Mutagen

Five days went and passed by without much commotion. The residents of the Muria Sacred Fortress continued on with their daily lives.

From time to time, pieces of news and information would circulate among the residents.

Four days ago, the 92nd Satelite Settlement suffered an attack from a horde of [Mutated Infected]. A [Hybrid Tank Type] led the horde, causing a breach through their defenses and a few deaths among combatants and civilians. The government sent construction supplies to reconstruct the destroyed gate and walls as fast as possible.

Three days ago, the main forces of the 47th Satelite Settlement returned after their ten-day expedition. They lost a fourth of their forces but returned with a warehouse full of supplies, both food and necessities one could not acquire anymore during the apocalypse. Cheap soap and shampoo before the apocalypse became luxuries that only the rich and influential could afford currently. And now, the public market outside the upper district had become flooded with such products.

Two days ago, the expedition of the forces of the 21st Satelite Settlement ended in failure. More than half of the combatants who participated did not return, and those who did came back with grave injuries. While it did not cripple the combat capabilities of the group entirely, it was still a big loss for them. Apparently, a horde of highly mutated [Infected] ambushed the expedition before they could even reach their destination. The leader of the horde even showed signs of intelligence. This situation resulted in the military planning to mobilize. If there was something that should not be left alone, it was those [Infected] with intelligence. 

Yesterday, the scouting troops from the military returned after two weeks of reconnaissance. Most of the information they brought back did not circulate much due to being classified military information. However, the military did announce some information.

This reconnaissance party scouted the perimeter of the abandoned capital, Jakarta. According to the reports, there was a significant increase in [Infected] activity in the city. This report also caused the military to reconsider its previous plans. While there were no concrete plans yet, the military should announce something soon in regard to the current [Infected] activity in Jakarta.

Today, a new piece of information spread out. It was the 39th Satelite Settlement setting off on a new expedition.

The 39th Satelite Settlement was not "prosperous" compared to most of the other Satelite Settlements. In fact, it was on the poorer side and among the smaller settlements. Similar to other settlements with the same level of status, the 39th Satelite Settlement should not be making quakes that would affect others. However, despite the small settlement size and having a combat force consisting of only a hundred and twenty-three people, the 39th Satelite Settlement was one of the well-known settlements in the Muria Sacred Fortress.

It was due to their group being the original inhabitants of Mount Muria before the military and the government took over. It was not wrong to say that they were in a hostile relationship with the current management of the Muria Sacred Fortress.

Furthermore, despite their small number, no one would belittle the group called Moon Chasers. Their combat prowess was no less than the largest survivor group. Luna and Bajing alone were equal to the combat force of fifty regular [Mutators] in terms of strength and abilities. That was why many Satelite Settlements were wary of them instead. Worse, there were those who wanted to whittle the current strength of the Moon Chasers.

Due to the circumstances surrounding the 39th Satelite Settlement and the Moon Chasers, many forces had their eyes on them.

And now, around half of the Moon Chasers embarked on another dangerous journey.

In this journey, some heinous people waited for the opportunity.

But unknown to all these people, a world-changing tide was about to arrive in their country.

It was a tide that would push the Moon Chasers forward.

***

Day 356 - 1:01 PM - Makassar Strait, Indonesia

The Makassar Strait. It was the body of water connecting the Celebes Sea and the Java Sea while also separating the islands of Kalimantan and Sulawesi.

As the land mass increased after the [Fusion of Dimensions], the Makassar Strait became narrower than before. However, it was still a large body of water, having a minimum width of around hundred and fifty kilometers.

The apocalypse left the airspace of the strait empty, with the occasional birds flying from one island to another. But there was a difference at this moment.

It was because of a large cube flying through the sky.

The Evernight group was already in the midst of their new journey. Their destination was the island of Java.

At this moment, the [Mini Cube] flew, following the Makassar Straight. It would have been faster if they flew in a straight line from Cebu to their destination, flying over Borneo in the process. However, saying that it would be faster could be wrong. While it would not be consistent, that route would expose the [Mini Cube] to attacks from various kinds of enemies. And while Mark had a general idea of what kinds of mutations appeared in Indonesia, it was still better to be cautious.

After all, flora had something extremely dangerous that even Mark had to be wary of. It was poison.

There were a lot of [Mutated Infected] who gained poison-type abilities. Many plants had that natural characteristics. If those plants mutated, they would be undoubtedly dangerous.

Mark could purge poison from his body since he could control his own blood. However, the members of his group could not. It was better not to expose them to such kinds of attacks.

Thus, Mark decided to follow a safer route. And, while observing the places they passed by, he knew it was the correct decision.

"Those trees are like skyscrapers."

Mark commented while looking at the absurd jungle landscape of Borneo.

Chiyo, the Night Everred Pure Spirit Tree, was surely a large tree. Its branches encompassed the majority of the area of the Mountain Base, and it could be seen clearly from the foot of the mountain.

However, Chiyo was nothing compared to the sizes of the trees Mark was currently looking at. It was a forest of gigantic trees larger and taller than Chiyo. Calling it Green Hell was definitely not exaggerated.

Mark picked up a pair of binoculars. He noticed something moving on the branches of one of the trees. Then, Mark frowned. What he saw was something similar to a cabbage looper. And it was probably the same size as the anaconda in the movies. It wriggled its body as it traversed the gigantic branches of the enormous trees.

That cabbage looper was just a larva. Just how large would its adult moth form be?

"What are you looking at?"

Mei asked Mark after seeing him frown.

"You probably don\'t want to know."

Mark replied as he relaxed his back and laid down straight on Mei\'s lap.

The couple sat on the roof of the [Mini Cube]. It was so they could easily thwart any danger they could possibly come across. However, the current weather was also so good that they could relax when there were no enemies in sight.

Mei replied with a smile. She realized he likely saw something he thought would be too disgusting for her to see. While it might not be something that Mei would find disgusting, there was no harm in it.

Mark closed his eyes. He monitored everyone inside the floating vessel.

Chimetrice and Ilia were doing their job, piloting the [Mini Cube]. 

Amihan, Iola, Abbygale, Miracle, and Amihan were playing a board game. They had been at it since lunch. It was good they had something to pass the time with since it was a long journey, even with the [Mini Cube]. 

Spera seemed to be asleep. The lunch was to her taste, so she ate quite a lot and ended up like this.

These members were also the ones with Mark in Japan, with the exception of Ilia and Chimetrice, who were only here to pilot the floating vessel. Once they reach the destination, the two would return to the Mountain Base using Spera\'s portal.

But different from last time, there were two additional members this time.

First was Annica. She was the daughter of the leader of the now-destroyed East Port Settlement in Quezon. After her family joined Mark\'s base, she was in charge of animals in the base due to her innate abilities, both as a [Psychic] and a [Mutator]. Considering the current state of Indonesia, Mark expected her abilities to be of great use against giant insects and evolved animals.

The other new members were Hannah and Feng Zhiruo.

Hannah, Odelina\'s niece whom Mark rescued in New Jersey, was tasked by her aunt to join Mark\'s group this time. It was for her to gain both combat experience and experience as a servant.

On the other hand, Feng Zhiruo, the [Chinese Cultivator] Mark brought back during the events in New Jersey, wanted to do some field training. Apparently, she achieved a breakthrough with her cultivation, reaching the late stage of human-level cultivation. In this journey, she wanted to consolidate her foundations before trying to proceed to the next level. She sure bumped up her cultivation ever since she became part of the Mountain Base.

With this crew, Mark expected a nicer but challenging adventure in Indonesia.

But what was Mark\'s exact goal aside from helping Thirteenth\'s other candidate? After all, there should be no advantages for him aside from increasing his friendship level with Thirteenth.

Mark actually had some things in mind. Although he already knew how the [Eyes] chose their candidates, Mark was sure there was something they did not mention.

For example, both Mark and the Priestess, Ise Hikaru, had a connection with the Gods of the Lost Era. For Mark, it was the Unnamed Evil God, while Hikaru had a connection with Amaterasu. What if this was the hidden condition? It might be possible that the candidate in Indonesia also had a connection with another God.

If Mark was correct, he expected an interesting encounter in this event.

Aside from confirming his suspicions, Mark also had other motives.

One of those motives was to collect materials for his future projects. Mark actually acquired some interesting things in Japan. Some were new materials from the [Infected]. There was also the core of Gar\'Vlam and, of course, the initial blueprint of the [Vanguard Armors].

If Mark could get similar rewards in Indonesia, traveling here would be worth it.

"Gege."

Mei called Mark, causing him to open his eyes. He then looked at where Mei was pointing and saw something strange.

People on the ground could not see more than three miles into the horizon. That distance would vary depending on the observer\'s elevation and the height of the object on the horizon. That was why people on the ground could still see skyscrapers past the three-mile distance.

And since the [Mini Cube] was flying in the sky, Mark and Mei could see farther.

Mark realized they already exited the Makassar Strait. And towards the west, they would find their destination, Jakarta.

However, in the same direction, Mark and Mei could see something blurry on the horizon.

It was far. Too far that its image was too blurry. However, despite the distance, the two could see it.

Mark squinted. He was sure it was a tree.

However, it was far larger than any tree they had seen until now.

Looking at that scene, Mark wondered if it was some kind of mirage while they traveled along the sea.

However, as the [Mini Cube] flew closer to their destination, the image they could see on the horizon became clearer.

The giant tree was no illusion.

It was a tree with a trunk wider than a city and tall enough for the leaves on top to reach the lowest clouds.