Chapter 140 The Wave Begins

Chapter 140 The Wave Begins

It was nine o'clock in the evening on September 19th, 2023. Richard and Graves, after completing their tests, returned to the command center. The busy hum of the center quieted down as they entered. The military staff, busy with their screens and papers moments before, stopped their work to salute Richard.

Accustomed to this routine, Richard nodded in acknowledgment as he passed by. He glanced around the room, taking in the focused faces and the screens displaying various data. Graves followed closely.

"So how is the test?" Mark asked they neared him.

"Well, I must say, the suit is really powerful and combat-ready," Richard said. "It can do a lot of things that would certainly turn the tides."

"Really? What kind of test did you perform?" Sara asked as she approached the two curiously.

"I fired a pistol, an M4 Carbine at full auto, a 50 cal Barrett, and a rocket-propelled grenade at him," Graves revealed.

Upon hearing it, Mark and Sara gasped.

"Wait? You really fired those weapons at him?" Mark exclaimed, his eyes wide in disbelief.

"Yes, and the suit took it all," Richard confirmed. "Its shield integrity barely dropped, even with the RPG."

Sara, still processing the information, looked amazed. "That's incredible. But what about offensive capabilities?"

Richard nodded. "We tested those too. The suit has an integrated pulse weapon and enhanced melee combat features. Both are extremely effective."

Graves chimed in, "The pulse weapon disintegrated the targets we set up, and the melee enhancements? Let's just say Richard's hand-to-hand combat is on another level with that suit."

Mark shook his head in awe. "It should be our standard-issue combat suit then..."

"I wish, but the price of this suit is thirty million gold coins. It's not something that I can give to all of our troops," Richard chuckled sheepishly. "Maybe the Special Forces would receive the first batch and once my gold coins flow smoothly into my account, I can consider large-scale adoption."

"Are you sure you are not hurt, Richard?" Sara asked concernedly.

"I'm fine. Oh, I almost forgot to tell the two of you, this suit has nanobots that can repair damage incurred during combat," Richard explained, seeing Sara's concerned look. "It's pretty much self-sustaining. The nanobots repaired the suit in less than a minute after the RPG hit. And what's best is that it is combat-ready. I'll be fighting in the front lines. Mark, you will have the operation command. Your call sign later will be Blackwatch Actual."

Mark nodded firmly, understanding the weight of his new responsibility. "Understood, sir. I'll coordinate the operations from here. We'll make sure you have all the support you need in the field."

"Good, now let's see what we are up against," Richard said, turning his head to the monitor, and checking the displays. "Ever since we have launched bombardment at the zombies' positions, every kill has been zombies. Where are the mutated zombies?"

"I'll show it to you, sir," Sara returned to her station promptly, her hands hovered over the keyboards, and began typing rapidly. The screen flickered as she pulled up the latest surveillance data. "Here, these are the areas where we've spotted mutated zombies," she explained, pointing to several highlighted regions on the map.

"Two Goliaths, two Juggernauts, twenty Hunters, 100 Flyers, and it seems that there's no Hydra in their composition but a very serious threat to the integrity of our military camp. Very well, get the AC-130 and the MQ-9 Reapers in the air. Let's deal with the huge threat first. That being the Goliaths and the Juggernauts. We can't let those monsters get near our camp."

"Understood, tasking Spooky-1 and Reapers for immediate deployment," Mark responded, quickly relaying the orders through his headset.

Sara continued monitoring the screens and updating the positions of the targets. "The Goliaths and Juggernauts are moving towards the eastern and western sectors. They're fast for their size and approaching us in two directions. This is some sort of organizational effort on their part."

Graves, with a concerned look, added, "This means they're not just randomly attacking. There's a strategy behind their movements."

"Could it be that the Master or the progenitor is directly controlling those hordes?" Richard wondered. "We have little to no information about the Master aside from the fact that they are in Korea. No time for assumptions then, let's deal with Goliath first—"

"What's the matter, sir?" Mark asked as he noticed a sudden shift in Richard's demeanor.

Before Richard's eyes were a floating holographic screen, notifying him.

[Emergency Quest has been moved from September 20th, 2023 to now!]

[Objectives: Kill all zombies that are attacking your camp.]

"The system just informed me that the wave officially started," Richard informed.

"Wait? I thought we had three more hours?" Mark exclaimed.

"I don't know what caused it to move up the timeline, but there's no denying the fact that the wave has started. Which means we have no choice but to survive this. Focus on the objective, we kill everyone that is non-living, and by definition of non-living, that means mutated and non-mutated zombies."

***

9:30 p.m. About two kilometers east of the Oriental Blackwatch Military Camp. An AC-130 with a callsign, Spooky-1, cruised two kilometers above the ground, scanning for targets.

"Spooky-1 to command, we have visual on the Goliath approaching from the east," the pilot relayed over the comms.

"Roger that, Spooky-1. You are cleared to engage," Mark's voice came through clearly.

The Fire Control Officer aligned the targeting system, focusing on the approaching Goliath.

"Just a little heads-up guys," said the pilot of the AC-130 through the radio. "What we are up against is a Goliath. I'm sure you know everything there is to know about them as they are in the manual. They are one of the strongest non-mutated zombies to ever walk on this planet. Focus on its spot where its shield can't block. Its shield can shrug off a direct hit from a Hellfire Missile but not in the areas where it's exposed."

"Copy that," the Fire Control Officer said.

"Use the 105 mike-mike to let that monster know that we are in the air," the pilot said.

"Copy that, using the 105 mike-mike" the Fire Control Officer confirmed, adjusting his targeting.

The heavy cannon on the AC-130 roared to life, launching a barrage of high-caliber rounds at the Goliath. The shells hit their mark, striking the unprotected areas of the massive zombie. n..o//v--E//L)-B.-I./n

"That's a good firework display," the pilot commented as he watched a plume of smoke rise from atop the Goliath.

The Goliath below roared and snapped its head up as if looking for the one responsible.

"It's pissed now," the pilot remarked.