“Akira sir, We’ll soon arrive at the T&C Special Trade Center.”
Akira Yujin, who was taking a break in the special capsule that regulates his body, opened his eyes at the voice of his subordinate. As the capsule opened, a young woman approached him.
She was astonishingly beautiful but lacked any emotions in her eyes. She held the position of Code Black among the shadows of the Yujin family, making her one of Akira’s closest aides.
Without any expression, she handed Akira a towel and a black beverage.
“How much ti has passed?”
“It’s been a week since we started the journey.”
“We’ll be a day late compared to the scheduled date.”
He didn’t ask what happened or why they were delayed. The shadows would have handled it well. In the ship they were on, the flagship of the Yujin family nad ‘Heaven Sword,’ three shadows were on board to escort Akira, not just Code Black but also Code Red and Code Blue were performing security duties sowhere inside the ship.
Akira casually tossed the towel aside and left the capsule room.
Code Black, leaving the handling of the capsule room to the others, followed behind Akira.
As they walked towards the bridge together, Akira spoke suddenly.
“The T&C Special Trade centre. It was thriving even before I beca the head.”
“Is that so?”
“They called it ‘Hwamu Shipilhong (花無十日紅)’ which ans When the moon becos full, things are bound to tilt.”
[Note:- “花無十日紅” is a Korean idiom that translates to ‘Flowers Bloom for Ten Days Without Withering.’ This expression conveys the idea of predictability or inevitability, suggesting that certain events follow a natural course, much like the cyclical nature of flowers blooming and the full moon rising. It symbolizes the fleeting nature of monts and serves as a taphor for the impermanence of life’s pleasures.]
Before Akira Yujin, who had been re-elected as CEO three tis, two families held the longest reign over the gaCorp throne: the Veda family, famous for android and AI developnt, and the Garlda family, renowned for enhanced combat.
In the early days of ga Corp, the Veda family monopolized the CEO position, but they rapidly declined after the rise of the StarUnion. Currently, the Veda family barely maintained their status under Noble Capital.
In contrast, the Garlda family, who received support from the Elders of the Eden family, sustained its dominance as the CEO of the gaCorp for a long ti.
Following Garlda, the next influential family among the noble capital was T&C.
As they held significant sway in space developnt, T&C never lost its top position in Noble Capital.
“At that ti, the Yujin family didn’t have much influence in the upper class of the gaCorp. So mocked us as a family which belonged to the lower classes.”
While slightly exaggerated, what Akira said wasn’t entirely inaccurate. The impact of Yujin’s cheap genetically modified food for the lower-tiered capitals was substantial. In fact, Yujin’s share in gacorp’s food supply was almost 50 percent.
However, despite its importance in gacorp, the Yujin family lacked influence over other Noble Capitals. As one ascended in the capital tiers, the consumption of genetically modified food sharply declined.
As a result, during the council etings for the CEO selections, the Yujin family frequently faced defeat from the other families.
The turning point for Yujin was when their Hulk mutants were deployed on the front lines.
The previous generations actively pursued using genetically modified soldiers in war due to their potential. And it was during Akira’s ti as the new head of the family that they finally saw the fruition of that strategy by selling the Hulk mutants to other families.
Of course, there was opposition within the family to Akira’s decision to sell what was essentially a secret weapon, but he wasn’t worried. Yujin’s genetic modification technology was unparalleled.
Other families attempted to develop the Hulk mutants but failed due to technological shortcomings.
“Recently, Eden’s coward seems to be playing gas, but it’s unlikely that it will reap fruits.”
Akira utilized his shadows to scout for information on various families within the gaCorp, so he already knew what the Eden family was planning.
“Are you referring to the Silver Lion Knights?”
“That’s right. Mixing just two or three genes and blabbering about the essence of genetic modification technology, isn’t it rather amusing?”
If Denver listened to this, he would have been greatly infuriated, but Akira had the right to say such things.
In fact, Code Black standing before him now justified this.
Those belonging to the shadows were ultimate biological weapons synthesized with over dozens of genetic types.
“It seems T&C’s snake intends to only take out the filling through Eden, but they started wrong from the first button. It would have been better if they supported our Yujin family.”
Of course, the likelihood of Samdam, who coveted the CEO position more than anyone else, forming an alliance with Akira was low. Even if he requested, Akira wouldn’t have complied with it.
During their non-verbal conversation, they arrived at the bridge.
The soldiers on the bridge, who were focused on their duties, quieted down and bowed their heads when they saw Akira.
“Hehehe, it seems this council eting will be truly enjoyable.”
Akira, who sat on the commander’s seat on the bridge, smiled looking forward to the upcoming council eting.
***
‘A Genetic storage. It’s been a while since I’ve been here.’
Under the blue lighting, dissected bodies of creatures were visible in various places.
So were stacked on stainless steel tables, while those resembling human bodies were vacuum-sealed in plastic hanging from hooks on the ceiling.
The eerie feeling from the lighting and the creepy scene were just like in a ga, but there were two differences: the cold breeze from the air conditioning units on the walls and the sll emanating from the bodies.
These sensations were beyond what a ga could provide.
“Now that I see it for real, it gives a very uncomfortable feeling.”
There was an incident where I once ambushed users hiding among corpses in here, and they questioned why I always popped out in scary places.
At that ti, I couldn’t fathom why they were making such ridiculous complaints, but now, it was definitely an atmosphere worthy of complaint.
“T-the genetic list you requested.”
The team leader, who was under my control because of the parasite inside him, handed a terminal pad.
I had requested it before coming here to find out what was in the genetic storage.
‘I need to pick out what to consu first.’
In the unlikely event of an unforeseen occurrence, it might beco challenging to obtain genetic samples.
Hence, selecting and consuming what was necessary first would minimize losses in case of an accident.
‘Let’s see.’
Using my small arms, I carefully checked the list displayed on the pad.
‘Hmm.’
The variety of species held here was less diverse than what I expected. There were just nurous samples collected from the sa species.
‘But that’s not necessarily bad.’
Even considering only the traits obtained from humans, there were more than one or two.
The sa went for other creatures.
Even if the number of species was limited, each creature could offer various traits.
‘I should target samples from species that have beneficial traits.’
I scrolled down the list slowly, inspecting it ticulously.
Initially, I thought the list was unsatisfactory, but midway, I noticed two creature types holding traits I needed.
‘A tallic Gremlin? And…’
The sample of the other creature that caught my attention was sothing I could never obtain here under normal circumstances.
‘I understand the tallic Gremlin, but…’
It was puzzling why T&C possessed a sample of a creature posing a significant threat to the space city.
tallic Gremlins, as a species, had the negative trait of ‘Dwarfism’ throughout their entire race. Just as Amorph couldn’t interact with other races, tallic Gremlins could never grow taller than 1 ter, no matter what they did. Even the tallest among them, the King Gremlin, was around 1 ter 50 centiters.
“They probably injected the dwarfism trait to make their employees weaker”
While I could understand the tallic Gremlin, I was quite puzzled about how ‘that’ sample was obtained by T&C.
“How… did you acquire… this?”
“It’s a sample collected while dissecting the smuggled animals.”
The world is vast, and there are many people, indeed.
‘I hadn’t expected soone to smuggle ‘that’ .’
When considering its size, we’d need a container at least five tis larger than the harbor Earth’s containers.
‘Well, there are people smuggling Mountain Crawlers and Gallogons, so why not?’
I roughly agreed and glanced over the rest of the list.
Apart from the two creatures, there didn’t seem to be any other organisms with particularly important traits.
‘Still, obtaining its genes would yield trendous results.’
It’s because that specific creature possessed traits that could help unlock a new type.
Getting that type would significantly expand what I could do.
‘Especially since it grants the ability for space travel.’
Quietly chanting with excitent, I selected around 30 samples and instructed the team leader to get them.
As expected, the team leader, who saw ‘that’ genetic sample, showed signs of concern.
“Is..is this the creature you’re referring to?”
“Five samples of a rare species require a p-permit. Perhaps sothing else…”
“No.”
Even if it ant giving up everything else, ‘that’ had to be collected at all costs.
Ultimately, the team leader left the Genetic storage with a distressed expression.
“What… What should we do?”
“Wait.”
Even with the assurance of doing nothing, the faces of the three researchers were filled with anxiety.
Unfortunately, they had only one future left.
A sacrifice to calm the aftermath of the ‘Symbol of Hunt’.
‘But how can I lure the Cult mbers here?’
It’s better to consu it while the effects of the ‘Symbol of Hunt’ persist.
It’s an opportunity to obtain valuable traits in the psychic category.
“I rember each surveillance team had a total of three mbers.”
If I could pull all three simultaneously, it would be ideal, but the probability was low.
‘One must always remain in the control room.’
The original plan was to lure Cult mbers into the Genetic storage using the researchers and inject the parasite in them when they arrived.
But after seeing the list, I decided to change my plans slightly.
‘If I acquire traits from tallic Gremlin, I can beco more proactive.’
tallic Gremlins possess a trait like an EMP that disrupts all the machinery in their vicinity.
With that trait, it wouldn’t be difficult to seize not only one Cult mber but also control the managent room.
So, deliberately increasing the chance of extracting good traits, I requested multiple samples per organism.
There were a total of 8 samples each for tallic Gremlin and ‘that’ in the storage.
aning, I had 8 opportunities to acquire the traits of those creatures each.
‘Of course, if all I get is dwarfism, it’s a total loss
However, even with dwarfism, I could deploy various strategies, like navigating through ventilation ducts or ambushing enemies by hiding in human corpses. In this Monunt, where there were many spaces accessible to small bodies, dwarfism wasn’t a bad trait for assaulting the building.
‘The problem is, in this ga, once you acquire a trait, you can’t discard it.’
Unless the transcendent system eliminates the dwarfism trait, I’ll be unable to exceed 1m in height until I reach ascendant.
With nurous adversaries ahead, so needing to be subdued by force, dealing with them alone won’t be easy with a small stature.
‘Though I don’t plan on acquiring it anyway.’
“I’ve brought them.”
While pondering how to handle Cult mbers, the team leader returned.
He placed the capsule containing the samples on a stainless steel table.
‘Great. Shall we begin then?’
I activated the ‘Symbol of Hunt’.
“Eek?!”
As my body rapidly grew, the researchers inside the Genetic storage gasped in awe. My exoskeleton covered my eyes, and my horn grew even larger. My body swelled, reaching nearly 5m from the initial 3m. Thanks to the tail’s corresponding enlargent, the combined length of my body and tail nearly approached 10m. Combat-ready arms sprouted, resembling shields at the wrists and two bone-bladed arms erged from my back.
“Grrrr…”
I growled softly, feeling the overwhelming sensation throughout my body.
One of the overwheld researchers seed on the verge of fainting, whimpering,
“Uhh…”
Then ca the rising sll of ammonia. But no one blad him; they all had identical expressions.
Ignoring their reactions, I used my smaller arm to pick up the capsule containing the samples.
The surface of the capsule was inscribed with the words ‘Skywhale’.
‘Shall we unlock a new type then?’
I needed the traits of ‘that,’ the Skywhale, the most. I placed the capsule with the genetic samples of Skywhale in my mouth. The capsule broke inside, and the essence of the genetic material perated my body.
‘Alright. Success…’
[Predation effect activated! Successfully Obtained ‘Space Flight (Incomplete)’ genetic essence.]
[Extracted ‘Space Flight (Incomplete)’ from the biological traits of ‘Skywhale’.]
[Do you want to apply ‘Space Flight (Incomplete)’?]
[Note: Cheats are not allowed.]
[An urgent ssage has arrived.]
As always when the predation effect occurred, a semi-transparent text box appeared. This ti, it contained additional information.
‘What? No cheats allowed? Seriously?’
I hurriedly opened the urgent ssage.
[When the predation effect is triggered for a sample during the ‘Symbol of Hunt’, only Incomplete units of genetic essence will be obtained. To completely acquire a trait, the predation effect targeting the sa trait from the sa sample must occur twice.]
[Note: This is for balancing the Transcendence System.]
‘Crazy.’
I have faced a lot of adversities since I arrived in this world. At the beginning I had panicked because of the unfamiliar body and struggled to survive against those adversities.
Furthermore, there were situations unfamiliar to in the ga, and I had found myself in danger.
But I, as the sole player among the Amorphs who had entered the ranker level, utilized my experience and knowledge I gained over a long ti of playing as an Amorph to overco obstacles.
Hence, I had forgotten that Space Survival was an insanely challenging ga.
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