162

Ep. 162

"Captain Ha? "Aaaah!"

"Fuck you, everyone retreat!"

"Hee hee hee!"

The cyborgs who gathered in the situation room after hearing the captain's words started screaming and freaking out as soon as they saw me. Unlike some cyborgs, they didn't even have their eyes modified, so they recognized my presence right away.

'Sometimes it's better not to know.'

The actions taken by the cyborgs when they saw me were quite diverse.

"Please save me, please save me, please save me…kkeu!"

The type that has lost the will to fight. They knelt down and prayed until their hands were worn out, and then their necks were ripped out by me.

"Fuck! You're like a traitor to the Star Union! "I will punish it myself… AAAAAAH!"

The type of person who expresses anger towards the betrayed captain. As they ran towards the captain, I was cut by a bone blade arm on my back, separating my upper and lower body.

And last.

"Everyone hide behind cover!"

"We have to subdue him!"

There were only a few cyborgs that attacked me without losing their fighting spirit. They attacked me while hiding behind a computer or mechanical device in the situation room.

Bullets from a pulse gun using depleted uranium bullets rain down on my body.

Every time that happens, the outer shell, or 'scales', inside the fur shake like waves and absorb the impact of the bullet.

｢Synthetic Scales: Replaces the outer shell with synthetic scales. "Synthetic scales can be used to harden specific areas."

Currently, all of the outer skin surrounding my body has been replaced with tiny scales. This is thanks to the new trait 'Synthetic Scales' obtained by eating a Screamer.

The true value of this trait is that it can harden the body's weaknesses. When a physical shock occurs, defense power can be greatly improved temporarily by changing the arrangement of the scales in the relevant area.

'With this trait, you can protect the monster's tentacles and auxiliary organs.'

Now, in a state that symbolizes hunting, the auxiliary organs are covered with a shell and are hardened, but in the normal state, this is not the case.

I approached the cyborgs while covering myself with a rain of bullets.

"Fuck you! "The attack didn't work at all… Wow!"

"Everyone retreat! "Retreat!"

The cyborg, which bravely fired bullets even as I got closer, was butchered by four bone blades under my chin.

The cyborgs, who knew that the bullets were useless, tried to escape while their colleagues were being attacked. The tail flew towards the enemies who turned their backs to run away.

"Ahh!"

A cyborg that was relatively nearby was hit by my tail and flew away, hitting the wall. At least it's good that he died without pain.

"Let go of this!"

The cyborg struggled as it was caught by the claws at the end of its tail, but soon screamed as the claws tightened.

The sturdy metal skeleton of the Screamer is also crushed by claws. There is no way the cyborg could hold out.

The cyborg spewed bodily fluids mixed with internal organs from its mouth and quickly became a corpse. After casually throwing the corpse away, I chased after the fleeing cyborgs.

"Now wait, wait, wait, wait, ahhh!"

"Hee hee hee hee hee hee, stop it…cough! "Kekkeek!"

Before the hunt was over, most of the cyborgs inside the hull were eliminated. Except for a few people.

'Because I need to plant parasites.'

The maximum limit for 'parasitic colony' strengthened by type effect is 10 people. Since one bird went into the Mother of Heaven, there were only 9 survivors left.

"Kkeak kkeu, I will follow my new master."

In the situation room that was covered in blood, cyborgs controlled by parasites knelt before me.

There are two reasons for keeping them alive.

Currently, there are many androids and drones remaining on this ship. To nullify them all. My kids and I can go around and destroy things, but there's no reason to put effort into things that we can't obtain genetic essence from.

'And you can use it as insurance when Star Union comes after you.'

In order to deceive the pursuit party, the captain and other ship leaders must remain. This is because they might try to check the vital signs of this ship's captain or high-ranking crew members.

'With this, preparations for taking control of the ship are completed.'

Perhaps because he was much stronger than before, it didn't take long to take control of the warship. Except for encountering an unexpectedly strong enemy called Screamer, it ended smoothly without any major variables.

'If you think about it, Screamer also benefited more immediately.'

Not only did I get a clue about the Star Union player, but I was also able to secure a new genetic essence.

In the game, Screamers are classified as machines rather than living creatures in the system, so they do not receive genetic essence.

However, this was not the case with the improved Screamer on this ship. Since the Screamer was based on the Hulk Mutant, several types of genetic essence were obtained.

'I'm lucky to have acquired the Coldblood trait here.'

Coldblood is a race with a reptilian human base mixed with the characteristics of scarab insects. It looks like an NPC race, but it is one of the playable races.

Despite their scary appearance, they are a race with high intelligence and a tragic background, so they are a race that has gained cult popularity.

According to the setting, Coldblood competed with the cult for supremacy of the universe in the past, but is currently a completely fallen entity. They received power in exchange for their contract with the Vortex One, but in exchange the entire fate of their race was mortgaged.

'Now they have been reduced to either cultists worshiping Vortex One or slaves sold to other races.'

Players who choose Cold Blood have the goal of liberating and saving their fellow countrymen who are suffering.

'Someone in the community said that before. It's the dinosaur version of Exodus.'

Anyway, because of this setting, Cold Blood is spreading little by little throughout the universe. If you're unlucky, you'll only see it in the later stages, when you can move around freely in space.

So I thought it would be a long time later before I could acquire their characteristics.

'There are a lot of coldbloods on the manpower supply line, and I don't know why.'

All of the internal organs-related traits I gained were from Cold Blood.

I don't know right now whether the Coldblood genes played an important role in the development of the Screamer, or whether the manpower supply ship I used had a particularly high number of Coldbloods on board.

'Whatever the cause, it benefited me in the end.'

The 'Revenant Organ', a synthetic scale that can protect weak points and can be used as a secret weapon at critical moments, was an unexpected gift.

'Of course, there are some parts that are slightly disappointing.'

Although I gained a few additional traits by eating Screamer, the rest were all traits I already had.

Usually, Hulk mutants are synthesized with different genes, but this was not the case with these Screamers. Like clones, they were all made up of the same genes.

'It may have been intentionally standardized because it was to be used as a screamer material.'

Because they had the same genes, they looked and tasted the same.

'…When I think about it, I feel kind of disgusted.'

The taste of the Hulk mutant used as screamer material was truly terrible. So much so that I unconsciously feel the urge to open my jaw and scratch the inside of my mouth with my fingernails.

Based on my experience so far, organisms with multiple combinations of genes tend to taste better. Sihyeon Eugene was like that and the Knights of the Egerton family were like that.

But this time, the formula was broken.

'It tasted disgusting.'

I once squeezed a handful of toothpaste into my mouth and then drank orange juice, and the taste was similar to what I felt then. To be exact, it tastes like extra salt was added on top.

I understood why Aadhai was scratching the tentacle with his paws. It was definitely not a taste I wanted to eat often.

'But I guess it's a good thing that the calories themselves are high.'

The taste wasn't great, but the energy it contained was ridiculously high, befitting a Hulk mutant. Even now, my stomach felt full.

'If you're this full, the symbol of hunting is over… Ah, it's time to end now.'

They say even tigers will come if you tell them.

As smoke came out of my body, my physical structure began to change. The symbolic effect of hunting has ended.

My body, which had grown to about 8m in length including the tail, returned to 5m in length. The long fur shrank to match the size of the body, and the bony blade arms on its back shrunk drastically.

Eventually, the bone blade arm became like dead skin cells peeled off the skin and crumbled. The same change occurred in the bony carapace that surrounded the auxiliary organ under the jaw.

After all the changes were over, I quickly stuffed the cyborg corpses in the situation room into my mouth. It was to relieve the hunger that always comes after the end of the representation.

But something was strange.

'Are you not very hungry?'

It's true that I felt hungrier than usual, but it wasn't to the point where I lost my temper. If you are hungry this much, you can easily appease it by eating a few cyborg corpses.

'Is this also thanks to the clever underdog effect?'

As expected, the side effects of the symbol were immediately resolved when the three cyborg corpses were eaten. Perhaps, as a special condition specialized for survival, the energy consumption rate is also extremely low.

'I thought it was bad because my combat power decreased…'

It was an advantage to be able to use the symbol of hunting without looking back. Not only that, it seemed to be a good match for the characteristic of consuming a large amount of energy stored in the body.

'For example, God's whip.'

'God's Rod', obtained by feasting on the cult's orbital weapon 'Thunder God', is the most powerful of the long-distance attack methods I have.

Unlike the original, there is no limit to once every 14 days, but it has the disadvantage of reducing its power to less than two-thirds and consuming a huge amount of energy.

But what if you become the smart underdog here? You will be able to use God's whip more freely than at other times.

Even though it is impossible to fire wildly, it could be said to be the sweet spot in a drought for me, who lacks long-distance attack methods.

It's a shame that it can't be operated that way yet under normal circumstances.

'There's nothing to regret. 'I can get it later.'

After relieving the side effects of hunting, I stood up. At that moment, Heavenly Mother came into the situation room with her children.

"You ran wild. What about the side effects?」

[Zuzuzuzu zuzu zuzuzu (It's an unexpected good news)]

She was hiding in a corner of the boat with the kids in case I went crazy.

I briefly explained to her the effect of clever underdogs. She nodded with admiration.

"It's definitely a good trait. The range of application is usually not wide."

[Zuzuz, zuzuzu, zuzuzu, zuzu, zuzuzuzu (weaknesses when infiltrating have been improved a lot)]

"It would be nice to slap the players. "They won't know this."

It's just as she said. As far as I know, there is no feature in the game that artificially changes the size of an Amorph. If I don't know, there's a good chance that other people won't either.

The enemy has built up a powerful force that operates a fleet and uses orbital weapons. My strength is still not enough to suppress them, so I have to respond with infiltration and deception tactics.

While I was talking about my characteristics with her, No. 26 and Aadhai approached me.

"Big baby. Can't I eat more?」

[Zuzuzuzu zuzuzzuzu (I'm full, so let's eat together)]

No. 26, who understood my wavelength, stretched out his tentacles to the corpse. Aadhay was about to eat along with No. 26 when he suddenly saw me and came closer.

[Zuzuzu(What's wrong?)]

｢Big adult｣｢Before｣｢Different｣

[Zuzuz zuzuzuzuzu(It's different from before?)]

｢Before｣｢Ugly｣｢Now｣｣Character｣｢Unintelligible｣

Adhai flutters his tail and shoots thought waves. Its gaze was focused on the scales inside my fur.

｢Now｣｢Good｣

'I guess it's because of the scales.'

Although Aadhai usually tells me that I'm cool, my appearance itself is far from Gallagon's. The gliding membrane can hardly be called a wing, and the carapace and outer shell on the body are also far from gallagon scales.

It seems that the change in the skin to scales suited Aadhai's taste.

The guy looked at me for a moment, nodded his head in satisfaction, and then went next to number 26.

Heavenly Mother, who saw this, said something.

｢So much sesame seeds are pouring out.｣

When I met her crescent-shaped eyes, I felt ashamed for some reason.

[Zuzzuzu zuzu zuzuzuzu zuzu zuzuzu zuzuzu (Stop talking nonsense. You don't have to eat it?)]

｢You know, eating cyborgs won't help me. So it's better for the kids to eat."

She can also grow only by consuming the bodies of powerful enemies, similar to me. Her growth will probably stagnate until she arrives at the dragon's nest.

'I cleaned up all the annoying things anyway.'

Now that we have roughly finished examining the characteristics of the smart underdog, it is time to move on to the next step.

I nodded once to the kids eating and left the situation room.

The time has finally come to engulf this ship number 98.

–

"What on earth is this?"

"What do you mean?"

"That cult! "There are a lot of things that need to be prepared to achieve the great cause, but you are listening to someone like that and going on a treasure hunt!"

Sihyeon Eugene's butler Minseok Eugene didn't like the owner sitting with a calm face.

Looking at Sihyeon Eugene's actions after the failed assassination of Akira Eugene, there were many things he could not understand.

We need to recruit the remaining elders of the Eugene family on Earth as soon as possible and build an anti-Akira force, but they are now wandering around space carefree.

Originally, Akira Yujin did not do many outside activities. The CEO spent almost all his time on Earth except for things he had to do.

The reason they put their lives on the line to destroy the T&C Special Trade Center was because he rarely went out.

"With the civil war breaking out, it became easier to plan an assassination! So why do you say no!"

"I would have said it's because we can't get rid of Akira with our current strength."

Sihyeon and Eugene speak indifferently. She always said the same thing every time Minseok protested.

It's impossible to kill Akira.

She personally infiltrated the Eugene family's flagship to assassinate Akira. Up to that point, I could trust Minseok. Because she brought the Code Blue dagger as proof.

But what happened after that was the problem.

"Are you still saying that Akira overpowered the shadow? "That's impossible!"

Since Minseok was Sihyeon's closest associate, he knew well how much power the shadow had. And how powerful the vision is when it is in perfect condition.

That's why I couldn't believe the story that she was suppressed by Akira and barely escaped.

"I can't believe it. No matter how much I think about it, there seems to be a reason that I don't know about."

As Minseok remained distrustful, Sihyeon's eyes narrowed.

"I am your master. "You haven't forgotten that, have you?"

"…."

Minseok closed his mouth. Seeing that, Sihyeon jumped up from his seat.

Minseok flinched at that sight, but did not avoid his gaze.

"I will ask you one last question. "Answer carefully."

"…."

His hand was about to go to his pants pocket for a split second, but then stopped. Sihyeon did not miss that sight.

"Minseok Eugene. "Who do you serve?"

"…I am Sihyeon Eugene, the rightful heir of the Eugene family."

He is loyal to the rightful successor, Sihyeon Eugene.

At first glance, it seemed like a sign of submission to her, but Sihyeon noticed that he had deliberately chosen an ambiguous expression.

That's because she was Sihyeon Eugene, but at the same time she was not Sihyeon Eugene.

In other words, Minseok was saying that the person he was loyal to was the 'original' Sihyeon Eugene and not the 'copy' in front of him.

Sihyeon read that point, but didn't bother to point it out. No, to be precise, I couldn't point it out.

"Go back. "I have work to do."

"…yes."

Minseok didn't protest anymore, probably thinking that today wasn't the right day. He said hello and tried to leave the office.

As he grabbed the door handle and was about to leave, he muttered softly to himself.

"…Plus, you have a competitor by your side. What are you thinking? Tsk."

After Minseok left the office, Sihyeon, who was left alone, sat down on a chair. She muttered into the air.

"You looked ugly."

Then the metal suit standing in the corner of the office moved. The suit, which had a bizarre design that mixed the features of a reinforced suit and a walker, was 2.5 meters long and was black like the universe outside the spacecraft.

Moreover, the metal suit was designed to cover the entire body like the reinforced clothing worn by Egerton's Silver Lion Knights. The thing, which resembled a Star Union android rather than a person, spoke in a voice mixed with a mechanical sound.

"no. It was a more beneficial sight than I expected. Because I got a lot of information that I didn't know."

"You're bad. Lyla Chamberlain."

The identity of the person wearing the black metal suit was Lila Chamberlain, the former general manager of the T&C Special Trade Center.

"It seems like the inside of the suit is quite comfortable, since you have time to acquire information."

"sure. "You don't know how good it feels to not have to sleep or eat or anything." An

inorganic voice contrasting with the nonchalant tone. Currently, her vocal cords are completely damaged, making it impossible for her to speak without the help of a machine.

Infected with a virus so deadly that even genetic manipulation cannot cure her, she cannot survive even a few seconds without that life management suit.

And Sihyeon, who provided her with the suit, was in fact holding Laila's lifeline.

"I made a mistake."

However, Sihyeon actually lowers her head. Lila, who saw this, spoke as if she was interested.

"You're more interesting than you think."

"What do you mean?"

"As far as I know, everyone who undergoes shadow surgery becomes mentally insane. Bloodthirsty massacre, warmonger, extreme obsessive compulsive, etc. Of course, you are no exception."

"Thank you for the compliment."

"What can I say about you when I see you?" It's less like Noble Capital than Akira Eugene. The same goes for the attitude he showed towards the butler earlier and the same as the attitude he took towards me."

"I only did it because it was necessary. If you want something, you take it by any means necessary. "Isn't that Noble Capital's principle of action?"

"Hmm, I wonder what it will be like."

Laila didn't seem to believe it, but Sihyeon was sincere. A goal was rapidly growing in her mind that she could not tell others about.

Sihyeon's own goal, not Eugene's or Minseok's.

But there is no need to talk about that here. Sihyeon changed the topic.

"There must be a reason why you came to see me."

"ah. "I forgot."

Lila opened the backpack attached to her suit and took out a white mechanical device. It was a drone that was half-damaged and lost its function.

"I found it while scouting outside. "I took out something that was about to be destroyed after being mixed in with a cloud of rocks."

"This is a Star Union drone. Why is it here?"

When Si-hyeon saw the number 98 small engraved on the surface of the drone, he felt a strange feeling.

I had a strong feeling that that drone contained very important information.

"Any other drones other than this?"

"It seems like everything was destroyed when it hit the rock cloud."

"I need to check to see if the data information was damaged."

"Is that okay?"

"There may be important information in there."

She pulled a cable from her office desk and connected it to the drone.

Soon, broken holograms appeared on the desk.

"!"

"This is this?"

And the two who checked the contents could not help but be astonished.