?? Sta Mesa Condominium
Character Profile:
Name: Jackie (Codename: Zero)
Age: 33
Height: 5’6”
Class: Tech Warden (Support-Type)
Affiliation: Survivor of Sta. Mesa Stronghold
Current Status: Upgrading Base Defenses | Unlocking Basic Drone Control | Building First Combat Squad
The air inside Jackie’s unit in the V. Mapa condo was heavy. Not just from Manila’s humidity, but from the eerie, absolute silence that had replaced the once-buzzing city. It had been two days since the communications grid had gone dark. No signals, no TV, no updates. Nothing but static and ghosted screens.
Then it happened. At 3:43 AM on the fourth night the power died.
The city plunged into true darkness.
Jackie bolted up from his makeshift cot, wrench in one hand, flashlight in the other. He rushed to the console where his prototype drone recharger had been running. Dead. The emergency batteries were still on… barely. He’d have to ration every second now.
He opened his balcony window, staring at the skyline of downtown Manila in the distance. Fire glimmered in the far-off districts. Screams echoed, faint but present.
And from the road below shadows moved.
Manila - Sta. Mesa Outskirts
A scout drone Jackie released earlier had spotted activity near Pureza. Creatures. They were ghastly thin-skinned, clawed, and moving in packs. Ghoul-type. Low intelligence but highly aggressive. Jackie nicknamed them Runners. One bite infected. Two bites? Fatal.
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But the real nightmare came at dawn.
The early morning fog hadn’t lifted when he spotted it from his drone’s 200-meter height: a larger creature. It walked on all fours, muscles twitching beneath bone-like armor, and from its back, sacks pulsated birthing smaller creatures that scattered upon hitting the ground.
Brood Variant: Scour-Class – Estimated Threat Level: C++
This wasn’t just a threat. It was a base destroyer.
Zero’s Decision: Fortify and Adapt
Jackie knew he couldn’t run. He couldn't leave the condo. Not yet. His parents were still in Batasan Hills, and Pampanga was still unreachable. That meant he had to make this building survivable.
He activated the blueprint UI from his Tech Warden class console still functioning thanks to his backup power core. The AI chip blinked weakly.
[Base Upgrade Path: Choose]
- Reinforce Front Entrance + Lobby Killzone Design
- Deploy Basic Turret Emplacements (Scavenged Tech)
- Set Up Rooftop Emergency Drone Lab
He chose all three.
His days became mechanical: scavenging components from abandoned offices, stripping down UPS backups from nearby buildings, even dragging solar panels up to the roof from a looted appliance center. He rarely slept. He couldn’t afford to.
Runners attacked nightly.
But Jackie’s turrets rigged from a converted security system shredded the first wave. They learned, of course. The ghouls began to attack from the sewers. So, Jackie laid traps. Trip lasers. Arc bolts. Flash mines. All designed by a desperate engineer who once just wanted a promotion.
A Spark of Hope
On the fifth night, a broadcast pierced the silence.
"This is Fort Pandacan. Survivors, respond. We’re holding off. But...we need help."
It was scratchy, weak but human.
Jackie recorded the frequency. He marked the direction. But he knew what that meant more people meant more mouths to feed, more threats, more noise.
But also more skills, more allies.
Zero the name he once gave himself in online games began to take form in the real world. A ghost of a man with a heart that refused to break. He donned his makeshift armor, assembled from plate scraps and drone plating. His drone squad now numbered three Scout, Disruptor, and Medibot.
He looked at his reflection his beard unkempt, his eyes sunken but burning with will.
“Let’s make this place unbreakable,” he said to no one.
The fortress of Sta. Mesa wasn’t just a building now. It was a statement.