Dawn broke over Imus, Cavite, casting a crisp crimson glow across the fortified rooftops of Camella Lessandra Bucandala.
Inside the living room of his family home, Elias stood at the table with Sergeant Mateo Cruz, reviewing the System Vault balance.
"Ding!"
[ System Vault Balance: 200 Red Cores ]
"Supreme Commander, we need more men if we want to clear these thousands of townhouses across Phase 3 Expansion and Phase 5," Cruz reported, looking over the subdivision map.
"Also, while our men have been using blades for quiet room clearances, our primary rifle magazines and sidearm ammo should be restocked from our armory stockpiles."
Elias looked at his System interface options.
He could save up for his rank upgrade to First Lieutenant, or he could summon more troops right now to speed up the clearing operation.
"I'm not upgrading my rank yet," Elias decided, looking at the distant streets. "We need more troops on the ground right now."
Elias opened the Troop Summoning menu, where the System presented two deployment options: Option 1 for materializing troops at a targeted distant location, or Option 2 for direct arrival at the host's location to report for duty.
Elias selected Option 2, choosing a covered garage down the street to materialize the troops discreetly so as not to raise any suspicion among the watching survivors.
He spent one hundred fifty Red Cores to summon three new 12-Man Infantry Squads.
"Ding!"
[ System Notice: Troop Summoning Deployment Mode: Direct Host Arrival (Discreet) ]
[ 150 Red Cores Deducted! ]
[ Summoning: 4th, 5th, and 6th Infantry Squads (36 Soldiers)! ]
[ Remaining Vault Balance: 50 Red Cores ]
Down the quiet side street, inside an open covered garage, thirty-six heavily armed soldiers in full combat gear materialized silently out of civilian view.
Seconds later, the three squad leaders led their men marching out onto Cherry Street in disciplined military formation.
To any surviving neighbors peeking from behind their window blinds, it looked like an official military reinforcement unit that had just arrived on foot to reinforce Elias.
The new soldiers marched up to Elias and snapped sharp, flawless salutes.
"4th, 5th, and 6th Squads reporting for duty, Supreme Commander!" the new squad leaders announced in unison.
Elias looked at the expanding force. With six total squads now created, he needed a formal structure to manage his troops across Muntinlupa and Cavite.
"Cruz, we have six squads under our command now," Elias said. "I'm giving you a verbal field promotion to Acting Company Commander to oversee all our platoons."
"Thank you, Supreme Commander!" Cruz saluted sharply, his eyes glowing with disciplined pride.
"Who do you recommend to lead our platoons?" Elias asked.
"Supreme Commander, for 1st Platoon—which holds 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Squads—I recommend Sergeant Santos," Cruz reported. "He is currently holding Bilibid with 2nd and 3rd Squads."
"For 2nd Platoon—which holds our new 4th, 5th, and 6th Squads—I recommend Sergeant Navarro, the leader of 4th Squad."
"3rd Platoon will be formed once we summon 7th, 8th, and 9th Squads in the future."
"Approved," Elias nodded. "Consider this a verbal field command for now. We'll handle formal promotions later."
"Sergeant Navarro, take command of 2nd Platoon!"
"Yes, Supreme Commander!" Sergeant Navarro saluted.
Elias accessed his Spatial Storage Vault, pulling out heavy wooden crates of 5.56mm NATO ammunition and extra rifle magazines scavenged from the Bilibid armory without spending any Red Cores.
"Distribute these ammo cans and spare magazines to every rifleman," Elias ordered.
"Yes, Supreme Commander!" Company Commander Cruz saluted, directing Navarro and the squad leaders to restock their primary gear.
With 2nd Platoon fully rearmed in Camella Bucandala, Elias organized the tactical sweep.
"4th and 5th Squads of 2nd Platoon, guard the road barricades along the western perimeter! 1st Squad and 6th Squad, come with me into Phase 2 and Phase 3 Expansion!" Elias ordered.
"Yes, Supreme Commander!" Cruz saluted.
The soldiers moved rapidly into the dense townhouse blocks of Phase 2 and Phase 3 Expansion.
Here, narrow streets and closely packed two-story structures had trapped hundreds of turned residents inside living rooms, kitchens, and alleyways.
"Kick it open!" Elias ordered, stepping up to a townhouse entrance.
"Crash!"
The wooden front door caved inward, revealing five turned residents snarling inside a dark hallway!
"Grrr... Raaagh!"
All five zombies lunged forward simultaneously, their rotted claws tearing through the dim air!
Elias surged forward with 3x Peak Human speed and physical strength!
He grabbed the lead zombie by its throat, driving his combat knife upward through its jawline into its brainstem!
"Squiggle... Squelch!"
Without losing momentum, Elias grabbed two more zombies by their throats, slamming their skulls together with bone-shattering force before kicking a fourth zombie through a glass table!
"Crack!"
"Boom! Shatter!"
Before the fifth zombie could bite down, Elias delivered a lightning-fast heel kick to its neck, snapping its spine instantly!
"Thud!"
All five turned residents were exterminated in under four seconds.
Behind him, the newly summoned squad members of 2nd Platoon breached adjacent townhouses along Phase 3 Expansion with terrifying military precision.
"Slice!"
"Crack!"
"Thud!"
Door by door, row by row, the squads executed silent, lethal CQC strikes across living rooms, kitchens, and upstairs master bedrooms.
While clearing the townhouses, they discovered several local mini-grocery stores built directly into the ground floors of the neighborhood homes.
These small neighborhood stores were packed with sacks of rice, canned corned beef, sardines, instant noodles, and bottled water.
"Gather all the canned goods and food supplies," Elias instructed his squad. "We'll distribute them to the families."
The soldiers gathered sacks of rice and boxes of canned goods, storing them safely in Elias's Spatial Vault.
As they cleared block after block, they rescued another forty-five terrified surviving residents hiding in locked back rooms.
By late afternoon, three hundred turned residents lay dead across Phase 2 and Phase 3 Expansion.
"Harvest all Red Cores!" Company Commander Cruz ordered, wiping black blood from his blade.
The riflemen swept through the sector, extracting three hundred glowing crimson crystals into tactical pouches.
Cruz presented the pouches to Elias near the Phase 3 boundary line.
Elias placed his hand over the glowing crystals, absorbing the energy into his System Vault.
"Ding!"
[ System Notice: 300 Red Cores Absorbed! ]
[ Total Red Cores Vault Balance: 350 Red Cores ]
[ Progress to First Lieutenant (1LT): 350 / 500 Red Cores ]
Outside on Cherry Street, Elias materialized the scavenged mini-grocery food supplies onto the street and called for the surviving residents to gather.
He walked over to the seven brave male volunteers who had stepped out yesterday to build the road barricades.
"I want to thank you guys," Elias told the seven volunteers, shaking their hands. "You stepped up when everyone else was scared. That took guts."
"Thank you, Sir Elias," the middle-aged father replied, smiling in relief. "We just wanted to keep our families safe."
Elias turned to face the crowd of over one hundred surviving residents.
"We brought out food for everyone," Elias announced to the crowd. "We have canned corned beef, sardines, instant noodles, and rice from the neighborhood stores."
"Take what your family needs and keep your doors locked."
Weeping mothers, elderly residents, and children gathered around as Cruz and his men distributed the food supplies.
"Thank you so much, Sir Elias! God bless you and your soldiers!" an elderly woman cried, clutching a sack of rice.
Elias smiled softly, watching the families carry food back into their barricaded homes while heavy gunfire and artillery blasts echoed continuously from the main highway outside.