Mutagen

<strong>Day 147 - 10:15 AM - Langonoy Gulf, Codon, Catanduanes</strong>

The soldiers in the patrol vessel had their eyes pinned to the dying rebels as they made their escape. Looking at the demise of the rebels, some of them could not help but turn blue. It was not because of what happened to them, though. It was because of the school of gigantic fish that tore the bodies of those people like tofu.

Some of the soldiers could not help but turn to Mark. He seemed to have predicted this to happen in advance. They did not know how he did it. However, it was, without a doubt, the case since he stopped the Lieutenant from capturing the rebels and told them to leave right away.

Mark aside, there was also the beautiful girl that had just jumped down from the roof of the boat. To these soldiers' envy, she went straight to Mark with a look asking if she did well. As if it was natural, Mark caressed her head for the job well done. The soldiers could only stare at Mei's cute face as she was complemented by Mark.

No, no, no... That was not what they were looking at.

They were amazed by her shooting abilities. Although not all of them were experts, they noticed that Mei handled her gun amateurishly. Even so, while the form and posture were lacking, the important thing was that she did not miss a single shot. There was no point in a perfect posture if the shots missed the target after all. In the worst cases, a single mistake was a matter of life and death.

There was also Mei's strange looking gun that who knows where it came from. All these soldiers were sure that she did not bring anything as big as that when they boarded the boat.

The last thing that they could not fathom was the invisible shield that was currently covering the whole boat. The soldiers only heard Mark shout "Iola" before this shield appeared. What was "Iola"? A name? A chant? What was this shield? New technology? Magic?

There were a lot of questions. However, with the brutal end of the group of rebels that ambushed them, only an idiot would dare ask Mark.

Nevertheless, the most important question...

The soldiers thought that it was just a group of people tasked to deliver a package at first. But now... Just was kind of powerful beings, did they let ride their boat?

Putting all of the things that happened on a mental note, Lieutenant Ignacio decided not to ask any question. At first, in his eyes, Mark's group was just a band of lucky people. But now, they were mysterious and unfathomable. It was better to get on their good side instead. Now that he thought about it, it seemed that Captain Zacharia's future would be bleak now.

"It looks like we owe your group this time."

Lieutenant Ignacio said to Mark, looking at the boats of the rebels. The boats already started to drift away, following the ocean current.

"If you didn't tell us to leave, things might become dangerous."

The Lieutenant added.

"Are those fishes that dangerous?"

Mark asked.

"You might not know since you are not from here, but those fishes are the most dangerous predator in these parts currently. Those are evolved Sardinellas always found in schools of several hundred fishes. Now, we call them steel-teeth fish because their large mouths can pierce metal. Look at how they easily bit off the limbs of those bastards as if they did not have bones at all. If we did not manage to get away in time, in the worst case, our boat will sink. If we are lucky, we'll still get stranded in the middle of the sea for who knows how long."

"Stranded?"

Mark asked. After all, while it was not strange that the boat would sink from those ferocious fish, but why stranded?

"Because those fishes are pretty much blind and highly sensitive to sunlight. That is why they are mostly active at night." The Lieutenant explained further. "They don't hunt using their eyes but by feeling their surroundings. Those fishes target things that make a lot of vibrations on water."

"So, that was the case."

Mark nodded.

It was no wonder those fishes targeted the limbs of the rebels first. While swimming, a human needed to move their hands and feet to keep afloat. Well, at least while alive. The dead only had to stay dead and start would floating after some time.

The fight had already ended, and there was no need for Mark to stay outside. Together with Mei, they entered the boat once more.

"Iola, you can remove the shield now."

Mark said, patting Iola's head.

"Okay."

The girl smiled. This time, she was the most helpful.

Of course, Abbygale and Miracle were both sulking. They did not have to do anything at all. Or rather, there was nothing they could do. They were in the middle of the sea, after all.

Mark could only shake his head.

He had a family of battle maniacs. It was not a bad thing, though, as it was better than being weak while in the middle of the apocalypse.

***

"We're almost there!"

The voice of the soldiers could be heard after traveling for some time. Even though the distance here between the two landmasses was shorter compared to the regular route back before the apocalypse, it still took about more than an hour journey. It included the time spent during the ambush of the rebels.

Mark's group came out to see their destination. Sure enough, the scene was way too different from before the apocalypse. In a bad way, of course.

The desolate village in this part of the island was no more. It was replaced by a noisy and boisterous refugee camp.

"There's a lot of people."

Mei said, looking at the pier.

She was not referring to the number of people inside the settlement. What she was literally saying that there was a lot of people waiting at the pier.

Were they here to welcome Mark's group? Of course, not.

"They are people who are still hoping that their relatives or friends made it here. Even though it is very unlikely."

Mark replied to her.

"You are right about that." Lieutenant Ignacio chimed in. "Those people are still waiting for their relatives, friends, lovers, or even just acquaintances. They would wait here every time we depart and arrive only to leave disappointed. Though this time, it is not only those people were here to wait."

That was right, there was quite a number of soldiers present at the pier too. It was a number that exceeded the workforce needed to unload the cargo. And by the looks of it, they were ready to depart at a moment's notice.

"Did they notice the ambush?"

Mark asked, glancing at Lieutenant Ignacio.

"Probably." The Lieutenant replied. "Although we are ambushed pretty far away, it's not impossible to see with the right equipment."

That was true. If there were many people here waiting for the boat, some of them might be carrying binoculars or just had better eyesight for being an Evolver or a Mutator.

"Why didn't they depart, though?"

Pefile asked, looking down on the Military. If they were already here, why did they not depart to aid the boat or, at least, escort it for the rest of the way?

Lieutenant Ignacio looked at the man who was wearing a hood and covering his face. He was a bit bitter that their force was being belittled by him. However, he could not get angry at all. It was better not to.

"It is not like they are not willing to depart. The response boats are already on stand by." Lieutenant Ignacio replied, pointing at the boats already manned by soldiers. "However, due to fuel constraints, they would not depart without receiving an emergency notification from us. I was about to tell my men to send the notification when you people quickly dealt with the problem."

"I see, then."

Pefile shrugged and returned inside the boat. He was not that interested in seeing those humans, and there were still several minutes to arrive at the pier.

Those minutes passed like flash, though. It did not take long, and Mark's group was already disembarking at the dock.

As expected, the eyes of everyone was on the boat. Since Mark's group was not wearing any disguise aside from Pefile, they took quite an attention from the gallery, especially Mei. Of course, there was a lot of disappointment. It was because the people that disembarked the boat were not who they were hoping for.

On the other hand, the soldiers that were waiting immediately asked the Lieutenant for the sitrep. Receiving the report without any lie, however, made the soldiers in front of the Lieutenant look at Mark's group. Their faces were filled with a bit of disbelief.

Soon, a man, probably in his early fifties, approached Mark's group together with his entourage.

"I am Lieutenant General Alfonso Padilla. Is your group really here to deliver a package from Faustino?"

The man introduced himself and asked that question, showing the letter that Mark gave to Captain Zacharia last night.

Mark was not really surprised. He already saw this guy's face in the papers that General Faustino gave him.

"You haven't received any notification?"

Mark asked. His tone, however, did not seem to be welcomed since he was already receiving glares from some soldiers.

"The communication is still down for the moment. We can't establish any connection to other settlements because of some radio interference."

A man beside the general replied with an annoyed expression.

By the looks of it, a lot of these people were not convinced that Mark's group was really here for the purpose they stated. It was not surprising since there was no way that a very important package from another settlement would be handed to a group of people without any military escort.

Mark glanced at the man for a second before taking out another letter.

"Then, this should affirm it, right?"

He handed the letter to the General in which the latter checked immediately. Though this time, it seemed that this General was more convinced. It was the standard procedure, after all. There would be several letters handed to the private courier to ascertain his identity. Not only just the letter he showed to gain entry.

"Good, this proves your identity."

The General nodded. There were two letters with different formats and contents with the same military seal. There was no doubt now that Mark's group was sent by General Faustino.

"Then, can you receive this already?"

Mark said unceremoniously as he almost shoved the briefcase on the General's face.

"No, not here." The General raised his hands. "There are standard procedures to be followed. I'll officially receive that in the office, later."

That was the correct thing to do. After all, they would need to check the contents of the package. It was not appropriate to do that here in the open where a lot of people could witness what it was.

"How troublesome." Mark shrugged. "General Perez received his on the spot without care."

What Mark said was rather rude, but he could not be blamed. He was only stopping by these guys because of the package and had other things to do. That was why he wanted to give the package immediately.

On the other hand, the General was also surprised. From what Mark said, he had delivered a package to Bay City before here. It meant that this group not only traveled to this place but also traversed the highly infected cityscape?

Although it was unbelievable, the General could not detect any lie on Mark's face or voice.

Well, the general aside, it seemed that not everyone had the same insight.

"How can a courier like you show that kind of attitude to your superiors?"

Another man in the General's entourage yelled.