438 Store Hopping Date, The Rest of the Day in Laguna Province (2/2)

”It's fine,” Mark replied. ”She will need more power to protect this place. That way, we can visit again in the future.”

”That's true.”

Mei said as she looked at the mountain behind. It would be a lie to say that she did not want to visit this place again.

Mark did not say one thing though. He was in a good mood right now because she saw how happy Mei was. That was the main factor for him to give one of the empty [Mental Crystals]. If he had more of the crystal that he got from the headless priest, he might have given that instead. In his view, it would be even more beneficial to spiritual beings and elementals. Unfortunately, he only had one.

Another thing, he did not mind giving a gift to the Diwata. It was because even though she was not as strong as the flame demon he fought before, she was still stronger than most paranormal creatures he encountered. A friendship with a good creature like her was not bad at all.

***

Day 80 - 5:22 PM - Pagsanjan River, Maytalang I, Lumban, Laguna

Time passed by rather fast. It was an odd concept of time and consciousness. Depending on the circumstances, time could be perceived as fast or slow. It was more apparent when a person was focused on doing something, was doing something they enjoy, or when they were spending time with their special someone.

That was what Mark and Mei had experienced from the rest of the day.

After leaving Mount Banahaw, they went mall hopping. They browsed stores whether it be clothing or just something that interested them. Stores that sold stuffed toys, books, cosmetics, or even children's clothes, they entered all of these establishments.

They did not mind the current state of the mall or the stores they went in. As long as it took their interest, they would check out the store.

It was kind of unfortunate though that Mei couldn't try out the clothes she liked immediately. After being unattended for a long time, the clothes were already covered with dust if not stained with blood from the infected roaming the establishment.

The most that they could do was to pick up some of the things that interested them and try the items out after the things were washed.

Still, the activities they did made them enjoy their time together. They even tried out some kiddy rides while laughing as they played together.

It was a time they enjoyed a lot. Not minding the litter of disembodied corpses and splatter of blood they left at every place they stopped by.

The sun would set soon. That was why they decided to take a walk near the Pagsanjan River as their last stop. While walking, they just kept silent. They already had their fun for today, now, they were just enjoying each other's company before they went home.

Mark and Mei held hands as they crossed the river, with the things they decided to bring home.

***

While Mark and Mei crossed the bridge, a lookout spotted the two.

Just beside the river, not far from the bridge, a two-story house had been fortified by a group of survivors living in the area. The group was led by two Mutators. Coupled with the fact the province had a lesser population density compared to cities, they managed to survive.

The lookout, of course, was surprised to see a couple crossing the bridge.

”Paulo, there are two people on the bridge. They seem to be... On a date?”

The lookout called his partner.

”Chris, don't joke around, a date? Who will believe you?”

”I'm not joking, look.”

The teenage boy, called Chris handed his binoculars to Paulo.

”Huh?”

That was all that Paulo could voice out. He was dumbfounded that there would be a couple out on a date after the apocalypse. It was not hard to guess as he could almost see the pink aura between the two people crossing the bridge.

”I don't mind if they really are on a date,” Chris said as everyone had their own way of spending their time even if it was already the apocalypse.

”But isn't it bad?” Chris added. ”This should be around when those bastards will cross the bridge, won't they?”

Paulo nodded. It was rare for them to see new survivors. Now, however, they were in the wrong place at the wrong time.

”Should we warn them?”

Chris asked.

”We better do. I don't want to see more people fall because of those bastards. I can't see clearly, but the girl seems to be beautiful. It will be bad if someone like her fell on the hands of those animals.”

Paulo said and he stood up.

”Chris, you keep on the lookout, I'll go out to warn them.”

”Uhm... Paulo.” Chris said with a dismayed tone. ”It's already late.”

While saying that, a group of vehicles could be seen on the opposite side of the bridge. Most of the vehicles were large modified motorcycles while there were two heavily modified trucks.

The group feared by people, not only in this place, but in many parts of Laguna. Especially after the apocalypse started, this group became more active.

The criminal group, ”Buddha Gang”.

They were known for many criminal acts, like robberies, drug trafficking, and especially, contract killings.

Since the outbreak, many survivors had fallen by their hands. Men were killed while women and girls were taken as prisoners. They would also commit abductions of important members of survivor groups and make the remaining members bring ransom to take them back.

Of course, while they were true to their word and returned the person they abducted, they returned them, broken.

As for the other survivors that lived in the area, they were paying this group for protection. Although the payment was rather overpriced, in the least, they could live in their homes, not fearing the infected.

As for the group of Paulo and Chris, they only managed to avoid this crime group because of the two mutators that led them.

Now, Chris and Paulo could only watch in dismay as they saw the couple crossing the bridge get surrounded by dozens of armed people.