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

However, this should be done at night.

The world is divided equally between day and night.

The daytime hours are from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., and the rest of the time is nighttime.

The night was too dangerous, somewhat like a difficult level in a game.

Even though Aono is already level six, he still feels extremely dangerous even in the safest "newbie zone"—the area around the Ark.

So for now, we can only stay in the Ark at night.

Even if you take away the 8 hours of sleep, there are still 4 hours left, which is just enough to increase Dudu's trust level.

The relatively safer daytime hours should be fully utilized.

Whether it's upgrading the Ark or recruiting more teammates, Aono has to go to high-level areas to fight monsters and scavenge.

The Ark does not require replenishment of energy; the energy core of each level of the Ark is perfectly balanced with its corresponding functional consumption.

However, post-apocalyptic survival games certainly won't allow players to hide inside the Ark and eke out a living for an extended period.

Putting aside the food problem, there are also regular crises such as monster sieges or natural disasters.

Insufficient Ark level or player combat power will result in the Ark being destroyed directly.

Needless to say, the ending was game over.

Perhaps even if the Ark is gone, Aono won't just die like in the game, and will be able to continue surviving alone in the apocalypse.

But without the Ark, there is no place to rest peacefully.

There's no electricity or water, so the gold coins and materials dropped by monsters are unusable.

Not only will the difficulty of survival increase exponentially, but the quality of life will also plummet.

Aono didn't want to live that kind of life.

Of course, it's also possible that the whole world will simply restart—"Victory and defeat are common occurrences in war, young hero, please start over."

But he would not entrust his fate to such an unknown possibility.

What if you try it and die?

Aono's goal today is to find the area where Dudu is.

The area is teeming with monsters and extremely dangerous, but the resources are also bound to be more abundant.

He had eliminated most of the monsters along the way, which saved him a lot of travel time.

This crappy game doesn't have a map function, but thankfully Aono has a pretty good sense of direction and can still determine the route by observing the distribution of monsters.

"Speaking of which, I don't know how big this world is. The Ark can't move, so we should think of a way to get transportation. Otherwise, we'll have to spend most of our time traveling."

Muttering something to himself, Aono took the fried egg that Dudu handed him and finished his breakfast with bread and milk.

I don't know why, but even though I only added a little salt, both the fried rice and the fried eggs tasted better than his.

With a lingering sense of satisfaction, Aono licked his lips and began making final preparations before heading out to explore.

The fire axe was sharpened, three stone spears were prepared, and the electronic stopwatch was replenished to ten.

With everything ready, Qingye walked up to Dudu before setting off.

The girl stood quietly at the kitchen doorway, like a beautiful sculpture.

Aono looked at her and suddenly felt that it wasn't quite right to leave her naked like that.

I don't know if the NPCs will catch a cold, but just in case.

He took Dudu's clothes, helped her put them on, and then subconsciously said, "Wait here for me to come back."

Aono hadn't held out much hope, but to his surprise, the cute little chef with long orange-red hair actually responded when he turned around.

"Yes, Captain."

Aono paused, then a smile appeared on his lips.

Without further delay, he picked up the fire axe and walked out of the captain's cabin.

A cool morning breeze blew in, carrying with it the distinctive smell of decay from the distant ruins.

He took a deep breath, checked his bearings, and followed the route he had taken yesterday.

Aono remained cautious throughout the journey.

He easily dodged attacks from several zombies, whether newly born or wandering by.

Then the cold monsters transformed into warm experience and gold coins.

After walking about two kilometers, the scenery around us began to change.

The originally grayish-white mycelium became dense, like a moldy carpet covering the broken walls and ruins.

Visible grayish-white spores floated in the air, and when inhaled, they carried a distinctive, fishy smell.

The monsters here are indeed stronger.

A zombie covered in thick, keratinized hyphae slowly emerged from an overturned bus.

It was much larger than any of the ones we had encountered before, and the mycelial tentacles on its neck writhed like venomous snakes.

Without hesitation, Aono went to meet him.

The mycelium zombie has indeed become stronger, but it has become much stronger.

He rushed towards the zombie, and using the bus as cover, he swung the fire axe horizontally with the momentum, slamming it into the keratin layer of the monster's calf.

Debris flew everywhere.

6. Purple Shadow

The monster bent over in pain, and Qingye thrust out a stone spear from his left hand.

The spearhead struck the breastplate-like hard shell, grazing the ribs with a "crack".

He simply abandoned his spear and didn't retreat. Taking advantage of the momentum, he spun around and delivered an upward slash, the axe blade slicing through half of the mycelial layer from his jaw, and a foul-smelling, dark green sap gushed out.

The mycelium zombie paused, then finally knelt heavily.

Aono took two steps back, shook off the slime on his axe, and only the muffled thuds of zombies falling to the ground remained in the ruins.

[Experience points +30]

【Mutant mycelial sclerotium ×1】

[Gold Coins x 15]

"Experience and loot drops have both increased."

Aono stepped forward to collect the spoils, feeling pleased with himself.

The [mutated mycelial nucleus] emitted a faint blue light and was the key material for manufacturing the improved flamethrower.

Once we've gathered all the materials, it will be much easier to come back here next time.

He continued deeper, clearing out the remaining monsters while searching for useful supplies.

In the ruins of a small supermarket almost completely engulfed by mycelium, he found some sealed cans, several unopened bottles of mineral water, and a small packet of precious multivitamins.

"Now we can improve our meals."

If you eat eggs every day, even if you try different ways of preparing them, you'll get tired of them long ago.

Just as Aono was about to leave the supermarket, she caught a glimpse of an unusual color out of the corner of her eye.

It wasn't the orange-red like Dudu's before, but a... deep purple.

Aono suddenly stopped, held his breath, and quietly peeked out.

Deep inside the supermarket, in an area that should have been a cosmetics shelf, a tall figure stood in the shadows with his back to him.

The figure was wearing a very familiar purple battle dress that blended Japanese style with anime aesthetics.

A katana hung at her waist, and her signature long purple hair cascaded down like a waterfall.

"A new NPC?!"

A complex mix of shock and surprise made Aono's heart skip a beat.

He carefully adjusted the angle and finally saw the woman's profile clearly.

Her features were exquisitely beautiful, yet her expression was as cold as ice, and her purple eyes seemed to contain a thunderous majesty.

She seemed to have just finished a battle, with an elite monster lying at her feet, completely pierced by mycelium and lifeless.

There wasn't even a sound, no unnecessary movements; it was clean and efficient, like art.

Before Aono could react, the purple-haired figure seemed to have finished cleaning up, and moved slightly.

There was no attack, no words, and not even a glance in the direction where Aono was hiding.

She simply took a step forward, and her figure vanished into the darkness deep within the supermarket, as if merging into the shadows.

The speed was so fast that it exceeded Aono's dynamic visual capture range, as if what he had just seen was just a phantom.

Aono stood frozen in place, her surprise turning into utter bewilderment.

"Gone? Is it a fixed behavioral pattern, or..."

"Besides, this is a bit too strong."

Although it only lasted a few seconds, the oppressive feeling he experienced from that purple figure was far greater than that from the previous mycelium zombies.

"How can we recruit them? We don't even have a chance to bring them home."

Aono smiled wryly and put away his weapon.

He knew that with his current strength, even if he managed to catch up, he wouldn't be able to forcibly bring it home.

Not to mention increasing trust levels.

"Looks like I need to improve my strength as soon as possible. Not every NPC is like Dudu, who has no combat power and is waiting for players to 'rescue' them."

He glanced at the deep darkness with some regret, then turned and left.

When we returned to the ark, it wasn't completely dark yet.

"It's a bit early, but it's not a big problem."

Land reclamation is dangerous, but the rewards are also high.

Aono returned earlier than usual, but he actually gained more experience materials and collected more resources than before.

He didn't rush to take stock of today's harvest, but instead went to the kitchen door first.

Dudu remained standing there, maintaining that unchanging gentle smile.

“I’m back,” Aono said.

"Dear Captain, what would you like to eat today?"

"Let's make fried rice with eggs, and add more scallions."

Seeing Dudu turn and walk towards the stove, Qingye felt a little better.

Missing out on a new wife... cough cough, the disappointment of losing a new teammate was gradually replaced by anticipation for nightlife.

Dinner was delicious as usual.

After the meal, Aono, just like yesterday, organized the resources and then took Dudu back to the captain's cabin.

The bathroom was filled with steam.

A man and a woman, both naked, were bathing in warm water.

Aono's intentions were good; he wanted to help Dudu clean her body. However, because the girl was completely unable to do it herself, he had to assist her the whole time.

As you wash, interactions that increase trust levels will inevitably unfold.

Trust value +5%

After seeing the prompt, Aono pulled his good brother, who was covered in clear mucus, out of Dudu's little mouth.

It's shiny and has strands on it.

"Splat".

Without pausing, he pressed Dudu's shoulders to make her squat down and directly silenced her cherry-like lips as she mumbled, "Thank you for saving me."