556 The Reason They Stayed, Marks Last Activity in New Jersey (2/2)

***

”How about that research facility the military built in Atlantic City?”

Mark asked.

To that question, Captain Morrison shook his head.

”Those people are not from the forces of the state. They are directly dispatched by the U.S. Government. They are not allowed to do anything outside the orders they are given. And even if we came there and they accepted us, our people here might just end up as subjects by their mad scientists there.”

Mark went silent. He could agree with that thought as he met that Alien Professor. It could definitely happen.

”Alright, then.” Mark shrugged. ”I'll be off to deal with one of your troubles here. Can you write anything your people know about Philadelphia right now? I'll pick it up later.”

”Right, your group will leave tomorrow and travel through Philadelphia. I have no problems with that.” Captain Morrison nodded. ”But what do you mean by dealing with one of our troubles?”

To that question, Mark only smiled and went on his way, leaving the Captain and his soldiers confused.

***

Leaving the soldiers, Mark stood at the rooftop of the high school once more.

”I should have asked that Succubus where their base is before they left.”

Mark murmured while scratching his head. He already asked the soldiers if they had any idea where the base of the outlaws was. However, they had no concrete answer. It was because every time they tried to send someone to tail them, the person would not make it back.

The only answer Mark received was that the outlaws always retreated towards the south after they attacked.

That was the only clue Mark had right now.

Thus, stretching his wings open, he flew towards the south.

It was what Mark meant when he told Captain Morrison that he would deal with one of their troubles.

Mark wanted to eliminate the outlaws.

Well, that was only a byproduct, thought. What Mark really wanted was to get that brother's Mutator abilities.

Those bone armors were not bad at all. Furthermore, those were speed type mutations, which made Mark even more interested. There might also be others with good abilities there, or they would not be able to overwhelm the soldiers like this for too long.

Mark flew as high as he could to see the terrain and buildings better.

He took note of the larger buildings and tried to see if there were any visible fortifications on the buildings.

Of course, he also thought that the buildings the outlaws used might not have any fortifications at all. After all, having fortifications would be too eyecatching for a band of outlaws in hiding. Well, Mark could be wrong with that thought, though, since fortifications was a must in a Zombie Apocalypse.

There was also the thought that the outlaws only retreated south for diversion. Their base might also be located in other directions. It was not wrong to think of that since it was outlaws. They might have one or more ways of deceiving their victims.

Starting at the buildings in the southeast direction, Mark checked for any signs of life.

Mark flew over warehouses, malls, apartment compounds, schools, cinemas, and all the large establishments that could possibly become a base for a large number of people.

Unexpectedly, he found some survivors hiding at some of the buildings he went over.

It was quite hard to say whether these people were lucky or unlucky, though. Some might be lucky surviving this four months of this deadly apocalypse. And they were also unlucky because they were stuck in those buildings unable to leave at all.

These buildings with survivors were easier to spot because of the basins and wide-mouthed containers lined up on the rooftop. Obviously, these containers were used to gather clean water from rain or snow.

Well, the best factor that made these people last this long was the fact that they did not put any signs asking for help on the face of their buildings. If they did, the outlaws might have spotted them long ago, and they would have either died or turned into slaves and playthings.

Instead, they put SOS signs on the rooftops. It seemed that instead of asking help from random people, they gambled on flying military vehicles instead. Of course, it was a futile hope. After all, the last aircraft that flew over these areas was back in the first week of the apocalypse.

Some survivors spotted Mark flying over the area. Of course, instead of asking for help, they ran and hid. Who would ask help from a creature with several wings, after all? Unless Mark came to introduce himself, these people would see him as a threat.

As Mark flew around, he could not help but become troubled. He started thinking that retreating south was really a diversion made by the outlaws.

But after flying for about an hour, Mark found some activity.

”Damn, I flew towards the wrong direction first.”

Mark complained as he finally found the location he was looking for.

The direction he flew first was to the southeast when the base of the outlaws was located a bit southwest of Audubon High School.

And seeing the scene below, Mark's eyes could not help but light up.

There were about three hundred people in the place. Fifty of them were Mutators, while there seemed to be around a hundred slaves.

The best part, however, the whole base was in a mess.

It was because of the absence of their leaders.

The outlaws started to fight over who would be the next to lead everyone.