Encounter
[Kieeeeeek—!]
"Zombie horde at nine o'clock—!"
"Two Runners, one Screamer! There are Spitters and a Brute too!"
"Arva! Just take care of the Brute!"
"Understood."
Unlike the area near the Command HQ, Hongwei-7 proper was a danger zone teeming with zombies.
Because of this, high-ranking zombies blocked the group's path every few blocks they passed.
However, Arva and Pomen, who had been upgraded further than before, advanced while easily turning the zombies into pulp.
In this manner, the expedition led by Arva was able to arrive safely once again at the ruined HQ of Hongwei-7.
It was the place where Karen's genes had been discovered in the past, and the very spot where they had encountered the Carapace Lord, a named elite of the Crawler Queen.
"...I don't see any trace of that thing."
As Pomen checked the headquarters building, which maintained a bleak silence, her gaze shifted to the gouged asphalt walls, mysterious claw marks, and dried bodily fluids.
These were not recent.
They were wounds and traces created even before they had clashed with the Carapace Lord.
"It seems so."
Arva agreed in a low voice.
"Then did that thing leave this district entirely? You said it went north before, right?"
"Yes."
"If it's north... then that's where Ark 53 or Ark 74 are located, right?"
Karen, who was checking her datapad, spoke in a worried voice.
"There's a possibility it changed direction midway."
The worst-case scenario was the assumption that it contacted the Crawler Queen, who had nested in Ark 72, and then returned here with that monster.
No matter how much their combat power had increased through the Synchronization Device, it was impossible for a mere three Original combat ECHOs to handle the Crawler Queen.
If such a thing were to happen?
The mere thought of it was horrific.
"The first thing we must collect is the genetic samples of the Original ECHOs."
Arva reinforced the mission objective once more.
"...In a wasteland like this, will there be anything left?"
"We have to cling to even a sliver of hope. After that..."
"It would be rare materials that cannot be produced in the Ark. Materials needed for Original ECHOs or to restart new functions of the Ark."
Karen finished for her, summarizing it perfectly.
"Correct. Karen, as you know, the Commander possesses a special artifact. It's an OOPArt called the Money Compass."
However, to use it, the Commander had to expose himself to danger directly.
It was the condition for using the function of the Money Compass, which possessed the non-negligible ability to create something from nothing.
"...That's why he seems to be exercising so hard lately."
Pomen said, flicking her tongue.
It had only been a few days, but the Commander was incredibly serious about his physical training.
"The Commander is a person with a rare heart. That is why we need to protect him more and take responsibility for his safety."
Pomen and Karen both nodded in agreement with Arva's solemn words.
Though it hadn't been long since she started living in the Ark, Karen was realizing that the current Commander was a person of character incomparable to the humans of the former Ark 69.
He patted her head and didn't hesitate to give sincere praise for even minor achievements.
If it had been the previous commanders?
They would have taken their efforts for granted, as if it were slave labor. Far from praise, it would have been lucky if they didn't curse them.
"Then let's begin the search."
"Right."
Arva, who was capable of both combat and collection, decided to scout the outskirts of the headquarters alone.
And Karen, whose combat ability was lower, decided to move under Pomen's escort.
"...It's a mess, seriously."
At Pomen's words, Karen scanned the surrounding traces.
The headquarters of Ark 69, where the Carapace Lord had resided, was filled with the wreckage of mass-produced ECHOs and Original ECHOs destroyed by the monster.
Most were ECHOs who had died gallantly while fighting against the Crawler Queen's large-scale assault.
"You said my body was here too, right?"
"Yeah. It was being absolutely, thoroughly fucked by the Carapace Lord that stayed here."
"...Pomen."
"But it's the truth, isn't it? I'm telling you, that monster's tentacles were piercing through the mouth, pussy, and ass."
"Sigh..."
Karen shook her head and let out a sigh at Pomen's blunt description.
She felt she understood why Pomen was often scolded by Arva, the squad leader of Arclight.
To put it nicely, this sexy firepower-type Original ECHO was outspoken; to put it bluntly, she had no filter.
"I should offer a brief moment of mourning to my past body, which suffered such terrible pain."
Karen muttered in a solemn voice, letting Pomen's words go in one ear and out the other. Just then, as she was rummaging through the debris, a half-damaged data chip caught her eye.
It was a chip of a familiar shape.
It was definitely that of Lena Hydros, a fellow ECHO from Ironworks who had been responsible for the workshop of Ark 69 along with her in the past.
"..."
Karen's hand trembled slightly as she picked up the chip.
She didn't know exactly what had happened here, but it was clear that Lena, like herself, had died fighting against the zombie onslaught.
"You should. Your body belongs to the Commander now, right? You have to treat it with care. I wonder when the Commander will call... wait, what's that data chip?"
"I think it's Senior Lena Hydros' data chip."
"Lena Hydros? That stubborn old lady?"
Pomen recalled the image of the production-type ECHO who was the oldest in Ark 69 and the only one who would openly bicker with the humans.
"In terms of appearance, don't you look older, Pomen?"
"...Do you want to get hit by my machine gun? Anyway, does that mean Lena's genes are around here?"
"I'm not sure. But it's worth looking for."
Karen strengthened her resolve and pulled gloves from her pocket to put them on.
Then, brushing aside the sticky bodily fluids, she began to search through the debris one by one.
After watching her for a moment, Pomen joined in the cleanup of the wreckage.
"Hehehe. The Commander will be happy if we find an Original ECHO's genes, right?"
"Wouldn't he? The new Commander doesn't dislike ECHOs."
"Then maybe he'll even hold you as a reward?"
"...Hold? Do you mean he will hug me?"
"Ah, you still don't know? There's something like that. It's not just hugging tightly; it's rubbing body against body. Especially the lower part. With something hot and hard..."
Pomen flicked her tongue and swayed her hips while pretending to clear the pile of debris.
"...Ugh. What on earth are you doing, Pomen?"
"Geez. This is why I can't communicate with an ECHO who knows nothing."
"..."
At Pomen's grumbling, Karen chewed over her words in her head.
Something hot and hard. The lower part. The act of swaying the hips.
As these three keywords combined in her mind, data regarding human reproductive behavior remaining in her database surfaced.
"N-N-N-No way?"
Karen's face turned bright red, like a furnace.
No way, P-Pomen actually did that kind of thing with the Commander?
T-That's impossible—!
Humans do not have physical contact with ECHOs. Sexual acts were even more impossible.
No matter how beautiful an ECHO was, to humans, ECHOs were merely combat weapons.
No, rather, some humans even attacked ECHOs, claiming that the zombies or the mechanical monsters appeared because of them.
And yet, the Commander had skinship with an ECHO? No matter how kindly the Commander treated the ECHOs, that, that...
"Hmm..."
"..."
However, Pomen, who was looking at her with meaningful eyes, didn't look like she was lying.
More than that, there was no way an ECHO would tell a lie about anything regarding the Commander.
That was impossible according to the system of ECHOs produced in the Ark.
"...R-Really?"
"Do you know how amazing the Commander's thing is? In our Ark, I'm the only one who..."
Pomen, who was proudly recounting her heroic tale, suddenly grimaced.
Come to think of it, she wasn't the only one who had received the Commander's grace.
There was Alpha, the mass-produced ECHO who managed the groundwater plant. Above all, she was worried about Noah, who remained in the Ark.
I don't know how that perverted bitch will act...
Furthermore, the Commander liked ECHOs.
What if Noah used that point to dig her way in? She didn't think the soft-hearted Commander would be able to push Noah away.
"Anyway, the Commander is different from other humans. He treats ECHOs like us with sincere love. If you're lucky, skinship is even possible."
"Gulp. Then, Pomen...?"
"Ahem. I've had a few hot times with the Commander."
"...Because you achieved something great?"
"Huh? What?"
Pomen was momentarily flustered.
It wasn't a reward received for achieving some particularly great feat. She had just hit on him first, and the Commander had accepted.
"I guess so."
Well, anyway, it was certain that she had shared a bed with the Commander.
Despite her ambiguous answer, the movement of Karen's hands rummaging through the debris began to speed up noticeably.
The formula that achieving something great leads to a hot night with the Commander had been engraved in her mind.
Thus, the eyes of an ECHO—no, a female—longing for a special reward burned hot.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
"Pomen, this is Arva."
[Oh, Arva.]
Arva sent the radio transmission while keeping watch from atop the ruined building debris on the outskirts of the headquarters.
"How is the internal search?"
[Hmm... other than the rookie's motivation being insane, there are no big problems.]
"Really?"
Did they find any decent materials?
[But there are so many useful things here that I think it'll be hard to take them all at once.]
"Let's pack the small-volume items first."
[Roger.]
In the abandoned headquarters, all the assets of the former Ark 69 lay dormant. Among them, there would be items that could drastically improve the standard of living in the Ark.
"...We'll need a means of transport."
Arva thought that once she returned to the Ark, she should suggest the production of a new transport vehicle to the Commander.
It was then, while she was scouting the surroundings and quietly dealing with the zombies she encountered while circling the headquarters' perimeter.
KABOOM—!
Along with a heavy explosion sounding from afar, she spotted a large number of zombies swarming in one direction.
...An enemy?
Northeast of the headquarters building.
In a deserted factory complex about 1 kilometer away, sharp screams characteristic of Crawlers erupted repeatedly along with violent explosions.
This was not a simple skirmish.
It was an organized battle utilizing heavy weaponry. And there were only two entities capable of that.
A human army, or an ECHO Squad.
"Engagement sounds confirmed. Location is 1km northeast, deserted factory area. Moving in for reconnaissance."
[Wh-What?! What did you say?!]
Leaving Pomen's urgent voice behind, Arva sprinted without hesitation toward the direction of the sound.
Then, while perfectly concealing herself, she climbed atop a high steel structure of the deserted factory and looked down at the battlefield, holding her breath.
"...An ECHO Squad."
There, three members of an ECHO Squad wearing worn, practical military gear were fighting a desperate battle, surrounded by zombies.
The ECHO who seemed to be the leader was blowing off a Crawler's head with a shotgun, while the other two provided covering fire to open a path—that seemed to be their strategy of escape.
Their teamwork was good, but the number of zombies was simply too great.
At that moment, the worn emblem engraved on their shoulders caught Arva's eye.
A white dove flying toward the sky.
It was the mark of Ark 74, located in the direction the Carapace Lord had fled.