Capítulo 24: Bluff

This has turned into such a cliche - something that Viktor continued on doing with and in his life…

Before all of this madness and apocalypse thingy struck, bringing out the Romanov Family's name whenever he landed in hot water was always his metaphorical get out of jail free card, so to speak.

It was always an effective way to save himself from trouble and it never even once failed him in the past. As an added bonus, it would always effectively shame the Romanov name for having a son like him.

However, now that the entire state of the world as well as its structure seemed to have changed, it was clear that the chance for this plan to be effective was similar to a dice game with a 50/50 chance. Even so, he still had to try.

Viktor was hoping that with all the resources and power his family has pre-apocalypse, along with the existence of alien technology into the equation, there should still be a good chance that a part of the Romanov family would survive despite the ongoing two year apocalypse.

Fortunately, from the captain's reaction after he heard the Romanov name, Viktor knew within seconds that he was right.

"Blyat! He's bluffing! Don't believe him!" Anton shouted.

The captain's expression also turned more serious than ever, asking questions confirming his identity.

"Fuck it, Andrei! Be smart about this! We were never happy since we joined the military anyway. Those things they have, it's worth a fortune these days. Let's just kill them all, with no witnesses, no one needs to know other than us."

Anton's convincing words were able to make the captain second-guess his thoughts. However, before the idea could take root, Viktor immediately plucked it away with his next words.

"Unfortunately, there are witnesses…" Viktor shrugged. "I have, in fact, sent two of my most reliable men away hours ago. Right now, they are heading to seek the Romanov family!"

"That's a lie! He's lying!" Anton shouted.

Viktor maintained his calm and was unperturbed even as the man called his obvious lie out. After all, the best lies can be made while mixing truths and lies. As long as he played his words right, nothing would happen.

"It's not a lie. If you want, you can ask the 20 people here, they will say the same thing… This is why the hordes attacked us… If you kill us, I am sure it won't be long before the Romanov could track it towards your units."

This time, the thin-mustached man, Anton, grew quiet. He was unable to do anything but glare at Viktor with unbridled hate. Considering his reaction, it appeared that the Romanov name could still bring fear in this changed world.

Realizing this fact, Viktor knew it was time to add more push onto his bluff.

"You see, I am willing to let this threat of yours be forgotten and act like it never happened. I will still give all the supplies as promised. In addition, I will bring good words about you all to the family, hell, I might need the services of brave men like you to help me in the future!"

The last sentence Viktor uttered seemed to finally cause the captain eager to seal the deal.

The group watched as Captain Andrei stood up and walked closer to his vice captain.

"Anton, I think this is a good deal.. Think about it, this is our chance to become something bigger."

Viktor was ready to smile and announce his success when he noticed a glint of metallic light in the corner of his eye. He looked to the side and was surprised to see what greeted him.

"This guy already knows I am trying to kill him. They will not let me live!" Anton screamed as he swung his dagger toward Viktor's neck.

"!!!"

Spllaaattttt!

Blood splattered all around the floor, dying a certain part of it with red.

However, it was not Viktor's blood as he stood there fine with all his body parts still connected. Instead, Anton's head went flying, only to land in front of him. The vice captain's expression was frozen in terror.

The culprit, Captain Andrei, sheathed his weapon. He finally spoke when he noticed that Viktor's attention was on him.

"The guy has always second guessed me. So of course he deserved it for disrespecting you." Captain Andrei said calmly with a smile.

Viktor slowly stood up and stared at the other party. The bloody head lying on the ground in front of him didn't seem to faze him a bit as he said, "I guess we have a deal, then?"

"Yes, it's a deal."

The two men walked out of the room together to break the news to everyone who waited anxiously outside, and convincing the others went smoother than Viktor thought. Captain Andrei simply told the other soldiers that Anton disobeyed his order and attempted to kill him and Viktor when the negotiation was still ongoing; hence, the reason for his execution.

When the Romanov name was brought up, all four men quickly agreed with the plan.

Now that the negotiation was done and dusted, the next thing to do was tell everyone to prepare to leave the place.

Viktor convinced them that now with the gate broken, staying in the bunker was no longer a safe option. Everyone quickly agreed, and they eagerly helped to pack and clear the supply room in preparation to leave the bunker.

When no one was looking at him, however, Viktor took something out of his pocket. It was Anton's ring that he secretly took from the corpse.

"How to use this? Djinn, do you know?"

"Ah, so this functions just like the Djinn lamp, then."

<Right, you are very sharp.>

"Then, Djinn, does it mean that you are an alien, too?"

Viktor clicked his tongue. He was hoping to trick the Djinn to reveal more about itself, but it is hard to plan anything significant as it was able to read his thoughts.

Clicking his tongue, Viktor cleaned the bloodied ring before biting his own finger and smearing the blood on the metal. Right as he did that, he suddenly felt something connected to his mind, and he was surprised to find that he could access the ring with his thoughts alone.

"There are some things inside…"

Inside the ring, he found one dagger and the saber Anton used to fight the zombie before. Other than those two, everything else was basically worthless items.

Afterwards, he walked towards the supply room and decided to quietly sneak a few of the best liquors and food, such as the high quality caviar and premium meats, into the ring.

Viktor was astute enough to know that gold and paper money has no value anymore in this world, hence he decided to just fill the storage space little by little with most essential things.

Of course, he did not forget to include his precious grooming products in the ring as well.

In half a day, everyone's preparations were done. The preparation time was quite fast as they were only allowed to bring one luggage. The next minute, all of them were ready to leave the bunker with their stuff on them.

"Please lead the way captain, our lives are in your hands."