Mutagen

Day 201 - 12:23 PM - Administrative Office, Safezone, Corregidor Military Settlement, Island of Corregidor, Province of Cavite

The strange thunderstorm passed to everyone's relief. Still, the wariness and fear became deeply engraved in the hearts of those that experienced it.

There were the [Infected], the earthquake that changed the world, the robots from space, and now, this unexplainable weather phenomenon. No one would know what could happen next in this world now far from what people knew.

Would humanity last long if these kinds of things continued to happen?

Well, although the dark clouds that loomed over the sky a few minutes ago had dispersed, the calamity was far from over.

At the west slums, rising towards the sky, was a pillar of thick, black smoke. The flames continued to burn as they engulfed the entire base of the Powder Gang. The compound made of plywood, cloth, and plastic would not be able to stop the fire until everything burned to ashes...

...Along with the members of Powder Gang that were trapped inside it.

Whether it be the members who were just regular humans, [Evolvers], and even [Mutators], all those inside were unable to escape.

Inside the Safezone, the city enclosed by the fortress walls, many people were watching the pillar of smoke. It included people from the government, the military, and, of course, the backers of the Powder Gang.

Inside one of the office rooms in the Administrative Building, a man seething in anger sat on his chair while looking through the window.

"What is the situation there..."

The man spoke to the radio on his office table. His voice was shaking, barely managing to contain his calm.

"It is hard to say, Chairman." A familiar voice replied from the radio. "But the casualties can be estimated. And it is not a good piece of news."

"Just report."

The man said, rubbing his forehead.

"T-that's..." The voice from the radio hesitated before a deep breath was barely heard. "From the leaders to the middle members of the gang, all of them are inside the burning compound. Only the lower members who were tasked to do their jobs around the slums are fine."

"So, are you saying that everyone but the useless ones is dead?"

The Chairman spoke, sounding stern.

"Y-Unfortunately, it is hard to say, Chairman..." The man on the radio replied. "There might be some still alive but trapped inside, but there is no way to confirm. The whole base is burning, and it is definitely suicide to jump inside. We might have been able to save anyone if we managed to respond early, but even the earliest to come, General Calcedo and his men, are already late."

"Okay, this is it for now." The Chairman spoke to the radio. "Report to me once something important happened."

"Yes, Chairman."

And there, the radio went silent.

"F*ck..."

The Chairman cursed his luck. Because of this disaster, everything he built and his future plans turned to ashes, literally.

Of all places, why was it the base of the Powder Gang? There were many places where the lightning strikes hit, but only the base of the gang caught on fire.

Yes, the man called Chairman, currently known as Pedro Kakahuyan, 66, was the secret backer of the Powder Gang. He was a rich entrepreneur in the field of medicine business. He owned an entire chain of pharmacies nationwide.

Known as a great man, he had several foundations under his name. Not to mention the news of him donating to other foundations to help the poor and the sick.

At the moment, he was working with the remains of the Philippine Government to manage the settlement, being the medicine distributor for the military.

Who would have known that under this guise lay a corrupt individual? A man who led the distribution of illegal drugs in the shadows.

"Crowell..."

The Chairman called out, even though there was no one but him inside and outside his office.

Hearing no reply, the Chairman spoke once more.

"I know you are here."

"Hah..."

A sigh was heard inside the supposedly empty office. It was then that a crow appeared out of nowhere, flying around the ceiling before landing to the side of the wall.

Once the crow landed, however, it was not a bird that stood there but a man wearing a black hooded robe that covered his face.

"What do you need from me?"

The hooded man, Crowell, asked. From his voice, it sounded like he was young, around his early twenties.

"I'm pretty sure you know what is happening." The Chairman said with a frown. "What are we supposed to do now?"

To the question that was asked back to him, Crowell only shrugged.

"Why are you asking me? I'm only your supplier, that's the extent of our contract. Whatever you do to the product, whatever happened to it, or whatever your plan is had nothing to do with me."

The Chairman frowned even more. He was already in an extremely foul mood. And now, the man in front of him was not helping. However, he decided to hold his anger inside.

He might be able to cuss on anyone in the settlement, including the president if he was not holding onto his current image. Anyone but Crowell.

Crowell had a huge organization behind him and his only lifeline. He could lose anything but not his connection to Crowell.

"Anyway," Crowell spoke all of a sudden. "Who did your men piss off this time?"

The question came out of nowhere, making the Chairman livid.

"What did you say?"

The Chairman asked Crowell.

"I said. Who did your men piss off this time?"

Crowell repeated.

However, the Chairman was still confused and could not answer the question.

Seeing that the old Chairman was confused, Crowell let out another sigh and explained.

"What happened to your Powder Gang is not just some natural phenomenon," Crowell explained. "Someone powerful attacked them. A powerful being capable of controlling the weather. That's why I'm asking you who did your men angered to receive such a retaliation."

Confusion and shock. That was what the Chairman felt after hearing the words from Crowell. It was unbelievable that such a terrifying event was made by someone and not just some strange coincidence.

Without minding the Chairman's expression, Crowell continued to speak.

"I already warned you before. The current Earth is different from the Earth in the past. The dimensional wall between the mortal world and the spiritual world was gone. Both dimensions are already fused. That is why hidden masters and powerful beings are beginning to appear. Be careful on who you are trying to make enemies of."

"That's impossible!" The Chairman finally snapped and replied in agitation as he stood up from his chair. "Aside from the gangs in the slums, my men never clashed with anyone! And so far, the only enemy we had with status is that pesky Perez. And he's a common enemy with many of us. So far since he arrived, nothing like this happened!"

As he heard those agitated words from the Chairman, Crowell could not help but tap his concealed chin.

"Now that you mentioned General Perez, I think I heard about you and your allies planning something last night. Didn't that plan involved someone else?"

That question made the Chairman froze. Crowell was right. Everything was going the same until today when they planned something different. A factor that they did not think of initially. After all, all the stories about that guy sounded like fairytales.

"That can't be," The Chairman slowly sat down on his seat. "Are you saying that this is caused by that wanted man?"

"Hmm? I don't know." Crowell replied, shaking his head and gesturing with empty hands. "I'm just speculating. However, it's only the odd factor so far."

As he heard the speculations from Crowell, the Chairman immediately grabbed the radio. He contacted his men near the burning base of the Powder Gang and inquired the report from General Calcedo, who was on site. Since the plan had just commenced a couple of hours ago, he and his allies had yet to receive the report of the result of the plan.

And after hearing the report from the frustrated Marines Commandant's mouth, the Chairman slumped on his chair.

"The plan did not yield any result." The Chairman spoke. "There's no trace of the target despite the lookouts saying otherwise."

"Then, you people are screwed, in that case," Crowell said with a shrug. "You guys are blinded by greed, neglecting the other factors."

"But those are nothing but rumors! All the information about him sounds exaggerated! Unbelievable and no basis!"

The Chairman emotionally said as he slumped down on his table, holding his head in agitation.

"Haaahh... Seriously." Crowell looked at his client with a troubled tone in his voice. "Rumors, folklore, legends... All might sound unbelievable, but none of them start without a basis. Seriously, it seemed that you already forgot how you got into a mess in the past. It all started with a rumor until your shady deals were exposed and you had to change persona to keep your freedom."

The Chairman fell silent. All the ridiculousness of the report about the target was something none of them believed to be true. Now that this happened, it was better to reconsider their plans in the future. Even more, so since the Powder Gang, he supported in the shadows, was now destroyed.

After a moment of silence, the Chairman stood up.

"Where are you going now?"

Crowell asked.

"I need to gather my allies and discuss the situation." The Chairman replied and turned to Crowell. "As for our deal, stop the supply of drugs for now."

"It's fine with me," Crowell replied. "But what are you going to do with the excess points you have from the deal? I'm telling you that I can't return it."

The Chairman stopped for a bit to think and replied.

"Are those points enough to buy information from you?"

"It depends on what information."

Crowell replied.

"Then, what about information about the wanted man."

The Chairman asked.

"Well, it won't be enough," Crowell replied negatively. "We are talking about a possibly powerful being here. The puny excess points you have don't weigh as much as the danger of investigating such a being."

The Chairman could not help but frown. However, he understood that Crowell would not lie about prices to a client. It was a rule within Crowell's organization.

"Then, how about information about the people close to that man in this settlement? I believe that is enough."

The Chairman changed his target.

Crowell thought for a bit and nodded.

"It should be enough. Is that order final?"

"There's nothing I can do. Just draw the contract."

The Chairman replied decisively.

And there, Crowell began to recite an incantation, causing a small magic circle to appear in front of him, summoning a magical owl.

Of course, it was a [Wise Owl] of the merchants of the Crystallus Notitia Coetus.

With the [Wise Owl] as a witness, the new contract was drafted between the merchant and the client.

And without further ado, Crowell turned into a crow, disappearing from the room to fulfill his end of the deal.

On the other hand, the Chairman went on his way to gather his allies for a meeting.

All of this happened discreetly with only the merchant and the client in the know.

For now, the Chairman's plans were put into a defensive stance. Before, he planned to slowly put the settlement under his control through the use of the illegal drug trade. Now knowing that they might have taken more than they could chew, he was thinking of plans to preserve his safety.

Unfortunately, greed knows no bounds.

Wanting to get ahold of power, there were those who would resort to drastic measures.

And now, the situation within the settlement was turning into a direction that no one expected.