Evening came quicker than expected. Around 6 PM, the Barracks (Physical) finally rolled to completion.
Hans sat on the ledge of a rooftop, letting the cold breeze drift around his face.
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[ Construction queue finished for: Barracks (Physical). Please select deployment zone. ]
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The digital Radar map zoomed into vision. A small, irregular shape of construction area flashed brightly in dark green.
These were Hans's available construction zones, mapped out by the System for convenient deployment.
A rectangular shape floated outside map. It mimicked the size of the Barracks relative to the map's current zoom level.
Hans dragged it around, rubbing his chin as he contemplated his choices.
Placing it beside the Construction Yard was the safest option, yet it made his movement too passive.
The Construction Yard already sat at the heart of his foothold. Stacking every important structure beside it would only create one massive target for whatever came next.
Hans moved the rectangle eastward.
The marker hovered over a wide concrete lot between two warehouse blocks.
Roads connected it from three directions, while the nearby buildings offered cover from a direct attack.
It was close enough for newly trained infantry to reach the eastern defense line quickly, yet far enough so that a sudden horde would not crash into it at first sight.
Hans nodded slowly to himself, "Here."
The system responded at once.
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[ Deployment zone selected. ]
[ Barracks (Physical) deployment commencing. ]
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The green outline sank into the concrete; the digital pixels transforming into a liquid-like state.
A low tremor soon spread across the lot near Hans's position.
Steel foundations surfaced first, forming a long, low-profile military complex rather than a towering structure.
Reinforced walls rose in segments, locking together mechanically.
One section unfolded into a training hall.
Another expanded into an equipment storage module.
A third split open into a wide deployment hangar, its armored doors sliding apart as it revealed what was inside—chambers.
Rows of vertical pods surfaced from within the structure, each sealed behind dark glass and faint blue conduits.
Hans's eyes narrowed and looked back at the system's information regarding this new structure.
Infantry Fabrication Chambers.
The words made the Barracks feel different from what he expected. It wasn't merely a military facility that he knew.
It was even more magical than that.
Above the central block, floodlights snapped on. Personnel ramps extended toward the road, forming clean exit lanes from the deployment hangar to the surrounding streets.
Hans took a deep breath and stared at it as the entire facility formed.
"Now that," he muttered. "is a sight worth waiting for."
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[ Barracks (Physical) deployed. ]
[ Infantry Production Facility is now properly established. ]
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[ Energy: 546 / 800 ]
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[ Structure: Barracks (Physical) ]
[ Type: Infantry Production Facility / Primary Structure ]
[ Energy Consumed: 50 energy units. ]
[ Structural Systems ]
[ Infantry Fabrication Chambers ]
The Barracks contains multiple fabrication chambers where System-generated personnel are materialized and stabilized.
[ Training Simulation Modules ]
Newly generated infantry undergoes accelerated combat conditioning inside integrated simulation modules.
[ Equipment Fabrication Depot ]
The Barracks contains a fabrication depot responsible for producing all equipment issued to infantry units. All equipment generated remains linked to the RTS System. If removed from System control, the equipment degrades into inert scrap.
[ Personnel Deployment Platforms ]
Once a unit is completed, it is transferred to a deployment platform where it exits the facility and joins the Commander's forces.
[ Operational Effects ]
[ Squad Formation ]
The Barracks can automatically assemble trained units into standardized squad formations, reducing command complexity for the Commander.
Squads formed here typically follow established combat doctrines such as mixed infantry compositions.
The Commander may establish squad templates and allow batch training for convenience.
[ Remarks ]
Primary infantry production facility responsible for training and deploying the RTS System's basic ground forces. The Barracks functions as the central hub for infantry recruitment, training, equipment distribution, and squad organization.
Unlike conventional military barracks, the structure uses System-assisted fabrication and accelerated training protocols to produce combat-ready personnel within minutes. Each unit emerges fully equipped with standardized equipment, uniforms, and operational knowledge integrated through the System.
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[ Secondary Buildings Tab unlocked. ]
[ Secondary Building queue created. ]
[ New construction options ]
[ Wall - 500 Gold ]
[ Pillbox - 2500 Gold, 40 EU ]
[ Watch Tower - 4000 Gold, 30 EU ]
[ Field Hospital - 5000 Gold, 120 EU ]
[ Garrison Post - 6000 Gold, 60 EU ]
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Hans took the time to read through the information. He was familiar with the Secondary Buildings aside from a few, strange new options.
However, the new functionalities brought by the Barracks gave him more awe.
Forming squads has never been easy with this one, he thought.
His standard squad template would remain the backbone of his army for now; but this new feature changed things.
From this point onward, Hans was no longer training soldiers one by one—he was bound to design formations: old and new alike.
Hans tapped on the new option.
A blank squad roster unfolded before him, showing twelve empty rectangular slots.
Underneath it were the cards of trainable infantry units. His eyes narrowed, focusing toward a single detail.
So a DASF unit consumes three slots, huh?
The system waited for his command.
Hans stared at the empty roster for a few seconds, then quickly dragged the infantry cards around.
He did not need to think too deeply about the first one. This formation had already proven itself in the field.
The first template formed almost immediately.
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[ Squad Template Created: Standard Infantry Squad. ]
[ Composition: 3 Conscripts, 4 Army Soldiers, 1 Scout-Attack Dog pair, 1 Machine Gunner, 1 Guardian GI, 1 Missile Infantry ]
[ Total Slots Used: 12 / 12 ]
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Hans nodded.
This would remain the backbone of his army. Balanced firepower, cheap enough to reproduce, and flexible enough for most defensive and offensive operations.
After saving the first template, he opened the next.
The city operations would require faster reinforcement in every position as quickly as possible.
The Guardian APCs provided the mobility, but the squad infantry has to match the APC's pace as well.
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[ Squad Template Created: Mechanized APC Squad ]
[ Composition: 6 Army Soldiers, 2 Conscripts, 2 Machine Gunners, 1 Missile Infantry, 1 Engineer ]
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Hans rubbed his chin. This one was not meant to hold ground forever.
They were to move, disembark, repair, breach, and survive long enough for reinforcements and armor to arrive.
HIs gaze landed on the DASF card.
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[ Squad Template Created: Special Assault Squad ]
[ Composition: 4 DASF Units ]
[ Total Slots Used: 12 / 12 ]
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Hans studied the formation.
No Conscripts. No Army Soldiers. No rear-line support.
Just four elite combatants designed to break whatever stood in front of them.
This squad would not be used for holding streets or patrolling cleared zones. It was too costly for that.
But against fortified positions, evolved infected, or critical objectives, the Special Assault Squad would become the hammer.
Mixed with recon units and long-range sniper support, they could tear open a mission area before the enemy even understood what had arrived.
Hans saved the template.
Then another thought crossed his mind.
Ah, I should also create a dedicated Sniper and Recon squads.
Hans shifted his attention to the Scout card next.
Unlike the standard infantry template, this one did not need twelve people.
Reconnaissance punished size. The more people moved together, the louder they became.
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[ Squad Template Created: Recon Team ]
[ Composition: 4 Scouts, 2 Attack Dogs ]
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His hands didn't stop, quickly shoving the menu toward the next squad composition—the Sniper Overwatch.
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[ Squad Template Created: Sniper Overwatch Team ]
[ Composition: 2 Snipers, 1 Scout, 1 Army Soldier ]
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