Code Zulu Alpha: Nerd in the Apocalypse!

At this point, we still had a few minutes to rest and as a blessing and a curse, Rin brought in refreshments for everyone and actual food if they were aching for a bite. Not only was Tatiana glaring at me because it was also a test for her gluttony, but like me, she opted for a sip of water unlike everyone else.

It's because all of them either reached for the pot of coffee or an energy drink—some even started opening up the packs of candies or having a bite of some riceballs—but it'd be all sorts of trouble when they go at it too much because they'd feel bloated and heavy.

However, we just chose not to say anything—and even if some of them were telling their friends to stop doing what they were doing, they still kept on and drank one or two bottles of energy drinks to over-replenish themselves.

And when our time was up, these kids just discovered that they sort of fucked up—and to add insult to injury, I made June to not play anything and have everyone be stuck with the sound of our treadmills going on and on and on.

Let me be fucking honest, even I was affected because hearing everyone breathe so heavily was fucking jarring, but James #2 or Dos found a fucking loophole in which everyone applauded him for:

"AS I— HA… HAA… WALK THROUGH THE VALLEY OF THE SHADOW OF— HAHH… DEATH—"

"IS THAT FUCKING— HAHAH! YOU KNOW FUCKING COOLIO?!"

"S-SHADDAP! I'M SINGING! HA… HAA… L-LOOK AT MY LIFE— REALIZE… HA… LEFT…"

Even if Dos was the resident bard for some reason, all that singing would take a toll on his lungs even if he'd earn some favor from everyone. But yeah, it gave everyone a slight boost as they actually did well way~ past the 10-minute mark but the torture continued when I gave June the signal:

[IN THE JUNGLE~ THE MIGHTY JUNGLE~ THE LION SLEEPS~ TONIIIIIGHT~]

"NOOOOOOO!"

"BRO, WHAT THE FUCK?!"

"AH FUCK, I'M LOSING MY MIND! MAKE IT STOOOP!"

[A WHIM AWAY~ A WHIM AWAY~ A WHIM AWAY~]

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHA! KILL ME!"

"FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCK!"

"IT'S ACTUALLY GOOD, RIGHT?!"

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!"

At that point, everyone significantly slowed down but I gave them some euro beats when we reached the 20-minute mark. It gave them a second wind of sorts as a few started to bump their heads and enjoy it but they were shocked to fuck to discover I already finished my 10 kilometers in the span of 26 minutes.

There should be no fucking way I'd be faster after running 3.37 kilometers less, a difference of 4 fucking minutes, a 2-pound increment on my body, and the cumulative fatigue I incurred from the first run unless I was still holding myself back.

"HOWWW?!" Uno shouted at the top of his lungs.

I just chuckled as I went back to Rin's spot to take my sip of water.

'Sweating all these removes some water weight too… It's the same for them but two pounds is very manageable…'

And to everyone's surprise, Tatiana finished her set a minute later but she was also surprised that like her, I also held back.

"You fucking… I thought I'd surprise you…"

I chuckled, "I got all of you to thank for… All that 'cardio' bore some fruit, huh?"

"Shut up, hah!/ Doofus…/ Pfft… / Cardio— Ohhhh~ I see! Haha!"

Tatiana shook her head as she chuckled, "Maybe me wearing my own reward is the difference, correct?"

"You wore the 5-pound increment? You're crazy~"

Kaley cut in, "Shut up, you're already wearing two 5-pound increments on top of the 2-pound increment Tennyson gave you—"

"SHH! That was supposed to be a secret, Kaley! You— Fuck it, you got me…"

"HWAT?!/ WHAT?!/ NO SHOT!/ AGAIN! KILL ME!/ AHHHHHHHH!!!"

Obviously, our current participants heard what the fuck we were talking about but the 22 pounds of added weight on me was nothing because almost every single day we're out there, the gear on our bodies was way~ over 50 pounds. Just my plate carrier with protective plates on the front and on the back is 30-ish pounds add to that the miscellaneous shit on me plus my swords and my guns.

The 22 pounds on me right now is just a fucking joke at this point, but surprisingly enough, even if some of the kids were disheartened, some of them knowing this secret lit a fire in their asses as they pushed on with more fervor.

And to everyone's surprise, Seb took the first spot before Uno—and JP took over Tennyson's spot as well as a few others above him.

"FUCK!" Uno and Tennyson exclaimed as their original spot were overtaken—twice for Tennyson because he was overtaken by Seb and JP.

"Good job, Seb, you know the drill—"

He let out a smile, "I'll give it to you, sir."

I laughed out loud, "Fuck it, I'll take it! You'll have the 5-pound increment next. I'm just waiting for Tennyson to finish," then I turned to JP, "What's up, Jameson? Getting close to taking your title again, huh? How about you?"

JP turned to Seb, "I'll give it to you, sorry."

Seb chuckled, "None taken, it's all fair."

"That's true."

With that said, Uno finished next and he decided to give his 1-pound increment to JP instead while Tennyson and the rest put on their 1-pound increments as a global punishment. Obviously, everyone else took longer than 30 minutes to finish our goal and they weren't even talking that much, just focused on replenishing their energy with food and drink and resting up to recover as much as possible.

Then I came bearing bad news once more: "Time's up, you fucking crabs! Time to get on it again and do it all for nothing!"

"I THOUGHT THERE WAS A REWARD!"

"Yeah, of course—"

"THEN—"

"Did I lie or not? Let's find out…"

"FUCK!"

"We can do it! One more!"

"SHIT!"

"H-Hahh… HAH… Ha…"

"One more, baby! One more!"

"FUCK! FUCK! FUCK!"

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