Chapter 63
Chapter 63
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 63
Chapter Title: qiqi iykow gkk-63i
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 63
Chapter Title: Hospital Annihilation Aftermath
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“Damn it! Peter! Charlie!”
The vice-captain of the Silver Lion Knights, Vickers, kept trying to reach them.
But all that came from the communicator was ominous static.
The last message Peter had sent him.
Peter had said that his comrades Milburn and Pyfield were already dead. After that, neither Peter nor Charlie had responded.
It pointed to just one fact.
They had all been wiped out.
‘No choice. I need to dispatch knights and report to His Highness.’
Vickers hurriedly assembled the knights on standby.
Excluding the troops guarding Denver and those dispatched for security investigations, he had a total of 20 knights he could deploy right away.
Armed knights filed into the spacious quarters provided to the vice-captain.
Since it was free time, they had all removed their helmets.
A blonde white woman, a black-haired Asian man, a skinhead Black man—people of all races and genders were mixed in, but they shared one thing in common.
Every one of them was strikingly handsome or beautiful, and towered over ordinary adult men at least 1.5 times their height.
The Silver Lion Knights had all undergone genetic modification on Denver’s orders, allowing them to maintain their exceptional looks and stature. The public praised it as typical of image-conscious Denver, but Vickers knew the truth.
They were mere byproducts of the Hulk Mutant Project.
“Vice-Captain, you called for us?”
“Yes, you’re here.”
The skinhead Black man at the front bowed politely before Vickers. Snapping out of his thoughts, Vickers explained the situation to them.
“It’s serious. We’ve lost contact with the ones sent to protect the police on His Highness’s orders.”
“Pardon?”
“Charlie, Peter, Milburn, and Pyfield were dispatched to the hospital. No one’s responded since Peter’s last contact five minutes ago.”
“……”
Everyone present knew the Silver Lion Knights’ prowess all too well. The fact that four of them had fallen wasn’t something they could brush off lightly.
“I’ll report to His Highness immediately. Jacob, take command in my stead.”
“I’ll do my utmost.”
“…And this happens right before the board meeting.”
After sending the knights to the hospital, Vickers rushed toward the banquet hall.
‘His Highness wants Saddam Chemberlin as CEO, and now this blows up.’
As Denver’s closest confidant, Vickers knew exactly what he was after.
Before arriving in the city, Denver had met with Saddam in advance to discuss the entire board meeting strategy. During talks, Saddam had emphasized his high hopes for his daughter Layla, and Denver had read his intentions clearly.
He had no particular ill will toward Layla herself. That was why he’d made extensive preparations to help her before coming here.
With everything set, all that remained was a smooth board meeting—until this massive incident erupted.
‘Who killed the knights at the hospital matters, but the real issue is…’
A Prime Capital entourage had died in Noble Capital territory.
Saddam’s rivals wouldn’t let such prime fodder slip by. If they handled it sloppily here, rumors were sure to spread.
That T&C and Ezerton had colluded before the CEO vote.
Intrigue and backroom deals were rampant during CEO elections, but they’d never surfaced publicly before.
Mega Corp officially selected its CEO through democratic procedures—no irregularities allowed.
If this got out, Saddam would be disqualified as a candidate at minimum. At worst, T&C could lose their Noble Capital status entirely.
‘But if His Highness takes a hardline stance, that’s trouble too.’
Even if Denver pretended to criticize T&C on purpose, it would backfire.
Most Ezerton elders were in the dark about the T&C-Ezerton alliance.
The clueless ones would surely abandon the incompetent T&C for another candidate.
That would kill any chance of T&C funding.
‘How do we handle this…’
He was practically running when the banquet hall doors came into view far ahead. A woman was undergoing security checks to enter.
She was Layla’s secretary—someone Vickers knew well.
Up close, her face was deathly pale.
She must have come here for the same reason as him.
‘The Lady knows about this too?’
‘The Vice-Captain as well?’
They exchanged only glances, but understood each other instantly.
Tonight’s banquet was going to drag on.
The pests who’d been bothering me were dead.
I’d spared them deeming them useful, but in the end, the gains and losses balanced out.
‘Even in reality, they risked their lives. Need to be more careful going forward.’
I might have underestimated human willpower. Until I acquire the infection-enhanced type, I should operate cautiously.
‘Let’s destroy the central AI computer and get out.’
Time was getting tight, but it was necessary. I grabbed the bisected body and headed underground.
Descending the emergency stairs, I first sampled the upper torso.
‘Should’ve eaten sooner?’
Tortured by me, it tasted awful. Like decent meat gone slightly rancid from poor refrigeration.
Mid-bite, the parasite seemed to plead don’t eat me and fled through the corpse’s nostril. It scurried up my arm back to its home.
With one leg left, I reached the server room housing the main computer. I set down the leg and rammed the door with my head horn.
The 10cm-thick alloy door was powerless against an Aimorph’s brute strength. The central AI detected the intrusion and blared shrilly.
I whipped my tail, smashing the speakers in the ceiling corners. The noisy alarms ceased, leaving only the steady hum of the cooling systems.
‘Smash the cooling computers first.’
The server room held countless computers, but I’d raided hospitals before. Getting here was the hard part—now it was easy.
I slammed my back arms down on the row at the far right, one by one. Sparks flew, and the red lights inside each faded.
Soon, the internal fans stopped, and the temperature began rising rapidly. The delicate electronics screamed under the sauna-like heat.
‘Not done yet.’
I used all my arms to systematically destroy the data servers.
Ripping them apart with combat arms or smashing storage drives into irreparable scrap with my tail.
My larger body made quick work of the vast room’s gear.
With key devices wrecked, I’d finish the rest differently. I bit my arm to draw blood and splattered acidic droplets everywhere.
As a full organic being, the acidic blood’s potency had surged—devices it touched melted without trace. Then a short in a shattered computer’s wiring ignited a blaze.
‘This’ll do here.’
These flames couldn’t harm my double-reinforced exoskeleton. I strolled through the fire to the back.
There stood a cylindrical computer encased in reinforced glass—the mainframe housing the central AI. Its matte black surface flickered with endless green numerals.
This was Mega Corp’s signature design; shipboard AIs looked similar.
The AI desperately issued its final electronic warning, but it was futile. I fired a bone spike at the reinforced glass, shattering the wall.
The spike pierced the mainframe too, but I couldn’t relax. It had to be utterly destroyed to prevent data recovery.
‘I messed up once before and paid dearly.’
In the game, I’d once infiltrated a space city hospital to devour someone.
As a Near-Adult with six types, assassinating undetected was trivial.
Too trivial, perhaps.
I got careless, exposing my trait use to the central AI.
The rival clan whose member I killed easily accessed my intel via the AI. They got revenge by leaking my hospital strategies to the community.
‘Had to scrap everything and devise new plans after that.’
I avenged them later, but I had no desire to relive it. I doused the mainframe with acidic blood, melting it completely.
‘Nicely done.’
Exiting the raging inferno, I finished off William’s remaining leg.
Another predation effect box popped up. I went to dismiss it but paused.
‘Wait—what’s this?’
I hurriedly checked the box.
‘Whoa?’
Insight.
I knew this trait.
With 'Insight' active, visually scanning a creature or object reveals its unique traits, possessed abilities, skills, etc.
Not everything—limited to 5 uses per day, with random info each time.
For example, using it on someone in reinforced armor might reveal armor details or the wearer’s traits/skills.
Exceed 5 daily uses, and it becomes unusable until reset.
‘Curious what William had—turns out it’s this.’
I’d sensed he was no ordinary guy, and Insight explained it. His innate trait sharpened his instincts beyond others.
‘He pinpointed my weaknesses thanks to Insight.’
Thinking back, William was the first in this city to corner me. No overwhelming combat power like Sihyun Yujin or Hulk mutants—just his gut homing in on my flaws.
I infected him with the parasite, but he fought to the end, giving me headaches.
‘Who’d have thought he’d leave a parting gift like this.’
An enemy once, but now I could forgive him.
Insight shone in player-vs-player, PK fights. Not immediately vital for me, who avoids players.
But I was thrilled for one reason.
‘Insight is a psionic trait.’
With it, I now had six psionic traits total—fulfilling the Psionic Enhancement Type conditions.
Traits from the knight and patient were on hold until cancellation timers expired, but this fresh Insight was different.
‘A type acquisition chance—I can’t pass it up.’
I accepted Insight acquisition immediately.
As it applied, I felt my eyes restructuring. A dry, stinging sensation inside, like eye strain, with twitching eyelids. Itchy, but a natural integration process, so I endured.
The broad application area finished quickly. I activated Insight and scanned around.
‘Huh?’
I’d acquired it, but nothing changed. No random object info appeared.
‘Right—my eyes are blind right now.’
Insight required naked-eye confirmation.
Currently blinded by Manifestation of the Hunt, nothing was visible.
‘Doesn’t matter—the important part’s elsewhere.’
I’d test Insight later. For now, I summoned the long-awaited box.
1 type available for specialization.
Unlock 'Psionic Enhancement Type'?
Since my first type, the second had been waiting.
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