The Eternal Winter - Book 1 - Chapter 32 - Emergency Announcement (Patreon)

                                                                                        Alexander North

Fortunately for me, none of the fighting frozen ones seem to notice my exit. That or they’re just too busy to do anything about it. Because I doubt I’d be able to fight that many. And especially not with one of that size, and with almost the same energy level as myself.

I let out a sigh of relief after making sure that I’m good.

Let’s just hope there aren’t any more of tho-

My thoughts cut off as the sound of a door slowly squeaking open enters my ears from further down the hall, and when I jerk my head to look in the direction of the noise, I find a couple of soldiers and three civilians walking out of one of the rooms.

Huh. So there are survivors on this floor.

They freeze the moment they see me before seemingly looking over the damages to my armor and then glancing at the insignia on my shoulder displaying my rank of second lieutenant. The soldiers then immediately salute me and quietly exclaim, “Sir!”

I don’t say anything for a second, just focusing my gaze on their own insignias, one of which is that of a private whereas the other is a sergeant.

A private? Don’t really see very many of those on this planet, and especially not at this base.

Generally, the new recruits of the military tend to request being sent to the front lines of battlefields so that they can get promoted more quickly. Which also leads to a lot of deaths, sadly enough.

“At ease,” I tell them before glancing at the civilians behind them and asking, “state your names and positions.”

The civilians all look nervous, but each of them answers one by one.

“Jacob Hardlight, from IT.” A thin man wearing a ball cap with a random company logo on it says, his voice cracking slightly as he speaks.

“Maria Holston, also from IT.” An equally thin woman wearing a simple gray skirt with a ball cap of her own, making me wonder if that is regular wear for ITs or something, says.

“Arnold Morus, visitor.” A bulky man seemingly in his forties or fifties, who looks like he could be a military soldier himself says with a frown.

I look between the three for a few seconds before narrowing my gaze on the third one and asking, “You a veteran?”

He nods his head and says, “Of ten years.”

Oh? Impressive.

Anyways, I can’t keep them around me. They’re very likely to figure out about-

My thoughts are suddenly interrupted as a loud blaring sound echoes in my ear followed by an emergency announcement that appears in red text from my terminal – and judging by the other two soldiers’ reactions, it’s not just happening to me.

I raise my hand for the sake of the civilians before pointing to my ear and then reading the emergency announcement given to me directly by the mother terminal.

/ Emergency Announcement \

This is an announcement to every soldier of the Terran Empire.

The apocalypse we are currently undergoing has been caused by the Arctic Empire and it’s been labeled as the Eternal Winter.
Due to the Arctic Empire’s actions, the planet Cocytus has released its cold atmosphere in a massive wave that spread out to cover the entire universe, altering physics itself in the process to disable the use of electronic technology and guns.

But you all must be aware of this at this point.
The major threat of the Eternal Winter are the beings known as the Frozen Ones, who are creatures who have been infected by the radiation inside of the crystals floating through the air, and the crystals themselves.

The crystals are known to target any unique sign of life that has a base amount of intelligence.
This means that each crystal will only target you once before leaving to find a new target.

The Frozen Ones vary in strength, speed, and their use of their individual power. And each frozen one has a different power, ranging from freezing what they touch, to growing stronger through eating specific things.

Furthermore, a new type of creature has been identified as ‘Frost Infused’.
These creatures are humans who through one way or another retained their intelligence after being infected.
However, not much is known about them as of yet. And the identities of the current known frost infused are confidential.

We have been able to confirm their trustworthiness, so all soldiers are ordered to treat them as they were prior to turning.

The casualty rate during this apocalyptical catastrophe has been calculated to be around 70% loss of life, so make sure that after you retake control of your base, you take control of the cities closest to you and protect the civilians as well as you can.

This is a direct order from the General of the Military, the Council of CEOs, and the Council of Governors.

Protect the Empire. At all costs.

\End of Emergency Announcement/

My mouth drops open after reading the part about the frost infused – which obviously includes me – and how they mentioned it as if there were more than one case of it. Meaning there might be others like me.

Although judging by dad’s reaction to learning my situation in the first place, I’m not so sure about that. Especially considering that they seem to be hiding some information.

After the announcement disappears, I turn my attention back to the soldiers again. Then towards the civilians.

Well, I guess the soldiers should know about what I am now. But the civilians probably still won’t accept me.

I purse my lips in thought for a second before eventually focusing on the soldiers and asking, “Where are you currently heading?”

The sergeant snaps out of the stupor he was in due to the announcement before standing at attention and answering, “We were heading towards the stairwell, second lieutenant, sir!”

I thought so.

“Bad plan,” I tell him while glancing at the private, who seems scared to death of both our surroundings and possibly even me due to my status as a superior officer by several ranks, “the entrance to BF1 is currently blocked by rubble, and the bunker down below is blocked as well, making the only way out from here the executive stairwell on this floor. Which is where I’m going.”

My statement shocks the two soldiers and seems to frighten the two IT civilians as well, with the veteran being the only one taking it well.