Code Zulu Alpha: Nerd in the Apocalypse!

Jared and Ibarra almost fell from their seats when they heard that the president's convoy would be coming for a car wash as well. As it turned out, they had to mow down a herd with Oscar's SUV, like us, just to push through. It was because they overextended a little too much in the factories earlier and a simple spray of water didn't feel as safe as compared to a complete clean.

Before we ended the call, I remembered something important.

-

*bzzt*

"Wait! Use the main road right until Taganahan St. to get to the building of DPWH and the City Engineer's Office. Before you ask, it's for the plans of this city and permits and such. We'll need it so please be a little careful with clearing that place. I could go through the tons of paperwork but I'd like working hard drives."

*bzzt*

-

*bzzt*

[Ah, I remember. I'll see what we could do. We'll be checking this housing project Mark has been talking about.]

*bzzt*

-

*bzzt*

"Ah… that place is gone. We just saw it from across the river."

*bzzt*

-

*bzzt*

[Shit, then we'll just head for the Radio Station southeast of you after that place you pointed us to.]

*bzzt*

-

*bzzt*

"Okay, aside from the centennial park, have you at least seen any traces of the group from the other side of the city?"

*bzzt*

-

*bzzt*

[Eh? Nah, not yet. Well, most of the stores and the houses we drove through were looted though. Besides that, we've never actually seen them in person. They already know we're here and it's up to them on what to do with it.]

*bzzt*

-

*bzzt*

"Just try and don't overextend too much. You know… cornered rats could still give a lucky punch. It would be better to let them hole in their base and slowly pick them off from a distance compared to attacking head-on. If you're worried about them heading to the Bulacan Area, they would be in all sorts of trouble if they reached the Intercity and all its soldiers."

*bzzt*

-

*bzzt*

[You're right but waiting it out isn't exactly Rod's style. He'd be leaving in a few days and he'll tear through that place whether we're there or not. I know you could cook up a plan but it always involves some time and extra preparations.]

*bzzt*

-

*bzzt*

"He's not there right now?"

*bzzt*

-

*bzzt*

[I'm just listening over here, kid. But yeah, as Oscar said: You have three days at most. I'm just observing and actually just following a few things you suggested yesterday. After your time is up, I'll bring my soldiers to that place my way.]

*bzzt*

-

*bzzt*

"Okay, understood Mr. President."

*bzzt*

-

*bzzt*

[Cheh, call me Rod, you little shit.]

*bzzt*

-

*bzzt*

"Heh, see you guys later."

*bzzt*

-

As soon as we ended the call, the other groups that decided to clean their own cars were just about done. They didn't do as good as we did with our own but they couldn't help but smile at the shine their vehicles were giving out.

"Are we going back to the schools or are just gonna wait for the president to come here?" Jay asked.

"Hmm, I want your group to stay in this area and start clearing the whole block while the rest of will finish what we started. The president's convoy would be here maybe in an hour or two but as soon as you're done, slowly head back to the place where John and the rest are. If you managed to get your hands on more essential items, give a portion of it to their outpost but do call a group to assist you with the job." I explained.

We talked about a few more things before we parted ways with Jay's group.

My group headed to the place where we stood our ground and we started clearing up the mess that we made. Several dozen bodies littered the ground either hacked to death or sporting a hole that bored through their head. We piled them on top of one another before burning them with the spare fuel we took from the vehicles earlier.

At the same time, Jared was controlling our drones to capture new footage in regards to the situation of the schools that we left in a hurry.

"Bro, check this out." Jared said as he pulled me aside.

The two schools were in an even bigger mess because mangled bodies were stuck on the vertical bars and we discovered a lot more deadheads just lurking inside the schools. A simple scan from earlier wasn't enough to check every nook and cranny and good thing we didn't enter that place on foot and just with a small team.

More and more deadheads were gathering outside and they were all trying to get past the sprinters which were stuck. Aside from that, the ones we run over had several survivors but their legs didn't work like they used to before.

"At least the gates are still intact." Jared commented.

"Fly a bit lower… by the gates..." I said, looking at the feed.

"Around here?"

"Lower..."

"Here?"

"Yep, just like that and hover."

"Like this?"

"Okay, turn around and check the other side."

"Okay, gotcha bro."

"What do you think?"

"Me?"

"Yeah."

"I can't see shit, it's all blood and flesh."

"Same, let's drive to the public market now."

"Bro."

"Yeah?"

"The Raptor does smell good, heh."

"Hahaha, and you were so fucking against it, c'mon. Let's clear everything before they arrive."

We drove for a short bit but we eventually reached a block away from the public market. We circled around for a bit so we would be situated where the public market would be in front of us while the two schools would be right behind it.

It had a solid roof that encompassed everything but the inside had different segments for different kinds of products to be sold. It had the same setup as the public market at home but the orientation and the actual size was a little different. This place was a little bigger and it had convenience stores, pharmacies, fast-food areas, and etc. right next to it. However, the place was still teeming with the dead and most of the shops have been looted.

"Park by that pawnshop but place the vehicle right at that intersection." I tapped Ibarra.

"Understood, sir."

When we exited the vehicle, our weapons were already drawn and we took the front while Artem's group took the back. They were headed right to a water refilling station where a large chapel was right around it while my group was approaching a few salons right before the public market itself.

It seemed like we were playing a tower defense game from the way everyone was positioned because it was as if no one wanted our vehicles to get stained right after a car wash.

'I miss playing Bloons TD VI...'

The dead were straddlingly approaching me in bulk so I used my TX-22 for the time being. A pistol chambered in .22 LR and suppressed was just the sweet spot of not attracting too much attention because of how quiet the gun was compared to my suppressed rifle chambered in 5.56. It was quiet enough to not wear ear protection but the drawback was its effective range and actual penetrating power compared to a rifle round and most pistol calibers.

Despite that, I took down a small cluster just by being in the right range and shooting with great shot placement.

The last one I took down before reloading a new magazine was a biter that had its tongue just hanging out because it was missing part of its jaw. Its eyes were already different as its irises had dissolved through different shades of pale colors while its skin had different lesions from the different parts of its body. Despite that, it still dove towards me before I shot it twice in the back of the head.

As soon as I was about to aim down my sights, its side twitched and I immediately jumped back. Turns out, several cockroaches were living inside its abdomen and it just poured out the moment I sliced its stomach open. My skin crawled as large and small cockroaches were running and flying in different directions, but the worse part was the number of eggs left inside. The ones that hatched left a lot of small holes right inside the places where it could dig through.

'KILL IT WITH FIRE~!!!' I shouted in my head.

I just sliced off that part before I tried to step on it with my boots. It was a slimy feeling at first but when I got to the crunchy parts, the hair on the back of my head stood up. As soon as I looked back, the rest of my group were grimacing while Kaley was already holding a grenade with the pin out.

"Take it away~!!!" Kaley exclaimed.