RTS System in the Apocalypse: New World

The clock barely ticked to 9 AM.

Johannes had brought food ingredients alongside the batch of crates carried by the APCs.

It was not much compared to the needs of a growing colony, but in the middle of an apocalypse, sacks of rice, preserved meat, vegetables, and sealed containers of spices were enough to make the command room feel livelier than the outside world.

The new electricity helped more than Hans expected.

With the Power Plants feeding the base, several refrigerators and cold-storage units had been restored inside one of the reinforced rooms.

The Engineers did not even need to drag cables everywhere. The system’s energy grid handled the ugly parts on its own.

Food that would have spoiled in a day could now last longer. That alone changed more than a dozen small problems.

”Commander,” Johannes spoke. ”Perhaps I should have brought more fresh ingredients here.”

”No need to bother,” Hans chuckled. ”The colony is still reviving from the apocalypse. They need it more than us.”

Strictly speaking, he had no need to eat from the colony’s food inventory.

The System already provided his scheduled meals.

Though I should still play the part sometimes, Hans clicked his tongue. They might start wondering where my food keeps coming from in the long run.

Yunera took charge of breakfast almost immediately.

No one objected to let her do the hard work.

In the apocalypse, anyone who could turn rice, meat, and vegetables into a real meal deserved temporary command authority.

She moved like a woman who needed to do something ordinary after hearing too many impossible things.

Kimmy sat nearby, quiet and embarrassed, while Evelyn—called over by Johannes—helped prepare the ingredients under Yunera’s instructions.

”Not like that,” Yunera reprimanded.

Evelyn froze with the knife in her hand.

Their two superiors looked away, pretending not to notice.

For a while, the command room stopped feeling like a war room.

The lights hummed above their heads.

The refrigerator in the next room gave off a low mechanical vibration. Outside, patrols rotated near the Barracks. Somewhere farther away, the Power Plant released a slow breath of steam into the morning air.

It was still the apocalypse.

Yet inside this small sector of concrete, steel, and electricity, it no longer felt that humanity was lost.

By the time the food was served, even Hans had to admit that the smell improved the mood of the room.

Slightly.

For several minutes, nobody talked about serious matters.

They ate, and that was more than enough.

Hans placed his spoon down. ”Meet me near the barracks once you’re done here. Viper, let’s go.”

Kimmy’s fingers tightened around her bowl. Yunera’s eyes flashed with determination.

Johannes and Evelyn glanced at each other, speaking more than just words.

The room stayed quiet after Hans left. Breakfast suddenly tasted a little heavier.

That man, Evelyn thought as she watched Hans leave. He has gotten stronger. Far stronger than we first met him.

”Stop staring and finish your food,” Johannes reminded. ”The Commander has limited patience. It’s already a blessing that he’s willing to do this for us.”

Evelyn snapped out from her daze and nodded, quickly wolfing down the remaining meat on her plate.

Johannes watched her for a second before shaking his head.

”Do not choke before the training even starts.”

”I know,” Evelyn muttered.

”You clearly do not.”

Yunera ignored them and looked at Kimmy instead.

Kimmy was still holding her bowl with both hands. Her fingers had tightened around it enough that the metal edge pressed against her skin.

”Eat,” Yunera said.

Kimmy raised her head.

Yunera’s voice did not soften, but it lost some of its edge. ”If you collapse later, I will blame him first, then you.”

Kimmy paused. Then she slowly nodded and resumed eating.

Outside, Hans walked down the corridor with Callum behind him.

”Any ideas how to train them?” Hans asked.

Callum was taken aback. For a second, the only sound between them was the hum of the lights above and the distant movement of soldiers outside.

”You are asking me, Commander?”

”You’re the one who actually knows what it feels like to move beyond normal human limits.”

It was true that Hans had trained with Callum before. Several days were not enough to turn him into a master, but they were enough to teach him one thing.

A DASF’s experience was not simple strength.

It was doctrine carved into a superhuman body.

Callum’s expression changed, not as surprised, but something closer to caution.

Hans noticed it and continued walking.

”I trained with you for several days. I know the difference between a HELIX superhuman and something the System built and trained.”

Callum lowered his gaze for a moment. Then he spoke.

”Different origin, same problem.”

”Even if it is Cognitive or Perceptual?”

Callum nodded. ”The body receives power before the mind fully understands its limits. Panic, and the power will answer similarly.”

”That sounds familiar,” Hans remarked.

”We establish the baseline first—breathing, pulse, posture, and awareness. Then we test what changes when they activate their abilities.”

Hans glanced at him. ”So it always starts with the body.”

”The mind does not float outside the skull,” Callum replied. ”If Miss Kimmy’s breathing breaks, her focus will follow. If her pulse rises too fast, her perception may pull in more than she can separate.”

Hans slowed slightly. That was not how Tyrus explained it.

Tyrus spoke of paths, axes, and realization. Or perhaps their understanding of HELIX was limited from the short timeline.

On the other hand, Callum spoke like a soldier.

Find the body first. Find what breaks. Then stop it from breaking again.

”What about Yunera? I understand she’s a speed type.”

”Her first problem will be her control,” Callum answered without hesitation.

”Control?”

”Acceleration is easy. When to take advantage of her speed is not.”

Hans looked at him.

Callum continued, ”If her body moves faster than her balance, she will overrun her target. If her strength does not match her speed, her joints will take the burden. If her precision lags behind both, she either misses or breaks her targets.”

Hans thought of Yunera’s temper, then nodded. ”That sounds like her. What about Johannes?”

”I currently have no idea, Commander.”

Callum shook his head. ”His physical state is abnormal indeed, but I have not seen enough to classify his ability. The same applies to his subordinate, Evelyn.”

”I see,” Hans pondered. ”Then we let Johannes and Evelyn demonstrate first. After that, we adjust the training.”

”That would be for the better,” Callum replied. ”Guessing their path before seeing their output may create the wrong habit.”

Hans narrowed his eyes slightly.

”Wrong habit?”

”If a superhuman believes he is supposed to move a certain way, he may force his ability to follow that belief. If the belief is wrong, the body still tries to obey.”

Hans clicked his tongue. ”That sounds dangerous.”

”It is.”

”You’re sounding more like a HELIX scientist than Tyrus now,” Hans teased.

”I only recalled how the System trained me,” Callum said, scratching his chin. ”Mr. Tyrus definitely knows more than me.”

”Heh,” Hans snorted. ”We’ll get to him later.”

He meant that.

Tyrus had given them the theory of axes, paths, and realization. The idea that a superhuman had to understand what kind of answer their body had chosen.

But theory was not enough anymore.

The DASF and the System were still his strongest cards. That did not mean he should ignore the other deck sitting on the table.

Hans wanted to understand more about Project HELIX—not as a scientist, but as a Commander who might one day have to face what the project created.

Just that the appearance of Cell 7 made the issue harder to ignore.

The receiver was waiting. Somewhere in Grefort, someone might have shaped the very earth itself.

If enemies born from HELIX existed out there, then Hans could not keep treating HELIX as someone else’s failed research project.

Kimmy and Yunera needed training either way, Hans thought. Johannes and Evelyn only gave me more test subjects.

The corridor opened toward the exterior passage. Morning light cut across the floor, and the smell of breakfast slowly faded behind them, replaced by metal, dust, and the faint burnt scent of machinery.

”What do you need?” Hans asked.

”Open ground,” Callum replied. ”Medics on standby. Engineers watching structural readings.”

”DASF?”

”One more, if available,” Callum said. ”I can supervise, but I should not be the only enhanced observer.”

Hans switched to his comms and connected to the channel..

A short order went out.

One available DASF squad, two Engineers, and a pair of Medics were ordered to report to the cleared freight yard east of the Barracks.

The Barracks itself would not be used. It belonged to the System.

The freight yard was better.

It had once been used for trucks and cargo containers. Now, most of the wreckage had been cleared away.

What remained was a wide slab of concrete, rusted loading bays, faded lane markings, and enough empty space to work with for superhuman training.

Hans looked toward the yard in the distance.

”We’ll use that place,” he said.

Callum followed his gaze. ”A good choice, Commander.”