Ten o'clock in the evening, July 20th, 2023.
Richard was in his original unit on the 25th floor, busy packing up his personal belongings. He was getting ready to move up to the penthouse, which would serve as his new room. The decision made sense; as the commanding officer, he needed to be close to the command center for any emergencies.
The doorbell rang, interrupting his packing. It was likely Mark, he thought. With a quick zip of his luggage, Richard made his way to the door, pulling the luggage behind.
"Hey, Mark," he greeted as he opened the door, a hint of exhaustion in his voice.
"Sir, The Delta Forces have already concocted a plan for the rescue operation. He is waiting for you."
"That fast huh?" Richard remarked."Alright, let's go."
Together, they made their way to the elevators and arrived at the penthouse minutes later.
Inside, the Delta Forces and other troops present quickly stood in attention and performed a salute.
"Uhm…at ease," Richard said with a tone of uncertainty. That's what the commanding officer always says to acknowledge their salute. "I was told that you already have a plan for the rescue operation, Graves."
"Not exactly a plan sir, but an exploration," Graves corrected.
"What's that mean," Richard tilted his head to the side quizzically.
"You see, sir. I have checked our inventory. We don't have any military hardware that will help us pull off this rescue operation. Nevertheless, we still hatched a plan, where we will…imagine…that we have specific hardware."
After hearing that, Richard nodded his head understandingly. Graves was right, they don't have the military hardware that any military should have.
"So it's going to be like you proposing a project and then I'll fund it?" Richard said, hoping that his analogy was right.
Graves nodded his head in confirmation.
"Okay, let's hear that proposal then," Richard said, giving him the stage.
"Very well, sir. Miss Sara, would you please show our commanding officer the situation in the city?"
"Copy that sir Graves," Sara's fingers danced on the keyboard as she worked on her laptop. Moments later, a large screen on one side of the room flickered to life, displaying footage of the roads and streets of Metro Manila.
"I've managed to hack into the MMDA command control center, giving us access to the cameras on major roads."
Richard looked up to the flat television screen and there he saw major roads and streets filled with abandoned vehicles and zombies.
"All roads leading to the Technological Engineering Institute are obstructed. We can go use a vehicle but it won't get us beyond four kilometers. We'll go on foot but that's dangerous as they are infected on every street, ready to pounce at everything that moves. Not only that, there is another problem with going by land. Sara, could you please show the commanding officer the footage of a monster?"
Sara tapped the keys on her keyboard, and the screen switched to display a video feed from a different camera. This time, it showed the monster Richard saw hours ago. The one who can jump at great heights and run at high speed.
In the video, the monster lifted a car and threw it across the street with terrifying strength. Another footage showed a monster slicing humans like butter with its sharp claws.
"From the footage sir, one can safely assume that small arms won't kill that thing. If we were to encounter it with the weapons we have right now, we'd be in serious trouble," Graves interjected. "In short, a land route is not feasible and could jeopardize the safety of your men and yours."
"I understand, sir Graves. So, if land rescue is not possible, what are the other options?"
"If the land is untenable, we take to the skies," Graves revealed. "To pull that off, we're going to need a chopper. Assuming we've got one at our disposal, we'll make our insertion on the rooftop of Building 9. Intel suggests it's a five-story structure. Your sister's on the fourth floor, correct? Once we hit the rooftop, we'll navigate down to the fourth, locate her classroom, and extract her and her fellow students. Once accomplished, we'll ascend back to the rooftop and exfiltrate."
"A helicopter huh?" Richard uttered. They definitely don't have helicopters.
"But there is a problem. Besides not having access to a chopper, the noise it generates could potentially draw a swarm of zombies toward the building. And who's to say that the creature from that video won't be lured by the noise as well."
"So, in essence, there's no straightforward solution to rescuing my sister," Richard mused in frustration.
Graves met his gaze with a steady look. "Frankly, sir, that's the situation we're facing."
Richard let out a heavy sigh. "So what is going to be, sir Graves? Land or air?"
"Air would be the optimal choice, sir. A helicopter insertion would minimize the risks on the ground. However, as I mentioned, we lack the necessary resources for such an operation."
"But what if I can get you a helicopter?" Richard said.
"Well we can rescue your sister," Graves replied simply.
Richard opened his system and went to the shop tab. He tapped the aircraft Military Aircraft section and then the Rotary-Wing Aircraft.
There, a display of different helicopter designs and their prices was displayed.
Bell UH-1 Iroquois - 450,000 gold coins. Tap on the display to see variants and descriptions.
Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk - 800,000 gold coins. Tap on the display to see variants and descriptions.
Sikorsky HH-60 Pave Hawk - 900,000 gold coins. Tap on the display to see variants and descriptions.
Locked
Locked
Locked
…
Note that when purchasing an aircraft, the personnel to operate it is not included. You will have to add an additional 5,000 gold coins per crew necessary to operate the aircraft.]
Richard tapped the Black Hawk and the Pave Hawk helicopter to see the difference. It has a long flavor text but as he read through the detailed descriptions, it became clear that the Pave Hawk offered more advanced features and capabilities compared to the Black Hawk. Its higher cost was justified by its enhanced performance and additional equipment.
"How many aircraft would we need for this operation?" Richard asked.
"Preferably, we are going to need two choppers," Graves said. "One to protect us from the air, and the other to extract the package."
"Very well, I can get you two choppers," Richard said, placing an order for two Pave Hawk.
'This is probably going to be my huge transaction in this system,' Richard thought to himself. 'It better be worth it'.
***
On the rooftop of Building A, Richard stood on the helipad, surveying his surroundings. The sounds of chaos still echoed below, with distant explosions, fires consuming both residential and commercial structures, and the cacophony of shouts and cries filling the air.
"Hmm…I can only summon one helicopter in this helipad. To summon the other one, I'll have to get to the other building's helipad. I hope everyone is not looking in this direction when I complete the transaction."
"Whenever you are ready sir," Mark said.
Richard took a deep breath and muttered. "This is it…confirming the purchase."
In a flash, a pulsating magic circle materialized before him, casting an otherworldly glow over the helipad. Slowly, a helicopter emerged from within the circle.
It only lasted three seconds, and the magic circle disappeared, leaving a sleek helicopter in its wake. The pilot and co-pilot were in the cockpit, While the two special mission aviators that would man the GAU-2 minigun are in the cabin. Four of them performed a salute.
"I don't know why but this is making me feel excited," Richard commented.