Mutagen

<strong>Day 248 - 1:30 PM - Village, Barangay Sayao, Municipality of Sibonga, Province of Cebu</strong>

"For you to deduce what I am and to know all these things, you're not just some regular soldier, are you?"

Mark asked Emilio as the route of their conversation was drifting away from what regular people would have. Mark only said that he stopped being human. And yet, Emilio immediately pointed out what he was. Not to mention that the organizations of [Auraboros] and [Crystallus Notitia Coetus] were not things that a regular person should know even as a soldier.

As proof, Doctor Janice and Tanya, who had workings with the military, were oblivious to this information. This information was not open to the public, and unless one had a high enough position or someone necessary to the nation, there was no way to know this information. And Emilio definitely did not have such a position to know these things.

"I had my own circumstances," Emilio replied hesitantly. "Even though it would not matter now, I'm not inclined to divulge it to anyone."

Emilio answered while staring at Mark, eye to eye. His circumstances were a personal matter that, even now, he would not want to tell anyone else, even the people he knew he could trust. This truth could change how people view him as a person, after all.

"Well, I won't dig any further."

Mark said with a shrug.

"Sorry if my answer didn't fulfill your interest, but I want to ask something about another thing," Emilio continued to stare at Mark. "One week ago, something happened on the western coast. Many of us saw the anomalous weather, not to mention that it caused the [Infected] to migrate west. I want to ask if you're involved."

Mark did not say anything and only replied with another shrug. However, that silence already gave the answer, making Emilio nod in understanding.

"Then, how long are you going to stay here this time?"

Emilio asked Mark, knowing that like before, Mark's group would not stay here permanently.

"We're not going to stay," Mark said with a slight tilt of his head. "The people are currently too enthusiastic to our liking. So, we would rather be on our way. Besides, we only stopped by to check on this place, seeing that there are people here still alive."

In short, Mark's group was just passing by. Emilio and the three people with him understood that much.

"I want to ask something."

Doctor Janice interjected into the conversation.

"Go on."

Mark gave the doctor a go.

"Since you gave us that advice, did you already know that all of this would happen?"

Doctor Janice asked her concern.

"If you want to ask is why I haven't told you guys about it straightly... It's because I don't really know what exactly is going to happen," Mark answered. "The advice I gave would just increase the probability of you guys surviving compared to following your original plans. So if you ask me, it's all just a coincidence everything aligned for the best outcome. You guys just got lucky."

The people in this settlement were giving praises and gratitude to Mark. However, it was all a coincidence on his part. The advice he gave was only based on what he originally thought. It just happened to align with what happened afterward, which saved the people of this place for the most part. In fact, Mark's advice only accounted for the [Fusion of Dimensions] and possible effects during its duration. He had never predicted anything about the tidal wave or the mishap when the [Eyes] and the [Foreign Gods] tried to block the planetary debris.

"Even if we're inhumanly strong, we have no way of exactly predicting the future."

Mark said.

'Voluntary, that is.'

Mark had in his mind.

"I see."

Doctor Janice said with a bitter nod.

"It might just be a coincidence, but it is true that your advice saved us all," Emilio chimed in. "You still deserve our gratitude. We are alive because of you."

The other three nodded in agreement with Emilio's words. Whether it was a coincidence or not, Mark's words saved them all. Those words let them survive and reach this far into the apocalypse.

The conversation within the central hut continued for another hour. Although most of the topic afterward was mainly things around the settlement and a few questions about the [Mechids].

Learning that the robots were called [Mechids] from Mark, Emilio, and the others understood that he had a deeper connection with things in the background. However, no one asked any further about this connection as it was something likely related to the privileges they did not have.

Mark also asked if Emilio's group knew anything about the [Tamawos] after the battle. However, they never encountered any [Tamawo] at all. Thus, it was still a mystery what exactly happened to the tribe.

The conversation finally ended due to something Mark and the others forgot.

"Papa, I'm hungry..."

Abbygale said, pulling the hem of Mark's clothes.

They forgot lunch.

Since Mark's group had been on a search since this morning, the sight of the settlement in the valley made them forget their lunch.

As such, they had no choice but to end the conversation. Mark's group then decided to leave immediately. It made Emilio and the others confused. After all, they were pretty sure that lunch should come first before departing as it would be questionable how they would have proper lunch on the way.

Thus, Emilio and the others tried to invite Mark's group to lunch. However, Mark declined on the premise of not wanting to consume the limited food that Emilio's settlement had.

Well... The actual reason was that Mark was pretty sure that they could eat better food on their own. Since the resources of this settlement were limited, the food they could cook would likely be subpar from what Mark's group usually ate.

And thus, with everyone bidding goodbye filled with gratefulness, Mark's group departed the settlement.

Many people in the settlement wanted Mark's group to stay even just a day. However, there was no way they would forcefully do it, knowing Mark's condescending attitude the first time they arrived back then.

Faster than coming to the settlement, Mark's group returned to where the [Mini Cube] was parked. Fortunately, they did not return in the middle of the private activities of Ilia and Chimetrice.

Immediately, they prepared food and ate a late lunch. Next time, it was better not to let the girls starve despite the situation. Mark and Mei should reflect on this.

Still, there was a bit relaxed atmosphere among the members of Mark's group this time. Despite being uncomfortable, receiving the genuine gratitude of people did not feel bad at all.

It also gave Bella and Donna more information about Mark's group. But what made the sisters curious the most was the information that was not open to the public that they learned today for the first time. However, the sisters were concerned about what Mark said. One of the organizations was his enemy. They would not get dragged between this, right?

Bella was pretty smart. She realized that Mark said that the [Auraboros] "is" his enemy and not was. It meant that the hidden organization was still in operation despite the apocalypse.

In any case, the sisters already had an estimate of the life they could get in Mark's base compared to other places. The current living conditions of the settlement they had just visited were ideal in the current situation of this world. However, it was completely lacking compared to Mark's place. Not to mention the security of this place. Their rough wooden walls could not be compared to the fortress walls in the mountain base.

Despite the possible danger, Bella and Donna would still choose to stay.

After eating lunch, Mark and the others immediately set off to continue their journey.

This time, without covering the [Mini Cube] without camouflage, they passed near the village, allowing everyone below to see the floating vessel.

It caused some panic. However, those with keen eyes and the soldiers using their still working scouting equipment saw Mark sitting on the small platform at the side of the unidentified flying object.

***

Emilio stared at the sky together with his people. Back then, Mark did introduce himself as someone connected with the generals from Luzon. It made them question many things like how and why someone from Luzon was here in the Visayas Region. Now, their question was answered.

The existence called Mark had the means to travel around through the apocalypse.

However, that was not the last thing they understood from this. Mark, showing this to everyone, meant that he was leaving the area indefinitely. They were now left on their own, and the likelihood of Mark's group visiting again was close to nil.

Since Mark did not plan on returning here any time in the near future, there was no need to hide his means of travel.

This scene made some people show some discontent, unfortunately. After all, Mark had such methods, but he never showed any sign of wanting to help them more than he already did.

Since Mark had something like a floating vessel, he should have the capability to bring them someplace safer.

Such kind of thinking was unreasonable. However, it was human as these people could be.

And this kind of thinking was the least of Mark's concerns as he had already left. They could think of anything they wanted, but it would not affect Mark in the slightest.

Emilio understood that fact and could only sigh. He should think of methods to bend how his people think of this situation.

***

Mark sat outside the platform, watching the valley settlement as it vanished behind the mountains to its north. He was sure that the people down there were now having unnecessary thoughts. If they started having bad thoughts, that was what their gratitude was all about.

It would have been nice if Mark could recruit Doctor Janice or Tanya. But considering that they were now the pillars of this settlement, he retracted those thoughts. It was quite a pity, however. Mark finally managed to learn things about Doctor Janice and her [Mutator Abilities] during the conversation in the hut. It was a rather interesting one. To be able to see the flow of [Mutagen] in people's bodies, was a unique ability for sure.

The ability of Doctor Janice made Mark think it was worth it to check on this place once in a while. If this place was to fall, which still had a high chance of happening, the survival chance of Emilio and those around him was still pretty high. At that time, he could recruit them if they managed to survive.

Now, the detour was finished. Mark's group could fly straight towards the Island of Catanduanes.

There would be minor interruptions on the way, especially [Flying Infected] and [Feral Evolved Animals]. It was expected and would not stop their journey. But if something interesting came up on the way, they would not hesitate to stop for a bit and see the situation.

It would not hurt to find new things, especially ones that could benefit them. Similar to why Mark caught the [Evolved Silkworm], Mark would gather anything that could be of use to them and their base. It would be nice if they came across farm animals since these kinds of animals were not only useful, but they were also less aggressive despite changing due to [Mutagen's] influence.

Mark began to wonder. Would [Infected Birds] still lay eggs? If they were still [Biter Types], the possibility of them being able to lay eggs was not zero. However, he was skeptical since he had failed his experiments on [Infected] pregnancy in an attempt to create more [Blood Children].

Maybe, Mark should catch an [Infected Bird] when the opportunity came and feed them some laying mash since he managed to procure some from the ruined town in Murcia.

Leaving the valley settlement that was not visible anymore, Mark looked forward. He wondered what he would next see on the horizon beyond them.