Hans scanned the map, wondering where the War Factory should be placed.
In-game, War Factories were gigantic structures capable of producing tanks, artillery platforms, and even MCVs directly. If that rule carried into reality, then he could not treat its placement like another Power Plant or Barracks.
A War Factory could become a city-planning disaster.
"I need a large area," Hans muttered repeatedly.
The Radar map slowly panned across his vision. He moved from the current base perimeter, then toward the northwestern industrial routes, then farther along the edge where Westgate’s commercial blocks began to touch old factories and repair depots.
From north to south.
From east to west.
And vice versa.
A building that large needed space, road access, protection, and enough clearance that a newly produced tank would not roll out only to scrape itself against a ruined storefront.
Lost in thought, Hans came to a realization.
Why am I guessing? Why not ask the System itself?
He raised his eyes slightly.
"System, give me an approximate size of the War Factory."
------
[ War Factory (Physical) — Estimated Deployment Parameters ]
[ Minimum Structural Footprint: 280 m × 180 m ]
[ Recommended Secured Zone: 500 m × 350 m ]
[ Required Road Access: Heavy Vehicle Deployment Route ]
[ Required Clearance: Front Deployment Lane / Rear Logistics Access ]
[ Expansion Radius: +700 m upon completion ]
[ Warning: Urban obstruction, unstable foundations, collapsed underground spaces, and hostile interference may delay or invalidate construction. ]
------
Hans scoffed at the System’s response.
Just the minimum structural footprint alone was large. But he was greedy, and the kind where he would always opt for the recommended scenarios.
The only problem was... it needed a very large area!
Of course, it needs its own neighborhood.
The recently exposed hive had already proven that the ground beneath Grefort could not be trusted. A street that looked stable from above might already have suffered against some underground hive activity.
And now the System wanted him to place a massive armored production facility on top of that same city.
He almost rolled his eyes in frustration, but the System kept Hans cool. His feelings vanished before they could even be expressed.
I should leave this to the Engineers. They know more about structural concerns than me.
He was just some inexperienced military commander. Was the system purposefully treating him as an omniscient guy?
Amidst his thoughts, a loud knock came from the outside.
"Who is it?"
A soldier’s voice answered.
"Commander, Miss Kimmy is calling you for dinner. The food has already been prepared."
Hans’s tense body relaxed.
Right.
For some reason, Kimmy had taken it upon herself to make sure he ate.
Hans did not know whether to feel grateful or suspicious about it.
Maybe both.
"Tell her I will be there shortly."
"Yes, Commander."
The soldier saluted, then left.
Hans looked back at the War Factory parameters one more time. The glowing numbers did not become any smaller no matter how long he stared at them.
The System might as well have asked him to build a small district.
He closed the active panel but left the map running.
When he stepped out of the Command Room, the low hum of the Construction Yard followed him through the corridor.
Soldiers moved through the base in disciplined silence.
Lights from the Power Plants washed the industrial compound in pale white, making the ruined city beyond the perimeter look even darker by contrast.
The dining area was not far.
Johannes and his group are not here yet, Hans noticed. Are they... helping my soldiers?
He reviewed the map. Two green markers flashed on the dining area.
The other three, no, the other four were far away, nearing the highway where the red tide was stopped by his army.
Are they conducting some survey? Hans smiled.
A few blue markers escorted them at a distance, so Hans let the matter pass.
Whatever, I’ll let them be.
As for why Tyrus had joined Johannes’s group, Hans had no idea. It was better to point his curiosity someplace else than him and his structures.
I’ll deal with Project DAEDALUS in the future. For now...
His gaze shifted to the two women in the center of the dining area.
Kimmy was already seated when Hans arrived.
Yunera stood behind her chair at first, then slowly sat down when she saw him enter. Her posture looked casual, but her eyes were not. They moved once from Hans’s face, to his shoulders, then to the traces of fatigue he had failed to hide.
"You came back late."
Hans pulled out a chair.
"Had an emergency operation. You should be glad I made it back alive."
"I am," Kimmy replied.
Hans paused halfway into his seat.
Her voice was gentle, but there was something underneath it that made the answer anything but simple.
Yunera did not speak. Her eyes only moved from Kimmy’s hands to Hans’s face.
Hans slowly sat down, but he did not eat yet. He stared at Kimmy’s face, then asked.
"You were worried?"
"Yes," Kimmy lowered her head. "The pressure... it was strong enough to reach the base. And I wondered... if you were okay."
Hans’s eyes widened for a fraction of a second before returning to normal.
"I look very okay," he shrugged. "What about you? You don’t look... or sound okay to me."
Yunera harrumphed, though her rebellious nature felt warmer than before.
"She was very silent the entire time. You should be very careful with your operations next time."
Hmm? Hans shifted back to Kimmy. "Do you need some help?"
"No," Kimmy rejected. "I can understand why you may not have chosen to bring me this time around."
Hans’s mouth twitched. "I did not bring you because I did not know what the hive would do to you."
That was an impromptu excuse. Although he could have brought Kimmy along, but the seriousness of Echo Two’s situation prompted him to ignore everything else but his army.
Meanwhile, Kimmy’s voice echoed softly.
"Yet it still reached me."
She’s right, Hans furrowed his brows.
He had not been paying attention to the hive’s unintended effects partly due to how limited it was to his body.
From Kimmy and Yunera’s words, the hive’s psychic waves could reach that far.
And if that was the case, what about the survivors? What about the neutral parties on his Radar map?
The psychic wave emitted by the meteorite shards, augmented and exploited by the so-called hives, could be very catastrophic to a normal person’s mind.
Hans still remembered how his Scouts trembled against its effects during the apartment raids.
And if that was how powerful it was against specialized and highly-trained military personnel—how could a normal human easily fare against it?
"Hans... hello?"
Kimmy tried to call him out.
Hans blinked.
For a moment, the dining area returned to him.
The food. The table. Yunera’s narrowed eyes. Kimmy’s lowered head.
No, her head wasn’t lowered, but rather, she leaned closer to him.
And he was here, sitting like an idiot who had turned someone’s worry into a battlefield intelligence report.
"Sorry," Hans said after a short pause. "I was thinking."
"I noticed," Kimmy replied. Her tone remained gentle.
Hans leaned back slightly and rubbed the space between his brows. "The pressure reaching the base is not a small matter."
"Eh?" Kimmy was taken aback. "What are you thinking about?"
Hans realized his mistake.
"Nothing," he said, then stopped.
No. That felt wrong too.
He looked back at Kimmy. "Not nothing. Just... not dinner talk."
Kimmy remained quiet for a moment before nodding.
Yunera’s glare softened by a fraction, though not enough to forgive him completely.
Hans looked at the meal in front of him. "We should eat first. Talk later."
"You better," Yunera muttered.
Hans picked up the spoon.
For once, he obeyed.
Outside, the Construction Yard continued to hum. The War Factory timer continued to count down. Somewhere beyond the walls, Grefort remained dark and restless.
But for the moment, Hans lowered his eyes to the warm food in front of him and decided that the next operation could wait until after dinner.
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