Chapter 24: 024
As soon as I entered the fitness room, a laser flew out.
Lasers can't harm me. The pirate cursed as he saw me leisurely walking under the beam.
"Oh my god Nimiral! "Why the fuck isn't it working!"
Unfortunately, the swearer was not a cyborg. Judging from the fact that there was no part that had been modified into a machine, he was an ordinary human from Megacorp.
He threw away his useless laser rifle. Instead, he pulled out a thick stick from his belt. When I pressed the switch, a blade protruded from the stick and turned into a sword.
When I saw that, I stopped walking.
'Sonic Blade.'
Sonic Blade is a weapon that incorporates ultra-vibration technology. It is easy to carry and has excellent cutting power, so it is favored by Megacorp officers.
When I didn't move, the guy must have thought he had gained momentum and shouted energetically.
"Fuck you bastard! What the fuck am I? "I'm the vice-captain of the Dvara Cartel!"
The scared look from before was gone. Should I say that it is indeed like a pirate? From his actions, it is clearly revealed that his thinking is short.
A sonic blade can cut through my skin, but that only applies if it can hit me. If you can't touch me, it's of no use.
You might wonder if he was someone who was skilled in martial arts, but unfortunately, he wasn't. My auxiliary organs are speaking. He's an ordinary 30-year-old who is starting to suffer from adult diseases. His body was filled with nothing but blood and fat extracted from the victims he had plundered.
I jumped at the vice captain. He was startled and stabbed me in the stomach with the sonic blade. Seeing that the movements were immature, it seemed like they had not been used properly.
'Sonic blades are not durable and are not suitable for stabbing.'
I have no intention of going along with his foolish attacks. I lightly dodged and kicked him in the stomach. The guy fell out, spitting blood out of his mouth.
"Wow! "Fuck you!"
His internal organs must have been ruptured, but he didn't let go of the weapon in his hand. The guy glared at me with venomous eyes.
'Unexpected.'
I thought he was a bluff guy, but he's quite persistent. Regardless of race, most people beg for their lives when they receive fatal injuries. This is the first time since Arnold that a prey has this level of persistence.
'Shall I end it without pain?'
I swung my tail and hit the vice captain on the back of his hand.
It let out a short scream and lost its sonic blade. The tail didn't stop there, it just bent and pierced his eye. The thorns at the end of its tail destroyed its brain, making it unable to feel pain anymore.
One in five died. There are now 4 pirates remaining. Those who remained did not seem to be cowards. He's probably hiding in the locker room.
I tore apart the human body leisurely.
The moment I ate it all and put the remaining anklet in my mouth, a translucent text box appeared in front of me.
"Predation effect activated! Success in obtaining the 'humanity' genetic essence.」
「Taking away 'humanity' among the biological characteristics of 'humans.'」
「Do you want to apply 'humanity'?」
'Humanity?'
I was taken aback by this characteristic I had never seen before.
'Humanity. 'What kind of trait is this?'
Just looking at the name, it is overly comprehensive. It is difficult to determine whether it refers to human emotions, a concept that encompasses all things including reason, or a unique characteristic that only humans have.
'Should I get it?'
There are over thousands of characteristics in Space Survival, but not all of them work in the holder's favor.
For example, the Hulk Mutant's Madness trait doubles his physical abilities but makes him uncontrollable by the player. In this way, there are characteristics that have advantages and disadvantages, or the disadvantages are greater than the advantages.
In my experience, traits with ambiguous names are usually land mines.
'I'm disappointed with one characteristic…'
I thought of the pirate I killed to infer the personality of the characteristic. He clearly had a different side from other prey.
'The spirit of not giving up.'
Does humanity mean the indomitable attitude of getting up again even when you fall?
no. I shook my head. It is still too early to make conclusions.
The world of space survival is a world far from a human hymn. It's close to a dystopia filled with all kinds of vicious beings. The world view is that Megacorp, which forcibly captures people and turns them into machines by casually modifying their Star Union genes to turn them into monsters, is leading human civilization. There is no way in such a place there would be any characteristics that speak of human potential.
'how will we do it?'
I decided to narrow my thoughts down. Rather than asking the philosophical question of what humanity is, we should approach it simply. If the predation effect were activated, it would be an attribute that directly affects me.
'Let's look at the advantages of getting it first.'
Perhaps humanity is a trait that affects the mind. If so, no matter what effect it has, it is likely to be counted as a super power enhancement type. Most superpower-related traits are related to things like mind or telekinesis. Superpower-related characteristics are not easy to obtain, so it is better to have them than not to have them.
'Then the downside is….'
Since it is a feature you are seeing for the first time, you do not know what effect it has. If it is a trait that strengthens human emotions, such as ethics or consideration, it is a negative to me.
I am an Amorph that can only evolve by eating other intelligent creatures. It would be a big problem if you suddenly couldn't eat human meat here. It is not only a problem that the growth engine is blocked, but it is also a major risk factor for survival itself.
'The risk is too big. Let's refuse.'
The moment I was about to cancel the acquisition of the trait, the tip of my chin beeped.
An auxiliary organ is warning me. I'm telling you to reconsider your choices.
'Predator sense?'
This was my first time doing something like this, so I suspected my predator senses were kicking in. However, even after waiting, the future prediction effect did not activate.
In that case, this warning is entirely a judgment made by an auxiliary organ or an instinct inherent in the Amorph. It's an ironic situation where people say that I, a human, don't need it, but Amov says that 'humanity' is important.
However, warnings from auxiliary organizations cannot be ignored. I am an expert in games, but in real life I am still immature. It would have been impossible for me to survive without Eimov's body assisting me.
'Is this so important?'
I asked that in my mind, but the auxiliary organ did not answer. The tentacle under the chin remained silent without any response.
'Take it or not.'
It would be nice to withhold acceptance, but unfortunately that is not possible. If 10 minutes pass without acceptance, it will be considered canceled and the feature will be lost. Since it is reality, it may have changed differently, but I have no intention of testing it.
'…Let's take it.'
After much thought, I decided to acquire the humanity trait.
There was an intention to fill the count of types related to psychic abilities, but since the auxiliary organ was a specially authorized characteristic for me, it was difficult to ignore. Until now, this little tentacle has never forced me to make a dangerous choice. I decided to trust it this time too.
When I accepted, the translucent text window emitted light and disappeared.
And there's nothing wrong with my body…
'Is there anything wrong with my body?'
Nothing strange came out of my head or I felt a surge of guilt that made me feel like I was going crazy. My body and mind were the same as usual.
I reactivated the text window.
「Currently, there is only one type that can be characterized.」
「Superpower Enhancement Type (3/6)」
As expected, humanity was classified as a mental-related trait.
Now, I have three superpower-related traits: predator sense, superpower, organ, and humanity. In the future, you can obtain a type by collecting three more superpower-related characteristics.
I looked at the details of the 'Humanity' trait.
「Humanity: Helps you make the right decision at the moment of choice.
*PS: I hope your choice is worth it. 」
'…It's ambiguous.'
Even after reading the explanation, I couldn't understand what the effect was. Deciding that it was pointless to think about it any longer, I closed the text window.
'Let's attach significance to the fact that the type conditions have been met.'
When I came to my senses and looked ahead, number 26 was waiting for me. The color of the guy was strange, as if he was in a bad mood.
「Baby, are you okay?」
[Zuzu (What's wrong?)]
「It's strange that you're not moving.」
I guess they were worried when they saw me standing there blankly.
I patted No. 26 to tell him not to worry. The guy must have been relieved that I was okay, so he returned to his original pink color.
'Who is worried about whom?'
I took the sonic blade the pirate was holding and placed No. 26 on my shoulder.
Everywhere in the fitness room, the harvest left behind by pirates while trembling in fear glimmers.
It goes without saying, but I have no intention of losing them.
–
The pirate was hiding in a locker in the locker room and shaking.
At first, the sound of a laser gun firing was heard a few times and then it became quiet. I was relieved because I thought the vice captain had taken care of it, but that wasn't the case. The vice-captain failed and the bastard survived.
A little while ago, I heard the screams of other colleagues hiding in the shower room. Their cries for help did not last long.
The pirate swallowed his saliva and held on tightly to his laser rifle. He couldn't understand why he had to suffer like this.
Even though he was a pirate, he never did anything more evil or vicious than others. Scaping the heads of rich people or raping and killing women are things that other pirates also do. He just lived like a pirate.
'Chief Jubaka, please look down
on me…' Since becoming a pirate, he had never mentioned the name of the Grand Leader of the Star Union. He is a pirate from the Dvara Cartel and no longer a cyborg from the Star Union. However, as the danger of death approached, he was unconsciously acting as he had learned in his youth.
Then I heard the door opening. The sound of footsteps, as if something heavy was being moved, broke the silence in the locker room.
The door closes and an eerie silence lingers in the locker room. Just as cold sweat drenches his back, an invisible fear seeps into his chest.
He's in the locker room. Are they waiting for a pirate to come out?
Although it must have been a living creature, it wasn't making a single breathing sound. The cyborg's fear deepened at the inhuman appearance.
When the pirate didn't come out even after waiting, he made his move. There were several thuds and footsteps, and the guy started opening the lockers one by one.
Squeak, boom,
the pirate felt like his heart was going to explode. The sound was getting closer. And finally he reached the compartment next to the locker where he was hiding.
I could vaguely see his figure through the wire mesh of the locker.
A beast with a brown, almost black exterior and teeth stained with the blood of his comrades is in front of him. There was a strong smell of blood coming from its body.
The guy hovered in front of him for a moment and then disappeared.
As the foul smell of blood disappeared, the cyborg pirate breathed a sigh of relief.
he thought. After this looting, I'm going to secretly run away. Boss Elchen won't leave him alone, but the universe is wide. If you run away to Star Union territory, even the Dvara Cartel won't be able to do anything.
While he was thinking that, he suddenly heard a loud noise and felt a strong pain from his abdomen.
I looked down and saw a long spear pierce the locker door and pierce his stomach. The spear's tail was pulled out of his stomach and thrown out.
Four hands grabbed the door and tore it apart. His memory was cut off by the sight of the bastard's mouth hanging open.
–
'Where are you going to hide?'
The cyborg that dared to fool my senses was killed, limbs torn apart by my fighting arms. By eating its meat, I have almost fulfilled the conditions for evolution.
'Now all I have to do is catch and eat one more person.'
Of the 12 cyborgs who entered this ship, only 1 remains. When I checked from the nest, he was in the bridge situation room.
'After all, it's the situation room.'
There is someone in the situation room who is difficult to deal with. A genetically modified human believed to have come from the Eugene family.
'Then let's get the boss out of the way first.'
As I was leaving the fitness room with No. 26, my assistant quickly gave me a danger signal. I quickly got off the ground and jumped up to the ceiling.
Almost immediately, a huge fist struck the spot where I was. A hole appeared in the alloy plate as if it had been hit by plasma energy.
"You were here! This chewy! "
The identity of the opponent who displayed tremendous power was the pirate leader Hulk Mutant.
I knew it would be big, but seeing it in person was truly impressive.
He is over 3 meters tall and appears to be made entirely of muscle, without any fat. A mix of wild animal genes, right down to the red mane around his neck. His appearance was as fearsome as the Four Heavenly Kings protecting Buddha.
"You fucking murder my men?"
Behind the leader, who was growling like an animal, were his subordinates and the medical team leader. I knew he was alive, but I never thought he would join the pirates.
'It just so happened.'
I was going to catch the leader first anyway, but I never thought they would come from the other side first.
Hulk mutants have many useful genes. It wouldn't be a bad idea to replenish your genetic essence before going out to catch a difficult opponent.
I jumped from the ceiling and landed on the floor.
[Zuzuzuz (hiding for a moment)]
「Scared! It's dangerous!」
[Zuzuzu Zuzuzuzu (Don't worry.)]
「Be careful, baby!」
After soothing No. 26, who was worried about me, I sent him far away. It used its protective coloring to assimilate into the wall and remained motionless. Still, I felt an uneasy feeling from him, as if he was still worried.
I thought I would laugh when I saw this guy worrying about me in a cowering state, but unfortunately, I couldn't laugh with Aimorph's body structure.
After confirming that No. 26 was hiding, I turned around and looked at the leader.
My current height is a little over 1m 50cm, but my partner's height is likely to be approximately twice my height. Someone I don't know would probably think I'm completely inferior.
'He's an improved Hulk mutant. Let's take a look at his skills.'
I whetted my appetite by looking at the Hulk mutant, who was nothing short of a treasure trove of genetic essence.