Chapter 269
Chapter 269
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 269
Chapter Title: Harvest (3)
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The passage was drenched in blood, walls and ceiling alike.
Because the pirates had been shattered to pieces by my Destructive Sonic Wave.
“Enemy... above... danger level... measuring... measurement im...”
An android left with only its head and part of its upper body spat mechanical noises from its damaged vocal synthesizer. I smashed it hard with my wing arms.
'The vanguard is done with this.'
Now, they'd realize a serious threat had invaded deep inside the fortress. With the auction right around the corner and the underground vault getting ransacked? That was a whole different league from some lunatic rampaging through the city.
'Everyone in the fortress—plus all the visitors in the city—will band together to kill me.'
Every living creature and machine in this fortress was my enemy. Except the ones I'd brought along.
'So, what's next?'
The obvious first idea was to flee the fortress, but escaping outside right now wasn't a smart play.
The space fortress's defenses were built for fleet-scale battles—insanely powerful. Naturally, most of the turrets faced outward. The second I slipped out on a ship through the military docks, I'd eat a barrage from the fortress batteries.
'No point racking up extra damage.'
To cripple this externally tough, internally soft orbital habitat, it was way more effective to rot it from the inside.
The question was how.
I could charge out, slaughter my way to the command center. Or punch through the outer walls encircling the fortress and trash the internals.
Even in the game, I'd taken down Keesha Arma three times using different strategies each go. Plenty of ways to topple this fortress popped into mind, but I opted for something fresh. Traits that never existed in the game—unique ones forged by the Transcendence System.
'Strictly speaking, I've tried it once before.'
I pulled up the translucent text box and zeroed in on the Mutation Virus Host under the special states of Herald of Great Chaos and Organic Evolution.
Back when I'd wrecked the pirate slave market. That was my first shot at combining those two traits. Both top-tier crowd control, they meshed perfectly. Especially devastating against hordes.
With the right setup and environment, they'd deliver enough boom to rattle this steel behemoth.
'Method locked in.'
Next up: location. No sweat there. I turned and crawled deeper into the vault.
｢Aren't we going out?｣
“This terrain isn't suited for large-scale combat.”
[Zzu zzuzuzu zzuzu zzuz(There are ways. Follow me)]
No. 26 from the A-zone vault and PS-111 voiced their doubts as I returned. I led them deeper into the storage area.
Midway through D-zone vault, I halted the group. Then pressed my head flush against one section of the wall.
｢What's Big Baby doing?｣
“Looks like it's searching for something.”
They'd figure it out soon—no need to spell it out. I kept palpating the wall with the sub-organ under my jaw.
'Definitely around here... ah, got it.'
In a secluded corner of a vast cavity, I found my target. Faint vibrations.
Very subtle, pulsing intermittently from beyond the wall. Having stormed this city multiple times, I knew exactly what they signified.
'Subway line.'
This space fortress was a colossal structure rivaling the T&C Special Trade Center. It had multiple transport systems to shuttle hordes of residents efficiently. Hover buses zipping overhead, subways burrowing below, you name it.
And roughly 50 meters from the D-zone underground vault sat a subway line.
Marscio Cartel grunts, cartel reps from across star systems, mercenaries hired by guests from Mega Corps or the Star Union—tons of enemies riding those trains right now.
'Subway still running means they haven't fully mobilized.'
Forces stationed across fortress zones were converging on the command center to counter me.
Of course, they wouldn't make it in time.
[Zzuz zzuzuzu(All back off)]
No. 26 and PS-111 heeded my warning and retreated.
I gaped my maw wide before the vibrating spot. Jaws split as if tearing apart, side molars flipping outward.
My elongated throat churned. Then, green fluid cascaded from inside my mouth like a waterfall.
A hiss like cold water hitting a scorching pan echoed as toxic gas billowed thick. My acidic water cannon bored a hole about 10 meters wide through the thick alloy wall ahead.
'In the game, this would've been unthinkable.'
Even for an Aimorph with endless body mods, punching through dozens of meters of alloy in one go was no joke. Especially at Near-Adult stage. Without the Great Infectant-enhanced Acidic Mycelium Gland, I'd have pivoted to plan B.
The acid breath ravaged the wall fiercely but tapered off sharply after a few seconds. Mycelium fluid reserves tapped out.
'Good enough.'
I cut the acid breath and crouched low before the still-melting hole. Peering in, my back's twin barrels aligned inside.
Tensed my back muscles. Two orange clumps rocketed from the spore cannon muzzles.
The spores streaked inward like shells. Moments later, a deafening blast roared from within, hot air blasting outward. The spores' explosive fluids had detonated.
'Not done yet.'
Any second now, that explosive fluid would mingle with the acidic mycelium, sparking a vicious chemical reaction.
Soon, our underground vault shuddered like an earthquake. Each wall tremor belched heat from the hole hot enough to roast a person. The two compounds encrusting the inner walls had ignited a lethal chain of blasts.
｢Boom boom! So fun!｣
“A fascinating chemical reaction.”
No. 26 pulsed with light, thrilled by the vault's thunderous shakes. PS-111 stared into the hole, captivated by my handiwork.
The booms and quakes dragged on before petering out.
I gripped the hole's edges with my wing arms and yanked. The mangled alloy plate shivered, then crumpled.
[Zzuz zzuz(Now we go)]
I crawled through with the group into the deeply pierced alloy innards. Past the jagged tunnel, a vast space yawned before us.
A colossal chamber reeking of mustiness. A maglev track hummed at its heart.
'Perfect.'
Another subway train would rumble through any minute. Time to welcome the guests en route.
I triggered Organic Evolution for the first time in ages. Deep in the fortress's bowels, adrift in the void, my body began to warp.
Grinding twists echoed from my long combat arms and wing arms. The spider-like limbs compacted, shrinking to stubby nubs.
My torso ballooned instead, like a balloon pumped full of air. The arm carapaces seemed to melt into it, draping my bloated trunk in thick plating.
My head swelled in sync. It grew heavy; my neck thickened until it blurred into my body. Minutes into the shift, I'd morphed into something beetle-grublike.
But the mutation wasn't over. Pores riddled the carapace, birthing hundreds of tentacles.
These new ones differed from my erosion tentacles. Octopus-like overall, but forked into three prongs at the tips. Roughly 5 to 10 meters long—far shorter.
The changes settled quickly. Sensing stability, I summoned the text box.
Transforms into a creature harboring viruses that trigger mutations. Deactivates all body- and internal organ-related traits. Transformation can be released at will. Max duration: 3 days. Cooldown: 30 days.
• Mutation Virus: Tentacle contact induces rapid genetic mutation. Effects random, but universally heighten extreme aggression.
Mutation Virus Host was a special state I'd unlocked before ditching the dragon's nest—raiding Pira Eleven's supply lines.
Unlike combat-boosting Beast King or stealth-assassin Clever Weakling, this one specialized in infecting and mutating foes.
The body type screamed it: useless in close quarters. Speed tanked to a crawl, ruining mobility. With body traits sealed per the tooltip, a 1v1 against a strong enemy was suicide.
So why pick it? Simple: that Mutation Virus.
Hit by my tentacles and infected, enemies' genes warped wildly. Normally fatal, but the virus rebuilt their flesh into fresh horrors without killing the host.
'Like a NecroXXorph.'
Infected turned into space undead straight out of old SF games. Sanity obliterated, they fixated on slaughtering everything until their hoarded energy ran dry.
And "everything" included me—so the mutants lunged my way too. That's where Herald of Great Chaos came in.
It warped nearby targets' senses. I could twist the infected hordes' perceptions, siccing them on specific prey.
'Madness Bombs come free on top.'
Mutants fought and died endlessly. Madness Bomb contagion would skyrocket.
The combo's killer downside? Speed dropping to slug levels. Herald of Great Chaos already slowed me on cast—the penalty doubled here.
But no sweat. My crew had my back.
｢Whoa! Big Baby looks like me again!｣
“Congratulations.”
No. 26 beamed light, thrilled with my new look, hopping circles around me. He'd loved it the first time I'd morphed like this in the slave market.
'Not everyone, though.'
Adhai called my ugly form fine. Sky Mother pretended to puke. PS-111 just geeked out on the biochemistry, no verdict.
'Can't win 'em all.'
Personally? I dug this shape.
'Anyway.'
A powerful thrum from the track hit me. I dismissed the text box.
Trains laden with sacrifices were inbound.