Mutagen

Day 198 - 3:21 PM - San Jose, Antipolo City, Rizal Province

The land was chaotic. It was something that could be easily seen in areas more embraced by the previous civilization.

Ruins of houses, buildings, broken roads, and even vehicles were scattered about. All of which were mostly hidden by lush trees and vines of the Spirit Dimension.

Because of the fusion of dimensions, new lands appeared, stretching the land that already existed beforehand. Many places were torn apart, even causing some of the human structures to be torn apart. It would not be a surprising sight to see parts of a single building located far away from each other.

However, even with the ruins of the previous civilization still present on the new Earth, it was almost impossible to determine which place was which on the map. The terrain was nowhere the same as before, whether it was land or water.

The maps that existed were now mostly useless. All it served now was to show the general direction.

One of the only ways to properly and safely navigate the current world was by traveling through air. But, of course, not everyone was capable of that. Many magical races might be capable of that feat, but for humans, only a select few. That was if the secret side of the Mortal Earth was not included.

And at this time, traveling across the sky of Luzow was a gigantic black cube, barely seen from the land below.

That floating cube hovering across the sky was no other than the floating vessel of Chimetrice and Illia with the rest of Mark's group aboard.

This time, the group was composed of Mark, Mei, and the three girls. Of course, Chimetrice and Illia were here, considering the vessel was theirs. The remaining members were Spera and Amihan. The three golems were also present along with the two [Blood Children], Crimson and Oracle, who were always brought along by Mark and Mei in their adventures. Lastly, and the unusual member this time, was Feng Zhiruo.

Traveling through the sky in a secure vessel sure was safe. However, it was also undeniable that it was kind of boring. Although the vehicle was large, it was as large as a two-story bungalow at most. However, a fourth was occupied by magical mechanisms and circuits, and another fourth was intended for cargo. It made the area passengers could move around limited.

But Chimetrice already said it before. It was mostly an emergency transport vessel of the Creator's laboratory. As it was not built for luxury, the most they could expect was comfortable travel. Furthermore, the average speed of the vessel was around thirty kilometers per hour. It was slow, for sure. But did not matter much since it was traveling across the sky.

The floating vessel could actually go faster. But as its speed increased, so was the energy consumption. At its fastest, they could likely reach Bay City in just ten minutes, using the past map of the Philippines as measurement. Unfortunately, that speed would drain the energy reserves in just five minutes. Considering that the efficiency of the self recharge of the energy was rather low, such speeds were only applicable during emergencies.

Fortunately, as boring as the travel was, it was a nice opportunity to relax. As usual, Mark, who was about to start tinkering, was stopped by Mei. Right now, he was helplessly lying on Mei's lap as she brushed his hair. It was not a bad thing as it did feel good for Mark, and it was a nice way for Mei to pass her time.

Spera was also nearby, playing on the phone that Mark lent her. With her past as a slave and a member of Auraboros, Spera did not have any experience playing games. As such, she took an interest in things Mark was playing on his phone in his free time.

On the other hand, Amihan was lying on Mark's stomach, sleeping, making it harder for Mark to move around as he lay down. Out of all places, she decided to sleep there. It was not exactly bothering Mark, so he let her be.

Feng Zhiruo was sitting beside Spera, watching her play. It seemed that she also developed an interest in these things. Apparently, she was born and raised in her sect and barely had any interactions outside. Furthermore, her talents for cultivation were deemed mediocre, causing her to spend more time cultivating and not doing anything else. Now, however, she took the opportunity to learn about the world and asked to come with the group this time. Mark had no problems with it and did not reject her. Besides, compared to most people in the base, a cultivator like Feng Zhiruo could be more useful within the group than their base.

As for the three girls, children were easier to please. They did not look bored as they looked down the glass wall of the vessel. Although it was also possible to look around while riding on Chaflar's back, it was not a steady and comfortable ride. It was kind of hard to focus their eyes while Chaflar flapped his wings up and down. In this vessel, however, everything was steady. Thus, the girls could watch the sceneries below clearer.

The girls seemed to be liking the view, even the mature Iola included. Once they were tired, they could play around with their new toys.

Still, although the girls were enjoying the view, the view below was not exactly enticing to watch.

As they got nearer and nearer towards Metro Manila, more scenes of destruction could be witnessed below.

There was no need to mention the current inhabitants of Earth that could be seen even though the floating vessel was flying high in the sky.

From their current height, vehicles like city busses were just about the size of a medicinal capsule.

Yet, they could see many [Infected]-looking creatures, much larger in size. Without a doubt, many [Infected] had advanced their mutation during the previous month after the catastrophe.

Without a doubt, life within the highly populated places on Earth before had now become hell itself.

The higher the population of [Infected], the more chances of mutation happening. Just how it looked like below. Since the population of the [Infected] within the cities was higher, there was more presence of [Mutated Infected].

It was good that Mark chose a good spot for the base. And even though they faced some dangerous events, the New Infanta Settlement had a good location compared to many parts of the Philippines.

The boring travel continued. Along the way, they encountered a few groups of [Flying Infected]. Most were groups of [Infected Insects] such as flies and mosquitoes. There were also groups of [Infected Birds].

These [Flying Infected] ignored the floating vessel and just passed by. The reason was that inside the floating vessel, everyone's presence could not be felt from outside. Well, that was how it should be. Unfortunately, it would not affect Mark at all since he was using a different kind of presence to sense others.

As it seemed, as long as they remained inside the floating vessel and remained unseen, the [Infected] would just treat it as nothing but an uninteresting obstacle to their path. Well, the [Infected] had no sense of space and would not try to evade obstacles most of the time. In fact, several of the [Flying Infected] they passed by ended up colliding with the vessel and fell to the ground.

There was one [Flying Infected] that they did not let go, however. A regular [Flying Infected], whether it be a bird or a fly, did not really matter that much. Mark might pay a bit of importance if they were mutated animals and insects with redeeming features such as strong armor or sharp claws. Those parts might be useful in being crafted into armors and weapons.

A humanoid [Flying Infected], however, was of critical importance for Mark. There was a high chance that Mark could get a [Physical Crystal] with a mutation capable of flight from one with a high level of mutation. It was like how Mark and Mei gained wings due to a highly intelligent [Mutated Infected] with bat wings back then.

Furthermore, these humanoid [Flying Infected] were quite rare. Thus, if Mark encountered one, he had one protocol in mind. Kill on sight.

And today, they did encounter one. Unfortunately, it was only had a low-level mutation. It even bumped into the floating vessel as it passed by. Nonetheless, Mark jumped off the vessel to kill it. Even though he did not manage to get a crystal out of it, its blood was still precious.

In Iola's case, Mark had already proven that blood could become a catalyst for a human to become an [Evolver]. It could be the same to create [Mutators]. It was just that Mark had not fully tested it yet. If he could create a group of areal soldiers in the future, why not?

Aside from those things, the journey was uneventful. And to say, because the land widened after the fusion of dimensions, it seemed that they had to travel more than twice the distance they did before.

By the time they reached the supposed ruins of Quezon City, it was almost nighttime. They were still a few hours away from Bay City if they managed to guess the distance right.

What took their attention, however, was how Quezon City did not seem to be torn to pieces. Well, the outskirts were separated from the central areas of the city, but most of the terrain of the city was intact even though all the buildings had been turned into ruins.

"Looks like some survivors stayed here."

That was what Mark said, seeing the strange sight below.

Considering that the only places that remained intact after the fusion of dimensions were those places inhabited by humans, it was likely to be the actual case here. Even though the city was dangerous, it seemed that a group of survivors managed to live through it.

The only question now was, were those survivors able to survive the earthquake.

The possibility of that happening was next to impossible, however. During that earthquake, the city centers were the most dangerous, especially in Quezon City, where many high-rise buildings were located.

"If they survived by living on the rooftops of the buildings, they are likely to be dead now."

Spera commented to the side. She had a point there.

Inside cities, the safest places could be the building rooftops as it would attract less attention from the [Infected] below. The problem with food and water could be sustained for some time if the building was an apartment type one or a hotel.

But now that all the buildings were toppled to the ground, anything living on the rooftops should be buried under the rubble now.

In any case, it was not the problem of Mark's group. Their goal this time was to reach Bay City and check on their situation.

It was unexpected, but they reached the point where they could see the familiar outline of Bay City's roads after another hour and a half. Everything along the way between Bay City and Quezon City was destroyed and filled with unfamiliar terrain.

Mark's group entered the bridge of the vessel where Chimetrice and Illia were controlling it. It was the best place to see what was in front. Nonetheless, it was already dark. They could barely see anything from afar.

It was strange, however. Even though it might attract some attention from the [Infected], the military would still set up lights for their convenience. It was not only the soldiers that would need the light but also other people. It was even more needed near the border of the settlement so that the soldiers would be able to see any incoming threat.

Yet, not a single speck of light could be seen in Bay City.

Soon, the floating vessel arrived above Bay City.

And to everyone's surprise, what they found was...

Nothing but rubble.