Mutagen

"Sir Husto, are we just going to leave?" A younger member of the group asked their leader. "That man just arrived here, and he\'s not giving us any respect."

Without a doubt, the man they encountered just now hit their pride. Being the rulers of the Northern Slums, most people here give them respect.

But to the young one\'s question, the leader shook his head and ruffled the young man\'s already messy hair.

"What respect do you want? Respect out of fear? Remember that we are a gang, but not that kind of gang, kiddo." The bulky-bodied leader, Husto, said. "Besides, we are not here to start a fight. And remember. Do not start a fight that you can\'t guarantee you will win. Unless you did not have any other choice left."

"For Sir Husto to say that, you mean we can\'t win against a single person?" Another member chimed in. "We got two [Mutators], and the rest are [Evolvers]. Even if their group managed to survive outside until now, I don\'t think they will be able to defeat us in a fig- OUCH!"

The young man did not manage to finish his words due to pain. His forehead got flicked by their group leader without him realizing it.

"Do not be stupid," Husto said, retracting his hand. "This is why you all are still wet behind your ears. None of you know what kind of dangerous situation you are in."

The members could not believe the words of their leader immediately. It was not a surprising reaction. Husto aside, the oldest within this group he was leading was only twenty-five, while the youngest was seventeen. They were in the age where getting in a higher position than expected would lead to arrogance and pride. Being a member of a gang ruling an entire area of the slums was such a position.

Knowing what was in the minds of these youngsters, Husto continued.

"You all lacked experience, so none of you felt it. But the man we just met had more blood in his hands than all of you combined. Probably even me included."

"Well, he must have killed a lot of [Infected] outside."

One of the youngsters chimed in, causing Husto to look at him with a slight shake of his head.

"I\'m not talking about the [Infected]. What I meant. That man killed people. Living people." Husto said with a deep voice. "It will be hard for you youngsters to fight someone who had more experience in killing people."

Those words from their group leader made the youngsters shiver.

"If that\'s the case, isn\'t it dangerous to just let that guy stay here? Also, isn\'t the members of his group women and children? Did he threaten them to stick with him as playthings?"

The youngest one spoke.

"Then what do you want to do? Drive him away? For what? Because of something you thought?" Husto asked. "I did say that he had blood in his hands, but we had no clue whether those people he killed are innocent or not. The world now is to kill or be killed. While what you have in mind could possibly be true, it could also be possible that those women and children are his family members. And outside, even here, women are being targeted by immoral people. In that case, someone like him would have no choice but to kill if he wanted to protect them."

Being reprimanded, the youngest one shut his mouth. It was the same for the others, thinking of the things that Husto said.

"In any case, you youngsters should learn more," Husto said after the silence ensued. "Do not come to conclusions when you know nothing. It is the same when underestimating the people in front of you."

And with those words, Husto\'s group made their rounds on the eastern side of the northern slums. It was not only their group who were patrolling the northern slums. The seven of them were just one of the groups under the White Snake Gang.

When they passed by the gates of the slums, Husto could not help but glance at the soldiers guarding the entrance. Their lax attitude made the bulky man shake his head.

"Those soldiers are good for nothing," The youngest of the group whispered. "What they are doing can\'t even be called guarding."

"The quality of soldiers degraded since I was in the army," Husto said. "Back then, just getting caught yawning on lookout duty can get you some punishment. But these people, they were even playing cards on duty."

Husto\'s group completed their rounds and went back to their base. Nonetheless, his eyes were still glued to the uniform of the soldiers they passed by on the way.

After all, Husto was once a dedicated soldier. Even the first in his batch of cadets in the academy. Unfortunately, his soldier career was cut short after a bullet hit his shoulder during the conflict with the terrorists on the island of Sulu in Mindanao. The bullet left a permanent injury that he was still suffering from even now.

Nonetheless, Husto\'s career as a soldier might have ended early, but he was still a soldier at heart, protecting the citizens as much as he could.

***

"They left easily?"

Spera asked Mark as he entered the shack after the members of the White Snake Gang left.

"The leader of the group did not seem to want to cause conflict," Mark said as he sat down on the floor. "For a gang, these guys seem to be decent."

"A decent gang... They\'re oddballs."

Feng Zhiruo chimed in.

"Seems like you have a bad experience with gangs."

Mei noticed the ire in Feng Zhiruo\'s tone with the word "gang".

"In the world of Jianghu, Cultivation and Chinese Mysticism, the word gang is deeply associated with criminals, bandits, and practitioners of the dark path." Feng Zhiruo explained. "They cause a lot of troubles and kill without remorse. My parents were also killed by a gang when they attacked our village. It was way before I entered the sect."

"Huh?" Mark was a bit confused. "The Chinese Government don\'t take action about those things?"

And there, Feng Zhiruo shook her head.

​ "If it is just a regular gang of mortals, the Chinese Government might get involved." Feng Zhiruo replied. "Unfortunately, there is an agreement between the government and Jianghu where the government could not meddle with those things unless things went out of control. Our village was just a small one at the foot of a desolate mountain. Because of that, it was easy to cover up what happened did not reach even a single person in the mortal community."

Sure enough, it was a surprising circumstance. After all, while Mark and Mei were nowhere regular people before the outbreak, the scope of their knowledge was only on the surface. Now, they were beginning to see the hidden side of the governments they knew nothing about in the past.

In fact, even the Philippine Government had a dark side. The current state of this settlement was the proof of that.

"Well, are you going to the gates later?"

Spera asked Mark. After all, everyone inside the shack heard the conversation between Mark and the leader of that group.

"I\'m going to gather information later, so I might as well check it," Mark replied. "I\'m also kind of interested why he told me to go there."

***

Time passed with those small conversations. Night finally came and it was time for Mark to start his investigation. Mark planned to go a bit earlier, but with the sudden visit of Val Flora and the delayed one with the gang members, he ended up deciding to leave at nightfall.

"Alright, I\'m leaving," Mark said to everyone. "You guys can sleep since the three golems are already out."

The three golems were not living creatures. They could be stored within Mark and Mei\'s rings. As such, the three were inside the rings when the group entered the slums. After all, Brinhildr could not be disguised since her maid\'s clothing was built with her body. The two animal golems would also spark some trouble if they entered with the group. Now, however, the three could be sent out to guard for the night.

However...

"Who can sleep now?" Spera said. "We are unfamiliar with the place. Who would be able to sleep peacefully?"

"Well, you don\'t have to sleep, but at least get some rest."

Mark replied.

"Gege, take care."

Mei said, followed by the goodbyes of the little girls.

Feng Zhiruo did not say anything and just gave Mark an assuring nod.

With that, Mark went out. However, no one saw him at all as his body turned into a surge of black mist that blended into the darkness of the night.

The surge of black mist flew up to the sky. The moment that Mark appeared, his wings opened, as he engraved the view below into his mind.

Mark\'s group had seen the settlement far from the sky while inside [The Mini Cube]. However, seeing it up close was still different. Right now, Mark could see more of the settlement\'s appearance. And to say, the scene in the slums and the one inside the walls was vastly different.

The inside of the walls was rather bright. Whether it be the streets or the rooms of the buildings, there were lights installed. The presence of electricity was not surprising considering the solar panels on the roof of the buildings and some towers with wind turbines. However, the insides of the walls seemed to be gloomy. There was almost no one in the streets. Maybe, because it was rather safe within the walls, everyone could get a proper sleep schedule.

In contrast to the city within the walls, the slums were livelier despite the lacking illumination. The only place riddled with lighting was the street from the gates of the slums to the gate of the fortress walls. It was also the place bustling with activity despite the time of the day.

Mark could not help but notice the groups of people entering the gates. However, they were not new survivors, but groups of people from the slums and, definitely, from inside the fortress walls.

It was not hard to differentiate between the two kinds of people. The groups from the slums had ragged clothing and makeshift weapons. The other had rather good equipment overall. Furthermore, those groups that live inside the walls were [Mutators] and [Evolvers]. There were also [Mutators] and [Evolvers] within the groups from the slums. However, their numbers were far fewer.

But why were they outside?

The reason was clear. It was either to hunt or scavenge. And since staying outside during the night was far dangerous than the day, they were all returning.

Most of the groups had carts filled with what seemed to be scrap materials. Some had carcasses of [Evolved Animals] they managed to hunt.

Their goals outside might be different. However, it seemed that their destination as they returned was the same.

Mark flew, hiding within the shadows of the clouds. There, he saw the destination of the groups.

Just outside the northern gates of the fortress city, there was a structure managed by the military. By the looks of it, the people from the slums were selling scrap materials for food. It was a good system since those scrap materials could be recycled for military use. At the same time, it urged the refugees to work and fill their stomachs.

Of course, it was not all good things.

The attention of people returning from outside was taken by a group that just returned. All of them seemed to be injured with their clothes bloodied. And from what Mark could feel from that group\'s emotional fluctuations, they were devastated and mourning.

It was very likely that a member of their group died today. It was not surprising but still painful for the victims. Not to mention that the group did not seem to have anything to bring home.

Not only that they lost someone and were riddled with injuries. They would be sleeping with empty stomachs tonight.

Leaving the gates of the slums, Mark flew around to find what could possibly be the reason that the leader of that group invited him into.

And it was not hard to find it. In fact, even if Mark was not looking for it, he would see it.

Seeing the scene, Mark could not help but feel surprised. He wanted to watch it closely and flew down as a surge of mist into a dark alley.