643 The Return and the Rumors, Finally Handing the Package to the Recipien (2/2)

General Padilla sent the soldier away to fulfill his duties.

Finally, under the eyes of the bystanders, the General's entourage and Mark's group left.

***

Day 147 - 2:35 PM - Military Base, Catanduanes Settlement, Codon, San Andres, Catanduanes

The ride back was rough as the road between the two locations was not paved. It was way better when Mark's group just walked along the way. However, it could not be helped.

Inside the settlement, the rumors and the events that transpired at the western coast of Codon had already spread. Without any kind of entertainment available, rumors and stories spread much faster from person to person. As such, more than half of the current population inside the settlement had already heard bits and pieces of what happened.

Was it a good thing? Unfortunately, not everything.

Many people would not believe such rumors without witnessing the events with their own eyes. Furthermore, the rumors gave different effects depending on what kind of people heard them. The courageous ones felt quite regretful not being there when those things happened. As for the weakhearted people, they felt fear, thinking about those monsters that now existed.

The more the rumors spread, the more it became distorted from the truth.

And the families of the soldiers that Mark killed were making the situation a lot worse.

When the vehicles arrived at the base, some of those weeping family members tried to stop the General's car. Fortunately, the soldiers on duty were fast enough to prevent them from doing so.

Inside the vehicle behind the General's, Berrak watched the people outside, weeping at the loss of their family members. He then looked at Mark with eyes filled with questions.

”Just ask what you want to ask.”

Mark said, not minding Berrak's stare.

”Do you really have to kill those soldiers?” Berrak asked. ”I admit, it was the old man's orders but the soldiers were just following him.”

”That's the point there.” Mark shrugged. ”They are not kids. They knew what's right and what's wrong. They should not follow the wrong orders.”

Berrak could not help but fell silent. That was a good point too. Nevertheless, he still felt insecure about it. It was when Mark added something that made Berrak frown.

”Besides, if I did not kill them, you would be the one dying.”

Mark said.

”Why?”

Berrak asked.

”To vent, of course.” Mark glanced at Berrak with eyes half-closed. ”Since you are following me now, you will know this soon. I'm a person that could barely feel emotions of my own. Since you can use magic, I bet you heard about Empaths, right?”

That question made Berrak stare hard at Mark. No wonder now. No wonder that Mark could kill people without batting an eyelid. Mark was, without a doubt, a high-level one.

”That Seguerra and Liden made me angry. And then, you came to help them escape. That just threw oil into the fire. If I did not manage to deploy some measures, you might have been able to escape. But I took interest in your abilities. That is why I needed to vent my anger or I might accidentally kill you.”

Berrak could not help but shiver after hearing that.

”So just be glad that they died instead of you.”

Mark added.

Berrak looked around the vehicle. Everyone was listening to their conversation. However, by the looks of it, it seemed that everyone in Mark's group did not bother about his actions at all. The children were the same. It was a group that had no qualms about killing other people.

With a sigh, Berrak could only imagine his impending future.

But then, Pefile, who was sitting in front of Berrak, spoke.

”Don't think too much.” Pefile shook his head slightly. ”They might be like this but it's not bad following them. If you see the base, you might beg to stay even if they wanted to let you go already.”

Berrak could only frown. What Pefile said was clear but was also hard to understand at the same time.

As soon as they arrived inside the Military Base, Mark's group was led into a meeting room. And there, the proper procedures of Mark handing the package happened.

General Padilla checked the contents of the package himself. And to say, not only him but everyone that was present in the meeting room was astonished.

The most important thing was the samples of vials called [Regeneration Medicine]. As long as it was not a bite wound of an infected, this concoction could heal mild injuries in seconds while lessening the severity of fatal ones. Although there was a limit as to how much a person could ingest in a day, it was an absolute game-breaker in their current situation where clashes with the rebels would cost casualties to their side.

There was also the seeds of [Energy Rice] that could be planted. As long as a plantation was developed, this kind of rice would end the food shortage after at least three to six months.

The medicine came from Infanta, while the seeds came from Bay City. General Padilla was both happy and embarrassed as he received such valuable items. Those two settlements already managed to develop things that could help with the survival of their people. The Catanduanes Settlement, on the other hand, had no such thing.

While they did have a few scientists on duty, they were lacking in both equipment and manpower. And rather than developing things, they were more focused on the behavior of marine life after the apocalypse started. Besides, Catanduanes was a provincial area. Research institutes were almost non-existent here. As such, there was no way for them to procure the necessary equipment to bolster their research.

Aside from the [Regeneration Medicine] and [Energy Rice], the briefcase also contained information about Mutagen, the infected mutations, abilities, and how to tackle them. Although the possible mutations of the infected were infinite, this information would at least help when tackling similar mutations and would reduce possible casualties due to lack of knowledge.

While the General checked the contents of the case, Mark's group had to sit down in the same room for about two hours. Of course, they got bored.

That was when Mark took out a fully charged laptop and started watching anime with the little girls. The soldiers could only stare incredulously. First, who would be able to think of watching cartoons at these times? Furthermore, how come someone with a bloodstained hand like Mark likes to watch a children's show?

Luckily for them, none of the soldiers actually voiced out such questions. Or else, they would be facing a begrudging revelation. After all, what Mark and the girls were watching was not some kid's show but a gore-filled horror.