abcnovels
Chapter 22
Chapter 22
Chapter 22
“……”
Normally, this would be a time for jubilant celebration, reveling in the spoils of plunder. But there was not a soul among them who dared to speak up. It was all because of Elchen, who was seething with anger like a raging bull.
Due to the sudden loss of their precious battleship, Elchen was doing everything in his power to quell his rage and regain his composure. It was under these circumstances that a subordinate approached him, hesitating.
“Boss…”
“What is it?”
“We’ve detected life signs on the bioscanner. They seem to be in the captain’s quarters.”
“And?”
“Well, the door seems to be sealed, so we’ll have to breach it.”
“Damn it, do you need my permission to take a piss too?”
“Oh, no, sir!”
It was a signal to proceed. The subordinate prepared to breach the door with his comrades.
The one responsible for demolition shouldered the plasma cutter and began assembling it. He affixed the assembled plasma cutter in front of the door and operated the terminal connected to the machine.
As the cutter started working, it emitted a green beam that began cutting through the heavy door, which was over 50cm thick. By the time the thick smoke filled the corridor, the door to the captain’s quarters had been breached. One of the pirates leaned in to take a look from the outside when bullets flew at him from within.
“Damn it!”
“Hide, everyone!”
Starting with the pirate with a hole in his head, a hail of bullets poured out from inside the captain’s quarters. The pirates took cover behind the walls and retrieved their weapons, preparing to counterattack. However, Elchen stepped forward.
“Move aside, you bastards.”
Thanks to his genetic enhancements, Elchen’s skin had become so tough that unless hit directly by a plasma launcher, he wouldn’t even get a scratch. Amidst the hail of bullets, Elchen strolled forward as if he were taking a leisurely walk.
He gripped the hole in the melted door and exerted his strength, causing the 50 cm-thick steel door to twist like dough. Displaying his terrifying strength, he entered the captain’s quarters and began a massacre.
“Aaargh!”
“Monster!”
With every punch from Elchen, crew members turned into chunks of meat. While their boss went on a rampage, the pirates retaliated with suppressive fire from behind cover.
The crew members in the captain’s quarters had turned into corpses in the blink of an eye, leaving only one survivor. As Elchen was about to finish the job, the survivor shouted.
“W-wait! I surrender!”
“Surrender? The Dvara Cartel doesn’t accept that kind of thing.”
“No, I… I’m the ship’s medical officer! I’ll definitely be of help!”
Elchen relaxed his grip, his fist no longer threatening.
“A medical officer?”
“Yes, yes.”
“The captain’s not here, and the medical officer is in the captain’s quarters?”
Now that he thought about it, among the people he had dispatched, there was no captain.
“That damn… Well, fine. Where did the captain go, and why is the medical officer in the captain’s quarters?”
The medical officer, despite trembling with a sense of betrayal, didn’t hide anything. As things got more complicated, Elchen’s annoyance grew.
The battleship was wrecked, and the person who knew the whereabouts of the bodies had gone off to escape on the lifeboat. Elchen contemplated killing the medical officer but decided against it.
“Hey, smart one.”
“Yes?”
“You’re a medical officer, right? So you must know where the bodies are.”
“Um, well, yes.”
“That noble capital body, they said it was here. Where is it?”
“……”
The medical officer had no idea where Keisaragi Yujin’s body was. But to be honest, he lied because he didn’t think he’d see the next day if he told the truth.
“I-it’s with the… monster!”
“That bastard again? Why the hell is the monster carrying corpses?”
“He eats people.”
That statement meant that Elchen didn’t have much time left. Elchen sighed and gathered his subordinates.
“Listen up. The medical officer here says the monster has a body. We don’t have time to search every nook and cranny, so spread out and find it. Got it?”
“Yes!”
“Since that bastard is no pushover, go in groups of at least six. If any issues arise, report immediately through the communication device. Anyone slacking off, I’ll personally smash their heads in.”
“Yes, boss!”
“You, there. You’re coming with me.”
“Yes.”
The subordinates responded energetically and scattered. The medical officer watched them run off and thought about whether he should speak up now, but he was too afraid of Elchen to do so.
“Hey, medical officer.”
“Yes?”
“You said you wanted to be a pirate, good for you. We’ve been short on medical officers.”
“Oh, um, yes.”
“By any chance, do you have any expertise in genetic modification?”
“Yes? Um, yes, of course! Just leave it to me!”
Elchen continued talking, and the medical officer missed his chance to speak. Thanks to that, the information that the monster could imitate human voices remained buried.
***
‘Too bad.’
The crew members didn’t last as long as I thought they would, but considering that the boss is a Hulk mutant, it’s probably the expected outcome.
Hulk mutants are deployed in ground battles to destroy tanks and bipedal armored units. If a regular crew member even gets a scratch from such a monster, they should consider themselves lucky.
The boss left only one person among the crew members alive. Although I couldn’t see who had survived, I could guess.
‘It must be the medical officer.’
Space dogs are a group with a high mortality rate. Criminals, war orphans, the impoverished, retired soldiers, mercenaries, and all sorts of people are constantly coming and going. It’s a high-turnover group, so someone like a medical officer receives special treatment.
Anyway, whether the medical officer becomes a pirate or not doesn’t matter to me. After all, I have no intention of leaving any survivors on this ship.
The confrontation in the captain’s quarters ended faster than expected, but luckily, the enemies moved as I had anticipated.
‘They’re scattering, just as I thought.’
Except for the boss and one subordinate, the rest formed groups of six to search.
Since the pirates’ armament is not uniform, I don’t know what they’re carrying. However, it’s clear that their movements are unusual.
‘They’re almost like regular soldiers.’
Even when I captured the insectoid on the ship, he resisted to the end. Assuming they are not below average, they might be on par with regular soldiers.
‘Looks like they’ve spread out enough. Time to make my move.’
As I was about to leave the nest, No. 26 followed me.
?Hey, baby, Let me come with you.?
[ZZZZ (Inside)]
?I don’t want to.?
[ZZZZ (Why?)]
?I want to help too.?
Number 26 was like a child wanting to help their father. I lifted the little one and placed it on the nest, but they refused to give up and followed me.
Seeing the determination in Number 26, I recalculated the enemy’s strength once more.
‘Excluding the boss and that suspicious human, it shouldn’t be too difficult.’
I’ve fought with pirates countless times before. While I didn’t know the exact state of their armament, I was confident I could handle whatever they brought.
Moreover, if 26 was going to accompany me, the little one needed combat experience. There might be moments when I couldn’t protect it.
’26 needs to experience combat too. Even if it doesn’t provide direct assistance, it can’t be a hindrance.’
With my decision made, I allowed 26 to accompany me.
[ZZZZ ZZZZZZ ZZZZZZZZZZZZ (Be careful because the enemies are scary)]
?Yeah! Baby, be careful!?
The little one hopped onto my shoulder. Whether I liked it or not, I couldn’t stay mad at it.
‘Now, where to start?’
There are a total of four groups: Armory, Mess Hall, Cargo container, and Laboratory. As people who survive by plundering, their objectives are quite evident at each location.
‘Let’s start with the Armory.’
While most weapons in the Armory had likely been damaged during the stem escape, there might still be some in working condition. If the pirates got their hands on them, it would be troublesome.
I headed towards the Armory with 26 in tow.
***
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***
As we approached the Armory, the pirates entered my sensory range. Six pirates were moving clumsily towards the Armory’s entrance.
“What kind of plant grows all the way up to the door?”
“Yeah, we need to get rid of them to install the plasma cutter.”
Except for the one responsible for dismantling, the others drew their machetes. If it were a normal plant, their decision wouldn’t be unreasonable.
‘The problem is, it’s not a normal plant.’
Without knowing the enemy’s true identity, I needed to be more cautious in my thinking and judgment. Unfortunately, they were walking straight into their own doom.
“Charge!”
A member of the group swung his machete, cutting through the pods. As the pods burst, the viscous contents inside sprayed outward.
“What the hell is this?”
“Heh, looks like jizz.”
“You’re damn gross, man.”
One of the pirates, whose face was splattered with acidic goo, watched as his skin and muscles melted away, his jawbone falling off. His comrade, whose fingers were coated with neurotoxic secretion, collapsed, paralyzed from head to toe.
I appreciated the opportunity they had given me, so I accepted their fate with gratitude.
I rushed towards them with my bulked-up body.
“It’s him!”
“The monster appeared!”
“What the hell? He looks different from what we saw!”
Of course, I would. The footage they saw in the command center was taken before I acquired the physical enhancement type.
While I did have to go back to the command center while devouring the protesters, I had used smoke to conceal my appearance.
In other words, they don’t know anything about me. Fighting without sufficient information was a massive risk.
I picked up a pirate nearby.
“Cough!”
He spat out blood mixed with organ fragments from his mouth. Even without examining the inside, it was clear that his insides were a mess. I finished off the half-dead man with my tail.
In the meantime, the pirates regained their composure and pulled out their weapons, responding swiftly as experienced fighters. If they had been the research ship’s soldiers, they would have been dazed and unable to react to the sudden attack.
Red energy masses formed a fiery web as they collided with my chitinous exoskeleton.
‘If I hadn’t obtained the type, it would have been dangerous.’
My current exoskeleton was significantly tougher and thicker than before. My dark brown, almost black, exoskeleton protected not only my head and chest but also my limbs.
I truly resembled a knight in full plate armor from the space age, that’s what I looked like.
I ignored their attacks and charged ahead. With a gruesome sound, the pirates who stood before me turned into bloody messes.
I didn’t stop there; I extended my tentacles from my upper arms. The saw-blade tentacles, resembling venomous fangs, reached out and wrapped around the pirates’ waists.
“Argh!”
“Ah, my waist!”
Their waists were torn apart as if they had been sawed, and their innards spilled out.
“Die!”
Seeing their comrades dying in agony, one pirate lost his composure and rushed towards me.
The pirate belonged to the Insect Men species, and he must have thought that, with their superior physical abilities compared to humans, he could handle close combat. However, as things often go, what he expected didn’t happen.
The machete he swung was easily thwarted by my tail. I intended to finish him off, but 26, who was on my shoulder, jumped onto him.
“Grrrr!”
Suddenly, a pinkish, translucent, soap bubble-like substance stuck to the pirate’s face, causing him to panic. However, the intense pain that followed left him writhing helplessly.
It was because 26 had melted the substance with its unique appendage.
The insectoid, in his panic, tried to use his sharp, pointed fingernails to tear 26 apart.
‘I can’t let that happen.’
Even though 26 was hunting for a change, I couldn’t just leave it to get hurt. I lightly pricked the insectoid with my tail, injecting neurotoxin. The insectoid froze stiff, unable to move or react.
I entrusted 26 to deal with the insectoid and focused on handling the remaining pirate. The one responsible for dismantling was not attacking me but requesting support through his communicator.
“Hey, there’s a monster here!”
I approached from behind and firmly grabbed his four arms.
“Hyaaak?! C-come quick… Argh!”
Before the pirate could finish speaking, I opened my mouth wide and bit off his head. The terrifying bite force of the Amorph easily crushed his hardened skull and turned its contents into a gruesome pulp.
[What? Where are you?}
I quickly swallowed the brain of the pirate in charge of dismantling and activated the special device inside my throat.
“Uh, cough, it’s nothing.”
[What?!]
“It was just my mistake. There’s nothing here.”
[What the hell is wrong with you crazy bastard? Are you using the communicator to play around or something?]
“Sorry.”
I replied half-heartedly and turned off the communicator. The group in the Armory was now dealt with.
‘Should I keep the communicators?’
They might come in handy for electronic warfare. I doubted pirates would demand identification like the StarUnion.
With the communicators in hand, I approached 26, who was still having its meal. Its robust vitality, typical of Insectoid, seemed to be more of a disadvantage than an advantage. Seeing it writhing and trembling, I couldn’t help but feel a sense of pity.
‘But that doesn’t mean I’ll spare it.’
I couldn’t afford to let 26 get hurt when it was finally hunting. I lightly pricked it with my tail, injecting neurotoxin. The insectoid stiffened up like someone who had suddenly frozen in time.
I left 26 to deal with the insectoid and proceeded to handle the other corpses one by one. Among them was someone from the StarUnion. He was one of those I had sliced through the waist with my tentacles.
“Pl-please… spare me.”
In a cyborg-like manner, he was still alive despite having his upper and lower body separated. He desperately begged for mercy.
The StarUnion believed in the ideology that the frail human body should be replaced with machinery. They had a mindset opposite to the MegaCorp, which sought to improve genes to become better beings in their human state.
‘They’re both bad guys, no doubt about it.’
The StarUnion, aside from themselves, are the kind of folks who want to share their ‘blessing’ with other species. What I mean is, they modify other species they capture as prisoners into machines, regardless of the prisoner’s will.
The pirate in front of me appeared to be a modified human, as I could see mechanical components mixed among his internal organs.
He pleaded for mercy, his voice quivering, but I crushed his head beneath my foot. Artificial brain matter crumpled as sparks flew.
‘Mechanical, but can I eat it?’
Nevertheless, just to be safe, I separated the visible components and only put the flesh in my mouth. I tasted a strange mix of metallic sparks and the greasy texture, as if the taste had a hint of sizzling electricity.
‘…It’s kind of unique in flavor.’
Considering its appearance, it was surprisingly palatable. I finished eating the cyborg’s corpse.
I wiped my hands, which were smeared with oil, and a translucent text box appeared.
[‘Metamorph->Pre-Saint’ evolution conditions partially met.]
[First Intellectual Entity 10/10 (Achieved), Second Intellectual Entity 1/10 (Incomplete).]
‘Oh?’
I didn’t expect this, but it was good news. Just as I suspected, cyborgs were treated as a separate species in the game, just like in reality.
‘There were twelve of them on this ship, right?’
Once I devour all the cyborgs on the research vessel, I can immediately progress to the next stage of evolution.
Evolving into an Intellectual Entity so quickly by consuming the cyborgs within the research vessel was unexpected. It’s like a gift I hadn’t anticipated.
? Baby, what’s got you so excited??
[ZZZ ZZZ (Something like that)]
26, who had finished its meal, approached me. I gently stroked it and placed it on my shoulder.
It seemed like 26 was starting to look like Santa Claus, bringing me a bunch of gifts, despite being considered a cosmic disaster by some, known as the Space Dog.
***
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***