Trash in the Apocalypse

Chapter 219: Alarm Clock

Everyone didn't feel safe even when sheltered by walls. The one-meter long snake they saw caught the hamster after getting it cornered. Its body width of one foot made it appear like a swollen hotdog due to its size if it weren't for its black scales.

The large snake constricted the hamster. When the three-foot-tall hamster stopped resisting, the large snake swallowed its meal. Its mouth stretched wide and stuffed the hamster whole.

A night watch helped to ease their nerves but almost no one fell asleep.

Jun's an exception though.

He practiced aura control and spread the invisible force to surround him. If he used the system skill, he would run out of energy in less than a minute. He threw that thought aside and manually trained.

He increased the usual 2energy/second consumption to 3energy/second. For the first time in training with energy spatial control, his energy was slowly getting drained. He then learned that his energy regeneration was 2.6 which was one percent of his total energy (260).

Confused, Jun wondered why it takes so long to recover energy after a fight. Was it meditation? Probably, that's the only thing people don't do after draining their energies. Besides, only a small group of people knew about energy control. Well, that won't go for long and some bright people will learn about this too. Better widen the gap while still ahead.

Jun closed his eyes and continued meditating.

As he sat on the bed in meditation, a realization dawned upon him. An experimental idea popped up in his head which could solve the problem of his abilities getting maxed out after generation.

Time passed.

Dawn came and a loud explosion of something crashing onto a car sounded from the distance. The soldier on duty used his increased visibility to see what was going on at the end of the street.

When the ground smoke scattered, he saw the large snake they saw last night engraved on the roof of a white van, unmoving. He turned around to wake everyone up, only to see five people armed to the teeth as they cautiously strafe towards him.

"What happened?" Jun asked tightly gripping his Warhammer with two hands.

Explosions of that caliber weren't common which woke up the light-sleepers inside the house.

"I think the snake we saw last night got killed."

"That giant snake? Where is it? Did you see what happened?" Carl responded.

"It's over there." the soldier pointed at the end of the street.

Instead of focusing on the white van that got crushed and has a large snake embedded on it. Everyone stared at the silhouette that was flapping its wings as it landed on the nearby roof where the snake was.

It had red feathers on the head and the neck while black on the body. A rooster usually found as a pet or in cockfights. It flapped its wings a few more times before raising its head and crowing out loud.

"Tiktilaok!"

Its voice echoed repeatedly in the tranquil town.

"Oh, it's Mang Inasal," Carl commented. He noticed Jun's confusion, so he explained. "We call him Mang Inasal back in the subdivision. He's the alarm clock of the whole town. Whether you want to wake up or not, he will keep going until the sun rises."

"There's no connection at all?"

"True. We just want to cook him because he's annoying. Now, I love him. Everyone pack your gears up. We'll use this time to sneak out of here. We're going on foot."

With the hidden threats coming out of their hiding places, the group of six moved swiftly and quietly. They retraced their steps from yesterday and finally got out of the streets. They arrived at the national and only encountered a few carriers along the way.

Evolved Carriers seem to be scarce in this part of the town. Was it because there's not enough time for them to evolve or were they already hunted down? Whatever the reason for their disappearance, it was good news for their group.

They ran as fast as they could before looking for a working vehicle. The group found a four-seater sedan parked at the side of the road. Six people squeezed themselves in, so they could get out of here. There's a lot of chances to change cars as long as they get out of here.

The sedan stormed off at top speed.

On the adjacent two-storied house, a man breathed furiously as he pushed the door open.

"Not again! My car!"

The sedan traveled the national highway quite peacefully. There was already a path for them to follow and the highway was pretty clear. The carriers on the other side of the guardrail became entertaining to look at as they zoomed past them.

SN Taytay appeared desolate as empty plastic bags got carried by the wind across the road. There were no people to be seen but there were signs of life around the area.

They stayed for a bit, hoping that the caravan waited for them but they were nowhere to be seen.

"They're long gone. Probably waited for a bit, but they're gone." Carl stated dejectedly while scratching his forehead.

"What are we waiting for? There's no fork on the road. We could catch up to them if we drive faster." Jun said.

"It's not that easy."

"What do you mean?"

"Snipers were positioned randomly at Rotunda Tikling. We would get shot if they have a bad day and injured on a good day."

"What, why are they doing that?"

"Because we reported the strange people residing at Taytay and they encountered one who tried to pose as a soldier. The military can't risk them entering the safe zone we created. This was the first outpost we had going south, so we have to hold on to it at all cost. Even if we wore this military outfit, we'll be shot first before we get interrogated. Is that okay with you?"

"Not really, but can't you use your radio?"

"I don't know their frequencies..."

Jun gave up and sighed. "It would be really sad if we get sniped before you could even introduce yourself. Let's go! I'll drive."

Despite the sedan being unfit for crashing onto something, Jun still chose to nudge a few carriers that were idling on the middle of the road. It was a totally useless move since unless they loot the body, the wounds it received would just regenerate.

The further they traveled, the more organized the highway became. There were no cars on the middle of the road as most of them were neatly parked at the side. 

Jun knew that they were near not because he was a psychic but simply because he traveled the area before. He followed the trend and parked the car on the side of the road.

He got off the car and everyone followed in confusion.

"Now what?" Carl said.

"We travel on the side," replied Jun while pointing at the residential area.

The sun rose up and shone its light on the land.

Felipe woke up groggily while clutching his head. How did I get back here? He ignored his own question and proceeded with his morning rituals.

He got up and started a set of morning exercises, rinsed some water and walked out to do his duties: tend to the food supply of Black Haven.

After the people learned of the cornfield at the back of the mall, a few thieves decided that it was a good idea to test their luck. Unfortunately for them, Takaw became the guard dog of the small farm. Stealth was useless against him since he could sniff them out and any courageous survivor who tried to scare him off were taught a harsh lesson.

The edge of the farm was encircled with a wooden fence. On the adjacent land, a newly cleared area was reserved for fruit-bearing trees like apples and mangos.

Currently, there were only vegetables and corns planted at the farm.

Felipe entered the vegetable area and noticed the tomato plant laden with glowing red fruits. He wasn't sure if it was the reflection of the morning sun or just the tomato's own glow. Do tomatoes even glow? In the end, he chose to pluck one and examined the fruit closely.

It was still a tomato in name and even in the description. He felt curious as to why it would glow so he took a bite. A sudden cool feeling entered his mouth as the fresh and juicy fruit traveled to his stomach. The followed by a notification that shocked him.

[Energy regeneration increased by 10%]

Felipe frowned, then gazed at the numerous plants all over the vegetable garden.

Was it because this was the first time they bore fruit, or because he watered them using that unique watering-can from yesterday?

He shrugged and decided that he could just find out. He opened his dimensional storage and searched for the watering-can.

But he couldn't find it.

He scrolled up and down, scrutinized every inventory slot, stared at every corner, but still couldn't find it.

'Fvck.'