225 Lingering Threat, The Incoming Ambush in the Darkness of the Nigh (1/2)

Day 35 – 5:23 PM – Barangay Poblacion I, Real, Quezon

Just the information Mark got about the settlements gave him a lot of things to think of. It was really good that he took the initiative to gather information first when he could before actually trying to find the settlement in the east. If he did not know that there were three, it would not be surprising if he ended up in that criminal district. Although he was not worried about getting in harm's way, it was better if he was prepared.

The next thing he asked was how trading goes in the military settlement. Fortunately, it was the same as how it worked in Bay City. Money had been replaced with coupons for payment for labor and employment. For private groups however like these four people, they could enlist themselves for assignments and directly receive their wanted supplies with value equivalent to the payment they should have received. The military also posts what they wanted in the trading area like electronic parts, medicine and other miscellaneous goods and receive either coupons or directly trade the goods for items they needed as long as the item was available for trade.

After getting the answer for his previous questions, Mark wanted to ask a few more but there were more pressing matters than asking for information. The sun was about to set and they needed to prepare for the night. They also needed to eat dinner.

”Did you bring food with you?”

Mark asked the two who were tending to their unconscious friends.

Unexpectedly, both of them could only wear bitter and shameful smiles on their faces as they lowered their heads.

”We didn't really expect that we will spend the night outside the settlement. Each of us only brought a sandwich and a bottle of water for each of us. We only planned to snack on these before we return to the settlement.”

Hearing that, Mark nodded. It seemed that the lives of people that relied on military settlements had it better than those who were not. Even though he had not really encountered one, for sure, the survivors relying on themselves probably did not even have water to drink, yet, this group even had the guts for a snack.

Still, it seemed that his question was misinterpreted. After all, he was alone even if the sylph on his shoulder was counted, as a human, he was still alone. His question about food made the two think that Mark was asking for some as they were worriedly staring at him.

”Seriously, don't stare at me like that. I'm just asking if you have yours since I have mine. I'm not begging for food.”

Hearing that, the two was able to sigh in relief. A single sandwich was not enough for them to eat for dinner. If Mark really asked for some, they would not be able to disagree and they would have less food to eat.

”Okay, I'll take the vial first, and then you can rest and eat your food if you two want. I will ask more questions later after I eat outside.”

Mark said.

Karlene immediately took out one of the vials and handed it to Mark despite the pained expression on the face of Joash.

Mark then left the two by themselves. The two of them still needed to take care of their unconscious friends. He walked around the house especially the kitchen area. The house was a two story one with the main rooms had been made of concrete. The outer areas and furniture however were all made of wood. Looking at the appliances, there was no refrigerator even though there was a broken television in the living room. There were no power outlets on the walls indicating that the house had no electricity even before the outbreak. He also remembered seeing a pair of crocodile clips near the television but he did not see a car battery which should be the power source they used to power the television.

The house seemed to have been looted of almost everything. The ones left at the house were things less or unnecessary for survival. It was quite unexpected but Mark found a half jar of brown sugar which was spilled on the sink. The surface of the sugar was moldy for being left open for too long but the granules beneath was still fine to use. It was fortunate that Mutagen and already killed or turned ants into bigger ones or else, this jar of sugar had long been gone. He also found salt, half bottle of cooking oil and packets of umami seasonings that were left untouched inside a cabinet.

There were blood stains at different parts of the house which meant that the people that lived here before did not receive a good ending. The perpetrator should be an evolved animal considering the claw marks on the walls and bite marks on the dirty clothing left on the floor. The blood stains on the floor stretched out of the doors which meant that the dead bodies were dragged out somewhere before they were eaten.

The seasonings he found were already enough for him to be able to cook a good meal for dinner. Some Sugar Roasted Sweet Potato would be fine right? After all, he found a really big one earlier. As for the utensils, he made his rather than using the rusty and dusty ones in the house that would require some hard labor and a large amount of water to clean. In that case, a frying pan made of his fresh blood was way cleaner.Find authorized novels in Webnovel，faster updates, better experience，Please click for visiting.

It was one of the benefits he got after mutating his blood. He could flush out any impurities in it which meant that if the virus, bacteria or even poison had to enter his blood stream, he could eliminate the threat. Due to that, he could expect that he would not get ill easily.

After preparing, the sounds of knife cutting and sizzling cooking oil could be heard outside the house. Soon, the natural aroma of fried roasted sugar and sweet potato enveloped the area which even made Karlene and Joash inside the house gulp their saliva. Mark said that he would eat outside but he never said that he would cook and that took the two by surprise.