Mutagen

Day 323 - 10:21 AM - Evernight Base, Kachidoki, Chuo City, Tokyo

After the commotion outside, Mark stood behind the door, monitoring the Shinto Priest outside. When the Priest finally left, only then Mark went away from that position.

At this time, Mei and the rest were silently watching Mark. The situation this time seemed worse than the previous ones, and Mark behaved pretty oddly as he stood behind the door. They only started asking after Mark left the door with a sigh.

"Gege, are you okay?"

Mei asked Mark, observing if he got injured or anything. He might have an absurd regeneration, but it did not mean she would not worry.

"I'm fine," Mark replied and patted Mei's head. "As if those people can do anything to me."

Amihan then appeared from the stairs. She was on the second-floor window, watching what was happening outside. However, it was not Amihan who manipulated the wind to disarm those Yakuza members.

"Master," Amihan called out as she plopped on Mark's shoulder. "You should have called me if you needed to use wind magic."

Mark tapped Amihan's head.

"You'll end up killing those guys. Your control is better than before, but precise magic is still impossible for you."

That was right. While everyone who witnessed what happened outside would think that Mark's [Sylph] aided him, it was actually Mark. He had the [Wind Manipulation Mental Crystal] on his hand. Since the crystal was just marble-sized, it was not hard to hide.

"What happened there, anyway?"

Spera chimed in.

Since all the windows on the first floor were pretty much covered up, there was no way for them to see what was happening outside unless they came out of the door or went up to the second-floor window. Nonetheless, they could hear the shouts coming from outside.

Mark relayed what happened, making the rest of the group frown. Only Abbygale and Miracle were not that interested in the topic.

"Aren't they too brave?" Spera shared her thoughts. "I know they are members of the Yakuza, but isn't this the territory of Black Lotus?"

Since the Reclaimed City was divided into territories of powerful groups, it was unthinkable to commit acts against the rules of the landlords. It was even more unthinkable to happen to Mark's group considering their direct connection to the Black Lotus Group.

But then, there was an exception that could make some people brave enough to run rampant in someone else's territory.

"Those guys must be members from another group that rules a part of the Reclaimed City."

Mark said his assumption. After all, it was the only possible reason why those members of the Yakuza were that courageous. Unless... They were just a bunch of idiots.

"Let's just ask Ren later," Mark shrugged. "If I'm right, she will get involved in this."

"What about the Priest?"

Emika asked.

"We let's just ignore that for now," Mark nonchalantly said. "That Shinto Priest is just testing the waters. Or else, he won't just leave like that."

And the discussion ended with the decision to wait.

***

After lunch, Ren, with Tadashi and Mako, appeared as Mark had expected. Well, she was actually pretty late, in Mark's opinion. After all, Ren also had some secret guards planted around Mark's group. She definitely heard what happened soon after it ended.

By the looks of it, Ren was pretty angry, not at Mark's group but at that group of Yakuza members.

Mark did not even need to ask. Ren revealed the information that he needed on her own. And he was right. Those Yakuza members belonged to another group at the same status as the Black Lotus Group and the Blood Lion Troupe.

The Yakuza group was called Shinonome. Literally translated to Dawn. And which part of the Reclaimed City did they rule? It was the Shinonome District that was part of Koto City. Was their name a bit too subtle for a crime group? Furthermore, their group name was the same name as their territory.

However, the name actually held a deeper meaning to the group.

Due to the apocalypse, many Yakuza groups and families got forcibly split apart. It was no surprise. Not all were lucky to survive the initial surge of the [Infected].

But when the Reclaimed City was established, those broken Yakuza Groups gathered together into one large group. To commemorate their new start, they named their group Dawn. And by coincidence, it was the same name as the territory they were given afterward.

It was odd that their territory was almost at the center of the Reclaimed City and one of the safer areas. But as Ren explained to Mark, the reason was not surprising. The Yakuza had strong connections with the government.

This situation was quite baffling to the eyes of the common people. Two of the territorial groups that ruled parts of the Reclaimed City were directly connected to violence. One was the Blood Lion Troupe, and the other was Dawn.

But then again, the two were different in the nature of how they managed their territories.

Dawn was an organized group and more interested in accumulating riches and influence. The Blood Lion Troupe? They were just a group of hoodlums craving violence and drowning themselves in their desires.

In fact, Dawn was managing some businesses in the rich district. In terms of financial status, Dawn was the richest among the territorial groups.

Still, who could have thought that they would run rampant here in the territory of the Black Lotus Group.

"I wish I could say I can do something about it, but aside from enforcing our rules in Kachidoki, there's really nothing much I can do either. Complaining to them won't do anything good either."

Ren said to Mark with a deep sigh.

It would have been different if Ren was still a member of the Mitsui Clan. But as someone who cut ties with her family, Ren's influential strength was limited to the common people.

"No, it's fine," Mark replied. "If anything else, I have to thank them instead. No one knocked on our door after they left, after all."

That was right. Due to the confrontation between Mark and the members of Dawn, no one had knocked on their door since then.

"You're getting into all kinds of trouble, huh," Ren understood what was happening. "That's just how it is here once someone new managed to get some fame. Unless you solidified your stance and position, people would continue to approach with all kinds of agendas."

"Resorting to violence and clashing with one of the territorial groups isn't really something I would recommend, though," Ren continued. "They have power and influence. Who knows what kind of strings they could pull behind you."

"It's fine," Mark replied. "That kind of concern is more fitting for regular people."

Ren gave Mark a skeptical stare. However, given how mysterious Mark and his members were, there were a lot of possible scenarios. She had to keep an open mind here.

"In any case, be careful," Ren warned. "I'll do what I can on my side."

At this time, Mei came out of the kitchen and placed some snacks and drinks in front of their guests.

"Please, help yourself."

Mei said in Japanese, although the tone and pronunciation were about awkward.

"Thank you." Ren smiled while Tadashi and Mako silently nodded. "Eh? Pudding?"

Ren was surprised as she finally paid attention to the food. She never expected to get something like this at this time.

"It's not the Japanese kind, though," Mark said, taking a spoonful of his snack. "It's a Poor Man's Pudding. A pretty simple one."

"It's good."

Ren complimented. Well, it had been a long time since she had eaten one. Of course, this one would be delicious for her.

It was the same for Tadashi and Mako. Tadashi was more reserved as he ate, while Mako clearly enjoyed it.

"Anyway, you look awfully busy," Mark pushed on the next topic. "I thought you'll come much earlier after what happened."

"You said it," Ren shrugged. "Thanks to you, we already have the funding. I'm trying to procure and stock on as much supply as I can."

"But it's not going smoothly."

Mark continued Ren's words, to which she nodded.

"There isn't enough stock," Ren complained. "The amount we can buy from the government is limited too. If we can't address this within this week, we'll have no other choice but to procure the needed supplies from outside ourselves."

Ren was feeding those incapable of working within her territory. Those terminally ill, disabled, and orphaned children were under her care. And due to a lack of funds, their supplies were running out. And now that they had money, there were not enough supplies to procure. In the end, they were back to step one.

The Black Lotus Group still had a week before reaching a critical level in the number of supplies they could distribute to their people.

One week... Those words made Mark and Mako glance at each other.

Mark only had a week to study and repair the artifact Mako lent him.

"The expedition is also returning soon," Ren shared another of her worries. "Your group had just arrived recently so you don't know about this. About a week before you arrived, all territorial groups sent members to the army to destroy a large [Infected Nest] in Kanagawa. It's not too close to us, but the nest seems to produce some odd kinds of [Infected]. We can't leave it alone. Today, we just received word from the first returning teams that the expedition is a success, and they will be returning soon if there's no delay. The negotiation about rewards and stuff will be awfully annoying for sure."

Ren, as the leader of the Black Lotus Group and a territorial lord, sure had quite a number of things to worry about.

"Oh, right," Ren seemed to have remembered something. "Gramps is looking for you. He said you still have some unfinished business."

"I know," It was Mark's turn to shrug. "And you already know why I can't leave."

Ren went silent. Mark was the only man in this group, and there were only two people in his group who could speak Japanese. And there was no way Mark would let Emika answer the door.

"Want me to lend you actual guards or something?" Ren suggested, not even hiding that she had already placed hidden guards. "The ones I already placed were for emergencies and communication, after all."

Mark could only stare at Ren, who was enjoying her food. She was opening up pretty nicely to him and his group.

And Ren's suggestion... Mark could only accept.

"Can I bother you with that? Even just temporarily. Of course, just female guards."

"No worries," Ren smiled. "We have a good number of female elites. We should have done this since the start. If we did, we could have avoided annoying complications."

Mark could only shrug. No one expected it to be like this, after all.

***

Ren's visit ended after a short rest after the snack. It seemed that she was really tired today. Visiting Mark's place became something like a relaxing break for her. It seemed that she would send the guards tomorrow.

***

Unfortunately, it seemed the guards were needed much earlier.

In the middle of the night, a group of black-clothed individuals infiltrated the first floor through the back entrance. They were armed. Their movements were without any noise. These people were definitely experts in this field.

What was their goal? Their bodies exuded the aura that killers had. They should have killed quite a number of people in their line of work. However, their killing intent was barely there as they carefully entered the restaurant.

***

Outside, the eyes watching Mark's group noticed what was happening. And, of course, they were not going to do anything but watch.

This was the perfect opportunity to actually gather a good amount of information about Mark's group.

Unfortunately for these people, they would get nothing.