Code Zulu Alpha: Nerd in the Apocalypse!

I created an opening for myself and I'm sure as hell I'm gonna take it.

While my body was turning sideways in mid-air, I used the momentum brought upon the first kick to twist my body at an angle, delivering a left heel to his jaw. I performed the same doumawashi I did earlier but this time, it came in a difficult angle and a lot of setups were made beforehand.

'HIT! HIT! HIT!'

Artem was still in a momentary daze before his head jolted with his whole body, and I felt a different sensation when I connected compared to earlier. All my hits had some good sounds and had some good resistance earlier but this one hit actually felt 'natural'. I couldn't put it into words clearly but it felt like my earlier hits weren't actually 'clean' hits.

I was being made to think and feel that I was actually doing enough damage.

'I gotta learn them...'

With that said, both of us fell on the mat but Artem already lost consciousness.

The whole crowd was silent for a short moment but they just erupted once I got up. I let out a faint smile as they cheered for me but I gotta take care of my sparring partner. I was just about to wake him up but Katya already had the small bottle in her hand, and she crouched down to make Artem get a whiff of it.

Almost immediately, Artem sprang up and knocked Katya over.

They were placed in a rather interesting position because he was right on top of Katya while Katya was right below him, beet-red and surprised. The bottle she let Artem take a whiff of was now spilling on the mat and everyone's eyes were on them. However, the two were just staring at each other's eyes and Artem just made sense of his current situation.

Mikhail chortled, "Artem, I think you're pinning down the wrong opponent. Am I right or you wanna tackle someone different? Hmm?"

Artem looked around before he muttered, "I lost, eh? I--"

Katya cut him off, "G-GET OFF ME! YOU'RE TOO S-SWEATY! WHAT ARE YOU--"

Artem turned to Katya and he smiled faintly, "You took care of me again, eh?"

Katya looked away, "S-So what?! It's n-not like I wanted to do it or anything..."

Artem chuckled, "Okay, I'm gonna kiss you now. Get ready."

Katya got even redder, "G-Get ready?! W-What are you--"

It only took a second before Artem lowered his head and gave Katya a kiss, and the whole gym erupted for the second time.

Katya tried to get away from Artem at first but after a few more moments, she just wrapped her arms around him before she returned the kiss with fervor. We almost had to vacate the whole gym since we had a few kids that were watching but Artem eventually got off Katya's body while Katya was just left in a daze and longing for more.

However, as soon as Katya got up her feet, Artem lifted her up and carried her like a sack of potatoes before going for the door. It's just that he turned around to look for me with a serene expression.

"Nyebo-- You, we'll talk tomorrow."

I gave him a thumbs-up and an OK sign using each hand, "Sure. Take your time, heh."

"Hmm! Da, I will! Let's fight again tomorrow though, this was fun!"

Katya just snapped back to reality, "WHY ARE YOU-- WHERE ARE WE GOING?! EVERYONE'S LOOKING AT US!"

Artem started laughing as he said with a much thicker accent, "Hah! We'll be going to our house and I'll get on top of you again but naked. Sounds good?"

Katya tried to cover her face, "WHA-- D-DON'T SAY IT OUT LOUD! P-PUT ME DOWN!"

"Don't worry. You're heavy but I'm strong. See? No effort at all. I'll put you down when we get home."

"WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY TO ME?!"

"Stop yelling, stop yelling. My ears are still ringing, okay? But you'll do more of that later."

"WHA- ARGH! ARTEM~!"

We all watched the two disappear from view but everyone else, especially Artem's squad, were looking like their dreams finally came true. They didn't even try to follow after the two and drag me alongside them like last time, and Mikhail and Bogdan looked like they were about to cry from sheer happiness.

I just smiled before I let out another breath and I sat down next to Kaley who was jokingly clapping as I approached them.

"Great job!" Cynthia congratulated me.

"Thanks! I just got lucky."

Kaley shook her head, "Really~? That didn't look like luck to me."

I chuckled, "Anyway, I think I'm done for today. I'll head down first if you guys want to stick around. Just keep Tatiana out of each and every machine here and you're good."

Tatiana interjected, "What?! Can't I just jog for a bit?"

Rin loomed over her, "Doctor's orders! You're not allowed to exert yourself, right?"

Tatiana drooped her head low, "Fine. I'll just go down with him then! We'll just have some GFE shit while you guys--"

I cut her off, "GFE-what? Where are you learning these things? I said I'm done for today, right? I'll just take a shower and fix up a new gun for Kaley later."

Kaley's eyes lit up, "A new one? Are you sure?"

I nodded, "Have you heard of the Reaper?"

Cynthia interjected, "The Reaper? What is it like?! Does it come with a sickle-like bayonet?! That sounds cool!"

I chuckled, "Hah! That would be too unwieldy. But anyway, it's actually a REPR, spelled as R-E-P-R, but we just pronounce it as 'reaper'. It's an AR-style rifle from LWRC as well, specifically called a REPR MKII. The main difference is it's chambered in 7.62s instead of 5.56s and-- Oh, I meant 7.62s by 7.62x51mm, not 7.62x39mm."

Kaley faintly smiled, "So… a .308? I guess I'll be back to what I'm used to."

"Yeah, but-- there's still a bit of difference, right? But yeah, you're taking things from your first gun with your most recent. Still kinda like your AR-15 but with bigger bullets."

Kaley got excited, "Can you show it to me right now?"

"Sure. You're not gonna work out then? I still have to shower and I'll probably soak for 30 minutes or so."

Kaley pondered for a bit, "Hmm~ Okay, I'll just see you in a bit. We'll just--"

Tatiana interjected, "A soak sounds nice. I guess I'll join--"

Kaley held Tatiana down, "You're staying here."

"Doctor's orders! I shouldn't--"

"You're still my trainer!"

"I can't even twist my body sideways! How am I supposed to--"

"You can move your mouth! Just train us for a bit!"

"Fine… You'll wish you should've taken the night off."

"Uh-oh..." the three muttered simultaneously.

Even if Tatiana was injured, she managed to put the three in a hellish training regimen while I sneakily slinked away with all my marbles.

I really did just take a hot shower and a long soak before I got dressed and pulled out the Reaper that still needed to be assembled from my armory. However, I pulled out a second box which contained a 20-inch carbon fiber barrel made for the Reaper as well. It was coated with black nitride and it was definitely lighter than the original. Furthermore, I pulled out the same optics Kaley was using as well as the foregrip, flashlight, laser, straps, and etc.

I easily switched the existing barrel with the new one but I also stashed the free muzzle brake it came with since I'll be adding in a premium suppressor. With that said, I brought out the rest of my tools as I assembled the rifle piece by piece. I put it together based on the specifications of Kaley's 5.56 rifle but there were still some distinct differences even if they were both made by LWRC.

One of them was the carbon fiber barrel I just put in but aside from that, the upper receiver with the integrated rail system, the pistol grip, the larger trigger guard, the PRS stock for the 20-inch models, and etc. was almost enough to make me use the same thing.

A smile was plastered on my face after I was done but I began thinking to myself.

'Jared will lose his mind when he sees-- Well, not really… this is more expensive but he's biased to SCARs… Okay, Kaley and Jared are using .308s, Ibarra and I are using 5.56s, Tatiana's in between 12 gauges and 7.62x39mms, and Mikhail's using a 7.62x54mmR. With pistols, almost all of us are using 9mms but Kaley and I are also using .22 LRs and Tatiana's using 5.7s-- Fuck, I'd have to replace Tatiana's Benelli M4… But that could wait… the question now is who should take her place?'

I started having trouble thinking of a suitable replacement because truth be told, no one could replace her. I could pull someone from Artem's team but I decided against that because, in a sense, Natasha would probably take a short break as well.

Technically, Artem lost two people in his main squad and he'd also need to get replacements. He still had a few people staying behind our compound but some of them were already stolen by Oscar.

Vera would be a good choice for me but I need her expertise with communications.

'Hmm~ What to do, what to do...'

While I was evaluating options, I just picked up a few 25-round mags for Kaley's new rifle and I loaded all of them with a speedloader.