Code Zulu Alpha: Nerd in the Apocalypse!

Taking a closer look at Alexander’s face now, aside from the look of confusion, his overall vibe was really completely different from the first time I laid my eyes on him.

It could be because of how he got a nice haircut, a bath, and a clean shave—but it really was like looking at two different people because the first persona of him that I saw was a shellshocked victim of war who felt completely alone.

And now, he looked like he had eight hours of sleep, a nice meal, and even a "happy ending" from a very nice masseuse—and the only thing taking me off that vibe was the scars I could see peeking through his chest. Explore new worlds at

"What happened there?" I asked before he could answer my last question.

He looked down for a bit to match my gaze before looking back at me, "Ah… Shrapnel, sir. I think… I think a car exploded and umm… something hit me in my chest and then umm… I woke up in another unfamiliar face like when we were literally shipped here…"

"I see…"

"Sir, I’d umm… I’d like to ask for your name. If possible… To thank you, of course."

I chuckled, "It’s been a while since someone I almost killed wanted to thank me— It’s Sky. Sky Ishiyama."

"Sky— Ahh~ Nyebo, Nyebo… Artyeom— Artem and everyone else kept talking about you— a-and this place… Haven’t gotten out yet but umm— Right, I’d like to thank you first. For taking care of everyone and bothering to take care of me too. I owe you our— no, my life. I’ll do anything to pay it back also with Mrs. Payan, I caused you a lot of trouble and your patience has been absolutely known.

"You have a way with words, huh? Honest and direct, I kinda like it and hate it at the same time."

"W-What?"

"I mean— It’s good and all—perfect, even—it just gives me this weird feeling between happiness and cringe, but in a good way, of course."

"Ah…"

"About that fight though, wanna try to redeem yourself?"

He let out a nervous laughter, "I… I would love to try but I’m in no condition. I might need to prepare and get my bearings a bit more, sir. I’ve heard you’ve beaten everyone senseless already…"

"That is true— This invitation is also to assert a bit of dominance to you, you know, in a good way."

"Heh… Haven’t you done that already?"

I chuckled, "Everyone deserves a second chance, ya know? Haven’t you heard of that quote?"

"I do, I do, sir… Many times, in fact… Right… If I may, I promise to do everything in my power to help you, if you have any more questions regarding that blyatt— that bitch’s cult, I’ll try my best to—" ℝáＮöᛒΕṡ

"Hold up, ’any more’ questions?" I turned to Marisha, "What’s he talking about?"

Alexander glanced at Marisha as well, "You haven’t told him yet?"

Marisha nodded with a solemn expression, "No, I haven’t. It’s for the reason that I would love it for him to hear it from you personally."

Alexander sighed, "Are you— Is it to figure out if I have discrepancies in my story?"

"That too, yes, but it IS a long story, no? I recorded it and everything too but the young man here also has a lot of things to do. Even on his off days, he finds something to busy himself with. Still, we’d both appreciate it if you start again from the top. Don’t worry, I’ll keep a close watch in case something goes wrong. I promise you."

Alexander never looked so thankful, "Thank you, Mrs. Payan, t-that means a lot…"

I turned to Marisha once again, "Anything I should be worried about?"

Marisha chuckled, "Not at all besides the 1% chance he’d have an episode. You’ve dealt with him before so there’d be no issue if anything goes wrong but he willingly asked to replace the umm… the ’hook’ on his mind with my own. It was an arduous process but again, if the participant is willing, it’s way~ easier."

I just stared at Marisha for a bit before I said, "You mean… The mind control thingy? What— How does it exactly work again?"

"You don’t have to concern yourself with that since you’re somewhat familiar with that method…" she trailed with a faint smile.

Hearing that statement, I just assumed it was the same theory when I scared the shit out of Tatiana—but still, this type of thing was still in the "bizzaroo~" world to me, and I would’ve loved it if we had something concrete to hold onto instead of something based on trust and intangible.

In any case, Alexander began telling his side of the story—and it started with him driving down the road with his Humvee and arsenal of weapons.

Of course, it was a hard thing to try and infiltrate known DDR Camps that had gone AWOL—with Ilya and Kuzma having the same experience—but yeah, Alexander took what he thought was the "safer" approach by being allied with a supposed community built around an existing DDR Camp that was supposed to be still allied with the president.

"I’ve heard stories of Filipino Hospitality a few times before but it really was… a warm welcome… even more from my family members when we’d do reunions. It’s like you’re family from the get-go and then some."

"So… you mean to say while fighting through the dead and trying to get info from the other DDR Camps, that’s the first place you’ve been to?"

"Exactly, yes. I first met up with this Captain named umm… Gregory? Or Gregorio— something that starts with a G and has this weird pronunciation."

"Possibly the latter."

"But yeah, they just call him ’Cap or ’Kapitan’ depending on the person and it seems they mean the same thing, right?"

"Yes, just a rough translation between the two."

"Yeah, I’ve been learning the language as time goes by— But yeah, I linked up with the guy and I’d just join in missions while they sometimes let me do my own thing but there’s this chick that’s always there, and umm… doing nothing."

"Huh? Oh— You mean, is the chick a 50/50 or something?"

"Nah, she’s perfectly healthy—"

"Not that— I mean, can she also be mistaken for a man?"

"Huh? Angel? Not to me, no."

"So Angel’s her name?"

"The bitch? Nah."

"Then what—"

"That’s the bitch’s sister."

"Wait, wait, wait—"

"Angel is… almost really like an angel, mind you, but the bitch, Astra is a fucking trap."

"Ohh~ I see, I see, you mean that Astra is like trans or something—"

"No, no, no! I mean trap by she also looks like an angel like Angel but she’s not. They might seem to look-alike sometimes too but Angel has umm… boobs. Astra’s fucking flat as a washboard. She has nipples but ya know… She doesn’t have to wear a bra and she doesn’t."

"Uh-huh…"

"Something wrong?"

"Not at all… Just threw me in for a loop there for a good bit but I think I understand what you just said. However…"

"However what?"

"You keep calling her a bitch now, is that after you were released from her control or was she a bitch even at the time you were there?"

Alexander tried to process my question in his head before he answered, "Y-Yeah, now that I think about it… She’s— It’s the umm… It’s the little things, ya know? There’s an outright bitch, sure, but she’s more of a umm… what do you— how do I put this… a passive-aggressive kind? And oh! With a mix of condescension too, I might add…"

"I see… I see… So this Astra-chick—"

"Chick? For some people, sure…"

"So this Astra… Is she always in the meetings or was her sister the only one present?"

Alexander thought for a bit again, "I mean~ I guess I couldn’t say it a 100% because sometimes I wouldn’t be present but from the times I’m there, she’d be present probably 20-30% of the time. But Angel on the other hand will be there 100% of the time I’m there."

"And have you seen them both at the same time?"

"Hah?"

"Just the off-chance that Astra’s wearing fake boobs—"

"Of course, I’ve seen them both at the same time! What a dumb— Sorry, I was just— You— Wait— No, no, I’m definitely sure that I’ve seen them sitting next to each other. There’s no chance they’re the same person."

"I see… But yeah, aside from the uhh… T-The chest area… Are there any defining characteristics of Astra that could help us identify her from a crowd?"

"I mean… She has short black hair parted to one side… very petite frame—has this look of you know, looking down on you but not that obvious, if that makes any sense, and oh! She always moisturizes. Always! She either has this small bottle of lotion with her and she’d take off her— Right! Gloves! She always wears gloves!"

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