"Dr. Xenon, we have cleared the entire school. The remaining students have helped us cleaning the bodies."
A Ranger, his clothes stained with blackish-red splatter, saluted sharply.
"Good. Continue on, soldier."
I dismissed him with a curt nod, the scent of antiseptic and spent gunpowder heavy in the air. As the Ranger's bootfalls faded, I turned to the only thing that mattered now: my system.
[12,500 gold]
A crisp blue interface shimmered before my eyes, displaying my current wealth.
"Mhm. This will be enough."
Defense was needed. We had to hold this school, this newly claimed safe zone.
"Ranger! Call the X-Scientist and the Engineer," I commanded, addressing the soldier currently guarding the makeshift command center a barricaded classroom.
"Understood, Doctor." He performed a swift, economical salute and jogged out.
Pov: Random Student
"This sucks. Why do we have to clean the bodies?" I muttered, heaving the stiff corpse of a former schoolmate now a dead zombie and dragging it toward the growing pile outside the front entrance.
The sight of a friend lying mangled nearby only added to the sickening dread.
"And aren't the soldiers supposed to be doing this?"
"Shhh… Be quiet," hissed by my friend, his face pale beneath a smear of blood that wasn't his own. He was clutching a mop like a lifeline. "At least we're alive. Not like them."
He nodded toward a dead zombie slumped against the trophy case, still wearing the shredded remains of our school uniform. The sight sent a fresh shiver down my spine.
"What's going on here?" A Ranger, looking tired but alert, approached us, his rifle held loosely across his chest.
"Nothing, sir," Marco replied instantly, his voice a nervous squeak.
"Carry on then." The Ranger studied us for a moment longer, his eyes clinical, before moving on.
Marco jabbed me hard in the ribs. "See? You almost got me in trouble, genius."
I grumbled, but grabbed a discarded rag and started scrubbing the dried blood off the polished marble floor. Fine. Better this than being one of the bodies.
"Dr. Xenon, you called for us?"
The X-Scientist, a man whose lab coat was far too clean for the current apocalypse, stood with the Engineer, whose face was smudged with soot.
"Yes. What is the progress on the defensive wall?" I asked, leaning back in my repurposed teacher's chair.
"It's at 20%, maam, with the help of the students," the Engineer reported, rubbing the back of his neck. "But we're critically low on essential supplies and heavy equipment, Doctor. Nails, steel plating, sandbags the works."
"Understood. X-Scientist, prepare for a supply run. You will take twenty or thirty Rangers and venture out to exterminate the surrounding zombies. Oh, and don't forget to grab any useful supplies on the way back."
The X-Scientist blinked, his brow furrowed. "But, Doctor, we don't have any suitable transport vehicles. We'll be on foot. We are easily flanked by Husks, and our speed will be abysmal."
I offered a thin, confident smile. "Don't worry about transport. An APC will be provided to you."
"Very well, Doctor." The X-Scientist accepted the order with his usual, detached professionalism and departed with the Engineer.
As the door clicked shut, I immediately reopened my System to provision the mission.
Twenty Rangers will be enough. I quickly purchased the troops, watching my gold dwindle.
[6,900 gold remaining]
[barracks: cost 5,000 gold
Armored factory: cost 10,000 gold]
[ barracks can spawn a infinite number of soldiers but it's takes time it can also transform anyone into a soldier. ]
Mhm… I should get the Armored Factory… Wait! I could just get the factory and the barracks and have infinite soldiers and tanks! My heart hammered with sudden excitement.
"I can have infinite soldiers!" I exclaimed, clicking on the Barracks immediately.
Mhm… What is the spawn time? I mentally queried.
"That's not bad at all. But this can wait. " I mentally cataloged the new structure. For now i need a transport vehicle. I swiped left on the menu.
[ Stryker Rush: cost 5,500
Spawns 3 Strykers]
"There we go." I purchased the package.
[1,400 gold]
"Time to finish this."
I exited the classroom and walked toward the front entrance. The twenty newly summoned Rangers and the X-Scientist were already waiting near the barricaded gate.
"Are you ready?" I asked.
"Born ready, Doctor Xenon!" one Ranger answered with a loud, aggressive confidence, only to get a sharp elbow to the gut from the Ranger next to him.
"The Strykers are already here." I initiated the summon, placing the vehicles subtly in the distance, out of immediate sight of any students that are watching.
A static-laced voice crackled from a handheld radio. "Confirmed, Strike Force, moving out."
Just then, three heavy, six-wheeled Strykers each heavily armored appeared around the corner and rumbled to a stop near the gate.
"Strike Force here," the driver of the lead Stryker announced, opening his hatch.
"Good. X-Scientist, the Erad-B?" I inquired, expecting to see the heavily armed automaton.
The X-Scientist simply tilted his head to the side, a clear question mark.
Ah. Right. I forgot to summon it.
I quickly initiated the summon, placing the massive, unit far away from the gate where the students and Rangers were focused.
"X-Scientist, with me."
We walked quickly to the unit's summoning point. The massive Erad-B unit stood motionless, a towering machine of war.
"It seems to be deactivated," the X-Scientist observed.
"no shit Sherlock." I muttered, checking the system for an activation method. Finding none, I walked toward the machine and touched its cold, metallic leg.
Immediately, a severe headache lanced through my skull, and a flood of binary code and sensory data washed over me.
"Neural link complete. Welcome, Doctor Xenon."
The headache subsided, replaced by an astonishing sensation I could see from the robot's optic sensors, feel the strain in its hydraulic joints, and command its weaponry as if it were my own limb.
"Weapons activated. Scanning for enemies."
"Launching in 3, 2, 1."
The moment the pain finally stopped, I looked up. The Erad-B, now fully operational and humming with power, stood ready. I had indeed gotten something very special.
"Doctor Xenon… it seems you can directly control the Erad-B," the X-Scientist said.
"Yes, I know." I turned to him, adrenaline surging through me. "Now let's head back. You have a mission to complete."
We returned to the gate, the colossal Erad-B moving behind me.