Mutagen

Day 149 - 5:47 PM - Port Area, Catanduanes Military Settlement, Codon, Municipality of San Andres, Catanduanes

BANG! BANG!

Sounds of gunshots from sniper rifles loudly echoed across the port from several soldiers atop the walls. Those shots made two [Armor Type] infected collapse on the beach, never to stand up again. Since the soldiers accurately shot the two through their eyes, it would be shocking if the two [Armor Type] infected managed to survive.

General Padilla watched the scene with a sigh. He was here since several infected were spotted emerging from the sea once again.

The aftereffects of the massive horde attack the other day had yet to subside. Not all of the infected under the seawater were eliminated. Thus, many would make it to shore from time to time.

Fortunately, it was not on a scale that could be considered an emergency.

"General, the shallow areas of the shore had been scanned, and there's no further infected activity."

A soldier reported to the General through the radio.

"Proceed with the clean-up, but don't stop monitoring the waters. We can't let our soldiers get ambushed by other mutated infected."

The General ordered.

"Yes, General."

The soldier from the radio replied.

From the General's position, he could see his orders being implemented already.

The clean-up was going smoothly. General Padilla thought that he would finally get a breather for today.

But then...

"GENERAL! GENERAL! Please come to the Communication Center!"

General Padilla's radio loudly sounded with the voice of one of the operators in the Communication Center. The man seemed to be agitated for some reason.

"What happened?"

General Padilla immediately responded to the call.

"We just received a transmission from our outpost in Santo Domingo! A large group of people arrived, claiming that they were prisoners from the Anti-Government faction of the rebels!"

"WHAT?!" It was the General's turn to be surprised. "I'll be coming immediately."

Receiving such news would make anyone surprised. It was even more for the members of the military that were trying to subdue those rebels that enslaved people.

How come that the people captured by those rebels suddenly appeared?

The first thing that entered their minds was that there could be some sort of trap in this situation. Nonetheless, there was no way that they would be able to ignore it.

There was absolutely no excuse to ignore this.

The General and his guards immediately made their way towards the Communication Center.

To the side of the General, Vanessa was in deep thought.

"What is that courier plotting?"

She murmured.

The General and his entourage soon arrived at the Communication Center and directly communicated with the outpost to confirm the report. Until then, they were skeptical about the situation and the possibility of it being the scheme of the rebels. But when they heard who brought the people from the rebel base, their suspicion died down to the minimum.

Nonetheless, they were shocked for another reason as the statements from the captured people were heard.

"The Anti-Government Faction's base was destroyed."

Those words gave them a whole different impact.

Whether it was a good thing or bad had yet to register in everyone's minds.

After receiving a more detailed report in the Communication Center, the General immediately organized soldiers to form a convoy. The General himself was going to lead the convoy this time. Since they needed to confirm things, it was better for the General to be present at the location. The involvement of Mark's group bolstered the General's participation even more.

Why? It appeared that Mark's group intended to leave immediately after giving the workers to the soldiers in the outpost. Right now, the Officer-in-Charge of the outpost was doing his best to make Mark's group stay, at least for the night.

***

Day 149 - 6:12 PM - Santo Domingo Elementary School, Barangay Santo Domingo, Municipality of Virac, Catanduanes

The sun had already set the surroundings had been enveloped by the darkness of the night.

On the school grounds, emergency tents were pitched, and a lot of people were preparing for dinner. These people were no other than the workers that Mark's group escorted to this place.

The Santo Domingo Elementary School. This school was turned into a military outpost even before the Military Settlement in Codon was built. It was the outpost that held off most of the infected from the most populated areas of Virac. Specifically, San Isidro Village, where the ground Zero of the outbreak on this island was located.

Due to being built earlier before other outposts, it had more facilities. It was enough to consider this place as a settlement of its own. Furthermore, the village the outpost was located in was surrounded by a wide curve of the Pajo River. It had a highly defensible terrain that would make it hard for attackers from the east and north sides. It was unlikely for enemies to come from west and south either.

After the infected were removed from the island, the outpost remained. It was not only to guard against possible lingering infected but also against the rebels that could use this route to attack the Military Settlement in Codon.

Well, the last time they encountered rebels in this area was a month ago. Of course, it was because of the mysterious happenings on the southeast side of the island.

"Boss, please have some."

Several workers approached a group separated from the others. They carried soup and rice with them. Of course, it was Mark's group. They pitched up their own tent further away from other tents.

"Just leave it there."

Mark pointed at a concrete fence with a wide top. It was wide enough to act as a table for the food.

The workers left the food and respectfully left Mark's group. They did not want to bother their saviors too much, knowing how they were quite reclusive.

Mark and Mei then started to eat dinner with the children and Amihan inside their tent.

"I can't believe they don't want us to leave. Right, Uncle?"

Emika grumbled while sipping her soup.

"Aside from making Pefile's group for another night, there are no other issues, really," Mark replied. "Though, I also preferred if we can  leave immediately."

"Then why did Gege agree?"

Mei asked.

"Well, I just thought that this situation can benefit my plans."

Mark smiled.

"Plans?"

Iola asked, joining into the conversation.

"I'll tell you all later. It's just we can't be sure who is listening around."

Mark answered, which made the girls agree.

In this outpost, there were three Mutators. Mark could detect them but, of course, had no idea what their abilities were. Furthermore, there was no way for him to know who was the Evolvers among the soldiers.

While the topic about Mark's plans was done, for now, Mark turned to Abbygale that was quietly sipping her bowl of soup. It seemed that she really liked food with either fish or meat. She was really like a cat.

"Is it good?" Mark asked, and Abbygale nodded in response. "Well, the cooks were quite experienced in this."

Mark then shrugged. He could feel the soldiers in the outpost having a bit of envy towards the workers. Why? It was because the workers refused the food that was about to be cooked and served to them by the military. It was not like the workers were being considerate or anything, but because the fresh meat they had with them had to be consumed first.

At first, the soldiers were a bit relieved that they could save supplies. After all, suddenly having more than a hundred people to feed would give their current supplies a heavy hit. Now, however, they were a bit envious that the workers were actually eating soup with meat and rice, while the soldiers only had preserved rations and porridge for dinner.

Some soldiers even had the thought of extorting the workers. Not all soldiers were good-hearted, after all. However, as everyone was informed that the General would personally come to retrieve these people, the soldiers held back on their thoughts. They did not know the reason why, but it was likely that there were some important people among these refugees.

Most likely, Mark's group, which they had been informed of beforehand.

A group led by a man with a sinister aura with a beautiful woman and four girls by his side. There were also other people missing, but the description fit the current members of Mark's group. There was also the Black Dragon that was reported with them.

As such, no one tried to show some disrespect as the order came from the General himself.

Mark sighed, sensing the discontent of some of the soldiers. Humans surely were fickle beings.

Laying down on his bed, Mark's group decided to sleep after cleaning up. The utensils they had, however, were picked up by the workers, and they had nothing else to do.

And to say, this day was tiresome in its unique way.

***

After the encounter with those two Demons that blocked their way after entering their territory, nothing else of note happened. The road across the Demon territory was smooth sailing, although the aura and the eyes watching them as they travel were uncomfortable.

It was as if they were avoiding Mark's group purposely. Well, it was better than having Demons block their way every now and then.

Nonetheless, the Demonic Aura was quite heavy that the workers forgot to enjoy the scene of the sea that they had not seen for a long time. They only managed to recover after they arrived at Virac, exiting the scope of the Demon's territory.

Unexpectedly, Mark sensed the same handsome Demon when they left. He did not pay much attention to the Demon, though.

As for the journey across Virac, it was unpleasant.

There were no enemies aside from a few evolved animals. However, the aftermath of the outbreak was open for everyone to see along the way.

The military cleaned the infected, but they had no way of actually cleaning what was left of them in this area.

Thus, human bones, dried-up blood, and what was left of the humans and infected in this place littered the road. It was not even surprising that one could accidentally kick a skull lying in the middle of the road.

Buildings were dilapidated, and some were even demolished to an unrecognizable degree. Even traces of fire and explosions were present here and there.

It showed the workers the truth of what happened in the apocalypse. And to say, they were still the luckier ones in this situation. They might have been captured by the rebels, deprived of their freedom. Still, they managed to live a life far away from the natural dangers of the current world.

They continued on with those thoughts and arrived at this outpost before sundown.

***

In deep thoughts, Mark turned to his right. Mei was asleep, tightly embracing him like a body pillow. She was also using his arm as a pillow. Mark did not feel uncomfortable in this position, though. Others might feel numb due to their blood flow being constricted but definitely not him.

Unfortunately, Mark could not keep her in this position for too long. There was still another business that was needed to be dealt with even during the night.

Soon, in the middle of the night, the General and his entourage arrived. It was too uncharacteristic of the military since it was dangerous to travel during the night. However, it seemed that they put heavy emphasis on this situation.

The General immediately asked for the tent that Mark's group was using. However, knowing that they might be resting already, the General decided to be considerate and move the questioning for tomorrow.

However, before the General could even turn away, the tent's door opened, with Mark heading out.

"Yo, General."

Mark waved nonchalantly. His eyes were even half-closed.

The surroundings froze a bit.

What the hell was that greeting?