Miguel didn't sleep that night.
Even after Alpha Squad returned, even after the neighborhood had quieted down, his mind replayed everything on a loop — the gunfire, the screams, the sight of professional soldiers cutting through street thugs like paper.
His small house smelled of oil and gunmetal now, military crates stacked along the walls like he had turned his living room into an armory. The soldiers stood silently, their faces hidden behind visors, waiting for his next order.
Miguel sat at his dining table, staring at his phone as the System interface glowed across the cracked screen.
[Command Points: 50]
[Available Deployments: 1x Infantry Squad]
[Next Unlock: 100 Points → Light Vehicle Support]
A part of him wanted to laugh. Light vehicle support? What would that even mean here — a Humvee parked beside the sari-sari store? An armored car rolling down the barangay road where kids played basketball?
And yet, the soldiers standing guard were real. The crates filled with rifles and radios were real.
This wasn't a dream.
By morning, the neighborhood was buzzing. People spoke about masked men who had appeared in the night, scattering the gangs and saving families. Some called them "angels." Others whispered about police vigilantes. No one could explain it, but everyone was alive.
Miguel stayed silent. He couldn't tell anyone — not his neighbors, not his coworkers. He went to his job at the municipal office, processing permits and filing forms, but every second he felt the weight of the secret he carried.
When his lunch break came, he found himself walking to Rizal Park, sitting under the shade of a tree with his phone in hand.
"System," he muttered, feeling ridiculous. "What exactly… are you?"
The screen lit up instantly.
[The Armed Forces Logistics System is a command interface.]
[Its purpose: to provide you, the Commander, with the tools to establish order and stability within your assigned nation.]
"My assigned nation…" Miguel whispered. "The Philippines."
[Correct.]
Miguel leaned back, staring at the sky. He wasn't a soldier. He wasn't even brave. He was a clerk who had stumbled into power that no one else could see.
But if the System was right, then he had been chosen — not asked, not trained, but chosen.
That evening, Alpha Squad stood in his living room again.
"Commander," the squad leader said, his voice steady. "Requesting further orders."
Miguel swallowed hard. The men — no, the soldiers — were perfectly disciplined. They didn't question him, didn't doubt him. To them, he was already a leader.
"Rest," Miguel said. "Stand down for now."
They saluted. Some remained like statues near the windows, others sat cross-legged, cleaning their rifles. They didn't remove their helmets. They never spoke unless he addressed them.
The silence felt heavier than the noise of gunfire.
Later that night, his phone buzzed again.
[New Objective Available.]
[Raid Criminal Safehouse in Tondo.]
[Reward: +60 Command Points. Unlock Progress: Light Vehicle Support.]
Miguel froze. The System wasn't waiting for him to decide. It was feeding him missions, like a game — but with real lives on the line.
He stared at Alpha Squad. Ten silent figures, ready to march into fire if he said the word.
His chest tightened. He realized, for the first time, that this wasn't just power. It was responsibility. Every order he gave could mean life or death — not only for criminals, but for civilians, for his soldiers, for himself.
He thought of his old life. Filing papers. Smiling at the mayor's assistant. Nodding at meetings that led nowhere. That Miguel had been powerless.
This Miguel had an army.
He gripped his phone, his reflection staring back at him in the cracked screen.
"Alpha Squad," he said quietly, his voice firmer this time. "We move at dawn."
The soldiers saluted in unison.
And for the first time in his life, Miguel Ramos felt the weight and the thrill of command