Red Scourge (3)

But that agonizing deliberation didn't last long.

Thinking it over, I realized I wasn't the type cut out for this sort of thing.

So, naturally, I turned to the wisdom of our newbie Ssoongis and the veteran old-timers by posting about it on the gallery...

'Come to think of it, aren't we executives in a villain organization right now?'

Were we all so immersed in our villain roles?

Staring at the no-holds-barred responses from our newbie Ssoongis, I clung to my last shred of humanity and wondered if this was really okay.

But even against my doubts, it wasn't the slightly unhinged newbies who responded—it was the relatively sane veterans like Jigayeon, brushing it off with bored indifference, saying there was no need to care.

"Hmmm. Hmmm."

With trustworthy words from Jigayeon and the follow-up comments from other veteran lurkers...

The consensus was clear: we weren't saints or holy maidens, so no need to bust our mental guts over "mere" colonists.

Through all that, I realized there were no real limits on how to solve the problem.

And from that epiphany, I understood I didn't need to flaunt some flimsy moral superiority—at least for the time being, I could focus solely on the issue at hand.

"Alright, alright. So I can handle the colonists however I damn well please."

At this point, I released the brakes in my head and brainstormed ways to resolve the situation at warp speed.

However—contrary to what our protagonist Vanya thought—his subordinates nearby, and the Ssoongi users watching the live updates on the gallery, couldn't have predicted one thing.

The soul inhabiting Vanya's body fundamentally saw himself as a perfectly normal, suckered everyman.

At the same time, watching the old-timers' hype, he'd think, "Oh, so that's roughly how it's done?" and naturally assume no big issues.

But here's the problem: if Vanya seriously ditched his mental brakes and went wild, truly unforeseen shit would hit the fan. How bad could the situation get?

On top of that, the modpack's random traits—"Researcher" and "Scientist"—embedded in Vanya decoupled rational behavior from his brain brakes, unlocking even more.

And in doing so, they became the culprits egging on his braindead impulses.

Soon enough, our derpy Vanya posted a proof pic with a satisfied "Problem solved!" vibe...

"See? I gene-edited it down to the DNA level so the Red Scourge see it as one of their own."

"......"

"Turns out each Red Scourge has its own separate hive. So I modded its body to pump out pheromones from the biggest nearby hive."

"......"

"Oh, and the ship's database had their evolution tree? So while I was at it, I didn't stop at basic soldier—I tweaked it into something that'd show up 2-3 stages later by current standards!"

"......So you combined 8 troublesome colonists slated for disposal with Red Scourge corpses to make that monster."

"Yup! If they're ungrateful beasts who demand loot after I saved them, they gotta pay the price, right?"

The Ssoongi users—and Ilena, getting the live reverse-briefing—

all stared at the "homemade knockoff Red Scourge monster" made from colonists, struck by an indescribable feeling.

But regardless of others' reactions, our Vanya wanted to deploy his "masterpiece" and see results...

Finishing up by injecting various drugs into it via his auxiliary arms connected to his body.

"Wait, how exactly are you using that?"

"Our Red Scourge-disguised spy scuttles into the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠nest, snips the queen, and turns the whole hive into wild animals!"

"No plans to use the hive itself?"

"Heh, messing with that casually is a surefire way to crash and burn. Tons ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠of villains scream 'I can handle it, I'm different!' against bio-monsters like these and flop."

"......Doctor, you sometimes show common sense in the weirdest places."

With that, we committed to the strategy: turn the hive into braindead wild animals that posed no threat to us.