Became an Evolving Space Monster - Chapter 307
Only Noblemtl
Episode 307 – Traces (2)
–
“We’ve arrived.”
“Prepare for landing. I’ll check the condition of the items.”
“uh.”
The transport ship with two slaves aboard landed on the sand. While one checked the instrument panel, the other inspected the containers loaded on the back of the transport ship.
“I come here every day, but I don’t know why they keep it here.”
“No problem. It’s the Master’s job. Don’t worry about it.”
“Aren’t you curious? What’s in that damned building that they put a container in?”
The male slave in the cockpit pointed to the reinforced glass ahead. Beyond the glass was the hover bus center, half-submerged in sand.
For the past three weeks, they have come to this abandoned street once every three days to drop off refrigerated containers containing the creatures in front of the hover bus center.
“Hey. Curiosity is poison. I’m going to move the container, so help me quickly.”
“Ugh.”
The insect slave who had finished inspecting the container clicked his pointed jaw. At the signal from his colleague to do so, the human slave obediently opened the back door of the transport ship.
After that, the two of them prepared to move the container out by manipulating the terminal.
Perhaps because it was the time when the sun was out during the day, the temperature outside the transport ship was extremely high. Even though I was wearing a protective suit, I kept sweating.
The machines on the transport ship were all responsible for moving the containers, but they couldn’t avoid the heat. When the containers were unloaded in front of the hover bus center in the scorching heat, the human slave spoke again.
“The creature we brought. Do you know how much it costs?”
“… … .”
“I checked and they are the most expensive items sold in the store. There are even animals that the owner raised and did not sell.”
“So what do you mean?”
The man said, as if he was frustrated with Insect Man’s still grumbling attitude.
“Look. In a day or two, there will be nothing but a container left behind, without any living creatures. Isn’t it suspicious that they are throwing away such expensive animals?”
“Just get to the point. Just get to the point.”
“I think the master is in collusion with the social group.”
“Social group?”
Insectman tilted his head at the man’s words.
“What the hell are you talking about?”
“No, really. I heard that it’s not like there’s chaos on other planets.”
“Think about it. Why would someone as wealthy as you join a social club?”
“You never know. They might have become wealthy thanks to their support. In return, they give away precious creatures.”
“You crazy bastard. Your master’s brother is the captain of the Imperial Carrier. If you do something like that, you’ll be immediately hit by the purification beam.”
“I don’t know. My younger brother might have been in collusion as well.”
Insect Man was getting irritated by his colleague’s endless delusions. It was so hot outside that he was getting angry hearing such nonsense.
“If you’re so curious, go in and check.”
“Huh? Really?” “Okay. You go in and hand over the items yourself.”
Up until now, they’ve just left the containers in front of the center, but they’ve never actually checked who receives them. That’s because they were told from above to just leave the items and return right away.
The man hesitated at Insectman’s words. He was worried about actually going in.
If by any chance there really is a cult inside, it’s a big problem. They might capture you and make you a sacrifice in some bizarre ritual.
“If not, then please shut up.”
“…I’ll go in and be back.”
“what?”
“Wait here.”
“Crazy! Hey!”
However, the man, whose curiosity was greater than his fear of socializing, took a bold action. He left Insectman outside and entered the center’s entrance.
Even though it was broad daylight, the inside of the center was dark. The walls and ceiling were clearly exposed of steel frames and pipes, and the floor was filled with sand brought in from outside.
It was a typical example of a ruin that had not been managed at all. It was hard to imagine anyone living there.
“Hey, the stuff has arrived!”
The man shouted loudly, wondering if anyone was there. His voice resonated against the walls inside the center.
There was no answer in return.
‘Is this a mid-point?’
If you leave items here, it may be structured so that those who receive them can receive them at the appropriate time. If so, there must be mercenaries hired by criminals hiding and watching him right now.
‘Ugh, am I really involved with criminals?’
In fact, he was not the adventurous type. Today, he was just strangely driven by curiosity. He had never done anything rash like this before.
The man slowly backed away toward the entrance.
At that moment, I was getting ready to jump onto the transport ship as soon as I got out.
A sound was heard in the darkness.
“Did the stuff arrive?”
“Hic?!”
The man’s whole body froze at the sudden voice. The cold sweat running down his back wasn’t simply caused by the heat.
As I stood there frozen, the voice flowed out again.
“Did the stuff arrive?”
‘… Where did I hear that voice?’
I’ve heard that voice twice in a row with the same tone before.
There was a slave who did all the dirty work, such as terrorizing the rivals of his master, Alkadi, and the voice was very similar to that of one of them. He was also a slave of human origin, so he remembered it clearly.
“What? You surprised me. If you’re inside, don’t answer.”
“sorry!”
The man felt relieved when he thought that he knew someone.
It was clear that his master was hatching a new plot. He had deliberately chosen such a remote place to store his belongings, in order to avoid the prying eyes of others.
“Did the stuff arrive?”
“Oh! I put it in front of the center.”
“okay!”
After the answer of “I understand,” the center fell silent again. Contrary to the answer, no one came out. There was no sign of life, as if they were working deep inside.
‘I see they’re busy over there too.’
Still, the man shouted again, wondering if he could see her face.
“Hey, are you really busy?”
“sorry!”
“You don’t have to be sorry. I just wanted to see your face.”
“sorry!”
The man felt a strange sensation as he kept hearing apologies.
As a human being, the tone of voice and the way of speaking tend to change subtly every time you speak. But that sound I heard from inside wasn’t like that. It was exactly the same, as if it had been recorded by a machine and then played back.
“… I told you I left something there? Do you not need to check it?”
“okay!”
“… … .”
That wasn’t the only strange thing.
It felt like the conversation had been going on for a while, but something didn’t feel right. I knew him, but the more I talked to him, the less I felt like I was talking to a person.
In addition, the location where the voice came from was strange. The person he remembered whose voice it was was not very tall. At most, he was about the same height as him.
But the place where the voice was heard now was much higher than that. It is still the same now. The author is speaking to him while standing at least 5 meters high.
“Gulp, then I’ll go.”
“Okay! Bye!”
This old center is not a duplex structure. Above the sand-covered ground, there is only a ceiling with exposed steel frames.
So where does the owner of the voice speak?
No, is it really even ‘human’?
‘Come to think of it, that slave… .’
I heard that he died while carrying out the mission his master gave him.
My mind snapped to a halt as I recalled the memory I had heard just three weeks ago.
His instincts, not his head, scream at him. This is a strange place. He must not stay here any longer.
He forced his cold legs to move towards the entrance.
The moment he stepped out of the entrance, a voice was heard from behind.
“Did the stuff arrive?”
The man was unable to answer the fourth question, which came with the same tone of voice and tone of speech.
He barely managed to get onto the transport ship. Sitting in the cockpit, he looked at the center in the blowing sand and made up his mind.
Let’s forget about today.
Let’s not think about who the owner of the voice we heard at the center was.
When I made that promise, I felt strangely at ease. It felt like something that had been weighing on my head was gone.
“huh?”
The moment the transport took off, the man felt something wet inside his ears.
‘It must be sweat.’
Even if he wanted to check, it was impossible in this place because of the protective suit covering his entire body. The man passed it off as nothing serious.
After the transport ship left, giant pink tentacles began crawling out of the center’s entrance. They wrapped around the containers and pulled them in.
No one saw that sight.
–
“Big baby! Did you see it? Did you see it?”
[Z zu zu zu zu (Yeah. You worked hard)]
“Did you do well? Did you do well? Did the item arrive?”
[Zuzu zuzuzu (very good job)]
“Good job! Got it!”
Number 26 was delighted by my compliments and his body glowed. The colorful light coming from his body dispelled the darkness inside the center. Then, I could see the newly formed ‘special tentacles’ on his body wriggling.
Tentacles that look completely different from the fins or normal tentacles on the guy’s body. Not only do they look different, but their structure is also much more complex than normal tentacles.
Looking at its appearance, both the inside and outside of the tentacles are covered with long, thin hair-like protrusions. The protrusions move without rest even when there is no wind, because the tentacles are closely connected to the creature’s consciousness.
If you actually look at the body of the translucent guy, you can see that the tentacles are connected deep inside the body.
“Good job! That, that, grrrrr? Got it! Water, hahahaha.”
As the protrusions shook and rubbed against each other, a strange sound came out of them. If you just listened to the sound itself, excluding the content, it sounded like a person speaking.
Unlike regular tentacles that are used for multiple purposes like hands, these tentacles exist for only one function.
It’s just imitating the human voice.
Those tentacles are the result of grafting the ‘mimic’ trait onto the guy.
‘I didn’t know that new tentacles would grow.’
About three weeks ago, I transplanted the mimicry trait into number 26.
Originally, I was planning to give it to Heavenly Mother instead of the guy. I thought it would be more stable there than transplanting it to No. 26.
But after hearing what I said, she refused.
Currently, the total number of times I can transplant traits to my companions is up to 2. Since the ‘Double Helix Monolith’ itself is related to the space monster type, it may increase in the future, but not yet.
That’s why she said she wanted different traits, not just imitations.
‘I asked for characteristics that fit my style.’
Thanks to her giving up, the new owner of the imitation is number 26.
After the trait was transplanted, the guy’s body developed new tentacles that could make sounds. I thought the ‘mutant tentacles’ that could freely change their appearance would inherit the function of mimicry, but it was an unexpected change.
‘It was applied in the form of replacing the existing normal tentacles.’
It was a pretty good result, as I got mutant tentacles and mimic tentacles, or ‘mimicking tentacles’.
Of course, that doesn’t mean there were no drawbacks.
‘The mechanism is too different.’
In my case, when I acquire the mimicry trait, I develop an additional organ in my body that analyzes the genes of other creatures. This organ sends information to the vocal organ in my throat, allowing me to imitate the voice of that creature.
But No. 26 lacks such an analytical organ. Even if he eats someone, he can’t imitate their voice. The sounds he makes are the result of his tentacles recognizing and reconstructing the waves contained in the voices of the slaves he’s eaten.
So at this point, Nana PS-111 has to be there to listen to him so he can make a sound. It’s similar to recording a voice with a machine and then synthesizing it.
‘Besides, I’m not used to talking vocally.’
Sea Demons do not communicate vocally like humans. They communicate with light from their bodies. They evolved that way because they are deep-sea creatures.
As a result, the concept of communicating through sound itself was unfamiliar to the guy. In order for him to properly use his mimic tentacles, he had to learn the sounds of the necessary words.
“It’s difficult. I’m not good at it.”
[Zuz …
“Hey, grrr, practice! Got it! Good job!”
[Z (Yeah)]
The silver lining is that he learns quite quickly.
‘Because he was an exceptional guy to begin with.’
It’s only been three weeks since I started learning, but I’m already this good. If you teach me diligently, you’ll be able to imitate my voice as well as I do.
‘I guess I’m busy.’
“I” “Study” “Need”
“I also need confirmation of the newly transplanted gene.”
It’s not just No. 26 that has had new traits transplanted. Aadhai and PS-111 have also had useful traits transplanted. In addition to teaching No. 26 to speak, we need to teach them how to utilize their traits.
‘Of course before that….’
[Zuz …
“good”
“okay!”
“What kind of creature are you today?”
There are approximately 11 days left until the cooldown for ‘Organic Evolution’ ends.
I think I can spend the remaining time productively.
–
“Thank you for your time, sir.”
“Haha, Captain Alshas requested an interview, how could I refuse?”
A living room with a bright atmosphere.
Two cultists and one human were sitting in luxurious chairs, conversing.
“Have you finished your work at the Planetary Council?”
“Fortunately, this governor is a person who can communicate well. It ended without any problems.”
“That’s a relief.”
“More than that, this person is… .”
“Hello, Mr. Kissos. I am Sihyeon of Eugene’s family, a member of Megacorp Noble Capital.”
Shihyeon, dressed in the uniform usually worn by cult nobles, stood up from her seat and greeted them politely. The cult called Kissos also stood up from his seat and greeted them accordingly.
“Nice to meet you. Sihyeon of the Eugene family. Kissos of the Monzan tribe. Are you familiar with the cult etiquette?”
“You are too kind. I have encountered many cults, so I have only seen them and learned from them.”
“Haha, Monzan’s etiquette is strict, but you’re amazing.”
“Thank you for your kind words.”
Kisos’s eyes widened into a crescent moon shape after hearing Sihyeon’s humble answer.
In fact, her familiarity with cult-like etiquette was due to past experiences.
She is the shadow of the Eugene family. She has a lot of blood on her hands, including a lot of blood from the cult nobility. Of course, unless she’s an idiot, she wouldn’t say that here.
Kissos, who had sat down again, opened his mouth with an expression of interest.
“Yes. Sihyeon of the Eugene family. Why did you want to meet me today?”
“I would like to do business with you, Kissos.”
“Trading. That’s something I’m good at. Tell me more.”
“Yes. I would like to purchase weapons and equipment from the cult.”
Kissos tilted his head at those words.
“If you’re Eugene, why don’t you buy weapons from Megacorp? Why do you want to buy them from me?”
“I am building my personal power without Eugene’s help. I want to be independent rather than rely solely on the family’s influence.”
“Wow, that must not have been easy, but you did a great job.”
“If you invest in me, I will definitely repay you.”
“It’s an investment.”
After hearing her words, Kissos flicked the chair handle with his fingers.
“I deal mainly with Carmelda of Megacorp. Her head says that investments must be transparent.”
“That is correct.”
“Then shouldn’t you also tell me why you are buying slaves indiscriminately in Berzan 02?”
At those words, Sihyeon’s gaze briefly turned to Alshas, who was sitting next to Kisos. Her eyes were wide open. Judging from that, it was clear that it was not Alshas who spoke, but Kisos who had independently investigated Sihyeon.
“It’s a shame, but the Empire’s security has not been very good recently. Even if I am a proponent of disarmament, this is an obvious fact.”
“… … .”
“I don’t know anything about you. I don’t know if you’re a cultist or a pirate. I have no interest in amassing wealth at the expense of the Empire’s security.”
Sihyeon thought about it for a moment.
‘There is no point in lying any more.’
Kissos is a worn-out member of the Imperial Diet and the leader of the reformist faction. He is an old bastard who has maintained his position in the Diet, where all kinds of infighting are rampant.
It would not be easy to deceive him, and if she failed, she might have to leave Berzan02 altogether. The author is the highest authority on this planet, above the governor.
‘… Is there really no other way than the official method?’
She decided to do as she had originally planned.
Sihyeon got to the main point with a soft smile.
“If you said that you had doubts about whether I was a security threat, then it is true.”
“Is that true?”
“Yes, although the target is not the Empire.”
“Huh?”
“My goal is to regain Eugene’s position as head of the family. To do that, I must kill the current head of the family, Akira.”
Alshas didn’t seem to know that such a story would come up, because his eyes were wandering here and there.
Unlike her, Kissos smiled faintly, as if he found Sihyeon’s words quite amusing.
“As far as I know, Eugene’s family is the emperor of Megacorp, which means he also holds the position of CEO.”
“you’re right.”
“I understand that the Carmelda family, with whom I mainly deal, are on friendly terms with the CEO. Is that correct?”
“yes.”
“But do you think I would invest in someone who would harm the CEO here?”
“Isn’t Lord Kissos negative about Akira’s rule?”
“I?”
When Kissos heard those words, his eyes narrowed.
“Akira Eugene is not hostile to the Empire, but he refuses to have any more ties with it. This is in contrast to the ideas of Lord Kissos, who wants an order where the great powers unite around the Empire.”
“… … .”
“It would be different if someone with the Empire’s position and interests were to become CEO instead of Akira. In fact, I understand that a lot of ‘investment’ has already been made in that regard.”
As Sihyeon said, Kisos was investing heavily in the selection of the CEO of Megacorp. He was providing TNC, Akira’s strong competitor, with the new equipment he had obtained from Carmelda, etc.
However, this was all done in utmost secrecy. Even within the reformist group, there were few people who knew about it, and the story came out of the mouths of complete strangers.
“Are you saying that you can serve the ‘Interests of the Empire’?”
“To be precise, I plan to make it so that someone ‘with the interests of the empire in mind’ becomes the CEO. For example, TNC.”
“… … .”
After Si-hyeon finished speaking, the living room fell into silence.
Kissos stared at her for a long time, then a smile appeared on his lips.
“You’re an interesting person. You’re someone who is ‘worth investing in.’ I hope we can continue to work together in the future.”
“I am the one who needs to be treated well.”
“Alshas, where on earth did you find a human like this?”
“Uh, that’s… sorry.”
“I’m sorry. But thanks to you, I met Sihyeon and Eugene, so I should be grateful.”
With those words, Kissos rose from his seat.
“Weapons and ships will be provided as much as you want. Oh, and one more thing.”
“?”
“I’d like to introduce you to people I know so that we can continue to attract investment.”
Sihyeon was surprised by the unexpected kindness. Just being able to trade weapons was a sufficient achievement, but she didn’t know that she would open a regular route.
“There’s going to be a party at this mansion in four days. Come there. We’ll talk about the details then.”
“Thank you, Kissos. See you again.”
Sihyeon, who greeted Kissos, left the reception room first.
As Kissos was about to see off the remaining Alshas, she suddenly opened her mouth.
“Elder.”
“But why?”
“Well, I’m talking about the party in four days. There are two people I’d like to bring along. Is that okay?”
“Two? Who is it this time?”
“One of them is someone I cannot talk about right now, and the other is my older brother.”
“That rascal Alkadi, huh? Hmm.”
Kissos stroked his chin in front of Alshas, who had been speaking cautiously.
“I heard that Alkadi has a knack for business.”
“That’s right, sir.”
“The governor has recently been considering redeveloping some of the run-down streets. Places like the Avenue of Glory.”
“Yes. I understand there is talk of pushing it down and building a new fort.”
“Alkadi has influence in that area, so it wouldn’t be a bad idea to hire him. I’ll try my hand. Bring him to the party.”
“Thank you, sir!”
When Kissos gave a positive answer, Alshas bowed his head deeply.
Sihyeon Eugene, Kissos, Alshas.
The deal ended with everyone getting what they wanted.