17 Attack by Mutant Dogs (1/2)
”Why?” Rahul asked in amusement ”What made you change your mind?”
The old man grunted and said ”Got nothing else to do.”
”Really. That can't be the whole reason right?” Rahul asked.
”You didn't kill me. That's what made me change my mind.”
”So my honesty brought you back?” Rahul asked in surprise.
”I've seen a lot of betrayals in back in my time.” The old man said and looked into the distance as if remembering some bitter memories. ”Truth be told, I was ready to die the moment you caught me. But you not only didn't kill me but also offered me some valuable resources.”
”That was a stupid thing to do. But I guess I'm alive because of your stupidity. So…” the old man paused for a moment and said ”I'll follow you and your little group. But I have to tell you before anything else, I'm not your servant. I won't go around following your orders.”
”That's fine with me.” Rahul said. ”I see the people in my group as comrades and not as servants anyway. Welcome to the group.”
”Wait!” the old said suddenly said. ”Although I just said that I got nothing else to do that was not entirely correct.”
”You see, I have a son. Though we both never liked each other and haven't been in contact for the past 15 years.” The old man paused for moment before he continued. ”He's still my son. Though the chances are that he's already… gone, I would still like to make everything sure with my own eyes.”
”I understand.” Rahul said. ”Where does your son live?”
”He lives in Karnera. It should be around…”
”80 kilometers away from Zakopur.” Rahul said. ”I know where it is. I've been there once before. Small village. Filled with… Animals.”
”Why? Something wrong that?” Old man Patel asked when he saw Rahul's face turn ugly.
Rahul stayed silent for a while but I already knew. 'The chances of Old man Patel's son living had just plummeted to zero.'
No ordinary man can survive in the territory of Mutant beasts.
”Grandpa Patel.” Rahul said.
”My name is Gaurav. Gaurav Patel. Just call me Gaurav. No one's ever called me grandpa before, so I'm not used to it.”
”Alright. Gaurav, you have talked with the AI in your Black watch and already know about Crystals and Abnormals so you must have also known about Mutant beasts right.”
”Yes. A little bit. They are something like the animal version of Abnormals right?” Gaurav asked.
”Yes. In a sense they are. But they're far more dangerous than Abnormals.” Rahul said ”I'm afraid it'll be a bit hard for you to search for your son now.”
”Why is that?” Gaurav asked.
”You see. Abnormals and Mutant beasts don't like to live together. Whenever there are a lot mutant beasts and Abnormals in the same area war will always break out. And although most of the times Abnormals overpower them because of their large numbers, in places with lot of animals, the opposite tend to happen.” Rahul explained.
”So you're saying that…”
”Mutant beasts like to eat meat. Doesn't matter whether it belongs to Abnormals or humans. When they take over an area, they usually eat anyone and everyone in there. So, I'm afraid it'll be very hard for you to check your son's situation.” Rahul spoke in a very calm manner.
It seemed like he was afraid that the old man would break down or something.
But the old man's expression turned even more resolute. He raised his had and said ”Regardless of the outcome. I must still go and check. That's the least I can do as a father.”
”Very well then.” Rahul then turned to look at me and said ”The 5 crystals. Did you eat them already?”
'Damn it! I should have.' I felt a slight pain in my heart as I regretted not eating the 5 crystals when I had the chance.
But regardless, I would not lie to Rahul so I took out the 5 crystals and passed it on to him who then passed it on to Gaurav.
This time the old man didn't decline and took them directly and said ”I suck at 'thank yous' but, If I survive this journey then I'll definitely repay your kindness.” After this, the old man changed the five blue crystals to yellow ones before eating them decisively.
I was a bit surprised when I saw this. 'Without anyone telling him, he already knew that increasing Perception stat before other stats will bring the most benefits. Indeed, having him in our group will definitely be a good thing.'
After this, Rahul went on to give him a lot of information about the situation. They talked for half an hour before Gaurav finally bade us goodbye and left.
”Do you think he'll come back?” I asked as I looked Gaurav disappearing in the woods. I still did not trusted that old man in my heart.
”He might. He might not.” Rahul said and shook his head with a smile. ”We can only hope now.”
Then he closed the door and reinforced it with the heavy boxes. ”Let's get some sleep now. We will start moving again at night. We have to cover a lot of distance tomorrow to make up for today's delay.”
”Hmm.” I nodded and went back to lay in my blanket and held my back before I lost myself in dreamland.
—————
”You'll go right from here and deal with any Abnormal you meet on the way. I'll go to the left and do the same. Remember. Don't go too far. Understand.”
”I understand.” I said as I looked at the numerous vehicles stranded on the highway.
Although most of the Abnormals inside those vehicle had already got out of them, there were a few which were still caught inside.
Since most of the Abnormals in the nearby area chased after me and left in the afternoon, this was a splendid chance for us to rack in some easy crystals.
We could definitely not let this chance escape out of our hands.
I walked forward and started looking around carefully to find any unlucky abnormals that was still inside his vehicle. But contrary to what I had expected, I had not found any abnormal by the time I had searched 20 vehicles.
When abnormals were not looking for food, they unconsciously start to imitate human actions from their past memories. So after a few days, it was definitely possible for an abnormal to open a car's door or window by chance or mistake.
'Or so Rahul said. Maybe he was right after all. But he also said that not everyone will be so lucky. If I search hard, I definitely get rewarded.' Or so I thought. And my thoughts were finally proven right.
At last, after searching 22 empty vehicles, I found one unlucky one that still had not managed to get out.
'Kukukuku.' I laughed evilly in my mind as I looked at the Abnormal who was still not aware of it's impending doom.
'Now where will you run. My Precious Crystal.'
By the time, I finished the 7th abnormal, I ran into a group of Abnormals who were roaming around the streets, letting out their signature creepy guttural noises.
I suddenly had the impulse to try my luck and attack them but Lily's reminder of my Speed limit brought me back to earth and I wisely choose to retreat.
”How many did you found?” I asked Rahul when he came back. Judging by how long it took him to come back, it seems like he had quite the harvest.
”12” he said.
”How did you get so many of them?” I asked in surprise.
”Why? How many did you get?” he asked.
”I got only 7.” I looked at the 7 crystals in my hands and suddenly they seemed to have lost a bit of their shine.
”Don't worry. Here's 6 more.” He said and gave me 6 crystals from his pocket.
”Why?” I asked in confusion. We had a rule that we would keep the crystals from the Abnormals we killed. I didn't understood why he would suddenly break the rules.
”5 are for the loan that I took this afternoon and 1 is the interest rate.” He smiled and said.
”Oh!” I had almost forgotten the 5 crystals I'd given to Gaurav.
”In that case, I'll only take three. Consider it my contribution to the group.” I said and gave 3 of the crystals back to him.
After all, if Gaurav joined the team then all of us will benefit from that.
He didn't refuse and said ”Huh! It seems like you act like mature adults sometimes too.”
”Give those back if you don't want them.” I snapped but in the end, I didn't get anything back.
I looked at the ten multi colored crystals in my hands and after exchanging them I had 8 Green colored and 2 Red colored crystals.
I gulped them down with some water and after the warm sensation faded away, I opened the hologram and checked the interface.
User name:- Ashok Singh Rana
Stats:-
Strength - 1.1 (0.9)
Agility - 1.0 (2.0) - Skill Recuperation Penalty
Endurance - 2.0 (1.2)
Perception - 2.0
Mana - 0.0
Skills:-
Agility Booster (2nd tier)- Skill recuperation time left= 17 hours 53 minutes 28 seconds
Equipments:-