The oppressive darkness of the long night finally receded, replaced by the pale, sickly light of a blood-red dawn.
Outside the heavy steel gates of the administration compound, the horrifying reality of the apocalypse was in full display.
The battle had ended yesterday, leaving thousands of dead infected littered across the cracked concrete.
Now, it was time for the harvest.
"Ugh... blurgh!"
A middle-aged man who used to be a respected structural engineer fell to his knees and vomited violently onto the pavement.
His hands were trembling, covered to the wrists in foul-smelling black blood and grayish brain matter.
All around him, the human survivors who had been given food the night before were currently being put to work.
Under the cold, watchful eyes of the armed soldiers and the SAF units, the civilians were forced to smash open the skulls of the dead zombies with crowbars, hammers, and combat knives to extract the marble-sized Red Cores.
"I can't do this... I can't..." a woman sobbed, wiping away tears and smearing dark zombie blood across her own face.
"Just keep digging!" the burly construction foreman yelled, though his own face was deathly pale as he yanked a glowing crystal from a shattered skull.
"You want to eat today?"
"You want them to keep protecting us?"
"Then dig!"
"They told us last night—there is no free lunch!"
Many cursed under their breath as they worked.
They cursed the monsters, they cursed the cruel new world, and they cursed the mysterious Supreme Commander who was forcing them to do this gruesome butcher's work.
But despite their complaints and their vomiting, they kept working.
They knew deep down that if they didn't prove their usefulness, they would be cast out into the hellscape beyond the gates.
***
Meanwhile, on the top floor of the administration building...
Inside the Supreme Commander's office, Elias stood quietly by the massive floor-to-ceiling window, looking down at the civilians harvesting the cores.
His expression was cold and indifferent.
In this cruel era, he had no need for useless people.
If they wanted his protection, they had to bleed and work for it.
"Knock! Knock!"
The heavy oak door sounded.
"Enter," Elias commanded.
"Click..."
The door swung open, and Sergeant Mateo Cruz marched into the room.
Behind him, two heavily armed soldiers carried a pair of dark green military ammunition crates.
"Thud!"
The soldiers placed the heavy crates onto the pristine carpet and immediately stepped back, standing at absolute attention.
Sergeant Cruz snapped a flawless salute.
"Reporting to the Supreme Commander!"
"The civilian workforce and the SAF units have successfully extracted all the Red Cores from the dead infected outside the gates."
"The harvest is complete."
Sergeant Cruz knelt on one knee and unlatched the metal crates.
"Clack! Clack!"
The moment the lids were thrown open, a mesmerizing, pulsing crimson light illuminated the dimly lit office.
The crystals had been washed clean by the survivors before being handed over.
"We have successfully secured exactly 1,182 low-tier Red Cores, Supreme Commander," Cruz reported.
Elias stepped forward and placed his hand directly over the open crates.
"System, absorb all Red Cores," Elias commanded mentally.
"Whoosh!"
A blinding wave of crimson light erupted from the crates, streaming into Elias's palm and absorbing directly into his System Vault!
"Ding!"
[ System Notice: 1,182 Red Cores Absorbed into System Vault! ]
[ Previous Vault Balance: 1,227 Red Cores ]
[ Updated System Vault Balance: 2,409 Red Cores ]
Elias felt a surging wave of thermal energy circulate through his muscles as his System Vault balance reached a staggering 2,409 Red Cores!
Having already promoted to First Lieutenant (1LT), his retina menu flashed with glowing options.
Sergeant Cruz stood up, his expression returning to strict military seriousness.
"Supreme Commander, the harvest is done, but we are facing an immediate logistical hazard," Cruz warned, his tone grave.
"Speak," Elias instructed.
"It is regarding the thousands of harvested corpses piled up outside the main gates," Cruz explained, pointing a gloved finger toward the window.
"The sheer volume of dead bodies is immense."
"In this humid tropical environment, the rotting flesh and black blood will decompose at an accelerated rate."
"If we do not clean up the battlefield immediately, the pungent stench will become a massive biohazard."
"It will breed severe diseases that could easily wipe out our civilian workforce."
"Furthermore, the concentrated smell of rotting blood is highly likely to attract larger, more aggressive swarms of the infected—or even mutated variants—from neighboring sectors."
Elias nodded slowly, his cold eyes scanning the mountain of corpses outside.
"You're right, Cruz. We need heavy armored equipment to clear that biohazard immediately," Elias said firmly.
Elias focused his mind on his newly unlocked First Lieutenant System interface.
He navigated to the [Vehicle & Mechanized Catalog].
"Ding!"
[ FIRST LIEUTENANT VEHICLE CATALOG UNLOCKED ]
[ Tactical Utility Truck (Kia KM-450 4x4): 100 Red Cores per Vehicle ]
[ Armored Personnel Carrier (SIMBA / V-150 4x4 APC): 300 Red Cores per Vehicle ]
[ SPECIAL SUMMON: LIGHT ARMORED INFANTRY PLATOON BUNDLE ]
[ Cost: 1,000 Red Cores ]
[ Platoon Asset Composition: ]
[ - 3x SIMBA Armored Personnel Carriers (APCs) equipped with .50 Cal M2HB Heavy Turret Guns ]
[ - 36x Mechanized Infantry Soldiers (3 Squads of 12 Soldiers + 1 Platoon Leader) ]
[ - Each APC manned by 1 Driver, 1 Heavy Gunner, and 10 Dismounted Infantry ]
Elias's eyes flared with sharp excitement!
A full Mechanized Armored Platoon complete with three heavy APCs for only 1,000 Red Cores!
To avoid raising any supernatural suspicion among the watching survivors and SAF officers, Elias selected Discreet External Deployment Mode.
He targeted an unobserved side avenue behind a concrete overpass three hundred meters outside Bilibid's main outer perimeter.
"System, deploy 1x Light Armored Infantry Platoon at spatial coordinates!" Elias ordered mentally!
"Ding!"
[ System Notice: 1,000 Red Cores Deducted! ]
[ Remaining System Vault Balance: 1,409 Red Cores ]
[ Deployment Mode: Spatial Coordinates (Discreet External) ]
[ Deploying Light Armored Infantry Platoon! ]
Three hundred meters down the outer avenue, hidden behind the concrete overpass, three massive pillars of radiant golden light erupted into the gloom!
"Rumble... BOOM!"
Three heavy, olive-drab SIMBA 4x4 Armored Personnel Carriers (APCs) materialized out of thin air!
Each APC featured heavy steel armor plating, bulletproof glass, thick off-road tires, and a roof-mounted cupola wielding a heavy .50 Cal M2HB machine gun!
Alongside the three armored vehicles, thirty-six mechanized soldiers in digital camouflage fatigues and heavy tactical Kevlar armor stood at strict attention!
"Vroom! Vroom!"
The thunderous roar of three heavy diesel engines vibrated through the asphalt as the APC drivers fired up the armored war machines!
"4th Platoon, mount up and roll to Bilibid Fortress to report to the Supreme Commander!" the Platoon Leader commanded into his comms!
The mechanized soldiers boarded the rear troop bays of the three APCs, and the heavy armored convoy accelerated down the main avenue toward Bilibid's outer gates!
***
Outside the main iron gates of New Bilibid Prison...
Hundreds of exhausted civilians and SAF officers were still extracting Red Cores and dragging bodies when a deep, mechanical hum shook the pavement!
"Rumble... Rumble..."
The heavy vibration echoed down the street, making the blood-stained ground tremble!
"What is that noise?!" a civilian worker gasped, dropping his crowbar in panic!
"Is it another zombie swarm?!" a woman shrieked, clutching her child!
Senior Officer Gabriel Torres and his SAF officers unholstered their sidearms, peering anxiously down the outer avenue!
"Screech... Vroom!"
Emerging from around the concrete overpass, three massive, olive-drab SIMBA Armored Personnel Carriers rolled into view in tight military formation!
The heavy armored hulls gleamed under the sickly morning light, their mounted .50 Cal M2HB machine gun turrets manned by alert gunners!
Rolling behind the three APCs were thirty-six dismounted mechanized soldiers advancing with tactical precision!
Torres's eyes widened to the size of saucers, his jaw hanging completely open in utter shock!
"Armored Personnel Carriers...?! SIMBA APCs?!" an SAF officer gasped, tears of disbelief welling in his eyes!
"It's an armored reinforcement column!" another officer roared in overwhelming joy!
The working civilians froze before bursting into wild, ecstatic cheers and sobbing in profound relief!
"We have armored vehicles! We're saved!" a structural engineer wept, waving his arms in the air!
"God bless the military! God bless Commander Elias!" an elderly woman cried out, dropping to her knees in tears!
To the civilians and SAF officers, this was proof that Supreme Commander Elias had access to heavy armored military divisions capable of crushing any apocalyptic threat!
"Vroom!"
The lead SIMBA APC pulled up outside the main gates, and the 4th Platoon Leader dismounted, walking briskly up to the gates.
He snapped a crisp, thunderous salute toward Elias standing by the top-floor executive window!
"4th Platoon (Mechanized Armored) reporting for duty, Supreme Commander!" the Platoon Leader's voice boomed over the courtyard!
Up on the top floor, Elias looked down at the three heavy APCs and the cheering crowds, a cold, satisfied smile spreading across his face.
"Company Commander Cruz!" Elias commanded into his radio handset.
"Integrate 4th Mechanized Platoon with the DPWH Excavator immediately!"
"Use the excavator to dig mass burial trenches along the outer fields, and use the APCs to push all harvested corpses into the pits!"
"Douse the trenches in fuel and burn the biohazard clean!"
"Yes, Supreme Commander!" Cruz saluted with disciplined pride.
"1st, 2nd, and 4th Platoons, move out!" Cruz barked into his comms!
"Vroom!"
The heavy diesel engines of the SIMBA APCs roared, their armored steel bumpers plowing forward to push the thousands of rotting corpses into the burial trenches as Bilibid Fortress was secured!