Mutagen

Day 147 - 12:21 PM - Factory Area, Rebel Base, San Pedro Poblacion, Municipality of Viga, Catanduanes

It might be a bit late because of Mark's fast movements. However, even without instructions, the armed rebels that were not Mutators already moved out of the way. It was for them not to drag the Mutators as they fought the threat.

This voluntary act of the rebels proved both their competence and experience. And as it appeared, they had a set of actions to take at different circumstances.

Mark watched the Mutators charge at him with interest. Furthermore, although the Mutators were already moving towards him as fast as possible, they seemed to be waiting for something.

"GET INTO PREDATOR FORMATION!"

Renz shouted at his megaphone.

As it seemed, that was what they were waiting for.

The armed rebels retreated further but not too far away before moving into different directions. They then hurriedly formed ranks around the area. Most of them moved into higher grounds. The whole place had scaffoldings connected by bridges everywhere, which was likely a precaution against infected attacks.

On the other hand, the Mutators also changed their movements. Instead of charging at Mark and started attacking, they separated, moving around Mark.

Almost immediately, Mark was surrounded by the rebels in all directions.

It was not hard for Mark to understand what was happening. The name Predator in this formation might be about the [Predator Type] infected. The type of infected that would attack brutally while moving fast. It also had a tendency to retreat and commit unexpected movements and ambushes.

And the best way to stop a [Predator Type]'s unexpected actions was to surround it as fast as possible if it was not subdued immediately.

By the looks of it, the Combat Commander deemed Mark similar to a [Predator Type] and applied such actions.

It was kind of funny, though, since it was clear that Mark was not an infected. This kind of tactic would only work at the infected since they were brainless for the most part. Of course, it would also work against humans since it was a tactic to overwhelm the enemy.

But to Mark, he could not see how this would affect him at all.

In any case, Mark stopped in place, watching the rebels with a shrug.

Mark's action, however, made the rebels think that they cornered him. It was amazing that they were optimistic, but unfortunately, they were mistaken.

At this time, Renz took the opportunity to speak on his megaphone.

"WHO THE F*CK ARE YOU, AND WHY ARE YOU MAKING TROUBLE IN OUR BASE?!"

Mark could not help but frown. He was a person that mostly spent time in silence. Thus, one of the things he hated the most was megaphones. The loud ringing in his ears felt irritating and unpleasant.

As such, he did not hesitate to reply.

"It's obvious, isn't it? I'm here to trample some insects. As for who I am, there's no need for the dead to know."

It was a bold declaration for someone currently being surrounded by more than a hundred armed men. Not to mention that more of them were coming and gathering to this place to kill the intruder.

Nonetheless, the rebels could not make themselves laugh and ridicule the person that threatened them. It was because there were already several people that fell just a few seconds after the confrontation began. And none of them could prevent it from happening. They could not take this intruder lightly, even if they wanted to.

"You!" Renz furrowed his eyebrows and stared at Mark ferociously. "TSK! KILL HIM!"

The command was given, and the Mutators surrounding Mark fell back at the same time. Then, from more than a hundred guns pointed at Mark, bullets rained with a loud uproar.

Immediately, Mark ran forwards, avoiding the gunshots. He could not stay at that spot since it would cause a lot of bullets to fly into the warehouse. That would be a dangerous thing that Mark would not let happen.

As he ran, Mark's first target was the Mutator in front. Why? Within the rebels in the surroundings, there were about thirty Mutators. Fifteen of them were among the ones that surrounded Mark. Compared to the others, the one in front was a burly man with quite slow movements. However, his bright green colored skin gave Mark a bad feeling. This man was most likely had the ability to use poison and must be eliminated first.

Mark stretched his hand forwards, causing the Mutator to look confused as he retreated. After all, he was far from Mark's reach at all.

But then, the green-skinned Mutator's eye dilated when he saw a black spark of electricity on Mark's hand.

ROOAR!!!

With a thundering roar, a whip of black lightning tore through the Mutator's body and the ranks of rebels that stood behind him.

Dozens of rebels fell as life was snuffed out of their bodies instantly while more fell incapacitated, violently convulsing with their mouths foaming.

The whole place fell silent with extreme horror grasping their hearts.

They could not comprehend what happened immediately. The rebels understood one thing, however. The person they were dealing with this time might not be a human but a monster.

The rebels started to step back. Their courage to fight suddenly waned.

Being able to move fast and kill people with a few waves of his hand was still considered normal since the apocalypse started. But that black lightning that shot from the intruder's hand and killed many of their comrades, it could be anything but normal.

Among all kinds of fear, the fear of the unknown was the most horrifying. And now, something they could not fathom stood before them.

"M-MONSTER!"

A rebel cried out as he threw away his gun and ran for his life.

With one starting it, the others followed suit. In the least, not all of them were stupid to let go of their weapons before running with their tails between their legs.

The rebels were already in chaos, and the chain of command collapsed. Aside from Renz, only a small portion of the rebels stood their ground.

"STUPID IDIOTS! DON'T RUN AWAY!!!"

Renz yelled in his megaphone. Unfortunately, barely anyone listened to his shout.

And there, Renz raised the machine gun dangling on his body. Then, he fired. Not at Mark, but at his fleeing subordinates.

With a few rounds of indiscriminate firing, some of the Rebels fell either dead or injured. This caused the majority to be frozen in their steps.

"FIGHT OR I WILL BE THE ONES KILLING YOU ALL!"

The rebels became torn between the fear of Mark and the fear from their combat commander.

This scene proved something. While these rebels were competent and experienced in fighting, their minds and hearts were still lacking in resolve. They could efficiently move when they thought that they were still at an advantage. But now that they were all swallowed by fear, their heads stopped working properly.

And to say, freezing in their steps was the worst thing to do in front of a fierce enemy.

ROAR!

Another roar of thunder was heard, tearing through the rebels with Renz as the primary target. Killing the head would turn an army into a headless chicken. And the more chaotic it was, the easier it would be to destroy everything.

However, Renz was not a commander just for show. The moment he felt the threat, he jumped out of the way, throwing his gun at the trajectory of the black lightning. As the gun was directly hit but the lightning, it bent away from Renz.

To be able to move out swiftly and throw a heavy machine gun without problems, Renz himself was not just a regular person either.

Renz turned his head to Mark. The former could feel that the latter already locked unto him. Thus, he activated his Mutator ability, making his arm and legs covered in gray fur.

It was a partial mutation, but it was enough for Renz to get out of the most dangerous situations.

ROOAR! ROOAR! ROOAR!

Mark shot black lightning consecutively at the combat commander of the rebels. But like a hard-to-kill insect, Renz managed to avoid it using his subordinates as shields.

And as it appeared, not all the rebels lost morale in fighting the intruder. The Mutators started to attack Mark using their abilities while snipers began firing from the surrounding watchtowers.

Compared to the ones near Mark, the rebels further away were still composed.

However, to that overwhelming firepower aimed at him, Mark's response was a satisfied smile.

Since the time he absorbed the [Lightning Manipulation Mental Crystal] and one of the two [Speed Bone Mutation Physical Crystal], this was the very first time he was able to fully utilize both abilities.

Using lightning attacks was the most efficient in dealing with these rebels. Because all of them were holding metal conductors, a.k.a. guns, it was easier for the lightning bolts to bounce from target to target.

And using the speed he acquired from that mutation, it became easier for him to react to attacks and bullets flying towards him.

Accompanied with his [Emphatic Detection] made both abilities utilized even further.

Thus, in the middle of these humans, he was like an invincible war god.

Without hesitation, Mark eliminated the Mutators around him, grabbing some of them and using their bodies as shields against incoming gunfire. After their deaths, he would make sure to decapitate them and store the heads inside his ring. There was no way he would waste resources, after all.

Not far from Mark, Renz, who managed to take advantage of the situation and hid, could not believe what he was watching. Their precious Mutators were getting slaughtered one by one, and their manpower was losing a huge fraction after every roar of thunder.

And yet, the intruder was still unscathed.

"Just where in the world did this monster came from!"

Renz glared at Mark with extreme rage. There was their leader that he hated and could not surpass in terms of strength. And now, there was this monster that was demolishing the foundation that he was slowly building.

Getting these rebels to follow his commands without question was not easy. And now, the very same people were dying in front of him. What was the most annoying thing was that they seemed to display a similar ability.

"HATEFUL!"

Renz growled. However, despite his rage, his mind was still clear. He was not stupid to charge forwards and commit suicide.

Instead, he waited for an opportunity.

Luckily for Renz, what he was waiting for did not take long to arrive.

ROAR!

Another roar of thunder echoed across the rebel base. This time, however, it was not a black streak of lightning but a normal looking one. Furthermore, it was not a formless attack as the lightning seemed to gather at a single point like a huge ball.

And that point was charging at Mark at alarming speeds.

BAM!

Mark and that ball of lightning clashed, creating bolts of both black and yellow lightning to scatter into the surroundings.

Stretching his right arm forwards, Mark looked at the enemy whose fist met his.

It was a woman in her early thirties with flowing golden hair and a body clad in bright surges of electricity.

Looking at this woman, her appearance definitely fits a certain person. Without a doubt, she was the leader of the aggressive faction of the rebels, Emellynn Aguillera.

BAM!

Mark and Emellynn had their other fists clash, causing both of them to retreat backward.

And to say, Mark did not expect something.

It was not a secret that the leader of this faction was a female Mutator. But as there was no established level differentiation among Mutators, such information was nowhere to be found.

But to Mark, he could tell that this woman was already a [Level 3]. And the most surprising was that she was likely to be very close to reaching [Level 4].

While Mark was observing Emellynn, she was doing the same. Unlike Renz, however, it seemed that she had some idea who Mark was.

"You must be that courier that arrived yesterday... What is your reason for attacking us."

Mark was not surprised that she knew. After all, there was one person among the rebels that he was quite familiar with.

Emellynn's right-hand man, who was called Felix. He was one of the people in the group that General Padilla's Secretary, Vanessa, belonged to.