The Engineers assigned to the returning platoon finished sorting the third sweep’s haul before the two mobile forces completed their preparations.
Hans crossed the distribution yard toward the warehouse.
Work continued around him.
A forklift carried another freight container toward the eastern approach, where the Engineers were arranging the first staggered obstacle line. Farther southeast, an abandoned delivery truck was being pulled across part of the road while soldiers marked the lane that would remain open for armored vehicles.
The obstacles did not completely close either approach.
They narrowed them.
Guardian APCs and Vanguards could still pass through the marked lanes, but anything moving toward Site Three in large numbers would have less room to spread before reaching the Walls.
Hans entered the warehouse while the last sealed container was being placed beside the others.
The pile was smaller than the haul from the previous Westgate sweep.
Several rows of duffel bags sat near the loading bays, followed by watch cases, jewelry boxes, loose coins, and other convertible materials recovered from stores along the inspected routes.
The bank branch contributed several metal containers and two bags filled with jewelry and valuables recovered from the sections the platoon had secured.
It was not an entire district’s worth of loot.
The platoon had spent most of its time inspecting roads, contacting survivors, and confirming which routes could support the armored vehicles. They had only entered buildings directly beside those roads or locations worth checking while the surrounding area remained secure.
Hans still could not complain.
"Everything belonging to the survivors has been separated?"
"Yes, Commander," Matilda answered. "The platoon leaders confirmed the inventory twice. Everything here came from abandoned commercial buildings and the bank branch."
Hans stepped closer to the piles.
"Convert everything."
Green light spread across the concrete.
The duffel bags disappeared first. The sealed cases, metal containers, electronics, and smaller valuables followed. One pile after another dissolved until the loading area became almost empty.
------
[ Gold: 18,465 (+28,600) => 47,065 ]
------
Twenty-eight thousand six hundred Gold.
That was nowhere near what the second sweep had brought back, but that operation had used several platoons and almost an entire day to clear buildings and recover materials from every secured collection point.
This haul came from one platoon inspecting only the first southern routes.
If the rest of the commercial districts held anything similar, they could pay for a large part of the army’s advance.
Hans closed the panel.
Forty-seven thousand and sixty-five Gold remained.
The two Standard Infantry Squads were already in training. They would finish before morning and join the squad stationed around Trailblazer Two.
Together, the three squads would remain at Site Three as another reserve while the mobile platoons moved south.
Meanwhile, engines turned over outside the warehouse.
Hans left the remaining containers behind and crossed the loading area with Matilda.
The first mobile platoon had already formed near the southern lane. Three Guardian APCs waited in column with their rear ramps closed, while the Vanguard assigned to them remained several meters behind the lead vehicle. Its turret faced toward the road.
The second platoon assembled farther southwest.
Its three APCs were positioned near the route leading toward the commercial service roads. The second Vanguard waited beside them, leaving enough space for both columns to depart without blocking each other.
Engineers moved between the vehicles, checking the route markings and confirming which intersections had already been inspected during the third sweep. Several soldiers loaded empty recovery bags, sealed containers, and additional marking equipment into the remaining storage spaces.
They were not preparing for one short engagement.
They were preparing to hold whatever ground they cleared long enough to search it properly.
Hans opened the Radar map.
The first route extended south from Site Three along the widest road identified by the returning platoon. Scattered hostile markers remained between the surrounding buildings, though none had gathered into anything close to the concentrations east and southeast.
The second route bent through the commercial service roads farther southwest.
It was slower and narrower, but the loading yards along it gave the second platoon several places to stop without leaving their vehicles exposed in the middle of an intersection.
Hans studied the surrounding blocks.
He had lived in Grefort long enough to know what lay farther inside the western commercial districts.
The first few blocks were mostly ordinary stores, offices, restaurants, and service businesses. Useful, but nothing exceptional.
Farther south were the larger shopping areas, jewelry stores, pawnshops, banking branches, corporate offices, and businesses that handled more expensive goods. Some of the commercial centers also had underground storage areas and private vaults.
If they reached those sections intact, the Gold recovered from them could be much greater than the haul inside the warehouse.
Hans pointed toward several areas beyond the routes inspected during the third sweep.
"The richer commercial blocks should be around here. Banks, jewelry businesses, larger shopping centers, and corporate offices."
Matilda looked at the locations.
"Do you know the roads leading to them?"
"Before everything happened, yes. This road continued toward one of the larger commercial centers. There should also be several banks along the wider avenue farther south."
He moved his finger southwest.
"The service roads connect to the rear of several shopping buildings. Delivery entrances, storage areas, and underground parking."
Matilda studied the map for several seconds.
"Then those can become later objectives."
Hans glanced at her.
"Not now?"
"Not directly."
She moved the first platoon’s marker onto the widest southern road.
"If we push toward the valuable buildings immediately, both platoons will have to pass through uncleared intersections while leaving occupied structures behind them. We may reach the target quickly, but the return route will remain unsecured."
Hans looked at the hostile markers scattered between Site Three and the commercial centers.
That was true.
Matilda marked the first regrouping point where both routes remained connected.
"The first platoon will advance along the main road. They clear the intersections, secure the buildings directly beside the route, and establish contact with the survivor groups already identified."
Her finger shifted toward the commercial service roads.
"The second platoon takes this section. They secure the loading yards and every side street connecting back to the main route."
The second platoon leader leaned closer.
"How far do we proceed?"
"Only as far as both forces can still reinforce each other without crossing uncleared ground," Matilda answered. "The main column does not move beyond the next regrouping point until the service route catches up."
She looked toward the first platoon leader.
"The same applies to you. Do not enter a large commercial building simply because it appears valuable. Secure the road around it first, mark every entrance, and wait until the second platoon can support the search."
"Understood."
Hans pointed toward the commercial center farther south.
"Once the first blocks are secure, that should become one of our primary targets."
Matilda nodded.
"We will reach it in stages. Main roads first. Connecting streets second. Valuable buildings after the surrounding area is controlled."
She marked several possible withdrawal routes toward Site Three.
"If either column encounters a blocked road, a large concentration, or a structure that prevents the Vanguards from maneuvering, they stop and report it. We do not force the armor into streets where it cannot turn around."
Her finger returned to the point where both routes divided.
"The Vanguards remain behind the APC columns on the wider sections. Infantry clears the nearby buildings. The APCs provide immediate support and transport. Neither tank follows squads into the smaller service lanes."
"The Scouts assigned to each column move ahead in short bounds," Matilda continued. "They check intersections, parking entrances, upper floors, and any route the APC crews cannot inspect from the road. They do not enter deeper buildings without the infantry close enough to support them."
She marked several taller buildings along both routes.
"One Sniper Overwatch Team will accompany each column. They will establish overwatch from rooftops or upper floors, then move forward once the platoons secure the next section."
Both platoon leaders nodded.
"Understood."
Hans looked at Matilda.
She had taken the places he remembered and turned them into something his army could actually reach.
"Use that plan."
Matilda faced the officers again.
"Prepare both columns for departure tomorrow."
Neither column would leave that day.
The previous sweep had already kept too many soldiers in the field for most of it, and Hans had no reason to begin another operation with tired personnel.
They would move south at first light.
The second Pillbox finished before evening.
Hans deployed it along the eastern Wall and immediately queued the third.
The third completed several hours later. Once it settled into the next marked position, Hans ordered the fourth.
The platoons had already returned to their quarters by then. Only the garrison, Engineers, and vehicle crews remained active around Site Three.
The System alerted Hans again shortly after midnight.
The fourth Pillbox was deployed. The fifth entered construction behind it.
Before dawn, the fifth joined the defensive line.
Hans queued the sixth before the mobile platoons began assembling.
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