Mutagen

<strong>Day 201 - 12:05 AM - Meeting Area, White Snake Gang Base, Northern Slums, Corregidor Military Settlement, Island of Corregidor, Province of Cavite</strong>

The day had passed, and it was already past midnight. However, illuminated by oil lamps, the meeting area of the White Snake Gang was still bustling with activity.

It was not a gang activity, though. Instead, it was a reunion of people that

had not met for a long while.

The center of attention was, of course, Mark. There was also Miracle sitting on his lap, insisting on staying with him.

After the commotion about the messenger that was killed by the combined efforts of Carren, Markron, and Husto, Mark met with the group of friends he had here in the White Snake Gang. They also insisted on making Mark's group stay inside the gang's compound instead of the dilapidated shack they were brought to. And now, it led to this situation.

Mark and Miracle were the only ones present in the meeting area. Mei and the others were told by Mark to rest. After all, even though Mark told them to sleep when he left, none of them did at all. It was reasonable since they did not feel safe here at all. Inside the gang's compound, however, it was different.

Knowing that the White Snake Gang was run by Mark's friends, it was easier to rest here than outside. Besides, Mark was also present here. He would know first if there was danger nearby.

Carren and the others insist that the rest of Mark's group join them. Only Mei, Amihan, and the children knew the people present, after all. It would be awkward for Feng Zhiruo and Spera to be present on the current occasion.

Well, a reunion during the apocalypse sure was an occasion to celebrate. After all, a short separation could mean death, not to mention a long one.

Husto left, knowing that the reunion was not the place for him to stay for now. Instead, he headed back to deal with another problem, the spy, who handed the message to the messenger.

Who was the spy?

It was no other than the young man under Husto's leadership. The very same hot-blooded young man, present during his first meeting with Mark and at the discussion with the bosses of the White Snake Gang.

Who would have thought that the young man's hot-bloodedness was just a ploy, an act? In fact, he was doing that action to try and instigate the members of the White Snake Gang to retaliate to the provocations of the members of the Powder Gang.

Unfortunately, he was caught tonight because of his hasty nature. He should have waited a little more before sending the information about the weird stranger meeting with their Bosses, which would likely be the person the government was looking for.

With only Mark and the people he knew present in the room, the reunion went smoother.

Carren and Markron aside, there were only four more people present. The two were Carlo and Charmaine, who was more or less Mark's younger brother and sister. The other two were Suzanne, one of Mark's close classmates and friends during college, like Carren and Markron, and her husband, Loreto, who also knew Mark.

With all of them present, the first thing to do, of course, was to catch up. Sharing stories about the things that happened during their separation.

It was an opportunity for Mark to ask questions and the people here answered without problems. Furthermore, the people here owe Mark their lives in one way or another.

And it was the current topic of the group...

What happened during the calamity, the arrival of the second wave.

As said, they owe their lives to Mark in one way or another. One reason was that their survival from the calamity was due to the [Mutator Abilities] Mark gave them.

When the debris from space fell, and when the earthquake demolished the buildings in Bay City, the abilities they received from Mark saved them. If not for these, they might have died at that time. After all, everything happened all of a sudden and without warning. No regular human could be able to react to that situation at all. Those humans could only stare above as the buildings collapsed onto them.

Carren was even inside a collapsing building at that time. Her nimble legs from her mutation allowed her not only to save her life but also her son's.

Unfortunately, though, they could only save themselves. Carren and the others were incapable of helping other people at that time. Many died in front of them.

The catastrophe ended, leaving only a third of Bay City Military Settlement's population behind.

Before that day, the population of Bay City Military Settlement was around twelve thousand people, with the military able to rescue survivors from outside from time to time.

But as that day ended, only around four thousand people or less were left alive. However, many were severely injured, with some trapped under the collapsed buildings. The death toll still increased after a few days.

In the end, only around three thousand people were left in the ruined Bay City.

Of course, it did not mean that the number of deaths stagnated. Since the world changed and the moat east of Bay City was covered in new ground, the remnants of the military had to fight day and night. The survivors also helped, carrying the debris of destroyed buildings to create a wall. Even so, one or more people would die every day due to the relentless attacks of the [Infected].

Not to mention the robots that appeared.

Although they were unable to enter the premises of Bay City due to the invisible barrier that who knows where it came from, the robots fired lasers from afar, killing any unlucky person to get hit.

It would have been fine if those robots could be dealt with the same way as the [Infected]. However, many of those robots could endure a barrage of bullets and could only be destroyed by heavy weaponry and explosives.

Because of the robots, gathering supplies from outside were cut off. Even though the military managed to salvage equipment to deal with the radiation, they could not do anything but say within the barrier.

The Lower District was abandoned, and all the survivors moved to the Upper District at that point. There was no use in using the Lower District, considering the fewer population surviving and the bridge connecting the two districts destroyed by the earthquake.

But the problems listed above were not the rest of it.

Two weeks after the catastrophe, Nia and Allen, Professor Isaach's assistants and adopted children began to claim something unbelievable. They said that the settlement was being enveloped by a dangerous kind of energy.

Of course, no one believed them initially. Then, some of the survivors, even soldiers, exhibited odd behaviors and states. Nightmares were the start of it. Some became irritant and had unstable emotions. Some even began hearing whispers in their ears. Even for the doctors, while it could be ruled as trauma from the current events, it was still odd for many people to exhibit the same symptoms. Not to mention at the same time.

Furthermore, those involved in retrieval operations for supplies and equipment in the Lower District were more susceptible to the symptoms.

And the symptoms became worse and worse.

It was then that a group of soldiers not from Bay City Military Settlement arrived.

They were elite soldiers from Corregidor Military Settlement, moving under the president's orders.

Those elite soldiers sent the message about the president telling survivors of military settlements to gather in Corregidor Island.

It became the main reason for General Perez and the other officers deciding to abandon the Bay City Military Settlement.

There was some opposition at first. It was mainly from the politicians and businessmen that survived. After all, the journey there would be fraught with dangers. They insisted on staying within the barrier that protected them from the robots.

The opposition did not last, though.

General Perez declared that leaving the settlement was voluntary.

It meant that those who wanted to leave could leave, and those that wanted to stay could stay behind.

The majority of the people wanted to leave and hope for the best. Those that wanted to stay saw that and ended up joining in the end.

While they could stay by themselves, there was no point if they could not protect themselves from the [Infected] because no soldier wanted to stay behind.

In the end, they embarked on the arduous journey even before the radiation completely vanished.

The journey that would only take a few hours in the past ended up going for days. They had to cut the grass and trees on the path of the repaired vehicles. Not to mention fighting the [Infected], feral [Evolved Creatures], and even the robots along the way.

A lot of people died during the long journey.

The around two-thousand-five-hundred people that left the ruins of Bay City lost even more people.

After a few days of an arduous journey, the remaining less than two-thousand people reached Corregidor Military Settlement.

When they arrived, the fortress city, named The Government Safe Zone, was still in its early stages of construction. Nonetheless, the walls were already built. They could not help but wonder how they made the walls quickly and rebuilt the ruins after the catastrophe.

Many were dismayed during their arrival. After all, not everyone could enjoy the safety of the walls. It was only a selected number of people, ones with skills, status, and strength, who were given the opportunity to live inside the walls.

Nonetheless, it was way better living here than the ruins of Bay City they left behind. Here, the fighting was limited due to the defensible terrain. It was unlike the ruins of Bay City, where they had to fight day and night. There were also more sources of food here than in the middle of the city.

Back in Bay City, the people could only rely on the military for food and water. Although fishing in Manila bay was also plausible, the catch was not enough there than here.

***

Hearing what happened, Mark nodded in understanding. He saw the state of the ruins before reaching this place. It was uninhabitable.

There was no need to mention the gathering of negative energy which Nia and Allen detected. It was no surprise, too, that they did. Both of them were inheritors of the [Psycasts], after all.

If the people of Bay City stayed longer, it might have ended with the [Formless Demon] being born earlier. It was because those affected by the negative energy would definitely end up contributing more to it, accelerating the demon's birth. This would definitely cause more trouble. And possibly, death of everyone that was still alive in Bay City.

Now that Mark learned what happened in Bay City the whole month after the second wave, one question was left in Mark's mind.

It was the strange reaction of Carren and Markron when they heard that a spy sent something to the messenger, something that could possibly pertain to his arrival.

"Carren, Markron, I have a question."

Mark asked his two friends.

"Don't ask." Carren shrugged. "It's about our reactions to that spy, right? It's pretty obvious that you noticed."

At this point, not only Carren and Markron but even the rest present in the room. They all looked at Mark with difficult expressions.

That expression sure baffled Mark. Was there something wrong with him?

"Seriously... It's good that you came with a disguise, and there are only a few people that saw you appear here."

Markron sighed.

"Big Bro," Carlo spoke. "You should stay hidden here. If you want to go out, always wear a disguise. Cover your face or something. Also, don't interact with us outside if possible."

"Seriously... Out with it."

Mark pressed on.

"Alright, don't get angry."

Carren spoke.

<strong>"You are currently wanted by the government."</strong>