Code Zulu Alpha: Nerd in the Apocalypse!

I tried explaining to them the situation they were in but just by being human, a few of them still couldn't accept the facts even if I shoved it in front of their faces. I was still by the edge after looking back at them and a couple of guys immediately rushed forward to try and push me in the water. Their faces were deranged and it seemed that this was their last act of defiance in an attempt to take me down with them.

It happened all too fast that the soldiers close to me didn't have the chance to open fire and all they could do was watch or move in slow motion as everything was unfolding in my eyes. My team was also too far to do anything significant and it would take balls to shoot so close to me. All the prisoners needed to do was flank me on both sides and jump down, drowning me by the weight of two people plus the chains wrapped around them to take care of me.

I just shook my head at their feeble attempt on my life as I quickly flicked my wrist.

Both of their arms were severed from their bodies before a bullet bore through each of their heads. I was about to lop their heads off as I promised them but Kaley's gun was faster than my katana. She was wearing a solemn expression but her eyes were slightly emitting killing intent. The bodies were bleeding out from what was left of their arms and the hole in their heads while the rest of the prisoners were covering their ears in fear and panic.

Kaley placed the dust cover back after flicking the safety then she placed her finger just by the trigger guard. The rest of my group was just looking at me while Tatiana was casually picking the casings off the ground. Jared already found a place to sit while the rest of them either followed suit or continued to watch what was happening.

Blood had sprayed on my clothes and my face but I only wiped my blade before looking at the prisoners that had just lost two more people.

"Is there more? Step up now so we could be done with it. I'll even stay in the same place if you have other plans in mind. No?" I said after sheathing my blade while two corpses were right beside me.

Despair was already written on their faces and to finish the mindfuck, I made the soldiers pull up the woman I threw earlier and I made them give her a change of clothes, a fresh blanket, and first aid. For the others, they were given the same things much to their surprise. After that, I offered them a bottle of water with a different expression I was wearing earlier. They were adamant about accepting my gifts but I still placed the bottled waters in front of them.

"I guess we could finally start, right?" I looked at what was left of them.

They were confused as fuck but they got even more confused when I released them from their chains and when I asked for a room where I could talk to them alone.

My team and the old dudes threw worried glances at me at first but my past actions had already proven that I know what I'm doing.

They were all escorted to a small office and they were lined up side by side with the same bottle of water right in front of them. No one has touched it yet, judging from the seals still intact. The woman I threw over the water was the only one glaring at me but there was a difference by the way she was glaring at me from the moment she was pulled up compared to now.

She was just straight up furious earlier but when she was handed a fresh set of clothes and a blanket, there was now a mix of emotions like doubt, anger, curiosity, and fear clouding her head. She was tightly clutching the blanket I handed to her and it seemed that she was having a rougher time than usual just by receiving the gift offered by the one that put her in such a place and situation.

'I can't believe I'm playing the cold game right now...' I thought to myself.

"Now that the people in your group that could jeopardize your own safety has been dealt with, I think it's time we cut a deal." I started, looking at each of them.

"D-Deal?" the guy I was speaking to earlier asked.

"You, what's your name?" I replied.

"O-Oliver..." the guy replied.

"I'm Sky, see that? We're communicating properly right now, right? How about you guys?" I looked at the rest of them.

They started to introduce themselves one by one and when we finally got to the woman I threw overboard, I was surprised that there was little to no resistance.

"Elise… my name's Elise. T-Thanks for the b-blanket..." the woman said, staying close to Oliver.

There were no hidden meanings or even motives between her speech and her actions. The rest of them were the same way but I still kept my guard up.

"No problem. Okay, you already heard what I wanted from all of you earlier. I asked for locations but what I wanted to aside from that are names, mode of transport, equipment, security, numbers, storage areas, inventory, and etc. In short, I wanted to know everything that you know and I'll use that to help you. I already said that as soon as they find you useless they'll kill you, so we needed to give them more than what you gave them." I explained, making it seem that we were already a team separate from the president's group.

"I-Isn't giving them all we know equal to just signing our death penalty? Y-You said it yourself..." Joshua, another prisoner said, looking at me with suspicion.

"I mentioned something like that but you didn't get it fully. Tell me, is the information in your heads the only one that's useful? If so, you're all dead once you leave this room. They need more than just soldiers. If you think about it, with the number of soldiers we have outside, we could as easily raze this city in a day or two with or without the information you would be giving us. After that, we'd need people to rebuild and a country couldn't just be composed of his militia, right? We'd soon revert back to the old days." I replied with a half-truth.

"W-What do y-you mean?" Joshua was taken aback.

"Heh, did you fucking forget where the president was supposed to be right now?" I let out a faint smile.

It took them a few moments but when the realization struck, a hint of excitement filled their faces aside from the ones they were wearing earlier.

"H-He's s-supposed to be in Mindanao… How? I-In the broadcasts… Is it- Really?" Oliver was the one to answer.

"Mindanao is already clear, Luzon, our place, is next. Visayas would come a bit later because the islands are too separated from each other. If you didn't notice, Mayor Iskoh is already with him and that could mean another thing, right? The City of Manila is already clear and this place is probably next. You either join him or you'd be burned with the rest of the deadheads outside." I mixed truths with lies and lies with truths.

They looked like they were kids being allowed to sleep late but a look of worry suddenly appeared on their faces.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"T-The i-information we gave them..." Elise looked down, clutching her blanket tighter.

"I wouldn't be here if I didn't know you've left some out of it. They also wouldn't leave you alive if they know you're still hiding something. Don't worry, I'll put in a good word and we'll work on your situation. We've been in this situation more times than you could imagine and it all turned out well." I replied with a fake smile.

It didn't take them long before they spilled every bit of information they had though their lives would solely depend on the president's discretion. Leaving them alive and joining our ranks would be next to impossible even if they cooperated with me. Personally, I wouldn't accept them in my place and it would take a monumental task for them to accomplish for a chance of my decision being swayed.

I discovered that they have their main group on the other side of the city where the main fishing port was located. They number less than a couple hundred and they were armed with the guns either from their own stash or taken from the DDR Camps. However, they were already notified of the president's arrival and their current situation was unknown.

For all we know, they could be gearing for war, fortifying their place, or relocating someplace else. Considerable time had already passed and them not receiving any sort of info already told them that this place was already in our control. It was now up to both sides on what each other would do from the information they have on hand.

I gave the prisoners one final look before I left the room before them.

The soldiers that went inside after I got out were with Morales and it seems that a decision was already made beforehand.

'No second thoughts, eh?' I thought to myself.

Playing the cold game was necessary but it would always leave a bad taste in my mouth.