Recruitment

Matt walked over to one of the corners of the plant and crouched down as if he was inspecting something in the soil. Then, with a quick check over his shoulder, he downed half the bag of samples. As soon as it hit his tongue, it melted into a creamy substance. He swallowed it down with the excess saliva in his mouth and the notification rang in his head. The taste and progress were a satisfying combination.

[1 Evolution Point Gained.]

In order to keep his actions hidden, he only ate enough for a single point. Although he could have been greedier and harmed the plant to acquire a large chunk, it would expose him. The scrapings he took were more than enough to purify into DNA. He brought the remaining material to the freezer and labeled it. Matt could begin working immediately on the analysis, but decided to wait for Dr. Bradshaw in order to stay on his good side. He grabbed the basket of nuts and stashed it in his room immediately then went for dinner.

On his way to the cafeteria, many people from security were walking together for a meal as well. When they happened to spot Matt, they invited him to have dinner with them again. Apparently, the captain was in a good mood and decided to celebrate. Matt pretended to be hesitant at first, but when they mentioned Alexis would be there, he pretended to change his mind for her. Celebration with the captain meant those mysterious blood sausages would be served.

Matt assumed the good mood from the captain was related to the alien threat. He thought about asking Alexis what really happened today, but decided to resist. He would think about a way to bring up him possibly joining the Second Strike squad. If he could get current members on his side, or even the captain's referral, it would be a huge boon.

Steak and sausage meant he would gain another two evolution points today. If he also finished off those nuts, Matt could level DNA absorption one more time before the medical exam. Although it wouldn't make a difference, he liked to make little objectives for himself to stay focused on survival.

The group led him to the table where Alexis was telling a story in a voice too low to hear from his distance. The group started bursting out in laughter at the end of the story by the time Matt sat down. He naturally sat next to Alexis. His relationship with her started to feel like a free pass to the captain's table.

"What were you just telling them about?"

"Ah, during the drill today, we had to rescue some of the engineering members from the bathroom outside of the reactor room. Apparently, someone accidently engaged the emergency lock. The looks on their faces was priceless."

"Yeah, they had to squeeze together in a one-person bathroom haha."

"Why is there even a bathroom that small anyway?"

The people at the table continued their banter and Matt only listened in without interrupting. Soon the meals were served and Matt started to cut into his steak. He was happy to be able to steadily gain evolution points with normal human behavior.

He had begun to think of ways to have a lunch menu that would grant him evolution points as well, but the AI was very strict on what foods were allowed. He had to eat a lot of greens that he never ate in his previous life in order for the AI to let him have steak every night. Half way through his steak, he felt the energetic feeling of gaining an evolution point that he had grown accustomed to. However, there was still half a steak left, so he checked his status to make sure what he felt was truly an evolution point.

[Host: Matthew O'Connely

Status: Grade 0 Parasite

Evolution Points (EP): 2

Abilities: <Perfect Mimicry Lv. Max>, <Improved Metabolism Lv. 1>

Skills: <DNA Absorption Lv. 4>, <Drug Resistance Lv. Max>, <Weak Hypnosis Lv. 0>, <Weak Transformation Lv. 0>, <Weak Spawning Lv. 0>]

'This is the first time I've eaten dinner since leveling my DNA Absorption. This must mean I went over the threshold to gain two points from a single steak meal. This gives me an idea about how many total points I can get from steak. I should earn yet another point at level eight for a single dish. If I can increase my portions, I may even be able to get four.'

"Alright, who's ready for the captains special dish?"

"Ah… actually I have to go my dog's calling me."

"Get back here soldier, you don't have a dog."

"Quit complaining, you can't get this 'exotic' dish without the captain's approval."

Matt was excited when he heard about the dish, but he went along with the crowd and was jokingly reluctant. This seemed to be some sort of hazing ritual based on his two experiences. He also was able to learn a few things from their banter. These sausages were not available at regular times. This also meant that the captain must be aware of what is in them, otherwise such a restriction wouldn't be there.

'Human meat or otherwise, bring on the evolution points!'

A large plate of sausages was brought to the table and the soldiers began to grab their own. In order not to see too excited, Matt waited until half of them were taken. He took his large serving and dug in. There were many strategies among the security members when eating the sausages.

The most popular is eating it all in one go to get it over with. Some more eccentric folk savored the taste. The captain seemed to focus more on those who seemed to like the flavor which made Matt suspicious. He downed the sausage and a cup of alcohol quickly and burped.

<Warning: Grade 2 Genetic Material unable to be completely absorbed due to inefficient level.>

[1 Evolution Point Gained.]

While he was admiring the evolution point notification, one of the higher ranked members called out to him.

"Hey Dr. O'Connely, I saw you joining the Lieutenant Commander at the centrifuge. I didn't know you were the athletic type."

"Hah! You should see him, he's a monster at training. Just a week and he's already used to two times gravity." Alexis was trying to praise him, but ended up catching the captains attention which made Matt frustrated.

"Is that so. Dr. O'Connely, are you interested in applying for one of the strike forces?"

"Yes, Captain. Alexis and I discussed it, and I initially turned the idea down, but after seeing the combat suit up close I have reconsidered."

"Very straightforward, I like it. Join Lt. Commander Alexeyev in the third military bay tomorrow. Wear your boot camp uniform."

Since he had finished his meal and said those words to Matt, he got up with a few of the other bridge crew and left the cafeteria. Hearing how easily he got accepted made him a bit suspicious. However, he could only keep the suspicion in the back of his mind since he couldn't do anything about it. Since he had become an unofficial member of security by eating sausages together, the others didn't seem to mind a newcomer at all.

"This is great, now I can kick your ass in public."

"There wasn't anything holding you back before…"

"I was being considerate of your degree and reputation."

"Well, I must thank the lady then."

While the two of them had their banter, the others looked over with sly smiles.

"You two have a pretty good relationship, it's no wonder you are the first in the squad to have a kid."

"Tch, talking bad about your superior? I sense someone wanting to double their training regimen."

Matt tuned them out and turned his attention to his status. He began to do some mental calculations about how many Evolution Points he could earn in the next few days. Since he would be joining the military training to see if he qualified to enter a strike force, he would naturally need more food. He currently had three points. Seven more points would bring him to the first major milestone in DNA Absorption after he evolved it.

Once that reached level five, he would stockpile his points and wait for his medical examination to finish. He did not want to be suffering from the aftereffects of evolution during his check lest something be discovered. Also, being a higher-grade lifeform might be easier to detect. There were benefits to doing it immediately, but the abilities in tier one weren't very powerful until they were leveled up. He would also spend the next six days before the test going over the advantages and disadvantages of each branch. With this, he could immediately evolve after being examined.

"Want to have a go tonight?" Alexis said on their way back to their room. Matt had been deep in his thoughts and hadn't realized they were already half way back.

"You can save the ass kicking for tomorrow."

"That's not what I meant…" She gave him a wink and ran on ahead to their room.