Mutagen

Day 200 - 1:02 PM - Dilapidated Shack, North Slums, Corregidor Military Settlement, Corregidor Island, Province of Cavite

Mark called out the person waiting outside to come in all of a sudden. The person in question entered, pushing the tarpaulin door slightly to the side.

Even though Mark called the person to come inside, everyone else was on guard. But why?

Inside this dilapidated shack, everyone was not just a regular human. Mark, Mei, and the three little girls were [Blood Demons]. Amihan was a spirit of the wind, a [Sylph], while Feng Zhiruo was a cultivator. And although she might be the weakest, Spera was still an [Esper].

Each of them had enhanced senses and would surely detect someone that was standing right outside their doorstep. Moreover, with how small the shack was, they were literally just a few steps near the door.

Yet, none of them detected any presence of the person until the person spoke.

The mature voice gave it away that it was a woman. However, what entered had an unexpected appearance.

With a torn, dirty white dress and long hair covering her face, one would think that the woman came from a Japanese cursed tape. She was even barefooted to complete the package.

"It looks like everyone is wary of me."

The woman said, sensing the cautiousness of the members of Mark's group.

"All of you should relax," Mark spoke. "This woman is an information dealer, and I have a previous deal with her."

"Information dealer? Then she's... Vanessa?"

Mei voiced.

"Yep, that secretary of General Padilla. But her name's not really Vanessa."

Mark affirmed.

Mei stared at the woman. If she remembered correctly, this woman's name was supposed to be Val Flora.

Still, she could not help but notice the complete contrast between the Vanessa they met before and the Beggar standing in front of them now.

Vanessa was a gorgeous woman and someone definitely garnering attention. The current Val Flora did not only look like someone who lost her mind but felt more like a pebble on the road that no one would pay attention to.

"What's with the get-up?"

Mark asked frankly.

"Please, pay no mind to my current appearance." Val Flora replied with a smile hidden under her hair. "People like me needed to blend in the surroundings while avoiding as much attention as possible. It was unless we needed to garner attention based on the job we had."

It was a reasonable answer. After all, Mark's group was currently in the slums. Beggars and even crazy-looking people were pretty much common here. But to still wear a disguise even if she could perfectly hide her presence, she was thorough in her line of work. This way, even if there were people who would manage to see her through, they would only think that she was nothing but a crazy beggar.

"If there are no more questions, I suggest going back to business." Val Flora said to Mark. "I am also a busy person, considering I have yet to fulfill our contract."

Those words from Val Flora were more than enough for Mark to understand what she was here for. While she was here to give Mark the information he wanted, it seemed that it was only a part of it.

"Here it is."

Val Flora said, pulling the neck of her loose clothing and pulling something from between her breasts. She then presented what seemed to be a black-colored tube container to Mark.

Sure enough, the women in Mark's group looked strange as they gazed at the information dealer in front of them. Noticing those gazes, Val Flora spoke in a mischievous tone.

"I apologize if you all felt uncomfortable by this. But in my current appearance, there was no place as secure to hide such an important item."

The reply would have been fine alone. However, Val Flora was clearly looking at the chests of the women in Mark's group that were not as ample as hers.

"I don't think that teasing my members is part of our deal," Mark said as he took the tube container. "By the way, even though you said you are busy, do you have time for a side-job?"

Val Flora looked at Mark. She was definitely kind of eager to work with a client that would pay for the service handsomely. However, she shook her head.

"My apologies. I wish to work with you on another deal, but my current schedule is tight." Val Flora replied. "But I can guess that the work you wanted to give me is about this settlement. Is it not?"

Val Flora sure was not an information dealer for nothing. She already analyzed the situation of Mark's group and why they were in the slums. With the capabilities of Mark's group, it would be easy to enter the walls of the settlement legitimately. However, as they were wary of the strange situation, they decided to hide first and gather information.

"Unfortunately, I can't really offer much information instantly as I only arrived here to meet you." Val Flora continued. "But I can at least say that this place existed due to your government's cooperation with our organization."

That piece of information answered the biggest question. If a worldwide underground organization was involved, it might really be possible for this place to exist. But another question popped up.

How?

The CNC was not some cheap organization. It was an underground business organization and would surely want to profit from the current situation of Earth. To build this fortress with the help of the CNC would definitely cost an astronomical sum. Furthermore, it would not be money but valuable resources.

And as far as Mark knew, the Philippines was not a rich country to be able to afford it.

So... How?

"You must be confused as to how your country managed to pay the services of our organization." Val Flora said, seemingly reading Mark's thoughts. "Unfortunately, even I had no idea. The transaction between our organization and your government was overseen by another group. We have our own rules for confidentiality, and those not involved in the transaction could not inquire about the information without paying a suitable price."

"I see." Mark nodded. "But are you sure saying these things to us? Don't tell me that you will ask for payment for this small piece of information?"

"Please, do not worry. I won't do something that distasteful, especially to an important client." Val Flora replied. "This information is free. To begin with, it is not valuable at all to people who knew the existence of our organization."

That was true. To the people that knew of CNC, it would not be long for them to realize its involvement in this settlement. To those that never heard of the organization, they would need effort and might still not find the answer, making the information more valuable to those people.

"In that case, I delivered the information I had for now." Val Flora declared. "The rest of the information would be delivered at a future date. Just please make sure to have the feather close at all times and never lose it."

And without waiting for any inquiry or words, Val Flora turned around, facing the tarpaulin door.

"I am going. Until next time." Val Flora began to step out of the shack but paused and gave a last glance at Mark. "One piece of advice before I go. Be cautious about the current leaders of your country."

And with those words, Val Flora passed through the door. Once she did, her presence vanished once more. Only Mark was able to still find her, walking along the street towards the gates of the slums.

"That woman, she's like a ghost."

Feng Zhiruo remarked, finally removing her hand from the hilt of her sword. Even though Mark told them to relax, she could not help but feel wary of the strange Val Flora.

"You should really relax," Mark told Feng Zhiruo. "She might be suspicious, but as long as I'm her client, she's our ally."

"You have a point, but it's also not wrong to be cautious."

Spera said, siding with Feng Zhiruo.

Mark just shrugged. Unlike him, who could read a person's intention using their emotions, the others were relying on their instincts. And, without a doubt, Val Flora was a dangerous person. That was why these girls were against lowering their guards.

In any case, it was now time to open the tube container. Mark wanted to see what information Val Flora brought to him.

"Papa, let me see too."

Iola approached, interested in it. Her interest was understandable. She had Keeper's memories, and she surely wanted to know the location of the other [Inheritors].

"Okay, come here."

Mark said, taking a seat on a mat on the ground. Iola sat down beside him as he opened the tube container.

Opening the tube container, it contained a strip of paper about half the size of an A4 paper. It was neatly folded, and strange enough, the curl and folds of the paper vanished as Mark unfolded it.

It was not just a regular piece of paper.

Mark and Iola frowned, however.

"Is something wrong?"

Mei asked, seeing the frown on the face of the two.

"Mama, the paper is blank."

Iola replied.

Surely, that was strange. There was no way that Val Flora would deliver a blank piece of paper.

However, it was not exactly blank. On the center of the paper was a watermark, showing the symbol of Crystallus Notitia Coetus.

"Wait."

Mark realized something as he took out the feather that Val Flora gave him. He then put the feather onto the paper. Unexpectedly, the symbols on both the feather and the paper glowed for a bit. Once Mark removed the feather, the symbol on the paper was gone. Instead, there were letters written on it.

"Well, isn't that amazing..." Mark voiced out. "They sure are strict, making sure that only the client would be able to read it."

It was a foolproof transaction. Even if the information was somehow lost or stolen, no one would be able to read it. It was a good feeling, knowing that the information you paid for would not be leaked to others easily.

"I just wished she explained it."

Mark sighed. 

"She probably thought that Gege would figure it out easily."

Mei said.

"But how did you figure it out?"

Spera asked.

"The aura of the feather and the symbol on the paper is the same. It's Val Flora's aura. So I thought that it was some sort of lock, and the feather is the key."

Mark replied before proceeding to read the information on the paper.

"Hmmm..." Mark seemed to be thinking deeply. "Four people, huh... One of them is someone you know, Spera."

"Shin, right?"

Spera asked.

"Yeah." Mark nodded. "One in China, two in Japan, and one in Indonesia. Looks like we will be going overseas again soon. I don't know why they seemed to be concentrated here in Asia, though."

"The piece of planetary debris that carried the crystal exploded near this country," Iola said. "Because of that, the spread of the crystals started here in Asia."

Iola's explanation had a point. And since Keeper was the creator of the [PsyCrystal], her words had more validity in them.

"Well, let's deal with the trouble in this country and go abroad as quickly as possible."

Mark decided. He still had a lot to do, after all.

But before everything, Mark turned to Mei.

"What are you doing with that?"

Mark asked as Mei took the tube container away.

"I'm going to dispose of it."

Mei replied.

"You don't really have to," Mark said, scratching his head. "We can still use that for something."

Then Mark added with a sigh.

"You don't have to act like that. It's not like I'm going to sniff and lick that or something. And if I'm going to sniff or lick something, I won't do it on a metal container, when I have someone."

Mark just said that without thinking too much about it. However, Mei was frozen stiff, with her face red as a tomato.

"If you two are going to flirt, go get a room."

Spera complained, glancing at Feng Zhiruo whose face was also red.

Unlike Spera, their cultivator companion was still not used to Mark and Mei's shenanigans from time to time.