Mutagen

<strong>Day 148 - 1:24 PM - Quarters, Rebel Base, San Pedro Poblacion, Municipality of Viga, Catanduanes</strong>

Blood splattered as Mark beheaded a rebel hiding inside the quarters building.

With Ignis in his hand dripping with blood, Mark closed his eyes.

"Hmm... This guy is the last one, huh."

Mark murmured as he could not detect any rebels alive in the vicinity.

"This is the end of this place. We better get moving."

Mark then left the quarters.

As he stepped out of the door, someone landed in front of him. Even without his [Empathic Detection], just those rainbow-scaled wings would tell who the person was. Mark smiled behind his mask.

"Good work."

Mark said, patting Mei on her head.

Mei meekly smiled.

"Gege, are there no enemies left?"

"Yep," Mark nodded. "A right, I should fire another flare already."

SWISH! BANG!

Mark fired the second flare to the sky, signaling the end of the operation.

He ensured that the flare would hover directly above the factory area as there would be the meeting place.

With that, Mark and Mei walked together towards the factory area.

Mei then asked Mark a question.

"Gege, what about those two that escaped? Are we just letting them go?"

"Then why didn't you shoot them before they escaped?"

Mark asked back.

"Because Gege did not seem keen on catching them. When they escaped, you didn't even give any effort to chase."

Mei explained.

In this battle, Mei's task was to get rid of the snipers on the watchtowers and those that might be capable of flight. That was why before Mark appeared inside the warehouse, Mei was already in the sky, watching for targets using the sun as cover.

It was not because they were rushing that Mark chose to attack immediately this noon.

Nighttime might be the best time for infiltrations, rescue missions, assassinations, and other actions related to entering or ambushing an enemy base. History had proven such too many times.

However, in this circumstance, noon, lunchtime to be exact, was the best timing.

Mark's goal was to secure the safety of the captured people, including his sister. And during lunch, it was the only time that most people would be gathered in their respective allocated dining areas. It was the case not only here but everywhere where groups of people were being rationed food.

Even Mark's base was not an exception.

And for a place where people were being forced to work, it would be impossible that it would be a different case.

Furthermore, with the arsenal of Mark's group, ability-wise, and equipment-wise, there would be fewer constraints in planning and strategies.

Even Mei could take advantage of the sun up in the sky to conceal herself and snipe the enemies she could find. After all, who would be an idiot to stare directly at the sun? And since human capabilities were enhanced by Mutagen, doing the same at night would be riskier, making Mei easier to be found.

Well, in the end, Mei was never detected. After all, Renz and Emellynn hogged the spotlight too much. Even Mark would not expect that Renz would betray their leader at this time.

While Mark and Mei continued to walk, Mark answered Mei's question, telling her what Felix had introduced himself and his group, together with the summary of things that he and Felix talked about.

"Then, Gege let them go because of that?"

Mei asked.

"I did." Mark shrugged. "Maybe, we can conduct some business with them in the future."

"But didn't Gege threaten to kill that woman? Will they do business with us?"

Mei assumed.

"There's that possibility, but it's unlikely. That Felix reeked the smell of a businessman. I doubt that he would put private matters and business altogether. Besides, it's not like he's the only member of their group, right?"

At Mark's words, Mei nodded.

If Felix did not want to conduct business, then find another available agent. Now that they knew about the existence of this organization, it was not impossible to find their other members.

Mark and Mei talked along the way. The two did not mind the bloody scene they were passing through, with bodies of rebels scattered here and there.

It did not take long and two little girls bumped into Mark and Mei. Of course, it was Miracle and Abbygale, contesting who would get the first hug. Of course, Abbygale won by a large margin. Iola and Emika also followed after the two with troubled faces as they chased the two younger ones.

The factory area was at the central most part of this base and was accessible through different directions. Thus, it was not surprising that the group that secured the male workers arrived fast.

Of course, the male workers were pale after seeing the current state of the factory area. The central space and the walls of the surrounding buildings were scorched. Dismembered bodies lay here and there. Dead bodies pinned by melting icicles could be seen embedded on the walls and the ground. And the nauseating smell of a slaughterhouse was too thick.

Some men, especially younger ones, felt their stomachs churning. Fortunately, they knew not to waste the food they ate for lunch. Or else, a lot of them would have stopped to start a vomiting spree.

The women inside the warehouse were keeping silent as Mark told them to. After all, they wanted to live. Furthermore, what happened in the factory area was more than enough to make them all huddled in the furthest corner of the warehouse and not make any sound in fear.

But then, silence already enveloped the place. They did not know what happened but none of them were courageous enough to check.

It was until some noises were heard outside. It was the sounds of men talking.

One of the women recognized one of the voices and by reflex, stood up and ran to the door.

That was when that woman saw her husband that she had not seen for a month. As the emotions overflowed, she ran out, not noticing the carnage in the surroundings.

And there, the husband and wife embraced each other, under the eyes of the cheering gallery.

The other men started teasing the man, making him and his wife red. Nonetheless, it was a happy occasion as the other women caught up to what was happening and reunited with their loved ones.

Unfortunately, it was not a happy event for everyone. Some women watched the others with sad faces and heavy hearts.

After all, while the women were securely kept in the base, a lot of the men were not. Those men that were not here were drafted into the ranks of the rebels and were sent into outposts all around the island. It was highly possible that many of them had already died. After all, the encounters between the military and the rebels were not just a few times. The soldiers also had no control over who would die and who would live on the battlefield.

Then, what about the children?

Many of the families captured had children with them. However, not a single child was in the rebel base at all. No one knew where they were, or if they were already dead. As such, some of the married couples that reunited felt their happiness short-lived.

Even from the information that Mark received from the military, there was no mention about the children at all.

Did forgot to capture some rebels and interrogate them? There was only one rebel remaining and it was one of the guards in the warehouse that Mark spared. However, it was questionable if he had any information about it.

Besides, it was not like Mark cared about the children he never knew.

"Hey." Rejoining with the group, Pefile called out to Mark. "A question came up earlier."

"What question?"

Mark asked back, making Pefile point at the workers they rescued.

"About them. Why did you save these people? That's too uncharacteristic of you."

After being asked about it, Pefile decided to pass on the question.

It was not surprising that Pefile was curious. Knowing Mark for a while, he knew that Mark was not the type of person that would do charitable work, especially saving people without reason.

Gathering people to recruit to the base? Not possible either.

After this, their next stop was Pefile's homeland. There was absolutely no way that they would be able to transport these many people. Even with Berrak's summoned creatures, these people were just too many.

"I'll tell you later, alright?" Mark shrugged. "By the way, how's the performance of those two?"

Mark then turned towards Padua and Geronimo, who were watching the workers with melancholic eyes.

"They did fine, but that Geronimo needs some work. He hesitated to fire his gun several times. Luckily, there's Padua to support him. He's too soft."

"That's why I put them in your side."

Mark replied.

Given that the two were honest soldiers, the sight of the massacre that Mark did would not suit them in short term. That was why he sent them with Pefile to rescue the male workers in the farming area. Since they needed to protect the victims, they would be forced to fire their guns and kill. Once they got used to that, it would not be late to send them to bloodier missions.

"Can you call those two?" Mark told Pefile. "I'll need them to convey our next moves to these people."

"No problem."

Pefile nodded and called for the two young soldiers.

Even though they were young, Geronimo and Pefile still had the aura of a Military soldier. It was easier for them to control the situation among the workers and make them listen to their next plans.

After these people were rescued, Mark made these people choose where they wanted to go. There were two options. One was the Military Settlement to the southeast while the other was the other two factions of the rebels to the north.

Of course, by the guise of being rescued by the Neutral Faction, Mark told them what happened to the men that were sent on the suicide mission last night.

And as Mark had planned, the people were separated into two groups.

In the middle of the announcement, Berrak, on the back of the Thunderbird, Trua, landed to the shock of the rescued workers. Even Amihan appeared soon after, as well as Edzel and Pearl, riding on one of Berrak's summons.

These four were not idling about but were sent by Mark to monitor the situation in the surroundings while the commotion in the rebel base was happening.

With the four of them returning almost at the same time, it meant a bad thing.

"Boss, the animals from the mountains to the north are on the move."

Berrak reported.

"It was the same in our area. Pearl detected some strong vibrations."

Edzel and Pearl, who came from the Eastern side, reported their findings.

"Mine's the same!"

Said Amihan that monitored the southern area.

Without a doubt, the animals in the surrounding mountains were disturbed because of what happened here, especially that explosion from the rockets that Renz's men fired. Not to mention the currently thick smell of blood lingering in the surroundings.

"You two," Mark called out to Geronimo and Padua. "Tell them to gather everything they can find. Weapons, food, water, anything necessary. Fast. Don't forget to tell them that the animals from the mountains are going to attack if they did not hurry."

The two nodded and conveyed the order to the workers.

Hearing that the evolved animals would be attacking soon, the workers were horrified. Without hesitation, they all started running to retrieve everything they could. On the other hand, Mark and Mei ransacked the armory of the rebels while the others kept an eye on the surroundings of the base from the top of the walls.

Soon, the animals appeared from the foot of the mountains.

The number was not really that large. In fact, Mark did not consider them as a threat at all. Nonetheless, because of the existence of these animals, the workers moved without question, as fast as possible.

It did not take long and two groups of people left the base, with the larger group going southwest, and a smaller group going north.

For this part of his plan, Mark decided to go with the group going to the Military Settlement. As such, he let out a slight smile behind his mask as he watched his sister go with the other group.