Code Zulu Alpha: Nerd in the Apocalypse!

In any case, we directed the conversation to something more light and casual—though I'd still see June look at her laptop to see if there was any movement from the group that went outside.

While it was true I was tempted to look and see as well, I couldn't fault her for worrying about her siblings: Cindy, Jeremy, and the person who I pegged to have the highest chance of controlling her killing intent, Eden.

These three weren't actual "actual" members of the Jackals—the cringe name of this group I was trying to establish—though they were still interim members and they should just do what the Romans do.

And as much as I'd hate to say this—with my overflowing plates of things to juggle, those three adding June were more people I'd have to look after.

It's just… It's just that the way I did things now was a little less focused like Joe's way of trying to master any or all number of one-handed weapons and various shields. If anything, for getting the most bang for my buck, or their bucks, I should be focusing more on fewer people like my own mastery of just my treasured blades, not any number of other bladed weapons I could get my hands on.

They all come in all shapes and sizes and mastering one could already take a lifetime, it was literally impossible to master everything to the point they'd be untouchable.

Still, I couldn't help but try to juggle a ton of things at once because again, with the world's current population, I couldn't be that picky with my students—even though I'm not an actual instructor—and then again, I could've been teaching everyone in my fold but I actually wasn't.

In addition, I've always put them on a path to building up a stronger foundation and sticking to basics because no one needed to learn to move their blades from all points, lines, and angles—and even connect each attack seamlessly or abruptly like flowing water or crashing thunder.

Putting this other rabbit hole aside, it took the pups all night to finish their scavenger hunt and it was already 6:07 AM when we saw them park on the driveway.

At this point, only June and I stayed up all night and "busied" ourselves while Kaley, Tatiana, and Ilana apologetically excused themselves because they also needed to rest. But weirdly enough, it seemed like Kaley knew the exact time they'd arrive because she came out of the tent only a few seconds when June and I were just about to meet everybody below.

"That's… That's too scary."

"Psychic… She's psychic, I tell ya…"

"True that… Pfft…"

Kaley then ran up to us while squinting her eyes, "You two are talking about me, aren't you?"

As soon as Kaley asked us that question, the two of us just started laughing and we got chased down a few steps before we made our way down normally.

"Did they seem fine?"

"I think so— they're just tired because they probably need sleep."

"Or coffee, or food, or both— no, all of the above."

"Did the Mayor call for breakfast yet?"

"Not yet, but I assumed that it'll be ready pretty soon."

"Did you two really stay up all night?"

"Yep."

"Better get some sleep once we get home, alright? Getting enough rest is important too, alright?!"

"Yes, Ma'am!/Yup!"

Kaley shook her head, "You two— Fine, let's go meet them down…"

In a few minutes, we reached the bottom floor and saw almost everyone slumped down on a random chair while JP and Tennyson were trying to keep things together. While Aaron's group didn't look as good as well, they were more used to the Mayor's shenanigans and that might be one of the reasons my group looked worse for some reason—or they were just tired and sleep-deprived.

With a quick look around, all their clothes—at least the ones who fight close and personal—had smudges of blood and random bits while the ones who were shooters had missing mags from their chest rigs. However, it didn't take long before Eden came in with this huge sack of the missing mags and spent casings—and it just made everyone else sigh loudly the moment she placed it down and settled.

And as they all saw me with Kaley and June, they didn't even have the strength to stand up but that was before Joe rolled in with the marble bust with a huge smile on his face:

"Aww~ Why the long faces?"

"..."

"No one fucking died and we all had a bonding moment, shouldn't we be celebrating? I even carried this motherfucker all the way—"

But at this point, Mayor Iskoh finally came in looking like he had enough sleep and he gave Joe a nod once he saw him with the scavenger item they made them look for.

"Good morning, it seemed like Joe's in a bit of a streak, huh? Counting this, it's already three times in a row?"

Joe chuckled, "That's right, sir! Can I fill another pushcart for my afternoon events?"

"Go ahead, but bring that same bust to Sgt. Michaels," then he turned to Aaron, "Aaron, report?"

Aaron wiped his face with a damp cloth before standing up:

"Private Aaron Tagle for the report, with the help of— umm… an expertly curated group led by the umm… Baron—"

JP cut in, "Ex-Baron."

"Then what—"

"Just the Ishiyama Special Unit Recruit's Squad Leader."

"Sure… With the Ex-Baron leading his own team, the attempt to retrieve the bust from the 3rd floor was incredibly easier despite setting off the alarms due to taking too much time exploring each floor and checking each individual room methodically."

"So how'd you all come out unscathed?"

"Before we came into the apartment complex, we secured two exit points manned by a couple of privates and we also had people still in their vehicles still running. We've made ample preparations before outside as it was going in though it did cost us some valuable time— Hence the alarms setting off and attracting a horde outside and rattling and riling up every undead on the inside."

"So what could you have done differently?"

"None, sir."

"None at all?"

"Those procedures were all required for everyone's safety and while the alarms going off were very unfortunate, we'd be in more trouble and the factors to take into account would be more disadvantageous for us."

Mayor Iskoh turned to JP, "You. What would you have done differently?"

"I'd say none but we could've moved faster and be more decisive. While I'm not entirely sure that it'd make a difference, there's also the factor of our groups working for the second time together so mistakes like this were negligible. But what we do know was that everyone knows how to fight so we dug deep and faced the horde as best as we could and made the bust wait until we're all done.

I just wasn't aware the one to carry it back would get a prize." Stay updated via empire

"Hmm, they didn't tell you or your group?"

"It would seem so, sir. I'm guessing they're all trying to scramble for it as well because they slowly disappeared once we started the cleanup process. I just knew of the fact when Joe wouldn't let go of the bust as he helped us pick up the spent casings."

"Did you try to take it away from Joe knowing that?"

"No, sir. Again, I wasn't completely aware but seeing that everyone else in their group wasn't trying to take it away from him, they must've all come to an agreement or something of the sort."

"I see, I see~ Then what would you have done with the knowledge beforehand?"

"With all due respect, sir, traversing unknown areas to us at night was already dangerous, joining these games would put us in more danger. I understand the concept but I don't agree with the bottom line."

"Explain, you can talk freely. I'm not your dad."

JP just stared at Iskoh for a moment before he replied, "Very well, while sending us all to do a difficult task could make our bonds or sense of comradery stronger, the final dash to who gets the bust just throws it all out the window. The rewards should be distributed to everyone, not just who gets to the bust the fastest."

Mayor Iskoh chuckled, "Oh, don't get me wrong, everyone gets rewards for completing the tasks, it's just that there's extra for the one to get it."

JP sighed, "I guess it's good knowing that but games should be played in a safe space."

"Then what's the point of having you play a scavenger 'game' outside without an extra thing to look forward to when you get back?"

"I can't think of a proper response right now but as the leader of my own squad, I'm responsible for all of them and I can't participate in some race or the actual 'mission' objective while knowing deep in my head that this was still a simulation. Putting down the dead and keeping my group safe's enough for me at this moment, sir."

Mayor Iskoh nodded a few times, "Hmph. I appreciate the candor, young man. Alright, I guess I need to make a few adjustments to make it feel less like a simulation when your group's involved. Do you have anything in mind for that?"

JP shook his head, "I'm sorry to say but I've been involved and even directed real missions when I was still in the Academy and I'd say that instead of doing these missions in the middle of the night while everyone's performance wasn't at their peak, I'd say assign them actual fetch missions in the morning and have these simulations at night in a safe space.

We could argue that everyone should be ready at any moment's notice but I'd also argue that it'd be a tad meaningless if everyone else couldn't be in peak performance."

"But this is just what this exercise is all about, how can we meet in the middle here?"

"Again, I've directed missions and only a handful of them have to be done in the dead of night. I know emergencies are emergencies but we shouldn't have a simulated emergency every week."

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