Code Zulu Alpha: Nerd in the Apocalypse!

The area around us became tense for a few seconds before Jose and I started chortling.

From the previous days, I got to talk with Jose because he was the one exchanging reports instead of Morales. He was pretty stiff like Morales at first but once I got to talk to him more, I found out that he was more aloof than he actually looked like. Despite that, seeing the confused faces of some of his soldiers told me that he wasn't like this around them.

However, there was a glint in the corner of his eye because the moment Jared and Artem arrive, another 'friendly' competition would be held at my place. The other soldiers don't show it but the rookies kept on talking about it endlessly. Even when we drove by Borris and Cyrill, it was the only thing they talked about.

'Well, he's joining this time, a few others too… I just need a way to swindle them just enough that they come back the third time wanting for more… ehehehehe~'

After a while, I discovered that the reason that there were a lot of casings by their feet was that he was using the time for guarding this area to train more of his soldiers that weren't particularly accurate to be more accurate. Rookies or veterans, everyone had varying skill levels.

Looking ahead, markers were placed every 50 meters in an intersection right until the 300-meter mark plus change. The markers ended at a dilapidated house and most of the dead were in the 50-100 meter margin. The noise produced by their guns without using suppressors attracted more but in turn, they would have more targets with erratic movements.

We have a shooting range at home but it couldn't bridge the distance and simulate the movements of the dead outside. However, it just added a bit of difficulty and in the end, more training would still bring forth progress.

'Maybe why Lawrence opted out, kinda too easy for him… and too short of a distance… let's see what comes up later.'

Kaley and Lois decided to join them while Chris and I flew the drones above their heads. At the same time, Mikhail and Tatiana just lounged around, keeping close to us the whole time. Tatiana acted more like Kaley's bodyguard while Mikhail became mine. I didn't notice them doing that at first because they were always present but they would passively follow us and stick close when Kaley and I would drift apart outside.

They would give us space once we were inside the compound obviously but it was something I would think about a few times.

Chris turned to me, "Br- S-Sky, there's more coming from the vulcanizing and the auto shop."

'Did he try to call me bro and backed out? Heh.'

I just nodded, "Yeah, there's more by the residential areas too. It's still manageable with this amount of soldiers practicing, so just fly your drone around and tell them when real trouble is coming. Just remember the range of the drone so you don't fly too far out."

"Y-Yes!"

Looking around, the only thing left to claim in this barangay except for the panels was the land itself.

The barangays right next to our main base, mainly on the left side like this one was already cleared by our other groups namely, Mark's, Dong's, Jay's, and Marvin's groups, and they proceeded with heading towards the barangays on the right side. They were six barangays heading into the Bulacan area and the goal was to clear them right before the bridge that would lead to Meycauayan.

It was the same thing as what they did here because they stopped right by the bridge to Pulo. The only difference was those new barangays were right by the main highway and it was bound to spawn more trouble. However, the experience they had from clearing the first side would help them in dealing with their new task. They got some upgrades with their gear too and that would also increase their fighting power.

After a while of flying my drone and finding nothing significant, I let Chris took over as Jose would direct him to a few places. Gunshots and laughter would follow from the soldiers in front of us because of bad marksmanship but I noticed that Borris was walking towards me. Cyrill was following right behind him and I knew that they mean some business.

Borris greeted me, "Hey."

I gave a small nod, "Hey."

"Uhh, let me get straight to the point. Umm, I want to have the area in Tawiran. You know, the place where you sent us to get some boats?"

"Yeah, where we got Gemma and my Raptor."

"Huh? I don't- sure, that place. Oh, I don't mean to give it for free of course and I don't mean the whole place… just this teeny~ area right after A. Sanchez St. There's this house there I took my sights on for a while and I think I could move everything I have over there. It's not much for what I have currently but you know, replanting and building the houses for my animals is gonna take some time."

I scrunched my brows and said, "Isn't that the shack right by the big house?"

Borris got excited, "Yeah! That one! The one with the roof almost falling off! It's like my old house but it's bigger! Like twice big!"

"..." Cyrill had a pained look on his face but couldn't say anything about it.

"You know, you could just move into that big house right next to it, right? It's several times-"

"Nah, that place looks like an uptight office worker or something lived in it. Too eye-catchy as well. I want something that could blend in~"

"Ah~ Shouldn't it blend in just easily with the other houses next to it? Bor, we're in a city, not the provinces..."

"Eh~ That's just not my style."

"Can't you just move in with Lawrence in his outpost? You've been there several times already, right? You've been helping with the crops and even the animals, you've basically made it your own home just in the agriculture department. Besides, you'd be too far away and it would take a few minutes to reach you once trouble brews."

"Ah, sure."

"Wut?"

"I guess we'll stay there… I already built a shock in the garden too… my vacation house."

"..." everyone listening in was fucking silent.

"Wait. You'll accept this fucker too?" Borris pointed at Cyrill.

The moment Borris said that, my face had a different shade compared to what I was wearing earlier, and even Lois turned around to see how I would react. At the same time, Cyrill took a step back as he jabbed Borris on the shoulder, frowning at what Borris insisted. However, I took a deep breath as I looked at my estranged cousin.

"You still know how it works? We'll do that but it's full force from all of us. And that's on the condition that they'll accept it. Me doing this just lands you to live in that outpost, not back in my place, understand? That's a whole another level of pain you got to get through."

Cyrill looked down for a brief moment before he gritted his teeth and exclaimed, "BRING I- BUAH!"

Before Cyrill got to finish his war cry, I immediately balled my fist as I delivered a right hook, straight to his sides. His body instantly buckled before he sprawled on the floor, rolling from the pain and vomiting out what he had for breakfast. However, a faint smile was on my face because he blocked with his elbow at the right time. Despite that, the power transferred over his arms, still causing a lot of damage but not enough to break his ribs.

"Fucking shit, you kids still do that shit?!" Borris looked at us in bewilderment.

"It's a family affair. My turn?" Lois was already cracking his knuckles as he approached us.

"FUCK~!!!" Cyrill exclaimed as he stood up.

Cyrill wiped the vomit and saliva from his mouth but Lois proceeded with a left hook to his other side. Cyrill hadn't had the time to block but his body buckled once more, causing him to go down in one knee and eventually fall over.

Lois had some progress from going to the gym these few months and it bore some fruit today. Cyrill had built up some muscle as well ever since he stopped using but it wasn't enough to shield himself.

Everyone was just staring in shock the moment Lois and I sent blows straight to our cousin but only a few understood what we were doing. Kaley and a few others have witnessed it before but this time, it wasn't a slap on the back doing 60% power. Even the soldiers busy with their training stopped and several murmurs popped here and there. However, as soon as everything started to calm down, Oscar popped up and kicked Cyrill right in the shin.

"WHAT THE FUCK?! YOU'RE NOT BLOOD!!!" Cyrill exploded.

"I'M YOUR CRAZY UNCLE, YOU LITTLE SHIT!!! BLOOD DON'T MEAN NOTHIN' HERE, I'M STILL FUCKING FAMILY!!!"