Trash in the Apocalypse

Chapter 188: Spreading the Seeds

Jun finally gave up contacting Yetu after the nth attempt.

He thought that they would be able to talk, but it felt like he was expecting too much from the unreliable system.

He already finished reading the file and was now contemplating on what to do. He knew who the enemies were and even became shocked when he found the bald man who chatted with his mother as one of them, Julian Celestine, a retired General of the Philippine Army.

The bottle of water on his hand became crumpled when Jun remembered the time his mother talked with this man. This man must have done something for his mother to leave! Even though he doesn't have proof, his instinct was leaning towards that theory! 

Jun chuckled lifelessly. 'What am I saying? I even imagine things now.'

While in the middle of belittling himself, the rooftop's door opened.

Lolita came out and became glad after seeing him. Following behind her was Cain appearing idiotic and blissful.

"You're here! We've been looking for you! You should learn to tell someone your whereabouts, so this doesn't happen too often." she grumbled.

"Oh, you have an attitude now? I'm thinking of never giving you another set of rat meat," Jun said.

Lolita immediately clasped her hand and begged for mercy. "I'm sorry, I'm in the wrong. Please don't take away the only tasty food I had for weeks."

Jun chuckled softly and shook his head. Lolita saw his reaction and playfully stuck out her tongue.

Cain, who watched the scene from the sidelines, became dumbfounded. He couldn't comprehend why two grown-ups were bickering like they were children.

Cain found his chance to interrupt the two after they stopped talking. He reported, "Madam Auring disappeared together with Mister Angelo. Some witnesses say that they eloped while others say they escaped, fearing that you'll kill anyone associated with Marcus."

"Do I look like someone who would kill for no appropriate reason?" Jun said solemnly.

Cain almost nodded his head subconsciously but was able to stop at the last moment. With his back becoming sweaty, he refuted Jun's claim. "No, boss. You would never do something like that! Those two must be out of their minds to believe that you act like Marcus, not knowing that you're a benevolent Lord."

Jun nodded his head in satisfaction. He realized that having someone singing praises to him doesn't feel bad.

Lolita left them alone so that they could have a proper discussion.

Jun summoned his dimensional storage then beckoned for Cain to step closer. He placed five appetizing Giant Rats on the table. The glistening reddish-brown skin reflected the moonlight from above. 

"Share this with everyone. Don't give anyone aside from your original members understand?"

"I understand." Cain nodded his head.

"Also, distribute this to as many people as you can," Jun handed a stack of Black Haven Research [Basic Edition] leaflets to Cain. "Okay, you may go."

Jun waved his hand to bade farewell, but Cain didn't move back after taking the Giant Rat's meat and the leaflets.

"Can I join your faction? I know that we barely know each other, but having skilled subordinates is a must, don't you think?"

"I agree with that. Let's put your application on the pending status, and I'll decide whether you're a 'skilled subordinate' after the operation tomorrow."

"Thank you," Cain bowed then started walking. Before he reached the door, he halted and turned back, "There's also this man, Ralph. He's an excellent subordinate. I think he's stronger than me, but he focuses too much on his pet dog. You should focus on him too."

Cain bowed again and quickly left before Jun could reply.

"Ralph with a pet dog? Let's see tomorrow if you're really something."

With everything in place, Jun went back to his room to meditate but got embroiled with a tutorial session with Marvin after he entered the room.

Marvin is having a hard time feeling the energy in his body, so he wanted some advice from Jun. The two sat down on the floor face-to-face, and Marvin would slap himself so he could get max fury and transform. The problem that they encountered was during Marvin's transformation.

Marvin would feel blank during the transformation due to explosive growth in his body. He couldn't control himself during that phase, which resulted in him not feeling the flow of energy inside him.

To feel the energy inside the body, you must activate a skill and slowly grasp the warm feeling and familiarize yourself with it. There were times that they were about to give up when Jun thought of something.

He knocked on the girl's room and waited for someone to open the door for them. Lolita opened the door wearing a pajama. With drowsiness in her eyes, she asked timidly, "What do you want? Can't you come tomorrow?"

"I need your help."

Lolita's eyes widen upon hearing Jun. "You need my help? Whoa. Okay, let's hear it."

Jun explained Marvin's situation, then said, "We need your skills. Can you help us with an experiment?"

Marvin, who was standing beside Jun, quickly turned his head in shock. "Experiment? Wait a minute, boss. This is safe, right?"

"Of course, it's safe! Why would I even risk your life? You're a wonderful person who has unique skills. It would be a waste to lose someone like you!"

Marvin slowly shook his head. "I don't think I'm interested in learning energy control anymore. No, wait, please let me go! Don't pull me!"

"Sssh, people are sleeping already!" Lolita said as she hurriedly covered Marvin's mouth with her hands.

Marvin was trying to say something, but his mouth could only produce muffled sounds. Jun carried Marvin back to the room with Lolita in tow behind.

Marvin sat in the middle of the room, discouraged. He felt like he was a guinea pig sent for an unsafe experiment. Jun and Lolita were discussing something on their own and were looking at him with excitement.

Lolita sat beside Marvin and held his wrist. Warm energy entered his body, and he suddenly felt anger rising inside him.

Although surprised, Jun's voice that ordered him to transform gave clarity to his mind. He used his skill and turned into a red-skinned Destroyer. His body expanded in size, and half of his clothes got destroyed.

On the process of transformation, he felt another set of warm energy that entered his body. It even helped him relax! He became shocked and couldn't focus at the task at hand.

Lolita's hand that held Marvin's wrist couldn't even grab half of the transformed arm.

"Were you able to sense it? Can you feel it now?" Jun said.

Marvin became relaxed after the successful experiment. He even felt embarrassed for acting like a frightened child.

"I'm sorry, I couldn't focus on my energy because I got surprised. But don't worry, I was able to feel Miss Alvaro's energy. I think I can succeed in the next one. Can we continue?" Marvin asked the two's opinion.

Marvin canceled the transformation and his body slowly became smaller.

"Ah!" Lolita shouted while covering her eyes with her hand. She would sometimes peak through the gaps on her fingers and stared at Marvin's naked body.

Marvin's body has transformed to chiseled muscles due to the extreme diet that he had to endure during the past month. All the scavenging and fighting helped to tone his body in the right places.

Jun glanced at Lolita and saw her nodding her head. He then said, "Please continue."

Lolita used Stimuli Control once again and caused Marvin's fury to fill up once more. Marvin focused hard and finally felt the jolt of energy when he transformed.