Ch.20Ghost Ship of C-08 (1)

–

Space above our heads is no longer a myth but a reality in this era.

In space, humanity has been divided into two massive powers: Megacorp and Star Union.

Though both were powerful enough to rule dozens or hundreds of star systems, they were mere specks compared to the vast expanse of the universe.

In the infinite space filled with countless galaxies and celestial bodies, there were many places beyond their reach.

C-08 was one such place.

In that region, untouched by Megacorp, Star Union, or any other intelligent beings, creatures hostile to humans had made their nest.

C-08 was territory managed by Space Dogs, specifically a cartel notorious for its cruelty.

The Dvarah Cartel.

These infamous raiders were now ravaging their prey that had entered their territory.

“Aaaagh! Save me!”

“Kyaaaah!”

Agonized screams filled the luxurious passenger ship. Inside lay fallen armed guards and innocent victims.

“Take everything they have!”

“Kill the men and rape the women!”

The ruthless raiders were far from ordinary. Some had ant-like heads, while others were half-machine. Some snickered while carrying loot, while others disappeared with noblewomen, their faces twisted with lust.

Though their appearances and behaviors varied, they shared one common trait.

Each had a blood-red clover tattoo near their shoulder. The tattoo’s meaning was clear.

They were under the protection of Elchen Dvarah, the godfather of the Dvarah Cartel.

Since the Dvarah Cartel consisted entirely of former soldiers, mercenaries, and criminals, they were all quite imposing.

Though all boasted above-average muscular builds, one among them was particularly massive.

Standing 3 meters tall with a body packed with muscle, he had a lion-like head with a red mane and beast ears. His eyes and right arm had been replaced with machinery.

This hybrid of human, beast, and machine was Elchen Dvarah, the head of a family of 50.

He sat slouched in the captain’s chair, watching his subordinates’ plundering with a bored expression. Though mountains of goods offered by his men were piled beside the chair, he showed no interest.

‘Just pocket change. What a waste of effort.’

As Elchen clicked his tongue, his eyes met with one of the captives being dragged away by his subordinate. The captive, or rather the ship’s former captain, shouted at Elchen.

“Captain! How could you do this to us!”

“What?”

“We hired your mercenary group for protection! How could this happen?”

Elchen, a Hulk Mutant from Megacorp, was extraordinary even compared to other cartel bosses. Those unfamiliar with him might be surprised by his genetically modified massive body, but his true weapon wasn’t his physique.

Elchen’s weapon was his cunning.

Though a Space Dog cartel, he boldly registered as a Megacorp mercenary unit. His main tactic was to backstab clients who seemed vulnerable while working as mercenaries.

“Stupid bastard. Isn’t the one who entrusts their safety to mercenaries the real idiot?”

“What?!”

“Are we friends? It’s strange to expect things to go well when you give a few coins to someone you don’t know.”

“Such impudence…!”

“Why are you like this? You were just trying to save money too. That’s how Megacorp pigs always are.”

“You goddamn son of a bitch!”

There was no obligation to respond to every insult from losers. Elchen answered the captain’s curses by picking his ear.

“By now, the Megacorp Defense Force must have received our distress signal and dispatched! When they arrive, you’ll all be executed!”

“Oh, I’m scared. Hey, take him away.”

“Eek! Death is too good for you all. I’ll tell the Defense Force myself. To turn you all into Hulk Mutants!”

“…Wait.”

Elchen’s eyebrows twitched. His beast ears among his mane trembled, reflecting his displeasure.

He hated the mention of being made into a Hulk Mutant the most. It was because he had been “employed” by Megacorp and forcibly subjected to genetic modification.

The foolish captain had touched the beast’s sore spot.

Elchen rose from his seat and approached the captain.

When he extended his hand to the subordinate holding the captain, the subordinate drew the machete from his waist and handed it to Elchen.

The machete, commonly called a jungle knife, looked like a small dagger in the hands of the 3-meter-tall giant. The sight was quite, no, extremely frightening, causing the captain to gulp.

“W-what?”

“Listen, Captain. You seem unfamiliar with Megacorp mercenary law, so let me teach you.”

“Huh?”

“It’s a serious crime for mercenaries to betray during a mission, but if there are no witnesses to prove it, it’s invalid. You know that?”

“What?”

“You said you called the Defense Force, so that was wasted effort. There won’t be anyone left to explain.”

The captain’s face turned pale as he understood.

“A-are you planning to kill us all!”

“I don’t know about such elegant expressions. But one thing is certain…”

Elchen roughly grabbed the captain’s hair. The captain screamed in pain and kicked Elchen, but against those monstrous muscles, it was like a baby’s kick.

“My hobby is skinning Megacorp pigs.”

The machete in Elchen’s hand gleamed threateningly.

By the time his hobby activity ended, no living human remained on the passenger ship. As always, only an unpleasant silence remained on the plundered ship.

While his subordinates cleaned up, Elchen returned to his assault ship. The pirates guarding the ship all came out to greet him.

“You’ve returned.”

“Yeah. Take this and process it as usual.”

“Yes.”

The vice-captain disappeared somewhere with the facial skin Elchen had thrown. That skin would be decorated on Elchen’s throne after appropriate processing.

“By the way, don’t we have something else to do today?”

“What do you mean?”

“Not you. Call Garlic.”

Shortly after, a subordinate brought a woman with a small build.

With black hair and glasses, she was the only woman in the Dvarah Cartel. Her colleagues called her Garlic because they said she smelled like garlic.

With her long hair hanging down and shoulders hunched, Garlic looked timid to anyone. She greeted Elchen with a trembling voice.

“H-hello? Boss. D-did you call for me?”

“Yeah. You said there was a job around here. How’s it going?”

“W-well, we were supposed to meet today, but suddenly they went silent…”

“What?”

“Eek?!”

When Elchen frowned, Garlic shrank visibly.

He would have immediately cracked the skull of any other subordinate, but Garlic was the most intelligent person in the cartel. He didn’t know where this woman had come from, but she was a smart and obedient talent he valued.

Elchen calmed his anger and demanded an explanation from her.

“Explain properly.”

“I-I know someone on a research vessel led by Captain Eusung Samuel, and they requested us to dispose of a corpse from there.”

“The Samuel family? They’re here?”

“You know them?”

“They’re Titan’s Third Capital, right? What are they doing here? Well, fine. So whose corpse is it?”

“N-Noble Capital. A w-woman from House Yugin…”

A Titan’s Third Capital asking to dispose of a Noble Capital’s corpse from Earth. Considering the gap between them, it was something that shouldn’t happen.

“Crazy bastards. How much are they offering?”

“In the l-last communication, they s-said they could give a hundred thousand credits.”

“Huh, 100,000?”

Elchen snorted.

He knew well how obsessively Noble Capital honored their dead. Even for 10 million or 100 million credits, it was an unacceptable condition.

‘There’s a conspiracy.’

Elchen knew that the atmosphere within Megacorp had been unusual lately. Rumors were circulating that the young blood of House Egerton from Mars was challenging the old king of Earth, House Yugin.

Though it had nothing to do with Elchen, who belonged to Space Dogs, he smelled money.

While House Egerton’s main business was ship development, they were secretly putting a lot of effort into genetic modification.

Elchen knew House Egerton’s secret because he was a prototype of the new Hulk Mutant that House Egerton was secretly developing.

‘Wait. What if I intercept the corpse and sell it to Egerton?’

Though he didn’t know the identity of the corpse, if it was from House Yugin, it would have undergone extraordinary genetic modifications. Being essentially the essence of House Yugin, House Egerton would pay any price to get their hands on it.

Of course, Elchen greatly disliked House Egerton, but grudges and credits were separate matters.

‘If this causes Egerton and Yugin to fight, both will be screwed, which is good for me.’

Having decided to seize the corpse, Elchen asked Garlic again.

“Communication was cut off? An attack?”

“I-I’m not sure about that…”

“I don’t know who they are, but they’ve got guts. So there are pigs causing trouble in our territory?”

Elchen rose from his seat and ordered his subordinates.

“We depart as soon as cleanup is finished. Destination is Eusung Samuel’s ship. Prepare to track communications.”

“Yes!”

Leaving his subordinates moving in perfect order, Elchen thought about what to do next.

Garlic quietly withdrew, leaving the boss deep in thought.

After the subordinates returned from cleanup, the Dvarah assault ship disappeared from that place through FTL travel.

The remaining passenger ship soon exploded and vanished into cosmic dust. No one anywhere knew that a group of pitiful souls had existed here.

–

‘Hmm?’

I opened my eyes while resting. There was a slight impact from outside the ship. I thought it might have collided with space debris, but the impact and vibration from the outer wall seemed artificial.

As if someone was knocking on the door trying to enter the ship.

‘It’s them.’

I focused my senses linked to the nest on where the impact occurred. The ship’s hull felt like my body, and I could see the outline of those causing the impact.

Unlike the round oval research vessel, it was a warship with a slender design reminiscent of a sword. A red clover was painted on the surface of the warship.

‘Only Space Dogs would graffiti their ships.’

The warship was attempting forced docking by sticking close to the research vessel. As the outer wall was destroyed by plasma cutters, several people invaded the research vessel through the gap.

‘They’re fast.’

Their actions were certainly coordinated like fleet battle professionals. As soon as they invaded the research vessel, they headed for the bridge.

‘Smart or stupid.’

A normal intelligent being would know this ship was clearly in an abnormal state, yet there was no hesitation in their actions.

Currently, Eusung’s research vessel had been transformed beyond recognition.

Even this pinnacle of advanced engineering, designed to withstand the harsh environment of space, was useless before an AMorph.

The corridors, made of smooth alloy plates without any gaps, had been corroded by dark brown stems, making them look hideous like exposed blood vessels. Spores on the ceiling and floor continuously spewed mixtures of neurotoxins and acidic liquids. The places where the alloy plates had melted were filled with the nest’s mucus.

If people weren’t told this was a ship, no one would think this was an artificial structure.

In a way, this place could be considered a kind of garden, artificially created for a specific being. The owner of that garden is me, AMorph.

Like treasure hunters blinded by greed, they didn’t even know where they had set foot.

I’m currently lying in the second nest installed in the laboratory, monitoring the intruders.

The clueless intruders were manipulating the communication device on the bridge. My psychic organs, enhanced through the nest, read the flow of radio waves.

“Bridge secured. But something’s strange.”

“What?”

“There’s not a single person on the ship, and strange trees are growing.”

“Trees? Where are there plants in space?”

“It’s true, boss.”

“You bastard, I’ll come check it myself. If not, be ready to get your head cracked.”

“…Yes.”

The one speaking in a thug-like manner seems to be the boss. The boss, with an incomparable presence compared to others, crossed over to the research vessel.

‘A Hulk Mutant.’

I can hear the sound of two hearts beating in his body, modified for high output. Judging by the subtle radio waves flowing over his skin, he seems to have several mechanical devices implanted.

Following the boss, others also invaded the research vessel one after another. I checked each one as they came across.

‘Judging by the pheromones from the body, an Insectman from the insect tribe, and this one has mechanical sounds instead of heartbeats. A Star Union cyborg. A multi-racial cartel. Good.’

The juvenile evolution condition is to kill 10 individuals from each of two playable races and consume their genes. Currently, I’ve filled half with humans, so I need to fill the rest with 10 individuals from another race.

It’s not just about eating any race; all 10 must be from the same race to satisfy the condition.

‘So far, Star Union has the most with 12 people, but I wonder how it will turn out.’

In the game, they were treated as different races, but I’m not sure about reality. In the setting, they’re humans just like Megacorp. Whether they’ll be treated as humans or a separate race, I’ll have to find out by eating them.

After waiting a while, the total number of people who entered the research vessel was 29. I thought that was it, but finally, one more human crossed over.

‘Huh?’

The person was extremely ordinary. I was about to dismiss it, but looking again, something felt strange.

‘Can a person be this ordinary?’

I’ve eaten over 100 humans so far, but none had a normal or average physical condition. Every human body has unique movements and sounds, like fingerprints.

But this person is not like that. It’s as if someone calculated the average of all humans, input it into a machine, and printed it out—the very embodiment of ordinariness.

In summary, this person’s body is artificial. It’s as if there’s a computer instead of a brain in their head, “acting” thoroughly ordinary.

‘…A person to watch out for. Let’s remember this.’

After this suspicious individual, no one else entered the ship.

Then it’s my turn now.

I disconnected from the nest and got up. No. 26, who was resting beside me, reacted to my movement.

“Baby, where are you going?”

[Zz-zz (Going out)]

“I want to come too.”

[Zz-zz-zz zz-zz-zz (It’s dangerous, stay here)]

He puffed up his body in displeasure, but I couldn’t give in.

I’m planning to go to the enemy warship now.

[Zz-zz zz-zz-zz (Instead, guard that)]

“That?”

I pointed to the plasma launcher placed in the corner. That heavy weapon, which ironically showed how humans created something to massacre humans, was taking a break after completing its mission.

[Zz-zz-zz (It’s important)]

“Yes! Baby, trust me!”

Trust, I wonder if he knows what that word means. Anyway, he was happy and jumped up and down when I gave him an important task.

I left the cooling room with his send-off.

With the enemy’s guard weakened, this is the only chance to sabotage the warship. I need to destroy the warship’s power source to make retreat impossible and trap the enemy.

After that, the enemy has two choices: either divide their personnel to protect both the research vessel and the warship, or concentrate their forces on one ship.

Because they’re greedy, they won’t want to lose either. They’ll probably divide into a raiding team and a defense team.

The moment their personnel are dispersed, my hunt begins.