Hell and Heaven
Ark 74's command center felt like hell itself.
"Ugh..."
The situation was deteriorating with each passing day.
At first, they had dismissed the emergence of the Named monster under the Crawler Queen, the Carapace Lord, as no big deal.
No matter that Ark 74 was small-scale, they figured they could handle one subordinate Named-grade entity without the Queen herself showing up.
So they dispatched elite ECHOs, including the Cerberus squad, under the commander's lead to eliminate it.
But then...
"Those fucking idiots..."
Ark 74's fleet commander ground his teeth at the news of defeat.
No matter how capable the ECHOs were, a bumbling commander could prevent them from unleashing their full combat potential.
ECHOs had been engineered for absolute obedience to humans due to their risk as combat weapons.
Thus, an incompetent commander often proved a fatal weakness, dragging the entire squad's power down and leading to total annihilation.
Just like this outcome.
"Sending out those greenhorns without real combat experience was our misstep."
"Haa... What a headache. Come up with a counterplan. And contact the hangar—tell them to bring the mass-produced ECHO production schedule."
The squad sent to take down the Carapace Lord had been wiped out.
It was a heavy loss, but the Ark's reserves could cover it.
Still, losing the original Cerberus squad wholesale was a serious blow.
Recovering the resources sunk into their production would require at least half a year of austerity measures.
"Zombies spotted at Farming Point 6—!"
"How many?"
"Small pack including a Brute! Around twenty!"
"Combat at Farming Point 4! Report says they've engaged a zombie horde!!!"
But a few days later.
Zombie hordes began pouring from what they suspected was the Carapace Lord's nest, cutting off key scouting routes and resource farming zones.
They weren't overly threatening—mass-produced units could handle them—so Ark 74's leadership thought they could hold out against the zombies' harassment for months.
Until three farming platoons vanished without a peep from their comms.
"Tie up two mass-production ECHO platoons for recon. Add heavy weapons formations, and deploy the Sacred Front squad too."
Only then did the Ark's fleet commander sense something was seriously wrong.
At this rate, the Ark would wither away.
So he mobilized every last bit of the Ark's forces to resist the encirclement by the Carapace Lord.
But all that returned were reports of pure despair.
"Zombie horde assault—! Large force including a Swarm Mother and Smokers!!!"
"Swarm Mother?! Enemy numbers?!"
"Over a thousand!!! Sacred Front is engaging now! We need backup!!!"
"God damn it—!"
Were Named-grade monsters truly in a league of their own?
No idea what lurked in the Carapace Lord's nest, but the zombies spawning from it were unnaturally numerous.
Ark 74 poured everything into resisting and barely holding back the Carapace Lord's onslaught. But the damage was no joke.
Not just the entrance—three of their five-layered barricades had crumbled too.
"M-Mommy... I'm scared."
"It's okay, sweetie. We'll be fine."
The zombies' direct assaults left the Ark's interior rife with invisible terror and anxiety.
Rations shrank bit by bit, resource use got restricted.
Outside, thudding echoed day and night, and most soldiers sent to fight never came home.
"Th-This—! Why, why my son!!!"
"Give me back my daughter, you bastards!! You should've died instead!!!"
The rage of Ark residents who'd lost parents, children, friends turned on the ECHOs who survived the battles.
"......"
"......"
But they said nothing.
For every human lost, dozens of ECHOs had fallen—but protecting humans was their reason for existing.
Less than a fortnight after isolation by the Carapace Lord, morale in Ark 74 hit rock bottom. Internal rifts and conflicts erupted.
"We'll all die like this."
"We need to request aid from another Ark."
In the desperate straits, the commanders and the related staff held an all-nighter conference.
"Which Ark? And you think they'll take us in whole?"
"But we can't just sit here. At least... ask them to take the kids."
"Ahem... The kids, huh..."
The consensus leaned toward begging aid from another Ark, but the fleet commander was skeptical.
In this hellish world, no help came free.
Even if another Ark took them in, the fate was obvious.
All resources and ECHOs from Ark 74 would be seized, and they'd live as slaves.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
"......"
Roasted sweet potato, crispy potato chips, and veggie snacks.
Having tasted civilization, I resolved to go all-in—not rampage, but bold investment.
To kindle civilization's spark in this barren Ark, top-tier ingredients were essential.
[Are you sure about the purchases?]
"Cash I can grind anytime. But food? Miss the window, it's gone."
[...The Commander will be exposed to risk.]
"No such thing as free in this world. That's a landlord-only skill."
[......Excuse me?]
I'd use the Money Compass to buy ingredients impossible to source in this Ark right now.
⚔ ITEM INFO ⚔
Sugar (1kg) — 3000C
Salt (1kg) — 6000C
Flour (1kg) —
1750C
Butter (500g) — 8000C
I hesitated on the flour.
Salt and sugar were outright impossible in our current state, but flour could come from farms once they ramped up.
But the Money Compass had exactly 20300C left.
What does that mean?
It meant I could afford the flour.
"Fuck... This is highway robbery."
The moment I saw the price of the butter, my reason returned and I realized something was wrong, but it couldn't be helped.
Once the sword is drawn, you have to cut something.
Thus, I snagged small batches of pristine white sugar, glittering salt, golden butter, and fine flour—practically unobtainable in this world.
Then, I called for Madeline.
"...These are?"
"My life savings. Make bread with them."
Madeline stared at the rare ingredients before her, speechless.
Then bowed deeply, eyes brimming with emotion and resolve.
"I'll repay you with my finest work, Commander."
"How long?"
"The price of my life. Use these to make bread."
"Hmm... Enough for all ECHOs. That doable?"
"Should be. But..."
Madeline eyed me curiously.
They were eyes asking if it was really okay to feed these precious things to ECHOs, who didn't actually need food.
"Back home, they say even half a bean gets shared."
"...Understood, Commander."
Still, these are friends who live and die by my orders; I should at least feed them well in this harsh world.
For the record, Concentrated Nutrients were absolutely not food by my standards.
With the rare goods in hand, Madeline double-checked kitchen gear, kneaded dough like a pro, and tuned the oven.
"Sniff sniff. What's that smell?"
"Waaah—! Smells amazing!!!"
As Madeline prepped, an unimaginable sweet, nutty aroma wafted through command.
ECHOs trickled into the kitchen, drawn by the scent.
"Madeline? Whatcha making?"
"Bread."
"Bread?"
"Humans bake dough from grain flour and water."
"Oh—! With milk?"
Pomen chimed in knowingly.
"Yes. Usually."
Pomen's gaze flicked to Noah at Madeline's reply.
"Hey, Slu—no, Saintess. Come here. I've got a good idea."
"...What idea? It already feels filthy just hearing you say that."
"Commander's gonna love it. If we nail this, he might summon us tonight."
"Intriguing. Let's hear it, Pomen."
Amid the ECHOs' watch, Madeline's debut masterpiece emerged.
Fresh-baked, warm butter rolls.
"This is..."
One bite into the steaming roll sent shivers down my spine.
Texture identical to my old world's—soft, fluffy perfection.
Butter's punchy aroma, subtle sweetness caressing the tongue.
Sweet potatoes were good, but this? First real food since dropping into hell.
"Ah......"
"How is it, Commander?"
"Perfect. Perfect, Madeline."
I gave her a thumbs-up, and Madeline beamed with a bright smile, seemingly satisfied with my reaction.
Other ECHOs eyed their warm mystery orbs cautiously, then nibbled.
"—!"
Arva reacted first.
As always, she observed the surface and texture of the butter roll with analytical eyes before taking a bite.
Then, she paused.
Her pupils began to shake slightly, as if her processor were trying to handle data it couldn't understand.
Then, without a word, she began to devour the bread at a slightly faster pace than usual.
"Waaah—! Like, like clouds! So soft and sweet!!!"
Luna, tasting something like this for the first time, looked overwhelmed with happiness.
Taking a huge bite of the bread, she chewed with her cheeks puffed out.
Concentrated Nutrients were tasty, but this bread, made by Madeline using the Commander's treasures, was the most delicious thing she had ever eaten in her life.
On one side, Alpha and C - 008 were chatting quietly while eating their bread.
I couldn't hear them well, but hearing Commander, chocolate, taste of life—I was the star topic.
Basking in their reactions and civilization's bliss, latecomer Pomen and Noah slipped in. Noah quietly offered a cup of white milk.
"Bread dries the throat. Have this too, Commander."
I gulped Noah's cup thoughtlessly—then bulged my eyes at the liquid's flavor.
This wasn't the taste of the cool water I knew.
That sweet and savory taste that shouldn't be available in this world.
"M-Milk?!"
No, where did this come from?
My eyes went wide.
There's milk in our Ark?
No, in a situation where there are no animals like cows, milk should be an absolutely unobtainable item.
"Like it, Commander?"
"Y-Yeah! But where'd the milk come from?"
Curiosity piqued, I asked.
Noah just smiled warmly, enigmatically—she gave me no answer.
"......"
So, I decided not to ask any further and simply enjoyed this strange yet perfect peace while drinking the milk she gave me.
It had been a great day.