Code Zulu Alpha: Nerd in the Apocalypse!

It took me a few moments before I calmed down once again but I was later informed that Tatiana found them in one of the rooms in the sleeping quarters.

"Oh, so it wasn't on display then?" Kaley asked.

"Yeah, aside from the staves on display, most of the quality of the weapons in the main temple was not up to par from those two. I mean, they could still be used to stab or smash heads but if we're talking about this guy, he'd only take those two to his armory, correct?" Tatiana explained.

"Yeah, we already came across a few more swords on display but most of them were just ornamental. These two however are something else, nice find- no, great fucking find. I guess I don't only owe Jared and Alex for bringing us here. Have you been to the other areas? You came from the other side, right?" I asked, smiling.

"There wasn't much to find in the other shrines but I've never been to the storage areas." Tatiana replied.

"So, we aren't taking some of the weapons home?" Ibarra added.

"Hmm? Oh, we'll take what could fit on our Raptor and maybe we'll come back depending on what's in the storage room. These two here are quite special but we'd be taking some staves for the quality of the wood used and some swords for reference if some at the compound wanted something similar." I replied.

After that short talk, we made our way to the storage room and we mostly discovered food items. Most of the perishables like their vegetables have rotted to the point of mold forming on them but the ones that survived were dried meat and fish alongside a few sacks of beans and rice.

Surprisingly, a few sacks of potatoes survived. Some of them were outgrowing the sack they were in like the sack of onions we found growing leaves.

"PO-TA-TOES! Boil 'em, mash 'em, put 'em in a stew!'" I exclaimed, chuckling after.

"..." the three were looking at me weirdly.

"You three need to watch more movies, I can't be the only quoting movies here! It's gonna be part of our training in the future!" I exclaimed, joking.

After a while, the Raptor was full of supplies and we were now driving back home alongside Mark and Marvin's group that came in after calling them. There were just too many items to pass up even from the stores outside so it was better to haul them now because it would be a while before we even drive to this place again.

Aside from the mobile phone store, there was a woodworking shop a few meters away and we got a haul of high and good quality wood for building materials. We also managed to procure a few sacks of flour, sugar, salt, and the like from the bakeries right next to us and a few dozen tires that were brand new from a shop just around the corner.

We were just about to reach the People's Park where we discovered Ibarra when I heard Kaley and Jared firing shot after shot. The vehicles in front of us started to slow down and I looked at the mirrors to see what was going on. There was a look of dread on their faces and even Mikhail was wearing a solemn expression.

We eventually went to a full stop as I asked what happened.

"They're here bro, the ones from Iskoh's place..." Jared said.

"The one that killed Cruz and the others. Three of them came from that small bridge and their stance made me remember them." Kaley added.

"They were running straight for us as they vaulted over the cars on the bridge but the last one started zigzagging and it took a couple more shots than necessary." Jared continued.

"Shit, it all happened too fast. I was adjusting the sacks when they started firing." Mikhail chimed.

"Fuck, you sure you gunned them down, right? Let's fucking triple-tap those fuckers." I mentioned as we backed up and started to drive towards them.

Unlike the sprinters, these evolved ones, which I'm not exactly sure of, I referred to as ferals were several times more dangerous than the former. Not only could they exhibit movements that could far exceed what the sprinters could do, they actually had the sense to avoid obstacles that the early sprinters were usually smashing onto.

I could only tie it with because of the higher amount of stress their bodies were being put through despite the decay, they needed to maintain their bodies. It was because one tear in their muscles could tear their whole leg down if they applied the movements they were doing with their bodies.

However, back then, we encountered one that had no regard for its own well-being as it just smashed and dove its body into the dry-wall and glass partitions inside the hospital we cleared before. It could be a different one or an irregular but it definitely could take more damage than its predecessor.

This was the first time Mark and Marvin's groups saw them and I was sure that some of them managed to catch a glimpse from behind the vehicles they brought. The ones who did were wearing solemn expressions but a few were showing excitement on their faces. I shook my head and started explaining that this was not a game.

"Okay, before you wish to encounter them, make sure to not fight them at close quarters or you'll be torn apart. Fighting them up close and personal should be your last resort because one swipe from them and it's all over. The last time we encountered them, we saw one of them just lopped a guy's head off in one backhand. They got more than just speed, remember that." I reminded the group.

They just nodded a few times and instead of burning the bodies, we wrapped them in a tarp and took them home. What we noticed however was that they were a tad heavier and their muscles were a little denser compared to the usual ones. The scientists on the president's island group could appreciate live samples but these types were just too hard to capture and locate.

'Should I have more groups outside clearing them? I'll think about it later because these fuckers are migrating or something.' I thought to myself.

"Okay, let's head home." I said to the group.

We dropped by Lawrence's outpost and left a few food items for their use and much to his surprise, a gong. We actually found several from the temple so we took them back home plus the other stuff just laying around like lanterns and even the racks used for display.

"Umm, what should we do with this?" Lawrence was waiting for me to give a punchline or something.

"You don't like it?" I replied, feigning shock.

"Well- I don't hate it but-" Lawrence couldn't find the right words to reply.

"I think he wants two, Boss." Mikhail added.

"Oh! Is that how it is? Aren't you being a little too greedy?" I chuckled.

"No- I- Just one is enough, thank you." Lawrence just accepted it with a weird look then the rest of us started laughing.

"Heh, I knew you'd like it. Anyway, we'll bring you with us tomorrow so either come with us now or just be early tomorrow morning. We'd be clearing a lot of the dead and we need more shooters." I said.

"I'll come with you guys then. I might need to borrow some tools to clean my gun. It has been a while so there's been a bit of buildup on it." Lawrence replied.

We left the people in his outpost with his gong and we continued the short drive back home. It was still a few hours before sunset but I made everyone do whatever they want after we hauled the items we brought back to the storage areas. Rin was busy taking into account everything we brought with Cynthia but a few more people were offering assistance.

Each of them went their own way while I handed Lawrence some tools for cleaning his gun. Kaley went back to our room to take some rest, Tatiana went towards Daisy's house, and Mikhail went with Ibarra to have his own custom weapon. Jared disappeared to head to Alex's location but it seemed that she was in Woodlands helping her mom manage the greenhouse with Charlotte and Chris.

"So, we're gonna be using a lot of .22 LRs then?" Lawrence asked.

"Yeah, but be sure to bring your guns and I'll shoulder the ammo we would be using. We never know what might happen there. Anyway, just be in the meeting later so you'd know where we're headed tomorrow. You'd also see something a little special." I replied as I excused myself.

I went back to my house and I discovered that Kaley was in the shower. I decided to open the door to my armory, after removing my gear, while the boxes where the Dao and Jian were in my hands. I placed them right next to my longsword and Guandao and I just smiled like an idiot.

I was staring at them for a while then the door behind me opened. The sweet scent of green apple wafted inside alongside a mix of flowers and berries.

"Oh, you're back already." Kaley mentioned as she saw me sitting inside our armory.

"Yeah, I kinda wanted to take a nap now..." I replied as I watched her put on some clothes.

"Perv." Kaley joked, drying her hair with a towel.

"Heh, call me what you want I'm not taking my eyes off you." I chuckled.

"Really~ anyway, who would come with us tomorrow then?" Kaley said as she laid on the bed, motioning for me to join her.

"Aside from us, I'd bring Lois, Lawrence, Max, and Cynthia. I want to bring more but we need space for our guns and ammo." I replied as I hugged her from the top.

My head was nestled between Kaley's chest and she was hugging me with both of her arms. Being in her embrace as she started to hum made me sleepy so I snuggled in even closer.