RTS System in the Apocalypse: New World

"Echo Two-One, take point. Let’s check this tunnel and see where it goes."

"Understood."

Echo Two-One moved ahead, Vex beside him.

They had only taken six steps when the Radar map changed.

A thin red pulse flickered somewhere deeper in the drainage line, then vanished before the map could hold it properly.

Adrian stopped.

"What was that?"

Nobody answered. The rest were unsure of what happened either.

"You think signal interference?" Adrian continued. "Echo Two-One, remember where that was?"

"Path to the left. Thirty meters or more."

Adrian stared at the place where the pulse had vanished. Just now, the area had been empty, yet some red marker randomly appeared.

A coincidence? I think not!

"Watch your footsteps," he cautioned. "Don’t want to stir the nest if there’s one."

He marked the left path with a red question mark.

"Echo Two-Three, status above?"

"Still holding. One crawler near the upper wall. Rear marker has not moved."

"Good. Keep watching."

Their NVGs worked perfectly within such a dark environment. Their figures passed through the dirty sludge and damp floor, making their way closer to something ominous.

The tunnel narrowed after several meters.

Not by design, but because something seemed stuck on the wall.

It clung to the sides in thin, blackened layers. Some parts looked dried. Some looked shriveled. Others sank into the pipe joints like veins hiding beneath skin.

The marks followed the concrete seams and disappeared into cracks too small for a person to enter.

Vex slowed. Its ears and tail stiffened.

Adrian could see the tension running through its body.

Echo Two-One spoke through the radio.

"Squad leader."

"I see it."

"No, look closer."

Adrian stepped beside him and lowered his NVG focus.

At first, he thought the black veins were old residue.

Then one of them tightened, like flesh clenching around nothing.

A movement so small that a normal eye would have missed it.

Adrian’s fingers froze around his SMG. "Let’s keep our hands to ourselves, shall we?"

He took a step backward slowly, afraid to spook this thing.

"We’ve got ourselves a hive situation."

He quickly opened the Radar map interface and set another marker. This time, he confirmed the existence of the mark.

However, as his eyes hovered back to base, he realized that several blue markers had already departed.

Are they heading towards here?!

Adrian quickly understood the Commander’s intentions.

"Reinforcements on the move," he turned to his members. "Squad, we confirm what we can before they arrive. Move."

Echo Two-One did not answer with words. He shifted forward first, Vex close beside him.

The blackened flesh along the wall tightened again, slower this time. This confirmed it was wide awake.

Adrian raised one hand, slowing the pace without stopping the advance.

The corridor bent left after several meters, where the red pulse had appeared earlier. The air there felt thicker, making it hard to breathe.

Shit, Adrian cursed inwardly, noticing the blurriness on his NVG. Small particles floated around, causing his vision to become grainy as time passed by.

"Watch your breathing. Spores around here."

Vex suddenly growled.

"What’s up buddy?!"

Adrian asked when suddenly—

The Radar map showed countless red markers appearing just ahead of their position. They blinked in and out, as if they were stuck between life and death.

"Fuck, this thing is revving up! Echo Two-One, Two-Two, hold this line. Echo Two-Three, keep our exit clean. I’m going in. Vex, with me!"

"Squad leader—"

"No time!"

Adrian moved before the warning could finish.

Vex rushed ahead of him, claws splashing through the dirty sludge. The dog did not bark. It only charged forward with its body low and teeth bared.

The tunnel ahead twitched.

Thin strips of black flesh peeled away from the walls.

As Adrian’s eyes fell upon them, his heart froze.

Sewer monsters! This shit had been hiding them here all along?!

Now, he understood why the Radar didn’t pick up any signs. The damn hive kept them stored around.

Adrian raised his SMG and fired short bursts into the still-emerging sewer monster. The suppressor cracked repeatedly, dull in the tight space.

The moment he confirmed the kill; he radioed back to the rest.

"Stored sewer-types! The hive kept them inside the walls!"

The answer came at once.s

"How many?"

Adrian looked ahead.

The red markers blinked again.

More of them, but they were too many to count.

"A lot!"

The wall split open into three places.

Wet bodies dropped from the black flesh, limbs folding wrong as they struck the floor. One sewer monster twitched once, then snapped upright on all fours. Another crawled along the wall instead of the ground, its jaw opening too wide under the grainy NVG view.

Vex lunged before the nearest one could move.

Adrian fired past the dog, short bursts punching into the second monster’s shoulder and neck.

"Echo Two-One, Two-Two, fall back five meters. Don’t let them flank you from the seams!"

"Understood!"

Behind him, suppressed fire cracked from the line.

The tunnel filled with gray-black dust. Adrian felt the air thicken inside his mask.

The spores and their effects were getting worse.

"Echo Two-Three!"

"Exit still clear, squad leader but not for long!"

"What’s the ruckus?!"

"The infected are converging around our position. We don’t have much time!"

"Shit!"

Adrian fired another burst into the sewer-type trying to crawl over Vex. Its head snapped sideways, black blood splattering across the wall.

"Echo Two-One and Two-Two, cover our advance!"

The two Scouts did not hesitate and followed Adrian.

The latter did not expect that the hive would react faster than he anticipated. Now, he had no choice but to rush forward before they were overrun.

Retreating now would keep Echo Two alive for a few more minutes.

It would not give the Commander a target. And without a target, the Hellhammers could only pound the stragglers, cannon fodder, and whatever skin the hive wanted to lose.

Adrian gritted his teeth.

With how smart this hive had gotten, he was not willing to let it survive longer than it should.

They had come too close to leave with half an answer.

Even if I die for it, you’ll pay the damn price!

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