“I learned to be alone and not feel lost for an entire day.”
“Just let me get drunk, sing songs, and entertain myself.”
“Doro is the best!!!
Woohoo!”
If other humans in this world saw what the person singing was riding, their worldview would probably shatter.
Because of the beginner’s protection period, Kai knew that the lowest-level Rapture, the Ego-less, wouldn’t detect or attack him for 3 days.
So, he came up with a bold plan.
He found a lone Ego-less Rapture and confirmed that it indeed ignored him, which gave him room to maneuver.
Even when Kai rode on top of this Ego-less Rapture, it didn’t react.
Then he asked Doro if she could project a virtual image in front of the Rapture.
Doro was silent for a moment before agreeing.
Perhaps this genius Commander had made her discover a treasure.
Based on Kai’s preferences, Doro projected a cute, pink-haired, magical creature in front of the Rapture—the universally adored image of Doro herself.
The principle was probably similar to how cats chase laser pointers.
This lone Ego-less Rapture thus became a mode of transportation.
Guided by Doro, it moved towards the Goddess Squad’s location at a surprisingly fast speed.
“Haha, Doro, with you, how could I ever fail to achieve great things!” Just as Kai was enjoying the wind and singing, Doro’s projection suddenly vanished.
The Rapture Kai was riding came to an abrupt stop, and he was thrown forward by inertia.
Thankfully, it was grass here, otherwise, he might have lost a tooth or two.
“Doro, are you alright?” Kai was afraid something was wrong with his system.
Perhaps it was because he had named her Doro, but he was very worried about Doro.
“Commander, my energy is completely depleted.
I am about to be forced to shut down.”
“Doro, when will I see you again?” Kai pressed anxiously.
“The next time we meet will be when the game officially launches.
Keep it up, Commander.
Doro believes we will definitely meet again.”
“The Goddess Squad is about one kilometer ahead.
Just keep walking forward, Commander, and you’ll be safe.”
“Goodbye, Commander.
I really like the name Doro.”
— Kai slowly got up from the grass.
His phone was well-protected when he fell, and upon closer inspection, it had run out of battery and was forced to shut down.
He brushed off some dust and thought, Doro is waiting for me, probably in about a hundred years.
Kai smiled bitterly and put on his slippers, which had fallen off.
It was truly miserable; even his shoes were gone.
He looked around and saw that the Rapture had already moved far away.
Oranges were scattered everywhere; he hoped they hadn’t been damaged on the grass, as he had fallen quite hard.
He slowly gathered the scattered oranges, putting them back into the white plastic bag one by one.
Thankfully, he hadn’t crushed any, nor had any oranges been damaged.
He hadn’t eaten a single one since arriving here.
After tidying up, Kai walked in the direction Doro had last indicated.
One kilometer, it should be quick.
A gentle breeze blew, leaving only a small dent in the soft grass, proving that someone had fallen there.
Beside the dent, a peeled orange was left behind.
It was Doro’s favorite orange.
A slender hand suddenly picked up the peeled orange from the grass.
“Doro, I thought about it, and I still can’t be too wasteful.
How about you share half with me?
Silence means yes.” There was no response.
It turned out Kai had turned back.
He had originally chosen the largest orange, peeled it, and left it there as a memento.
But after walking for a while, he felt a bit thirsty, so he turned back.
Doro wouldn’t want him to be so wasteful, Kai thought.
Kai broke off half an orange and put it in his mouth.
It was quite sweet.
Leaving the remaining orange and the spit-out seeds in the dent, Kai finally left.
It was getting dark, and he needed to find the Goddess Squad quickly.
He wondered if they would recognize the legitimate identity Doro’s beginner’s package had given him.
— “Still no response?” Snow White, who was intensely guarding below, seemed to sense who the person behind her was and asked.
Dorothy looked disheartened and said nothing.
Her silence was the answer; Dorothy had sent several voice communications, but there had been no response from the Ark.
“The Rapture’s attack just now corrupted another Nikke.
We have less than 20 Mass-Produced Nikkes left,” Snow White stared intently below, as if something was there.
In less than a day, they were about to lose another companion.
They had just repelled the Rapture’s attack, but unexpectedly, one corrupted Rapture infected a Mass-Produced Nikke at the very front.
Out of over a hundred Mass-Produced Nikkes, fewer than twenty remained.
Most of them had been executed by Snow White after being corrupted, just before their minds completely changed.
“She is saying goodbye to her companions.
Give them a little more time,” Dorothy had always handled things this way.
“— Hmm,” Snow White responded softly.
Just then, they noticed some movement in front of the Outpost Base.
“Hey, move aside, move aside.” When Kai arrived at the Outpost Base, he found that a battle had just ended there.
Bullets don’t have eyes, so after observing and confirming that the battle was truly over and there didn’t seem to be any Lord-level Raptures present.
He then squeezed out from among the retreating Raptures.
Approaching the Outpost Base’s wall, Kai saw two figures on it.
“Hey!
I’m here to support you!
I’m the Commander—” Kai waved continuously, slowly approaching and shouting, to avoid being mistaken for a Rapture and shot down.
However.
Bang—a huge gunshot echoed, like the sound of a cannon.
Kai’s scalp tingled, and he quickly touched his face, finding no bruises.
He glanced at his right hand; the orange was safe.
He felt no pain anywhere.
So, who got shot?
Then he looked back and saw a Rapture, slightly larger than the ones before, behind him, already blown to pieces.
Cold sweat immediately poured down him.
Had he been followed?
Just then, the two figures on the wall jumped down and approached him.
Both were dressed in white, but one had white hair and the other pink hair.
Kai recognized them: Pilgrim Snow White and Dorothy.
“A human?!
How are you here?
Didn’t you retreat to the Ark?
How did you get here safely by yourself?” Dorothy was puzzled.
In her eyes, this naive young man was a bit dirty, dressed very casually, and even wearing slippers.
He was carrying a bag.
Snow White said nothing, also scrutinizing Kai.
But she sniffed a few times, sensing that the bag seemed to contain food, perhaps fruit?
Such things hadn’t been seen since the Rapture invasion began years ago.
Saliva involuntarily secreted in her mouth, Snow White stared at the bag.
“I think I’m a Commander?
Where’s your Commander?
I received your Goddess Squad’s communication and came over; I was just nearby.”
“Our Goddess Squad has never had a Commander.
Let me verify your identity first.” Dorothy pulled out a communication device, which also had the function of detecting human identity.
Snow White was still staring at the bag in Kai’s hand.
Wait, something’s wrong?
I remember the Goddess Squad had a Commander, and the first-generation Commander at that!
What was his connection to this Commander in the story?
Kai was utterly bewildered.
“Let me see, Junior Commander, a new Commander who graduated from the Commander Academy 3 days ago, name is—The Ark is full of bugs!”
“—,!!!” Dorothy’s mind was in chaos.
“Huh?!” Snow White suspected she had misheard and finally shifted her gaze from Kai’s plastic bag.
Kai awkwardly scratched the back of his head.
He hadn’t expected Doro to use his in-game nickname for his legitimate identity!
It was so damn embarrassing.