Chapter 261
Chapter 261
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 261
Chapter Title: Ep. 261
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Kasha Arma's First Command Post.
The command post resembled a massive cylindrical pillar and boasted security as tight as a fortress within a fortress. And for good reason—it was the only passageway leading to the space fortress's reactor. If the reactor was the heart, then the First Command Post might as well be the brain.
And residing there was the fortress's ruler, Montana Marcio.
In an office crammed with precious treasures and taxidermied rare animals, two men were conversing.
"How are the preparations coming along?"
"The guests putting up items for the auction arrived at the military port an hour ago. All hospitality arrangements were completed thirty hours prior, so there shouldn't be any issues."
"We absolutely cannot fail this time. You understand that, right?"
"Of course."
Montana Marcio, a man of overwhelming stature that made him look anything but ordinary, removed an ornate cigar from his mouth.
He offered one to the male wolf beastman he'd just been speaking with.
The white-furred tiger beastkin, known as Kadun and bearing the moniker 'Snow Claw,' was the underboss of the Marcio Cartel.
"Thank you."
Kadun politely accepted the cigar Montana offered but didn't light it. Montana, knowing full well he wouldn't, lit his own alone.
"I'm planning to use the credits we earn this time to deal with Mega Corp. If things go well, we might even snag a usable planet."
"You're thinking of buying a planet?"
"Mm. The mood in the Imperial Parliament right now is far from normal. With the Outspacer reinvasion on everyone's mind, military expansion is openly the hot topic."
"You're saying there's a chance Kasha Arma could get mobilized too."
Montana didn't respond to Kadun's remark. Instead, he took a deep drag on his cigar.
Though the Marcio Cartel dominated Kasha Arma, the true owners of this city remained the Cult Empire. Montana had lobbied hard in the Imperial Parliament to take control, but if imperial policy shifted, they wouldn't be able to stay here much longer.
That's why Montana planned to use this opportunity to buy a new planet and relocate the cartel's base.
"It'd be ideal if we could get recognition from Mega Corp's Noble Capital branch, but that's probably asking too much."
"The Garmelda Family doesn't want their ties to us exposed, after all."
"A shame, but we'll have to settle for this."
After that, the two discussed fortress operations and business matters at length.
Several hours later, Kadun stepped out of the office. The moment he emerged, his waiting subordinates fell in behind him.
"What about the junkie situation?"
"Uh, well... it doesn't seem to be drugs. Looks more like an infectious disease. Similar symptoms are spiking among patients..."
"What?"
The subordinate clamped his mouth shut as Kadun's face twisted in a scowl.
The top dog in the Marcio Cartel was the boss, but the most dangerous one was Kadun, standing right in front of them. He never forgave mistakes.
After glaring silently at the subordinate for a moment, Kadun finally spoke.
"The boss is focused on this operation. We can't afford a single slip-up."
"Y-yes, sir!"
"Handle it within twelve hours. Mobilize whatever manpower and equipment you need."
"Uh, that's..."
Even with the underboss's name backing full support, the subordinate hesitated, his expression awkward. He didn't confirm he'd do it.
"What is it?"
"Over the past few days, more and more organization members have been deserting. Probably scared of catching whatever's spreading... Gah!"
Once again, the subordinate couldn't finish his report. Kadun had grabbed his face with one hand. Soon, the sound of crunching bone echoed as the man's body went limp.
"Grrr, and you're only mentioning this now?"
Kadun growled, but the subordinate with his skull crushed couldn't reply. After killing him, Kadun glared at the other organization members. They quickly bowed their heads.
"Who's next in line after this idiot?"
"M-me, sir!"
"The unauthorized deserters, the junkies, the plague carriers—whatever they are—you're in charge of all of them. As long as you don't touch the guests, spill as much blood as you want. Kill anyone suspicious."
"U-understood!"
"Twelve hours. Get it done."
Kadun tossed the mangled corpse aside and walked off.
The pirate who had just rocketed to executive rank barked urgent orders at his underlings.
In Space Survival, orbital habitats held immense value.
There were tens of thousands of star systems and far more planets, so why bother with orbital habitats? Simple—they could be placed anywhere you wanted.
Stick one in a strategically vital star system, or one you wanted to make vital, and dominating that system became a breeze. That's why even among rankers and major clans, those without orbital habitats were the rarity.
'Of course, I'm the exception.'
I wasn't the type to build orbital habitats. I was the Aimorph who infiltrated and destroyed them. Countless space fortresses had turned to cosmic dust at my hands.
This fortress I was in now, Kasha Arma, was one such place. Like the T&C Special Trade Center, it was a system-generated space structure. Since players didn't create it, destroying it just meant it'd respawn after some time.
In other words, it could be tackled not once, but multiple times.
In fact, I'd destroyed Kasha Arma three times already—each with a different method.
'I was a bit worried it'd changed from the game.'
But now that I was here, it actually seemed easier to conquer than in the game.
By successfully dominating a few Marcio Cartel grunts who managed the fortress, I'd obtained prime intel.
The fortress wasn't running at full capacity like it had under imperial control.
To cut maintenance costs, the pirates only kept life support active in essential zones: revenue generators like the military port and entertainment districts, plus necessities like water purification and food production facilities.
Everything else—like the Cult Warrior barracks or religion-heavy areas—was abandoned. Water and power were cut off entirely; only oxygen supply and gravity generators still hummed along.
'The game didn't have sections left to rot like this.'
Cult Warriors guarded the fortress everywhere you went.
I picked up a metal plate from the floor.
Engraved on it was a symbol: a circle containing a diamond, with two triangles inside. It was a Cult religious icon, one primarily used by the Prophets' Society.
'The circle for the world, diamond for the eye, triangles for wisdom and knowledge, right?'
This area was where the fortress's Prophets' Society seers had stayed. Metal religious structures littered the surroundings.
No crumbled buildings like in the armory district, but scattered symbols on the ground and corrosion eating at the structures suggested no human touch in quite some time.
'No one comes here except patrols.'
A perfect spot to hide.
That's when my auxiliary organ detected vibrations in the air. Someone was approaching.
'Here they come.'
Flying in with all external lights off, it was a patrol corvette. It landed in the plaza near me.
The rear hatch opened, and out spilled familiar creatures: a 50cm pink jellyfish and a white dragon with four red wings charging straight at me.
"Big baby!"
"Big" "sir" "Hello"
Specimen 026 and Adhai, who'd been cooped up in the container since arriving at the fortress.
It'd only been a few days, but they greeted me like we hadn't met in weeks. 026 climbed atop my head, while Adhai gently rubbed its neck against my arm.
[Zuzuzuzu (You all good?)]
"Yeah. I studied alone."
"I" "was bored" "Sick kids" "No fun"
"I compiled a comprehensive humor program tailored to Gallerons for maximum enjoyment. That evaluation is unfair."
Next came Mutant Screamer PS-111, slithering out.
"I request reconsideration of the evaluation under rational judgment."
"See?" "It's" "too" "serious"
Since leaving Dragon's Nest, the one whose appearance had changed the most among us wasn't me—it was PS-111.
Its base form still looked like a spider-scorpion hybrid, but everything else had evolved.
For starters, it was bigger. Body length alone was 7 meters, 12 with the tail. Its eight legs had grown longer and thicker to match, now covered in sturdy chitin plating instead of exposed metal skeleton, muscle, and flesh.
Other parts had gained animal hide and exoskeletons over the metal frame too. Anyone seeing it might mistake the screamer for a hulked-out mutant or gene-modded beast.
The head remained a pale woman's face tangled with thick cables—similar to before, but now with added psychic power modulation. It could fire psionic waves much like my monster-tentacle chatter.
Another change: four thin cables dangling from under its jaw. Tired of pulling cables from its back to link with ship computers, it had made a dedicated spot.
'Overall, it's starting to look more like me.'
"Indeed. So this is the nest you have in mind."
As I pondered PS-111, the Mother of the Sky, who'd exited the corvette last, finally addressed me.
The original plan was to keep the kids hidden in the container until we struck the fortress, but circumstances had changed. Pirates rarely came here—perfect camouflage for the little ones.
[Zuzuzuzu zuzuzuzu zuzuzuzuzu (It's an abandoned sector, so it should be fine)]
"Hiding in a religious zone? In the game, that would've been impossible."
She let out a hollow chuckle at the sight of a Cult Empire symbol—one of their three great powers—rolling on the floor.
As she said, the Cult prized the teachings of Providence above all. Even in my three invasions of Kasha Arma, I'd never targeted the central religious zones first.
'Everything's tough the first time.'
After greetings all around, I called over one of the corvette's pirate crew. He knelt before me with a blissful smile.
"Any changes while I was gone?"
"Six hours ago, the auction items arrived, and some have been transferred to the Third Command Post."
"Good."
Excellent news. My target was the gene essences of the rare creatures slated for Kasha Arma's massive auction.
"Is the merchandise manifest at the Third Command Post too?"
"The master list is held by the underboss at the Second Command Post."
"The underboss—you mean the tiger wolf?"
"Yes, Underboss Kadun."
I glanced at the Mother of the Sky. She nodded in affirmation.
To advance her deification stage, she needed a wolf beastman's heart—one capable of shapeshifting. This Kadun fit the bill perfectly.
'Jackpot.'
Snagging the underboss would knock out two goals at once.
'And preparations are right on schedule.'
The seeds I'd sown across Kasha Arma were starting to sprout.
'The Herald of Great Chaos is spreading fast.'
The pirate infected with the 'Madness Bomb' had already hit the hospital. The top brass seemed too tied up with the auction to respond properly, and in the meantime, the Herald raged onward unchecked.
In another three or four days, we'd see crowds driven mad rampaging everywhere.
Attacking the life support here would amplify the chaos. I'd already dominated one of the sector managers with a parasite, so striking was just a matter of when.
'Of course, after I've devoured all the rare creatures.'
"Anything else to report?"
My loyal minion answered.
"One more thing. To eradicate the junkies, they're forming a large-scale search party from above. This area's likely on the search route."
A search party, huh.
With my traits, hiding would be easy. Or I could just capture any searchers who found us and stuff them with parasites.
'Wait—why not...'
A brilliant idea struck.
"Can you get the underboss included in that search party?"
"Not sure. It might be possible depending on the situation."
Depending on the situation.
Then I'd just create the situation they wanted.
Make sure that tiger came sniffing around this abandoned sector.