Ch.161161. Ancient Secret Weapon

The next day, morning.

After a serious discussion among the high-ranking officials of the mercenary group, they concluded that the girl would be taken into custody in an isolation chamber.

She had shown no signs of preemptive aggression, and preliminary tests detected no dangerous substances in her respiratory system, leading them to assess her as low risk. Combined with a slight sense of sympathy felt by the mercenaries, this was the outcome. Nevertheless, strict safety procedures were followed.

The isolation chamber where the girl was confined was a type of detention facility located on the outer perimeter of the ship.

Of course, while it was called a detention facility, the interior environment was closer to a high-end single-patient hospital room, well-equipped with various amenities.

Typically, isolation chambers were temporary accommodations for crew members exposed to toxic substances who, while not presenting immediate problems, might potentially cause various incidents or accidents later.

Most crew members were released without issue once the analysis of exposure substances was completed, but occasionally, someone would touch the wrong thing and transform into a monster with equipment fused to their flesh.

In such situations, the standard procedure was to immediately open the outer wall, detach the isolation chamber, eject it into space, and then blast it with the ship’s cannons—

Both the girl herself and the examination room for testing her were moved to isolation chambers, prepared to be ejected if necessary.

However, since being confined to the isolation chamber, the girl had yet to regain consciousness.

Occasionally her body would transform into tentacles and move, but without even this, there would have been a high possibility of assuming she was completely dead.

Additionally, the research team accompanying the mercenary group suggested that the girl might already be unconscious with only the tentacles remaining alive. While debates were ongoing within the ship—

“Captain, she’s awake!”

“Really? Let’s go see.”

Upon receiving the news, the mercenary captain, dressed in civilian clothes, quickly changed into light combat gear and moved to the isolation chamber area, where indeed, there was a conscious girl.

“…Is she playing?”

“Yes. It appears so.”

Contrary to the researchers’ negative hypotheses, the girl’s body was moving properly, full of vitality as she concentrated on solving a puzzle in the room.

As the researchers and mercenary captain found themselves smiling warmly at the sight of the girl, who was quite cute despite her size and tentacles—

Suddenly, the girl raised her head, looked around, and upon noticing them, giggled and waved her hand toward them.

“Hello there, nice to meet you.”

The mercenary captain waved back, responding to what seemed like a pure child, but…

He suddenly realized that the wall of the chamber appeared as tiles from the inside, while from the outside it looked like glass.

“…Director. She can see us, right?”

“It seems so. Rather than psychic abilities for seeing through walls… there’s no energy reaction, so perhaps she has independent sensory organs in her tentacles?”

It was a plausible assumption, given that she always kept several tentacles extended from her back and fixed under her dress like a skirt.

Of course, until all research was completed, this couldn’t be confirmed, so the situation was left as is for now.

※ ※ ※

After that day, the mercenary captain frequently visited the isolation chamber under the pretext of analyzing the girl’s behavior.

…To be completely honest, part of the reason was simply wanting to see the cute child, but at the same time, his visits weren’t merely for show.

‘Mental age approximately 4-5 years. Low language ability. Learning speed roughly 15… no, at least 18 times the Federation average.’

The mercenary captain, who surprisingly held a bachelor’s degree in child education, pretended to be surprised that his major would be useful in such a place while thoroughly analyzing the girl as she played with various puzzles.

‘Doesn’t particularly seek affection despite her mental age. Limited knowledge but extraordinary intellectual application abilities. No signs of psychic abilities, and the tentacles appear to be completely biological in nature.’

She would transform parts of her hair into crimson tentacles to craft wooden blocks for Jenga, mimicking furniture in the isolation chamber, or draw surprisingly detailed faces of researchers in picture books.

‘Artistic sense no different from humans. Overall behavior patterns similar to humans. Does not eat, with all energy for activities supplied from an internal energy source…’

After listing these characteristics and explaining them, he finally asked the research team:

“How are the examinations coming along?”

It was an ordinary question about the current status of their work, but for some reason, the research director beside him looked around nervously.

“About that… Captain, could you please come with me?”

Reacting as if the other researchers shouldn’t hear, she led the mercenary captain to her private break room.

“So, why do we need to be so cautious?”

At the captain’s question, the research director hesitated briefly before adopting a resolute expression—

“Captain. That girl… might become a calamity for humanity.”

Like a hero who had glimpsed the end of the world and realized only they could prevent it, she spoke to the mercenary captain with a determined expression.

“…Why is that?”

Having worked with the research director for nearly a hundred years and built a close relationship, the mercenary captain knew better than anyone that she wasn’t one to make such statements lightly.

So the captain also removed all traces of humor from his expression and asked, prompting her to reveal the truth she had discovered.

“‘That thing’s’ hair and tentacle tissues, when examined, showed massive amounts of genes similar to those commonly found in Commander-type monsters of superior rank or higher.”

“…What?”

“That’s not all! The tissue structure of those soft-looking tentacles is more durable than the carapace of high-rank monsters, and we’ve detected 8,000 different DNA traits for psychic resistance! The total number of known psychic resistance traits is only 61!”

The research director, speaking almost pleadingly, then pulled out a photograph from her pocket and showed it to me.

“Do you see this?”

“Yes… isn’t it just a tentacle-type monster?”

According to the data, it appeared to be a Wyrm-shaped monster about 10 meters long, with segments covered in carapace, but the research director immediately denied this.

“No, it’s not! This is a hair fragment… a sand-sized piece of her hair that reacted when supplied with a small amount of psychic energy and completed this form through self-growth!”

“…!!”

Continuing to reveal unbelievable information, she was trying to convince the mercenary captain.

“Captain. That entity appearing as a girl… is likely a monster, or more precisely, a biological weapon or experimental subject from an ancient civilization that predates monsters.”

“…”

“‘That thing’ possesses genes superior to even the most advanced monsters, and if it’s killed by monsters or its genes are transferred… they would inherit the ancient civilization’s genes intact, and the ancient bio-core existing deep within it would be used by the monsters.”

“…I see.”

“So, so… please, please make a decision.”

The research director was saying this:

Inside the body of that life form in the shape of a girl are advanced forms of various monster genes, most of which have been influenced by ancient civilizations and perform better than current-era monsters.

The bio-core that exists in place of a heart continues to function without external energy supply even after tens of thousands of years, and the cells embedded in her body, even in minute quantities, can rapidly grow to Monster-type levels when stimulated by psychic energy.

Therefore, if that girl, or even a tiny part of her body, falls into the hands of monsters, their advancement would be immeasurable. The research director was saying:

Though it might be an extreme opinion, she must be killed and her body completely incinerated.

Human rights? Sentient being rights? Even at the cost of violating these, she must be eliminated.

One might think the threat is exaggerated, but excessive response is better than inadequate handling that could lead to catastrophe.

Having lost her entire family to monsters during a planetary invasion while she was away, the research director sincerely believed this, even setting aside her personal feelings.