Code Zulu Alpha: Nerd in the Apocalypse!

As soon as Rin handed me the tape, everyone else's expression turned solemn. The place suddenly got too quiet and some of them weren't even able to look in our direction. With that said, they had a spare cassette player on hand and I instantly played it for everyone to listen in.

Kaley and I were listening as it loaded but once the ever-so-familiar opening riff started, both of us just started to facepalm and mercilessly attack everybody.

[We're no strangers to love~]

"Help! Help! It's just a joke~! It's just a joke~!"

[You know the rules, and so do I~]

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH~!!!"

[A full commitment's what I'm thinking of~]

"Why me?! Why me?! EARL STARTED IT!"

[You wouldn't get this from any other guy~]

"WHAT?! YOU FUCKING SNITCH!"

[I~~~]

"RUNNNNN~~~!!!"

[Just wanna tell you what I'm feeling~]

"HELP! HELP! NOOOOOOOOOOOOO~!!!"

Everything got chaotic for a while but everyone just started laughing once everything else calmed down. Earl, Juan, and Vera took the brunt of the 'beatings' but it was more like greasy pork chops getting smooshed and slapped in their faces. Kaley and I foolishly falling for a Rick-roll instantly boosted morale and everyone was just smiling as we continued eating.

I gathered my main group once more to go out and another two weeks had passed since then.

Most of the work we accomplished had something to do with reclaiming more area for the living but a bit of demolition went into play. It was because we could only do so much by smoking the dead out and there would come a time that we needed to use a stick of dynamite compared to a simple bait and hook in a fishing line.

Long story short, we brought out the Killdozer and its pack of armored bobcats to flatten the squatter areas we had so much trouble clearing out. Furthermore, we temporarily closed out the other facilities and establishments for another squad to takeover and scour for valuable resources.

Furthermore, we used fewer bullets to take down whatever fucking deadhead that came out running because we encircled the areas that they might break through with traps that would funnel them and get held in a tight spot. After that, we would easily pick them off with a pike or something sharp and long.

Honestly, it took more time to set up everything because we could easily clear a block in a couple of hours.

Despite all that, we still had resources getting buried in the rubble and still had a lot more places to clear and bring down east of the parallel way we opened up. It was kinda wasteful to do everything roughly but our progress to get to where one of Iskoh's outposts bore fruit eventually. Iskoh himself welcomed us at the port that they've reclaimed themselves and he shared a few of his own accomplishments over a few days of staying over.

"Seriously? You're really taking it slower, eh?"

"Yeah, you heard right. Starting from here, turning to the US Embassy and straight through the place you've helped us takeover, everything has been accounted for. The facilities available are either closed up completely or have been repurposed to something useful. The spillage of the dead is still unavoidable but it's safer than before. We're also growing a lot of crops and the Manila Ocean Park over there is the place we breed and farm most of our fish. Some are still for display but we've eaten a few exotics once."

"Heh, how lavish."

"Like you're one to talk. I'm not the one still eating rice every single day. I'd trade that for sea urchins, oysters, and some shark meat."

"You fucking got some uni?! Shit, do you want me to beat you up again?"

"I'm serious. I'm offering a trade right now since I know you got the fucking hookup. I'll take a cup of rice more than the things I've fucking mentioned. I know they're delicious but there's no way I'd trade them up for what I grew up in."

"Damn, you swearing openly now? Heh. Then I won't be polite. I'm real partners with Mauricio and he has control of some farms in Bulacan. The next harvest wouldn't be until three more months but they've gotten ahold of a few more warehouses. They're smaller counterparts of the Intercity but their stocks were basically untouched ever since it started. Oh yeah, the Intercity trades in everything now. It used to just trade rice and a few items but it had gone so far as to trade everything you could think of, even labor."

"Wait. How come you're still finding more untouched places?"

"Not exactly untouched, to be honest. We just found a bunch of bastards who thought what they're doing wouldn't get into our radar. Mauricio isn't the only one that had a huge supply of rice but unlike them, he had our support. With that said, they're still people jealous of his standing and they just had to ruin it for everybody."

"What happened?"

"Just a few days ago, a few of our supposed business partners got discovered to be hitting up other people that were supposed to trade in the Intercity. We thought it was another rogue group but a few hours of 'questioning' revealed everything. It was weird getting traded the same item you just gave away and we planted a few marked 'goods' to make sure."

"Jesus fucking christ. You really can't fix stupid. If I'd ever do that shit, I won't get caught."

"Long story short, they're cherry-picking the items they want and they're storing them someplace else. Once they had the better quality of items, more people would just go to them instead of driving to the Intercity. They're getting free stuff too and that's hurting everyone. The less people that drive to the Intercity, the less items we could barter and information we could share."

"You killed them all then?"

"Mostly."

"Mostly?"

"Mauricio spared their workers and they were given work. Some tend the farms while some got sent to their bar."

"Bar? You got such a thing now?"

"You don't?"

"No..."

"It's more than just a bar though… it's essentially part red-light district. A much messier counterpart to my elegant escort service. You see, not only the ladies could offer their bodies to the ones with deeper pockets. It works both ways if you have something to offer that someone wanted."

"Wait, hold up. You have fucking brothels now?! What the fuck?!"

"Chill. You had the same reaction as everyone but it did more good than bad in my place. Everyone's medically checked first and the person giving the service is up for it. It brought sex-related crimes down if there ever was, calmed down tense individuals, and there's a hidden perk it came with."

"Huh? What do you mean by that?"

"I don't want to call it spying but they're not bound to doctor-patient confidentiality. You're familiar with some pillow talk, right? I've been getting some reports with issues that haven't been brought up to meetings and I'd accidentally have a hunch and fix it for everyone. I couldn't say the same for Mauricio's bar but I'm doing everything responsibly. Morality from someone conservative could be an issue but it's no longer a problem once you went past it."

"Still… I haven't heard this happening..."

"Then you're gonna get shocked when you discover that the main escorts are Micah's girls. A few managed to get in too because they'd rather open their legs than do work. Well, it's work in a way and no one's gonna tell me that's it's not."

"Woah! Woah! What the hell?! How the fuck did you manage to do that?! That's the girl group of Rod's woman, right?! How young are they?!"

"They're of legal age, of course. Wait till you learn about what's happening on the president's side. They're doing something similar but it's no way close to mine."

Iskoh started to have headaches but I needed to learn more about the place he's in charge with. I could still remember the squatter area that Rod torched and we actually caught a glimpse of it a few times on the way.

"How about the other gangs that survived the president? Are they still lurking about?"

"Answer me this question first."

"Sure?"

"You guys wreaked havoc in Tondo, right?"

"Yeah, in a sense. We brought that big thing you see over the bridge. That thing did all the work and we'd just leave it after we're done. It could never get stolen because no one was even living in that area and no one would even use that as an everyday vehicle to go places. The hatch we made it difficult to open too if you don't know the proper steps. We still need to clear a lot more barangays but the path here is clear, relatively speaking."

"I see..."

"So, my question earlier..."

"Yeah… about that. We clashed with them a few times but what's left of them eventually surrendered. They're doing hard labor in the day and they're being kept in their cells at night. We actually have close to a thousand people now and some of them also came from the neighboring cities. They're being fed two meals a day but..."

"But?"

"They kept saying they surrendered because there's another group in Tondo. They've described what they've looked like and I'm fucking sure it wasn't you guys."

"Hmm, that place is kinda big though and we just skirted the sides."

"True, you better look out for them then. They said that they're only a small group but that group whittled them down over and over without a single loss. Also, they'd hit them when and where it hurts and the moment they got almost taken out completely was when they were just coming back from a raid."

"Hmm. You said small. How small? Did they ever attack you guys?"

"They mentioned that they weren't even a dozen and no, my soldiers never encountered them. They could just be protecting their own turf or something else but we'll never know. They just went in and out and the gangs I'm having trouble in Quiapo just gave up and surrendered. Take note, they're experiencing the same threats as us and they only surrendered because of that group."

"Heh. Then I'll make friends with them."

"What?! Did you even listen to a word I said?"

"Yep. Do you want me to replay it over and over?"

"..."

"Hear me out. If they're living somewhere around Tondo and have survived despite their numbers. They know the fuck they're doing. We've been up and down this road for a while and they possibly AND quite purposefully avoided us. Did you forget we caused a ruckus just to get here? It's like holding on to your car's horn while driving the streets! If they wanted to employ guerilla tactics, they would've done so earlier."

"Maybe they know who to not mess with."

"Yep. But that already meant something in my books. They have a good head on their shoulders and I could work with that."

"It's like I'm speaking to a wall... Oh, just know that they said that they never used guns and vehicles too. They're in and out without anyone's notice until it's all over."

"Geez. I'm already sold to making friends with them. You don't need to add more. What are they like?"