A single-player post-apocalyptic game, but with an all-female teammate mod.

Aono raised his alloy battle axe, compressing the power of lightning and fire to its limit at the tip of the blade. "It's over."

boom!!

The shockwave from the thunder and fire explosion engulfed the Tsar's entire body.

When the light faded, all that remained on the ground before the throne was a lifeless pile of sand, along with fallen debris that shimmered with dazzling light.

Aono stepped forward, and the coins and materials automatically flew into his backpack.

Then he crouched down and began searching through the sand.

After searching through the sand piles scattered by the Tsar, Aono found nothing more and was somewhat disappointed.

"So, only humanoid bosses have the chance to gain new teammates..."

Aono muttered a complaint under his breath, then opened his system inventory and began searching for another important item.

Soon, he saw a crystal in his backpack that emitted a faint golden light.

The Heart of the Sun (Half)

"One-half?"

Puzzled, he took it out and examined it in his palm.

The crystal was about half the size of a palm, with jagged edges, as if it had been forcibly broken in half.

Inside, a golden light was slowly flowing, but it was clearly not complete.

Looking at the half-broken Heart of the Sun in his hand, Aono felt somewhat helpless.

It seems there are two bosses in this level; the other half should be with the other boss.

Moreover, this level has two bosses, and there might be three or four bosses later on.

"That's a classic single-player game formula..."

He shook his head, put away the broken Heart of the Sun, and began to clean up the battlefield.

The subsequent looting lasted for nearly half an hour.

This underground palace is much larger than any of the previous stone chambers, estimated to be over a hundred square meters.

In addition to wall lamps, the four walls are inlaid with a large number of brass reliefs and stone slabs, and various uniquely shaped handicrafts are scattered on the ground.

In the corner, there were even some pottery and bone artifacts that looked like sacrificial offerings.

The previous level was an extremely cold world; the strategy is to advance to the higher reaches of the snow-capped mountains.

This stage is a scorching desert; we must explore deep underground.

Is this a deliberate choice by the game designers, with one level above the other and the other below, or simply a matter of saving time by reversing the level design template?

As Aono scavenged, his mind wandered aimlessly.

Just as he was rummaging through a dark corner on one side of the palace, his movements suddenly stopped.

There were two stone coffins placed side by side there.

The coffin was not made of the rough sandstone that had been used before, but of an unknown stone with a faint white luster and intricate patterns carved on its surface.

Each coffin lid is inlaid with a fist-sized gemstone, one a soft light green and the other a serene deep blue.

What is most striking is that both stone coffins are shrouded in a pale yellow barrier of light.

Sand grains flowed slowly on the surface of the light membrane, like a living sand curtain, completely enveloping the stone coffin.

Aono stepped forward and stood between the two stone coffins, looking into them through the pale yellow barrier membrane.

Two beautiful women were found lying in the two stone coffins.

Lying in the stone coffin on the left is a large-breasted, blonde woman with long hair.

She was wearing a slightly loose white shirt with a few buttons undone at the collar, and the shirt hem was casually tucked into a dark brown skirt.

Her slender waist and full bust were faintly visible beneath her shirt.

Even in its sleep, the iconic curve that rises and falls slightly with each breath is still very noticeable.

Her skin was so fair it was almost translucent, her cheeks had a healthy blush, and her lips were slightly parted, making her look like she was having a sweet dream.

Her bangs fell softly across her forehead, giving her a lazy yet innocent air.

Inside the stone coffin on the right is a girl with long, dark purple hair.

She was wearing a dark blue Japanese school uniform, and her long black hair cascaded down into the stone coffin like a waterfall, with the ends slightly curled.

Her features were delicate and aloof, her eyes were slightly closed, her long eyelashes were like fans, and her lips were pressed into a calm straight line.

He wore a Japanese longsword at his waist, with a black scabbard and only a glint of silver light showing at the hilt.

Even in her sleep, she maintained an upright posture, as if she were ready to draw her sword at any moment. She was like a sharp blade sheathed, quiet yet with its sharpness concealed.

Aono stared at the two stone coffins for a few seconds, and a slow smile appeared on his lips.

"Shizuka Marikawa, Saeko Busujima."

These two names came out almost spontaneously.

These two are both heroines from the famous "Breast Jiggle Apocalypse".

One is a naturally naive but inexplicably skilled, busty female school doctor; the other is a genius, beautiful young swordswoman with a hidden bloodlust.

"It seems that the harvest this time is even greater than I imagined."

Looking at the barrier in front of him, Aono felt increasingly familiar with it.

This is almost exactly the same scene as when I obtained Ice Beauty and Deep Snow last time!

He tried to reach out and place his palm on the protective light membrane of the stone coffin on the left.

The next moment, the familiar system interface popped up in front of me.

[Should I submit materials to unblock my account?]

The list of materials will expand automatically.

Aono glanced at it and saw that there were quite a few types of materials needed, but the quantity requirement was not high.

Along the way, he obtained a large amount of upgrade materials from sand soldiers, sand generals, and sand mages. In particular, he had a huge drop of materials after killing the sand queen, and his inventory was more than enough.

"That's much better than last time."

He recalled that when he first obtained Shenxue and Bingli, he had to go through a lot of trouble to upgrade the materials, but this time he could get it done in one go.

Confirm submission.

The material transformed into flowing light and disappeared into the barrier's light membrane.

The pale yellow sand curtain began to fluctuate violently, the sand grains spun faster and faster, and finally shattered into countless points of light with a "bang" and disappeared into the air.

The two stone coffins had no lids, and after the barrier dissipated, the people inside opened their eyes and sat up on their own.

Aono reached out, and neither of them resisted. He then touched Shizuka Marikawa first and opened her panel.

------

Name: Shizuka Marikawa

Occupation: Doctor

Trust rating: 0%

【recruit】

------

Next up is Saeko Busujima.

------

Name: Saeko Busujima

Occupation: Swordsman

Rating: 11

Trust rating: 0%

【recruit】

-----

"One is a doctor, and the other is a combat profession." Qingye finished scanning the panel and nodded in satisfaction.

It was basically the same as his guess.

These are two professions that perfectly suit their roles.

And it's about time I decided to pursue a medical career.

As the saying goes, "the one who tied the bell must untie it," and there is also a saying that "the antidote will be found within seven steps."

In short, since both sand snakes and sand scorpions are highly venomous, there should naturally be a doctor-like NPC responsible for detoxifying them.

As for Saeko Busujima, the swordswoman...

In this world, you can never have too many combatants.

As for her profession being the same as that of a film actress, there's no need to dwell on that.

Esdeath is still the more prestigious-sounding Ice Swordswoman.

A profession is merely a convenient feature of the Ark; how far they can go and what level of combat power they possess depends on their own talent and hard work.

Shadow's ability to become a demon god was not innate; aside from his exceptional talent, it was largely due to his continuous training and battles.

After searching the remaining areas and finding a staircase leading upwards, Aono glanced at the system time.

It's already 1:30 PM.

That's all for today.

He stretched, walked to the two completely unsealed stone coffins, and hoisted Shizuka Marikawa and Saeko Busujima onto his shoulders, one in each hand.

Two girls hung on his shoulders, one on each side, their long golden and purple hair cascading down and swaying gently with his movements.

Shadow and Ika remained close by on either side of him.

The three of them, one in front and two behind, crossed the steps and returned to the top of the desert.

Looking back, it wasn't actually that far from the entrance down.

The corridors are winding and meandering, but the rooms are actually arranged in a nine-square grid, or rather, a square.

"Ika, make a note of the landmarks. We'll continue exploring the borders tomorrow."

"Yes, Master."

Under the scorching sun, the three who had arrived had become five, and they set off on their journey back to the Ark.

103. Classic medicines

After returning to the Ark, Aono first put Shizuka Marikawa and Saeko Busujima in the bedroom.

The intelligence and findings from today's exploration were then summarized and organized.

From the room structure of Roomclear, to the elite combination of Sand Soldiers, Sand Generals, and Sand Mages, to the Desert Emperor behind the Bronze Gate...

Then, gather all the information about Shizuka Marikawa and Saeko Busujima, whom you recently acquired from the two sarcophagi, and tell Coco, who will then pass it on to the others.

At the same time, Coco also took stock of the existing Ark upgrade materials.

We have more than enough low-rank materials for [Sand Dust Bag] and [Quicksand Core], and we've also accumulated quite a few [Red Scorpion Sting].

The only missing pieces are the lower-level material for the [Sun Etching Mark], the [Broken Pottery Fragment], and the other half of the core material, the [Heart of the Sun].

Of course, this only includes the costs required for upgrading the Ark; other building costs are not included for now.

The same rhythm was maintained for the next three days.

During the day, Aono, along with Kage and Ika, continued to explore the boundaries of this desert world along the route.

Once you reach the boundary, start walking along it and record your progress as you go.