RTS System in the Apocalypse-Chapter 55: Aftermath: Upheaval

The small clinic in the center of the urban fringe bustled with activity. Soldiers dragged citizens inside, many who were on the verge of nausea.

Male medics carried unconscious patients with their stretchers. A few had already turned purplish, their breathing becoming slow and light.

A few residents cried in pain, gritting their teeth while crunching their stomach. The beds wetted from their sweat, but nobody cared about the smell anymore.

"Easy now."

A female medic grabbed an injection filled with light-bluish liquid. She seized the troubled patient’s arm with great strength.

The needle pierced into the vein. As the liquid entered the bloodstream, the patient’s pale face slowly recovered.

Hans observed from the side, pocketing his clenched fists. Every yell chilled his heart. Every vomit made him want to scream his anger out loud.

Yet as a leader, he couldn’t. As the Commander of his soldiers, he couldn’t. As the system’s host, he will never be able to.

"Keep watch," Hans exhaled. "I’ll leave the rest to you all."

"Yes, Commander!"

His troops nodded, then returned to their work.

Helpless about the situation, Hans left the small clinic.

The moon remained glowing in the darkness. Perhaps it was the only thing bright that Hans had seen tonight.

Ahead, Kimmy and Yunera sat on the bus stop’s seats.

One had their head lowered, tightly grasping the shivering hands.

The other tilted her head. Her eyes stared at the blade hilt, the mind drifting from somewhere else.

Hans glanced at their direction, curious why these two remained silent. After a moment of hesitation, he approached them and sat beside Kimmy.

"What are you praying about?"

"I pray that their suffering may end and the healing of their wounds begin," she replied.

"Yoike a nun with those words of yours," he chuckled. "No, you are really fit in becoming a nun."

"Is that so?" Kimmy looked at him, then she drooped again. "Why would you say that?"

"Hmm?" Hans was confused. Was she angry, or just curious?

"Just some nonsense from my mouth," he waved his hands. "You should ignore it."

"I sense no emotions from you," Kimmy blurted out of nowhere. "I wonder, did you predict this? Or are you a cold-hearted person?"

The bus station fell silent. Hans was unsure what to tell Kimmy.

He had been trying his best to hide the system’s existence, or re-direct conversations in a way that made a convincing white lie.

Yet now, he was truly at a loss.

"The life of a Commander is not easy," he replied. "I have seen my comrades die in front of my eyes before. Their cry for help, tugging my arms while clutching the deep wounds on their bodies."

The memories of a game from his past life emerged.

Price.

Soap.

Ghost.

...

Although it was a very bold lie, nobody knew who these people were in this life. And Hans indeed, saw them die in front of his eyes—rather through the screen.

The nostalgia kickstarted his heart, but an unknown force stubbornly resisted.

Hans shook his head instead, helpless about his own situation.

Meanwhile, Kimmy studied the expressions coming off from her spatial sensory. Hans’s aura was as wild, yet suddenly fluctuated in that instant, then it became stable again.

"That..." she muttered. "I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have been rash on my words."

"You don’t have to," Hans smiled. "There’s always a time when you will lose something you hold dearly. Whether it’s life, opportunity, your parents, your lover... at the end of the day, life goes on its own. And we must fulfill our duties so that those who died in our place may not have died in vain."

"You..." Kimmy was startled. "Now you sound like a philosopher to me."

"Am I?" Hans stole a glance. "Maybe that’s just how life is. Words come out of your mouth not because you thought of saying it, but because it reminds you of your past."

"Are you really young, or pretending to be one?"

The more she talked to this guy, the more bewildered she was.

"What do you think?" He asked in return.

Yunera blankly listened on in their conversation, not knowing what to feel or say at the moment. Her mind still reeled back earlier, wondering if she lucked out when the medics arrived.

If they didn’t, then what could have happened?

"Don’t think too much about it," Hans’s voice interrupted her muddling thoughts. "I will always understand your choice, Yunera."

"Wha—what do you know about my thoughts?" She blushed then snapped her face away from his view.

I’ve lived two lifetimes of experience. Hans leaned his back on the seat. You think I hadn’t understood an inch of your thoughts?

"So, if I choose to betray your soldiers...?" She spoke after a while.

Hans’s left hand formed into a pistol, aimed it at her chest, "Bang! That’s what’s going to happen."

"You!"

Yunera wanted to grab her blade and stab him in the heart right now. However, Hans was always protected 24/7, even more than the company’s president she worked from before.

"Just kidding, why are you so worked up?"

"Did you think it’s a good time to joke?" Yunera flared. "Your territory just had an accident, and you have the time to play around like this?! Are you even a leader? Do you not grieve about it? Do you not feel sad about those who turned?"

"I am a leader, I grieve about it, and I do empathize to those who lost something today," Hans exhaled. "But even if I shout it out loud, nothing will change. The residents will question what happened, and that is why—"

He stood, his face forward, "I have already sent my soldiers to investigate this incident. They will give me a report soon."

"Fine." Yunera shot back to her seat, still grumpy about Hans’s indifferent look.

For the first time in his life, he grabbed a cigar from his pocket and lit it up. This action surprised the two girls.

"Let’s talk about you two instead," he said while biting on the cig. "The rest pretty much had visible symptoms, but the two of you..."

His gaze said everything.

"What do you want to say?" Yunera felt impatient.

"Sister Yunera, you should understand," Kimmy interjected. "We’re both superhumans."

"You’re telling me becoming a superhuman is the method to full immunity?" Yunera finally grasped Hans’s intentions.

"The residents will be questioning that too," Hans flicked the dust off his clothes. "They will force the method of becoming a superhuman from us, by reason or blood. Surely you two understand the stakes here?" 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

Kimmy tightened the clasp on her hands.

The accident had brought immense tragedy to those involved. Many would be willing to pay a huge price just to prevent it again.

Understanding this point, sweat rolled down Yunera’s face. The dreading situation has come to meet her again. And this time, the odds were against her favor—it was an attack to her very identity.

"Look at your pale faces," Hans fanned. "I’ve already dealt with this problem. You don’t have to worry."

"What did you do?" The two girls asked.

"Ask Zimmer or Clyde," Hans walked away, bading goodbye. "They’ll give you the answer to your question. Oh, and you’ll probably be surprised when you see them."

Yunera watched as he disappeared from sight. She stomped her fit, her hands reaching for the blade’s hilt.

"One day, I’ll cut him down," she said with gritted teeth. "What’s the matter with him? Hey, Kimmy kid, do you believe a single thing that he said?"

"Yes," Kimmy didn’t hesitate. "If we do not place our trust on him, then to whom, Sister Yunera?"

"You," Yunera slapped her forehead. This girl, she may have fallen for him.

Kimmy had become a lost cause, at least in Yunera’s eyes.

"Okay, fine," she sighed in defeat. "Let’s meet them then."

Yunera grabbed Kimmy’s hand and left the central area. With Kimmy’s help, they reached the prison den in no time.

"Sister Yunera," Kimmy yanked Yunera’s arm, stopping her. "Something’s not right."

"Not right? Damn it, did the zombies came here?"

She freed herself from Kimmy’s grasp and bolted inside. Kimmy ran after her, "Sister, wait! There’s no danger—"

But Yunera didn’t listen, charging through the front door.

The guards were startled. They stepped aside as she shoved the metal gate open. Once she got in, she leapt through the many corridors, then arrived at the location.

"What in the world—"

Her eyes scanned the room, pausing her movement from cell to cell.

Behind the rusting metal bars, zombies remained chained in place. Their heads hung low, mouth wide open.

Bullet shots sieved through their chests and mouths.

To the normal human, it was an overkill.

But to Yunera, these were superhumans—zombified to the core. She slowly backed away as a dangerous thought surged within her.

"Zimmer, he—"

"Sis!" Kimmy caught up with the soldiers on tow.

The two guards exchanged a glance, slipping past Kimmy’s sensory. Yunera’s sudden outburst distracted her mind. She was too preoccupied to notice other things.

"You didn’t have to run like that," Kimmy panted. "I wanted to tell you that—"

"Kimmy, they..." she stuttered. "Zimmer, Jason, Clyde. They... they all turned into zombies!"