The three bags did much better than Hans expected. Jewelry, watches, small valuables, and anything else the System accepted disappeared piece by piece until the last conversion prompt appeared.
------
[ Automatic Gold Conversion complete. ]
[ Gold: 221 (+1,988) => 2,209 ]
------
Hans leaned back in his chair. "Holy shit. That's a huge sum if I've ever seen one."
Two thousand two hundred and nine Gold gave him several options. Another Scout would be useful, and another Attack Dog certainly would not hurt, but Dmitri and Rex were already covering those roles well enough for the apartment complex.
He stared at the Infantry tab and started counting the jobs in his head instead. Building One needed people at the entrance and near the maintenance-room staircase. Building Two would need guards too if tomorrow went well, and every person he left behind was one less person going out to clear the next place.
"I really just need more people."
Conscripts were cheap and could fill the boring guard jobs. Army Soldiers cost four times as much, but they came with better rifles, grenades, radios, and enough training that Hans felt more comfortable sending them with Dmitri.
Four of each looked reasonable. Whether it was actually reasonable, he would find out soon enough.
"System, train four Army Soldiers and four Conscripts."
------
[ Army Soldier x4 queued. ]
[ Cost: 1,600 Gold | Training Time: 2 minutes each ]
[ Conscript x4 queued. ]
[ Cost: 400 Gold | Training Time: 1 minute each ]
[ Gold: 2,209 (-2,000) => 209 ]
------
Over the next several minutes, the new soldiers reported in as their training completed.
"Army Soldier Lukas Reinhardt. Ready for duty, Commander."
Lukas had short blond hair and the kind of posture that made standing at attention look natural.
"Army Soldier Connor Hayes. Standing by."
Connor's clipped answer matched the rest of him. He looked calm and alert, with his attention already drifting toward the rough map on Hans's table.
"Marek Stilovic, reporting in, Commander."
Marek sounded more energetic than the others, though he settled down once the introduction was done.
"Army Soldier Elise Hartmann. Ready."
Elise waited quietly for whatever came next.
Hans looked over the four of them. "You're joining tomorrow's clearing. Dmitri has been handling most of the scouting, and Ryan already knows how the Army Soldiers fight, so go downstairs, talk to them, and figure out how you want to split yourselves. Just don't make me assign every hallway."
"Understood, Commander."
That was about as far as Hans wanted to take it. He was still figuring out how many people should even move together inside a real building; pretending he knew exactly where every soldier belonged would only make things worse.
The four Army Soldiers left to find Dmitri and Ryan, and the Conscripts reported in soon after.
"Conscript Rowan Blake, reporting."
"Anton Markovic, ready, Commander."
"Emil Kovacs, reporting."
"Mara Jensen, at your service, Commander."
Hans repeated the names quietly after them.
Four more names today. This is going to become impossible eventually.
He could still remember everyone at this size, but once the force reached dozens of people, trying to keep every name and assignment in his own head would become its own job.
"Head downstairs and ask Adam or Dmitri what needs doing. They'll get you caught up."
"Yes, Commander."
Once the room was quiet again, Hans ate, reviewed his notes for the next day, and went to sleep.
...
His phone woke him at 7:12 the next morning. Hans stared at the screen for several seconds before forcing himself out of bed, and by the time he was dressed and ready, someone knocked.
"Come in."
Dmitri entered. "Commander, I want to confirm our instructions regarding the meteorite fragments."
"Right, the shards." Hans pulled his notebook closer. "Building Two comes first. Clear it, confirm the survivors, and don't force your way in if they barricaded themselves. After that, check the manager's office."
"And Building Three?"
"I'll join you when we reach it."
Dmitri paused at that, just long enough for Hans to catch the hesitation.
"The System says the fragments can't mess with my head the way they did with you," Hans added. "I'm not planning to walk in there alone either."
"Understood, Commander."
"Can your equipment talk to the Army Soldiers properly?"
"Yes. Their short-range radios can use the same local squad channel, and I can relay between the teams."
"That solves one problem. And before you go, burn the sewer-creature corpse. We already looked it over, and that smell is getting worse."
"Understood."
After Dmitri left, Hans returned to the rough map of the complex. The Armored SUV was useful, but the highway outside was still clogged with abandoned vehicles, and a ram plow could only do so much against a citywide traffic jam. He wrote down a note about moving or scrapping the cars and left that problem for later.
Kenji called him downstairs after the morning briefing, where three groups were waiting on the first floor.
Team A centered around Dmitri and Rex, with Ryan, Adam, and Nadia attached to them. Team B had Connor and Marek with Alexei, Selene, Anton, and Emil, while Team C had Lukas and Elise with Ethan, Noah, Rowan, and Mara.
Kenji, Ravi, and the remaining Conscripts stayed behind to keep Building One guarded while the larger element moved out.
Hans looked between the three groups and felt slightly relieved. At least they had managed to arrange themselves without turning his morning into another hour of deciding who stood beside whom.
Seeing that many living, breathing System units together also reminded him of a question he had shoved aside since the first named soldiers started appearing.
"System, can System units have children?"
There was a short pause.
------
[ System units are biologically capable of reproduction. ]
[ Offspring are recognized by the System. ]
[ Unit class is not assigned until eligible age. ]
[ Conversion into a System unit class requires the normal Gold cost. ]
------
Hans read the prompt twice and decided that problem belonged to a much older version of himself with far more free time.
Not my department.
He returned his attention to the soldiers. "Dmitri, you're still leading this one, okay? Connor and Lukas can handle their own groups. If something changes out there, use your judgment. Just don't drag everyone into some completely different fight without telling me."
"Understood, Commander."
Hans looked at the rest. "Let's deal with Building Two first. Keep it quiet if you can. If there are survivors, don't go kicking doors down. And seriously, bring everyone back."
"Yes, Commander!"
Hans moved out of the entrance and gave them room to pass. "All right, get going. I'll be here."