Mutagen

Day 318 - 9:25 AM - Reimei Bridge Exit, Harumi, Chuo City, Tokyo

Traveling over the Reimei Bridge, it was a black Monocorps Van. A white-outlined decal of a black-colored lotus decorated the vehicle's body. To anyone along the way, they knew that the Monocorps Van belonged to the Black Lotus Group.

Riding the vehicle, it was no other than Mark's group. The pair of Tadashi and Mako, along with three more members of Black Lotus, accompanied the group. And, of course, the leader of the Black Lotus, Ren, was also present.

Along the way, Mark's group could not help but look outside the window. Why? It was because of the scenery outside the vehicle.

The stark contrast between the inside and the outside of the Reclaimed City was something one would immediately notice.

Outside the Reclaimed City, all one could see was the ruins of Tokyo going on for miles. The very image of the apocalypse. However, inside the Reclaimed City, almost everything looked more or less the same before the apocalypse started.

It was completely different from the state of Corregidor Settlement in the Philippines. In the Corregidor Settlement, they rebuilt almost everything using stockpiles of resources bought from the CNC. And while they already had a few high buildings, the settlement was far from fully recovering its state before the [Fusion of Dimensions].

On the other hand, the Reclaimed had most of its old buildings still standing. It was not like the buildings were in perfect state. The tall skyscrapers had their windows newly replaced after the earthquake broke most glass windows. Many buildings still had cracks they received after the catastrophe, which were still unrepaired. However, for the whole Reclaimed City to be mostly intact after the world-changing earthquake, it could not be any short of a miracle.

Even the bridges with the Reclaimed City were intact, although all bridges leading to the mainland had fallen.

It meant that whatever caused this miracle was limited to the vicinity of the Reclaimed City.

And if one had to ask, people present in the Reclaimed City during the [Fusion of Dimensions] would only have one answer.

Mark also asked earlier after finally seeing the Reclaimed City under the brightness of the daylight. And Ren answered Mark with one sentence.

"It was because of the Priestess' Miracle."

No one knew how the Priestess did it. However, when things began falling from outer space and a barrier appeared to protect the Reclaimed City, a beam of light was seen as it pierced the sky coming from the Priestess' Temple. That light spread throughout the Reclaimed City and protected it from utter destruction.

The Priestess already had quite a following before since she was a religious leader. However, the events that unfolded during the [Fusion of Dimensions] further elevated her status. Some hardcore fanatics even began to treat her as a saint that would bring everyone salvation. Of course, these hardcore fanatics were thwarted by the Priestess, but they never stopped.

While inside the vehicle, Ren was telling them stories about the Priestess. It seemed that Ren respected the Priestess a whole lot. Fortunately, she was not one of those fanatics. It was just that it seemed that Ren personally knew the Priestess even before the apocalypse.

Mark listened to Ren's stories while also paying attention to the scenery outside. Since the members of Mark's group could not even understand Ren's words, they were doing the same as Mark.

There were a lot of people outside. They walked across the streets in a fashion one would see back before the apocalypse began. Given the environment that the Reclaimed City provided its residents, they could live a life quite similar to what they had in the past.

Wake up early in the morning, go to work, happily interact with their colleagues, and do their after-work activities. A typical life before the apocalypse, just minus the television and internet.

Mark could see groups of people wearing similar uniforms, laughing as they went to work together. There were others walking alone, hurrying because they were running late.

In that scene, Mark scoffed at those people. Not all, but quite a few of them.

"Is something wrong?"

Mako, sitting behind Mark by the side door, noticed his reaction. She found it strange that he would have that kind of reaction to such a peaceful scene.

Mark glanced at the woman. Mako was around the same age as Mei. Thus, he understood that she probably lacked experience reading people and did not understand his reaction.

"You think all those people are fine, right? They could live a similar life they had before the apocalypse. That's fine, but..."

"But?"

Mako looked out the window, looking at the same scene as Mark.

"Many of them are taking advantage of this fact and are using it to escape from reality. They won't look at the reality beyond their safe zone."

Mark then pointed at a few individuals.

"Look at those people."

Mako followed where his finger pointed and noticed.

"They're all looking down?"

Now that Mako realized it, she noticed that there were not just a few. Some were laughing with their colleagues. However, they were avoiding the scene away from the bridge, either only looking down or away from the ruins beyond the waters.

"They were already trapped within their own illusory bubble. Their current world only circles around the Reclaimed City, erasing the fact that it's all ruins outside its vicinity."

"Is it a bad thing?"

Mako asked with a frown.

"Maybe, maybe not," Mark shrugged. "That way of thinking allows them to concentrate on their current life, work, and stuff. But if there's an instance these people were to be taken out of their safe bubble or something dangerous attacked the Reclaimed City, these people will be the first ones to put themselves or other people in danger. Their clouded minds will be unable to keep up with the situation. The only thing they will do is panic and scream."

"Not that I can blame them," Mark added. "Some of them might be unable to accept the reality. However, many of these people might be coping with the loss of their loved ones after all."

Mako turned from Mark back to the scene outside. Now realizing the situation, she felt pity for these people.

After Mark's words, there was a bit of silence inside the van. Ren and Tadashi were also listening to the short conversation between Mark and Mako. Unfortunately, the two could not deny what Mark had just said.

Soon enough, the van arrived at its destination.

The location was within Toyosu, one of the central areas of the Reclaimed City, including Shinonome and Ariake.

Everyone stepped out of the van, aside from Tadashi, who needed to park the van somewhere else.

Mark looked at the building, seeing the series of kanji letters near the top of the building, which he could not read. After asking Ren, he learned that it was the Shibaura Institute of Technology Junior and Senior High School. Well, former high school.

The school was now being used as a registration and management office. Behind the school were other buildings currently used by the Japanese government and other influential figures.

It was also where [Freelancer] jobs were being assigned. Basically, it was either the Adventurer's Guild or Hunter Association. That was if it was a manga or manhwa of a different genre.

And due to this fact, there were quite a number of people around. Most of them were groups fully equipped with combat gear, with some even wearing uniforms.

Mark's group obviously gathered attention. Not only were they brought here using a personal vehicle of the Black Lotus Group, but the leader of Black Lotus was also accompanying them.

And when some people spotted Amihan on Mark's shoulder, their unsure emotions spiked one-eighty.

"Follow me closely."

Ren also noticed the troublesome people that were present due to the information leak that happened. Thus, she had to take responsibility for escorting Mark's group safely. It did not matter to her if she could recruit Mark's group. After all, these troublesome people were here due to their group's fault.

"Whoa, Lotus, you're here?"

A pretty loud voice could be heard, which immediately made Ren frown.

"Let's go."

Ren ignored the voice and spoke to Mark's group in an urgent tone.

"You're really ignoring me?"

As if it would be that easy to ignore annoying people. After all, they were annoying for a reason.

A man with a pretty muscular build, reddish-tinted hair, and an annoyingly confident smile stepped in front of Ren. He was not alone and was accompanied by a seductive-looking woman.

"Get out of the way."

Mako stepped in front of Ren and warned the other party. The other three members of the Black Lotus Group also stepped forward.

"F*ck off, pipsqueak," The man huffed the cigarette he was holding. "I'm talking to your leader."

However, neither Mako nor the other members budged to the man's provocation. On the other hand, Ren only stood there, giving the man a dead stare.

"Haah, never mind. I'm not here for you anyway," The man rolled his eyes and turned to Mark. "Oi, how much for that thing on your shoulder? Name your price."

However, just like Ren, Mark did not pay attention to the man. Instead, he spoke to Ren.

"Aren't we going?"

Everyone present was quite surprised. Ren ignoring the man was one thing. However, the unknown man with the [Sylph] did not hesitate to do the same.

It was a straight-up provocation.

"You! Can't you hear me, you f*cker?!"

The man tried to charge towards Mark and grab him. However, he paused in surprise.

Unfortunately, the cause of the man's surprise was the woman beside Mark. Of course, it was Mei.

Since the focus of the people present was on Amihan, and she was walking behind Mark, Mei was not noticed immediately. But now that she was noticed, the spotlight immediately went to her.

Mei immediately grabbed Mark's hand and hid behind him. She could have worn a veil just like before. However, she was currently in the process of fighting her trauma. It was also her decision not to wear a veil. Unfortunately, the lascivious stare of the annoying man was still too much for her.

"Haah."

Mark sighed, as there was no way he would allow this. Mei was just beginning to overcome her fear, and here came this bastard.

But before Mark could do anything, Ren finally stepped forward, blocking Mark and Mei from the bastard's stare.

"What are you doing, staring at someone's wife, like that? Wipe off your drool, you dog bastard."

Ren said as a flowery scent began to drift around her.

Noticing the scent, the man immediately jumped back while covering his nose. It was the same for everyone in the close vicinity.

Ren was ready to fight now. She was hesitant before since her ability would not distinguish between enemies and allies. However, if the man was getting closer instead, it would be much easier for her to use her ability at close range without getting her allies affected.

On the other hand, Mark inhaled a bit of the scent on purpose. He felt a bit dizzy, and his eyesight shifted with the little sniff he took.

At this time, Mark spoke, which everyone heard but could not understand.

"Amihan, wind barrier."

Amihan nodded as a gust of wind enveloped the group, including the members of the Black Lotus.

Of course, it surprised everyone, including the members of the Black Lotus.

And to everyone's horror, Mark spoke to Ren in Japanese.

"Go all out if you want."

Ren had a fiery personality, and she was holding back due to the drawbacks of her ability. But now?

"Hahaha!"

Ren laughed as the scent around her thickened to the point that the air appeared foggy.

"SH*T!"

The man immediately retreated. This was not a joke. The only reason he had the guts to provoke Ren face-to-face was that the drawbacks of her ability were well known. She could not use it with her allies around her. But with just a single action from the [Sylph], the drawback of her ability was erased.

Not only the man. Everyone in the vicinity retreated in fear.

Ren lowered her body. She was ready to charge toward the man and envelop him in her poisonous scent.

However, a voice entered everyone's ears.

"You should leave it there, Mitsui-sama."

Everyone turned to the bear-like man that came out of the high school building.

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