192 Oplan Warmth 3

The town clearing proceeded with ease as the survivors became used to fighting with their new bone weapons.

Black Haven has new short swords made from metal and ground bone powder.

After trailing off from experiments due to urgent demands, Old John finally successfully finished his research of mixing materials to create an improved weapon. Well, it could barely be called research since he just experimented whether adding bone powder would strengthen an item.

His discovery made them realize that a forged item's stat is directly related to the type of bone essence added in the forging process.

Simply put, a D-series carrier would enhance the weight and attack damage while H-series carriers would increase stats that were based on speed. The R0 Carriers who haven't evolved only increased the durability of the item.

Currently, the best combination was by adding pure bone powder either for durability, damage, or speed. If two or more combinations were added while forging, the effects would be dilated and the item would receive multiple stat increase with subpar results.

Jun supplied the clearing team with the overstocked phased-out bone swords. He sold them at a cheap price that people could afford. At first, they were doubtful but after a few skirmishes, they found out that it was extremely useful for killing rotters in one strike.

Binangonan is entering its transition phase from bone weapons to metal forged weapons. Everyone became happy with the new weapon and is the current craze of the town.

A modified 55" Touchscreen TV inside the Black Haven compound became the new job board, the survivors called it the Notice Board

Evo added a function on the Black Haven card to accept quests and receive rewards with a single tap of the card. This way, people don't need to bother BLack Haven staff with unnecessary questions or line up for a long time to retrieve their rewards.

The missions found at the Notice Board were simple ones like submitting 10kg of metals, help with the construction, and exploring the wilds then submit a report on how things went.

Missions would be paid with credit points, which would then be used to buy various things from the Black Haven Marketplace.

People who only had anonymous cards quickly applied for a card edit, while some applied for a new Named card.

With the new bone swords and bone spears, the survivors swept highways and subdivisions with relative ease. They were still adjusting their pace since there were times when fighting that their weapon would suddenly break causing a dangerous situation for the group.

The survivors were extremely interested in the new weapons since it was slightly better than their crafted ones.

Jun suddenly pondered whether an already finished product could still receive an upgrade? Is it possible to mixed bone powder when repairing an item?

He needs to dig deeper into this!

—

A group of teenagers weakly walked out of the mall. They were the teenagers that Jun encountered last time.

The group followed the national road and headed northwest. They held uniquely designed spears made from metal tubes.

After using the bone swords Jun gave them to its fullest(until they break), they managed to get a rare energy stone. They sold it for a heft price which they used for arming themselves.

They gleefully tossed their rag-tag weapons now that they have proper ones. They all have the cheapest spear sold by the only weapon crafter in town. Aside from the grip and spearhead, there were no other decorations.

When their group saw Jun announcing Marcus' death, they became utterly shocked. They knew that he was strong but didn't expect to be able to kill the Lord of the town. They even felt happy when Jun issued the challenge for supremacy since they knew that Jun was a reasonable person and could improve the situation of the town more than anyone else.

They became excited and decided to join the clearing group for tomorrow. Later that night, they found a person selling broth. The taste was good and it increased max energy by one while increasing base energy regeneration for a period of time.

Filled with happiness with their unexpected discovery, fueled by the good news, they treated themselves to several servings. Everything was fine until the next morning when their stomachs churned and made them feel sick.

They couldn't stand properly and could only rest.

The sun was already up when they recovered and most of the people were minding their own business.

Dejected for not being able to support Jun with the town clearing, Uno led his friends and decided to help in their own ways.

They learned that the clearing group went south, so they went north. With their weapons, they could fight safely as long as they don't encounter evolved creatures. After a few clashes, they became confident and kept going north.

While fighting a small group of R0 Carriers, another group happened to pass by chasing something and reinforced the small group.

They were about to retreat since they were heavily outnumbered but several people jumped out of hiding and ambushed the reinforcement.

With the help of the people, they killed every carrier with ease.

Uno was about to thank them when he noticed the leader of the group that helped them.

Lan Ibo, Marcus' supporter.

Madam Auring and Detective Angelo stood behind him.

Lan Ibo walked forward and greeted him. "You lived at the mall, right? How's the situation there? Is that man still there?"

Lan's subordinates encircled their group.

Uno quickly realized that he was being interrogated. He knew that he can't help Lan if he wants changes to happen in the town, so he kept his mouth shut and only stared back innocently.

"Are you deaf?" Lan curiously asked.

He noticed that the people behind were looking at him warily, which made him realize that they were ignoring his question.

"So you've already picked your sides? That's great then. This makes things easier for me."

Lan sneaked attacked, a swift slash of his pipe-machete, but the teenager dodged his attack. Everyone readied their weapons, but the people on his left shouted: "Be careful!"

Of course, they need to be careful. It would be unfortunate if they got killed by a lucky strike.

"Ahh!" someone shouted in panic.

Lan turned his head, only to see one of his subordinates fall down with a rotter latched behind him.

Another rotter jumped on his subordinate's back. The man was able to balance himself but the rotter locked its legs on his waist while its arms were intertwined on his neck. The rotter started biting the man's neck causing him to wildly jump around the area.

The people were finally able to react and kill the rotters, only to see more of them coming out of the cemetery.

"Why are they coming out? Aren't they trapped in there?!" Madam Auring panicked.

"Let's calm down, they're just appetizers," Lan said as he focused at the onrushing horde. He didn't pay attention to Uno's group that was slowly retreating from their encirclement.

Even if he catches them now, there was no time to interrogate them while being sieged by enemies. Right now, he needs every manpower on his side.

Madam Auring already used her divinity skills earlier which guided them to maneuver the places with fewer enemies. With her energy nearly exhausted, they can't expect her to lead them away this time. The worst-case scenario, they could lure the enemies into the mall to make everyone suffer.

He learned of Marcus death last night when Madam Auring and Detective Angelo came looking for him at the northern outpost. They were tasked to guard that area, so they can filter who comes in and goes out. He was happy with the current state of things since he could do whatever he wants. The feeling of peoples lives in his hands exhilarates him.

As ten people formed a line facing the incoming horde, the ground started to tremor.

—

The groups clearing speed became much faster.

Along the way, they encountered small survivor groups that didn't belong to any faction. These people were the hidden powers that Marcus was trying his hardest to capture.

When they learned about Marcus' death, they became happy and joined the clearing team.

With the addition of powerful individuals, the speed that they cleared subdivisions hastened.

At this time, Jun chose to move since D2's and H2's started to appear. Even though the hidden powers could deal with one Rank 2 Evolved Carrier, Jun wanted their loots and paid no heed to their blank stares.

He killed what he wants and looted what he wants.

Your group was fighting a Ranked 2 Evolved Carrier while I was dealing with two other Rank 2's? Then its still mine if I kill it.

The people become flabbergasted at the scene. Apparently, the new boss in town has a hobby of kill stealing.

To keep everyone happy, Jun paid for the Evolved Carriers he stole above the market price. He paid with the food stamps that the people used on buying their bone swords.

Finally halfway on their clearing operation, they arrived at the intersection that leads back to the mall. Everyone chatted while walking with smiles on their faces