"Hmm, there is a group that is going on a trekking trip to Mount Craire." Compass Carburettor muttered as he browsed through the posts in a trekking community.
He wanted to see if any official groups roamed through the wilds for fun. This way, he could accompany them as a group and observe for himself the changes that were happening.
Besides, by travelling as a group, accompanied by veterans that frequented the place, it would be safer for him in the off chance something happened. So, while looking through such groups, he came across a post that was related to a nearby place.
Mount Craire was situated 120 kilometres to the south of Feora City, the place he was at now. It was one of the tallest mountains in the Eastern Range that spanned diagonally from the south to the northeast.
The Eastern Range was a mountain range that was almost undivided except for a couple of passes. And, it was a forest region that was almost bereft of human traces. There were many protected sanctuaries and reserved forests situated among them and hence, human activity was the least there.
Moreover, a lot of news that he found out happened around the Eastern Mountain Range. Though, the number of cases was barely five. And among them, two had happened in the last month, with the Pomeranian case being the latest.
Deison City was situated 150 kilometres southeast, located on the other side of the Eastern Range. As it was a city bordering a forest, there was a higher chance of cases related to animals appearing there.
The same could also be said for Reshe City, one that was situated 80 kilometres east of Feora City. It was located at the foothills of the Eastern Range.
Mount Craire was relatively less forested as compared to the rest of the Eastern Range, so if anything, it was safer for probing around first. As for the forest beyond that, it was naturally dangerous due to the countless poisonous species living there, not to mention during the current time.
So, Compass Carburettor intended to scout through the place as a group first before making a solo trip once he sensed something.
He had planned to take the day off today just to buy some trekking gear following which he would finish his tour of the city. Now that he had stumbled upon the bat-like creature, his plans had changed a little.
The community post he was browsing through was actually a notice asking for people if anyone were willing to join. Quite a few people situated in and around the region had already applied. And, just when he thought of applying too, the door opened as Grisha walked out, having taken a bath.
She had changed into a fresh set of clothes while she tied her hair to a towel, allowing it to absorb the moisture. Once she exited the bathroom, she noticed Compass Carburettor typing something on the computer, asking upon seeing the post he was looking at, "What is that for?"
"I'm planning to accompany them to Mount Craire and see if I can find any other mutated animals." Compass Carburettor replied.
"But…" Grisha said after a moment of thought, "Wouldn't that be dangerous?"
"Yes, but this would become the norm soon enough." He sighed, pulling up a couple of news articles, "These were only said in passing in a discrete page in the newspapers recently. But soon enough, they'll increase in numbers until they make the headlines."
"Can't it just be something spurred by a change in weather?" She said, "There have been articles about how global warming might cause a lot of changes."
Upon seeing that Grisha still had some doubts, he thought of something. He understood that people weren't willing to accept change unless it becomes apparent enough or they had no other choice but to believe so.
It was just human nature.
But since he planned to have her tag along with his plans, he wanted for her to realise things beforehand. Initially, he planned to only start gathering companions once the apocalypse started in full swing.
That way, he could display his abilities and easily gather followers to his cause. Moreover, he would be aware of the movements of the other Systems by then, at least to a level where he would be able to obtain some understanding to the extent he could spread out Secret Society.
Now that he had established a connection of sorts with Grisha, he planned to take her along. It would also help him to have someone with connections to a lot of people. And, since she was just one person, he would be able to protect her to a certain extent and prevent her from falling into the hands of any System that targeted him.
"Show me your hand." Compass Carburettor said with a smile, gently grabbing hold of Grisha's hand as he placed his palm above hers.
Suddenly, Grisha flinched in alarm as she noticed a gun had appeared in her hands. For a moment, she was unable to handle the shock, dropping it, eyes widening further upon seeing it disappear mid-air. "H-How?"
"The world is changing, Grisha." Compass Carburettor said in seriousness, "And whether you wish to believe it or not, it's a fact. The changes are slow, but they are apparent. I thought of some ways to make you believe it, and seeing is believing."
He then condensed his Anthozoa once again, handing it out to her, "See, it is real."
As her hands trembled, Grisha grabbed hold of the gun, hesitating at the start before she felt the weight, asking, "But, are guns always this light?"
"The guns of this world don't." He laughed.
"W-What?" She was shocked further, trying her best to find any believable answer, "D-Don't lie. You can't fool me that easily. This is probably a nano-technology or something, right? And, you must be some military higherup in disguise that came here to investigate something."
"Nope," He laughed, "The number of days I've been in this world is the number of days I've worked in your café."
