Code Zulu Alpha: Nerd in the Apocalypse!

The rest of the scouting groups aside from mine suddenly got dragged on with Mark's sudden deal with Oscar. The old man was actually joking but just from our heated discussion earlier, it made them think he was serious about making them collectively perform 32,000 push-ups. The situation was never cleared between them but I was relieved that Oscar understood my intentions even if he thought it was an oversight on my part.

It could be true in a few cases because we were always operating on the 'It's better to have and not need than to need and not have.' basis but simply mobilizing all our resources and people with acquiring 32,000 solar panels was just too much for our group. Aside from that, the setup already done in that place could allow it to simply divert its power to nearby barangays with just a few modifications.

Finding a new place to set them up from the beginning would take too much time for something we didn't need at the moment because we already have a similar setup but only on a much smaller scale.

"Okay, what's next on our agenda?" I turned to Rin.

"Umm- It's Sir Ferdinand's report on the new trainees." Rin replied.

"Okay, it will be short but concise." Ferdinand said as he stood up to give his report.

Since Oscar and Johnny's program before to train Marvin and the rest of his team in our place was successful, Ferdinand decided from before to gather able-bodied and perhaps younger volunteers to be essentially drafted for more specific training. We already have existing soldiers and volunteers that had combat training like guards and security personnel but our ratio compared to the civilians was too low.

Ferdinand's aim for having new trainees was to have more people that were combat-oriented aside from the all-rounders that were coming from my place. He brought it up with Oscar and Johnny because training someone specifically for one thing would be faster compared to my approach to making my team members learn a little bit of everything.

"Okay, Johnny has been helping me but we have two dozen young ones from Woodlands and the DDR Camp receiving daily training and they are performing well. It hasn't been long since we started but they follow orders and basically receiving training for trainees in boot camp. There are some differences from what Johnny and I experienced but we will continue to monitor them and provide guidance." Ferdinand reported.

"Any notable ones?" Oscar asked.

"There's one or two that comes to mind but we still have nothing on who could be their leader yet. There's always one in every group but I guess we'll see about that." Johnny replied.

"If you guys don't mind I could maybe have a talk or two with them after training. I'll have them scheduled once or twice each week in the afternoon." Marisha suggested.

"I see no problem with that. Even my soldiers are asking for time just to have a chat with you, so that's a step in the right direction. Thank you." Ferdinand replied, sitting down.

After a few more topics put on the table, I brought up the footage we found on Monumento and the ferals we took down on the way home. I reminded them of the story about the ferals when we were at the City of Manila and their differences compared to the ones we faced. Aside from those, I also mentioned an inkling of another group being present that may or may not have intentions of speaking with us yet.

"So you are bringing a group tomorrow for some shooting practice?" Matthew commented.

"That's the plan but I would like to alternate it between making a path straight to Iskoh's camp. It would take longer by doing two tasks at the same time but I don't want either type to be left unchecked. One of them is just latched on the bottom of the train station while one could just pop up at any time unchecked. The ferals are more fucking dangerous but we still need to figure out what the other ones are capable of." I replied.

"Hmm. I was about to suggest doing that. Can't we just leave a group in that love hotel like last time?" Matthew said, suggesting another idea.

"I'm not comfortable with that because they have no way of escape in case things go sour. In Malabon, they have a getaway vehicle but this one place we picked needed a helicopter to reach it. The only other choice is to spend more time clearing that area but being in that love hotel to snipe heads is the easiest way of doing it unless we drive further around which we have no data as of yet for the roads we could take. The place is literally filled with them and it spans a number of streets." I explained.

"Wait- so how are you gonna take care of those bodies after?" Johnny asked.

"My plan is to put down a huge majority of them and on another day, bring a few skid steers so we could burn them in clumps. It's not like we could shoot a few and burn them because the ones left would surely go after us. If we could, I would like to take all of them down in a single day so once we come back the day after, there would be fewer deadheads to kill if some wander in that area. It's silly clearing a mass gathering in a different city but we need to grab ahold of some samples or even live bodies of the ones slurping out the heads of the normal ones." I elaborated.

"Kid, have we taken action on the City of Navotas? Your cousin said that they came from that area, right? That's another problem just waiting to blow up on our heads if we let the group he's talking about were left alone in that place." Oscar commented.

I was about to answer that we haven't put a plan yet but Matthew turned to Oscar.

"I took some measures. They haven't done much on exploring that area but I brought out a group to block off the roads that could lead to that place with concrete blocks and long shuttle buses or jeepneys. The only way they could reach Lawrence's outpost is by driving around Malabon first. It's only two roads so it was done a few days back. Sorry, haven't told it in the meeting yet. You guys might've not seen it because you're driving on the other side of the road. It's an easy fix unless a better plan could be put in place." Matthew said it like it was nothing special.

"Sorry, I haven't mentioned it because they were doing it the same time when the other vehicles left in the bridge were being hauled." Lawrence added.

"No, no. That's great actually. I have a lot on my plate and that's something I would've done, to be honest. Thank you." I smiled as I nodded a few times.

"Don't be afraid to order Matthew around. He's actually lonely when you stopped bringing him on runs." Marisha chuckled.

"What?! I'm not! It's not like I- I'm not! I'm happy as hell!" Matthew looked at his wife like he was betrayed.

"Hah! Is that so? Why don't you come with us tomorrow then? I need shooters so aside from bringing my own group with Lois, Lawrence, Max, and Cynthia, I guess I'll bring you along. Well, if you want to. You said you're happy, right?" I said slyly.

"Well, if you insist-" Matthew started but I cut him off.

"I'm not. I just said you could come if you want to. I'm not forcing you-" I was about to finish coaxing him but Max raised his hand.

"Sir, he could take my place if he wanted to?" Max suggested.

"You have a prior engagement?" I asked.

"Oh, n-not at all. I just remember someone saying that there's a weight limit on helicopters and I believe we would be bringing a lot of ammo so-" Max was about to finish his sentence but Matthew cut him off.

"Well, that's too bad you have a prior engagement so I'll just take your place in the meantime." Matthew nodded a few times while everyone was shaking their heads.

"I didn't-" Max was about to argue his case but Matthew cut him off once again.

"Nope! Heard you loud and clear. What else is next in the meeting? I'm gonna prepare a few things after this." Matthew continued with fervor.

"None, that's the last of it. Don't worry Max, there's plenty of space for everyone. If anyone wants to bring up anything, now's the time." I said as I looked at everybody present.

After a few more clarifications, we concluded the meeting. However, as soon as we entered my house, Tatiana was already by the kitchen counter.

"Okay, what are we making?" Tatiana said excitedly.

"Eh~ I kinda want to go to the gym now, to be honest." I chuckled.

"Hmm, me too, I guess." Kaley added.

"Noooooo~ You owe meee~" Tatiana wailed as she tried to drag me back to the kitchen.

Rin and Cynthia laughed at the scene but we eventually changed clothes to head to the gym. I rarely skip on my workouts and even if I did, I would get the itch and would just do it anyway. The only reason we stopped after completing it and didn't teach a class because Tatiana was lifelessly sulking on one corner.

"Okay, let's make some smash burgers." I chuckled.

"A wut?" Tatiana suddenly sprang back to life.