43: Chapter 43 Iron Will

At six in the morning, the air in the underground garage of the military camp in the eastern suburbs of Beiling City was filled with the smell of a mixture of concrete dust and engine oil.

Commander Lin Dong stood in front of the newly completed Barracks, watching five Conscripts lined up in a row.

The Barracks looked like a miniature military fortress, with faint energy patterns flowing on its silver-gray alloy walls. At the top hung a flag he had never seen before—on a deep red background, beside the golden hammer and sickle pattern, there was an additional ring of binary code symbolizing digitization.

This was the symbol of the Red Alert Corps system and the totem of his future power.

The five Conscripts stood straight, their equipment gleaming with a cold light under the dim garage lights.

Their faces were different; some were middle-aged men in their thirties, others were young men in their twenties, but their eyes all held the same thing—absolute obedience and a kind of mechanical calmness that Commander Lin Dong could not describe.

"Report your numbers." Commander Lin Dong said.

"One!" The first Conscript stepped forward, his voice loud and clear. A number was attached to the left chest of his bulletproof vest: R-001.

"Two!"

"Three!"

"Four!"

"Five!"

The last Conscript to report was the shortest, but the ak-47 assault rifle on his shoulder was the most polished, with the number R-005.

Commander Lin Dong opened his personal panel and pulled up the detailed data for the five of them:

[Conscript R-001]

Level: Lv.3

HP: 300/300

Strength: 11 | Agility: 9 | Spirit: 8 | Constitution: 12

Equipment: ak-47 assault rifle (150 rounds of ammunition), Type 67 grenade × 4, bulletproof vest (Level III), steel helmet

Skill: Basic Infantry Tactics Lv.2, Precision Shooting Lv.1

Loyalty: 100% (System locked)

The data for the five was almost identical, with only minor individual differences. R-005 had slightly lower strength, but his agility reached 11 points. Commander Lin Dong calculated quickly in his mind: the total output capacity of the five Conscripts could theoretically handle up to 50 F-Class Zombies, provided there was sufficient ammunition and favorable terrain.

"At ease." Commander Lin Dong walked to the side of the formation. "Do you know who you are?"

The eyes of the five moved with him, perfectly synchronized.

R-001 spoke: "We are the first batch of Conscripts of the Red Alert Corps, numbered R-001 to R-005. Commander, please give your instructions."

There was no emotional fluctuation in his voice, like a pre-recorded message.

Commander Lin Dong frowned. He had seen too many soldiers—the greenness of a New recruit, the sharp spirit of a Reconnaissance Company, the fear and courage on the battlefield—but these five people in front of him were more like five machines wearing human skin.

"Do you know what you used to do?" Commander Lin Dong stared into R-001's eyes.

R-001 blinked, showing a hesitant expression for the first time. He looked down at his hands, then raised his head: "Report Commander, in the memory loaded by the system, I am a veteran who retired in 2018 and worked at a construction site. But..."

"But what?"

"But those memories are very blurry, like watching someone else's movie." For the first time, there was a fluctuation in R-001's tone, although it was very slight, "I know what I should remember, but in reality, I can't remember anything."

Commander Lin Dong fell silent.

Was the price of the system's summoning to erase a person's entire real past? Or were these Conscripts not "people" at all, but just collections of data with human forms?

There was no answer to this question for the time being.

Footsteps came from the other end of the garage. Communications Soldier Li Na walked over, holding her shoulder. Her face was still pale, but she could walk. Last night, she was hit by a stray bullet while covering the base vehicle and lost over 1500 milliliters of blood. If R-001's blood type hadn't matched, she would be a corpse by now.

"Company Commander Lin, are these... the reinforcements you mentioned?" Li Na looked at the five Conscripts, her eyes complex.

During last night's battle, she had seen with her own eyes that after the base vehicle was fully deployed, Commander Lin Dong walked into the silver-white building that appeared out of thin air and brought these five people out. Their equipment, their temperament, their fighting style that didn't belong to this era—everything was beyond her comprehension.

"Yes." Commander Lin Dong did not explain too much. The existence of the Red Alert Corps system was too shocking; he needed time to let the survivors slowly accept it.

Li Na walked up to R-001 and stared at his face for a full ten seconds.

"Thank you," she said, "for the blood you donated."

R-001 stood at attention: "It is my duty."

Li Na's lips moved as if she wanted to say something, but in the end, she just nodded. She turned to look at Commander Lin Dong: "Company Commander Lin, that signal flare in the east..."

"I know." Commander Lin Dong interrupted her, "Once the defense here is stable, I will go to scout."

He looked up at the garage vent; it was already broad daylight outside. On the third day of the apocalypse, those who survived were either fleeing or waiting for death in despair. And the three long and two short military signals in the east meant that someone was still fighting.

At nine in the morning, Commander Lin Dong gathered everyone for the first operational meeting.

Attendees: Commander Lin Dong himself, Li Na, R-001, and two high school students rescued from the road yesterday—Zhang Ming and Zhou Xiaoyu. The two children huddled in the corner, their eyes terrified and blank, clearly not having recovered from the shock of the apocalypse.

A crude map was drawn with chalk in the center of the garage. Commander Lin Dong squatted on the ground, pointing to several key points with a twig:

"We are here now, in the underground garage of the former 342nd Regiment military camp in the eastern suburbs of Beiling City. Three kilometers to the west is the main city road, where the zombie density is highest. To the south is a residential area; it is estimated that a large number of survivors are trapped there, but that also means a large number of zombies. To the north is the industrial park, with many factories and abundant resources. To the east—"

His twig tapped on the edge of the map: "Nine kilometers to the east, there is a small Iron Mine. According to system detection, the ore there is enough for our initial use. But more importantly, the direction of the signal flare is near the Iron Mine."

Li Na raised her hand: "Could that signal flare... be a trap?"

"It's possible." Commander Lin Dong nodded, "But on the third day of the apocalypse, those with the ability and resources to launch military signal flares are highly likely to be regular troops. We need people, we need weapons, and we need to know what is happening outside."

R-001 spoke: "Commander, I suggest establishing a complete defense system first before conducting reconnaissance. Our current force cannot handle fighting on two fronts."

Commander Lin Dong glanced at him. The tactical proficiency of the Conscripts was indeed excellent; this suggestion was very reasonable.

"Go on."

R-001 pointed to the garage entrance and exit: "The garage has only one vehicle entrance and exit, and two pedestrian passages. As long as we defend these three points, we can theoretically withstand a large number of zombies. But the problem is—"

"Resources." Li Na took over, "I just took inventory of all the supplies."

She took out a notebook, which was densely recorded with data. This was her professional habit as a Communications Soldier.

"Current supplies: 5 type 95 rifle, 347 rounds of ammunition. 4 grenades, 3 were used in yesterday's battle. 8.7 tons of gasoline, 12 tons of diesel, all at the gas station, not yet transported back. Food—the convenience store shelves are enough for 10 people for half a month. Medicine, almost none."

She looked up, her expression grave: "The most critical thing is water. The garage's water storage tank only has enough for three days, and there's no way to purify it."

Commander Lin Dong calculated in silence.

347 rounds of ammunition, if they encountered a horde of zombies on the scale of yesterday's, they wouldn't even last ten minutes. Gasoline and diesel were precious strategic resources, but transportation was a big problem. As for water—

"Is there any water source nearby?" he asked.

Zhang Ming raised his hand timidly: "Company Commander Lin... I know a place."

Commander Lin Dong looked at him. The seventeen or eighteen-year-old boy still had childishness on his face, but his eyes were much more stable than when he was rescued yesterday.

"Speak."

"My parents work in the industrial park. When I used to go find them, I saw a water plant there. The kind with bottled water." Zhang Ming swallowed hard, "If... if the water plant hasn't been destroyed, there should be a lot of stock inside."

Industrial park, five kilometers to the north.

Commander Lin Dong marked it on the map. The water plant was a good target, but equally dangerous. The industrial park had many workers during the day, which meant there were also many zombies.

"This matter needs reconnaissance." He looked at R-002 to R-005, "You four, go to the outskirts of the industrial park this afternoon to scout. Do not engage, just get data."

The four Conscripts stood at attention: "Yes!"

R-001 asked: "What about me?"

Commander Lin Dong stood up and patted the dust off his knees: "You come with me to the gas station to transport the fuel back. By the way, see if we can find more supplies."

Li Na stood up: "What about me?"

"You stay at the base and watch the two children." Commander Lin Dong glanced at the bandage on her shoulder, "By the way, get familiar with the system panel—your panel should have some changes, right?"

Li Na was stunned.

She had indeed found her panel strange after the blood transfusion last night; her [Spirit] attribute had risen from 6 to 9 points, and there was an extra [???] talent slot. But she hadn't had time to tell Commander Lin Dong yet.

"How did you know?"

Commander Lin Dong didn't answer, just pointed to his own eyes: "I can see it."

This was one of the system's abilities—Commander authority, which allowed him to see part of the data of his own units.

He had noticed Li Na's abnormality last night.

Two in the afternoon, the sun was high.

Commander Lin Dong drove the military humvee, with R-001 in the passenger seat, returning to the gas station along the route of yesterday's retreat. The road was full of abandoned vehicles and scattered luggage, and occasionally one could see incomplete corpses, emitting a nauseating smell under the scorching sun of June.

R-001 held the ak-47 assault rifle, scanning outside the window with alert eyes.

"Commander," he suddenly spoke, "there is a horde of zombies at the intersection ahead."

Commander Lin Dong slowed the vehicle down.

Through the windshield, he saw at least thirty or forty zombies wandering at the intersection about two hundred meters away.

Their clothes were tattered; some were still wearing work uniforms, others pajamas, and there was even one wearing a wedding dress—that dress had once been white, but now it was stained a dark, bloody red by gore and mud.

The panel data displayed:

【 F-Class Zombie x 38 】

HP Range: 80-120

Threat Level: Low

Recommended Action: Detour or Eliminate

Commander Lin Dong glanced at the rearview mirror.

The road he came from was clear, and to the right was a small alley, just wide enough for the humvee to pass through.

"Detour." He made his decision.

Ammunition was too precious to waste on irrelevant zombies.

The humvee slowly turned into the alley, its tires crushing scattered trash and making a faint rustling sound.

The zombies didn't react—their auditory range was 50 meters and their visual range was only 20 meters; as long as he didn't make too much noise, he wouldn't be discovered.

They had arrived at the gas station.

Yesterday, they had fought a brilliant annihilation battle against a horde of corpses here, but now it seemed the battlefield hadn't been cleaned up yet.

In the open space of the gas station, five zombie corpses lay scattered about, all with bullet holes in their heads.

The oil tanker was still parked in its original spot, but the steel plate on its side had been deformed by an explosion, and shell casings and grenade fragments were scattered on the ground.

R-001 pushed open the car door and stepped out, holding its gun in a defensive posture.

Commander Lin Dong walked over to the oil tanker and checked the fuel pipe—it was intact, but there was very little fuel left in the tank.

"That battle yesterday consumed at least one-third of the gasoline." He estimated, "There's at most five tons left."

Five tons of gasoline sounded like a lot, but the Red Alert Corps power plant consumed 20 liters per hour.

Added to the future vehicles and machinery, this amount of fuel wouldn't last long.

The roller shutter of the convenience store was half-open, and it was a mess inside.

Shelves had been pushed over, and food was scattered everywhere; evidently, someone else had been here after them.

Commander Lin Dong crouched down to examine the ground.

There was a trail of fresh footprints in the dust—at least three people, two of them adults, and one possibly a child.

The footprints led to the warehouse behind the convenience store.

R-001's gun barrel immediately pointed at the warehouse door.

Commander Lin Dong made a gesture: stay alert, I'm going in.

He drew his type 92 pistol from his waist and slowly pushed open the warehouse door.

It was dark inside, with only a little light filtering in through a small window.

The shelves were piled with bottled water and canned goods, but what caught Commander Lin Dong's attention most was the figure curled up in the corner.

Three people.

A woman in her thirties was holding a five or six-year-old girl tightly.

There was also a teenage boy standing in front of them, gripping an iron pipe, staring at Commander Lin Dong with a deathly pale face.

"Don't... don't come over!" The boy's voice was trembling, but his grip on the iron pipe was steady.

Commander Lin Dong didn't lower his gun, but the barrel dipped slightly.

He scanned the state of the three people: the woman had a scratch on her arm that had already started turning black; the little girl was terrified but healthy; the boy was extremely tense and on the verge of a breakdown.

"Who are you?" Commander Lin Dong asked.

"We are... from the neighborhood nearby," the boy said, "My mom was bitten, and we need medicine, we need food..."

Commander Lin Dong looked at the woman's arm.

That scratch was at least six hours old, and the blackened veins were slowly extending toward her shoulder.

This was a sign of zombification; in at most two hours, she would turn into a zombie.

"Your mother is beyond saving." Commander Lin Dong's tone was calm to the point of coldness, "You should know that."

The boy's eyes reddened, but he gritted his teeth and didn't cry: "I know. But this is my mom. I can't... I can't leave her behind."

The woman opened her eyes weakly and looked at Commander Lin Dong.

Her eyes still held a trace of humanity, but the edges of her pupils were already starting to turn the grayish-white color characteristic of zombies.

"Please..." Her voice was hoarse and weak, "Take my son and daughter away. They are still young... I beg you..."

Commander Lin Dong was silent for three seconds.

"R-001." He called out.

The Conscript appeared at the door.

"Take the two children away. Give them water and food."

R-001 didn't hesitate at all and strode toward the two children.

The boy instinctively raised the iron pipe, but R-001 just gently brushed aside his weapon, then picked up both children, one in each arm, and walked out.

"No! Let me go! Mom!"

The boy's crying and shouting gradually faded into the distance.

Commander Lin Dong stood in place, watching the mother.

The woman forced a smile, and the last tear rolled from her eye: "Thank you..."

"Any last words?"

"No... none. Tell them... Mom loves them..."

Commander Lin Dong nodded and raised his pistol.

The gunshot sounded exceptionally dull inside the warehouse.

When he walked out of the warehouse, R-001 had already placed the two children in the back seat of the humvee.

The boy was biting his lip hard, staring at Commander Lin Dong without a word.

The little girl didn't know what had happened and was just sobbing quietly.

Commander Lin Dong glanced at them but said nothing.

In the apocalypse, such scenes played out every day.

He couldn't save everyone; the most he could do was make death less painful.

On the way back to the base, the car was silent.

R-001 drove the humvee with focus, its expression unchanging.

Commander Lin Dong sat in the passenger seat, watching the ruins fly past outside the window.

"Commander." R-001 spoke suddenly.

"Speak."

"That mother just now, you gave her a dignified death." R-001's tone remained calm, but the content surprised Commander Lin Dong, "In my memories—if those memories are real—I have seen many similar scenes on the battlefield. But back then, I didn't have the right to choose."

Commander Lin Dong turned his head to look at it.

"What are you trying to say?"

R-001 was silent for a few seconds: "I want to say that perhaps those memories aren't just data. Perhaps we Conscripts aren't just machines."

Commander Lin Dong did not answer.

He opened the panel and pulled up R-001's detailed data.

Loyalty was still 100%, but at the very bottom, there was a line of characters that hadn't been there before:

【 Emotion Simulation Depth: 12% | Awakening Tendency: Low 】

It turned out the system hadn't just created cold machines, but had implanted a certain degree of humanity into the summoned soldiers.

This 12% emotion simulation allowed R-001 to think, to be confused, and to question "who am I."

Was this a good thing or a bad thing?

Commander Lin Dong didn't know.

But he knew that if one day this 12% became 100%, would R-001 still be as absolutely obedient as it was now?

By the time the humvee drove into the garage, it was already dusk.

R-002 through R-005 had returned a step earlier than them.

The four of them stood in front of the Barracks, covered in dust and black bloodstains.

R-002 stepped forward to report: "Commander, the reconnaissance of the industrial park is complete. The water plant coordinates have been marked, about 5.3 kilometers from the base. The surrounding zombie density is moderate, estimated at about 200-300. But—"

"But what?"

R-002's panel displayed data in his eyes; HP showed 287/300, 13 points less than when they departed.

"We encountered a Mutant during the reconnaissance. Lv.5, speed type. We engaged for about two minutes and managed to shake it off, but one Conscript was slightly injured." R-002 pointed to R-004, who had a deep scratch on his arm.

Commander Lin Dong walked over to check the wound.

The scratch was deep, but fortunately, it hadn't damaged any major blood vessels.

He looked into R-004's eyes—the pupils were still a normal black, with no signs of zombification.

Could Conscripts not be infected? Or did infection take time?

"Go get some rest, we'll see how it goes tomorrow," Commander Lin Dong said.

R-004 stood at attention: "Yes!"

Li Na walked out of the monitoring room, her complexion better than it had been in the morning.

She froze for a moment when she saw the two children behind Commander Lin Dong.

"This is..."

"Saved them on the way," Commander Lin Dong said briefly, then turned to everyone, "Strengthen the guard tonight. R-001, you are responsible for the first watch. Everyone else, get some rest; we head to the water plant first thing tomorrow morning."

Everyone dispersed.

Li Na led the two children to the temporary tent, giving them water and compressed biscuits.

Commander Lin Dong stood at the entrance of the garage, watching the sky gradually darken outside.

In the distance, on the eastern horizon, those three long and two short signal flares rose once again.

This time, the interval was shorter than yesterday.

Commander Lin Dong frowned.

The person firing the signal flares might not hold out much longer.

Just as he was about to turn back, the panel suddenly popped up a notification:

【 Warning: Abnormal energy fluctuation detected. Source direction—12° East by South, distance approximately 9.5 kilometers, highly overlapping with the signal flare position. 】

【 Energy level: Evaluating... 】

【 Evaluation complete: This energy fluctuation has a 78% similarity to the energy signature of a Red Alert base vehicle when deploying. 】

【 Recommendation: Prioritize reconnaissance. 】

Commander Lin Dong's fingers tightened slightly.

12° East by South, 9.5 kilometers—that was the direction of the Iron Mine, and also the direction of the signal flares.

What was there? Another base vehicle? Or another system owner?

Night had completely fallen, and the world outside the garage had plunged into darkness and deathly silence.

Only the occasional roar of zombies from the distance reminded everyone that this was not a nightmare, but reality.

Commander Lin Dong stood in the darkness for a long time.

He thought of the look in that mother's eyes before she died, remembered R-001's words, "Perhaps we aren't just machines," and recalled the 78% energy similarity on the panel.

On the third day of the apocalypse, he had a base, soldiers, and hope for survival.

But more mysteries, just like the night, were slowly enveloping him.

【 End of Chapter 】