Code Zulu Alpha: Nerd in the Apocalypse!

"What are you guys looking like that for?" I asked.

"They got stuck here and had to opt out. Think we could have saved them if we went here earlier?" Jared replied.

"Not too sure either. We have things in our hands when we're securing our place there. Just ready your gun if we manage to find the people who started this thing. We'll make them wish they were dead. Check their bodies for the items on their person." I replied.

We found more 1911 pistols and an extra magazine for each person. The only difference from what we found earlier from the bodies is that they have knives in their belts as well. Inside the office we also found a cavalry sword that has a red tassel on the handle and a gold engraving of the three stars and the sun on the scabbard. Jared took it for himself since the trench knife I gave him has short reach. I even took the case of cigars and his fancy lighter and placed it on my pack.

"You smoke?" Matthew asked.

"No, you?" I asked.

"Yeah. Can you give me one?" he asked back.

"Give me that Anaconda and I'll consider." I said.

"The fuck?!" he exclaimed.

"This could be the last case of cigars you can find left in this world. This thing's value just multiplied by a whole lot." I replied.

"But I'm just asking for one!" he retorted.

"Yeah, and I'm asking for that Anaconda!" I exclaimed as I widened my eyes.

"Oh boy." Jared muttered.

"Do you know how much I got this Anaconda for?!" he exclaimed.

"Don't care. That's the trade value now. One cigar for that Anaconda. Oh god this thing smells so good." I said as I took one out and sniffed it in front of him.

"I'M JUST ASKING FOR A SINGLE CIGAR YOU LITTLE SHIT!!!" he bellowed.

"Anaconda." I replied again innocently.

"AHHHHH!!!" he shouted.

"I thought you quit dad. I'm telling mom." Kaley interjected.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. It's been years now! I'm just asking one for a break. Don't tell Marisha! She'll kill me!" he forgot the cigar and pleaded to Kaley.

"Anaconda." she replied with a cheeky smile.

"What?!" his body almost fell limp.

"Didn't hear me dad? I want the Anaconda as a bribe. Gimme." Kaley said with a straight face.

"What have you been teaching my daughter?!" Matthew bellowed at me.

The group watching us are shaking their heads in amusement and Jared is clutching his stomach from laughter.

"I'll give you the fucking Anaconda if you give the whole case!" he tried to negotiate.

"Sure." I replied as I swiped the Anaconda from his holster. I handed him the case but when he opened it, it was empty.

"You little shit! Where's the cigars?!" he shouted.

"Tatiana, what did he say before?" I said innocently.

"He said that he'll give you the fucking Anaconda for the whole 'case'! The cigars weren't part of the deal." Tatiana tried to lower her voice.

"FUCKING GIVE ME THE CIGARS!!!" he was about to lose his mind.

"Remington 870." I replied.

Like a person who lost his soul, he limped on the floor almost lifeless. Kaley was shaking him awake but he never moved. I smirked and threw him the cigars from my pack.

"Just kidding Mr. Matthew. Why would I be stingy from a cigar? You already gave me the Anaconda. Thanks!" I said as he stood up and shouted more unintelligible terms.

"You got him good." Kaley said beside me.

"Yeah. Nice teamwork." I replied as I nudged her with my shoulder.

We then headed to the administration office and I immediately checked their server. I opened the glass door but the drives where they were supposed to be located is missing.

"Damn, someone took the drives with them. I guess we'll stick with the paperwork here." I said.

"What are you looking for in the drives anyway?" Tatiana asked.

"People that we could recruit, places they might have mentioned where they would be holing up, maybe even some secret that they don't want us to find because the drives here are missing. We could only get the names of some of the people from the 'APPLICANTS' office and match it with the files in the DDR camp to see if the ones here are there." I explained.

"Oh, so we could get more soldiers, correct?" she asked.

"Yeah, even trainees would be good. I'd prefer them over the seasoned ones." I replied.

"Trainees? Why would you pick them over the seasoned ones?" Jared asked.

"Okay then, Tatiana, what was your first impression of me when you saw me above the catwalk? Be honest yeah?" I said.

"Well, I thought I was being punk'd by your president sending me to accompany you and follow your orders so I tested you immediately." she replied.

"I think that answers it." I said.

"Huh? That barely answers anything." Matthew replied.

"Okay, Tatiana has been serving maybe for a few years and she's already had experience. What would a trained soldier say when she's told to obey someone who only had basic military training for 6 months? It's bullcrap right? Besides I think that way because in gaming terms, they are a new character. I could mold them however I want them." I explained.

"But the seasoned soldiers would have better fighting capabilities, correct?" Tatiana said.

"That is true, but hear me out. Let's say I gave you a kitted gun with all the attachments that I picked. Would you be able to use that thing flawlessly? Maybe you could but the one who did the customization will have better understanding and command of the gun. Also, why does companies prefer to hire fresh graduates over the ones that have worked a few years? Even if it would take them a bit of time training them, it would be easier to teach someone with zero experience new sets of skills rather than modify someone's skillset. It's like writing on a piece of paper, much easier to write on a blank one than to erase a few parts and write after it." I said.

"Won't you still be able to train the seasoned ones too?" Jared asked.

"Skill points." I replied.

"Oh, right." he understood immediately.

"Hold on, hold on, skill wha? I'm lost now." Matthew chimed in.

"It's a game mechanic that you could place on your character to learn what skill it could learn depending on how many you have. Let's say that you are a master at a certain skill, it couldn't be said that you are masters of all of them. There would be variations in how your skill level in each thing is distributed. Characters have a maximum cap, in other words a limit in how many skills it could learn." I said.

"But we're humans, we can learn anything we put our mind into, right?" Matthew said.

"Well, yes, but actually, no. It gets much harder." I said.

"W-wait, how?" he replied.

"It involves more variables now. There will be age, compatibility, physical and mental restrictions, potential, emotional stability, drive, talent, and so much more. What makes it hard is that we don't know the exact values for each. Shooting a gun can still be possible with a guy with one eye but a guy with both eyes will definitely have the advantage. Another example is that both singers singing the same song but one is much better than the other one since she's talented or did more training with it. We could go on and on about examples and it will be just a very deep rabbit hole. Let's just say that humans are complex yeah?" I said.

"I think I understand what you're saying, I might need to hear it a couple more times but I think I would get the whole meaning eventually." Jared said.

"Hmmm, but doing that would be too nitpicky. I'd still prefer seasoned ones." Matthew said.

"But hey, don't get me wrong. I'm pretty good at Tetris so I'll take what's available. I just want to start a level where everything's a square piece." I said.

"What? Tetris? What's that?" Matthew is growing more confused.

"Hah! Good one." Jared chuckled.

"You never played at least that? Remember the brick games that's sold before the Gameboys? The black and white ones that used to cost Php 200.00? ($4.00) The game where you need to place shapes in a horizontal line so you win points?" I tried to remind him.

"Oh! That game! What's the connection though?" he exclaimed in realization while Kaley facepalmed.

"Dad! Are you lacking sleep?! Imagine each person a different kind of block. Being good at Tetris would translate to being good at leading people if you combine the concepts together!" Kaley exclaimed.

"Oh~! I see it now." Matthew nodded a few times.

"Hah! Oscar will be so mad at us talking about random things here while he's holding his shit together literally. Let's finish checking everything so we could go home." I said.