Chapter 170
Chapter 170
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 170
Chapter Title: Self-Destructing Mass-Production Model
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Blood from the corpse spread across the snowfield.
In the midst of the eerie rustling of leaves, a monster resembling a spider charged forward.
Its target was me.
More precisely, the area around my neck. Somehow, it had zeroed in on my weak point right away.
Six erosion tentacles burst out from my back in unison. Already tough to begin with, they were now even sturdier, coated in synthetic scales. The tentacles spread their auxiliary limbs wide to seize the creature.
The thing was about 4 meters long—slightly smaller than Heavenly Mother. I had no idea how strong it was, but its size alone wouldn't overcome my advantages.
The six tentacles clashed against the eight legs it wielded. A harsh screech, like metal grinding apart, echoed through the forest.
Far smaller than the erosion tentacles, it twisted its legs to deflect their assault. Its black metallic frame glowed red-hot as it clambered swiftly up onto my tentacles.
In an instant, the spider monster closed in on my back. Its front legs targeted the monster tentacles around my neck.
'Not on my watch!'
I shook my body violently at just the right moment. The three mechanical claws at the ends of its metal legs sliced through empty air.
Seizing the opening from its disrupted stance, I launched a counterattack.
I bent my tail upward and swung the pincer at its tip in a wide arc. It hastily raised its two flailing front legs to block.
Too bad for it—my pincers, paired with my head carapace, were the toughest parts of my body. A heavy crunch rang out, like being smashed by a massive hammer, and its body launched into the air.
Then Heavenly Mother leaped upward along my combat arms. She threw all her strength into her front paws, smashing into its right-side legs.
｢Tch!｣
Even as it flew from the pincer blow, the spider monster twisted its posture midair. Regrettably, her strike only managed to crumple one leg.
She and the spider monster crossed paths and landed separately. Unlike Heavenly Mother, who touched down gracefully on the snow, the spider sank halfway into the ground, hampered by its damaged leg.
｢...Tougher than I thought.｣
Her blow packed enough punch to punch holes in a starship. Yet its leg hadn't even broken—just dented.
'This isn't working.'
I'd planned to eat it and figure out what it was, but it was putting up more fight than expected. We didn't have much time to spare. Dragging this out any longer wasn't smart.
I activated the 'Insight' trait I'd been holding in reserve.
'What?'
The info from Insight was abnormal. Thinking I'd misread it, I tried again, but it barely changed.
'It's not a Player—why is this happening?'
'Contains unverifiable information' hadn't popped up since Muriel.
While I was using Insight and frozen in place, it regained its footing and attacked again.
S-422 rushed forward, whipping its seven legs at blinding speed.
I twisted my body and swung my tail ahead. The piled snow on the ground erupted into a blizzard.
It dropped low to dodge, then bent its two front legs backward to rake under my tail. Scales and blunt claws tore away, sending a sharp sting through me.
The erosion tentacles lunged to defend their host, but as if anticipating it, the spider leaped upward to evade.
My tentacles slammed into the ground, while Heavenly Mother's strike flew at the airborne foe.
Her strongest weapon—her beak—clashed with its front leg. The impact sounded less like flesh on metal and more like two blades crossing in a test of strength.
｢Ugh!｣
Its metal leg sheared off like it had been sliced by a blade. But Heavenly Mother wasn't unscathed either—its claw had gashed her side.
I crawled forward, catching her with my combat arms while yawning my jaws wide at it. My acidic fungal gland in the esophagus activated, spewing green acidic fungi from my maw.
Still airborne, it contorted desperately to dodge the incoming liquid.
But this time, it couldn't fully evade. The ravenous fungi that touched its body began corroding the metal frame.
Upon landing, it rubbed its legs in the snow, but it was too late. Its legs were beyond salvage.
Unable to stand any longer, it collapsed into the snow.
'Is it done?'
Its legs had been its main weapons up to now. From what I could see, it had no others.
'No. There might be more.'
I couldn't view its equipped gear, so it might have hidden weapons. Staying cautious, I approached.
Its head buried in the ground, it muttered ceaselessly without pause.
'Incineration protocol?'
I was about to finish it with my combat arm when it suddenly began counting down.
'No way...'
A bad premonition hit me. I snatched Heavenly Mother and scrambled out of the clearing like mad.
｢Wh-what's going on all of a sudden?!｣
She fired off a thought wave laced with confusion as I scooped her up and bolted. She had no clue why, and there wasn't time to explain.
Instead, I barreled forward, toppling every tree in my path.
About ten seconds later, an enormous surge of energy and heat erupted behind me. A deafening roar followed, one that made my auxiliary organs buzz violently.
Heavenly Mother glanced back, her eyes widening.
｢That crazy bastard! Run faster!｣
'I'm trying!'
Already, unnatural heat radiated against my back and tail. That alone told me the energy from its body outstripped dozens of plasma launcher shots.
'I'd probably survive, but...'
Heavenly Mother, cradled in my combat arms, wouldn't. My tough build might limit the damage to losing some carapace, arms, and legs, but she'd burn up completely.
Mobilizing three combat arms, blunt claws, and even erosion tentacles, I barely escaped the blast radius.
Gazing at the forest blazing fiercely, Heavenly Mother muttered.
｢Was there something like that in the game?｣
[Zuzz zuzzuzzu (Not in my memory)]
｢Right?｣
The game did have suicide tactics. Mega Corp's standard play involved implanting bombs in useless hires and sending them on kamikaze runs. Some wild creatures self-destructed for damage too.
But nothing caused an explosion this massive.
'Space Dogs remnants from before?'
I recalled the hulking Hulk mutant that had implanted a bomb in one of my two hearts, giving me trouble. I was weaker then, and it was smarter than your average Hulk mutant—that stuck with me.
I shook my head.
'Nah, low chance. Popping up here out of nowhere is too random.'
More likely, it tied to the new-model Screamer from the Star Union warship before arriving here.
'Way over-specced for a Screamer, though.'
Plus, Insight had shown its species name with 'Mass-Produced.'
That implied two things: someone made it. And...
'It's not the only one.'
Dozens, hundreds more like it could lurk somewhere on this planet.
'...Deal with that later.'
First, get out of here. A blaze this huge on a world of ice and snow would draw Gallerons for sure.
Or its allies.
'Hunting's off for today.'
I couldn't come near this forest again. Gallerons would patrol endlessly.
Detour around and approach the mountains only when I felt safe.
We escaped the burning woods, only to face a new problem.
｢Crossing the snowfield's too risky.｣
A black pillar of smoke rose amid the white expanse. Everyone would notice, and traversing the open icy plain without cover was suicide.
If my scales were white, maybe. But they were dark purple—visible from afar without a blizzard.
Using 'Organic Evolution' to shrink into 'Clever Weakling' wasn't ideal either.
We might clash with unknown monsters or Gallerons. That would force me to burn one of my special Organic Evolution states: 'Beast King' as a trump card. Better save it.
'Underground it is.'
Vast caverns lay beneath the ice.
My nest wasn't fully walled—open on both ends. Unsure if they connected to my nest, but safer than surface travel.
[Zzuzzu zzuz zzuz zzuzzu zzuzzuzzu (Gonna break through the floor. Keep watch for company)]
｢Got it.｣
With Heavenly Mother on lookout, I repeated yesterday's work. Heated my body with thermal discharge, shattered ice with combat arms and tail.
｢Hurry. Something's coming.｣
[Zzuzzu (Who?)]
｢Dozens of Gallerons.｣
Bad news from above—I sped up. Erosion tentacles and bifurcated jaws dug frantically.
Pouring everything into it, I carved a tunnel to the underground space. I scrambled out, lowered Heavenly Mother first.
Now visible to my eyes, the Gallerons were closing in. Luckily, they fixated on the burned forest, grabbing charred corpses and flying off.
While distracted, I hastily concealed the new tunnel entrance.
Job done, I crawled down into the ice tunnel. No one seemed to notice.
｢We good?｣
[Zzuzzu (Probably)]
Reaching the cavern, Heavenly Mother and I hightailed it out.
'Damn it.'
Never imagined a mystery mass-produced monster would corner us like this.
'Whoever you are...'
It'd been ages since anyone pissed me off this much. Almost as bad as the Morph Hunters blocking my evolutions before.
'Just let me find you.'
I'd never forgiven anyone who's hindered my growth. In the game, I threw everything at those Morph Hunters for revenge.
The maker of that ugly spider freak would walk the same path.
A massive underground cavern spanning hundreds of meters.
'It,' coiled comfortably in the cozy darkness, sensed a vibration. Some fool was surely causing havoc atop its territory.
These incidents had spiked lately.
Packs of unfamiliar 'small beasts' charged it, and colorful flying snakes suddenly prowled its domain.
'It' had lived eons and loathed exertion due to laziness. It merely crushed or devoured the beasts that attacked, ignoring the aerial serpents.
But today's quake differed—it shook all the way to its nest.
As insolent fools threatened its home, 'it' thought:
Keep letting idiots trample its territory, and even those sky snakes might mock it. Say 'it' was too weak to defend its own house.
Lazy, but not dumb. In this barren world, weakness meant death.
So, the underground king must prove it still reigned—to show its foes.
Today, 'it' resolved to move. Long antennae sniffed for invaders. Though aged, they remained keen. Two fresh scents reached the tips.
Intruders entered after the big quake. Two beasts' odors clung to its antennae.
Prey found—now hunt and punish. 'It' uncoiled its vast body, filling the cavern.
Hunt time, after so long.