10:45 AM.
Hans stood behind his eleven Conscripts at the barricade between the third and fourth floors. Most of it was made from suitcases, bags, broken furniture, and anything the residents had managed to pile across the stairwell before the building fell apart.
Adam had Ethan, Tobias, and Noah working on the obstruction while Alexei, Kenji, and Ravi covered the opening with their MP5s. The others stayed farther back, leaving enough room for the firing line to move while keeping Hans protected.
Before they started, Hans checked one thing again.
"System, confirm the ammunition refresh. Noon, not midnight?"
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[ Ground-unit ammunition refresh occurs every day at 12:00 PM. ]
[ This refresh schedule is fixed. ]
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"Okay, noon." Hans let out a breath. If the fight dragged on, noon would give every Conscript another full ammunition allocation. He still preferred not to rely on it, but knowing the refresh was less than two hours away gave them more room to work.
The barricade came apart slowly. Ethan shifted the heavier pieces while Tobias and Noah pulled away bags from the upper layers, and the groans below became clearer with every opening they made.
Something struck the other side, and everyone stopped. Another impact followed, then several more.
Adam looked over the remaining pile. "Keep going. Slow."
Noah pulled a large suitcase free. Without it supporting the weight above, part of the barricade slumped into the stairwell despite Ethan catching one of the heavier bags before it fell.
The opening widened enough for them to see at least ten infected already pressing through the lower landing, climbing over several bodies trapped beneath the old barricade.
"Contact," Alexei called.
The three MP5s opened fire.
The stairwell forced the infected into a narrow approach, and Alexei, Kenji, and Ravi worked the opening in controlled bursts. The first zombie dropped before reaching the final steps. Two more stumbled over it, only to fall against the wall as bullets struck their heads and upper bodies.
More came from below, some staggering up the stairs while others ran.
Hans remained behind the reserve line while Adam controlled the landing. The gunfire inside the stairwell was deafening, much louder than Hans had imagined when he planned the breach, and every burst answered with more hissing from the floors beneath them.
"Stagger your reloads," Adam ordered.
Alexei fired while Ravi changed magazines. Kenji took over the center lane when Alexei reloaded, and the three kept the stairwell covered without dropping their weapons at the same time.
Three Runners burst through the bodies below.
Adam's MP5 came up and dropped the first. Alexei shifted left and caught the second while Kenji put two rounds into the third before it reached the landing.
Hans's grip tightened around his own weapon.
Those were only Runners, yet the difference in speed was already obvious. If something faster or tougher appeared in the middle of the same rush, the narrow stairwell could become a problem very quickly.
Another wave pushed upward, and the firing continued until a familiar ping sounded in Hans's mind.
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[ Conscript Alexei Novak promoted to 1-Star. ]
[ Ammunition refreshed. ]
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Hans blinked at the prompt. Oh, what? Promotion refreshes ammunition too?
"System, show Alexei's information."
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[ Name: Alexei Novak ]
[ Unit: Conscript ]
[ Tier: 0 ]
[ Star Promotion: 1-Star | 10 / 600 ]
[ Promotion Boost: +1 magazine capacity | +10% reload speed | +10% accuracy ]
[ Primary Weapon: MP5 Submachine Gun | 9mm | 30 rounds per magazine | 3 magazines | Refreshes every 24 hours ]
[ Secondary Weapon: None ]
[ Melee Weapon: Combat Knife | 15 cm steel-alloy blade | Indestructible ]
[ Grenades: None ]
[ Personal Kit: One-day field ration | 1-liter canteen | Basic sleeping gear | Standard soldier uniform ]
[ Remarks: Average aim and close-quarter combat skills. Strength increases when grouped with other Conscripts. ]
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Two fresh magazines appeared on Alexei's gear while the one inside his MP5 was restored. The difference showed when he returned to the firing line: the weapon settled faster after each burst, and his shots tightened.
Hans had to suppress a laugh. That is ridiculous.
The fight did not stop long enough for him to enjoy the discovery. More infected crowded the stairwell, and Adam rotated the others into the firing line whenever one of the three needed room to reload or recover. Selene, Diego, and Noah took short turns while Alexei, Kenji, and Ravi continued receiving most of the contacts at the choke point.
Another promotion prompt appeared for Kenji, then Ravi several minutes later. Both received the same ammunition refresh, stretching the squad's supply much farther than Hans expected.
By the time the gunfire finally slowed, bodies filled the steps almost to the third-floor landing.
Alexei's weapon clicked empty near the end of the last rush.
"Dry."
He stepped back at once, and Kenji took his lane before the next Runner cleared the bodies. One burst dropped it face-first across the stairs.
Silence gradually returned, broken only by the groans of injured infected farther below.
Hans stared at the stairwell. "That's a lot."
He had expected gunfire to draw attention, but not this much. Between the infected already trapped on the lower floors and those that had approached from outside, the squad had probably killed close to a hundred.
The choke point had made the difference. Most were slow enough to climb directly into prepared fire, while the faster ones still had to use the same narrow stairs.
If a whole group of Runners came at once, or something stronger joined them, this would be very different.
That thought bothered him more than the pile of bodies.
Hans checked the three Conscripts who had spent the most time on the firing line.
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[ Alexei Novak | Conscript | 1-Star | 350 / 600 ]
[ Kenji Watanabe | Conscript | 1-Star | 280 / 600 ]
[ Ravi Patel | Conscript | 1-Star | 115 / 600 ]
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Alexei was already more than halfway toward another promotion. Kenji wasn't far behind, while Ravi had started building progress toward his next one.
So this is one way they get stronger.
Not by throwing them into crowds, obviously. But if the situation gave them a good position, every fight could improve the squad instead of only costing ammunition.
Hans looked toward Adam. "Check the lower floors, get the corpses outside, and burn them away from the entrance if you can. Don't go farther than the building yet."
"Understood, Commander."
Adam took over from there. Some Conscripts checked the bodies and hallways while others moved the dead toward the ground floor; the rest kept watch for anything still moving.
Hans checked his phone. 11:25 AM.
Noon was close, but there was no reason to start another large fight before the refresh. He followed Selene and Diego downstairs instead, keeping behind them as they checked the route.
The third floor was a mess. Blood covered the walls and floor, and pieces of human remains lay between overturned bags and furniture.
I remember now. The first three floors are mostly dormitory-style rooms. No wonder there were so many people down here.
The smell was worse than the sight. Iron, rot, and something sour hung in the hallway until the System's calming effect dulled the worst of Hans's reaction.
The second floor looked much the same, though most of the infected were already dead. By the time they reached the ground floor, scattered belongings covered the entrance area: phones, bags, watches, jewelry, and papers dropped during whatever happened here.
Hans crouched beside a damaged gold watch. Its glass was cracked through the center, but the hands were still moving.
The automatic conversion reacted as soon as he picked it up.
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[ Automatic Gold Conversion complete. ]
[ Gold: 95 (+45) => 140 ]
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Hans grinned when the number changed. Finally.
"System, train one Conscript."
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[ Conscript queued. ]
[ Gold: 140 (-100) => 40 ]
[ Training Time: 1 minute. ]
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He stayed near the ground-floor entrance while the others continued working. A minute later, the next prompt appeared.
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[ Conscript training complete. ]
[ Active Units: 12 ]
[ Squad Leader promotion available. ]
[ Promote now? ]
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