The Calm Before the Storm
We decided to sweep the outskirts of Hongwei-7 first, scouting and gauging the scale of the zombies.
To maximize efficiency, we split into two teams.
Arva and Silva took point, while Helena and I covered the rear. It was a formation tailored for close-quarters combat and sniping.
Even though we'd passed through the area three times already, Hongwei-7 was littered with unsearched abandoned buildings and military barracks. Splitting up like this was the only way to make real progress.
[7th Street, Building B clear.]
"Good. Any loot?"
[Nothing noteworthy. Found a few things that look like combat rations... but they smell off, so we should probably discard them.]
"Understood. Mark the cleared buildings on the map."
[Yes, Commander.]
After checking in with Arva over comms, I aimed my rifle at a zombie shambling in the distance.
Bang!
The gunshot rang out, and the zombie's head exploded, sending it sprawling forward.
Seeing it in military fatigues, I wondered if I should at least give it a moment of silence. But right on cue with my shot, guttural roars and movement erupted from the ruins all around.
"Enemies incoming."
"More hidden than I thought. Okay, I'll leave the close ones to you."
"Understood, Command— Ngh!"
I grabbed Helena's breasts firmly from behind as she geared up for battle.
Her combat suit was a garter-belt style, and it kept drawing my eyes since earlier.
In the game, it was just fan service for the players, but in reality, I questioned if it was really practical for combat.
Still, the soft, springy feel in my hands was definitely a morale booster.
Bang! Bang!
Soon, zombies swarmed in, and the fight kicked off.
Luck was on our side—no elite variants in sight. For this size group, you'd expect at least one or two Howlers mixed in...
Did they wander in from somewhere far off?
If so, we'd need to revise the plan.
Assuming the Carapace Lord's nest wasn't in Hongwei-7, but somewhere else, our current prep wouldn't cut it.
"Wish I had a silencer or something."
I swapped magazines while eyeing the zombies creeping toward us.
They were all aggro'd by the gunfire.
With noise-reduction gear, we could've run missions like this without pulling so many of the monsters to us.
It was a weapon that didn't appear in the game Echoes of Humanity — ECHO, but this was reality. I felt that if I tried to get one, I could find a way.
Gotta ask Karen later.
For Ark self-sufficiency, a munitions workshop churning out weapons and ammo was essential.
Of course, before that I had to build the production facilities first.
The Central AI Wanderer handled it now, but long-term, we'd need a bio-reactor to break down and recombine all organic waste, plus a nano-assembler factory—which was basically a 3D printer on steroids.
Pipe dream for now, though.
Even buying key materials with the Money Compass, it'd take tens of millions, maybe hundreds of millions in cash.
“7th Street, Building F-12 cleared.”
[Marked, Commander. Small zombie group heading that way. Shall I handle them?]
"Nah, leave 'em. I'll cash 'em in."
[Roger, Commander.]
And so, while steadily farming cash by dropping basic zombies,
"Ngh! Ah—!"
"Hoo... nice."
I occasionally indulged in Helena's body.
Groping her breasts outright, deep kisses when I could, even oral when there was a breather.
"Haa—ngh!"
Every time, Helena accepted without a hint of refusal, like it was only natural.
Sometimes she'd breathe hotly, subtly tempting me with her movements. No wonder they say virgins get scary once they learn about sex.
After Helena and I cleared around a hundred basic zombies like that,
A weird thought hit me.
The Hachishakusama.
The friendly anomaly was supposed to haunt this area near Hongwei-7.
She loved essence, and we'd even contracted. Figured she'd show by now for a quick blowjob, but there was no sign of her.
Did she clash with the Carapace Lord?
I pictured the Hachishakusama getting done in by it.
Not impossible, but given her combat prowess, she wouldn't go down easy.
Sure, I had three ECHOs with me, but she'd snuck in quietly even back with Arclight Squad, and slurped some of my essence stealthily. Why wasn’t she popping up now?
Hmm... Did she get bored with me?
Or did she find tastier prey?
Our first meeting was terrifying, but she gave more or less ten thousand cash per romp. Her absence left me oddly wanting.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
We combed through Hongwei-7 for nearly five days.
Only after clearing the few elite zombies in the district’s inner military zone could we draw a clear conclusion.
The zombies we were encountering in Hongwei-7 weren't spawning in this place.
They were hordes endlessly crawling in from somewhere outside.
In other words, some area's zombie population had overflowed its limits, and the ripple was reaching our turf.
"Hard to pinpoint the source district, but... looks like north."
Arva reported while spreading out the map.
Helena and Silva's faces hardened at once.
"...That's where we ran into the Carapace Lord."
"So zombies are spilling from its nest?"
"There’s a high likelihood of that."
I frowned at Helena's words.
Enough to flood this sector meant the nest was pumping out unimaginable numbers.
Couldn't even guess how many zombie breeders were inside.
"The total number of human commanders and Echoes who participated in the Ark 74 squad's operation was twenty-two."
Helena said flatly, but laced with painful memory.
"Plus, if we add the Commander of our squad who was taken before... we should assume at least twenty-plus breeders in there."
"...Hm."
Is that a lot?
The game just glossed it as destroyed the breeders. Hard to gauge real threat.
"That many breeders... that's a serious count."
"Yeah. Can easily produce fifty zombies a day. Maybe more."
"But the resources to sustain the breeders?"
"Well, wouldn't they use zombies to get them? They'd have labor to spare. There might be Wanderers or those searching for a new Ark, too, who can be turned into breeders."
Wanderers?
"Is there a group of Wanderers nearby?"
Wanderers were ECHOs that were cut off mid-operation by their Arks or were deliberately abandoned as they were deemed too dangerous to be around.
They harbored deep distrust and hatred for both Arks and humanity. In the game story, they were antagonist squads clashing with the protagonist.
Some allied with monsters—humanity's enemies—and the protagonist and his squad had to clean up their messes.
"No reports of Wanderer squads or sightings. But to nest-builders like the Carapace Lord, they're prime prey."
"Good breeder material?"
"Yes."
Listening to Arva and Helena, I pieced it all together in my mind.
The Carapace Lord's nest was mid-sized already.
Thus, packed with elites or even high-tier zombies.
A major threat to our Ark—and the nearby Ark 74.
"Bottom line, not something our current force can handle easily."
"...Agreed."
Arva concurred.
With five days of fighting, local resupply notwithstanding—our ammo was running dangerously low.
"Then let's head back."
I made a quick decision.
The intel we had gathered from this sweep was already solid.
The Carapace Lord's nest was likely between our Ark and Ark 74.
And its influence was slowly but surely creeping into Hongwei-7.
Gotta be content with this haul.
I felt I should return to the Ark and find countermeasures against the futanari monster.
Lots to do.
I needed to increase the number of ECHOs and perfectly equip the Ark's concealment, cover, and defense facilities.
💰 Money Compass 💰
Owned Cash: 63700C
If there was one gain, it was that I had collected a lot of cash through grinding while scrapping with zombies for over five days. Satisfied with this result for now, I decided to return to Ark 69.
Two days after we left Hongwei-7.
Two women staggered into Hongwei-7 Command HQ.
They barely shut the door, barricaded it, then collapsed gasping on the floor.
Their combat suits were torn and filthy, their equipment was a mess, and their faces were stained with extreme fatigue.
"Hah—huff. Sis, you okay?"
The purple-haired girl who looked like the younger sister shook her bloodied sister's shoulder.
"F-Fine, Rai. Still fine."
"Y-Yeah. Wait here a bit. Looks like an abandoned base—might find parts to fix your wounds."
"...If any were left, the humans would've snatched 'em already."
"B-But you never know."
Rai shook her head at Moi's cold realism, squeezing her last strength to search inside.
Meanwhile, Moi leaned against the wall, scanning around.
Her veteran Wanderer eyes spotted campfire traces, scattered casings from recent fights.
They were fresh marks.
Ark nearby... One squad fought here. Three—no, four. What district is this even? An Ark in the 60s?
Seasoned from years surviving as Wanderers, Moi assessed instantly.
Bad for them.
Nearby Ark meant resources here were picked clean.
The amount of resources a human Ark sucked up was beyond imagination.
But then...
"S-Sis—!"
Rai returned beaming, arms full.
Medical supplies and repair parts for their wounds. Most near-new, barely damaged.
"Th-This?"
"In there! There are tons inside!"
"Good job, Rai! Lead me."
Having discovered the resources in the base's internal warehouse with her twin sister's guidance, Moi decided to stay in this district for now, despite the danger.
The presence of a human Ark nearby was certainly a threat, but with this amount of resources, they could sufficiently reorganize before leaving.
Moreover, since they had clashed with the Carapace Lord, a subordinate of the Crawler Queen, they needed to perform repairs while avoiding the eyes of the zombies, and this place seemed like the perfect hideout.
So, she thought it would be fine if they finished the repairs while avoiding the approach of an Ark-affiliated Echo squad and then bolted to another district.
That was when.
[Poo— pooo. Poo—]
A creepy, eerie sound echoed in their ears. The sisters paled, holding their breath to stay hidden.
Seemed the humans—and patrolling ECHO squads—had left this gear here for a reason, and a valid one at that.