Mutagen

"Be careful on your travels, alright?"

Karlene said, hugging Mei and Spera.

This emotional but childish embrace was expected from Karlene, and Mei did not mind it. Spera, however, was extremely embarrassed and was looking at Mark, asking for help. Although she was trying her best to gain control of her emotions, Spera was still far from it.

Mark had no intention to help, however, looking away while slightly shaking his head. It did not take too long, though.

"YOU TOO!" 

Karlene let go of the two and immediately jumped to also give Mark an embrace.

Even to Mark, it was unexpected, especially with many people, including her father, watching. Well, it should not be surprising either, considering that Karlene did worse back at the time they first met.

​ "That\'s what you get."

Spera murmured to the side.

"Mee too!"

And there, Karla also jumped in. Giving the three leaving people short hugs.

The others also gave their farewell and thanks for the hospitality in the Mountain Base. Joash and the others could say that staying in the Mountain Base was the best experience they had since the apocalypse came. The safety, the baths, the food, and even the people. It was completely different from any military settlement they had been to.

But, of course, it was not their home, and they had to return. It might be a pity, but they should not get used to the good life in the Mountain Base when their own settlement was facing struggles.

With the farewells done, it was time for the three to depart.

Spera opened a portal in front of everyone, where Mark, Mei, and Spera entered and vanished in.

Although they had seen it before, it still left General Faustino and the others in awe. To them, the existence of magic was still an unfamiliar thing.

Still, no one would be able to deny how convenient it was. Using Spera\'s portals, Mark\'s group could go anywhere in a blink of an eye. There would be no need to travel across the dangerous apocalyptic landscape, and there was no need to fight extremely terrifying dangers.

Even if they would not admit it, they knew they wished they had someone like Spera in their ranks.

In any case, there was no need to mull over such useless thoughts.

"There they go." Alana voiced out, shrugging. "We\'ll definitely miss the base."

Looking around, even though it was said to be better than before, Alana could see how the settlement was still in tatters. Living here was not the same in Mark\'s base and was not even comparable to their life back in Real Settlement.

"Don\'t say that..." Karlene said to her best friend. "You\'re just going to remind us if you say that."

"You two..." Major Bautista scratched his head. "If you two are going to say those things, you should have stayed there instead."

This conversation turned into a short friendly banter afterward. It only stopped as Jones Galley dropped a question.

"Mark seems to be in a good mood," Jones said, looking at the supplies. "I don\'t think he would just give out supplies for no particular reason."

"That is right." General Faustino nodded. "He might say that it\'s because of Professor Sandoval, but Mark is a smart person. He should know that it is unnecessary since just keeping the professor safe was more than enough."

"It\'s a father\'s mood, I guess?"

Karlene said, making Jones, General Faustino, and her father look at her in askance.

"Mark made something absurd for his daughters, and they really liked their new toys," Alana explained. "He\'s not showing it in his face, but he seemed really happy to see his daughters like his creations."

"Yeah, he\'s like you, Dad," Karlene said to her father. "It\'s like back then when you brought home a stuffed toy and was worried if I didn\'t like it. Then you looked really happy with my reaction to the toy."

Relieving those memories, Major Bautista was a bit embarrassed.

"Do I really look happy that time?"

Major Bautista asked.

"I didn\'t really notice it." Karlene shook her head. "But Mom saw it and told me later."

Those words gave a bitter smile to Major Bautista\'s face. It was, after all, a memory of his deceased wife.

That reaction created silence in the group. It was no news to the people here what happened to Major Bautista\'s wife and son. And only Karlene being the only remaining member of his family, and well, of course, the new addition, Karla.

With those thoughts in mind, they all moved to do things they had to do.

First of all, to arrange the dwellings of the people that returned. The soldiers could just join in the already built barracks, but Joash\'s group was different. Not only was Joash an important member of the settlement, but they were also precious [Evolvers].

Even other groups of [Mutators] and [Evolvers] in the settlement were given their own tent to use.

As for Karlene, Alana, and Karla, they also needed a separate tent.

Most importantly, they needed to build a storage area for the supplies that Mark brought back. All of it was precious, especially the luxury items.

With those arrangements, the arrival of the returnees ended.

***

Day 197 - 3:15 PM - Military Encampment, New Infanta Settlement, Infanta, Province of Quezon

Soon, however... It did not take long, and the existence of the newly acquired supplies reached the masses.

"Who is it?"

General Faustino slammed on the table, looking at the newly assigned officers of the settlement. It was supposed to be a happy day for the general, receiving a wheelchair and supplies from Mark. Yet, in a few hours, here he was, with his mood fouled as he looked at the new officers.

The qualifications of these new officers were still lacking in military standards. However, they needed some competent people to help organize the settlement.

But their qualifications were not the issue this time around.

The supplies they received from Mark were a lot but not a whole lot. That was why they could still not splurge on it and intended to continue on the current amount of rations. If not, these newly acquired supplies would not last long and would be used up way before the expiry dates.

That was why the general decided to hide the existence of the new supplies and kept it as military knowledge.

Yet, the news about the supplies already reached the masses for some reason and spread fast. And rumors being rumors, it blew up, turning into false information.

The quantity of the supplies in the rumors was way higher than what they actually received from Mark. Not to mention that not all of it was owned by the entire military but was the private property of the people Mark gave the supplies to.

Furthermore, the soldiers knew the distribution of the supplies, considering many soldiers were also present around to watch when Mark and Mei took out the supplies.

Many soldiers heard Mark say which belonged to who.

And yet, the rumors that reached the masses were completely different.

It was as if it was deliberately spread.

If this continued, things would get out of control.

And to the general\'s question...

None of the new officers could answer.

"It\'s no use asking them, General." Jones, standing behind the general, spoke. "They are new to their positions. They still need to get used to it. They might not even know every single person that belonged to their platoon."

"Hah..." The general sighed. "It may be true, but there is no doubt that one of us leaked the information. Your men are your responsibilities."

General Faustino turned to the new officers.

"Investigate who is the one that leaked the information outside. You are all dismissed."

With salutes, the new officers walked out of the tent, leaving the distressed General Faustino. The only ones left with the General were Major Bautista and Jones Galley.

"What a headache."

General Faustino rubbed his wrinkled forehead.

"It is not hard to see who caused this."

Jones said, making Major Bautista agree.

"I know." General Faustino sighed. "What I can\'t accept is that one of us became their spy."

General Faustino was right to feel dismayed over this situation.

The only pillar that keeping his settlement in control was the military. There was another pillar, the Political Faction, but they were not really contributing as much as the former.

Nonetheless, it was not new that the Political Faction was unhappy with the military taking control of everything. There were no clashes in the open. But the Political Faction had done many things against the military in the dark.

It was very likely that this was also their hands in work in this situation.

And the worst of it, one, or possibly more, of their soldiers were working with the opposing faction.

General Faustino could not accept it.

While in deep thoughts, however...

CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!

The sounds of alarm bells echoed across the military encampment.

There was no need to think about it. The three heads of the military moved out of the tent to see what was happening. It was really nice that General Faustino received the wheelchair this morning. Instead of being carried on Jones\' back, he was now being pushed on it.

Just as the three went out of their tent, a young soldier was came running to them just in time.

Major Bautista could not help but frown, however. He recognized this soldier. He was one of the soldiers in the scouting squad. Their group was supposed to be scouting the area at this time. It was not hard to forget this soldier since he was one of the few [Evolvers] in the military, Private Dimalanta. His ability was focused on speed, being the best as a scout and as a messenger.

"General!" The soldier called out. "A monster is on its way here. We spotted a four-meter tall quadrupedal monster moving in the settlement\'s direction. The rest of my squad was still monitoring the monster, but we expect it to arrive in six, no, five minutes."

"Alfonso." General Faustino turned to Major Bautista. "Alert the soldiers and lead them to intercept the possible threat. I know they just arrived this morning, but if possible, let your daughter and Miss Alana participate."

"Yes, General."

Major Bautista immediately replied and left.

Then, General Faustino turned back to the young soldier.

"Monster, you say?" The general asked. "It\'s not an [Infected] or a [Mechid]? Not even an [Evolved Animal]?"

"I\'m sorry, but we are not sure, Sir." Private Dimalanta apologized sincerely. "It only looked like a gigantic animal, but it seemed to have tentacle-like appendages all over its body, and we can\'t confirm whether it had a head or not as there was nothing to resemble such parts on its body."

"An [Unknown], huh... It\'s been a while since we have to use this term."

General Faustino murmured.

"In any case, we should also get ready."

General Faustino said.

"But General, you..."

Jones tried to stop the general. He might already have a wheelchair, but he was still not in perfect shape to command in the field.

"I know, but I can\'t just stay behind. We are going to encounter an [Unknown]. We don\'t know whether our methods to deal with the threats we know would work."

"Alright, General." Jones agreed with a sigh. "But I will always stay beside you."

"That is fine. But when things became dangerous, I will retreat safely and send you to battle."

Everyone readied for battle while the alarms made the non-combatants cower in fear.

They planned to intercept the threat outside the walls. Not only that the walls were still incomplete, but there was no way that a wall that did not even reach three meters would stop a four-meter tall creature.

Luckily, a wide area south of the settlement was already cleared of trees and other debris. It was a good place to intercept the danger.

Soon, the rest of the scouting squad arrived. There was no need to report the arrival of the monster as it was already in sight.

And everyone\'s reaction...

"Holy sh*t..."

It sure was a monster.