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

In the command room, Mo Chen was browsing through the system store.

The system store had an extensive selection, covering almost everything imaginable. However, the point requirements were ridiculously high.

Perhaps because Mo Chen was still considered a "newcomer," the store occasionally refreshed with discounted items, serving as beginner's packages and special deals.

The Punishing Virus Mo Chen purchased earlier was one such item.

Right now, though, Mo Chen wasn't looking at abilities, bloodlines, or weapons—he was focused on seeds, fertilizers, and pesticides.

Previously, at the power plant, Mo Chen had redeemed a plantation. Later, he visited again and exchanged points for a livestock farm.

It had cost him quite a few points.

Mo Chen sighed.

This really was turning into a farm simulator.

Still, he felt it wasn't enough.

First, the outpost's population—or rather, the number of Nikkes—wasn't small. A single plantation and livestock farm wouldn't be enough to meet their needs.

The scale was too limited.

Second, the variety was lacking.

A lot of the food he wanted to eat wasn't available from the plantation.

So Mo Chen thought about acquiring more seeds when the opportunity arose.

After finishing his daily work, he decided to take a walk outside, get some fresh air, and grab a bite to eat before heading back to his room for a nap.

But he barely made it halfway around the outpost before he was surrounded by enthusiastic Nikkes.

Unable to fend off their enthusiasm, he quickly retreated to the command center.

When he opened the door to his room, a pile of items came tumbling out.

Mo Chen nearly got buried under the heap but managed to dodge just in time.

"What is all this?"

He stared at the pile of boxes, utterly baffled.

There was everything—giant teddy bears, scarves, bracelets—an overwhelming assortment.

He could probably open a gift shop with all this.

Mo Chen was at a loss.

This was too much. Had they turned his room into a storage unit?

"These are gifts from everyone, Commander."

Rapi walked in, carrying a stack of items and placing them on the sofa.

Mo Chen stepped into the room, picked up a heart-shaped stone, and looked at Rapi in surprise.

"You're telling me... all of this is mine?"

He glanced around at the piles of gifts covering the room.

"Of course. Who else could it be for? The wildly popular Commander who's captured the hearts of countless girls."

Anis entered, carrying several large boxes. She rolled her eyes at him.

"Excuse me, sir, please step aside. Unless you want me to step on your foot."

"Uh…"

Mo Chen scratched his head, already feeling a headache coming on as he looked at the room filled with gifts.

"Maybe we should just... send them back?"

He hadn't expected the Nikkes to be this enthusiastic.

But there really wasn't enough space to keep all this.

"No way!" Anis set her stack of gifts on the table, hands on her hips, glaring at him with her bright eyes. "We worked hard to carry all this back. You wouldn't make us move it all again, would you?"

"Exactly, exactly."

Neon chimed in, also carrying a load. "Master, make some room."

"You should just accept it, Commander."

A gentle voice came from behind.

Mo Chen turned to look—it was Rapi.

She held a gift box in her hands.

Opening it, she carefully took out a blue flower and handed it to him.

"This is their way of showing gratitude, Commander. Please don't hurt their feelings."

Mo Chen accepted the flower—it was a blue rose.

Even in his world, blue roses were rare and expensive, let alone in this desolate and barren place.

Sending it back would indeed be inappropriate, as Rapi had said.

"Alright, I'll keep it then."

Mo Chen nodded slightly, feeling a bit emotional.

These gifts—whether it was the blue rose, scarves, a Smith & Wesson revolver, or even the high-explosive rocket launcher—might not seem expensive, but in this resource-deprived outpost, they were already the best anyone could offer.

Mo Chen couldn't help but sigh.

Wait. A high-explosive rocket launcher?!

While Mo Chen decided to accept the gifts as tokens of appreciation from the Nikkes, he was troubled about what to give them in return.

"The life they have now is already the best gift you've given them," Rapi said.

So Mo Chen temporarily shelved the idea of preparing return gifts, deciding to handle it later when he had more time.

Rapi then reported the recent status of the outpost—supplies, food reserves, ammunition stockpiles, and construction progress.

The supplies were running low, food stockpiles were insufficient, and although ammunition levels were decent, they wouldn't last through a large-scale battle.

As for construction, progress was much slower than expected.

Mo Chen had initially assumed that with technology at this level, building houses would be quick and easy.

The reality, however, was that there weren't many Nikkes with engineering expertise in the outpost. Most of them were combat specialists.

Asking them to build houses wasn't just inefficient—it was outright disastrous.

Where others demolished old structures and rebuilt new ones, they were building structures that were already safety hazards!

This gave Mo Chen a headache.

Living in one of their houses felt like being halfway to the grave.

Clearly, relying on them wasn't an option.

He recalled that in the original story, there was a construction unit led by a "loli grandma"—a petite but spirited older Nikke.

Unfortunately, she was still in the Ark, and wishing for her to help was unrealistic for now.

One day, though, he planned to "invite" her here.

With her engineering skills, construction at the outpost would no longer be a concern.

As Rapi prepared tea in the corner, she brought up another topic.

"Commander, recently, many wandering Nikkes have been showing up here. So far, we've taken in thirty-seven of them."

Mo Chen nodded slightly and set his teacup down.

Wandering Nikkes.

It sounded better than calling them strays, but the reality wasn't much different.

If anything, their situation was worse than that of homeless humans.

Survival in the ruins, without the Ark's support, was brutal.

Rapi emerged from the tea room with a freshly brewed cup of tea and placed it on the table. The soft fragrance of the tea filled the room.

"Commander, about taking in these Nikkes… should we be more cautious?"

"Cautious?"

"Yes. The outpost's resources are already stretched thin, and Ark's supplies aren't coming anytime soon. Given the circumstances, don't you think we might be taking in too many?"

"Too many?" Mo Chen lifted his teacup, blew on it lightly, and took a sip. "I think it's not enough."

"Not enough?"

Rapi was puzzled.

The Commander was well aware of how tight resources were, wasn't he?

Mo Chen took another sip of tea and noticed that Rapi still seemed worried. Smiling, he said:

"Just do as I said. If they're willing to come, let them come."

The surface was already overrun by Raptures, and without supplies, the living conditions were extremely harsh. Very few Nikkes could survive in such an environment.

Mo Chen had no other intentions—he just wanted to give them a home.