Inside the Military Command Center, compound interior...
"General Cross! We’re back!" Colonel Mitchell strode in with Rambo and another officer close behind, their boots clicking against the floor as they moved quickly into the room.
"Well done. Did you secure the target?" General Cross asked, expression sharp but hopeful.
"Took it down!" Colonel Mitchell’s voice carried a note of excitent. "We deployed 20,000 active-duty troops and 40,000 reserve forces—a total of 60,000 troops. This op used hot weapons only for suppression and ergencies. The majority of combat was hand-to-hand. We eliminated over 80,000 zombies! That includes one Tier 8, four Tier 7s, and more than three hundred Tier 6s!"
"Excellent." General Cross gave a rare nod of genuine satisfaction. "Looks like our front-line power’s finally reaching maturity. I was concerned our supply lines couldn’t sustain sustained combat, but clearly I was wrong. Save the remaining ammo for defensive use. I’ll have Command update the engagent protocols—hot weapons will no longer be required during standard sweep ops."
"Right. Firearms still work well against zombies under Tier 6, but they barely faze anything above that level. Our active-duty troops are sitting at peak Tier 5 minimum now. Most of the reserve units have just broken through to Tier 5—but they’re more than capable of handling Tier 5-level zombies. No point in lugging around heavy firepower anymore."
"Good. Next step, push all reserve forces to Tier 5 as soon as possible. Active-duty squads should prioritize hitting Tier 6."
"Yes, sir!"
"Tier 6 zombies are getting more and more common," General Cross said, folding his arms in thought. "At this rate, we might have the entire front line at Tier 6 within a month. Once soldiers reach Tier 6, they’re finally strong enough to grow on their own. They can pursue individual advancent without so much support." He exhaled slowly. "That’ll take a huge burden off us."
"We’ll make it happen," Colonel Mitchell promised.
"Oh—and what about the Tier 8 crystal core? Should we let Rambo absorb it, or use it to push a strong Tier 7 Enhanced up to Tier 8?"
"Let’s build another Tier 8 Enhanced," General Cross decided. "One core won’t give Rambo much of a boost. We’ll get a bigger return by getting soone new to Tier 8."
"Now that the Tier 9 zombie’s been taken care of, it’s the perfect ti to level up. If we can field more Tier 8 Enhanced, we’ll have nothing to fear the next ti we run into a Tier 9."
"Yes, sir."
"Oh—what’s the status of Fallen Star Squad? Weren’t they deployed to Lakeside Residential District to deal with a Tier 8?"
"No idea," General Cross said, shaking his head. "I thought about sending observers, but didn’t want them getting spotted. Last thing I need is a misunderstanding with that crew."
"Still... there were over 80,000 zombies in that area, and they only sent eight people. I honestly have no idea how they could possibly take on that many," Colonel Mitchell muttered, shaking his head in disbelief.
"Never underestimate them," Cross said seriously. "Did you forget how they dropped that Tier 9 zombie like it was nothing?"
"...Right."
Just then, a soldier jogged up to the entrance of the command center and saluted. "General Cross! One of the Fallen Star Squad mbers—Sean—says he wants to speak with you."
"A mber of Fallen Star Squad?" Cross and Mitchell exchanged a glance, eyebrows raised.
They shouldn’t even be back yet. Shouldn’t they still be neck-deep in undead?
"You think... they’re in trouble?" Mitchell offered cautiously. "Maybe here to ask for backup?"
"Could be. Or sothing else entirely." Cross stood and nodded at the soldier. "Let him in."
A few seconds later, Sean stepped into the room and walked up to them in a relaxed, calm posture.
"General Cross."
"No need to be formal," the general said. "I thought you were in the middle of exterminating zombies over in Lakeside Residential. What brings you back?"
"Oh, that’s all handled," Sean replied. "But we kinda overdid it this ti. Ended up killing a bit too much. We can’t scoop up all the crystal cores ourselves. Our captain asked to check if you’d be willing to send so people to help collect—he’s offering 20% of whatever they dig up."
For a solid few seconds, the room went dead silent.
Totally handled? Kinda overdid it? Couldn’t collect all the crystal cores?
What the hell did he just say?
"Um... can I ask exactly how many you killed?" General Cross asked carefully.
"About sixty thousand, give or take," Sean answered plainly.
"SIXTY THOUSAND?!"
Everyone in the room stiffened, eyes wide.
It had only been—what? Two, three hours max since they mobilized?
There were only eight of them.
Eight people. Two hours. Sixty thousand zombies.
Were these guys even human anymore?
"You guys don’t want to help?" Sean raised an eyebrow. "If not, I’ll go ask a different squad."
With that, he turned on his heel, ready to leave.
"No, no—we’re in!" General Cross jumped in imdiately, voice quick and firm. "I’ll have boots on the ground right away!"
"Alright then. I’ll head back first. Make sure your people don’t take too long!" Sean tossed back over his shoulder before vanishing down the hallway, casual as ever.
Silence hung in the room for a beat longer. The others still hadn’t quite caught up to what just happened.
"...General Cross," Colonel Mitchell muttered, voice a little dazed. "Is that even possible?"
"As hard as it is to believe, if we’re talking about them..." Cross trailed off, then fird his tone. "It’s not impossible. Get our people moving. Now."
"On it!" Mitchell snapped into gear and quickly exited the command center.
Lakeside Residential District
It took Ethan and his team just over twenty minutes to dig out all the Tier 6 and higher crystal cores from the corpses.
The final haul: three Tier 7 cores and a little over two hundred Tier 6 cores.
Ethan handed all three Tier 7 cores—and the one Tier 8 core—to Emily.
She’d already consud six Tier 7 cores the day before, so these three pushed her right to the peak of Tier 7. And with that Tier 8 core...
That was it.
From Tier 6 yesterday... to Tier 8 today.
If anyone else saw how fast she’d advanced, their jaw would snap clean off from shock.
Hell, even Emily herself felt dazed—like she was dreaming. A little floaty, like the world hadn’t quite processed it either.
She’d hit a level the Silverfox Squad’s old captain could barely daydream about.
"T-thank you, Captain!" she said quickly, still holding the glowing core in stunned hands.
"No need to get all formal," Ethan chuckled. "In Fallen Star Squad, Tier 8’s just getting started."
Then his tone softened. "Still... you surprised a bit. You did better than I expected today. That said, there’s still room to grow."
Emily had fought the entire ti. She wasn’t as fast or aggressive as the others, but she didn’t back down once. Not for a second.
For Ethan, who thought Emily’s soft temperant would be a problem, that counted for a lot.
He’d assud she’d need a long breaking-in period. Turns out? She wasn’t as fragile as he thought.
After seeing her parents die with her own eyes, Emily had been quietly pushing herself nonstop. Back in Silverfox Squad, healing might’ve been her main job, but she never missed a chance to get her hands dirty. Every zombie she could kill, she did.
Compared to the elite monsters in Fallen Star Squad, sure—she still had a ways to go.
But she wasn’t weak.
And now, with that core still warm in her chest, she felt that gritty fire burning brighter.
"I’ll work hard, Captain," she said, eyes clear and full of resolve.
"We’re all counting on you."
Right then, Sean ca jogging back.
"So?" Ethan asked. "They buying in?"
"Yep. They’re on their way now—should hit the site in ten minutes or so."
"Good. Let’s move out and find a new Tier 8, then."
"Wait—now? We aren’t gonna stay and keep watch?" Sean looked confused.
"What’s the point of babysitting a pile of dead zombies? Waste of ti." Ethan waved it off. "That’s sixty thousand corpses, all Tier 5. We’ll just make them cough up forty-eight thousand cores when they’re done. What, you think they’re gonna stiff us?"
"...Yeah, good point. Alright, let’s go."
And just like that, the eight of them packed up and headed off to hunt their next Tier 8.
Roughly ten minutes later, Colonel Mitchell arrived with several thousand soldiers in tow.
He hadn’t delegated this mission—he ca himself.
Deep down, he still didn’t quite believe it.
That eight people could wipe out sixty thousand zombies in a couple of hours? Absurd.
But as soon as he saw the field—miles of shredded, rotting, unmoving corpses—he believed.
They actually did it.
By themselves.
In two goddamn hours.
"What the hell are these monsters...?" Mitchell muttered under his breath.
"Colonel Mitchell, we’ve searched the area," a soldier reported, jogging up. "No sign of their squad. Looks like they already left."
"They just bailed?"
"Guess so. Aren’t they worried we’ll pocket so cores and under-report?"
"You gonna do that?"
"...N-no, sir."
"Exactly. Now hurry up and start digging!"
"Yes, sir!"
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