An armored SUV roared past the cleared section of a road pointed to the south-western outskirts of Grefort City.
Patches of green grass broke through the earth, beginning a new cycle of life in this apocalyptic world. Insects hopped around the foliage, some stalking their pray and others dumbly chomping down on their food.
Up in the air, birds glided freely along the wind. Their low screeches echoed underneath, as if signaling their dominance on their own territory.
Through the transparent tempered glass window, Hans observed the trivialities of life and brutality of nature.
The animals have returned, he thought while watching a drama unfolding in front of him. Oh?
A cicada clung to a blade of grass, its body vibrating faintly as it fed. A mantis crawled up behind it, slow and careful, forelegs raised like it was already celebrating.
Hans watched, intrigued at how even insects understood timing.
Then a shadow dipped. A bird swept down, beak snapping to catch its prey.
The mantis vanished. The cicada followed right after. The bird rose again as if nothing had happened, gliding back into the wind with a low screech.
Hans’s eyes narrowed slightly.
The mantis stalks the cicada... unaware of the oriole behind it.
A line from a past life. He found it amusing how such an experience still found him.
He let out a quiet breath and leaned back into the seat. Zombies were his cicadas. He was the mantis.
Yet the image refused to end there.
Hans turned his gaze to the road ahead. "Drive."
The SUV passed the outskirts and soon, arrived at the apartment complex zone.
The buildings stood the same as before—quiet and intact as he had left it. Yet, the livery of people had long vanished.
On its place were rusted gates, empty balconies, and curtains that hang behind glass that no one looked through anymore.
The bunker entrance waited where it had always been, as if it never cared who came back to reclaim it.
Electricity returned thanks to Tomasz and Coby’s efforts. Due to the lack of equipment and power source, only the first apartment and the office building were privy to such service.
"Commander, a perimeter has been set," Kenji, another Conscript of Hans from the earlier days, reported. "Area is blocked off, but sentries has reported sightings of nearby zeds."
"Let them draw closer," Hans replied. "Set up a squadron patrol near me. The promotion may get messy, so be prepared for any disturbance aside from my room."
"Understood, Commander."
Kenji retreated and started blasting orders in the comms.
Hans ignored the commotion and opened a room of his choice. Inside, a bed was placed at the center. The measurements fit peculiarly on the room’s size.
The smell of concrete and dust wafter through the air. He flapped his hand around, trying to blow the annoying sensation away.
With a thought, his personal information flickered into view.
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Commander: Hans Flemmens
Rank: 2 - Platoon Leader
Soldiers: 150 Conscripts, 60 Army Soldiers, 12 Attack Dogs, 30 Scouts, 12 Snipers, 5 Engineers, 10 Medics (4 female, 6 male pairs), 15 Machine Gunners, 12 Guardian GIs
< ... >
Commander’s Rank Promotion Requirement (Company Leader Rank): At least 6 platoons (~300 personnel), 6 Snipers, 12 Machine Gunners, 12 Guardian GIs
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[ Gold: 204,665 ]
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[ Rank promotion requirements met. Do you want to proceed? ]
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The amount of Gold staggered him the moment Hans decided to convert all resources that Dmitri and his platoon received.
They haven’t even touched the underground vaults and the larger reserves. And most important of all, this was just one district.
"Why do I feel like this isn’t much?"
He scratched his head and shook off the distracting thought.
"Nevermind, let’s consider the Rank Promotion first. System, proceed."
The panel blinked once.
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[ Confirmed. Rank Promotion: Company Leader. ]
[ Tier 0 Synchronization process initiated. ]
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"Huh?"
Before Hans could question the system’s additional prompt, the air in the room suddenly changed.
Hans sat on the bed. The mattress sank, then it stopped sinking, as if something in the room decided the limit.
A sharp heat spread from his chest to his limbs. His muscles tightened without his control.
His hearbeat thumped hard once, then kept climbing. His Fingers curled, veins on his forearms rising with the pain.
"What the—"
Hans gritted his teeth, unaware that the entire bunker vibrated with him.
The first wave was physical, raw and simple. It was as if the system was pouring fuel into his flesh, letting them grow into an unprecedented state.
Then the second wave hit his senses.
He heard the commotion outside as if they were just beside his ears all the time.
A sentry coughing several meters away. Boots striking the cement with a measured pace and low sound. Even the faint scrape of insects outisde reached him.
But then, the pain didn’t stop. It only worsened after that.
The third wave washed over him. It wasn’t sound, nor sight, nor smell. It was the presence of things that surrounded him.
He could tell where the sentries were without hearing them. He could tell the layout of the rooms locked behind closed doors.
He could sense the faint murmurs, or rather, thoughts of any living being not far from him.
Then, like a switch being flicked, the pain vanished.
Hans sucked in a breath so deep as if he’d been held underwater and finally surfaced out of that grueling experience.
His eyes snapped into the panel. The progress rolled past the 50% completion mark.
It’s not over yet?
His body trembled once, this time, more intense and powerful than the last three waves. The bed creaked under him in despair.
65%.
Hans clenched his teeth, not wanting to scream but the system deemed otherwise.
80%.
The concrete walls beside him cracked, spitting chips onto the floor.
Outside, the sentries froze at the sound.
"Wait!" Kenji barked, raising a hand. "The rest of you, go upstairs. I’ll take it from here."
The soldiers rushed out, but the vibration didn’t stop. It spread into the corridor, into the building’s frame, dust falling from the ceiling like ash.
The entire structure was soon submerged in an unknown pressure from the void.
Across the colony, heads turned. Six figures climbed to rooftops, drawn by their body’s instinct.
"What’s going on there?"
Johannes felt it first—a powerful aura surging from that area.
Tyrus’s eyes narrowed, intrigued at the peculiar phenomenon. "Someone is ascending," he muttered, almost pleased with the thought.
Above the apartment complex, the clouds twisted into a hollowed spiral. Sunlight stopped being gentle. It focused under the control of some entity, pouring down on one point like a spotlight from the cosmos.
99%.
Hans’s control finally broke.
"Aaaahhhh!!!"