Ashen Sky
"To use an Artifact, we need cash. And you all know how to get that by now, right?"
In response to my words, the ECHOs gathered in the conference room nodded quietly.
They all looked unhappy about me heading out to the dangerous battlefield again, but there was no choice.
In our current situation, the cash from the Money Compass was our lifeline. What we had was barely enough to establish the minimal foundation.
Even tricks don't work.
While clearing zombies in the quarantine zone, I'd thought finishing them off myself would yield more cash, so I had Arva and Noah incapacitate them and let me deliver the killing blow.
But...
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙
Warning: Abnormal combat behavior detected.
Acquired 0C.
I just got a ridiculous warning for my troubles.
It felt like it was telling me not to cheat, but if that's the case, they never should have dragged me into this hellish world in the first place.
"For now, it seems we've secured a reasonable level of safety inside the Ark. Right?"
"Yes, sir."
"But what about external intrusions?"
"...We can't stop them."
Arva pointed out the harsh reality in response to my question.
We'd blocked it off with bulkheads, but that was it.
There were no guards or defensive lines, so even a horde of regular zombies would break right through.
That's why we didn't go anywhere near the outer bulkheads.
At least if enemies intrude, the Central AI can give us a warning. That's a relief.
If not for that?
The three ECHOs and I would have had to stand guard 24/7 in this massive Ark.
"Right. Plus, regarding the resources we can scavenge inside the Ark... well, they're pretty much gone."
There hadn't been much left to begin with.
In fact, we'd used up more while refurbishing the quarantine zone.
We couldn't even touch the destroyed buildings like the Cryogenic Stasis Center.
"In the end, we have to go outside. And of course, I'll be coming along."
"That's too dangerous, Commander."
"We can't just sit here waiting to die now, can we? If zombies swarm us right now, how long do you think we could hold out?"
"......"
"I know it's dangerous. But I don't want to just sit still and meet my end."
The ECHOs held their breath at my firm declaration.
"I'm in favor. The Commander will be fine with me right by his side, protecting him."
A moment later, Pomen spoke up with a smile.
"Understood, Commander."
"Pomen, I think I'd be better suited to care for the Commander than a firepower-type ECHO like you."
Arva and Noah ultimately agreed with me as well.
Arva, her face full of resolve, pulled up data on the conference room screen.
"This is the combat and fragmentary comms logs from other squads left in the Central AI. From this, we can at least speculate on the threats and monsters around Ark 69."
"At worst, there’s just the zombies, right?"
"Well... if we're unlucky, we may encounter mid to high-tier entities."
"Like, a Corpse Breeder?"
Arva shook her head at Pomen and Noah's exchange.
"Zombie hordes are the main monsters found near Ark 69, yes. But according to the surviving records, there are numerous reports of encounters with what is called an Anomaly. They are beings that can't be explained scientifically."
"An anomaly..."
I nodded slowly, searching my memory for any information regarding these dangerous entities.
Anomalies were a faction of monsters in Echoes of Humanity - ECHO.
Beings born from projections of human fear, with no clear physical form.
But they mostly appeared in events and cutscenes, not as major threats in the game itself.
They didn't play a big role in the story content that had been revealed in all three years of the game either.
The ones I remember...
The Bride of the White Night and the Crimson Witch of Fury were their names, I think?
They showed up as event bosses and were insanely strong, very tricky to beat.
Even super-whale hardcore players couldn't SSS-clear without perfect control and mad skills.
I'd barely managed SS-rank myself.
"What type of Anomalies have been spotted near Ark 69?"
"Most records are lost, but there's a report of a male commander and his escorting ECHOs going missing amid sounds of Po... Popo..."
"Po, popo?"
"Is that a raccoon’s cry?"
"Raccoons don't cry like that, Pomen."
"Hm..."
An Anomaly that makes popo noise?
It did sound like a noise a monster would make, but I didn’t know which one.
"We'll stay cautious for now."
I brushed it off casually.
Unique, high-tier zombies like the Corpse Breeder seemed like bigger threats at the moment.
The Anomalies from event stages hadn't been much of a worry, aside from those two named ones— my deployed ECHOs had shredded the rest.
And so, our first external expedition was decided.
Our first destination was Hongwei-7 Command HQ.
"Hongwei-7 Command HQ? Sounds super Chinese though."
"...Ark 69's supreme commander was named Liu Guofeng. He's of Chinese descent, from what I know."
"Ah."
Not just Chinese vibes— it was straight-up Chinese.
We spent the next few days making full preparations.
I used the Money Compass to squeeze out every last bit of cash for minimal emergency rations and a medical kit.
If this expedition didn't pay off, we had no future— so we basically had to give our all to survive.
The Arclight Squad was busy too.
Arva analyzed the optimal route to HQ from the fragmented data, while Pomen gathered every last round of ammo left in the Ark.
And not just that...
"Commander~"
"......"
"The expedition's coming up soon, right? Means I won't get to be with you like this for a while."
"So...?"
"I need you to fill me up completely with your hot cum."
Every night, she visited my room with a seductive smile.
"Tonight too... you'll shove your cock into your loyal bitch, right? I can't live without it anymore."
She'd figured out what men liked— her temptations changed daily.
Slipping off her slip straps to bare her breasts, flicking her tongue...
In the end, every night I had to knead Pomen's breasts and thrust like a beast.
No helping it. I was a man too.
And Noah...
"May my lord and light, the Commander, return safe. May his blazing holy spear pierce the foes and bestow the seed of grace upon the barbaric enemy..."
"......"
Every time I saw her, she was offering some weird prayer.
Finally, the day of reckoning arrived.
We stood before the Ark's massive gate, which had been tightly sealed. We were making a show of pretense, making it seem like it was an abandoned Ark with no one inside.
"Zombies?"
"Doesn't seem like there’s any in the immediate vicinity."
"Good. Open the door."
At my command, Arva tapped her tablet, and with a heavy rumble, the enormous steel door began to slide open.
Blinding light poured in, revealing the outside world before our eyes.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
So this is the outside world...
Beneath the ashen sky, the endless ruins of the city looked like a giant beast had clawed through them.
"......"
A chilling wind blew between the collapsed skyscrapers.
Lucky, maybe? No zombies were swarming at the noise— the proof that the area around the Ark was safe.
But the silence didn't last long.
SHHHHHHAAAAA—!
The moment we entered the city center, starving corpses welcomed us.
At first, just a few, but soon dozens, hundreds staggered out from the debris of buildings and empty subway stations toward us.
"Northwest, 350 meters— unique variant detected!"
At Arva's shout, a zombie brimming with nauseating green fluid appeared atop a ruined building.
"Spitter!"
A high-tier specimen like the Corpse Breeder— its strong acidic spit could melt even ECHO armor.
And right before death, it exploded, wreaking havoc around it.
So the way to handle it was...
Du-du-du-du-du-du-du—!
Overwhelm it with firepower before it could spray its acidic spit.
"Die! Die—!"
Pomen's M-127 spat fire ceaselessly, and zombie heads started bursting like watermelons.
The Spitter was no exception.
A grenade from her shoulder launcher ripped open its gut, and from behind Noah's barrier, I nailed its head with a precision shot.
"Nice one, Commander!!!"
"Excellent marksmanship."
The fight was a one-sided slaughter.
Unless multiple high-tier variants like the Spitter or Brutes showed up, there weren’t many threats in our route.
And even those unique variants I mentioned were easier than expected.
It was really worth it to upgrade the ECHOs' weapons.
"Fewer zombies than last time."
"Last time?"
"...When we went to rescue you, Commander."
I nodded at Arva's report.
"Are all the zombies going to Ark 72? Where the Crawler Queen has built its nest?"
"Not certain, but... definitely possible."
Thus, along with scant cash from the zombie skills, we started scavenging usable cans and meds from the ruins of the buildings.
Although meager, they were precious physical resources that could never be obtained inside the Ark.
"How long until we reach the Hongwei-7 Command HQ?"
"Two more days of travel."
"Whoa, we fought a Crawler Queen just two days from the Ark and got wiped? The Ark being intact is a miracle."
Wait, was it really intact though?
We pressed on toward Hongwei-7 Command HQ under Arva's guidance.
The zombie packs we encountered now felt more like resource farming than combat.
Maybe that's why?
The squad's movements grew confident.
As the surroundings became safer, the search, which everyone had done together, was split into pairs for efficiency.
While checking a ruined convenience store with Arva, an unidentified noise buzzed in my ear.
"...Commander."
"Yeah."
Sensing something, Arva drew her blade and stuck close to me like a bodyguard.
[Po... Popopo... Po...]
The strange noise persisted.
"...What is this noise?"
Arva furrowed her brow at my question.
"Commander, please, get behind me. 98.7% match to the Anomaly audio log I mentioned before."
Tension laced Arva's voice.
"Pomen, Noah. Anomaly encountered. Coordinates 8321,4523. Join up immediately."
But the comms only crackled— there was no reply.
[Po, popopo... Popo...]
Meanwhile, the eerie sound rode the wind, circling us like a ghost.
Growing closer, clearer.
And when the sound stopped,
"...Anomaly, Hachishakusama."
Arva uttered the warning.
At the end of Arva's gaze, around the corner of the ruined building, it stood.
[Po, popopopo...]
The chilling laughter echoed not through the comms this time, but directly in my head.