novelraw Chapter 84: The Bombardment
Chapter 84: The Bombardment
The Oshkosh Extreme Multi-Mission Autonomous Vehicle were now being prepped by their operators as there was a new mission for them from the command center.
And in the command center, Adrian was looking at the screen, his eyes intently on the targets marked.
"How long until launch?" Adrian asked, his eyes still fixed on the screen.
One of the operators glanced at his panel, fingers moving quickly as he checked the system status.
"Five minutes, sir," he replied. "All units are being armed and synced to the control network."
Adrian gave a small nod.
"Are the routes clear?" Adrian asked.
"Affirmative," another operator answered. "Primary paths are mapped. Minimal obstruction on entry points. We’ve accounted for abandoned vehicles and debris."
Adrian shifted slightly, folding his arms.
"And control?"
"Stable," the first operator said. "Signal relay is holding. Autonomous units are responding within acceptable latency."
Adrian watched as one of the camera feeds switched.
"Payload confirmed?" Adrian asked.
"Yes, sir," the operator replied. "Missile systems loaded. Targeting data uploaded. Engagement parameters set."
Adrian’s gaze hardened slightly.
"Once they’re out there," he said, "there’s no room for mistakes."
"Understood," the operator said.
A short pause.
Then.
"All units reporting ready," another voice called out from across the room.
"Payload confirmed?" Adrian asked.
"Yes, sir," the operator replied. "Missile systems loaded. Targeting data uploaded. Engagement parameters set."
Adrian’s gaze hardened slightly.
"Once they’re out there," he said, "there’s no room for mistakes."
"Understood," the operator said.
A short pause.
Then.
"All units reporting ready," another voice called out from across the room, he kept his eyes on the screen, a footage transmitted by drone.
"Proceed with launch," Adrian ordered.
The operator didn’t hesitate.
"Copy. Initiating launch sequence."
On the screen, the feed shifted to one of the Oshkosh autonomous vehicles positioned along a cleared stretch of road. The launcher mounted on its rear adjusted slightly, aligning with the coordinates already locked into the system.
"Unit One, target lock confirmed," the operator called out. "Range within parameters."
A brief pause followed as the system finalized its calculations.
"Missile away."
From the vehicle, a burst of flame erupted from the launch tube as the missile shot forward, cutting through the air with a sharp, violent force. The recoil pushed against the platform, dust and debris kicking up around the vehicle as the projectile streaked into the distance.
The camera tracked it.
A fast-moving point against the sky.
"Tracking," the operator said. "Maintaining lock."
On another screen, the drone feed showed the target zone. Streets filled with abandoned cars. Buildings scarred from the early days of the outbreak. And between them.
"Impact in three... two... one..."
The missile struck.
The explosion tore through the street, a violent burst of fire and pressure that swallowed everything at the center of the impact. The shockwave pushed outward, flipping vehicles, shattering windows, and throwing bodies off their feet.
The thermal feed spiked instantly.
Red turning white.
Then fading.
"Direct hit," the operator confirmed. "Primary cluster neutralized."
Adrian didn’t speak.
His eyes stayed on the screen.
"Follow-up units engaging," another operator added.
Outside, more launchers adjusted.
One after another, missiles fired in sequence, each one leaving behind a trail of smoke as they streaked toward their assigned targets across Metro Manila.
"Second missile launched."
"Third missile launched."
"Trajectory stable."
Each impact came seconds apart.
Each explosion cleared another section.
Adrian looked at his notification to see how many zombies were killed in the strike.
It was fifty points per zombie kill, but since it was a precision missile, the kills were far more controlled.
The system updated.
Kill Count: 1,000
Points Gained: 50,000
No delay.
No gradual climb.
Just the result.
"First impact confirmed," the operator said. "Cluster disrupted, not fully wiped."
Adrian nodded once.
"That’s expected," he said.
Another missile hit a nearby block, this time slightly deeper into the concentration where the infected had gathered tighter between buildings.
The explosion rolled through the street, but the blast radius stayed contained.
The system updated again.
Kill Count: 1,120
Points Gained: 56,000
"Second strike confirmed," the operator reported. "Higher density on that one."
A third missile followed, hitting a congested intersection where abandoned vehicles had created a natural choke point. The infected had packed themselves there without moving.
The blast tore through it.
The numbers appeared instantly.
Kill Count: 980
Points Gained: 49,000
Adrian watched the pattern.
"Even with the density, we’re not wiping entire clusters," one of the operators noted.
"Yeah, I think so too. We need another weapon but we don’t have one in our arsenal," Adrian said. "Still, continue firing on those clusters."
"Yes sir!"
The command center stayed active as more missiles were queued.
"Fourth missile away."
The feed switched again.
Another street.
Another dense pocket.
Impact.
Kill Count: 1,040
Points Gained: 52,000
"Fifth missile launched."
A tighter cluster this time, trapped between two collapsed buildings.
The explosion filled the corridor.
Kill Count: 1,150
Points Gained: 57,500
"Good density," one of the operators muttered.
"Keep targeting choke points," Adrian said.
"Yes, sir."
"Sixth missile away."
The drone tracked it down to a market district where infected had gathered in large numbers.
The blast rolled through stalls and vehicles alike.
Kill Count: 1,090
Points Gained: 54,500
"Seventh missile."
This one hit a bridge approach, where movement had bottlenecked.
The explosion tore across the span.
Kill Count: 1,020
Points Gained: 51,000
"Eighth missile away."
Impact came seconds later.
Another cluster reduced.
Kill Count: 970
Points Gained: 48,500
Adrian kept watching the map.
Red zones dimmed slightly, there’s still more zombies in the area despite them firing eight missiles. He really need to spin the gacha after this and get weapons that would effectively and efficiently clear out this hordes.
"Continue," he said.
And they did.
Missile after missile left the launchers, each one carving out another thousand from the city.
Adrian checked the numbers, seeing how many points he earned from those strikes.
Total Kills: 10,370
Total Points Gained: 518,500
"Okay, that’s enough, halt the bombardment."