Chapter 21
Chapter 21
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 21
Chapter Title: Battleship Infiltration
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Infiltrating the battleship wasn't particularly difficult.
They had some sort of security system in place, but it was so crude it was embarrassing to compare to the research ship.
'Because they're pirates.'
Since they were just raiders, it made sense they never imagined anyone raiding them.
The auxiliary organ under my jaw began tracking the flow of vibrations. The battleship's core, made of metal, wasn't far.
Once I pinpointed the reactor's location, I raced down the corridor.
The battleship's corridors were filthy beyond belief, impossible to imagine it had once been a military vessel.
Sections of walls torn from other ships and crudely welded on created a patchwork of colors everywhere, with crates of loot haphazardly stacked along the halls.
As I dashed through what was little more than a trash chute, I sensed enemies approaching.
Two of them: one human, one Insectman.
'Take them out here.'
I crouched behind a nearby stack of crates. As footsteps drew closer and the human passed by, my tail struck precisely at his neck.
"Gah!"
"?!"
Blood sprayed from the severed head like a fountain. The Insectman froze, mouth agape at the sight of his comrade's corpse.
A civilian might have panicked, but this was a pirate. Even in shock, he yanked out his communicator.
I extended my palm, and a serrated tentacle shot out, coiling around his wrist. The sharp barbs on the tentacle mercilessly tore into his flesh.
"Kyaaaak!"
His forearm was mangled like it'd been fed through a grinder. The communicator clattered uselessly to the floor.
I retracted the tentacle, slick with the Insectman's signature green blood, and the remnants clinging to its surface were absorbed straight into my body. A sharp, tangy flavor—different from humans—zinged through my mind.
'Tastes like green grapes.'
Human blood had a spicy kick, but Insectman blood was refreshingly fruity. I would've savored it longer, but time was short.
I charged, slamming into him with my full weight. The brief lunge, amplified by my Flesh Reinforcement trait, delivered devastating force. He crashed into the corridor wall.
"Kuh!"
A short scream escaped him, followed by the crack of breaking bones.
A human would've gone into shock and died, but he was a tenacious Insectman. Still alive, he thrashed to escape.
I pinned his arms with my lower pair of hands and seized his split jaw with the upper ones.
"Kyaaak! Sp-Spa... Kuh."
I'd heard pleas for mercy one too many times.
I wrenched his jaw with crushing force, splitting his head open. He died instantly.
I left the human corpse and hurriedly devoured the Insectman.
'NPC races don't count toward evolution.'
Insectmen were classified as intelligent life in the game, but as an unplayable alien species, they didn't factor into Subadult evolution requirements.
'Just eat this and move on.'
Normally I'd take my time, but I had work to do. I gulped down his flesh in quick bites.
I licked up every drop of blood from the floor, then stuffed the human body into a nearby crate.
｢Patrol, what's going on? Why no response?｣
"Nothing."
｢Then answer quicker, you punk. Hurry up.｣
"Sorry."
I replied casually into the communicator the Insectman had dropped. Thanks to Mimicry, they had no clue its owner was already in my stomach.
Short skirmish over, I headed for the reactor again. No more encounters on the way.
I'd hoped the reactor's security would be as lax, but no such luck. Android guards patrolled the area.
Cheapskates who skimped on security, yet splurging on pricey androids. Probably loot from their raids.
'Androids are tricky.'
Destroying them wasn't hard, but the aftermath was. The moment I attacked, they'd signal the ship's central AI. Unless I wanted all-out war, better avoid them.
'How to take them out...'
The organ under my jaw writhed, probing for weak points.
Unlike organics, androids had no obvious vulnerabilities. Ceiling or wall crawling like on the research ship? Their heat sensors would spot me.
'Don't need to fight head-on.'
I turned and headed upstairs. Rusty metal stairs and a trashed corridor led to someone's bedroom.
The room reeked of stale sweat. The mattress was yellowed and filthy, empty bottles rolling on the floor.
Using all four hands, I lifted and tossed the mattress aside. Bugs scattered in panic.
'Around here, right?'
I stood where the mattress had been and extracted spores with my lower hands.
Acidic slime from the spores began corroding the floor. Acrid smoke rose as the grimy metal plate melted through in seconds.
Below the hole, the reactor's top was exposed.
A human would've noticed the meltdown from above, but androids followed rigid programming—vulnerable to the unexpected.
'Engine's down.'
I dumped spores onto the reactor.
-
It had been ten years since Elchen Dvbara turned to piracy.
A Hulk Mutant as a pirate? No one thought he'd last this long.
Hulk Mutants had short lifespans by design—genetically engineered to die within two years.
And pirates? Space Dogs rookies rarely survived a month. Even veterans seldom lasted over a year.
If not for Ezerton's modifications, he'd have died ages ago.
Even then, without his sharp mind, he wouldn't have thrived.
Elchen had overcome both curses. Now, he was an elder among the Space Dogs.
Yet even he was stunned by the scene unfolding before him.
｢Support request! Bridge command room! It's breaking down the door!｣
｢Damn it! No one's available!｣
｢N-No! I don't wanna die!｣
｢Where's the captain? Where's the team leader!?｣
｢The team leader's dead! Snap out of it!｣
｢Heh, heh. We're all dead. Hehehe.｣
｢Anyone got ammo left!?｣
｢It's breaking the door! Battle stations!｣
｢Shit! Smoke grenades!｣
｢It's inside... Aaagh!｣
｢Uwaaaagh!｣
｢Save... Ack!｣
The screams cut off as the recorded footage ended. The hologram faded, but no one in the room spoke.
'What the hell's going on?'
He'd sensed something off boarding the ship. Weird plants everywhere aside, there were no bodies.
Even if wiped out in an attack, there'd be traces—bloodstains, casings.
But nothing. As if the research ship had always been a ghost vessel.
Elchen decided to dig into the intruder.
He ordered a subordinate to scour the logs.
This was the result.
Even to a brutal pirate like him, the defenders in the command room looked utterly desperate against the unknown entity.
Many were already injured before this—missing limbs, or broken minds despite intact bodies.
The footage ended with the door breached. Their fates were obvious.
"Hey. Pull up something earlier."
The subordinate replayed prior footage.
｢Command room here. B3. Join up as soon as maintenance is done.｣
｢Path's complicated. Move carefully.｣
A short-haired, muscular soldier issued orders via comms. Nearby stood several in fancy attire.
This clip captured the first encounter and search for the mystery monster.
'Soldier's the security head. That weaselly one back there must be Captain Yuseong Samuel.'
It started calm, but tension spiked fast. Screams echoed over comms, and the command staff panicked.
'Sent forces wiped out.'
But it wasn't over. What followed truly shocked Elchen.
As the brass argued, the monster burst in.
'Smart move—straight for the head?'
No clue how it entered, but it rampaged like a fish in water, slaughtering everyone.
The white temple adrift in the black star sea was dyed red.
The soldier barely halted it, drawing a plasma pistol and firing.
The monster seemed wary of the weapon, more cautious than before. It hid, sprayed foam for cover, then lunged.
'Intelligent. Highly so. High-threat organism.'
Having encountered countless creatures during his gene mods, Elchen sensed this was a newly discovered species. Mega Corp would've captured and sequenced it already if known.
The fight ended with the monster's victory—not the soldier's fault, but lucky breaks. Friendly fire from a panicked trooper sealed his defeat.
The monster retreated right after, as if expecting reinforcements.
"...Goddamn it."
Elchen's biggest worry accepting this job was retaliation from Noble Capital, especially the Yujin Family.
But the footage suggested surviving to recover bodies was the real issue.
"Hey, Garlic."
"Y-Yes?"
He called to Garlic in the command room.
She'd been glued to the hologram, lost in thought. At his call, she snapped back to her timid self.
"Contact lost yesterday?"
"Y-Yes. We were supposed to meet then, but the ship never showed, so we searched for a day."
He'd already reviewed the roster en route: 222 aboard, 96 military. He could wipe them in half a day.
'Problem is, we don't know what it is.'
From the footage, he clocked its strengths: compensating raw power with smarts and versatile abilities. Attacking blind was suicide for his men.
Elchen didn't care if they died, but he hated wasting them. Even in death, they needed to extract intel.
"At least that's good."
"Huh?"
"It doesn't know we're here."
Seasoned pirates, they'd infiltrated quietly. Unless it had cameras everywhere, detection was impossible.
"Find and kill it first. Bodies later."
As he moved to order his men, a pale-faced subordinate rushed in, communicator in hand.
"B-Boss! Big trouble!"
"What?"
"The battleship's engine's busted!"
"What?!"
Elchen bellowed.
A working engine suddenly failing? Unthinkable.
The subordinate dreaded reporting bad news to an enraged boss but had no choice—hiding it meant worse.
He squeezed his eyes shut and finished.
"They say it's melted solid. No fixing it!"
"You fuck! Gimme that!"
Elchen snatched the communicator.
After hearing details, he crushed it in his fist.
"Fucking son of a bitch!"
Still fuming, he shredded a fixed alloy chair like paper. Subordinates bowed low.
"Shit, Garlic!"
"Yes!"
"Can you fly this ship?"
"I-I'd have to check..."
"Fucking hell."
"N-No, yes! I can!"
"You, you, and you—help Garlic. Rest, with me. We're hunting that monster fucker. Move."
"Yes, sir!"
Elchen led his men out.
He vowed: when he caught it, peeling its scalp wouldn't be the end.
-
'Oh. He's pissed. Really pissed.'
Back at my nest, I tracked their movements. The boss's heart raced double-time as he stormed through the ship, minions scrambling after.
'Wait till they split up.'
The research ship was more maze-like than the battleship, packed with facilities. New arrivals had to divide to search efficiently.
They didn't know, but survivors remained—captain and brass, about 20 total, hiding here and there.
Not out of mercy, of course.
'Mega Corp hates pirates.'
Some might surrender, but most would fight. I'd pick off the fallout.
'That one's troubling, though.'
The human in the command room, masking averageness, paced while tinkering.
Only three with him. Prime time to strike, but my gut said no.
Aimorph instincts screamed: dangerous foe, proceed with caution.
'Maybe Arnold's "master"?'
Sihyun Yujin.
The one Arnold said was like me. What made him say that?
'Probably gene-modded human.'
Mega Corp obsessed with longevity, competition uber alles. Noble Capital atop the pyramid did anything to survive longer.
Their gene tech boomed from this culture. Hulk Mutants were mere byproducts.
'Even Mega Corp players' endgame was gene mods.'
In-game, human shells hid insane mods: Cult relics via psy mods, space flight sans ship. Wild stuff.
So, Yujin scion might be similarly enhanced.
'Kisaragi was meh, but this guy...'
If gene-modded as expected, he'd overwhelm current me. Unknown abilities both ways. Player-tier? Even Subadult me might struggle.
'Gene-mod human. Been a while.'
Tough win? Not a loss.
I'd devoured top Mega Corp rankers. Strong foes sparked thrill alongside caution.
'Hold off on presumed Sihyun Yujin. Pirates first.'
Fight now, reinforcements complicate. Back to the pirates.
Perfect—they were nearing the captain's quarters where survivors hid.