Mutagen

Day 4 – 2:40 PM – Evacuation Settlement Area, Central Business Park, Bay City, Pasay

"Mauriss, what is this about?"

1st Lieutenant Rafael asked with a stern voice.

"Lieutenant, I didn't do anything."

Mauriss waved his hands as he replied while smiling. Even if he did smile, he was now sweating profusely wishing that these soldiers would just go away. However, a voice almost broke his façade.

"Raf, he's lying."

Paula's voice made Rafael's face even sterner as he stared at Mauriss.

'Sh*t! Who is this woman? Why does this bastard lieutenant seem to believe her?'

Mauriss was cursing inside but he did not dare to show his distress on his face.

"The miss, over there, I didn't really do anything."

When Mauriss tried to defend himself, what he received was an even grimmer stare from Paula. Rafael on the other hand turned towards Elsa.

"Tell us. What did he do?"

Rafael asked Elsa which made Mauriss panic inside.

Elsa hesitated to answer at first when Paula spoke to her.

"Don't worry about these men. Just tell us. We're on your side."

This made Elsa look at Paula as she nodded. She then recounted everything that happened since yesterday. Due to this, Mauriss and his men paled. They did not think that this woman would dare speak. Furthermore, it seemed that this woman was highly valued by the Lieutenant Rafael for some reason. If they knew that it would be like this, they would have stayed away from her no matter what.

Looking back at Mauriss, Rafael and his men drew their guns pointing at the group.

"Now what do you want to say?"

Rafael was a bit elated due to this. One reason that these groups were not being eliminated was because no one dared to step out as witness for everything they did in fear of getting revenged on. Now however, Elsa spoke up. It was enough to make a move on this group of imbeciles.

Mauriss could not say or do anything but curse inside as his men look at him waiting for his orders. He was still able to stare daggers at Elsa but that was it. After all, they were caught while his men were surrounding the tent and he got out of the tent the moment these soldiers arrived. He had nothing to say anymore in defense.

At this moment, the confrontation between the soldiers and this group was gathering the attention of a lot of people around. Many of them were here just because of curiosity but some of them felt glad upon seeing that Mauriss' group was in a predicament. It was obvious that these people had been victims of their harassment.

"What is happening here?"

At this time, another group of soldiers came to oversee the situation. The one who spoke was the soldier leading the group. Looking at the insignia on his chest and shoulders, it was obvious that he was at the same rank as Rafael, a 1st Lieutenant. Still, it could be seen that this person was not here to actually check the situation but to aid Mauriss and his men.

To that question however, Rafael frowned as he replied.

"Even if you're here now, you can't help your brother anymore, 1st Lieutenant Manolo. He was caught in the act. We also have the victim here."

1st Lieutenant Mephisto Manolo, who was leading the group of soldiers that just arrived, looked at Rafael with a stern face. He hurried into this place after receiving a tip that his younger brother was in trouble. He was one of the reasons why Mauriss was able to do his vile acts without too much restraint. What he did not expect however that the one who was troubling his brother was actually 1st Lieutenant Rafael Perez out of all people.

Thickening his face, Mephisto spoke.

"If that is the case, then we will bring the victim to take their testimony. Where is victim?"

However, the moment he ended his question, he was interrupted.

"What a shameless liar."

Mephisto looked at Paula with shock. He did not realize that she was here. If that was the case he would not dare to say that.

'Why is this demoness here?'

Paula's mother who was a private investigator and a close friend of General Perez had a good amount of influence in this place. As such, almost everyone in their ranks knew of Paula. However, that was not all. It was also known that no one could lie in front of that pair of mother and daughter or else, their lies would be exposed. No one knows how they were able to do it and several rumors came about due to this. Still, there was one thing that could be confirmed, the two never failed at determining lies and truth apart.

Mephisto was now dragged into the predicament his brother made. However, he should not waver.

"That is the procedure! This place is not under your jurisdiction but ours. If there are issues here, then our division is in charge of addressing it."

"You're really doesn't have the dignity of a soldier working for the country aren't you?"

Rafael mocked and continued.

"However, even if that is the case, we can't hand over the victim. She is a VIP we are taking into our custody in order of someone important. It had also been approved by my father. So drop, whatever you are scheming."

Hearing that, Mephisto's countenance changed as he glared at his brother. To think that Mauriss offended a VIP that was to be taken under the General's protection. His brother was seeking death! Still, he could not just back down.

"In any case, what you are doing is illegal. You can't just arrest someone without proper procedures."

Rafael could only agree to that. Even if they had the authority here, they still needed to follow the procedures. Still, he could not help but feel grim as these rules were being used to protect a criminal at the moment.

In any case, even if he wanted to eliminate this bunch of human garbage, he could not start a gun fight at this place or many people would be implicated. While Rafael was thinking, Elsa's voice was heard.

"Can we just drop this? There was nothing irreversible that happened anyway."

Elsa decided to compromise. Even though she wanted to address her grievances, she knew that the situation was getting out of hand. She did not want to implicate these people more.

"Are you sure about that?"

Paula asked Elsa with a frown.

"Yes."

Paula knew that Elsa was lying but she also knew that this was the best outcome for now. If these two factions fell out here, not only she and Elsa would be dragged into it but also everyone around them who was oblivious to the situation.

"Raf, it's better if we go now. We still need to bring Elsa and the others to their new dwellings."

Rafael was reluctant to leave it like this but he also nodded. He then looked at the Manolo brothers.

"You two might be able to escape this time. But remember, it will be the last."

1st Lieutenant Rafael and his group was about to leave when Paula turned towards the two and spoke.

"By the way, you two better be prepared. The brother of the woman who you two just offended is a vengeful person."

"And what can he do? You think we are afraid of a single person?"

Mauriss who was pardoned was emboldened once more. Furthermore, just saying some words would not put him into a severe situation. Also the fact that he did not know who Paula was added to his boldness.

"Shut up!"

Mephisto bellowed at his brother before turning towards Paula.

"Ms. Clarence, what my brother said may be bold but I also agree with him."

To their reasoning, Paula chuckled.

"Oh? Actually, you two really better prepare. The person I'm talking about is an Evolver that can fight on par with the Unknown and he also have a daughter though not confirmed but could be a Mutator."

With that, Paula left with her group leaving the 1st Lieutenant Mephisto who was stunned and drenched in sweat.

After 1st Lieutenant's group disappeared from their sight, Mephisto dragged his brother and the rest of his group back into their base. His face looked too grim that no one dared to speak to him along the way.

Mauriss who could not understand why his brother was behaving this way looked at Mephisto with confusion.

"Big bro, what's wrong?"

Hearing his brother's voice, Mephisto looked at his brother and slapped him.

"Big Bro! What is that for?"

Mauriss bellowed back while holding his reddened cheek due to the force of the slap.

"You still dared to ask me what is wrong?! You piece of sh*t! Out of all the people you can target, you actually targeted someone related to an Evolver and a Mutator?"

"What is wrong with that? It's just an evolver. What can he do? Furthermore, even if the daughter is a Mutator, given their age, she should be just a child right?"

Mauriss felt wronged.

"You dumb sh*t. Did you even listen to what that demoness said? An Evolver on par with an unknown! Do you know how many people we lose every time we encounter one face to face?! We always lose a least a dozen men in an unprepared confrontation in order to kill just one of those! In the worst situation, a whole squad could be wiped out! The only weakness of the unknown is that they only follow their instincts and could not scheme! The problem here is that, that is a person capable of thinking and has the strength on par of an unknown! How do you think we'll be able to deal with that?"

Mauriss had no idea what the unknown was so he still felt complacent but his face paled hearing the explanation of his brother. To think that they were now in a dire situation due to his actions and lust. Not only Mauriss but also his men who was around had pale faces.

"Big bro, what should we do?"

"What should we do? The question here is what you should do! I'm on a different situation since I'm in the military but you are not! Furthermore, with your reputation, no one would mind it if an Evolver of that strength will wipe your whole group out."

"Then, what should I do?!"

Mauriss started to panic.

Massaging his glabella, Mephisto thought of something.

"You better seek shelter under Senator Estrada. He had been funding your group right? You should be able to hide or at least seek protection with his help."

"Alright, I'll follow your suggestion, Big Bro."

The two planned the steps to be done to avoid this disaster. They did not think that Paula would be lying due to her and her mother's reputation. It was true however, that Paula did not lie. Nevertheless, she did not say everything either, especially that, the person she was talking about was not present inside Bay City.

***

Back to the time Paula and Rafael brought Elsa. They had just walked several rows of tents away.

"Wait."

Elsa suddenly stopped as she forgot about something.

"Is something wrong?"

Paula asked.

"I'm the one looking after the things inside the tent. If I leave, the things there might get stolen."

"But you already brought your and your boyfriend's things right?"

"What I'm talking about are the things of the others we are sharing the tent with."

Elsa looked worried. After all, she was trusted to look after those things. She could not betray that trust.

"Don't worry, I'll send one of my men back and guard the tent until the people living there return."

Suggested Rafael making Elsa feel relieved.

Rafael then ordered two of his trusted men to return and guard the tent.

Soon, the rest of the group left the tent city under the curious gazes of the survivors on the way. It was very rare for someone to be escorted out of the tent city, furthermore, it was obvious that the person being escorted would be moved somewhere else seeing the things they were carrying.

After they stepped out to the main road, Elsa saw several military vehicles parked on the side of the road. She was then led towards one of the vehicles.

When the door of the vehicle was opened, Elsa's eyes became wide in shock. There were other people inside the vehicle and upon seeing those people, she could not help but shout with surprise and glee.

"Mommy Ren! Big Brother Markron!"

"Elsa!"

The people inside shouted back with happiness.

Inside the vehicle, she saw several familiar faces but the most familiar to her was the two, Carren Chen and Markron Cuyo. Several years ago, when she was a member of the cosplay group they formed at their college, the two were among the leading figures of the group and was close to her. She did not expect to see them here. Especially at this time that even your closest relative could already be dead.

This situation added more questions to everyone.

Why are they being gathered by the military? It was obvious that they knew each other so there should be a specific reason. They were all living at the tent city without realizing that there were other people they knew also living there but now, they were all gathered by the military.

Soon, Erwin was also brought from his work. It seemed that Erwin was the last person to be ushered away as the vehicles all left after he arrived.

Following the main road to the northern section of Bay City, they all saw the surroundings and even passed the checkpoint without difficulty. Looking at how the other soldiers interacted to the young woman and the leading soldier of the group. They realized that these two had high standing or reputation here in the current Bay City.

It did not take long before they reached their destination. It was a building more than a dozen floors high. It was one of the so called, Condo Hotels or Condotels built at the Central Business Park. Now however, these buildings were being used as dwelling for the most important people at the Bay City.

The building was composed with a unified seven floors and the floors above that were separated into four towers. The group of seven people was brought to the ninth floor on the northwest tower. There, they were given a large studio class suite that had three smaller bedrooms, kitchen and a small living room complete with brand new appliances and utensils. The place was obviously a high class suite. It was just unfortunate that they had no electricity to power these brand new appliances.

After they all chose a room and put their things in, Rafael and Paula called them to the living room to finally explain their circumstances.