The map on Miguel's screen no longer looked like a city's heartbeat. It looked like a country's.
Red veins stretched across Luzon, feeding into Cavite, Pampanga, and Rizal. More reports bled in from Cebu and Davao, where cartel proxies moved drugs, weapons, and cash with impunity. Manila was no longer the sole battlefield. The cartel was a national parasite.
The System whispered its next order:
[New Task: Test logistics network. Coordinate strikes in three separate provinces within seventy-two hours.]
[Reward: Advanced Communications Suite — encrypted satellite uplink for real-time coordination.]
Miguel exhaled slowly. The challenge wasn't firepower. It was reach. Could the Ghost Army move like one body across vast distances without breaking cover?
He turned to his lieutenants.
"Three fronts. Pampanga again, to crush their smuggling routes completely. Cavite, to seize their weapons caches. Rizal, to cut off their drug labs. We move within three days."
Delta Lead's brow furrowed. "Sir, that stretches our logistics thin. Convoys, fuel, drones, manpower—everything's at the edge."
Miguel's voice was iron. "That's why we do it. If we can't move as one shadow, this ends in Manila. If we can, we own the night across the islands."
Pampanga — Night One
Alpha Squad moved first. Convoys disguised as cement haulers slid quietly into San Fernando. The target: an abandoned factory that served as a cartel smuggling hub.
Miguel watched the feed from the FOB as Echo One coordinated. Drones cut through the sky, marking sentries. The squad breached fast, silencers coughing in the dark. Within fifteen minutes, the factory was silent, its crates of contraband seized and loaded onto Ghost trucks.
The artery was sealed. Pampanga was theirs.
Cavite — Night Two
Bravo Squad rolled south along the coast, slipping past military checkpoints with forged documents. Their destination: a weapons cache hidden near a shipyard.
The cartel had guards, but they weren't ready for Ghost precision. A convoy truck slammed the gates; smoke grenades hissed. Bravo Squad stormed in, cutting down resistance. Miguel listened to their comms as the squad leader barked:
"Cache secured. RPGs, rifles, explosives—all loaded."
The Ghost Army rolled out before police could arrive. When authorities finally reached the site, all they found were empty crates and silence.
Rizal — Night Three
This time, Miguel led the assault himself. The hills of Rizal hid a network of jungle labs that cooked meth for distribution into Metro Manila. If left unchecked, the labs would keep poisoning communities.
Miguel crouched in the treeline, night vision cutting through shadows.
"Three labs, heavily armed. We strike fast, leave nothing standing."
His squads moved like predators through the undergrowth. Silenced shots snapped in the dark; guards fell without cries. Charges were set on every shack, every generator, every chemical drum.
Miguel gave the order. The hills of Rizal lit up with controlled fire, the sky flashing orange as the labs burned.
He stood watching the flames for a moment, mask reflecting firelight. To the people, it would look like an accident. To the cartel, it would scream: the Ghost is everywhere.
Seventy-two hours later, the FOB hummed with victory. Three provinces, three decisive strikes. The Ghost Army had moved like one organism, stretching its limbs without breaking.
The System pulsed again:
[Task Complete: Multi-province operations successful.]
[Reward Unlocked: Advanced Communications Suite.]
[Ghost Army can now coordinate across the entire Philippine archipelago.]
Miguel stood before the map again. New lines of influence lit up, a spreading web of silent control.
Echo One spoke carefully. "Sir, we've proven we can reach anywhere. But the noise… media's circling. The government is whispering about a vigilante army."
Miguel didn't answer immediately. He could feel the net tightening. The more victories they stacked, the more eyes turned their way.
Finally, he said, "Good. Let them whisper. We'll move faster than they can think."
But in his chest, he knew the truth: every step forward made it harder to remain in the shadows.