Code Zulu Alpha: Nerd in the Apocalypse!

As of right now, everyone from the viewing platforms and every participant in the play area had a mix of reactions, but aside from me and a few that already figured out the small trick, the twins were also wearing a cheeky smile.

‘I knew it…’

Even if they didn’t confirm nor deny my team’s theory about the correct answer, the looks they were giving us were already more of a give-away.

Furthermore, it was like they weren’t the scaredy-cats that were trying to get away from Quinn’s wrath earlier, but instead, their excited and ‘showman’ expressions were on display for everyone to see.

In any case, Ruru kept the plugs inside a cute little case while Riri placed her mic towards Tatiana and Katya.

[So~ What is your answer?]

The two just looked at each other before Katya shrugged her shoulders as Tatiana leaned over to the mic.

[They belong to each of you, correct?]

[Ding! Ding! Ding!]

[Your answer is correct~!]

[Not only did the Ishiyama Family get a point in their belt, but they also won the bonus for guessing who owned our plugs— which we will reveal now!]

At this moment, jolly music accompanied the twins as they talked, but in my opinion, the prizes for winning the first game weren’t as useful as I thought. But free stuff was free stuff so I shouldn’t complain as much.

[The prizes are as follows:]

[Since the Rivas Family and the Ishiyama Family won, starting tomorrow, they would each receive 5% of the proceeds from the Pink House!]

[Isn’t that great?!]

[FURTHERMORE!!!]

[We all know that the golden coins from Mr. Cuervo had certain ‘benefits’ or titillating ‘rewards’ when it comes to our place of work, but fret not! The head of each respective family that won will be given the opportunity to grant two other people—and themselves—their very own VIP Pass!]

[That means~ the people holding those passes will be serviced by the Pink House for as much as they wanted, and you’ll be able to take home an ‘entertainer’ of your choice for a week! But, if you took too long to get them back, your passes will be revoked and you’ll have to pay them extra for each hour they aren’t in our house!]

With that said, if the winner was living in Mr. Cuervo’s residence or somewhere close, it would’ve been perfect but I wasn’t. Sure, Ilya and the rest were living here and Irene and her group were only a short drive away from this place, but the people or the groups who were stationed a ways away would be at a little disadvantage.

‘Giving away shares of the proceeds of one of his businesses is great and all but it would still benefit Mr. Cuervo in the long run… If more people were to stay here and or closeby to have access to his facilities— due to the way he’s growing his empire, the 10% would be negligible…’

Everyone else had a mix of reactions to the rewards but the twins turned to Katya and Tatiana.

The music was replaced with something appropriate while my team gulped in anticipation, then the twins leaned even closer to the two before opening their mouths.

[And the bonus reward…]

[Here!]

[Huh? Aren’t these—]

[Yup!]

[You own us now!]

[Wut?]

[HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH?!]

What happened was the twins handed over the cute little case where their plugs were stored before they leaped onto Katya and Tatiana’s arms and gave them a peck on their lips.

Almost immediately, the crowd went wild as soon as it happened but two different things happened on the stage.

While Tatiana was already shoving her tongue down Ruru’s throat, Katya was shaking off Riri from her arms like an unwanted pest. At the same time, everyone felt the pressure that Artem just let out and it prompted the ones close to him to back away.

‘Uh-oh.’

I was afraid to say that the pressure he released was more than the time Kristoff fell but it fucking was. He was just sitting quietly in his spot but no one even dared to enter his personal space for fear of getting involved.

In any case, he began to calm down when Katya draped Riri over Tatiana’s back, but our side of the viewing platform got even more crowded.

Not only did Quinn come back with my team while she was running her mouth off, but the twins were also closely following behind them and sat on the same spot. Our place had once again become the main attraction and it seemed like I was the only one feeling the piercing stares from all around.

I could only sigh and drop my head low to attempt to be a little inconspicuous but Tatiana casually threw the case of plugs on my lap.

‘Hah! I’m in danger…’

It only took a second before the twins threw themselves onto me but not only Kaley— but also Cynthia didn’t budge. Let’s just say Riri got flat-out rejected for the second time in a row while Ruru got her first one.

The twins almost threw tantrums on the spot but luckily enough, Quinn was also there to keep them in place.

I didn’t have the time to fool around right now because the second game was being prepared at this moment.

At this point, all we were seeing were kegs of beer being loaded on one side of the stage while different colored flags were being planted on the same spot. However, the first intersection by the entrance was opened up completely before the same set of flags were planted, and it seemed that more than two members would be needed from each group.

After a bit of time, large beer mugs along with foldable tables were brought in and a large guy wearing a nice suit came up from the bottom of the stage.

I have never seen this man before but he was dapper as dapper goes.

However, what I didn’t expect were the cheers that erupted the moment his face was displayed on the big screen.

Like Mr. Cuervo and most of the heads, his hair was slicked back while strands of white invaded the side of his head, but instead of having a thin mustache, he was sporting a well-trimmed chinstrap that could almost hide the scar on his neck. Furthermore, he was almost always looking slightly down— almost as if he was trying to hide the long gash below his chin, but despite all that, the smile he was wearing was genuine.

He cheerfully waved and bowed to each of the heads on the viewing platform—including me—and he even gave me a short congratulations for ‘winning’ the twins from the first game.

‘I hope he’s not this game’s bonus prize…’

With that said, he seemed to be listening to something from his earpiece but he just nodded a few times before he faced the cameras.

[HAHAHA! WELCOME EVERYONE TO THE SECOND GAME DESIGNED BY YOURS TRULY AND IF YOU DON’T KNOW WHO I AM YET, I’M JUST THE FUCKING GUY THAT MADE OUR SPECIALTY BEER! JIMMY’S CERVEZAS!]

Cheers erupted for the second time but our fucking guy continued.

[I KNOW, I KNOW, I JUST TOOK OVER THE BREWERY CLOSE BY BUT THE RECIPE I’M USING IS MY OWN! And u-uh… if you know someone who could change the design so it doesn’t say SMB every single time would be great— Ah, MOVING ON!]

[I’LL LEAVE THE REWARDS FOR LATER BUT THIS GAME WOULD NEED FIVE MEMBERS FROM EACH FAMILY! I GUESS THE SHARP ONES AMONG YOU COULD PROBABLY GUESS THE NEXT GAME BUT BEFORE I EXPLAIN THE RULES, I NEED THE FIVE MEMBERS RIGHT FUCKING NOW! I’LL COUNT TO FIVE!]

At this point, I didn’t even need to assign participants because almost everybody volunteered as tribute.

The first one who stood up was Mikhail, followed by Bogdan, then Ilya, and to my surprise, Artem. I thought Nikolas or Alexei would decide between themselves as to who would be the fifth member but they both sat down when Jose stood up with a huge smile across his face.

It was almost unsettling the way he was eyeing the kegs of beer below but one of Quinn’s crew grabbed his shoulder.

“Bro, they already went down. Where are you going?”

Jose never looked so confused, “Hah?”

“Aren’t you— Holy fucking shit, I thought you were one of us!”

“…”

“HAHAHAHAHA!!!”

As soon as that happened, Jose looked like he was about to kill me because I talked him into getting multiple tattoos to ‘blend’ in. However, he did blend in a little too much because he would always get mistaken to be a member of the de Leon Family.

With that said, my group eventually made their way with the other groups and they were made to wear colored bandanas with the same pattern as the flags.

Looking at each of them, it seemed like everyone got the memo because only huge guys that could hold their own were the ones that joined except for Quinn that was towering over some of them. Her partner wasn’t even included in the second game but if drinking was involved, I doubt Quinn would’ve passed it up.

‘If only drinking was the game… I’ve seen a version of this in Texas…’

With that said, the Jimmy guy couldn’t hide his excitement when the participants were waiting for his orders, and he just smiled brightly before speaking on the microphone. It crackled shortly before a screeching feedback resounded but it was immediately fixed by the sound guys.

[Alright, what we’re doing is the Cuervo Heights Beer Relay!]