Chapter 96
Chapter 96
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 96
Chapter Title: The Returning Prodigal
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Before the T&C Special Trade Center turned into a city of death, the Yujin family flagship barely escaped into open space.
Anyone who knew Akira Yujin well wouldn't have believed he'd lingered in such a dangerous place until the end, but there was a good reason for it.
He had to recover something important from the Special Trade Center.
"Did you retrieve all of the Shadows' gear?"
"Yes. Both Black Shroud and Red Queen have been recovered. However, the damage is quite severe..."
"Doesn't matter. As long as even a tiny piece remains, we can restore them."
The attendant left, and Akira Yujin sat in his office, drumming his fingers on the desk.
Behind him, Code Blue stood silently on guard.
"I thought we'd gain much from this, but my expectations were off. We lost a useful tool."
"......"
"Tools can be replaced, but this piques my curiosity. Who defeated Code Black?"
The moment he voiced his doubt, the sound of someone collapsing came from outside the office.
Soon after, the door opened, and a woman entered.
She had a long horn protruding only from her left temple and wore a white bodysuit.
She was once known as Code White: Sihyun Yujin.
Seeing Sihyun, Akira curled his lips into a strange smile.
"Heh, the prodigal daughter returns. So it was you."
"......"
Sihyun couldn't comprehend Akira's words but didn't dwell on it.
After all, Akira Yujin would die by her hand on this spaceship today.
"Hmm, one mystery solved, another arises. You were clearly dead—how are you alive?"
Instead of answering, she drew a sword from the back of her hand.
The white bodysuit she wore was called White Maiden.
White Maiden was equipment that could manifest various tools based on the user's imagination.
Like now, if she envisioned a sharp sword, a keen blade would protrude from the armor. If she imagined flight, wings would sprout from her back.
"Ho."
White Maiden was the very item Akira had personally bestowed upon Sihyun when she received her Code designation.
He smiled faintly at the reappearance of gear he'd thought lost with her death.
"I needed that. Good thing you brought it. Quite the useful tool."
"So relaxed, old man."
"Heh, of course."
Akira snapped his fingers, and Code Blue stepped forward from behind him.
Code Blue drew the two daggers from his waist.
"While you wandered some corner of the universe, the Shadows underwent repeated upgrades."
Sihyun didn't even twitch an eyebrow at Akira's utterly unconcerned words. Instead, her response defied his expectations entirely.
"I know."
"Huh?"
At Sihyun's glance, Blue turned and slashed Akira's throat.
"Guh... grrrk..."
Akira's head slammed onto his own desk, his throat half-severed.
"...It's over."
For the man who had not only slaughtered Sihyun Yujin's blood kin but utterly destroyed her life, the death was pathetically ignoble.
She ought to feel elation at successful revenge, yet no thrill stirred within her.
If I were truly Sihyun Yujin...
Would she laugh maniacally over her enemy's corpse? Or weep?
She couldn't say.
"I've carried out my end of the deal."
"Good."
"Keep your promise to let me see my family."
Sihyun nodded to Blue's words, then widened her eyes.
Akira was rising behind him.
"Watch out!"
"?"
Sihyun shouted a warning, but Akira was faster. His hand morphed into massive hooked claws and tore Blue apart in an instant.
"Ah, this is quite the surprise. I didn't know you'd recruited him too."
Akira muttered in an unknown tongue.
The wound on his throat had vanished without a trace.
The claws that killed Blue shrank back into the old man's wrinkled hand.
"Your resurrection must be that damned tiger's doing."
"How...?"
Sihyun knew Akira had undergone genetic modification surgery.
But it was for life extension, not recovery from a nearly severed neck.
Among the Shadows, only Code Black in Black Shroud could perform such miracles.
"Hm? Ah, sorry. An old language slipped out."
"...Are you really Akira Yujin?"
"Heh, of course. Well, precisely, it's half and half."
Akira chuckled like a simple villager, but Sihyun remained in utmost tension.
Before coming to the space city, she'd undergone maximum genetic mods possible. Partly for the mission, but also to face the mystery monster that killed her once more.
She wasn't at her former peak, but close to full strength.
Yet against the smiling Akira before her, she saw no path to victory.
I can't win.
Instinct told her even dozens of originals couldn't beat this monster.
"Heh heh, plotting for the long game, are you?"
"!"
"Yes. You never give up. That's why Kusotora—no, Beomho—chose you."
"......"
"I'm merciful, so I'll allow three attacks. Do as you wish."
Akira granted her three chances.
Without hesitation, she drew the plasma pistol from her waist.
The pistol fired, a green energy bolt grazing Akira's ear.
"Heh, even the great Sihyun Yujin shows fear."
Ignoring him, she fired again. It missed by a wide margin once more.
Akira frowned.
"Oh dear. That's your last chance already. I gave you three, and you wasted them."
Despite his regretful tone, Sihyun smiled through cold sweat.
"I learned something recently."
"What?"
A long, thick tentacle sprouted from her left arm, smashing the wall behind Akira.
The inner wall, already weakened by precise pistol shots, shattered under the tentacle's blow.
"What...?!"
Air rushed out into space, carrying Sihyun with it in an instant.
As she escaped, she extended a tentacle to snatch Blue's dropped dagger.
"Damn it!"
Akira, caught off-guard by her move, turned toward where she'd fled.
Sihyun, transforming White Maiden into a spacesuit, vanished into the black void.
-
"Mm."
Jae-seong, who'd dozed off right after takeoff, opened his eyes.
"Yaaawn... Hm?"
Stretching his arms from the chair, he looked around.
Strangely, not a single passenger remained from the full cabin when he'd fallen asleep.
"What? Did they all go for dinner?"
This luxury spaceship catered to VIPs, complete with a dining car serving lavish courses.
Assuming they'd gone there, he closed his eyes to sleep again.
Wait. No crew either?
Passengers might be eating, but no crew at all was odd.
"What the hell."
Unease prickling, Jae-seong stood.
Heading from seats to the dining car, he caught a familiar yet eerie smell.
A pungent, fishy stench like metal under your nose.
Where have I smelled this?
Vaguely recalling a similar experience from his old job, he opened the dining car door.
And he instantly remembered.
It was the smell of blood.
The dining car brimmed not with fine cuisine and liquor, but flesh chunks, bone fragments, and gore.
In this hell manifest mid-space, nightmare creatures feasted.
At the lounge center, a monster with dark green scales and vast wings slurped human blood.
The victim was someone Jae-seong knew: the Medical Team Leader who'd berated a crew member before he slept. Whether dead or alive, her legs twitched each suck of blood.
At the bar table, a pink monster gripped the Human Resources Manager with countless tentacles, devouring her slowly.
Her state was more wretched: dozens of thin tendrils burrowed into every facial orifice, devouring her brain.
"Our products! Heave! Always safe! Heave! The best for you! Heave! Hic! Thank you! Heave! Thank you! Heave!"
The once poised woman babbled idiotically with a vacant face.
"Eek?!"
His short yelp drew the monsters' gazes.
Unable to endure their stares, Jae-seong slammed the door and fled.
Pilot! Tell the pilot!
He sprinted through the seats faster than ever in his life.
At the cockpit, he pounded madly.
"Open up! Monsters! There are monsters!"
How long did he bang?
"We...l...come."
A human voice from inside, then the lock disengaged.
Thank god! Pilot's alive!
Thinking salvation had come, Jae-seong flung the door wide.
The pilot he'd hoped for was there.
"Huh?"
But not as expected.
Only the man's ankle was visible to Jae-seong.
The thing swallowing the pilot whole tilted its head and gulped the ankle down.
｢We...l...come｣
Seeing the bloodied teeth as it spoke, Jae-seong chuckled bitterly.
A dream.
Praying to wake from the nightmare, he shut his eyes.
-
For now, the ship's secured.
All living prey on the escape shuttle were now in the bellies of me and my two companions.
Adhai and No. 26, gorged on tasty food after so long, clutched swollen bellies in sleep.
I spread blankets from the seats over them and returned to the cockpit.
What next?
Cargo and galley held assorted ingredients and calorie bars—no food worries mid-voyage.
Piloting wasn't as finicky as a patrol ship; with nav AI assist, I could handle it solo.
But there's a problem.
The ship was preset for a nearby Mega Corp space fortress pre-departure, with scant fuel reserves. A few hyperspace jumps, and it'd run dry.
Not ideal destinations around here.
Space fortresses out, and my target planet lacked fuel for the trip.
Detours to other planets? Tricky.
Nearby worlds boasted defenses far surpassing the Trade Center—sneaking in was tough.
Not impossible, though...
Hijack another ship.
A common game strat.
There's a spot reachable by hyperspace.
A zone under Space Dogs control.
No prime resource planets or human ranches, nor strategically vital for orbital cities like the Trade Center.
Rarely, Metallic Gremlin packs passed through—steel fortresses wouldn't last against them.
Utterly useless turf, ignored by Mega Corp and Star Union alike. Space Dogs slipped in through the gap.
Go there, minimal risk of bumping Mega Corp or Star Union.
Not staying long—just targeting one pirate ship. Solid option.
But issues remained.
Space Dogs might spot us anytime.
Their cartels roamed ceaselessly for piracy; bad luck, and they might skip the zone for months.
In-game, I used this post-Space Flight trait acquisition.
With Space Flight, I'd hunt pirate ships myself.
But this ship would burn fuel fast that way.
Need a breakthrough...
A thought struck.
New Transcendent trait.
I summoned the translucent text window.
I'd gathered all materials for the new Transcendent trait.
Space Flight and Giant Creature from samples were 0.5-filled, unusable directly but viable as ingredients.
Come to think, even prior Unique traits weren't wholly unrelated to materials.
Perfect Organism's were body-related traits.
The Transcendent Unique trait birthed something novel, yet tied to ingredient nature.
These scream free space activity.
My sole Perfect Organism let me conquer dire perils.
If pattern holds, second Unique trait likely yields off-spec effects.
Might solve my dilemma outright.
But the restriction's the hitch.
Unknown trait, unknown limit—risky pick.
New Unique or status quo?
Mulling, one phrase caught my eye.
Evolution knows no end.
After long deliberation, I decided.