NIKKE: The Apocalypse Arrives, But the System is 100 Years Late

"Anis!"

Marian's eyes lit up as soon as she saw Anis. Letting go of Mo Chen, she dove forward and hugged her tightly.

With a loud "thud," their foreheads bumped into each other.

Luckily, both were as tough as nails, or they would have been sporting some nasty lumps.

Caught off guard, Anis nearly fell over but quickly regained her balance while holding Marian.

"Hey, what are you doing, Marian!"

Marian clung to Anis as though they hadn't seen each other in years, cheerfully rubbing her cheek against hers.

"I missed you so much! I missed everyone!"

Anis struggled under Marian's enthusiastic embrace, unable to push her away.

"Alright, alright! I missed you too."

Hearing that, Marian became even happier.

"Really? That's great! Let's play together!"

"Yeah, I really missed you."

Anis glanced at Mo Chen, her eyes pleading for help. He shrugged and gave her an apologetic look, making it clear she was on her own.

It was obvious that Marian was genuinely fond of Anis.

Seeing Marian's innocent and lively demeanor, any awkwardness Anis felt vanished. She pinched Marian's cheek affectionately and even shared her favorite jelly milkshake, which she had been saving. Then, turning to Mo Chen, she spoke.

"Commander, while I'd really love to say, 'Wow, I'm so glad to see you! I missed you so much,' we've got a problem."

"A problem?"

Mo Chen paused, his expression turning serious.

"Yes."

Anis's usual carefree attitude was replaced with a rare seriousness.

"The Ark might be in danger."

The Ark? In danger?

The smile on Mo Chen's face disappeared as he adopted a grave expression.

One hour later.

Inside the operations command room, Mo Chen sat with a somber face, flipping through the intelligence reports that had been transmitted to him. With each page, his expression grew darker.

Just as Anis had said, something major had occurred.

Initially, the reconnaissance unit had detected the presence of the Tyrant-class Rapture, classified as Material H, in the northern region near the Ark. Further investigation revealed that it was moving rapidly toward the Ark.

Unlike other Tyrant-class Raptures, which the Ark typically avoided engaging unless necessary, Material H was a unique threat.

It operated underground and possessed an extensive network of tendrils, resembling fungal mycelium. These tendrils could penetrate several kilometers below the surface.

At such depths, the Ark's safety was severely compromised.

Because the Ark itself was located underground.

Even if Material H couldn't locate the Ark's precise position, it could easily track down an elevator and use it to infiltrate.

Worse still, the tunnels created by Material H during its excavation could allow entire Rapture forces to march directly into the Ark. Should that happen, the Ark's defensive systems would be rendered utterly ineffective.

After several urgent meetings, the Ark's command decided to dispatch units to eliminate Material H.

Initially, the mission seemed relatively straightforward.

In previous incidents, the Ark had successfully defeated Material H by deploying a few elite squads.

This time, however, things didn't go as planned.

The Ark sent several elite units from three different directions to assault Material H's lair and execute the extermination mission.

Unexpectedly, the mission turned into an unprecedented failure.

The squads suffered heavy casualties, and one elite unit even went missing entirely after entering Material H's lair. To this day, their whereabouts remain unknown.

This missing unit was the pride of Missilis Industry—the Matis Squad.

The situation had escalated.

The Ark immediately dispatched reinforcements.

However, it seemed Material H had undergone some form of evolution. Its appearance had changed, becoming far more aggressive.

Its attack methods and ferocity had increased significantly.

Even the reinforcements failed.

Less than half of the dispatched Nikke units managed to retreat; the rest perished inside.

The Nikkes who did escape appeared mentally shattered, their expressions filled with terror. Some were on the brink of insanity, and others had already lost their minds completely.

From the survivors, the Ark received an alarming piece of information.

"This is it," Rapi said, inserting a USB drive into the computer. The projector displayed a video.

It was combat footage.

The visuals were chaotic and blurry but still somewhat discernible.

As Mo Chen watched, his expression grew increasingly grim, his brows furrowing.

There were Nikkes.

In the footage, the units that had overwhelmed the reinforcements were Nikkes.

And those Nikkes belonged to the Matis Squad.

Corrupted?

"It seems they've been corrupted," Rapi explained, turning off the video. "For some reason, the special firewall installed in their systems didn't work. It might have been eroded or damaged."

Mo Chen fell into deep thought.

The Matis Squad was Missilis's ace team. While they were a bit of a handful, their combat prowess was undeniable.

Based on the footage, Material H was far more powerful than in the game.

Mo Chen suspected that it might be entering a critical phase of evolving into a Heretic, which would explain its frenzied efforts to capture Nikkes.

Currently, Material H was situated between the Ark and the outpost base.

After a moment of contemplation, Mo Chen asked, "What's the Ark's response?"

Rapi replied, "Vice Commander Andersen and Elysion CEO Ingrid have both sent messages. They're planning the largest-scale counteroffensive yet and hope we'll deploy our forces alongside theirs."

The largest scale?

Mo Chen thought for a moment.

It seemed the Ark was pulling out all the stops.

Not surprising.

Material H's tunneling capabilities posed a direct threat to the underground Ark. If it breached the Ark, the high-ranking elites and powerful aristocrats inside would all be doomed.

Mo Chen waved his hand dismissively.

"Send them a message saying I'll think about it."

He understood that in situations like this, immediate agreement wasn't the way to go. He needed to stall.

The longer he stalled, the more leverage he'd have.

Soon, it would be the Ark's high-ranking officials kneeling before him, begging for help.

By evening, the sky dimmed as the last rays of sunlight disappeared below the horizon. As the night fell, soft lights illuminated the streets, creating a tranquil scene like a delicate ink painting.

"In just a couple of months, everything's changed so much."

Walking alongside Rapi, Mo Chen observed the tall buildings beginning to take shape, the streets forming, and the muddy dirt paths now replaced with asphalt roads. He couldn't help but feel a sense of awe.

Rapi turned to him with a slight smile. "It's thanks to Centi from the Ark's engineering unit. Her technical skills are top-notch. The roads and buildings here were all designed and constructed under her direction."

"Centi, huh? So, it was her."

Mo Chen recalled the name.

Centi was part of the engineering corps, someone he had specifically requested from the Ark. He hadn't expected her to deliver results so quickly.