Trash In The Apocalypse

Marvin was a former drug addict. He was undergoing rehab and was under drug withdrawal when he leveled up. Quitting wasn"t the hardest thing to do, the hardest part was to getting through the withdrawal syndromes

Early on during withdrawal, the body would undergo several changes. Muscles pains, cramps. insomnia and anxiety were the few common effects that someone has to go through when under drug withdrawal.

He thought that Jun would surely look down on him.

To his surprise, the conversation continued normally with Jun acting like he doesn"t care much about it.

It was common for people to judge someone based on their past. A mistake like consuming illegal drugs were still frowned upon in the society.

Marvin then learned that Jun was someone like him. A person who mostly works at night.

With this discovery, the conversation between them flowed much better with less awkwardness.

Marvin likes to talk a lot and is full of energy. He would joke around as if testing how deep Jun"s patience was; but had to stop when Jun frowned after he asked Jun some personal details.

Based on their conversation, Jun labeled the man as an immature adult with the same level of intelligence with Edward. He"ll wait until tomorrow morning and decide whether the man was trustworthy enough to recruit.

"You can leave the room, but I don"t suggest it. We don"t want to disturb the others that were already sleeping."

Jun sat on the bed and meditated as he circulated the energy inside his body. 

The next morning...

Jun opened his eyes feeling invigorated. He finally proved that energy meditation can subst.i.tue for sleeping. The sensation felt like he was sleeping with one eye closed and the other open.

He practiced the energy control that he learned from Nik the whole night.

As he practiced the skill, he could clearly see the surrounding two meter area around him. There was no blind spot at all, since he could even see what"s happening behind him!

The only problem was that it takes tremendous focus to gather enough energy and expand them in the surrounding area. Looks like he need to officially learn the skill for it to become useful. 

With that in mind, the skill slot for Level 11 became occupied.

Jun looked around and couldn"t find Marvin in the room. The couch that he was in last night had missing cus.h.i.+ons.

"Did he leave?" he thought. 

Jun became disappointed since he had great plans for the man. He wanted to nurture him since his abilities were unique and extremely overpowered. 

He looked at his watch then jumped off from the bed. He started doing exercises to warm up his body, since it was still early in the morning and the sun hasn"t rise up.

After the short exercise, Jun got up and changed to a new set of clothes before walking out of the room. He smiled after he got out of the room.

Marvin, the man he thought to have escaped, was slumbering on the bench at the end of the hallway. He used the couch cus.h.i.+ons as a pillow and took some bedsheets to use as blankets.

The girls woke up after hearing some laughters outside. A unique appetizing scent then lingered on their noses. They sniffed the air and searched for the smell only to find Jun and Marvin at the end of the hallway. Jun was eating some cooked meat on his own, while Marvin was sc.r.a.ping off a canned tuna.

Jun invited them and placed another plate filled with meat on the bench. The meat on the plate emitted the appetizing smell that they were looking for and they bashfully accepted the free meal.

Women in general tend to wake up early. Now that security isn"t always guaranteed, people can"t sleep deeply anymore. Any kind of stimulation could wake anyone from their slumber.

Lolita led the group while Reena apprehensively walked forwards. She first examined the meat before deciding to try it. The meat looked like it was some luxurious steak and was cooked by a professional chef.

Lolita took a bite and praised the taste and texture of the meat. She was still acting politely even though her speed of stuffing food in her mouth was becoming faster.

Seeing their friend enjoying the food, the others followed. Mellissa ate quietly while Lourdes couldn"t help but nod her head in approval.

It meant that it really tasted good!

Reena forced herself to accept Jun"s graces and took a bite. She closed her eyes in delight and even licked her lips as she savoured the flavour inside her mouth.

Reena couldn"t help but ask Jun, "What is this? This is so good!"

Jun smiled wickedly and replied, "It"s rat meat. Mike actually improved his skills. The first time I ate this it still has that pungent smell."

Jun took another piece and started chewing loudly.

Reena dropped the meat she was holding into her mouth, then widened her eyes when she understood what Jun said. She quickly spat out the meat and even inserted a finger on her mouth.

Mellissa and Lourdes was in disbelief and returned the rat meat they were holding. Unlike Reena, they didn"t spat out the meat that was already on their mouths. They continued eating the meat they were chewing and savored the unique taste that lingered on their taste buds.

Lolita who looked like a squirrel after stuffing her mouth repeatedly, frowned and glanced at Reena. She said something but the words she produced were unintelligible.

After gulping some of the food, she repeated what she was trying to say earlier: "Sis Reena, haven"t you tried eating frogs? They almost have the same taste!"

Reena"s vomiting continued.

—

Marvin was officially recruited to Black Haven Guild. Jun sent him an invitation before they ate and explained all the responsibilities and benefits that he would receive. First of all, he would be nurtured as a secret weapon. He would only be used as a trump card when every thing else fails. In return, he would be provided with everything that he needed. Food, shelter—anything.

Marvin was extremely happy because for the first time, he felt like someone cared for him. He was once drowned in illegal drugs, which prompted his family to lose hope for him. By the time he woke up, everyone he loved already distanced themselves from him.

Having given a new chance at life and to come back to interact with same minded people, Marvin greatly appreciated Jun.

Jun didn"t invite Lolita"s group to work for Black Haven since they seemed to be attached to this place. Unless the whole town gets overrun, there"s no chance that people would willingly leave their home towns when other places might be under the same situation.

Time pa.s.sed by and noon arrived...

Jun brought Marvin to scout the event area to familiarize himself with the surroundings. Marvin served as a guide since he knew the danger zones of the town, which made the travel easier.

The two stealthily entered the adjacent building of the munic.i.p.al plaza.

"Why are there so many people?" Marvin uttered.

"Isn"t it normal to increase the security after what happened last night?" replied Jun.

Marvin nodded his head in understanding.

Jun surveyed the plaza and became surprised when he saw mutated dogs with varying sizes patrolling the area.

Marvin saw his shock and explained. 

Apparently, there"s a survivor who can communicate with animals.

Although there"s no concrete communication between humans and animals, the feelings could be sent and received by that survivor. It was an old man who works at a Veterinary Clinic.

The mutated dogs were still dogs even with the ma.s.sive changes to their appearances. They still want to be loved and cared for. With effective communication, the mutated dogs got adopted by Marcus" faction.

With the wave of new information, the two went back and called for a meeting to revised their plans. They revised the plan several times to make sure that there was no problem. He also lent everyone a wireless earphone for smooth communication during operation; then explained its functions and limitations.

The meeting ended and Jun and Marvin went back to their VIP room.

Jun asked Marvin, "How long does your transformation last?"

"It depends on how much energy I have. if I"m at full energy, around one minute and a half?" replied Marvin.

Jun nodded, then presented a green fruit to Marvin. It was the Energy Fruit.

Marvin knew at first glance that the fruit wasn"t normal. It also emitted a powerful scent that made him want to immediately eat it.

Jun gave Marvin the fruit and said, "No matter what happen, don"t vomit it out."

Feeling extremely excited and at the same time pressured, Marvin threw the green fruit into his mouth. Before his body could even react to the new food intake, he quickly gulped in down into his stomach.

Marvin widened his eyes and shouted, "I gained 200 additional max energy points!"

Jun said, "Great! Now listen. I have some good news and bad news for you. This fruit can increase your maximum energy by 100 and it seems like your Addiction skill worked its wonders and doubled the effect. That"s the good news."

"The bad news is, the fruit has a side effect. The next time you eat this fruit, its effects would be halve. Meaning you would only receive 50 additional points in max energy. With your Addiction skill and its chain effect, you can continue eating this fruit and still receive a good amount of energy."

"I"ll give five Energy Fruits to you. Use one later when you"re about to ran out of energy. Just follow the plan and serve as a distraction, okay?"