The Ho...und(?) of Ark 69
It had been four days since communication was established between the Ark and Hongwei-7.
And nearly a week since Lena arrived, leading the C-008 Squad.
I realized that the construction technology of this world was completely different from my common sense.
Right… I should have noticed when the ECHOs' quarters were whipped up in just a day or two….
Crash! Boom! Bang!
[C-008, Unit 3. Debris removal of the Zone A aircraft carrier is complete. Beginning material transport.]
[Unit 5. Access to the northern mining road has been secured. Well… no zombies in sight.]
The members of C-008 moved busily, scouring Hongwei-7.
Heavy equipment like excavators or tractors weren't even necessary.
The drills on their left hands served as excavators.
No joke, it was practically like the Dividing Driver from GaoGaiGar. [ED: The King of Braves GaoGaiGar is a classic 1997 mecha anime. The Dividing Driver is one of the mecha's most iconic tools—a massive weapon that looks exactly like a giant flathead screwdriver. When slammed into the earth, it violently warps space to create a localized combat arena.]
With a Sssss— Thump! sound, everything was finished.
A world where Western MILFs with blonde ponytails tied tight roam around in mechanical work clothes.
Hmm… can this really be called an apocalypse?
Regardless, Hongwei-7 was changing rapidly under Lena's command.
The massive wreckage of the Troller-class Mobile Aircraft Carrier had already been half-dismantled, piling up neatly under the name of resources.
The only problem was the lack of transport to carry those materials back to the Ark.
That wasn't the only thing that had changed.
Thump! Boom!
Centered around the Bastion possessing Podic's medium, reinforced concrete walls about 10 meters high were erected, and automated laser turrets were being continuously deployed in various locations.
"What's the laser output? Don't you need power facilities?"
"That's why I used two Arc Reactors."
"…Ah."
So she wasn't just using them for communication, but for the output of the laser turrets as well.
By the way… was this actually possible in such a short time?
As I inspected the site, I was speechless.
Simply calling it fast didn't do it justice.
It was no different from the speed of erecting buildings using cheat codes in a SimCity game.
"This is all thanks to the Commander's Artifact. Without it, this would have been impossible."
"…Really?"
At my words, Lena, who was checking the progress on her tablet, nodded and spoke again.
"Yes. Also, constructing the defensive positions would have been impossible without the Arc Reactors obtained from Ark 74."
Somehow, everything had fallen perfectly into place.
Watching the work in Hongwei-7, I looked at the materials piling up in one area and spoke.
"It won't be easy to move all this with just two Mercury Howls, right?"
"Even if they operate all day, it will take over a month. Plus, we have to consider the durability of the Mercury Howls."
Even as transport trucks, they were vehicles with a transport capacity of about 10 to 20 tons.
Even if modified for maximum load, 50 tons would be the limit.
Moreover, such modifications would surely drastically reduce the lifespan of vehicles that were already being used as second-hand.
In contrast, the Troller?
It was a carrier that weighed at least ten thousand tons.
"We'll need more transport. Something that can carry a lot of cargo."
"Once mining in the northern mine area begins in earnest, the demand for vehicles will increase further. Considering the mining volume, we'll need at least two or three Mercury Howls attached."
"Is that so?"
"Yes. And that's assuming minimum production. We need more transport means available for use in the Ark."
It was an issue that had been brought up several times already.
"So, about that…."
I recalled the area southeast of the Ark where I had previously discovered the Mercury Howls and the Bastion.
"There are several military and vehicle bases near Zhenlong City."
"…Ah."
"How about bringing the scrapped cars from there and repairing them?"
At my words, Lena's eyes sparkled.
"Repair parts were an issue, but… that can be solved with the Commander's ability. However, I suspect there are still many zombies remaining around Zhenlong City…"
"That's why I'm going to call the right people."
With Pomen and Noah in the Cerberus Squad, I felt they could sufficiently handle a single Quasi-Named level zombie.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
Outskirts of Zhenlong City.
During the last exploration, we were lucky enough to find broken vehicles and a Bastion defense platform at a vehicle base approximately 450km from Ark 69 and 60km from Zhenlong City.
At the time, we had to manually bring the salvaged vehicles back to the Ark, so we ended the exploration hastily, but there might actually be more useful vehicles if we searched further.
Even if they were piles of scrap too broken to use, we could restore them to their original state at a minimum cost just by stripping the parts.
"…Front clear. No movement spotted!"
"No anomalies appearing on the radar."
The girls of the Cerberus Squad kept watch on the surroundings as they slowly stepped inside the base.
Their appearance, scanning left and right with sharp gazes, was that of veteran ECHOs.
Their toned bodies in combat gear flowed elegantly with every step.
"Nyeh?"
"No, nothing."
Well, except for the cat-eared ECHO in a school uniform, who was busily moving her head at the front.
In the distance, the Mercury Howl we arrived in was being reliably guarded by Pomen and Noah.
The plan was to tow any vehicles that looked repairable by connecting them to the Mercury Howl, or if that failed, to disassemble and take any useful parts.
Bang! Bang bang—!
Since this area had never been properly cleared, there were far more zombies than near the Ark or Hongwei-7.
Thanks to that, there were several skirmishes, but since no high-tier entities were visible, they were easily resolved.
Well, Helena mostly beat them down by herself.
After walking for a while, I stuck close to Silva, who was walking while keeping guard.
It wasn't intentional, but somehow the distance narrowed until our shoulders bumped, and because of that, Silva's subtle body scent faintly reached the tip of my nose.
It was that strangely stimulating scent I smelled during our hot times.
"Silva."
"Yes, Commander."
"Looking at the situation in our Ark, what kind of vehicles do you think we need?"
As I spoke, I naturally lowered my hand and firmly squeezed Silva's buttocks, where her toned thigh line was revealed.
The sensation of the elastic flesh filling my palm was thrilling.
"……."
I felt Silva's body flinch.
However, as if she had become accustomed to this situation, she didn't reject my touch.
Rather, she pressed her buttocks against my palm as if rubbing them in time with her walking rhythm.
"Titan Bed… and Tesla Coil…?"
"……Huh?"
What was that?
Wasn't I a veteran player of Echoes of Humanity — ECHO? Those were names I had never heard before.
Wait, isn't this the developer's fault?
Come to think of it, in the game, they only dealt with the naming of ECHOs, their Exclusive Weapons, and major story settings; there seemed to be nothing regarding infrastructure like transport or defense facilities.
Even in the game dialogues… they just vaguely referred to them as turrets or vehicles without specific model names.
As I tilted my head in confusion, Silva quietly activated her squad connection link.
💬Cerberus Squad Tactical Connection Link Chat - Encrypted Channel.
[Silva: Helena.]
[Helena: What is it, Silva? You're right next to me, just speak… Ah. Are you busy?]
Helena, glancing back, saw Silva moving awkwardly with the Commander's arm attached to her, and then turned her head forward again.
[Silva: It's… not that. It's just that the Commander seems to have something he's curious about.]
[Luna: Nyeh? The Commander? What is it? What is it?]
[Silva: He seems curious about vehicles… but it's not my field of expertise.]
[Luna: Ah, it's not my field either. Nyaannn, I want to get close to the Commander too….]
[Helena: Vehicles?]
Helena slung her shotgun over her shoulder and strode over to us.
"Is there something you are curious about, Commander?"
Then, very naturally, Helena grabbed and hugged my arm.
Thanks to that, her bursting, voluptuous breasts pressed against my forearm.
Seductively, Helena was rubbing my arm against her breasts so that I could slightly feel her protruding nipples.
It was behavior befitting a well-trained hound—no, a bitch.
"Ah… I was just asking Silva what kind of vehicles our Ark needs."
"I see. In that case, may I explain for a moment?"
At Helena's words, I nodded instinctively.
Thus, I found myself in a strange and luxurious situation—my left arm buried deep in Helena's cleavage, while my right hand kneaded Silva's toned buttocks, all while listening to an explanation about vehicles.
"First, the Titan Bed is…"
According to Helena, the Titan Bed was the model name for an ultra-wide 16-wheel dump truck.
It was on a different level from ordinary dump trucks, specialized for transporting massive construction materials, minerals, or raw ores—literally like a moving mountain.
"But it won't be easy to find."
"Why?"
At my question, Helena hugged my arm even tighter and spoke.
"A vehicle of that size would have been a very delicious prey for the Astral."
"…Ah."
Now that she mentioned it, it made sense.
A vehicle as long as two city buses with tires the size of elephants.
The Astrals, which were set to absorb all iron to make them their comrades, would never have left such a giant lunchbox alone.
They probably would have lunged at it in a frenzy the moment they saw it.
"That's a shame. Then what about the Tesla Coil?"
"It's a specialized defense facility against the Astral. It's a hot defense facility that discharges high-voltage arcs at nearby enemies to paralyze and incinerate them into charcoal."
"That sounds good against zombies too."
"For lower-tier zombies, yes…"
Helena, glancing around, spoke again.
"But high-tier entities like Brutes or Bone Blades are perverts who keep moving even when their entire bodies are charred black."
"Perverts, huh…."
The moment I heard that, a strange impulse rose.
The soft skin of the two ECHOs on either side and the scent of females penetrated my nostrils.
I suddenly felt like becoming a pervert in a different sense.
So, I tapped Silva's buttocks and spoke.
"Silva, please keep watch on the surroundings with Luna."
"Yes, Commander."
After sending Silva ahead, I grabbed Helena's wrist and headed toward an empty building right next to us.
It was a secluded and safe space with all sides blocked, which seemed to have been used as a warehouse at one time.
"Commander…?"
Realizing the meaning of my actions, Helena wore a seductive smile.
And instead of answering, I roughly shoved my fingers into her mouth.
"Mmph—!"
Helena's eyes widened in surprise, but I didn't care and stirred inside her moist, hot mouth.
"Slurp, chuh… mmmph…."
Her soft tongue wrapped around my fingers, and her ragged breath tickled the back of my hand.
With my other hand, I mercilessly groped her curved body revealed above her garter belt.
After kneading the line from her slender waist to her voluptuous buttocks, I pressed my calloused fingers firmly into her soaking wet vulva.
"Ngh! Mmm—! Mmmph!!"
Meanwhile, Helena diligently licked my fingers that had penetrated up to her throat.
Far from resisting, her jaw trembled slightly as if she wanted to take them in even deeper.
Truly, she was nothing other than a well-trained bitch.
Listening to Helena's increasingly ragged breathing, I pulled out my wet fingers and rubbed them against her red lips.
Then, I commanded in a low, firm voice.
"Sit, bitch."
At that one word, Helena's pupils clouded over.
Then, without hesitation, she knelt and crouched down, sticking out her tongue with a desperate look in her eyes.
Her appearance left no need for words as to what she wanted.