Chapter 157
Chapter 157
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 157
Chapter Title: Collision Aftermath
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｢Ship 98 collision successful.｣
"Tch, it must be incredibly tough. It didn't explode right away."
"On the level of a mid-sized destroyer, huh. I have no idea where a monster like that came from..."
Nemea Fleet acting commander Sanada Ef watched the battle unfold through the external cameras.
At his command, Ship 98 had successfully rammed the unidentified bio-ship.
"Where's that bastard McKay?"
"I'd love to capture him as a POW and torture him, but orders are orders."
According to the Machine Committee, the bio-ship was an extremely dangerous entity, and they were not to approach it. Sanada Ef had tried to neutralize it with long-range attacks due to the warning, but it hadn't been easy.
He'd thought four ships would suffice at first, but they'd all been sunk in no time. He didn't know who the pilot was, but they'd maneuvered that massive escort ship like it was a fighter craft. In all his battles against countless foes, few had dodged torpedoes so adeptly.
The enemy had slaughtered the pursuing cyborgs one after another, taunting them by lingering in plain sight of the flagship.
So he'd sent ten ships after it. Sure enough, even the enemy couldn't handle ten for long.
'If you'd run, you might've lived longer. Fool.'
A broken image of it appeared in the upper right of his vision.
The front of Ship 98 had caved in so deeply that it was no longer visible, making it hard for the enemy to move now. If it were a regular ship, that attack would have ended its life. As a creature, it was a fatal wound beyond recovery.
Either way, death was all that remained for it.
"Just to be safe, finish it with torpedoes and erase any traces..."
"Damn it! Ships 1 through 12, evasive maneuvers. Ships 70 through 80, deploy APD shields."
"Ship 98, handle it yourselves and log everything. I'll report to the Machine Committee, so record as much detail as possible."
He'd have loved to watch that accursed bio-ship blow up, but they were in the middle of battle.
Sanada Ef continued commanding, swallowing his regret.
"Crazy! 20% damage? Retreat and fire torpedoes immediately."
Ship 98 captain Keynes Q checked the hull status.
A 3D model of the ship floated over his eyes, linked to the ship computer. Just as Ship 98 reported, most of the forward cannons were damaged.
All from the recent collision.
"We had APD support. How the hell...?"
"Fuck, that explains it. Contact the others—tell them to fire the second we're clear."
"Activate undamaged forward rockets and side rockets. Once we're clear, send in drones and the tech team."
At Keynes Q's command, Ship 98 fired its rockets immediately. As the hull shifted, gravity lurched inside, causing a faint vibration in the fixtures.
Just minutes after impact, they were pulling away fast when a bigger vibration hit.
"What the...?"
"What? Fuck! Double the side rocket output!"
No sooner had he spoken than an overwhelming pressure slammed into Keynes Q, far worse than before. Metal tearing echoed from the inner hull, and in some sections, gravity glitched—objects stuck to ceilings or floated aimlessly.
"Once we're out, pull straight back!"
Ship 98 and the others distanced themselves from the bio-ship. External cameras showed its black hull cracking like an egg, violet light pouring from within.
"Great idea! Use the spare drones to shove that thing toward the Cult ships!"
A cyborg in comms with Keynes Q unleashed drones. Construction drones zipped over, pushing the bio-ship.
The Cult ships, sensing something off about the bio-ship resembling their own, began retreating.
"Too slow!"
A blinding violet flash erupted. Two nearby Cult ships got caught in the blast, triggering a chain reaction.
"That's that. Ship 98, got it all recorded?"
"Include internal damage logs and send to the acting fleet commander on the flagship."
"Mm, pulling back openly might be tricky. How're the side rockets?"
"Tch, no good. Let's pull back for now."
Keynes Q's mission was done. Ship 98 withdrew to the rear under escort from other cyborg ships.
'Whew, that was close.'
The enemy ship had smashed deeper into mine than expected, nearly blowing the reactor. No issue while I controlled it, but releasing Horizon of Nightmares changed that.
Once Assimilation finished, the ship was irreparably wrecked. The reactor shut down too, so I figured no worries.
My mistake.
The enemy's prow had hit the reactor on impact, almost killing everyone aboard. Specimen 26, best at psychic control, could've shielded the blast, but Adhai and Mother of the Sky? Instant death.
'I was at risk too.'
I'm in the 'Clever Weakling' mutation of Organic Evolution—a special state. Normal form's thick armor would've saved me unscathed, but not now.
Size down means defense down too.
'Silver lining, though.'
Near-death, but the reactor blast drew enemy fire.
'Infiltration success.'
Scanning for a hideout, Adhai poked me with a wingtip.
｢Big｣｢Adult?｣｢Confirm｣｢Need｣
[Z(Yeah?)]
It's tilting its head at my changes.
Not weird—I'm awkward with them too.
This wasn't mutation or transformation. True evolution.
Overall size: 5m including tail. Tail 2m, body 3m.
Tail shorter, so body shifted—combat arms under armpits and hips became legs.
Like a centaur from Greek myth.
Four combat arms gone, combat power down? Nope. Chest arms grew to match.
'Shape's different, but...'
Chest arms—now long arms—boast bulging muscles, exoskeleton-covered like combat arms.
Not for defense, but could crush a human skull easily.
Beyond body/arms: six horns, massive head carapace, tail pincer unchanged.
Change: faces from Human-Faced Beast trait more prominent with smaller body.
'No, bigger change.'
Not body—fur.
Body covered in thin, long dark purple fur, except head carapace. Looks like wearing fur pelt from afar.
'Aimorph with fur.'
Game had fur traits, but not full-body like this.
Not just me finding it odd.
｢Big baby's weird now.｣
｢Me｣｢Little adult｣｢Agree｣
Even always-positive 26 found it off—first time, having watched my evolution fully.
Silent, it added quickly:
｢But big baby, so good!｣
｢Horns｣｢Cool｣｢Fur｣｢Weird｣
Outlier by alien standards.
Mother of the Sky awkwardly shook her head.
｢Head bare amid fur looks like a Wendigo.｣
[Zuzuzuzu zuzu (Not centaur?)]
｢...Like a Wendigo with eight legs.｣
The Wolf’s Phantom Beast includes the Wendigo—powerful, but with an ugly reputation.
'Tch. Looks fine to me.'
Despite flak, upside: fur's no ordinary fur.
Clever Weakling restricts traits for new perks.
This fur's a powerful new organ.
'As expected.'
Organic Evolution special states: King of Beasts combat, Clever Weakling survival. Fur stealth rivals King's, presumably.
'Downside: some physicals sealed.'
Assimilate Tendrils gone—key weapon, Horizon side-effect. Faces occupy those spots now.
'Combat drop hurts, but...'
Perfect for sneaking aboard.
'Later for that.'
We're inside cyborg ship. Used forward damage from ramming Cult escort to slip in.
'Drones for repairs soon.'
Hide till then.
I pressed auxiliary organ to hull like hatchling days.
Reactor hum, android/cyborg footsteps, buzzing drones, rust, synth oil, sweaty flesh smells.
Alive ship sensation—even linked cyborgs can't match my detail.
'Used it often on research ship to track foes.'
Now vastly superior.
Scanned half this massive cyborg ship instantly.
[Zuzu (This way)]
Found safe spot, led everyone. Dodged drones/androids en route.
Arrived at safest:
｢Garbage disposal?｣
[Z (Yes)]
｢...Definitely safe.｣
No cams inside except one near entrance.
Entrance close, but halted group.
[Zuzu zuzuzu zuzu (Hold up)]
｢Testing fur?｣
Ranker gets it. Test on that cam first.
'Blind spot here?'
Hugged wall to cam's edge view, extended tail tip into sight.
'Fur nullifies detection.'
Cyborg cams beat Mega Corp's, multi-sensor.
Someone sees, sends drone.
'If not...'
Wagged tail more. No drones after time.
'It works.'
Waited 10+ min, nothing. Climbed, checked angle.
'Good.'
Wall-hug avoids cam. For edges, hide behind cranes pre-entry.
Disabled cam, checked terminal by entrance for disposal schedule.
Next one's far off. Called kids.
[Zuzuzu zuzuzuzu zuzuzu zuzuzu (Circle behind crane to enter)]
｢What's crane?｣
｢That way.｣
Slipped into garbage disposal safely.
｢Whoa! Toys everywhere!｣
｢Amazing｣
｢Stay away from compressor. Dangerous.｣
26 and Adhai loved it. Mother of Sky supervised.
Pre-birth classic SF film: heroes trapped in enemy garbage compactor.
'Robot saved 'em?'
Movie peril, our haven. This filth our path forward.