Miguel stood before a glowing digital map inside the FOB. Manila was lit with markers — cleared zones, contested turf, cartel remnants. But the map stretched further, glowing in faint red as it reached north to Pampanga, south to Batangas, east to Rizal, and far into the Visayas and Mindanao.
The System pulsed cold words into his mind:
[Current influence: Metro Manila. Expansion required. New task: Establish provincial operations.]
[Reward: Logistics Upgrade — Mobile Supply Convoys.]
Miguel folded his arms, studying the map.
The cartel wasn't just a Manila cancer. They had roots in Pampanga, where smuggling routes fed contraband straight from Subic's ports. In Cavite, their safehouses doubled as weapons caches. In Mindanao, splinter groups had merged with militant factions. If he was to break them fully, he needed reach.
The Ghost Army couldn't remain a city-bound shadow. It had to be a storm.
He summoned his lieutenants — Echo One, Bravo Two, and Delta Lead.
"Manila is stabilized, but we're boxed in. The cartel has provinces feeding their veins. If we stay here, they'll bleed us slowly. It's time to expand."
Delta Lead nodded. "Where do we strike first, Commander?"
Miguel tapped Pampanga. "Smuggling. That's their artery. We cut it, they choke."
Echo One frowned. "That means breaking cover on highways. Convoys, checkpoints, civilian eyes. We'll risk exposure."
Miguel's gaze was sharp. "Then we become ghosts on the road."
Two nights later, the first operation rolled out.
Three black trucks, disguised as construction haulers, moved north along the NLEX under cover of darkness. Inside, squads crouched in silence, rifles across their laps. Drones flew high above, invisible to the naked eye, feeding Miguel a live bird's-eye view.
In the lead truck, Miguel sat masked, hand steady on his carbine. This was no longer just a raid. It was an expansion — the birth of a network that would stretch across the islands.
Near Angeles City, the convoy halted. A dirt road wound into the hills, where intelligence marked a cartel warehouse disguised as a poultry feed plant. Smugglers moved crates under dim floodlights, guards armed with imported rifles.
Miguel crouched in the treeline with Alpha Squad, watching through night vision.
"Commander," Bravo Two whispered over comms. "Perimeter count — twenty armed. Four technicals. Reinforcements possible."
Miguel's enhanced mind calculated in an instant: strike vectors, entry points, fallback routes. His soldiers waited for the word.
"Execute," Miguel said.
The Ghost Army descended like thunder. Suppressed rifles whispered death as sentries collapsed. Drones marked moving targets, feeding fire solutions straight into HUDs. Within minutes, the outer guards were gone.
Miguel led the breach team. They hit the warehouse doors with charges, smoke rolling in. Inside, smugglers panicked, spraying bullets blindly. Miguel moved through the chaos with surgical precision — one shot, one kill, his soldiers sweeping in perfect formation.
Crates split open under rifle fire, spilling not poultry feed but weapons — AKs, grenades, military-grade radios.
"They're gearing for war," Delta Lead muttered.
Miguel's jaw tightened. "Then we gear harder."
Within twenty minutes, the warehouse was secured. Trucks were loaded with seized weapons. The building went up in flames behind them, lighting the night sky.
By dawn, whispers had already spread.
In Pampanga, people murmured of faceless soldiers who came in the night, burning down cartel strongholds. In Cavite, nervous bosses shuffled assets, unsure where the Ghost would strike next.
But it wasn't only fear spreading. It was hope. Local barangay captains quietly sent word — offers of information, routes, hiding places. Some people wanted protection. Others wanted revenge.
The Ghost was no longer Manila's secret. He was becoming a national specter.
Back in the FOB, Miguel studied the updated map. Pampanga's artery was cut, and new lines of influence glowed faintly outward.
The System chimed:
[Task Complete: First Expansion Successful.]
[Reward Unlocked: Mobile Supply Convoys.]
[Ghost Army can now project operations nationwide.]
Miguel leaned back, exhaling slowly. They had taken the first step. But he knew what it meant: the cartel would retaliate harder, and the government could no longer ignore a phantom force spreading beyond the capital.
"This is it," Miguel whispered. "The shadow war is turning into something bigger."
And somewhere deep inside, he felt it — the thrill of becoming not just a commander of shadows, but the architect of a silent revolution.