The Armored SUV rolled to a stop at the edge of the cleared lot, and Hans didn’t bother getting out right away.
He leaned back instead, one arm draped over the open window, watching Trailblazer One idle at the center of an open ground that had been picked specifically for having nothing on it worth destroying if this went wrong.
"Whenever you’re ready, Trailblazer One."
Hans said over the radio.
"Copy that, Commander!" Kessler’s voice came back, entirely too cheerful for a man about to test-drive an unproven, unarmed vehicle in the field for the first time.
"Deploying now. Try not to blink."
The PCV shuddered once, then split.
Its wheels locked and rotated outward, splaying into a wide four-point stance as hydraulic legs extended beneath the chassis and drove into the concrete, anchoring the whole vehicle in place with a solid, grinding thunk. A panel along its spine folded open, unfurling a slim antenna array that rose a full meter above the roofline before locking rigid.
Then the ground answered.
A faint circle of light traced outward from beneath the PCV, spreading fast, marking a boundary Hans could feel more than see.
The light wave pulsed as an edge of something new existed where a moment ago there had been nothing but empty asphalt.
------
[ PCV deployment complete. ]
[ Construction radius established. Radius: 1,000 meters. ]
[ Establishing remote virtual grid connection... ]
------
...
------
[ Virtual grid connected. ]
------
Hans sat with that for a moment, watching the faint shimmer settle at the boundary line before fading from casual view entirely, invisible now to anyone except him and his soldiers.
He looked past the PCV toward the warehouses and the parking structure.
"Will this restore power to the area?"
Auer checked the deployment panel before answering.
"The PCV connects this radius to the System’s virtual electricity grid, Commander. Anything constructed here can draw from the same Energy pool as the main base."
"And the existing buildings?"
"Not automatically. If their wiring is still usable, Engineers can isolate the circuits and connect them to the grid. Lights, pumps, and other systems should work after that."
Hans looked toward the dark warehouse windows again.
"So the Power Plants don’t need to be nearby."
"No, Commander. The PCV connects this construction radius to the same virtual grid."
That was useful.
Route One was at least five kilometers from the main base, with several more kilometers still separating it from Westgate. Running ordinary power lines across that distance would have taken far more work than the position was worth.
With the PCV deployed, the distance no longer mattered.
"Well," Kessler said, popping the hatch to lean out with the grin of a man thoroughly pleased with himself. "Told you it’d be a beautiful day, Commander."
Matilda, standing a few paces off with her arms crossed, allowed herself the smallest exhale.
"No malfunctions. No structural failure. Radius confirms clean on my end too."
Hans finally stepped out of the SUV, walking the boundary line at a slow pace, testing the strange, invisible edge of it with nothing but the certainty that the System told him it was there.
Fifteen thousand Gold for a small expansion he desperately needed.
And somehow, for the first time in days, that felt like a fair trade.
"Get Trailblazer Two prepped later," Hans said. "It’ll be coming with us to Westgate soon."
Hans caught himself before the thought went any further.
Coming with us soon, and to do what, exactly?
He had a route to the FOB, but he didn’t even have a spot.
Westgate wasn’t a single lot with nothing worth destroying on it.
It was a district, and a large one at that.
Somewhere in it sat whatever ground actually deserved his forward anchor. He’d been so relieved to see Trailblazer One work at all that he’d nearly sent the second one out before he had anywhere real to put it.
"Belay that," Hans said, before Matilda could relay the order. "Trailblazer Two stays here for now."
Matilda raised an eyebrow but said nothing, waiting.
"We don’t have an anchor point yet," Hans continued. "Just a route. I’m not spending fifteen thousand Gold to plant it somewhere convenient and find out in a week it should’ve gone two blocks over."
"Understood, Commander."
"Let the sweep finish first. Once the squad and platoon leaders are back, I want everyone’s reports in one place. I need a good anchor based on their intel."
Hans reached for his communicator.
"Golden Eagle to all sweep teams in Westgate. Secondary order, high priority. Inspect the area and find a suitable ground for our PCVs. I’m sure the intel is already synchronized to you all. Good hunting. Golden Eagle out."
A scatter of acknowledgments came back, brief and businesslike. Hans lowered the communicator and looked toward Trailblazer One, still anchored at the center of its quiet, invisible circle.
One test, successfully passed, but there was still more to follow today.
Trailblazer Two could wait until Hans actually knew where he was sending it.
But sitting idle wasn’t in his nature, not with soldiers already stretched thin holding a line that still wasn’t anything more than scavenged fencing and stubbornness.
"Delta One," Hans said, turning to Matilda. "While we’re waiting on Westgate, let’s put this downtime to use. Route One’s partially finished. We’re testing the Secondary Structures now."
Matilda straightened.
"I’ll have the Engineer team meet us there, Commander. They can walk you through the exact placements on-site."
"That’s the idea."
Hans reached for the folder out of habit, already halfway through the motion of flipping it open to confirm the exact placements his officers had recommended weeks ago.
His hand closed on nothing.
Right. He’d left it on his desk in the Command Room, buried somewhere under everything that had piled up since.
"...Kenji," Hans called instead, spotting the ever-present attendant hovering a respectful distance away. "Go to the Command Room. On my desk, there’s a folder marked Route One—Engineer’s block print, a Scout’s notes in the margin, Matilda’s handwriting at the bottom. Bring it here."
Kenji was already moving before Hans finished the sentence. "Right away, Commander."
He entered the SUV on the passenger side, talked to the driver, and then tucked his seatbelt as the engine rumbled alive.
Hans watched them go, then turned back to the lot, to Trailblazer One sitting quietly at the center of its own small, invisible kingdom.
A while later—
Kenji returned with the SUV, folder in hand, barely winded. "Here, Commander."
Hans took it and flipped it open against the SUV’s hood, the Engineer team already gathered a few paces off with Matilda.
The plan hadn’t changed since he’d signed it.
Walls closing most of the parking structure’s ramps, one left open and covered by Pillboxes, a Wall line running from the nearer warehouse’s corner toward the rear passage.
"Walls first," Hans said. "Show me where."
The lead Engineer stepped forward, tapping a gloved finger against the folder’s sketch. "Ramp One, Two, and Three close here, here, and here, Commander. Leave Ramp Four open—that’s the one we’re covering instead of sealing."
Hans walked to the first ramp, but didn’t place the marker right away.
He’d never actually done this before.
A Wall segment was small, cheap, and he had no idea whether it needed time to be constructed or not.
He soon selected the Wall and right as he did so, the thumbnail blinked.
Hmm? Hans raised a brow. The construction is instant?
This was something he had not expected at all. He thought he would wait for an hour or so before he could place but with this—
He set a single marker at Ramp One and waited.
------
[ Wall segment placed. Gold: 23,565 (-500) => 23,065 ]
------
The ground didn’t shudder.
A section of steel and concrete simply existed where a moment ago there had been open ramp, rising with a low groan that settled into stillness within seconds.
It was there, then it was finished, with nothing in between that Hans could point to and call a process.
He stared at the new Wall structure and the System followed up with a manifestation of its information.
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[ Structure: Wall Segment ]
[ Type: Defensive Fortification / Secondary Structure ]
[ Expansion Radius: +50 meters ]
[ Structural Systems ]
[ Automatic Linking ]
Each placed Wall segment functions as a structural node. When another segment is placed within twenty meters, the System automatically fills the space between them to form a continuous barrier.
Connections will only form if the terrain between both segments is unobstructed.
[ Segment Independence ]
Each section of the Wall remains structurally independent. Destroying one section will not cause the rest of the connected barrier to collapse.
[ Damage Interaction ]
Highly resistant to small arms fire and ordinary infantry attacks. Vulnerable to explosives, heavy weapons, and large hostile entities.
[ Operational Effects ]
Blocks movement, seals access points, and channels hostile forces toward controlled defensive routes.
[ Upgrade Path ]
[ Gate Conversion ]
Allows the Commander to select an existing interlinked wall section and convert it into a Gate, creating a controlled passage through the wall line without breaking its continuity. Gate width is adjustable between a minimum of 2 meters and a maximum of 10 meters, based on the length of the selected section.
The Gate is equipped with an integrated scanner and access-control system that detects approaching units and automatically opens or closes the passage accordingly. It can also be opened or closed manually by the Commander or the soldiers when needed.
Can be occupied and garrisoned by up to 2 squads at once.
Construction Time: Instant, consistent with standard Wall construction.
Cost: 2,000 Gold minimum, scaling up to 10,000 Gold maximum depending on Gate width.
Energy Units: 2-10 EU.
[ Remarks ]
A cheap and rapidly deployed perimeter defense. Its effectiveness depends on proper placement, terrain, and supporting defenses rather than raw durability.
------
Hans walked the segment’s length, running a hand along it. Solid. Cold. Ten meters high, exactly as the folder said it would be.
"Huh."
"Something wrong, Commander?" the Engineer asked, looking at him as if...
"No." Hans shook his head. "Just wasn’t sure what I was going to get."
Satisfied, he moved to Ramp Two and Three without hesitation this time, placing markers in quick succession.
------
[ Wall segment placed. Gold: 23,065 (-500) => 22,565 ]
[ Wall segment placed. Gold: 22,565 (-500) => 22,065 ]
[ Segments linked. Continuous barrier established. ]
------
He moved to the warehouse next, placing the first segment at the corner Engineer’s mark.
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[ Wall segment placed. Gold: 22,065 (-500) => 21,565 ]
------
He placed the second a short distance away, closer to the rear passage.
The ground between the two segments cracked.
A thin seam of light traced the gap. Then steel and concrete rose to fill it, the same low groan echoing along the new stretch as one continuous wall stitched itself into existence between the two nodes.
------
[ Segments linked. Continuous barrier established. ]
[ Wall segment placed. Gold: 21,565 (-500) => 21,065 ]
------
Two more followed the same way, each new marker pulling a fresh length of wall up out of the ground to meet the last, until the whole line ran unbroken from the warehouse’s corner to the rear passage.
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[ Wall segment placed. Gold: 21,065 (-500) => 20,565 ]
[ Wall segment placed. Gold: 20,565 (-500) => 20,065 ]
[ Segments linked. Continuous barrier established. ]
------
By the time he stepped back to look at what he’d made, Route One had gone from scavenged fencing and stubbornness to something that actually looked like it belonged to an army.
"Pillboxes next," Hans said, "but those’ll take a few hours. Get the Engineers to fix those circuits you mentioned while we wait. I don’t want this area to remain dark by tonight."
------
[ Gold: 20,065 (-2,500) => 17,565 ]
[ Pillbox queued. ETA: 4 hours 10 minutes. ]
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