As for whether doing that would make them too strong and lead them to threaten her later...
That was purely a case of being overly anxious. First, one thing needed to be clear—it was only the second day of the apocalypse, and the human heart didn't change that quickly.
It wasn't some zombie siege where everyone had to kill each other for survival; in fact, the monsters here looked quite “game-like.”
The monsters from Minecraft and the Object-types from Arknights were... well, in a certain sense, they could even be called “cute.”
After the Phantoms descended into reality, these things were simply “3D-ified,” but that didn't mean their overall art style had changed.
Even the Tacet Discords from Wuthering Waves—at least those not from Jinzhou—in Rinascita, many of them were actually quite cute or cool.
Furthermore, everyone had been given a whole morning to prepare.
It was enough time to make various arrangements, send people to scout, gather groups, and so on, until the “battle” formally began at night.
If someone could completely flip their moral compass by the second day under these conditions, then that person probably hadn't been normal before the apocalypse anyway.
...
Besides, the advanced information and abundant resources she provided, combined with her own immense strength, were more than enough to establish her leadership position.
Moreover, if she were to arm anyone, she would certainly arm “her own people” first.
—The group from the supermarket currently behind her could be considered temporary followers, not to mention Little Ka was there too.
Regardless of what might happen later, for now, they would follow her blindly. With this group, her influence was sufficient.
Even in the ultimate worst-case scenario where they actually tried to struggle for power or backstab her, it wouldn't be an issue.
Dealing with them would be simple. She wouldn't even need anything else—she could play them all to death just by using the Snake Talisman!
...
As for now, she would naturally farm monsters along the way to get some Dead-binding items for this group, increasing their overall combat power first.
After all, Zhang Xiao wasn't the only one willing to perform a Dead-binding. About thirty percent of the people didn't have many unrealistic fantasies about the future.
Mo Shao estimated that many others would find they couldn't hold out much longer after watching for a while, and then they would figure it out for themselves.
As for those who remained stubborn, she would just let them be.
Next, she would lead this group to retrieve her own chests while arming those who had completed their Dead-binding along the way.
She wanted to equip them with as much as possible because once they merged with the canteen staff, providing equipment would lead to many disputes.
It was better to lead a team that was already fully equipped; that way, there would be fewer conflicts.
As for whether this was being a bit too much of a “nanny”?
Not really. This was also contributing to [Order], so she would still receive Feedback.
For this reason, in the future, the powerhouses might not necessarily belong to the side of Order, but those who maintained Order would generally be strong as long as they could survive.
However... those who maintained Order weren't necessarily “good people.”
Of course, Mo Shao didn't intend to do everything personally. She only planned to step in during the early stages to quickly pull together a combat squad.
—Then they could farm monsters on their own.
At the very least, ganging up on monsters in the morning was not a problem at all, as monsters were currently in a weakened state during the day.
Besides, she probably wouldn't stay with these people for too long. Once she found a way to pull Little Ka away, she would be making her exit soon.
...
While the crowd began rummaging through things, using various large and small bags or simply shouldering sacks to find items before leaving...
Mo Shao also found Little Ka and handed over two items, one yellow and one blue. “By the way, Little Ka, these are for you.”
The blue ship-like structure was a Low-Frequency Whisperin Core, and the yellow square structure was a Low-Frequency Fission Core.
Both were materials dropped from defeating Tacet Discords. In the game, they were materials used to upgrade characters and weapons. However, the monster strength was currently low.
—In other words, the “World Level” was low, so only the lowest-tier materials could drop for now.
“Eh? Oh!” Little Ka was stunned for a moment before realizing that “Little Ka” was her name, and then she responded.
After taking them, she also pulled a Low-Frequency Whisperin Core from her pocket, which she had obtained from defeating a Cruisewing.
As for where her clothes got pockets from?
—The pockets on her school uniform jacket, of course.
After all, in reality, she didn't dare wear those revealing clothes outside; naturally, she had layered a jacket over them.
In the future, one would see many such “mixed-and-matched” outfits, as many clothes in games simply weren't practical for wearing out in public.
But that was only for the early stages. Once the “Compatibility” of these Transformers increased in the later stages, none of that would matter anymore.
...
“These things seem like they might be useful to me?” Little Ka tilted her head, as if sensing something.
“Upgrading skills, character Ascension, enhancing weapons... feel it out more carefully,” Mo Shao prompted.
Currently, Little Ka only knew how to use basic attacks, and they weren't even the normal attacks from the game yet—they were truly just ordinary strikes.
If she could unlock actual skills or her game-standard normal attacks, her combat power would see a massive surge.
“Oh, okay.” Little Ka nodded in realization, then closed her eyes, sensing according to the direction Mo Shao pointed out.
However, the more she sensed, the tighter her brows furrowed. “The character breakthrough requires a higher 'Level,' and there aren't enough materials. Skill upgrades are still missing Inert Metallic Droplets.”
Finally, she opened her eyes and somewhat helplessly swung the Signature Weapon in her hand. “The materials to upgrade this weapon aren't these two at all.”
“It’s fine. Just farm monsters for a while to raise your Level. When the time comes, we can just substitute other materials in excess.”
Mo Shao waved her hand, offering a word of comfort.
Just like in Wuthering Waves, different materials could be converted into one another, though it required a larger quantity.
—However, she would still need to find a Synthesis Bench. Those weren't hard to come by; a Crafting Table from Minecraft could serve as a substitute.
As long as Little Ka Live-bound a Crafting Table, she could act as a bridge to make the rules of Wuthering Waves and Minecraft compatible.
—The Crafting Table truly was incredibly versatile.
...
“Of course, even without collecting materials, Transformers can still improve. It’s just quite a bit slower than following the established rules.”
Since this was reality, Transformers naturally wouldn't be strictly limited by game content; it was just a slower process.
She said this, of course, to add more pressure.
“Unfortunately, Avenulin is still a long way from here. You might hit a level cap later on,” Mo Shao sighed with feigned regret.
—Because that was where Little Ka’s subsequent Ascension materials were located.
That one word, “slow,” was enough to make this “blonde athletic student” choose to step onto the path of searching for Avenulin.
After all, in the rapidly developing apocalypse of the future, improving slowly was essentially equivalent to being sentenced to a “chronic death.”
—Furthermore, if you didn't become strong, even if you wanted to protect others, it would be utterly impossible.
—So, you’d better just come out and travel the world with me~
Rate on N.U.
