Hans slumped on the bed, sweat flooding the thick fabric into wetness. Patches of murky liquid fell into the floor, dirtying the clean tiles.
System notifications poured into his vision, but his current plight made him ignore them.
"What... kind of transformation was that?"
Hans gasped, clinging tightly on the edges of the bed’s wooden frame. However, just as he did so, it snapped.
Hans looked at his palm and saw what remained—fragments of wood pulverized into dust.
His brows twitched and felt that everything was too surreal. He crawled out of bed and sat on the edge, taking all the time to recover.
The blurry concrete wall soon stabilized into one frame. And with that, came clarity.
"System, what have you done to me this time?"
Hans was very curious. The multiple waves of enhancement has brought him severe pain, but he mused that the results wouldn’t shortchange him either.
[ Based on the intel from the Project HELIX documents given by Tyrus Shearman, the Commander has been given enhancements similar to the documentation involved. ]
[ To further improve enhancement and to unlock additional units, it is imperative for the Commander to retrieve Project HELIX data, specifically its third and fourth iterations. ]
Hans’s eyes moved across the lines of text that appeared in front of him.
After he finished, a loud gulp came from his throat.
"System, you’re telling me... you can consolidate data from the outside world and use it to power your own functionalities?"
[ Correct. Please discover more intel, Commander. The system will immediately digest information through you or any of your troops. ]
Damn fucking useful that is!
Hans’s eyes widened to the extreme. His clenched fist trembled in excitement, then suddenly diffused as the system executed its calming function.
"Heh, Gold’s not the only thing I have to look out for now," he muttered. "System, so you can identify if a document is fake or not?"
The system didn’t answer but to Hans, he knew that he had just managed to exploit another system function to his advantage.
That scientist guy named Tyrus is at least trustworthy to this extent. I should make a chance to converse more with him in the future.
With that out of the way, Hans focused on the other prompts that the system has given.
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[ Rank promotion succeeded! ]
[ You have unlocked the following ]
[ Missile Infantry (MANPADS) ]
[ Direct Action Special Forces (DASF) Unit ]
[ War Factory (Virtual) - 10,000 ]
[ Airfield (Requires deployed MCV, Power Plant constructed) ]
[ Shipyard (Requires deployed MCV, Power Plant constructed) ]
[ Ore Refinery (Requires deployed MCV, Power Plant constructed) ]
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Commander: Hans Flemmens
Rank: 3 - Company Leader
Tier: 0 - 80% Synchronization Rate
Axes: Somatic, Perception, Psychic
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
Primary Weapon: M16A4 Assault Rifle (5.56mm, 30 rounds per mag, 10 mags).
Sidearm: M9 Pistol (15 rounds, 6 mags)
Melee: Combat Knife (18 cm steel alloy, indestructible)
Combat Armor: Kevlar-reinforced composite suit (damage resistance to most body parts)
Commander’s Kit: Personal storage of 16 cubic meters (x2 from previous)
Commander Vehicle: Motorcycle Side Car, Armored SUV, Light APC (Armored Personnel Carrier), Armored Command Truck (temporarily not deployable)
Boosts: Basic Vehicle Usage
Weapon Familiarity: +100% CQC Effectiveness
Troop Bonuses: +15% movement speed, +15% weapon accuracy, +20% reload speed, +50% magazine counts (increase soldier ammunition), -10% fatigue loss
Medical Support Pack: 4 first aid kits (fully heals any injuries), 3 infection suppressant injections (70% infection rate threshold)
Commander’s Rank Promotion Requirement (Battalion Commander Rank): At least 8 companies (~2400 personnel), 100 Ground-based Armor, 25 Air Units (except transports), 10 Naval Ships (except Amphibious Transports), 5 Air Transports, 5 Naval Transports, MCV Deployed, Airfield/War Factory Constructed
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Armored Command Truck (Cannot be temporarily deployed)
Tier: 0
Star Promotion: 0 - 0 / 18000
Energy Requirement: 8 Units
[Crew: 4 Personnel]
Command Officer (Commander), Communications Specialist, Systems Technician, Driver
[Primary]
Remote-Controlled 7.62mm Defenstive Turret, 2000 rounds, effective range of 400 meters
[ Secondary ]
Smoke Dispenser Array — 8 charges (restocks every 24 hours)
Emergency Signal Flare Launcher
[ Utility Systems ]
Built-in Long Range Antenna & Rotating Radar Dish, Battlefield Data Relay Node, Ammo Fabrication Dispenser, Ration Fabrication Unit, Tactical Command Interface Console
[ Crew Equipment ]
Sidearms only (M9 pistol, 5 mags each), Portable comm tablets, Emergency med-kit, 2-day rations (auto-refreshing)
[ Vehicle Systems ]
Hardened Communication Relay, Encrypted Battlefield Channel, Tactical Map Projection, Power-Core Interface, Limited Armor Plating
[ Logistics Capabilities ]
Ammo Fabrication — Can refresh unit ammunition once per day. Infantry only.
Ration Fabrication — Can refresh unit ration pack once per day. Infantry only.
[Remarks]
Mobile battlefield command and logistics relay vehicle. Functions as a forward command center, communications hub, and limited resupply node for infantry. Designed to extend operational range of platoons beyond base perimeter while maintaining real-time data synchronization with the Commander.
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Hans stared at the last line until his eyes blurred and he had to stop chasing it. Then he stood up.
"I have unlocked so many things now," he muttered. "I should virtually construct the War Factory first."
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[ War Factory (Virtual) Construction started. ETA: 16 hours & 40 minutes. ]
[ Gold: 204,665 (-10000) -> 194,665 ]
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"Sixteen hours?"
Hans felt exasperated. This construction time in virtual was too much. A unit’s training time ratioed to its Gold cost was in a 1 minute: 100.
"System, just how much ratio are we talking about here?"
[ Construction Time : Gold Cost ratio is 1 minute : 10 Gold. ]
Hans wanted to punch something but couldn’t bring himself to do so.
No good, he took a deep breath. Punching the wall now might just destroy this section of the bunker.
He eyed the infantry tab and remembered that he had acquired two new infantry units after promotion to Rank 3.
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Missile Infantry (MANPADS) - 2500 Gold
Direct Action Special Forces (DASF) Unit - 4000 Gold
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Hans’s eyes narrowed upon checking the cost of each unit. The missile infantry was understandable as its sheer firepower was several times higher than the Guardian GI itself. Talk about a super mobile mini-tank.
Anti-air and anti-armor, Hans felt a chill on his back.
"System, if you’re giving me these types of unit, are you preparing me for a showdown in the future?"
The idea of a flying infected would definitely change the nature of the battlefield. Even though the Airfield was already on his grasp, Hans knew that it would take a while before he could construct the said structure. Moreso, the deployment of the MCV into a Construction Yard.
"Why is this DASF Unit so expensive?"
Hans scratched his head. I guess that’s just how powerful Special Forces are, right?
With a thought, Hans opted to train two Missile Infantries and one DASF unit.
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[ Gold: 194,665 (-5000) -> 189,665 ]
[ Gold: 189,665 (-4000) -> 185,665]
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