One to Won

Chapter 2: Strength

A soldier grabs Mei by the shoulder and speaks aggressively. "You think you can just fly in with your little balloon and become one of us?!" "We're the best in the base, so what makes you special, huh?!" "Big talk coming from an entitled group that the commander put together, trusting that you keep the base safe." "You think you can just call him your commander just like that? We took months to get into our position, and you cut the line!" "That mouth of yours really loves speaking. How many times did you bite your tongue to get this good at speaking?" "I never bite my tong- OUCH! My khounge... (tongue)" The man bites his tongue, letting go of Mei, groaning in pain. "Apparently, not enough." A leg flies into her face, but she quickly dodges, grabs the leg, and flips whoever tried to kick her, slamming their face into the ground. "Kick too high. You're trying to knock the Zombies out, not show off." Everybody in the blue corner looks at her with shock and a little bit of fear. Mei points her sniper up and fires a shot. "What are you doing standing still, we have a mission for crying out loud! Move it!" Without much effort, she has completely taken control of the blue corner. "You! Over there! Get over here!" A woman dressed in a medical suit comes over. "Y-yes? Is there something you need?" "Yes, I need details on the mission we're going to." "Right, we are tasked with adventuring to an unknown area and map it out. We must also collect anything of potential good use until our vehicle inventories fill up." "Sounds simple enough, where are our mappers?" "We only have one mapper." "Get me two more." "What for? One is enough, isn't it?" "Based on my experience, having multiple created maps, and finding the similarities between them is the best way to make maps as detailed as possible. Move it!" "Y-yes! Of course!" The medic runs off to find a couple more while Mei went through the vehicles and their inventory. "What is this?! Only three hundred rounds?! We'll need way more water too!" "But, we usually don't have to do much!" "It's a new area, do you realize what can happen?! Tell the commander that the new area might be hazardous, and we must proceed with caution. Go!" "Right away!" She checks for several other things before finally having everybody set to go on the mission.

As they set off for the new area, ten jeeps and ten bigger military vehicles drive through a forest. It was midday, but it was still dark and cloudy. While traveling, a distant siren can be heard, blaring out its alarms loudly. "What is that sound?" "Sounds like something is happening. Should we check it out-" "No, keep yourselves focused on the mission. It may be an enemy trying to lure us, or a Tanker infected." The other soldiers shut themselves up, terrified because they had never faced such real threats before. As they reach their destination, all the vehicles park nearby and everyone steps out of their vehicles. "We're scouts, aren't we? Start scouting for anything useful, interesting, or concerning. Notify all of us immediately if there is a threat, potentially harmful threat, or important intel. Move, move, move!" Everyone falls out, doing as they're told. For the first time in their time as A-Classes, they did hard work, determined to do their job instead of doing it for fame. Mei looks around places that weren't being touched by the other soldiers, also doing her job as a scout. In just a few minutes, people start bringing in leftover scraps, metals, parts, and many more useful things. "Bomb! Everyone, stay away!" Someone shouts from behind, finding a live explosive slowly ticking down. Everyone panics while Mei simply picks up the explosive, throwing it in the distance, then shooting it, setting off five other bombs in a chain reaction. Five large explosions are heard, and five explosion marks can be seen. "Problem solved. That should be all the bombs." Everyone looks at her not only impressed, but also afraid. "Keep searching everybody! We'll return as soon as possible after the mappers finish their job!" The ground begun to shake, rumbling can be heard. The explosions must've attracted an unwanted guest. A roar can be heard as a large Tanker Zombie shows up at the detonation site, ready to pounce. Instead of cowering as they usually would, they aim their guns to fire. "Open fire! Go! Go! Go!" Bullets get sprayed at the Tanker. Before long, it groans and falls, killing it eventually. Everyone sighs in relief and happiness while Mei claps and smiles at them. "Congrats, you took down a single Tanker. Wait until you face three at once. Heh... Those were the times." Everyone looks at Mei in shock, not believing their ears, but nod to each other and continue to work. "Did you guys know that siren you heard was the Tanker trying to attract us? Crazy, right?" Mei laughs, teasing them since she has plenty of experience to help her.