The afternoon sunlight was dim and feeble, as though it too had been shrouded by the gloom of the apocalypse.
Nathan Cole stood quietly beside the residential compound's perimeter wall, looking toward the neighboring Runxin Gardens.
Beyond the wall was utter silence. Beneath the shadows cast by the high-rises, endless danger seemed to lurk.
Nathan lowered his voice and gave the order. "All squads, attention. Prepare to move! Once inside, Ethan Blake will assume overall command!"
The three squads, already assembled by the wall, promptly moved to the corner upon receiving the order and worked together to send three point men up onto the top of the wall first.
After observing for a while and confirming that the other side was safe, the soldiers on the wall exchanged glances. Then they jumped down, landing steadily on the ground before swiftly raising their weapons and standing guard.
The other soldiers worked with practiced coordination, scaling the wall one after another and entering Runxin Gardens.
As soon as they entered the compound, the three squads immediately spread into combat formation and cautiously advanced toward the buildings ahead.
According to the plan, First Squad and Second Squad would clear Building B, while Third Squad would clear Unit One of Building A. Once they had completed their respective assignments, all three squads would clear the remaining Unit Two of Building A together.
After advancing barely more than ten meters, the soldiers heard several zombie roars.
Ethan's expression sharpened. He quickly signaled with his hand, and the soldiers understood at once. They lightened their steps and moved forward slowly, silently reaching the side of Building B like ghosts.
Ethan cautiously leaned out to inspect the situation in front of the building, then quietly ordered, "Third Squad, proceed to Building A from behind the building. Second Squad, quickly enter Unit Two of Building B. First Squad, come with me to Unit One. There aren't many zombies outside. Finish this quickly."
As the soldiers began moving according to their orders, the battle erupted instantly.
Muffled gunfire sounded simultaneously in front of and behind Building B. Several zombies wandering aimlessly had their heads struck by bullets and fell at once, their foul blood spreading across the ground.
Although the weapons were fitted with suppressors, the gunfire was still far from quiet at close range. The zombies inside the building were alerted by the sudden sound.
Quite a few of those fearless things smashed through windows and leaped down, rushing at them with claws outstretched and teeth bared.
The soldiers reacted swiftly, immediately widening the distance from the building. Dropping into half-kneeling positions, they unleashed full firepower to kill the zombies.
Faced with such overwhelming firepower, the zombies that had jumped down from the building were quickly cut down to the last one, their corpses strewn haphazardly across the ground.
After dealing with this wave of trouble, the three squads swiftly reached the entrances of their assigned units.
Since they had no access cards, the shotgunner raised his weapon and destroyed the entry system, allowing the soldiers to rapidly enter the unit buildings.
Nathan, who had been waiting by the perimeter wall, received reports that the soldiers had each entered their respective units. He then headed back with Daniel Ward.
As he walked, he raised his hand to check the time, a hint of anticipation in his eyes.
In just a few more minutes, the System upgrade would be complete.
At the thought of possible new functions and units, Nathan grew exceedingly impatient, and his pace unconsciously quickened.
Just as he entered the doorway of Building One, the System's cold electronic voice suddenly sounded beside his ear.
[System upgrade complete. The commander's rank has been raised to captain. The [Armor] menu has been unlocked, including some units.]
[To complete the commander's force structure, several combat units have been added to the original [Infantry] menu.]
After hearing the System notification, Nathan impatiently opened the interface to inspect it.
He first entered the newly unlocked [Armor] menu. Inside were two units: [BTR-82A Wheeled Infantry Fighting Vehicle] and [BMP-3M Tracked Infantry Fighting Vehicle], which cost 650 and 750 reinforcement points respectively.
At the sight of the newly added armored units, Nathan's eyes instantly lit up, and he practically drooled.
He could not help imagining armored fighting vehicles charging through zombie hordes. Whether it was the eight-wheeler or the BMP-3M, the current zombies could not even scratch their paint.
However, compared with the BMP-3M, what Nathan wanted more right now was the BTR-82A.
He had a clear plan in mind. His immediate objective was to make a rapid strike on Yuzhong County and retake the power plant and water plant.
Most of the combat would take place in towns, where the streets were narrow and the terrain complicated.
Relatively speaking, the BTR-82A offered better mobility and adaptability.
As for the BMP-3M, it was the loyal companion of the T-90M. He would consider it once he was able to deploy tanks.
After looking over the armored units, Nathan opened the [Infantry] menu as well, wanting to see exactly what new combat units the System had added.
As the menu unfolded, he discovered that besides the original three squad types and two armored assault vehicles, there were two new units.
One was a [Platoon Leader], and the other was a [Communications Specialist].
As their names suggested, he could now deploy officers and communications specialists separately.
Nathan lightly moved his finger over the icons of the two new units and examined the relevant descriptions.
A platoon leader was a second lieutenant, and deploying one cost 300 reinforcement points. A communications specialist cost only 80.
Nathan considered it. He currently had only three squads. Although the soldiers constantly called him commander, he was effectively filling the platoon leader's role himself.
Besides, reinforcement points were so scarce that a platoon leader was meaningless to him. He could consider one once his force expanded.
As for a communications specialist, he could deploy one.
With a communications specialist, the force's communication range would be greatly expanded, and command would become far more convenient. It was quite necessary.
At the same time, Nathan noticed that a small plus sign had appeared in the lower-right corner of the infantry squad and armored-unit icons.
He directly asked the System, "System, what is the plus sign beneath the icons for?"
[Commander, this symbol is used to replenish personnel. If soldiers under your command suffer losses, you may click it to restore the unit to full strength.]
The moment the System finished speaking, Nathan understood. Wasn't this the reinforcement button from the removed skills menu?
Who would have thought that, after going in circles, it had been added here instead?
"Oh, right, System. My rank has been promoted, but where are my new insignia and uniform?" Nathan suddenly remembered and hurriedly asked.
[Commander, the new insignia and uniform have been issued to the supply crate from before. Please retrieve them yourself.]
Hearing this, Nathan slapped his forehead, his face full of regret.
In his rush to clear the zombies from the compound earlier, he had left the supply crate and weapons crate in the hotel's linen room.
Going by the System's methods, any new equipment in the future would most likely be issued to those two crates.
He would have to send someone to retrieve both crates and store them properly.
After reviewing the System update, Nathan went to meet the newly arrived survivors.
Among the crowd, he specifically stared at the man from Unit Two, Apartment 702, for several moments.
After offering the survivors a few kind words of reassurance, Nathan silently used his tactical terminal to check the soldiers' clearing progress.
A little after six in the evening, the soldiers from the three squads climbed back over the wall with six survivors in tow.
Looking at the 4,718 reinforcement points displayed on the reinforcement menu, Nathan beamed.
With these points, he could begin putting the next stage of his plan into action.
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