Chapter 73
Chapter 73
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 73
Chapter Title: Ep. 73
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The operational camp set up in the commercial district.
It was a temporary facility established for the joint operation between the knight order and the defense forces.
Denver was observing the crisis management team leader directing the operation from there.
Even though Denver was an outsider, the atmosphere wasn't bad.
He was the patriarch of the Ezerton family in Prime Capital, but at the same time, he was a hero who had participated in numerous wars. Being someone who understood the mindset of soldiers well, he made every effort to avoid actions that might irritate the defense forces.
The defense forces also expressed their gratitude for his consideration and treated him favorably.
The harmonious atmosphere in the operational camp was shattered by a new visitor brought in by Layla.
"Haha, it's been a while. Sir Denver."
"Ahem, Way Zhao."
The newcomer to the camp was a yellow-skinned man with his hair dyed blue.
His name was Way Zhao.
He was the head of the Zhao family in Prime Capital, rivals to the Ezerton family in the contest for control of Mars.
Denver made a sour face as he watched the man casually pull out a cigar upon entering the room.
"...What brings you here?"
Denver was friendly to everyone, but he couldn't extend that courtesy to the people of the Zhao family.
The two families had been vying for dominance as Mars's sole ruler for centuries already. There had been more than a few bloody clashes between them.
Even now, on their home planet Mars, invisible power struggles between the two families were in full swing.
So it was only natural that they didn't get along.
In response to Denver's overt hostility, Way replied with a relaxed smile.
"Oh, I heard there was something interesting going on. Even someone like me is a member of the press, after all. When a new incident pops up, I have to cover it, right?"
Denver glanced at Layla's face, who had come with Way.
Her expression was icy cold. It was obvious she hadn't wanted this but had been forced into it.
'Of all times...'
The Zhao family owned Daily Mars, the largest media company in Mega Corp.
The news of an incident in the special trade hub right before the board meeting would have already reached them.
"Everything is under control without any issues. Way. I don't think there's anything here that would pique your interest."
"Haha, don't be so cold. I'm here because of the vote too. I can't pass up a golden opportunity to judge whether the voting target is legitimate or not."
"......"
Way Zhao supported Akira Yujin's reappointment.
As far as Denver knew, the Zhao family was split between those who supported Akira Yujin and those who didn't.
In other words, from Way's perspective right now, exposing Saddam Chemberlin—Akira's rival—as incompetent was the top priority.
That way, he could unify opinion within his family.
'...I hope Vickers pulls through.'
If things went wrong here with the head of Mega Corp's most influential yellow press present?
Saddam and Denver's plan would be completely ruined, and they'd have to wait for the next board meeting.
In Layla's case, she might even have to take responsibility and step down as chief administrator.
"Anyway, this is my problem, so don't worry about it, Sir Denver. Hmm? Hey, what's that camera over there?"
Having silenced Denver, Way—cigar in mouth—questioned the crisis management team leader.
"Those are personal cameras belonging to the squad leaders of the participating defense force squads. They allow us to monitor the operation progress smoothly from here as well..."
As the crisis management team leader was answering, the entire camp shook violently.
"E-Earthquake?!"
"Everyone, be careful!"
The quake rattled the computers, equipment, and people inside before quickly subsiding.
But everyone present wore bewildered expressions.
An earthquake on an artificial structure floating in space?
The first to regain her composure was Layla, the city's ruler.
"Contact the dome management team leader immediately and confirm if it was a meteor impact."
"Understood."
Her secretary rushed out of the camp.
Way, who had stumbled alone and lost face, stood up with a stiff expression.
"...I heard T&C was renowned for colonial development. Does this happen often?"
"No. Not at all. This is the first time."
"I have to be able to believe that."
"Layla, Way, both of you calm down. This vibration seems to have come from below. Excuse me, crisis management team leader. Can you check with the units that went down?"
At Denver's request, the crisis management team leader nodded to the communications soldier. The soldier hurriedly sent a transmission underground.
"This is the operation headquarters. Are you safe down there?"
"Communications are unstable. Send additional support to Squad 2, and have Squad 3 retry contact."
"Yes. This is operation headquarters..."
As the communications soldier relayed the crisis management team leader's orders, Denver didn't show it outwardly but was quite rattled inside.
'If it's someone from Squad 3 who went underground, it can only be Tennessee.'
Currently, Denver's knight order was participating in the defense forces' operation in a support role.
They were divided into three teams to match the defense force's squad structure, supporting each squad's operations.
All three teams had set up a joint camp above ground with the defense forces. Among them, Vickers and Jacob of Teams 1 and 2 were commanding their members from the surface.
Only Tennessee, burning with a desire for revenge, had gone underground personally. Even volunteering to manage the bait.
Denver excused himself briefly and left the camp.
Confirming no one was paying attention to him, he contacted Vickers.
"Check on Tennessee. Something feels off."
Up until then, Denver wasn't too worried.
The sewer collapse from the earthquake wasn't part of the plan, but everything was still under control.
Or so he believed.
The city's veins, forged with advanced smelting technology.
Metal passages that never corroded no matter how much polluted matter flowed through them.
That magnificent sewer system was now severed.
'Way stronger than I thought?'
Psychic Breath mercilessly destroyed everything blocking its path.
The inside of the passage was naturally reduced to rubble, and it even punched through the metal-and-concrete walls.
I had expected it to be stronger due to the type advantage, but not to this extent.
'Not just the passage—the surrounding ground seems to have collapsed too.'
With Psychic Breath forcibly hollowing out the underground, the ground above couldn't hold.
The subsidence caused buildings above to collapse in a chain reaction, vastly expanding the scale of destruction.
Probably about a fifth of the commercial district where I was had turned to ruins.
'Hope the kids are okay.'
I sent a psychic pulse to Specimen 026.
[Zzzt zzzt (You okay over there?)]
[Zzzt zzzt zzzt (I'm fine. You?)]
Good.
It's a mutant, but still a proper Blue Galleron.
Gallerons are sensitive to the flow of psychic power.
It must have sensed the psychic power flow and fled to safety.
[Zzzt zzzt (Stay hidden for now)]
Confirming the kids were safe, I rose to my feet.
The narrow passage where I'd been was now a vast cavern.
Thanks to the ground collapse, shafts of light filtered in from above here and there.
'This complicates things a bit.'
If the enemy realizes I'm a monster capable of collapsing the entire city, they might go all out.
'Low chance, but they could bombard with the fleet.'
If deploying troops into the sewers fails to handle it, that's their only remaining option.
Honestly, it'd be like burning down the house to kill a bedbug, but you never know.
Humans aren't always that rational.
'Let's grab the remaining gene essences first.'
Worrying about hypotheticals is pointless. Better to handle what's right in front of me.
Of the knights who chased me, two were left. They weren't far.
I exited the cavern that the passage had become.
'With the sewers collapsed, the other side must be in chaos too. Ambushing shouldn't be hard, but the aftermath is the issue.'
As I walked, pondering, I sensed a current of water flowing from the opposite passage.
The knights I was looking for were heading this way.
'Deal with them first.'
Not much water here to hide in.
The sewage had evaporated from the purple heat rays, and holes pockmarked the walls, lowering the overall water level.
'Actually, no need to hide.'
Sensing with my auxiliary organs, one was supporting the other. The female knight's paralysis hadn't worn off yet, so the other was helping her.
That meant their combat power was less than half. No need to hold back.
I hugged the wall to avoid the water flow reaching them and moved toward their position.
A knight's voice echoed from beyond the passage.
"Squad Leader Yanek! Squad Leader Vickers! Damn it, comms are completely dead!"
"Ugh, ugh..."
"Damn! Catherine, you okay?"
"Ugh! Uh!"
"What?"
The knight, focused on the female knight, hadn't spotted me.
She noticed me first and reacted, making him look up.
I dropped from the ceiling onto him. I crushed the knight beneath me, and the three of us tumbled onto the sewer floor.
"Eek!"
The knight quickly drew his blade claw to fight back.
But we were too close for him to swing. I grabbed both his arms with my combat limbs and bit down on his helmet with my jaws.
"Wha-what?!"
My jaws, enhanced by bite force, crumpled his helmet. The reinforced glass of the visor shattered inward.
"Agh, aaagh!"
As the helmet caved in, crushing his head, and shards pierced his eyes, the knight screamed.
His legs, dangling helplessly as I held him, soon went still.
Confirming he was dead, I released the helmet from my mouth.
His helmet was completely smashed, reduced to a third of its original size.
"Ugh! Uuugh!"
The female knight groaned, having watched her comrade die.
I was about to toss the body aside when I noticed gear on him I'd never seen on other knights.
'A plasma launcher?'
The knight had a plasma launcher strapped to his back.
I unstrapped it and held it in my grasp.
'They came well-prepared, huh?'
The launcher was dangerous, no matter what.
Even with Hunting Image, two or more direct hits to the head would be trouble—its firepower was that strong.
'Defense forces would carry launchers, but why the knight order?'
Defense forces from the defense fleet were regulars, so they naturally had plasma launchers. As I recalled, it was standard issue per platoon.
On the other hand, the Ezerton knight order didn't use plasma launchers.
Their main weapon was the plasma bolter. Less firepower than the launcher, but far more versatile.
That was in the game, though. This was reality, so it could be different.
With reinforced suits, individuals could wield and fire launchers too.
'I'll use this.'
I pocketed the launcher and turned to the female knight.
'From what she said earlier, seems like their comms are busted.'
Immense psychic power can cause radio interference.
Of course, not permanently. About 10 minutes to recover.
'Gotta take out as many as I can before then and slip away.'
With the commercial district's ground collapsing, there'd be plenty of ruined buildings.
One of those could serve as a temporary hideout.
'Now, what to do with this female knight.'
With comms messed up, using her as bait is iffy.
'Just give her to the kids.'
No telling how much longer we'll have to starve.
Thinking of the kids barely filling their bellies with corpse machines, it was time for some quality food.
'Come to think of it, I've eaten almost all the knights myself.'
My top priority was getting stronger with gene essences, but raising them was necessary too.
'Knights were all nutrient-rich.'
If the kids eat and grow stronger, it benefits me.
They had excellent potential as superb combatants.
I left the female knight and started devouring her comrade first.
I stripped off the thick armor and tore into the firm muscles inside.
Chewing the flesh brought a chewy texture from the fine muscle fibers.
'This one's pork?'
Specifically, pork shoulder.
Regular shoulder is flavorful but a bit heavy, but this knight's meat had better texture, surpassing it.
'No pigs in Space Survival, yet here it is.'
In the game's lore, Earth became a wasteland from nuclear war between the seven megacorps and governments.
Pigs went fully extinct, and chickens were endangered, only for Prime Capital and above.
'A dismal dystopia without chicken or pork belly.'
I polished off the knight's meat quickly amid stray thoughts.
'Smack. Already gone.'
All that was left was the wrist.
The familiar taste had me in a good mood, but oh well.
'Can't leave it, though.'
Chewing it lingeringly would just breed regret, so I swallowed the wrist whole.
The moment the wrist passed down my throat.
'Oh?'
Maybe because it was tasty food after so long.
The translucent text box for the notification somehow felt warmer than usual.