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

Aono greeted the women and then pulled out a chair to sit down.

Dudu ladled a bowl of porridge and placed it in front of Qingye. "Are we waiting for Ika and Nymph?"

"No need, let's eat first."

As more and more people come in the future, and various situations arise, it's impossible to wait until everyone is present before eating every time.

In fact, if there were no new chefs and the cafeteria only had three dishes, Aono would have canceled the idea of ​​eating together in the captain's cabin long ago.

The issue of time is one.

Secondly, everyone has different tastes, so it's better to go to the cafeteria and choose your favorite dishes.

With many hands making light work, breakfast can be prepared quickly.

After putting Ika and Nymph's portions into the system inventory, Aono and the other women discussed the official start of the raid.

With the arrival of new levels and the changes in the outside world, only Dudu and he have experience with them so far.

The young cook wasn't a combatant, nor was she chosen to go out this time, so the task of explaining things naturally fell to Aono.

"...So, since the key item for the critical upgrade is the Heart of Extreme Cold, this level is most likely related to cold."

After giving a brief explanation, Aono looked at Uiharu Kazari.

"In early spring, your talent for temperature preservation should be very useful in this level, but your current talent level is too low, which limits your abilities too much."

As he spoke, he looked at Asagi and Koko, "During the initial development phase, I will only bring Ika, Kage, and Tsunade. In your spare time, help Haru try to see how to improve her talent."

The women all nodded in agreement, but they also expressed a desire to go outside and see if the world had truly undergone earth-shattering changes.

Aono readily agreed.

Just looking at it through the protective shield, there is absolutely no danger.

The danger lies in encountering monsters, traps, challenges, and other unexpected events while exploring the map.

Ark Calendar, Day 63.

At 9:30 a.m., the energy shield parted like ripples, creating a gap.

Aono took the first step, the sound of the snow crunching under her feet echoing.

Looking around, the world was a deathly, pale expanse.

The thick, leaden-gray clouds hung low in the sky as if they were about to crush the earth, obscuring the sun and revealing only endless blizzards howling and swirling.

The once sprawling metal cities have been completely wiped out, leaving only a vast expanse of white snowfields and glaciers.

The cold wind, carrying ice shards, relentlessly assaulted the area, emitting a shrill wail resembling the wailing of the dead.

It wasn't until the moment it stepped out of the protective shield that the extreme cold truly revealed its fangs.

Aono felt as if his exposed skin was being pierced by countless ice needles, and his lungs burned the moment he inhaled the first breath of air.

He shuddered and without hesitation took out his down jacket and wrapped it around himself.

Behind him, the women quickly finished dressing.

Since arriving in this world, and with his physical abilities continuously improving along with his level, this is the first time Aono has felt cold.

Thankfully, I had guessed some of the Frosthearts needed for the Ark upgrade beforehand; otherwise, I wouldn't be exploring and clearing the land now, but rather going back to prepare clothing.

The biting cold was somewhat alleviated by the down jacket.

Only then did everyone have the mind to take a look at the white world before them.

Aono crouched down and brushed the snow away with his hand.

The ice crystals under my fingertips were hard and prickly, definitely not the soft texture of fresh snow.

"This snow..."

He crushed a piece of ice and squinted at the wind, gazing into the distance.

The fierce wind whipped up snowflakes, smoothing and blurring everything in sight.

"Ika, can you measure the temperature?"

The store has thermometers, but obviously, at this temperature, those rudimentary thermometers can't measure it.

Rather than relying on that thermometer, it's better to rely on Icarus and Nymph, who are omnipotent angels.

The pink-haired angel girl paused, her emerald eyes flashing with lines of barely perceptible data.

"Master, the current temperature is minus sixty-two degrees Celsius."

Everyone was stunned for a moment upon hearing this.

Such extreme low temperatures are a first for almost everyone.

"No wonder I feel cold even with my current physical condition."

Aono stood up and exhaled a puff of white breath.

If he could, he would love to return to the Ark right now and spend a leisurely day in a warm room.

Unfortunately, the team is not yet large enough, and I really can't rest easy without personally handling the pioneering work.

Of course, the experience books haven't been unlocked yet, so leveling up by fighting monsters is also an important point.

"Alright, it's too cold. Don't catch a cold. You guys go back now."

Aono turned to Tsunade and said, "Tsunade, you should go back too. This level is probably going to be bloody, so your return will give the training room a boost."

The blonde, busty female ninja, dressed in a pink and white down jacket that completely concealed her beautiful figure, remained silent for a moment before nodding.

Just then, the purple-haired older woman beside her suddenly materialized a long-handled naginata.

She silently took half a step forward, her naginata pointing diagonally at the ground, her eyes sharp, as if catching some invisible prey in the wind.

"film……"

Just as Aono was about to ask a question, a strange vibration came from the soles of his feet.

"Master, what's down there?"

At this moment, Nymph also detected the abnormality and quickly spoke up to warn her.

"Master, we are 300 meters away."

Icarus also entered battle mode.

Under the scanning of the Uranus system, she accurately reported the distance.

"280 meters...230 meters..."

As the distance increased, the vibrations became stronger.

"Boom, boom, boom..."

Like the heartbeat of a giant, it pounded heavily on everyone's eardrums through the frozen soil and snow.

Aono frowned, and the alloy battle axe quietly appeared in his hand.

His gaze was fixed on the direction from which the tremor was coming, while urging the non-combat personnel to return to the ark.

"Go back quickly. The previous mechanical city was an exception. This kind of situation where you encounter danger as soon as you step out is the norm."

The scene before him reminded Aono of the time when he first arrived in this world.

On his first trip away from the Ark, he was nearly sliced ​​in two by a mycelium zombie lurking in the shadows.

"Aono-ge, be careful."

Dudu understood this as well; she had cleared out quite a few mycelium zombies around the Ark back then.

After saying that, she took the lead and walked back to the energy shield.

The others followed suit.

In just a few seconds, only Kage, Ika, and Aono remained on the scene.

They are also currently the strongest fighters on the Ark.

In those few seconds, the underground tremors were already very close.

In the three people's line of sight, a relatively gentle snow slope suddenly rose up without warning, and the snow slid down with a whoosh.

When the snow melted away, what was revealed was not frozen soil, but a layer of writhing, pale, fleshy membrane.

The next moment, the flesh membrane suddenly tore apart, and a tentacle covered with ice crystals shot out like a javelin through the snow, stabbing straight at you!

Aoya felt a chill run down his spine. He didn't sense much danger, but he was just a little disgusted.

With his current combat strength, he can't even sweep through this level, and the low-level monsters near the Ark don't pose much of a threat to him either.

Comparatively speaking, extremely cold environments are more dangerous.

"Phew... I really hope Xiao Chuchun's talent levels up quickly. If she had a constant temperature aura, exploring would be much more comfortable."

As he spoke, Aono raised his alloy battle axe and easily blocked the tentacle's attack.

At the same time, the shadow swiftly wielded its naginata.

The flashing arcs of electricity melted the white frost that had somehow covered the blade, and the sharp blade, carrying the lightning, easily cleaved the tentacles in two.

Half a tentacle lay on the snow, still writhing wildly, its blue blood adding a touch of color to the white world.

"It's so cold, and the monster is disgusting. It's so annoying."

Aono frowned and complained, then suddenly charged forward, his alloy battle axe whistling through the air as it slashed fiercely at the newly torn flesh membrane.

No matter how annoying it is, we have to keep going. Since that's the case, let's just get it over with quickly.

"Shoot-"

A teeth-grinding tearing sound rang out, and viscous, icy blue blood gushed out again, instantly turning the pristine white snow into an eerie deep blue.

As Aono cut open the flesh membrane, the tentacles connected inside were completely severed.

The thick, long tentacles slammed onto the snow, thrashing about like fish out of water.

"drink!"

Shadow's low shout was almost synchronized with Aono's movements.

The purple-haired mature woman flashed to the side of the monster, gripping the long hilt of the naginata tightly with both hands, and lightning crackled on the blade.

Instead of slashing horizontally, she pointed the blade downwards and, using the momentum of her forward thrust, fiercely drove the lightning-infused blade into the writhing membrane of flesh.

"Sizzle sizzle—!"

High-voltage current surged wildly into the snake's body along the blade.

The remaining tentacles, which had been waving arrogantly, suddenly froze, and the ice crystals covering their surface cracked open with countless fissures under the impact of the electric current.

The monster let out a deep, soul-piercing roar, which shook the surrounding snow into a soft cascade.

"Huh? The monsters have become smarter too? They can even run away now."

Aono looked on in surprise as he watched the disgusting monster trying to burrow into the ground.

Despite his surprise, he didn't stop what he was doing.

Taking advantage of the moment when the monster was paralyzed and stiff, I decisively rushed forward.

He gripped the wound he had inflicted earlier with one hand, refusing to let go even as the icy blue blood froze his palm.

The terrifying burst of arm strength actually pulled the monster hiding underground out of the ground by more than half.

The monster's true form was finally fully revealed.

It has the head of an earthworm and the body of a snake.

This was already disgusting enough, but then there were tentacles on both sides of its body...

That's even more disgusting.

The system's tags are as concise and straightforward as ever.

【Snake lv.21 (Normal)】

The monster, nearly ten meters long and as thick as a bucket, twisted and struggled wildly, still trying to burrow back under the permafrost.

"Tsk, hurry up and die!"

Aono leaped high into the air, axe in both hands, his muscles bulging, and raised the battle axe above his head before bringing it down with tremendous force.