Apocalyptic Rebirth: With a repairman system space, she rises again. - Chapter 305

Chapter 305: End of spoon feeding
The wind howled like an angry god.

Hades stood atop the third wall, a dragonoid in his left hand and binoculars slung around his neck. Beside him, his brother Hadrian looked beyond the wall through a pair of binoculars, his breathing slightly labored. Below them, in the swirling chaos of the snowstorm, mutated beasts were fighting it out, ramming into each other with bone-splitting fury.

“This is the longest snowstorm so far.” Hadrian muttered. “It started at six yesterday evening. It is now four in the morning, and it is still going.”

“It is about to stop.” Hades said. “The wind is loud, but the strength has reduced. Those beasts would not be out there fighting if it was unmanageable.”

Suddenly, a ran up the mountain at an incredible speed and joined the fight. It was a mixture of bears, foxes, wolves, two tigers and some birds too. Their bodies twisted from hunger and anger.

“Are you seeing this?” Hadrian asked.

“The tigers with steam hissing from their tails,” Hades answered slowly, “yes, I see them.”

“I mean the superhuman.” Hadrian hissed at his brother.

Just as Hadrian mentioned that person, the figure dashed away with two dead beasts. “He is gone. Suni said mutated beast meat is edible but there are some types of meat which are suited to only superhumans. They must be discovering this now. Why else would that man risk his life by joining that fight?”

“As long as they are not hunting us, I am happy.” Hades replied.

A new beast appeared on the edge of the forest–eight feet tall with antlers made of bone sharper than a dagger. It roared and impaled a smaller wolf. Suddenly, the snowstorm stopped as if it had been commanded to do so.

In the blink of an eye, all the beasts were gone.

All of them.

Not even a dead one was left behind.

“Where did they go?” Hadrian asked.

Hades didn’t answer. He guessed they had gone back to the forest where they had come from. In the morning, a team would go out and examine the scene of the battle to see if anything was left behind. He touched his dragonoid, safety was still far away when they were living next to a forest that harbored deadly beasts.

Westbrook mountain was a red zone.

Without the walls, they were prey.

As the day lightened, the birds on the base chirped. The team on patrol went home and their replacements took over. Those who were to inspect the battlefield set out.

Meanwhile, all the indoor training fields in the fortress were live with activity_ both motion and sound. With expansion on the brink, they needed to be train for battle.

The icy air biting at Sunshine’s cheeks as she joined the others in the field of the first wall. Carson and Major Elio stood at the edge of the training ground, arms crossed, watching the squads assemble.

Since the new directive had come from the top, training had been intensified more for the elite soldiers. Twelve people per squad_ some entirely superhuman, some entirely human, and others a calculated mix. The goal was to create ten of the strongest squads at the fortress_ at least to begin with. They number could be increased later.

Those that didn’t qualify to be on these specialized squads were sent back to beginner training; they were called juniors. They were to be reevaluated once every month to see if they passed or failed.

With a goal, everyone was very motivated.

“Tank are you ready?” Major Elio asked.

Tank’s head moved in a nod. “I was thirty minutes ago when I told you the exact same thing.”

“Squad zero, fall in.” Carson shouted, his voice cut through the cold like steel.

Sunshine jogged into line, joining the squad whose members she was familiar with. Her presence was unnecessary, but she wanted to show that she was training hard like the rest of them.

A low hum filled the ground as Tank activated the simulation field. Blue holographic grids rippled across the flat plain, forming shapes of towering beasts with fangs, claws, wings. The constructs roared to life, shaking the ground.

“We have grouped these beasts into classes, today you deal with Class E. These mutated animals that some of you have come across so far. Others, you have not seen but they exist outside. Do not focus on their appearance.” Major Elio spoke, walking with his hands behind his back.

Carson took over. “Do not let the small or cute ones distract you. Use your minds and training, those fluffy rabbits and harmless chicken are dangerous.” He paused. “In five seconds, begin engaging.”

In exactly five seconds, chaos erupted.

Flames burst from the hands of pyrokinetic, Frost spears sliced through the air. A telekinetic soldier lifted a chair and flung it at the beast’s face, while a human sniper fired precise shots into its eyes.

The task was not just to fight mutated beasts but learn to avoid being injured by their teammates, especially the superhumans.

Sunshine ducked low to dodge a slash of wind that was crossing by, she stood and hurled her hammer killing three beasts with one blow.

“Whoa!” A soldier from the sideline exclaimed.

“Nice aim Ma’am.” Carson shouted from the sidelines.

Sunshine smirked, wiping sweat from her brow. Some were not faring well, two men panicked when a holographic wolf lunged, Elio disqualified them immediately.

“But sir….” One pleaded.

Elio shook his head. “You are not ready yet, return to the juniors.”

“Remember, squad coordination!” Carson thundered. “You either fight as one or each one falls on their own. Three of you have been burned by fire already and a wind dagger has pierced one. The hammer smashed someone’s foot. Are you fighting the beasts or helping them?”

The words cut through the air, and something in the squads clicked and changed into formation. The pyros covered the front line, Sunshine sealed the rear, two others provided ranged fire. Within minutes, the simulated beasts were falling into waves, dissolving into shards of red light. When the last one faded, the field went silent except for heavy breathing.

Carson gave a sharp nod. “Better,” he said. “Still rough around the edges, but better.”

Sunshine gave him a high five as she followed the squad to the rest area.

“Squad one, you are next.” Major Elio shouted, scribbling notes on his data pad.

The exercise began once again, as the teams trained, Carson moved to speak with Sunshine.

She was stretching, chest heaving, muscles trembling with adrenaline that was lowering each second that passed. Around her the others were smiling, patting each other’s backs.

“So, what do you think? Tank really came up with an impressive system; one would think that you are fighting a real beast.” Carson said.

Sunshine nodded. “He did, and I think that it is time to take the training outside.”

“I say we give them a week or a week and half and they will be excellent.” He glanced at the soldiers in training with a frown. They were not ready.

“Training in the apocalypse is learned in the field. They need to engage the predators outside in order to adjust their mentality quickly. Mutated beasts grow into their abilities just as superhumans do. We cannot learn everything from the behind the safety of the walls.” Sunshine spoke with a grim look on her face. “Besides, I have been told that there was a superhuman outside the wall last night, not ours and not from the billionaire’s bases. We need to be in control of all the areas around the mountain before we are boxed in.”

Carson nodded. If she put it that way, there was no time to waste. “How soon do you want them out there?” He asked.

Sunshine pinched her lips together. “Today, 2pm sharp.”

Carson shifted uncomfortably, he was not so confident, some were truly lacking. “Ma’am I say squad zero is ready but the rest…..”

“Then we start with them.” She declared. “I will not be going along because it is time to end the spoon feeding. If they return successfully, that will be the team that I will go with to Busker town.” Sunshine told him.

Carson gave a slow nod, understanding the weight of her order. “Alright ma’am.”

“Now go brief them, drills are over.” Sunshine commanded and left the training field.