Hans listened to Adam's report, frowning as he made a crucial discovery.
"The zombies are eating their own?"
It was something he had never considered, even after years of playing FPS zombie games.
The lower floors are quiet, and there are two targets upstairs.
Hans pictured the situation in his mind. A quick strike could clear them both, but the sight of one corpse devouring another still bothered him.
"That means they're either starving... or eating to evolve."
He had no proof of the second possibility. Still, if consuming flesh could make them stronger, leaving the two zombies alone would only create another problem later.
Hans explained his plan to Adam.
"Commander, there is no need for you to handle the extermination. I can clear them and return."
Hans raised an eyebrow. "Are you saying I should stay here?"
"Your survival is more important, sir. Soldiers like us should handle the fighting while you direct us."
"System, is Adam right?"
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[ The Commander's safety is the highest priority. ]
[ Subordinates will carry out combat and operational tasks under the Commander's direction. ]
------
Hans was conflicted. Even if the System had trained them for him, they were still real people. Letting them throw their lives away was not something he could accept.
He sighed and waved a hand. "Enough. I'll follow behind and cover you."
Aside from that, Hans wanted to observe how his units fought. He had only killed one restrained zombie himself, and he still did not know how far the System's adjustments went or what would happen when a soldier faced something unexpected.
Watching Adam would also help him learn how to protect himself if he were ever separated from his units.
Adam accepted the order, and the two prepared themselves before leaving the room.
Adam advanced first, checking each corner before gesturing for Hans to follow.
He switched to his combat knife and lowered his stance. Each step was quieter than Hans's own advance the previous night.
Blood pooled across the cement, spreading in thin scarlet veins. The rotting smell of flesh soured Hans's stomach, and he almost vomited on the spot.
The two zombies remained kneeling over the half-eaten corpse, tearing strips of flesh away with their yellowed teeth.
Adam watched them for a moment, then moved.
His knife drove through the nearest zombie's skull, dropping it before it could make a sound. He pulled the blade free, kicked the second zombie backward, and closed the gap before it recovered.
The second strike went straight through its head.
Both corpses hit the floor, though the sound was much softer than the body Hans had dropped in the stairwell last night.
Hans stared at Adam's quick movements, then looked at the remains of the zombie in the suit and gagged. If not for the System's calming function, he would have vomited long ago.
"System, is that really a Conscript?"
------
[ Unit parameters have been adjusted to match Aurelia's current threat level. ]
[ Both hostiles were distracted. Conscript Adam Orlov exploited the opening. ]
------
Hans accepted the explanation for now. Two distracted zombies were one thing; several alert ones would be different.
If one Conscript could quietly handle one or two ordinary zombies, that was already enough. The streets outside held thousands, perhaps millions. A single soldier still meant little against that scale.
The outside world was overrun with thousands or even millions of zombies. A single conscript unit wasn't worth anything in the grander scale of things.
"Adam, check their bodies. See if they're carrying anything valuable."
Hans looked toward the stairs while Adam searched the corpses. Nothing moved below.
A moment later, Adam returned with two silver necklaces. Hans accepted them and confirmed the conversion.
------
[ Conversion complete. ]
[ Gold: 43 (+12) => 55 ]
------
"Check the stairwell first. I'll stay here until you secure it."
The stairwell connected every floor, and Hans did not want to search the eighth floor while the ninth remained unexplored.
Adam nodded and moved upstairs. He returned a short while later.
"Most of the rooms above were left open?" Hans asked. "Did you check inside?"
"I did not enter them, Commander. I detected movement inside two rooms and returned before committing without support."
"I see."
The eighth-floor hallway was dark, with most of its rooms closed. The ninth floor appeared to be the opposite.
They probably left. There's no need to make a mystery out of everything.
Hans shook his head. "Let's clear the ninth floor first, then come back here."
The ninth-floor hallway looked far more expensive than the one below. Its granite floor still shone beneath the dust, framed paintings clung to the cracked walls, and a faint scent of perfume mixed with the smell of blood.
Hans looked across the corridor, already imagining what might be inside. A single Gold watch or platinum ring could give him hundreds of Gold.
The first room was open. Adam entered ahead of him and checked the bathroom before allowing Hans inside.
Nobody was there.
They searched the room and found only scattered belongings, along with some unspoiled food and drinks in the small refrigerator.
"Damn, they must have taken their expensive items."
Hans still placed the food inside his backpack. The next room was locked, and the click of its doorknob disturbed something farther ahead.
Adam immediately stepped in front of Hans with his knife raised.
A nearly naked man stumbled out of another doorway. Its eyes were gone, and its mouth hung open as it released a low groan.
Adam waited until it came within reach, drove the knife through its head, then pinned the corpse against the wall and lowered it to the floor.
Hans released a slow breath. He was still not used to seeing corpses.
"Oh, what's that?"
Something faintly reflected the hallway light around the zombie's neck. It was a silver chain with an oval pendant of white metal, its surface covered in small curling patterns.
Adam removed it and handed it over.
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[ Detected: 20 grams of platinum and 55 grams of silver. ]
[ Convert to Gold? ]
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"System, can you automatically convert valuables unless I tell you not to?"
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[ Automatic Gold Conversion enabled. ]
[ Detected valuables will be converted unless otherwise ordered. ]
[ Gold: 55 (+46) => 101 ]
------
Twenty grams of platinum gave him 40 Gold, while the silver made up the rest.
"What a bountiful harvest from this unknown benefactor."
Hans felt little remorse about taking it.
No. He was a zombie; that was justification enough.
He shook off the thought. "System, train one Conscript."
------
[ Conscript queued. ]
[ Gold: 101 (-100) => 1 ]
[ Training Time: 1 minute. ]
------
While the training countdown ran, Hans and Adam searched the room beside the locked door. A prompt appeared before they finished.
------
[ Conscript training complete. ]
------
Another soldier entered from the hallway wearing the same red uniform and equipment as Adam.
"Conscript Alexei Novak, reporting for duty, Commander!"
Hans returned the salute and ordered him to help Adam clear and search the remaining rooms.
There was no need to inspect every line of Alexei's panel. He was the same unit type as Adam, and the equipment visible on him matched the standard Conscript loadout.
Hans followed behind and observed their coordination. Adam took the lead while Alexei watched the corners and spaces Adam had already passed.
Within ten minutes, they had inspected the entire ninth floor except for the locked rooms.
The glowing number on Hans's interface steadied him. In this apocalyptic world, numbers meant safety.
------
[ Gold: 1 (+67) => 68 ]
------
It still was not enough.
"Adam, Alexei, clear and search the eighth floor. Keep your firearms for emergencies."
The two descended the stairwell and began working through the open rooms. They moved carefully, killing the few zombies they encountered with their knives while keeping the MP5s slung across their chests.
Hans maintained the restriction on gunfire. Every shot could attract infected from the lower floors, and there was no reason to make that risk when the soldiers could handle the rooms quietly.
By the time the last accessible room on the eighth floor had been searched, Hans's Gold had risen sharply.
They found several small valuables, but the largest gain came from a ring Alexei noticed. Two grams of diamonds had been set along its sides.
At 50 Gold per gram, the diamonds alone were worth 100 Gold.
------
[ Gold: 68 (+144) => 212 ]
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"Strange. Most of the residents on the ninth floor seem to have left, but those on the eighth didn't?"
Hans could not find a clear explanation for the difference.
"Ah, whatever. System, train two Conscripts."
------
[ 2 Conscripts queued. ]
[ Gold: 212 (-200) => 12 ]
[ Training Time: 2 minutes. ]
------
Two minutes later, another prompt appeared.
------
[ Training complete: 2 Conscripts. ]
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Hans looked toward the seventh-floor hallway as the two new soldiers approached.