[High-Difficulty In-Instance Mission: "No Way Through"]
In-instance missions, Charon was very familiar with those.
Back in Zone Zero, he would take them whenever he had the chance. After all, for someone who had memorized the map inside out and could mow down AI enemies like cutting vegetables, these missions were pure profit.
They not only provided the most important base currency in Zone Zero, but also guaranteed item drops, either extremely practical, extremely valuable, or both.
Zero Coins, the base currency of Zone Zero. Every transaction required them. Even when he first entered this world and used system-provided materials to construct his physical body, it had cost him quite a lot. That was probably his biggest expense in the past five years.
As for what effect it had on his body… no idea. The system never said, and nothing noticeable had happened, so he never brought it up.
Normally, each mission had different objectives, which were only revealed after accepting it.
But one thing was always the same, it would spawn a massive number of AI enemies for him to slaughter.
The only thing he could check beforehand was the reward.
[Mission Rewards]
[Base Reward: 10,000 Zero Coins]
[Reward Item: Neutralizer Bullet ×1]
"Only ten thousand? Are you kidding me?"
Charon clicked his tongue.
Still… what the hell was a Neutralizer Bullet?
He opened the item description and read carefully.
"Effect: Eliminates NIMPH from a Nikke's brain… what?"
Charon didn't know much about NIMPH, but he did know one thing, without it, a Nikke couldn't even be approved for creation.
It was essentially a kind of nanomachine used by humans to control Nikke behavior. To this day, no one even knew who originally developed it.
Removing NIMPH… for Liliweiss, that could be both good and bad.
Yes, it was a shackle–
But without it, humans would never allow Nikke to coexist with them.
Humans, by instinct, always prioritize their own safety. Anything that might become a threat is eliminated before it can grow.
Charon understood that, he was human too.
But understanding it was one thing.
When it involved someone close to him, it was another matter entirely.
He wasn't blindly biased. If Liliweiss were some unstable terrorist who slaughtered civilians for fun, then sure, controlling Nikke with something like NIMPH would make sense.
But she wasn't.
Unfortunately, the people in power didn't care about emotions, only reality.
In short, removing Liliweiss's NIMPH right now would do more harm than good.
…Anyway, getting off track.
What a shame. If the timing weren't so bad, he would've definitely cleared the mission while he was here.
There was just something satisfying about completing everything in your planned order, then extracting and collecting a pile of rewards all at once.
He moved past the mission point and scanned his surroundings, quickly locking onto his main target, the largest elevator entrance of the orbital lift.
When he reached it, just as expected, the Raptures were using it too. The elevator still had power.
He immediately started operating the control panel.
"Damn it, these Raptures really don't leave any loopholes…"
On the screen, bright red letters read:
ACCESS DENIED.
He had already tried every method he knew, all rejected.
He hesitated, touching his earpiece.
Using satellite communication out in the open was fine…
but inside a logistics center like this, it might attract attention, and bring a swarm of Raptures.
But he had no choice. This needed a professional hacker.
He activated the comms.
"Rose-Amon, help me out!"
[…Commander, just so you know, this channel isn't just the two of us.]
Ah. Right. Liliweiss was still connected.
[Commander, when are you coming back? I have something I'd like to talk to you about.]
Liliweiss's voice sounded calm, but somehow made Charon break into a cold sweat.
As expected of her.
Even while being chased by a horde of Raptures, she still sounded completely composed.
After plugging his phone into the panel, it took Rose about ten seconds to analyze.
[Bad news. All permissions are locked. The elevator's control system has been completely taken over. It looks like the Raptures have rewritten the base code, our emergency override is useless now.]
She sounded frustrated.
[I checked everything. The only functional route left is the direct cargo lift to the space station, but humans aren't allowed to use it. More importantly, the station is probably overrun with Raptures. If you go up, you won't make it back alive.]
"Figured as much." Charon whistled. "But judging by your tone… there's a 'but', right?"
[You know me well… but it's not completely hopeless.]
Rose snorted lightly.
[Any large-scale system has a manual override. This orbital elevator is no exception. Try looking around, there should be something.]
"Got it."
Charon didn't question her. At this point, he had no better option anyway.
He quickly searched the area, thoroughly, methodically.
But in the end… nothing.
Everything visible, empty.
[Nothing? That's impossible…]
Rose sounded puzzled.
[That doesn't make sense. Could there have been a flaw in the original design?]
"Not a chance. For something this important, the designers wouldn't overlook manual control. If it's not visible… then it's hidden."
This kind of thing was second nature to him.
He ran his hand across the smooth wall, pressing his ear against it, tapping lightly as he moved.
On the fourth panel, his eyes lit up.
"Got it."
He fiddled with it slightly.
The wall panel, perfectly blended with the surroundings, slid open.
Inside… was exactly what he had been looking for, the elevator's manual control levers.
"So… how do I pull this thing?"
There wasn't just one lever, there were several.
Clearly, this wasn't meant for first-time users. It was designed for trained personnel. Pull the wrong one, and it might lock everything permanently.
Charon didn't dare gamble.
If even the manual override got locked… he'd lose his last chance.
[I don't know. With my current access level, I can't retrieve the correct sequence. You may have to retreat for now… and ask someone who knows.]