Mutagen

Day 333 - 2:21 PM - Koishikawa Botanical Garden, Hakusan, Bunkyo City, Ruins of Tokyo

Another two days went by. It was already three days since the Black Lotus Group left for their supply-gathering expedition.

And within the former Koishikawa Botanical Garden, about seven kilometers northwest of the Reclaimed City, a commotion could be heard.

"Emika! Focus on blocking the human and animal [Infected]. Only kill them if there's no other choice."

"Got it!"

"Gale! Miracle! Remain inside Iola's barrier as much as possible while destroying the roots. Iola, you protect your sisters."

"..."

"Yes~!"

"Understood."

"Amihan! The branches! Mei'er, the fruits are yours! Spera, support Mei'er."

"Okay!"

"Yes."

"On it!"

"As for me... I'll deal with the main body!"

Mark's voice echoed through their communicators as he gave orders to the members of his group, and their replies came shortly after.

And their current enemy...

It was a [Flora Type Named Infected] given the title [Flesh-Eating Tree].

Plants and trees that became [Infected] or generally called [Flora Type Infected] were not new to the apocalypse. According to conducted research, any kind or type of living creature could turn into an [Infected] as long as they were able to carry the [Unstable Strain] of [Mutagen] within their bodies and withstand its effects. This included plants, trees, fungi, and, by theory, even bacteria and viruses. However, no accounts of [Infected] microorganisms had been observed and recorded, which was clearly a good thing.

As for [Infected Flora], while these abominations existed, they were pretty rare. After all, the main source of the [Unstable Strain] was the saliva of an [Infected]. And for clear reasons, there was no way that [Infected] humans or animals would go biting plants and trees all of a sudden.

Thus, any kind of flora could only become an [Infected] creature by chance. For example, an [Infected] ended up dying under a tree, and a good concentration of its saliva was spilled on the tree's roots. There were quite a number of possibilities that could cause it, but it was clearly rare.

The worst part was that [Flora Type Infected] was rather vicious in terms of unpredictability and growth.

Unlike [Infected] humans and animals, plants had no saliva and could not propagate through bites. And fortunately, there were no accounts of the sap of [Flora Type Infected] having the same properties as [Infected] saliva. Most of them could also not bear fertile seeds due to the fact that most plants and trees needed pollen from the same species of plants to pollinate.

In exchange, [Flora Type Infected] were prone to immediate mutations, even if no strange catalyst was found on their bodies. Due to this, pollination was basically impossible for them due to the fact that a mutated [Flora Type Infected] was a new unique species of its own.

Nonetheless, their mutations were always unpredictable, making them even more dangerous from a whole lot of known [Infected] mutations.

The current target, the [Flesh-Eating Tree], was a Cherry Blossom Tree that mutated, spreading its roots all over its territory. It turned the entire area of the botanical garden into a forest consisting of nothing but its roots and branches. And that area was constantly expanding.

Its threat level was pretty high, and the actual time the mission would be posted was shorter than normal. Unfortunately, its threat level could have been lower if not for the fact that it was just discovered recently.

The discovery was late, and it had already grown to a level that no one would probably try to challenge it.

But then came the Evernight Group.

In the past few days, the Evernight Group had been actively accepting Bounty Missions to hunt the notorious [Named Infected]. This [Flora Type Infected] would be their fifth mission since they started accepting them from the bureau.

And despite the notoriety of these [Named Infected], the Evernight Group did not fail a single mission, always bringing back irrefutable proof of the hunt.

The fame of the Evernight Group was rising even more.

In general, the Evernight Group successfully fulfilling these bounty missions was an extremely good thing. The threat around the Reclaimed City was going down while the army was able to save their workforce, supplies, and equipment.

But it also brought forth some negative effects.

Idiots exist everywhere. And among the [Freelancers], there were some arrogant ones. Thinking that the fame and success of the Evernight Group were exaggerated and they were lucky to find weak bounty targets, some of those arrogant groups took bounty missions. The receptionists warned them thoroughly, but their skulls were hard to crack.

In the end, disaster hit those people brutally.

Many managed to luckily return with minor to severe injuries. But two groups lost more than half of their members, while one group never returned.

With these results, everyone was reminded once again that the most dangerous missions were the Bounty Missions. Only those with enough strength and experience should try these high-pay, high-risk missions.

Some of these idiotic groups wanted to put the blame on the Evernight Group for their loss. It was an idiotic thought process, but in the least, they knew not to cross people protected by the Temple.

BANG! BANG! BOOM!

Loud sounds of fighting continuously echoed inside the botanical garden.

Mei accurately shot the fruits falling from the [Flesh-Eating Tree] while Spera did the same. Its red fruits mutated to be extremely sticky and acidic, which the tree used to catch its prey and defend its trunk.

On the other hand, the tree could move the ends of its roots and branches to some extent, using them to attack enemies. These roots were currently being held off by the little girl crew with their inhuman strength and barriers, while the branches were being cut by the wind blades created by Amihan.

As for Emika, she was using her vines to block the enemies from outside attracted by the battle without killing them as much as possible. At least until the [Flesh-Eating Tree] was killed. From the information provided, the tree could regenerate itself faster by eating flesh. However, it would not attack other [Infected] but only consume corpses. That was why it was better not to gather a large number of corpses while fighting the target.

BAM!

Mark jumped to his right as a root far larger than his body slammed at where he was previously running at.

The tree was clearly trying to prevent Mark from approaching its base.

A tree, the gigantic towering tree, was slamming its roots and branches violently, trying to kill the intruders that entered its territory.

It was such a strange scene. The tree should have no actual eyes, but it was able to detect its enemies without problems. Mutated creatures sure were strange in this regard.

With a faint purplish glow in his eyes, Mark evaded hundreds of roots and branches attacking him as he charged at the giant tree.

There was no denying it. The [Flesh-Eating Tree] was the most dangerous [Infected] Mark's group faced so far in Japan. Of course, there was the [Boss of Oshiage]. Nonetheless, that one did not count as he did not really fight it.

Mark's group could probably easily deal with this enemy if they just went and used about a fourth of their true strength and abilities. However, they had someone tailing them and currently watching the fight. Mark let the audience see Iola using her shield, but that was it. He was not willing to show more.

Besides, while it was harder than usual, the [Flesh-Eating Tree] was not strong enough to make Mark and the girls retreat.

And to kill it, Mark only needed to reach the base of the tree while carrying a large gas can on his back.

As anyone would expect, the weakness of [Flora Type Infected] was fire. In fact, if the [Flesh-Eating Tree] was discovered sooner, a small group of fighters was more than enough to kill it just by dousing it in kerosene and lighting it on fire. However, it became extremely hard to do because the main tree was now inside the root and branch-covered botanical garden. One would need to destroy or evade hundreds of roots and branches. The only option for most people was to attack from outside using long-range attacks.

The discoverers of this tree and the previous [Freelancers] that took the mission actually tried to set fire from outside. However, it did not work as the tree had enough intelligence to put out the flames from its roots and branches.

Now, Mark reached the base of the tree. As the tree tried to wack Mark away using its gigantic roots, the ground around the [Flesh-Eating Tree] could only rumble violently.

Mark remained unfazed as he uncapped the gas can and ran around the base, pouring the kerosene around its trunk.

CLANG!

Mark threw the emptied gas can and evaded another root slamming in front of him.

Then, Mark grabbed several grenades from inside the bag hanging on his side. Evading another barrage of roots, Mark threw all the grenades to one single point on the tree's trunk.

BOOOM!

Mark retreated quickly as the explosion took a good chunk off the [Flesh-Eating Tree's] trunk. At the same time, the explosion ignited the kerosene around the tree's base.

RUMBLE!

The flames enveloped the base of the [Flesh-Eating Tree].

There was one awful flaw for [Mutated Flora]. In exchange for being able to move their branches and roots, the wood within their bodies became less compact. While some had bark that could resist fire, their insides could easily light ablaze without resistance.

That fact was what Mark was aiming for. The explosions from the grenades exposed the tree's insides, and it immediately set on fire from the inside.

"Quick! Retreat!"

Mark spoke on his communicator, ordering his members to start retreating.

Mei and the girls immediately heeded his order and made their way out. Compared to the entry to the botanical garden, the retreat was much easier as the tree had lost control due to its trunk getting set on fire.

While the girls retreated, Mark remained around the tree, making sure it was burning nicely. He did not mind the heat as the flames grew. It was more important to finish the mission.

And Mark was right for not leaving immediately. The tree's wound started to regenerate despite the flames raging inside. It was probably an attempt to stop the flames from outside from entering its body even more. And if it succeeded, the flames inside might also get extinguished due to lack of oxygen.

But Mark, with another set of grenades, made sure that it would not happen.

The ground shook more violently as the flames inside its body burned stronger. With another set of grenades, the resistance of the tree began to weaken. And another few more minutes, the flames from inside the tree began to tear the tree apart from inside, making charred holes in its body.

Those flames began to burn the gigantic tree from inside out and top to bottom. The flames also began spreading throughout the botanical garden, and Mark was finally forced to retreat.

After a few hours, the entire botanical garden turned into a garden with nothing but charcoal and ashes. The [Flesh-Eating Tree] that stood there before was now nothing but a pile of charcoal.

Of course, Mark's group did not leave the area. After the flames died down, Mark searched the area. Unexpectedly, he found a fist-sized [Mutagen Stone] in the ashes. This should be the second largest stone Mark found from the [Infected].

With this, Mark was sure that the mission was now a success. But as they were about to leave, Mark's eyes suddenly glowed purple as scenes flashed in his eyes.

***

Day 333 - 4:10 PM - Honcho Higashimurayama, Ruins of Tokyo

Within the suburbs in Honcho, the Black Lotus Group should be on their way home after a successful hunt.

However...

"HOLD THE LINE! We need to protect the trucks until we replace the busted wheel!"

Ren shouted as she commanded her subordinates.

One of the wheels of the truck that carried the hunted animals was punctured by something and needed to be replaced. However, they were suddenly besieged by a horde of [Infected] the moment the convoy stopped for the repair.

But as if it was not enough...

ROOOOOARRRR!!!

A loud roar was heard, making Ren's back covered in a cold sweat.

And with loud rumbles, the members of the Black Lotus Group could only stare in confusion.

"What in the world is the [Abomination of Thousand Corpses] doing here..."

Ren uttered those words as she stared at the gigantic abomination of walking crumpled corpses.