Speed Is King

The aliens wanted a robust game show with highly motivated participants fighting to the death to win their races and their daily survival of the fittest challenge.

It wouldn't be much of a game if there were thousands of suicides every day, and leaving only a small handful of participants.

They had long learnt that if left alone and completely to their own devices, many participants would fall deep into depression, and many would choose to commit suicide rather than continue to fight on. Even the best players were not immune from this.

For a time, their viewership plunged, and their gambling ecosystem became flaccid.

However, one day a Void Walker claimed that the participants must be given a ray of hope and some sort of a society, a public forum which they could access and feel like they were part of a greater community of human beings, for them to have the greatest motivation to live, to fight and to succeed.

And as such, they had established a weekly update that they would broadcast via their wordless but still very clear psionic waves.

In the weekly update, the aliens would show the survivors stories of successful participants, of the feats that they had accomplished, and at times, glorious yet tragic battles that could have easily been otherwise if certain things were done differently.

It was an ingenious move. Suicide rates fell to almost zero, and the Games became thrilling and worth watching once more. The gambling ecosystem revived and even soared to record high numbers as the Game shows became more and more exciting to watch and to bet on.

The Apocalypse Survivor Weekly Update became a serious and prestigious affair. The aliens broadcast it in such a way that their featured players became heroes in the minds of the survivors.

And of course, they would also receive abundant rewards. Rewards that were powerful enough to change their fates.

Camelia Green had appeared in one of the early Apocalypse Survivor Weekly Update in the previous iteration.

She must have been able to escape from the Spider Cocoon by her own power and somehow join up with a group of survivors.

She had been depicted as a Godly Sharpshooter that participated in the defence of a small town against a horde of rampaging Putrid Savage Hogs. The town survived solely because of her relentless shooting that mowed down thousands of the Putrid Savage Hogs, causing them to retreat in fear after losing more than 75% of their number.

However, she disappeared after appearing once in the Apocalypse Survivor Weekly Update, and no one knew what happened to her.

"Have you heard of me?" Camelia asked Elliot curiously after seeing his face light up in recognition.

"Ah hahaha, yes. Did- uh didn't you win some sort of competition before?" Elliot made a wild guess.

"Oh. I did win best shooter in the town carnival last year'¦ But surely you couldn't have heard of that? It was hardly a big event." Camelia asked him again doubtfully.

"Maybe? I don't remember where I heard of you. Anyway, it's good that you're a sharpshooter. Here, take all the laser guns and all the ammo. Make sure you aim for their heads!" Elliot dumped a bag full of guns, the ammo, the armor, the Stealth Communicator and a few food bars in front of her.

"Okay." Camelia nodded. But she hesitated slightly before she took the bag.

"Is there anything wrong?" Elliot asked. "Feel free to voice your concerns to me."

"Well, this may sound really stupid at a time like this, but I really smell bad. Is there a tiny chance that I could somehow wash up first and get rid of this slime and smell?" Camelia said hopefully.

"Oh! Of course. Sure! Here, I have a few sets of clothes that might fit you." Elliot took out Jennifer's clothes with a pang of pain in his heart. Jennifer and Jessica, though slightly undernourished, were quite tall for their age.

"Thanks." Camelia said as she took the clothes from Elliot. She wisely refrained from asking him why he had girls' clothing with him. With an apocalypse going on, it wasn't too difficult to guess.

"Winter, bring her to the nearest stream and keep her safe while she washes up please." Elliot instructed Winter.

"Anything for the future Mistress." Winter smiled and lowered her body to allow Camelia to climb on top of her.

They quickly disappeared from sight.

"Have you thought of names for your offspring? How many offspring do you want to have? Ten? Twenty?" Brock asked.

"She's not my mate. Stop talking as though we're a couple!" Elliot told Brock sternly.

"Do you find her beautiful?" Brock asked slyly.

"Ah. Ehm. Yes, she looked really beautiful." Elliot nodded with a light smile as he the first moment he saw her face earlier, and the slight surprise he felt over her beauty that shone even through the muck and the slime.

"Do you want to have offspring?"

"Of course!"

"Are you ABLE to physically do the act of'¦ creating offspring?"

"WHAT SORT OF QUESTION IS THAT!" Elliot shouted at Brock in surprise.

"I'll assume that's a yes. If so, then why not have offspring with her?" Brock asked again.

Elliot glared at Brock who was smiling widely with his tongue hanging out like a little dog.

"BAD DOG!" Elliot shouted out the first words that appeared in his mind.

"Bad dog? Did you get a dog, Master?" Wu Kong asked curiously.

"Don't tell me you're referring to'¦" Winter asked.

"I AM NOT A DOG!" Brock roared angrily.

"Hahahahahaha!" Winter laughed.

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

Camelia returned a few minutes later looking absolutely resplendent.

The light armor from the Grade-A Resource Box was a product of alien ingenuity which could somehow adjust its size to perfectly fit the wearer. It hugged Camelia's body lightly, showing off hints of her womanly curves that caused poor Elliot's breath to quicken.

Camelia's beautiful long black hair was still damp, but she tied it into a ponytail anyway, so that it would not disturb her later in a fight. Her eyes were clear and her smooth cheeks were slightly red after she vigorously scrubbed them to remove the stink and the slime.

Her pretty round eyes, sharp nose and perfectly formed mouth made her look like a real goddess in Elliot's eyes.

"I'm ready now." Camelia told Elliot with a shy smile.

Elliot continued to stare at her, completely mesmerized by her beauty. He probably didn't hear what Camelia just said.

"Little Master, do you want to make offspring with her now?" Brock snickered lightly in his mind.

"Ehm. Right. Looks like you're ready. Very good! Brock, be a good dog and get over there right now! Let her sit on your back. Make sure she's safe!" Elliot ordered while glaring at him.

"Woof woof." Winter added.

"I AM NOT A DOG!!"