Nikke, something’s seriously wrong with this evacuation point! Chapter 44 44: The Beginning of Destruction

The so-called "knife run" was just one way to play in Zone Zero.

As the na suggests, it ant entering Zone Zero with nothing but a knife, bringing no equipnt at all, and gambling on gathering enough supplies before being killed by bots, or ambushing one, killing it, and then using its gear to fight normally. In short, it was a zero-cost loot-and-extract thod.

Zero Coins Balance: 103,453

That hurt a bit.

A basic set of gear strong enough to avoid being one-shot by bots would cost at least four to five hundred thousand. He simply didn't have that kind of money right now.

Sell the red-tier collectibles? No, absolutely not. Even if I sell myself, I won't sell the red items!

Unless I find a duplicate, it's not happening!

So in the end, knife runs it is.

Still… better rest first. This ti, he was truly exhausted.

He didn't rush to make money. After that long Disguised Mode session, he realized sothing:

Zone Zero exists outside the normal tiline, or at least outside the tiline of the world where Nikke exist.

Otherwise, how could he first et a Nikke who wandered in by accident, and then later et the very first Nikke in history? That would make no sense.

Besides, entering that world again through Disguised Mode had a cooldown, thirty days.

And realistically, even with his luck, there was no way he could grind 150 million Zero Coins in just thirty days.

So delaying his next entry into Disguised Mode was almost inevitable, until he saved enough money.

In other words, there was no point rushing. Whether he could save Liliweiss or not, he had to gather that money first.

Otherwise, when Liliweiss reached the end of her life… would he just stand beside her bed, helpless, unable to do anything?

Just imagining that was unbearable.

For three days, he mostly slept, resting and recovering. Only on the fourth day did he finally stand before the door again.

This ti, he shifted his focus away from Disguised Mode to the normal mode, the one where you directly select a map.

Honestly, he always found this mode selection kind of pointless. If there were many maps, sure, it would make sense. But there was only Zone Zero. Why even bother choosing?

At first, it was fine. But after five years, having to press one extra button every ti, even if it wasn't hard, beca incredibly annoying.

As usual, he opened the map selection, ready to choose [Zone Zero], when his hand suddenly froze.

Because right next to Zone Zero… there was a new option.

A new map?!

Several possibilities flashed through Charon's mind:

Maybe his "hidden rating" in Zone Zero was high enough, so the system unlocked a more suitable map.

Or maybe this map unlocked after participating in Disguised Mode once.

Or maybe it was just random, and he had never noticed it before.

[Zone One · Lost Ruined City]

That was the na when he selected it.

"Zone One"– that part was expected. But unlike the plain "Zone Zero," this one even had a subtitle.

Without hesitation, he chose it.

[Confirming current mode. You have selected: Normal Mode.]

[Operator: Charon]

[Map: Zone One · Lost Ruined City]

[Loading…]

...

Before that mont, the world still had color.

What should have been a peaceful weekend with her father and stepmother…

The sky was suddenly swallowed by endless red.

Screams, explosions, cries–

They intertwined into a painful symphony ringing endlessly in her ears.

Those things… they were called "Raptures."

In an instant, they reduced civilization to ruin.

When she was younger, her mother, whose face she could no longer rember, once said that sotis you could see shooting stars in the sky.

Now, she saw them.

But they were not symbols of wishes coming true–

They were cold chanical creations that brought destruction.

"Ana, listen! Look at , look at !"

That was her stepmother's face, separated from her by the rubble. Before this, she had tried countless tis to get the girl to call her "Mom." So far, her success rate was zero.

A few seconds earlier, realizing escape was impossible, she seized the mont and threw her stepdaughter to safety.

She herself… remained behind, facing the Raptures.

"Run forward! Don't look back, my child–live! You must live! Don't look back!!"

"Don't leave ! Mom!"

It was the first ti–and the last ti–she called that gentle woman "Mom."

Then, the world split apart.

Without warning, she felt the ground beneath her disappear, and her body fell into a bottomless void.

Instinctively, she tried to scream. The sensation of endless falling filled her with overwhelming fear.

She didn't know how long it lasted.

When Ana ca back to her senses, she was lying on a cold stone floor.

She didn't know what had happened, nor where she was.

But she knew one thing, the tallic grinding sounds of the Raptures, the screams of people, the explosions…

All of it was gone.

She slowly got up, confused. The surroundings felt completely unfamiliar.

Sunlight. White clouds. A gentle breeze.

Plants growing through cracked concrete roads. Moss covering broken pavent.

Everything felt strange.

Because this place looked like an abandoned city, one long devoid of human life.

But reality gave her no ti to rest.

Behind her, suddenly, ca that familiar tallic grinding sound.

But she had just checked–there was nothing there.

Without hesitation, she ran.

She didn't look back.

Because her mother told her not to.

She had to keep running forward. She could never stop. Otherwise, she would die there.

That was the chance her stepmother gave her with her life.

Even though she was still young, her survival instinct drove her forward.

She ran… and ran… and ran…

At so point, she ca across a half-open, luxurious door.

Without even looking at the building, she pushed it open and rushed inside.

Had the Raptures caught up?

Only then did she realize, the tallic sound had disappeared the mont she entered.

A wave of relief flooded her.

And with it, all the pain she had been ignoring ca crashing in, especially her left foot, which had felt strange for a while.

She looked down.

At so point, she had lost one of her shoes. Her foot, wrapped in white stockings, was already scraped and bleeding.

Tears instantly filled her eyes.

It hurt… she was exhausted… and hungry…

She didn't even care where she was anymore.

It looked like a hotel room.

Seeing the clean white bedding in front of her, she collapsed onto it.

She didn't even think about it–

How the door she entered was a grand double door…

Yet inside, it led to a single-room hotel chamber.