Mutagen

Day 376 - 2:21 PM - Gilimanuk, Melaya Subdistrict, Jembrana Regency, Bali, Indonesia

Around a quarter of an hour passed after Mark and the rest located the survivors and the horde infesting the town. As they finished the preparations, it was time to move.

Mark, folding his black, eerie wings, landed on the roof of the school building that sheltered the survivors. It was a step that was not in the plan, but he thought of doing it first to ensure there would be no stupid moves from the desperate survivors.

WOOOM!

An invisible pulse spread toward the survivors below Mark as his eyes glowed red, spreading a particular emotion in their minds.

[Emotion Induction: Lingering Fear]

It was what Mark named this specific move. This action will make the survivors inside the building a bit more fearful while not outwardly panicked. It would also increase their cautiousness, preventing them from acting stupidly panicked.

"This would do, I think."

Mark murmured as he glanced at the others watching him on the roof of a house quite a distance away, confused about what he was doing since it was not in the plan.

Shrugging, he turned his back, opened his wings, and flew due east.

If it were just him, it would be easier to wipe out the [Infected] horde from atop that building. Although it would take a bit more time since he needed to act without damaging the surroundings, it would be doable.

However, Mark was following the plan for a simple reason. It would benefit the Indonesian survivors more in terms of experience. It was to utilize what cards they had in hand and safely rescue the survivors.

This time, Mark was the card. And they decided to use this card to get the danger out of the way.

While flying, Mark's ring vibrated shortly. It was Mei sending a message. At the same time, a voice echoed from the military radio on his belt.

"The truck is ready to depart."

It was the voice of Nelia. A part of the plan was contacting the others to send the military truck to transport the survivors. The military truck might be a bit banged up because of the circumstances, but it was still in working condition. Since the survivors Mark detected were weakened, possibly due to starvation, having a vehicle to transport them was necessary.

"Okay then,"

Mark flew faster.

"My part is what will start this party."

From the sky, Mark could see more of the terrain below. He could have done this when scouting, but it felt lackluster when one just wanted to feel the joy of exploration on foot.

It did not take long before Mark saw the outskirts of the town. Sure enough, the people who lived here put their all into fortifying the vicinity. The entirety of Gilimanuk was actually surrounded by walls made of various things. The most prominent materials making those walls were vehicles turned to their sides, supported by either cement or metal fittings.

Atop most of the walls were wooden ramparts, surrounded by barbed wires and metal rebars turned into pointy spikes. It was very likely to be where guards patrolled before.

Outside the walls, a five-meter-wide moat could be seen about a meter away from the foundations. The depths of the moat were hard to measure since it was filled with seawater. This long moat surrounded the mainland-facing side of the town and connected the northern and southern coasts.

The moat was definitely dug manually. However, the flow of seawater altered its appearance, making it look more natural.

"Hmmm..."

Mark found the entrance of the town. Since they had a moat, the survivors should have a bridge connecting the peninsula to the mainland. And there it was. It was a steel drawbridge, probably dismantled from one of the vehicle transport ships on the port.

Unfortunately, the drawbridge was lowered. It was very likely what allowed the entry of most of the [Infected] inside the town. However, it was unlikely that the initial cause of the breakthrough against the town's defenses would be the gates.

It was when Mark noticed a particular area on the ramparts at the northern part of the walls.

There was too much blood in that area.

Once the defenses had been breached, it was common sense to retreat from the frontlines. The defenders would back up and shrink the defense line until they managed to stabilize and push forward again.

If that were the case, the only place where there would be too much blood in the defensive area would be where the breach happened initially.

"Something managed to jump over the moat and onto the walls, huh? Probably a [Predator Type] with strong jumping mutation."

Mark deduced.

As Mark's eyes glanced back at the lowered drawbridge, he guessed what likely happened.

When the breach occurred, the defense force failed to stop it. With everyone turning one after another, evacuation began. It caused panic, causing more casualties. But instead of evacuating to the shelters, some people, likely the leaders, chose to leave the town. They managed to lower the drawbridge, but there was no way of raising it after they got out.

Then, the lowered drawbridge they left caused a larger influx of [Infected] entering the town.

Those people who fled left everyone else in the town to die.

His deductions made Mark snicker.

Looking at how the town was preserved through the [Fusion of Dimensions], they must have been pretty united. But one wrong event and all of it went down the drain.

Or maybe they were never united in the first place.

It was just that the people leading them might be adept at making people feel an illusionary sense of unity.

Mark flew further. He then took out his phone and looked at the map. The map before the apocalypse sure was pretty useless at this point. According to the map, the area below him should be a bay. However, there was no bay in sight. All he could see was vast flatlands with a few hills and small forests dotting its vicinity.

It was probably due to the geographical change after the [Fusion of Dimensions].

The geographical change probably caused the survivors of Gilimanuk to extend the walls and the moat.

In any case, Mark could only begin descending. This open area was far suitable for what he was about to do.

GRRAAORR!!

As Mark landed, growls echoed from a distance. It seemed that his figure attracted some unwanted attention from a few stragglers.

Roaring loudly, a fast-moving [Infected] ran on all fours as he rushed towards Mark. The way it ran reminded Mark of a notorious [Mutated Infected] from a popular game, which probably caused around eighty to ninety percent of the deaths of the characters of its player base.

The moment the [Mutated Infected] was close enough, it pounced on Mark.

Mark, facing such an attack, only stepped aside, causing the attacker to pounce past him.

The initial attack might have missed, but the moment the [Mutated Infected] landed, it would turn around and pounce at Mark's back.

But no such thing happened.

The moment it landed, it stayed there without moving. It slumped there like a puppet with strings cut. Only when one looked closely would they see a hole punctured through the center of its forehead.

And the culprit for the hole, Mark, was looking at his hand, specifically at what he was holding.

Six tentacle-like protrusions extended from Mark's back. Each tentacle had a pointy blade at its tips. Each of them moved at Mark's behest, with one being the cause of the [Mutated Infected]'s death.

"It's been a while since I used these."

Mark murmured as he began the one-sided fight against the stragglers nearby.

Since Mark's weapons and armor were broken, he could only fight using Ignis, the crystals, or his [Blood Manipulation].

And it had really been a long time since Mark fought with nothing but his [Blood Manipulation] mutation.

"Alright, all cleared out. The others should be waiting, so I should start."

Mark talked to himself as he cleared the area of anything moving to attack him.

There was no way Mark would forget what he came here for. His role was to lure the [Infected] from the school zone. And since they needed to preserve the town, the rest of the fight should occur outside.

And thus, Mark began.

It had already been proven that the [Infected] were attracted to certain factors.

One was the presence of living things, especially humans. Even without visual or auditory contact, the [Infected] would lurk around areas where living creatures stayed as long as it was nearby.

The second factor was sound. The [Infected] would flock towards any source of loud sound. It would be even more effective if the sounds were high-pitched tones or a living creature's voice.

Third was something peculiar. While not all, some [Infected] would be attracted by familiar figures of living creatures, no matter whether the figure was living or not. For example, just seeing humanoid figures would cause them to attack. While no one really paid attention to it, it was very rare to see an intact mannequin ever since the apocalypse began. If one was even more observant, they would likely see posters of people having indications of being attacked, like bite or scratch marks.

Fourth was smell. The [Infected] were strongly attracted to the smell of raw flesh and blood of living creatures.

And lastly, something that only special individuals would notice, the [Infected] were also attracted to magical energy.

With all those factors in mind, Mark took out the [Wind Manipulation Mental Crystal]. He also closed his eyes and began to meditate.

Mark had a theory. What if the [Infected] was not being attracted to living creatures but being attracted to creatures with souls. Because if it was the former, weren't trees and plants living creatures too? But flora were being left untouched by the [Infected] for the most part.

As such, Mark tried. He already had some experience in handling souls. The previous battles were the most of it, though.

Then, if Mark could imbue a part of his soul to lure the [Infected], would it be more effective?

It was the cause of Mark's mediation. And it seemed that he was succeeding.

However, as Mark's method reached fruition, something, or someone opened its eyes from its deep slumber.

"???"

Panicked, a little girl around four or five years old appeared out of nowhere, floating and circling around Mark in utter confusion.

"It's good that you're finally awake, but can you stay in one place and not disturb me?"

Mark, without opening his eyes, scolded the little girl.

A little afraid, the little girl did as she was told, although the confusion and panic did not die down in the slightest as she stared at Mark.

Finally feeling something, like a gear clicking into its right place, Mark opened his eyes.

"HAH!"

Mark huffed loudly. But at the same time, that huff was filled with a great amount of magical energy and a bit of soul energy Mark managed to draw out. Then, the [Wind Manipulation Mental Crystal] glowed at Mark's command. It did not only spread Mark's huff but concentrated the vibration of his voice into a high-pitched sound.

The sound immediately spread out into the areas within two kilometers with Mark at its center.

***

From the roof of the building outside the school zone, the members of the scouting group watched Mark's silhouette shrink in the distance. They also heard Nelia's voice on the radio. Now, what was left was to wait.

The group waited for a while. Somehow, it took longer than expected. However, they all exercised patience and waited silently.

But then, without warning, everyone flinched as they all covered their ears in panic.

Everyone's ears were ringing horribly. Worse, the ringing never stopped, even after covering their ears. They also felt their entire bodies quiver. It was as if the ringing was not only affecting their hearing but also their minds.

Unknown to Mark, he had given everyone within two kilometers around him a horrible taste of soul-based tinnitus.

But most importantly...

ROOOOARRR!!!

Unrestrained roars echoed all over the place as all the [Infected] in the area entered an excited state. Without getting distracted by anything else, the entire horde began to move.

Faster than they could have ever been, the [Infected] raced towards the source of the sound they heard.

Mark definitely did an outstanding job in luring the [Infected] away from the school zone. However, his method sure was the opposite for the affected humans.

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