The sun started to set and shone its last rays on everything below the skies. A R0 Carrier[1] willfully chased the receding traces of the sun only to be stopped by a wall. Its yellow eyes that shone with unique brilliance as if it overflowed with energy, appeared disappointed.
As if frustrated, it growled loudly then started hitting the wall. After being hit, a green colored durability bar appeared above the wall.
Even after numerous strikes, the wall didn"t receive any damage while the R0 Carrier"s hand became disfigured.
Several bones appeared on the carrier"s knuckles, but it continued hitting the wall. All of a sudden, yellow dots of energy appeared on the carrier"s disfigured hand.
The wounds and sc.r.a.ped skin regenerated and grew back at an unbelievable pace. When the regeneration happened, the brilliance of the carrier"s eyes lessened by a bit. Afterwards, it stopped hitting the wall and only snarled at it.
Jun watched the whole event unfold. He was standing at the nearby corner when he became intrigued with the carrier"s behavior.
As far as he know, only evolved carriers have the capacity to think. Most of the R0 Carriers that he met were always brain dead or could only follow their basic instincts.
Jun felt that this carrier was unique since it was able to make decisions and even has self-control.
Marvin and Lourdes were behind Jun, waiting for him to move. To them, Jun was someone mysterious. He was always calm as if he had everything under control. With the addition of strange technology, the dark veil of mystery around Jun increased further.
Marvin who was behind Jun couldn"t wait anymore and nudged him. "Is everything okay?"
Jun woke up from his thinking and replied quickly, "Yeah, let"s go."
JUn walked out of hiding and confronted the carrier face-to-face.
When the carrier saw him, it became excited and dashed madly towards him. It treated Jun as a meal that it could convert as energy.
The carrier lunged at him and Jun easily stopped its advance by punching it in the face. He used Empower to make sure that the punch had enough power, so the carrier dies in one hit.
Filled with an unknown peculiar feeling, Jun decided to loot the carrier instead of beheading it.
To his surprise, he managed to loot one energy stone and two low-tier shards.
Marvin became curious at the item since it was the first time he saw something like this. He asked Jun, "What is that?"
"It"s a special stone," Jun said as he stood up with no intention of explaining. "Let"s go! We need to be in position before nightfall.
Though curious, Marvin and Lourdes didn"t press for an answer and quietly followed after Jun.
—
The night became darker as more time pa.s.sed. It was a cloudy night with almost no stars to be seen in the sky.
Everyone became alive and went on their own trips. People who wanted to pa.s.s through the Munic.i.p.al Street were stopped and told to go find another route.
The plaza had several barrels of drum stoked with fire. It helps light the area and at the same time, keep the cold away.
In contrast to the darkness outside, the gymnasium had all of its lighting turned on. With a portable generator, they were able to start the place back up once again.
It was almost 7pm and guests were already streaking in. The only people who could afford to slow down and attend parties were the top dogs of the economy. While other people have to scavenge useful things to trade for foodstamps, the social elite were here wasting resources.
The place was beautifully decorated with all colors of fabric. The tables and chairs reflected the light, as if showing off how much polished they were. Also, a simple soothing music was being played on the background.
The once useless caterers gathered and rise up to the occa.s.sion!
They became extremely grateful for the opportunity to get close with these group of elites. As long as they managed to get a good impression on anyone of these people, their lives could be considered saved and worry-free.
The event hall became livelier as more and more people arrived. They started chatting in their own circles and it was noticeable that there"s a few odd ones out drinking wine on their own.
These people were the few special ones that were invited to the party. They were the "talented and skilled" individuals from the lower economic cla.s.s.
Although some of them didn"t want to come, they couldn"t embara.s.s their backers since it was their backers that helps them to live with ease.
An old man was specially surrounded by all kinds of people, accompanied by juvial laughter.
"Aries, when can I get some guard dogs? I know you already tamed a few. If you continue doing this, I"ll start thinking that you"re giving special treatments to Marcus. He already got priority on the last 2 batches, right? Isn"t it time for the goods to be distributed equally?"
A fair skinned middle-aged man said. He had no distinctive features except for his gray-dyed hair and mustache. Even though Aries seemed to be much older than the middle-aged man, he chose to talk with no hint of respect.
With the man"s remarks, the atmosphere turned cold. The crowd dispersed and started acting busy as they chatted with one another.
The old man named Aries, replied, "Ofcourse Mister Quinto. I"m still in the process of calming them down, and once I get them to act normally, I"ll immediately contact you."
Aries had an innocent and loving expression as he spoke. He looked like a gentlemanly butler with his coat and tie.
Quinto nodded his head in satisfaction. Before he could even reply, he overheard two guards discussing that Marcus has just arrived.
He bade his farewell to Aries before heading out in a hurry.
The smile plastered on Aries" face disappeared as he glared at the receding back of Quinto.
Outside...
Quinto saw one of his friend chatting with Marcus. They were standing in the plaza square next to the red vortex while discussing something serious.
Quinto was Marcus" business partner on one of his successful projects.
If the business wasn"t successful, he probably won"t even be able to find Marcus.
Ever since Marcus gained more authority, the faction that he controls became more powerful. Due to jealousy and not receiving enough benefits even though he was one of the main supporters, Quinto started acting on his own.
This resulted in their close bond to whittle down.
When Quinto approached the two, his friend backed off which allowed him to chat with Marcus.
Quinto was sneering inside his head. "Atleast you know your place."
He raised his hand and said, "Happy Birthday Marcus!"
Marcus smiled and placed his arm around Quinto"s shoulder. His other hand took this chance to show the way forward.
The two started walking towards the Munic.i.p.al Hall.
Marcus cleared his throat and said, "I heard you want some dogs?"
Quinto felt that something was wrong but still answered the question. "N-not really. Why?"
Marcus, not believing what he was saying, nodded his head. When they walked next to the red vortex, he suddenly grabbed Quinto"s arm and shoved him forward.
Quinto didn"t even have time to shout as he quickly disappeared after pa.s.sing through the red vortex.
Marcus dusted his hands then walked towards the gymnasium as if nothing happened.
With Marcus arrival, the security personnels went back to their positions while others started patrolling.
—
Three people watched everything that happened from one of the building"s window.
Marvin and Lourdes focused on the fact that Marcus threw someone into the red vortex.
No one that entered the vortex has ever come back alive!
On the other hand, Jun focused on the fact that Marcus easily forced the other person into the vortex.
It simply implies that Marcus has enough power to overpower other stat enhanced survivors.
"It"s him. Are we starting now?" asked Lourdes. She was only here to Search for Marcus" whereabouts.
They tested earlier whether her skills could work on people or not. To their surprise, it can! As long as she thought of people as objects and focused on the name and shape of the person, she would be able to lock-on the target.
"We"re starting."
Lourdes nodded, then started running. She equipped the wireless earphone while jogging down the stairs.
Jun tapped Marvin"s shoulder and said, "Focus on distraction. Don"t engage them. We"re here to kill Marcus, so don"t die."
Marvin watched Jun go down the stairs. He felt good and even appreciated that Jun cared about him. Unbeknownst to him, Jun only wanted his investment to grow to fruit.i.tion and not turn into waste.
Jun circled around three streets before arriving behind the gymnasium. He had to take the long route around since there were security on the immediate vicinity of the Munic.i.p.al Street.
Jun tapped his wireless earphone and said, "I"m in position."
Marvin who was 100m away from Jun, heard his confirmation. He operated his wireless earphone and said, "We"re in position."
Lourdes who was warily standing at an alleyway, heard him, then informed Lolita that they are in position.
Lolita pa.s.sed the same message to Reena, then Reena pa.s.sed the message to Mellissa.
Mellissa stretched her arms as she stood up after squatting for so long. She was sneakily peaking on the gathered carriers on the highway.
[1] Regular Carrier = Rank 0 Carrier