Code Zulu Alpha: Nerd in the Apocalypse!

To my surprise, Mr. Castillo was also out of sight but I did see Annie and Benjie in a bad mood, a few feet away from their patriarch's spot.

Two of Annie's bodyguards seemed to be keeping Benjie from going someplace else but I doubt they could do shit if he actually willed it. The only reason I could think of was that Benjie listens to Annie's words but I was too far away to even hear what they were talking about.

With that said, the new challenger had just walked up on stage and Mr. Cuervo presented him to everybody.

[Ah~! Trying to take the easy route, eh? Before you begin, introduce yourself to everyone. At least with that, you'd have the assurance that someone might remember you.]

[Seriously, Mr. Cuervo?]

[You could die, you know that?]

[We'll see about that.]

The guy looked to be in his 30s and he had a buff figure displayed proudly because he was only wearing shorts and flip-flops. Furthermore, he only had tattoos on his triceps and on both sides of his neck.

[Alright, if you don't already know, I'm Zack, Cuervo Family. I have a ton of debt but I'm not going down for it, and I'm not paying for it… the regular way. Right, I can lay pipe better than your boyfriend, your lover, or your husband, and—]

This Zack guy was about to do an ad-read about himself but he stopped when everyone else from the line started snickering from his last statement. He was about to throw down with the people closest to him but he noticed that all of them were looking past him.

Once he turned around, Roxanne and Melina were making faces behind his back and they didn't even bother to hide it quickly.

I actually thought he'd boast about himself a lot more but he shrunk down in embarrassment before he turned to Mr. Cuervo. With that said, Mr. Cuervo just shook his head amusedly before placing down a loaded revolver in front of him.

[Alright, Zack. One's in the wheel and you have a maximum of five pulls, obviously. I'll clear your debt if you survive after one pull but I won't tell you what you get with additional ones. Just remember that there's a fine line between being brave and actual stupidity—]

[I got it, Mr. Cuervo. Watch this.]

Once Zack picked up the revolver, the music's volume lowered to the point it could barely be heard. The big screen only had his face right now and we saw him spin the wheel before pointing it at the side of his head.

There was maybe a couple— no, a second of silence before we saw the hammer cock back as he pressed on the trigger, and the motherfucker didn't even flinch when we heard the familiar click.

He was smiling—brimming with confidence—as he was staring right at Roxanne and Melina but he winked at the two before pulling the trigger three more times.

*CLICK* *CLICK* *CLICK*

Cheers just erupted once he dropped the revolver on the floor and he turned around and faced the crowd before he bowed in front of everyone. He was wearing a smug look as he passed the next person in line but Mr. Cuervo called him over.

[Oi, ain't gonna wait for me to tell you what you won?]

[Nah, I'll exchange those for what I want.]

[Heh, you do you. Great job, amigo. See you later.]

Zack just went back to his spot and had a petite girl sit on his lap. It didn't take long before his hands wandered elsewhere but everyone's focus landed on the next guy to try his luck.

However, the next dude was like a 90% copy of the Zack fellow.

They almost had the same build but his face was ashen and he didn't even have an ounce of confidence that Zack had. He slowly made his way to the stage but before Mr. Cuervo could even present him to the crowd, he mumbled something before turning around and walking away.

'Wut?'

[Ah— Cody, you're sure?]

[Y-Yeah… I think I'm good. Maybe next time…]

[Sure…]

This time, laughs and boos erupted but this Cody guy never gave a fuck. He walked back to his spot, completely walking past Zack—who I assumed was his brother or something—and almost erased his presence. If it wasn't for his build, I believe it would be entirely possible. However, the disappointment in Mr. Cuervo's eyes couldn't be hidden.

The third guy after them looked like he didn't want to come up but the threats getting thrown at him made him walk up due to fear or peer pressure.

With that said, a few had already opted out without much issue because they were in the middle or in the backline. Almost no one noticed them moonwalk back to their spot and Mr. Cuervo was already presenting the next contestant.

[My friend, I wouldn't blame you if you walk out but you could feel the pressure, am I right?]

[Y-Yeah…]

[It's up to you now… but mind introducing yourself first?]

[Sure, I'm Archie, Garcia Family… I… I only did this because— Wait, no… let's get it on. I'm ready.]

[Very well, heh. Good luck.]

At this moment, Mr. Cuervo loaded another revolver before placing it in front of our contestant, and once again, the contestant's face was now on the big screen.

Everyone watched him pick up the gun before spinning the wheel a few times, but once he pointed it at his head, everyone besides him already knew the fucking outcome.

It was because this time, the camera pointed at him was at an angle, zoomed close enough to see on the screen that the fucking bullet was at the kill position. Despite that, Mr. Cuervo and the two beauties behind him kept a straight face as they watched Archie pull the trigger.

*CLICK*

'What? Wait… Oh—'

Archie flinched so fucking hard the first time but the look of surprise on Mr. Cuervo and everyone else was much worse. It was because the guy should've been decorating the stage with his brain matter but to everyone's surprise, he was still going for another trigger pull.

*CLICK*

And another.

*CLICK*

However, just as he was about to put the gun down, it happened.

The gun just exploded into pieces, causing Archie's hand to take the brunt of it though a few shards reached Mr. Cuervo's face. His ear and the right side of his face was bleeding and the two behind him were late from pulling him away.

Despite that, almost everyone present didn't know what the fuck just happened but I couldn't believe the luck Archie had.

He wouldn't be able to use his hand for a while but he literally cheated death from having the luck of the devil.

What happened was the bullet loaded into the revolver was faulty, causing it to hangfire. Meaning, that instead of the primer igniting to light up all the gunpowder for spontaneous combustion, it… "hanged" for a while or fizzled before doing the job it was intended to do.

However, there should've been no difference in the outcome if it weren't for Archie pulling the trigger twice after.

Pulling the trigger twice on the gun he used made the wheel of the revolver spin right at the point—while the bullet that was still hanging, to discharge not straight to the barrel, but to the other parts of the gun—probably the frame close to the cylinder—that blocked its exit path.

There was also a chance for the bullet to spiral around and hit someone else if Archie just pulled the trigger once—after the first one—because there was enough space for the bullet to exit that way.

It's just that even if he lived, a gun exploding in your hands would still fucking hurt, and seeing the medical team check on Mr. Cuervo first would've been rage-inducing. Despite that, he calmly tried to steady his breathing and he waited for Mr. Cuervo to shoo off the medical team and go for him instead while his hand was mangled and bleeding profusely.

[You guys… we need to have a meeting as to who gets the priority. I just scratched my face and you all went for me. My wife could do worse in bed, heh, just kidding. But anyway, Archie, that's some luck.]

[Thanks, I guess…]

[You good?]

[It fucking hurts but it's better than fucking dying, no?]

[True. With that said, I'll grant you the privilege of throwing your dick around anywhere where my influence holds for a few days, and by doing something near impossible, I'd grant you something within my power.]

[Right, I should be fucking happy right now but I think I'm about to pass out.]

[Oh… you're losing blood.]

[I know, Mr. Cuervo.]

[Heh, we'll talk later. Get patched up, better start practicing how to be a southpaw for a while.]

[Uh-huh…]

There was a short moment of applause then he fainted.