Hans paced around his room with furrowed brows. The System's cooling sensation remained in the back of his mind, stopping his worry from turning into panic, but it did not make the silence any easier.
The banging had been loud enough to reach the seventh floor. If there were infected on the fifth or fourth floors, they would have heard it too.
Half an hour had passed since the noise stopped, yet the team still had not returned.
The only reassurance came from the unit information on his interface.
---
[ Active Units: 4 Conscripts ]
[ Adam Orlov: Uninfected | Star Promotion: 120 / 300 ]
[ Alexei Novak: Uninfected | Star Promotion: 40 / 300 ]
[ Ethan Varga: Uninfected | Star Promotion: 70 / 300 ]
[ Selene Ward: Uninfected | Star Promotion: 65 / 300 ]
---
Hans checked the panel again even though none of the values had changed.
The increase in their Star Promotion progress caught his attention. From what he had seen so far, killing an ordinary zombie increased it by 10.
The 300-point threshold also resembled Red Alert's promotion mechanics. A unit had to destroy enemies worth three times its own value before it could be promoted.
Selene's sudden increase by 25 stood out. It had likely come from the child infected Adam's team encountered on the sixth floor.
So special infected give more progress.
That confirmed that the child was not merely smaller or faster than the others. It had been worth more to the System, which meant it was more dangerous.
Hans looked through the broken window. Zombies still wandered below, bumping against cars and one another without direction.
"If they can change, I don't have the luxury of waiting around to prove it. I just hope we're strong enough when we meet something worse."
Footsteps sounded outside the room. Hans turned toward the door and released a breath when Adam entered with the other three behind him.
Blood covered parts of their uniforms, and sweat ran down their faces, but none of them appeared injured. Their breathing was already settling.
"Commander, the assigned floors have been cleared," Adam reported.
Hans returned the salute. "Good work. Rest and clean yourselves first. We'll discuss the report afterward."
He looked toward Selene. "Use the shower here. Adam, take the others to one of the cleared rooms with running water."
"Understood, Commander."
Selene entered the apartment while the three men crossed the hallway. Hans stepped outside and waited near the door, giving her privacy without making the arrangement more awkward than it needed to be.
"The water might not stay clean for long..." he muttered.
It still ran clear, and the electricity had not failed either. Hans had no idea how much damage the city's utility systems had taken or how long their remaining pressure would last.
Secure water. Food. More units. A safer floor.
He added each problem to the growing list in his head while the soldiers finished washing.
...
Soon after, the five of them gathered around the cramped dining table. Adam recounted what the team found, beginning with the child infected on the sixth floor.
Hans listened while writing in his blue notebook until the remaining pages began to run out.
Child infected. Faster and more agile than common zombies.
Heavy bloodstains on the fifth and fourth floors.
No active infected in the hallways.
A barricade blocking the stairwell between the third and fourth floors.
The report left him with more questions than answers. He had not heard any of that while unconscious.
According to Adam, some of the blood had dried enough to appear at least two days old. Hans did not know whether that estimate was exact, but it made him wonder how long he had remained unconscious after the meteor shower.
The empty fifth and fourth floors had also unsettled the squad. The Conscripts were normally controlled under pressure, yet there was something wrong about passing through blood-covered hallways without finding the people or infected responsible.
System, don't tell me you had something to do with this...
------
[ System integration required time and a secure environment. ]
[ The Commander remained unconscious until integration was complete. ]
------
That answered only part of it.
Why had nobody entered his apartment during that time?
Where was the military?
Had survivors already formed a shelter somewhere nearby?
Did anyone else in this building survive, or had they escaped before the lower floors were sealed?
Too many questions, too few answers.
For now, the barricade mattered more. It blocked their only known route to the third floor, and breaking through it carelessly could expose the secured floors above.
Hans rubbed his temples. They needed a way through, but not before they were ready for whatever waited on the other side.
Adam glanced toward the hallway. "Commander, breaking the barricade now will create enough noise to draw anything below it. Once the passage opens, the infected will also have a direct route to the upper floors."
Hans nodded. "You recommend waiting?"
"Until we have more personnel, sir. We can hold the stairwell with four Conscripts, but clearing the lower floors at the same time would stretch us thin."
That was far more reasonable than forcing their way through with their current numbers.
Adam signaled to the others. Ethan and Alexei placed several necklaces, bracelets, watches, and other valuables on the dining table. Selene added a small pouch filled with rings.
"These came from the fourth and fifth floors," Adam said.
"Huh? You found all this down there?"
Hans picked up one of the watches. He had expected the upper floors to contain more valuables, yet the lower floors had produced the largest haul so far.
Maybe some residents from above tried to escape through the stairwell and died on the lower floors. Or perhaps the people living there simply owned more than he assumed.
There was no point pretending he knew.
"Good work, everyone. This should give us enough manpower to handle the barricade properly."
The valuables disappeared as the automatic conversion proceeded.
------
[ Automatic Gold Conversion complete. ]
[ Gold: 12 (+775) => 787 ]
------
Hans stared at the balance.
Seven more Conscripts. Just one more after that, and I can rank up.
The thought made his exhaustion recede. Becoming a Squad Leader would unlock new units stronger than the Conscripts currently available to him. They would cost more, but the System had not disappointed him so far.
"System, train seven Conscripts."
------
[ 7 Conscripts queued. ]
[ Gold: 787 (-700) => 87 ]
[ Training Time: 7 minutes. ]
------
Hans looked at Adam, Alexei, Ethan, and Selene.
"Rest while the queue finishes. Seven new comrades will arrive soon."
The four Conscripts acknowledged the order as the countdown began.