3 Survivors

[You won 10x Vipers.]

Alex: Vipers? Damn it! How can a snake be stronger than me?

System: Please inspect your crate area. This system never makes mistakes.

Alex was shocked when he looked at the box. Inside the box were 10 armored people. When he focused on them:

10x Viper (GI JOE)

In the G.I. JOE universe, the Vipers are an elite soldier team enhanced with nanotechnology. Each Viper is an expert in a specific field (e.g., sniping, close combat, medicine). They wear bulletproof and impact-resistant armor.

They are super soldiers enhanced with nanites. They are twice as strong as a human can be.

Alex: I don't need anyone with these. I need to change my plans. First, I should go to a gun store. Then... Think, think Alex, remember the series. The first season was in a quarry, and there could also be the CDC, but I don't want to deal with gasoline. It's also too close to the city, and a whole herd could surround me at any moment. In the second season, they spent it on the farm, far from the city, but it had no security, and it was destroyed anyway. Haha! I found it! I'll make the prison my main base. It's far from the city and surrounded by fences. At first, I just need to strengthen the fences a bit. Later, I can develop it using the population and resources of the governor, the villain of the third season. But I feel like I'm always missing something. Yes! The soldiers the governor killed! I need to use them for myself. Since they are soldiers... I should have a higher rank than a civilian or be the leader of a special team. I already have a special team. A team of 11 people whose names are not mentioned in the files. We need a code name. USS... No, it could be more original and contradict what I want to do later. Think of first-person shooter games. Brotherhood is not suitable for the military. Halo? This game could be in this universe. A game released after 2010. Black Ops won't work... Ghost! Exactly, Ghost!

Alex focused on the box and brought out the Vipers. Standing in front of him were 10 black-armored death machines. The air had solidified, making it difficult for him to breathe. Why am I having trouble breathing?

System: Because they are bloodthirsty. They have a lot of blood on their hands.

Alex: I used the John Wick template, why does it affect me so much?

System: You took John Wick's skills, intelligence, and body, not his memories. You have never killed a human.

"Blergh!" He gasped for breath, a sharp scent burning his throat. He looked down at himself, covered in sweat and blood. His tattered clothes clung to his tired body. Adrenaline had coursed through his veins, pushing him to his limits. Every inch of his body ached with an unbearable pain.

He gathered his strength and sat up. He asked E1 and E2 for their names. As soon as he received short answers, he took out the weapons from the crate area and threw them out. "Three of you stay with me. The rest of you, take this place as the center and gather everything useful. Use cold weapons unless your life is in danger!" his command echoed.

"Understood!" they acknowledged.

His eyelids grew heavy, and he fell into a deep sleep. He woke up to the sunlight hitting his face. He asked E1, who was standing next to him, with anxiety: "Was there any problem while I was sleeping?"

"No, we just rescued the 11 survivors. E4 and E5 are taking care of them in the next building."

"Survivors?" he murmured. He fell into thought. "What should I do? Should I include them in Ghost? If I do, it could cause a lot of problems on the way from here to the prison. I should meet them first and then make a decision."

He had made up his mind. "Let's go see the survivors."

As he left the building, he saw 5 trucks in front of it.

Alex: "What are these?"

E1: "You said to collect everything we could use, so we have clothes, food, weapons, medicine, etc. here."

Alex: "How did you collect all this? I only slept for 10-12 hours."

E1: "Sir, you have been sleeping for 3 days."

Alex: "What? I've been sleeping for 3 days? Why didn't you tell me?"

E1: "According to E7, you pushed your body's limits quite a bit. This activated your body's self-preservation mechanism."

Alex: "Don't tell me you didn't sleep either."

E1: "Sir, we slept in 2-hour shifts. Our 2-hour sleep is equivalent to 8 hours of sleep for a normal person. The nanites in our bodies keep us in a constant state of peak performance and allow us to use our bodies in the most efficient way possible."

He now understood better why they came out of the iron chest. They were half-machine, half-human.

Alex: "Don't push yourselves too hard."

E1: "Yes, sir."

He headed to the other building. E5 was at the entrance of the building. He saluted and opened the door. He entered. E5 turned and gave the order, "Gather everyone in the room on the right."

The survivors consisted of 5 men, 3 women, and 1 family.

Alex: "You must be wondering why you are here and who we are. I am Alex Wild, the captain of Ghost, a special unit affiliated with the army."

Some of them showed fear on their faces when the word "army" was mentioned.

A woman who looked 27 years old asked hesitantly, "You're not going to kill us, are you?"

Before I could say anything, a 35-year-old blonde woman with an oval jaw, a face that knew the meaning of life, and probably an ex-soldier, spoke up:

"No, they won't kill us. If they were going to kill us, they would have done it the moment they saw us. They wouldn't bring us here and waste their resources."

I turned to her and asked if she was an ex-soldier.

Ex-soldier: "Yes, I served in the infantry battalion during the Iraq War. If you'll forgive my arrogance, I haven't heard of a unit called Ghost while I was in the army. Or..."

Alex: I'm not trying to deceive you by using the army's name. We are a team that doesn't appear in the files. That's why we're Ghost. We have no name, no identity, and no family. You can only know us in two ways: Either you're a general, or we've killed you.

(The room suddenly freezes. Everyone falls into deep thought. A 45-year-old, slightly chubby man from the family asks:)

Family Father: Then why are we here?

Alex: First of all, there is no such thing as a government anymore for people who still dream. We are on our own. I have always believed that there is strength in unity. I will offer you two options:

First Option: To give you some supplies and go our separate ways.

Second Option: To join Ghost. First of all, there is no place in Ghost for anyone who is not useful. If you join, you have to contribute. You have to obey my orders to the letter. If I tell you to kill your wife, you will kill her, and if I tell you to kill your child, you will kill your child.

You don't have to make a quick decision. You have about 4-5 days. After that time, I will leave Atlanta.

Survivors' Perspective:

They all watched the man leave the room. They fell into deep thought.

The Family Father turned his head to the retired soldier and asked, "Ron, what do you think we should do?"

Ron raised his head and looked around. Everyone was looking at him. He took a deep breath and said, "If we join him, we can survive."

Jane timid woman shouted angrily, "He wants slaves! He wants us to obey his every command. Are you crazy? Do you trust him just because he's a soldier?"

Ron: "We need him, not him. I saw his eyes. We have no value in those eyes. He will most likely build his own base and needs people."

Yelena, an office worker in a pencil skirt, asks, "So we can negotiate, right?"

Ron: "No, you don't understand. Right now, the most important thing in this apocalypse is not food, weapons, etc., but a safe base and trained people to protect it. After the base is established, they will most likely make some kind of evaluation. Do you remember what he said? 'I don't need useless people.' Then the vast majority of people in this room will not be able to pass that test."

Family Father Jonathan: "He said he would leave us some supplies, and they cleaned up most of the walkers in this area. We can make this place our own base."

Ron took a deep breath and looked at Jonathan. "Do you think you're not thinking what I'm thinking? We can't stay here."

Jane: "Why?"

Ron: "He said he's leaving Atlanta."

Jonathan: "So?"

Ron: "You know I retired from the army. I had acquaintances from SAS, Delta Force, and many special forces there, but none of them can compare to him or his men. The people with him are the best of the best, and they're leaving Atlanta."

Everyone looks at each other.

Yelena: "Everyone should think about this on their own. Let's meet in the Ron room tomorrow and decide what we're going to do."

Alex's Perspective:

"I offered them two options. I wonder how they will decide."