Mutagen

Day 359 - 11:21 AM - Kudus, Kudus Regency, Central Java, Indonesia

After rescuing the group from the 41st Settlement, a rather eventful night passed by.

Luna and the others brought Farel's group to the camp to let their injured people rest. In the end, Farel asked Mark for his second vial of [Regeneration Medicine] and promised to make it up for him in the future.

Mark did not have any reason to refuse. The people who saw the effects of the medicine might think it was something extremely valuable. However, to those who knew its main ingredients, its value was the exact opposite. It was just a refined mixture of [Mutagen Stones] and blood from an evolver with regeneration ability mixed with some chemical compounds. Even the Mountain Base had already started producing it, although at a smaller scale compared to Corregidor Island.

Besides, it was clear that the Moon Chasers and the 41st Settlement were close allies. Since it would help the Moon Chasers, it gave Mark another reason to help.

In the first place, Mark had two on his belt, but he had twenty more vials inside his [Storage Ring]. And it was not only Mark, as Mei also had another twenty inside her ring.

The vial Farel received was equally divided among the injured members of the 41st Settlement. A small vial would not be enough to fully heal everyone, especially those unconscious. However, it still managed to stabilize their conditions.

After settling the injured, Luna and Farel, together with some members of the Moon Chasers, went back to where they left the corpses of the [Ground Hunters]. It was to dismantle the corpses and bring back as much resource as they could. In the end, they managed to get a good amount to at least cover their losses to a good extent. Furthermore, since Farel's people were mostly injured, Mark tasked the newly tamed [Ground Hunter] to carry their loot as he made another wagon out of nowhere.

Sure enough, a lot of things Mark and his group displayed were a total surprise for the locals. The Moon Chasers were beginning to get used to it, though. There was a limit to how much they could feel shocked about an absurd and mysterious group.

Just in time for dinner, an unconcious member of Farel's group woke up. It did not take long, and they woke up one after another, although the interval was inconsistent due to their varying injuries. Some even did not wake up until midnight, with the last unconcious person waking up at dawn. 

The [Regeneration Medicine] sure served its job even if it had to be divided into smaller portions.

Unfortunately, the newly woken-up members of Farel's group had to face the reality of the situation. They had twenty-five members when they left their settlement. Now, they only had nineteen left. Five died during the constant attack of the [Ground Hunters], and the sixth was Wahyu, who turned out to be an impostor and the cause of everything that happened. Some of them felt surprised seeing the tamed animals of Mark's group, but they also could not help but glare at the leader [Ground Hunter] with hostility. Nonetheless, Farel made sure none of them would create trouble, especially since they were indebted to Mark in various ways.

The worst trouble they had to face during the night was the constant attack of predators. It was the consequence of trying to bring home large amounts of meat from the [Ground Hunters] and other prey they came across. The smell of large amounts of meat was attracting predators from all over the place. Even if they already covered the wagons with thick cloth covers, the smell still leaked out. And the most attractive to them were the remains of the [Fog Crawler] for obvious reasons.

There was no doubt that the [Fog Crawler] was a highly evolved creature, and the other animals knew by instinct that eating its flesh would increase their strength. In fact, Chaflar and the leader [Ground Hunter] preferred the [Fog Crawler's] flesh, too, for the same reason. 

Unfortunately for the tempted predators, there was no way they could win against this large group of humans. As these animals fell to the temptations, they ended up as additional trophies for the humans to bring home.

Early in the morning, despite the injuries the members of Farel's group had, they had to set off. Going home as fast as possible would be the best for everyone here.

After half a day of continuous travel along the cleared road, they reached a curve north where they could see Mount Muria clearly. And, of course, the encounters with people increased, with most instances ending up staring at the combination of the Moon Chasers, the 41st Settlement, and the unfamiliar robed people. Of course, the thing most of the people they passed by reacted to were the giant lizards with the group pulling the wagons of dismantled creatures. If not for the lizards calmly walking at the center of the formation, the people seeing them would think they were dangerous wild creatures.

Soon, they reached Kudus. It was where the satellite military outpost was located. It was a strategic location where the national road intersected with the other roads circling the mountain. While the roads were nothing but ruins now, it was still chosen for the same reason.

The function of this outpost was mostly to alert the military in advance in case something happened. It was also where survivor groups could ask for assistance in certain situations.

This time, it was also the initial destination of the Moon Chasers.

"Stop!"

Soldiers armed with their assault rifles stopped the group. T

Considering that the other passing groups were not stopped by these soldiers, the reason was, without a doubt, the creatures the group had in tow.

The soldiers stared at the giant lizards with cautiousness. It was until someone stepped out of the outpost gate. It was a middle-aged man, likely around his early forties.

"So, it's the missus from the 39th and Farel, huh. I believe your groups went out on different days. Did you join up on the way back?"

The soldier casually spoke as he saw Luna and Farel. It was clear that he was familiar with them.

"Captain Timur, greetings. We met up by coincidence."

Luna replied.

"Met up is making light of it," Farel disagreed with Luna as he spoke to the Captain. "We owe this girl's group our lives. We got into a pinch, and they saved us in time."

"Is that so?"

Captain Timur asked as he scanned Farel's group. He could not help but show a bitter frown as she saw some of Farel's members missing.

Knowing what the Captain had in mind, Farel spoke.

"The others got done in. We can't even retrieve their bodies. We only had Mal's body here."

The Captain heaved a heavy sigh after hearing the result of Farel and his group's scavenging run.

On the other hand, Luna and her group looked fine. It gave the Captain a sense of relief.

"And what are these?"

The Captain asked, looking at the creatures with the group. A [Ground Hunter], a Dragon-like creature, a giant rabbit, a canine-feline, and even a golden dog.

"They are tamed creatures," Luna explained. "We met these people during the fog. It seems they are survivors from outside who managed to tame these creatures for survival."

Luna told those things as Mark asked her to say beforehand. There were no lies in those words, anyway.

Still, it surprised the Captain and the people who heard Luna. A group of survivors from outside the fortress who managed to tame creatures, who would not feel interested?

Captain Timor looked at the group with similar-looking robes. Although they were not wearing anything to cover their faces, nothing could be seen about everything else. No person could likely tell what they were hiding under those robes.

Stepping forward, the Captain approached Mark.

"I'm Captain Timur Guntur. Officer-in-Charge of Kudus Outpost."

Captain Timur Guntur extended his hand forward to Mark.

"Mark, just call me Mark."

Mark accepted the handshake. He had done this many times already, but he was still uncomfortable with such gestures.

That aside, Captain Timur was no ordinary person. While it was obvious that Mark would be the leader due to their positioning and being the only male of the group, the Captain also spoke in English, showing that he realized that the members of Mark's group were not locals.

But then, Captain Timur asked an uncanny question.

"So, how many people have you killed so far?"

It was a question that startled everyone who heard it.

However, Mark smiled as he met the Captain eye to eye.

"I've lost count," Mark answered. "You can't really count how many ruffians you killed when your attention is only focused on protecting the people behind you."

The answer Mark gave was not false, but not the entire truth, either. Counting how many lives he ended? Mark had access to his subconscious memories. He could count it if he wanted to.

Captain Timur stared at Mark as he continued to grip the latter's hand. He then let go, seemingly satisfied with the answer.

"Is that a test or something?"

Mark asked.

"Sort of," Captain Timur nodded. "My guts have never failed me. I can tell your answer is not all of it, but at least I can't sense you lying."

Then, Captain Timur turned to Luna.

"A temporary pass for them, right? Are you going to vouch for them?"

"Yes, no problem."

Luna nodded.

The Captain then signaled his soldiers to be at ease and called the registrar for a temporary registration.

Mark's group were then asked their names and age, and that was it, to their surprise. But then again, only their names and ages would matter in a temporary registration. Other things like abilities and significant stuff would probably fall into the actual registration process.

"By the way, Captain Timur," Luna called the Captain's attention. "Can you call for the logistics? We want to sell some stuff."

"Hmm? And what is it?"

Captain Timur asked.

Then, Luna pointed at the cloth-covered thing on the wagon Chaflar was pulling. Bajing and Limabela then pulled the cover, revealing the horrific head of a giant centipede.

"The head of the [Fog Crawler]. I believe the military will be interested."

Luna's announcement rang loudly in the ears of everyone nearby. Even Captain Timur's eyes widened in disbelief.

"Don't joke around, Miss Luna."

Captain Timur warned.

"You think I'm joking around?" Luna challenged the Captain and his gut feeling. "If you're still not convinced, then take a look at this."

Luna then unpacked something from the large backpack she was carrying. Covered in cloth, Luna unwrapped it to reveal a half-meter-long segment of the [Fog Crawler's] front legs.

"Look at this, especially this part," Luna pointed at the jagged but sharp, knife-like tip of the [Fog Crawler's] leg. "Looks familiar, right?"

Captain Timur could only frown as he did not sense any lie in Luna's tone. But as he examined the insect leg in her hands, Captain Timur could not help but be convinced.

"This familiar jagged pattern," Captain Timur spoke. "There's no doubt it's a similar pattern to the injuries left on the bodies of the victims."

"How did you people kill it?"

Captain Timur asked.

"We're lucky."

Luna smiled bitterly with her reply. Unfortunately, she had no reason to tell everything.

Captain Timur was still suspicious. Nonetheless, he knew that Luna was not someone to lie. In the first place, lying to sell something to the military would not end up good if it was discovered.

"I'll call for the logistics. But the negotiations about the price will still fall on you."

Captain Timur warned.

"Don't worry, I know."

Luna nodded.

But before Captain Timur went to the communications room, he turned to Limabela.

"Before I forget, Miss Astria, your father is pretty pissed. You better think of your excuses early on."

Everyone looked at Limabela, who was now shrinking in embarrassment.

"Limabela," Bajing called out with a questioning stare. "You said you got permission to come with us, right?"

Limabela did not answer and just gave a smile.

"Yeah, I gave myself permission."

The Moon Chasers looked at Limabela while slapping their foreheads inside.