Exclusive Weapon
"You have a good idea? What is it?"
[If you require additional firepower, I have the relevant blueprints in my database. They are for the AP-5 Armor-Piercing Incendiary rounds.]
"Armor-piercing incendiary?"
To my knowledge, armor-piercing referred to rounds with superior penetration capabilities.
In most war novels, a single shot from those is usually enough to neutralize a tank.
If you combine that with the characteristics of an incendiary round, it would be a horrific weapon—one that pierces through thick armor or skin and burns everything from the inside.
No matter how sturdy a Brute was, it didn't seem like they would come out of that unscathed.
"But can those be produced in our Ark?"
For starters, this place was a meager facility that was embarrassing to even call an Ark.
Because of that, we were relying mostly on external salvage for combat-related parts.
If it weren't for the ammunition abandoned in Hongwei-7, I felt like the future would have been bleak.
[It is possible. We can extract alloys from the discarded armor plates stored within the Ark. Karen Blaze should be able to handle it.]
"...Oh."
As expected, an Ark needed at least one all-purpose slave—no, an all-purpose engineer-type ECHO like Karen Blaze.
Hearing Wanderer's words made me think that I should hurry along the crafting for Lena Hydros of the Ironworks Squad, who was in the same squad as Karen Blaze.
[However, additional weapon modifications are required to control the strong recoil. And... due to the nature of the ammunition, a specific ECHO must be designated to use them.]
"Are you referring to Pomen and Silva?"
[No. Silva's sniper rifle is suitable for modification, but Pomen's machine gun is specialized for sustained firepower, making it a poor match for these rounds, which have high single-shot power. Instead, Helena's 12-gauge shotgun is easier to modify.]
"......???"
A shotgun with armor-piercing effects?
[With AP slug rounds, it should be sufficient to destroy the protruding armor of Brutes or Bone Blades.]
I wondered if that was actually possible, but the technology of this world was in a realm I didn't understand.
Seeing Helena quietly nod, it seemed it wasn't an entirely implausible story.
So, the plan was to create the new ammunition to quickly neutralize the higher-tier entities, then take down the command units among the variant zombies, and finally wipe out the remaining zombies in one fell swoop.
"What do you think?"
"...It seems possible."
If Arva said so, it meant there was a chance of victory.
"Alright, let's give it a try."
And so, under Karen's leadership, the production of AP-5 armor-piercing incendiary rounds began.
However, I felt that this alone wasn't enough, so I decided to empty all the Cash I had diligently collected for this battle.
💰 Money Compass 💰
Current Cash: 85110C
Precious assets obtained through this external expedition.
About 70% of this was the reward for filling the essence of the Hachishakusama—no, Podic—and the rest was obtained from slaying zombies.
"Hmm..."
It was deeply ironic that I had earned more Cash by moving my hips than by risking my life shooting guns, but Cash was Cash at the end of the day.
"......"
I continued to scroll down the shop screen of the Money Compass.
What I was looking for were the Exclusive Weapons of the ECHOs.
In the game Echoes of Humanity — ECHO, Exclusive Weapons were not mere equipment.
They were a concept similar to Artifacts that reacted directly with the Core of an Original ECHO, causing their power to skyrocket.
Because of this, they boasted powerful strength and unique effects that were on a completely different level from ordinary weapons.
That's why it was the unwritten rule to always give them an Exclusive Weapon. That was the standard meta.
No matter how high-performing an ECHO was, they couldn't be used properly without their Exclusive Weapon.
That's why every time an Exclusive Weapon Pickup Season opened, the ECHO Gallery board would be flooded with desperate posts from players who failed to snag the weapon even after blowing their wallet off.
Meanwhile, there were many who got banned from the gallery for a year for bragging about their luck.
"Hmm... they were here too."
First, I could find the genes of the Original ECHOs belonging to our Ark.
However, since I didn't know how to handle the breakthrough when creating two of the same ECHO, I decided to put that on hold for now.
The prices were also so exorbitantly expensive that I didn't even dare think about buying them.
In the case of Arva or Pomen, the price of the genes was as much as 3 million Cash.
This basically meant... don't buy them.
"Eh—?"
As I scrolled through the general weapon category for a long time, unique weapons that differed entirely from ordinary ones began to appear near the end of the category.
"...They really are here."
The Exclusive Weapons of the Original ECHOs from the game Echoes of Humanity — ECHO were decorating the end of the shop list, boasting breathtaking appearances.
Night's End
> A pair of assault daggers crafted from black nano-carbon. They reflect almost no light, and fine circuits that synchronize directly with the ECHO's nerves are engraved on the handles.
> Grants a Weakness Exposed debuff to a target after five consecutive successful attacks. An enemy in this state has their defense reduced by 30%, and the probability of all allies' attacks landing critically increases significantly.
Queen's Calamity
> A heavy machine gun in the form of a minigun. The barrel is painted red and is covered in scratches and crudely engraved kill marks.
> Enters an Overheat state after continuous firing for more than 3 seconds, increasing the rate of fire by 30% and adding a small explosion effect to all rounds.
> However, if the overheat effect lasts for more than 1 minute, it puts a great strain on the ECHO's Core. If the overheat effect exceeds 50 seconds, the weapon can be forcibly cooled. When using another weapon during the cooling time, attack power increases by 300%.
The problem was that only the names and effects of the weapons were listed; there was absolutely no explanation as to which ECHO the Exclusive Weapon belonged to.
It was incredibly unfriendly, as if saying, figure it out yourself if you wanna use it.
But...
"The exclusive weapon for Arva is Night's End. For Pomen is Queen's Calamity, and lastly, Noah’s is the Soul Resonator."
As someone who had enjoyed Echoes of Humanity — ECHO since launch and had poured affection into raising these ECHOs, there was no way I wouldn't know their Exclusive Weapons.
"Uh, but what about Helena? And Silva?"
Of course, I couldn't know the Exclusive Weapons of characters who appeared in the story but couldn't be raised by the player, like the Cerberus squad.
And the price of these Exclusive Weapons was 100,000 Cash each.
The price for every Exclusive Weapon was the same.
"...Is this a bargain?"
Considering the amount of money spent to guarantee a desired Exclusive Weapon in the game, it was a cheap price.
However, considering the value of Cash in this world versus real-world Cash, and the value of my own life, it felt iffy at best.
Regardless, I felt that I needed to prepare something else in addition to the AP-5 armor-piercing incendiary rounds Wanderer mentioned to feel at ease.
"It's a waste of Cash, but this world isn't the game I played. It’s real."
Even considering unknown variables, the more thorough the preparation, the better.
For now, I needed to collect about 15,000 more Cash before officially going to face the Carapace Lord.
It was while I was organizing my thoughts and browsing the Exclusive Weapon list of the Money Compass…
"Commander."
Along with a knock, a woman's voice was heard from outside. It was Madeline.
"Come in."
At my words, Madeline opened the door and entered, placing a small plate on my desk with a soft smile. On the plate were freshly baked bread and a glass of cold water.
"I've prepared some snacks."
"Ah, thanks. Where are the others?"
"The other ECHOs are preparing for the ammunition production with Karen."
"Already?"
"Yes. It seems they are sorting through, dismantling, and moving all the scrap metal in the warehouse."
The girls are really working hard.
The Ark needs to be larger to automate things like that, but there was still a long way to go.
As Madeline spoke, she naturally picked up the cleaning tools placed in one corner of the commander's office.
No wonder the office was so clean. Should I say, as expected of the Bread Garden squad?
It seemed she was not only responsible for baking and the Ark's meals but also took charge of cleaning my personal space.
While I organized my future plans in my head, she began to quietly tidy up the room.
Wiping the dust off the briefing room, organizing scattered data chips, and watering the only potted plant in the Ark—her appearance was extremely peaceful and mundane.
To think a girl like that is an ECHO specializing in removing threats and assassinating targets...
ECHOs were beings whose true nature couldn't be known by appearance or role alone.
Come to think of it... How were the ECHOs even made?
I munched on the bread Madeline baked and blankly stared at her back.
The tight-fitting maid outfit drew soft curves every time she moved. Especially when she knelt and leaned over to wipe the dust off the floor...
"......Pfft."
"Commander? Are you alright?"
"Ah, I'm fine. I just choked for a second."
I accidentally spat out the water I was drinking at the plump silhouette of her buttocks revealed over the tight skirt.
Now that I thought about it, unlike our first meeting, her current attire was not a typical maid outfit but one with more exposure, slightly exposing the curve of her sideboobs.
Wait, wasn't that an outfit skin?
Does this mean life in the Ark has become that comfortable?
"......"
Suddenly, I recalled how I had kept my dick hard for hours against Pomen and the Hachishakusama during the external expedition.
And now, having rested deeply in the Ark, both my physical strength and stamina had recovered to some extent.
Was that why?
Inner desires began to creep up slowly.
Click.
"Excuse me, Commander."
While I was agonizing between reason and instinct, Madeline quietly approached my side and began to wipe the desk.
I set down the water glass and lightly traced the inside of her thigh with my finger while she was engrossed in scrubbing.
"Hieek?!"
At my action, Madeline's shoulders twitched slightly, and she made a sound like a startled cat.
Then, I felt her hurriedly turn her head to look at me. Her eyes were filled with a mix of bewilderment and confusion.
"......Hmm?"
But I pretended not to notice, glancing briefly at Madeline before turning my gaze back to the documents, pretending to focus.
Of course, my hand did not stop.
I stroked her thigh and soon began to knead her springy ass.
"Co-Commander. Wh-What... higut?!"
Madeline did not shake off my touch. No, she couldn't.
But judging by her reaction, she didn't seem ready to accept me any further.
It was a completely different reaction from Pomen and Noah.
"Hng... ngh. Co-Commander... you mustn't do th-this... ngh! Ngh! Ah—!"
So, I decided not to go any further and be satisfied with just enjoying her plump, pillowy ass.
"......"
A pair of eyes watched our scene carefully through the gap in the commander's office door before quietly disappearing.