Mutagen

<strong>Day 147 - 2:11 PM - Western Coast, Codon, San Andres, Catanduanes</strong>

To the people that stayed around to wait, Mark's return was, without a doubt, attention-drawing. Not to mention that he did not return alone. The Marines General's last hope, Berrak, returned with Mark, looking like a wet chicken. Well, not in a literal sense. His behavior made him look more like a prisoner facing the execution block.

It was not surprising behavior for the poor Berrak, however. He was horribly defeated, his promise was broken, and he was now a slave that could be killed because of a slight mistake. Of course, with all of these combined, he would feel down.

Berrak was following behind Mark, but the Marines General and his brother were nowhere to be seen. There was no need to ask what happened to them. Everyone here knew that. Both Liden's and General Seguerra's men died in the hands of Mark. The two brothers might have already faced the same fate.

And to say, there were quite a number of people that were happy at that outcome. The two had far too many crimes. Their deaths were not unwarranted.

Mark returned to his group, welcomed like a father that had just got home from work.

The contrast to the scene where these people just decimated a group of armed men along with three monsters and the scene at the moment was too astonishing.

But of course, their eyes could not help but pan towards Berrak behind Mark.

"Seems like you got a new one to follow you."

Pefile remarked.

"He's lucky."

Mark vaguely replied.

Berrak could not help but look at Mark's back. He was definitely questioning what was lucky about his situation.

At this point, General Padilla and his entourage approached Mark's group. Before any of them could speak, however, Mark already asked a question.

"Ready to receive the package?"

The troubled General could not help but sigh while the people behind him looked at each other.

The way that Mark asked that question was as if nothing bloody happened earlier. Nevertheless, the General was not new in these kinds of things. He understood that Mark was giving the General a reason to legitimately invite them without looking like they were being arrested.

In fact, although what Mark did could be considered a crime, trying to arrest them was not the best course of action this time. The people that died had committed crimes themselves. If Mark's group appeared to be arrested, public opinion of the people would definitely shift against General Padilla's camp. Not to mention the people that were now crying at their loss. Their egos would definitely rise unreasonably, thinking that they were being favored as their deceased family members were soldiers.

Thus, the General replied in kind.

"If possible. The meeting room is ready."

That exchange was heard not just by a few people. As Mark's group boarded the vehicles, the things that transpired here, and the fact that it seemed that Mark's group got away without consequences after that killing, would soon spread across the settlement.

The General's entourage and Mark's group prepared to leave the area. The vehicles were already prepared, and the only thing needed was to board them.

"General, wait."

It was when a soldier hurriedly stopped the General.

"What is it?"

General Padilla stopped and asked.

"What about the monster under that rock?"

Sure enough, it was one thing that got thrown in the background due to General Seguerra prioritizing his brother's circumstances over the matter they were supposed to respond to.

And in response to the soldier's question, General Padilla turned to Mark. It was no secret that Mark was the one that revealed the true nature of that rock. And from the report, Mark seemed to have some "interactions" with it. Thus, the General wanted to ask Mark's opinion.

There was no need for the General to voice anything. Mark already started to speak before the question was thrown at him.

"Leave it be. It won't harm anyone as long as it is not harmed first. If you can, give it food and make it think that humans are its allies. It might start protecting people while in this area if tamed properly."

Mark's words came to be a surprise for everyone around.

"Are you sure?"

General Padilla asked for confirmation.

"Some animals gained a higher level of intelligence after evolving. That is one of the things that scientists in Infanta managed to find out. They even had some specimens. Even if you can't count on my words, you might believe their research, right? It's also included inside the briefcase."

Mark replied.

Putting scientists of Infanta in front. It was a smart move for Mark. Even if they did not want to believe Mark, there was no way that they would deny the research done by another settlement without a good reason. It was unless they wanted to blatantly discredit them.

Nevertheless, to be able to tame a huge creature like that would be a good thing.

It also proved another thing. Mark was privy to the military endeavors in Infanta, including the ongoing research happening there.

General Padilla decided on the spot and turned to the soldier.

"You heard that, right? Set up a perimeter and guard it. Make sure that no one is to approach it. Follow that procedure until further instructions are given. Is that clear?"

"Yes, Sir!"

The soldier saluted.

"Dismiss."

General Padilla sent the soldier away to fulfill his duties.

Finally, under the eyes of the bystanders, the General's entourage and Mark's group left.

***

Day 147 - 2:35 PM - Military Base, Catanduanes Settlement, Codon, San Andres, Catanduanes

The ride back was rough as the road between the two locations was not paved. It was way better when Mark's group just walked along the way. However, it could not be helped.

Inside the settlement, the rumors and the events that transpired at the western coast of Codon had already spread. Without any kind of entertainment available, rumors and stories spread much faster from person to person. As such, more than half of the current population inside the settlement had already heard bits and pieces of what happened.

Was it a good thing? Unfortunately, not everything.

Many people would not believe such rumors without witnessing the events with their own eyes. Furthermore, the rumors gave different effects depending on what kind of people heard them. The courageous ones felt quite regretful not being there when those things happened. As for the weakhearted people, they felt fear, thinking about those monsters that now existed.

The more the rumors spread, the more it became distorted from the truth.

And the families of the soldiers that Mark killed were making the situation a lot worse.

When the vehicles arrived at the base, some of those weeping family members tried to stop the General's car. Fortunately, the soldiers on duty were fast enough to prevent them from doing so.

Inside the vehicle behind the General's, Berrak watched the people outside, weeping at the loss of their family members. He then looked at Mark with eyes filled with questions.

"Just ask what you want to ask."

Mark said, not minding Berrak's stare.

"Do you really have to kill those soldiers?" Berrak asked. "I admit, it was the old man's orders but the soldiers were just following him."

"That's the point there." Mark shrugged. "They are not kids. They knew what's right and what's wrong. They should not follow the wrong orders."

Berrak could not help but fell silent. That was a good point too. Nevertheless, he still felt insecure about it. It was when Mark added something that made Berrak frown.

"Besides, if I did not kill them, you would be the one dying."

Mark said.

"Why?"

Berrak asked.

"To vent, of course." Mark glanced at Berrak with eyes half-closed. "Since you are following me now, you will know this soon. I'm a person that could barely feel emotions of my own. Since you can use magic, I bet you heard about Empaths, right?"

That question made Berrak stare hard at Mark. No wonder now. No wonder that Mark could kill people without batting an eyelid. Mark was, without a doubt, a high-level one.

"That Seguerra and Liden made me angry. And then, you came to help them escape. That just threw oil into the fire. If I did not manage to deploy some measures, you might have been able to escape. But I took interest in your abilities. That is why I needed to vent my anger or I might accidentally kill you."

Berrak could not help but shiver after hearing that.

"So just be glad that they died instead of you."

Mark added.

Berrak looked around the vehicle. Everyone was listening to their conversation. However, by the looks of it, it seemed that everyone in Mark's group did not bother about his actions at all. The children were the same. It was a group that had no qualms about killing other people.

With a sigh, Berrak could only imagine his impending future.

But then, Pefile, who was sitting in front of Berrak, spoke.

"Don't think too much." Pefile shook his head slightly. "They might be like this but it's not bad following them. If you see the base, you might beg to stay even if they wanted to let you go already."

Berrak could only frown. What Pefile said was clear but was also hard to understand at the same time.

As soon as they arrived inside the Military Base, Mark's group was led into a meeting room. And there, the proper procedures of Mark handing the package happened.

General Padilla checked the contents of the package himself. And to say, not only him but everyone that was present in the meeting room was astonished.

The most important thing was the samples of vials called [Regeneration Medicine]. As long as it was not a bite wound of an infected, this concoction could heal mild injuries in seconds while lessening the severity of fatal ones. Although there was a limit as to how much a person could ingest in a day, it was an absolute game-breaker in their current situation where clashes with the rebels would cost casualties to their side.

There was also the seeds of [Energy Rice] that could be planted. As long as a plantation was developed, this kind of rice would end the food shortage after at least three to six months.

The medicine came from Infanta, while the seeds came from Bay City. General Padilla was both happy and embarrassed as he received such valuable items. Those two settlements already managed to develop things that could help with the survival of their people. The Catanduanes Settlement, on the other hand, had no such thing.

While they did have a few scientists on duty, they were lacking in both equipment and manpower. And rather than developing things, they were more focused on the behavior of marine life after the apocalypse started. Besides, Catanduanes was a provincial area. Research institutes were almost non-existent here. As such, there was no way for them to procure the necessary equipment to bolster their research.

Aside from the [Regeneration Medicine] and [Energy Rice], the briefcase also contained information about Mutagen, the infected mutations, abilities, and how to tackle them. Although the possible mutations of the infected were infinite, this information would at least help when tackling similar mutations and would reduce possible casualties due to lack of knowledge.

While the General checked the contents of the case, Mark's group had to sit down in the same room for about two hours. Of course, they got bored.

That was when Mark took out a fully charged laptop and started watching anime with the little girls. The soldiers could only stare incredulously. First, who would be able to think of watching cartoons at these times? Furthermore, how come someone with a bloodstained hand like Mark likes to watch a children's show?

Luckily for them, none of the soldiers actually voiced out such questions. Or else, they would be facing a begrudging revelation. After all, what Mark and the girls were watching was not some kid's show but a gore-filled horror.