Mutagen

More than a month ago, even before the catastrophes that changed everything happened, things in Codon already went downhill.

Lieutenant General Alfonso Padilla, the leader of Codon Military Settlement, was assassinated by an unknown assailant. As several important people were reported to vanish on the same day General Padilla was killed, they became the prime suspects of the crime.

However, whoever killed the General did not matter afterward. With the leader gone, all those vying for his position began the contest for control over the settlement.

As soon as the contest began, everything in the settlement was thrown into disarray, and the matters of the Genera\'s death became the least of everyone\'s concerns. Well, for the regular people, in the least. The General\'s loyal supporters tried to uphold his ideals and kept going against those that tried to usurp control to the best of their capabilities.

Unfortunately, the arrival of the members of the main Marcos family tilted the tide of the contention of leadership to the favor of the Political Faction.

Soon, the conflict turned from debates into a full-blown gunfight. However, who started it was not the Political Faction but the faction of the Philippine Marines.

In the first place, two forces of soldiers existed in the settlement, divided by the factions between the Philippine Army and the Philippine Marines. General Padilla was a General from the army and was the leader of the Codon Military Settlement. It was no secret that the General of the Marines, Major General Antonino Seguerra, vied that position.

Now that General Padilla was assassinated, the position of the settlement\'s leader was supposed to be handed to him as the next highest military official in the settlement. But with the Political Faction messing things up, he became more and more impatient.

Thus, General Seguerra could not wait any longer and decided to use force to gain the position he deserved.

Unfortunately, that was the worst decision that General Seguerra could have made in his entire life.

The Political Faction was not just composed of people with no combat capabilities. The politicians might be weak in this regard, but they had money and connections in the past that allowed them to command strong people that followed them even today. And a lot of these people were experienced in things as opposed to the military\'s purpose for existing.

Most of all, the Marcos family that arrived had the most powerful private army in the settlement with them.

The Political Faction was not a peaceful one. However, they were a scheming group. They would not show their cards as easily as the military.

They were aiming for the right chance.

With General Seguerra raising arms to take the leadership of the settlement, the Political Faction followed suit. However, the Political Faction\'s actions were made under the guise of restoring peace against the Marines Faction, which started the violence.

As such, the Political Faction managed to buy the support of the blind populace.

In a few days, the Political Faction overturned the control of the Codon Militar Settlement into their hands, with General Seguerra also dying in the conflict.

The Philippine Army Faction, which was left without a legitimate leader, crumbled during the conflict.

After the Political Faction took over, their private armies took the position of the soldiers as the protectors of the settlement. As for the remaining soldiers of the military, they were asked to choose between turning over to the Political Faction or leaving the settlement on their own.

The loyal followers of General Padilla gathered their families and left. It was a dangerous choice. However, staying was far more dangerous for them. They took their families towards the north, aiming to try to join the Neutral Faction of the rebels.

It was the same for those loyal to General Seguerra. They left the settlement. However, they went a different route from what the remaining members of the Philippine Army took. They went south, intending to reunite with the military forces stationed there.

Just a few days. Everything happened in a few days, and the ruling within the Codon Settlement was passed to someone else.

And then, the catastrophe occurred.

Everything in the settlement crumbled, from structures to the lives of the people.

***

Mark stood in front of a ragged old man as he listened to the story. He was currently standing within Codon Settlement, or at least, what was left of it.

It was the second day after they departed from the Valley Settlement in Cebu. They spent one day on the journey towards this place, while another half trying to ascertain the situation on the island of Catanduanes.

It was when they saw the current state of Codon.

The old settlement was gone, only leaving traces of where houses were supposedly built in the past. The remains of the settlement were walled. However, the walls the settlement had were ragged, and the wood was improperly prepared.

And the living conditions were worse than the state of the walls. Many people were starving, and the remaining people of the Political Faction could not care less about them.

Mark\'s group was confused as to what happened to this place. Back then, while there were conflicts, it was a bustling place.

It was different now. It became a desolate area to stay in for those without the courage to venture outside.

Unfortunately, it was hard to tell what happened without entering Codon. Thus, Mark decided to infiltrate the place on his own.

Mark entered Codon Settlement without entering the gates. He then began to gather information as to what happened. Fortunately, it was not hard to get what he wanted. Mark just needed to find a random citizen in the settlement and take out a small can of sardines. They would not care who Mark was or where he came from as long as they could have something to fill their empty stomach.

Thus, Mark found this old man in front of him now. It was easier to get information from someone who actually cared about their surroundings. Old people, to be exact. Besides, this old man would very likely give as much information as he could since he had his also starving grandson lying beside him, still asleep.

From what Mark heard, he immediately understood what happened. The reason why this settlement was badly reduced to ruins during the fall of the space debris and the [Fusion of Dimensions].

Mark remembered what Fourth told him and Mei during that time. The strength of the barrier was based on the unity of the people it was protecting. The more united those people were, the stronger the barrier and the less affected those inside it would be.

Codon Settlement that had just undergone a change of rule would have no chance to withstand that catastrophe.

"How many people managed to survive back then?"

Mark asked the old man.

"I don\'t really know," The old man replied, almost tearing up. "I was also delirious at that time. My son and his wife also died back then, and I was left with my grandchild without knowing what to do. At that time, I had no chance to pay attention to anything else than to gather anything left of our possessions and find a way to bury my son and his wife."

Mark stared at the old man with a sigh. It was understandable that the old man could recall everything before the catastrophe and everything else afterward was blurry.

The old man lost two of his three remaining family members while everything else around them was destroyed. It was also possible that he and his grandchild were injured at that time, seeing that he and the child actually had new similar-looking scars on their bodies. They probably got buried inside their home due to the earthquake.

If it was the other people in the same situation as this old man, they could have gone insane already.

This old man was strong in his own way.

"Alright, it\'s enough, I guess."

Mark said, deciding to end the conversation here.

"Sir, are you really giving me food for answering your questions?"

The old man asked Mark.

"Don\'t worry, I don\'t go against my words."

Mark replied as he removed his backpack and lowered it to the ground. He then opened it and began taking items out of it.

Then, under the shocked eyes of the old man, Mark took out six large cans of sardines, four packs of imported chocolate, a large gallon of mineral water, a small pack of meat jerky, three packs of sweet candies, and two jars of peanut butter.

The old man stared in shock, seeing all the things Mark took out. When he agreed to answer Mark\'s questions in exchange for food, he expected at least a small packet of crackers. He never expected this much.

And most of all, how in the world did all this stuff fit inside this man\'s barely filled backpack?

In the end, Mark took a folded sack out of his bag and handed it to the old man.

"Can you store this stuff yourself?" Mark said. "I\'m pretty sure you don\'t want others to see these."

When Mark said that, the old man snapped back to reality and looked around. Fortunately, they were in a secluded area at the corner of the settlement. It was not the safest place to be, but there were fewer people bothering them.

"S-sir... Are you really giving all this to us?"

The old man asked Mark, still unable to believe what he was seeing.

"Just think of it as a bonus for answering my questions truthfully."

Mark replied with a smile.

"Thank you! Thank you!"

The old man finally cried as he slowly gathered the stuff Mark gave into the sack.

Due to the old man\'s cry of gratitude, his grandson was woken up.

"Grandpa, why are you crying?"

The kid asked his grandfather while rubbing his sleepy eyes. Then, the child\'s eyes widened as he saw the food that his grandfather was trying to put into the sack.

"Fo-!!!"

The child almost yelled, but the old man managed to cover the kid\'s mouth in time.

"Shhh..." The old man hushed the kid. "Help me put these into the sack. "

The kid understood why his grandfather stopped him and hurriedly helped store the items into the sack. But the kid was confused.

"Grandpa, where did the food come from?"

The kid asked.

"Why are you asking?" It was the old man\'s turn to be confused. "It was given to us by this kind s-..."

The old man did not finish his sentence. He looked up only to see no one in front of him.

Surprised, the old man immediately looked around. However, he saw no one. If not for the fact that he had the items given to him just now, he would think that it was a hallucination due to hunger. But no. There was definitely a man here just now, and he gave this food and water in exchange for some information that any people around could give.

The old man wiped his tears and began praying inside his mind. He was thankful for the charity given to them, no matter who was the man who gave it. Whether it was an angel or a devil, the old man was grateful.

***

Mark left the old man and the kid on their own. He already got most information he needed and paid for it. The only thing left to know was the current state of this place.

As Mark walked away from where the old man was, he soon stopped.

Mark was surrounded.

"What do you people want?"

Mark nonchalantly said, without a shred of emotion, while glancing at the five men that surrounded him.

"We saw you giving food to that old man," One of the men said as he raised his knife. "Give us everything you have! Or else!"

"Or else, what?"

Mark shrugged.

"Don\'t try to say anything!" Another one of the men argued with the first one. "Just kill him! We will get everything he had after that!"

"I see," Mark sighed. "Kill me, huh? Like this?"

As Mark said that, the man that yelled to just kill Mark froze with his eyes opened wide. In front of the other four men\'s shocked eyes, the head of that man slid off from his neck. With a thud, the headless body fell to the ground with the bloody head rolling somewhere else.

The remaining four men were horrified. They knew they offended someone they should not have. And thus, the first thing they had in mind was to run.

However, their feet would just not move.

"Unfortunately, I can\'t really leave any witnesses. I can\'t have anyone stealing the things I gave to that old man, you guys see?"

Mark said with his eyes glowing bright red.

The four men began yelling for help, trying to get anyone\'s attention to the place. For some reason, begging for their lives was not something they thought of doing. Maybe, they already knew that begging would be useless.

Unfortunately for these men, no one would be able to hear them. All sounds were already blocked from coming out ever since Mark left the old man.

The death cries of the four men were left unheard as the five notorious thieves vanished that morning without leaving a trace.