Chapter 34
Chapter 34
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 34
Chapter Title: Monument
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T&C Special Trade Center's Administrative District.
This place had a completely different image from the other districts, which were drenched in the artificial glow of billboards.
A life in harmony with nature.
True to the slogan symbolizing the Administrative District, well-maintained trees and shrubs were densely planted along both sides of the marble sidewalks. Small birds flitted between the trees, chirping away.
Beyond the fresh greenery of the tree groves rose stark white rectangular high-rises. They were government offices or branches of prominent companies under Mega Corp.
Passing those beautiful yet bland buildings and heading to the center of the district, one would find a structure taller and more uniquely shaped than any other building around.
A spiral exterior reminiscent of a twisted donut, with the upper section splaying out like open palms—this architectural marvel dominated the city skyline.
The imposing building was called the Monument.
True to T&C's emphasis on efficiency, even the structure symbolizing their first space city bore the straightforward name of Monument.
On the top floor of the Monument resided Laila Chemberlin, the youngest daughter of Saddam Chemberlin and the overall manager of the Special Trade Center.
At that moment, she was holding a meeting with the city's top brass.
Laila and the district heads, along with the heads of various government offices, sat around a mahogany round table. Among them, only the deputy head of the Human Resources Management Team stood there tense.
The beautiful woman with long blonde hair, Laila, set down her report and spoke.
"Human Resources Management Team."
"Yes, ma'am!"
"The shipment we received this time was down by 3%. Do you know why?"
At her question, the deputy head hiccuped.
"Hic! W-well, Z-101 Ranch Planet and P-82 Livestock Planet reported lower yields this year..."
"Our Special Trade Center can cover up to 20% of the 'employees' for the Entertainment District through alternative routes. But a 3% shortfall in supply isn't a small number by any means. We can't just brush it off as within tolerance."
"Th-that's true, but..."
"Everyone knows that 40% of the Special Trade District's imports come from the Entertainment District. If Human Resources falls short by 3%, the burden shifts straight to them."
Laila spoke in a calm tone, but everyone knew what she meant. It was a warning about why they hadn't opened new routes to meet the quota.
"Deputy Head—no, Mr. Pisaro."
"Yes, ma'am!"
"Do you know what's most important to a merchant?"
"Credits, perhaps...?"
"Credits are important, of course, but the most crucial thing is trust. You could make excuses this time, say circumstances made supply difficult. But what if that breaks your credibility? These are valued customers who've come all this way. Once they feel let down, they never return."
"I-I'll keep that in mind!"
"Any other time, I'd let it slide, but this is a critical period. Everyone knows the board meeting isn't far off."
The moment the words "board meeting" left her lips, everyone in the room nodded with grim expressions.
No one working under the T&C family could be unaware of how badly the T&C patriarch coveted the Mega Corp CEO position.
"The first board meeting to select the Mega Corp CEO will be held here, at the T&C Special Trade Center. A massive influx of tourists will visit this city. We can't afford a single mistake."
"Understood!"
"Contact the leadership on those two planets and tell them to spray aphrodisiacs across the entire world if they have to—make the quota somehow. Got it?"
"Yes, ma'am!"
"Alright, next up. Entertainment District? I always look forward to your report. Begin."
"Yes, ma'am."
As the deputy head sat down, wiping cold sweat from his brow, the next team's presenter began their report.
Three hours later, the meeting finally ended.
With all the team heads gone, Laila sat alone in the conference room and let out a sigh.
"Phew."
One month until the first board meeting to choose the Mega Corp CEO. Time was still on her side, but as the overall manager, she felt like ten bodies wouldn't be enough.
'Still, if I pull this off, the successor position isn't a pipe dream.'
The T&C family had a unique trait unlike other Noble Capitals.
The full name of T&C was Thompson & Chemberlin. It was called T&C after the first letters of each surname, T and C.
As the name implied, two family lines coexisted within T&C: the Thompsons and the Chemberlins. They competed, and the victor became the T&C patriarch.
The Chemberlins had held the patriarch position until now, but who would take it next was anyone's guess.
'The Thompsons are gearing up for it.'
Becoming patriarch meant monopolizing all family rights and T&C-related interests within Mega Corp.
The Chemberlins had dominated for generations, so the Thompsons were seething. If the next patriarch position went to a Thompson, blood would surely spill.
At that moment, the conference room door opened, and her secretary entered.
"Miss. Here's the list of dignitaries who have requested visits for the board meeting date you mentioned."
Laila checked the tablet pad her secretary handed her.
She scrolled through the names, then jolted at the last one.
"...Is this list accurate?"
"Yes. Any issues?"
"Akira Yujin is attending?"
"Yes. The Yujin Family contacted us an hour ago. He won't attend the board meeting—just sightseeing in the city."
"Ha."
Laila let out a hollow laugh at the absurd statement.
A centuries-old monster casually sightseeing? What a lame joke.
'Akira Yujin, the current Mega Corp CEO, coming here.'
She knew well the feats and infamy of the man called the ancient king of the planet.
"Usurper."
Laila murmured Akira Yujin's nickname without thinking.
Usurper was the word he hated most—and what other Noble Capitals used to mock him.
True to the moniker, Akira Yujin hadn't been in line to become patriarch. As his name suggested, he lacked the qualifications to inherit the family in the first place.
'The Yujin Family places great emphasis on bloodlines.'
Each of the five great Noble Capital families had their core values.
T&C valued competition, Yujin valued bloodlines, Carmel famous for powered suits valued technology—each adopted a creed fitting their domain.
The Yujins, true to their bloodline focus, had traditionally chosen patriarchs with the blood of their root ethnicity.
'Ethnicity, in an era of constant terraforming.'
She couldn't comprehend it, but Akira's bloodline was distant from the Yujin roots, so he wasn't a formal heir.
The reason he'd become patriarch was simple: he was the only one in Yujin Family—and Noble Capital—history to seize the position via coup.
'Jeongwoo Yujin, was it?'
The ill-fated patriarch who'd have run the family smoothly, until Akira eliminated him. After his death, all his blood kin met tragic ends.
'That madman Akira even turned Jeongwoo Yujin's daughter into his shadow.'
Akira earned his reputation for cruelty not just by killing indiscriminately.
He was criticized for killing and torturing fellow Noble Capitals and family members without hesitation.
Laila herself enjoyed annual human hunts on ranch planets but never harmed family retainers without cause. In that sense, Akira was an outlier among Noble Capitals.
The reason this misfit held the patriarch seat was his competence.
Unfortunate for Jeongwoo Yujin, but after his death, the Yujin Family had prospered like never before.
As someone who commanded people herself, Laila knew ruling through fear wasn't easy.
Short-term was one thing, but this monster had governed the Yujin Family for nearly a century. For her, still green, facing him directly was near impossible.
'A formidable foe.'
Even her father struggled against him, so she'd likely be crushed if she confronted him.
'...No. Failure is the seed of growth. Even defeat can be turned into experience.'
True to T&C blood, she feared no competition or challenge. Even in loss, she had plenty of life left to recover.
Did she know?
That a horrific threat had already taken root in her domain.
[Zzt zzt (Tasty?)]
｢Yeah.｣
Compared to the cyborg's place, the neighbor's house felt lived-in.
The furniture was neat, and frequent cleaning kept the whole interior spotless. The fridge was stocked with sandwiches made from synthetic meat and dried veggies.
I watched #26 happily emptying the fridge with a pleased gaze.
'I'm hungry too, but...'
Seeing the neighbor whose waist was severed by my tail made me crave a bite of that fresh flesh. But I still had work to do.
I quickly devoured the sandwich #26 had pulled out and stood.
[Zzt zzt zzt zzt (Be right back—next door)]
｢Okay. Be careful.｣
Once inside the cyborg's house, I searched for his communicator first. I turned on the one by the bed, entered the password.
'Let's see. Work number...'
Scrolling contacts, an eye-catching name popped up.
'Mad Dog. Gotta be this one.'
Every worker hates their boss. I pressed hard on "Mad Dog."
The call connected instantly.
"Ras, you bastard! Where the hell are you? Busy as fuck and you ghosting?"
"I quit."
"What? You crazy?"
"Thanks for everything."
"You fucking psycho shit...!"
Using my mimicry organ to imitate his voice perfectly, I ended the call.
Countless alien workers entered here daily, hourly. One quitting without reason? Plenty to replace him.
If he had deep bonds with coworkers, maybe not—but Ras, the owner of this voice, didn't seem the type. The team lead's reaction, plus his contacts and call logs, screamed loner.
'He'll be forgotten by tomorrow.'
Like that port worker I ate before, Ras would fade away.
'Still, better tie up loose ends.'
I opened the laptop in the living room. His work laptop—sending a resignation email from it should seal things.
'Phone might suffice, but just in case.'
Later, after eating crowds, maybe not care—but now, caution first.
A wealthy space city meant many androids and a small defense fleet stationed here.
Vaster than the research ship, more hiding spots, but surveillance was incomparably tighter.
'Gotta play it safe for now.'
Best if no one links me to the eating. Can't hide forever, but delay until I'm strong enough.
'Now, who was he?'
To email resignation, needed basics on his job. I browsed files one by one.
Ras wasn't a diligent cyborg. Work laptop overflowed with unrelated stuff.
'Straight-edge porn in the space age.'
No interest in his kinks, so I deleted those. Kept opening/closing files, then a weird title caught my eye.
'Smuggled Animal Seizure List?'
Clicking filled the small screen with dense text. Exactly as named: records of seized smuggled creatures.
'Smuggled animals.'
Even a quick scan showed tons of species. Most shipped elsewhere, but plenty still in the port district.
'Eating those would net heaps of essence.'
This apartment was decent grub, but port smuggles were better. Half would massively boost my growth.
'But security won't be lax.'
Missing animals? They'd notice unless idiots. Police investigation? Headache.
Two options.
'Bribe staff—or find a smuggler broker.'
Bribing easy. Mimic Ras, call another worker.
Eat them, forge transfer papers as replacement—snag one or two easy.
'For more, need a broker.'
List had gaps: destinations blank or vague. Brokers snagged those.
Contact broker directly to divert creatures—or eat broker, mimic them, steal the goods.
'Gotta milk Ras's identity dry.'
Died leaving tons behind. If only he'd tasted good—pity.
I sent the email, grabbed the laptop, and returned next door.
｢Baby, welcome back.｣
[Zzt zzt zzt (I'm not eating that)]
｢Can't be picky.｣
[Zz zzt zzt zzt (I'll eat something else)]
｢Something else?｣
[Zzt zzt zzt (Yeah. You eat it)]
#26 blinked lights, confused. I nodded to reassure, and it tentatively started on the neighbor.
Watching his face melt under #26, I thought.
Something even tastier awaited me.
Imagining the joy of devouring genetic essence, I smacked my mandibles.