RTS System in the Apocalypse: New World

Hans woke before sunrise. He remained still on his bed for several seconds.

The room was quiet.

No alarms rung on his ears. No explosions thundering in the distance. And no soldiers knocking on his door.

Feeling suspicious, he opened the Radar map.

The base appeared as it always did—blue markers moving through the compound, patrols rotating along the perimeter, Engineers and escorts clustered near the highway, and several vehicles returning from yesterday’s battlefield.

The War Factory timer remained in the corner of his vision.

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[ War Factory (Physical) ]

[ Construction Time Remaining: 39 Hours, 12 Minutes ]

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Hans stared at the remaining time.

I’ve slept longer than I have expected. Was I really that tired?

Kimmy would probably consider that as a victory and graciously cheer for him. He sat up, then checked the highway.

The dense mass of blue markers from the previous night had thinned. Several squads had already returned to the base while others remained near the battlefield. The road itself looked clearer through the Radar map, though he had a hunch his Engineers may already have marked things physically.

Hans focused on the area.

A few blue markers moved along the highway without stopping. Guardian APCs travelled between the battlefield and the base. Others remained stationary beside nearby structures and intersections.

No large concentration of red markers approached them.

That was all the Radar could tell him.

Hans closed the map.

Matilda should have a report ready. I’ll look it up later.

He left the bed, washed himself, then changed into a fresh set of clothes. The base was already active when he stepped outside.

A Guardian APC entered through the gate as he passed. Its tires were coated only in dirt. The grease and stains from yesterday has been washed off by the System on its own terms, just as how it would clean the clothes of his and soldiers as well.

Several soldiers rode behind it, carrying tools, folded warning signs, and coils of bright marking tape.

Another group unloaded salvaged materials near the storage area. They were objects Hans could not identify.

Engineers followed behind them, exchanging notes while one of them carried a rolled paper map under his arm.

Hans watched them for a moment. The work had continued without his direct supervision.

That was good, but he should leave them blind without orders for too long.

A subordinate with an initiative was great. But he, as the boss, should not lag out too much.

Hans entered the Command Room. Matilda had not arrived yet.

That gave him enough time to inspect the incoming reports placed on the table. There were several of them.

Highway clearance. Recovered materials. Road and structural inspection. Additional scout reports.

When his eyes shifted to the last folder, his thought drifted away to Dmitri.

I wonder how they’re doing now? Hans gazed at the Radar map.

Dmitri’s blue marker had disappeared from the Radar map after he moved beyond the Radar Facility’s coverage.

Hans had sent him to scout the Nuclear Power Plant. The mission was expected to take time, but he still wondered when the Scout would return.

A knock interrupted his thoughts.

”Enter.”

Matilda stepped into the Command Room. Her figure was as graceful as always, but she was not here for appreciation.

She saluted.

”Commander.”

”Matilda. As you were.”

His eyes moved toward the documents piled on his desk. ”How is the highway?”

”Quiet for now, Commander.”

”No infected bothered the troops throughout the night?”

”There were a few strays, but the patrolling Scouts handled them silently.”

Hans tapped on the table. He truly hoped they were strays, and not under the influence of a very intelligent hive.

He remained silent for a moment, and Matilda did too.

”I’m planning to establish a forward operating base in Westgate district,” he spoke after a while. ”Westgate is the northwestern-most district of the city. The place where the newest hive situated itself.”

Matilda’s eyes brightened.

”What are your orders, Commander?”

”Secure the first few blocks and establish a defensive line,” Hans replied. ”I want every structure, above or below the ground, to be thoroughly inspected.”

Matilda remained silent for a moment.

Did I miss something? Hans raised a brow. ”What?”

”Are we occupying the first few blocks permanently, Commander? Or are we opening a route for the forward operating base?”

Hans paused. He had considered both of them as the same thing.

Apparently, Matilda seems to think they were not.

”The route comes first,” Hans answered. ”We need enough secured ground to establish the base and maintain contact with this one.”

Matilda nodded.

”Then I do not recommend clearing every structure immediately.”

Hans leaned back. ”Why?”

”It would consume too much time and divide the troops between too many buildings. We only need to clear the structures that threaten the route, overlook our positions, or provide access beneath the ground.”

Hans tapped his fingers on the table. ”That still sounds like a lot of buildings to cover.”

”It will be.”

Matilda walked closer to the table and opened the highway report.

”The Scouts should move first. They will inspect the roads ahead, rooftops, entrances, drainage points, and any visible movement.”

She placed one finger along the road leading toward Westgate.

”The Engineers will follow behind them. They will determine which roads can support the advance of our vehicles.”

That should be priority number one for the Engineers, Hans thought.

The Guardian APC was a great fast-moving support vehicle. If it couldn’t maneuver quickly along the streets, it would cripple the vehicle’s function and result to great losses along Hans’s ranks.

”What about the structures?” he added. ”We can’t demolish every building out there, but we can’t repair all of them on time as well.”

Matilda nodded. ”The Scouts will determine which building is relevant. The Engineers will determine which ones should be demolished or repaired. Perfectionism is not our aim here but functionality.”

The Engineers could repair almost everything.

Hans did not doubt that.

The only problem was the effort and time to do so. He could not simply ask the Engineers to repair every nook and cranny.

”And the infantry?”

”They will secure the intersections and buildings needed to protect the route. They do not need to spread into every street.”

Hans looked at the map.

”So we create a narrow corridor.”

”For the first operation,” Matilda answered. ”A wider occupation can follow once we know what is there. And when the Commander can train more troops.”

That sounded more reasonable than trying to swallow several blocks at once. The only part that sting Hans the most was the last phrase.

Matilda obviously asked him for more personnel, and he was not going to skimp on the Gold either.

”What about the underground areas? We should be careful about the underground infected.”

”We identify every accessible entrance along the corridor,” Matilda said. ”Basements, drainage lines, maintenance tunnels, and damaged sections of the road.”

”And then clear them?”

”Not all of them.”

Hans looked at her.

Matilda continued.

”If we send troops into every tunnel we find, our forces on the surface will lose its support. We should inspect the entrances first, seal or guard those that are not immediately necessary, and only enter the ones that threaten the route or the future base.”

Hans slowly nodded.

He had almost ordered his soldiers to search everything beneath several city blocks without considering where those passages might lead.