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

Without delay, Aono decisively placed the [Mechanical Heart], which was shimmering with silver light, gently in the center of the control panel screen.

"submit."

"upgrade."

As he operated the mechanism, the crisp sound of gears meshing echoed for a moment throughout the entire ark.

"Click".

After the sound, a silver halo, seemingly containing a galaxy, suddenly erupted.

Then, the same eerie blue light as before, centered on the control panel, spread like wildly growing vines, instantly covering the walls, floors, and even the ceiling of the entire captain's cabin.

hum-

A deep rumble came from below, and the alloy floor beneath our feet trembled slightly.

Looking at the space formed by the blue cocoon of light, Aono waited patiently.

The women, witnessing this scene for the first time, all showed expressions of surprise.

Ying tried to reach out and touch the eerie blue light, but couldn't reach it at all.

Like the colorful light during recruitment, this energy-like stream of light, though seemingly close at hand, actually exists in another dimension.

After the initial surprise, the other women also tried it out.

Aono didn't stop it either.

He had tried it during the first upgrade and there was no danger.

Of course, there was nothing gained either.

Even if you run at full speed, you can't escape the blue cocoon of light.

Within the pale blue cocoon of light, there is no concept of time or space; one could say there is infinite time and space.

The entire upgrade process was almost identical to the last one.

I don't know how much time has passed; it seems like a moment, yet it also seems like eternity.

The pale blue light gradually faded, and a brand-new office appeared before Aono.

Immediately following this were system notifications flooding the screen.

[Ark upgrade successful]

Current Level: Lv.3

[Added Log Feature]

[New Weather Feature Added]

[Level cap unlocked]

[New Map Unlocked]

[New NPC Unlocked]

New enemies unlocked

[New resource points unlocked]

[Unlock the medical clinic, farm, prison, sentry post, and server room]

[More system function optimizations]

As before, with the level cap being unlocked, the accumulated experience begins to take effect.

As the heat surged, Aono felt himself return to a perfect state.

He opened the panel for the first time in a long time.

The main thing is to see how much experience is needed to upgrade now.

------

Name: Qingye

Occupation: Captain (Unique)

Level: 22 (5675/20000)

Talent: Resonance (Unique)

Talent effect: Collapsed

Skills: None

Equipment: None

Combat strength: 399

------

"..."

Even though he was mentally prepared, Aono still couldn't help but gasp when he saw the experience bar.

Sure enough, it increased tenfold again, and the experience he had accumulated before only allowed him to level up twice.

If this is the case even with his powerful talent that boosts experience, then the women, who have far less experience than him, are even more so.

Apart from the two main combatants, Kage and Tsunade, who leveled up to level 21 like him, the rest of them did not level up.

"Tsk tsk, I can't even imagine how long it will take to level up next."

Aono put away the panel, shook his head, and muttered a complaint under his breath.

The monster's experience will also increase, but only by about three or four times.

As these indices accumulate, the differences become more pronounced over time.

By then, even monsters will probably become rare resources.

Aside from combat professions, the rest of the people will probably have no choice but to honestly join a job and gradually accumulate experience by performing their duties.

However, this efficiency is too slow. It might take ten years of employment to accumulate enough experience for a promotion...

Fortunately, Aono soon found the answer to this question.

Looking around the office, which had become more spacious and brighter, with more luxurious desks and chairs, he continued operating the control panel.

"Upgrade, upgrade, upgrade, upgrade everything."

[Shop Level 3]

[Dormitory Level 3]

[Training Room lv.3]

……

[Medical Clinic lv.2]

[Medical Clinic lv.3]

……

[Data Center Level 3]

Once the last building was upgraded, the entire map was cleared, and almost all the materials purchased daily from the shop were used up.

The result is that all buildings have reached the current level cap.

Through the console preview, Aono understood that the important functions and facilities of the Level 3 Ark had all been unlocked.

Further upgrades will only increase the level cap and unlock the construction of entertainment buildings.

Since all these functional buildings are currently necessary facilities and will all need to be upgraded sooner or later, it's better to upgrade them sooner and enjoy them sooner.

After upgrading all the buildings, Aono opened the newly added system log to check it.

【Ark Calendar】

Day 1: Captain Aono arrives, Ark activated.

October 10: Recruiting teammates Zhou Meili

17th: Obtain the Heart of Symbiosis, upgrade the Ark (lv.1→lv.2)

19th: Recruiting teammates for Lei Movie

29th: Recruiting teammates, Tsunade Senju

31st: Recruiting teammates Coco Hekmedya

Day 53: Recruiting teammates: Asagi Aiba, Kazari Uiharu

Day 54: Recruiting teammates Nymph

Day 58: Recruiting teammate Icarus

Day 62: Obtain the Mechanical Heart, upgrade the Ark (lv.2→lv.3)

"So I've only been in this world for two months...?"

Looking at the system log, which only briefly recorded important events, Aono felt as if he had been transported to another world.

He had so many things to do every day, and his days were so full. In addition, without dates, his sense of time became extremely blurred, and he was really a little dazed for a moment.

Things will get better in the future.

The system log only records important events, but it also includes an Ark Calendar date of XX.

This also appeared on the time display in the control panel.

In addition to control panels, this function has also been added to timekeeping tools such as clocks and watches.

This way, at least you know how many days have passed, giving you a clear understanding.

The women also saw the system log, and the same thought occurred to them at the same time.

Aono-san/Captain/Mr./Master really wasn't lying.

He arrived out of nowhere, and only a few days/ten days early...

"Let's go, all the buildings have been upgraded, so we won't need this control panel for now."

Aono closed the system log, turned around and called to the girls, "Let's go take a look at the new Ark and the various functional buildings."

He pushed open the solid wood office door, and the first thing that caught everyone's eye was the completely transformed living room.

If the captain's cabin was previously just a nicely decorated two-bedroom apartment in an ordinary residential complex, then it is now a luxurious penthouse.

The small space that was originally a bit cramped when everyone was together has now become a spacious place of more than 100 square meters.

The floor beneath your feet is made of warm, wood-grained flooring, which extends all the way to the floor-to-ceiling windows in the distance.

The tables became bigger, there were more chairs, and even sofas, floor mats, and all sorts of furniture were included.

The ceiling above is no longer a oppressive alloy panel, but a simple, pure white suspended ceiling.

The locations of the bedroom, bathroom, and kitchen remain the same, but the space and environment inside have changed drastically.

What was originally a bedroom with only a double bed has now been transformed into a luxury suite with a private bathroom and walk-in closet.

The adjacent kitchen was also transformed into an open kitchen with a bar counter.

All kinds of kitchen and bathroom facilities are available, and they are all significantly more advanced than before.

It seems that little cook Dudu will have to get used to the new kitchen utensils for a while.

"The living conditions improved dramatically."

Aono sat down on the soft leather sofa and sank into it.

"They even have LCD TVs, I wonder if they'll be able to watch anything..."

Qingye picked up the remote control from the coffee table in front of him and tried it. The TV could be turned on, but there was no signal.

"Alright, it really is just a decoration."

He wasn't disappointed; this wasn't the first time something like this had happened, it was expected.

Then I tried the air conditioner.

This time, he wasn't disappointed.