Ex-Human Morphus [A Mutant Evolution Apocalypse LitRPG]
Chapter 185

Chapter 185

The two guards approached the inactive ammo-producing machine. For a moment, they just stared at it, trying to understand why it had stopped working. It didn’t take long for them to figure it out. When one of the guards checked the slot where the mana crystal should have been, he found it empty. A few other guards soon arrived to see what was happening. They gathered around the dormant contraption, conversing among themselves. Nearby workers who noticed the guards’ activity visibly grew tense.

Jake kept watching, having lowered himself into a crouching position at the edge of the roof. He gripped the edge with his hands, staring down at the base ten stories below, remaining completely still. He wasn’t worried that a sudden gust of wind might knock him off, because he knew Adhesive Secretion could be activated at a moment’s notice, securely anchoring himself if needed. The sun was setting, casting an orange glow over the city, but the workers continued their tasks, showing no signs of wrapping up for the day. As Johnny had told him, they were forced to toil endlessly. Jake wondered when they would finally be allowed to call it a day.

The guards gathered around the dormant ammo-producing machine spoke among themselves, some gesticulating animatedly. Their raised voices carried through the air, allowing Jake to catch some of their words with ease, despite the distance. It was clear that the guards were very angry, and not just because the machine had stopped producing ammo. Their frustration also stemmed from the fact that none of them had even noticed the mana crystal being taken from the machine. They all knew that Miller wouldn’t be pleased about that. The prospect of facing their leader’s fury when he learned what had happened in his absence filled them with primal fear. 

The guards knew they had to find out who had stolen the mana crystal before Miller returned. One of them called out to a nearby worker, waving him over. The worker clearly wasn’t happy about having to approach the gathering of guards, who were in a foul mood. However, he had no choice but to obey, so he began trudging toward them. The guard who had called him over yelled for him to pick up the pace. The worker quickened his steps, visibly trembling as he reached the inactive machine. He was immediately flanked by two guards on either side.

The worker shook his head vigorously when one of the guards posed a question, gesturing toward the dormant machine. Another guard spoke up, prompting the worker to glance at the machine again. He quickly replied, shaking his head again. The guards continued their interrogation, and each question was met with another negative reply. It was clear what kind of questions they were asking and what answers he was providing. Did you steal the mana crystal from this machine? No, I didn’t. Have you seen who did it? No, I haven’t.

Out of frustration, one of the guards suddenly raised his weapon and struck the worker with the buttstock, causing the poor man to drop to his knees. The other one quickly followed suit, raising his assault rifle and bringing it down on the worker’s head. The butt of the weapon connected with the back of the worker’s skull, and the man collapsed to the ground. The two guards set about beating him with the butts of their weapons as the man tried to shield his head with his arms as best as he could.

Jake averted his gaze from the brutal scene to scan the base for Johnny. He saw him on the other side of the base. He had been intently watching the guards gathered around the dormant ammo-producing machine. He was craning his neck, obviously unable to see all the details from where he stood. However, as soon as he realized one of the workers was being beaten, he burst into a run across the base toward the commotion. Some of the guards immediately pointed their weapons at him when they noticed him running toward them. Johnny skidded to a sudden stop, raising his hands high in the air.

From his vantage point on the roof of the ten-story building, Jake suddenly noticed a vehicle appear on the stretch of road leading to the bandit base. He kept it in his peripheral vision as he focused on the scene unfolding within the compound’s perimeter walls.

Several guards yelled at Johnny, keeping their weapons pointed at him while he shouted back, “It was me! It was me!” The guards continued yelling at him, and in the cacophony of noises they created, it took them a couple of seconds to process what he was trying to convey. Once they realized it was him who had taken the mana crystal, the two guards finally stopped beating the worker and turned to face Johnny. One of them yelled for him to keep his hands raised as two of them approached.

They began questioning him, and he quickly responded, but since they were no longer yelling, Jake couldn’t hear any words anymore. It was pretty obvious that Johnny was claiming to be the one who had taken the mana crystal when no one was watching. At some point, he pointed at the large tent where he and Jake had been hiding not long ago. The two guards glanced at the tent and then looked at each other, exchanging a few phrases. One of them then headed for the tent while the other guard stayed with Johnny. Meanwhile, the remaining guards lingered near the dormant machine, ignoring the beaten worker who lay on the ground, writhing and cowering. No one among the guards offered him any help, having seemingly forgotten about his presence for the moment.

In his peripheral vision, Jake could see that the vehicle was still driving down the road, gradually approaching the bandit base. It was clearly headed for the compound. However, it was still far away, so the occupants of the base weren’t aware of it yet.

It wasn’t long before the guard emerged from the tent, holding the empty crystal in one hand, his rifle slung over one shoulder now. He returned to where Johnny and the other guard stood and asked a question, nodding at the crystal. Johnny glanced at it and nodded in response. The other guard briefly looked at the empty crystal and then shifted his gaze back to Johnny.

Jake knew that the crystal had small cracks in it, which had formed when he gripped it in one hand to extract mana from it. However, he had applied just enough pressure to extract the mana without causing any visible damage to the crystal. So the resultant cracks were very small, almost unnoticeable, making the crystal appear intact. This was important because, as Jake knew from experience, mana consumables were nearly indestructible. While he could easily break them to extract mana, regular survivors couldn’t so much as leave a scratch on them. Jake had made sure not to leave any easily noticeable damage on the crystal, and judging by the reaction of the two guards, they indeed failed to notice the small cracks marring the crystal’s surface.

The vehicle that was approaching the bandit base was now close enough for Jake to discern the details. It was a pickup truck, and he instantly recognized it as the one Miller had driven away in. So the leader of the base was finally returning. However, the truck was still far off from the base, and its occupants were unaware that their leader was on his way back.

Jake returned his attention to the two guards questioning Johnny. One of them suddenly pulled what looked like a sidearm from inside his jacket and pointed it at Johnny. However, as it turned out, it was no weapon at all. When the guard pressed the trigger, bluish energy flowed from Johnny toward the guard who was using the device on him. Jake knew what was happening—the guard was extracting the mana stored inside Johnny and transferring the magical energy into his own body. Jake couldn’t help but feel jealous. He wished he had a similar ability. His Mana Vision perk allowed him to detect mana consumables as well as various mana sources like mana clouds or mana stored within human beings. However, the perk didn’t allow him to absorb mana clouds or extract mana from humans. He likely needed a special skill or perk for that, which he currently didn’t have.

Jake remembered Johnny telling him that he had about a thousand mana points within him. If discovered, he was going to claim that this was the amount he had extracted from the stolen mana crystal. Since there was no way to gauge how much mana a person held in their body, Johnny had said the guards wouldn’t be able to tell if he was lying or not.

However, watching the guard siphon mana from him using a special device, Johnny appeared uneasy. He was attempting to maintain a façade of calmness, but to Jake, it was obvious that Johnny was nervous and trying hard to conceal it. It was clear that Johnny was completely unaware there were devices that could siphon mana from within people. It must be some advanced technology available only for high-level survivors.

Once the guard extracted and absorbed all the mana from Johnny, he stored the device away and pulled out his PDA. He glanced at the screen, probably checking how much mana he had just taken from Johnny. Then he looked up and asked Johnny a question. Johnny replied, trying to appear calm, even though Jake could see he was nervous. The guard checked his PDA again, then gave a nod to his partner. He put the device away and asked another question. For a moment, Johnny spoke, nodding toward the dormant machine a few times.

Jake realized that while the device allowed the guard to extract mana from Johnny, it hadn’t provided any information about how much was actually stored inside him. The guard had probably asked Johnny how much mana he had taken from the crystal, and upon Johnny stating that it was about one thousand, the guard checked his screen to verify that he had indeed received that amount. Right now, Johnny was likely explaining that the machine had been in use for a while, accounting for the fact that only a thousand mana points were left in the crystal.

The guards finally appeared to relax. They had identified who had taken the crystal from the ammo-producing machine, and everything Johnny had told them so far seemed to align with the facts. To them, he seemed truthful. Now, when the leader of the base showed up, they at least wouldn’t look like complete idiots, who allowed their workers to steal mana consumables from the machines right under their noses.

However, they still didn’t know why Johnny had stolen the crystal in the first place. What was he planning to do with the mana he had siphoned from it? To what end did he risk everything to take the mana consumable? Also, did he seriously think he was going to get away with it? Did he really assume the guards were too naïve to notice that the machine had stopped producing ammo? Or did he think he could avoid getting caught altogether?

The moment they started asking these kinds of questions, Johnny visibly tensed. It was clear he hadn’t prepared for this line of questioning and had no possible explanation ready. Seeing that he was unable to provide a clear answer, the two guards grew angry again. One of them grabbed Johnny by the shoulder and shoved him in the direction of HQ. Reluctantly, he began to walk toward it. Jake knew they wouldn’t leave him alone. While they believed Johnny had taken the mana crystal from the machine and absorbed the remaining mana, they didn’t know why he had done it. Jake was sure they were likely going to torture him to learn everything there was to know and extract the whole truth from him.

Miller’s pickup truck continued driving toward the bandit base. It was very close to the compound now, but Jake kept his gaze on the two guards escorting Johnny to HQ for further questioning. He remembered seeing a strange expression in Johnny’s eyes when he promised to save his girlfriend. At that moment, Jake had thought that now that Johnny had something to believe in, he might do something reckless and stupid. Watching Johnny’s body language as he was sandwiched between the two guards leading him toward HQ, Jake realized this was the exact moment when Johnny was about to do something reckless.