Trash In The Apocalypse

The three stood frozen as they faced the mutated dog. For the past week, every encounter with a wild mutated animal meant casualties for the survivors of Binangonan.

Currently, there were two types of mutated threats wandering the town and even its outskirts. Forested areas were even more p.r.o.ne to danger which prevented people from logging too much. The mutated animals and the mutated insects. Further varied into two types; those that travel alone and those who travel in groups. 

Those who travel in groups were weak individually but annoying to face head-on when in greater numbers.

A perfect example was the Energy-sucking Mosquitoes who suck you dry until you pa.s.s out from energy backlash and would be further fed upon by other mosquitoes later on. Unless rescued by a large group, an individual caught by a swarm of Energy-sucking Mosquitoes would surely die after a few days due to blood loss, insufficient nutrients and numerous attacks received with health recovery unable to keep up with the damage.

Some low-ranked mutated dogs started to gather around and formed packs while those high-ranked ones claimed territories for themselves. With the advent of the apocalypse, everything with life is slowly becoming more intelligent.

The largest Energy-sucking Mosquito seen was 5-inches long with appropriate body size while the lengths of the regular ones were about 2-3 inches long. Its proboscis—the needle-like part—measures around 1-2 inches depending on their body size.

There were pa.s.sive types of threats like different kinds of bugs, a new breed of teethed worms, and ant colonies. It is recommended to not mess with nature at this changing times if you want to survive longer.

Takaw stopped wagging his tail and sat down with his tongue sticking out while breathing relaxedly. He appeared relaxed like it was just a casual walk in the park with his lady boss.

Takaw stared at the mutated dog in front of him then barked once loudly.

The mutated dog sniffing the ground turned to him. It noticed the three armed survivors frozen at the side but it ignored them as it turned back to Takaw returning the greeting it received.

"Rarf!" the mutated dog barked then wagged its tail.

The two then started barking at each other as if they were communicating.

"Arf arf. (h.e.l.lo there are you hungry? Looking for food?)"

"Rarf rarf! (Yeah, I haven"t eaten for days. Are they your friends, can I eat them if not?)"

Emman stopped dubbing their conversation when both dogs turned to him. Erin in front of him quickly stepped on his feet and before he could even shout, her hand was already pinching his mouth.

"I don"t understand what"s happening right now and I would really appreciate it if you don"t get us killed." Erin glared at Emman, and only let go when the man nodded his head. She turned around and with a smile on her face, beckoned for the dogs to continue their noisy barking.

The dogs faced each other once again and continued their exchange of barkings. After several exchanges, the mutated dog raised its front feet and brought it closer to Takaw.

From the three survivor"s point of view, the mutated dog was going to crush Takaw with its paw but they don"t know the reason for it. Was it really hungry or was it angry?

Anna watched the scene in horror and the hand holding the string trembled as she decided whether to let go or not.

Just then, she noticed a piece of cloth tied on the mutated dog"s left leg. Takaw stood up and sniffed the cloth on the mutated dog"s leg.

"We"re just about to head to the dungeon, so why are we this unlucky? If we"re a bit late, there would be no spot left for us and we would have nothing left to kill..." Emman suddenly uttered.

The three of them were on their way to the Cemetery Dungeon but they have the greatest luck to encounter a stray dog that could kill them if it so wanted to. Thankfully, Takaw was able to have some conversation between them, so they could save the trouble of fighting and get injured.

A mutated dog has a strong defense, high attack damage, and good mobility. Unless Takaw"s negotiation succeeds, even if they manage to kill the mutated dog, it would surely bring one person together with it.

A cornered dog is the deadliest.

"It"s looking for its owner." Anna suddenly uttered after observing the mutated dog"s behavior. Emman and Erin turned their heads to her filled with confusion.

She noticed their dubious looks and decided to explain.

"It was sniffing the ground when we encountered it and there"s a piece of cloth tied to its leg. That could only mean someone owned the dog, or I"m just overthinking things."

Anna started doubting herself whether she was overthinking things when Takaw suddenly barked and excitedly jumped around while wagging its tail. Meanwhile, the mutated dog appeared excited and stared at Takaw thankfully.

Anna, Emman, and Erin had the same thoughts. "Do dogs normally show such emotions?"

Takaw barked once more before turning around and started running back to the way they came from. When he noticed that the mutated dog was reluctant to follow him, it barked once more as if to encourage it to follow.

In the end, Takaw managed to convince the mutated dog after several barks. The words of courage that transpired were not discernible but it clearly reflected on the changes in the mutated dog"s emotion. When the mutated dog confidently darted forward and followed behind Takaw the three of them became further shocked at the situation.

Anna quickly stored her weapons and took her gacha ball from her dimensional storage. She released her bicycle from the gacha ball and hastily rode downhill to follow the two.

She turned her head and shouted towards the dazed Emman and Erin at the top of the hill: "Aren"t you two coming? I think this will be fun!"

With her call, the two woke up from the suddenness of the situation and brought their bikes out and followed after.

The town was bustling with activity as people went back and forth at the Notice Board and Black Haven Marketplace. At the plaza square, numerous agents gathered looking for a group to join explorations with. Some were headed outside the town to obtain new information while others want to slaughter carriers in the wild.

The town was basically cleared of all carriers and has only mutated animals wandering in and out of the town. Some of the survivors went back to live on their former houses while others chose to live on manors found by the roadside. Almost everyone had a fair chance to get good housing for themselves since there was a low chance of the owner surviving if they haven"t claimed back their houses.

As the people minded their own business, a bullmastiff paraded in the middle of the road as it looked around the area as if looking for something. It was followed by a one-meter mutated dog who sneakily looks around and scans every pa.s.serby.

A few gasp and shocked exclamations could be heard within the crowd and if it weren"t for Anna—who was following behind the dog, together with her guards—being known as the little sister of Black Haven"s head, the mutated dog would already be killed for food.

The people have tasted meat thanks to the Giant Rats they killed, which in return, raised the peoples impulses to kill the mutated dog for its meat. Since they already tested that animals that mutated could still be safely eaten, the hunt for animals started the next day after the town defense.

Ever since Evo learned that she was Jun"s little sister, he treated her a bit differently and provided her with more protection. She was the next person to own a smart.w.a.tch, so she could contact him in case of trouble.

Erin and Emman got promoted to become her personal guards since they were already close to each other.

Takaw sat at the roadside and watched everyone pa.s.sing by. He would sometimes bark as he greeted the people he knows while continuing to scan the people"s faces. The one-meter mutated dog appeared cute even though it has strange black fur as it behaved behind Takaw.

The two dogs continued watching the people.

At first, the survivors were alarmed after seeing a mutated dog right after they exited the Black Haven compound. It was thanks to Anna and her guards that stood beside the dog, so people think that it was tamed.

Time pa.s.sed by and the sun shone directly on top of their head. They spent about two or three hours standing idly outside. The other survivors already became accustomed to the scene and aside from a few curious glance by newcomers, they were basically ignored.

Until two men walked by.

The mutated dog started growling while baring its fangs at the two.

Anna immediately panicked.

"Was it looking for revenge?"