Code Zulu Alpha: Nerd in the Apocalypse!

From a bystander's point of view, it would technically look like we were fighting dozens of fighters at once with just the two of us, but in actuality, Mikhail and I were just fighting 4-6 people max at the same time.

Unless they were trying to swarm us like mindless deadheads, they needed space to move and swing their punches and kicks around, or else there wouldn't be any power behind them.

The only advantage they had over us was that they could swap down members, but still, it would be harder for 4-6 people to move in complete synergy compared to two guys that partially knew each other's moves from sparring multiple times.

Furthermore, those 4-6 people would change members in a blink of an eye because of the way we were taking them down or juggling them around.

I was taking them down while being like an eel covered in lube while Mikhail was like a huge-ass refrigerator that grew arms and legs. The ones chasing after me were starting to get fed up or frustrated while the ones trying to take him down were… down.

Due to Mikhail's size, he couldn't just dodge and weave to avoid attacks completely like I do, but he had the body to take more hits than a normal person could and deal damage more than a normal person could.

I saw him take more punches and kicks from the ones brave enough to take him on and all he had to do was clobber them with his bare hands. It would be safe to say that he was this place's Bob 2.0 but there was more to it than that.

Being someone that could take hits doesn't necessarily mean that they should just take them and work on other aspects that they were weak at, there was a reason why it was called an advantage.

To give an example, I consider myself to be an all-rounder but I was still offense-oriented. I wanted to end fights as fast as possible to conserve stamina even if I don't run out as easily, and to be able to do that, I would always take advantage of the opportunities presented to me and try to end the match in as few moves as possible.

I was still improving on strengthening my body and improving on my defensive techniques but it's not that easy to improve upon. I could also take hits to a degree but I would just prefer not to.

To give another one, from what I observed, Artem was also an all-rounder but he was leaning to the defensive side of things. His defensive technique was one of the weirdest and the most difficult things to see through and it gives him more than just being able to take hits. It messes with people's heads and their rhythm, and second-guessing yourself in a fight was one of the dangerous things to be into.

And to talk about the person in question, Mikhail, he was definitely on one extreme end of the spectrum.

He was what we'd call a Tank or someone we'd designate as the vanguard, and even if he's learning offensive fighting techniques to get hits in easier and deal more damage, he was also improving upon his main advantage– which was obviously his constitution and his defense.

How frustrating would it be to see a half-giant blocking and countering blows left and right even if he'd only receive a point of damage if he got hit? Granted he couldn't dodge them as I do, but it was still maddening if you're on the receiving end. The nail in the coffin would be if he suddenly recovered from all of his injuries like bosses in games that would heal at the last fucking second.

With that said, the gangbangers we were still fighting were grasping at straws to score a lucky hit but it was starting to get embarrassing on their side.

The number of people trying to take us down was already down to half and Mikhail and I have only started breaking a sweat. However, they couldn't just stop mid-way because they had to take us down to save whatever's left of their reputation.

It was at this moment that I encountered someone holding double digits, number 98, but I couldn't be more disappointed.

He came at me with an overhead punch but once I stepped to the side and sent a compact hook to his liver, his body instantaneously folded before he projectile-vomited on the ground.

After that, two guys came at me at the same time but the triple-digit that came at me tried to pin me down with a tackle. He carelessly lunged at me like a bull so I met him with my left knee, made him gargle his teeth and his blood before I sent an elbow to the side of his head.

The guy behind him that was supposed to take care of me hesitatingly threw a kick to my sides but I managed to grab on his ankle before sending the same kick to his gonads. I never heard such a high-pitched scream from a burly guy with a cool mustache but it is what it is.

I got tired of countering their moves at one point so I gladly took the initiative.

I charged straight for the person that was about to grab on Mikhail's leg, and I grabbed his chain necklace and yanked him away from my only teammate. I was surprised at how sturdy his necklace was because I almost choked him out as I tried to make it give out, so I held it as tight as I could before I threw him on the ground.

His friends tried to yank him away from me because I was still holding onto him and his necklace, but once I saw another one of them about to break a bottle on my head, I kicked his throat, swiped the bottle from his hands before I smashed it on his head instead.

I couldn't believe he didn't sustain a single cut so I let go of the guy I was choking out before I sent a right elbow by his temple and a left hook to his jaw.

The skin by his eyes instantly opened up and bled but he was already down before he got to scream for it.

"VNIZ!"

I instantly ducked down after Mikhail shouted at the top of his lungs and another body just whizzed by my head that took down a couple of guys that were coming for us. They tumbled down like a bunch of sausages and I felt more sorry for the nice car that got its front fender dented.

However, I didn't give it much thought because the guys that followed after them were now holding steel pipes, hammers, and even bladed weapons.

The looks on their faces already changed and it seemed like they had enough.

Mikhail was wearing a solemn expression as he turned to me because we only had our knives and our sidearms with us except for my katana since our main weapons were in our vehicle.

It would be a completely different story if they also brought their firearms out because if a shootout ever occurs, having only two guns on our side was a recipe for disaster.

Despite all that, I was sure it wouldn't come to that because if they wanted to kill us, they knew the repercussions that would come with it.

The 'Thou shall not kill' edict was in effect in Mr. Cuervo's territory and from the years he's been enforcing it– add to that that they probably knew him before me, they wouldn't be complete idiots to forfeit their lives.

However, I know that if I could skirt around the rules, they also could.

The rule in effect was not to kill somebody and it didn't specify anything about dealing pain or suffering. We could beat each other to a pulp, break each other's bones, and whatever, but if we do try to cut or strike each other with lethal weapons, we better make sure the one that received it wouldn't die from that.

With that said, I slowly drew my katana and held my scabbard on my other hand while Mikhail just casually ripped a door off a car that was close by.

"Won't you kill them with that?"

"Nah, I'll use the back of my blade. Concussions are legal."

"Well, yeah. Why'd you think I pulled this door off?"

"ARE YOU TWO GONNA SHUT UP OR ARE WE GONNA DO THIS?!"

Mikhail and I chuckled before we started to release a little bit of pressure while everyone around us did the same, and the atmosphere just became a little heavier compared to earlier.

We were about to face fewer people than before but it was a different story when they had weapons on their hands.

However, we were this fucking close to causing this place's stock of painkillers to plummet when a person showed up in the middle of both sides.

To our surprise, she was as tall as Mikhail, and even if she was wearing heels, if she took them off, she'd still be fucking taller than me.

She towered above everyone else as Mikhail did, and aside from those 3-inch heels, she was wearing black latex pants and only a long fur coat for her top. I can't believe I'll say it here but she was definitely bigger than Kaley with her three sizes. I could say she was a big woman but she had the perfect ratio with everything important.

Her hair was cut short but my eyes grew wide when I saw the tattoo on her neck.

'Number 4…'