Shen Mu took his time, his body slowly unwinding, with the pent tension finally receding from his limbs as he reflected on their near-death encounter in the station. The survivors whom they managed to rescue were starting to find themselves in the fortress, but another weight lay increasingly on his back. With each life which came to live through his effort meant another mouth that had to be fed, one more mouth upon which he survived.
More survivors meant more activity. Silent halls that had once been empty now reverberated with voices—low murmurs of conversation, the sound of crates being moved, and the occasional laughter from the children they had rescued. Under it all was a fringe of tension. The world outside was still the same. The Crimson Fangs were still there, and disaster could come at any time.
Shen Mu climbed up to the watchtower and peered out over the wasteland. The early morning light cast long shadows across the ruins. In the distance, skeletal remains of buildings stood abandoned, like some fossilized relic of a long-lost world. From as far away as he stood, he could see the occasional flickers of movement - whether by mutated beasts, wandering survivors, or worse, he didn't know.
An abrupt chime echoed in his mind as the translucent blue interface of the system appeared before him.
[SYSTEM SHOP UNLOCKED]
[Default System Points Granted: 1000]
He furrowed his brows. The system had been mysterious about its features, and he has been left to depend on its gacha to get rewarded suddenly, but things were quite different now with the shop unlocked for him. He could now pick whatever he needed.
Shen Mu scrolled the shop interface teeming with the subcategories available for use: Arms, Defensive Construct, Survival Kits, Resources and Blueprints. All these fields were full with products that one could use for tipping the odd in his side.
Defense would be the highest priority. Though the fortress endured for now no fortress would when attacked on every front.
General Reinforcement Resource (500 point)
Portable Shield Generator (800 point)
Remote Sentry Turret (1200 point)
Combat Drone (2000 points)
Mystery Box (Variable Price)
He was attracted to the Automated Sentry Turret; however, he didn't have sufficient points. He had to plan, therefore. Reinforcement Materials were absolutely needed to reinforce walls and reinforce weak points of the structure.
[500 Points Lost]
[Reinforcement Materials added in Inventory of Fortress]
Layers of metal, concrete, and other reinforcing material seemed to materialize inside the storage warehouse as the fortress lurched violently. They looked so real-no gacha creation could be any more sudden and magical. All the same, it was always there, in reserve, awaiting deployment.
The Portable Energy Shield Generator: A portable sanctuary with the ability to activate and deploy at once, protective cover during combat. Something of worth was having a haven one could run to for safety to go fetch one's liberty; having firepower did not hurt anything, either.
[800 Deductions]
[P.E.S.G Obtained]
200 Points to him
Count low, yet 200 points weren't a sum to scoff at in emergency conditions
He closed the window; he wedged the equipment into the place it had fallen to; Luo Qi spoke in his mind, 'Wait there'.
.
Shen Mu, advancing from the south side
'
He stood. Zhao Ling sat on the parapet watchtower; he held a rifle; looked out over the bare earth.
Shen Mu cinched his arm tighter and took off for the gate, with Luo Qi by his side. "How many?"
"I don't know. Could be survivors. Could be a problem." Zhao Ling's voice didn't sound worried, but Shen Mu could sense the tension within her words.
Peering through the reinforced gaps in the barricade, Shen Mu scanned the south wall. Coming were five of them, a little group coming over the ruins with caution. They had arms, but it was the lassitude of those who have been on the run too long. Their clothes were tattered and even from this distance, Shen Mu could see the exhaustion in their movements.
He didn't take much time to decide.
"Open the gate."
Luo Qi looked at him. "You're sure?"
"If they intended to attack, they wouldn't be behaving this way," Shen Mu said. "Arm your weapons, but let them pass."
With a shriek of protesting steel, the massive gates slid open to reveal the inner sanctum of the fortress. The five figures froze for a moment, peering cautiously ahead.
One of them, a woman with short-cropped hair and a rifle slung across her back, raised her hands slightly. "We're not looking for trouble," she said, voice hoarse. "Just shelter."
Shen Mu's gaze flickered over them. Malnourished, dehydrated, but not weak. These were fighters. Survivors. The kind of people he needed.
"You have food?" another man asked, his voice laced with desperation.
"We do," Shen Mu replied. "But nothing is free."
They froze at his words, but the woman-their leader, apparently-nodded. "We will work."
Shen Mu met the gaze of Luo Qi, who nodded slightly. Zhao Ling didn't say a thing, but she hadn't lowered her weapon either.
"So, welcome to the fortress," Shen Mu said.
New recruits could very easily assimilate into the emergent population of the fortress. A few of them were given jobs to be working on the fortification of the walls, using the system materials now readily available. The others were supplied with arms and dispatched off towards the periphery to defend the place. Someone was considered indispensable.
That night, as the blaze died down to embers and the fortress into silent stone slipped into the stillness of the night, Shen Mu stood atop the watchtower, scanning out into the blackness. He had the shop of systems given him an advantage, but that was not enough. He wanted more. He wanted more defense. More guns. More men.
The Crimson Fangs will come. And when they did, he'd be ready.