Code Zulu Alpha: Nerd in the Apocalypse!

After that little detour from our conversation, I gave them the complete breakdown of what I uncovered and thought of—excluding the ones Ilana handed me, of course—before we went on about what we'd have to do in this harbor.

And as a side note: the Marine Base across the bay was definitely much, much larger than the Main Harbor but if we close off the rest of the facilities in this area by blocking off the three bridges available, it'd be at least four times the size of the Marine Base they were occupying.

"Alright, securing a small perimeter is key in almost all of the situations but securing those three bridges and leaving us with a bigger outpost compared to your main HQ would be the way to go. Kinda confusing but it's easier to hold those three points in the long run since you mentioned that there would be more people coming.

I'd suggest just moving everyone in this place but the Marine Base has facilities we can't just pass up on."

Mitch nodded as he was looking at the map I drew, "I agree with all those points, and then what?"

"Then~ Right. We're gonna need a full inventory of not just the Marine Base but everyone thing else in this section of the Freeport Zone we'll occupy before we make more adjustments or improvements and there has to be someone or a group of people keeping everything in check.

Everything that comes in and out up to a single grain of rice should be recorded—I know it's tedious—but someone has to do that job to avoid future problems."

Bartow suggested someone not here, "Hey! Clay and Marge can do those types of stuff, right? Maybe Janice or Maine too so we should call one or two of them over."

Mitch nodded pensively, "Yeah— Clay's probably already doing that in the Marine Base so maybe Marge and Janice then? We have more stuff to go through over here."

"Eh, bring Maine too so it'll be easier—"

I cut in, "I do have a template of what we're using back home and I could just show them how to do it—maybe even compare notes to what you have currently so you can decide on how you do things?"

Oscar followed, "They're better off using your thing, kid. Trust me."

Mitch embarrassedly scratched the back of his head, "May I see it?"

I chuckled as I pointed at one of the folders titled "Misc." from the files I sent over to him, "It's over there. I included some other stuff in case you might need it. It even has some comic books or coloring books for kids though you might want to acquire a printer and some crayons first."

"This… This is more than thinking ahead…"

"It's basically the same thing, heh."

"Sure, but still a step higher and a little creepy, no offense."

I chuckled, "None taken."

Bartow shook his head, "Nah, who was that brat again? Angelica? She'll love that."

Mitch's eyes smiled(?) as he chuckled, "That is true. Alright, what's next on that list of yours?"

I pondered for a bit, "There's no actual list but since we already have basic security in place for our territory, we still got to eat, right?"

"Of course."

"And we can't just keep giving you stuff but we can teach you not just to fish but to farm as well."

Bartow cut in, "Ain't no way we're growing anything in solid concrete, boy."

"Hydroponics is one solution but if you wanna go with the classic way of farming, we can do it over the surrounding area of the Marine Base instead. You might have to put up more fences and spread out security but it would be able to let you plant some crops and have animals running around.

Cows and chickens would feel much, much better on soil, and it'll save you some feed if they could graze or find some worms on it. It's a small trade-off but those cows' hooves will also thank you for it too."

"Hmm… We could assign some people for that."

I continued, "But yeah, we did bring some fruiting bags and those box thingies where you could have a vertical farm of potatoes and we'd be more than happy to tell you how it works but it's also included in the files I sent over."

"At this point, I'm already out of things to say, really…"

"We're not yet done though…"

"Heh… Cool… Lay it on me…"

"Alright, I know we're living at the end of the world right now but that doesn't mean we have to live like savages. This one things is commonly forgotten in this type of situation but aside from everyone else appreciating for everyone else doing it, it also protects us from getting sick from the—just an example: a common cold or even diarrhea."

"And… And what is that thing?"

"I'm not talking about any specific person in the room or anyone else in this place but I'm just gonna be blunt and tell you fucks that some of you need to learn to regularly wash their hands, brush their teeth, and shower.

I'm very familiar with the smell of a rude armpit since I have businesses in a public market but for the love of god and all things fucking holy, we shouldn't compete with the smell of rot and decay outside. It's not a way to live, okay?"

Bartow suddenly got offended, "YOU TALKING ABOUT ME, YOU PUNK?!"

"At least you can fucking smell yourself. There are people I've known throughout my life who can't even tell the difference between the smell of nice candles and their stench. We can still fix you," then I turned to Mitch, "You're good though."

"Thanks, I guess?"

Oscar followed, "How about me?"

"You don't have that old man smell yet, old man. It's either you smell like gunpowder or straight-up whiskey. No fucking in between."

"AM I GETTING SINGLED OUT HERE?!"

The three of us said at the same time, "YES! TAKE A FUCKING SHOWER!"

"FUCK ALL OF YOU, I'M OUT!"

"If that's to take a shower, then go right ahead!"

"AHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!"