I quickly grabbed the Screar’s head with my combat-ready hand. Then, I hugged Number 26 tightly and crouched down.
｢Big guy?｣
Even though Number 26 seed puzzled by the English, I didn’t respond.
It was already too late to escape the blast radius. This was the only way to save Number 26 from the explosion.
‘Darn it!’
Thanks to my ‘Bone Beast’ trait, my body’s defense had increased dramatically, but not Number 26’s. Being a Sea Demon, it wouldn’t die from the Screar’s self-destruction, but fatal injuries were inevitable.
‘Please, endure.’
I closed my eyes, bracing for the imminent baptism of flas.
But minutes passed.
‘Huh?’
｢Big guy, what’s wrong? Are you mad?｣
No agonizing pain engulfed my body, just the cold air within the ice corridor.
I opened my eyes and checked the Screar.
[PS-111. Additional damage occurred due to external impact. Current damage report: 87%.]
Embedded in the ice wall, the Screar chanically murmured, blood seeping white, showing no response.
‘What happened?’
Only then did I realize sothing was off about this Screar.
While under the control of machines, Screars operated based on biological principles. Only androids could survive with just their heads intact.
‘It doesn’t seem like an android.’
I focused on the auxiliary organs to examine its appearance closely. It seed much more lifelike than an android.
Androids conducting espionage mimic humans well, but it was unlikely for a Screar to have such capabilities.
‘I’m frustrated.’
As I silently observed, Number 26 slipped out of my embrace and darted outside. Then, upon seeing the Screar pinned to the wall, it emitted a bright glow.
｢Ahh! My friend’s hurt!｣
[PS-111. Advising the main controller. Hostile organism detected. Please retreat.]
Number 26’s body color, which had darkened with each distressing event, indicated his discomfort. I knew this well, having seen it turn closer to purple-pink every ti I was severely injured.
As Number 26, with slightly darkened body color, pulled out tentacles and retrieved the pinned Screar from the wall.
｢Are you okay, friend?｣
[Reporting to the main controller. Current recovery progress: 0.5%.]
As Number 26 set the Screar down, six tallic legs resembling spider legs protruded from its neck area. At that sight, I couldn’t help but think of extraterrestrial creatures from classic SF horror films set in Antarctic research bases.
The eerie Screar head, with its tallic legs moving diligently, stood before Number 26. Its appearance seed as if it were protecting Number 26.
｢Friend!｣
[There is a 95% chance that hostile organisms pose a threat to the main controller. Disregard.]
Number 26 seed confused about what to do between and the Screar.
｢How could this happen?｣
Given the extraordinary circumstances, it was hard for to understand too.
｢Big guy, it looks like our friend is hurt.｣
[ZZZ (Silence)]
｢Yeah.｣
Perhaps my emotions seeped into the waves, as I unintentionally spoke coldly. Number 26 curled up like a child who had secretly brought ho a puppy.
‘…Let’s examine this carefully.’
Fortunately, the Screar didn’t self-destruct, but that didn’t an the situation was okay. This was the first ti Number 26 had acted independently since eting , and it wasn’t just play or feeding—it led to a major incident.
‘I hid a danger from it.’
If the Screar had hard Number 26, it might not have been here. No, it might not have escaped serious injury, even to the point of death.
Of course, I needed to reprimand it, but there were things to consider first.
I looked at Number 26 emitting a pink light in the darkness. Though he seed to shrink at my apparent anger, he didn’t imdiately discard the Screar.
In other words, it might have developed rcy.
As an Amorph, I inevitably had to take the lives of other creatures. It was the only way for to evolve, the only way for to survive. None of my colleagues were unaware of this point.
Except for the Mother of the Sky, who had her goals. That is, to kill enemies and comfort the souls of her family.
Anyway, since everyone understood my nature, I could co here, to the Gallagon’s Nest, with them.
Originally, I would have spent a long ti gathering the traits necessary for Apex hunting. But since my weaknesses were complented by them, there was no need for that.
But if Number 26 started to value life here, it would greatly hinder my hunting activities. Especially if the one among us who handled psychic powers the best was absent, Gallagon hunting would beco extrely difficult.
“Moreover…”
The problem doesn’t end here.
Number 26’s sudden actions might be evidence of its growth.
In other words, this might happen again in the future. As it gets smarter, it’ll inevitably clash with more often.
Not just Number 26. Even Adhai might beco similar as she grows. Adhai is younger than Number 26, after all.
‘I won’t solve the problem by coming out oppressively from this position.’
I need collaborators to complent my weaknesses, not slaves. If I want to maintain a positive relationship with them in the future, I need to pay even more attention to it.
‘You have to start things right.’
As a child’s ego grows, they naturally want to break away from their parents’ gaze. At such tis, I know better than anyone that if there is a conflict with the parents, it will last a lifeti.
Regardless of the circumstances, reprimanding Number 26 is a given, but I need to choose my words carefully so that he can understand.
After gathering my thoughts, I spoke to Number 26.
[ZZZZ ZZ ZZZZ ZZZ ZZZZ ZZZ ZZ(Do you know how dangerous that is?)]
｢Is our friend in danger?｣
[ZZZ ZZZZ ZZ ZZZZ ZZZ (If it explodes, we’ll all get hurt.)]
｢Really? More dangerous than a bang-bang?｣
[ZZZ (Yes.)]
Upon hearing that the Screar was more dangerous than a plasma launcher, Number 26’s body turned pale.
It wasn’t a lie. The self-destruct I witnessed seed over 20 tis more dangerous than a plasma launcher. Of course, I wouldn’t die, but there was no need to ntion that.
｢I don’t want the big guy to get hurt!｣
[ZZZ ZZZZ ZZ ZZZZ ZZ ZZ ZZZ ( neither. So please, trust and help.)]
｢Yeah…｣
Seeing it trembling like it did when it was experinted on by gaCorp researchers, I felt a sudden pang of guilt. But I steeled my heart.
[ZZZ ZZZ ZZ ZZZ (Where did you get it from?)]
｢I saw it when I was eating a big bad one. It hurt a lot, so…｣
Co to think of it, we talked about the Mother of the Sky and the Screar during the day.
While rummaging through bodies to eat their hearts, she found scraps of Screars in her organs. Based on the debris collected, Ice Horrors had consud at least ten Screars.
According to the Mother of the Sky, judging by the broken traces, it seed like they were eaten or ambushed by Ice Horrors before they could self-destruct.
‘It had the sa composition as the Screars that were hunting Winter Walkers.’
That’s why we concluded that StarUnion was conducting secret Screar developnt experints on this planet. They were probably pitted against powerful predators like Ice Horrors or Winter Walkers to test their combat effectiveness.
[ZZZZ ZZ ZZZ (One more thing.)]
｢Yeah?｣
[ZZZZ ZZ ZZZ (Why did you save it?)]
｢That’s…｣
It hesitated without answering my question.
It would be very difficult if it said it did it out of pity.
‘Let’s not be anxious.’
Coming out oppressively would only backfire. I waited patiently.
After a mont of silence, it sent cautious waves.
｢I’ve slled kinship since the first ti I saw it.｣
[ZZZZ (Kinship?)]
｢Yeah. I brought it to prevent it from hurting, because my friend said it hurt.｣
Co to think of it, when I was hiding, Number 26 had handed sothing to the Screar, instructing it to eat.
[ZZZ ZZZZ ZZ ZZZ (Shall we try again?)]
Upon hearing my waves, Number 26 pulled out its tentacles. Violet threads like those used in its ‘restraint’ technique erged from the tentacles, piercing the tal holes on the Screar’s back of the head.
At that mont, the Screar’s eyes rolled back, and chanical sounds emanated from its mouth.
[PS-111. Confirming an increase in power recharge rate from 5% to 6%.]
‘Feeding the sick makes them feel better.’
Seeing that, I roughly understood the situation.
‘Bubble amoeba or Sea Demon genes must have been incorporated.’
With that in mind, I could understand the Screar’s characteristic of being able to survive even with just its head.
The two organisms resembling slis can manipulate and shrink important organs like the brain as they please. Thanks to this feature, Sea Demons can survive even with just one-thousandth of their body.
‘Only the necessary organs were shrunk and placed inside the face.’
If this Screar had genes from a bubble amoeba or Sea Demon, it wouldn’t be impossible.
This also explains why Number 26, with a completely different communication system, can communicate with the Screar.
[Power recharge rate at 10%. Will be utilized for biological function enhancent.]
When he spoke, I felt a very faint flow of waves. Perhaps to Number 26, it sounded much more indistinct than what Adhai would say.
Considering that Number 26, a fellow who was in a lot of pain and couldn’t speak properly, would have felt much more pity for the screar.
‘It’s deeply empathetic.’
It’s a much better situation than I feared, but there are still problems.
‘The sa thing might happen again when encountering new Screar types with bubble amoeba or Sea Demon genes.’
Number 26, understanding the aning of my words, puffed up in surprise. Looking at his white body, it seed unlikely that it would make another impromptu move.
[ZZZZ ZZZ ZZ (That should be fine.)]
As a finishing touch, I sent a warning wave.
[ZZZZZ ZZZ ZZZ ZZZ ZZ ZZZZ ZZ (I have a responsibility to protect my family. You’ll understand my intentions too.)]
｢Yeah, I understand.｣
[ZZZ ZZZZ ZZ ZZZZ ZZZ ZZ (When you see a new friend, let know. Got it?)]
｢I got it…｣
Seeing the dejected Number 26, I felt uneasy, but it couldn’t be helped. It’s never good to have such surprises while fighting dozens or hundreds of Screars.
Having concluded my warning to Number 26, I turned to the Screar glaring at .
‘Now, how do we deal with this next?’
I picked up the Screar’s head with my fingers.
Monts ago, it had tal legs attached to its face, but now its appearance had changed. Tentacles and protrusions that hadn’t been visible before were now sticking out around its cheeks and jaw. Furthermore, the broken tubes had flesh protruding from them, transforming into a semi-organic form.
‘Is it a self-recovery function?’
The one who just absorbed the psychic power from Number 26 was likely using the energy to regenerate his body.
[Threat detected from hostile organism. Initiating counterattack.]
｢Hey! Big guy! He’s one of my kind! Don’t hurt him!｣
As the entity transford into an even more grotesque form and resisted by poking my fingers with its tallic legs, Number 26 intervened.
“Main controller’s command confird. Ceasing counterattack.”
The Screar imdiately halted its resistance upon Number 26’s words. It seed to recognize Number 26 as its superior, possibly due to shared genetic material.
｢Hey, buddy. You should listen to the big guy. Got it?｣
[Reclassifying hostile organism. Reclassification to sub-controller status complete. Access to the internal database granted.]
With the adjustnts made, the Screar folded its tallic legs and calmly looked up at .
[Pleased to et you, sub-controller. How may I assist you?]
Originally, my plan was to scold Number 26 and then devour the Screar. However, witnessing the creature obediently pleading to Number 26 altered my thoughts slightly.
‘I could extract so information.’
I activated one of the functions of my mimicry organ, the voice imitation feature.
“Who are you?”
[My code na is PS-111. I am a PS-grade interdiate terminal model commanding lower-grade Screars on behalf of the main controller.]
The head-only Screar, PS-111, served as a sort of field commander.
“Surprising. Screars usually don’t have commanders, right?”
[That was the case until the old model. The previous main controller, ‘Pira Eleven,’ identified the limitations of that model and, under the approval of the Supre Controller, began developnt of a new model called the ‘Mutant Screar.’]
“Limitations, you say?”
[The vulnerable durability of organic entities synchronized with Screar machines, low resistance to psychic power, and lack of tactical thinking.]
The three points he ntioned were persistent weaknesses of Screars.
‘It was a system-constrained issue, but this is reality.’
Using Hulk mutants as material could drastically enhance the performance of non-chanical components. Additionally, bestowing psychic power abilities was a bonus.
The issue lies in tactical thinking, but it’s not incomprehensible.
Freethinking and action are not permitted for Screar units resembling punitive units. Therefore, the approach of selectively integrating higher-grade entities to assist was chosen.
“Indeed. So, you’re a commander-grade Mutant Screar.”
[That’s correct.]
“Pira Eleven, you said? Why was the main controller changed?”
[Internal data damage caused by an attack from the 7th-grade hazard creature ‘Ice Horror’ led to system initialization. The new main controller registered at that ti is the 8th-grade ‘Sea Demon.’]
Hearing that, I had a hunch.
‘The psychic drill fired by Number 26.’
When that imnsely powerful psychic attack tore apart the internals of the Ice Horror, he likely received the aftermath.
I asked again.
‘Let’s move on to the next question. Explain the genes in your body. What organisms do they belong to, and who manipulated them?’
[The genes applied to my body…]
PS-111 listed the biological information contained within his body ticulously. As expected, there was a small amount of Sea Demon genes included.
‘Cold-blooded genes are unexpected.’
The Screar I t last ti and this one both had a significant proportion of cold-blooded genes. While it’s true that beneficial traits can be obtained from cold-blooded organisms, they aren’t overwhelmingly powerful. There’s no need to include them in Hulk mutant materials for Screars.
‘Is there sothing I don’t know?’
While pondering internally, the Screar’s speech continued.
[Five types of genes have been injected into my body. Genetic manipulation was handled by research supervisor Cloe Garalda and senior researcher Lee Zhao.]
“Wait. Garalda and Zhao? Are they from the gaCorp families?”
[Yes. Both researchers are affiliated with Noble Capital and Pri Capital within gaCorp.]
Upon hearing his words, I realized that my conjecture was correct.
The overlords of StarUnion, Garalda of gaCorp’s Noble Capital, and Zhao of Pri Capital. They are individuals who could be considered the leaders of gaCorp and StarUnion, respectively. It’s a situation where the leaders of warring factions are colluding.
‘Most likely a player.’
I looked down at PS-111 lying in my palm.
I’ve obtained almost all the information I can from him, and only the most important question remains. Depending on his answer, I’ll decide his fate.
“Is there a possibility that the main controller, Pira Eleven, could seize control?”
[It’s impossible until the system is reset to unlock the firewall.]
“Can other interdiate terminals change the main controller like you?”
If this is possible, I can leverage Screars made by enemies. It would be helpful in hunting Gallagons and would provide significant power when fighting players in the future.
However, PS-111’s response dashed my expectations.
[Control changes due to damage are no longer possible.]
“Why is that?”
[Before I broke free from Pira Eleven’s control, I reported the possibility of this error. By now, the vulnerable part of the control should have been fixed.]
This ans that it’s impossible for Number 26 to take control of another Screar like PS-111.
‘In that case, is it advantageous to devour him?’
As if sensing my thoughts, the entity on my palm added further remarks.
[However, I can access the circuits used by lower-grade entities, S models.]
“Does that an you can spy on other Screars’ operations?”
[Not only spying, but limited control over S models is also possible.]
“Limited control?”
[You can physically contact the Screar machine to seize control.]
The Screar machine refers to the scorpion or spider-shaped chanical device that encases the biological material used to create Screars. True to their nickna as StarUnion’s punitive force, all bodily activities of Screars are controlled by the Screar machine.
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