Code Zulu Alpha: Nerd in the Apocalypse!

Everyone else was talking to each other when I finally turned on my radio and tried to contact Kaley. She probably thought my radio was still off so she didn't bother to try to reach out and just tried to look for me by going around the enclosures.

I walked a few feet away from everybody before I spoke to the receiver.

-

*bzzt*

"Hey."

*bzzt*

-

*bzzt*

[...]

*bzzt*

-

*bzzt*

"Kaley?"

*bzzt*

-

*bzzt*

[Hmph! Look who decided to call?]

*bzzt*

-

*bzzt*

"Sorry, you're with Cynthia, right? Where are you guys? I'll come to you."

*bzzt*

-

*bzzt*

[Where are we? We're looking for you, you doofus! Tatiana too!]

*bzzt*

-

*bzzt*

"Ah– Tatiana's with me. Quinn too."

*bzzt*

-

*bzzt*

[WHAT?! Quinn too?! W-Where are you guys?!]

*bzzt*

-

*bzzt*

"We're by Mr. Cuervo's parking area but we'd like to meet up with you since I still wanted to explore. Right, do you need some vouchers to spend on anything? I just won lots fairly recently, I guess I could give them all to you."

*bzzt*

-

*bzzt*

[O-Oh, you do? We'll meet at the Bazaar then! That's just perfect timing!]

*bzzt*

-

*bzzt*

"Okay, then. See you there."

*bzzt*

-

*bzzt*

[You too!]

*bzzt*

-

As soon as I put my radio down, one of the black SUVs I saw earlier parked on the opposite end of Mr. Cuervo's parking area while the other turned left and parked on a house where two other SUVs were parked for a time.

To my surprise, the ones that came out from the SUV that parked on Mr. Cuervo's parking area were wearing fancy suits and tucked earpieces, totally different from the rest of the people in this place and the surrounding enclosures.

Furthermore, the last person that came out was as dapper as Mr. Cuervo because aside from having the fanciest black suit with gold embroidery while wearing a purple shirt made with silk inside, he was also carrying a cane that had what seemed to be a large diamond right on top of it.

With that said, he had more rings than his fingers and he was sporting a large Cuban chain on his neck, getting highlighted even more because of the way his shirt was unbuttoned on the top, exposing his chest muscles.

Despite all that, he looked like he was putting on the years because anyone that saw him for the first time could mistake him for Mr. Cuervo's older brother or even his father.

It was because even if he had a toned body, it would be difficult to hide the wrinkled parts of his face and the streaks of his white hair invading the sides of his head. However, those features weren't the things that made me stare at him a little too much but it was because of the amount of pressure he exuded once he stepped out of his vehicle.

Comparing him to myself, he seemed to be subconsciously releasing copious amounts of pressure when he was out in the open but I doubt he had a way to completely turn it off.

I'm sure it would lower at one point and the only reason his companions seemed unfazed was that they couldn't feel it or were just completely used to it.

'That guy's definitely a big fish…'

With that said, when I finally turned around to face Quinn, the look of uneasiness was on her face but she caught me looking at her. It instantly prompted an annoyed glare but aside from myself, Tatiana saw the expression she was wearing earlier.

"What are you looking at?"

"Nothing," scratching the side of my face, "Anyway, Kaley and Cynthia seemed to be heading or already at the Bazaar so, wanna lead the way?"

"The Bazaar, figures. C'mon, I'll lead you there. Who else is coming?"

Tatiana instantly walked forward but we heard Ibarra's voice.

"Come with them, I'll be fine here."

"I don't even have anything to buy with–"

Ibarra turned to me, "Hey, can we open a tab with you, boss? We'll pay you back once we get home."

I nodded, "Sure. Is there anything you'd like us to bring back?"

"Nah, I'm cool. Just please buy anything Natasha picks up–"

Tatiana joked, "How about a supporter? Or a splint? Do they made things for those–"

Natasha growled, "SHUT UP! LET'S GO ALREADY!"

Quinn turned to me, "What was that about?"

Natasha was already pulling on Tatiana's arm but Quinn wanted an answer. However, Ibarra was already shrinking by the second.

"Just an inside joke, long story, no subtitles."

"Fine, fine… but I'd like to hear it later."

"Eh~ If you still remember to ask for it, sure…"

"Alright, then."

With that said, Quinn led the way and the other two had to catch up to us because they went the opposite way, but to my surprise, the Bazaar was actually a separate enclosure of its own.

Furthermore, it was the largest enclosure by far and it had more people compared to the enclosure of food trucks we just ate from.

The place had almost everything for sale and even Quinn's group had a stall that offered pimped-out cars, spare parts, repair or maintenance work, and even a custom job for the vehicles that would be brought up to them. Even the people stationed at their tent looked a bit more civilized than the ones Mikhail and I beat up, but I honestly doubt it even mattered.

To the first stall on the left, there was an assortment of items like hiking boots, soft armor, simple clothes, hats, etc. while the first stall to my right had almost the exact same items but everything was made with leather.

I found their hiking boots to be of great quality but I doubt the leather 'armor' they were selling could defend against a sharp or a pointed weapon. Granted a dull blade wouldn't cut them open but someone trained to deliver precise cuts or a deadhead with their unrestrained strength would be able to get through.

Moving forward, the sets of stalls we passed through were selling items for downtime.

"JUST ONE VOUCHER EACH! JUST ONE VOUCHER EACH! WE'RE ALSO DOING A SALE OF BUY FIVE TAKE ONE, AND I GUARANTEE NONE OF YOU WILL BE DISAPPOINTED!"

"SAME THING HERE! BUT BETTER QUALITY! WE HAVE XXX MAGAZINES TOO IF THE GIRLS AT THE PINK HOUSE ARE TOO 'FILLED' FOR YOUR TASTES AND YOU CAN'T AFFORD FUCKING A FRESH ONE, SO COME ON RIGHT UP, AND WE'LL SERVE YA!"

"HAH! STOP RIGHT THERE MY FINE GUESTS BECAUSE THAT GUY DIDN'T KNOW WHAT THE FUCK HE WAS TALKING ABOUT! D'YOU KNOW THE SIMILARITIES OF MY MAGAZINES AND THE FINE, FINE WOMEN AT THE PINK HOUSE?"

"What?" A random passerby stopped.

"YOU CAN WASH THESE FLAPS AND USE THEM AGAIN!"

"What the fu–"

"AHAHAHAHAHA!!! YOU HEARD ME RIGHT! WATERPROOF MAGS HERE EVERYONE! YOU CAN WASH IT IF YOU JIZZED ON IT! MY PRICES ARE A LITTLE HIGHER BUT THE GUARANTEED REPEATED USE IS TO DIE FOR!"

Tatiana was dying-laughing from the salespeople but we continued deeper into the Bazaar to meet up with Kaley and Cynthia. However, the place was just too big and crowded to place a marker to quickly meet up.

With that said, we came upon another stall that was selling phallic toys, and each of them was displayed from smallest to largest.

I was about to speedrun this segment but Tatiana picked up two dildos with a mischievous smile.

Natasha instantly got embarrassed, "What are you doing, Tatiana?!"

Tatiana raised them up, "How big's Ibarra? This one on the right, or this one on the left?"

Quinn hurriedly joined in, "Tatiana."

"Hmm?"

"Where's Mikhail over here?"

Tatiana crossed her arms while still holding the dildos, "Hmm~ probably that one but a little leaner. Natasha, what do you think?"

Natasha never looked so embarrassed, "W-Wha– That's not–"

"Really? How about this one?" Tatiana pointed to another one that was almost as big as a loaf of salami.

"That's not what I was saying!"

The three were actually having a good time but the shopkeeper pulled me aside, "Are you the Mikhail guy?"

I never shook my head so fast, "N-No man… they're talking about a half-giant in my crew…"

"Ah…"

"Tell me, you ever made sales? You seemed to still have a full stock."

"Hah! I'm bussin', honestly. Although most of them were delivered discreetly. None of them just pick up a dildo and wave them around like your group here…"

"They're a little special… sorry…"

"No, no– It's my pleasure, and theirs. Heh."

The two of us were busy conversing when Tatiana ran up to me with another dildo.

"Look! It's you!"

Natasha piled on, "That's shockingly accurate."

Quinn nodded a few times, "True, how much is that?"

The shopkeeper was fucking shocked, "NO FUCKING WAY THAT'S YOU! LIES! LIES, I TELL YOU! AND HOW THE FUCK DID YOU THREE KNOW?!"

Quinn suddenly snapped, "ARE YOU CALLING US LIARS?!"

"EEK~! N-NO! I'M VERY SORRY! I'M VERY SORRY! PLEASE! TAKE ONE FOR FREE!"

I pulled out several vouchers from my pockets, "N-No… Sorry about them… here…"

The shopkeeper took the vouchers then placed his hand over my shoulder, "Tell me, does your dick fucking hit the water when you pee in the toilet?"

"And~ We're moving on!"

Tatiana was trying so hard to contain her laughter, "B-But–"

"WE'RE MOVING ON!"

With that said, we passed by a few stalls but another stall that caught my eye was selling bladed and blunt weapons, either in their original state or in their customized counterpart.

The popular ones were obviously machetes or metal baseball bats but small fixed-blade knives or butterfly knives were also popular. However, I couldn't help but notice a few knock-off katanas or ninjatos, barbed baseball bats, and even huge-ass machined blades that were too heavy to wield properly.

Granted we have a few that could only be wielded by half-giants, it had special functions aside from clobbering the dead and turning them into rotten meat paste.

'I wonder what Quinn's weapons of choice though? I'll ask her later…'

As I browsed around, I even found machetes that were shaped like a kukri though the whole blade was the same width. A typical kukri would be a little wider on the folded end but the way these items were tapered was a mix of a bolo and a kukri.

With that said, I was lightly chuckling at this 'katana' that was almost ten times the price of a regular machete on display, but the one looking after the shop called me out.

"What's so funny, foo? Are you poking fun at my shit?"

"Oh, I'm sorry. I was just surprised at how expensive that one is."

"Cheh. You're wearing the same thing, you should know."

"Hah! Trust me, I'm not wearing the same thing."

"Bah~ I could buy that shit for 100 vouchers, maybe 75."

As soon as this motherfucker said that, I just started laughing before everything else went freezingly cold.

I directed every bit of killing intent into his direction and I imagined cutting him in half, but the ones close to me still felt the brunt of it.

Tatiana, Quinn, and Natasha instinctively took a step back but the guy I was face to face was unable to move a muscle. However, it only lasted for a few moments before he fell on his ass, and he just started screaming incessantly while he was shakily touching his face.

I never actually did anything but he was acting like I peeled off the skin from his face.

"HE CUT ME! HE CUT ME! HELP! HELP! HE CUT ME!"

It took him a while before he realized that it was all in his head but he was still shaking uncontrollably while his body was covered in sweat, mostly. I was fucking sure that he started pissing himself when his body relaxed, but I just chuckled as I stared him down.

"Trust me, 'foo', this shit's priceless."