Code Zulu Alpha: Nerd in the Apocalypse!

I quickly tried to compose myself from what had happened and I took note of everyone that had the same reaction as us. A third of the audience seemed to be newcomers like us though we can't always say for sure. The next fight quickly followed and it's between two guys betting three cartons of cigarettes for a .38 Special revolver. I was expecting a high-level fight but it was a mud-fight right from the get go. I slightly lost interest then I saw Ilya approaching me with a smile.

"Here, I scored myself something really easy." Ilya said after handing my Tavor back while still in the same getup. However, the Remington 700 and the two boxes of ammo are not in his person. Not only that, ten rounds of 5.56 is missing from one of the magazines.

"Must be the house's cut." I thought to myself.

I looked at him briefly to check if I'm right by lifting the magazine and he nodded.

"Yeah, they receive a small cut from the winnings. I think it's how they stay afloat." he added.

"Where's the rifle you won though? You joined again didn't you?" I chuckled.

"Hah! Yeah, I did. Another one approached me after the fight and he wagered a Beretta 92 with a K-Bar for the other rifle. He's adding two extra magazines filled to the brim and a holster so I agreed. I'm fighting that guy with a bald head later." he replied, smiling.

"Didn't peg you for a gambler. You're a bit different now when you're in this scene." I said.

"It's not gambling if you're sure to win. Well, this kind of thing takes me back." he replied.

"Take him back?" I thought to myself.

"Good point but don't get overconfident. Make it a show on your next fight so you'll still have opponents later. Anyway, is that the rule here though? Just approach someone or get approached and a fight would be set?" I asked.

"Yeah, as far as I know though both sides must agree on the bet." he replied.

"I see. Is everything allowed then? Illegal strikes I mean. It's basically a street fight, right?" I asked again.

"Seems to be that way. I watched one earlier where the groin is always targeted and eye pokes is a normal thing. I have yet to perform those strikes since I don't want to scare off the competition." he answered.

"Hmm, okay. You should've bet this Tavor with the Remington 700 so we'd have a bigger return though. Aside from what we've seen earlier, are deaths allowed? Enrique said earlier that blood is paid by blood, right? We don't want to get off-ed by killing someone accidentally." I added.

"Trust me, I tried to up the stakes but he refused. I'm not sure about that clause on killing though." Ilya replied.

"Why are you asking for the rules? Planning to join? I thought we needed to keep a low profile? Hmm?" Kaley interjected.

"Not really, I'm still wondering why they have to kill the participant Ilya knocked out. As far as we know, the only one who was supposed to die was the one not willing to give up his gun." I replied.

"Why don't you ask the referee then?" Kaley sarcastically said.

"Well, why don't I, eh?" I started to walk towards the referee that's doing nothing much to the two's surprise.

We had a brief conversation and I walked back to Kaley and Ilya's colorful expressions.

"I know the answer. It's all good." I said to the two.

"Didn't you know I'm being sarcastic?" Kaley was still in disbelief.

"Well, it worked, didn't it?" Ilya started to chuckle.

"Yep." I replied as I watched the fighters struggle in the circle. I was tempted to throw a few random objects to turn it into ECW but I stopped myself.

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…

"Hey?" Kaley tapped me.

"What?" I looked at her.

"WHAT DID HE SAY?!" Kaley exclaimed.

"wHy dOn'T U AsK tHe rEf- Ow! I'll tell you! I'll tell you!" she pinched my sides when I copied her earlier statement. It never really hurt but it's fun to see her annoyed reaction.

"Okay, the gun they bet earlier was already owned by the house. Their car was already taken and it's their final hurrah. They just don't know when to stop and that's the result. Those two were neck-deep in debt and they were given an ultimatum. It's like Enrique said, just follow the rules and don't be stupid. They're dangerous people but they're organized and they follow their rules. Killing someone from a fight is not allowed unless it's a fight to the death agreed by both participants. They discourage it because they lose players." I told what the referee said.

"I could think of a few ways to make use of the other guy besides killing him but I guess they really pissed them off." Ilya added.

"The most popular bets are guns and narcotics though." Kaley said.

"Yeah, the two other fights before mine are also betting guns. After I won the next one, I'll start looking for a plate carrier and a helmet." Ilya is really enjoying himself.

We continued watching the fight and even if it's not high-level, it is entertaining. Neither one lets up and neither one puts up their defenses. Huge swings that could be easily dodged still connects and it fuels the energy of the onlookers. There is no time limit and it continues on until one guy gets knocked out. Their faces were all bloody and it started to drop on their torso. It's getting mixed with dirt and sweat literally making their fight a mud-fight. A headbutt decided the fight and a couple more fights followed.

It was soon Ilya's turn again and now he put on a show like we discussed.

He got hit a few times but the damage he took is negligible. He would sometimes throw his head or arms backwards to nullify most of the damage and he'd rarely perform head-slips to completely dodge a hit. But when he does, it looks like he's terrified and that's when he'll perform a well-timed flamboyant counter. He could've ended the fight much sooner to save energy but he made it last for a while to make it look like he struggled on the opponent this time and the first match was just a fluke.

He became my fighter and I became his manager.

I'm the one who started to negotiate the items for the wager and our earning's skyrocketed. Negotiating is made easier when I'm talking to people that would fail a breathalyzer test. I made very calculated bets and I talked and listened to every player first to know what they wanted to acquire. Ilya fought a few matches where the item wagered is of no use to us but very valuable to another.

I confirmed that Ilya is really a specialist not only in striking but he's also great at acting, timing, holding back, and receiving damage. I kept it in my mind to have a go with him before we leave. I had him throw a few matches without a hitch and it's almost illegal. The only thing stuck in my head is how in the hell did Nikolas and Alexei manage to score a hit with Ilya being the way he is.

"Lucky shot, I guess. The way he's fighting now still feels like he's goofing around." I thought to myself.

A few more fights later, we earned enough to secure proper and passable equipment to everyone that's lacking and a few extra. Ilya's now equipped with a Draco AK Pistol, Beretta 92, and a K-Bar knife. Ed, Edd, and Eddy now have a Remington 700, Maverick 88, and a Mare's Leg coupled with their existing handguns. We have a small pile of assorted ammo, so we distributed it to which gun it's for. Irene was handed Ilya's soft armor since we managed to buy a body armor with level III armor rating. We bought that armor from the house directly since we can't find anything with that quality anywhere and we have no use for the narcotics we won from the fights.

The extra things we kept are a bottle of antibiotics, five rolls of bandages, two flashlights, a pack of jerky, and two vouchers to use their 'massage' services.

Despite our gains, we still have losses.

He's a great striker but he's not as great at grappling techniques and he uses them sparingly. There's bruising in a few areas near his little finger and a few minor cuts all throughout. He fought more than a dozen matches and even if he could still fight physically, I had to call off the other requests to ensure he could still have full command of his hands.

I had to apply bandages to Ilya's knuckles since fighting barehanded can open up little cuts if you strike hard enough and hit a surface which is also hard like bone. But before that, I first cleaned his hand to remove the dirt and blood that has accumulated with water and soap. After that, I applied an antibiotic ointment to the little cuts and luckily there's no large ones that would cause problems.

"We could have gained more items coach. Why do we have to stop that early?" Ilya complained

"Really?" I slapped both of his hands hard and he immediately grimaced. Kaley was too late to stop me but she should've seen that coming.

"Ow! Are you related to Arturo perhaps?!" he quickly shook his stinging hands.

"Listen to your coach more next time, eh? You could've choked most of them if you weren't such a headhunter." I added.

On the other mock games, I just watched and placed bets to avoid gathering more attention towards us and to just get the gist of it since it's not really the real thing as they said earlier. I got to talk with some of the people attending and they've confirmed that this place has been operating even before the shit hits the fan. I've heard mostly good things about Mr. Cuervo even from the people that Irene recognized and was having conversation earlier.

The gate from the other side opened once more and the number of people inside are increasing exponentially.