City in the Dark (3)

If a reporter has started sniffing around me, I need to finish this as quickly as possible.

Journalism was a profession that ran on webs of social connections, and information flowed furiously fast among its members. The fact that just one of them was investigating me was no reason to relax. Look away for a single moment, and the handful of people who knew about me would balloon into dozens, then hundreds, in the blink of an eye.

Which is exactly why parasites make such poor tools for controlling them.

It wasn't that reporters possessed some shining devotion to journalistic integrity or an unusually strong will to resist. The reason they were hard to control was the same reason they were dangerous: those social connections. It was a profession built on meeting people—total strangers, contacts introduced through networks—and the moment a journalist started acting out of the ordinary, the people around her would notice almost immediately.

In other words, turning her into a slave would benefit me far less than turning her into a meal.

I picked up the communicator again and put a question to William.

"How does she get around?"

"She came to me on foot, sir. She'll most likely take the subway when she crosses back over to the district."

If she worked for a paper, her office was probably somewhere in the Commercial District.

Though there's no news agency near a manhole.

If the distance was too great, it wouldn't be easy for me to go to her. But ordering William to summon her was out of the question as well.

If she disappears, William becomes suspect number one.

He was still a useful slave. I'd spared him from being eaten, and it would be a waste to lose him now.

Wait a minute. The subway?

Some of the secret tunnels near my nest ran very close to the subway lines. The platforms bristled with cameras, but the rails themselves had none.

Was there any point where the tunnels actually connected to the tracks?

Even where the passage merely ran near the rails, I could chew through the wall and make a connection myself. I'd written off the subway stations entirely because of their camera density, but if I could reach the tracks, my range of movement would widen enormously.

The nest is finished now anyway. Let me check.

I pressed myself flat against the floor and linked the auxiliary organ beneath my jaw into the nest. My whole body's senses felt seized by something, stretched taut, then abruptly flung wide. The link completed, and everything unfolding across the city began streaming into me.

Loud.

Unlike the dead stillness of the research vessel, the lives and movements of thousands of members generated an overwhelming flood of information—a deafening din. The grinding of trains abusing the metal rails, the shuffle of footsteps, the breathing and coughing of passengers packed into the subway cars, the sour reek of sweat and human bodies. Every element born in the veins of the city pricked at my five senses.

Forget the trains—where's the point closest to the rails?

Extending my senses through the network, I located several spots where corroding the metal wall a little would drop me straight onto the tracks.

Three of them are worth tunneling into.

Two in the Entertainment District, one in the Commercial District. There were a few other points near the rails, but I ruled them out for various problems: the tunnels were either too narrow for my body to move through comfortably, or they ran so close to the platforms that even if I bothered to breach them, the odds of being caught were ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠high.

Probably has something to do with which districts have the most stations.

As far as I knew, the Entertainment District had the most stations in this city, with the Commercial District second.

I'll save the Entertainment District for later and start with the Commercial District.

Having severed the link, I rose to my feet. As I set off toward the passage that hugged the subway lines, No. 26 stirred and addressed me.

｢Where going?｣

[Zzzzz(Out for a walk.)]

｢'Kay. Come back soon.｣

With that, she curled herself tightly around Adhai and drifted back to sleep. They were both wild creatures, and maybe that was why they understood each other so well—the two of them got along beautifully.

A sight you'd never see in the game.

The Amorph was a species that forced solo play, and the other races I'd played had never had much to do with partying up either.

Come to think of it, I spent more time destroying parties than playing in them.

More than a few clans had imploded and dissolved mid-battle against me, after all.

That fight on the jungle planet, though—now that was something else.

Back then, four major clans had allied just to hunt me down and encircled an entire planet. With plenty of rankers among them, it had been all but impossible for me—still only a Young Adult—to win through force alone.

So I threw every ambush and deception the Amorph could manage at them. A good portion of the strategies I use in fights today, I first tried or improvised during that battle.

That fight taught me a lot. Though if you asked me to do it again, there's no way in hell I could.

Anyway, the clans that came for me swallowed my tricks whole and tore themselves apart fighting each other. Three of the four disbanded outright afterward, and the last surviving clan hemorrhaged members so badly it dropped from a hundred to sixty.

How ironic—I'm the one who used to shred parties, and now I've got companions traveling at my side.

And in a world where the game's setting had become reality, no less.

Lost in old memories as I walked, I reached my destination before I knew it. Because the nest was laid beneath the Residential District, the passages hadn't extended this far.

Should I lay another one here too?

Each evolution added two more nest sites I could claim, so a Sub-adult like me could maintain five in total. One was already laid, leaving four.

I'll lay it after I've eaten the reporter.

Resolved to spend this meal's energy on a new nest, I ran my hand over the wall. It was noticeably thinner than the others—the vibration of a passing train came through more sharply here.

Then let's begin.

I raked my claw across the back of my own hand. A trickle of Acid Blood—the tar-like blood that could melt even hardened alloy—beaded up from the wound. I smeared the burning fluid across the metal, and the wall hissed and smoked as it dissolved. As soon as the wound healed, I repeated the process. After roughly ten minutes, a hole opened in the wall.

That's good enough.

I quit cutting myself and kicked at the wall around the hole. With the effect of the Strength Reinforcement trait, my kick could buckle even a thick alloy barrier. Having kicked the breach wide open, I drove all four hands into it and tore the molten metal away in sheets.

The result: an opening just the right size for me to squeeze through.

The moment I climbed out onto the tracks, the subway's particular brand of dust welcomed me. The thick metallic tang rolling off the steel, the faint current humming along the rails—it all brushed against my auxiliary organ like a caress. I was surveying the aging line when I spotted a glow far off in the distance. A train was coming.

Well. The road's open now.

Only one thing remained: waiting until the moment was perfect for the hunt. Pondering how I would snare my new prey, I returned to the nest.

10:30 at night.

By the time the lights of the Commercial District had all but died, Kevin finally managed to walk out of the Daily Mars branch office.

"Ugh, so late," she muttered.

The hour was late, but her mood wasn't bad at all. The branch chief had been thrilled with the material she'd dug up and said he'd consider a promotion for her after the Board of Directors Meeting.

If I get promoted, do I finally get into the Administrative District?

Or maybe she'd be reassigned off this dump of a planet to somewhere decent. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Kevin waited for her subway train at the station, happily fantasizing.

She was the only person on the platform, but the thought didn't frighten her. The subway station was covered in cameras, and behind those cameras, security teams were monitoring the interior around the clock.

Then something happened that shattered every expectation she had. The lights on the platform simply cut out.

"Eek?!"

She collapsed right where she stood, startled by the sudden darkness, and froze there, unable to move—until a broadcast crackled from the platform speakers.

"We apologize for the inconvenience. We are currently inspecting the power to all station lighting in preparation for the Board of Directors Meeting. Emergency lighting will be activated for those on the platform. Please stand by."

Soon after the announcement, red emergency lamps washed the platform in crimson.

"Christ, who the hell runs a power check at this hour?" Kevin hissed through her knees, spitting out thick curses.

Because of the Board meeting preparations, the entire subway system had been running power inspections at last-train hours—but what would she, no subway security guard, know about that?

Bathed in red light, the platform turned ominous in an instant. She waited for the train, clutching her bag with both hands.

When the hell is this train coming...huh?

A figure caught her anxious eye. Someone who hadn't been there a moment ago was now standing on the same line as her.

She'd been terrified of being alone under that red glow, so having another person nearby made it feel a little better.

But as she waited for the train, hyperaware of the mysterious man, a strange smell drifted over from somewhere.

Where's that smell coming from?

It was nothing like the damp, musty staleness of an underground station. It was a smell she had never encountered in her life, touching the tip of her nose.

Maybe it was the smell. An unplaceable sense of dread crept over her.

Come to think of it, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠when did that guy even get down here?

He was standing close to the stairs that led down to the platform. He might have come down while the lights were out—but if he had, she should have heard his footsteps, shouldn't she?

Unless he had crossed over from those pitch-black rails beyond.

"......"

The human mind was a strange thing. The moment she resolved not to imagine anything dreadful, even more horrifying thoughts came gushing up.

"You shouldn't be walking around alone at night."

Why, of all times, did William's words surface now? She swallowed hard and kept stealing glances at the spot where the suspicious man stood.

And then her blood ran cold.

At some point, the man had turned around and was staring straight at her.

The man watching her side of the platform began to move, coming toward her slowly.

D-don't come over here!

She wanted to run, but her body had locked up solid.

Her colleagues at the Daily Mars branch had a name for her: Crazy Kevin. She'd earned the nickname by hurling herself fearlessly at anyone and everyone to snag an exclusive.

But the real Kevin wasn't brave at all. She had only been able to act that way because of the umbrella she stood under—Daily Mars, and beyond it, the Zhao Family. Just as Daily Mars without the Zhao Family would be nothing but a gutter tabloid, Kevin without her organization's protection was nothing at all.

As the man drew closer and despair closed over her, a sound rose up to save her. Behind him, far down the rails, a train was sweeping in with its light. The moment it arrived, the man stopped dead in his tracks. The instant the doors hissed open on the platform, Kevin bolted inside.

The man stared at her blankly for a beat, then belatedly tried to board the car himself—but the doors were already sealed.

"■■ ■■■!"

His mouth jerked open as he shouted something, but none of it reached her.

"Fucking lunatic..."

While Kevin rained curses at him through the glass, the train pulled away.

"Of all the psycho bastards I've ever seen."

The suspicious man receded into the dark, and the train raced on toward the next station. Relieved, she sank into a seat. The tension drained out of her all at once, and a wave of drowsiness crashed down. She decided to close her eyes until her stop.

She would have fallen asleep right then and there—if that unpleasant smell hadn't brushed past her nose again.

That smell again?

As the stench thickened, her eyes snapped open. She looked around, but her car was completely empty. Her gaze drifted to the next car over—and there was someone in it.

He wore a suit like a diving suit, layered with plates of black alloy: powered armor.

"A cop?"

As a reporter, she knew exactly what he was wearing. That suit was the reinforced combat gear of the armed police.

"Helmet and a mask at this hour of the night? Where on earth is he going dressed like that?"

The outfit was odd, but his behavior was odder. Not a single other passenger sat in the adjacent car, yet the officer wasn't sitting either—he stood motionless, holding the same posture.

Weird guy.

But she never doubted that an armed policeman in full powered armor could be dangerous, so she tuned him out and closed her eyes again.

While her eyes were shut, the motionless officer shifted his weight and stepped into her car. The moment he pulled open the partition door and entered, the car swayed slightly.

"Ugh, what the—"

The jolt woke her from the edge of sleep. She opened both eyes—and only then saw the reflection of the car's interior in the reinforced glass.

She was the only 'human' left in the car.

And where do you think you're going?

I swung my tail low and hooked Kevin's leg out from under her. Thanks to the pheromone effect of the Morphing Organ, ordinary people couldn't see my tail at all—and so she went down hard over my tail, sprawled in an utterly graceless heap.

"H-hiiick! P-please, spare me!"

Obviously, I could do no such thing. To quiet the shrieking, I drove a stinger into her once.

Ugh. Nearly lost her back there.

The plan had been to lure her in during the light inspection and pounce, but some man had wandered into the middle of it and nearly ruined everything. Of course he had to catch me climbing up out of the tracks on the far side.

Eliminating him as well was no simple matter, though. He'd been standing near ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the stairs and close to the lights—fully exposed to the cameras. I'd been hiding my body in the shadows where the light didn't reach precisely to avoid those cameras, which made dealing with him difficult.

Killing him would've been easy enough—just fire a bone spike. The cleanup was the problem.

I was still debating whether to save the reporter for another day when, mercifully, the train arrived. As Kevin boarded, I slipped aboard right behind her. The man belatedly screamed at her to run, but Kevin never heard a word.

A journalist who dies ignoring what other people tell her.

Well, life is an ironic thing by nature.

Her face was a ruin of mascara, smeared to streaks by tears. Her mouth, paralyzed mid-scream, drooled helplessly down her chin.

"......"

What was going through her head right now? That she didn't want to die? Or just raw terror at facing a monster?

Doesn't really matter.

What mattered was that she was about to become raw material for a new nest.

I reached out, took hold of her head, and twisted. With a sound like rubber tearing loose, her head came off.

The journalist who had spent her life tormenting people with words died in silence.

I opened my jaws wide and swallowed the reporter's head in a single bite.

Mm. Not bad.

For a reporter, she'd evidently eaten and lived well—the taste was far from unpleasant. If anything, she was the best-tasting human I'd had since arriving in this space city.

Fascinating. The Wolves, who are practically animals, never tasted like this—but humans do.

Wolf meat wasn't bad either, but the fur made eating them a chore. Their hair kept snagging between my teeth mid-meal.

And they're gamey on top of that.

And I still had eighteen more of those Wolves to eat.

Come to think of it, there's a jaw reinforcement trait out there. Be nice if this one popped.

Journalists worked with their mouths for a living, after all. Surely the teeth trait would show up.

...Tch. Let's just finish dinner.

Shaking off the idle thoughts, I devoured the rest of my prey. And then—

Huh?

Good fortune I hadn't expected in the slightest had just landed in my lap.