30 Richard's Idea

The survivors that Richard rescued also started jumping out from the military truck and they were told to line up in a row.

There was still confusion and apprehension on their faces, but as the reality of them being in a safe place sank in, they started to grow comfortable.

"Get all the supplies that we scavenge to the seventh floor and help the logistics team," Richard ordered as he approached the survivors.

"Copy that sir," Graves acknowledged the order with a nod of his head and beckoned his men with a swirl of the finger in the air.

The military trucks carrying the supplies started their engines again and began to head up to the seventh floor.

Richard then faced the survivors, consisting mostly of mall clerks and the rest being the customers. He glanced at them as he pondered about what was going to happen in the future.

His goal was to rescue as many survivors as he could, which was beneficial to him as he was getting rewarded for doing so. But, there's a danger of simply taking survivors. One being one of them could be infected and hiding their bite marks. It happened a lot in zombie apocalypse movies, series, anime, manga, and other literary media.

Richard removed his helmet and lowered his mask, revealing his face to the survivors.

"Everyone, let me introduce myself. I'm Richard Gonzales, the CEO of Blackwatch, which is a private military company. We are not affiliated with any national government, we are acting on our own. This means if you want to have a peaceful and secure life in this camp, you'll have to follow our orders. First off, the men and the women will be separated for processing. There you'd be asked to take your clothes off for physical inspection."

One of the survivors, a middle-aged woman with disheveled hair and worry etched across her face, stepped forward hesitantly. Her voice quivered as she spoke, addressing Richard directly.

"Sir, I understand the need for security, but... do we really have to go through all of that? It feels... degrading."

"We can't be too careful, especially on this day, ma'am. If you don't want to go through that process, then I'm afraid we'll have to kick you out."

"No… anything but that..." the middle-aged woman's voice trembled as she spoke, her fear outweighing her pride. She had seen enough of the horrors outside to know that being cast back into that world was not an option she was willing to consider.

Richard's expression softened as he regarded her. He understood that these were desperate times, and he didn't want to be harsh, but the safety of the entire camp was paramount.

"Don't worry, the ones who will be inspecting you won't be of the opposite gender," Richard reassured the woman, hoping to alleviate some of her anxiety. "And once you pass the physical inspection test, you will be given a room in which you can stay. The rooms are limited so some of you might have to share. Also, this camp has laws which you will be oriented with."

"Additionally," Richard continued, "we have medical professionals on hand to tend to any injuries or illnesses you may have. And if anyone has specialized skills or knowledge that can benefit our camp, we encourage you to share them. We are building a self-sufficient and resilient community here, and your contributions will be valued. That's it, that would be all."

With that, Richard signaled to his team to continue with the separation process, and the survivors began to follow the protocol.

Richard entered the lobby of Building A and the cold air of the air-conditioner hit him like a refreshing breeze. The lobby was a stark contrast to the chaos outside, with its clean floors and neatly arranged furniture. Though three days ago it was filled with zombies.

So far, electricity and water supplies haven't been cut off. In a zombie apocalypse, water and electrical services would go down in a matter of days, but for now, they were fortunate to have access to these basic necessities, something that they'd have to take advantage of.

He entered the elevator and went up to the thirty-second floor.

When the elevator doors slid open, he saw Mark standing in the corridor. He performed a salute and Richard gestured in return.

"Welcome back sir, How was the field?" Mark asked.

Richard walked past him and Mark trailed him toward the office. As they walked, Richard recounted their recent mission.

"As you have observed it was a failure. We weren't able to get all the supplies in Point Alpha and Point Bravo. There were too many zombies and even though we have those military hardware, we are still outgunned."

"But sir, at least you have gained a lot from it right?"

"Yeah, my levels jumped, I received eight-digit gold coins, and I can unlock skills that I haven't checked yet," Richard said. "But before that, let's review our operation."

Entering the office, Mark closed the door behind and watched as Richard took his seat behind the desk, his expression grave.

Richard leaned back in his chair and began. "One thing I realize is that we are doing this wrong. Instead of going there, taking supplies and stuff, and transporting them out, why not take over the shopping mall instead?"

Mark tilted his head to the side, confused. "But isn't it the same, sir? We still have to transport those supplies out from the mall."

"No, it's different," Richard corrected. "What I mean is... how should I put this... oh, we're going to clear this city of zombies, grid by grid, with our camp at its center. Each grid will encompass one square kilometer. To achieve this, I'm thinking that we'll lure all the zombies out of the grid using noise. Once that's done, we'll set up barricades, eliminate any remaining zombies within the grid, and establish it as a secure base for us. So we don't have to worry about zombie hordes coming down at us while we go shopping."

"You mean that tactic that we employed in Phase 1," Mark said, understanding Richard's plan.

"That's it, but on a larger scale," Richard said. "One square kilometer will encompass…let me get my tablet."

Richard pulled a tablet out and opened the map. "One square kilometer with this condominium at its center will encompass a lot of facilities. There are hospitals, convenience stores, shopping malls commercial and residential buildings, basically everything we need to survive."

"It's a smart plan, sir."

Richard continued, "Exactly. We've been approaching this the wrong way. Instead of constantly scavenging and transporting, we'll establish secure zones within the city. We fortify them, make them self-sustaining, and expand as we clear more areas. It's a long-term strategy, but it's more sustainable and safer in the long run."

"But to pull that off, sir, we are going to need a lot of manpower. Something that we don't have right now…unless."

"Unless I use my system," Richard grinned. "Which serves as another problem. We don't have any space for summoning more military hardware. For example, we only have three helipads, which means our aircraft capacity is just three, and they must be helicopters. Second, the garage is not big enough to accommodate future military vehicles. I can't utilize my abilities with a limited space. We need to expand."

"We are in a pickle, sir," Mark said.

"I couldn't agree more. So, Mark, your job today is to come up with a plan on how we will implement this grid operation. You have two days."

"Yes sir!"