The public security turned better after the police increased their patrols. Well, they were already doing night patrols these last few days, but something was different with their new recruits.
Those recruits would run towards the scene of the crime and would lunge at empty air. A few seconds later, an individual would appear out of nowhere and would be apprehended by the police. This scene became common that morning and became extinct when night came. Mostly because those who were daring enough were already caught, and others learned their lesson not to take their chance. The captives were brought to the police station and never came out.
People didn't notice that there would be rows of masked men being brought out of the police station after a few hours.
***
Inside the police station, Jun stood in front of his new batch of slaves. Seven squid-faced individuals fearlessly stared back at him.
"Okay, listen closely because I won't repeat myself. From now on, all of you are dead. You have been killed by me, and will be resurrected by me. Those who want to live will follow my orders, and those who won't will die. From now on, your lives are mine."
Jun glared at the eyes of his new slaves. He noticed that they were unwilling to accept their fates and were probably thinking of ways to escape from here.
Jun believed that to have your subordinates do your bidding, you must give them benefits. And so he did. He said, "After one year, I will free anyone who worked up to my standards. And those who don't? Will have to try their luck the next year."
He turned his head towards the nearest slave to his right. On the slave's shoulder was a badge that has number one on it. Since he wasn't interested in remembering their names, he told them to number themselves according to their skills. Seeing the number on the slave's shoulder, he called for him instantly.
"Teach these guys the skills to survive. We are heading east tonight, don't let them die on their first day, okay?"
Jun left after he finished speaking.
The slave with number one on his shoulder stared at the new batch of slaves. They looked around warily, looking for ways to escape. The man knew what they were thinking, and so he said, "Don't bother escaping. You'll just return here the next day, and if you're lucky, you'll receive some light punishment. But I won't think about it if I were you. Living like this isn't bad after trying it out for a few days."
The new slaves gaped at the masked man in front of them. Not because he was intimidating but simply because of his tender voice. They knew that there was a group of battle-hardened civilians that were helping on securing the land. They brought back groups of survivors every time they go back after every trip. This group of people thought that everyone who was involved in that group must be adults and so they were surprised.
"Ah, hello. My name is Toby, and these are my friends. We tried setting up a gang made of thieves, but we got caught. before we could even establish ourselves."
The man called Toby wanted a handshake but was ignored by the man.
"The boss isn't good with names, so everyone gets called by their rank. The people call us the saviors, but we are officially called the Death Squad. I'm the current leader and the strongest among us. You can decide for yourself what rank you'll get. To climb the ranks, you can challenge anyone above you with a ten rank difference once a day. After you sort out yourselves, let's go outside, and I'll teach you some useful skills."
Nik led his squad members towards the canteen. They chatted about their food, their new weapons, and experiences yesterday. When they entered the canteen, Toby's group finally unzipped their mouths.
"What a load of crap! Slaves. Hah! Your face! Boss, what are we going to do? Should we teach those arrogant bastards some lesson?"
Toby looked towards the canteen's direction as he thought to himself.
"I'm quite interested in their game, so let's play with them for now. By the way, I'm rank one, okay? Just decide your number on your own, go play some rock, paper, scissors."
***
After eating lunch, the two groups met outside. Nik stood in front of the grassy lawn waiting for the seven to align themselves in a row.
"I know that most of you, or probably all of you, didn't read the contract. So, the first thing we'll discuss is the short version of it."
"Lame." one of Toby's friends commented.
Nik ignored him and continued. "I won't discuss the parts where you hold no control whatsoever, and I will only say those I think that matters. The contract stated that you couldn't talk to your families, friends, or acquaintances that you meet outside of work. You can't sell, lose, or throw away any of your equipment. Lastly, it would be best if you always kept your mask on when going outside. The main reason is that we're supposed to be dead, so we can't be seen by people we know. If, by chance or some luck, you managed to do any of those, you will be punished. Do you have any questions?"
The rude guy who kept on chirping side comments raised his hand.
"Can I fight you?" he smiled then look towards his friends as if bragging or looking for applause.
"We have rules, but how about let's make an exemption for today?" Nik replied.
The rude guy turned his head back and hissed at Nik.
"Didn't know you were so kind. So how are we going to do this? Square up? Are kicks allowed? Wrestle? What if I accidentally broke something, your friends won't come at me, right?" the rude guy said.
"It's up to you. They won't, and I hope yours too. You can start." said Nik.
The man scoffed. "Are you underestimating me? You'll regret it."
The man disappeared from where he was standing, and his friends laughed while jeering.
Nik remained calm as he stared at the spot where the man disappeared. He looked around, then charged at an empty space. Before he could reach the spot, a figure appeared and lunged forward, holding a kitchen knife.
Nik continued his advance and deflected the knife with his hand. The back of his hand was covered by a thin layer of energy, which helped on blocking the stab. He grabbed the offensive hand as he charged energy on his other hand. The rude man struggled, trying to pull back his hand when suddenly a powerful force struck his stomach. The man flew back and rolled along the grass, which helped cushion the fall.
"Tom!" his friends shouted as they went after him.
"Are we done?" Nik said while looking specifically at Toby. "We don't have the whole day; the others have to train too."
The rude men's friend was about to charge at him, but with a simple wave of Toby's hand, they all stopped. "I'm sorry about that. It seems like my friends were a bit too hot-headed today."
Nik stared at him. "I don't really care. I'll be teaching everyone the basics, so learn on your own. Your uniforms would be given later by someone, so you should stay here and wait. Let's begin. Energy control is done by feeling the energy inside our bodies. You can feel it by..."
Nik explained everything that they needed to know. Ranging from skills to be learned like energy control, sprint, and empowered strike. Battle formations were briefly discussed since it was better to practice it on the go. After explaining everything briefly, Nik led his squad to fight infected on the north.
The north was vastly empty, but once in a while, there would be stragglers roaming the fields. They used this place as a training ground to enhance their skills since they can spar freely and fight random lone infected. The tree beside the river became one of their resting spots. They started liking the noise the river made after spending some time under the shade of the tree.
Scavengers who passed by would shout at them to greet them; some even waved their hands frantically. They returned half an hour before sunset and met Toby's group, surrounded by police officers in the police station.
Nik sent an inquiring gaze towards the officer, but it seemed like it was perceived as intimidation due to his face being covered by the mask.
The officer sternly reported. "These thieves went out and stole from people! I thought you would handle things well! What is this!?"
Nik walked forward and stopped in front of the officer. "We were lax. We'll take care of it."
Hearing the anger from the man's voice, the police officer calmed down and said, "You should! The town's security just rose and we still have to deal with the public! Do your work properly!"
The officer's voice became gentle as he spoke since he felt goosebumps after staring at the black eyes that stared at him. He felt like if he didn't leave this place, he would be eaten alive. As he went out, he couldn't help but angrily stomp his foot, feeling aggrieved.
Nik turned towards Toby's group and shook his head. "I didn't tell you this since I thought you have basic common sense, but it turns out you guys are idiots. Fortunately, I haven't handed you your uniforms, or that would have caused more trouble. Remember, the most basic thing about the slave contract is that you shouldn't cause trouble for your master."