Mutagen

Day 360 - 1:28 PM - Muria Sacred Fortress, Mount Muria, Kudus Regency, Central Java, Indonesia

After lunch, the group heading to the Southside Peak departed. The people of the 38th Settlement saw them off as they left.

Fortunately, the group would not be going on foot. They rode on three of the four vehicles the Moon Chasers owned.

The first and main vehicle was a refitted family van. It was also the first vehicle they acquired from the gang Luna destroyed. There were other vehicles the gang owned, which the group took. However, only this refitted van managed to survive the apocalypse till now.

Two of the three vehicles were both reinforced delivery trucks. These trucks were what the Moon Chasers used to transport materials and equipment up the mountain.

As for the fourth vehicle the Moon Chasers had, it was Edge's broken custom car. For obvious reasons, it would not be able to accompany the team.

Before the earthquake and the arrival of the [Mechids], the Moon Chasers used vehicles to drive around and gather supplies in the nearby areas. It was the same for the military and other survivor groups.

However, when the terrain of the world changed, along with mutated flora taking over most of the country, the vehicles they owned became unusable to traverse the terrain outside. Now, these vehicles could only be used around the fortress or, if possible, within the cleared areas around the mountain.

Still, while these vehicles now had limited use, they were a big help when trading things with the military.

The group drove through the road, passing by different Satellite Settlements. In the end, they would use the road connected to the Kudus Outpost up the Southside Peak.

Along the way, Mark managed to observe the inner side of the outer walls surrounding the mountain. It also showed Mark the general sceneries that other settlements had.

It was up to the survivor groups how they would build the Satellite Settlement they managed. This fact was shown by how differently each settlement looked from the other. It also showed which survivor groups were richer or had more knowledge in properly building their settlement.

Some Satellite Settlements looked properly planned. There were those who built structures as organized as possible and those who tried to minimize the land used to make the settlement easier to protect.

However, there were also those settlements that looked like a squatter's compound. There was no organization, and things were built willy-nilly. It was highly questionable how they were able to keep their settlements intact.

The scenes outside quickly passed as they rode their vehicles. After a little bit more than an hour of a slightly bumpy ride, they arrived outside the Southside Peak of the Muria Sacred Fortress.

Mark looked at the tall walls incorporated between the tall, steep peaks of Mount Muria. It was the inner walls of the southern side.

Although the group had already arrived, they still had to wait another ten minutes. Unlike the outer walls, the inner walls were far more strict in terms of entry. Since it was where most of the refugees of the fortress lived, it would be a bad thing if any [Infected] slipped in. As it was the area where the military conducted business, many groups were coming in and out, needing more strict measures for passage.

Soon, the vehicles reached the checkpoint. Everyone had to go out of the vehicles for individual checks. 

It was nothing too complicated. First, everyone's temperature and eyes were checked. Anyone bitten and turning [Infected] would have higher temperatures and a bloody discoloration behind their eyelids. It was the easiest thing to check. Everyone lined up as a female soldier passed by them.

Mark's group was a little confused about the second step. After all, the female soldier was not really doing anything more than just walking past them.

However, if there was one thing Mark was sure, the female soldier was a [Mutator]. Maybe her ability had something to do with detecting the [Infected] that could not be detected by the first check. After all, with how the [Infected] mutate into different kinds of creatures, it would not be surprising if there were bitten people that showed different symptoms than usual.

But then, something unexpected happened.

The female soldier stopped in front of Mark and his family. She stared at Mark, and Mark also stared at her. He could see her nose move as if she was sniffing them. It seemed that her abilities had something to do with smell.

"Is something wrong? Are they infected?"

The female soldier's superior asked. After all, it was strange that she stopped in front of Mark's group.

"Ah! No, they are not. They're good."

The female soldier snapped back to reality and replied to her superior.

With that remark, the group received clearance to enter.

As Mark helped the girls back into the van, he was paying attention to the female soldier earlier. She was currently being questioned by her superior.

"Is there something wrong with them? This is the first time you showed that kind of reaction."

The superior asked the female soldier while glancing at Mark's group.

"I don't think there's wrong with them. It's just..."

The female soldier answered with hesitation.

"It's just what?"

The superior pushed for her answer.

"Among the people I checked so far, they had the thickest smell of blood. Those people, they probably killed a lot, both [Infected] and not."

The female soldier answered.

The superior was a little skeptical. However, there was no smoke if there was no fire. Just in case, the superior decided to put the unfamiliar group on the list of people to observe.

Mark entered the van. He clearly heard the exchange of the two soldiers. Even the intention of the superior did not escape him. However, they intended no harm, and the two soldiers were just doing their duties. Mark decided to disregard them.

Within the confines of the Southside Peak, the entire flat area of the mountain was utilized. The road was pretty wide, and facilities and buildings were neatly organized.

However, it was clear that life here was not as good despite how safe it was.

When the vehicles passed through the main road, everyone could see the pitiful scene outside.

The unaffiliated refugees could only count on the government and the military for rations. As such, it was not surprising to see how emaciated most of them were. The roadside had a lot of beggars, mostly children. They extended their hands toward passing vehicles. Fortunately, none of them were recklessly approaching the vehicles. It would not be surprising if they did, though. It was very likely that something bad happened to reckless beggars in the past, resulting in this situation.

Mark suddenly took a deep breath. Emotions containing lust invaded his mind.

It looked like they passed by the red light district, where women sell their bodies for meager amounts of food.

To Mark, this feeling was pretty unpleasant. He would be fine if it was his own lust. However, this was not the case. It was a really bad feeling to have second-hand lust from other people.

"Gege, are you okay?"

Mei asked Mark, making him turn to her.

However, as he saw her beautiful face, Mark closed his eyes and took another deep breath.

"I'm fine."

Mark smiled as his [Mutator] trait kicked in and flushed out the unwanted second-hand emotions.

Mei looked even more concerned. She could not help but look outside the window on Mark's side and saw the street where skimpily clothed women were attracting male customers. Mei knew Mark's abilities and realized what could possibly cause Mark's strange state. And as she looked at Mark with his eyes closed, she could not help but blush.

Luna and her friends noticed the interaction between Mark and Mei. They could not help but smile at how the two looked.

Mark continued to close his eyes as he felt the emotions coming from Luna and her friends. He could only shake his head slightly. Women really liked these kinds of interactions.

After another ten minutes of driving, the vehicles finally stopped.

"We're here."

Luna said as everyone went out of the vehicles.

Mark looked around. It was a large vacant area being used as parking space. In front of them was a three-story building which seemed to be built recently.

"It's the hospital," Luna told Mark. "It's amazing how they managed to build this large building in just a few months."

"If this country could focus on more important things, they can be amazing," Limabela chimed in. "But, you know. All they focus on is stuffing their pockets full of people's tax money."

It was clear what Limabela was saying. As a princess of a rich business family, she had seen a lot of dirt under the rags of the people she was talking about.

Mark stared at the hospital. Although it looked like that, he was actually probing the hospital and the surroundings. He noticed something strange.

"Go already. We'll wait here outside. Just be fast since we still need to go to the exchange office."

Edge urged Luna and Mark to enter the hospital. There was no need for everyone to enter. Just Luna and her female friends would go. Of course, along with Mark and his family.

"Is that a laboratory?"

Mark noticed the detached building beside the hospital. He could not help but think it was a bad idea to have the military laboratory beside the hospital unless it was medicines they were researching. And, for sure, that laboratory was not just for medical research.

"It looks dangerous, isn't it?" Luna also knew the problem. "However, it was built this way because most doctors working in the hospital were also researchers in the lab. It's to make it easier for the doctors to respond to emergencies even while in the middle of their research."

Mark nodded. It was not the best solution, but it was probably the only thing the military could do at the moment.

The group entered the hospital under the stares of everyone they passed by. The group was pretty eye-catching, after all. A group of beautiful women and cute girls accompanied a mob-looking man. The contrast was so strong that Mark looked like a stuck-out sore thumb. Not to mention that Luna's group was already pretty well-known due to various reasons. Before the group could even leave the hospital lobby, the gossip among the witnesses was already growing.

Furthermore, Mei was really gathering some attention, making her grab Mark's arm tighter.

"It looks like your veil isn't really helping."

Limabela said to Mei.

Mei had a veil covering half her face, from her nose down. But as Limabela said, it was not helping.

"Just ignore them," Luna said. "It's always like this here. Everyone is bored, and anything interesting to their eyes turns into entertainment."

After checking in at the front desk, Luna led everyone to the second floor.

Mark already knew Luna's niece was on the second floor. He already detected the girl from far away. Still, there was something bothering Mark as he observed the surroundings.

It was really strange.

Soon, the group arrived at a particular room. It was a private room only reserved for Luna's niece. It seemed that the military and the government properly kept their side of the deal when they took control of the mountain from Luna's group.

"Shasha, I'm back."

Luna greeted the unconscious girl while caressing her hair. Unfortunately, there was no reply to her affectionate words.

"Sir Mark."

Luna turned to Mark and called. The latter nodded as he stepped forward.

"I'll check on her first before trying anything, okay?"

Mark told Luna, and the latter agreed.

However, as Mark put his right hand on the little girl's forehead, he froze.

All of a sudden, Mark's right hand began glowing. Then, he put his left hand on the little girl's chest, and it began releasing an eerie black aura.

Everyone was surprised at Mark's sudden actions.

"S-Sir Mark?" Luna immediately became worried. "What are you doing? What is going on?"

Was Mark really here to help? But he had Thirteenth's guarantee. Luna's trust was wavering.

It was when Mark glanced at Luna and spoke.

"You're really lucky I decided to come here to help you. I'm still unsure who the enemies targeting your group are, but I now know they are not just some average Joe."

Mark then turned to the little girl as the contrasting colors enveloping his hands grew.

"Damn," Mark cursed. "Especially if they can plant something that can gnaw on someone's soul."