Mutagen

Day 373 - 4:37 PM - Mountain Back, Lemahkembar Village Ruins, Sumberasih District, Probolinggo Regency, East Java, Indonesia

After Luna barged into the tent and stated an unexpected problem, Mark, Mei, and Val'Flora could only change their location.

Now, with the leaders of the Indonesian survivors, Mark, Mei, Val'Flora, and Devon, they discussed the problem once again.

It seemed that Luna and the others had followed Mark's advice when accepting the National Contract from Devon, stating conditions and other important things. However, as Devon calmly explained, the budget within Indonesia's National account with the CNC was running extremely low.

According to Devon, most of the national funds under the contract had been used to build the Muria Sacred Fortress. It was not surprising. A wall encompassing the entire circumference of Mount Muria would not be cheap. Even if it were before the apocalypse, such a huge project would cost millions of dollars, if not billions.

And, with the apocalypse going on, there was no way to replenish the used-up funds.

Not to mention that the country leader had recently died without anyone to replace him.

The strange thing was that the replacement of the country's leader position should have been one of the important things to consider. After all, someone needed to take command to keep what remained of the country safe.

However, the position of the Indonesian president had been left vacant.

And now that there was no one to stop Devon under the clause of the contract, he spoke honestly.

The Indonesian contract with the CNC was not exclusive to the president alone. The richest families and those in the most influential political and military positions also had authority within the clauses of the contract as long as the president was either absent or unable to fulfill his duties.

That clause made the people in power deliberately delay instating a new president. This way, all of them would have equal rights to the contract, allowing them to freely use it through majority votes.

And it was what they did. They used the funds for either luxuries or to arm themselves. It was all while the rest of the Muria Sacred Fortress endured the lack of rations and shelter, leaving the rest of the refugees to the armed survivor groups and the imaginary authority they were given.

The explanation made General Wijaya rub the bridge of his nose in exasperation. He now understood why there were factions in the military who somehow hated each other but still worked as allies. They were all in cahoots. They stuffed their pockets with the national funds that could have been used to aid the people.

And now, all those luxuries and wasted budgets lay molten within the volcanic flow of Mount Muria.

"Then, I believe we should continue gathering building materials on our own, just like what we are already doing. We can allocate the remaining budget mainly on weapons."

Baskoro Astria, Limabela's father, suggested. As the person who would actually sign the contract and could be considered the next president, he should not just sit in silence. He should also voice out his own suggestions.

"I agree with Sir. Astria," General Wijaya sighed as he spoke. "Since the remaining funds were small, we should carefully think of how to allocate it. Aside from weapons, we should also secure emergency provisions. We can still rely on hunting along the way, but once we started settling in, food could also become an issue."

The suggestions of the two were reasonable. If it was building materials they needed, there were a lot of trees to cut down for immediate usage. They could just slowly build upon the wooden foundations as they accumulated the necessary materials. On the other hand, food could become an issue if not immediately addressed. As for the weapons, it was necessary to have more firepower.

Primitive and most cold weapons would not work on many [Mutated Infected] and were even less effective against [Mechids].

While the leaders of the Moon Chasers had the weapons they got from Mark, these were not enough. They also needed to properly arm their combatants, or they could become useless when it really mattered.

Most importantly, the place they were heading was now an unfamiliar land. Bali was a well-known tourist location in Indonesia before the outbreak. Now, however, it was more or less an uncharted land to the survivors of Muria Sacred Fortress.

And when going to an uncharted land in the middle of an apocalypse, there was no limit to how much firepower one would need.

The discussion immediately began among the leaders of the Indonesian survivors. After all, they did not have the capacity to increase the current funding they could use. They could only discuss how it should be allocated.

Mark and Mei watched them in silence. Val'flora stood behind them like a servant instead of sitting around the same table. Nonetheless, the three were observing the other group, waiting for their decision. In fact, they could ask Mark for help. He was someone already known to have his own contracted agent within CNC. This meant he could afford it.

Helping Luna and the others was also not an issue for Mark. After all, that was exactly the reason why he was here. However, it seemed like the Indonesian survivors did not want to owe Mark even more. It was not surprising since they already owe him and his group a whole lot. Unfortunately, they had yet to find a way to repay them.

On the other hand, Devon's attention was not on the group he was supposed to be negotiating with. Instead, he was paying attention to the silent trio.

Luna and the others did not want to put themselves into further debt. Unfortunately, Devon had a different idea.

As if Devon had finally finished coming up with an important decision, he spoke to Mark.

"Sir Mark. I have a question."

"Hmm?" Mark tilted his head. "What?"

Mark had been monitoring Devon for a while now. While Devon appeared calm and collected during his explanation, he was actually quite troubled inside. Mark was already expecting Devon to do something not very merchant-like. However, he had no idea what it could be. Exclusive tales from m v lem|p-yr

Devon's sudden question to Mark caused Luna and the others to fall silent because of the unexpected scenario.

But what surprised everyone the most was Devon's question, and Edge was the one who was surprised the most.

"Can you turn normal people into [Mutants]? Oh, right. Your country calls them [Evolvers] and [Mutators]. Anyway, the question still stands no matter what they are called. Do you have such an ability?"

Devon asked Mark in a casual manner, but the tone and expression were quite serious.

But Mark, without any visible change in his expression, asked back.

"Where did that question come from?"

"I'll come clean."

Devon spoke as he raised both hands. His eyes then moved to Val'Flora standing behind Mark.

"Miss Val'Flora's mysterious client was quite a hot topic within the organization. Many agents wanted information about the client that could provide such rare and expensive but high-demand items. Myself included. Of course, Miss Val'Flora is strictly tight-lipped, and gathering information in the current state of the world was quite difficult.

Fortunately, a single instance gave me some valuable clues. As an agent managing a [National Contract], I can meet other agents with a similar designation."

"Subsinctus," Mark spoke a name, which Devon nodded to. "Is it fine for agents to share this kind of information? I didn't expect that guy to be a blabbermouth."

"There are confidentiality rules for clients and agents. However, those rules cannot stop other agents from gathering information on their own." Val'Flora chimed in and spoke to Mark. "Unfortunately, there is no such thing as a confidentiality contract between you and Mr. Subsinctus. As long as he did not go over the line drawn by our rules, he could share some clues and information.

It was especially common when other agents paid for the information."

Mark frowned. One important foundation of a merchant was trust. However, one could never trust a merchant who had no concrete dealings with them.

"Using the clues from Sir. Subsinctus, I managed to recognize Mr. Mark after your information circulated in Mount Muria after you arrived with Miss. Luna's group."

"And from then on, you gathered information about us."

Mark interjected.

"Yes," Devon did not deny it. "One part was my heart as a merchant. Another part was just pure curiosity. It was then that I found something odd about your group."

Devon stared at Mark.

"Your members. There are too many [Type 3 Mutants]."

"Huh?"

Mark could not understand. It was not just Mark. Everyone in the tent, aside from Val'Flora, needed an explanation.

Knowing what they needed, Devon explained.

"It was public information within the organization. [Type 1 Mutants] are what you call [Evolvers]. People who gained abilities beyond normal without getting bitten. [Type 2 Mutants] are pretty obvious. They were the so-called [Mutators]. People who mutated and gained special abilities after surviving a supposedly fatal bite from an [Infected]."

"As for the [Type 3 Mutants]. It was the combination of the two. [Evolvers] who became [Mutators]. That should be the easiest explanation. However, the chance of it happening was extremely low. One in a thousand, or maybe 1 in five thousand?

That was how rare [Type 3 Mutants] are. Even before the Muria Fortress was destroyed, there were only four [Type 3 Mutants] known among them. That was five within tens of thousands of people."

"But your group." Devon began counting his fingers. "You. Your wife. Your three children. The green-haired girl. And your dragon.

Your group alone already exceeded the number of [Type 3 Mutants] that the Muria Fortress had. Furthermore..."

Devon alternated his eyes on Mark and Mei. But for some reason, his nose was also moving as if he was sniffing at something.

"You and your wife. You two are more than just [Type 3 Mutants]. You two have multiple mutations."

Those words surprised everyone, including Val'Flora.

But Devon was not done yet as his eyes suddenly turned to Edge.

"And then. Mr. Edge, who was only a [Type 1 Mutant], suddenly became a [Type 3 Mutant] in the span of a single night. And not just a normal [Type 3 Mutant]. He was a [Type 3 Mutant] with two mutations. And it all happened after your secret talk, did it not?"

Now, everyone was looking at Edge, who could only fall silent. He could try denying it, but there was no point in doing so. It was pretty obvious that Devon would not be some normal merchant. He should have some uncanny abilities if he was not straight-up something non-human.

Mark shrugged. There was no point in denying it. After all, it was pretty much near impossible for [Mutators] to have more than one mutation. Of course, unless they had the [PsyCrystal's] help.

"Do you have some abilities to detect mutations and stuff?"

Mark asked.

"This," Devon pointed at his nose. "My sense of smell is quite sensitive. I can smell things up to a few kilometers away, depending on the state of the surroundings. But the most important thing is that my sense of smell is also sensitive to the smell of living beings. Their chemical compositions, mutational changes, hormones, and pheromones. My sense of smell can differentiate all those and more."

It was Devon's strength. But at the same time, also his weakness.

But for Devon to lay it all open, it seemed that he was serious about this conversation.

"What do you want?"

Mark asked.

"I want you to turn someone into a proper [Type 2 Mutant]," Devon answered. "I will sign a confidentiality contract whether you accept or not. But if you can do it, I will shoulder all the initial costs that were needed for these people to relocate to Bali."

Luna and the others frowned. It meant another debt they owed Mark. However, the offer sure was tempting.

But before Mark could answer, Val'Flora interjected.

"Is it about your brother? Won't it be impossible? He was already bitten months ago."

"Yes, he was bitten... But he hasn't turned yet. There is still hope for him."

Devon strongly replied to Val'Flora's question.