259 Recruitment, The Mystery as to Why Mark Chose to Recruit the Poor Edzel (1/2)
Day 41 – 1:15 AM – Salvador Mansion, Inner District, East Port Settlement, Baranagay Dinahican, Infanta, Quezon
”Annica! Are you fine?!”
The current head of the Salavador Family, Darren Bryce Salvador rushed into through the door of his daughter. A sudden report came in so he was at the first floor of the mansion even though it was this late. Due to that, he needed to rush up to the third floor and had just arrived after the guards, his wife and his two sons were already inside the room of his daughter.
Darren was a rather fit looking man who was already in his late forties. Like other rich businessmen, he inherited their family business from his parents but also different from them, he was born even before their business family started. In a simple description, he was a successful business man of humble birth. Because of his background, he did not look down on the weak and the poor.
Still, while he was a serious and stern man outside their home, he was a strict, loving and protective husband and father to his family. The news of his daughter's room being infiltrated made his heart pound fiercely. He even left the office and his reporting subordinates without hearing the whole report.
”Dear, don't shout.” Maitea, Darren's wife who was a kind looking woman in her mid-forties reprimanded Darren for shouting as he entered the room. ”Your daughter is fine. Nothing happened to her, see?”
Darren looked at his daughter, Annica, who was sitting on her bed surrounded by his wife and two sons. He then scanned the room and saw the guards that responded first who were checking the animals that was not moving around the room.
”Annica, what happened here? You're really not hurt? Are your pets dead?”
Darren approached his daughter's bed and caressed her heard gently as he asked. Annica then shook her head.
”Dad, I'm fine. The person that entered my room did not do anything to me. My pets are also not dead, I think they fainted.”
”Thank goodness. Why would someone infiltrate your room if that person did not come for you?”
”Dad.” The eldest son, Raybert spoke. ”That person took the slimes we bought from the traders that came from Death Valley.”
”What? Why would someone… Wait…”
Darren stopped talking and tapped his chin while thinking.
”Did you realize something, Dad?”
The second son, Riley, asked.
”The reason I was late was because two personnel we had in the Outer District gave two different reports. First was they saw Miss Karlene Bautista and Miss Alana Garces enter the settlement with a man that was suspected to be the person in the rumors that came from Military.”
”Dad! Is he the man that fought with the horde and had a dragon as pet?”
Annica suddenly moved closer to her father with eyes filled with anticipation.
”Dear, what does that man in the rumors had to do with this? Is her perhaps the man that stole our daughter's pets?”
”It is very likely. Remember the family in the Outer District that was also keeping a slime as a pet?” Darren asked which made the others nod. ”Although it was not confirmed fully, it seemed that the same man came to take the slime from that family.”
”Did he also steal it?”
Maitea asked.
”It doesn't seem so. It seemed like the family gave it willingly and the man dealt with the harassers that had been pestering that family for a while now.”
”Since Dad know who entered Annica's room, should we go after and catch him?”
Raybert suggested. Unexpectedly…
”No! Don't!”
Annica shouted in protest.
”Why? I think the rumors are just fabricated lies. I don't believe that with our forces, we can't subdue that guy. We can't just let him go after entering your room.”
Raybert insisted with a stern voice.
However, the father did not consider Raybert's idea and looked at Annica who was panicking at her eldest brother's suggestion.
”Annica, what did you see?”
Darren asked in a stern voice.
Annica looked at her father and spoke.
”We can't win. He's the strongest Mutator I saw. Also, aside from the same energy from Mutators he have, he also have several energies in his body that I saw for the first time. All those energies are circulating peacefully in his body that it looked beautiful.”
Elise Annica Salvador, the fourteen year old young lady of the Salvador Family. Her ability as a Mutator was to be able to see the energies circulating inside the bodies of the person or animal she was looking at. However, she also had another ability as a Psychic and it was to form mental links with animals that recognized her as their owner or master.
”Then, we'll just let this go?”
Riley asked making everyone silent aside from Annica.
”Dad, I want to see that person.” She requested earnestly. ”If he let me see the dragon, I will give him the slimes since I really can't tame them no matter what I do. Also I haven't seen big sister Karlene and big sister Alana for several weeks already. I want to meet them.”
***
Day 41 – 1:20 AM – Sabang River, Baranagay Dinahican, Infanta, Quezon
Mark sat beside the river inside a forest quite a distance away outside the settlement.
After fleeing the Salvador Mansion, Mark went straight to this place for two reasons. One was to fetch water before returning and another was to create a temporary container for the five [BloodChildren] he had just retrieved and put them inside his bag.
He searched for an animal nearby and found a feral evolved dog easily after he let the smell of his blood scatter around the area. The poor dog became materials for the container of the little critters and a rather large gallon for the water he came to fetch.
After he had just finished the containers and was about to start making the gallon, he heard noises not far from him. Obviously, it was a person. Who would come to a dangerous forest in the middle of the night? Of course, it was either people who had no choice to traverse the forest or those people who had a deathwish.
Unexpectedly, it was actually the latter. Furthermore, Mark knew who it was.
He stealthily approached the area where the noise was coming from and saw the person. It was Edzel who currently punching a tree like a character from a blocky game. Unfortunately, the atmosphere around him was not light and his face was filled with remorse. Furthermore, he was glancing at the river nearby from time to time as if thinking of something and hesitating at the same time.
Mark felt what he was thinking though.