C19 Radar

Wai Peng's voice cut in eagerly, "Sis! Look! Didn't I tell you? I knew it was a gun, but you wouldn't believe me."

Liu Rui moved forward, hauling his backpack to the group and unzipping it.

The first thing to catch their eyes was a sleek, black pistol resting atop a stack of ammunition boxes, each containing fifty rounds.

"Wow! You little rascal! Where did you score these beauties?" Liu Rui marveled, toying with the pistol with palpable excitement.

"These are strictly for emergencies. We've got a limited supply of bullets, so let's not go firing them off willy-nilly," Han Feng cautioned after a moment's thought.

"I'm going to grab some food. Winter Soldier, Wynne, you're welcome to join me." With that, Han Feng beckoned the Winter Soldier and Wynne to dine with him.

As the night deepened...

When it was time to sleep, Han Feng specifically requested a separate bedroom from Liu Rui, as there were matters he preferred to keep from Liu Rui's knowledge.

Seated on the edge of the bed, Han Feng was flanked by the Winter Soldier and Wynne standing before him.

"Winter Soldier, fill me in on the post-Star promotion situation," Han Feng directed his first question to the Winter Soldier.

"Roger that, Captain Han. Post-promotion, our gear updates every eighteen hours. The AK47 now comes with a bayonet, and the ammo count has bumped up from 30 to 90 rounds, though the grenade count remains unchanged. There's a significant boost in physical prowess and shooting precision," the Winter Soldier reported before stepping back.

"And Wynne, what about you? When's your promotion? What changes can you expect?" Han Feng inquired after hearing from the Winter Soldier.

Wynne stepped forward, replying, "I apologize, Captain Han, but I'm currently in the dark about when I'll reach Star-Grade or what changes it might bring."

Han Feng watched Wynne return to his spot, seemingly with more questions on his mind, yet he remained silent.

"Both of you, head down now. Alternate guard duty with No. 1," Han Feng instructed. The Winter Soldier and Wynne nodded and descended the stairs.

Exhausted from the day's exertions, Han Feng lay down, closed his eyes, and focused his attention on the system.

The radar was up and running. Han Feng was about to activate it when a pile of gold coins caught his eye.

Over two thousand gold coins...

???!

Holy smokes! That much?

"Over two thousand gold coins..." Han Feng couldn't believe his luck, double-checking the amount repeatedly.

With this wealth, couldn't he summon twenty conscripts? Or even five American GIs?

Wouldn't that mean he could strut around with confidence?

If he just avoided any foolish risks and kept on building up his forces, he'd have a formidable army in no time!

Tan Ya! Navy SEALs! The Super Spatio-temporal Corps! Phantom Tanks! Luminous Tanks! Apocalypse Tanks! They'd all be his, eventually!

...

"Quick! Get in the vehicle! Move it!"

"Wynne! Stop covering! Go help Number Three!"

"Lin Lan! Hold on! Safety is just moments away!"

"Winter Soldier, run for it! We're running out of time!"

"Number Two and Number Three, get in the vehicle! Please, I'm begging you! Hurry up and get in!"

"Don't block the way! Get in! The system will surely save you! Please..."

"Argh!!! Ah!!! It's all because of you! Because of you, Number Two and Number Three are going to die!"

"You can all go to hell! Winter Soldier! Wynne! Attack! Kill them all! Ah!!!"

Han Feng was trapped in a nightmare, muttering incessantly in his sleep.

...

"Da! Da! Da! Da!"

"Zombies?! Damn it, zombies are coming!" Han Feng woke up to the sound of intense gunfire, swearing as he leapt out of bed and dashed downstairs.

Number One remained vigilant inside the villa, while the engineer rose from the couch. Outside, Winter Soldier and Wynne were firing indiscriminately.

Han Feng burst outside the villa, scanning the area. No zombies, no enemies in sight.

"Cease fire!" he yelled to Winter Soldier and Wynne.

Upon hearing the command, they immediately holstered their weapons and stood at attention.

"What's the matter, Brother-in-law? What's going on?" Wai Peng was the first to arrive, full of concern.

"Let's talk inside," Han Feng said, then turned and headed back into the villa.

Wynne and Wei Peng closely followed behind him. Wai Yun and Liu Rui also hurried to the first floor.

"What's going on? Why the sudden gunfire?"

"Could it be zombies?"

"No way! Zombies are here?"

Their voices overlapped in a cacophony of shouts.

"Quiet down. There are no zombies. Just give me a moment to figure out what's happened," Han Feng said, settling onto the sofa and cradling his head in thought.

"System, what just happened? Why did Winter Soldier and Wynne react like that?" Han Feng inquired mentally.

"Winter Soldier and Wynne were acting on an attack command, but with no enemy present and conflicting with the previous order to protect the villa, they were at a loss," the system explained, deepening Han Feng's confusion.

"When did I issue such an order?"

"While you were sleeping."

Han Feng was dumbfounded.

"But my sleeping quarters are so far from the first floor! My voice couldn't possibly carry that far. How could I have issued an order?" he questioned the system again.

"The radar transmits information. Within a certain range, you can issue commands to every Red Alert soldier via radar," the system clarified, easing Han Feng's mind.

Ah, the radar... It was the radar's doing...

"So, it was the radar's effect... Then, does even my sleep talking count as an order?" Han Feng pondered before asking again.

"Every word from the commander is a supreme order to the Red Alert soldiers," the system responded, leaving Han Feng in contemplative silence.

What if I said something in my sleep that I shouldn't have? The thought sent a chill down his spine. He had only mentioned killing in his sleep without specifying a target. If he had inadvertently ordered to kill all targets... the regret would be unbearable.

"No, I hereby declare all orders issued while I'm not fully conscious null and void!" After a moment's thought, Han Feng added, "And in the future, if my thoughts are muddled, remind me and wake me up. Understood?"

"Okay, Commander," Han Feng exhaled a sigh of relief after receiving the system's response.

Rising from the couch, Han Feng faced his expectant team and reassured them, "It's all good. Everyone can head to bed. This was just a drill to test our response times."

Despite the half-hearted explanation, Han Feng didn't wait to see if they bought it and headed straight for his bedroom.

Overexertion had sent him into an unintended slumber earlier, and now he was eager to learn about the new structure—the radar.

"System, I need details on the radar," Han Feng requested upon entering his bedroom.

"Understood, Commander. With the virtual radar construction complete, it can monitor within a five-kilometer radius centered on you. It includes new features like search, soldier details, and remote commanding. Future upgrades will unlock additional capabilities," the system informed.

Then it inquired, "Would you like to access the radar interface now, Commander?"

"Let's see it," Han Feng affirmed, tapping the radar icon. The screen shifted, revealing the radar display.

"Hello, Commander. I'm Luna, your radar liaison," a sweet voice greeted him.

Distracted by the expansive view the radar offered, Han Feng was brought back by the voice and turned to see Luna, materialized in a holographic projection. "Luna? Radar liaison?" he asked, puzzled.

"That's correct, Commander. I'll walk you through all the radar's features shortly," Luna responded, her fingers dancing over the display.

Han Feng watched as the visuals in his mind shifted with Luna's guidance.

"This is the radar's scanning feature," Luna announced, and Han Feng observed the nearby buildings shrink proportionally on the display. His position was marked by the largest red dot at the center, surrounded by four smaller dots.

"The four smaller dots represent the Red Alert soldiers and other characters you've summoned. The colors for combat and non-combat personnel can be toggled," Luna explained, manipulating the controls.

Seconds later, a small blue dot distinguished itself.

"This indicates non-combat personnel. If you prefer, we can change it to another color," Luna said, pointing to the blue dot as she briefed Han Feng.

"Is it possible to scan for other entities, like survivors or zombies?" Han Feng inquired.

"Survivors are detectable, but zombies are not. Zombies are categorized as non-living entities, hence they're beyond the radar's scanning capabilities. Also, each radar scan has a duration of 24 hours. This means that once the radar has been activated, it will continuously update in real-time for the next 24 hours without the need for manual refreshing," Luna clarified.