RTS System in the Apocalypse-Chapter 111: Northern Reconnaissance - Preparation (III)
A long trail of vehicles roared on the southern road towards the apartment complex.
Vehicles were spaced evenly in a disciplined manner; a gap of five meters for minimum reaction time in case of accidents.
Some of the cars rode with stability, the others had their nose lean high.
Dust trailed behind their tails, creating a wave of dust along the road.
The Light APC slowly rolled on its approach, leading the herd into the complex’s entrance. Its gunner tightly held on the .50 Cal, fingers easy on the trigger.
Hans watched all of it from the apartment building’s entrance. The three DASF Units remained at his back with Callum arriving just a minute earlier.
The four wondered the hauls that has been gained on this recent trip.
Though Hans’s soldiers have increased over the past days, the four of them would always welcome more to join the fray.
An expedition up north was no simple thing. The situation could change at any time. More arms and weapons meant a lower margin of error and instability.
Hans had thought of the same too.
"Echo Squad has arrived," Dmitri’s voice cackled in the radio. "Delivering golden package, over."
"Overlord copies, Echo Actual," Hans replied. "I hope the journey was smooth."
The Light APC halted inside the complex. The engine turned idle. Its ferocity replaced by the roar of the rear door as it opened with a metallic thud.
Dmitri stepped down first. Barely any dust or scratch clung to his stealth fatigues.
He walked toward Hans and saluted.
"I have completed your task, Commander," he said. "Minimal contact with infected. A few survivors have been received."
"Has Selene received them?"
"Dropped off before the convoy continued here."
Behind Dmitri, soldiers unloaded crates stamped with faded corporate insignias.
Hans’s gaze flicked to the vehicles. "Seems you’ve got a great haul."
"We tried to gather as much as we could," Dmitri glanced at the bags and the rest. "Pandora still has a few more stashes inside."
"Oh?" Hans raised a brow. "The Engineers must have opened a gold mine."
"More than that, Commander," Dmitri shifted his eyes back to him. "Weapons, equipment, and special gears. We looked through the documents, some of the important ones are in my hand."
He loosened his tactical pack, put it on the ground, and grabbed several folders almost an arm thick.
"Project HELIX supplies and where they came from. The others, confidential state information."
Hans skimmed through the report. "Laboratories?"
"Manufacturers too," Dmitri added. "Plenty around here in the city and the outskirts. Finding them will be the difficult task."
"At least we got the first step covered," Hans let out a smile, then closed the document. "This is more than enough, but we will deal with this later."
He motioned the documents to his side.
Matilda quickly stepped forward and grabbed the documents.
"I am open, Commander," Dmitri stood straight.
"The good news is that the colony is improving," Hans resumed.
"The bad news?"
"Grefort City isn’t."
Hans turned around and waved his hand forward, gesturing for Dmitri and the four DASF units to follow.
Beside him, the Army Soldiers rushed across the hallway while holding their breaths.
Some carried large sacks on their shoulders.
Some held heavy crates of varying sizes, their fingers twitching in protest.
A few faster ones strutted with pride; their hands tightly clenched on the briefcases’ handles in ease.
Dmitri stole a glance at the busy soldiers, then asked back at Hans.
"What’s the situation, Commander?"
"The nuclear power plant is leaking radiation," Hans fanned himself. "Tyrus suspects we may not have time to spare."
"What’s holding the Commander from an earlier departure?"
"An act," Hans shook his head. "If we leave too sudden without preparations, Johannes and the others may suspect something."
"And my arrival has supported the Commander’s script," Dmitri quickly connected the dots.
Hans nodded, satisfied by the unfolding of events.
"What will the Commander do now?" Dmitri asked.
"Train more units and wait until tomorrow."
Hans glanced at his information panel.
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Commander: Hans Flemmens
Rank: 3 - Company Leader
Tier: 0 - 80% Synchronization Rate
Axes: Somatic, Perception, Psychic
Soldiers: 170 Conscripts, 110 Army Soldiers, 18 Attack Dogs, 45 Scouts, 18 Snipers, 8 Engineers, 18 Medics (8 females, 10 male pairs), 21 Machine Gunners, 17 Guardian GIs, 16 Missile Infantry, 4 DASF Units, 7 Guardian APCs, 5 Vanguard MBTs
Primary Weapon: ...
...
Commander Vehicle: ..., Armored Command Truck (temporarily not deployable)
...
Commander’s Rank Promotion Requirement (Battalion Commander Rank): At least 8 companies (~2400 personnel), 100 Ground-based Armor, 25 Air Units (except transports), 10 Naval Ships (except Amphibious Transports), 5 Air Transports, 5 Naval Transports, MCV Deployed, Airfield/War Factory Constructed
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[ Gold: 965 ]
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The remaining Gold irked a part of Hans. The wealth he recently gained drained faster than he expected.
But it was an investment—one that he could use as a leverage to amplify his gains in the future.
"Schedule me a meeting with Johannes today. Tell him that my plans have changed."
He halted near the Commander’s room at the seventh floor.
"What about Tyrus, Commander?" Dmitri asked.
"He’s too busy with his experiments," Hans waved his hands. "We’ll leave him alone until he wants to say something or we found him a good playground."
"By playground, you mean?"
"A decent scientific laboratory," Hans sighed. "Tyrus has given me coordinates up north. Check your documents. That place could have been mentioned in one of them."
"I will provide a summarized report, Commander. What about Ms. Kimmy and Yunera?"
Hans stopped. "Bring them in. Say it’s an invitation of mine."
He wanted to see for himself how these two women would progress in their synchronization rate.
Perhaps Tyrus is looking forward to their performance too.
"Understood, Commander."
"Hmm," Hans nodded in response. "All of you except Viper are dismissed."
Callum strode to the side and started patrolling the hallway. His quirky behavior made Hans wince internally.
He ignored the ridiculousness of Callum’s behavior and entered the Commander’s Room.
Duffel bags, stacks of crates, and rows of briefcases piled on a room further inside.
A distant memory hit Hans; he remembered the days playing games all day long in this room.
His hands moved subconsciously, fingers pointing at where things were once was.
His premium gaming chair that he plunged into before.
His widescreen curved monitor whose display quality was topnotch.
The cold breathing AC unit that no longer worked.
And a side desk where he would use his tablet to illustrate things or type in the texts he would send to his family.
Another soldier made their way inside, almost bumping the duffel bag into Hans.
The latter quickly shifted and avoided a dangerous accident for the soldier, earning his embarrassed expression.
"How much is left?"
"Still a bit more, Commander."
"What?" Hans was surprised. "There’s that many?"
"Well..." the soldier scratched their head. "Four more cars arrived just now. They said they were unloading some supplies the colony could use which took them a while..."
"I see," Hans patted the soldier’s shoulder. "You can go now."
Looking at the small mountain of loot, he couldn’t help but rub his hands in anticipation.
The last wave was around 200k or so, green light glinted on his eyes.
This one should be more than that!
