zombies flying all over the place, forming a complete system that balanced offense and defense.
Only then did he have time to glance at the bullet chat. After answering a few questions, he took the initiative to explain:
"The advantage of this formation is that you don't have to perfectly time the extreme infinite loop like in a pure Eight-Cob setup."
"In the past, playing pure Eight-Cob, you had to time the volleys perfectly. The cannons couldn't stop, and your hands were tense the whole time, not daring to relax. One slight rhythm error and the whole thing would collapse."
"Now, with Gatlings clearing the fodder and low-health Gargantuars in the side lanes, the Cob Cannons don't have to fire mindlessly. I can save them for the Giga-gargantuars, Zombonis, and Jack-in-the-Boxes. The operational rhythm is much more relaxed, and the margin for error is higher."
The bullet chat immediately started scrolling uncontrollably:
"I feel like the sun isn't nearly enough? Gatling Pea is 300 + Repeater is 200 sun per gun. The cost for four of them is too ridiculous, right?"
"What do you know? With this level of buff, what's an extra 50 sun? I feel like even an extra 100 sun would be worth it!"
Ye Qing nodded and said:
"This person in the chat is right. Although the Gatling's single-target DPS is the ceiling, it has to be paired with Repeaters and Torchwoods, making the cost too high and its versatility average."
"But after this buff, it's been brought to life. The extra 50 sun cost just happens to balance its strength, though Spark Games will likely adjust it again in the future."
As he spoke, the rounds had reached Round 80.
The zombie density on the screen was getting higher and higher. Three or four Giga-gargantuars were consistently refreshing every round, and Jack-in-the-Boxes and Zombonis came wave after wave.
But Ye Qing's formation remained as steady as Mount Tai. The Cob Cannons accurately predicted high-threat units entering the field, the Gatling Peas continuously poured out Fire Peas to keep the side-lane fodder suppressed in the front field, and the Cattail spikes chased Balloon Zombies all over the place, not letting a single one through.
Round 100, Round 120, Round 140...
Ye Qing's operations became smoother and smoother, the trajectory of his mouse on the screen almost invisible to the naked eye.
His breathing grew rapid, but his gaze remained focused, having already immersed himself heart and soul in the immense joy the game brought him.
Round 150.
The bullet chat went completely wild:
"Round 150! Holy crap, Brother Qing is amazing!"
"The Gatling is seriously fierce. If this were the old pure Eight-Cob setup, it would have snapped by Round 140."
"The margin for error in this new lineup is really high. If it were me, I would have panicked long ago!"
Round 155.
A wave commonly known in the game as a 'Giga Tide' arrived.
Five Giga-gargantuars, three Zombonis, two Jack-in-the-Boxes, and swarms of Balloon Zombies surged out simultaneously.
Ye Qing took a deep breath. First, three groups of Cob Cannons fired in batches, precisely blowing up the Zombonis, Jack-in-the-Boxes, and two full-health Giga-gargantuars that had just entered.
Immediately after, he rushed to drop an Ice-shroom to freeze the entire field, pinning the remaining three fastest-charging Giga-gargantuars in the middle of the field to buy time for the Cob Cannons to reload.
Once the remaining three Giga-gargantuars thawed, they were immediately focused down by the Gatling Peas in the side lanes, Fire Peas hitting them like raindrops.
One Giga-gargantuar fell, then the second. The last one had only a sliver of health left and was about to smash the front-row Pumpkin.
"Just a sliver of health left!"
Ye Qing's usually steady voice went slightly out of tune due to excitement.
He had long ago bound his Imitater to the Cherry Bomb for emergencies.
At this moment, he quickly clicked the copied Cherry Bomb and dropped it precisely at the feet of the low-health Giga-gargantuar. With a boom, the last Giga-gargantuar fell.
Round 156.
The bullet chat was almost unreadable now, the whole screen filled with '666' and 'Amazing'.
Ye Qing's hands began to tremble slightly—not from nervousness, but from exhaustion.
He had been performing high-intensity operations for nearly two and a half hours straight. He couldn't help but say with a laugh:
"Brothers, I might be reaching my limit. My hands are really shaking, and I just used several waves of instant-kill plants in a row, so my sun is starting to fall behind."
Round 158.
Another combined assault of Giga-gargantuars and Zombonis.
Ye Qing's Cob Cannon cooldown was still two seconds away, and the leading Giga-gargantuar was already about to smash a Pumpkin.
After a moment's thought, he dropped a Jalapeno, precisely timing it in the zombie-dense right half of the field. It burned away the following Zombonis and fodder without touching his own front-field plants, forcefully plugging the gap.
But he was still a step too slow; a front-field Pumpkin had already been smashed to pieces by a Giga-gargantuar's hammer.
"I can't patch it up."
Ye Qing sighed as he watched a Jack-in-the-Box Zombie following the Giga-gargantuar explode right in the gap, blowing up an entire set of Gatlings and Torchwoods on the side lane.
The side lane's damage output dropped to zero. Without the Gatlings to clear the fodder, swarms of zombies charged forward like crazy, and the Cob Cannon cycle was completely disrupted.
He could only keep using instant-kill plants to save the situation, but it was like plugging one hole only for another to open. The pressure on the other lanes spiked instantly, the gap tore wider and wider, and zombies swarmed in.
Ultimately, his Endless Mode stopped at Round 161.
Ye Qing leaned back in his chair with his hands behind his head, letting out a long breath. He said happily:
"Round 161. I broke my previous record of 149 rounds, and I did it with the new Gatling formation. To be honest, the buff to the Gatling is much stronger than I imagined!"
The bullet chat also broke out in sighs of admiration:
"This update from Spark is truly awesome. After the Gatling Pea was changed, there are so many more ways to play!"
"I feel like there will be even more new strategies for Endless Mode in the future."
"Get some good rest, Brother Qing. Don't 'reward' yourself tonight; keep your energy up to push for 170 tomorrow!"
Ye Qing smiled, said goodbye to the audience, and turned off the livestream.
He stared at the black screen for a while, then opened the livestream backend to check the substantial earnings from tonight.
Then he opened his phone and sent a message to his mother:
"Mom, I transferred twenty thousand yuan home this month. Please check it."
Not long after the message was sent, his phone rang. He answered, and his mother's somewhat worried and tired voice came through:
"Qing-zi, did you stay up late again? Do you have enough money for yourself? Don't send money home anymore; your dad and I don't spend much. Don't overwork yourself, take care of your health..."
Listening to his mother's nagging, Ye Qing's eyes suddenly felt a bit warm. He paused and said in a low voice:
"It's enough, Mom. I'll probably be earning more and more in the future. I'm doing well, really."
After hanging up the phone.
Ye Qing sat in his cramped rental room. In his mind, he couldn't help but feel grateful once again to Jiang Yuan and Plants vs. Zombies for completely changing his destined fate! Jiang Yuan's kindness was truly impossible to fully repay!