The first Pioneer Construction Vehicle reached Ironford before noon.
Hans was already waiting inside one of the cleared freight yards along the western side of the district.
The place had survived the previous day’s fighting better than most of the structures farther east. Two warehouses remained usable, although several windows had broken and one loading shelter had partially collapsed. The surrounding yard covered several blocks of pavement, with enough open space between the buildings and the main road for armored vehicles to move without forcing recovery traffic through the same lane.
More importantly, it sat along the secured route back toward Westgate.
The Engineers had spent the morning checking the surrounding ground and the remaining structures. White markings crossed several sections of pavement where damaged drainage covers and cracked concrete needed work, while another set marked the location selected for the PCV.
Hans looked east.
Ironford did not sound like it had the day before.
Gunfire still came from several blocks, though the long continuous engagements were gone. Short bursts appeared instead, followed by silence while patrols continued through the roads around them.
The First Mobile Company had spent the previous afternoon destroying the concentrations already committed toward its positions. Once those broke apart, the platoons stopped advancing after every group that disappeared between the industrial blocks.
Relief squads took over the secured roads later.
By nightfall, the western approaches, the main route toward the former Hive, and several surrounding freight sectors remained under military control. Smaller groups still occupied buildings farther into Ironford. Others remained inside underground service areas that nobody had inspected yet.
Those areas would take some time.
Hans had no intention of spending another day chasing every red marker through a district this large.
The Hive was dead. The roads he needed were open. That was enough to begin.
The PCV entered through the western gate of the freight yard and stopped over the Engineer markings.
One of the Engineers approached Hans.
"Position confirmed, Commander. The pavement underneath is stable. The surrounding warehouse foundations are outside the deployment footprint."
"And the road?"
"Heavy vehicles can use both western approaches. The northern service road also remains open."
Hans looked toward the second route. That one mattered later.
"Deploy the vehicle."
The PCV began changing.
Stabilization legs extended from the chassis and settled against the pavement. The projector assembly unfolded from the upper section while the remaining equipment locked into place around it.
The System notification appeared shortly afterward.
------
[ Pioneer Construction Vehicle deployed. ]
[ Forward Construction Radius established. ]
[ Radius: 1 kilometer. ]
------
Hans opened the construction interface.
A new circle now covered the freight yard and several adjoining industrial blocks. Although it was much smaller than the territory they had just fought through, the space was more than enough for what he needed.
Another engine approached from the west.
The second PCV entered the freight yard with its escorts, passed the newly deployed vehicle, then continued toward the northern road.
Hans watched it go.
"Second vehicle continues north," he said. "Keep it mobile."
The escort leader acknowledged.
"No deployment until the Engineers finish surveying the next position. I want a usable road back here before we plant anything."
"Understood, Commander."
The convoy left through the northern gate.
Hans returned to the construction interface. He could build from the new radius now.
The construction radius was available. Powering anything inside it was another matter, and the two PCVs had already taken a chunk out of his remaining Gold.
He opened the Gold record.
One hundred four thousand six hundred eighty-two Gold had remained when the last force package finished. Four daily outputs from the two Industrial Refinery Complexes added another sixteen hundred during the days that followed.
The two Pioneer Construction Vehicles cost twenty-seven thousand together.
Seventy-nine thousand two hundred eighty-two remained. It was more than enough for another Power Plant.
------
[ Power Plant queued. ]
[ Gold: 79,282 (-8,000) => 71,282 ]
[ Construction Time: 13 hours and 20 minutes. ]
------
The Power Plant would not be ready until well after midnight. He dismissed the notification.
There was no reason to remain in the freight yard waiting for it. The PCV already gave him the construction radius, while the Engineers had enough work to occupy the rest of the day without another System structure appearing beside them.
"Prepare the position around this yard," Hans said. "Use what we already have until the Power Plant finishes."
The lead Engineer nodded.
"We can close the eastern vehicle entrance and keep the western and northern approaches open. The standing warehouses are usable after repairs."
"Do what needs to be done. Send me the defense plan later. I’m adding more structures around this area, so leave room for them."
Hans looked toward the adjoining roads.
Several Guardian APCs already occupied the approaches, with one Vanguard positioned near the wider western intersection. Infantry watched the surrounding structures while recovery vehicles moved through the open lane without entering their firing sectors.
That would serve for now.
The permanent perimeter could wait.
Matilda approached from the Armored Command Truck with the latest Ironford recovery report in hand.
"Another six sectors have been released to the recovery teams."
"How far east?"
"Up to the outer freight blocks. The area around the former Hive remains restricted."
Hans took the report.
The surface fighting had ended across most of the western half of Ironford. Patrols still found infected inside warehouses, workshops, offices, and damaged service structures, though the large concentrations from the previous day were gone.
The underground areas were another problem.
Scouts had marked dozens of entrances throughout the district. Maintenance tunnels, drainage routes, freight access points, basements, and service corridors crossed underneath sections already considered safe on the surface.
Clearing every one of them would take days. Maybe longer.
"Keep the underground entrances marked," Hans said. "We don’t need all of them cleared today."
Matilda nodded.
"The platoons are already treating them as separate sectors. Anything connected to the route or recovery areas receives priority."
"Good."
Hans returned the report.
Another convoy entered the freight yard.
Three recovery trucks carried sealed containers from the western factories, followed by two flatbeds loaded with electrical equipment and dismantled industrial machinery. Engineers directed them toward separate parts of the yard before any unloading began.
The sorting process from Route One had reached Ironford itself. Materials useful to the army remained physical, operational equipment went through inspection, and food, medicine, fuel, tools, and civilian supplies entered separate records. Only the remainder went toward conversion.
Hans walked toward the nearest group of containers.
Several carried mineral-processing labels from a facility farther east. Another contained copper and other recovered metals separated from damaged industrial stock. Electronics filled the smaller crates, most of them already stripped from equipment too damaged to preserve.
That was only one collection point.
More trucks continued moving through the district.
"How much has been recovered so far?" Hans asked.
The Engineer checking the manifest looked down at his tablet.
"Still incomplete, Commander. The western part of Ironford has produced the majority of the processed material so far. The central industrial blocks contain more storage sites, but several have not been inspected."
"Conversion estimate?"
"Not reliable yet."
Hans glanced at the growing rows.
Highcross had been easier to value. Gold, jewelry, diamonds, bullion, and bank holdings did not require much imagination before the System turned them into numbers.
Ironford was different. Most of what surrounded him was valuable because somebody could still use it.
Converting an intact machine simply because the System accepted some of its components would be stupid.
"Continue separating everything first," Hans said. "Nothing operational gets converted just because it contains something valuable."
"Understood."
The Engineer returned to the manifest.
Hans moved toward the next row. His Gold balance remained visible in the corner of the interface.
After everything he had built during the last few weeks, watching his Gold balance fall again was almost familiar.
At least this time, several warehouses full of the answer were already driving toward him.
A Guardian APC passed along the northern road. Behind it, another recovery convoy entered Ironford from Westgate.
Hans closed the Gold panel. The district could pay him back later.
For now, they still had to count what he had actually won.
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