Chapter 355
Chapter 355
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 355
Chapter Title: Devoured in the Dark
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"I'll give you 10% of the minerals we have on board."
｢Listen up, kids—the captain wants to fight. Battle stations.｣
"Make it 2—no, 30%!"
｢All hands, stand down. Hey, you're Zhenchen, right? You're the owner of this ship—how can you be so spineless?｣
"...Then how much do you want?"
｢Seventy percent. Hand over 70%, and we'll let you go.｣
The pirate leader's demand for more than half nearly made Zhenchen curse out loud.
'That fucking pirate bastard!'
But he could only vent his rage inwardly. He had no choice but to play nice on the surface. Even if they demanded every last mineral, he'd have to hand it over. If giving up 70% let him escape, he'd count himself lucky.
"A-alright. We'll hand over the minerals, so..."
"Captain, we've picked up a new signal."
"What?"
｢What the hell is this?｣
It wasn't just them—the pirates had spotted something too. The pirate leader's gaze shifted elsewhere.
In the meantime, Zhenchen checked the new marker on the star system map.
A square icon was closing in on them faster than the pirate ship.
｢This is Shinoroku Cartel territory—who the fuck is that?｣
He'd assumed it was another pirate group, but the pirate leader's confusion suggested otherwise.
｢You lot trying to lure us into a trap?｣
"N-no, sir! We don't know that ship either!"
｢You goddamn— All hands, battle...｣
The enraged pirate leader was about to launch an attack when the comms cut out. Then the situation room lights flickered, and the hologram glitched erratically.
"What's going on?"
"Unexpected radio interference!"
"Out of nowhere?"
"We don't know..."
Zhenchen swallowed a sigh at the crew's incompetence. Suppressing his rising irritation, he focused on the shaking hologram.
That's when he noticed something off. The square marker had vanished from the map.
"Where'd the square marker go?"
As soon as he spoke, the lights went out completely. Emergency power kicked in, bathing the room in red light.
"What the hell is happening?"
"W-we don't know, sir."
"Goddammit! If you don't know, find out!"
"Y-yes, sir!"
Only after he yelled did the crew finally move.
"Navigation Chief, take command for now."
"Pardon?"
Ignoring the bewildered stares, he left the situation room. Things were getting serious. He needed his mid-grade reinforced suit from the captain's quarters to feel secure.
He rushed back, donned the suit. The metallic clanks of the exoskeleton and electronic hums from the activated pads steadied his nerves.
As he grabbed his laser rifle and headed out, the entire ship lurched violently—a shock he'd never felt since boarding the mining vessel.
And that wasn't all. A boom echoed with the tremor. The ship had collided with something.
"Situation room! You guys okay? Situation room!"
No response—the comms were dead.
'The pirates?'
They must have boarded. He injected the suit's enhancer. He knew the side effects, but better that than death.
Fully geared, Zhenchen headed for the situation room.
The red emergency-lit corridor felt ominously eerie, like the familiar path he'd trod moments ago was a lie.
'Why's it so quiet?'
If pirates had boarded, there should be chaos. Even a Hulk mutant couldn't slaughter the crew this silently and quickly.
'What's going on?'
Everything had spiraled out of control since the pirate comms dropped. Sweat beaded on his neck with every step.
Fortunately, he reached the situation room door without incident. It was firmly shut.
As he approached to open it, a chill hit him.
The ship had rocked hard—how could no one be coming or going? And this silence. It wasn't normal.
He pressed his ear cautiously to the door.
"!"
He jolted back—not from the alloy's chill, but a sound from inside that shouldn't be there.
A faint scream.
"F-fuck!"
Something unknown was inside, doing something horrific. Realizing that, he spun and bolted the opposite way.
Running in the heavy suit thudded through the corridor. Behind him, a door hissed open as air rushed out. Whatever was in the situation room had heard him and followed.
Sharp scraping—like claws raking alloy walls—echoed from behind. Then a sticky, humid metallic stench assaulted his nose.
'D-don't come!'
He chose flight over fighting with the laser rifle. The enhancer let him sprint at top speed. The creepy metallic sounds amid the thuds faded.
'Gotta reach the escape pods!'
Better captured by pirates than facing this unknown horror.
"Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fu..."
He spat curses mechanically, racing toward the escape pods.
Just as they came into view, a group appeared ahead.
"...Damn it."
The leader's face was familiar—the pirate boss from the comms. They'd infiltrated while he suited up.
The pirates held captured crew, talking.
Fighting was inevitable if spotted, so he ducked behind a corner wall.
'Huh?'
Peeking out, the vibe was off. The crew didn't seem terrified. The pirates looked more desperate.
Then he spotted it: behind a rear pirate, a pair of unseen arms—slim, blood-red in the emergency light—embraced him like a lover.
Silently, it dragged him into the dark. So swift and quiet, the others noticed nothing.
Like crew ghost stories. Unbelievable even seeing it.
When slender woman's arms snatched another pirate, Zhenchen knew it was real.
He wasn't the only witness. Pirates noticed missing comrades and grew alert.
On the third victim, their weapons flashed green. The light revealed it.
A 'serpent' with dozens of arms clung to the ceiling, hovering.
It took the barrage head-on, snatching pirates effortlessly. As arms pulled them, the 'serpent's' head briefly emerged from shadow.
A stunningly beautiful woman's face. Pirates stopped struggling upon seeing it.
But when her mouth gaped snake-wide and swallowed one whole, the illusion shattered.
"A-aaahhh!"
"F-fuck?! It followed us here!"
"Run! Everyone run!"
Even battle-hardened pirates had never seen a serpent-woman devour comrades alive.
Zhenchen wanted to flee, but terror paralyzed him.
And then.
"'Little sister' is adapting better than expected. I'm pleased."
A woman's voice from behind.
No women on his mining ship.
So whose voice...? He could guess.
"Picky about her food, though—that's a drawback."
The situation room stench wafted over his neck.
Zhenchen stopped thinking.
'Not as many as I thought?'
I shook the half-wrecked pirate ship like crumbs from a bag. Pirates spilled into zero-G—alive or dead, all funneled into my three mouths.
'Chomp.'
My bigger size meant dozens barely registered. My side heads licked their lips, unsatisfied.
｢Big Adult｣ ｢Glutton｣ ｢Glutton｣
Adhai, thrilled from snacking, buzzed around teasing me.
｢Don't tease big baby.｣
｢Glutton｣ ｢True｣
No.26, nestled in my chest arms, disliked Adhai's attitude and extruded tentacles. It swatted at the little Galleron's head.
Or tried. Adhai dodged nimbly; the strike missed.
｢Little Adult｣ ｢Attack｣ ｢Predict｣ ｢Easy｣ ｢Now｣ ｢No hit｣
｢Really?｣
｢?｣
｢Really? Really? Really? Really? Really?｣
｢Wait｣ ｢That｣ ｢Too｣ ｢Many｣
｢Little one's dodging well, so it's fine.｣
｢That｣ ｢Cheating｣
No.26 went full combat mode, leaping from my arm to chase Adhai.
I left them to play and rummaged the ship for leftovers.
Then Mother of the Sky emerged from debris. Wings aglow agate in griffon form, she flew to me.
｢Found something weird while cleaning up.｣
She showed me what her beak held.
60-70cm long, rectangular and slim, green rail on front, small terminal pad on top, trigger and stock.
All hallmarks of something I'd seen endlessly in games.
'Plasma Rifle?'
In lore, plasma weapons' history was one of miniaturization and stabilization.
Developed for ship-to-ship combat, they packed power but were huge, power-hungry—battleship-only.
Refinements shrank them: launchers, bolters, pistols.
But imperfections lingered.
Bolters' weight/recoil needed powered armor. Pistols lacked safety, cost a fortune. Launchers were squad support anyway.
One perfected it all: the plasma rifle Mother showed.
Perfect balance: bolter-level firepower, negligible recoil, light for infantry carry, durable rare metals.
Downside: insane cost/tech, top Mega Corp players only. Highest-tech tier.
In-game, exclusive to Earth/Mars—seven families tightly controlled tech leaks.
'So why's it here?'
｢Yeah, just one guy had it.｣
Of course, player trading made armed mercs common anywhere in-game.