Ep. 77
–
The morning of the board meeting.
At Monument, owned by the T&C family, preparations for a large-scale event were in full swing.
While the entire building was noisy with the footsteps of the busily running around, there was the only place where there was silence.
A conference room in Monument.
The city's ruler, Lyla Chamberlain, and her assistant and close associates were gathered there.
"What is Edgerton's reaction?"
"It is said that this entire situation will be announced solely by Vice-Captain Vickers."
"…dogmatic?"
Lila didn't even laugh at the secretary's words.
Thanks to the camera records of the National Guard survivors who were deployed in the evil spirit hunting operation and the report of the crisis management team leader, she was able to understand the full extent of the situation.
Who released the unidentified biological weapon?
What did the Silver Lion Knights do to silence this?
I found out everything.
'How dare you in my city!'
Lila gritted her teeth.
I had known for a long time that Denver was a sly person on the inside, contrary to his flashy image on the outside.
However, I had no idea that renovation work had been underway in her city long before the start of the board meeting.
'It's all a misunderstanding? Shameless bastard!'
Denver was also present when the crisis management team leader was reporting.
He tried to deny that he knew nothing about it, but Lila, who had been in charge of people for a long time, could easily tell that he was lying.
Denver said all responsibility lies with the vice-captain.
He explained that he did not know, and that the real power of the knights was held by the vice-captain, and that he was only in the position of leader for his external image.
There was no way such an excuse would have worked for the daughter of the T&C family, who had long been in contact with Egerton.
"Who did you say was the only survivor besides the vice-captain?"
"This is Catherine from the Silver Lion Knights."
"What happened to her?"
The only survivor, excluding the vice-captain, was found in the ruins in a state of complete disrepair.
Originally, he would have been detained immediately, but his injuries were so serious that he was transferred to the central hospital in the administrative district.
"Catherine is currently receiving treatment for severe PTSD and physical injuries."
"When will interrogation be possible?"
"Even if the body is restored, the mental damage is so severe that treatment is difficult. "The doctor's opinion is that there is a high possibility that he will live with aphasia for the rest of his life as a side effect."
"Tsk. After treatment, dig up information somehow. "You can torture me if necessary."
"All right."
Truly shockingly, one of the suspects in the incident has aphasia and the other is missing.
Deputy Director Vickers claimed that Denver was the main culprit of this incident. He was the most important person, but no matter how much I searched the sewers, I couldn't find him.
'Of course it has to be that way. 'Because they would have already removed it.'
Why is the person responsible not found?
It was obvious that Denver had done something in advance.
Even though everything was clearly visible, he only told lies.
She immediately wanted to call her subordinates and have Denver taken away, but she managed to send him away with superhuman patience.
'Surprised soldiers from the anti-faith defense fleet in the commercial district's infrastructure and smuggled in unidentified experimental subjects…'
None of which is a serious crime.
That alone was enough to make her head heat up, but there was something that made her even more angry than that.
'We must leave that wicked man alone!'
Early in the morning she reported the details of the incident to Saddam Chamberlain.
And there was only one answer.
'Instead of taking revenge, just bury me like this?'
For her father, who is aiming to become CEO of Megacorp, the support of the Edgerton family was more important than this old-fashioned special trading center.
It wasn't something she couldn't understand since she also knew what her family's long-cherished wish was.
However, if she continues like this, she will become an idiot who cannot say anything even though she has suffered great humiliation.
'I can't believe you just leave alone the person who shamed me, the general manager of T&C Special Trade Center!'
Currently, there is no one in Megacorp who does not know that Denver has carried out a shallow trick against her.
This is because Daily Mars reported in the morning that she had been humiliated.
'Wei Zhao, a dirty and filthy man…!'
She gritted her teeth as she remembered Wei Zhao using the media to fuck her.
Denver's image has suffered enormous damage because of Dalymas, but he is still the head of the family.
Her position is different from that of the general manager of a city who can be replaced at any time.
'If I keep going like this, I'll be the only one who suffers.'
Her father, who values practical interests over blood relatives, might choose to kick her out instead of seeking revenge.
In other words, she becomes a sacrifice to improve relations with the Edgerton family.
"What are you going to do, General Manager?"
"…Arrest all those related to the Knights of the Silver Lion. "Please keep the defense fleet under strict surveillance so that those on the warship do not think anything else."
"All right."
"Denver allows free movement only during board meetings, and all other times are prohibited."
All she can do now is limit the actions of the Edgerton family.
"Then let's go."
The aides received orders and left the conference room one by one.
During this busy time, a meeting was held on purpose, but in the end, nothing was done.
As Lila felt helpless at that fact, a thought passed through her mind.
'That's the only card I have left.'
Lila called back to the secretary who was about to leave the conference room.
"What happened to the test subject brought by the National Guard?"
"Currently, the body is stored in a scientific research institute. "The dissection experiment is scheduled to take place later in the afternoon."
A strange creature smuggled into a special trade center by the Edgerton family.
Its body was acquired by the National Guard and has now been transported to the scientific research center located beneath the monument.
'A new biological weapon developed by the Edgerton family.'
Getting the body was her only takeaway from this incident.
"We have to get something out of that devilish monster somehow. Otherwise, it won't make sense at all."
"I will pass it on as is."
Everyone has already felt the power of Edgerton's secret weapon.
The crisis management team leader, a brave warrior, looked terrified several times during the report.
What if TNC or Lila Chamberlain were able to obtain the monster's genes and mass-produce it?
It would be no problem to monopolize the real power of the family.
'When that day comes, I will become the head of the family.'
Leila's eyes burned quietly in the conference room, where the secretary left and she was left alone.
–
A few hours before Lila dreamed of treason at the Monument.
Vickers, vice-captain of the Silver Lion Knights, was still in the sewers.
This is because National Guard soldiers were constantly wandering around looking for him.
"Not here."
「Check and crackle in other places as well.」
"I understand…tsk. "When will this communication network be fixed?"
As the pursuers moved away, Vickers, who had been hiding nearby, quietly raised his head above the water.
His current appearance was beyond words.
The power of the reinforced suit was almost depleted, so all but the helmet and the chest armor connected to the power source were thrown away.
Without power, the advanced reinforced suit was nothing but a heavy burden, so there was nothing we could do about it.
He muttered softly with a frustrated expression.
"…I can't believe I was treated like this."
I thought I was sufficiently alert and prepared, but I was completely wrong.
The monster's intelligence was beyond imagination, and both the National Guard and the Knights were fooled by its antagonism.
'I have to go out somehow and convey this fact to His Majesty.'
Vickers knew that his master had abandoned him.
Seeing the soldiers searching for him, it would be known to the outside world that he attacked the National Guard on his own.
But it doesn't matter.
Denver had previously said that if something went wrong, they would have no choice but to hold him responsible, and he agreed.
He is a sword that assists His Majesty.
The sword is a tool that moves as the owner wishes. Also, tools do not have free will.
'It looks like there are no more soldiers around.'
Vickers, feeling that his presence was completely gone, moved again.
There is a way out nearby. This is a new road created when the sewer ceiling collapsed.
If you go out there and hide in the ruins, you will definitely have an opportunity.
"Cough shit."
Since I had no armor to protect me, I had to wade through the cold water with my body.
In addition, the injured shoulder still felt sore even after receiving treatment.
Is it because of a combination of physical decline and injuries? I kept coughing.
Vickers covered his coughing mouth with his hand and moved diligently.
As I continued to move, I saw a ray of light ahead.
'We're all here!'
Vickers got out of the dirty water and climbed up the wreckage.
After being in the water for a long time, his fingertips were all swollen and he was digging through hard pieces of metal, so his hands became bloody in an instant.
'little bit more!'
Vickers endured the pain rising up his hand and crawled up.
Now, if you extend your hand a little further, you are on the ground.
The moment he stretched out his hand, the world stopped.
'uh?'
no. What stopped was not the world, but himself.
His body slowly rose and was sucked back into the sewer.
'What is this…?'
He was embarrassed, but suddenly an intangible pressure pressed down on his whole body.
The force constricting his body made him feel as if he had entered the deep sea without any protective gear.
"Wow! Now sleep… ugh! 100 million!"
His limbs began to twist uncontrollably.
Like a puppet on tight strings, his body is slipping out of his control.
The entire arm, from the fingers to the wrist, the entire leg, from the toes to the ankle, was bent and broken at an abnormal angle.
The waist was twisted in the opposite direction, and the ribs surrounding the chest were sticking out through the skin.
Vickers screamed involuntarily, but his voice did not escape.
When he last looked back.
There was a pink balloon and two purple eyes.
–
「Food」「Me」「Eating?」
「Yes. "The little one ate it all."
She succeeded in hunting and handed the food over to the little child.
While the little one was eating, she constantly looked around.
The eldest child doesn't seem to know it yet, but she has grown one more time due to the previous fight.
She was now able to manipulate the mysterious power she was born with with much greater precision.
Now, she can use her mysterious powers to sense and affect objects at greater distances than before.
Thanks to this, she was able to observe where her beloved child was now.
「The little one needs to grow up quickly.」
「Reason」「Don't know」
「The older one has a hard time protecting us alone, so we have to help her.」
「?」
She didn't just grow physically.
Because she had grown so much mentally, she could see that her beloved child was putting in a lot of effort for them.
She knows that the reason the older child protects her and the younger child is motivated by selfish desires.
Also, the fact that the altruistic feeling called 'affection' is gradually growing within it.
Just as she is changing, the older child will also be changing.
"When the little one grows up, the older one will definitely be happy."
"Me" "Adult" "Joy" "Welcome"
Of course, she does not blame the older child for that attitude.
For that to happen, the eldest child already took up too much of a role in her.
「I」「Growth」「Adult」「Al….」
「Noisy. Eat quickly."
"Pain!"
After scolding the small child for making unnecessary noises, she pondered what to do next.
The older child seemed to want them to stay quiet and hidden, but she had different ideas.
"There are so many scary animals here. It is difficult for an older child to fight alone."
In order to help him, you must grow as much as possible before meeting him.
"Let's eat all of this and go somewhere else."
"Where?"
"Where there is food."
Fortunately, there was a lot of food underground here that was rich in nutrients and easy to hunt.
Because the corpses of creatures with four appendages are scattered everywhere.
–
'It looks like the camouflage was successful.'
When I came to my senses, the first thing I did was check my location using the auxiliary equipment.
The smell of a strong chemical solution and the faint smell of blood.
And electromagnetic waves floating in the air and mechanical sounds made by devices placed here and there.
Every element speaks to me.
This is the science lab underground at Monument.
Currently, I was tied face down on a very large metal dissecting table in the laboratory.
Although they must have realized that I was a corpse, they seemed to be very wary and had all my arms and legs handcuffed with metal.
'Leave this alone.'
Although it is strong, it is no match for my strength.
You could cut it off right away, but the reason you didn't is because there are surveillance cameras in the lab.
You need to calculate and move in advance to avoid any problems.
'Let's see. There must be a genetic sample repository nearby.'
Strictly speaking, special trade centers are not facilities specialized for genetic research.
If I were to categorize it, it would be closer to a general entertainment facility.
'Even so, there is no way that the Megacorp scientific research facility does not have a genetic sample repository.'
The underground scientific research center is a facility that conducts various types of research to train obedient employees for T&C.
'Training obedient employees' here means making them unable to easily resist T&C through genetic modification.
'Contrary to the Hulk mutant, the main goal is to make it have only bad genes.'
To put it simply, it can be said to be a facility designed to turn humans into inferior slaves.
Anyway, since it is such a facility, various types of genetic samples are stored there.
'There is no place in this city that is as optimized for gene farming as this.'
I think there are probably no genes from rare organisms, but there are a few genes worth looking for.
'You only need to obtain genes related to unlocking new types.'
And currently, I have a trait that increases my chances of acquiring genes.
A symbol of hunting.
If I use it and rob this place, I will be able to unlock new types I want.
'First of all, for that to happen, someone needs to come.'
However, for my plan to succeed, several conditions are necessary.
I waited until those conditions were met.
After waiting for a while, I felt a presence outside the lab.
"The general manager asked me to see if I could extract its genes and weaponize them."
"but. "I heard he was the one who killed dozens of soldiers and knights."
The door opened with a sound indicating that the ID card had been confirmed, and four researchers wearing white coats came in.
Researchers were wearing auxiliary equipment for dissecting large creatures.
The exoskeleton was exposed, making the suit look more rugged than a regular reinforced suit, and it had two additional auxiliary arms similar to androids attached to the back.
"You look scary. "You want me to dissect this guy?"
"Tsk. "You look like you've been working overtime today as well."
"Then let's get ready quickly."
The researchers began placing various explosive chemicals and dissection tools on the dissecting table using an assisting arm.
'It's a chemical.'
I needed a smokescreen, and it worked out well. I moved my tail ever so slightly where the chemicals were.
"huh?"
One of the researchers looked back. I stayed still, as if I had been in that state before.
"Did I see it wrong?"
"Hey, stop fooling around and help me quickly."
"okay."
He did not notice anything strange and was absorbed in moving dissection objects along with his colleagues.
I thought to myself as I read their movements using only my auxiliary organs.
'The conditions are met.'
All necessary conditions have been met before using the symbol of hunting.
As a side effect, the symbol of hunting is accompanied by a strong appetite to the point of loss of reason.
When the symbol effect ends and there is no food around, I will lose my temper and run wild. Then, I will soon be caught by the enemies and eliminated.
'To avoid unfortunate events, you must prepare food in advance.'
Four researchers in this laboratory.
They will be sacrificed as a symbol of the hunt.
'Of course, you'll have to help me for a bit before that.'
I prepared in secret, avoiding their gaze.
'Because it's not easy to sneak out if there are surveillance cameras.'
So you need friends to help you.
Kind friends who obey my words.
.
.
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