Urgent recruitment‼ How to Save the Ending World ▚ I'm a certain NPC girl from a discontinued VRMMO service, but somehow managing to survive again today - Chapter 20

Episode 20: Considering Cost-Effectiveness is Crucial

As the date is about to change, and the remaining days of this year decrease, Black Iron’s mechanical companion, Kaijin, and the auxiliary AI finally reach a special district where penalties are imposed for player-versus-player combat.

Unlike the decadent outskirts, the city, divided by a massive waterway, is adorned with glittering lights, somehow giving off the impression of an ever-bright city.

“For now, we need to register the teleportation portal.”

“Finally, we can avoid pointless battles…”

According to posts on a certain highly confidential bulletin board, those who obtain the app to log into UnderWorld apparently undergo a baptism of hardships from mentors until they reach this point. However, for those on the receiving end, it’s an extremely troublesome affair.

Thanks to that, the current situation of Shiro Takatou, the person inside, who has no intention of earning virtual currency and feels a subtle discomfort, is like this.

With a secretly cautious side, he sighs quietly and then crosses one of the several bridges. He touches a cylindrical terminal placed near the entrance of the city.

―― Register current coordinates to the app ――

A notification in English appears inside the red visor that makes up the mask of Black Dog. The city of Mumei is added to the selectable locations for immersion dive points.

Now, there is no fear of being forcibly transported to various irregular places by selecting the city outskirts from the beginning.

“Now that the minimum goal is achieved…”

“Since we’re here, let’s stroll around the city while enjoying the scenery♪”

As soon as the electronic fairy whispers this, the part-armored section with large claws wrapped around the right arm dissolves into quantum light, reconstructing into a golden-haired, crimson-eyed girl who looks elegant all over.

In high spirits, Crim takes a half-arc step to the opposite side. Walking with her left arm entwined with the armored left arm of the mechanical person, her Master, while somewhat concerned about being noticed by others, finds hardly anyone on the main street.

This holds true even in the central part of the city. For the size of the area designated as a base in this virtual world, the fact that there are few people staying there is evident.

“It’s so deserted.”

“Well, most of us expected it.”

Crim, who had once disappeared due to service termination, frowns slightly. Considering the approximately 15 square kilometers of land area close to a designated city block and the fact that there are only around a thousand players, it’s understandable.

Also, considering the high hurdle to find the scattered markers in the electronic sea and dive into this place, it’s unlikely that Mumei City will be bustling anytime soon.

(What kind of perspective are they looking at this from…)

The words “social experiment” occasionally proclaimed and the immense various resources allocated to maintaining this sophisticated virtual world, coupled with various associated efforts, make Shiro question what is achieved in relation to the costs invested.

As he contemplates the ungraspable, Shiro’s auditory senses perceive a light sound, and the auxiliary window indicating a message is projected onto his retinas.