010

–

Megacorp officially does not have a capital city.

This is because as the entire country became corporate, all terms were replaced with words used by companies. For example, the Space Marines are called the Crisis Management Team and the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, which oversees the entire industry, is called the Resource Management Team.

Although the term capital is not used, there was a place in Megacorp that could be called the center.

That place is Earth. This is what they call headquarters.

The backbone of Megacorp is located on that Earth.

Five companies contributed to establishing Megacorp. They were the kings of Earth.

Among those now called the Five Great Families, the Eugene family had roots in the region formerly called East Asia.

Eugene Agriculture, which started as a common business in a small country called South Korea, did not forget its origins even after becoming a giant corporation commanding the galaxy.

The ancient capital of the country, which has already disappeared, became the mansion of the Eugene family. This is not a metaphor; the entire city was the living space of the Eugene family.

Inside the huge dome-shaped 'mansion', there was a maglev train and a small plane for movement, and there was even an artificial sun at the top of the dome for the internal ecosystem.

This place, which is about a century ahead of other planets, was inhabited by the people of the Eugene family and tens of millions of 'tools' that served them.

In the middle of a mansion filled with all kinds of high-tech, there was an old cabin and garden.

This is where Akira Eugene, the head of the Eugene family, resides.

Akira Eugene.

A leader in the solar system who served as CEO of Megacorp three times.

He was currently cultivating a small vegetable garden.

Although he was over 200 years old, thanks to genetic modification, he only looked middle-aged.

Two men in suits were standing near the garden. One was an old man with graying hair, and the other was a young man.

It's already been an hour since they came here.

There might have been complaints, but they said nothing.

A domestic dog does not bark until its owner orders it to do so. They waited until Akira finished his business.

Akira, who had been plowing the field with a hoe, finally got up.

"You made me wait a long time. "Come here."

At Akira's words, the younger of the two approached him.

"What's going on?"

"It's your business."

"miss?"

Akira tilted his head. The man added one word.

"This is Lady Kisaragi."

"Oh, she was the third daughter."

Akira smiled as if he finally remembered. The eyes of the old man who was watching this in silence twitched slightly.

"okay. "What happened to Kisaragi?"

"The lady's beacon has been destroyed."

It was clear what that meant. That Yujin Kisaragi is dead.

Akira frowned.

"That can't be possible. "I didn't ask Kisaragi to do anything burdensome."

"The last signal came from C-08. "I checked and it's Space Dog's territory."

"Hmm."

Akira, who was nodding while listening to the man's words, raised the arm holding the hoe upwards.

Then he hit the man's head.

The man with the hoe stuck in his head fell to the ground without even being able to scream. Akira didn't stop there, he pulled out the hoe again and continued slashing at the man's face.

The sound of meat being minced filled the garden.

Akira, whose face and hands were covered in brain pulp and blood, threw the hoe onto the corpse.

"Clean it up."

"yes."

The old man snapped his fingers as if this was not the first time this had happened. Then, people in black suits outside came into the garden. They quickly disappeared carrying the body.

"Homi is not very good. The most important thing for us is tools. "You know, right?"

"yes. "I will be careful."

"okay."

The reason the man died was simple. This was because Akira answered something he didn't ask twice.

"The money spent on raising Kisaragi is 1 billion credits. "The amount is equivalent to the cost of developing a new battleship."

"…."

"They even ordered me to undergo genetic improvement treatment because my body was weak. "Can a pirate or something like that touch that child?"

Akira took a towel out of his pocket and wiped his face.

"I wonder who would dare harm the Eugene family's favorite child."

"…."

"The ship Kisaragi is on. "The captain was Yoo Seong Samuel, right?"

"yes."

"If it's the Samuel family, it's the satellite Titan. The Edgerton guys are interested."

Edgerton is a prime capital with influence on Mars. Although it was one step behind Noble Capital, it was still a competitor for the position of leader of Megacorp.

"So, did Edgerton plan it? no. Edgerton's brat is a coward. "I don't have the courage to sink my teeth into the Eugene family."

The kid he was talking about is the current head of the Edgerton family. In the world, it is called the tiger of Mars. Akira treated someone who displayed such great authority as a lowly child.

The butler knew that Akira had been serving as the head of the Eugene family while the head of the Egerton family was assassinated twice.

That's why the deacon dared to make this statement.

The old monster in front of me is qualified to say that.

"If not Edgerton, who else? Hey kid. "What do you think?"

"I think T&C may have intervened."

The butler answered immediately.

Akira's eyes were bent into a crescent moon shape, as if he liked the sight.

"haha. "You think the same as me."

"…."

"T&C and Edgerton seem to be fighting for control of Jupiter, but they are actually in the same boat. "Because Edgerton's credit comes from T&C."

The butler didn't show it, but inside he was very surprised. I was only guessing, but I didn't know that the two actually made a secret pact.

The fact that the ruler of Earth, TNC, and the Martian nobleman Egerton were united was a top secret among secrets. So much so that almost no one knows about it except the heads of the two families.

It was unfortunate for both families, but Akira was one of the people who knew about it.

"That snake-like guy is probably thinking of subduing Kisen before the board meeting. "You know that, right?"

Akira handed the blood-soaked towel to the butler.

"yes. T&C's matriarch, Saddam Chamberlain, is looking to take on the position of CEO, or matriarch."

"Yes. That cocky little guy. "Seeing as how they are determined to target me, I must be scared."

Akira burst out laughing as if the situation was quite amusing. The butler waited silently in front of him, who was covered in blood and smiling.

The butler felt nothing because he had seen Akira's antics for decades.

He, who was laughing heartily, suddenly stopped laughing. There was no expression on his face, as if the smile he had just moments before was a lie.

"The cause is ours, so let's attack first. "Tell everyone in the family."

"yes."

"and."

For the first time, life appeared in Akira's expressionless face.

"Anyone who destroys my assets deserves to die. Those who have anything to do with Samuel the Meteor and the ship. "Bring every single person to me."

"yes."

"There is a shadow lurking around C-08. Contact him and deal with it."

"…All right."

The butler was startled by the word shadow.

'Shadow' refers to a special unit directly under the head of the family. They were mutant soldiers who had undergone extreme genetic modification and were notorious for their enormous power and cruel hands.

'There will be a bloody wind blowing.'

Now that the shadow is gone, the future of Yoo Seong Samuel and his subordinates has been decided.

A fate so cruel that they would rather think death is a mercy awaits them.

The butler, who had sent some consolation to them somewhere beyond the universe, quietly retreated.

A time when a huge war and merciless massacre is being decided somewhere on Earth.

Samuel Samuel's ship was struck by an unexpected disaster.

"What kind of shit situation is this?!"

Yoosung felt like he wanted to faint.

In front of him was a morgue, or rather a morgue. Because of the sudden fire, only a pile of ashes remained where the morgue was.

The crisis management team leader called his subordinates who were on guard.

"What happened?"

"That…"

The soldiers tensed up under the sharp gaze of the crisis management team leader. They stammered and explained what they had seen.

"There was smoke inside? "It was strange, so I went in and saw that there was a fire."

"That's right."

The soldiers said that during the security guard, a strange smell and smoke came from inside.

In principle, only doctors were allowed to enter, so they did not enter the morgue and waited for a doctor to shift.

As time passed and the smoke did not stop, the soldiers had no choice but to open the door and enter.

What greeted them was not a doctor, but a raging fire.

"I don't understand. "How can there be a fire in a place where there are nothing but corpses?"

"How did this happen?"

The medical team leader who arrived late was shocked when he saw the scene.

The captain, who was supposed to explain the situation, was in a dazed state, so the crisis management team leader gave a brief explanation instead.

After hearing the whole story, the medical team leader's expression hardened.

"If you think about the chemicals in the morgue, it could start a fire, but it's rare for a fire to be this large."

"What do you mean?"

The medical team leader kept his mouth shut as he looked at those around him.

'Man-made fire.'

As the medical team leader said, if there is an arsonist among the crew, the situation becomes more serious.

The intention of setting fire to this place where the body of the research team leader was kept was also clearly suspicious.

"…Let's check the body first."

"I guess so."

After putting out the fire, the soldiers took out the bodies. The medical team leader carefully checked the burned bodies.

"This person is a team member who has been working overtime."

It was hard to see because he was extremely burned from his upper body to his head, but I was able to tell by looking at the ring on his hand that it was a subordinate who was working overtime today.

Reflecting on the bitterness of his subordinate's death, the medical team leader completed the autopsy on the remaining body. And I realized that there are people who don't have any of these.

"Is this all the body here?"

"yes. "Why are you doing that?"

"…."

The medical team leader left, taking the captain and other team leaders with him.

He distanced himself enough that others could not hear and revealed that some of the bodies were missing.

"The bodies of the security guard and the research team leader are missing?"

"yes."

"The body didn't walk away, so is that possible?"

"Medical team leader. "Are you sure you saw it correctly?"

"I checked it again and again. "Exactly two bodies are missing."

Following the death of the research team leader, a mysterious arson incident has now occurred.

'Someone inside is attacking us.'

That fact flashed through everyone's minds.

"It's not a ghost, so it can't be…"

"Is it possible that there are unidentified alien creatures on board?"

"hey! Does this sound like a joke? "Stop talking nonsense!"

"No, I'm just saying this. Why is the head of the material management team so excited?"

"Hmm. Oh, it's nothing."

"The biggest problem is that the body of the research team leader is not there. "Didn't you decide to rendezvous with the pirates in C-08?"

Yoosung's face became pale when someone raised a problem. If Kisaragi's body was lost, he had no cards left.

Yooseong urgently ordered.

"We must find the body at all costs! Do you understand?"

"First, find the culprit…"

"Damn it! This isn't just my problem. "If you are worried about retaliation from Noble Capital, please cooperate as much as possible!"

What Yooseong said was right. It was inevitable that Yujin Kisaragi died, but there was no excuse for not being able to take the body.

It was clear that at least the bodies had to be left intact, otherwise a future more terrible than death would engulf them.

"Crisis management team leader."

"yes. "Captain."

"Have you ever contacted me?"

"yes. "I did it right after the meeting ended."

"shit. "Just don't talk about this and say the body will be handed over normally."

"Are you okay?"

"If you find it and have no way to deal with it, that is also a problem. All you have to do is find it before the rendezvous."

It was a risky gamble, but the crisis management team leader did not point that out. I don't know about Yoosung, but he was thinking of something else in his mind.

He lowered his head with an expressionless face, like an assassin hiding a dagger in his arms.

Yoo Seong called the security team leader after the crisis management team leader.

Since the security team leader was not responsible for the messed up situation, he seemed quite intimidated.

Yoosung placed both hands on his shoulders.

"You know? "The culprit must be caught."

"I'm already doing my best…."

"It's not the best I can do. You can search the entire crew to find the culprit. "I will delegate full authority in this regard."

Even though the captain said he would hand over all authority, the security team leader's expression did not brighten.

'Can I catch it?'

To be honest, I wasn't sure, but I couldn't say that.

"I will definitely find it."

"I believe it."

The security team leader had no choice but to act confident and answer.

While everyone was panicking, the culprit who created this situation was looking down at them from the vent in the ceiling.

When the team leaders dispersed, 'it' quietly followed one of them.

–

'Things went very well.'

A way to hide my identity and confuse my enemies.

It was a fire.

You can start a fire by mixing chemicals in the morgue. It was an act that was difficult to imagine that an alien creature would do.

Of course, since no one came in from outside, they would be suspicious, but they would think it was a human act and would not suspect me.

After eating the entire body of the guard, I scrounged up all the medicine in the morgue. When a few drops of acid blood were dropped on the toxic substance, the flames quickly rose.

'The reinforced exoskeleton is resistant to fire.'

Flames enveloped my body, but I barely felt any heat. I leisurely passed through the fire and climbed up to the ceiling of the morgue.

As I waited a little distance away from the morgue, people started coming. The fire was extinguished quickly, but most of the things inside had turned to ashes.

The body was handled well and went smoothly, but there was one time when it was almost dangerous.

'I never thought there would be talk about alien creatures.'

I thought I was losing my senses because the team leader had such good sense.

The material management team leader complained, so the story about the alien creature was buried.

After that, the captain and team leaders poured out important information without even knowing that I was listening.

'A pirate. The captain is also out of his mind.'

I know Space Dog well. It's like an alliance of various pirate races, but they call themselves space trash and conquerors of the universe.

Occasionally, he will accept requests and work as a mercenary, but if he is not successful, he will immediately betray him. What's worse, it would be said that it's better to trust Amorph, who can't communicate, than to trust Space Dog.

Presumably, the captain planned a meeting to blame the pirates for Kisaragi's death. If he knew even a little more about Space Dog, he would never make that choice.

I don't think the captain would have chosen such a stupid option on his own, and it was clear that someone had influenced it.

'It looks like the crisis management team leader took the lead. 'I should check that person too.'

Maybe he's in cahoots with pirates.

'What should I do if pirates are targeting this ship?'

It's a pirate attack. It's not just good or bad.

The advantage is that since Space Dogs are made up of multiple races, the range of genetic essence that I can secure expands. If you target when pirates attack a research ship, you can easily obtain various genes.

'The downside is that the number of genetic essences obtained from the research ship is reduced.'

I don't know how many people there are on the pirate side, but from what I could see, the chances of this research ship winning were slim. Even the soldiers on guard are wearing reinforced uniforms, but there is no way they can beat the pirates who loot and fight for a living. Most of my crew will die during the battle, which will reduce the number of Essences I can consume.

'Let's hold off on this part.'

I think it would be possible to judge by looking at the level of the pirates.

While I was lost in thought, the meeting ended.

As everyone went about their respective tasks, my secondary senses picked up on something unusual.

'That person?'

There was something strange about the material management team leader who strongly denied my existence.

I was pretending to be fine on the outside, but I wasn't on the inside. My heartbeat was faster than that of other people, and cold sweat flowed from my back, which was covered by my clothes. It was a typical symptom that appears when one is nervous.

'Why are you nervous?'

He probably had nothing to do with this.

I tried to return to the nest, but my interest arose. I followed in the footsteps of the material management team leader.

Even on his way, he kept glancing behind him.

'What kind of pot of honey was hidden there that would cause such a reaction?'

He, who was walking while being wary of his surroundings, stopped.

The place where his steps stopped was in front of the cargo bay.