Mutagen

Day 131 - 1:52 PM - Benjamin Franklin Parkway, Franklintown, Center City, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States of America

The sudden escape of the humans and that bright explosion of energy was unexpected for the Infected King. Although he was already caught off-guard and was injured for underestimating these humans, he was still confident that the moving metal box that they were riding would not be able to go through the ranks of his minions.

And of course, he was wrong, and the way was paved by that bright explosion of energy from the vehicle.

The Infected King's anger was piling up severely. Both sides had witnessed unexpected things in this encounter. However, only the Infected King had lost something. And yet, he did not achieve what he wanted the most.

Chase! Kill them all! Eat their flesh!

Those kinds of thoughts repeated in the mind of the Infected King as he led his army after the escaping vehicle. Even if he had to chase these humans outside his territory, he would do so.

And even though the humans managed to clear a path through his army, it seemed that they were struggling. The vehicle waved through the abandoned cars in the middle of the road unsteadily.

The Infected King had enough speed and strength. It would be easy to catch up with these humans.

But then, the Infected King subconsciously froze. He saw that cursed man in black clothes atop that vehicle with three crystals glowing brightly in front of his palm.

The Infected King felt a threat looming above him. And when it meant above, it was in a literal sense.

While his mindless army chased after the fleeing vehicle, the Infected King stood in place, staring at the sky. It suddenly became dark as the spiraling clouds covered the sky.

He felt suffocated. The overwhelming energy began to flood the surroundings. His anger started to subside as it was replaced by the thought of escaping now repeating in his head.

The Infected King felt like an animal before a big natural disaster happened.

It was not a wrong description as even some infected had gained animalistic instincts as they mutated. For the [Monarch Type] infected like the Infected King, that sensation was even higher than others.

And now, it was feeling a great threat from what was happening.

The wind soon started to pick up as the sky darkened even more. Thunder crackled loudly as the braches of lightning illuminated the sky. It became the signal for the cone that formed under the clouds to stretch towards the ground.

Finally, the Infected King decided to flee. With a last glance at the escaping vehicle with eyes filled with reluctance, the Infected King commanded his army to retreat as he left the place first.

The dirty flags of different countries that were hanged on the lamp posts fluttered violently. Even the thick branches of trees by the roadside swayed.

Soon, smaller debris started to be thrown around by the wind.

CRASH!

And the glass windows of buildings broke one by one.

It all happened as a tornado with an estimated wind speed of above a hundred miles per hour and about twenty meters wide made its touchdown.

***

Mark controlled the three crystals as much as he could. And to say, it was very likely that he lost control of what he just did.

Even with the full energy capacity of the [Wind Manipulation Crystal], Mark was sure that this thing was impossible to happen. The most that it could do was a small whirlwind that was only enough to lift an average person a few meters above the ground.

However, with what Mark did, he created a large disaster under quite impossible conditions.

Using the [Storm Caller Crystal], Mark prepared the atmosphere above the city to be suitable for the birth of a tornado.

Then, the third crystal came to prepare the updraft. It was no other than the [Photokinesis Crystal]. This time, however, it was not being used to redirect light for [Optical Camouflage] or to fire beams of light.

For the first time, Mark used its ability to control photons and electrons to do something else. With the help of the [Photokinesis Crystal], he caused the photons to transfer the energy needed to heat up the air in the surroundings.

Finally, Mark used the [Wind Manipulation Crystal] to blow the cold wind from the clouds down to the city and for the warm air he created to rise up. The friction between the winds with different temperatures caused the lightning to blast the skies. And as the updraft was formed, Mark fed it with stronger rotation.

And thus, it caused the birth of a tornado in the middle of Philadelphia.

Everyone in the vehicle watched what happened nervously.

First was a very strong infected and his army. Now, a huge tornado formed not far behind their vehicle. Of course, their hearts were now threatening them to jump out of their chests.

This reaction was not surprising since none of them would expect that this was Mark's doing. Still, some of them could not help but suspect it.

SLIDE!

The door of the vehicle opened, and the severely dizzy Mark staggered as he entered.

Mei immediately helped him back to his seat.

"Boss..." Roan called out while glancing at the side mirror of the vehicle. "Did you somehow summon that tornado?"

That question made all of them eager to hear the answer. After all, to summon a natural disaster like this was already like playing god.

And to that question...

"Yeah, somehow..." Mark nodded. "But I don't have any control of it. You better drive us out of this place fast. We might get swept by that if you don't."

Mark's warning made them even more nervous. Still, they could not help but feel amazed.

Everyone looked outside the windows and behind the vehicle. The tornado started to destroy everything in its path. They could already see a huge number of infected that were not able to escape, flying around and crashing everywhere.

Fortunately, the tornado seemed to be moving away from their direction. At least, it was not chasing their vehicle.

Still, it was not a good time to feel relieved. Mark's group must leave this place. The faster, the better.

"Ugh..."

Mark groaned as he rubbed his temples. His complexion was slightly pale, and he seemed to be struggling.

"Boss, are you okay?"

Roan asked as he saw Mark's state using the rear-view mirror.

"Do I look okay?" Mark was in quite a bad mood because of his headache. "You all were quite a distance away from that guy when he roared, but most of you were immobilized immediately. Imagine being in my place and standing just a meter away from that guy."

With bitter expressions, none of them were able to respond to Mark's words.

If they were in Mark's shoes at that time, they might have been knocked out cold already.

Mei looked at Mark a little worried. He was definitely in severe pain right now.

Imagine Mark who was still able to smile with his arm broken to be groaning in pain. Just how much pain was he feeling right now to show such reactions?

Mei wanted to share his pain. However, there was no way to do that and it was questionable that Mark would allow it if it was possible. As such, she could only help him by massaging his temples.

No one inside the vehicle said anything about this and concentrated at watching the tornado that started to tear apart the city.

On the other hand, Roan had his full attention in front. He knew that they needed to leave this place as soon as they could while the tornado was still rampaging.

One of the most ideal surroundings that could make a tornado form was the existence of wide, almost vacant lands. It was easier for the wind to pick up, had a dry cold air, and severe thunderstorms occur in those areas, especially the Great Plains in the central United States.

Since this one was formed in the middle of the city, this tornado would not last too long. There were a lot of obstacles that could make it weaker as it passed by. It would not take too long and soon, this tornado would weaken and vanish.

And thus, as soon as Roan fully recovered, he did not hesitate to rush.

Finally, leaving the rampaging tornado behind, they left Center City and entered West Philadelphia.

As they drove through the Martin Luther Drive Bridge that went over Schuylkill River, they all came to a unified decision. This time, they would not enter the West Philadelphia, and instead, they would drive at the isolated road beside the river unless it was necessary to go into another path.

Mark's group had enough already. They might not make it if they were to encounter another Infected King or Queen.

Not all of them were like Mark, who behaved a lot like a battle maniac.

Nevertheless, even though they were quite a distance away from Center City already, they could still see the silhouette of the tornado rampaging there.

Finally, they knew that there would be no way for the Infected King to catch them now. And thus, they started to feel more relaxed.

Even so, none of them should let their guards down. They were still about ninety kilometers away from their destination, and it was impossible to say that they would be able to reach that place today.

And the worst thing about this was that...

They still had to pass through several cities to get there.

***

Day 131 - 3:15 PM - Logan Square, Franklintown, Center City, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States of America

About two hours since the battle in Logan Square ended, two silhouettes appeared, walking across the Slaughter Park. It was a pair of a man and a woman.

"Just what happened here?"

The woman voiced out after seeing the aftermath of the tornado.

The whole place turned into a mess.

Threes were uprooted, the dead rotting bodies that were dumped in Logan Square was splattered everywhere, and even the buildings around Logan Square were turned into a source of debris.

"A battle must have occurred here."

The man said while investigating the craters left on the ground. After all, even the strongest tornado would not be able to make such kinds of damage.

And there, the two exchanged looks at each other. It seemed that they decided to find something.

The two wandered around the square and the surrounding areas, trying to find an answer.

And soon, they found what they were looking for.

"There you are."

The man smiled, looking at the Infected King that was currently sulking on the rooftop of one of the buildings nearby.

Well, who would not be sulking if one was in his shoes?

The Infected King finally found a Queen but was rejected. Among his generals, only one remained. And the worst thing, his territory became a disaster zone. A huge number of his minions also died because of that damn tornado.

"Are you two here to laugh at me?"

The Infected King asked with great hostility. Unexpectedly though, while his tone was hostile, he was not making any rash move against the two.

"We are not." The woman replied. "You know that our territory is quite far from here, but we suddenly felt some strange energy coming from this place. Just what happened?"

The Infected King did not want to share his shame at first but ended up telling the story anyways.

It was because it was better to say it instead of hiding it. Even the Infected King did not want to push the two into hating him.

If it happened, it was good to say that he would die.

It was because these two were the same as him, Monarchs among the infected.

The worst part, these two were far stronger than him.