Chapter 101: Commercial Center - Consolidating Gains (I)
Hans did not allow either platoon to enter the underground levels.
The soldiers had already spent most of the day clearing the surrounding blocks and the commercial center above them. Their ammunition had refreshed at noon, but ammunition was only one part of the problem.
They needed food.
Water.
Several minutes without gunfire shaking the walls around them.
Anton and Sabine began reorganizing their platoons.
The wounded were checked again. Empty belts and magazines were replaced. Soldiers that had remained inside the commercial center moved toward the entrances, while those outside took over the stairwells and loading bays.
Another System notification remained unopened. It was the seventh Pillbox’s completion.
Hans opened the construction interface and selected the last marked section of Wall at Site Three.
"Deploy it."
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[ Pillbox deployment complete. ]
[ Energy: 1,223 / 1,600 ]
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The eastern and southeastern approaches finally had the full defensive line the Engineers requested.
The eastern ramp remained blocked by the delivery truck.
South Two placed another vehicle across the open space beside it, preventing anything beneath the truck from slipping around the obstruction unnoticed.
The western ramp stayed open.
War Elephant remained in front of it with Bastion Six nearby, though neither vehicle moved farther down.
Hans watched the underground markers through the Radar.
He shifted between the visible elevation layers.
The first underground level held several clusters near both ramps, along with others spread across the parking lanes farther inside.
More markers occupied the next level below. Their outlines remained visible, but they were smaller and less stable than those above.
When Hans pushed the focus deeper, the map began to blur.
Sending the squads into that mess immediately would be stupid.
He dismissed the Radar and opened the unit list instead.
The promotion notification from earlier remained near the top of the interface.
Hans had looked through the ordinary soldiers first. Conscripts, Army Soldiers, Machine Gunners, and several Guardian GIs had reached new stars during the advance.
He had not checked every name. There had been no reason to do so while the two columns were still moving.
Now, one result stood above the others.
Dmitri Volkov.
Hans selected him.
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Name: Dmitri Volkov
Unit: Scout
Tier: 0 (Peak Synchronization)
Axis: Somatic
Star Promotion: 3 (MAX)
[ Primary Weapon ]
MP7A1 Submachine Gun, 4.6×30mm
30 rounds per magazine, 20 effective magazines under Hans’s Commander Buff
600 total rounds
Base + Promotion Capacity: 13 magazines
Commander Buff: +50% ammunition capacity
Final Effective Capacity: 20 magazines
Rounded up by the System into full magazine capacity.
Integrally suppressed
Effective Range: 150 meters
[ Secondary Weapon ]
Suppressed P226 Pistol
9mm, 15 rounds per magazine
14 effective magazines under Hans’s Commander Buff
210 total rounds
Base + Promotion Capacity: 9 magazines
Commander Buff: +50% ammunition capacity
Final Effective Capacity: 14 magazines
Rounded up by the System into full magazine capacity.
[ Grenades ]
8 Fragmentation Grenades
8 Smoke Grenades
8 Flashbang Grenades
Base + Promotion Capacity: 5 of each type
Commander Buff: +50% ammunition capacity
Final Effective Capacity rounded up by the System.
[ Melee ]
Combat Knife
Black-coated 18-centimeter reinforced steel blade (indestructible)
[ Special Equipment ]
Mechanical and electronic lockpick kit
One-kilogram breaching charge
Compact binocular-rangefinder
Fiber-optic inspection camera
Night-vision goggles
Integrated optic and toggleable infrared laser
Fifteen-meter climbing rope
Multi-tool wrist module
Compact med-patch kit
[ Personal Kit ]
Lightweight tactical pack
One-and-a-half-day ration supply
1.5-liter self-refilling flask
Stealth-weave fatigues with adaptive surface camouflage
Soft-tread composite boots
Bone-conduction communications
Night-vision monocle
[ Additional Attributes — 3-Star Effects ]
Peak Tier 0 synchronization (99%)
Marksmanship: +55% total
Reload Efficiency: +35% total
Movement Speed: +50% total
Fire Rate: +40% total
Sound Radius: -50% total
Weapon Damage: +100%
Evasion: +15%
Breaching Charge Yield: +25%
Lockpicking Time: -20%
Lower Fatigue Loss: 20%
Body Regeneration: Fast while hidden
Immune to infection
[ Remarks ]
Dmitri Volkov is a fully promoted Scout specialized in reconnaissance, infiltration, route inspection, and concealed target detection.
His equipment and promoted attributes allow him to operate in enclosed areas, low-light environments, and forward positions where conventional infantry would lose visibility and mobility.
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Hans stared at the panel for several seconds.
Dmitri had already reached his third star.
The promotion must have happened during the earlier blocks, buried beneath the same notification that had reported the others. Hans had simply missed the individual result while checking the larger formation.
Peak Tier 0. Night vision.
Adaptive camouflage that became more effective in darkness. A fiber-optic camera for looking around corners without exposing himself.
Hans closed the panel halfway, leaving Dmitri’s name visible beside the underground map.
Perhaps the infantry did not need to enter first after all.
Anton contacted them before Hans could reopen the rest of the unit list.
"South One to Golden Eagle. Surface structures are secure. Squads are reorganizing."
Hans looked toward Matilda. She had already opened the shared channel.
"Report every underground access point."
Anton answered first.
"Two stairwells inside the main structure. One near the central atrium and another along the western service corridor. Both descend below the ground floor."
Sabine followed from the rear.
"Two vehicle ramps. Eastern ramp remains blocked. Western ramp is open and wide enough for a Bastion."
"Lighting?"
"None," Sabine replied. "The fixtures are dead. Vehicle lights reach the first turn, but nothing beyond it."
Anton checked the interior accesses before answering.
"Same for the stairwells. Emergency lighting is inactive. The first lower landing is visible from above. Everything after that is dark."
Nobody needed further explanation.
Most of the infantry had no night-vision equipment. Weapon lights would reveal where the soldiers stood long before they showed what waited beyond the next vehicle, pillar, or concrete wall.
Matilda studied the underground sections for several seconds.
"Neither platoon enters yet."
Anton and Sabine acknowledged immediately.
"We keep one controlled access," she continued. "Western ramp only. Barricade the eastern ramp and every basement entrance that does not need to remain open. Do not seal them permanently. We may need the routes later."
"Understood," Anton replied.
"Place observation on every access. Maintain enough distance that anything coming out enters an open firing line before reaching the guards. Platoon leaders will determine the rotations."
That left the western ramp.
War Elephant already covered the descent from the service road, while Bastion Six remained close enough to move into the lane if the underground markers pushed upward.
Matilda looked toward Hans.
"We need more reconnaissance units, Commander."
Hans glanced at Dmitri’s panel still hanging beside the Radar.
"Echo One and Echo Two are already here."
"Not enough for the entire underground section."
Hans understood where she was going.
"How many?"
"Three additional Recon Teams. That gives us five in total."
Matilda paused.
"One Special Assault Squad as well."
Twenty Scouts.
Ten Attack Dogs.
Four DASF units.
"The Recon Teams will clear the underground levels," Matilda continued. "The DASF squad moves wherever one of them encounters something it cannot bring down quickly."
Hans glanced toward the markers below.
"Approved. Have Site Three send both."
Matilda relayed the order.
The additional Recon Teams would need time to reach the commercial center. Until then, the underground levels would remain contained.
"Anton, Sabine," Matilda continued. "Keep enough soldiers on the perimeter. The remaining squads will assist the recovery teams and begin consolidating the surface valuables."
Both platoon leaders acknowledged.
The commercial center changed again.
Soldiers moved away from the stairwells in controlled groups. Others remained behind the firing positions overlooking the underground entrances.
Shopping carts were brought out first.
Then pallets.
Boxes of jewelry, watches, electronics, cash drawers, and smaller safes began moving toward the collection points outside.
Beneath them, the red markers remained where they were.
For now, the darkness belonged to the infected.