10:45 AM.
The sun had risen into the sky, about to shed light on Hans and his 11-member squad.
They stood in front of the barricade between the third and fourth floors, frowning as they felt the difficulty of both removing the obstacle and defending themselves against attacks.
Adam ordered Ethan, Tobias, and Noah to pull the baggage that was stacked messily on top of one another.
Alexei, Kenji, and Ravi knelt far away, holding their MP5 submachine guns across their chests as their team slowly breached through.
The rest were even farther, protecting Hans, who observed from the back.
"System, are you sure that the ammo provisions will restore every 12 PM, and not 12 AM?" Hans questioned while his heart fluttered.
The success of the plan depended on the ammo refresh mechanic. If the refresh time turned out to be midnight, he would be in deep trouble, as his conscripts would complain about depleting their ammo.
"Commander, the ammo provisions will be restored every 12 PM. However, this setting has already been set and cannot be changed in the future."
Hans took a deep breath, clasping his hands and believing the system's words once again.
Meanwhile, as the large suitcases and bags were slowly put aside, the groans of the zombies below grew louder and deeper. Ethan and the trio had no choice but to slow down their approach.
If they removed too many at once, the barricade might suddenly topple, leaving them helpless under the tide.
At this moment, as Noah grabbed another large suitcase, the rest of the baggage fell like dominoes.
The rumbling sound echoed far into the third floor.
Noah's face paled as the scene in front of him unfolded. There were at least 10 zombies on the other side, stepping over the four incapacitated zombies, with more ravenously on their way to him.
He ran, signaling the rest with his loud shout.
"They're coming!"
Alexei, along with the other two, raised their MP5s together, their eyes narrowed, as their guns' muzzles sought prey.
Hans held his breath, hoping that their ammunition would be enough.
As the first zombie's head appeared within their sight, Alexei pulled the trigger on his MP5 and hit the zombie on its left shoulder.
The zombie staggered, but before it could recover, another bullet hit its head.
At that moment, the outside world felt like something had exploded.
From the nearby pools. From the outside entrance. From the parking lot right behind Apartment Building number one.
The zombies turned their heads and hissed toward their target, their mouths grogging and dripping with infectious saliva.
Some staggered as they approached, while others ran. Together with them were the howls of those child zombies, dragging more zombies on the way. They nimbly moved and scaled into the walls and barged straight through the open windows of the second and third floors.
The next few zombies made their way up, only to be met with a hail of bullets before having their heads shot.
"Aim properly, or we'll waste ammo like this!" Hans reprimanded. He was unsatisfied with his conscript's accuracy.
Alexei and the other two grunted, knowing that they had made a crucial mistake. However, the next wave of zombies came over before they could contemplate, ending in another barrage.
This time, all shots hit the zombies' heads, or they would've been closer to reloading before the next wave came.
"Ammo check!" Hans shouted.
"15 rounds."
"18 rounds."
"16 rounds."
Alexei, Kenji, and Ravi replied in sequence.
Adam nodded and observed the stairwell that was now filled with numerous hisses from the zombies.
However, the next moment, three zombies quickly made their way up, shocking the three shooters.
"Shoot!" Adam quickly raised his MP5 and shot one in the head. Alexei and Kenji managed to recover and shoot the other two down after.
Hans frowned at the sudden appearance of runner zombies, unholstering his M1911 pistol.
"Adam, Diego, Selene, ready your guns!" he shouted, knowing that things had taken a drastic turn.
"Reloading!" Alexei shouted while switching mags. Each conscript had only two magazines, and he was already down to his last one.
"Reloading, cover me!" Ravi and Kenji followed soon after.
At that moment, two small zombies pounced on the wall and the ceiling. Alexei's eyes widened at the scene, remembering the hollow incident yesterday.
"Child zombies!" he shouted.
Then, he recalled those few words his Commander had instilled in his mind earlier.
His gun muzzle pointed at the child zombie's body rather than its head. Two bullets flew, hitting the limbs of the first child zombie, tearing it off its body.
Kenji aimed similarly at the other child zombie. The first bullet went past wild, hitting the concrete wall behind it and sparking dust. The miss allowed the child zombie to gain momentum.
Kenji furrowed his brows but continued to aim, no longer at the limbs, but at its vulnerable and larger body frame.
Think you're small? But you're not small enough!
With the bullets to its chest, the second zombie child stumbled, immediately losing its quick momentum. Kenji grabbed the opportunity and aimed at its head while it was stunned.
Bang!
The head of the child zombie blasted like a watermelon, followed by the other child zombie dying after a few barrages.
"Whew!" Alexei took a deep breath and maintained focus, knowing that more of these suckers would appear.
Hans had also finally seen what those child zombies looked like.
Small, fast, extremely agile!
His last-minute tactics against them proved to be effective against these types of zombies, but he still didn't feel the slightest reassurance at all.
His first three conscripts' bullets continued to decrease in number, yet the zombies seemed innumerable.
Just as Hans felt that his gunners would rotate, a ping resounded in his mind.
[ Conscript Alexei Novak has been promoted to 1-star! Unit ammo refreshed! ]
Oh, what?! A star promotion works like this?! Quick, system, open his info!
-----
Name: Alexei Novak
Unit: Conscript
Tier: 0
Star Promotion: (1-star) 10 / 600
Promotion Boost: +1 magazine capacity, +10% reload speed, +10% accuracy
Primary Weapon: MP5 Submachine Gun (9mm, 30 rounds per magazine, three mags, refreshes every 24 hours)
Secondary Weapon: None
Melee: Combat Knife (15 cm blade, steel alloy, indestructible)
Grenades: None
Personal Kit: 1-day field ration (refreshes every 8 hours), 1 liter canteen (refreshes every 8 hours), basic sleeping gear, standard soldier uniform
Remarks: Average aim and close-quarter combat skills. Strength increases when grouped with other conscripts.
-----
Just as Hans was astounded, Alexei also felt that he had suddenly become stronger. His ammunition was all refreshed, returning him to his optimal condition!
Instead of the usual one magazine hanging on his sides, it now had an additional fresh magazine! With an increase in his accuracy, he became fervent and shot many zombies in the head on a streak.
The rest of the team remained composed, but internally, they were shocked.
Is this how powerful a 1-star promoted conscript is?
Hans felt that it was too ridiculous, but the incessant gunfire overshadowed his thoughts.
Alexei's finger never stopped pulling the trigger, and never stopped aiming at the zombies' heads, reaping one undead and another.
Kenji and Ravi took a deep breath and tried to keep up, hoping also to be promoted to a 1-star during the battle.
The firefight lasted for a while, ending in a massacre just by the three conscripts guarding the stairwell.
Click! Click! Click!
Alexei tried to pull the trigger, but he found that his newly refreshed ammo was all used up. Just as the runner zombie tried to lunge at him, Kenji aimed at its head and pulled the trigger.
Bang!
The runner zombie fell to the ground, face-first.
Smoke drifted out of the MP5s' muzzles, which had painted the bloody scene in front of them.
"Aren't there a lot of zombies here?" Hans was confused.
He had planned the firefight inside the apartment building so that the walls and rooms could mitigate the noise created by gunfire.
However, the number of zombies attracted still terrified him, counting at least a hundred of them at once.
Nevertheless, at least the surrounding area felt safer with fewer zombies around.
"Clean up, and watch out for any zombie that might still be alive." Hans directed before frowning at the scene where countless bodies were piled up.
In this battle alone, three of his conscripts managed to hold off a horde of at least a hundred zombies, but it was given that most of them were slow and dumb.
If it is a horde of running or special zombies... Hans shivered.
It seemed that, despite having found a way to improve his units' strength, it remained insufficient to secure his footing in this apocalyptic world fully.
He glanced at the updated information on the three gunners.
-----
Name: Alexei Novak
Unit: Conscript
Tier: 0
Star Promotion: (1-star) 350 / 600
...
-----
Name: Kenji Watanabe
Unit: Conscript
Tier: 0
Star Promotion: (1-star) 280 / 600
...
-----
Name: Ravi Patel
Unit: Conscript
Tier: 0
Star Promotion: (1-star) 115 / 600
...
-----
Alexei can further promote today or tomorrow. The rest are still halfway there.
Hans watched as the 11 conscripts slowly took care of the bodies sprawled across the stairwell and descended.
"Have the corpses brought outside and burned. Move in groups. Adam, you lead the team."
Adam nodded and started directing his teammates about their roles. Some would carry the bodies, while others would guard them, and the rest would patrol the area, dispatching any zombies that appeared to be alive.
Hans glanced at his phone, staring at the time.
11:25 AM.
There was still time before the ammunition of his units refreshed, but he didn't want to court death either.
Bored by watching bodies being piled up and carried down, Hans followed the group of Selene and Diego as they made their way downstairs.
The third floor was nothing short of bloody. If vampires were real, then they would have feasted just on this floor alone and lived happily for days.
I remember now. The first three floors are primarily dormitory-style. No wonder there were a lot of zombies around here.
Limbs, skins, muscles—anything made of human flesh was scattered around.
Hans took a deep breath as the system's calming function washed over him. His nose twitched at the extreme scent of iron and rotting bodies, forcing him to descend to the second floor, whose hallway was no different.
As he reached further to the ground floor, he saw the scattered electronics and papers around.
Cellphones, bags, jewelry, watches, and the like spawned, as if they were treasures that appeared after Hans cleared the zombies.
Hans picked up a gold watch where the glass cracked at the center, yet the hands continued to tick. Half of its body was gone, but the remaining grams of gold were enough for Hans to recruit the next conscript unit.
[ Converting resources! ]
[ Gold: 95 (+45) -> 140 ]
"Train a conscript unit!" Hans took a deep breath while feeling excited inside. His gold was reduced to 40, and soon, the 12th conscript unit was trained.
At that moment, the awaited ping finally rang in his mind.
[ Detected that the Commander has 12 units. ]
[ Squad Leader promotion available. ]
[ Do you want to promote? ]