Chapter 197
Chapter 197
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 197
Chapter Title: Ep. 197
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Adhai stood before the Pure White Queen, Ham Ort.
She was lying flat on the floor, savoring the warm heat flowing along the cave bottom. She showed not the slightest hint of threat toward Adhai.
That carefree attitude irritated Adhai just a bit.
｢Ham Ort｣｢Commands｣｢Here｣｢Warm｣｢Lie down｣
｢Fine｣｢Unnecessary｣
｢Ham Ort｣｢Hates｣｢Repeating｣｢Words｣
A touch of displeasure laced the psychic wave from the female kin. Adhai had no choice but to lie down on the floor.
As she said, the ground was incredibly warm. It was enough to make her forget the winter chill of the wind she'd faced outside the cave in an instant.
Ham Ort closed her eyes, seemingly satisfied at Adhai's obedient compliance.
｢I｣｢Follow｣｢Words｣｢Explain｣｢Request｣
｢First｣｢Question｣｢Daughter of the Meteor｣｢Father｣｢Know?｣
｢Great Aud Grad｣｢Black kin｣
｢Yes｣｢Ham Ort｣｢Aud Grad's third mate｣｢Daughter of the Meteor｣｢Ham Ort's descendant｣
The pure white female basking in the heat ahead, Ham Ort, and the great black dragon Aud Grad—they were her parents.
The day Adhai was born, a brilliant meteor shower lit the sky, so Ham Ort named her "Daughter of the Shining Star." Adhai, blessed with exceptional memory, could still vividly recall her mother's joyous expression upon seeing her.
Of course, it was all meaningless now. Her parents had exiled her as a mutant when she was just a hatchling.
Just as Adhai was about to ask why dredge up ancient history, she froze in shock.
Intense rage emanated from Ham Ort.
｢Aud Grad｣｢Deceived｣｢Us｣｢Dozens｣｢Hundreds｣
｢?｣
Adhai couldn't comprehend it.
To her or her kin, the very concept of deception was faint. They communicated via psychic waves, emotions bleeding directly into them. It might be possible with other creatures, but fooling kin sensitive to psychic power was impossible.
｢Aud Grad｣｢Special stone｣｢Carries｣｢Emotions｣｢Blocks｣｢Leakage｣
｢Stone?｣
｢Special stone｣｢Owner｣｢Hides｣｢Emotions｣｢Ham Ort｣｢Couldn't read｣｢Aud Grad's mind｣
Ham Ort's words sparked a hunch in Adhai.
While traveling with Big Brother, she'd seen ugly creatures carrying strange metal lumps. Some held tremendous power.
Those ugly beings used the metal lumps for all sorts of wonders—sometimes to harass her and Big Brother, other times mimicking her kin's powers.
Perhaps Aud Grad carried such a strange metal lump. One that hid his true thoughts.
｢Curious｣｢Lie｣｢What?｣
｢Aud Grad｣｢Aged｣｢New successor｣｢New black kin｣｢Should emerge｣
｢Agree｣
｢But｣｢Aud Grad's flock｣｢No successor｣｢No black kin｣
Her claim rang true—no black kin existed. Adhai remembered none beyond Aud Grad.
Looking back, it was odd. Ham Ort's flock teemed with white kin. Aud Grad's much older flock should have had black kin too, yet none appeared.
｢Star flow｣｢Changed｣｢Dozens｣｢No black kin｣
Adhai wasn't ancient, but she knew this wasn't normal.
Even she had shifted from blue to green devouring diverse prey in short order. In a nest primed for growth, no black kin emerging was unnatural.
｢Aud Grad｣｢Rejects｣｢Successors｣｢Discards｣｢Potential kin｣
｢?｣
｢Ham Ort｣｢Saw｣｢Aud Grad｣｢Secretly｣｣Eliminating｣｢Kin｣
｢!｣
The words trailed off, but Adhai understood.
The aged leader crushing young sprouts to preserve his throne. Not mere exile—hunting down and killing the discarded kin himself.
But Ham Ort wasn't finished.
｢Aud Grad｣｢Knows｣｢Daughter of the Meteor｣｢Potential｣
｢Potential?｣
｢Ham Ort｣｢Investigated｣｢Kin legends｣｢Elder kin｣｢Said｣｢Savior｣｢Needed｣
Ham Ort extended a forepaw, pointing at Adhai.
｢Daughter of the Meteor｣｢Has qualities｣｢Can become｣｢True savior｣
It was something Adhai had never imagined.
-
All Apex creatures were unique, and Crystalwing was no exception—evolving distinct traits to survive harsh environs and stronger rivals.
The hallmark was its sensory organs.
First, its eyes.
As a high-altitude flier, Crystalwing boasted exceptional eyesight. It could spot small creatures over 10km away. No x-ray vision like desert Terror Devils, but pure visual prowess.
Yet its true value lay beyond mere sight.
'It's practically a flying radar.'
Crystalwing emitted unique electromagnetic waves with every breath. Like radar, it detected other creatures by waves reflecting back.
This otherworldly ability stemmed from its secretions.
Before full maturity, Crystalwing instinctively coated itself in bodily fluids. Over time, they hardened into unique metallic substances—the source of its waves.
These waves aided hunting and self-defense alike, creating semi-permanent stealth against other radars.
'That's why Crystalwing secretions fetch such prices.'
Thus, hiding under trees or rocks meant little. Unless buried deep underground, escape was impossible.
'Textbook counters are wave jamming or hijacking...'
'Wave jamming' and 'hijacking' generated waves disrupting electronics. Though biological, Crystalwing's reliance made it vulnerable. Nullify or scramble its waves, then strike—that was standard.
I lacked both, but had a substitute trait.
'Fur Pelt of the Unknown Creature.'
This 'Clever Weakling' perk nullified detection gear, traits, and tech. It should evade Crystalwing's senses.
'Hiding's no issue.'
The crux was ambushing them.
Thoughts sorted, I gathered the kids.
[Zuzuzu zuzuzu zuzuzu zuzuzu(Need bait to lure them when they return)]
｢Yeah. They're skittish and timid.｣
[Zuzuzuzuzu(So here's the thing)]
I eyed No. 26.
[Zuzu zuz zuzuzuzu zuzuzu zuzuzu(Can you tone down your power so it's invisible?)]
｢Yep. Easy.｣
No. 26 complied, retracting its psychic waves. The distorting aura vanished into its body, purple glow fading from its pink form.
'Perfect.'
Before me now stood not a terror of the deep, but Space Survival's popular pet: Bubble Amoeba.
｢This good?｣
[Zuzu zuzuzu(Spot on)]
｢Yay!｣
[Zuzuzu zuzuzu zu zuzuzuzu(Wingeds come, lure 'em in)]
｢Leave it to me, Big Baby.｣
Good kid.
Two reasons for bait duty: First, excluding me, No. 26 hid power best. Its psychic mastery outdid mine—feigning weakness was effortless. Masked, it screamed harmless pink balloon.
'Even wary Crystalwings should bite.'
Second, vivid pink against snow-capped white peaks. With sharp sight beyond EM fields, they'd spot it easily.
I carried it near the nest, setting it down. Tentacles waved: trust me.
I stroked its back gently—good luck—then withdrew with Mother of the Sky and PS-111.
[Zuzu zuzuzu zuzuzu zu zuzuzu zuzuzu(How about digging a pit behind those rocks?)]
｢For ambush, that clustered tree area looks better.｣
[Zuzuzu zu zuzuzuzu zu(Better. Go there)]
"I'll assist."
PS-111 and I dug into the treed slope. Soon, a 2m-deep, 3m-wide pit formed.
[Zuzu zuzuzuzu zuzuzu(You first, stand by)]
"To evade tracking? Understood."
As Mutant Screamer, half-machine PS-111 leaked faint EM—Crystalwing would detect instantly.
So bottom for it. Confirmed settled, I called Mother of the Sky.
[Zuzuzuzu(Ready?)]
｢Yep.｣
She'd shifted from griffon to beastkin form. Wendigo infusion refined her look.
White eagle head, golden fur patches, toned build—same core, but new: twin small horns, black bone tattoos, softer feminine curves replacing bulk.
From fierce warrior to primal shaman vibe.
She nimbly sprawled over PS-111. Smaller than griffon, easy hide.
'Set.'
I lay atop, covering fully. Tail-to-nose 5m sealed the pit mouth.
'Should dodge scans.'
Not foolproof—I knew. Hence No. 26 as lure.
All prep done.
'Just wait now.'
We waited for unknown return time.
[Zuzuzu zu(Not hungry?)]
｢I'm good!｣
"Require energy. Request minor parasites from 'Aimorph' body."
｢Ate earlier, already?｣
"Sustains constant load."
｢...Wanna die? I'm not heavy.｣
Chatting idly.
｢Can mark one of the pair.｣
[Zuzuzuzu zuzuzu(Wendigo power?)]
｢Yeah. Adult, can't hold long.｣
[Zuzuzuzu zuzuzu zuzuzu zuzuzu zuzuzuzuzu(Females weaker resistance, target her)]
Planning fights.
"'Aimorph' traits mirror my model closely."
[Zu zu zu zuzuzu zu zuzuzu zuzuzuzu zuzuzu(Your creators might've modeled after me)]
"Met my developers?"
[Zuzuzuzuzu zuzuzuzu(Let's say...)]
"They'd never ignore an 'Aimorph'."
[Zuzu zuzuzuzu(Same here)]
Topics long unspoken.
No weaklings here—immobile long-term posed no mortal risk.
Boredom, though...
Day one: chatter. Day two: silence.
PS-111 hibernated for power save; Mother slept too. Bait No. 26 juggled nest gem pebbles.
Pitying its sleepless boredom, I taught air-juggling. Awkward start, now obsessed—one tentacle tossing dozens nonstop.
'Seed Demon juggles pebbles.'
Game version toyed with humans.
'Glad it amuses.'
I tuned out thriving No. 26, resumed watch.
Monitoring since yesterday—sub-jaw organs scanned peak skies ceaselessly.
'Nostalgic.'
Game hunts waited similarly, camping nests.
Less dull then—valuable fluid crystals drew rivals.
They preferred milking live Crystalwings. I sought death; they harvest.
'Constant scraps kept it lively.'
Win-win for me—more fights, more genes.
'...And weirdos.'
One defeated Mega Corp ranker orbit-bombed in spite, costing my unique trait.
Lost in memories, time flew—hourglass near empty.
'One hour left.'
I gazed at pitch sky: snowflakes, black clouds only.
'Other paths maybe.'
Apex hunt for spaceflight trait led here, but wings elsewhere existed. Few winged on ice world, but some.
'Descend, grab wings first, hunt Crystalwing lat—'
Waking kids pondered, then—subsensory pinged.
Gale differed—faint tickle on fur, like nearby breath.
Sensation near ship engines or core comp.
Impossible on empty white peak.
Electromagnetic waves. Undeniable.
'They're here!'
The awaited: Crystalwing returning home.