RTS System in the Apocalypse: New World

A few minutes after Cell 7’s departure—

Genevieve and her group positioned themselves on high ground, south of Hans’s northwestern industrial sector base.

Sweat rolled down her pale face as she watched columns of soldiers and armored vehicles move out from Golden Eagle’s base.

Guardian APCs rushed out from the base, stirring dust and dirt across the hard ground. The vehicles rolled over the uneven ground as if suspension was not a concern.

The Vanguard MBTs followed not far behind, moving faster than their weight should have allowed.

Then came the infantry.

Squads moved in clean lines. Some boarded waiting vehicles. Others shifted toward prepared routes as if they had received the same order long before Cell 7 even left the outer line.

The series of movements shocked Cell 7.

Golden Eagle and his army had suddenly gone on alert just after they left the base.

Was it premeditated?

Or did something happen?

"Lead," Jannik spoke softly. "This..."

Genevieve did not turn. "I know. Golden Eagle is up to something, and it’s something big."

"They’re headed toward the city," Lucie narrowed her eyes. "Are they... checking out our safehouses?"

Genevieve looked at Lucie in confusion.

"You want to mobilize an entire army for an abandoned safehouse? Why not do it the previous night instead?"

Lucie pursed her lips. Their leader was suddenly stern out of nowhere.

It was as if she had broken up with somebody else and—wait, did she treat her relationship with Golden Eagle like that?

Impossible. No way, right?

Lucie shuddered from the thought alone. Genevieve suddenly turned and sent her a glare.

"This is not a reaction to us," Vivian interrupted, her finger pointed at the distance.

"What’s there?" Lucie crawled back to her spot.

"Howitzers," Genevieve answered. "And a very large looking one at that."

As if waiting for her words, one of the distant guns angled itself high.

Silence ensued for a moment, and then, one of them fired.

First came the flash from the muzzle. Then the ground shuddered beneath their feet. A few seconds later, thunder rolled over the terrain and struck their ears.

Jannik’s grip tightened around the sealed rolls.

Vivian lowered herself instinctively over the wounded agent.

Lucie stopped breathing for a moment.

Farther toward the city, something bloomed above the rooftops. Dust, smoke, and fragments rose in a dirty column, followed by a second explosion that landed somewhere beyond their sight.

"That’s no warning shot," Jannik muttered.

"No," Genevieve recalled. "This is different from last night. They’re aiming for something."

Cell 7 was silent. What was Golden Eagle aiming for?

An enemy outpost?

But whom? Humans? Infected? Or something alien?

They did not know. And perhaps they never would.

Amidst their thoughts, the second shot thundered before they could formulate the next question.

Far away, something shuddered in fear.

Lucie swallowed. "Just what are they shooting at?"

"Must be an HVT," Genevieve took a deep breath. Is he really aiming for that so-called hive?!

It was a conclusion she had rejected once. Now, watching Golden Eagle’s army move with that much precision, she could not reject it twice.

Her gaze shifted from the guns to the armored column, then toward the distant city where smoke had begun to gather.

Golden Eagle had warned them not to return through their old route.

She thought it was just caution, but the current events had shown otherwise.

Genevieve could no longer trust her earlier conclusion.

"Ah! Lead!"

Lucie suddenly clutched her head while covering her ears.

Cell 7 was immediately alarmed, but before they could move, the hive’s shriek reached them.

It was faint from the distance. But the wave behind it was not.

A powerful, mysterious pressure struck them out of nowhere. Countless voices echoed inside their minds, muddling their thoughts and their very existence.

"Ah!!!"

The wounded agent suffered the worst. His body twisted against Vivian’s hold, unable to help himself, while the others could barely help him when they were also trying to hold themselves together.

Blood vessels rose faintly along his neck as his fingers clawed at the dirt. Vivian gritted her teeth and crawled toward him.

"Hold still!"

The words barely left her mouth before another voice crashed through her thoughts.

It wasn’t from Lucie, nor Jannik, nor their leader.

It was something else from very far away.

Vivian’s hand trembled above the wounded agent’s chest. She could not remember whether she was supposed to press down, pull him aside, or breathe.

"Vivian!"

Genevieve’s voice cut through the chaos.

Vivian blinked. Her world spun, returning to reality.

Dust swirled around her. Stones grazed along her body. And blood... the blood!

The wounded agent gasped under her hands. She forced herself to move.

"Jannik, help me!"

Jannik staggered forward. The sealed rolls had long been dropped to the ground.

Lucie remained curled near the edge of the high ground, both hands pressed against her ears, her eyes wide and unfocused.

Genevieve knelt beside her.

"Lucie."

No response.

"Lucie!"

Lucie sucked in a sharp breath.

"Too many..." she whispered. "Lead, there are too many..."

Genevieve’s face tightened. "Too many what?"

Lucie’s lips trembled.

"Voices. I... I can’t... somebody... help me?!"

Another artillery shell landed in the distance.

This time, Cell 7 flinched before the thunder even reached them. They had just barely recovered, if at all, and now, there’s this?

Was the psychic wave about to hit them once more?

Just as they braced for impact, the second psychic wave did not strike as strongly as before. It only brushed past their minds before the voices faded out.

Damn it, Genevieve cursed. What kind of nonsense is Golden Eagle doing right now?!

She did not believe that Golden Eagle and his army could complete their mission unscathed. There had to be casualties from the psychic wave alone.

If that thing’s voice could be felt from here, then what was happening closer to it?

Is this really the hive?! How come the one we encountered wasn’t as powerful as this?!

The current psychic waves were more intense than her previous experience. She could not understand how that happened, but she was not willing to experience more either.

Genevieve forced herself to stand. "We’re leaving."

As she turned around, she realized that most of her subordinates remained stuck on the ground, clutching their heads from pain.

Only Vivian and Jannik remained upright, albeit kneeling from the intense pressure.

"Vivian, Jannik, carry the rest."

"Wha..." Jannik gasped. "What about the scrolls?"

"I’ll bury them here," Genevieve gritted her teeth, shifting the earth around the sealed scrolls. "No time to dally or we’ll lose our minds!"

Cell 7 did not wait for the next wave to come.

They quickly descended from the high ground and moved south.