Chapter 137 Prelude to the Second Wave

Chapter 137 Prelude to the Second Wave

As the two-hour bombardment continued, Richard's leadership at Blackwatch Oriental Military Camp remained efficient and focused. He coordinated the artillery strikes with a clear, tactical approach, continuously targeting the densest areas of the zombie horde.

"Excalibur, shift fire to the east. We're hitting them where they're thickest," Richard directed crisply. He kept his gaze fixed on the monitors, tracking the impact of each salvo.

Sara updated the coordinates with precision. "Targets locked in the east quadrant, sir."

Mark promptly communicated the new instructions. "Blackwatch to Excalibur, targets updated to the east. Fire on confirmation."

The response from Excalibur was immediate. "Received, Blackwatch. Engaging now."

The screens in the command center displayed the results of each strike. The zombies were steadily being reduced in number, and Richard's notifications reflected this success.

[You have killed 2,500 zombies! You received 5,000,000 gold coins and 400,000 experience points!]

Richard continued to command the operation with a straightforward, no-nonsense attitude. "Keep it up. We're thinning them. Shift focus to the south now."

Sara promptly adjusted the map. "Coordinates set for the south quadrant, sir."

"Blackwatch to Excalibur, new firing coordinates to the south. Engage at will," Mark relayed the command.

[You have killed another 2,000 zombies! You received 4,000,000 gold coins and 320,000 experience points!]

Richard's system updated once more:

[User: Richard Gonzales

Health: 100/100

Age: 21

Level: 29

Experience points: 4,253,456/4,676,472

Current gold balance: 21,345,000]

"Excalibur, target the western perimeter next. We're going for wider coverage," Richard directed, keeping his instructions clear and concise. He watched the screens closely, evaluating the impact of each artillery strike.

Sara was swift to update the system. "West quadrant coordinates locked in, sir."

"Confirmed, Blackwatch. Shifting to the west," Mark relayed the order, his voice steady over the comm-link.

Excalibur's artillery units adjusted their aim and launched a barrage towards the western front. The command center's screens lit up with the impacts, indicating a successful strike.

[You have killed 1,800 zombies! You received 3,600,000 gold coins and 288,000 experience points!]

Richard's system updated again:

[User: Richard Gonzales

Health: 100/100

Age: 21

Level: 29

Experience points: 4,541,456/4,676,472

Current gold balance: 24,945,000]

Richard calculated the difference of his experience points, figuring out how many zombies he needed to kill in order to level up. He needed 135,016 more experience points to reach level 30.

"Eagle Actual to Excalibur, concentrate fire on the northern front," Richard commanded.

"Negative Eagle Actual, Excalibur has exhausted all our missiles. We need to reload, which will take about two hours," came the reply from Excalibur.

Richard's expression remained composed, though the news was a setback. "Understood, Excalibur. I will go down there and resupply your missiles. You have done your job magnificently well."

"Thank you, Eagle Actual, Excalibur out," Excalibur acknowledged before cutting the communication.

Richard quickly devised a new plan. "Sara, Mark, I'm heading to Excalibur's position to expedite the resupply. Should a mutated zombie appear near our camp, report it to Mark. He is my second-in-command and will take charge of the situation." Richard said firmly.

"Understood, sir," Sara replied, while Mark gave a nod of acknowledgment, ready to step up if necessary.

With his orders in place, Richard swiftly made his way to Excalibur's artillery unit.

At Excalibur's position, Richard worked alongside the crew purchasing missiles from the system and the Excalibur crew working to sort and load them into the launchers. He also bought a surplus making sure that if they ran out of missiles. After about an hour, the Excalibur commanding officer gave a thumbs-up. n-(0veLbIn

"We will continue pounding missiles on those zekes, sir," he said.

"Keep doing that so I can grow rich," Richard replied, chuckling. "Okay, coordinate with Blackwatch for the bombardments. I have to visit someone first."

"Understood sir."

The Excalibur team saluted to Richard, and he returned the gesture before turning around and heading over to his JLTV Oshkosh. Richard was so surprised to visit someone special to him before the wave started. Frankly, they haven't been on comms since that day.

Arriving at the Rise condominiums, before heading up to her unit, Richard made his way to the cafeteria and bought her favorite afternoon snack. Which is called a ginataang bilo-bilo or in English, glutinous rice balls in coco milk.?He knew it was a small gesture, but one that would be appreciated. After purchasing the snack, he made his way to her unit.

Richard navigated through the polished hallways, his military boots echoing slightly on the sleek floors. He reached her unit and rang the doorbell, holding the ginataang bilo-bilo carefully.

After a brief wait, the door opened. It was his little sister, Lisa.

"What do you need?" Lisa said nonchalantly.

Richard felt his heart ache upon seeing her face not being happy to see him. Normally, in the early days of the outbreak, she would be excited and relieved to see him. But now, there was a noticeable change in her demeanor, a distance that hadn't been there before.

"I just wanted to see how you're doing, Lisa. And I brought you your favorite snack," Richard said, trying to break the ice as he handed her the ginataang bilo-bilo.

Lisa's expression softened slightly at the sight of the snack. "Thanks, I guess. Come in," she said, stepping aside to let him enter.

"So how are you doing?" Richard asked but Lisa remained silent, not wanting to answer his question.

Not seeing it worked, Richard changed the topic. "So the noise you have been hearing lately, it's from the HIMARS and the MLRS. We have been bombarding zombies."

"It's okay, it's for the peace and safety of the camp anyway," Sara said.

Richard set the ginataang bilo-bilo down on the table and looked at Lisa, trying to gauge her mood. "Here you go, here's a spoon. Be careful, it's hot."

Lisa took the spoon and started to eat the ginataang bilo-bilo, her mood seemed to improve slightly with each bite. Richard watched her for a moment, glad to see her enjoying the snack.

"I know things have been tough, Lisa," Richard said gently. "But if you keep acting cold towards me whenever we see each other...It's...it's hurting me you know."

Lisa stopped eating and looked up at Richard, her eyes widening, trembling as if regretting that she had been acting like that towards him.

But before she could explain herself, Richard rose to his feet. "Well, I can't stay any longer. Later in the night, things would start to get chaotic, and as the commanding officer, I had to prepare for the survival of this camp. That's all. Let's see each other tomorrow, Lisa."

As Richard left the room, Lisa uttered a word, weakly. "Brother..."