418 The Fate of the World, As Destiny Dictated and Her Vision Foretold (1/2)

Day 71 - 6:17 PM - Mountain Base, Mount Malabito, General Nakar, Quezon

Horror, that was what the remaining slaves felt as they saw Mark behead the corpses of Mutators in front of them. Putting the heads inside a sack soaked with blood, anyone who did not know Mark would surely feel horrified. Still, they were a bit confused as to why Mark seemed to be only picking some bodies to behead while leaving the others. Nevertheless, that did not make Mark any less scary.

One thing that made the slaves felt relieved, however, was knowing that Mark and his group were not just demons that would slaughter just anyone. The slaves were left there without any harm. Well, of course, it would be different for those that ran away.

With how dangerous these forested mountains, especially during the night, they surely would not live for tomorrow.

Unfortunately, it seemed that Mark had no plans to just take these slaves into his base. They were not dangerous to take in. However, they were not loyal to Mark and his people, unlike the others. The most that Mark could do for them was to feed them tonight and escort them out of this place tomorrow.

If some wanted to join Mark's base, he would evaluate them first before agreeing. As for those that were not, they could leave without any issues.

\”Jaeya, can you hear me?\”

Mark spoke in his mind calling for Jaeya that already entered the base.

\”I can~! Big Bro need something?\”

Jaeya replied immediately.

\”Tell Aephelia to go here and bring out the Garbage Cleaner. We need to clean this place before the smell attracts animals and wandering infected.\”

It did not take long for Aephelia to come out of the gates with Logan.

Thus, the slaves were subjected to another round of mental torture. Most of them could not help but feel their stomachs churn as they saw Logan chew on the dead remains of the enemies.

Mark, on the other hand, watched this to see if there would still be any effect on Logan. Sure enough, Logan was able to use the Mutations of the already beheaded Mutators. However, the strength was way lower compared to when it ate everything, including the heads.

After eating the body of the grasshopper man, Mark told Aephelia to make Logan transform. Logan did cover its body with a green exoskeleton. However, the strength of armor did not even reach half of the Mutator was capable of using.

It did not take long, the insatiable Logan finished its meal.

The smell of blood was still there. Nevertheless, it was considerably lessened.

Leaving the scared slaves, Mark entered the gates with Abbygale, Jester, Case, and Aephelia, who controlled Logan.

The sun already set halfway by the time Mark entered the gates. There was barely any daylight left to see the appearance of the base.

Still, as a Mutator, Mark's enhanced sight allowed him to see the changes from when he left the base and now that he returned. The difference was rather huge. The huts from before, like the hut he used as a workshop, were nowhere to be seen anymore. What replaced the wooden, roughly built huts were properly built sheds made of reddish-black metal.

Even the other structures and houses were properly made following the outline they drafted. There were even places to house guests and temporary housing which looked like a one-floor dorm placed near the gates. The parking area was also made just beside the gates were their vehicles were properly parked. It was good that Mark's mentality in playing games made him decide for a larger parking area. Due to it, all their vehicles managed to park and the parking area still had a good amount of free space available.

As for the river that ran at the east side of the base, it was properly secured with fences. Mark felt odd, however, seeing a small structure near the spring. He could tell that the mermaid he found was inside, and was afraid about the gunshots that were heard during the battle. Still, it seemed that she had been living well. She seemed to be in a far better state than when he found her.

At the center of the base was a large clearing that could be used for many things. It could be a resting area or an area for open meetings. Mark had thought of this the same way he thought about the parking area. Just like how Mark play civilization-building games where he always left city centers as an open plaza.

Mark walked inside the base and met with everyone. Sure enough, they were amazed which made Huey and the others proud of their work. The creation of [Blood Metal] used for construction was Nicole, Hallie, and Alana. The three already managed to bond with a [BloodChild] for each of them. As for the construction, Huey and Ed led it while those that were not working on the farm and other things were helping them.

For everyone that had just arrived, including Karlene, Edzel, Amihan, and Aephelia, this place was not just a base. It was an actual fortress in the middle of the mountains.

As for the only place untouched by the changes, it was Mark's precipice. The face of the tall cliff he dug to make his own house. Since Mark wanted to build this structure himself, he strictly told Huey to leave it be. They were allowed to enter the main areas where the infected were being kept but the other parts were off-limits.

Since it was already getting dark, they decided to do everything else for tomorrow. As such, everyone decided to go find where they would stay for the night while the others prepared for a good celebration for Mark's return with his group.

In their perspective and struggles since the start of the apocalypse, it would not be easy to traverse a long way filled with dangers just to find and bring back the people you valued.

That was why they decided to celebrate.

Luckily, it seemed that with the help of the tribe, Huey and the others managed to hut a mutated cow. Unfortunately, it was a feral one to be kept as livestock and thus, they decided to cook it tonight.

Their return was perfect timing for a delicious meal for dinner.

***

While everyone prepared, Mark with Mei decided to do one thing first. It was to meet the elder of the tribe.

Since the tribe was small, they only needed three small rooms for everyone to properly sleep. The beds might not be too classy but were way better than sleeping on tufts of grass covered with cloth. It seemed that the tribe already opened up to Huey and the others and were not that awkward inside the base. Some of them already fell asleep on their beds as their fatigue for more than two months of struggles through the forests and mountains caught up to them.

Their journey filled with dangers and sadness was finally over. Even when they arrived for quite a while already, staying outside did not give them the least bit of sense of security. Inside the walls, however, they could finally sleep without worries.

Mark led Mei to the area where the tribe was brought into by Huey. When the tribesmen saw Mark approach, they unexpectedly kneeled down in respect.