Mutagen

Three sides of Tsukuda faced the river and ruined Tokyo beyond due to its irregular triangular shape, with its southwest side connected to the Tsukushima Area.

This territory was mostly managed by the Chishishi-Dan, or Blood Lion Troupe, with a few smaller groups under their command.

Blood Lion Troupe was known to be a group with a high and mighty attitude. It was due to the fact that their members were highly powerful [Ability Holders]. Furthermore, they racked up quite an amount of reputation and merits by being on the frontlines of battles during the worst events of the apocalypse.

However, despite how powerful they were, the Blood Lion Troupe was quite a hated group by most refugees. It was due to the fact that while they were fearless to go in the front lines and face powerful [Infected], they see nothing but strength as a focus of a person\'s value.

The members of the Blood Lion Troupe treated themselves as Gods above men, while regular people were nothing but ants in their eyes. And within their territory, violence was prevalent. If one wanted to have a stable position within Tsukuda, one needed strength. And in that regard, if one had enough strength, they could have what they wanted as long as they followed the orders of the Blood Lion Troupe.

This kind of ruling was quite problematic. However, the current government left them be, allowing them to do what they wanted in their territory. It was due to the fact that just their existence was a great help to fight off incoming dangers.

In fact, due to their survival of the fittest rule, many power-greedy people flocked to their group. This caused their group to only keep rising in terms of power, making Tsukuda one of the safest locations in the Reclaimed City, despite its uncanny location.

Of course, despite Tsukuda being safe, there were fewer people wanting to live in a jungle filled with beasts. Its residents were mostly [Ability Holders].

Unfortunately, despite being one of the stronger groups, the leader of the Blood Lion Troupe was still unsatisfied. He wanted more. If possible, he wanted all other powerful individuals in the Reclaimed City to be under his command. Of course, that was not possible. However, it did not mean that he could not get others.

The greedy leader of the Blood Lion Troupe went by the alias "Mane."

And now, inside his bedroom, the leader of the Blood Lion Troup was pretty annoyed as he read the paper in his hand. His annoyance was reasonable since the messenger urgently knocked on his door just a few minutes after midnight when he was in the middle of his sleep.

"Are you sure about this?"

Mane asked the messenger with a frown.

"It is as you read, Sir. The Black Lotus found some survivors, and they had what seemed to be a [Sylph] with them. They also had an [Ability Holder]. A girl around thirteen to fourteen years old."

"Three younger children, two women, and a man who is their leader. Nothing much notable about them aside from the older of the two women being a beauty and the man being the possible contractor..." Mane continued to read the report under the light of a lamp. "And the [Ability Holder\'s] power isn\'t known yet?"

"Yes." The messenger replied. "They were rescued late in the day. It seemed they would be examined and registered in the morning."

"Good," Mane smiled. "You\'re dismissed. But before you go, call Horn and Scythe."

"Yes, Sir."

The messenger retreated and left Mane\'s bedroom.

It was when a seductive female voice entered Mane\'s ears.

"Looks like you\'re in a good mood."

It was a gorgeous woman lying down naked on Mane\'s bed, with her body covered by the blanket.

"Asami," Mane snickered. "The birthday of that brat priestess is coming soon. I\'ve been thinking of what to give as a present that will gain us some favor. If we can get our hands on that [Sylph], there is no way that brat will be able to decline."

"But don\'t think that will be easy," The woman named Asami said as she sexily stretched her body as she had just woken up. "The owner handing over such a pet would be unlikely even if you try to buy it."

"Heh," Mane shook his head. "If they want to stay here for long, they better hand it over while I\'m still being nice."

***

From the leak of information to a few witnesses, the news of the Black Lotus Group rescuing some unique individuals spread to certain people. Some were nonchalant about it. There were others intrigued about it. Unfortunately, quite a few nefarious individuals were interested.

The existence of magical creatures was not new to those at the top, even before the apocalypse began. Of course, having these creatures in captivity was another thing, even today. As such, the existence of a magical creature accompanying a human was an interesting thing. It was due to the fact that, except for individuals of certain lineages, these creatures would stay away from humans and their habitats out of fear or hate.

And for this same reason, no magical creature could be seen in the Reclaimed City. A least not on the surface. There were probably some lurking around, disguised as humans. Of course, with the exception of magical creatures captured for entertainment.

In the first place, many creatures of Japanese folklore were utterly hostile to humans. This alone could make these creatures either stay away from the Reclaimed City or immediately start a bloody massacre as they arrive.

***

Day 318 - 7:21 AM - Black Lotus Compound, Kachidoki, Chuo City, Tokyo

Morning came, and Mark\'s group woke up pretty early. Sleeping up late in the morning was not really a good thing in places a person was unfamiliar with. It was the same for Mark\'s group. They woke up early because Mark and the rest felt pretty unfamiliar with the new surroundings.

Mark\'s group started to prepare as they woke up. It was because Mark was already told what they would need to do early today. They would go to the central area of the Reclaimed City to be examined and registered.

The examination was not for bites or the like. It was more of an interview to see what they were capable of doing, along with a few practical tests. It was a method for the higher-ups to distribute the workforce to the entire city. The strength of [Ability Holders] was also tested with this process.

After the examination, all results would be added to the registration process. Here, the person\'s dwelling, job allocations, and other important things in living in the Reclaimed City were designated based on the results of the examination.

With this information in hand, Mark already briefed the members of his group. The children would be fine since they would not be given such job allocations unless they volunteered to help their guardians. However, this also meant that Mark, Mei, and Spera could be sent to different jobs. These job allocations were compulsory, and that would not do.

Anyone could call it being overprotective, but Mark would not let Mei and the girls out of his sight in this unfamiliar place.

Fortunately, were some ways to be excused from the compulsory job allocations. One was to be a member of a group like the Black Lotus. It was a job in itself, after all. They also receive orders from above, which they had to fulfill.

Another way was to be what they called a [Freelancer]. It was a job akin to Hunters or Adventurers in fiction. They could take requests, rise in ranks, and receive rewards depending on the work they fulfilled. In fact, groups like Black Lotus were also considered [Freelancer Guilds].

When Mark heard it yesterday from Ren, he was quite looking forward to it. It was such a cliche-sounding system. However, the government and the military of the Reclaimed City had quite a number of things that needed to be done but forcing people to do it would not do. Through this system, they could issue the work as a request, and people would do it voluntarily for rewards and to rise in rank. It could keep the workforce going without sacrificing the trust and satisfaction of people toward the government and the military.

And during the registration, Mark, Mei, and Spera would register as [Freelancers]. In this process, they had to show a bit of what they could do.

TOK! TOK!

While preparing, a knock on the door was heard.

Although Mark was amidst coming Iola\'s hair, he had no choice but to leave her for a bit to open the door.

When Mark opened the door, the familiar man with a slightly muscular build stood outside.

"Good morning, Mark-san."

The man greeted Mark.

"Good morning," Of course, Mark replied back in turn. "You are the guy in the same truck as us yesterday, right?"

"You remembered. I\'m Yamamoto Tadashi. Just call me Tadashi," The man had a pleasant look on his face as he stepped to the side to introduce another person. "This is Amamiya Mako. She and I were tasked to tend to your group this morning."

The woman named Amamiya Mako nodded at Mark as a greeting. She seemed to be the serious silent type of person. Right now, she was pushing a cart containing the meal for Mark\'s group for breakfast.

And the food? It was rice gruel with oats and bits of corn. It was not surprising considering the current supply of the Black Lotus, which they still had to distribute to those refugees incapable of work that relied on their rations. It was already nice that aside from the rice gruel, each member of Mark\'s group had a boiled as a side dish.

"I\'m sorry, but we don\'t know what [Sylphs] would eat," Tadashi apologized since the breakfast did not include Amihan. "If you can tell us, we might be able to get some."

But to their surprise, Mark pointed at Amihan.

"Her kind only eats fruits, apparently. But there\'s no need. She\'s already eating."

Tadashi and Mako looked at Amihan, who sat inside the prepared basket with bedding. She was already eating some dried wild berries, which totally confused the two. After all, where did Mark\'s group get fruits in this place?

"She\'s a picky eater," Mark said as he took out a Tupperware container from his bag containing dried wild berries. "We had some preparation for her. She preferred fresh fruits, but there\'s nothing much we can do about it."

The two might have received orders from Ren. Nonetheless, they also held some interest in the magical creature they luckily came across. With Mark explaining things, they learned something new.

Mark began to distribute the breakfast to the girls. It was when Tadashi took the opportunity to speak.

"After breakfast, please prepare for the registration. We will escort you to the Central Office. Miss Ren will also come with us, along with a group of escorts."

"Did something happen?"

Mark asked, noticing the change in plans. Last night, it was supposed to be only Ren that would accompany them. Probably with another one or two members, but definitely not a group.

"Information about your [Sylph] somehow spread out," Tadashi explained without hesitation. "Our Miss plan on recruiting you. Or at least working with your group. With the information leak happening, we can expect other groups to have the same agenda."

"So, your miss wanted to gatekeep us from the other groups, is it?"

Mark asked.

"I would not deny it," Tadashi honestly replied. "We would not force anyone, no matter what situation. However, not all groups would have similar thoughts. Furthermore, the leak happened while your group was under our protection. We should at least take responsibility for your safety."

Mark shrugged as he listened. It was a reasonable action for the Black Lotus, but Tadashi also made quite a sales pitch here.

Well, Ren was not a bad person, so Mark would not deny cooperation with her. Joining the Black Lotus was another thing, though.