060

Ep. 60

The sound of footsteps overhead died down.

'It's time to move.'

I pressed the terminal on the reinforced suit I was holding. The power energy that activates the suit's functions has almost been lost, but it doesn't matter since I'm not going to wear it anyway.

Once the cloaking function is activated, my outer shell will do the rest.

'It works.'

When I operated the terminal located on my right wrist, the reinforced suit glowed softly and quickly disappeared before my eyes. It's working well, now it's my turn.

I activated the metal absorption trait and bit into the armored suit. The tough synthetic fibers were torn to shreds by my teeth, and the mixed pieces of metal were absorbed into my body.

Then, the characteristic effect activated and my body began to blur.

｢Adult?｣

Eventually, when my appearance completely disappeared, Adhai looked around and looked for me.

｢Little baby, what's wrong?｣

｢Adult｣｢Disappearing｣

｢It's over there?｣

｢Feeling｣｢Can't see｣

No. 26 didn't sense any changes in my body, perhaps because he doesn't sense his surroundings with his eyes. On the other hand, Aadhai, which recognizes its surroundings with its eyes and tentacles, seemed strange to me that I could sense it with its tentacles but could not see it.

[Zuzuzu (I'm here)]

｢Adult｣｢I can't see｣

[Zuzuzu (hiding)]

｢Adult｣｢Hide｣｢Perfection｣

Aadhai nods his head in admiration.

'The effect seems to have been proven.'

I was about to leave the nest with peace of mind, but No. 26, who could see me, followed me.

[zuzuzu zuzu (not this time)]

｢Why?｣

[zuzuzu zuzuzu zuzu (you have to go alone)]

｢Can't you help me?｣

[zuzuzu zuzu zuzu (I have to do this alone)]

｢ "Yeah…"

When I firmly refused, he looked gloomy and shrunk. Adhai, who followed, also noticed and cowered as well.

I can hide, but they don't. People will never think positively when they see a giant jellyfish the size of their waist and a flying tentacled lizard.

I was about to leave the guys and go, but I felt eyes on my back.

'…Would I rather do it this way?'

If something goes wrong, a big battle could break out inside the hospital. Since the current board meeting is just around the corner, we cannot completely rule out the possibility that new enemies will visit the hospital.

'Meeting Team Jade in real life was unexpected.'

It's not a particularly bad strategy to have them on standby nearby, just in case.

After making my decision, I called the guys.

[Zuzuzu (follow me)]

I took the guys and headed to the hole connected to the subway tracks.

On the way, I explained the plan to the guys.

[Zuzu zuzuzu zuzuzu (I can't go with you)]

｢Yes.｣

[Zuzu zuzuzu zuzuzu zuzu (Instead, wait where I said)]

｢Like you did before?｣

[Zu (Yes)]

"Okay."

I took out the communicator from the bag I had kept while catching this reporter and showed it to No. 26.

I plan to give this reporter's communicator to them and use the communicator that the sniper had.

After entering the reporter's contact information into the sniper's communicator, he handed the reporter's communicator to No. 26.

[Zuzuzu zuzuz zuzuz (If it rings, that's a signal)]

"Yes."

No. 26 pulled out a tentacle and held on tightly to the communicator.

After giving the communicator, I explained to No. 26 where I was and how to find me. Perhaps thanks to his increased intelligence, he quickly understood my explanation.

By the time the explanation was over, we had arrived at the hole leading to the tracks. I told the kids to wait here and then approached the hole.

'I'm getting bigger so I need to make it wider.'

Perhaps because the force was much stronger, it was very easy to destroy the walls around the hole.

[Zuzuzuzu (I'll be back)]

"Be careful."

Leaving behind the people who were worried, I crawled out onto the track.

I ran along the tracks toward the station near the hospital, avoiding the occasional passing subway. The passage was wide enough for two subways to pass at the same time, and was filled with the sound of the subway moving in the distance and the sound of my own footsteps.

'Maybe it's because of the added weight, but it's noisy.'

When I enter the hospital, I feel like I have to cling to the wall or ceiling. Marks on the wall will arouse the suspicion of androids, but it's better than getting caught right away because of the noise.

Perhaps because my body has strengthened, it took less than 3 minutes to get to the station, whereas before it would have taken 5 minutes.

Although it was getting late at night, there were still quite a few people on the platform. I waited close to the track wall.

After a while, the train came in and the platform was filled with people getting off and getting on. The bustle created by the crowd did not last long.

After the train left, there were very few people left on the platform. I carefully crawled up the wall and got out of the platform.

Most of the stores in the station were already closed or preparing to close their shutters.

Still, it wasn't like there were no people at all, so I crawled close to the ceiling.

"what? "Why is there dust on your shoulder?"

"What is that on the ceiling? "It looks like there's a crack?"

Along the way, a few tourists were talking about the traces I had made as I passed by. Fortunately, thanks to the advanced optical camouflage effect, no one spotted me.

After getting out of the station, I ran towards the hospital.

There were people left on the street, but no one noticed my presence. There were people who tilted their heads when they heard my footsteps, but that was it.

Easily arriving in front of the hospital, I headed toward the back door instead of the front lobby. After confirming that there was no one in sight at the back door, I went in at once and went up the emergency stairs.

'Originally, I thought about using the window.'

It's so big that you can't get in through the window. As I was trying to climb the wall and climb over the second floor to the third floor, the staircase door opened.

"Noise detection."

The enemy that appeared was an android. The moment he closed the door, my tail hit his head like a thunderbolt.

In line with its increased size, the poisonous needle is now almost as big as the blade attached to a long spear. The android's head was shattered on the spot because it was hit by a weapon that could easily be called a poisonous sword rather than a poisonous needle.

'Because it's not captured on camera.'

I don't know if he switched to heat vision before he died, but he didn't have the chance. Just in case, I even destroyed the memory storage device in his body.

I pushed the remains of the android to the corner of the stairs and looked outside with my assistive device before opening the door. An android passed through the hallway and entered another hospital room.

After confirming that no one was there, I opened the door and went out into the hallway.

'William…is this way.'

Following the path guided by the assistant, I moved to the intensive care unit located at the end of the hallway on the left.

I was just about to open the door to the hospital room when my auxiliary organ detected something abnormal.

'what?'

I feel something downstairs.

A very powerful mass of energy. Four high-density energy aggregates that are incomparable to androids are coming up through the first floor lobby.

'If there is energy stronger than that of an android…'

there is only one.

'Advanced reinforced clothing!'

If it can be detected from such a long distance, it is truly a reinforced suit that focuses on high output and high firepower.

'Why are the reinforced uniforms that can only be seen on the front lines here?'

The enemy is coming up the stairs opposite. I was afraid he might come this way, so I quickly hid in the operating room next to me.

"I noticed the door was open…"

In the operating room, only the cleaning android remained. I hit him on the head with my fighting arm before he could finish his sentence.

After removing the Android, I quietly held my breath. The mechanical sound of a thick and solid armor suit was heard from across the hallway.

"I guess it's here."

"I don't know what kind of person this is, Vice-Captain, who ordered us to escort him."

"This is a strict order given by His Majesty. "He told me to pay special attention."

"We are Your Majesty's sword. "When orders come down, I just follow them."

The tone of speech felt like something out of a historical drama, but it was distorted by the mechanical sound and sounded very strange. It felt like special forces from a space empire in a classic science fiction game.

'A knight of the universe.'

Two possible forces come to mind.

The first place that comes to mind is Carmelda.

Among the Megacorp powers, Noble Capital is in charge of armored clothing and Android development. Reinforced clothing is a very important element in Megacorp play along with genetic enhancement, so it is one of the factions that Megacorp users often choose.

'Not Carmelda. 'They don't talk that way.'

As far as I know, the only force within Megacorp that has a feudal political system is the Martian nobleman Egerton. Prime Capital is in charge of ship development. Unlike other families, it has a unique culture where the head of the family is the monarch and the elders and vassals are called lords.

'Did Egerton come here after receiving reinforcements?'

Originally, the Edgerton family specialized in fleet warfare in space and were not very strong in ground warfare. The families in charge of ground warfare in Megacorp are the Eugene family and the Carmelda family, not them.

'It was the same with the arming of the police last time. Enemies are also evolving.'

Things that cannot happen in games keep happening. The upper-tier families within Megacorp do not get along very well with each other, so they rarely cooperate like this unless they are users.

Is this difference because this is reality? Or is it because the new system has been updated like I received the Transcendence system?

'It's an unknown problem right now.'

I again focused on the conversation coming from the next room.

"Android says it will take about 3 hours for this person to wake up."

"Did the vice-captain say anything else?"

"He asked me to bring him his physical examination data and doctor's note when he wakes up."

"Did you decide it was a mental problem? Even though he was pathologically thin, I was really surprised when he suddenly shot himself."

From what I heard, it seems like they are planning to take William with him when he wakes up.

'We have to sort it out here.'

I held the auxiliary organ under my chin close to the wall. This is to determine the location of enemies in the intensive care unit next to the operating room.

'The number is 4. Two were at the door and the other was next to William. And one is getting closer to this side.'

With the auxiliary device in place, I kept my tail straight for a surprise attack. As soon as the enemy came close, I planned to pierce the enemy along with the wall with my tail.

Then I heard the enemies talking.

"But since the escort is the escort, the surveillance system will be activated."

"I do the same."

"huh?"

"uh?"

Next, regular warning sounds came from the enemies' thick armor.

'this.'

I quickly pulled myself away from the wall. Almost immediately, the wall broke and a fist like a cannonball appeared.

From beyond the dust, four knights in silver armor pointed guns that looked like pistol-style grenade launchers at me.

'Plasma Bolter!'

That's dangerous.

I quickly broke down the wall and ran out into the hallway. A green flash flashed behind me and the operating room was literally reduced to dust, not metaphorically.

The plasma bolter is a kind of transitional weapon that came out before the plasma pistol was developed.

It looks like a mix of the characteristics of a concrete nail gun based on a pistol-type grenade launcher, and condensed plasma energy is fired from the muzzle instead of conventional ammunition.

As a plasma weapon, it has excellent destructive power, but it is extremely heavy because it failed to be lightweight.

However, other than being heavy, there were no particular drawbacks, so it was suitable for use as a general-purpose weapon by combat units wearing advanced reinforced clothing.

This is because advanced strengthening clothing has a muscle strengthening function, so it can easily withstand the weight and recoil of the bolt.

Thanks to this, the plasma pistol was developed, but the bolter was still able to remain in service.

"It's an unidentified monster."

"I am in charge of guarding the person."

"Please do me a favor."

"Then let's go."

Three enemies wearing silver advanced armored uniforms are coming this way. As I saw it coming exactly in the direction where I was hiding, it seemed like my biological signals were picked up by the enemy's surveillance system.

'This is why concealment won't be effective.'

Advanced reinforced suit and plasma bolter. This is not an easy opponent.

Last time, I fought a sniper wearing an advanced reinforced suit, but the situation is different now than in that case.

'If you upgrade to high-power armor, your defense will be very high.'

The enemy's defense is probably comparable to the outer walls of a warship. My claws have also been strengthened with type effects and full organic effects, but it would be impossible to destroy a high-level reinforced suit all at once.

The spiny bone launcher, which has an excellent penetrating effect, is a weapon that can deliver an effective hit to the enemy right away.

'Should I use the monster's tentacles?'

I was shocked for a moment, but immediately shook my head. If you overdo it and get counterattacked in a situation where you do not have a superpower enhancement type, there is no turning back.

'…Should I use that ability?'

I opened a text box while detecting enemy movement.

｢*'Symbol of Hunting': When applied, the probability of the predation effect increases significantly. The effects of all possessed characteristics are strengthened. Resistant to all types of attacks. The duration is 10 minutes.

A symbol of hunting that can be used once a day. This is a technique that I have not used yet due to limitations.

Originally, it was planned to be used to target large amounts of genetic essence. The plan was to secretly prey on the cult and various tourists in the commercial district, but everything went awry because of William.

'no. Let's think positively.'

It's a skill that needs to be tested at least once anyway, so this is a good opportunity.

There will be a suitable demonstration partner here. I activated the symbol of hunting.

The moment I activated it, my vision was bathed in darkness.

'what?'

The skin covering my head grew rapidly and covered everything except my mouth and auxiliary organs. Vision disappeared, and the precision of the senses of the auxiliary organs increased to the limit.

Thanks to this, I was able to accurately recognize the changes in my body.

My body is evolving now.