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

The four areas are clearly defined, each separated by a semi-transparent glass door.

Aono is currently at the control panel, which is the office area.

A set of solid wood desks and chairs has appeared out of thin air, with a high-tech, deep blue control panel right in the center of the desk.

To be honest, the art style doesn't quite match.

However, Aono had already gotten used to this Frankenstein's monster system UI and adapted to it quickly.

The living room is just outside the office area.

Opposite is the toilet and bathroom, to the left is the bedroom, and to the right is the kitchen.

It's square and simple, and you can see it at a glance through the semi-transparent glass door, so you won't make a mistake.

Regarding the issue of privacy consent exposure...

The captain's cabin is his private and exclusive area; only his own people can enter, so there's nothing to worry about.

Even if he were seen, Aono wouldn't care.

Anyway, everyone else except him is a beautiful, sexy, and cute woman.

The living room has a simple layout, with only a pure white table and four matching chairs, and a large double-door refrigerator in the corner.

The bedroom is similar; apart from having a separate space, the only change is that the single bed has been replaced with a double bed.

The kitchen underwent the most significant changes.

The overall space is much smaller.

But its practicality has greatly increased.

The original central metal table and small refrigerator have disappeared, and the metal stove has been replaced with marble.

In short, the kitchen has transformed from a metallic back kitchen into a typical family kitchen.

I haven't seen the bathroom yet, but I imagine it won't be bad.

After looking around, Aono was very satisfied.

Although the art style is still a bit strange in some places, such as the pure white lighting, the metallic walls and floors...

But this is only level two.

If the initial first-class captain's quarters were barely enough for a night in the company office, now it's back in the rented apartment to rest.

With further upgrades, returning to one's own warm and happy home is no longer a dream.

Even more ambitiously, living in a small villa, a large flat, a small manor, or even a large estate is not out of the question!

After exploring her newly renovated apartment, Aono slowly opened the glass sliding door to the bathroom.

A beautiful girl with long orange-red hair stood at the intersection of light and shadow, looking around the brand-new living room with excitement and curiosity.

The bathroom was also enveloped in a faint blue light earlier, but fortunately it didn't last long, only a few seconds at most.

Dudu was undressing General Thunder when she came to her senses and found that the bathroom had become more spacious and had a new rectangular, pure white pool.

It's actually a bathtub.

But Dudu didn't know that when she first arrived, even how to use the showerhead and stove was taught to her by Qingye.

This rudimentary game system, aside from the basic world-building, doesn't explain anything else.

Looking ahead, there will likely be teammates from other parts of the modern world, or even different worlds, and such things will definitely happen again.

However, by then, Aono probably won't need to personally teach them anymore.

Dudu, who was standing at the bathroom door, was also a little lost in thought for a moment.

The girl's long, orange-red hair had just been steamed by the heat, and it was fluffy like a half-burning flame.

The ends of her hair were still slightly damp, softly hanging down her shoulders and back.

Without any deliberate care, it is precisely this casualness that reveals a clean and vibrant beauty, like a lotus emerging from clear water.

She was still wearing the two bed sheets that had been altered.

The top is a pure white strapless top, completely exposing the lines of the shoulders and neck.

Her collarbones were slender, and her neck was snow-white and deep, like a crystal-clear wine glass.

The skirt on her lower body was lengthened, reaching just to the mid-thigh.

The fabric swayed slightly as you walked, like a sail being lifted by the wind.

There were no unnecessary decorations or fancy cuts, but they perfectly complemented her lively and lovely personality.

More importantly, it's about her condition.

With the level cap unlocked, Dudu, having accumulated enough experience, naturally leveled up as well.

Her fair skin had a rosy glow, and her large, bright blue eyes were full of energy.

She stood there at the door, barefoot, with a little moisture still clinging to the ends of her hair.

Like a lotus emerging from clear water, this is exactly what it means.

After admiring her for a while, Aono shifted his gaze from Dudu and naturally glanced towards the bathroom.

The fog inside hadn't dissipated yet, and another still figure could be vaguely seen.

"Is General Thunder still inside?" he asked casually. "How is she?"

Dudu nodded. "It's good. It feels like she's leveled up too. Her complexion and injuries are gone, but she's still completely still."

"Is that so..." Aono asked curiously, "Did you level up at the same time as me?"

"Ah."

"They weren't even teammates yet... NPCs can level up?"

Aono was puzzled, but couldn't figure it out.

He stopped worrying about it when he couldn't figure it out, since it was all beneficial and harmless to him anyway.

"Since she's obediently in the bathroom, let's leave her alone for now. Anyway, she's an NPC now, so she won't catch a cold."

After saying that, Qingye invited Dudu to go and see the upgraded Ark and explore the newly unlocked areas.

Not only will he not catch a cold, but General Thunder will not consume any resources in this state.

He had already verified this with the NPC Dudu from back then.

Dudu nodded excitedly, her bare feet touching the cold floor. She moved closer to Qingye, tilting her little face up and asking, "Is the shop unlocked yet?"

“It’s unlocked.” Aono nodded and said with a smile, “Let’s go to the store first and buy some clothes while we’re at it.”

"Mmm." The girl excitedly hugged Aono's arm, pressing her full, soft chest against him without any hesitation.

Having gone through life and death together, the feelings between the two deepened significantly.

However, this feeling is not entirely based on trust, so the trust value only increased by 13%.

There's actually already a lot, but the 18Xmod mod can increase intimate interactions between characters by too much.

That's why 13% doesn't seem like much.

Stepping out of the upgraded, silver-white captain's cabin door, Aono led Dudu towards the northeast.

As he walked, he shared the new information he had learned with Dudu.

The shop is located in the upper right of the captain's cabin, a fact Aono knew through the console.

The control console is similar to the central control system in Ark, and only Aono or those authorized by Aono can operate it.

It's called an operation, but it's really just opening and closing, maybe with a blacklist added at most.

Once blacklisted, the facility can no longer be used.

Currently, Ark only has two characters, Aono and Dudu, so these operation functions are not needed.

In addition, the console also has a map function.

The map is a simplified two-dimensional map drawn from a God's-eye view.

You can click on buildings on the map to view their information, and then adjust and upgrade their layout.

It's worth noting that the captain's cabin cannot be moved or upgraded.

The Ark upgrade will automatically upgrade the Captain's Room.

Currently, apart from the captain's quarters, all other buildings are only at level 1.

Changing the building layout or upgrading a building requires resources.

It's far less expensive than upgrading the Ark, but it's not something you can just waste.

Therefore, Qingye has not taken any action for the time being, and plans to make arrangements and upgrades when necessary.

Building upgrades are definitely necessary, but Aono prefers not to make any changes to the layout.

Wasting resources is one issue.

In addition, the current default layout is quite good; it's a classic circular distribution.

The Level 2 Ark has a total of six functions.

These are the manufacturing workshop, canteen, shop, training ground, warehouse, and dormitory.

These six buildings form a regular hexagonal shape that surrounds the captain's quarters in the middle.

The buildings are not far apart, about twenty meters apart.

The energy shield that originally only covered the captain's cabin and manufacturing room has expanded outwards as more buildings have been added, or rather, as the Ark has been expanded.

As long as you are inside the protective shield, you are considered to be inside the Ark.

The 20-meter journey only takes a minute. Qingye had just briefly told Dudu about his discoveries when the two of them arrived at the store entrance.

"So the kitchen was part of your room, Aono-nii."

Standing at the entrance of the shop, I looked at the building, which was no different from the manufacturing workshop except for the addition of the word "shop".

The girl complained, "No wonder it's so easy to get to the kitchen by just pushing open a door, but you have to walk a bit to get to the manufacturing room."

Aono shrugged; it was indeed his fault.

He thought the manufacturing room was far away to isolate it from industrial pollution, but now it seems that it was because the manufacturing room was a separate building.

The kitchen is part of the captain's quarters.

The canteen is where the shelter residents eat.

26. New Features

Aono and Dudu pushed open the store door.

What greeted the eye was not a dazzling array of goods, but an empty counter.

Dudu stood there stunned. This was not just different from the store she remembered, it was completely unrelated.

Aono was stunned for a moment, but quickly realized what was happening.

He walked quickly to the counter.

Sure enough, a product catalog popped up in front of me the next second.

"Beep beep, this place is just like the workbench in the manufacturing room, all operations are done on the panel."

He quickly browsed through the items and found that the variety was surprisingly complete, but they were all very ordinary daily necessities.

For example, the clothes and seasonings that the two of them longed for.

Weapons need to be upgraded to level 2 before they can be purchased; currently, they are just grayed-out icons.

Even the most advanced items don't even have icons; they're completely invisible.

It seems that the various high-quality weapons available only in level 2 shops are deliberately released to entice people.

This is a common practice in single-player games, or rather, in all games.

Offer an incredibly tempting reward to motivate players to grind and spend money.

In addition to items that cannot be purchased being displayed in gray, sold-out items will also turn gray.

The shop offers a unique selection of black and white stockings, priced the same as regular clothing at the cheapest price of 1 gold coin.