Chapter 81
Chapter 81
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 81
Chapter Title: Hijacking
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‘Radio Interference’ trait has been applied. Possible to fuse with the existing ‘Handiwork’ trait. ‘Radio Interference’ and ‘Handiwork’ traits have fused. Evolves into the ‘Hijacking’ trait! Hijacking: Inherits the effects of the Radio Interference trait. Can control electronic devices within 10m for a short time. Only one device at a time, and cannot be used on cyborgs.
P.S.: In the space age, humans who can't use machines are no different from primitives.
As soon as I applied the newly acquired fused trait, a mutation occurred in my body.
The change happened on my back.
My back already had wings and two arms tipped with bone blades—nothing else.
It was just covered in tough exoskeleton. But now, new organs sprouted there.
Thin bone plates grew in two rows along my spine. They protruded from my back all the way to just before the spiny hairs at the tip of my tail.
The bone plates had an irregular, rough shape, and their color was a deep black.
So perfectly black that they absorbed even light, they looked less like bone plates and more like polished obsidian shards mounted on my back.
This was originally a passive ability of the Metallic Gremlin, but after the Aimorph absorbed it, it was reborn in an entirely different form.
With just these bone plates, I could cause malfunctions in nearby devices.
'Let's give it a try.'
It was a trait I'd used countless times in games, but this was my first time in reality.
I focused my senses on my back while half-prostrated. When I tensed the area like flexing my spine, the bone plates began to quiver.
The bone plates rubbed against each other, producing an eerie sound.
To the ear, it vaguely resembled the chirping of distant cicadas.
It was a very faint and subtle noise, but within it lurked a dissonant tone fundamentally different from any ordinary animal sound—an ominous melody.
If a normal person kept listening, it would surely sour their mood with its cacophony.
But the true value of the bone plates wasn't in making humans uncomfortable.
Thanks to my greatly enhanced senses from the Hunter's Emblem, I could feel it.
Waves that disrupted machines were emanating from the bone plates.
If someone here could read electrical flows or wavelengths, they would see exactly what was happening with my bone plates.
As the waves from the resonating plates spread outward, the freezer storage lights began flickering off one by one.
"Argh!"
"E-Everyone, stay calm!"
"I can't see anything!"
The freezer storage plunged into darkness in an instant, and the researchers screamed.
'Next up, Hijacking.'
The male Cult was nowhere within the range of my highly developed auxiliary organs.
To finish the experiment before he arrived, I focused my senses on the terminal next to the freezer storage door.
My auxiliary organs and bone plates combined their power, sifting through the faint electrical signals in the terminal to locate the control signal coming from somewhere high above.
Finally, the target wave sharpened like scissors and severed the control signal.
Then, it mimicked the control signal, tuning itself to a similar form to replace the severed one.
Once the wave became the new control signal, information on operating the terminal flowed into my auxiliary organs.
'Open sesame.'
With my words, the freezer storage door slid open.
The Hijacking trait lived up to its name—it outright 'stole' control of electronic devices.
A door that normally required ID card authentication was now wide open.
Because I controlled it.
With this trait, I could even hijack a spaceship.
'Of course, the time limit is so short it's impractical in reality.'
Thanks to the Hunter's Emblem effect, the duration was extended, but normally, Hijacking only held control for 3 minutes.
Because of the short control time, Hijacking was ironically used more for purposes other than stealing spaceships.
'Perfect for infiltration and sabotage.'
I could move without tripping cameras, or in close- or mid-range encounters, disable an enemy's weapon without touching it.
'That'll do for testing the new trait.'
I relaxed the tension in my back.
As the waves from the bone plates ceased, the trait effect lifted, and everything returned to normal.
'The Transcendent System conditions are satisfied.'
But I had no intention of creating it right now.
There were two reasons.
'First, I don't know what Unique trait it'll produce.'
A Unique trait created by the Transcendent System was something entirely new, nonexistent before.
Being Unique, its effects would be incredibly powerful, but the problem was not knowing what it would be.
'And I have to consider the penalties.'
When I acquired my fully organic body, restrictions were placed on my wings and mimicry organs.
The wings were one thing, but the mimicry organ was a trait I'd actively used while hunting in the city.
Because of those restrictions, I had to completely revise my city conquest strategy.
'I don't know what penalties this Unique trait will bring.'
If luck was bad, it could restrict traits I used frequently, like the Parasite Swarm or Neurotoxin Gland.
So I had to decide carefully.
'On the other hand, the Hijacking trait is immediately useful for tackling the Monument.'
In this high-rise building full of cutting-edge tech, having a counter to electronics went without saying.
'I was planning to take it slow with parasites, but...'
With Hijacking, my tactical options had widened dramatically.
No longer fearing cameras and surveillance was a huge advantage.
'Alright. Transcendent traits on hold until I'm in a safer spot.'
Having decided, I rose to my feet.
I sensed presences in the corridor ahead of the freezer storage.
'Time to greet the guests.'
As I turned, the researchers flinched.
They still had work to do.
The male Cult Andre, along with his colleague Anna, were Cults who had immigrated to Mega Corp.
Just as Mega Corp was a battleground for the seven families, the Cults had long suffered from internal strife.
Andre and the other Cults working at the Monument were those who couldn't bear watching their kin tear each other apart and fled to Mega Corp.
"Ugh, same crap everywhere."
But where there were intelligent beings, conflict was inevitable.
Andre, an outsider, knew what was really going on here.
They called it a 'board meeting' or whatever pompously, but it was just an ugly brawl to sate their greed.
He had even changed his name when immigrating as a child, but now he questioned if continuing to work in this city was right.
"What a hassle dealing with these barbaric monkeys. Tsk."
He clicked his tongue and stepped out of the elevator.
Just down this corridor was the freezer storage.
As he passed, he waved at the corridor camera.
Thinking of his kin Anna lifted his mood a bit.
'Speaking of which, where's Genet? She could've at least said something before leaving.'
Thinking of his kin reminded him of a coworker he'd worked with.
She had suddenly submitted her resignation right before the board meeting and vanished.
"Tch, she was a decent friend... Huh?"
As Andre walked the corridor, an odd feeling gripped him.
The corridor, lined with orderly bright silver metal panels, looked exactly as usual.
But it felt alien to him somehow.
An inexplicable sense of wrongness filled the space.
'What's this?'
If he had stayed in Cult territory, he would have easily recognized the sensation.
It was a warning.
"Why's it so damn cold?"
Andre hugged his arms, covered in goosebumps, and slowly advanced down the corridor.
Reaching the freezer storage at the end, he pulled out his Third Central Control Room master card.
With a short beep, the door opened, unleashing a blast of cold far beyond what he'd felt moments ago.
"Whoa, it's freezing."
The intense chill suggested the cooling systems were functioning perfectly.
Stepping inside, he called out to the researchers.
"Hey!"
No response came.
Sensing something serious, he quickly grabbed his communicator.
"This is Andre from Third Central Control! Do you copy?"
"Third Central Control, Andre. Anomaly detected. Damn...!"
The communicator gave only static, no other response.
Andre turned to signal the cameras and head outside, but a sound came from nearby.
"Who's there?"
"U-Ugh..."
"Are you a researcher?"
"U-Ugh!"
The source was the pained groan of a human male.
Andre followed the sound.
Under ice-blue lighting evoking frozen crystals, corpses dangled from ceiling metal hooks, and chunks of unrecognizable creatures littered a metal table haphazardly.
Even for non-human Andre, the sight sent chills down his spine.
Passing a massive creature slumped over a stainless steel table, he spotted two people.
One lay collapsed in a pool of blood, while the other researcher knelt beside, one knee on the ground.
He wore a helpless expression as he tried to staunch his colleague's bleeding.
"Gasp! Are you okay?"
The floor and the researcher's hands were soaked in blood.
Swallowing his shock, Andre hurriedly raised his communicator again to call for help.
Still only static from the device, the kneeling researcher pleaded with him.
"Please, help us!"
Rushing to the desperate researcher's side, Andre checked the fallen one.
"Too much blood loss! We need to get to the med bay upstairs now!"
To Andre's eyes, the injured researcher was in critical condition.
The communicator was dead.
'Wounds are too severe to move right away.'
Andre pressed down hard on the wounds to stem the bleeding as best he could.
"I'll keep watch. Hurry and get more people..."
He shouted at the other researcher to go fetch medics or anyone.
But the researcher behind him didn't move. The response from behind completely defied his expectations.
"Ugh... S-Sorry..."
"What?"
Andre turned at the researcher's unexpected apology.
At that moment, the massive creature slumped on the table behind him twitched.
"When did he go down there? Still no sign of him?"
Sitting in the control room, Anna picked up her communicator.
Minutes had passed since he'd gone down with no word, so she called him.
The signal rang for a while before he picked up.
"Why didn't you answer? Something happen down there?"
"Yeah? But this comm's acting weird. Keeps getting static. Get it checked when you come up."
The call ended, and Anna checked the cameras again.
The corridor in front of the freezer storage.
She waited for her colleague to emerge when suddenly the camera feed warped dramatically.
"What the?"
She tapped the monitor, and the image normalized.
But then the camera feeds began distorting and recovering one after another.
"What's wrong with this?"
Annoyed, Anna grabbed her communicator to call the maintenance team.
As she went to press the call button, the camera screen flashed brightly once more, then stabilized.
"Huh?"
The corridor on screen looked exactly as before.
But Anna had definitely seen it.
Just before the feed recovered, a black shape had flitted across from the other side.
'What was that?'
Anna set down the communicator and operated the computer.
Soon, holograms of the records from the error to recovery projected into the air.
She lined them up and examined them closely.
The bright silver corridors captured by the cameras appeared empty.
Except for one spot.
"What is this?"
In the corner of the screen was something small. It resembled long, sharp spines.
The spines appeared in all screens, though their positions varied slightly.
As Anna leaned closer to inspect one...
Beep.
The terminal behind her chimed, checking a master card.
Only one person would come to Third Central Control at this hour.
Her colleague who'd gone down to check, Andre.
"What took you so long?"
She turned to snap at him but froze mid-motion, a sudden thought striking her.
'Wait, nothing showed on the cameras?'
The cameras had been running while she reviewed the logs.
None captured Andre heading her way.
Hiss.
With the sound of escaping air, the door opened.