Became an Evolving Space Monster - Chapter 298
Only Noblemtl
Episode 298 – Infiltration (1)
After the return of Heavenly Mother, we prepared to leave the planet.
Adhai and I went out together to catch a lot of food for the last time, to make sure the Gallagons would be full for a while.
Meanwhile, PS-111 left behind only one Mini Screamer in the Screamer support ship, and departed first with the Giga Cracker along with the remaining four. The Mini Screamer, who was left alone, was in charge of the maintenance and repair of the support ship.
The task of carrying the four Mini Screamers and the PS-111 was assigned to the Heavenly Mother. The sight of her sighing deeply was truly an unpleasant sight, but I eventually accepted it.
The Gallagons were quite sad to hear that we were leaving.
In particular, the Gallagons who were in charge of childcare were very saddened when they heard the news of No. 26 leaving. This must be because they knew that it would be that much harder for them if he were gone.
Ham Ort also seemed to be sad that his daughter was going on another long journey. Adhai seemed to feel the same way, spending time with his mother from the end of the hunt until before leaving.
After a day of cleaning up like that, we returned to Gigacracker.
As I entered Gigacracker’s situation room, a device I had never seen before greeted me.
Its appearance resembled a miniature obelisk, and it was about 1m long. The outer surface was bright silver, and had geometric patterns engraved on it.
‘The Cult’s Interstellar Communicator?’
Cults with an interest in geometry often incorporate their tastes when creating special equipment or ships, but this is the first time I’ve seen an interstellar communicator like this.
‘Has it been improved?’
Not only did it look like that, but there were several port holes in the lower part where there should have been nothing. Currently, cables and wires from inside the situation room were connected there.
“Since it’s something that was sold on the black market, it works with powers other than psychic power.”
The Heavenly Mother, who had returned as a water doll, explained as if she had read my questions.
[Zuzuzuzuz zu zu zu zu zu (It looks different than I remember)]
“Yes. It’s a modified model based on a cult-style interstellar communicator.”
It looks like they took the entire communicator that was being stored away and tore it apart.
[Zzuzuzuzu zuzuzu zuzuzuzu (Weren’t you supposed to go contact me?)]
“As expected, things have gotten a bit complicated.”
She frowned slightly at my question.
“I kept trying to contact them right after I got there, but they didn’t respond. Judging from the signal, it wasn’t broken.”
[Zzuzuzu zu zuzuzuzu (I guess you’re not answering my phone)]
“So let’s check it out another way.”
[Zuzu zuzu (another way?)]
“Yes. There is a location sharing feature added between linked devices.”
“Location coordinate analysis complete. I will display the hologram.”
A giant hologram appeared in the middle of the situation room, along with the voice of PS-111, who was working next to the communicator.
The territory of the Cult Empire was visualized and filled the situation room. The hologram containing the vast territory expanded around a single point. It started from a constellation, then a star, then a planet, and then a city unit within a planet, and then stopped.
“This is the planet Berzan 01 in the Auro constellation.”
“Berzan01? It’s there?”
“Do you know?”
Berzan01 of Auro99. One of the most prosperous planets in the Empire, it is famous for two things.
‘The largest branch of the Society of Prophets is there.’
The original headquarters of the Prophet’s Council was not Berzan 01, but a desert planet called ‘The Guide’.
However, it is close to the center in terms of cultural and historical significance, and the place with real power is Berzan01. The Eye of Revelation Priests, a military group belonging to the Prophet’s Society, is also stationed in Berzan01.
[Zuzuzu zuuzuzu zuuzuzu zuuzuzu zuuzuzu (Wasn’t 22nd place Cold Blood? That’s surprising)]
“That’s true, but how did this happen?”
In the Cult Empire, most Coldbloods are treated as cultists or criminals. Their image is worse than that of Wolf, who is treated as a slave.
Such a person is hiding in a place where religious influence in the empire is so strong that it can be felt within a fingertip.
‘Is it dark under the lamp?’
Now that I think about it, it’s not entirely strange. Even Coldblood has a way to operate secretly.
Another feature of Berzan 01, where the largest branch of the Prophet’s Society is located, is that it is the planet with the most active slave trade within the Empire. If you disguise yourself as a slave, it is not difficult to enter the planet itself.
‘How we proceed after that is a separate issue.’
I’ve been to Berzan01 a few times in the game, too. I’ve been there as an adult, and I remember the planet conquest being quite difficult.
The moment they start to rampage on the planet, a powerful force of priests of the Eye of Revelation, a huge garrison, and a large number of cult players appear from all over the place. The planet’s defenses are also on top of that.
‘If we want to fight now, we can, but there’s something that catches us.’
The 7th ranked cult ranker, Beomho.
In the game, Berzan01 is one of the cult’s key points. If I were him, I would have definitely built up my power in Berzan01 as well.
‘It’ll be a problem if you go and run into those guys.’
Unlike games, in real life, if you die, it’s over. It’s best to avoid all-out war until you have enough information.
“You can’t take the Giga Cracker. If you do, there’ll be a real war.”
The Heavenly Mother, who thought similarly to me, said. If you go with a weapon that destroys the planet as she said, it will be war. If the entire planet falls into chaos, the possibility of meeting the 22nd will decrease, and if you are not careful, you may end up colluding with the 7th. Even if I were the 22nd, I would not want to talk to Aimov who brought the Giga Cracker.
“So, are you planning to take over a new ship?”
I kept my mouth shut to PS-111’s question.
Actually, there is a ship. It is the cult pirate ship that I used to sail on before I got the Gigacracker. That ship remains on the dwarf planet that the Gigacracker was trying to mine.
‘No, there might not be any left.’
By now, the previous owner, Saint Kay, must have searched everywhere for the lost superweapon. He must have already checked the constellation where Giga Cracker was before he disappeared, so he must have found the ship I left behind. It is very likely that he has collected the ship.
‘But it’s also difficult to get a new ship.’
Surveillance on Berzan 01 is quite strict, so you must choose carefully which ships you will hijack.
If it’s a ship that has visited the planet often, it might not be a problem, but if it’s a ship that has never visited the planet, it’s more likely to happen.
However, it is not easy to get through the port guards like when you raid Kesha Arma. Berzan 01 is a planet with a population incomparable to that of a fortress, so there are many guards. It would be nice to be able to control them all, but unfortunately, that is impossible.
‘It’s more difficult than I thought.’
The hidden planet is the famous Berzan 01, so it is quite difficult to infiltrate. In the game, if you want to conquer that place, a lot of preparation is required.
‘As I’ve become an adult, my body has grown and I have a giga cracker, should I just go with the regular method?’
In the game, you had to clear it alone without any tools, but isn’t it different here? There might be a 7th place over there, but I don’t know if that’s true.
I was wondering if I was overthinking it, when suddenly another idea occurred to me.
‘Body size.’
The metallic gremlins, known as space raiders, are considered the natural enemies of ships. They are not infamous because they travel in groups. If they did, it would be the ‘group’ that is infamous, not the individual.
I know how they can penetrate sophisticated radar nets and infiltrate ships. I myself learned their methods during my time as a stellar being, and have infiltrated space cities and planets many times.
[How long does it take to get from here to Berzan01?]
“With the engine performance of Gigacracker, it will arrive within two weeks.”
[Zuzu zuzu zuzu zuzu zuzu zuzu zuzu (How long do you think it would take if I went there myself?)
“If we analyze the data we have accumulated so far, we can see that it takes between 3 and 5 weeks.”
[Zuzu (good)]
You need a few traits to execute the plan you have in mind. If it’s about a month until Verzan01, it’s not bad.
“You’re going there yourself? What are you going to do?”
[Zzuzuzuzu zuzuzuzu zuzuzuzu (I’m going to try the old way after a long time)]
“…I have a bad feeling.”
[Zzzzzz zzzzzz zzzzzz zzzzzzzz (How many times has there been interstellar communication capability? Was it 5 times?)]
“Are you planning to take MPS-05 with you?”
As I placed my combat arm on the floor, a mini-screamer named MPS-05 appeared on my palm.
[Zz zuzuzu zuzu zuzuzuzu (Yeah. I’ll have to borrow this guy’s strength)]
The guy was given traits other than combat-related ones, to help him efficiently assist with interstellar communication functions.
‘I need PS-111’s help to make this plan happen.’
To be exact, they are ‘PS-111s’.
I smiled as I looked up at the MPS-05, which was quietly looking up at me from its palm.
–
The ‘Watchpoint’ of the Aur constellation, which includes Berzan02.
The role of the Watchtower is to record the energy flow of superluminal power emitted by ships entering the system. It is a device installed in case an unrecorded energy flow occurs or a ship that has caused trouble escapes at superluminal speed.
Today, too, the personnel of the Surveillance Bureau were busy monitoring the numerous ships traveling to and from the Aur Constellation.
It was not unusual for them to suddenly see an unrecorded flow of energy. It was also common for the surveillance agency to dispatch a fleet to a location where the energy was observed.
“Approaching point of hyperluminal travel.”
“At this point, it should be observed. Knowledge Manager?”
“Hmm. It seems that it is not properly observed because of the strong magnetic field.”
“Magnetic field? Is it from another constellation?”
“I’m not sure. I’ll just keep trying to analyze the information.”
An elite fleet under the Office of the Watch approached an area where an unidentified magnetic field was spreading.
In the situation room inside the ship, the cult crew was projecting images of footage taken by the ship’s external cameras and surveillance radar into the air.
Meanwhile, Charas, the knowledge manager dispatched from the surveillance office, was quickly organizing the information in his head. Nothing special came up even when he recalled the wavelength data emitted by the stars.
The only instances of similar wavelength patterns were not instances of stellar activity. They were wavelengths observed during an event on a planet.
‘The disaster of Saigil 08?’
She still recalled the incident, which was often recalled as ominous.
At that time, the Imperial Carrier Damos 08’s judgement and the mother ship battle group that were dispatched to purify the pollution were annihilated by an unidentified entity. The Imperial Diet named the monster the ‘Three-Headed Demon’.
And the waves observed by the surveillance office were very similar to the unknown energy storms that the monster was emitting.
‘… There are quite a few differences. What should I do about this?’
In fact, the wavelengths were not exactly the same. What was observed at the time was closer to a kind of energy storm created by the condensation of a large amount of energy. The flow of waves released along with the energy storm was similar to the observed wavelengths, but that was it.
Currently, there is no sign of the massive energy storm or monsters recorded at that time.
‘According to the report submitted by the Imperial Council, the creature is incapable of flight.’
The Aur constellation here is incredibly far from the constellation where the Holy Land Saigil 08 is located. Even if you could fly, it would be physically impossible to get here. Unless you could travel at superluminal speeds.
“We have confirmed several results that match the wavelength. However, it is difficult to confirm, so we will request the monitoring agency to review it.”
“Hmm, it can’t hurt to be careful. Okay.”
“Entering the area of the magnetic field.”
As they entered the area of the suddenly generated magnetic field, the lights inside the ship briefly flickered. Although rare, this was not an uncommon occurrence, so none of the crew members were agitated. This was the same for the ship that Charas was on, as well as the other ships.
They quickly restored the ship’s systems and reached the point where a large amount of energy was generated, the place where superluminal travel took place.
Even though we mobilized cameras that are less affected by magnetic fields and even warriors who can use psychic power techniques related to the search, we were unable to find anything special.
“There’s nothing. How strange.”
“What are you going to do?”
“Have you reported this phenomenon to the surveillance agency?”
“Yes. It is currently under review.”
“Just in case, it would be best if some of the ships remain here. I will contact the other ships directly.”
As the captain attempted to contact the other ship, a new image appeared in the situation room. It was an image from the person in charge of the ship’s shields.
“Ship shields restored to normal at 99.9%. Collided with a small object.”
“What is the size of the colliding object?”
“Less than 5m.”
“I guess it’s just a piece of rock floating around.”
Coincidentally, the magnetic field that had spread over a wide area gradually subsided after the collision report.
After the abnormal phenomenon subsided, the order from the surveillance office was to return. It was understood to be a natural phenomenon, but to prevent any unforeseen circumstances, only some were to remain and the rest were to return.
The sudden magnetic field generation incident ended blandly.