Alexei's information panel opened over Hans's desk, and the 3-Star line was the first thing that caught his attention.
------
[ Name: Alexei Novak ]
[ Unit: Conscript | Tier: 0 ]
[ Star Promotion: 3-Star | MAX ]
[ Primary Weapon: MP5 Submachine Gun | 9mm | 30 rounds per magazine | 7 magazines ]
[ Grenades: 3 fragmentation grenades | Refresh every 48 hours ]
[ Promotion Effects: +50% marksmanship | +30% reload speed | +100% CQC effectiveness | 20% lower fatigue loss | Slow HP regeneration | 50% Tier 0 synchronization | Full immunity to zombie virus ]
[ Melee Weapon: Combat Knife | 15 cm steel-alloy blade | Indestructible ]
------
"Okay, that's a lot."
Health regeneration made sense from the game mechanics Hans remembered, but the infection immunity was something else entirely. Alexei had started as the cheapest unit in the Barracks, and a few days of surviving real combat had turned him into someone Hans would have trusted far more than the original 100-Gold version.
He caught himself thinking about sending Alexei out with Dmitri and Adrian on longer trips. No, no, no. Steady. We just talked about this. One good promotion did not mean he should start throwing his best people into every dangerous place he could find.
Hans switched to Ryan's panel and read through the next set of numbers.
------
[ Name: Ryan Keller ]
[ Unit: Army Soldier | Tier: 0 ]
[ Star Promotion: 1-Star | 760 / 2,400 ]
[ Primary Weapon: M16A4 Assault Rifle | 5.56mm | 30 rounds per magazine | 5 magazines | 400 m effective range ]
[ Secondary Weapon: M1911 Pistol | 7 rounds per magazine | 2 magazines ]
[ Grenades: 2 fragmentation grenades | Refresh every 48 hours ]
[ Attachment: Variable Combat Sight | Rifle stabilizer compensator ]
[ Additional Promotion Equipment: Basic trauma bandage kit ]
[ Promotion Effects: +10% reload speed | +10% marksmanship | 5% lower fatigue loss ]
------
"Five rifle mags, another grenade, and a compensator. Not bad."
It was less flashy than Alexei's max promotion, but Ryan had started from a much stronger baseline and was only at 1-Star. Hans closed the panel before he started mentally ordering everyone to go hunt zombies for experience.
Footsteps gathered outside his room as the fourteen soldiers from the latest queue finished training, and a knock followed before the hallway could get any louder.
"Don't come in. Stay outside, I'll come over."
Hans stepped into the hallway and found the new Conscripts and Army Soldiers waiting for him. Fourteen people would have made the room unbearable, and he was starting to understand why actual officers probably had offices instead of bedrooms full of armed strangers.
"All right. You already got the basic situation from the System, right?"
"Yes, Commander."
"Good enough. Half of you are helping with the parking-lot cleanup, and the rest are going to the manager's office. Adam and Ryan can sort out the exact groups downstairs because I am not spending the morning deciding who stands beside who."
A few of the Army Soldiers exchanged quick looks, then acknowledged him.
"The office is dark, so grab flashlights from the maintenance room if you need them. Dmitri and Adrian are already there. Report to them and do what they tell you."
"Understood, Commander."
Hans watched them leave and rubbed his face once the hallway quieted.
"It's so tiresome to lead people around. I hope I can train a true officer in the future."
He wanted to point at an objective, give the important restrictions, and let people who actually knew what they were doing handle the rest.
"System, can I eventually send objectives directly to my soldiers? Like a marker or something?"
------
[ Higher command functions will support System-assisted objective designation. ]
------
Hans stared at the answer. "Huh. You actually answered me." He wrote it down before the System could somehow change its mind.
...
Inside the manager's office, Dmitri, Adrian, and Rex returned to the room where the fat infected had broken through the double doors. The place looked better than expected considering what had happened; the creature had destroyed the entrance and part of the corridor, but most of the furniture inside remained intact.
Adrian looked around through his night vision. "That fat guy didn't actually destroy much in here. Weird, don't you think?"
"Maybe he stayed in one place until we opened the route. Search first, theories later."
"You're no fun."
Dmitri ignored him and took the left side while Adrian checked the right. Rex moved between them with his nose low.
A black safe stood against one wall, and Adrian tapped it. "There. The good stuff."
"We'll open it after the room is checked."
"Still no fun."
Dmitri flipped through folders and ledgers instead, setting aside anything that mentioned the apartment complex, security contracts, or the manager's businesses. One memorandum of agreement included a residential address connected to the manager and a company called Grefort Builder's Home Industry.
"Found something."
Adrian looked over. "Home address?"
"Among other things."
"See? Paperwork can be exciting."
"You were complaining about paperwork thirty seconds ago."
Adrian grinned and returned to the desk. One drawer held keys, a wallet, and ordinary office junk, but the second had a thin wooden strip along the side that shifted under his fingers. "Gotcha." Behind it sat three recessed buttons.
Dmitri walked over. "Don't press random things."
"I wasn't going to."
"You looked like you were going to."
"That's hurtful."
They checked the nearby wall instead, and Rex began circling one section behind a cabinet, sniffing along the base and returning to the same spot each time. Adrian watched the pattern for a moment before his expression sharpened.
"Hollow space."
The reinforcing soldiers arrived while Dmitri and Adrian were moving the cabinet away, led by Army Soldier Victor Brandt. Their flashlights cut through the dark room as they helped clear the wall.
"Commander sent us to assist, sir."
"Perfect timing," Dmitri said. "Help us move this."
Once the section was exposed, the Scouts inspected the edges and used the fiber-optic camera through a narrow gap near the panel. The cavity behind it opened into a descending passage, and the visible framing looked separate from the building's main supports.
Adrian took out his breaching charge. "Now can I use this?"
Dmitri checked the camera view again. "Small charge. Keep it on the panel, not the frame."
"See? You do know how to have fun."
"Warn everyone first."
Adrian set the charge while Dmitri used the comm bead.
"All teams, this is Dmitri. Controlled breach inside the manager's office. Expect one explosion from our position."
Acknowledgments came back from the nearby teams, and everyone moved clear while Adrian raised the trigger. "Kaching."
Dmitri stared at him. "Really?"
Adrian pulled it.
Boom!
The hidden panel blew inward, and dust rolled through the manager's office as a dark stairway appeared behind the wall.