BXBX NOVEL Chapter 33 Being Prudent and Feeling Uneasy
Chapter 33 Being Prudent and Feeling Uneasy
Richard watched as the soldiers efficiently attached ropes to the fallen Flyers and began to drag them away. His gaze then shifted to the open sky, where the recent encounter with the airborne threats had left him with a gnawing sense of vulnerability.
"We really need an anti-air defense," Mark concurred, breaking the silence. "Good thing there were no casualties on our side."
Richard nodded in agreement, his thoughts still lingering on the potential danger they faced. "Yeah...the Flyers seemed to be weaker than other mutated zombies but are agile in the air. Good thing we managed to hit them down. Let\'s talk about air defense tomorrow; in the meantime, let\'s return to the function hall. The survivors must be panicking inside."
"You are right, sir," Mark acknowledged, his expression reflecting the same concern.
Richard turned his attention toward Emily, witnessing her trembling form as she stood there, her attire drenched and glistening with rivulets of water.
Looking at her, Richard suddenly felt the chill in the air more acutely. He too was soaked with water, and the evening air had turned cooler. But he composed himself, acting that the chilly air didn\'t affect him.
"Let\'s go, Emily," he said, extending his hand towards her. With a grateful nod, Emily took his hand, and together they made their way back towards the function hall.
As they reentered the large room, one of the survivors who were huddled in a group, asked.
"Is it over?"
"Yes," Richard confirmed. "We have eliminated the threat and there\'s no need to worry. In the meantime, we would like to ask you to return to your respective units until we clear the area and ensure it\'s safe."
The survivor nodded, relief washing over their faces.
Lisa, Denise, and Angela approached them, concerned about etching their faces.
"Brother…" Lisa exclaimed softly in relief.
"Sister…" Denise said, hugging her sister.
"Is everyone alright?" Richard asked, his protective instincts kicking in as he looked at his little sister and her friends.
"We\'re okay," Lisa reassured him.
Denise, who was still hugging her sister, couldn\'t help but notice Emily\'s hand securely held in Richard\'s. She exchanged a quick glance with Angela, and they both frowned.
"Uhm…" Angela cleared her throat. "Sir Richard…"
"What?"
Angela, her voice laced with curiosity, hesitated for a moment before finally speaking up.
"Sir Richard, it seems like you\'ve got something on your hand." She nodded subtly towards the intertwined fingers of Richard and Emily.
Richard followed Angela\'s gaze and then realized that he was still holding Emily\'s hand. A faint blush crept onto his cheeks, and he quickly released her hand, his voice slightly flustered.
"Oh, I... I didn\'t realize." He cleared his throat, regaining his composure and glancing at the passing soldiers. "You…get some towel for this lady here."
"Will do sir," the soldier quickly acknowledged and hurried off to fetch a towel.
Emily, her cheeks still tinted with a gentle blush from the earlier exchange, offered a grateful smile to Richard. "Thank you."
Richard couldn\'t help but be curious as to why she was acting bashful. It was different from when he first met her, where she was assertive.
The soldier Richard ordered to fetch a towel returned, and handed it to Emily with a respectful nod. Emily took the towel and began to dry herself off.
"Okay, you should join the others," Richard said. "Go to your units and we will announce to you later if it\'s okay to go out or not."
The girls nodded their heads and piled out.
***
Thirty minutes later, on the thirty-second floor, Richard got out of his room with fresh new clothes and went straight to the command center.
The staff saluted upon Richard\'s arrival before returning to their work.
"Updates," Richard said.
Mark began to brief him on the current situation. "The cleanup of the Flyers is proceeding smoothly, and we\'ve stationed additional guards on the eighth floor and the rooftop as a temporary anti-air defense measure."
Richard nodded, pleased with the swift response. "Good. I want regular patrols and a rotation of guards. We can\'t let our guard down even for a minute. We\'ll install anti-air defenses on the rooftop and on the eighth floor…"
Upon saying that, Richard opened his system.
[User: Richard Gonzales
Health: 100/100
Age: 21
Level: 21
Experience points: 1,223,272/1,235,094
Skills: Weapon Proficiency Level 2, Melee Proficiency Level 2, Driving Proficiency Level 1.
Available Skill Points: 0
Summoned Troops: 215/800
Current gold balance: 22,570,000 gold coins
Shop:
Daily Rewards: Come back tomorrow
Wheel of Fortune: Come back in 27 days.
Missions:
Basic Survival Guide:
Tactics and Strategies:
Zombie Encounters: Updated!
]
Looking at his experience points, he mentally calculated how many experience points he got from killing the Flyers. It took him about a minute as the experience and gold capsule were still in effect but basic math showed that killing Flyer earned him 2,500 experience points. As for the gold coins, Flyers drop 5,000 gold coins, multiplied by 2 and 30—300,000 gold coins.
Satisfied, Richard browsed the shop and looked for anti-air guns. There he saw Phalanx C-ram. It cost 80,000 gold coins per unit, of course, that\'s only the unit. The Phalanx C-ram could hold a total of 1,550 20 mm armor-piercing tungsten projectiles, costing 15,000 per drum.
His current balance was 22,570,000 gold coins
Since he had an eight-digit balance, he didn\'t hesitate to acquire five units and 20 drum magazines. In total, the cost of five Phalanx C-ram units is 400,000 gold coins, cost of 20 drum magazines is 300,000 gold coins. 700,000 gold coins overall.
His new current balance is 21,870,000 gold coins.
The Phalanx C-ram went straight to his inventory, which he could summon later.
"I have bought ourselves some close-in weapon systems," Richard informed. "Appoint some men who would install it. As for the room where the officers will operate them, hmm…I guess we can repurpose one room to a control center for remote-controlled military hardware?"
"That\'s a good idea, sir," Mark agreed.
"Sara, are there still threats present in our airspace?" Richard asked.
"Negative sir," Sara promptly replied. "No Flyers sighted."
"Great. Mark, as for the corpses of the Flyers, I want them contained in an area where survivors can\'t access them. We\'ll have a team to check on them later. We might gain a clue about this virus or whatever it is that\'s causing the apocalypse."
"Understood, sir."
"In thirty minutes, we announce that it\'s safe to go down on the eighth floor and that they can get their food from the function hall."
***
Another thirty minutes later, an announcement to all survivors was disseminated through the PA system. The survivors went down to the eighth floor to get their share of food.
Richard went down to the twenty-fifth floor to check on his sister and just as he was about to knock, the door swung open.
"Brother…"
"Lisa, I was about to invite you to the eighth floor."
"Uhm…about that brother, actually, there is something I want to tell you," Lisa said.
"Okay, what is it?" Richard asked.
"Uhm…you see…my classmates want to talk to you in private. They are inside, probably wanting to express their gratitude again for saving us. Perhaps you can give them a chance? They\'ve been…how should I say this…pestering me."
Richard chuckled. "Okay, join me."
"Uh…no no no…" Lisa said as she fumbled her hands.
"What\'s the problem?"
"You see…brother…they specifically asked me to wait outside…so I can\'t go with you. I\'ll just wait."
Richard sighed. "I see. Fine."
With that, Lisa exited the room and Richard entered inside. He closed the door behind him. The room was dimly lit as only the lamp tables were switched on.
Oddly, he could feel his heart beating fast, as if something were about to happen.
He sure must be overthinking, they are probably going to express their gratitude and he would gratefully accept them and head out.
Well, he\'ll see.