049

Ep. 49

'If a reporter starts looking for me, I need to get it over with as quickly as possible.'

Journalists are a profession that relies on social networks.

As a result, information sharing occurs very actively among them. I shouldn't feel reassured that only one person is investigating me. In the blink of an eye, the number of people who know me will quickly increase to tens or hundreds.

'That's why it's difficult to control it with parasites.'

This is not because they have a strong journalistic spirit or a strong spirit of resistance.

The reason it is difficult to control is the same as the reason why reporters are dangerous. Social relationships. Since it is a job where you meet many people, including complete strangers or people you meet through personal connections, people around you will quickly notice if you are different from usual.

In other words, it is more beneficial for me to prey on her rather than enslave her.

I picked up the communicator again and asked William a question.

"What are the means of transportation?"

"She came on foot. "I'll probably use the subway when crossing the district."

If it's a newspaper company, it's probably located in a commercial district.

'But there are no newspapers around the manhole.'

If the distance is far, it is not easy for me to find it. However, there is a problem with calling William out.

'If she disappears, William will become the number one suspect.'

He is still a useful slave. I kept it alive without eating it at best, but it would be a waste to lose it already.

'Wait subway?'

Some of the secret passageways where my nest is located are very close to subway tracks. There are cameras installed on the platforms, but there are no separate cameras on the tracks.

'Was there a part connected to the subway tracks and a secret passage?'

As far as I remember, there was no place like that in the game, but here it is in reality. If there is a part close to the track and a secret passage, you can connect it by digging into the wall.

Until now, subway stations have not been considered because there are too many cameras, but if you can move to the tracks, your range of movement will be much wider.

'The nest is complete, let's check it.'

I lay down on the floor and connected the accessory under my chin to the nest.

My whole body felt like it was being grabbed by something, pulled, and then rapidly expanded. After the link was completed, information about what was happening in the city was relayed to me one after another.

'It's noisy.'

Unlike a static research ship, the members' lives and movements felt very noisy due to the large amount of information.

The movement of the train that overworks the metal tracks, the sound of people's footsteps, the sound of breathing and coughing of people on the subway, the foul smell of sweat and body odor. Elements that arise from the blood vessels of the city stimulate my five senses.

'The subway is ready, but where is the closest point to the tracks?'

After expanding my senses and looking around, I found a few places where I could get straight to the tracks by slightly corroding the metal walls.

'Among these, there are a total of three places worth digging.'

There are two in the entertainment district and one in the commercial district.

In addition, there were several other locations close to the tracks, but they were excluded due to some problems. The secret passage was so narrow that it was difficult for me to move through, or it was close to the platform, so even if I tried to penetrate it, there was a high chance of being discovered.

'I guess it has something to do with the number of stations.'

As far as I know, the area with the most stations in this city was the entertainment district, followed by the commercial district.

'Let's break through the entertainment district later and check the commercial district first.'

I unlocked the link and stood up.

As I was heading towards the secret passageway closely adjacent to the tracks, No. 26 seemed to have woken up and started talking to me.

｢Where are you going?｣

[Zuzu (walking)]

｢Yes. "Come quickly."

After saying that, he fell asleep again, holding close to Adhai. Since they are both wild animals, they get along very well to see if they have anything in common.

'It's a sight rarely seen in games.'

Amorph was, of course, a race that forced solo play, and the other races I tried were races that had little to do with party play.

'When I think about it, I played more party-destroying games than party-playing.'

There were more than one clan that disbanded due to internal strife while fighting with me.

'When I fought on the jungle planet before, it was really the best.'

In the past, four large clans united and surrounded the entire planet to capture me. Since there were many rankers, it was difficult for me, who was only a semi-adult player at the time, to win.

At that time, I used every surprise method and trick Aimorph could use.

Many of the strategies I use when fighting now are things I used for the first time or came up with during combat.

'That fight helped me a lot. Of course, if I had to do it again, I would never be able to do it.'

Anyway, the clans that came to catch me fell for my tricks and fought amongst themselves before destroying themselves.

Afterwards, three out of the four clans were disbanded, and even the remaining clans were hit hard by the large number of clan members leaving, reducing the number from 100 to 60.

'It's ironic that I, who used to split up parties, now have kids who go together.'

And that too in a world where the game background is realized in reality.

As I walked, recalling old memories, I quickly arrived at my destination. Since the nest was laid in a residential area, it did not expand to this area.

'Should we install another one here as well?'

Each time it evolves, the number of nests that can be built increases by two, so the number of nests that I can currently build as a subadult is 5. I already installed one, so there are four left.

'I guess I'll have to kill the reporter and then put him down.'

I decided to use the energy provided by this food to build a new nest, so I touched the wall.

Perhaps because it was obviously thinner than the other walls, the vibrations caused by the train moving could be felt more clearly.

'Then let's get started.'

I cut the back of my hand with my fingernail. Acidic blood, which easily dissolves even hard alloys, trickled out from the wound. When I touched the back of my hand, which was dripping with acidic blood, against the wall, the metal wall began to smoke and burn.

When the wound healed, the same work was repeated again. After about 10 minutes, a hole appeared in the wall.

'This is enough.'

I stopped hurting and kicked the wall around the hole. Due to the leg strength strengthening properties, my kicks were capable of bending even thick alloy walls.

After kicking it to enlarge the hole in the wall, I put four hands in and plucked away the molten metal.

As a result, a hole large enough for me to crawl through was created.

As I crossed the tracks, the subway's unique fine dust greeted me. The strong smell of iron emanating from the steel material and the subtle flow of electric current flowing through the railway caressed the auxiliary organs.

As I was looking around the old railroad tracks, I saw a light in the distance. The train was coming.

'The road has been cleared.'

Now all that's left is information about the prey to be hunted.

I'll have to ask William when I see him.

–

10:30 p.m.

Kevin was able to leave the Daily Mars branch when the light was almost gone in the commercial district.

"Wow, it's really late."

Although she got off work late, she wasn't in a bad mood. The branch manager was very satisfied with her reporting and said he would consider promoting her after the board meeting.

'If I get promoted, will I also enter the administrative district?'

Or maybe I could leave this shitty city and be sent to a better planet.

With such happy thoughts, Kevin waited for the subway at the station.

She was the only person on the platform, but she didn't feel particularly scared.

This was because many cameras were installed in the subway station, and behind the cameras, guards were watching to see if there were any problems inside.

But something happened that broke her common sense. Suddenly, the lights inside the platform went off.

"Kya?!"

She was surprised by the dark interior of the platform and sat down on the spot. While I was stuck in that state, a broadcast came out from the speaker on the platform.

"sorry. In preparation for the board meeting, we are checking the power of the lights inside the subway station. "We will turn on emergency power for those inside the platform, so please wait a moment."

The broadcast came on and soon red emergency lights illuminated the inside of the platform.

"What fucking time are you doing this fucking inspection?"

Kevin knelt down and let out a thick curse.

Recently, due to preparations for the board meeting, the entire subway station was checking power during the last train, but she, as a subway security guard, had no way of knowing that fact.

The platform instantly became an eerie atmosphere thanks to the red lights.

She waited for the train, clutching her bag with both hands.

'When on earth is the train coming… huh?'

A person appeared in her anxious eyes.

A person who had not been visible until a moment ago was standing in the same line as her.

I was scared to be alone in the red light, but it felt better because there was someone there.

As I was waiting for the train, conscious of the mysterious man, I smelled a strange smell from somewhere.

'Where does the smell come from…'

A smell that she had smelled for the first time in her life, qualitatively different from the stale smell peculiar to the underground station, reached the tip of her nose.

Is it because of the smell? She felt an unknown sense of foreboding.

'Now that I think about it, when did that person come in?'

The location where the other person was standing was close to the stairs leading down to the platform.

He may have come down while the lights were off, but wouldn't it be normal if he heard footsteps?

Unless you came from beyond that dark track.

"…."

It's really amazing how people think. As I intentionally try not to have sinister thoughts, more terrible thoughts arise.

"You'd better not walk alone at night."

Why do I remember what William said just now? She swallowed and glanced out of the corner of her eye at where the suspicious person was.

And she was horrified.

Before I knew it, a suspicious man had turned and was watching me.

The man who was watching in the direction where she was standing began to move. He slowly approached her.

'Oh don't come!'

She wanted to run away, but her body was frozen and she couldn't move.

Her colleagues at the Dalymas branch call her this.

Stupid Kevin.

It was a nickname he earned because he fearlessly attacked whoever his opponent was and got the scoop.

But in reality, she was not that brave. The reason she was able to do that was because there was a halo from the group she belonged to, the Daily Mars and, by extension, the Zhao family.

Just as Daily Mars without the Zhao family was nothing more than a trash media company, Kevin was nothing without the group's protection.

As the man got closer and Kevin was in despair, she heard a voice saving her.

A train was coming in with light from beyond the tracks behind the man. As the train came in, the man stopped in place.

As soon as the train reached the platform and the door opened, Kevin rushed in.

The man looked at her blankly and tried to get into the train compartment, but the door was already closed.

"■■ ■■■!"

The man's mouth twitched and shouted something, but it did not reach her.

"You crazy bastard…"

The train started while Kevin was muttering curse words at him.

"I see all these idiots."

The suspicious man walked away and the train was moving toward the next station. Relieved, she sat down.

As I tensed and relaxed, I suddenly felt tired. She closed her eyes, thinking about getting some sleep before they arrived.

She would have definitely been able to fall asleep if the unpleasant smell she had smelled earlier had not passed into her nose.

'That smell again?'

As the unpleasant smell grew stronger, she opened her eyes. Even though she looked around, there was no one in the compartment she was in.

As I looked around, my eyes fell on the next compartment, and there was a person in it.

He was wearing armor made of black alloy plates over a suit that resembled a diving suit.

"Are you a police officer?"

Because she was a reporter, she knew very well the identity of what the other person was wearing. That suit was a reinforced suit worn by armed police officers.

"Wearing a helmet and a mask at this time of night. "Where are you going and doing that?"

The clothes were strange, but the behavior was also unusual. This was because the policeman was standing in the same position instead of sitting, even though there was no one in the next compartment.

'He's a strange guy.'

However, she did not suspect that the armed police officer wearing a reinforced suit was a strange person, so she turned off her attention and closed her eyes.

While she was closing her eyes, the police officer who had been standing still took steps and approached this compartment. The moment he opened the compartment door and entered this compartment, the compartment shook slightly.

"Miss what…huh?"

She woke up in the middle of her sleep because the compartment was shaking.

Only then did she open her eyes and see the image inside the compartment reflected in the tempered glass.

She was the only 'human' in the compartment she rode in.

–

'Where are you going?'

I swung my tail low and caught Kevin's leg as he ran away. Because of the pheromone effect of the mimicry organ, ordinary people could not see my tail. Thanks to that, she got caught in my tail and fell down ugly.

"Hee hee hee! "Please save me!"

Of course I can't save you. I gave her a poisonous sting to quiet her down.

'Oh my, I almost missed it earlier.'

Originally, the plan was to lure them in and attack them while they were inspecting the lights, but a man intervened and almost broke out. It was because the man saw me climbing up from the other side of the tracks.

However, it was difficult to remove the man at the same time.

The location of the man was near the stairs and close to a light, so he was fully exposed to the camera. It wasn't easy for me to deal with him as I was hiding in a dark place with little light to avoid the camera.

'You can kill it by shooting its spines, but taking care of it afterwards is a problem.'

While the reporter was wondering what to do next because of the man, fortunately, a train arrived. When Kevin got on the train, I followed her.

The man belatedly yelled at her to run away immediately, but Kevin didn't hear him.

'I'm a journalist and I die because I don't listen to other people.'

Well, life is inherently ironic.

Her face was a mess of mascara, smeared from tears. My mouth went numb from screaming and saliva was dripping down.

"…."

What is she thinking in her mind right now?

You don't want to die? Or simply fear of encountering a monster?

'It's not that important.'

It is important that she soon provides food for the nest.

I reached out and grabbed her hair and twisted it. There was a sound of rubber being ripped and her hair was pulled out.

The reporter who had been harassing others with his words until now died in silence.

I opened my mouth wide and swallowed the reporter's head in one mouthful.

'hmm. It's okay.'

For a reporter, he must have eaten well and lived well, so the taste wasn't that bad. Of all the people I've eaten since coming to Space City, I would say it tastes the best.

'It's a strange thing. Wolf, who is close to an animal, didn't taste like this, but it tastes like this on humans.'

Wolff doesn't taste bad, but it was a bit like eating it because of its fur. This is because hair kept getting stuck in my teeth while I was eating.

'Plus, it smells like fun.'

I can't believe I have to eat 18 more people like that.

'Now that I think about it, there is also a tooth strengthening feature, so it would be nice to see that come out.'

Reporters also have a job where they work with their mouths, so they don't want to come out. Tooth characteristics.

'…Tsk. 'Let's finish eating.'

I shook off useless thoughts and finished eating my food.

And….

Some of the 'subadult- >subadult' evolution conditions have been met.

Intelligence capable of transformation 2/20 (not achieved) Humanoid intelligence 13/20 (not achieved) Intelligence using psychic power 0/20 (not achieved) ｣ ｢Predation

effect activated! Successful acquisition of 'tooth grip' gene essence. ｣

｢'Human 'Take away 'Tooth Grip Strength' among the creature characteristics.｣

｢Do you want to apply 'Tooth Grip Strength'?｣

'Huh?'

A completely unexpected luck occurred.