Chapter 299
Chapter 299
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 299
Chapter Title: Infiltration (2)
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'That was close.'
I'd almost gotten caught. But thanks to perfect timing, I'd successfully boarded the warship.
Even in the game, when I'd snuck onto Berzan02, they'd never searched this thoroughly.
'And their detection systems have been upgraded, too.'
They were using every kind of detection gear and psyker tech imaginable to pierce my Dark Veil. If I'd stayed in Adult form, I probably would've been spotted.
While the Dark Veil disrupted their scans, I'd used my Organic Evolution trait to reshape myself into something entirely different: the Clever Weakling form, which shrank me down to under five meters and granted stealth effects.
'First time turning into Clever Weakling after reaching Adult form, huh?'
I checked my body while clinging to the outer hull of the massive warship.
The previous Clever Weakling form had been centaur-like. Even now, post-Adult transformation, the overall shape was similar. All limbs except my two combat arms and the smaller pair on my chest had become legs, and my entire body was covered in shaggy fur.
The main differences were my heads and necks. They'd shrunk dramatically from their elongated state. Especially the two side heads—they were now flush against my shoulders, with almost no necks visible.
The heads themselves had a common change: the rear cranial carapaces had shrunken significantly. Only the jaw auxiliaries, tusks, and horns remained, the carapaces gone. The monster tentacles on my necks and rear heads dangled like bundled ponytails amid the furry hide.
Besides the heads, the other big change was my tails.
Still two of them, but thinner and shorter. The bio-cannon on the left tail had vanished, replaced by a serpentine form. The right pincer tail remained, just downsized.
'Now that we're inside the shield...'
I reverted the horns I'd used to pierce the shield to their original shape. The sharp, Galleron-like protrusions twisted into a gnarled, rugged form. It was the effect of my Variable Bio-Weaponry trait, letting me reshape body parts at will.
'Galleron horns nullify psyker shields.'
That let my shrunken body punch through easily.
'Would've been real trouble if the horns had vanished in this form.'
The only traits unusable in Clever Weakling form were Horizon of Nightmares, Complex Spectrum, Black Devourer Cannon, and Medusa Organ. Plus, with wings and such gone, FTL navigation traits were restricted too.
Variable Bio-Weaponry suffered similarly. No rear carapaces or wings meant I couldn't mimic Ice Horror's head carapace or Galleron wings.
'Some parts are off-limits now, but hey, beggars can't be choosers.'
As I inspected my restored horns, the Sky Mother quietly poked her head out from under my legs.
｢You know what happens if we get caught in the shield when it reforms, right?｣
[Zuzuzu zuzu (It won't just slice us clean)]
｢You might survive being cut in half, but I'd be done for.｣
She'd taken griffon beastkin form to evade the fleet's sensors, hiding between my four legs to slip inside.
[Zuzu zuzu zuzu (We got lucky)]
｢Lucky? Didn't you say it was all calculated?｣
[Zuzuzu zuzuzuzu zuzu zuzu zuzuzuzu (Just a figure of speech. Time to move)]
｢Ugh.｣
She shot me a glare with her enchanting amber eyes, then crawled back under me.
With our movements synced, we hugged the outer hull and crept along.
The Clever Weakling perk Fur of the Unknown Creature provided stealth via the long hairs covering my body.
She lacked stealth tech, so I had to cover and shield her as we went. If she strayed from the dangling fur, an external camera might catch her—we had to move slow.
[Zuzuzuzu zuzu (Not frustrating?)]
｢I'm fine. You sure you're not uncomfortable?｣
[Zuzu (Nah)]
She'd stick to beastkin form for a while. To compensate for lost combat power, she'd brought gear in her backpack: the priestess's golden spear and MPS-05.
The folded-short spear poked my foreleg's inner side, but it was bearable.
Between the black sky and ivory earth, the Sky Mother and I walked together.
One signature Cult warship trait was ornate decorations and vibrant colors. Our ship embodied it fully. The moon-silver alloy hull gleamed ivory, its surface etched with geometric patterns.
Those patterns weren't mere decoration. Beneath the facade lay machinery. Cult ship ornaments amplified psyker powers like shields—functional amplifiers.
'External cams included.'
I kept hunting for an entryway, dodging lenses camouflaged as intricate designs.
'Should be around here.'
Lowering my body, I spotted a subtle protrusion from an auxiliary mount.
'Found it.'
It looked identical to the surrounding hull, but I sensed empty space inside. A compartment for anti-aircraft guns to handle small craft.
'In here first.'
I morphed my right arm into a Hellside Hornet limb. Joints twisted, four fingers crumpling inward like sucked into carapace. A massive scythe-like bone blade erupted from my palm.
The Hellside Hornet's razor-sharp scythe was now mine. I jammed its tip into the protrusion.
Sparks flew from the anti-air gun's cover panel, a gap forming. I wedged my forelegs and left arm in, prying it wide.
It was a tight fit for me, but plenty for the Sky Mother. Reading my intent, she leaped inside.
After her, I forced the panel wider and slipped in. It snapped shut the moment I let go.
First thing inside: an anti-air gun my size. Next: the dumbfounded Cult gunner's face beyond the barrel.
He stared blankly at me and the Sky Mother. Cup in hand—he'd just stepped out for a break and returned.
"Wha...!"
His eyes sharpened with alarm, body jolting into motion.
The cup slipped from his Cult hand. It reached up, not for the cup, but the headset comms hooked on his goat horn.
Then the Sky Mother thrust her priestess's golden spear at thunderous speed. The golden blade pierced his throat; only wind escaped his mouth.
"...Guh!"
His agony was brief. My scythed right arm decapitated him. I lifted the head, detached the comms from the horn, and devoured the rest.
｢Gun fifteen. What happened?｣
I responded to the faintly crackling comms.
"Nothing, sir. Seems like a shield malfunction."
｢Malfunction?｣
"A meteor clipped us when the shield glitched."
｢Understood. Report to the Knowledge Manager.｣
"Yes, sir."
I ended the call after wrapping it up.
The Sky Mother sighed in relief beside me.
｢Of all the luck, running into the gunner right on entry.｣
"Tell me about it."
I started devouring the headless corpse to erase evidence.
Three heads made short work of it. No trace remained where the Cult gunner had stood.
｢That mimicry organ thing? Always creepy no matter how many times I see it.｣
"Handy as hell, though."
｢...Never mind. Anyway, we're in. Here.｣
"Thanks."
She pulled a mini-screamer from her pack, about twice human-head-sized. Named MPS-05, it was packed with interstellar comms gear stripped from a screamer support line.
'That's why it's bulkier than the others.'
Implanting full comms into such a tiny body was impossible, even for it. Sending signals across dozens or hundreds of star systems to Gigacracker? No way.
So the others were holed up on an asteroid in a system adjacent to Aur, not with Gigacracker. That distance was feasible, per its calculations.
I reverted my arm, took the mini-screamer.
It resembled a fairy-tale princess with closed eyes. Dormant state—no response.
The interstellar implant let it take orders from the distant main body. But activating inside the ship risked detection from its emissions.
To counter, I'd implanted two traits: Neural Junction and Wavelength Mimicry.
Wavelength Mimicry was my original adaptive trait; Neural Junction, an internal organ trait reacquired ransacking Galleron's underground kingdom. Without them, I wouldn't have brought it.
I followed PS-111's prep instructions.
'Link circuits first, then power up.'
Ripping out the chair by the anti-air gun revealed neat cables under the panel. My chest's small arms detached some, plugging into MPS-05's rear port.
'Next...'
While I worked, the Sky Mother watched for intruders.
Cables and devices hooked up, I slipped a finger into its mouth.
Unlike humans, its dry interior hid a manual switch. Pressing it made MPS-05 shudder.
｢Did it work?｣
"Told you it'd take a bit."
We'd preset it so neural junction triggered on power-up. The shaking was its internals calibrating to ship systems.
'Wavelength Mimicry prepping too, no doubt.'
Analyzing and mimicking the ship's signals and waves ensured external comms went undetected. Unless the Machine Council dissected every signal, it was impossible to spot.
'With that trait, it'll never get caught.'
Ten minutes later, it opened its eyes. Red camera lenses blinked, focusing on me and the Sky Mother.
"Linkage confirmed."
"Success."
｢Seriously? It works?｣
"Special little guy."
"Special! Special!"
Prep for the Berzan02 infiltration op was complete.
Next: scour ship data for a vessel cleared to enter Berzan02 safely.
Two keys: computer hacking... and
The Knowledge Manager. We needed him.
Cult-exclusive role: a living computer, repository of knowledge. One on a system-monitor ship would know Berzan02's defenses inside out.
'Plus planetary intel.'
Weak points, threats to watch, changes from the game.
All vital for assault. Here for 22nd now, but recon never hurt.
"Computer side's yours. Count on you."
"Leave it. Possible."
Our next target: the Knowledge Manager aboard.