Mutagen

Luna blurted out after hearing Mark\'s words.

It was not just Luna. Even Mei, who was nearby playing with their daughters, and the other members of Evernight present had their attention caught.

After all, Mark had just claimed that Uli was an [Infected]. If that were really the case, she would have been the very first [Infected] living in a human community.

"I don\'t think I have the image of a person to joke around about this kind of stuff."

Mark replied while pointing to his face.

And without waiting for another response, Mark continued.

"You already remember the [Infected] categories and typings I made, right? Think about it."

Since the Indonesian survivors had already adapted Mark\'s categorization of the [Infected], it was easy for Luna to recall the information she needed.

And within her memory, there was only a single type of [Infected] that would be possible to apply to Uli\'s case.

"A [Monarch Type]? But..."

Luna answered with uncertainty.

"Well, there\'s barely any concrete information about them, considering how rare they are. Not to mention the limited cases and the countless possible variations they could have. Even their personalities, abilities, and hostilities varied. The only thing we have about them is that they tend to have a certain level of intelligence, either at the same level or higher than before they turned."

"It means that they could relearn things they had forgotten after turning into an [Infected]."

Mark added.

Luna froze in her thoughts a little.

There was one thing that matched what Mark had just said just now.

Uli did say she had no recollection or memories of anything before the apocalypse.

"Is her amnesia a possible sign?"

Luna asked Mark.

"A hundred percent," Mark nodded as he turned to Odelina. "How\'s Janette and Snow? Any improvements on them?"

Luna was a bit confused as to why Mark would suddenly ask that question to the unfamiliar maid. Who were Janette and Snow in the first place?

"Both of them are doing fine. They had already stopped craving flesh and started eating the same food as us. Mara\'s efforts on her sister began to show better results. Janette can give simple greetings now, though basic conversations need more time to develop. Snow, on the other hand, is a bit problematic. She\'s silent all the time, which is good, but she won\'t cooperate with most things since Master is not around."

Odelina answered.

Hearing the reply, Luna spoke.

"Are those Janette and Snow perhaps..."

"Yeah, they\'re both [Queen Types]. At least, that\'s what I think," Mark nodded. "They\'re [Infected] but not hostile to the non-infected. They also showed signs of intelligence but were still a bit underdeveloped in their case. In fact, we have six [Monarch Types] in our base. Four humanoids and two mutated insects. The three humanoids, which include Janette and Snow, are "in recovery," while the only male is secured in a cell because of his aggressiveness closer to an [Infected]. The two insects are also secured. While they retained some of their qualities before turning, they are insects, and it\'s nearly impossible to communicate with them. Even Annica\'s power over animals and insects doesn\'t work on the [Infected], not to mention [Monarch Types]."

Luna was even more surprised about the things Mark had just said.

In Mark\'s records, [Monarch Types] were extremely rare. Even Luna and the others had never encountered one. Yet, Mark\'s base actually had six of them in captivity.

Wait... No.

Luna and her friends had already encountered one. A woman who went by the name Uli.

"But Uli behaved totally like a human..."

Luna murmured. After all, from what Mark had said just now, the [Monarch Types] in their base had yet to show actual human behaviors.

"We already encountered two [Monarch Types] with human-level intellect before in the U.S.," Mark shrugged. "One of them even had intact memories of her life before the apocalypse. She even understood that the memories did not belong to her but to the person who owned the body, she had before turning. The other guy is nothing but a musclebrain, though. At least, he could talk a little more fluently."

Luna was speechless. As it turned out, Mark had many more interesting experiences. It was just that he was not bothering to share them. He was not the talkative type of person, after all.

Still, as Mark mentions more of his knowledge and experiences, his suspicion about Uli becomes even more possible.

Then, Mark decided to give the final blow.

"If you\'re still not convinced, here\'s the most concrete proof. Do you know what magical races who can detect souls call the [Infected]?"

Of course, Luna was unfamiliar with the answer. Not a single member of the magical races was left in Java because of the Deity of Soul Sacrifice.

"They call the [Infected] the [Soulless Ones]," Mark continued. "I also agree with it since I can tell due to my abilities as an [Empath]."

Mark then explained.

Once a person became an [Infected] and began turning, the first thing to collapse was not their bodies. It was their souls. To be exact, it was the connection between the body and the soul. The [Infected] might be separated into those with living bodies, the [Biter Types], and dead bodies, the [Eater Types], but the fact that those bodies held no soul either way meant they were all dead creatures reanimated by [Mutagen].

On the other hand, [Mutators] were those whose connections with souls were able to resist, causing their bodies to mutate instead while remaining alive. On the other hand, [Failed Mutators] were those with strong connections but were not resistant enough to undergo a complete mutation.

This meant that the [Infected] were soulless beings reanimated to spread their kind by infecting the living.

Then, what did it have to do with the [Monarch Types]?

It was because, unlike the usual soulless [Infected], [Monarch Types] were [Infected] individuals who began to have souls of their own. Their souls start like a newborn\'s soul once they exhibit traits of being a [Monarch Types], but it would start growing from there. The speed of growth seemed different from individual to individual, and Uli might be one of those whose souls grew faster than others, similar to the pair of [Monarch Types] Mark and Mei met before.

"Is that true?"

Luna asked, still a bit skeptical.

"Yeah," Mark shrugged. "So far, having a soul is the hardest but only way to concretely determine if an [Infected] is a [Monarch Type]."

"But having a soul won\'t determine whether someone or some creature is an [Infected], though?"

Luna noticed a point that required explaining.

"Yeah, that\'s true," Mark nodded. "However, the soul\'s speed of growth is not equal to the soul\'s age. Having a soul totally younger than your body\'s age is definitely abnormal. In this case, a 21-year-old woman having a nearly year-old soul is suspicious. Her soul is just as old as the beginning of the apocalypse."

"Unfortunately, the soul stuff is not something that can be confirmed by just anyone. Modern science is even scratching its head at stuff like this," Mark sighed. "I suspect only us here now knew of this stuff."

Luna was still not fully convinced. However, Mark had a point. He was totally certain that Uli was a [Monarch Type Infected].

"This... should we monitor her? I\'ll inform the others, too."

Luna suggested.

"No," However, Mark shook his head. "Keep this to yourself. Unsurprisingly, her senses are quite strong. She can even sense me trying to probe her. If there are many eyes watching her, she will notice something is wrong."

"Is that so."

Luna replied, scratching her head.

"Yep. I\'m just informing you since I need to, just in case. In the first place, she doesn\'t seem harmful. I don\'t think she even realized she\'s an [Infected]. She definitely thinks she\'s human. It probably had to do with her waking up around humans first instead of the [Infected]. It\'s the same with one of our [Queen Types], Snow. She was parasitized by a [Queen Type] spider, so Snow behaves like a spider at times."

"Huh?"

Luna could not fathom what Mark was trying to say about Snow.

A woman crawling like a spider? Was she spewing webs?

"Haah, alright," Shaking her head out of her strange imagination, Luna agreed with Mark. "I\'ll do the monitoring myself."

Luna was still a bit skeptical, but there was no harm in heeding Mark\'s advice. And if Uli became feral, then she would know the reason. Hopefully, such a thing would not happen.

Soon, Luna left the tent with new knowledge in tow. It might be a good or bad thing, depending on the outcome.

"Luna had another weight to carry."

Mei voiced out.

"Can\'t be helped. It\'s better to let her know."

Mark shrugged.

"You\'re not going to take that Uli to the base?"

Spera, who was sitting on the chair in the corner of the tent, suddenly chimed in.

"Why would I?"

Mark asked.

"I mean, you did it a few times," Spera replied. "It won\'t be surprising if you brought her back like Janette and Snow."

"I\'m not that kind of monster, you know," Mark approached Spera and ruffled her hair. "I brought Janette and Snow for obvious reasons, but Uli is different. She\'s living here nicely. There\'s no need to interfere with her life too much."

Spera did not say anything more but complained with her eyes as her hair became a mess in Mark\'s hand.

Uli could be a threat. However, it did not mean she was already. In fact, her existence had just opened more possibilities for Mark to look forward to. In fact, she might not end up as a threat but a protector of this place.

Of course, all of these things in Mark\'s mind were something to see in the future.

***

The rest of the day passed quickly. The group Edge led to scout the northern mountains did not return for the night. The only thing that returned was the spirit wolf Edge commanded, which brought back a report. It seemed that their group decided to camp in the mountains to continue their mission the next morning.

Aephelia\'s group, on the other hand, found the best layout for the walls and the resting place for Mountainback. They planned to start the next part of their duty at sunrise.

General Wijaya\'s group came back successful. They cleared up all the [Infected] remaining in the town and recorded spots of the wall that needed to be reinforced and worked on.

Luna\'s side also scoured the town nicely. They found things that could be of use in the future.

Lastly, Mark\'s group. Before sundown, Odelina bid goodbye and left with Spera, Annica, and Chaflar. She would prepare things at the base and proceed with the tasks tomorrow morning. Mark also put down his pen, looking at the dozens of papers filled with designs on his table. The designs were complete, at least for now. The only thing left for Mark to do was to wait for Val\'Flora.

However, it seemed that there would be no need to wait.

Devon visited Mark\'s tent just before the time to pass the night.

Who knew when he did it, but Devon came to tell Mark that he had finished installing the waypoint. They were ready to depart to CNC\'s main hub anytime.

Furthermore, Devon brought back a message from Val\'Flora, who was supposed to gather items for him.

There was an auction scheduled in the CNC\'s main hub the day after tomorrow. It seemed that one of the rarest items Mark wanted would be auctioned there. Unfortunately, Val\'Flora was mainly an [Information Agent]. She had no authority to represent Mark in the auction. As such, Mark should come to the auction with Devon, who could provide him access.Nôv(el)B\\\\jnn

Fortunately, Devon agreed immediately. The auction would coincide with the deal between him and Mark, anyway.

Unfortunately, Devon could not bring too many people into the main hub. The hub, after all, was exclusive to agents and VIP clients.

As such, it was decided that the day after tomorrow, Mark and Mei would leave with Devon to the Crystallus Notitia Coitus\' main hub.