Trash in the Apocalypse

The next day, the Monitors noticed that several containers of fishes have gone missing.

The only thing they could think about was the communication disturbance last night. However, they couldn't find anyone suspicious in the area. 

Starting then, the security around the warehouse facilities became stricter. At day, only the familiar faces could come and go while new people had to go under stricter vetting and often times gets denied entry.

The warehouses weren't only owned by Black Haven since some of them were bought by trade partners of trusted families all over the territory.

Ever since the unification of the four towns, families who have strong business minds, who were trusted and helped in the initial stage and reclamation, were allowed to partner with Black Haven.

Families who specialize in poultry and other livestock were supported for a much-diversified food network. They were given corresponding mutated animals to breed and grow their farms.

The commonly found chickens and pigs have received an advantageous upgrade. Their vitalities got stronger and the fertility rate increased while shockingly reducing the pregnancy time.

Normally, a well-fed hen would produce more or less 250 eggs per year while a well-fed sow could produce 2-10 piglets per pregnancy.

However, according to the respected families, the mutated hens started laying eggs after 10days of getting pregnant, which usually takes 21days, while the mutated sow started birthing piglets after one month and one week of pregnancy. All the experiences they previously had as experts were overturned!

Furthermore, every animal continued undergoing a growth period. The grown pigs also had more power and could destroy pigsty fences when they become hot-headed, which caused some casualties on the farmer's side. Just like every animal, after tasting nirvana, they wanted to do it more. Unlike the pigs, the roosters were docile but tend to peck unfamiliar people's heads who come close to their henhouse. They guard their homes with full vigilance to strangers.

Since the farmers were unsure of what to do, they consulted Black Haven for instructions.

And help was sent immediately. 

Black Haven recruits were temporarily sent over to take care of the alpha pigs and financial help was provided for better and sturdy construction of breeding bases. The money is expected to be used to improving the welfare of the animals.

Several days passed, the theft of fish barrels continued. Takaw got commissioned as a guard dog. Yet still, fish barrels continued to magically disappear. It became an urgent matter for the First Army since they never caught a whiff of the criminal. 

Furthermore, everything would happen when the communication disturbance occurs. It was like the thief mocking everyone guarding the warehouse.

That night, Evo came by and installed cameras inside and outside the warehouses.

Everyone guarded as if their life depended on it. Rumors about the event were starting to spread and if they couldn't still catch the thief, the honor of the army could get stained. 

The Head Monitor stared at the screens in front of him, waiting for any suspicious movements. The milkfish has a small chance of giving a small permanent boost on Speed stat. For that same reason, people still ate it even when they grow tired of it.

Though you need to eat a considerable portion before getting that slight increase, an increase can still separate you from other people and make you stronger.

The disheveled hair, the dark shadows under his eyes. The Monitor could only watch sternly since this was the first day that the CCTV cameras were installed.

The cameras could see invisible users and could easily catch them. They tried assigning guards with 'true sight' skills but they still failed. Skills use energy and if you run out of energy, you pass out. 

It was impossible to continuously use the skill which the thief took advantage of.

They placed guards inside but the stench of fish was overwhelming and decided that guarding all the entrances should be fine.

Anxious, he suddenly saw a shadowy figure appear on the edge of the screen. It was inside the warehouse. The warehouse was filled with fish barrels and only the center aisle could be used as a pathway.

He inched closer and grabbed the radio by the side while tapping his thighs,

Anytime now, he would know whether it's the thief or just his eyes playing tricks on him.

Then something unexpected appeared.

Takaw wandered aimlessly, then yawned. He sniffed the air and suddenly started growing. He transformed to his overgrown form noiselessly and bit a fish barrel, swallowing everything in one sweep. His tail wagged excitedly as if thrilled about the flavors exploding through his mouth.

The Head Monitor clutched his head and started chuckling. Now that he thinks about it, Takaw often comes here every day. It was also for that reason that he insisted Takaw should become a guard dog for tonight.

"So it wasn't a thief... Well, in a sense, but he's the Big Boss's pet, so there should be no issues, right?"

He grabbed his radio and made his way to the warehouse while announcing the conclusion to his subordinates.

It was all a ruse. It was impossible to catch a thief when there's none in the first place. The thief that they were looking for was the friendly neighborhood dog that comes and goes wherever he pleases.

The moment the officer stepped out of the office, a silhouette appeared from the corner of the screen. From the front entrance camera, it could be seen that silhouette passed by the door guards but wasn't noticed, since they were busy discussing how Takaw was actually the one they were searching for. 

Takaw watched the figure walked to the back of the barrel piles, and shook his tail. Once he realized that he got ignored, he snorted and made his way out of the warehouse as he transformed back to his smaller self.

A cute little munchkin that would hop around, chasing blood-sucking mosquitoes.

The next day, the same thing occurred again and the Head Monitor resigned to take responsibility for a false report that claimed that there was no thief.