Chapter 140. Stem Cells.
Chapter 140. Stem Cells.
I stared at the creature with a hard expression, watching it play at being human. It wore a convincingly flustered look, putting on a good show.
— Shrrnk...
Without a word, I drew my blade and stared it down. The impostor didn't flinch—but the rest of the party certainly did.
"Chief, what is the meaning of this...!"
"I shouldn't have been thinking only in terms of mana-bearing lifeforms. There's no way an ordinary creature could survive in a radiation-contaminated zone..."
— Slash!
I severed the leg of one of the five. At this sudden, unprovoked act, several people moved to stop me.
"Chief! If there's some kind of dispute, we can talk it out...!"
"Brother, why are you doing this!?"
"Does that look like a person to you?"
Despite its leg being cut off, the creature let out not a single groan of pain. And instead of blood, a black, viscous ooze seeped from the severed cross-section.
"Gasp...!"
"What in the world..."
The creature, having lost its leg and its balance, collapsed to the ground. But without so much as a twitch, its expression drained to a blank void as it began glaring at me.
"What the hell are you? How did you take on that identical form?"
"$%^%&$$^%%..."
It only howled—a monster's cry that followed neither Korean linguistic rules nor the language systems of Titan. Then it bowed its head and began making retching sounds.
— Gwaeeek...!
A viscous black slime poured from its mouth, and—astonishingly—the slime was moving on its own, crawling across the ground.
'A slime? I confirmed it had withered and died. Did a fragment survive?'
"Chief, could the monster you mentioned last time be..."
"Yes. It's a slime that absorbed radiation and mutated."
I glanced at the other four, suspected to be identical entities. Even though a part of them had just been killed, they didn't so much as blink.
"Transforming into identical humans and infiltrating the village... If we hadn't known, a massive disaster would have occurred..."
I shook my head, cutting off the President's words, and looked at the other four as I spoke.
"The danger is far from over."
"N-no, you don't mean...!"
Perhaps having absorbed enough humans to develop some rudimentary intelligence, the creatures sensed the shift in atmosphere and began to flee.
I sliced off the lower halves of every fleeing bastard. Realizing their legs were gone and escape was impossible, these ones too began secreting slime from their bodies, attempting to crawl away in that state. I annihilated every last one of them.
But one creature was different. It didn't spew slime. It simply stood there, staring at me.
"Good. Giving up would be the wise choice."
Only this one remained. I raised my sword, ready to finish it with a single, emotionless stroke.
"Wait."
"?"
"Human, survival, request."
In all my years, I had never once seen a slime speak. I knew they could absorb and assimilate with a target, but I never imagined that included knowledge.
"What exactly are you?"
"This body, absorb, assimilate, acquire."
"So you stole his body."
"Survival, unavoidable, understand."
Perhaps because it hadn't been long since it returned from the Hanford Site, the assimilation wasn't yet complete.
"So you had no choice but to absorb him to survive?"
"Agree."
"I'm sorry, but you've already killed one of my people, and not content with that, you violated the corpse of a comrade. What reason do I have to let you live?"
"..."
Realizing, perhaps, that further negotiation was pointless, slime shot from its mouth and launched itself at me. The body that had expelled the slime collapsed like a puppet with its strings cut.
I caught the creature in one hand. It squirmed in my grip, struggling desperately to invade my body.
"So it wasn't absorption. You get inside a body and slowly devour it from within."
I kindled my mana, preparing to completely annihilate the creature. At that moment, Galrand urgently stopped me.
"Benefactor, please wait a moment!"
"Hm?"
"If you'll permit the intrusion, I would like to study this specimen."
He said it was a perfect fusion of mana and nuclear material, while retaining all the properties of a slime, and that it would be of immense help to the research he and Edwin were conducting.
"It's radioactive. Isn't that too dangerous?"
"No, it's currently in an extremely stable state. The radiation level is likely comparable to what we're exposed to in daily life."
Frankly, my personal feeling was that I just wanted to erase this thing that had killed my comrades. But if I weighed practical benefit, keeping it alive for now was the right move.
"And... while it was difficult on Titan, if we study the slime's regenerative properties on Earth, we might be able to utilize it for medical treatment down the line."
"Fine. Understood."
I gave orders to carefully recover the remaining bodies and to respectfully escort the people who were still at the Hanford Site. Curious as to how exactly Galrand and Edwin intended to use the slime, I followed them.
We headed to the research wing and medical wing—the buildings the village laborers had worked hardest to construct. Together, we all went to the research wing, where doctors and researchers who had been contacted in advance were already gathered with various pieces of equipment.
"Mr. Galrand, is there a reason you've called even us medical staff?"
Galrand took the slime out of a container made of reinforced glass and explained its unique regenerative abilities.
"I don't know much about medical science, so I'm not certain, but I called you all here just in case."
A doctor who appeared to be the most senior came forward, placed the container on the examination table, and used various instruments to observe it meticulously.
"Its regenerative process is due to an extremely rapid rate of cell division. It possesses properties similar to stem cells."
At the mention of stem cells, the other medical staff began murmuring amongst themselves. At that moment, Edwin approached the doctor's side and asked,
"Professor, if we could transplant this regenerative ability into humans, even severe injuries could be easily treated. But is that actually possible?"
"That is the main problem..."
The professor smoothly removed his glasses and smiled as he spoke.
"The problem is that toxic substances could be produced during the process of utilizing this. Because, fundamentally, it's composed of elements different from a human body."
"So it's currently impossible?"
"During the regeneration process, the cells generate an excessive amount of reactive oxygen species. You know better than anyone, Director, how fatal pure oxygen can be."
Edwin watched the results on the monitor as he spoke.
"This creature can neutralize that on its own. But inside a human body, such toxicity would accumulate."
The researchers and medical staff engaged in a heated discussion among themselves. I nodded at their answer that it seemed quite promising, and then excused myself from the room.
* * * * * * * *
The sky darkened and night fell, so the people decided to camp in a wide-open space where keeping watch was easy. Throughout the journey so far, there had been quite a few small-scale skirmishes, but they'd made it through without any casualties.
"By the way, did you say you are an Advisor?"
"Yes."
"Advisor, you seem to be getting on in years, but your stamina seems better than the young folks'."
"Heh heh, I've exercised consistently even as I aged."
"That's remarkable."
Along the way, they had shared many conversations, including the welcome news that they had entered the large city where the palace was located. A subordinate approached Advisor and spoke to him.
"Advisor, wouldn't it be wise to send a few men back to headquarters to report the situation?"
"Hmm..."
There is a vast difference between waiting with knowledge and waiting in ignorance. As he was pondering what to do, a man who had been conversing nearby asked,
"Are there other employees at your company?"
A PMC on Earth and a mercenary company on Titan were similar but different. Explaining would have required mentioning other dimensions, so they had simply called it a PMC.
"Yes, the others are waiting at headquarters."
"Seeing as you're even scattering flyers to gather survivors, there's a possibility the government might deploy helicopters for you."
'The Commander clearly said an airplane could accommodate at least 100 personnel... is a helicopter something similar?'
Worried it might seem strange for someone living on Earth not to know what a helicopter was, Advisor deliberately acted as if he understood.
"By the way, do people around here not carry guns?"
"Excuse me?"
As the man looked at him as if wondering what he was talking about, Advisor's face stiffened slightly.
'I was under the impression this race carried firearms. Was I mistaken...?'
"Haha, our country has quite strict regulations on firearms. Unlike the United States, where people carry guns for self-defense."
This was unimaginable on Titan. Even when sleeping, even when going to the bathroom, you always made sure to bring your weapon with you...
After chatting with them for a while, they set a watch rotation and posted sentries. Once they confirmed everyone else was asleep, the company members gathered separately in a secluded spot to talk.
"As you've all heard, we have entered the city. We should arrive around tomorrow afternoon."
One of the members raised a hand and asked Advisor,
"In that case, should we take a cooperative or hostile stance?"
"Maintain minimal vigilance, assess the situation, and then I will signal."
If it's cooperation, they would act as they were doing now. And if they had to take a hostile stance, they would not kill civilians—only eliminate anyone trying to stop them—and then make a swift escape.
The members dispersed again and settled in to sleep.
The next day, as morning broke, they moved with more purpose than usual. No doubt the hope of soon reaching their destination put extra energy in their steps.
'If he's gathering survivors... where does he have the people stay?'
After a simple lunch, they traveled until the afternoon. Checking the map beside them, they could see they'd soon reach their destination.
While crossing a large bridge, one of the survivors shouted.
"I see soldiers over there!"
The soldiers, having confirmed their presence as well, began walking slowly toward them, rifles raised. Once they closed to identification distance, they lowered their guns slightly and asked the survivors,
"Are you survivors?"
Overcome with relief, people's legs gave out; some collapsed, crying, and some were laughing. They were moved to what looked like a barracks, where soldiers meticulously checked to see if anyone had been bitten or scratched by the undead.
Once the inspection was complete, the soldiers led the survivors into a large hotel next to the palace. This meant they wouldn't even get a chance to attempt negotiations with the king. Feeling a sense of urgency, Advisor approached the soldier who looked like the highest-ranking officer present and spoke.
"Please let me meet His Majesty. I have a proposal to make."
"..."
The soldiers stared at Advisor with baffled expressions. He could understand their feelings. A survivor who had been desperately fleeing for his life was suddenly asking to see the king because he had a proposal.
At that moment, one of the survivors who had traveled with them this far spoke up.
"These people were running a PMC. They still have many employees at their company. They'll be quite a valuable asset from a defensive standpoint!"
At the survivor's words, the look in the soldiers' eyes changed.