Code Zulu Alpha: Nerd in the Apocalypse!

The moment I declared my intentions, I already started to remove my katana from my hip. I drew it slowly while I held the scabbard with my other hand. I was waiting for them to release everything but after a few moments, nothing was happening.

"What?" I thought to myself.

I turned around and I saw the announcer giving me the angriest look he could give.

"ARE… ARE YOU FUCKING SERIOUS?!" he bellowed through the megaphone.

The feedback hurt our ears but I replied.

"You deaf? I already said all of them." I was annoyed.

"YOU FUCKING… DIDN'T YOU LISTEN TO THE FUCKING RULES?! THERE'S A THOUSAND OF THEM ALL IN ALL IN THOSE VEHICLES!!! THE MOMENT YOU SAY A NUMBER, WE'LL RELEASE THEM AND WE'RE NOT SENDING HELP EVEN IF YOU DIE IN THE PROCESS!!! YOU MEAN TO SAY YOU'LL KILL A THOUSAND WITH THAT FUCKING MEASLY SAMURAI OF YOURS?! WHY DON'T I JUST FUCKING SHOOT YOU IN THE HEAD NOW SO WE'LL SAVE A LOT OF TIME?! D'YOU KNOW HOW LONG WOULD IT TAKE TO BRING THEM BACK ONCE YOU DIE AFTER A FEW DOZEN?! HUH?!" he bellowed.

I looked at everyone's reaction and Mr. Cuervo was also looking at me, checking, if I'm serious. On the other hand, only my group believed in my words but they're still worried about the amount I would be taking down by myself. Even if they're all regular ones, the moment I got swarmed, I'm dead. If I tried to escape, the rules stated that climbing over the fence rewards me with a bullet to the head.

I shook my head in anger and I anchored the conversation.

"Okay, how about this? If I managed to kill them all, I'm killing you with this 'measly samurai' of mine." I said loud enough for everyone to hear.

The announcer's face grew red from my reply since the other participants got roused and urged him to take the bet with mockery.

"Hah! You hear what he said?!"

"Hey announcer! What the fuck are you gonna do now?!"

"You're the one wasting our time!"

"Hey!"

"Hey Miguel~ Answer him fool!"

"The fuck are you gonna do now Miguel~?"

"Fucking pussy!"

"Hey Miguel!"

"Are you gonna pussy now or what?!"

"Take it!"

"Take the bet fool!"

"Take the fucking bet you fucking pussy-ass bitch!"

The announcer turned around to look at Mr. Cuervo first before glaring at me viciously. Mr. Cuervo glanced at me briefly before giving a long and deep sigh. The announcer was shaking in anger from the embarrassment and humiliation he received so he picked up the megaphone to shout at me.

"ALRIGHT!!! IT'S A FUCKING BET YOU FUCKING IDIOT!!! RE-" the announcer was about to give the signal to release everything but I heard Kaley's voice.

"WAIT!!!" Kaley bellowed.

"WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU YELLING ABOUT YOU BITCH?!" the announcer was about to pop a vein.

Kaley was looking at Mr. Cuervo while raising my wakizashi. Cynthia was behind her and she was looking at Mr. Cuervo as well. I was about to wave her down but Mr. Cuervo stood up.

"I'll allow my rule to be broken once but you'll be one of my girls when he dies, understood?" Mr. Cuervo said to Kaley.

Mr. Cuervo was still in the middle of finishing his sentence but Kaley already threw my wakizashi inside the cage. She looked at me with anger and worry but she shouldn't have done what she did. I was angry at the announcer by calling Old Man Kaiseki's work 'measly' but this time, I was also angry at myself for getting Kaley involved. I closed my eyes for a moment then I sheathed my katana. I handed it to Tatiana outside much to everyone's surprise and now I'm just equipped with my wakizashi.

"Hey! What are you doing?! I- Tatiana! Throw it back at-" Kaley bellowed as she banged on the cage but I looked at her and she stopped.

"I told you, watch me." I faintly smiled then the temperature dropped several degrees.

Holding my wakizashi in my right hand made me see the tattoo on my arm that Old Man Kaiseki inked for me. I was reminded of the reason why this tattoo was given to me and what it signified. It was merely a symbol to represent something Old Man Kaiseki saw in me but I understood what he meant. He made his own spin on what is was originally and he placed his creation on my arm.

Kuroi Ri-Ryu.

I could still remember the pain I went through when he inked it on me but I never felt something that was created by someone fitting me perfectly. Even the weapons he forged for me felt like I've been using them for years. People purchasing or being given a new tool would take them some time getting used to it but it was a different case for what Old Man Kaiseki gave me.

It was really cold but my sweat was still flowing out of me. The announcer just shouted curses at me before ordering the thousand zombies to be released all at once. The bloody figures one by one came into view and I didn't even wait for them to reach me as I dashed forwards. My methodical approach was to kite them and slowly thin their numbers but this time it's different.

I couldn't hear anything.

One.

...

Two.

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Three.

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Four.

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Five.

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Six.

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Seven.

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Eight.

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Nine.

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Ten.

…

Twenty.

…

Thirty.

…

Forty.

…

Fifty.

…

Sixty.

…

Seventy.

…

Eighty.

…

Ninety.

...

One Hundred.

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Two Hundred.

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Three Hundred.

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Four Hundred.

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Five Hundred.

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Six Hundred.

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Seven Hundred.

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Eight Hundred.

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Nine Hundred.

...

One Thousand.

I heard the sound of my blade slicing through the body of my last victim. The blood gushed out, staining my blade which was now deep crimson in color. I thought I lost my hearing since the whole place was very quiet. It took a few seconds before I heard the sounds of crickets chirping in the distance. I looked back at the speakers atop the lamp posts and I looked at the people watching by the vehicles.

"Oh, they're just not making a sound. Why are they not moving though?" I thought to myself.

I was near the entrance and I looked back at the mess that I made.

Dismembered bodies littered the cage and I can't even see the flooring. A pool of viscous and darkened blood covered the pathway completely. Incomplete parts of something which was once whole were even invading the space outside the cage. The smell of rotting corpses and coagulated blood permeated my nose when the cold wind blew in my direction. I felt the cold breeze touch my skin but when I looked at my torso, I was clean.

Nothing came close.

Not even a speck reached my body. The only thing covered in blood were my hands, my wakizashi, its scabbard, and my shoes. I flicked my blade to remove some of the blood but it had no effect. I need to clean it deeply like last time since it was soiled and any wiping it with a wet cloth could only help with the grime on the surface.

"Shit, my tools for cleaning them were back at home." I thought to myself.

I slowly walked back to where Kaley was and now she's holding my katana instead of Tatiana. Tatiana, Cynthia, and Ilya were with her now but her eyes were watery and red. She started to breath heavily when I came in front of her. Only the fence was separating us and she screamed her heart out.

"DIDN'T YOU KNOW HOW WORRIED I WAS?! WHY DID YOU HAVE TO-" Kaley was about to cry but my peaceful smile slowly calmed her down.

I waited for her to completely calm down before I asked for a wet wipe which almost provoked an attack from her.

I calmly wiped the surface of my wakizashi and scabbard before sheathing it. I fastened it on my hip and I took my katana from Kaley and did the same thing.

They were all still stunned from what happened but a loud commotion immediately followed. The noise was deafening and any amount of music coming out from the speakers were getting drowned out by the participants and the people that just witnessed what happened.

"OHHHHHHHHHHHHH~"

"DID YOU FUCKING SEE THAT?!"

"HOLY SHIT!!!"

"WHAT THE FUCK DID JUST HAPPEN?!"

"SAMURAI BOY HAPPENED FOOL!!!"

"HE ACTUALLY DID IT!!!"

"WHAT THE FUCK!!!"

"OHHHHHHHHHH SHITTTTT~!!!"

Their thunderous cheers took a few minutes before it calmed down. It was finally stopped when Mr. Cuervo was the one holding the megaphone.

"I was planning to conduct more games after this but anything that followed that would be so fucking boring. You. Come over here." Mr. Cuervo looked at me.

I slowly made my way towards the stage and everyone watching me was fucking quiet. I saw the announcer behind Mr. Cuervo and he stepped up to face me. He had anger lingering in his eyes and he was breathing heavily. However, he took a deep breath and looked me in the eye.

"Do it. I'm not gonna beg you to change your mind." the announcer said without a hint of fear.

"Mr. Ishiyama, as per the rules you two agreed upon. You now own his life." Mr. Cuervo said beside me.

"Apologize to my Old Man Kaiseki and Kaley first." I looked back at him.

"Who?" he asked with an annoyance in his tone.

I scoffed and said, "Kaley's my woman who you called bitch and my Old Man Kaiseki is the one who made this 'measly samurai'. Apologize."

I directed all of my pent up killing intent towards him and my hands moved. My heart was raging wildly but my mind was still calm as ever. My hands were telling me to cut him to pieces already but my head is telling me to wait. It was a struggle before but I have long managed a way to keep myself in check though I always let it out when I want to.

I quickly drew my katana and aimed it at his head. However, I stopped at the last second before the tip was about to nick his eye. His fake posturing crumbled into pieces before he peed himself and trembled in fear. Mr. Cuervo kicked him down and stomped on his head before shouting at him.

"Is that what being a man means to you?! You fucking imbecile! Don't doubt a man's word when it already came out of his mouth! If you heard him the first time, you should have granted him his wishes even if you think he'll die in the process! You don't decide for another man what to do! Now apologize to his old man and his woman!" Mr. Cuervo bellowed.

"I-I-I apologize!!! I apologize!!!" the announcer broke down in tears then he kowtowed in front of me and bowed down towards Kaley. He waited for Mr. Cuervo to tell him to stand up and he gave him his death sentence.

"Miguel Esperanza, you bet your life against another and now you must own up to it. Stand up and accept your fate. At least die a man even after this blunder you made." Mr. Cuervo declared.

The crowd was silent the moment his death sentence was given. No one was voicing out their opinion since they know the rules of this place.

The announcer was still a sobbing mess but he slowly stood up to accept his fate. He was trembling when he looked me in the eye though he slowly stabilized himself when I started to draw my blade.

"Once again, I'm sorry. Please, I accept the punishment. Kill me." he stated.

A flash quickly appeared before a sound of a blade getting sheathed followed. He was able to give a confused look for a short moment before I spoke to him.

"You're already dead." I muttered before a line of red appeared on his whole body.