Became an Evolving Space Monster - Chapter 354
Only Noblemtl
[Zuzuzuzuz (What about Isabel?)]
“‘Brother’ is out with the main controller, experimenting with a new body. I’ll call him now.”
[Zzuzuzu zuzu zuzu zuzu zuzuzuzu (It’s okay. I’ll go get you)]
“Then I will check the Screamer support line one last time before leaving.”
“Last. Check!”
“Last. Check!”
As PS-111 raised its large body, the small screamers underneath it repeated the same word.
I left the screamer support line behind, leaving the guy doing his job behind.
If you look at the support ship that is stuck in the ground like the Leaning Tower of Pisa, you can see the traces of repair here and there on the lower part, that is, the front part of the ship that is stuck in the ice. It was patched up with minerals loaded on the Giga Cracker to create a space for the Coldbloods to live in. They will stay there until their health is restored enough to adapt to the planetary environment.
Near the support ship were the aircraft that PS-111 had repaired. They were used by the Coldbloods staying inside the support ship to commute to and from Gallagon’s nest or to obtain food and supplies.
Just then, the Heavenly Mother and the Coldbloods came down from the carrier, as if they had been somewhere. She took on the form of a water spirit and waved slightly when she saw me, while the Coldbloods next to me bowed their heads deeply.
‘I’m sure you’ll be fine.’
I nodded to them and focused on the accessory organ under my chin. My right head sensed a faint familiar smell coming from a spot quite a distance away.
It smelled like metal and blood.
‘Are you hunting after all?’
I kicked the ground and spread my wings at the same time. The ice beneath my feet cracked and the ice powder on it scattered.
As I fly, flapping my wings, the temperature gradually gets warmer. Looking down, I start to see mushroom-like plants growing here and there on the barren plain.
And in the distance, a large pink creature appears floating in the air. It is a body shaped like a hemisphere covered by a ring, with numerous tentacles and fins extending from underneath. It is Number 26. It is floating in the underground world filled with air, as if swimming in the ocean.
Floating peacefully in the air was a new type of mutant Screamer. It was Isabel, once Coldblood, now an artificial life form.
If No. 26 resembled a jellyfish, Isabel’s appearance was closer to a snake or a marten. With a long body and multiple arms, she was curled up in a coil while floating in the air.
Among them, a monster that looked like a combination of a bat and an ape, Cavegoyle, was seen dead with its tongue sticking out.
“If you push harder, it’ll crack.”
“Are you telling me to relax my body?”
Isabel, who heard the waves of No. 26, relaxed. As Cavegoyle’s bones were completely crushed and oozing out like liquid, the creature quickly grabbed him with its many arms. No. 26, who saw this, shook its tentacles and glowed.
“Good job! Now you can eat it!”
“thank you.”
Number 26 stroked Isabelle’s head with his tentacles, just as I did. Isabelle tried to slightly avert her head, perhaps feeling awkward about being complimented by a pink jellyfish. Then, the creature met my eyes.
[Zuz …
“Wow! It’s a big baby!”
Only then did Number 26 recognize me and come towards me, his fins waving in the air. He transformed his body into his usual pink balloon form and climbed onto my head.
[Zuzu zu zu zu zu zu zu (Are you feeling a little more used to it?)]
The guy didn’t answer my question, but opened his mouth wide. His jaws split apart like a snake when it eats its prey, and his mouth opened wider than the thickness of his body. Two hooked teeth, similar to the chelicerae of a spider, protruded from inside his mouth.
In that state, the creature swallowed the whole cavegoyle it was holding with its multiple arms. The numerous hands and the hooked teeth coming out of its mouth quickly pushed the prey inside.
Isabel, who had put a 3m-long prey into her stomach in an instant, said calmly.
“As you can see.”
[Zzuzuzu zuzuzuzu zuzuzuzu zuzuzuzu zuzuzuzuzu (I expected that Mother in Heaven would take quite some time to adjust)]
“… Phew. It’s the body that my sister worked so hard to create. How can you say anything?”
No, it’s not that she’s calm, it’s more like she’s giving up. Judging from the way she’s saying it with a small sigh, it seems like she doesn’t really like her current body.
‘If you tell PS-111, he’ll fix it.’
It may be a bit disappointing, but it’s not impossible to make him a little more human here.
‘I guess there’s no need to tell you.’
I don’t want to waste time readjusting here again. My current body is much more advantageous for combat and survival than a human body anyway.
‘I like the appearance too.’
Even her current appearance was attractive in my opinion. It felt like looking at a snake with beautiful scales, and her beauty was captivating and homogeneous, which was completely different from my sister’s.
The guy didn’t seem to like his body, but it was fine enough for me.
Isabel used the arm near her head to push the hooked teeth protruding from her mouth back in.
It was quite ironic that he looked so awkward, as most of his body was covered in metal, giving him a cooler impression than the PS-111.
How should I put it? It felt like a girl pretending to be an adult to hide her immaturity.
‘If I tell you exactly what I’m saying, you’ll get angry, so I’ll just stay quiet.’
“I have no problem eating thanks to my older sister adjusting my taste buds.”
[Zuzu zuzuzu (I think so)]
“Ah, it’s quite convenient to be able to fly like this.”
The creature flew by shaking its body like a sea snake swimming. It flew very naturally, even though it didn’t have any special propellant or parts for flight.
‘I didn’t know Vortex One’s body had that kind of effect.’
Isabel, whose main ingredient was the flesh of the ‘Ring of Agony’, was able to fly while ignoring the laws of physics, just like No. 26, who gained the ability to fly by consuming meat.
It can’t fly at incredible speeds like Adhaina Sky Mother, but it’s still slightly faster than Green Gallagon, which is helpful in combat.
“I guess it’s time to leave since Aimoff is here.”
“Little friend, where are we going?”
[Zuzuzuzuz zuuzuzuz zuuzuzuz zuuzuzuz (This time we’re going to a warm place)]
“A warm place? Is it fun?”
[Z (Yeah)]
I don’t know if it’ll actually be fun or not, but it looks like a pretty interesting place. Planet Asuka 44 is a planet I’ve never been to. Like the ice planet where Gallagon’s nest used to be.
‘I’ve been to many volcanic planets, though.’
It may not be much different from what I expected, but I guess I’ll have to see it for myself to know.
I went back to the support line with the guys.
A few hours later, Adhai and the Heavenly Mother also returned. After completing all preparations, we set off for the Dorane Constellation, where the red giant star was located.
–
A single point of light travels across space deeper than the ocean.
The light was a medium-sized mining ship manufactured by Megacorp.
The ship, with its elongated oval hull, had a large capture crane at its rear. The crane held a huge lump of rock as large as the ship itself.
Although the Saint Kay family is the core of the mineral supply in Megacorp, that doesn’t mean there are no private mining ships at all. Recently, for unknown reasons, the Saint Kay family stopped operating the Giga Cracker, so the demand for private mining ships has increased significantly.
The owner of the mining ship, Jin Chen, a middle capital from Mars, was also one of those who jumped into the mining boom that had been blowing for some time.
He was currently tapping away at a small pad in the old captain’s cabin on the ship.
“Let’s see. How much does this cost compared to the Earth’s official price? One zero, two… .”
He calculated the price of the minerals he had mined and his eyes widened when he saw the amount displayed on the pad.
“Yeah, eight, nine? Ha, hahahaha, hehehehehehe! I’m rich! I’m rich!”
If it’s a middle capital, it’s a relatively high level in a megacorp, but that’s also a planetary thing. Jinchen, who spent his whole life on Mars doing the aftermath of Prime Capital, always dreamed of a better life.
And then, not long ago, his chance came. When the civil war ended and Megacorp was in a recession, his colleague told him a secret. He said that the price of minerals was not normal these days, so he should buy a mining ship in advance.
That day, Jin Chen, who was possessed by something, ran to the ship market as soon as he finished work. He used all the credits he had earned and even borrowed money to buy a used mining ship.
“What? You’re calling me crazy? Well, who’s really crazy?”
The prophet was originally a lonely person. Everyone said he was crazy, but look at the number written on the pad. It was more than twice the amount of credit he had earned in his entire life. If he went back and forth on the same route twice more, his debt would be completely erased.
“I’ll use this to raise initial capital, and then reinvest the rest… hehe.”
As I was giggling from a happy dream, a light came on at the top of the pad.
“what?”
It was a message from the situation room. Jin Chen pressed the light on the pad with his finger.
“Captain. Is there a ship in the same constellation?”
“Ship? Where are you from?”
“I don’t know. I guess I’ll have to come and see.”
He was startled by the words, “an unknown ship.”
In the vast ocean of space, there is nothing more fearsome than an unidentified ship.
He replied that he understood and then hurriedly ran to the situation room.
When he arrived at the situation room, the atmosphere was quite chaotic. The sailors who had been typing on their computers saluted him in an awkward pose when he came in.
He asked the captain of the navigation team, a balding middle-aged man.
“Captain, where is the ship?”
“It’s still quite a distance away from here.”
“Is that a boat?”
“Once we see that the radio signal has been detected, it looks like the ship is right.”
“Or maybe they’re mining another planet?”
“There aren’t any planets worth mining around here….”
Jin Chen sighed softly as he looked at the captain of the navigation team speaking in a hesitant and timid manner.
Since he had used up all his credits to buy mining ships, he had no choice but to hire crew members at a low price. Most of the crew members had less than a year of experience on board, or were just trying to make a killing like Jinchen.
The navigation team leader was chosen because he had some experience, and there was a reason why the hiring cost was low.
“Keep watching and if you come this way, tell me…”
“Hey, Captain? Is that thing moving?”
“what?”
As the sailor manipulated the computer, a star map appeared as a hologram in the center of the situation room. Jinchen’s mining ship was in the center of the hologram, and a small triangular mark flashed in the distance.
The marker was approaching the central mining line.
Jin Chen felt his blood run cold when he saw that.
The pirates who had been lying in wait to hunt discovered their prey and revealed themselves.
–
Piracy is considered a very serious crime in Megacorp. It can’t be helped, because Spacedogs are a group of people who commit crimes such as human trafficking, murder, and smuggling as if they were eating a meal. The damage they inflict on Megacorp is by no means small.
As a result, piracy, and even cooperation with pirates, were rarely forgiven. While working under Prime Capital, Jinchen had seen several colleagues who had been caught dealing with pirates and had been reduced to ’employees’.
“Damn it! Everyone, prepare for battle!”
“Captain? This ship only has laser weapons.”
“Tch! So you’re going to give pirates your butt? We’re going to have to fight no matter what!”
“Ahem, with our weapons, it will be difficult to last even an hour. If we resist uselessly, it could end up being even more miserable… .”
Jinchen barely suppressed the urge to hit the navigation team leader’s shiny head.
As he said, there weren’t many weapons on this ship. The only personal firearm was a laser rifle, and the only protective equipment he had was a mid-level suit.
However, escaping was not easy. The new model could travel at supersonic speeds while holding onto minerals with a capture crane, but this ship did not have that function.
‘You little shit! There aren’t any pirates in this constellation!’
I took the safe route that my colleague told me about, but I didn’t know that something like this would happen. I regretted it later, but it was already too late.
The sign of a pirate ship was getting closer and closer. I finally had a chance to become rich, but I couldn’t die here.
“Can you communicate with that ship?”
“it’s possible.”
Jinchen recalled the stories told by his friend who was familiar with the black market. He said that common minerals, not rare minerals, were unpopular items on the black market because they were difficult to transport but not very expensive.
If what my friend said is true, those pirates wouldn’t attack this mining ship so carelessly. They wouldn’t risk bloodshed to steal minerals that aren’t that expensive, no matter how stupid they are.
Of course, this ship’s armament is poor, but the pirates don’t know that. If they’re lucky, they’ll be able to get away with minimal damage.
“Communication established.”
At that moment, a square screen appeared in the center of the constellation map hologram. Inside it was a fierce-looking man with a mechanical device implanted in his face.
“Huh, you dare to send a communication to our Shinoroku Cartel first?”
“…Are you the boss?”
“Yes. I am the head of the Shinoroku Cartel.”
Jinchen gulped at the scary-looking cyborg pirate. The pirate asked him while holding an electronic cigarette filled with synthetic drugs in his mouth.
“If there’s something going on, there has to be something coming back. What’s your name?”
“Ji, ahem, I’m Jinchen. I’m the owner of this ship… .”
“Okay. If you don’t want to be left behind, give me everything you have.”
“This ship is a mining ship. All it has is minerals. There is nothing to take from the Shinoroku Cartel.”
“You little Amycop bastards all need to see blood to come to your senses. Hey, everyone, get ready to dock.”
Behind the leader, pirates with equally scary looks can be seen moving with their weapons in hand. Jin Chen, seeing this, hurriedly continued speaking.
“Wait a minute! This, this ship has a lot of skilled fighters on board.”
“So? If you take your time, the knife won’t go into your stomach?”
“… There are fighters in reinforced suits waiting. Even if we lose, your losses will not be small.”
Instead of answering Jin Chen’s boast, the pirate leader took a deep drag on his cigarette. He asked, blowing smoke out of his mouth.