Chapter 69
Chapter 69
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 69
Chapter Title: The Devoured Baits
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Mega Corp is known to possess hundreds of colony planets.
Under Mega Corp law, colony planets are classified as a kind of production facility that cultivates the resources necessary for the corporation. Legally, all rights to any type of resources on a colony planet belong to the Planet Lord.
To put a colony planet more bluntly:
A livestock pen.
A pigsty on a cosmic scale.
Of course, no ordinary human would enjoy being treated like a slave or cattle. Even if the beings ruling them wielded power on a galactic scale, resistance was inevitable.
Thus, Mega Corp's upper Capitals employ various methods to ensure smooth governance of their colony planets.
For example, redemption programs.
A concept first devised by T&C: give hires the hope that completing their assigned tasks will free them from employee status.
T&C took it a step further by granting Capital status to those who successfully completed redemption.
Indeed, as successful redeemers returned home as Capitals in increasing numbers, resistance on colony planets dropped sharply.
Rather than resisting T&C rule, many began aspiring to become Mega Corp Capitals.
Brody, dragged to this T&C special trade hub, was no different.
For him—who'd been biding his time to die in the entertainment district—an opportunity arrived.
The Human Resources Manager's announcement: recruiting sewer explorers in exchange for redemption completion.
Hearing it, Brody thought:
'Better to roll in shit than get skinned alive.'
Thus, 210 volunteers reached the same conclusion and gathered.
Divided into groups of 80, 70, and 60, they entered the sewers. At that moment, Brody figured his choice wasn't so bad.
After all, rolling in sewage was nothing compared to the entertainment district's horrors.
That naive optimism evaporated the instant they entered.
"...Hoo."
The sewers were far worse than he'd imagined.
Even with masks, the stench clawed its way in. Debris bobbed on the surface, and something slithered between his legs midway.
Each sensation was nightmare fuel on its own—but one thing especially gnawed at Brody's nerves.
'That gaze again.'
He'd always been praised for his sharp instincts.
In the pitch-black water, dark as the space enveloping the city. Something was surely lurking within.
'No wonder the terms were too good...'
"Hey, why's everyone clammed up like they ate honey? Don't kill the vibe—say something."
"Your mom's the clam, dickhead. If you're so bored, you start."
"You little—?"
This wasn't hyperbole: the air truly choked them in the suffocating sewers, with no telling how long it'd drag on. Tempers were fraying fast.
"Cough!"
It wasn't just frayed nerves.
Despite the frigid water, Brody felt fever rising in his body. His flashlight hand barely skimmed the surface, and his legs dragged like they were shackled.
Was the darkness swallowing him whole? His vision spun dizzily.
"Yo, this guy's glitching out."
"So?"
"Use your head. What if his skull cracks from whatever you did, and he croaks? We're screwed too."
"...Fuck. Hold up."
The leader at the front activated his comms.
"Ah, hello, Knight sir. Got something to report."
｢Static, what? Found something?｣
"Heh heh, y'see, one of our guys took a tumble earlier? He's looking a bit rough."
｢If you're about to whine about being tired...｣
"Aigoo! Sir! Nothing like that! Just wondering if we could ease up a tad—y'know, to keep the mission going longer. Hoping for permission."
｢Hm. Not a major issue. Fine.｣
"Thank you!"
He bowed repeatedly until the line cut.
The instant the static died, his face twisted.
"Fuckin' prick—picky as a motherless mutt."
"Nice work."
"Th-thanks..."
"Tch."
"Hey, I'll take the rear. You head front."
"Y-yeah."
They swapped spots and resumed, slower now that they'd reported in.
His body hadn't improved, but Brody clung to his wits.
Just get out of here—he'd be free.
Focusing solely on freedom, he slogged on stubbornly.
A small sewage treatment facility loomed ahead.
Dead end. Time to reroute to the next spot.
The new leader grumbled wearily.
"Ugh, fuck—how many more laps of this crap?"
"Y-yeah."
"Hey, rear guy keeping up...huh?"
"W-what's wrong?"
"Where's the guy who was behind you?"
"Huh?"
Brody whipped around at the leader's words.
No one there.
"H-hey, this a joke? Where'd he go?"
"I-I dunno."
The man's face drained pale. The cold water? Or fear of the situation?
One thing clear: Brody felt much the same.
His feverish body had gone ice-cold, like blood drained out.
"F-fuck, you upstairs fucks—don't even notice a guy's gone?!"
He fumbled for the comms, hands shaking near-drops, but managed to activate it.
｢Static, what's the issue?｣
"K-Knight sir—one from our team's gone!"
｢Gone?｣
"Yeah! The guy tailing us..."
｢What bullshit? Signals show all three moving fine.｣
"Huh?"
The comm man's gaze locked on Brody's back.
Brody swallowed hard and turned.
Black water rippled like waves. A man's head bobbed up amid the churn.
He hadn't vanished. Yet Brody's heart hammered harder.
The waves weren't from the man.
Something behind him caused them.
A massive black shape, filling the passage, gripped the man.
"?!"
The comm man gaped wide. Before air escaped his throat, a slender serpent erupted from the water and stabbed his neck.
He froze mid-scream pose.
It glided silently past Brody toward him, then plucked the comm from his hand with a grotesquely long claw.
｢Squad 15—if there's an issue, report now.｣
The knight's voice crackled through, but Brody couldn't muster a breath.
It loomed over him, staring down.
Matte-black exoskeleton dark as the water, teeth gleaming sickly pale by contrast. The unknown monster seemed ready to rip his throat out.
It extended a hand toward him.
"Hik?!"
Brody squeezed his eyes shut, bracing for agony.
Seconds ticked by—nothing. Peeking, it held out the comm.
Brody snatched it numbly.
It pressed the claw to its fang-packed maw.
｢Shh...｣
Few options in this nightmare.
—
The man before me reported into the comms with a quavering voice.
"This is Squad 15's Brody. The original comm guy took a spill, so I'm covering."
｢Tch, what a hassle. Get moving once he's up.｣
"Y-yes, sir!"
The man claiming to be Brody obeyed faithfully.
'Time to begin.'
I activated the parasite swarm. One detached from my arm and swam through the filth.
"S-stop!"
Brody recoiled in horror, but escape was impossible—my tail tip prodded his back insistently.
"Grahk—kek, hack-hack!"
As the parasite wormed into his nostrils, he convulsed in coughs.
Eyes rolled back; tongue lolled uncontrolled. The parasite burrowing into his brain.
The paralyzed leader could only watch his comrade fall.
'Seemed rebellious.'
Unlike my other infectees, this one's mouth had been foul.
Infected must obey, but as with William before, the overly defiant were tricky to puppet.
They acted unpredictably.
'Need to check for chips too.'
That meant a thorough frisk of one hire.
'Perfect timing. Start with him.'
Gripping the first-paralyzed man in one arm, I approached the leader.
From afar, it'd look like mutual support. In that pose, I hoisted the leader.
Auxiliary organs scanned his body.
'Signal chip implanted somewhere.'
Faint electric pulses from the brain—extract later. Management device; preserve intact.
Examining, a signal pulsed from his wrist.
Combat arm clamped his arm—ripped it free.
"Hiiik!"
Brody gawked beside me.
The man blankly stared at his severed limb.
Full paralysis—no pain. Probably chalking it up to a vivid nightmare.
Split the arm: tiny chip glowed. Chest's small arm extracted it delicately.
'Gotcha.'
Chip secured, comms buzzed.
｢Ac-｣
"B-Brody here!"
｢Trouble? Why halted?｣
"N-no, sir! Resuming now!"
｢Tch—stuck babysitting this nonsense.｣
As suspected: chip removal didn't trigger alerts.
'Means he's expendable.'
Perfect—nest-building left me ravenous.
Mouth yawned wide; shoulder-crunch halved his upper torso in my jaws.
"Uuuh..."
"......"
Brody trembled voicelessly, beyond screams.
The paralyzed one soaked the water warmer around me—shock at live devouring.
A few chomps: body gone, head remained.
'Let's see.'
Combat arm crushed skull like rotten pumpkin.
Amid gore: black device. Small hand secured it.
Shoveled remnants in; tongue licked nails clean.
Fully devoured, I handed Brody the two chips.
｢Wai-t...｣
"......"
Chip mechanics known; the dangling paralyzed meat useless.
Prime use: calories.
"...!"
Eyes fluttered—he sensed it.
Always did. No mercy.
Under Brody's gaze, I polished off the second man.
Two adult males: done in minutes.
Energy replenished from nest toil, I passed Brody the fresh chips and device.
｢T-take...the-se...an-d...grr...mo-ve...li-ke...be-fore...｣
"...Yes."
Having witnessed both comrades devoured, Brody complied meekly. He tucked the double chips and device into his mask's edge.
I sent him off, then headed toward the next team.
Plenty left to do.
—
｢Y-yes, sir! Mo-ving out shortly!｣
Tennessee killed the comms roughly.
"Why do these wretched worms keep stumbling? Can't even walk straight."
Fifth call already.
The pathetic lot whined about falls, wrong turns—dragging op tempo with nonsense.
"Throwing lowborn trash into an op was dishonor from the start."
If his comrades from past glorious battles were here, that freakish monster would've been carved up in seconds.
'Damn it!'
This scenario—this op—wasn't what Tennessee wanted.
'I craved vengeance...'
Alas, his liege denied it.
'Capture alive if found.'
Officially, knight squads split into three for support. Actually four.
Squad 2 under Jacob mixed with Yanek's Squad 4.
Squad 4 lurked groundside covertly—for capture on sighting or blocking defense forces.
Armed to teeth from fleet gear, snaring the enigma would be trivial.
'Spare the fiend who butchered my brothers.'
Even Squad 4 would've meant a fight. Denied that too—frustrating beyond words.
"...Tch. One more cycle, then topside."
Tennessee shook his head, tamping rage.
Oddly feverish in this water.
Gene-modded or not, he felt hot and cold.
Sewage icy to touch, yet senses haywire: sudden heat, dulling nerves.
Brain's red flag—but he dismissed as anger. Perfect genes immune to sickness.
"Hm?"
Water splash.
Glanced toward sound. Void-black, but no hindrance.
Elite reinforced suit's visors rendered stealth moot.
'Misheard?'
Thermal, vibration sweeps: nil.
Turned back—
It lunged from behind, slamming him down.
—
Provisional camp inside manhole-adjacent sewers.
Shallow depth: Squad 1's knights stashed gear and supplies for scouting and combat support.
"Comms patched?"
"Best I can—but underground's glitchy."
"Mm. Probably board-wide EMP shields for council biz."
"Keh. Figures. Anyway, max effort."
"Got it."
Squad and defense troops bustled, checking equipment.
Vickers monitored cams linked to squad leads.
"What the?"
Sensing off, he grabbed comms.
"Squad 1, Vickers. Tennessee—cam angle's weird. Adjust."
｢Y-eah...grk...go-t...i-t...｣
"Tune your comm too. Noisy as hell."
｢Will...do.｣
Moment passed; cam normalized. Tennessee stock-still—no wobble.
That iron discipline drew a private sigh from Vickers.
'Wants payback, naturally.'
He knew Tennessee cherished comrades. Had the man been calmer, Vickers would've handed Squad 4 to him over Yanek.
Lost in thought, nearby signal manager blared.
"The bastard!"
Device marking bait deviations from route.
Alarm meant: monster bit.
Vickers snatched comms.
"Squad 1, Vickers! It's got bait!"
｢Squad 2, Jacob. Whereabouts?｣
｢Whe-re...?｣
"Location is..."
About to specify, Vickers froze at the manager screen's flood of signals.
Beep beep beepBeep beep beep beep beep beep beepBeep beep beep beep beep beep beep beep beepBeep beep beep beep beep beep beep beep beep beep beep beep beep beep beep beep beep beep beep beep
Deviant signals surging!