<strong>Day 163 - 12:21 AM - Cliff House, Mountain Base, Mount Mbito, General Nakar, Province of Quezon</strong>


    "We''re here!"


    "Sorry for intruding."


    Karlene and na said respectively as they entered the door of the Cliff House.


    Morning training had just finished, and it was already lunchtime. Since Karlene was still tired from the journey yesterday, they decided to just skip the afternoon training. After taking ate morning bath, the two went to the Cliff House as it was the best ce to spend time in the Mountain Base.


    It was not like there were no other ces to hang out. There was the Garden Pool right at the center of the base. It was where Miliel, the Mermaid, was living. She already opened up to humans and could converse to some extent. Thus apanying her while wasting time was not a bad idea.


    There was also the Recreation Area. It was a park-like open area also at the center of the base but just on the north side of the Night Everred Spirit Tree. Although it was mainly a facility with park furniture, benches, and even a yground for children, it also had a mini-theater where people could watch avable movies in their free time.


    Entertainment facilities like this might seem unnecessary in the apocalypse. However, everyone agreed to build one. It was a very good way to relieve stress. After all, stress was something that everyone needed to get rid of to maintain a positive outlook and productive performance.


    The other two ces were good. However, Karlene and na preferred to spend time in the Cliff House. Spending time with friends was a pretty nice way to rx.


    "You two are always wee here," Odelina said as she let the two enter with a smile. "But don''t make too much noise this time."


    Question marks were clear on the expression of the two. It was until they arrived at the living room that they understood why.


    The living room was thergest area in the house that Mark made. It was because it also served as a multipurpose room. It had enough chairs, a long table, a writing board, and even small tools to serve as a meeting room. It was also being used as the dining room to save some space. Most and foremost, the room was also equipped with a few items for entertainment for both children and adults alike.


    On one of the sofas, Mei sat with a subtle smile and caring eyes. On herp was Mark, sleeping like a log.


    On the opposite sofa, Elise sat, reading a pocketbook. She was silent, obviously because she did not want to wake up Mark.


    In the southeast corner of the living room, the dining table was upied by Mark''s daughters, along with Odelina''s children and even Ka. They were all ying a board game together. They were a bit noisy, but it was strange that it was not waking Mark up.


    Aside from them, there was also Jaeya and Pefile present. The former was spending time with her adopted son, Theo. Thetter, on the other hand, was just sitting down, unexpectedly reading a cookbook.


    Mara was also here, obviously with her sister, Jte. And since Jte was here, and so as Snow.


    There were a whole lot of people in the living room. Yet, Mark was able to sleep fine and undisturbed.


    "Woah. This is odd." Karlene said as she took a seat next to Elise. "Mark can actually sleep like there''s no tomorrow?"


    "Please don''t make too much noise."


    Elise put down her pocketbook and strictly reprimanded Karlene.


    "I haven''t even made any noise yet..."


    Karlene grumbled.


    "Amihan is tuning down the noise around Master. But if you are this close, you might wake him up."


    Odelina reminded as she passed by, going to the kitchen.


    It was only when Karlene and na noticed Amihan sitting on the armrest beside Mei, obviously using some kind of magic.


    "So, that is why." Karlene nodded in understanding and then turned to Elise. "Though I can''t believe you can reprimand people now."


    Elise flinched. She just did not want her Elder Brother to get disturbed in his rest that she acted out of character. Now that she was reminded of it, she could only shyly cover her face with her pocketbook.


    "Bessie, don''t make fun of her... Seriously..." na said to her childish best friend with a sigh. "Still, I didn''t expect that almost everyone is here this time."


    na said that as she turned her head around the room. The children were not surprised to be here and ying. The same was to be said for Jaeya and the two [Queen Type] infected. They were, after all, the most behaved when Mark was around.


    But what about Pefile?


    "Hey, Pefile," na called out with a bit silent voice. "Shouldn''t you be taking care of your wife?"


    "Edzel and Pearl are there right now." Pefile put down the cookbook in his hand and replied. "You know that my rtionship with Edzel is stillplicated, so it''s better for me to leave them alone."


    "That''s true..." na nodded. "But what''s with the cookbook?"


    "This?" Pefile waved the cookbook, showing that it was actually about nutritious deserts. "I''m just looking to see if there''s a dessert I can cook for Celine for dinner. Alright, please also don''t disturb me. I''ll get back to reading."


    Hearing him, na shrugged and did not pester the Tamawo any longer. Pefile was not that talkative and could sound rude at times. Everyone was already used to it, though.


    "A handsome man, cooking for his wife... I wish I also had someone like that."


    Karlene grumbled.


    "It''s too early for you, Bessie."


    na tapped Karlene''s shoulder.


    "Huh?" Karlene was confused. "You might be a few months older than me, but we''re basically the same age, you know? Why is it early for me?"


    "Bessie..." na sighed. "We might be the same in physical age, but your mental age is young enough to have the FBI called on someone."


    "What?"


    Karlene was bbergasted. However, the ones that heard na were just nodding or shrugging in agreement.


    "HEY!"


    Karlene eximed, noticing everyone''s reaction.


    And, of course...


    "SHHH!"


    Karlene was reprimanded while they pointed at the sleeping Mark.


    "Be quiet. Please." Mei stared at the two. "Gege had been really busy these past few days and was really tired because of yesterday. I finally forced him to rest, so please don''t ruin it."


    Mei was angry, and the two could only shut up.


    However, it was clear now that Mark was not resting because he wanted to, but Mei forced him to.


    Still, the two could not fathom how Mark was still asleep even at this time. After all, this guy was too sensitive to his surroundings. He would detect anyone staring at him, even from a far distance. Yet, Karlene and na arrived, made a bit of noise, and were even staring at Mark. Yet, he was still asleep.


    "Don''t be too confused." Odelina returned and spoke to the two. "I also don''t know why but Master can only sleep like this because of the Mistress."


    Then, Odelina handed a few things to Mei. It seemed that she was on the way to get these when Karlene and na arrived.


    "So, it''s only something that Mei can do, huh..."


    na said, looking at Mark''s sleeping face.


    It was when they saw what Odelina gave Mei. It was actually a pack of cotton buds. Mei then began to clean his ear as he sleep.


    "Heh... It looks like he liked it... That''s unexpected."


    Karlene said as they saw Mark look way more rxed than before.


    "Gege might not look the type, but he really likes this kind of stuff." Mei gently spoke. "He also likes getting his head getting patted and scratched. He also likes cute things."


    "Is that so?"


    Karlene sure was surprised.


    "No, no. Mark liking cute things really isn''t surprising."


    na interjected, getting Mei, Karlene, and even Elise''s attention.


    "How can you say so?"


    Karlene asked.


    "Mark''s an Otaku, right? That alone exins it."


    na exined.


    "Well, you Otakus are weird people."


    Karlene remarked, gaining na''s annoyed-looking eyes.


    "These two always try to insult each other when they get the opportunity. Are they really the best of friends?"


    As the two bickered, Amihan muttered while sitting on Mei''s side.


    "Some human friendships go like that, Amihan," Mei replied. "They were so close that they had no fear of falling out with each other from such jokes."


    "Is that so?"


    Amihan replied, still could not understand Karlene''s and na''s friendship.


    "Don''t think about it too much," Mei said to Amihan. "Even I don''t understand it thoroughly since I never had such kind of friendship with other people."


    "Me too." Elise agreed. "I... I don''t really understand their kind of people."


    Elise, a neglected child and bullied in school, definitely had no understanding of such rtionships.


    "You three are being rude."


    Karlene said, looking at the three, whispering.


    "Anyway, it is really good that we can rx like this here," na said, panning her eyes throughout the room. "Back in the Military Settlement, we can''t rx even a second."


    "We can only take a breather because there is nothing much to do at the moment," Mei replied. "We can''t go out of the barrier without getting sick. What we can do is limited."


    "Yeah, that''s true." Karlene agreed. "It actually feels kind of boring. I guess we are already used to living in this world."


    What Karlene said was what everyone here could agree on. Back before the apocalypse, life was peaceful for most people. If peace felt boring now, it just meant that they already adapted to the chaotic state the world had right now.


    "You all should treasure the peace we currently had."


    At this point, Jaeya''s voice echoed in their minds. They could not help but turn to Jaeya, who was ying with Theo.


    "Once the barrier is down, we might not get rest even if we wanted to."


    Jaeya added.


    That was also true. The barrier that the Eyes created would notst forever. It might be protecting the base from foreign elements for now. But when it wore off, who knows what would happen.


    Jaeya''s words caused silence in the room. Those words were worth the time to think about.


    "Still, at this point, it''s only Mark who had interesting things to do."


    na mentioned.


    "Now that you mention it, that''s true."


    Karlene agreed.


    Patrolling around the base might not be that interesting. However, when Mark was not on patrol, he was designing weapons and testing things. He was even studying the golem they brought back from the Kingdom of ck Duendes.


    And to say, Mark was making good progress with things he was doing.


    Especially that weapon Mark used yesterday to prate that mechanical shark''s body that even hot weaponry of the military could not damage. Mark did say that the aim was off and it needed more adjustment. However, it was already a sess when it could damage an enemy that modern weapons could not.


    Even Mark''s study of the golem was progressing faster than they thought. He was already near the process of designing golems where the [Golem Cores] that Bath gave the little girls could be used on.


    Now that they thought about it, Mark sure was doing a whole lot of things. They were sure that he was also unto stuff they did not know about.


    "For some reason, I''m feeling bad right now."


    Karlene murmured as she nced at the sleeping Mark.


    "If you feel that way, stop skipping training." na jeered at her best friend. "Just because Uncle Alfonso is not here doesn''t mean you can bezy."


    "You know that I''m still tired from yesterday''s travel, right?" Karlene grumbled. "Riding on a Dragon''s back sounds cool, but it''s not exactly the mostfortable ride, all right?"


    "They are at it again... Bickering..."


    Elise murmured as she tried to scoot away further from the two, although she could not because the three of them sat on the same sofa.


    Fortunately, the bickering did not wake Mark up, with Amihan working hard to stop the noise from reaching him.