RTS System in the Apocalypse: New World

Tanks broke the distant clusters.

Machine Gunners flattened the front.

Guardian GIs punished the piles.

Snipers erased anything special enough to be annoying.

Army Soldiers and Conscripts killed what crawled too close.

The Missile Infantries couldn’t even shine properly in this bloodbath. The killing efficiency was too high, and using missiles to kill what was already dead was nonsensical.

Let these fuckers enjoy it first! We’ll see who you’ll call for when the going gets rough!

The same thought flashed to every Missile Infantry as they watched a boring drama unfold through their HUDs.

Meanwhile, the red tide kept feeding itself into the line until its numbers dwindled to the core.

The Hellhammers had long stopped firing at the hive.

Its last wail could be felt from far away. And once it died, the HMTs no longer bothered themselves with it.

Rather, they focused on the incoming infected.

Each shell drastically reduced their numbers by the hundreds. Sometimes, when the swarm packed itself too tightly, the number was even higher.

Five minutes later, the first Machine Gunner changed barrels.

Fifteen minutes later, the highway in front of them had become a carpet of bodies.

Thirty minutes later, the red flood on the Radar map was no longer a tide. Only broken clusters of infected remained.

By the time the last organized wave collapsed, the soldiers did not cheer.

They reloaded. They checked barrels. They changed belts. They marked the bodies that still moved and left the truly dead alone.

The stench of rot, decay, and murky blood came late.

Big Rhino’s cannon lowered by a fraction. "Any targets left?"

"None, chief."

"What a waste. We got more shells to spare."

The gunner’s mouth twitched. The recent wave had pushed their tank to its first star, and the System had kindly refilled what they had not even finished spending.

The MG and the co-axial barely warmed their muzzles.

The firepower of highly starred infantry was too strong. Compared to the previous eastern frontline, this almost felt unfair.

A few minutes later, Bastion One rolled back into the highway line. Its ramp lowered with a hiss.

Hans stepped out first. Callum followed beside him, silent as ever. Matilda and the rest of the DASF came after, their armor streaked with black fluid and dust from the hive wound.

The nearby soldiers straightened at once.

Hans looked at the highway. Bodies covered the road so thickly that the asphalt had almost disappeared.

No, was there even asphalt left underneath all that chaos?

System, can my Engineers repair roads?

No answer came.

Of course.

The System was useful when it wanted to be useful, and silent when Hans asked something inconvenient—or obvious.

"Casualties?"

"None confirmed dead, Commander," a squad leader answered. "Several minor injuries. Echo Two suffered psychic exposure and bruising, but all members returned alive. Bastion Two has returned to base for Echo Two’s medical checkup."

Hans almost smiled. He was about to return when he realized he had slipped something up.

He scanned his units one by one instead, unfolding their status across his vision.

Most of them were alive and kicking well, except for Echo Two who had sustained some minor injuries.

Hans let that pass. The promotion of his other units drew his attention the most.

As expected, the infantry line had their fill of the infected.

Most of the Machine Gunners had already been two-stars before this operation. After the highway slaughter, several had crossed into their third star, their ammunition reserves and heat tolerance refreshing in the middle of the work as if the System was politely rewarding murder.

------

Name: Mason Briggs

Unit: Machine Gunner

Tier: 0 (50% Synchronization Rate)

Axis: Somatic

Star Promotion: 3 (MAX)

[ Primary Weapon ]

M249 SAW

5.56×45mm NATO

200-round belt

36 effective ammunition belts under Hans’s Commander Buff

7,200 total rounds

Base + Promotion Capacity: 24 belts

Commander Buff: +50% ammunition capacity

Final Effective Capacity: 36 belts

Effective Range: 600 meters

Buffer ammunition stored virtually through System-fed ammunition nodes.

Each belt functions as a recalibration buffer for continuous feed rather than a fully physical reload.

[ Secondary Weapon ]

M1911 pistol

.45 ACP

15 effective magazines under Hans’s Commander Buff

7 rounds per magazine

105 total rounds

Base + Promotion Capacity: 10 magazines

Commander Buff: +50% ammunition capacity

Final Effective Capacity: 15 magazines

[ Melee ]

Combat knife, reinforced, 18 cm steel alloy blade (indestructible)

[ Special Equipment ]

Reinforced bipod for rapid bracing

Spare barrel with System-regulated auto-replacement

Optical targeting grip for mid-range burst accuracy

Lightweight ammunition harness

Spare parts pouch

Ear-dampening module

Ballistic goggles

[ Personal Kit ]

2-day ration pack

1.5L flask

Reinforced fatigue uniform with padded recoil absorption

Mk-I helmet with ear-dampening module and ballistic goggles

Shock-dampened boots for prone stability

Lightweight harness

Spare parts pouch

[ Base Attributes ]

Accuracy: 65% moving / 80% braced

Supression Range: 60-meter radius

[ Additional Attributes (3 Star Effects) ]

Braced Accuracy: 95%

Suppression Range: 72-meter radius

Suppression Efficiency: +25% total

Reload Efficiency: +45% total

Recoil Control: +45% total

Damage Resistance While Braced: +25% total

Stamina: +50% total

Lower Fatigue Loss: 35% total

Body Regeneration: Slow

Sustained fire no longer overheats the barrel

Immune to infection

[ Remarks ]

Mason Briggs is a fully promoted Machine Gunner built for mobile suppression, sustained fire, and assault support.

Unlike Guardian GIs, who are better for holding defensive lines, Mason is meant to move the line forward. His role is to anchor temporary firing positions, suppress dense formations, and help form kill-zones during infantry advances.

------

Hans was very satisfied of the Machine Gunner’s max promotion stats. The fact that his soldiers would slowly regenerate their body as long as they were not dead already made them semi-immortal.

He shifted his focus to a Guardian GI whose star promotion has reached the maximum.

------

Name: Jack Rowland

Unit: Guardian GI

Tier: 0 (49% Synchronization Rate)

Axis: Somatic

Star Promotion: 3 (MAX)

[ Primary Weapon ]

M16A4 Assault Rifle

5.56×45mm NATO

30 rounds per magazine

Effective Range: 400 meters

Ammunition Capacity: 15 effective magazines

Total Ammunition: 450 rounds

Base + 3-Star Promoted Capacity: 10 magazines

Hans’s Commander Buff: +50% Ammo Capacity

Final Effective Capacity: 15 magazines

Used in Mobile Mode.

[ Secondary Weapon ]

MK19 40mm Automatic Grenade Launcher

40-round belt

Effective Range: 1,000 meters

Explosive Splash Radius: 5 meters

Ammunition Capacity: 39 effective grenade belts

Total Ammunition: 1,560 grenade rounds

Base + 3-Star Promoted Capacity: 26 grenade belts

Hans’s Commander Buff: +50% Ammo Capacity

Final Effective Capacity: 39 grenade belts

Used in Deployed Mode.

[ Sidearm ]

M9 Pistol

9mm

15 rounds per magazine

Ammunition Capacity: 14 effective magazines

Total Ammunition: 210 rounds

Base + 3-Star Promoted Capacity: 9 magazines

Hans’s Commander Buff: +50% Ammo Capacity

Final Effective Capacity: 14 magazines

Rounded up by the System into full magazine capacity.

[ Melee ]

Combat knife, reinforced, 20 cm alloy blade (indestructible)

[ Special Equipment ]

Deployable ballistic shield

Stabilization tripod

HUD-linked rangefinder for explosive trajectory correction

Shoulder generator for stabilization field

Limited night-vision optics

[ Personal Kit ]

2-day ration pack

1.5L flask

Heavily reinforced kinetic armor with composite titanium plating

Shock absorption layers

Mk-II reinforced combat helmet with ocular HUD

Heavy recoil-dampening boots

[ Additional Attributes — 3-Star Effects ]

Mobile Mode: Functions as a heavily armored rifleman for mid-range combat

Deployed Mode: Switches to MK19 automatic grenade fire for area denial and horde suppression

Reload Efficiency: +45% total

Explosive Yield: +45% total

Fire Rate: +90% total

Suppression Radius: +10%

Defense Bonus While Deployed: +30% total

Deploy / Undeploy Speed: +45% total

Lower Fatigue Loss: 35% total

Explosive Resistance: +10%

Immune to infection

[ Trait ]

None

[ Remarks ]

Jack Rowland is a fully promoted Guardian GI built for defensive anchoring, area denial, and controlled explosive suppression.

In Mobile Mode, he advances as a heavy rifleman. In Deployed Mode, he becomes a fortified grenade platform capable of breaking dense infected formations and holding chokepoints under pressure.

------

A thousand grenades, Hans clicked his tongue.

For a single pair of infantry, it could already kill an entire town of infected by it alone. The firepower alone was better than multiple Machine Gunner units, though their reliance on a deployed stance made them weaker in that aspect.

Why am I too greedy? Hans shook his head.

His units, once they achieve max Star Promotion, were no different to HELIX superhumans in terms of physical strength alone.

Let’s leave that idea on a different date. For now...

He looked back at the highway littered with bodies.

"Matilda, I’ll leave this place to you. You know what to do."

He turned around and boarded Bastion One. Callum and Echo Two followed. Once they were inside, the ramp hissed shut.

The Guardian APC sped away back to the base.

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