Not getting a sniper rifle on the first pull made Lux somewhat frustrated, but with three chances left, he still trusted his luck… probably.
Still, the system's idea of a "reasonable method" was truly… unique.
'System, you're not telling me my Tactical Doll could get killed by zombies before I even meet her, right?'
Lux asked worriedly in his mind.
Sten MKII was fine since SMGs were light and fast. But if it were a sniper-type Tactical Doll, wouldn't she be unable to escape at all?
[Rest assured. Any Tactical Doll ordered will definitely join the Commander. This system does not engage in commercial fraud]
'I feel like you yourself are a very fraudulent unit…'
Lux muttered internally.
[Hey! I heard that! Careful, or I'll inflate prices next time!]
'That would be outright fraud…'
[If you show some respect, I'll do my job properly]
'…Fine, fine. I'll stop bad-mouthing you.'
Lux sighed helplessly.
'Oh right, what happens if I summon duplicate Tactical Dolls?'
A certain image flashed through Lux's mind… Commander! I'm all you need.
At that thought, Lux subconsciously glanced at HK416—only to find her looking back at him at the same time.
"What's wrong, Commander? You seem unusually tense."
HK416 asked in confusion.
"N-nothing."
Lux quickly shifted his gaze back to the road. HK416 was cute, sure—but if there were too many…
Other survivors would definitely find it strange. Twins or triplets were one thing, but ten identical people would be outright cloning.
[Rest assured. Every Tactical Doll is unique. Even if one is scrapped, it cannot be summoned again]
The system replied calmly.
'Scrapped…'
Lux suddenly felt heavy pressure settle on him.
'I will never let any Tactical Doll be scrapped.'
[That is entirely dependent on the Commander's own decisions. It has nothing to do with the system]
Lux felt an intense weight on his shoulders. He wanted to become strong enough that no matter what happened, none of the Tactical Dolls by his side would ever be lost.
And that meant he needed a massive amount of resource points to support that goal.
"By the way, if you see any jewelry stores, let me know. I want to collect the resources inside."
"Understood."
HK416 nodded.
"And if you see any roadside convenience stores, tell me as well. Things like sausages and canned meat are probably the best meat-based food we'll be able to find in the future. The more we gather now, the more meat we'll have later."
"Aha! Leave food reconnaissance to the excellent Miss MDR!"
MDR said excitedly.
"Sten, this might be asking a lot, but we should avoid firing guns as much as possible. Could I ask you to try fighting with a Swiss Army knife instead?"
"I–I'll try my best! But Commander, I'm scared!"
"Uh… I won't force you into close combat with zombies, but it's still good to carry a melee weapon for self-defense."
Lux could understand Sten's feelings. Even though he had been cutting down zombies like vegetables for the past two days, if his familiar weapon were taken away, he would still feel uneasy.
"Stop, stop! There's a convenience store over there! Oh right, I also want that super duper drink called cola!"
MDR shouted excitedly.
"Alright, alright. Anything we find is yours."
Lux stepped on the brakes and pulled over to the roadside. Attracted by the engine noise, a zombie about ten meters away charged toward the van.
"I'll go down with MDR to search for supplies. You stay in the car."
"Okay."
HK416 nodded.
"Commander! Let me go down too! I–I want to try. I need to get used to it as soon as possible."
Holding her Swiss Army knife, Sten MKII spoke up.
"Alright, then come along. The first few zombies are hard to deal with, but once you get used to it, you'll realize they can be handled with cold weapons. I'll take this one."
Lux nodded, opened the car door, and slammed it into the oncoming zombie, knocking it flying more than a meter away.
With a flick of his hand, Lux produced a multifunction Swiss Army knife. The zombie, knocked aside by the door, let out an excited roar at the sight of fresh human flesh and lunged forward with its jaws wide open.
Lux drove the Swiss Army knife straight into the zombie's brain. Its foul-smelling body instantly lost strength and collapsed to the ground.
"…Tch, this thing isn't very easy to use…"
Lux glanced at the knife.
A Swiss Army knife was versatile, but killing zombies with it was clearly strenuous.
The main problem was the blade being too short. When a zombie rushed right up to him, spewing rotten breath, even he felt his heart rate spike.
At that distance, a single mistake—getting grabbed by a zombie's limbs or torso—and neither humans nor Tactical Dolls could easily break free from their monstrous strength.
With cold weapons, length meant advantage. Shorter meant danger.
And a Swiss Army knife required switching blades, which wasted precious time. Using it against zombies was simply asking too much.
"Sten, go back to the car. This is my oversight. This kind of weapon really isn't suitable for dealing with zombies."
"O-okay."
Seeing Lux fighting so close to the zombie had scared Sten into a cold sweat. Just imagining herself doing the same made her mind go blank. Hearing that she could return to the car finally let her relax.
Lux wiped the remaining brain matter off the Swiss Army knife on the zombie's body, then exchanged it for a katana from the system.
A broken blade could still work, but against mutated zombies, it would be a serious disadvantage.
Stepping into the convenience store, Lux froze.
Leaning against the counter was a girl wearing a white coat, black thigh-high stockings that fit perfectly, and short flaxen hair.
A lollipop was held between her lips, and her ocean-blue eyes carried a cold, aloof look.
"So you're finally here? Commander, I'm AA-12. From now on, please take care of—ugh…"
The flaxen-haired girl suddenly pulled the lollipop from her mouth, braced herself on the counter, and vomited a rainbow that was painful to look at.
"Huh? Who's this? Another teammate? Lux, what did you do? You made her sick? Don't tell me you asked to taste her panties again? If you're that desperate, you could just come to the all-purpose Miss MDR~"
MDR asked curiously as she walked in behind them.