5 Fallen Settlement: Time to Leave!
"Awaiting for orders, Director!"
The Sentinels simultaneously declared after equipping their combat uniforms and swiftly saluted before their Director, Duke Shepherd. On the other hand, Duke coldly glances at them with his icy sapphire-like gaze. The soldiers under him seemed ferocious, which was to be expected.
The Cerberus was obviously an antagonist faction in terms of their aesthetics. And he wasn't bothered by that. Perhaps it might even be practical in their current circumstances. Nonetheless, this wasn't the time for that.
Duke kept gazing at them and started talking about their future steps. Since the Sentinels had already prepared themselves, it was time for the next move. The plan was to rendezvous with the Cerberus Headquarters, which appeared to be pointing southward from the ruined settlement.
"The first thing we need to do is return to our headquarters. It is located in the south, and it might be dangerous to navigate in the wilderness under the cover of the pitch-black. Do any of you have ideas?" He glances at the Sentinel and calmly questions.
The Sentinels didn't respond and thought about the words of their Director. After a short while, one of them stepped forward and lightly bowed to him. The Sentinel then gave a query to the Director.
"Does the Director have any maps of the area? We need to inspect the highways and roads along with the population density of the surroundings. We might even need to check about possible variables, such as roadblocks. Whether natural or artificial."
"Some roads might not even be useable anymore, and we also have the problems of vehicles. Do we have any cars or trucks we could use?" The Sentinel presented good thoughts and questions about their problem.
Duke raised an eyebrow after hearing him and nodded in understanding. The Sentinels were excellent in the application of their newly gained knowledge. They also knew not to entirely rely on it and seek other possibilities. These were positives for the Director.
"Unfortunately, I don't have any maps. But I am familiar with the area. The roads and highways are clear of any vehicles. During the first month, the military constructed an outpost nearby. They cleared the roads, so it should be operational for us to use."
"And regarding the vehicles. I already have something in mind." He furrowed his eyebrows after his response while looking at something in the air. What he was looking at was none other than a digital display. And what kind of display it was? Well, it was a manual of some sort.
―<◉ >―
|| Doomsday Base Building Manual ||
●| To open the contemporary information of the Protocol. Please think of the word [Status]. |
●| The Director must [Construct] Buildings and [Upgrade] the Doomsday Base for the hazard risk's safety improvement and subsequently increase the chances for survival. |
●| Open the [Doomsday Mall] to acquire buildings, units, vehicles, and supplies available for purchase. |
●| Terminate an [Aberrant] to obtain the doomsday mall currency [Source Point!]. |
●| Save a [Survivor] to receive a passive income stream of the doomsday mall currency [Source Point!]. |
●| Complete the [Termination], [Salvation], and [Liberation] missions for random and additional rewards from the Doomsday Base Building Protocol! |
―<◉ >―
The Doomsday Manual appeared out of nowhere when a particular Sentinel gave his thoughts about their circumstances. He was honestly a bit confused regarding what the manual was at first. However, after reading it, he felt there was a solution to their problem.
The solution was under a form known as the Doomsday Mall. According to the manual, it could help him purchase units, buildings, vehicles, and supplies. Obviously, to buy something from it, he needed currency. That currency was called the source point.
Because of the explanation, the recent mission and rewards made sense for the Director.
'I can also construct and upgrade buildings, but that is for later. I must purchase a vehicle first and get out of New Torrington. It would be problematic if more aberrants surround us. The fiery flames attract a lot of attention in the darkness.' He silently thought to himself.
He felt that time was short and he shouldn't waste it. With this in mind, of course, he opened the Doomsday Mall. The manual faded, and what replaced it was another digital display, which should have been the Doomsday Mall.
―<◉ >―
|| Doomsday Mall ||
●| Building(s) |
●| Unit(s) |
●| Vehicle(s) |
●| Supply(s) |
➤| Source Point(s) : 1156 |
―<◉ >―
The Doomsday Mall wasn't to be underestimated. Duke could buy many things from it if he had the source points to justify his expenses. From buildings, units, vehicles, and supplies, these were the main categories. But the most intriguing part was the source points he had.
There were a lot of source points packed inside the Doomsday Mall. He wondered how he managed to get so many. His first thoughts were the salvation mission, the beginner gift pack, and the achievement rewards.
But he remembered how terminating an aberrant could earn him some source points. It was in the manual, and the extra source points in the mall finally made sense to him.
"So the manual wasn't wrong about the importance of terminating aberrants in the gears of the Protocol. They act as the resources I need. However, there are other resources, and these are survivors. But the survivors aren't as straightforward as the aberrant." He quietly mumbled.
Does he only need to collect and save survivors? Or does he need to build a sense of loyalty from them? After all, they were his stream of passive income. And obviously, the Protocol wouldn't make it incredibly easy for him.
Duke shook his head and glanced at the digital display. Not wanting to waste time, he picked the vehicle tab, and the mall display disappeared. What replaced it was another digital display. It should be the digital Vehicle display of the mall.
He hoped that the vehicles within the display wouldn't be too expensive. After all, he only wanted a one-way trip. Especially since the more they navigated through the roads and highways, the riskier it became. Even armored vehicles wouldn't be indestructible in the wilderness of the night.
"Hmm..." Following the digital display was the emergence of one armored vehicle that was none other than the hope of the Director and his Sentinels. Duke stared at the description, and a grin appeared on his face.
The Sentinels around him felt a strange atmosphere emanating from their Director. They wondered if the Director had arrived at his almighty plan. Judging from the terrific smile on their Director's face, the idea must require sacrifice and genocide.
Such things were what the Sentinels would gladly do.
But sadly for the Sentinels, there was no sacrifice or genocide. There was no need to go guns blazing in the darkness. They have a way out of these problematic circumstances. And they must take it no matter what.
➤| HMMWV Vanguard(Military) : A military four-wheeled drive off-road vehicle. The vehicle is moderately armored with reinforced metal plating and level-10 bulletproof glass. Mounted with an armored rotary heavy EM 50. caliber machine gun turret and a strapped-on electronic-guided searchlight. It is equipped with two vehicular grenade launchers and has an operating range of 600 kilometers without refueling. It has a top speed of 150 kilometers per hour. It can be fully loaded with 2 tons of supplies, followed by an operational limit of 6 people. (Cost: 200 Source Points) |
With the vehicle's description and price, he couldn't help but feel that the HMMVW Vanguard was a bargain from the Doomsday Mall. And this was a good thing, of course. Who in the world wouldn't want to buy something for a cheaper price? Under this thought process, he was swift.
| The Director has purchased 2x HMMVW Vanguard(Military) with the price of 400 Source Points! |
Duke bought two HMMVW Vanguard, or Vanguard for short. Since the vehicle can only fit a maximum of 6 people, he needed two for the squad of 10 Sentinels. He also needed to ride the Vanguard since he didn't want to continue staying in the New Torrington.
If he was confident against the aberrant, he would have stayed and buried his fellow compatriots. Nevertheless, time was running out for his group. He needed to prioritize the lives of his Sentinels instead of his emotions.
Duke looked at the Sentinels, quietly staring at him from a distance. They didn't seem to dare to disturb their Director. He opened his mouth and soon closed it. He was somewhat confused as to what he should say to the Sentinels. Were they aware of the Doomsday Mall?
He then shook his head and decided to disclose all of the information except for the knowledge that he bought the vehicles from the Doomsday Mall. He told them about the armored vehicles, and their eyes lit up.
"The Director has two Vanguards?"
"Yes, that is what I said. Is there something wrong with it?" Duke shortly asked, and the Sentinels swiftly shook their heads and denied. To them, Vanguard was a reliable vehicle that had been used by the Cerberus for a long time. It was a brother to them, especially with how versatile it was.
No matter where they went, they would always see a Vanguard or a different model of it.
"Since you have no problems with it, how about we leave this place? Wasting our seconds here is paramount to waiting for a truck to crash at you in the middle of the round." He walked towards the staircase only to see it covered with corpses.
*Cough!* Duke coughed and left the staircase, immediately heading towards the windows. Opening the window, he glances at the Sentinels. "We need to exit through the roof beside the second floor. The seven of you will defend the three transporting our supplies."
He gave his orders and hoped to the roof. Walking along the tiles, he glances at the horizon of darkness and the fiery flames of the desolated settlement. The blaze hadn't calmed down. It kept radiantly burning in the eternal light. Its dangerous warmth was relaxing to Duke.
Turning his gaze to the Sentinels behind him, Duke muttered.
"Let's go."
He jumped from the roof and landed safely on the ground. Luckily, it wasn't that high from the ground. It was because of this the abominations kept climbing to the second floor.
The Sentinels followed the lead of their Director and rapidly went to their defensive position. They pointed their strange-looking m4s forward and scrutinized the surrounding area with the crimson eye lenses of their black gas mask.
Duke took a small step forward and saw two armored vehicles waiting for him in the yard. They were painted in jet black, and they resembled a Humvee. Though a bit different. It was also more armored than the usual Humvee and appeared reliable.
He pointed towards the Vanguard, and the Sentinels nodded in understanding. They slowly navigated toward the two Vanguards while three Sentinels carried the supplies. Duke didn't want to leave a single thing behind. Even the empty military crates were dragged along.
When the Sentinels surrounded the Vanguard in a defensive position. Duke slowly opened the vehicle's doors. But before he could enter the armored car, a digital notification materialized before his sapphire-like eyes. He had a bad feeling from it, and he was sadly correct.
―<◉ >―
| Escape the Fallen Settlement(Salvation Mission) |
●| Because of the fiery flames of the ruined settlement, thousands of stray aberrants have caught on and are charging towards devastation. The Director must escape from the encampment and return to the Cerberus Headquarters alive. The mission reward is [2x H10 Armored Truck]. |
―<◉ >―
Duke coldly furrowed his eyebrows after reading the notification. He didn't know whether or not he was lucky or unlucky. But that wasn't the problem at the moment. They needed to get out of here fast. Thousands of aberrants were a disaster he couldn't face in their current state.
"Sentinels! Enter the Vanguards and immediately get out of the devastated settlement. Head southward and follow the highway. Don't ever stop!" He then entered the Vanguard along with many Sentinels.
Some Sentinels armed the sentry guns atop the Vanguard, while others became quiet. The driver turned the ignition on, and a deep roar escaped from the engines of the armored vehicle. The Vanguard rumbled, and the driver stepped on the pedal.
The Vanguards took off and entered the highway. Meanwhile, in the fields surrounding the settlement were thousands of aberrants charging at the only light in the eternal night. It was a horrific scene.
And Duke, who caught a glimpse of the scene, couldn't help but curse.
"F*ck!*
