Chapter 303
Chapter 303
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 303
Chapter Title: Berzan 02 (2)
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A reception room adorned with luxurious ornaments.
Various intelligent beings sat around a table in the intricate Cult style, layered with geometric patterns.
Most were human, but not all. There was a male Cult with yak-like horns, a figure clad head to toe in a black reinforced suit resembling a Star Union Walker, and more.
The diverse group listened intently to the report from a human man holding a pad.
"Thanks to Captain Nern's connections, we've secured a new manpower supply route. We've recovered 67% of the losses from Waks-01, and..."
Sihyun Yujin, the black-haired woman seated at the head of the table, checked the subordinate's report on her own pad.
Originally, she had no intention of coming to Berzan 02 at all.
After acquiring the relic from the Galleron homeworld, she had focused on deciphering another record left by Rangeo.
The relic they already had, the 'Abyss Destroyer,' was easy enough to infer—it was some kind of weapon, and there were even witnesses who had seen it in action, making it straightforward to obtain.
The problem lay with the other relics mentioned in the records. She had figured out they were some sort of star charts, but nothing beyond that.
On top of that, her current real-world troubles made relic research even harder. Contact with her subordinates planted in Star Union's capital planet, Waks-01, had been cut off.
According to intelligence gathered through other channels, the Grand Commander had ordered a purge of spies and dangerous elements—not just on Waks-01, but across all planets under Star Union control.
Because of that, she had lost half her forces.
No matter how powerful the weapons, without forces to back them up, operations were impossible. She had no choice but to put relic research on hold and focus on rebuilding her subordinates.
'I was planning to recruit mercenaries from Kesha Arma, but...'
Kesha Arma, the space fortress occupied by pirates.
It was the perfect place to acquire skilled mercenaries, rare intel, and genetic material from exotic creatures, with massive auctions held periodically. Even the original Sihyun Yujin had visited multiple times before her death.
Rumors swirled that this auction would feature rare documents and star charts in abundance—an irresistibly tempting prospect for her.
But what greeted those who flew near the space fortress was nothing. Kesha Arma, perfectly intact right up until the auction was set to begin, had vanished entirely.
Even she, with all her experience, never imagined a space fortress could disappear in an instant. No wonder she suspected Akira Yujin had learned her destination in advance and set a trap.
Thus, her plans to acquire mercenaries and star charts ended in failure.
The one who helped her during her deliberations was the former imperial mothership captain, Nern.
He suggested heading to Berzan 02's slave market for manpower. As a bonus, his successor was conveniently there, so they could ask for assistance.
And so, it had been a month since they arrived on Berzan 02.
"Manpower acquisition shouldn't be an issue, but equipment is the real problem."
"Can't be helped. There's talk in the council about rearmament, but getting weapons here won't be easy."
Nern, cooperating with Sihyun under the banner of revenge against the monster, continued providing aid even after arriving on Berzan 02.
Sihyun's butler, Minseok Yujin, had dismissed him as a mere Cult before they came, but now his attitude had completely changed. Who knew what he truly thought, but outwardly, he showed no negativity toward Nern.
As the meeting progressed, a short message arrived on her pad.
It was a message from Layla Chemberlin, the woman in the black life-support suit.
'...The Reformists.'
Among the Noble Capitals, the T&C and Garmelda families that Layla belonged to frequently dealt with the Cults. Using the T&C name would make acquiring Cult weapons a breeze.
'The problem is I can't let that happen.'
Currently, Layla was listed as missing after the T&C Special Trade Center's downfall. If she used a Noble Capital name to contact the Reformists, Mega Corp would hear about it in no time.
'If Akira finds out, he'll definitely make a move.'
In her weakened state, being hunted by the Mega Corp CEO would be hard to escape.
'Contacting the Reformists is fine, but I can't use Layla for it.'
After much deliberation, she finally spoke up.
"We'll hold off on equipment until we have sufficient manpower. And Captain Nern, I'd like to meet your successor. Is that possible?"
"Meeting him won't be hard. But acquiring weapons will."
"What about using him to open other routes? Like the Reformists, for instance."
"That... hmm. I'd have to meet him in person to know."
"Then we'll decide after the meeting. This concludes the meeting."
The path she chose was to hold off.
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"This street is way busier than I expected."
｢Yeah. It wasn't this big in the game.｣
Above was a transparent shield, flanked by sleek buildings modeled after geometric shapes. The ground was paved with special blocks that left no footprints, no matter who walked on them.
Countless intelligent beings bustled about their business in this arcade-style street exuding an exotic vibe. Arcade was an understatement compared to Earth's—it was an entire building unto itself.
This place, dubbed the 'Street of Light,' was a bio-dome modeled after an arcade. It blocked the red desert's sandstorms and heat, providing visitors with the optimal environment.
Right now, I was strolling this high-tech yet retro street alongside Mother of the Sky.
Thanks to 'Unknown Creature's Fur Pelt' and 'Mimicry Organ,' no one could see my true form. Those who could sense pheromones would peg me as a Cult gunner from an inspection fleet cruiser, and cameras wouldn't register me at all.
'Without those two traits, I wouldn't have even considered coming here.'
Anyway, the reason I was here was that the communicator from Rank 22 was somewhere in this district. I couldn't pinpoint the exact building, so from here on, it was a manual search.
"Was this always a bio-dome?"
｢No, it's new. The Street of Light was famous for equipment trading, but nothing like this existed before.｣
"Really?"
｢You crashed an imperial mothership here, bankrupting two equipment manufacturing clans?｣
Her jab jogged my memory.
Right before going full war with the Cults, I'd invaded Berzan 02.
Back then, Berzan 02 had a reputation as impregnable, making it tough even for me as an Adult. So, I turned their attack vectors against them—luring imperial motherships into crashing into the planet to breach defenses.
The defending players didn't expect the motherships to actually crash and failed to respond properly. Most died in the aftermath, and I picked off the rest one by one.
"This is an important imperial spot. Gotta clean house beforehand or it'll be a headache."
｢Fair enough. It's one of the Empire's top five bustling planets. Even the Grand High Priest drops by occasionally.｣
"Your base wasn't here, but you know it pretty well."
｢The clan that made my gear was based here. Until you wiped them out, that is.｣
"Tch. Got nothing to say to that."
I'd heard plenty of Rankers took big hits from Berzan 02's fall. Looks like Mother of the Sky was one of them.
We chatted idly as we entered the slave trading district.
The slave market didn't change the scenery much—the goods were all indoors. Instead, signboards advertised each building's offerings.
Some listed slave specs and physical conditions, others detailed rare creatures for sale.
This district also had an unusual number of beings wearing silver collars.
Those silver collars marked slaves. Inside each was a code identifying the owner.
Better than Mega Corp, who offed employees routinely or treated them as lab rats, but it depended. A slave's fate swung wildly based on their master's temperament. Jason, the facehugger in my body, had treated female slaves as sex toys in life.
The street slaves hurried to fulfill their masters' orders.
'Scale's insane.'
The signboards showed slaves were big business, but creature trading was thriving too. Kesha Arma's underground vault had more volume, but this place won on variety.
'Might snag some traits for the kids here.'
A quick scan already spotted several useful ones.
'Need someone in the know.'
Scouring every shop would be tedious and time-consuming. And in stealth mode, I couldn't trash the places.
Better to puppeteer a local like I did with the smugglers at the T&C center and have them bring me meals.
｢That shop looks big. Start there?｣
"Good idea."
I entered the standout massive building with Mother of the Sky.
Passing the ornate entrance, an Insectman clerk at the front desk greeted us.
"Welcome to our estab... khm, sorry."
Wearing a silver collar, he started to bow but sneezed briefly—likely from the pheromones my Mimicry Organ emitted.
As a pheromone-sensitive species, the Insectman couldn't escape its effects. His senses read me as a Cult gunner from a cruiser.
Looking embarrassed, he stroked his antennae and bowed again.
"Welcome to our shop. Looking for anything specific?"
"Information on Coldbloods."
"One moment, please."
As the clerk checked the slave roster, someone approached the desk.
"You there."
"Huh?"
I thought it was for the clerk, but no. A leopard-headed Wolf in a suit-like outfit addressed me.
"How much for that slave?"
"Slave? What are you talking about?"
"The female next to you. Naked like that, she looks like a slave. You selling?"
Then it clicked what the Wolf meant.
"...She's not a slave. She's from my tribe. Not for sale."
"Hilarious. Primitives coming all the way to Berzan 02? Naked? Don't lie—you're using her as a pack mule."
The Wolf pointed at the backpack Mother of the Sky carried.
Meanwhile, Mother of the Sky, realizing late that the leopard-headed Wolf had treated her like a slave, silently reached for her spear in the pack.
"Hold up."
｢.......｣
She paused at my words.
Maybe the unexpected insult got to her—her fur bristled all over. I hadn't seen her this mad since condemning Muriel.
"I won't say it twice. She's my friend, not a slave. Not selling to anyone."
"My master is willing to pay more than you can imagine."
"Please leave."
"...Tch. Idiot. You'll regret this."
After I firmly shut it down while restraining Mother of the Sky, the leopard-headed Wolf clicked his tongue and backed off. He went over to a Cult male in luxurious traditional robes and said something.
'First time for this.'
In the game or this world, few had acted like that to my face. None since becoming a Ranker. More fresh than infuriating.
｢...That bastard.｣
Mother of the Sky, openly treated like a slave, was furious.
Her cooled amber eyes locked on the departing Cult and leopard-headed Wolf. Without my intervention, the Wolf would've gotten a hole in his head.
Then, the Insectman handed me a small pad.
"You can check Coldblood transaction history here."
"Thanks."
I skimmed the Coldblood slave list the clerk provided.
'Fewer than expected.'
This shop didn't specialize in Coldbloods—slim pickings. The attached transaction log confirmed low volume overall.
I passed the pad to Mother of the Sky. Calming her anger, she quickly scanned it.
｢Not here.｣
"Sure?"
｢Yeah. That kid was way smaller than average Coldbloods. She's grown by now, but still short.｣
She checked the names and profiles in the log too, but shook her head. Strikeout here.
I returned the pad to the clerk.
"Which shop handles the most Coldblood slaves?"
"Including us, three places in this street deal in Coldbloods. For specialists, you'd need another city."
"Their names?"
"One's close—opposite end from here. The other, though..."
The Insectman clerk trailed off, glancing at me.
"What?"
"The owner of that slave you just spoke with—the one with the leopard-headed Wolf—deals in Coldbloods."
"Ah."
"He handles the widest variety here. But as you saw, he's awfully picky..."
He'd witnessed the whole scene. And now I was on bad terms with the Wolf's owner.
'Unnecessary worry.'
"Just the name and location. I'll handle the rest."
"Understood."
The one handling the most items on this street.
I wanted to meet him. Whether he wanted to or not.