Chapter 296
Chapter 296
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 296
Chapter Title: Rest (3)
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The day after hunting the Giganteum, I set out from the nest alone.
Ship Ort had told me that I wasn't particularly needed for the other hunts. With Adhai's skills, the group should return safely enough.
Adhai had led the pack out on the hunt, and No. 26 was busy playing with the young hatchlings.
I hadn't realized it since games never really depicted it, but Blue Gallerons were quite curious creatures. Aside from when they were feeding on energy or sleeping, they were constantly wandering in search of new interests. It would have been fine if they stuck to the caves inside the canyon, but the problem was that some of them were trying to venture outside.
A river of boiling acid flowed between the canyons, heated by geothermal activity. White or Green Gallerons might handle it, but Blue Gallerons had weaker scales and could suffer serious injuries if they fell in.
Because of that, the Gallerons tasked with childcare were struggling to manage the playful young ones. But with No. 26's arrival, they could finally breathe a sigh of relief.
The creature used its newly acquired mutant tentacles to satisfy the Blue Gallerons' curiosity. With dozens of tentacles endlessly transforming into new toys, the young ones had no choice but to be content.
'Plus, it supplies psychic power as a bonus.'
With both Adhai and No. 26 occupied, I decided to head to PS-111 alone today.
Leaving the canyon, I flew in the opposite direction from where I'd gone yesterday. Below, I spotted plants resembling enormous oyster mushrooms, each tens of meters across.
Adjusting the position of my wing arms to descend, I used my combat arms to tear off the tip of one bizarre plant. I dumped the mashed lump into the central maw.
'Hmm.'
It looked like a mushroom, but the taste was completely different.
To describe it precisely, it felt like eating fruit mixed with almond milk and soy milk. The flavor wasn't bad, but it was overly juicy, making the texture a bit lacking.
'Still, it's packed with nutrition.'
I'd seen the Gallerons feeding this plant to their young in addition to psychic power, and now I understood why.
This place was vastly different from their original habitat, making it tough to raise the hatchlings properly. Fortunately, with abundant nutrient-rich food all around, none of the young should face growth issues.
'I hope they like the taste.'
After sampling the almond milk-flavored oyster mushroom, I used my combat arms and legs to pluck handfuls of other strangely shaped plants nearby. I fed some to the two heads on either side of me as I moved along leisurely.
As I traveled slowly like this, at some point, frost began forming on my wing membranes and carapace. Below, living plants grew scarcer, and the icy ceiling overhead was festooned with icicles far larger than I was.
This area had thinner ice layers compared to other regions. The reason was tied to the artificial structure visible in the distance.
On the frozen wasteland devoid of life stood a single shattered tower.
That structure, leaning like the Tower of Pisa, was the Screamer support ship I'd acquired after taking down Pirah Eleven. It had crash-landed on this planet during the battle with the Gorgon Swarm, ending up in that state. The rear was completely smashed, and massive, irreparable holes gaped in the hull.
The support ship, having lost all vessel functions, lit itself up to welcome its long-absent master.
I entered through the gaping rear. Inside, undamaged lights flickered. It almost looked like they were greeting my arrival.
'It probably already knows I'm here.'
Right after the Gorgon Swarm fight, PS-111 had repurposed this wrecked support ship as a communications relay. That way, it could efficiently manage any new ships or mechanical structures we acquired later.
In the end, its judgment was spot on. The Gigacracker, unable to land on the planet, remained in orbit under remote control. Otherwise, it would have had to stay in space just to manage the Gigacracker.
Folding my wing arms and lowering my body, I crawled through the tilted interior. Assuming it would be in the situation room, I headed downward, but the lights cut out midway.
'Not the situation room?'
The passage below was pitch black. I checked the sign at the spot just before the lights failed.
'Production bay.'
Come to think of it, this area was near the storage hold with the gene samples and cryo-containers. That place down there was probably the bay for manufacturing Screamers using materials from storage.
'Modifying its body again?'
There were no gene samples left on this ship.
'Might as well check it out.'
Crawling a bit further down, I used a wing arm to pry open a half-open iron door. Brushing aside the shower of ice chunks, I entered to be greeted by hazardously flickering lights.
The atmosphere inside the production bay was profoundly eerie.
The ceiling and walls had their panels stripped away, exposing bare girders and pipes, while the floor was a tangled mess of frozen wires.
Atop that grotesque space, production equipment—crudely patched together—whirred away. The clamor of steel clashing, sparks bursting from pipe joints... all of it amplified the site's chilling aura.
In the midst of that mad scientist's lab-like space sat the creature itself.
Its spider-scorpion-like build, 7 meters tall excluding the tail, clad in rigid metal plating—it exuded no small intimidation.
Moreover, eight legs extended from its body, each tip fitted with varied weaponry.
Some limbs resembled human hands but with fingers replaced by hooks; others had elongated machete-like blades instead of hands. Spikes protruded wildly from every arm, dozens of centimeters long.
The body seemed optimized solely for slicing, tearing, and smashing lifeforms. Ironically, though, its face was entirely different.
Perched atop that massive frame was a woman's face, pale and gleaming chrome. Cables dangled like hair, red eyes glowed, and four cable strands hung from the chin—slightly alien, yet plenty alluring.
That beautiful woman's face rotated 180 degrees toward me.
"You've arrived?"
PS-111, festooned with cables from neck and back, greeted me with its eyes.
[Zuzz zuzz zuzz zuzz (I thought it was undergoing modifications?)]
"No. I've come here for an experiment."
[Zuzz (Experiment?)]
Mindful not to step on the floor's wires and cables, I approached it. Before it lay something oddly familiar.
'This is...?'
"A remote-controlled model. Made using materials salvaged from the Gigacracker and local fauna as a base."
Anticipating my question, it answered on its own. I'd thought it was here modifying its own body, but I was wrong. It was crafting a Screamer body based on the onboard computer schematics for Screamers.
'And this one...'
It looked very different from the Screamers I'd faced. It evoked early PS-111 instead. Though only the face and parts of the body were done, completion would make it strikingly similar to its creator.
[Zuzz zuzz zuzz zuzz zuzz (Remote-controlled model?)]
"Yes. With a body I can control remotely, I'd be capable of far more than now."
Finishing its words, it bowed its head toward the Screamer body.
PS-111 brought its head close, as if to kiss the identical face. The cables from its chin extended toward the Screamer body's cables on their own.
A small spark flew as the cables connected. The Screamer body twitched like it had been shocked.
With a smack to its head from PS-111, the Screamer body opened its eyes. The red camera lenses serving as eyes blinked a few times, then turned toward me.
"Cal-i-bra-tion... com-plete. How... is it?"
"Calibration complete. How is it?"
[Zuzz zuzz zuzz zuzz zuzz zuzz (You made this so quickly?)]
"Thanks to reverse-engineering my structure and replicating my cellular tissue. With proper facilities and time, I judge we can achieve higher completion here."
It spoke modestly, but I couldn't help being astonished.
Screamer development was a weeks-long project even in the game. This was reality, so months—no, years would be more like it.
For it to produce even an unfinished clone in such poor conditions was impressive.
[Zuzz zuzz zuzz zuzz zuzz (Doesn't seem to have self-awareness)]
"Correct. Independent operation capability is unnecessary, so no autonomous cognition was granted. It functions solely on electrical signals I send."
"In-de-pend-ent... op-er-a-tion... un-nec-es-sary. Un-nec-es-sary."
[Zuzz zuzz zuzz zuzz zuzz zuzz (Makes sense for a remote model)]
From what I could tell, it was more like a terminal that moved only under its control. Speaking the exact same words as the main body suggested it only functioned when synced with its mind.
Of course, it was still barely a Screamer at this stage—a mere prototype. Given time, it might produce many with performance rivaling PS-111.
[Zuzz zuzz zuzz zuzz zuzz zuzz (Impressive. So this completes it?)]
"Completion will take more time."
"Com-ple-tion... will take... more... time. Time... more... re-qui-red."
[Zuzz zuzz zuzz (Truly excellent)]
"Not at all."
"No... it is! Praise... ac-cept-ed! You... so kind..."
"Voice sync module error detected. Further calibration needed."
It dove back into tuning the suddenly glitching replica. Mechanical arms throughout the production bay moved at its will, beginning repairs on the "remote control model."
Watching that, a thought occurred to me.
Cosmic Monster Type 2 evolution reward: 'Monolith of the Double Helix.'
A perk allowing transplantation of up to two standard traits—excluding unique ones—to a friendly organism.
I hadn't experimented with this perk since receiving it, unsure of potential side effects.
But one of its Screamers?
Wouldn't that make an ideal test subject?
'Not a bad idea.'
Since PS-111 designed and managed them, I could easily observe how my granted trait functioned. Even if side effects arose, I could just scrap it—minimal risk.
'Losing a trait would sting, though.'
Still, better than harming the others.
Sorting my thoughts, I spoke to PS-111.
I had one experiment I wanted to try.