Zeus & Byzantine - Chapter 12: Alpha

The Hong Kong man next to me and the Japanese man in front of me were still sipping their soup—lips darkened from the oily, inky broth.

“Bay! OK, what the hell is this? This isn’t edible!” the Japanese man muttered, just as he noticed the wave of people evacuating the room. He turned and locked eyes with me and the Hong Kong guy. My spoon was still frozen midair.

Ugh~ He bolted to the trash can and vomited. Then calmly returned to his seat as if nothing had happened.

“I was so hungry. Took a flight from Japan. Didn’t eat anything. Too excited,” he said, wiping his mouth.

“Oof… smells like vomit now,” the Hong Kong man groaned, leaning under the table to throw up as well. “Me too. I ate without thinking.”

I pulled an inhaler from my bag. “Wanna smell something better? Straight from Thailand.” I wrapped it in a tissue and passed it over.

“Oh my god—I know this one. 'Inhalant’!”

“Arigato…” the Japanese man mumbled gratefully.

At least they looked calmer now.

“Oh? All gone already?” Mr. H turned to the women who had rushed screaming out the door. “It’s not even time to start yet, lovely ones.”

Up front, the remaining four instructors were laughing until they nearly collapsed. How many humans on Earth would understand such a divinely evil joke? Gecko soup. Seriously.

“There are eighteen left,” Ms. A2 announced, checking the board.

“Ha? Out of eighty?” Ms. A1 asked, confused.

“Hah!” Mr. Z was clearly enjoying himself the most. “Who came up with this? I’d give ten points for creativity.”

“It’s a bit much. Now I smell like gecko and vomit,” Mr. A complained softly, holding a handkerchief to his nose.

“So, what do you think of my game?” Mr. H asked, rejoining the team, positively glowing.

“You cunning bastard…” Z chuckled and hugged him with approval.

“But,” H paused, doing a headcount, “At first, there were 80 people—60 women and 20 men. Now, only 18 remain: 10 men and just 8 women.”

Sigh~ The three male gods all let out a synchronized sigh of disappointment.

“Alas! My beautiful girls! Where did they all go?!” Mr. H slumped in his chair, looking like his heart had been broken in several tragic installments.

“We scouted premium beauties from all over the world... and this is what’s left?” Mr. A said in his usual quiet tone.

“Should we… dissolve the project?” A2 muttered darkly.

Note to humanity: if aliens ever invade Earth, it may not be for land, resources, or war. No. The true risk is that they’ll come to steal something you’ve never considered: your most beautiful women. Even your wife might not be safe.

Ms. A1 was already taking notes.

“What are you writing down?” H asked, leaning over.

“Thailand shared an inhaler with her neighbor. India was giving first aid. Australia prayed. Everyone else was vomiting,” A1 replied coolly.

“Seriously?” H glanced over to see Mr. A scribbling in his own notebook too.

“Now we’re forming teams,” A1 said with military determination. “Mine will be the strongest.”

Smile~ Zeus was still smiling like he’d floated out of his body.

“My Byzantine is still here,” he murmured, not so much speaking as... worshiping.

“When did Byu become the Roman Empire?” H teased.

Divine Language 101: “Gecko Soup” means this mission is not for the faint-hearted.

If you can’t handle it—please, go home now.