NOVPUBRylen beamed in joy after seeing the snack. "T-Thank you, sir!"
"Save the thanks. After the Wave, you're helping us test this theory." Shane straightened as he tossed a glance at Minerva. "Get the alchemists working on a rock-dissolving solution. Mild—we're not melting the whole mine."
She nodded. "On it."
***
Before leaving, Shane distributed Safety Protection Tokens, Acacia Slayer Tokens, and Crimsonheart Healing Tokens.
"Depending on the situation, I might use the portal to help during the Wave," he reminded everyone. "And Rylen—you stay in the evacuation with other children and non-combatants… No heroics."
The boy puffed his chest. "But I can help—"
"By being alive," Shane interrupted. "Your Talent's useless if you've become zombie food."
Rylen deflated but nodded.
With that, Shane left the Portal Hall, and this time, his destination was the Springriver Manor.
This place controls the Iron Mine, a large field that grows various crops, and a huge orchard…
It was being managed by Mr. Wadsworth, the Butler he had recruited.
As for the main defenders of this shelter, that would fall on Raze's team. Raze, including Lyra, Kael, Tessa, and Jaxon were the ones with the highest authority in this place if Shane was away…
Of course, Lady Seraph and other members of the Royal Knights were also stationed in this place. Lastly, Shinja, the strongest and the Legendary Recruit, was also staying here.
At this time, Shane wanted to inspect the Shelter's defenses with his A.I. Cloud. He wanted to ensure that all the Automated Turrets, Flamethrowers, and other defensive weapons mounted on the outer walls were in good condition.
***
Whom~
After a few moments, Shane stepped into the Portal Hall of the Springriver Manor.
Unlike the rugged mining camp or the industrial might of New Genesis and Eclipse Domain, this shelter had a unique vibe. It was like a relic of old-world elegance. There were huge fields of crops, orchards heavy with fruit, and the stately manor house itself.
The manor's white stone walls looked quite beautiful in this weather.
Nonetheless, it didn't mean that this shelter's defense was also old-fashioned.
As a matter of fact, this shelter was the first to obtain almost all the Advanced Weapons that Shane had gained access to.
The outer wall also had Automated Turrets, tracking any movements about 200 meters away.
Flamethrowers were also mounted on the walls, but most of them were concentrated near the gates.
As for the main defenders of this place, Shane assigned Raze's team for that.
Lyra with her Sharpshooter Talent, Kael with Healing Hands Talent, Tessa with her Night Scout Talent, and Jaxon with his Foresight Talent were the shelter's elite team…
Furthermore, Lady Seraph and the Royal Knights were also stationed in this place, giving them a very strong defensive formation. This doesn't even include Chaloem the Monk.
"Master Shane," Mr. Wadsworth greeted. He had woken up early to help with the final preparations before the Zombie Wave when he sensed Shane's presence, so he immediately came…
Shane smiled, seeing the old man. "Thank you for managing this shelter well… You should've trained two other butlers if I'm not mistaken. What happened to them?"
"They're doing well… Although they needed a few more years of training before they could work as good as I." Mr. Wadsworth replied as he recalled the stewards he was training.
After this small chat, Shane had then decided to look around the current defense of the Shelter. It was only around 6:30 in the morning, so they should still have some time before the Zombie Wave.
As they walked toward the manor, Wadsworth also started his report, and it was all confirmed by Cloud, his A.I.
As expected, the wall's defenses, which include the Automated Turrets, were all operational since there were also a lot of mechanics here, maintaining all types of weapons.
The flamethrowers were all fueled and tested. They even had to use it yesterday when a few Crypt Crawler Zombies got closer to their walls.
In the meantime, the barriers here were also in good condition.
Well, Aegis Force, the strongest barrier that Shane had was installed here after all.
[ The Aegis Force: A monolith of sleek black metal and…
Defense Rating: Legendary
Durability: 90 days
Activation Requirement: 20 Power Cores
Special Ability: Creates an impenetrable barrier within a 200-meter radius, shielding all within from danger. ]
This monolith that creates a powerful barrier doesn't accept Mana Crystals or Spirit Stones and can only use Power Cores. Because of that, most of their supplies of Power Cores were actually here.
Of course, aside from their defenses, Shane also checked their food supplies…
Thankfully, the food stores could last them for three months.
Then, the ammo stockpiles were at 92% capacity, which was also a good thing. Finally, the Medical supplies were adequate.
"Right… It's been some time since I've been away… Did we get some decent recruits?" Shane asked.
Wadsworth cleared his throat after hearing this. "Ah yes. Our two latest arrivals may prove… unusually useful."
Soon, Shane followed Mr. Wadsworth to the training yard, where two figures stood apart from the others…
The recruit was a huge man with arms thicker than Shane's thighs. He was currently arm-wrestling a Super Soldier—and winning.
Then, there was a skinny woman in a worn-out scholar's coat.
"That's Grisham and Patricia," Wadsworth said.
Grisham, it turned out, had a Talent called Indomitable Bulk. No magical ability—just pure, unbreakable physicality.
Apparently, he'd walked through a Tyrant Zombie's charge yesterday and knocked it flat. This man was terrifying.
Patricia, on the other hand, was a failed alchemist before he was saved by the Mysterious Gray Fog and was brought here.. Her Talent, Faultline Calculus, let her predict structural weaknesses—in walls, in armor, or even in zombie hordes. It was a powerful ability that found any weakness of her target.
"She calls it 'applied math,'" Wadsworth muttered. "I call it terrifying."
Shane's eyes narrowed. "Can she predict the Zombie Wave patterns?"
Patricia overheard their conversation and answered. "I'd probably need all information about the existing Zombies to help with that."
Shane nodded as he would probably give that information later. In any case, she doesn't have any time to study right now.
In any case, Shane continued to chat with the others to confirm whether they still needed something before the Zombie Wave started.
Then, after confirming that they were all well-equipped and had saved up enough Talismans, Tokens, and Ammunition for their own firearms, Shane decided to continue inspecting the Manor.
As they reached the eastern wall, Shane paused. "Where's Raze?"
Wadsworth sighed. "Ahh… She's attempting to 'modify' the mortar rounds with some explosives she purchased in her System Store. I'm not exactly sure about it."
Shane wryly smiled as he heard this. He was also quite curious about it, but he knew that it was already enough to know that the Shelter was in good hands.
"I'll be sending a few Warden Units to help with the defense. Use them as much as you can to lessen your casualties or even avoid them completely."
"Warden Units? I'm looking forward to their presence." Mr. Wadsworthe replied.
***
Soon, Shane returned to Eclipse Domain.
This shelter would be his main base during the Zombie Wave. After all, the oil reserves and the distillation tower were here.
On the other hand, the New Genesis Shelter had Arial, the Hybrid Human that was like a living A.I. at this point.
Depending on the situation, however, he would have to move around as well.
At this time, the shelter was already filled with life. The stalls or marketplace were already cleaned in case their defenses would be breached.
There were even some workers reinforcing barricades, distributing ammunition, and checking weapons.
Soon, Shane strode toward the Warden Barracks nearby.
Since it was already around 7:30, and the Zombie Wave was about to start, he decided to deploy them now.
As soon as he entered the barracks of the Warden Units, he immediately gave his command…
"Wardens—sortie."
Just like that, they were all activated even without Cloud's help…
Soon, the ground trembled as the barracks opened up more to give more space to the Warden Units.
Just like that, thirty figures, with synchronized movements, started coming out of the Barracks.
Crafted from special alloys and powered by mana-core engines, these humanoid war machines were Shane's masterpiece… 𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒑𝒖𝒃.𝙘𝙤𝒎
The Warden Units were 7 feet in height with broad frames.
They now have a matte black armor, and of course, almost all of its parts were upgraded by Item Upgraded Crystals and others.
As for their armaments, their primary weapons were Rifles… Because of their excessive number of Mana Crystals, these rifles had special ammunition; if necessary, they could fire concentrated mana bolts, capable of punching through Tyrant Zombie hide.
However, in normal cases, they only needed to use normal rounds.
Their secondary weapons, on the other hand, were Plasma-edged Greatswords. This is for when the hordes got too close.
Needless to say, the source of this weapon was from the underground facility that they had covered with the Eclipse Domain itself.
Finally, they were also equipped with wrist-mounted devices that could project temporary energy shields for protection.
Seeing the thirty of them move in unison, the crowd gasped as they felt somehow confident and at ease with their presence.
Then, it didn't take long before the Zombie Wave Announcement from the System appeared.
