Chapter 18: Lacking the Manpower

[ Gold: 21 (+1988) -> 2009]

Hans watched as countless jewelries and valuables vanished from the bags and turned into precious Gold resources.

Two thousand and nine gold, what to do with it?

He could train another scout and attack dog or grab more army soldiers.

Each scout cost a thousand gold, and Dmitri was already fulfilling the need for reconnaissance fairly well by himself. Attack dogs were good, but Rex’s presence was also more than enough.

As for the contest between conscripts and army soldiers…

Numbers were what Hans lacked at the moment, for numbers would bring him firepower + assurance.

Expansion needed manpower, and acquiring a large area required it to be protected.

Protecting the apartment buildings needed additional manpower. It would be a waste if he had low troop mobilization because most were stationed for guard duty.

However, those that would execute clearing operations have to be experts, and those who would remain on guard duty should be the conscripts.

“Train four more army soldiers and four conscripts, then.” Hans made his decision, not wanting to think about it any further.

The fragmentation grenades of the army soldiers could come in handy later—clearing out rooms or use the noise to attract zombies away. The four conscripts could be assigned to guard duty once apartment building number two was cleared.

They could also be used for additional firepower during the clearing operation tomorrow.

Let’s get these army soldiers first.

[ Gold: 2009 (-1600) -> 409 ]

Hans waited for sixteen minutes before the four new troops stepped into his view one by one.

The first soldier had a strong and disciplined vibe—the type who would maintain proper posture without thinking.

“Army Soldier Lukas Reinhardt reporting. Ready for duty, Commander.”

Hans felt he had heard that last name somewhere before, but he couldn’t remember. The army soldier sported a very short blondish hair, his eyes resolute and sharp toned by the strict training set by the system.

Hans moved to the next. Their figure resembled a classic western-military vibe: short and clipped.

“Army Soldier Connor Hayes. Standing by and awaiting instructions.”

The last male carried a Slavic tone; balanced and tough, but not Russian-coded like Novak, Orlov, or Volkov.

“Marek Stilovic, reporting in. I am good to go, Commander!”

The female army soldier didn’t lose out either, showing a professional and serious fit that made her no less different than the men counterparts.

“Army Soldier Elise Hartmann. I’ll hold the line, Commander.”

Hans smiled after gaining these four new army soldiers. He debriefed them about the situation for a while, then asked a bit about their backgrounds.

Just like Ryan, they were put into the standard harsh soldier training. Their accuracies were higher, their combat abilities were stronger, and they could execute order more efficiently than the regular conscript.

“You four shall join the clearing operation tomorrow. However, you will be paired with one another. Each pair shall lead a squad of their own.”

Hans planned that his soldiers would be comprised of different squads as they grew larger.

Commanding an army required more capable professionals and not just one person at the top.

After all, the battlefield situation would shift from good to bad or vice-versa. He, Hans Flemmens, wouldn’t be there to micromanage everything.

RTS games had shown how increasingly difficult it is to micro-manage your own units, much worse if it was on 1v1 situations between two players!

Local squad leaders had to make decisions as quickly as possible without compromising the major objective. Delegating the specifics on their part would lessen the burden Hans had to take, but it didn’t mean that planning major objectives was something he could do so easily either.

“Will you assign us our posts, Commander?” Connor inquired.

“You can choose your own but do talk it out with Ryan and Dmitri first.” Hans advised, not wanting conflicts to form among his soldiers.

“Then we will do as the Commander says.” the four stood in attention.

“I think that should be all for today. You four are dismissed.” Hans urged them to leave, wanting to train the next four conscripts.

The four saluted and walked out of the room, heading downstairs.

Meanwhile, Hans used his remaining gold to train more conscripts.

[ Gold: 409 (-400) -> 9 ]

It resulted in three males and one female, coincidentally. He felt that the system was a little accommodating today, but he paid it no mind.

“Conscript Rowan Blake, reporting to the Commander.”

“Conscript Anton Markovic, ready Commander.”

“Conscript Emil Kovacs, reporting.”

“Conscript Mara Jensen, at your service, Commander.”

A steady but average Western man; a stern-looking Balkan filled with calm; a soft-spoken Hungarian that looked out of place; and a direct woman emitting a Scandinavian vibe.

Hans understood that he wouldn’t be able to memorize each and every name of his unit as they grew larger in size and complexity.

Heck, even memorizing the name of these four conscripts made his mind almost go crazy and confused.

He massaged his temples and remained silent, wanting a small breather. Once he got back on track, he held another short briefing.

Soon, the four new conscripts were dismissed out of Hans’s room.

Hans rubbed his eyes. He hadn’t had proper rest in days. Moreover, he felt that today has been a little too tiring with all the reporting, briefing, and talking.

Hans stood up from his seat and prepared a small dinner for himself. After lounging for a while, he washed the tupperwares then went to sleep.

…

Hans woke up to the buzzing and ringing of his dented smartphone. His eyes furrowed, not keen on having his dreams interrupted.

Aish, what time is it? Oh, 7:12 AM?

He got out of bed and prepared for the day. Thirty minutes later, Hans was ready to go downstairs. However, at that moment, someone knocked on his door.

“Come in.”

Dmitri’s figure went inside, saluting Hans.

“Commander, I am here to discuss about the meteorite shards.” he spoke, “May I know what our course of action against them is?”

“Ah, about that…” Hans widened his eyes in surprise, forgetting this delicate matter. “Your job is to clear the second apartment building, then the manager’s office. Once your target is the third apartment building, I shall join to personally deal with those myself.”

Dmitri gasped, shocked that the Commander would join them in clearing the third apartment building.

“Don’t worry. I won’t put myself in danger. I have you guys to protect me, haven’t I?” Hans smiled, reassuring his scout.

“As the Commander orders.” Dmitri nodded.

“Ah, before you go, can your comms bead connect to the army soldiers’?” Hans was worried that communication would be a hindrance to the operation.

What he wanted was for each team to coordinate properly using their comm beads.

“There is no problem, Commander. We can use this operation to try the functionalities of our comm beads.” Dmitri explained.

“Then I am at ease. You shall lead the operation today. I’ll leave the briefing to your hands.” Hans stopped, remembering the skinny sewer monster, “Also, that corpse. Burn it. The smell is too strong.”

“Understood, Commander. I shall take my leave now.” Dmitri saluted and left the room.

Hans sighed, wondering if he should set a protocol of “visitation hours” in his room. Otherwise, if his soldiers could just knock and interrupt him, that would really drive him crazy.

Since the briefing would take an hour or so, Hans decided to refine some of his plans about expanding into the surrounding apartment buildings.

“The Armored SUV cannot be used with all the cars clogging the highway. I need to find a way to move them or scrap them.”

His recluse continued until Kenji knocked on the door, calling out Hans to go downstairs.

…

Dmitri and the rest waited for Hans to arrive.

His figure strolled into view, wearing the usual Commander’s uniform.

The high collar cape reached to his cheeks, accentuating the cold, calculating aura he emanated. On his waist was the holster for his M1911 pistol, with the combat knife hidden underneath the clothing.

His dark eyes surveyed the three squads, and he was satisfied of their arrangements. It seems his soldiers was slowly beginning to act autonomous, not needing him to spare effort about squad member allocations.

Team A was composed of Dmitri, Rex, Ryan, Adam, and Nadia.

Team B was composed of Connor, Marek, Alexei, Selene, Anton, and Emil.

Team C was composed of Lukas, Elise, Ethan, Noah, Rowan, and Mara.

Hans wasn’t too worried that Team A had less members than the rest. Dmitri’s combat abilities was stronger than three army soldiers combined. Rex didn’t lose out as well, agile, powerful and extremely intelligent when dealing against zombies.

Their combination has already proved fatal against the zombies during yesterday’s operation.

If not for the fact that Ryan had no army soldier buddy, Hans would rather dedicate Dmitri and Rex into more scouting missions, or rescuing the survivors trapped in the diner.

Just as he was about to say something, he realized that some of the members had weird expressions in their faces. He squinted his eyes, trying to take a good look about something interesting.

When these members noticed they were being watched, they quickly composed themselves and stared straight ahead.

Hans grinned, internally asking a ridiculous question.

“System, if two units bred, will they produce an offspring that is system-based as well?”

“…” the system was speechless for a moment. “The resulting offspring will be system-based, Commander. However, their unit type will not be chosen until they are of age. It still costs Gold resources to convert them into the unit type you want.”

Hans nodded, contemplating if he should be the senior matchmaker for his soldiers. The possibility of reproduction meant that his source of units wasn’t limited to system-based training and recruitment.

If he could produce a lot…

What a joke! Let these people handle these personal affairs themselves. I, as their Commander, should set my sights on the grander scale.

Despite feeling jealous all over, Hans fought the urge to punch the air and maintained composure in front of his subordinates.

He coughed lightly and drew their attention.

“My soldiers, I have not much to say. All I want is for all of you to remain safe when you execute your missions. If there are six of you as a squad when you leave, that number should remain the same when you return. Be careful, do not be complacent, and always give your all against the zombies.”

“Squad Leaders, step forward.”

Dmitri, Connor, and Lukas stepped forward.

“You three shall lead your subordinates on this operation. Dmitri shall be the highest command. Am I understood?”

“Yes, Commander!”

“Good. I hope that everything is ready on your part.”

The three squad leaders nodded.

Hans smiled, clasping his hands together both in fear and delight.

“Then off you go. I shall wait for good news tonight.”

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