Surviving in the New World

Chapter 18

Chapter 18

Rumi can still remember the day that Bel made him promise. Nag-aalala siya dahil sa way of thinking nito, as if she will vanish or get into dangerous things kaya naman madalas niya itong puntahan kaysa sa dati. Instead of eating lunch in his office or somewhere else ay umuuwi siya sa kanila para sabayan si Bel. He will eat breakfast and dinner with her too. He will play with her more and it seems effective dahil hindi na ito muling nagsalita nang ganoon. He just thought that that was just a passing remark of a child that has a lot on her mind and was sad because she feels alone because she immediately went back to her old bubbly self as if her small talk a week ago never happened.

It's been five weeks since Lucy was taken to the research lab. The researchers were doing some tests with her. That was the first time that they have a live high level mutated zombie that they estimate level 6 or 8m and highly cooperative. Or at least in the surface. Sumusunod ito ito kapag may inuutos sila na gawin nito for the tests like answering their questions regarding her innate skills, using it, or manipulating her body in a certain way. But he heard from Pianno talking to her father that she's not fully truthful about her skills and capabilities.

Ayon kay Lucy, her innate skill is morphing into a snake. She can also manipulate her size. But Pianno suspected that she have a mind manipulation skill or something related to that. Through the use of hidden cameras that are not part of the official CCTV inside the building where she was confined, Pianno saw that some men are acting strange. They are giving her something secretly. But when Pianno asked them about it, they said that something like that never happened. Pianno seeks the help of a person that have a mind reading memory to read their minds, but their memories during that time were black, as if it was erased. The same skill were used to Mael and Lucy but the skill didn't work on Lucy, probably because she is much stronger than the skill user and resisted he power. Mael's memory were hazy too. Mukhang tampered ang ilan sa mga ala-ala nito.

Anyway, whatever her skill was, mukhang gumagana lang ito sa mga lalaki so after seeking permission, Pianno reshuffled the job assignment. Inalis niya ang mga lalaking guards sa loob ng building and assigned women to do the jobs related to Lucy.

And even without knowing her skill was, the researchers found more about the capabilities of the higher level zombies, like the average extent of their regeneration skill. Although it's not accurate dahil magkakaiba ang capabilities ng zombies depende sa uri at level, they are slowly unraveling more information.

Nagtungo si Rumi sa headquarters para hingin ang permiso ng ama para sa isang social project na balak isagawa ng medical team. Vice commander Helen, the head of the medical team, were planning to conduct a general check up but they'll need more resources. If Berette agrees, the list of what they'll need will be put as a priority among the things that the combat group will need to gather.

Pagkapasok pa lang niya sa lobby ng headquarters ay pansin na niya na maraming tao ang naroon. Some even looks mad. They are demanding to see Berette but some guards were stopping them and forcing those who are getting violent out of the building. They look at him when they notice him but they let him pass, nonetheless. He can saw their piercing glaze, watching him as he climbed the stairs.

"Sir Urse, anong meron sa baba?" Tanong niya kay Urse nang mamataan niya ito. Mukhang galing ito sa office ni Berette.

The man sighed. "They are protesters."

Nagtaka si Rumi. "Protesting? For what?"

"Hindi ko alam kung paano, pero nalaman nila ang tungkol kay Lucy. They want to hear it out from Berette. Mas lalo lang gumulo dahil hati ang opinyon nila. Some were against keeping Lucy, some were demanding to let Lucy free."