RTS System in the Apocalypse-Chapter 112: Northern Reconnaissance - Preparation (IV)
The door to the Commander’s Room closed.
As the last duffel bag settled on the floor, Hans’s body trembled at the sight. Not only was it gold bars, but bullion bars, diamonds, expensive collections, coins, and other novelties that only the rich of the rich would invest or spend their money on.
You call this a haul? Hans traced back to Dmitri’s words. I don’t believe it’s just a few stashes. It has to be more!
Without hesitation, Hans swept his hands over the entire loot and commanded.
"System, conversion!"
Green grid cells extended from the center of the pile to the edges. Scanning sounds echoed on the room, giving off a mysterious, technological vibe during the conversion process.
It’s taking longer than expected, Hans knitted his brows, but he remained in place.
He didn’t wait for long until the web of green grid cells swallowed the haul. In the next second, everything atomized into green particles and surged into Hans’s brow.
The Gold value skyrocketed. The numbers kept on rolling until it stopped several seconds later.
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[ Gold: 965 (+565,455) -> 566,420 ]
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Half a million?!
Hans’s eyes widened. His heart stammered to the highest rate, disbelieving of the figure that his system panel displayed in front of him.
He closed his eyes and backed away. His lungs expanded, then heaved a long exhale.
Wait, wait wait... we should think this through.
This amount of wealth was one thing. The optimal utilization of such resources still relied on him.
Spam troop count? Hans immediately rejected such notion.
Though he aimed to expand his army’s personnel, blindly training DASF units, Vanguard MBTs, and Guardian APCs wasn’t the best choice either.
DASF Units could be overwhelmed by a horde.
A Vanguard MBT would suffer against choke points, ambush angles, and tight districts.
And a Guardian APC would face a hell lot of trouble against quick-moving enemies. If a stalker could wait itself until disembarkation, a whole round of slaughter would welcome the personnel outside.
I should lay additional troops for the defense of the colony; Hans shifted his thoughts.
The journey shouldn’t be hindered by slow moving tanks. Four of them is enough. I’ll have one of the MBTs substitute Big Rhino.
He paused, turned around, then sat on the chair with the desk in front.
Start small, then expand once I am in a position to deploy the MCV. Then lay a large perimeter defense before I commit.
Just as he started allocating budget to his army expansion, a knock on the door interrupted his thoughts.
Callum’s voice thundered on the other side.
"Commander, Johannes has arrived."
Hans quickly tapped on the system panel and trained several infantry units—Conscripts, Army Soldiers, and others he deemed the colony might need.
"Vacate the rooftops," he answered after a while. "We’ll have our conversation there."
...
The rooftop breeze hit; dry, warm and carried the faint smell of the city’s decay.
Johannes stood near the stairwell entrance when Hans arrived. The man didn’t look like he waited; he measured the apartment building itself.
His eyes passed over the parked Vanguard MBTs and Guardian APCs below. Then the Missile Infantries stationed on the far roofline of the next apartment building.
Then, it slowly shifted back to Hans.
"I did not know that the Commander has procured a large army," Johannes said, not greeting him nor mixing pleasantries.
Hans leaned against the low wall and followed Johannes’ gaze.
"Preparing for operations is a bit tedious," Hans subtly smiled. "I hope you don’t mind."
"Doesn’t seem to be a simple nuclear radiation fixing to me."
"It’s for survival," Hans replied. "You never know what you will encounter in the wilds."
"That’s true," Johannes’ mouth curved faintly.
Hans met his eyes.
"You wanted to join," he said. "I can agree, but here’s my condition."
"I am all ears."
"You may observe, but you do not command."
A brief pause.
Johannes didn’t reject it. It would be presumptuous of him to command Hans’s soldiers either way.
"I’m an agent," he shrugged. "Not a commanding officer."
"It’s best to set boundaries sometimes," Hans clarified. "Wouldn’t want things to get ugly between us."
"I am on your side, Commander Hans," Johannes upturned his palm. "You don’t have to worry about anything when it comes to me."
"With that in the back of our minds," Hans finally faced him. "I’m curious why you’ve taken the initiative to join me."
"Saving the citizens, establishing a colony, and even sparing soldiers to secure it," Johannes paced around. "I wouldn’t call that a heartless Commander. Hearing the residents chatters gave me an odd sensation about you. I feel that I should see you handle things personally. If I let this opportunity slide, I might just lose something big."
Hans was unsure what Johannes talked about.
"Your words..." he paused. "Seems that you’ve got problems with your superiors."
"Everyone does," Johannes shook his head in amusement. "I just hate it when we prioritize protocols and all the follow-your-orders bullshit."
"That seemed to be the case with your ex-agent," Hans bantered in return. "Mind to tell me a short story about him?"
"He’s unlike you," Johannes clicked his tongue. "He’s selfish. A power monger. You’re the complete opposite of Elias Crowe."
"Should that make me feel flattered?"
"Yes," Johannes slowed to a halt. "Commander Hans, you doing all of that charity work isn’t military-friendly."
Hans restrained the emotions that welled up inside him.
"Perhaps I am very humanitarian in nature," he smirked. "Consider me an oddball to all officers you have met."
"Already did," Johannes extended a hand. "I hope we shall have a good prospect between us."
Hans looked at the extended hand.
For a second, he didn’t move.
Then he clasped it.
"Prospect," Hans repeated, tasting the word. "Alright. But I’m not a man who takes people in for free."
"I can give you information."
Hans’s eyes glowed in excitement. "I guess we can consider hitting it with each other the first time?"
Johannes felt that something was out of touch with Hans’s sentence, but he couldn’t make a sense out of it.
"Aside from my squad, there should be at least thirteen SAS cells within the city."
"And I thought Grefort was the second-most secured city in Ashington," Hans mocked.
"It is because of that," Johannes didn’t take it to heart. "But they’re scattered around the city."
"You just gave a partial payment," Hans touched his chin. "And now you’re asking for a long-term loan?"
"These SAS agents will pay the interest for me," Johannes sounded confident. "Project HELIX, state information, gold vaults, hidden caches, whatever information the Commander may need."
"What if they’re dead?" Hans remained doubtful.
"Their safehouses are far more equipped than ours," Johannes rebutted.
"Do you think they will be as courteous as you are?" Hans still didn’t take the offer.
Johannes didn’t answer immediately. Instead, his gaze lingered on the busy parking lot below once more.
"This amount of armor and soldiers," he said slowly. "That’s not the capacity of any ordinary military commander. I have seen no ranks or insignias on any of your soldiers. But even with the absence of that, they remain loyal to your cause, and disciplined outside of your reach."
Hans said nothing.
"The government may reassemble," Johannes continued. "Or it may not. But power doesn’t wait for paperwork. The past was Ashington. Today, the apocalypse. And tomorrow—"
He locked eyes with Hans.
"It may just belong to you, Commander Hans."
Where is he going with this? Hans became suspicious. "I take it you want to pledge your loyalty to me?"
"You are as remarkable as they say," Johannes affirmed. "Indeed, my fellow SAS agents may not be as courteous as me, but that will not be the case if I pledge my loyalty to you."
Hans froze there, taking a while to register Johannes’ ridiculous statement.
Huh?!
