Ch.107Jungle (3)

“S-sun! Crackle, emergency, crackle-crackle, for, snap”

“What’s wrong with this thing now?”

The pirate pilot in the cockpit slammed down the communication device that had suddenly gone dead.

He tried hitting it a few more times and turning it back on, but it wouldn’t work at all.

“Seems like it’s from the guys.”

He wasn’t sure what it was, but it was clearly a communication from his comrades who had visited Camp 17.

The pilot called in his fellow pilot who was outside preparing to move the transport.

“Hey, we got a message from the guys. We’re taking off, so get in quick.”

“Let me finish this cigarette first.”

“I said we need to leave now!”

“Damn it, fine.”

“Close the door properly when you come in.”

“Yeah, yeah.”

After confirming that his colleague who had gone out for a smoke had boarded, grumbling, the pilot prepared for takeoff.

Just as the transport was about to take off, the aircraft shook violently.

“What the hell?”

When the pilot hurriedly checked the aircraft warning lights, he saw that the cargo bay door at the rear of the transport hadn’t closed properly.

“This idiot, I told him to close the door when he came in.”

The pilot turned on the communicator to call his colleague who had boarded.

“We’re about to take off, so close the door properly and get in here.”

“Crackle-crackle”

“I said close the door!”

Instead of a reply, the red light on the control panel indicating the cargo bay door status changed to green. The cargo bay door had closed.

“Should’ve closed it earlier, asshole. We’re taking off, so hold on tight!”

As the pilot pulled the control stick, the transport soared into the sky.

–

“Yes, yes. It’s true! The skin was peeled off and hung on a tree… What? Ah, yes. I’ll take pictures and send them right now.”

The pirate reporting to headquarters via communicator activated the small camera mounted on his helmet.

The camera next to the lantern moved and transmitted footage of the bodies on the ground back to headquarters.

Thanks to the wire rope attached to the walker and connected to a large tree, recovering the bodies wasn’t difficult.

“W-what kind of devil would do such a thing…”

Like any Space Dog cartel, the Humanity pirates had their cruel streaks. Before coming here, they had done unspeakable things to innocent Volfs.

But even they had never conceived of the idea of skinning humans whole and hanging them on trees.

While his comrade was reporting and filming, a sharp-eyed pirate examined the blood-soaked corpses.

“…The blood is still warm, so they haven’t been dead long.”

That meant whoever committed these atrocities might still be nearby.

“F-fuck… Didn’t the bio scanner pick up anything?”

“…It won’t detect unregistered information.”

The Humanity cartel had collected genetic data on almost all creatures inhabiting the Saintopia02 continent, but they were helpless against beings from outside.

An unknown enemy, moreover a monster that filleted people like fish—the pirates felt their knees weaken at the thought of such a creature nearby.

“When is the transport coming?”

“I called them, so they should be here soon… Ah, there it is!”

The branches and leaves of the trees shook violently. With a deafening roar, the transport’s lights illuminated every corner of the deep forest.

“Good. Let’s all move out.”

The only clearing in this area large enough for the transport to land was at Camp 17. The pirates naturally assumed the transport would fly there.

“Huh?”

“What’s it doing?”

The transport suddenly wobbled and began to rapidly lose altitude. It looked as if it was going to crash into the ground.

And the direction the transport was heading was right where the pirates were standing.

As the distance to the transport rapidly decreased, the pirates’ faces turned pale.

“Everyone take cover!”

The pirates quickly hid behind nearby trees and rocks.

The walker tried to dodge too late. The falling transport mercilessly crashed down onto the walker.

After crushing one walker, the transport exploded, sending flames shooting up over the large trees. The thunderous sound echoed throughout the forest, startling sleeping bird-like creatures that all took flight at once.

“W-what’s happening!”

“Our transport!”

The pirates who had taken cover behind trees and rocks looked at the burning wreckage of the transport with dumbfounded expressions. They wailed in despair as the transport that was supposed to carry them away was destroyed.

But their misfortune wasn’t over yet.

Something pitch black leaped out from the flames and pounced on the walker.

It was much larger than the walker, so the walker couldn’t counterattack and simply toppled over.

The creature that knocked down the walker stabbed the pirate sitting in the cockpit with the spike on its tail. The spike was almost as long as a spear, killing the pirate instantly before he could even scream.

After neutralizing the walker, the creature jumped straight into the depths of the forest.

Everything happened so quickly that the pirates could only stare blankly. Only after the creature disappeared did they regain their senses and start screaming.

“Aaaaargh!”

“Fuuuuuck!”

“What the hell was that thing?!”

“I don’t know!”

Having lost both their transport and two walkers in an instant, the pirates fell into complete panic.

“T-this place is dangerous!”

“Everyone run to Camp 17!”

The greatest firepower among the pirates here had been the two walkers equipped with plasma launchers.

This forest was home to numerous dangerous creatures that were difficult to face without walkers.

Now, not only the unknown attacker but also the forest’s inhabitants would be targeting them.

Moreover, the skinned corpses were reeking of blood. It was obvious that monsters would soon be drawn to them, so the pirates ran.

Eight pirates sprinted between the massive trees.

Above their heads, countless eyes watched them from between the tree leaves.

“The camp isn’t far! Just a little more running and…!”

The pirate at the front couldn’t finish his sentence. Something like a long snake came down from the trees, grabbed his head, and dragged him up.

The pirates behind could only watch helplessly as their comrade disappeared into the treetops.

“Ambush…!”

Just as they were about to panic, another snake came down and snatched another pirate. A bone-chilling sound of bones breaking came from above, followed by a shower of blood.

“Everyone atta—urk!”

“Aaaaargh!”

The remaining six pirates took out their Gauss rifles and fired indiscriminately.

They could see the silhouette of something large moving back and forth between the dark trees.

“Damn it! I can’t see anything!”

They fired diligently at their targets, but the creature continued moving as if unaffected.

Moreover, the creature in the trees wasn’t the only thing they needed to worry about.

“Aaaah! Help me!”

“Eek?!”

Dozens of insects attached themselves to one of the pirates who had been looking up while firing. Palm-sized insects bared their white, sharp teeth and chewed on the reinforced suit the pirate was wearing.

“Agyagyagyak!”

The reinforced suits the pirates wore were specially modified mid-grade suits with high defensive capabilities.

Thanks to this, the suit wasn’t being penetrated, but that didn’t mean the pirate could ignore the pain of his flesh being chewed through.

“I’ll help you!”

Another pirate stopped firing and shouted toward his comrade. That was the last thing he ever said.

“Watch out!”

“Huh?”

A bright red snake came down and dragged him away.

As the other pirates turned to fire at where the snake had appeared, spikes flew out of the darkness and lodged in their necks.

“Urk!”

“Ugh!”

They staggered like drunk men before collapsing.

Now only two pirates remained standing.

Without hesitation, they lowered their guns and ran straight for the camp.

In truth, there wasn’t much they could do even if they reached the camp, but they didn’t have the luxury of making rational judgments.

As they fled, they heard heavy footsteps following them from behind.

At first, the footsteps sounded distant and faint, but they quickly grew louder until they seemed to be right behind them.

Perhaps it was because of this pressure that one of the pirates, running frantically, tripped over a branch and fell.

“H-help me!”

“…It’s been fun.”

“You son of a bitch… Aaaaargh!”

Leaving his comrade’s screams behind, he ran.

“Huff, huff, huff.”

He had been running for a while, but the camp was nowhere in sight.

Above his head, the branches swayed ominously, and all the trees looked exactly the same.

It was as if the entire forest was surrounding him, mocking him to try and escape.

But he couldn’t just stop. The creature would catch up to him soon.

The moment he thought that, something hairy pounced on him from behind.

The pirate fell face-first onto the ground. The thing that had pounced on him pinned him down with eight legs.

“D-don’t do this! Spare me!”

The pirate begged his invisible enemy, but the response was sharp teeth.

The creature’s sharp teeth sank into the back of the pirate’s neck. Venom spread throughout his body through his bloodstream.

“Aaaaargh!”

The pirate screamed his lungs out from the pain of his veins dissolving throughout his body.

The monster that had pounced on the pirate, a Nightstalker, was satisfied after confirming its prey was incapacitated.

Just as it bit down, something grabbed the creature’s head.

“Kyung?”

“How·dare·you·”

With that discordant sound never before heard in the forest, the creature could think no more.

–

‘Why are you eating that?’

I examined the pirate in front of me while holding the half-crushed corpse of the Nightstalker.

‘He’s dead.’

Unfortunately, the pirate had succumbed to the Nightstalker’s venom.

Corpses I didn’t kill directly are treated the same as genetic samples.

What this means is that the probability of getting a predation effect from corpses I didn’t kill directly is very low.

Even if I use the Mark of the Hunt, unless I get the same trait twice, I can only use it as material for the Transcendence System without enjoying any effects.

‘That’s the problem with forests.’

Because there are many competitors besides me, if I don’t move quickly, I lose prey like this.

I calmed my irritation by eating the Nightstalker’s corpse.

‘Mmm, not bad.’

The taste of the Nightstalker with its innards intact could be simply described as a croissant with pepperoni.

Its innards had a spicy and unique taste. I’m not sure if it was because of the venom glands in its body or its powerful digestive juices, but it had a certain flavor to it.

‘Since it tastes good, I’ll let this one slide.’

It’s already dead anyway.

After devouring the entire Nightstalker corpse, I collected the pirate’s body.

Since I can’t eat it anyway, I might as well use this pirate’s corpse to instill fear in my enemies.

‘I wondered if it would work, but the skin-peeling tactic works well in reality too.’

Even in Space Survival with its extreme degree of freedom, skinning corpses wasn’t impossible.

Players with butchering skills could obtain hides from rare animal carcasses.

Those hides were used as materials for reinforced suits or for completing important missions.

‘Well, they were never used to instill fear in enemies though.’

AMorphs can also skin animals if they want to. Given the racial characteristic that prioritizes obtaining genetic essence, there’s just no reason to get hides.

The reason I employed this method was because it was effective for hunting.

Skinned corpses don’t specifically give debuffs to players, but they’re effective in delivering psychological blows. From what I know, not many people enjoy seeing corpses with all their muscles exposed.

‘Streamers especially hated it.’

Because I forced their broadcast ratings to go up.

Anyway, I had fun with this tactic many times, and I often used it well when fighting against four clans on a planet.

I eventually stopped because people stopped being afraid after I used it so much.

It might not have worked in a game, but this is reality.

The enemies were greatly disturbed by the appearance of corpses they had never seen before, and thanks to that, I was able to annihilate them without much difficulty.

‘There are still many more enemies left… Hmm?’

I put the pirate’s corpse on my shoulder and noticed a small light shining on the helmet. It was a small camera for video recording.

‘This actually works out well.’

I grabbed the helmet with my combat hand and squeezed. The metal helmet crumpled, and blood flowed from the pirate’s head inside.

‘Since they saw me through the camera, they’ll come after me.’

There are dozens of pirate camps in this forest.

It would be troublesome to search for each camp one by one, and if they set traps, there’s a high chance I could be caught.

‘Any other time, I would go after them directly.’

But not this time.

Making them come to my trap of their own accord.

That’s the key to this battle.

They would have seen me hanging corpses on trees, so their vigilance would be at its peak.

They’ll do everything they can to catch me.

Of course, if enemies pressured me with powerful weapons from all directions, it would be a disadvantageous game for me, but fortunately, that’s impossible.

‘It’s difficult to move around here with transports. Landing spots are limited.’

Even the pirates who came to the camp where communication was cut off had to land at a clearing some distance away and then move on foot.

To catch me, they ultimately have no choice but to land at a designated spot and then move on foot.

In other words, it’s not difficult for me to predict the enemies’ movements.

Unless they board a cruiser and burn down the entire forest, they’re practically in the palm of my hand.

‘Then let’s prepare.’

I moved, carrying the pirate’s corpse and the Nightstalker’s corpse.

Behind me, a swarm of Tooth Fairies followed, dragging the paralyzed pirates.

“……”

“……”

The pirates, being dragged and leaving marks on the ground, seemed to want to escape somehow, but they became docile after seeing me chew on their comrade’s head as casually as if I were eating a snack while walking.

The night is not long.

The walkers they brought, the tools left at the camp, and the pirates themselves.

I have many traps to make using these resources.

–

“……”

“……”

In the temporary headquarters camp set up by Humanity’s vice-boss Dillon.

The interior of the operation command tent was sunk in silence.

This was because of the video sent by the personnel who went to investigate Camp 17.

After rewatching the video several times with cold eyes, Dillon called his deputy adjutant.

“Pack my equipment and select the 30 best fighters.”

“…Is it okay not to inform the boss?”

“Fuck, I’m in charge here, aren’t I? If I leave this mess, do you think the boss will leave me alone?”

Although Dillon was a favored Cult member of the boss, he wasn’t loved enough to cover up all mistakes.

His boss was a woman who viewed all her subordinates as expendable.

Dillon, too, was merely a toy that the boss found amusing.

If the boss found out there was a problem at the campsite, she would discard him immediately.

“We’ve already cleared all the Volf villages in this area anyway. Taking care of one fucking bastard before we leave won’t be a problem.”

“Understood.”

After his subordinate left with the orders, Dillon played the video again.

He wanted to understand as much as possible about what kind of creature it was, what its attack methods or habits were.

“You dare provoke me? Do you know who I am?”

Although he was treated like a toy by the boss, Dillon was still the vice-boss of Humanity, a massive cartel.

He was skilled at hunting dangerous creatures.

Gritting his teeth, Dillon watched the video repeatedly until his subordinate brought his special equipment.

But despite all his preparations, an unshakable anxiety remained in a corner of his mind.

A monster that slaughtered pirates while moving through the darkness.

Somehow, the creature smelled similar to the boss.