Ch.18Nest (1)

“Ugh, uwaaaaaack!”

The soldiers who arrived late were horrified at the blood-soaked control room. Those with little combat experience vomited on the spot, while officers looked grim at the sight of their superiors’ corpses.

“You idiots! Why are you so late?!”

“We-we’re sorry!”

Eusung shouted at them. There was no trace of the man who had been trembling in the corner just moments ago. He was showing quite a shameless side for a captain who had a duty to protect his crew.

“Clean this place up right now!”

“…Yes, sir.”

Dissatisfaction clouded the soldiers’ faces, but they were facing a superior—the ship’s captain, no less. Without complaint, they began collecting the bodies strewn across the bridge.

‘Damn, how many died?’

They had been attacked at the worst possible time, when everyone necessary for navigation was gathered. Moreover, the creature had selectively killed the most important people among the crowd.

‘Research Team Leader, Technical Team Leader, Mess Team Leader, Navigation Team Leader, Crisis Management Team Leader… they’re all dead!’

The loss of the Technical Team Leader and Crisis Management Team Leader was especially painful.

The Technical Team Leader who handled ship maintenance and repairs, and the Crisis Management Team Leader who was in charge of combat.

Both were essential personnel for fighting pirates.

He would never know that the monster had deliberately eliminated those people first.

‘We won’t survive an encounter with pirates in this state.’

Eusung was completely ignorant about combat. Although this research vessel was based on a military battleship, he was no soldier. He was just a rich man who had purchased a second-hand vessel. The chances of a civilian like him successfully commanding soldiers against seasoned pirates were close to zero. It would be better to appoint a new Crisis Management Team Leader to command the soldiers.

“…Who has the highest rank among the soldiers?”

“I do, Captain.”

“From now on, you are the Crisis Management Team Leader. Command the soldiers and protect this ship.”

The officer who had suddenly been promoted several ranks didn’t look happy. He too knew that a battle with pirates was imminent.

Still, having become a team leader, he couldn’t show his feelings, so he silently saluted and withdrew.

Although Eusung had appointed a new team leader, this wasn’t a fundamental solution. The monster was still roaming somewhere on the ship, and they were scheduled to encounter pirates in two days.

He considered breaking the appointment and fleeing, but the Navigation Team Leader who could calculate their route was dead. Eusung could set the course himself as captain, but he wasn’t skilled enough for precise adjustments.

And the pirates already knew their position. Any clumsy attempt to escape would result in immediate pursuit.

‘Should I just abandon everything and run?’

In reality, Eusung’s future was predetermined even if he escaped on a lifeboat. He would either become a debtor or be hunted by Noble Capital. Neither outcome was appealing.

‘Still, being alive is better than being dead….’

As he was contemplating escape, he overheard nearby soldiers talking.

“This looks different from a regular pistol.”

“Looks like the team leader’s weapon.”

Eusung’s eyes widened at what they were holding.

“Hey, you there!”

“Yes?”

“Bring that here.”

The item the soldiers brought was a plasma pistol. Eusung first checked its remaining charge.

‘60%. Good.’

With more than half its energy remaining, it would be sufficient for self-defense.

There was a slight crack on the barrel, but Eusung wasn’t a soldier and didn’t understand what that meant.

Eusung sent the soldiers away and stared blankly at the devastated bridge.

The Medical Team Leader approached him. Having just helped collect bodies, his hands were covered in blood.

“Are there any survivors?”

“Everyone except the Acting Research Team Leader, who was attacked first, is dead.”

“What? Wei Senior Researcher isn’t dead?”

“We’ve put him in the recovery room. Fortunately, he seems immune to the creature’s neurotoxin. However, his visual, olfactory, and gustatory organs have suffered permanent damage. Even if he survives, he’ll have to live with tubes for the rest of his life.”

“…”

Despite the talk of good fortune, Wei’s condition was so horrific that death might have been preferable. It sounded so terrible that Eusung shook his head.

“Medical Team Leader, isn’t there any solution?”

“What do you mean?”

“Besides the monster, we still have pirates to deal with.”

“…”

The Medical Team Leader was someone skilled at healing others, not killing them. Eusung knew this but asked out of desperation.

“…What about surrendering to the Space Dog?”

“What? Haha. Good joke. Would the Megacorp leave us alone?”

Eusung gave a hollow laugh at the unfunny joke, but the Medical Team Leader’s expression remained serious.

Space Dog, being a pirate group that engaged in plunder, was disliked by most factions. Because they waged war against all kinds of species, the lives of Space Dog members were considered less valuable than flies.

As a result, they always lacked highly educated specialists. Professional personnel essential for navigation and combat—doctors, for instance.

And the Medical Team Leader was the best doctor on this ship.

‘This guy is just trying to save himself.’

Space Dog despises the wealthy regardless of cartel. He had heard stories more than once about people suffering terribly after being captured by them. Some were even said to be so cruel as to scalp their victims.

As the richest person on the ship, Eusung had no desire to be added to a cartel boss’s collection of human skin masks.

“Stop talking nonsense and focus on comforting your subordinates. Understood?”

“Ahem.”

Eusung glared coldly at the Medical Team Leader as he cleared his throat.

With disaster looming, there wasn’t a single person he could trust. The soldiers staying to clean up the control room, the officers struggling to devise countermeasures, the Medical Team Leader with his selfish thoughts—none could be relied upon.

The one person he might have trusted was now a headless corpse being carried away on a stretcher.

‘What should I do now….’

Eusung sighed as he left the control room.

Everyone was having a difficult day, but they didn’t yet realize:

Hell was just beginning.

–

‘I’ve eliminated most of the important ones.’

Eusung remained, but he was far from being my adversary. When Arnold, the sharpest mind, died, the crew’s fate was essentially sealed.

Moreover, the ship’s top technician also met his end at my hands. This means that if any problems arise with the ship’s machinery, they’ll be difficult to fix. Even if the AI reports issues, it will take time to address them.

In the meantime, I have work to do.

‘Expanding the nest.’

It’s time to take control of key facilities throughout the ship, not just the ventilation ducts. While the enemies are in disarray, I should neutralize places with high-level security AI, like the armory or laboratory.

I don’t plan to destroy these facilities myself. Instead, I’ll contaminate them by establishing new nests.

‘The mucus from the spores is toxic to humans.’

I stroked a cute spore. Responding to my affectionate touch, it spurted out a viscous liquid.

When the mucus hardens, it becomes difficult to break with ordinary tools. And if only part is destroyed, it regenerates instantly. It can’t be eliminated unless destroyed from the roots with weapons like flamethrowers.

I’ve only had one such useful nest until now because there are limitations to creating them. In the hatchling state, I can only prepare one, and in the morphlet state, I can add 1 to 2 more.

In other words, the total number of nests I can have now is 3. With a nest already in the cooling room, I can establish 2 new ones.

‘Where should I place them?’

The first priority is the dining hall. Eating is the most important element for human survival. Placing a nest in the dining hall would contaminate the stored food, cutting off enemy supplies.

The question is where to place the remaining nest.

‘Either the armory or the laboratory.’

The armory houses plasma launchers. Since they’re weapons that could finish me off, it would make sense to eliminate them immediately. If I were an ordinary AMorph, that’s what I would do.

‘But I’m going to steal the launcher.’

Plasma launchers are extremely heavy, so ordinary humans can’t carry them alone, but I’m an AMorph. Four strong arms are more than enough to carry one.

Due to my body structure, I can’t use it as skillfully as humans, but knowing how to use it means it won’t be a major problem.

‘I wasn’t planning on it originally, but….’

Arnold’s words bothered me.

The one he serves, Siheyon Yujin.

I don’t know who he is, but he’s definitely connected to the pirates. He might even be among the pirates coming here.

Nothing is more frightening than an enemy whose identity is unknown. I need to gather as many useful cards as possible.

‘I’ll just acquire the launcher from the armory and place the nest in the laboratory.’

The reason for targeting the laboratory is simple. It contains numerous genetic samples.

Some species, including Megacorp, possess the technology to refine genes. They extract the essence of organisms, which triggers the predation effect when I consume it.

It might seem easier to just target the genetic samples, but this method has a major drawback.

‘The probability is much lower.’

Compared to the chance of gaining traits by eating ordinary creatures, it’s less than 10%. The chance of the predation effect activating from eating corpses isn’t high either, so it’s even harder to acquire traits this way.

‘Even if I eat all the samples in the laboratory, I might get 5 at most?’

Still, securing just 2 physical traits would allow me to obtain the physical enhancement type. The psychic enhancement type also needs just 1 more trait, but the chance of acquiring more psychic-related traits on this ship is slim.

‘Plus, there’s psyonium besides the samples.’

With psyonium, I can tap into juvenile abilities, which will be necessary when fighting pirates.

‘Now that I have a goal, let’s move.’

It’s mealtime for the crew now. Let’s place the nest in the laboratory first.

I immediately headed toward the laboratory.

The laboratory was much more disorganized than before. With all soldiers deployed for the search, there wasn’t a single guard.

I positioned myself a short distance from the laboratory.

“Hello!”

‘Huh?’

Just as I was about to spew mucus, someone called out to me. It was Bubble Ameba No. 26 in the laboratory.

‘You seem to be in a good mood?’

I can sense its lively disposition even through its wavelength. I responded to it using the psychic organ at the back of my head.

[Buzz buzz buzz (You seem happy)]

“Yes! No pain!”

‘No experiments today?’

Well, with the ship in this state, the likelihood of researchers visiting was low. They’re probably all hiding in their rooms.

‘Then I can be a bit bolder.’

I gradually moved above the laboratory. The AI installed inside detected the vibration and emitted a red light. By now, the ship’s AI would have detected the anomaly and notified the technical and security teams.

“What doing?”

[Buzz buzz (Waiting)]

“?”

After waiting for about 30 minutes, not a single person appeared. I examined the surrounding areas with my auxiliary organs, but no humans were approaching.

It’s certain.

The ship’s security system hasn’t recovered yet. There’s no need to move stealthily anymore. I broke through the ventilation duct and set foot on the laboratory floor.

[Buzz buzz buzz buzz (It’s been a while)]

“Yes.”

No. 26, whom I hadn’t seen in a while, looked healthy. I’d only ever seen it pale white, but today it displayed the distinctive pink hue of Bubble Amebas.

Seeing its cheerful behavior made me ponder.

‘Should I take it with me?’

No. 26 is the only organism on this ship with whom I’ve formed a friendly relationship. If it had useful genes, I would have eaten it without hesitation, but it’s a Bubble Ameba. Unless I’m in a situation where I’m extremely nutrient-deficient and need to eat anything, there’s no need to kill it.

‘If it stays here, it will starve to death.’

And who knows when the researchers will return.

As a cosmic jellyfish, the Bubble Ameba is immune to toxins, so there’s no major issue with keeping it in the nest or carrying it around. As for food, I can give it calorie bars or human flesh.

[Buzz buzz buzz buzz (Do you want to leave?)]

“Leave? Where?”

[Buzz buzz buzz buzz (Out of the laboratory)]

“Yes! Want to leave.”

An immediate answer. With that, No. 26’s fate was decided.

I signaled it to be careful, then broke the test tube. I caught it with my hand as it was about to be washed away with the liquid inside.

Having been submerged in drugs for a long time, it seemed uncomfortable with the sudden exposure to fresh air and shrank back. It repeatedly inflated and deflated its body before finally becoming accustomed and returning to its normal state.

“Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!”

It seems to have quite enjoyed the taste of freedom. It clung to my arm with joy. I gently stroked it with my small arm and placed it on the floor for a moment.

[Buzz buzz buzz buzz (Wait a bit)]

“What doing?”

[Buzz buzz buzz buzz (I’m going to make a nest)]

Leaving No. 26 to watch me, I sprayed mucus all over the laboratory.

No. 26 seemed fascinated by what I was doing and followed me around. Curious about the taste, it swallowed some of the mucus, but being immune to toxins, it remained fine.

The laboratory, which had been spotlessly clean, transformed into the most contaminated space on the ship in less than a few hours. The translucent mucus hardened into hideous dark brown stems, and spores scattered throughout released repulsive and unpleasant liquids. The scene resembled not a laboratory but a cursed, decaying swamp.

‘That takes care of the laboratory.’

Thanks to the absence of visitors, I was able to expand it quickly and significantly. Creating a much larger nest than the one in the ventilation duct made me rapidly hungry. I broke the test tubes and extracted their contents.

‘This doesn’t taste good at all.’

Compared to humans, it tasted terrible. I should focus on nutritional intake rather than enjoying the flavor.

Thinking of it as eating a tasteless hamburger, I bit into an experimental brain. No. 26 climbed onto my shoulder. Thinking it might be hungry too, I tore off a piece for it, which it eagerly ate.

After roughly filling my stomach, I examined the freezer. Inside were large quantities of genetic samples.

I swept up the samples and stuffed them directly into my mouth. The security bell on the wall rang frantically, but I ignored it.

Several translucent text boxes appeared before my eyes, but I ignored them and focused on eating. When I was about halfway through, my auxiliary organ alerted me to approaching humans.

‘Finally, they come.’

There were two approaching presences. One had a regular stride, suggesting a soldier, while the other was a civilian. Probably a researcher.

In a situation that warranted at least a squad, just 2 people? I wanted to sneer, but unfortunately, AMorphs don’t have noses.

I stopped eating and left the freezer.

“Gasp?!”

“W-what is this!”

The two people standing at the entrance gaped at the contaminated laboratory. They should be requesting backup, but they’re just standing there stupidly.

The price for such foolishness is death.

I hid among the dark brown branches and first lunged at the soldier. He startled and aimed his laser rifle at me, but I could anticipate his move. My auxiliary organ calculated his movement and the direction of the muzzle in an instant.

As expected, the laser missed and hit elsewhere. My tail, however, did not miss. The venomous stinger, like a bio-dagger, broke through his ribs and tore his lungs to shreds.

“Kuhul!”

The soldier coughed up blood once and bowed his head. Having instantly killed the soldier, I approached the researcher.

“Hee, heeek! Spare me!”

His legs gave way, and he collapsed. A yellow liquid flowed from his lower body, and a pungent ammonia smell was detected by my auxiliary organs.

Ignoring this, I was about to sever his neck when I sensed No. 26 getting excited on my shoulder.

[Buzz buzz (What’s wrong?)]

“Hurt! Hurt!”

‘Hurt? Ah.’

I was momentarily confused by No. 26’s limited vocabulary.

This person seemed to be one of those involved in the Bubble Ameba experiments. No. 26 must be angry seeing someone who had tormented it.

‘Bubble Amebas can kill humans too.’

No. 26’s size is roughly a bit larger than a basketball. In other words, it’s certainly capable of dissolving and consuming a human head.

I lightly pricked the researcher with the tip of my tail. As the neurotoxin spread through his body, he became no different from an immobile piece of furniture. I placed No. 26 on his head.

“!”

Understanding my intention, No. 26 spread its body wide and covered the researcher’s head.

Which is more pitiful—the soldier who died instantly, or the researcher who died experiencing the agony of his head dissolving?

When death is inevitable, does the process really matter? While No. 26 was having its meal, I also tore into the soldier’s corpse.

Afterward, there were no more visitors. I placed No. 26, who had completed its first revenge, on my shoulder and returned to the nest in the laboratory. Behind us remained only the researcher’s corpse, its head reduced to bare bones.

After finishing all my business in the laboratory, a new translucent text box appeared before my eyes.

“1 ‘Type’ available for specialization.”

“Would you like to unlock the ‘Physical Enhancement Type’?”

Having achieved my goal, I smiled.