Later that evening, the last recovery vehicle returned to Site Three.
The southern platoons had already finished unloading their own haul. The recovery teams added several more containers from the buildings behind them, including valuables left inside abandoned shops and apartments whose occupants had either evacuated or were no longer there.
Anything claimed by the survivors remained separate.
Hans entered the warehouse once the final container had been marked.
The convertible materials occupied more space than the previous evening, although much of it consisted of smaller items gathered from several different locations.
He approached the nearest row.
------
[ Convert all marked materials? ]
------
"Convert everything."
Green light spread beneath the containers.
------
[ Industrial Storage Yards conversion bonus applied: +40% ]
[ Gold: 63,005 (+33,894) => 96,899 ]
------
Hans dismissed the notification and kept the Gold interface open.
The southern advance was beginning to pay for itself.
Two more complete squads would have been easy to organize, but the southern forces already had their replacements. What he needed now was manpower that could be divided between the expanding positions and the work behind the platoons.
Site Three’s existing garrison still needed more soldiers around the Garrison Post, Field Hospital, warehouses, and vehicle lanes.
Route One received more survivors with every operation, while the recovery teams needed escorts whenever they entered the secured streets.
The Airfield would require more soldiers soon as well.
Hans opened the Barracks interface.
"Train thirty Army Soldiers, twenty Conscripts, eight Scouts, and four Attack Dogs."
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[ Army Soldier x30 queued. ]
[ Conscript x20 queued. ]
[ Scout x8 queued. ]
[ Attack Dog x4 queued. ]
[ ETA: 4 hours and 4 minutes. ]
[ Gold: 96,899 (-24,400) => 72,499 ]
------
The new Scouts and Attack Dogs could form two more Recon Teams.
...
The training batch finished shortly after midnight.
The eight Scouts and four Attack Dogs were organized into two additional Recon Teams. The remaining soldiers were temporarily divided between Site Three, Route One, and the units assigned to escort the recovery vehicles.
The following evening, the southern platoons returned with another collection of convertible materials.
Their progress had taken them through several more commercial streets. Recovery teams followed behind them once the roads were secured, entering the abandoned buildings and separating usable supplies from anything marked for conversion.
Another four hundred Gold had entered Hans’s reserves earlier that day.
------
[ Industrial Refinery Complexes daily output received: +400 Gold ]
[ Gold: 72,499 (+400) => 72,899 ]
------
The marked valuables gathered by the platoons were then converted by Hans, enriching his treasury.
------
[ Industrial Storage Yards conversion bonus applied: +40% ]
[ Gold: 72,899 (+32,844) => 105,743 ]
------
The additional Gold gave him enough room to organize the soldiers trained the previous night.
Thirty Army Soldiers and twenty Conscripts could form six Standard Infantry Squads and one Mechanized APC Squad without leaving any of them unassigned. They only lacked the specialists required to complete each formation.
Hans opened the Barracks interface.
"Train eight Machine Gunners, six Guardian GIs, seven Missile Infantry, six Scouts, six Attack Dogs, and one Engineer."
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[ Machine Gunner x8 queued. ]
[ Guardian GI x6 queued. ]
[ Missile Infantry x7 queued. ]
[ Scout x6 queued. ]
[ Attack Dog x6 queued. ]
[ Engineer x1 queued. ]
[ ETA: 8 hours and 41 minutes. ]
[ Gold: 105,743 (-52,100) => 53,643 ]
------
He opened the War Factory interface afterward.
"Queue one Guardian APC."
------
[ Guardian APC queued. ]
[ ETA: 1 hour and 20 minutes. ]
[ Gold: 53,643 (-8,000) => 45,643 ]
------
The Guardian APC would complete the mechanized squad.
The additional armored vehicles and tanks could wait for the next day’s haul.
A little over an hour later, the Guardian APC was finished.
It remained at the main base until the Barracks completed the remaining units several hours later.
By morning, the thirty Army Soldiers and twenty Conscripts trained the previous night had been reorganized with the new specialists.
Six Standard Infantry Squads were formed.
The remaining six Army Soldiers, two Conscripts, two Machine Gunners, one Missile Infantry, and one Engineer formed another Mechanized APC Squad around the newly produced Guardian APC.
The six infantry squads were divided between the main base, Route One, and Site Three. The Mechanized APC Squad remained available for deployment once Hans decided where the next mobile reserve would be needed.
Another refinery settlement entered his reserves later that morning.
------
[ Industrial Refinery Complexes daily output received: +400 Gold ]
[ Gold: 45,643 (+400) => 46,043 ]
------
Several hours later, the Primary Structure notification Hans had been waiting for appeared.
------
[ Primary Structure construction complete: Airfield Base. ]
[ Please select deployment zone. ]
------
The Airfield was ready.
Hans did not wait long after the notification appeared.
"Viper," he called out. "Let’s move."
"Where to, Commander?"
"To where the Airfield Base will be deployed."
He left the western warehouse, informed Matilda, and headed for the Airfield tract with a small convoy while the latest southern reports remained in her hands.
Matilda could handle Site Three while he was gone. Hans still had to deploy the Airfield himself.
The trip west passed through roads his soldiers had already secured. By now the route felt familiar enough that Hans no longer needed to study every turn.
What drew his attention instead was how much of the road had changed since the first surveys. More vehicles moved between positions. Recovery trucks passed them on the opposite lane. Patrols stood where empty corners had once remained unwatched.
Trailblazer Three and Trailblazer Four were visible before the convoy reached the center of the tract.
Both PCVs remained anchored where Hans had deployed them before the Airfield entered construction. Their construction radii overlapped across the open ground, though only he and his units could still perceive the faint boundaries.
The veteran squads assigned to the area had spread themselves well. One held the northern side where the road approached the tract. The other watched the eastern side and the broken storage buildings farther off. The Guardian APC moved between those approaches at a measured pace, never straying too far from either squad.
The Engineers had already done the rest.
Marker stakes and painted lines now crossed the pavement and dead grass. Vehicle lanes had been measured out. Future defensive positions had been noted. The broad central area reserved for the Airfield remained clear.
Hans stepped out once the convoy stopped then opened the Primary Structures interface.
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