The morning sky burned bright over the scorched ground.
The two Industrial Refinery Complexes had already completed their first daily conversion cycle, adding a modest 400 Gold to his reserves.
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[ Gold: 34,020 (+400) -> 34,420 ]
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Hans swiped the prompt out of his vision and looked ahead.
Corpse piles stacked across the horizon, fire eating away decomposing flesh and skin.
Hans watched from a nearby rooftop; eyes narrowed to a tense line.
That's... a lot, he thought. Is this what my forefathers had seen in their wars?
He had read tens of historical books, but none could ever describe the harrowing battlefield he had seen in the distance.
Perhaps, reading another individual's experience was different from personally experiencing it himself.
Beside him, another mountain had formed as well—the valuables stripped from the fallen dead.
Rings. Watches. Jewelry. Small diamond studs and other trinkets Hans could hardly name at a glance.
Many were washed in dirty blood. Some were even fragmented for who-knows how many times.
None of it looked impressive alone. Together, however, they formed a heap large enough to fill at least three steel crates.
A squad leader stepped forward and saluted.
"Commander, battlefield valuables collected from the first sweep. More will follow."
Hans nodded and crouched by the nearest crate.
The stench of smoke and charred flesh lingered slightly in the air. Behind him, the eastern field continued burning as cleanup teams moved from one corpse mound to another.
He placed a hand over the pile.
"System, convert," he muttered.
A faint green light spread over the valuables. One by one, the rings, watches, and jewels dissolved into particles and vanished.
A system prompt appeared.
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[ Gold: 34,420 (+6725) -> 41,145 ]
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Hans exhaled slowly, expecting the drastically reduced value.
Not bad.
It was nowhere near enough to fund real expansion by itself, but it was enough to matter in the short term.
He raised his head and watched the eastern horizon again.
The trenches were barely visible now beneath the smoke, ash, and blackened corpses.
The battle had ended yesterday, yet the field still looked like a corner of hell left open to the world.
Amidst his immersion, the ground hummed loudly behind him.
Hans turned at once.
The second Power Plant had finished deploying.
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[ Power Plant deployed. ]
[ Power output stabilized. ]
[ System Energy Pool updated. ]
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[ Energy: 306 / 800 units. ]
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[ Structure: Power Plant ]
[ Type: Energy Infrastructure ]
[ Energy Provided: 400 units. ]
[ Core Reactor Module ]
Houses a system-fabricated energy reactor responsible for converting matter and environmental energy into stable electrical output.
[ Structural Stabilization Frame ]
Facility is built upon a reinforced industrial chassis designed to support the massive turbines, generators, and cooling assemblies required for high energy output.
[ Thermal Regulation Towers ]
Large cooling towers that regulate excess heat generated during power production.
[ Defensive Characteristics ]
Has minimal self-defense capability and must be protected by infantry patrols, defensive emplacements, or other units.
[ Upgrades ]
[ High-Efficiency Generator (4000 Gold) ]
Upgrades internal energy conversion. Increases energy output by 50%.
[ Remarks ]
Primary energy-generation structure responsible for supplying electricity to System-based and other facilities.
The Power Plant stabilizes the infrastructure grid by producing continuous energy required to operate structures such as Radar, War Factories, Research Facilities, and other technological installations.
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Hans studied the second Power Plant up close. He had deliberately placed it farther east, and not with the first.
Placing the second Power Plant beside the first would be safe, but safety alone had never won a campaign.
A forward placement meant more than additional energy—it expanded his reach.
He didn't know the exact number in meters, but the Radar overlay made the change obvious.
The moment the grid stabilized, the construction radius pushed deeper toward Grefort City.
Every meter gained by that radius was another meter claimed by him.
Hans opened the sector overlay again.
"Engineer teams," he said into the comms. "Resume capture operations."
The teams acknowledged one after another.
Hans kept his eyes focused on the sector overlay. One by one, the greyed markers representing each disabled Strategic Facility flickered into life.
The first prompt appeared.
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[ Strategic Facility Captured: Fuel Storage Facility ]
[ System restoration protocol initiated. ETA: 3 hours. ]
[ Unlocked Functions ]
[ Fuel Regulation System ]
The facility stabilizes high-volume fuel distribution across System units. Supports sustained operations with limited loss.
[ Effects (Vehicle and Aircraft Units) ]
-10% fuel consumption (maximum of 50% reduction)
[ Energy Consumption ]
50 Energy Units
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Far to the north, a row of dormant fuel pumps jerked awake. Warning lights blinked from red to amber, then held steady.
Fuel slushed to the containers, filling the tanks slowly from bottom to top.
Hans closed his eyes and felt the disturbance from far away.
Before long, another prompt followed almost immediately.
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[ Strategic Facility Captured: Industrial Storage Yards ]
[ System restoration protocol initiated. ETA: 4 hours. ]
[ Unlocked Functions ]
[ Resource Buffering ]
The facility stabilizes large-scale resource flow and prevents conversion loss.
[ Effects (Vehicle and Aircraft Units) ]
+20% Gold conversion ratio
+5% Ore Refinery output
[ Energy Consumption ]
60 Energy Units
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Somewhere west of the refinery road, floodlights snapped on above a yard packed with cargo containers.
Dust flew off the top as they were moved from one place to another.
The soldiers nearby covered their noses, each frowning at the sudden change.
Metal shutters rattle upward.
A gantry crane groaned as power surged back through its rails.
And then, another prompt came again.
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[ Strategic Facility Captured: Machinery Workshop ]
[ System restoration protocol initiated. ETA: 3 hours. ]
[ Unlocked Functions ]
[ Mechanical Optimization ]
The facility enhances system-level machinery calibration and output efficiency. Improves performance of mechanical units and repair systems.
[ Effects ]
-10% vehicle production cost (max 50%)
+10% vehicle durability
+15% repair speed
[ Energy Consumption ]
80
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This time, Hans heard it clearly.
A deep metallic clang echoed near the center of the sector, followed by hydraulic systems whining loudly as they were forced awake.
Even from the rooftops, he could hear the industrial sector changing.
All at once. Piece by piece. Pipe by pipe. Switches to lights.
The once-sleeping northwestern industrial sector have been brought back, slowly remembering how to breathe.
Once the Strategic Facilities settled into normalcy, Hans swept the screen around.
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[ Energy: 496 / 800 units. ]
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"I can spare for more, but this is not enough."
His boots tapped on the concrete, thinking of the way forward.
Capturing the Industrial Refinery Complex granted him 200 Gold per day. Two of them and that was 400.
It's not much, but at least the economy is flourishing slowly.
It was expected. These facilities would support his army, not override the functions of his main buildings.
Only the Ore Refinery could provide him a stable source of income.
However—
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[ Warning: Ore Refinery cannot be deployed. No ore resource located nearby. ]
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"Must I really go to Silverpeak City?" Hans scratched his head.
The industrial capital of Ashington Country—that was Silverpeak City.
Mountains and underground formations thrived there.
It was a mountaineer's paradise, or a caver's homestead.
An ore resource should be present there, but that's not my problem for now.
Sixty kilometers may have been close in terms of distance during modern times, but the apocalypse has altered the norms.
Leaving Grefort City now just for additional Gold income wasn't worth it.
If things go worst, he'll ransack every single block of Grefort City from the northwest to the southeast.
It's risky, but doable.
To face a hundred million zombies with his current arsenal was suicidal.
To face a group of them at once was not.
Which structure should I go first? He asked himself while looking at the Main Building tab.
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[ Power Plant - 8000 Gold, +400 Energy Units (EU) ]
[ Barracks (Physical) - 5000 Gold, 50 EU, Requires Power Plant ]
[ Ore Refinery - 20000 Gold, 200 EU, Requires Power Plant ]
[ Radar Facility (Physical) - 10000 Gold, 100 EU, Requires Power Plant ]
[ War Factory (Physical) - 30000 Gold, 200 EU, Requires Power Plant ]
[ Service Center - 25000 Gold, 100 EU, Requires: Power Plant, War Factory ]
[ Airfield Base - 40000 Gold, 300 EU, Requires: War Factory, Radar Facility (Physical) ]
[ Shipyard - 60000 Gold, 300 EU, Requires: War Factory, Radar Facility (Physical) ]
[ Tech Center - 60000 Gold, 400 EU, Requires: Radar Facility, War Factory, Airfield Base, Shipyard, Rank 4 Promotion — Battalion Commander ]
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[ Gold: 41,145 ]
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Hans paced around the rooftop, weighing his options one building at a time.
I should check the difference of the physical Barracks, he thought.
He wondered if they had additional perks, buffs, or a new function he could utilize.
He no longer had any hopes that the system would reduce the cost or training time of his soldiers.
Next should be... the fully powered Radar Facility?
The virtual variant of the Radar could only cover 5-kilometers—an inhibited output due to virtual constraints.
Ten kilometers? No... twenty? Fifty?
The last one felt implausible, but he could only cling to hope that the Radar Facility had a higher radius coverage and additional functionalities.
The War Factory was ignored. Since he could directly build the Airfield Base without a physical War Factory, he might as well skip some steps and save himself some Gold spending.
"System," he paused. "How large of an area will the Airfield Base require?"
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[ Airfield Base requires large-scale flat terrain for deployment. ]
[ Estimated deployment area required: 1.5 square kilometers ]
[ Optimal operational size: 1.5km x 1.0km ]
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So huge? Hans's eyes widened. The in-game... was a little smaller, or was I blind?
He had to commit a lot of space, money, and time for this building.
"This should be my next aim," He took a deep breath, calming his tensed nerves. "For now, let's settle with the Barracks first. The Radar Facility comes next."
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[ Gold: 41,145 (-5000) -> 36,145 ]
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[ Barracks (Physical) enqueued for construction. ETA: 8 hours and 20 minutes. ]
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