Became an Evolving Space Monster - Chapter 262
Only Noblemtl
Ep. 261
–
Kesha Arma’s first command center.
The command center, which looks like a large cylindrical pillar, boasts tight security like a fortress within a fortress. It has to be that way because the first command center is the only passageway that can enter the space fortress’s reactor. If the reactor is the heart, then the first command center can be said to be the brain.
And there resides the ruler of the fortress, Montana Marcio.
Two men were talking in an office filled with precious treasures and stuffed rare animals.
“How are the preparations going?”
“The guests who will be putting up their items for auction arrived at the port one hour ago. We finished preparing for their reception 30 hours ago, so there should be no problem.”
“You absolutely cannot fail this time. You understand that, don’t you?”
“Of course.”
Montana Marcio, a man of such overwhelming size that it was hard to see him as an ordinary person, took a bite of an antique-designed cigar.
He offered a cigar to the male Wolf, with whom he had just been conversing.
The white tiger with impressive white fur is named Kadoon. He is the second-in-command of the Marcio Cartel, nicknamed ‘Snow Claw’.
“thank you.”
Cardoon politely accepted the cigar Montana offered him, but did not light it. Montana, knowing he would do so, lit the cigar himself.
“I’m going to use the credits I earned this time to make a deal with Megacorp. If I do it right, I might be able to buy a useful planet.”
“Are you thinking of buying a planet?”
“Hmm. The atmosphere in the Imperial Council is currently tense. The issue of reinvasion from Outspace is openly being discussed as a topic of military buildup.”
“So you’re saying that there’s a possibility that Kesha Armado will be mobilized as well?”
Montana didn’t answer Kadoon’s words, but took a puff of his cigar.
Although the Marcio Cartel dominates Kesha Arma, the real owner of this city is the Cult Empire. It was only thanks to Montana’s active lobbying in the Imperial Council that they were able to get over it, but if the Imperial policy is changed, they will no longer be able to stay here.
That’s why Montana thought he would use this opportunity to purchase a new planet and move the cartel’s headquarters there.
“If possible, it would be nice to be recognized by Megacorp Noble Capital, but that would be difficult.”
“Because the Carmelites don’t want their relationship with us to be known.”
“It’s unfortunate, but this time I have no choice but to be satisfied with this.”
After that, the two discussed the operation of the fortress and business for a long time.
After a few hours, Kadoon left his office. As he came out, his subordinates who had been waiting followed him.
“What happened to the pharmacist?”
“Oh, that’s… It seems like it’s not a drug, but an infectious disease. There’s a sudden increase in patients with similar symptoms…”
“what?”
The subordinate who was reporting shut his mouth when Kadoon frowned.
The highest ranking man in Marcio’s cartel is the boss, but the ‘most dangerous man’ is the one in front of him, Kadoon. He never forgives his subordinates for making mistakes.
Kadoon, who had been glaring at his subordinates without saying a word, opened his mouth.
“The boss is focused on this project. He cannot tolerate even a single mistake.”
“Yes, yes!”
“To be completed within 12 hours. Mobilize personnel and equipment as needed.”
“Uh, that’s….”
Despite the captain’s promise to give his full support, the subordinate did not respond with an “I understand” response. Instead, he simply hesitated with an awkward expression.
“what?”
“The number of members leaving the organization has been increasing over the past few days. Perhaps they are afraid of being infected by the drug… Ugh!”
This time, the subordinate was unable to finish his report because Kadoon grabbed his face with his hand. Immediately afterwards, there was a sound of bones breaking and the subordinate’s body went limp.
“Krrrr, why are you telling me that now?”
Kadoon growled, but his subordinate, whose head had been crushed, could not possibly answer. After killing his subordinate, he glared at the other members of the organization. Then, his subordinates quickly lowered their heads.
“Who is the next tallest guy after this guy?”
“I’m leaving!”
“Those who leave without permission, those who are drug dealers or germs. You take care of them all. As long as they don’t touch the guests, I don’t care how much blood is shed. Kill all the suspicious bastards.”
“Oh, I understand!”
“12 hours. Let’s handle it within that time.”
Kadoon left the corpse with its head smashed and disappeared.
The pirate, who had been promoted to officer in an instant, began to give urgent orders to his subordinates.
–
In space survival, the value of an orbital habitat is very high.
There are hundreds of star systems and even more planets, so the reason for having an orbital habitat is simple.
Because you can install it wherever you want.
If you place something like a space fortress in a strategically important constellation, or a constellation you want to make important, it becomes easier to take control of the constellation. That’s why there are fewer rankers and large clans that don’t have an orbital residence.
‘Of course I am an exception.’
I am not the one who establishes orbital habitats, but the Aimov who infiltrates and destroys them. Many space fortresses have fallen into my hands and become cosmic dust.
This fortress I am in, Kesha Armado, is one of them. This fortress is a space structure that exists in the system, like the TNC Special Trade Center. Since it was not created by the player, even if it is destroyed, it will be recreated after some time.
That means it can be attacked multiple times, not just once.
Actually, I destroyed Kesha Arma three times, each time in different ways.
‘I was a little worried because it was different from the game.’
Now that I’m here, it seems like the strategy is easier than the game itself.
Having managed to subdue several of the fort’s administrators and members of the Marcio Cartel, I was able to obtain some quality information.
Currently, the fortress is not fully operational as it was when the Empire operated it.
Due to maintenance costs, pirates only operate life support facilities in areas where they are needed. Only profitable areas such as military ports or entertainment districts, and areas that provide necessities such as water purification facilities or food production facilities are active.
In addition, areas where cult warriors are stationed and areas where religious facilities are concentrated are abandoned. Water and electricity supplies have been cut off, and only oxygen supply facilities and gravity generating facilities are functioning.
‘There has never been an area in the game that was left unattended like this.’
Because wherever you go, there are cult warriors guarding the fortress.
I picked up the metal plate that had fallen on the floor.
The metal plate was engraved with a symbol in the form of a diamond inside a circle with two triangles inside it. It is a symbol mainly used by the Society of the Prophets among the religious symbols of the cult.
‘It is said that the circle symbolizes the world, the rhombus symbolizes the eye, and the triangle symbolizes wisdom and knowledge.’
The place I am now is the area where the prophets of the Society of Prophets stationed in this fortress reside. There are many religious structures made of metal around it.
There are no broken buildings like in the arsenal area, but judging by the signs scattered on the ground and the buildings whose surfaces are starting to corrode, it seems like they haven’t been touched by human hands for quite some time.
‘I said no one would come except for the patrolmen.’
So, it could be said that it is a suitable place to hide the body.
Then my auxiliary organs detected a vibration in the air. Someone was approaching.
‘You’re here.’
It was a patrol ship flying in with all its external lights off. The ship landed in the square near me.
The rear hatch of the corvette opened and familiar-looking creatures jumped out. A 50cm-tall pink jellyfish and a white dragon with four red wings rushed toward me.
“Big baby!”
“Big man” “Hello”
Since arriving at the fortress, No. 26 and Adhaida have been in the container.
It had only been a few days since I last saw them, but they greeted me as if I hadn’t seen them in weeks. Number 26 climbed on top of me, and Adhai rubbed his neck gently against my arm.
[Zuzuzuzu (How have you been?)]
“Yeah. I studied by myself.”
“Me” “I’m bored” “Sick child” “Not fun”
“I created a humorous program that incorporated as many elements as possible that Gallagon would enjoy. That evaluation is unfair.”
Then the mutant Screamer PS-111 crawled out.
“Based on reasonable judgment, I request a reconsideration of the evaluation.”
“Look” “Too” “Serious”
Since leaving the Dragon’s Nest, the one who has changed the most among us is not me, but PS-111.
The basic body shape, which looks like a combination of a spider and a scorpion, remains the same, but many other aspects have changed.
First of all, its size has increased. Its torso is 7m long, and if you include its tail, it is 12m long. Its eight legs have also become longer and thicker, just like its body. Previously, its legs had exposed metal skeletons, muscle tissue, and flesh, but now they are covered in a hard shell.
In addition to the legs, other parts of the creature are covered with animal skin and carapace on top of a metal skeleton. Anyone who sees it would mistake it for a Hulk mutant or a genetically modified beast rather than a Screamer.
The head was still a pale female face with thick cables entwined around it. It looked similar to the previous one, but had an added function: the ability to manipulate psychic powers. Thanks to this, I could send out waves in a similar way to how I communicated with the monster’s tentacles.
Another change is the addition of four thin cables under the chin. This was a new feature because it was inconvenient to have to pull the cables out of the back every time you wanted to link up with the ship’s computer.
‘I should say that overall, he resembles me.’
“I see. So you’re thinking of making this place your nest.”
As I was thinking about PS-111, Mother Heaven, who had gotten off the patrol ship late, spoke to me.
The original idea was to hide the kids in a container until the fort was attacked, but things have changed. There are hardly any pirates here, so it’s a perfect place for the kids to hide.
[Zzuzuzu zuzuzuzu zuzuzuzuzu (It’ll be okay since it’s an abandoned area)]
“Hiding in a religious area. If it were a game, that would be absolutely impossible.”
She let out a hollow laugh as she saw the symbols of the three major power structures of the empire scattered on the floor.
As she said, the cult values the teachings of providence above all else. I have never attacked the central religious district in the three times I have invaded Kesha Arma.
‘Anything is difficult at first.’
After greeting everyone, I called over one of the pirates from the corvette. He knelt before me with a happy smile on his face.
“What has changed in the meantime?”
“The items to be auctioned arrived 6 hours ago, and some have already been transported to the 3rd Command.”
“okay?”
That’s good news. What I’m after is the genetic essence of rare creatures that are scheduled to be auctioned at Kesha Arma’s grand auction.
“Is there also a product management list at the 3rd Command?”
“The full list is kept by the deputy chief of the 2nd Command.”
“If you’re talking about the boss, are you talking about the tiger wolf?”
“Yes. I am the head of the Kadoon department.”
I looked at my heavenly mother. She nodded in agreement.
If she wants to advance to the level of divinization, she needs the heart of a transformable Wolf. The one called the Underboss of Kadun is the sacrifice that meets that condition.
‘That went well.’
If you capture the boss, you can achieve two goals at once.
‘The preparations are finally finished.’
The seeds sown in Kesha Arma are slowly sprouting.
‘The news of chaos is spreading quickly.’
The pirate who was infected with the ‘Madness Bomb’ has already been hospitalized. It seems that they are not responding properly because of the auction above, but in the meantime, the messenger of chaos is spreading like crazy.
In about three or four days, you will see huge crowds of people running wild everywhere.
If you attack the life support facility here, the damage will be greater. Since one of your managers has been controlled by a parasite, you can attack at any time.
‘Of course, that’s something I’ll do after I’ve eaten all the rare creatures.’
“Is there anything else to report?”
My question was answered by a loyal servant.
“There’s one more thing. We’re currently organizing a large-scale search party from above to eradicate the drug dealers. This place is expected to be included in the search route.”
Search party.
I’m not really worried because I can hide without much trouble by utilizing my trait. Or, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to catch the search party members who came looking for us and put parasites in them.
‘Wait? Don’t do that… .’
Suddenly a good idea occurred to me.
“Can we possibly include the deputy chief in that search party?”
“I don’t know. It might be possible depending on the situation.”
It may be possible depending on the situation.
Then, I guess we can just create the situation they want.
So that tigers can come to this abandoned area.