157

Ep. 157

–

｢Ship number 98 successfully collided.｣

"Tsk, it looks really solid. "I see it doesn't explode right away."

"The estimated durability is almost the same as the X10 class."

"It's at the level of a medium-sized destroyer. I don't know where on earth such a monster appeared…"

Sanadaev, acting commander of the Nemean Fleet, was watching the battle status through an external camera.

Following his orders, ship number 98 succeeded in ramming an unidentified biological ship.

"Where is that bastard McKay?"

｢Signal chip confirmed inside the biological ship.｣

"I want to take him prisoner and torture him, but I have no choice because I have orders."

According to the Mechanical Council, the bio-ship was extremely dangerous and was not to be approached. Because of the warning, Sanadaev also tried to suppress him with a long-range attack, but it was not easy.

At first, we thought that only 4 ships would be enough, so we sent them in, but they quickly sank them all. I don't know who the pilot was, but he was operating that huge frigate as if he was piloting a naval aircraft. I've fought against numerous enemies so far, but there were few who were so good at dodging torpedoes.

The guy defeated the cyborgs that were chasing him and made a fuss as if he was trying to provoke him. And that's within sight of the flagship.

So he sent ten ships to Nome. As expected, 10 ships were difficult for him, so he didn't last long.

'If I had run away, I could have lived longer. 'You fool.'

In his field of vision, he could see the broken figure at the top right corner.

The front part of ship 98 has become so large that it cannot be seen, so it will be difficult for it to move now. If it is a real ship, its lifespan has ended due to the attack, and if it is a living thing, it is a fatal wound that cannot be recovered.

Whatever happens, the only thing left for that guy now is death.

"Just in case, we'll take care of it with torpedoes and look for any remaining traces…"

｢Psychic cannon activated on the Imperial carrier.｣

"Damn it! "Ships 1 to 12 make a detour. Ships 70 to 80 are defended with APD."

｢Confirmation.｣

"Take care of Ship 98 and leave a record. "I will report it to the Mechanical Committee, so please record it in as much detail as possible."

"Order is complete."

I wanted to see that bio-ship explode, which would be unpleasant even if I chewed it up, but right now we are in the middle of a battle.

Sanadaev continued conducting despite disappointment.

–

｢20% damage to the front of the ship.｣

"Crazy! 20% damaged? As soon as we retreat, shoot torpedoes."

"It is impossible due to the severe damage to the ship's guns."

Captain Keynes Q of ship number 98 checked the condition of the hull.

An image of a ship modeled in 3D appeared before his eyes, connected to the ship's computer. As number 98 said, many of the guns located in the front were damaged.

It was all damage caused by a previous collision.

"Obviously I received APD assistance, but why is this happening?"

｢There are no shields on the ship, so the APD effect is halved. The durability of the outer wall is assumed to be the same as that of

the "Contact the other ships and tell them to shoot immediately when we get out."

"Confirmation."

"Activate the undamaged front rocket and the side rocket. And if something goes missing, we immediately send out a drone and a technical team."

｢Confirm order. The front thruster and the left and right side thrusters were activated."

Following Keynes Q's command, No. 98 immediately activated the rocket. As the ship moved, the gravity inside the ship shifted and the internal facilities vibrated slightly.

Just a few minutes after the collision, I was trying to escape quickly when I suddenly felt a stronger vibration than before.

｢Impact occurred from the outside of the hull.｣

"Suddenly something…."

｢Emergency report! Forward high energy flow occurs! Presumed to be a nuclear reactor overload!"

"What? Holy shit! Double the power of the side rockets!"

As soon as those words were finished, a pressure incomparably stronger than before came upon Keynes Q. The sound of metal bursting was heard from the inner walls of the hull, and in some areas, objects were stuck to the ceiling or floating in the air, as if there had been an abnormality in gravity.

"Once you get out, immediately move back!"

"Confirmed."

Along with ship number 98, other ships also increased their distance from the biological ship. A camera attached to the outside of the ship showed the bio ship. The black outer wall cracked like an egg, and purple light emanated from within.

"I got a great idea! "The remaining drones, push that boat and throw it towards the cult!"

Another cyborg connected to Keynes Q sent out drones. The construction drone in charge of repairs flew quickly and pushed the biological ship away.

The cult also seemed to have noticed something strange about the biological ship similar to their own and began to retreat.

"Slow down!"

Soon, an intense purple flash flashed. Two nearby cult ships were caught in the explosion, causing a series of explosions together.

"This is the end. "You recorded all 98 times, right?"

"Record completed."

"Record the internal damage as well and hand it over to the acting fleet commander on the flagship side."

｢It is recommended that you retreat to the rear to preserve evidence.'

"Well, it's a bit awkward to escape outright." "What about the side rockets?"

｢Right thruster damage 30%. 70% damage to the left thruster. "

Tsk, that won't work. "For now, let's leave."

"Confirmation."

Keynes Q's mission ends here. Ship number 98 retreated to the rear, escorted by other cyborg ships.

–

'Wow, that was close.'

The ship on the other side crashed into my ship deeper than expected, and the reactor almost exploded. There's no problem when I'm in control, but it's different when I unlock Nightmare Horizon.

A ship that has been eroded becomes a mess to the point where recovery is impossible. I thought there was no need to worry because the nuclear reactor would also be damaged and inoperable.

But it was my mistake.

The front of the ship over there collided and hit the reactor, which almost killed all the kids. Number 26, who is the most skilled among us in manipulating psychic powers, will somehow survive by fending off the explosion, but Aadhai and the Mother of Heaven will die instantly.

'I was in danger too.'

Currently, I am in a state where I have mutated into a 'clever weakling' among the special states that can transform through 'organic evolution'. In normal conditions, he would have survived without fatal injuries thanks to the thick armor, but not now.

This is because as the size decreases, the defense power also decreases accordingly.

'Is this a phone call?'

Although I almost died, I was able to divert the enemy's attention thanks to the explosion of that nuclear reactor.

'First of all, entry was successful.'

As I was thinking about where we could hide, Aadhai nudged me with the tip of his wing.

｢Big adult｣｢Is that right?｣｢Confirmation｣｢Need｣

[Z(Huh?)]

He was constantly tilting his head as if my change was very awkward.

Aadhai's reaction is not particularly strange. I also feel awkward about my changes.

The change that happened to me was not appropriate to describe as mutation or transformation. It was literally close to 'evolution'.

First of all, my overall size shrunk to about 5 meters including the tail. The tail was about 2 meters long and the body was 3 meters long.

As the tail was reduced, the body shape also changed. Among the fighting arms, the arms located near the armpits and pelvis were lowered to act as legs.

To put it simply, it would be nice to say that I have a body like a centaur from Greek mythology.

Since four of the fighting arms were lost, it would seem that the fighting power would decrease drastically, but surprisingly, that was not the case. This is because the small arms on the chest have grown as big as combat arms.

'The form is a little different, though.'

The small arms on the chest, or to be more precise, the parts that were now long arms, were impressive in that they had prominently developed muscles and were covered with skin like a fighting arm.

Although it seemed weak to be used for defensive purposes like other arms, it seemed like it could crush a human skull quite easily.

Except for changes in body shape and arms, there were no significant changes in other parts, such as the six horns, the huge head, and the claws at the end of the tail.

What has changed is that as the body has shrunk, the proportion of faces with facial features has increased?

'no. Other than that, there is a huge change.'

What I describe as evolution is not because of changes in body shape.

Just fur.

Lots of long, thin hairs sprouted all over my body. All parts except the head carapace are covered with dark purple fur. If you look at my body from a distance, it will look like I'm covered in fur.

'Aimorph is fur.'

In fact, there was no feature of hair growing in the game, but there was no feature that changed it to the extent of covering the entire body like it does now.

I wasn't the only one who found this change unfamiliar.

｢The big baby has become strange.｣

｢Me｣｢Little adult｣｢Agree｣

Number 26, who always says only nice things, also looked at me and said that I was strange. This was the first time that No. 26, who had been watching my entire evolution process, looked at me and said I was strange.

As I remained silent, No. 26 quickly added a word.

｢But I like it because it's a big baby!｣

｢Horns｣｢Cool｣｢Stalks｣｢Weird｣

I guess my appearance seems out of place by the standards of these two alien creatures.

When I looked at the last remaining Mother of Heaven, she shook her head awkwardly.

｢It looks like a wendigo with only its head not covered in fur.｣

[Zuzuzuzu zuzuzu (not a centaur?)]

｢…It feels like a wendigo has eight legs.｣

A phantom beast that Wolf can transform into. Among the wild animals, there is also a wendigo. Although he was very powerful, I remember that his appearance was not evaluated very well.

'Tsk. I think it's pretty good.'

Apart from the many unfavorable opinions, there is one fortunate thing. The point is that this hair is not ordinary hair.

It was said that when transforming into a clever weakling, the use of some characteristics is restricted but new perks are gained.

As said, this hair was a new body part created by a powerful special effect.

｢Unknown Creature's Fur: This is a perk provided by the 'clever underdog' trait. The tiny wavelengths created by the fur's shaking provide the user with a stealth effect that allows them to avoid detection equipment's signature technology.

*P.S.: Some electronic equipment is not affected by this effect, so please be careful.｣

｢Attributes sealed due to 'clever weakling' status: Bone Ax Gliding Shell Enhancement Large Tail Erosion Tentacle｣

'Indeed.'

Among the special states of organic evolution, the king of monsters was in a combat mode, while the clever weakling was closer to a survival mode. I don't know how effective the unknown creature's fur will be, but considering the king of monsters, the hiding effect is expected to be significant.

'The downside is that some of the physical abilities are sealed.'

In particular, it is disappointing that the erosion tentacles, which were a side effect of Nightmare Horizon and one of my main weapons, are gone. In the areas where the erosion tentacles protrude, faces shaped like human face trees are taking their place.

'It's unfortunate that the combat power has decreased.'

This is an appropriate characteristic in a situation where you are secretly boarding a ship.

'For now, think about this later.'

Now we are inside the cyborg ship. The front of the ship was damaged when it hit the cult frigate, and they took advantage of the gap to come in.

'Drones will come soon to repair the damaged parts.'

Until then, you must hide in a safe place.

I placed the auxiliary engine against the inner wall of the ship, just like in the old hatchling days.

The heavy sound of the nuclear reactor running, the footsteps of androids and cyborgs rushing around the ship, the drones flying around with loud notifications, and even the smell of rusty iron and synthetic oil and sweat-soaked flesh.

A feeling of being connected to a living, breathing ship. Even cyborgs with a direct link to the ship wouldn't be able to feel it in as much detail as I can.

'It was often used on research ships when tracking enemy movements.'

The performance of today's auxiliary organs is so superior that it cannot be compared to then.

A cyborg ship with a much larger and more complex structure than a research vessel. I read the structure of up to half the ship in an instant.

[Zuzu (this way)]

After finding a safe place, I took everyone with me. There were drones and androids along the way, but we didn't get caught.

After avoiding all threats, we arrived at the safest place on the ship.

｢Garbage disposal site?｣

[Z(Yes)]

｢…It's definitely safe.'

There are no surveillance cameras inside the garbage disposal site. Except for one near the entrance.

The entrance to the treatment plant was right around the corner, but I stopped my group.

[Zuzu zuzuzu zuzu (wait a moment)]

｢Do you want to experiment with that fur?｣

Seeing it from a ranker, I understand quickly. Before I go in, I plan to do an experiment with that camera.

'Isn't this a square area?'

I stayed close to the wall and moved just barely within the camera's field of view. And the tail was stretched out so that it was slightly visible in the camera's field of view.

'They said that the fur of an unknown organism nullifies detection equipment.'

Cyborg's camera supports a variety of detection systems and guarantees significantly higher image quality than Megacorp's surveillance camera even in normal mode.

So if someone out there, whether an android or a cyborg, sees this, they will definitely send a surveillance drone.

'If not…'

I stretched my tail a few more times to make sure it was captured on camera. However, as time passed, no drones came here.

'It works.'

I waited for more than 10 minutes, but there was no response. I climbed up the wall and adjusted the angle of the camera.

'This should be enough.'

If you stick to the end of the wall and move around, the camera won't capture it. For the ambiguous part, before entering the entrance of the treatment plant, you can hide behind a large cover such as a crane moving garbage.

After disabling the camera, I finally touched the terminal next to the entrance to the treatment plant. The purpose was to find out when garbage was disposed of on a regular basis.

When I checked, there was still a long time left until the next processing date. After reviewing everything, I called the kids.

[Zuzuzu Zuzuzuzu Zuzuzu Zuzuzu (Go around behind the crane and go in)]

"What is a crane?"

"You can go over there."

That's how we were able to safely jump onto the garbage dump.

"and! There are a lot of toys!」

｢Novelty｣

｢Don't go near the press. Because it's dangerous."

No. 26 and Adhai seemed to like the inside of the garbage disposal site. Heavenly Mother followed the children and warned them not to do anything dangerous.

Among the movies that were already in museums long before I was born, there is a very famous science fiction movie. In that movie, there is a scene where the main characters fall into a trap by enemies and are trapped in a garbage dump.

'Did a robot save you there?'

In movies, it was a place where the main characters got into trouble, but not here. This dirty place will be our escape route.

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