Ep. 91
–
Factor Shelter Under the Monument.
Each team leader and the androids were trying to understand the situation.
“What on earth is the defense fleet doing when the Monument is attacked? “Where did the enemy come from?!”
“I don’t know.”
“What a stupid android!”
Shouts were heard everywhere, and people were all running around with bloodshot eyes.
Lila looked at that in a daze.
‘Is it a dream?’
The interior of the Monument, where a board meeting was in progress, was a mess due to an unexpected air raid.
As soon as an explosion sounded on the 50th floor of the building, security guards from each family stormed into the conference hall and took out the head of the family and his retainers.
Lila tried to explain to them as they tried to run away, but the situation was already out of control.
The board failed completely.
No matter how well she manages to handle it, her downfall has become a foregone conclusion.
‘We have to solve it somehow…’
Maybe it was because I was overly shocked. Or is it because I haven’t been feeling well for the past few days?
My normally intelligent mind moved strangely slowly today.
It wasn’t just the head. Her senses were also becoming disconnected from reality.
At some point, the noise that I felt was loud began to come from far away.
“General Manager. Instructions on how to deal with it.”
“….”
“General manager?”
An unknown person, whether it was the team leader, bodyguard, or secretary, touched her shoulder.
That slight shock turned her stomach.
“Wow!”
“oh my god! General manager!”
Lila wanted to believe that this situation was a dream.
However, the thick scent of blood coming from the corner of her mouth and the pain that felt like her body was being torn apart proved that this was reality.
‘What is this?’
By the time she realized she had vomited blood, she had already fallen to the floor.
People around her were looking at her and shouting something, but I couldn’t understand it because it sounded like a swarm of angry bees.
After a while, the sound was no longer heard.
–
“…What is the general manager’s condition?”
“The test results showed bleeding in various organs, including the lungs. “It cannot be treated here.”
“Bleeding in an organ? “Why on earth?”
“It is believed that you are infected with an unknown virus.”
Suddenly, Lila collapsed, vomiting blood, and the atmosphere in the shelter suddenly darkened.
Laila is not simply the manager who runs this city.
This is Lyla Chamberlain, a woman from the T&C family, one of the seven heads of Megacorp.
It was obvious that if she were to die, those present would face an unimaginably terrible fate.
“This isn’t going to happen like this! “Central Hospital is just upstairs!”
“That’s right! “We need to transport them immediately!”
“Nonsense! “I don’t know when the enemy’s airstrikes will start again.”
“It’s an air raid, it’s a random attack! “If the general manager dies, we’re finished!”
That was why the team leaders hesitated even though Lila’s life was at stake.
What if something goes wrong while trying to transfer to the hospital? If anything went wrong with Lila, the person who suggested that she be taken to the hospital had to take full responsibility.
Due to various reasons, including the rigid atmosphere unique to Megacorp and Noble Capital’s cruel retaliation, Monument’s leaders were unable to properly respond to this situation.
While they were wasting time unable to make a decision, the crisis management team leader, who had finished communicating with the Defense Fleet headquarters, approached them.
“First of all, we have prepared a medical ship at the Defense Fleet headquarters, so we will move it there.”
“If you want to be transferred, wouldn’t it be better to go to the hospital in the administrative district?”
“…I received a call from the Defense Fleet. “The administrative district is now being invaded by an unidentified enemy and is killing people.”
“oh my god!”
The team leaders held their breath as the city’s situation was much worse than they had imagined.
“Although the patrol ship has been dispatched, safety is not currently secured. “The Defense Fleet headquarters is safer than here, so it is better to receive treatment there.”
“It’s a valid argument, but how are you trying to transport it?”
“A transport plane has been prepared at the plaza in front of the monument. “A patrol ship is waiting over the Monument for escort, so you can move to the transport plane.”
In the end, as the crisis management team leader insisted, it was decided to send Lila to a medical ship.
The combat androids left the shelter carrying Laila and ran to the plaza where the transport plane was waiting.
Immediately after the androids left the first floor lobby, a black skinhead man walked out from the emergency staircase.
“This is Your Highness Jacob. There is no body here. yes. yes. The culprit of this situation is probably….”
The name of the person talking to someone on the phone is Jacob.
He was the vice-captain of the Silver Lion Knights, newly appointed by Denver.
–
「Little baby, are you okay?」
「I」「No hesitation」「Perfect」
The kids and I had a moment to relax next to the wreckage of the crashed and burning patrol ship.
Number 26 was worried about Aadhai, who was covered in blood, as he touched various places with his extended tentacles to check.
I thought to myself as I watched Aadhai tremble as if he was tickled.
‘I never thought hyper-acceleration would have such side effects.’
Currently, debris such as human blood, glass pieces, and fragments of rebar used to support the building were stuck between Aadhai’s scales.
Not only the scales but also the wings were slightly torn, and one of the handsome horns was also cracked.
All of the injuries were caused by hitting the enemy at hyper-acceleration.
‘Originally, Green Gallagon can hit another object at super acceleration, but…’
It seemed like this unfortunate incident occurred because Aadhai’s body was small and weak.
‘It would be better if he got bigger, but it would be difficult to expect that.’
It is already much smaller than other Green Gallagons. Even if it grows later, it is unlikely that it will become strong enough to offset the side effects.
‘Until a solution is found, the hyper-acceleration must be sealed.’
Even if you use it, it should only be used for evasion and not for charging like this time.
「Me」「Adult」「Gift」
I thought so, but Aadhai called me.
It approached me softly and spit out an object that was in the tentacles of its mouth.
It was someone’s hand.
「Loot」「Adult」「Gift」
‘Indeed.’
The owner of this hand is probably Code Red.
When Green Gallagon goes into hyper-acceleration, it is so fast that a sonic boom is generated every time it moves.
If Code Red didn’t have a defense skill as strong as Black’s, it would have been impossible to block Aadhai’s charge.
The enemy’s body was probably reduced to such a degree that it was fortunate that he had at least his hands left.
I stroked Aadhai’s head and handed him my hand.
[Zuzuzu zuzuz (It’s the loot you got)]
The “gift”
Aadhai was going to be thrown away if I didn’t eat it.
[Zuzuzu zuzuzu (Then let’s eat together)]
You can’t activate the predation effect with just one hand anyway. In that case, it is better for the injured Adhai and No. 26 to eat.
I ate just one finger and gave the rest to the kids.
Adhai looked at me and immediately sucked all the blood left in my hand, and No. 26 disposed of the remaining remains.
I looked at the kids and thought about what to do after this.
‘The three patrol ships have lost contact. They won’t let their guard down any longer.’
Battle at the Monument and Administrative District. In addition, three patrol ships were destroyed.
Now the space city will no longer see us as just strange intruders.
Invasion.
In the eyes of our enemies, we are invaders targeting the board of directors. It was clear that the warship would search for me directly from now on.
We were able to defeat the three patrol ships by working together, but if dozens of patrol ships target us or a battleship is dispatched, there is nothing we can do.
‘It’s no longer appropriate to hide in the city.’
The enemies will never stop until they find me wreaking havoc on the city.
‘And once it’s discovered, it’s over.’
If the defense fleet discovers me, instead of sending in soldiers, they will blow up the entire place where I am hiding.
Unless they were fools, they would have learned that it would be difficult to catch me with land forces alone.
‘I have to leave this place.’
Although it did not meet all the conditions for evolution into a semi-adult, there was nothing we could do about it. Survival is more important than evolution.
‘But fortunately, the situation has changed.’
In my favor.
‘The enemy is currently in a complicated situation. To the point where it’s hard to really pay attention to me.’
What does it mean that only a few small patrol ships were sent when the head of the city was attacked?
The internal situation is so bad that it is difficult to mobilize manpower in the defense fleet.
It’s all thanks to the space bacteria I spread.
‘Even so, I don’t have much time.’
It is because of the board of directors that the leadership was unable to pay attention to the disease, but we cannot expect that to be the case now that the board is already in a mess.
If a vaccine is developed and a quarantine system is established, the opportunity provided by space bacteria will soon disappear.
‘Now that we have a good means of escape, we must use it.’
While a VIP was visiting, a war broke out in the city.
So where do all the VIPs go?
‘He’s probably trying to get out of the city.’
I raised my head and looked up at the sky above the city.
Numerous transport planes were flying toward the port district.
All you have to do is sneak on board when they try to leave the port district on their own ship.
Normally, I would have been checked when I left for the board meeting, but is that really possible in the current situation?
And that too against the ships of VIPs within Megacorp.
‘We just need to stay well hidden.’
After deciding what to do, I called the kids.
[Zuzzu Zuzzu (Guys, let’s go)]
「Where?」
[Zuzuz Zuzuz (Where we came from)]
「I」「Unintelligible」
No. 26 understood right away, but Aadhai tilted his head. Well, I’m not sure because he came in through a different route.
「The place where I first met the little baby.」
「I」「Understanding」
While Aadhai nodded to the simple explanation of No. 26, I picked up corpses from the surrounding ruins.
‘Because the damage is severe, it would be impossible to obtain the genetic essence.’
It seemed unreasonable to expect a predation effect as there were many corpses with the lower body missing or only arms and legs remaining.
‘It’s still useful, though.’
Wounds such as the arms and tail that were cut off during the fight with Black have not yet fully regenerated. To recover quickly, you need to eat food to replenish nutrients.
‘Because not only me, but also the kids were hurt a lot.’
You never know who you might meet in the port district, so make sure to replenish your nutrition along the way.
I swallowed small parts, such as only arms or legs, and picked up only the relatively undamaged corpses.
I returned to the kids and handed over two of the corpses I was carrying.
[Eat as you go]
「Yes!」
No. 26, who was already putting Adhai on his head, stretched out his tentacles and accepted the corpse I gave him.
Seeing Aadhai lying face down on No. 26 with his wings wrapped around his body, it looked natural.
‘It looks like they’ve been doing this when I’m away.’
After grabbing some food, we left the wreckage of the patrol ship and headed to the pit where No. 26 first jumped out.
Going by land is a bit faster, but you are more likely to encounter warships.
In that case, it is better to safely go underground, even if it means going back a bit.
When I arrived at the pit, I checked with my assistant to see if there were any dangers inside.
‘No problem.’
All that could be detected underground was the movement of carcass catfish.
I went down first, followed by No. 26 carrying Aadhai.
Number 26 put its tentacles and fins into its body and transformed into the balloon it was when they first met.
As they did so, their body size shrunk to the point where they could move around inside the sewer.
‘I was wondering how he got around with his size, and I found out he had a method like that.’
The two of them now looked as if Aadhai was riding on a pink rubber tube.
Although it looked quite comical, I was secretly impressed because it was effective.
So we entered the sewer and moved towards the port district.
As expected, there were no enemies in the sewers.
On the way, I asked No. 26 how Aadhai had grown, and he gave a surprising answer.
[Zuzuz, zuzuzu, zuzuzuzu (They were targeting corpses and new people?)]
「Yes. Who doesn’t smell like metal? Food is weak. So they just ate them.”
They didn’t just eat the corpses of the employees who died in the sewer.
They also attacked and ate newly introduced people, such as vagabonds.
‘I never thought you could tell the difference between a soldier and a vagabond.’
Originally, there were no so-called homeless people in this space city, those who were not needed for the city’s operation, but this time was an exception.
This is because people who lost their jobs became unemployed as the commercial district collapsed.
Those who lived from day to day would have had no choice but to live in hiding in sewers or in the ruins of commercial districts because they could not pay rent.
No. 26 and Adhai seemed to mainly target such people.
‘It’s amazing.’
The method of targeting prey that is easy to hunt and without any trouble is the hunting method I usually use.
I thought Aadhai had grown a lot, but it might be number 26 who can be called my best disciple.
As I moved around talking with this guy, I soon got closer to the port district.
Thanks to eating all the corpses along the way, my body was almost completely recovered.
‘We’ve arrived.’
I told the kids to wait a moment and stood under the manhole close to the dock in the port district.
The only thing I wanted to do was check to see if there were any enemies before opening the lid.
I focused my senses on the auxiliary organs and observed the movements around them.
The sound of footsteps echoing on the ground and the sound of engines as ships move could be heard from afar, and the familiar smell of metal drifted into the end of my auxiliary organ nearby.
‘Familiar metallic smell?’
The moment I thought something was strange, my assistive organs reported that something new was rapidly approaching this way.
It wasn’t a smell or sound that was approaching.
‘danger!’
As soon as I hurriedly retreated, a ball of green energy shattered the manhole.
The alloy manhole cover evaporated and a large hole opened in the ceiling of a nearby sewer.
“I knew you would come here! You monster!”
A voice heard from the ground.
Following the voice, energy bullets fired from a plasma bolter poured into the sewer where I was.
‘The Knights of Edgerton!’
Waiting for us in a remote part of the port district was the Edgerton family, Prime Capital of Mars.