Ch.13Dark Clouds (4)

“The person who called seems to be from House Yugin.”

As far as I knew, the Crisis Management Team Leader wasn’t from House Yugin.

His name was Arnold Russell. Russell was an ordinary surname that belonged to neither Noble Capital nor Prime Capital.

‘Could it be an alias?’

Or he might be a minion of the person on the other end of the call.

From the conversation alone, it seems they want Kisaragi dead.

‘Internal strife?’

In the game, Noble Capital was full of cold-blooded people who recognized neither family nor friends when it came to power and money. Since House Yugin was part of Noble Capital, the possibility of family members killing each other was overflowing.

Based on the conversation, his objectives were mainly two: killing Kisaragi and luring the ship to C-08.

‘But I happened to kill him already.’

I don’t know why, but thanks to me, his goal was nearly accomplished.

‘Well, I don’t care whether House Yugin fights among themselves or not.’

What matters is what to do with that Arnold Russell.

Livestock are raised to become food. Unnecessarily clever food should be eliminated.

It doesn’t matter what plans he has or what he’s thinking.

He made me cautious of him.

That fact alone was reason enough for him to die.

Now that I’ve evolved into a Morphlet, fighting soldiers isn’t much of a problem. If I ambush him, I could easily subdue that muscle mass.

‘But there’s no good opportunity.’

Arnold had been on my kill list since I was a Hatchling, but he was surprisingly flawless. He always stayed in crowded places and avoided isolated areas as much as possible.

‘Should I kill him in his room like the Cargo Manager?’

I thought about targeting him while he slept, but that wasn’t easy either.

Despite his muscular build, he was so fearful that he even slept in reinforced armor. Medium-grade reinforced armor, at that.

It’s difficult to kill someone wearing medium-grade reinforced armor in one strike, even with a surprise attack. If I failed, things would become very troublesome. He would obviously contact the ship’s AI using the communication device provided as an option.

‘In the end, there’s only one thing I can do.’

If he has no weakness, I just need to observe him until I find one.

What’s needed to catch strong prey is time.

I looked at him one more time before heading back to my nest.

He may be a difficult opponent, but Arnold chose the wrong adversary.

I’ve never let go of prey I’ve targeted.

–

In a world where more humans come from incubators than mothers’ wombs.

Nothing could be more ridiculous than searching for God in such a place, but somehow I felt that God might actually exist.

Otherwise, how could such favorable circumstances have been created for me?

“Security Chief! How are you handling this job! Didn’t you say you could find him?!”

“I-I’m sorry…”

Eusung was shouting from below. Through the gaps in the wire mesh, I could see the back of the Security Chief’s head as he bowed, not knowing what to do.

I was currently eavesdropping on their conversation from above the conference room.

“How many times have I heard that sorry excuse! We’re scheduled to meet with pirates in two days, and nothing has been resolved!”

“W-well, even after increasing cameras and security personnel, we still can’t catch anything…”

“Damn it! Navigation Chief! How many people are currently missing on this ship?”

“…Eight people, including the former Cargo Manager.”

“Seven people have gone missing since the Research Chief died, so why can’t you catch him? Don’t tell me you’re in cahoots with that bastard?!”

“N-no, absolutely not!”

Currently, the mysterious killer roaming the ship is believed to be the Cargo Manager.

This was because he had shown suspicious behavior before disappearing, and his container had been discovered.

A smuggler who had infiltrated the ship while hiding his identity. Moreover, he vanished after a mysterious murder.

With such suspicious activities, everyone considered him the culprit.

‘Unfortunately, the real culprit is right here.’

Unaware that the real criminal was above his head, Eusung sighed and slumped into a chair.

“Let me ask you one thing. Isn’t the Cargo Manager human? Shouldn’t you search everywhere a person could go?”

“W-well, we don’t have enough cameras, and although we’ve installed them in important places, he somehow manages to avoid them all.”

“Sigh, what about the bodies? Bodies don’t walk around; they must be hidden somewhere. Why can’t you find them?”

“We’re monitoring all places where bodies could be disposed of every hour. I don’t know how he’s disposing of them, but we simply can’t find them.”

The Security Chief, who was receiving stares from everyone present, took out a handkerchief and wiped his forehead. His thinning hair made him look even more pitiful, but no one was there to help him.

“Technical Chief. Is there no way to make a tracker?”

“It’s beyond my abilities. Even if I could make one, I couldn’t guarantee its quality.”

“Damn, killing those who could track him first. He’s definitely not an ordinary human.”

A lazy smuggler suddenly becoming a professional assassin? If my body weren’t an AMorph, this would be a laughable situation.

At that moment, Crisis Management Team Leader Arnold raised his hand.

“Captain. I believe what the Security Chief says is true.”

“What’s this all of a sudden?”

“I’ve checked the camera placements and all possible hiding spots on the ship, and the Security Chief has done everything possible.”

“He failed to catch the culprit, and you’re defending him…”

“What I mean!”

Arnold raised his voice as if to suppress Eusung, who was about to lose his temper.

“I mean by human standards. If he were human, he couldn’t hide this well.”

“What? Crisis Management Team Leader. Do you think we gathered here to discuss those strange rumors?”

‘Huh?’

The atmosphere was changing as I watched with interest.

Arnold seemed determined to make his point. Despite the captain’s rebuke, he continued speaking.

“We might be under attack by an entity we don’t know about.”

“Listen, Crisis Management Team Leader. The ship’s AI isn’t that stupid. It may not be the latest model, but it once ran a battleship. If an animal were roaming around the ship, it would have caught it long ago.”

“As a former soldier, I understand AI capabilities well, Navigation Chief. But everyone knows about the Cargo Manager’s container. The cryogenic chambers there were all empty, right?”

“Hmm. That’s true.”

“Then where did all those creatures go?”

Some of the team leaders nodded at his words. Even Eusung seemed to find it convincing and straightened in his seat.

‘Oh no.’

People’s thoughts were flowing in a strange direction.

What I feared most was beginning to sprout in people’s minds: suspicion of an alien life form.

“Fine. Let’s say some strange space monster is roaming around. Where would it go? There are cameras installed in the middle of every corridor, but we haven’t seen a glimpse of it.”

“There’s a place we haven’t checked.”

As he said this, he pointed upward with his finger. As everyone’s gaze turned in my direction, I quickly retreated to the side of the wire mesh.

“The ventilation ducts?”

“The ventilation passages run throughout the ship. I don’t know how big the creature is, but if it’s around 1 meter, it’s enough to move around.”

His words were accurate.

It seems I wasn’t the only one who underestimated the enemy. I might have taken Arnold too lightly as well.

‘Strategic mistake.’

I had planned to take my time and approach slowly, but Arnold was showing more insight than expected. I should have dealt with him earlier, even if it meant taking risks.

“One meter? Isn’t that too small to kill a person?”

“Captain, Metallic Gremlins grow to a maximum of 80 centimeters but can destroy battleships. Size isn’t what matters.”

“Hmm.”

I could feel the auxiliary organs working. Everyone present was being convinced by Arnold’s words. The cold sweat they were shedding due to anxiety gradually decreased, and their irregular heartbeats began to stabilize.

“There’s a problem. If a strange life form really killed people, what about the Research Chief’s body? If the creature ate the body, we’re doomed either way.”

“That problem can be solved by capturing the creature alive and handing it over to Noble Capital. If it’s revealed that it ate the Research Chief, they’ll let it slide.”

Questions came from all directions, but Arnold handled them without hesitation. As if he had prepared in advance, he answered every question smoothly.

After the barrage of questions subsided, Eusung was the last to speak.

“Crisis Management Team Leader.”

“Yes, Captain.”

“How many soldiers do you need?”

“I’ll select six agile soldiers from the 8th squad to search the ventilation passages.”

“Permission granted. I hope you bring back good results.”

“Thank you.”

After the meeting ended, I returned to my nest.

‘…I held out for a long time.’

Even if I had been cautious, I would have eventually encountered them. Unless I abandoned my nest and left, I couldn’t avoid them in the ventilation passages.

‘Even if I left the nest, I have nowhere to go.’

Given Arnold’s character, he would likely place security devices near the ventilation ducts. That would effectively seal off the ventilation passages.

The corridors are full of surveillance cameras, and the ventilation passages are unusable. It’s not an all-out war yet, but it’s only a matter of time.

Now an important decision time has come for me.

‘Run away or fight back.’

The nest, which had dried up since I was an egg, was now full of life as if spring had arrived. Lying there, leaning against it, I reached out with my small hand and caressed the spores.

Feeling the pulsation of the spores, I made my decision.

‘I’ll fight.’

This ship may belong to them, but the ventilation passages are different.

This is my domain, where my home is. Compared to those who target this place after just looking at blueprints and maps once, the amount of information I possess is entirely different.

‘The conditions are favorable to me.’

It’s not just the battle location. The situation surrounding the ship is also turning unfavorable for them.

The meeting with the pirates is in two days.

With the bodies missing, it was unlikely that Eusung would willingly pay the credits. After all, he would be paying a large sum when the pirates had nothing to offer.

Even if there were no complaints from our side, it’s uncertain how the other side would react. He knows that the Space Dogs, who are synonymous with betrayal, wouldn’t let the ship go unharmed.

Although Eusung ordered the meeting, he’s already berating his subordinates and preparing for battle.

Anyway, if they want to fight the pirates, they need to preserve their forces as much as possible. They can’t deploy many soldiers just to catch me.

Moreover, Arnold said he would capture me alive.

‘Capture an AMorph alive?’

An AMorph is an entity that never stops until it annihilates its enemy. A hostile alien life form that would bite off an opponent’s neck even if only its head remained after its limbs were cut off. That’s what I am. Arnold seems to think of me as some wild animal that can be found on any planet, but he’s sorely mistaken.

It goes without saying how foolish it is to try to capture an unknown enemy alive with a small number of soldiers in unfavorable terrain.

‘I’ll teach you how terrifying it is to fight an AMorph in space, especially inside a ship.’

Using all the means at my disposal, I will show them.

What hell truly looks like in space.