Mutagen

Day 378 - 6:15 PM - Port of Gilimanuk, Gilimanuk, Melaya Subdistrict, Jembrana Regency, Bali, Indonesia

"You did that, huh?"

Mark said with a shrug as he listened to Odelina's report.

After a whole day of completing the task given to them, Odelina's group returned to Gilimanuk to provide Mark with their report. Of course, it included the fact that Odelina threw a grenade at the training grounds of the NPA base to get their attention to the document she left there.

Nonetheless, Mark understood Odelina's goal there. A document left randomly could be easily missed by anyone passing by. And if it were found, the seriousness of the contents of the document would be deemed questionable.

But if they found a document left somewhere where a crime without a culprit happened, people would take it more seriously. While Odelina was being a little bit playful with that grenade, her thoughts were in the right place.

With a nod as he erased his current thoughts, Mark turned to Odelina.

"Is it okay if you stay here tomorrow?"

Mark asked.

"Is it about the auction you are going to attend with Mei?" Odelina was already informed. "It should be fine. I can take care of the children during your absence. Huey isn't alone to manage the base, and there's barely anything going on aside from the daily work around the base."

"That's good then," Mark sighed. "It will be worrying if there are more unwanted events happening around the base, considering the amount of defenses we invested around it."

"That is true," Odelina agreed. "The illusory barrier made by the [Tikbalangs] was more than enough to stop the intruders. It is the same for the [Mechids] since most of them would encounter the animals trapped within the barrier, and they would end up fighting themselves."

"And during that fight, the presence of [Mechids] will be known by our people. By the time they pass through the barrier, the defenses are already ready to intercept."

Mark voiced out.

"Exactly."

Odelina nodded.

"It's good that the base is doing fine," Mark felt relieved. "On the other hand, Infanta isn't doing that great."

"Unfortunately, yes."

Odelina shared the sentiment.

The Infanta Settlement was the first stop of Odelina's group when they brought the news of the incoming Third Wave. The situation with food and shelter there had become more stable than before. Unfortunately, there was a recent problem there. More [Mechids], shaped like fish and other marine animals, appeared in the river.

It made Mark remember the first marine [Mechid] they encountered before. It was also there in Infanta. It was a shark-like [Mechid]. Althought it was still unknown if these [Mechids] originally had these appearance or if they adapted after arriving here on earth, there was on thing that was for sure. These [Marine Type Mechids] were a menace to the Infanta Settlement because one of their sources of food was the river. It was also their source of water. With these new [Mechids] appearing there, fishing and drawing water from the river became dangerous for everyone. ŗÄＮօВƐŜ

Fortunately, the situation had yet to turn very bad for the people there. They could still manage due to the help of the [Magical Races] now resideing there.

Of course, the Infanta Settlement would still need to prepare for the Third Wave.

Mark and Odelina talked a bit more before the report finished.

With the report done and the night growing deeper, everyone ate dinner and went to sleep early.

***

Day 379 - 7:21 AM - Port of Gilimanuk, Gilimanuk, Melaya Subdistrict, Jembrana Regency, Bali, Indonesia

"You girls listen to Aunt Odel while we're gone, okay?"

Mei strictly instructed her daughters.

"Okay!"

While Iola and Abbygale only nodded silently, Miracle answered loudly.

Stay tuned with empire

Unfortunately, that instruction was pretty much for Miracle alone since she was the troublemaker of the three.

It was not just the three girls. Every member of the Evernight was here to see Mark and Mei off. There was no need to give instructions to everyone as they already knew what to do during specific emergencies.

"Are you two ready? We should go."

As Mark and Mei bid goodbye to the rest of the group, Devon called out.

"We're ready."

Mark answered and glanced at Mei, who gave him a nod.

"You two hold each other's hands, and Sir Mark should hold onto my shoulder. Make sure not to let go."

Devon gave instructions as he nodded to Luna and the others who were also present to see them off.

Mark and Mei followed Devon's words.

With Mark's hand on his left shoulder, Devon hummed. It was an odd hum as the people without magical affinity in the surroundings heard nothing at all.

And there, Devon, Mark, and Mei vanished in front of everyone.

***

Mark and Mei held hands tightly. After they heard Devon's hum, the scene before them blurred before turning pitch black. It was too dark that it was hard to tell whether their eyes were open or closed. If not for the fact that they could feel what they were holding onto, the darkness could make them feel paranoid.

The pitch-black darkness only lasted a couple of seconds. However, it felt longer. But then, the surroundings suddenly brightened. The sudden contrast made Mark and Mei close their eyes by reflex. But soon enough, they opened their eyes after adjusting to the new environment.

"This..."

Mark could not help but mutter as he looked in front of him.

Mei had the same expression as Mark, although she showed more curiosity onto the surroundings.

The two found themselves in the middle of a gigantic hall. It was like a large subway station similar to a popular movie location in New York. However, it had a mix of medieval and Victorian twist, with highly detailed marble columns, sculpted arches, stained glass windows, and many obviously art-like features. There was even a three meter clock tower at the center of the hall.

If there was a difference between this place and that subway station, it was that there were no ticket booths and trains. Instead, it was filled with arched doorways that led to pitch black darkness.

And, even more strange, there was a lot of people in the hall. All of them sported a human appearance. But since Mark had his [Empath] abilities, he could tell that none of them were.

Sure enough, while Mark and Mei showed interest in the surroundings, the people passing by also looked at them with curiosity.

"Welcome to the HUB."

Devon faced Mark and Mei as he declared with a slight vow. With him being dressed in fancy business suit, his gesture sure was appropriate.

"This is the central area of the CNC's territory. It is also where the only entrance and exit of the territory is located."

Devon then began short tour and explanation of the things Mark and Mei were seeing.

Apparently, the clock tower in front of them was not a simple one. It would show a different time depending on what the onlooker had in mind. Right now, Mark and Mei had their heads tuned to the time on Indonesia. As such, it showed the current time in Indonesia.

Upon hearing that, Mark shifted his thoughts, wanting to know what time it was in America. Unfortunately, there was no change. But when Mark thought of a specific location like New York, which first came into his mind, the arms of the clock began spinning rapidly before stopping at a specific time.

Oddly enough, only what Mark could see had changed. Since Mei did not change her thoughts, the time on the clocktower remained on Indonesian time. It was like an illusory clock. It was weird.

Next was the ominous-looking arched doorways. That darkness was neither a mere decoration nor a wall. Those were actual paths.

The arched doorways worked the same way as the pitch black darkness Mark and Mei experienced during their arrival. It meant that all these doorways were portals leading to specific locations.

However, there was not even a single signage about where the portals led to.

"That is a security measure," Devon explained with a smile when Mark asked. "The destination of each path would shift after a specific duration. If a path led to a specific store now, that path would lead to a different location later. It is a security measure. Without the presence of an agent, there is no way any unaffiliated person would know the right path they wanted to go."

Mark nodded in understanding. There was no way a large organization like this would not have such sophisticated security measures.

And about these "humans" in the HUB, they were all agents. They were here for various reasons. Of course, most of them were without work in the meantime, considering the world's current state.

One of the reasons why Mark and Mei were garnering attention was because they were clients. Clients meant business, and they were hard to come by nowadays.

"There are more agents today than usual, however. It must because today is the auction."

Devon remarked as he glared at some of the agents that seemed to want to approach.

"They want to try their luck, huh?"

Mark's comment made Devon nod.

Devon then looked around with a frown.

"Let's sit down for a bit," Devon invited Mark and Mei to a corner of the large hall, which looked like a small park with benches to wait on. "Just where is Val'Flora? She should be here first."

Val'Flora was Mark's agent. Although Devon brought Mark and Mei here for several reasons, the agent should still be present with the client.

Unfortunately, Val'Flora was nowhere in sight. It was either they were early, or she was running late for some unknown reason.

In any case, the three of them could only wait.

As the three waited, they gathered more attention.

Some beautiful-looking girls seemed to want to use their charm to hook Mark, who did not sport good looks. However, one glare from Mei made them stop on their tracks and rethink their thoughts.

It was because not only was Mei sensitive to their aim, but there was no way they would be able to charm Mark with Mei, who was far more beautiful than them, around.

And as if that was not enough, Mei hugged Mark's left arm while glaring at those girls, asserting her dominance.

Seeing that, Devon could only shake his head, while Mark could only smile at Mei's behavior.

On the other hand, Mark was receiving some glares. After all, he managed to hook someone like Mei despite his lacking appearance.

While the strange standoff was happening in the waiting area, the darknedd in an arched doorway nearby seemed to wriggle. It waved like water as a figure emerged from it.

A beautiful woman with green hair stepped into the HUB from that doorway. And after looking a round, she walked towards the waiting area.

Sure enough, the attention of the nearby agents shifted to the green-haired woman. There was no way it would not.

After all, none of these agents had never heard of the organization's current rising star named Val'Flora.

And it sure came a surprise to everyone when Val'Flora approached Mark and Mei and vowed respectfully.

"I'm sorry for my tardiness."

Val'Flora apologized for being late.

Strange enough, her demeanor was also different this time.

"Is this your true demeanor?"

Mark could not help but ask. Although he had seen her several times, she even showed her actual appearance, it was still hard to pinpoint her true self.

"My business behavior, to be exact," Val'Flora answered. "This is how I behave within the organization's premises."

"Why are you late?"

Devon chimed in and asked.

"It's because I don't want to be an incompetent agent for my client. It made me arrive late, unfortunately."

Val'Flora replied as she took out a card and fanned it in front of Devon.

"So, that's why..."

Devon understood.

"What is that?"

Mark asked.

"It's the pass to enter the auction hall," It was Devon who answered. "It is not easy to get. No wonder she was late."

"Well then, I will take "my" client to the auction house," Val'Flora said to Devon. "You can stay here."

However, Devon snickered as he replied.

"You're late since you had just gotten the pass, right? Then, I will be the one leading Sir Mark, and you can tag along. There is no way you will be an effective agent in the auction when it is your first time entering it."

Val'Flora glared at Devon. Unfortunately, she could not retort his words.

"It's fine," Mark stood up and patted Val'Flora's shoulder. "You can do it next time."

"Haah," Val'Flora let out a sigh. "Understood."

With that exchange, the four left the waiting area under the curious eyes of the onlookers.

Why was the Indonesian Country Agent, Devon and the rising star, Val'Flora, escorting those clients?

But while most of the agents present were clueless, those who had information beforehand understood as they rushed back to their groups and offices.

As Devon and Val'Flora escorted Mark and Mei to the auction hall, a rumor quickly spread among many agents.

Val'Flora's mysterious client, the source of the pure crystals, was currently within the CNC's premises.

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