With the massive burial trenches dug outside the main gates and the thousands of decomposing corpses pushed into pits by the SIMBA APCs, thick black smoke billowed into the sky as fuel flames incinerated the biohazard.
The pungent stench of rotting blood was replaced by the intense heat of roaring fire, securing the outer walls of Bilibid Fortress.
Inside the Supreme Commander's office, Elias stood at the window, watching the flames die down under the supervision of 4th Mechanized Platoon and the DPWH excavator.
Elias turned his focus back to his System retina interface.
Before commencing the internal clearing sweep of Bilibid Prison, Elias checked the status of his deployed units.
1st Platoon had lost two soldiers during the main gate siege, and 2nd Platoon's 6th Squad had lost six soldiers to the Evolved Hunter Zombie at Daang Hari.
"System, replenish all squad casualties for 1st Platoon and 2nd Platoon," Elias commanded mentally.
"Ding!"
[ System Notice: Troop Casualty Replenishment Initiated! ]
[ Replacing 2 Casualties in 1st Platoon & 6 Casualties in 2nd Platoon (8 Soldiers Total) ]
[ 50 Red Cores Deducted for Individual Replenishment & Field Munitions! ]
[ Remaining System Vault Balance: 1,359 Red Cores ]
"Whoosh!"
Eight blinding streams of golden light materialized in the administrative courtyard below!
Eight fully equipped, pristine AFP infantry soldiers stepped out of the light, their tactical gear spotless as they seamlessly integrated back into their respective squads!
1st Platoon and 2nd Platoon were once again restored to full combat strength of thirty-six soldiers each!
Elias grabbed his tactical radio headset, adjusting the microphone against his jaw.
"Company Commander Cruz, report status," Elias commanded into the radio.
"Supreme Commander! 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th Platoons are fully replenished, rearmed, and standing by at full operational readiness!" Cruz reported crisp and clear over the comms.
"Good," Elias declared, his voice cold and resolute.
"The exterior biohazard is burned clean. Now, we launch Phase 1 of our internal clearing operation inside New Bilibid Prison!"
"We spearhead the main exercise yards and central depot!"
"Copy that, Supreme Commander!" Cruz answered with disciplined pride. "Orders received!"
***
New Bilibid Prison was a massive, overcrowded facility covering over five hundred hectares, built for seven thousand inmates but housing over twenty-one thousand inmates across its sprawling compounds.
Seventy percent of the twenty-one thousand inmates and guards had mutated into flesh-eating monsters on Day 1.
While several thousand infected had poured through outer gates during the early chaos, over ten thousand turned inmates remained trapped inside the multi-story cellblocks, isolation wings, diagnostic centers, and exercise yards of Maximum Security, Medium Security, Minimum Security, and the Reception Diagnostic Center.
Clearing five hundred hectares of concrete cellblocks, utility tunnels, and locked cells was a massive military undertaking that would take weeks of systematic compound-by-compound clearing operations.
"1st, 2nd, and 3rd Platoons, breach the inner security gates!" Company Commander Cruz ordered over the tactical comms.
"4th Mechanized Platoon, spearhead Phase 1 exercise yards with the SIMBA APCs!"
"Vroom! Vroom!"
The thunderous roar of three diesel engines shook the pavement as the three olive-drab SIMBA Armored Personnel Carriers surged through the inner security gates!
"Crash! Metal-crunch!"
The lead SIMBA APC's reinforced steel bumper smashed through the heavy chain-link courtyard barricades, plowing directly into the massive central exercise yard of the Maximum Security Compound!
Inside the open yard, over two thousand turned inmates snarled in unison, turning their gray, blood-caked faces toward the intruding armored vehicles!
"Grrr... Raaagh!"
The massive zombie horde surged forward in a suffocating gray ocean of flesh!
"Heavy gunners, open fire! Clear the surface horde!" 4th Platoon Leader commanded!
"Rat-tat-tat-tat!"
"Rat-tat-tat-tat!"
The roof-mounted .50 Cal M2HB heavy machine gun turrets on all three SIMBA APCs erupted simultaneously!
Massive twelve-point-seven millimeter armor-piercing rounds hammered through the dense mass of infected at terrifying velocity!
"Splatter! Shatter!"
The heavy caliber bullets tore through ranks of turned inmates like paper, disintegrating heads, severing torsos, and turning the front lines of the horde into a gory red slurry!
The heavy armored steel hulls of the SIMBA APCs plowed steadily forward across the open yard, crushing rotted bodies beneath their heavy off-road tires while .50 Cal turrets swept continuous 360-degree killzones.
While the APCs annihilated the main surface horde in the open yard, dismounted squads from 3rd Platoon breached the side corridors of the central logistics building.
"Ambush! Blind spot!" a 3rd Platoon rifleman screamed!
"Swish!"
A fast turned guard lunged out from behind a steel supply rack, driving its rotted claws straight through a soldier's collarbone!
"Thud!"
A second turned inmate tackled another rifleman to the concrete floor, tearing open his throat before squad mates could land a point-blank double-tap!
"Bang! Bang!"
"Splatter!"
The ambush was terminated within seconds, but two brave riflemen of 3rd Platoon lay dead in a pool of dark blood, while a third soldier suffered a severe shoulder laceration.
By late afternoon, the three SIMBA APCs and dismounted fireteams wiped out the two thousand surface zombies crowding Phase 1's main exercise yard and central depot road.
Company Commander Mateo Cruz marched up to Elias near the central logistics building, snapping a sharp, solemn salute.
"Supreme Commander! Phase 1 surface clearing of Maximum Security exercise yard and central depot is complete!" Cruz reported in a heavy, disciplined military voice.
Elias lowered his assault rifle, looking at his commander. "Report operational status and casualties, Cruz."
"First, casualties: we sustained two killed in action and one wounded from 3rd Platoon during a blind-spot ambush inside the logistics building corridors," Cruz reported with solemn honor.
"The wounded soldier is receiving field medical treatment, and the two fallen brothers have been recovered for burial."
"Second, logistics and supply haul: we breached and secured Bilibid's central warehouse depot and medical center!"
"Our teams recovered eighty sacks of rice, two hundred boxes of canned goods, one hundred cases of bottled water, and twenty crates of hospital-grade medical supplies!"
"Third, rescued survivors: our clearing teams breached locked medical holding rooms, discovering forty-two uninfected survivors."
"They are a mix of twenty-four prison medical staff and BuCor clerks, alongside eighteen uninfected inmates who survived locked inside their cells."
Elias looked at Cruz with a sharp, decisive gaze. "How are we handling the inmate survivors?"
"Supreme Commander, Senior Officer Torres and his BuCor officers have placed the eighteen uninfected inmates under secure custody in reinforced holding cells within the administrative safe zone," Cruz reported.
"They receive full food rations and medical care, but they remain locked under armed BuCor guard until evaluated for supervised labor details."
Elias nodded in firm approval. "Good. We maintain strict security protocols."
Cruz pointed a gloved hand toward the sprawling multi-story cellblock complexes of Maximum, Medium, Minimum, and RDC extending across the five-hundred-hectare facility.
"Supreme Commander, the loss of two men in a simple logistics corridor proves how dangerous these blind cellblocks truly are," Cruz explained with grave military realism.
"We have over ten thousand turned inmates still trapped inside locked cellblocks, isolation wards, maintenance tunnels, and diagnostic wings."
"Clearing hundreds of multi-story open-air cellblock barracks across all four major security compounds will take our platoons at least two to three full weeks of systematic, high-risk clearing operations."
Elias looked down at the two fallen soldiers being wrapped in tactical tarps, his eyes burning with cold, resolute determination.
"Agreed, Cruz," Elias said, nodding with firm command authority.
"We don't rush into blind cellblock bottlenecks. We execute a multi-week campaign, clearing compound by compound, zone by zone."
"Escort the civilian staff to the main shelter, keep the inmate survivors secured under Torres's guard, distribute the food rations, and set up extraction details for the two thousand Red Cores in Phase 1 yard."
"Tomorrow morning, we begin Phase 2: Maximum Security Cellblocks!"
"Copy that, Supreme Commander!" Cruz saluted sharply. "1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th Platoons will execute!"
Elias looked across the vast five-hundred-hectare expanse of Bilibid Fortress, a confident smile spreading across his face.
With Phase 1 secured, two thousand Red Cores ready for extraction, massive food stockpiles secured, and a clear multi-week operational plan established, Bilibid Fortress was well on its way to becoming an impregnable military capital!