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[Translator – Seraph]
[Proofreader – Draxx]
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Chapter 451
‘Where do you think you're going?’
I tightened the corrosive tentacles coiled around the subrsible.
As the hardened shield shattered, everything inside was instantly crushed by the pressure. I tossed the crumpled wreckage to the right head.
｢Grrr｣
｢Grkk｣
‘That makes twenty now.’
The right head chewed on the tal like gum, crunching and grinding it. The left head, which had eaten first, licked its lips while watching. Feeling that satisfaction, I turned to look at the base.
The facility glowed atop the icy depths of the deep sea, but the light had dimd since earlier.
The sections now cloaked in darkness were all overrun by the ‘Gremlin Moss’.
Half of those areas housed communication systems where I had personally seeded the Gremlin Moss.
The rest? That wasn’t . The moss had spread on its own, infecting those zones without my command.
‘It’s finding targets and acting on its own... That’s unusual.’
It seems to be operating under a chanism similar to a hive mind. I give the target, and it carries out the task in what it deems the most efficient way.
It’s almost like a parasite, in a sense.
The difference is, the moss can absorb energy sources other than what I supply it.
That’s why the lights went out in the occupied areas. This evolved Gremlin Moss is siphoning off the base’s energy as nutrients. Without that, launching an attack on a base of this scale would’ve been impossible.
‘Gremlin Moss with autonomy, huh.’
Whether that turns out to be an advantage or a liability, there’s one thing I know for sure
Its potential is considerable.
If I play this right, it could be a valuable tool in the Solar System campaign.
‘Looks like that side’s cleared out…’
No more subrsibles trying to escape. Ti to head in. I approached the facility with the others hiding in the dark veil.
As I neared, the Gremlin Moss occupying the zone reacted. The door the subrsibles had used to escape slid open.
[ZZZ ZZZ ZZZZ (Adhai. You can let go now.)]
｢Not yet｣ ｢Outside still｣
[ZZZ ZZ ZZZ ZZZ (That narrow spot’s too tight for both of us.)]
｢Understood｣ ｢Still...｣ ｢Slightly｣ ｢Regretful｣
Adhai, who had been curled up in my arms, sluggishly slid off like soone reluctantly leaving a warm blanket in winter.
I aligned my head-plate and body into a straight line, throwing my arms and corrosive tentacles backward. I slimd my form just enough to squeeze through the doorway. It was a tight fit, but I managed.
This was the launch corridor used by subrsibles. Once everyone was inside behind , the door sealed shut and the water drained. Patches of Gremlin Moss clinging to the ceiling lit up, welcoming their master.
‘Oh?’
Maybe because I was closer now, I could feel the Gremlin Moss’s activity through the energy field.
The detailed report startled .
‘Smarter than I thought.’
It hadn’t just disabled the facility.
After taking over, the moss forced malfunctions to attack personnel from within.
It adjusted internal pressure to crush groups of people at once. It sabotaged hoverbuses mid-evacuation to wipe out fleeing survivors. Things like that.
From the survivors’ perspective, the machines ant to protect them had suddenly gone berserk.
Figuring out the cause wouldn’t be easy; they'd never suspect that glowing moss.
‘At this point, even if they wanted to stop it, they couldn’t.’
And reading the moss’s movents, I learned sothing else.
It didn’t attack the others who entered with . Thanks to the symbiotic spores on their bodies, it recognized them as allies.
‘So I don’t need to worry about PS-111 or Isabel.’
The sisters are mutant screars, both partially chanical. I was worried they might be affected by the moss, but thankfully, that’s not the case.
Just as I was savoring the effectiveness of this new trait, the barrier door ahead slid open.
After squeezing through a few more tight corridors, we finally arrived at a spacious chamber.
‘A hoverbus terminal?’
It had once served as a transit hub for base personnel. Now, it was completely ruined.
Hoverbuses that had veered off course were jamd into the walls and ceiling, half-destroyed. The floor was littered with mangled corpses.
“I’ll check where we need to go next.”
“I’ll assist.”
As usual, PS-111 and Isabel located a local terminal and began hacking.
｢Big One, can I eat this?｣
｢ too｣
[ZZZZ (Go ahead.)]
｢Yay!｣
While the Screar sisters worked, the two predators gorged themselves on the scattered remains.
By the ti every last corpse had vanished into their stomachs, PS-111 returned with an update.
“There’s a restricted zone in the central area. All cargo has been moved there.”
The central area... I had seen a do-like structure at the heart of the facility from outside.
That must be it.
[ZZ ZZ Z (Let’s move, everyone.)]
Together, we headed toward the central restricted zone.
Following the hoverbus tracks, we walked for about an hour before a massive barrier door blocked our path.
“Looks like a bomb shelter.”
“This area uses a closed circuit. Every system is custom-built. External hacking is impossible.”
That barrier was absurdly rugged and hard to believe it was part of a high-tech underwater facility. Just like Isabel said, it looked like sothing straight out of an apocalypse movie like a nuclear bunker.
‘There’s not even a terminal for access.’
It was the kind of door that could only be opened from the inside.
And then I sensed movent beyond the thick door. Through the energy field, I picked up traces of plasma energy and the faint scent of sweat.
Survivors. Ard. Standing guard inside the restricted zone.
‘Let’s start by opening the door.’
It was thicker and tougher than a warship’s outer hull but that wouldn’t be enough to stop .
Just as I decided to break through, sothing shifted on the other side.
Dozens of life signs suddenly erupted into frenzied movent. Simultaneously, plasma energy flared across the chamber then blinked out.
“You heard that, right? That noise ca from inside.”
“It is an 81% match with plasma rifle discharge.”
“Amorph?”
The Screar sisters all turned to look at .
The commotion within I knew exactly what was causing it. I’d seen it before, back when I entered another space city.
My energy field. It pollutes minds and incites madness.
Those humans inside must’ve gone berserk and started attacking each other.
‘So, if they perceive my presence, the effect intensifies.’
If they see , hear , or even sense while within the range of the field, the descent into insanity accelerates.
Seems like one of the more perceptive soldiers in there must’ve sensed .
‘If only I could control it better.’
A few minutes later, the door let out a deafening rumble and slowly opened.
“Heh... heehee... light! Heeheehee! S-save ... bleuaagh!”
The chamber beyond was a slaughterhouse.
Most had died from plasma shots, but not all.
About a quarter of the corpses had succumbed to madness and taken their own lives.
The one who’d opened the door wasn’t sane either.
Drenched in blood, he muttered sothing unintelligible before collapsing, dead.
“The energy field Amorph emits has a detrintal effect on sentient minds. Eleven individuals suffered psychotic breaks and initiated a firefight.”
“I’ve seen it before, but this is... this is practically a pseudo-Vortex One.”
Hearing that na co from Isabel, once a Coldblood herself, stirred a strange feeling in .
‘Vortex One, huh.’
That thing does exist as a being known for plunging sentient minds into madness and confusion.
But even it doesn’t affect both machines and humans alike.
Like Isabel said, to the average sapient, I must seem like so demon of the cosmos.
‘And I’m only going to grow stronger.’
｢Big One｣ ｢This one｣ ｢Can we eat it?｣
｢Big One, let’s eat together!｣
Adhai and Number 26’s telepathic voices brought out of my thoughts.
Sensing my hunger, Number 26 had handed a corpse.
‘Still a long way to go.’
There are beings out here that can still threaten .
One of the reasons I ca here in the first place was to devour experintal organisms to extract their genetic essence and grow stronger.
I swallowed the charred corpse in a single gulp.
[ZZ ZZZ ZZZ Z (Grab what you can eat and let’s go in)]
We passed through the door and entered the heart of the restricted zone.
The interior had the sa austere feel as the entrance, nothing like the usual gacorp facility.
The hallways were rough and bare. Not a single ornant. Not even the standard terminals that litter most places.
So parts of the infrastructure seed like they hadn’t been touched in ages.
Several doors had been crudely welded shut, rendering them permanently sealed.
Not that the place had been entirely abandoned there were caretakers.
Or there had been. All of them were dead before we even had to face them.
｢So much food｣ ｢Too much｣ ｢I’m full｣
｢Stomach’s happy｣
Thanks to that, Adhai and 26 were able to feast to their hearts’ content.
Eventually, we arrived at what seed to be the central data room of this zone.
“This one hasn’t been welded shut.”
“This system is still active.”
“Looks like it. Let’s head in.”
Once inside, I saw rows of computers, data storage units, and a hologram projector.
“I’ll check what kind of work was done here.”
The computers powered on, and the hologram projector linked to them lit up. Security protocols imdiately began flashing warning ssages, but PS-111 disabled them one by one with ease.
｢Big One, I’m sleepy.｣
｢ too.｣
Having filled their bellies on the way here, the two of them lay down beside the warm data storage units. I gently patted them, then turned my attention to the hologram.
“Anything interesting co up?”
“The security system is quite complex. It’s an outdated thod, no longer widely used due to inefficiency. However…”
PS-111 gave a subtle nod, and the hologram screen shifted. The room filled with a rigid grid of characters and nurical strings displayed in neat lines.
“With my current capabilities, I can bypass it easily.”
“Knew I could count on you.”
“You’re always reliable.”
Isabel and I offered our praise as we examined the data on the hologram.
‘There’s a lot of it.’
For what felt like an abandoned facility, the data logs stored here were nurous. They all appeared to be project-related docunts easily numbering in the thousands.
“These are all separate projects?”
“No. Only two projects have ever been conducted at this facility. What you’re seeing is the experintal log entries tied to those two.”
According to the tistamps, the records clustered around two periods: one from ten years ago, the other from two years back. Just like PS-111 said, the base only seed to operate during specific projects. Currently, it has no active projects hence the closure.
“What about the organisms used in those experints?”
“There are no records indicating they were disposed of or transferred elsewhere.”
“Then they probably broke them down into samples and stored them.”
“Correct. There is a 91% probability that they were refined and preserved as genetic samples.”
I figured as much. The only living beings here had been the humans guarding the facility.
Still, the fact that the samples remain even in that form is a relief.
“Hey sis, was this place used for Hulk Mutant experints?”
“That was the focus of the first project ten years ago. The second project, two years ago, was different. There were fewer combat trials and more adaptation-based experints.”
“Adaptation? That doesn’t seem like sothing you’d need to keep secret.”
“We’ll need to check the experint logs to understand more.”
As PS-111 spoke, the holographic entries began scrolling rapidly.
‘Project Director: Denver Edgerton? Was he related to the House of Edgerton? That would explain the obsession with Hulk Mutants... huh?’
I was scanning through the logs, wondering if there might be any usable intel, when a familiar na jumped out at .
“Wait, pause there.”
“What is it?”
PS-111 stopped the scrolling. I activated one of my auxiliary organs beneath my jaw to interface directly with the terminal.
｢Experint Title: Research on Triggering Radical Evolution Through Extraction of Genetic Mutation Potential in Marine Organisms
Project Lead: External Guest Researcher, Kisaragi Yujin.
Note: Project terminated due to disappearance of lead researcher.｣
“Kisaragi Yujin?”
“You know him?”
A long ti ago but there’s no way I’d forget that na.
The human who led to Number 26.
The very first prey I ever hunted after becoming the Amorph.
To find traces of the long-dead Kisaragi Yujin in this strange, secret facility
It stirred sothing deep within .
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[Translator – Seraph]
[Proofreader – Draxx]
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