The Growing Ark
"Haah! Nngh! Ahhn—! Aah!!!"
Pomen was panting like a madwoman.
With her arms wrapped around the Commander's neck, she stared straight at him with eyes burning like fire.
Ah, aah—!
The Commander, a human, desired her intensely.
Just seeing him look down at her with those blazing eyes proved it, making every sensation in her body feel several times more sensitive.
As if she weren't a weapon but a human—and a woman intensely desired by a man—Pomen shook her hips even more violently, feeling like she might float away.
"Haah! Nngh! Co-Commander!"
"What?"
"My pussy... do you like it? Does it taste good?"
"Of course. The way it clenches so tightly... ngh!"
With a thwack! he thrust his hips up hard enough to pierce her womb, and Pomen let out a satisfied moan as she wrapped her legs around his waist.
And then it was Noah's turn.
"First... let me cleanse Pomen's filth for you."
"Hey. What the hell? Am I filthy? Filthy, huhhhh!!?"
"Guhhh! Mmmph!"
Ignoring Pomen's hand clamping down on the back of her head, Noah naturally took my cock all the way down her throat.
Her nose pressed against my pubic bone, she smiled with a mix of lewdness and reverence, as if accepting every part of me.
As expected... it was service worthy of a true MILF.
Like that, I unloaded twice in Noah's mouth, once with her hands, and twice in her pussy.
Then, as Pomen climbed back on top of me, I poured out my thick seed inside her depths once more.
Does ECHOs have sexual desire too? There was nothing like that in the game.
Had their urges built up while I was out on external expeditions?
All night long, under the hot, relentless tongues and caresses of the two ECHOs, I was squeezed to the brink of ecstasy and beyond, my very soul wrung dry until dawn.
And I realized something.
Mito Drive alone can't handle their explosive lust.
The threesome with Alpha and Pomen was fine though! I could even manage a combination of Helena and Silva—!
But Noah alone, wringing the cum from my balls with just her hand technique, felt overwhelming.
From the lactation handjob onward, something felt off...
Sure enough, just like her codename, Ark 69's ultimate saintess—or rather seductress—was Noah without a doubt.
"Wanderer."
The next morning.
Lying in bed, I called out to the empty air. Traces of Pomen and Noah still lingered across my body, making my body throb with pain and fatigue.
The speaker beside the bed responded with a woman's voice.
[Yes, Commander.]
It was Ark 69's Central AI and the one who had ordered my rescue.
I didn't trust Wanderer 100%.
It might even be the culprit who dragged me into this hellish game world.
But to survive, I had no choice but to rely on its Ark privileges and the overwhelming data processing power held by the artificial lifeform.
Anyway, hiding my complicated feelings, I brought up the main point I'd thought of while handling the two ECHOs' lust last night.
"I need a way to strengthen my body. Mito Drive has its limits."
[Why not just distance yourself from the ECHOs? Reducing physical contact frequency should prevent issues, would it not?]
A perfectly logical and precise solution, as expected from the Central AI.
But it wasn't the answer I wanted.
"A human man's lust isn't that simple to resolve."
[The human males I've observed satisfied their urges with human females. Not ECHOs.]
"Hm, good point. But there are no human women here, are there?"
[...Then wouldn't it be best to just endure it, sir?]
"No."
[......]
A silence that seemed to radiate dissatisfaction.
But so what? What could it do about it?
You watched me fuck, suck, and devour the ECHOs—what can you even offer?
"Anyway. Tell me a solution."
[...Understood. Analyzing your physical activity data, Commander, your specific hormone secretion exceeds the average human male by over 300%. Continuing like this could accelerate bodily aging.]
"......"
That serious, huh?
No, then how fast did the guys who enjoyed harems in the past age and croak?
"So, what's the method?"
[I'd like to check the data from the Compass, Commander.]
At Wanderer's words, I pondered briefly before pulling out the Money Compass.
Since I'd decided to take its advice, I'd hear it out to the end.
Wanderer immediately reviewed the compass data, ran some calculations, and projected a holographic screen in the air before me.
[This is a list of enhancement procedures compatible with your current physical data. Prioritized by **stability.**]
"Stability?"
[Yes. Many items available from the object include rejection reactions or burdens on your body.]
"......"
I had no idea.
I thought I could just take anything... nearly caused a disaster.
Definitely smart to ask the Central AI.
No one else could advise me on this.
"The conclusion?"
[I recommend the T-Cell Activation Serum first. It boosts overall physical abilities by about 1.5 times, suppresses aging, and grants high resistance to the Z Virus.]
"...Oh?"
Pretty appealing.
Immunity to Z Virus infection meant immunity to zombies' deadliest methods against a living being.
"Wait. With this alone, couldn't humans live on zombie-infested land?"
[It's high resistance, not full immunity. And it may not block variant Z Virus strains from powerful Named-grade entitites. Risk of bodily mutation can't be fully ruled out either.]
"......Hm."
Better not tempt fate and end up TS'd with my ass drilled by those abominable psychos.
[However, T-Cell Activation Serum has little effect on the stamina you desire. So I also recommend purchasing **Iron Bloom.**]
"Iron Bloom?"
I immediately searched the compass for the related item. The name alone seemed ominous.
⚙ MONEY COMPASS ⚙
Iron Bloom
Price: 6800C
> Serum that enhances blood oxygen
transport.
> Promotes secretion of hormones related to blood flow and recovery.
> Improves cardiopulmonary
capacity, enabling sustained high-intensity activity.
Blood flow and rapid recovery related hormone secretion, huh...
A grin spread across my face as I read the description.
Anyone could see it boosted erection strength and recovery—truly a body enhancement drug for men.
No hesitation needed; I hit purchase on both the T-Cell Serum and this one.
The total cost was 17,000 Cash.
I made the bold decision, thinking of it not just as a boost to my stamina, but as an investment in my overall physical capabilities.
As the serum syringes materialized before me, I grabbed one to inject into my arm.
At that moment, Wanderer issued an urgent warning.
[Dangerous, Commander! Injecting serum like that greatly reduces effectiveness and can cause shock!]
"Really? It was fine before."
[Sigh... Anyway, no. I can't administer it myself, so... I'll call Noah.]
"Yeah, thanks."
Wanderer's attitude was purely that of a helpful assistant.
Her aid seemed genuine, so I nodded.
As the Ark's Central AI dedicated to helping its sole human, no need to doubt or plug my ears.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
The remaining cash after enhancements went toward parts for ECHO production.
After discussions with Wanderer, I decided to produce two C-008 models.
Unlike Alpha, the Defender-class ECHO handling the Ark's water management, C-008s were specialized for construction and production from the start.
So, I planned to assign these new mass-produced ECHOs to manage the farm and underground water plant.
[The underground water plant too? Alpha's there, no?]
"She needs rest too."
[...ECHOs don't require rest, as far as I recall?]
"Keep talking like that, and you'll get dragged off for labor law violations."
[......I don't understand.]
Of course, it wasn't about improving ECHOs’ rights.
With the two new ones plus Alpha—three total—I figured a three-shift rotation for farm and plant management would be ideal for them.
Farm, plant, rest.
Pretty reasonable cycle, right?
"Alpha was made by Arva, right?"
The most excited about producing new mass-produced models was none other than Karen.
"But if I'd made her, I could've boosted Alpha's performance by over 20%!"
Was this her field of expertise, I wonder?
As soon as she received the necessary parts and materials, her eyes sparkled, and she unleashed her talent to the fullest, whipping up the mass-produced ECHOs without wasting a single resource.
In just two days, too.
"Wow... as expected of Karen! Incredible!"
"H-Hah?!"
Seeing Karen's face explode red at my praise, I knew producing her first among the ECHOs was the right call.
Engineer-type ECHOs like Karen were essential for Ark development.
While producing the mass-produced ECHOs for Ark management, I simultaneously upgraded the combat squads.
"This is the synchronization device...?"
"Ark 74 didn't have synchronization devices?"
"...Correct."
"Why? Strengthening ECHO combat ability would greatly aid Ark defense."
"They leadership of Ark 74 judged increasing ECHO numbers to be more efficient."
First, using combat data from Hongwei-7, I upgraded Arva and the Cerberus Squad with synchronization mods.
Plus, with acquired materials, added shock-absorbing devices and aiming systems to guns.
Everything Karen touched boasted far higher performance.
With the unknown enemy Carapace Lord targeting our Ark, combat squad upgrades were essential.
As I watched the ECHOs level up—or rather, version up—I dumped all remaining cash and resources into producing a new original ECHO.
The ECHO gene data was obtained from Hongwei-7 Command HQ from our first raid.
Based on that, the protagonist under creation was Madeline from the Bread Garden Squad.