Ch.24Ghost Ship of C-08 (5)

As soon as I entered the training room, a laser shot toward me.

Lasers can’t harm me. The pirate cursed as he watched me walking calmly while being hit by the beam.

“Y-you motherfucker! Why the fuck isn’t this working?!”

Unfortunately, the foul-mouthed one wasn’t a cyborg. Seeing that he had no mechanical modifications, he was just an ordinary human from a Megacorp.

He threw away his useless laser rifle. Instead, he pulled out a short rod that was strapped to his waist. When he pressed a switch, a blade extended from the rod, transforming it into a sword.

Seeing that, I stopped walking.

‘A Sonic Blade.’

The Sonic Blade is a weapon incorporating ultrasonic vibration technology. Portable and with excellent cutting power, it’s a favorite among Megacorp officers.

When I stopped moving, he seemed to think he had gained the upper hand and shouted confidently.

“You fucking bastard! I’m the fucking vice-captain of the Elchen Dvarah cartel!”

His earlier frightened appearance was nowhere to be seen. Typical of a pirate, I suppose. His actions clearly revealed his short-sightedness.

A Sonic Blade could cut through my outer skin, but that only applies if he can hit me. If he can’t touch me, it’s useless.

Unless he’s someone who has mastered martial arts, but sadly, he isn’t. My auxiliary organ tells me he’s just an ordinary man in his 30s beginning to suffer from adult diseases. His body was full of blood and fat extracted from the victims he had plundered.

I lunged at the vice-captain. He jumped in surprise and stabbed my stomach with the Sonic Blade. His clumsy movements showed he wasn’t familiar with it.

‘Sonic Blades have weak durability, making them unsuitable for stabbing.’

I had no intention of playing along with his foolish attack. I easily dodged and kicked him in the abdomen. He fell back, spitting blood.

“Kuhek! F-fuck!”

His internal organs must have ruptured, but he didn’t let go of his weapon. He glared at me with venomous eyes.

‘Unexpected.’

I thought he was just full of bluster, but he’s quite tenacious. Regardless of species, most prey beg for their lives when fatally wounded. This is the first prey with such tenacity since Arnold.

‘Should I end it painlessly?’

I swung my tail, striking the vice-captain’s hand.

He let out a short scream and dropped the Sonic Blade. My tail didn’t stop there but curved and pierced through his eye. The spike at the end of my tail destroyed his brain, leaving him unable to feel any more pain.

One out of five dead. Now there are four pirates left. The remaining ones must be cowards as they were nowhere to be seen. They’re probably hiding in the locker room.

I leisurely tore apart the human corpse.

Just as I put the remaining ankle in my mouth, a translucent text box appeared before me.

「Predation Effect Activated! Successfully acquired ‘Humanity’ gene essence.」

「Stole ‘Humanity’ from the biological characteristics of ‘Human’.」

「Would you like to apply ‘Humanity’?」

‘Humanity?’

I was confused by this trait I’d never seen before.

‘Humanity? What kind of trait is this?’

The name alone is too broad. It’s difficult to determine whether it refers to human emotions, encompasses reason in general, or signifies a unique quality possessed only by humans.

‘Should I accept it?’

While there are over thousands of traits in Space Survival, not all traits work to the advantage of their possessor.

For example, the Berserk trait of Hulk Mutants doubles physical abilities but makes the player uncontrollable. In this way, traits can have disadvantages along with advantages, or sometimes the disadvantages outweigh the advantages.

In my experience, traits with ambiguous names are usually landmines.

‘I could use another trait right now, but…’

I tried to infer the nature of the trait by recalling the pirate I had killed. He definitely had something different from other prey.

‘An unyielding spirit.’

Does humanity refer to an indomitable mindset that gets back up even after being knocked down?

No. I shook my head. It’s too early to conclude.

The world of Space Survival is far from a human anthem. It’s closer to a dystopia teeming with all kinds of vicious beings. It’s a world where Star Union, which forcibly captures people and turns them into machines, and Megacorp, which casually modifies genes to create monsters, lead human civilization. There’s no way a trait celebrating human potential would exist in such a place.

‘What should I do?’

I decided to narrow my thinking. Rather than the philosophical question of what humanity is, I needed to approach this simply. If the predation effect was activated, it must be a trait that directly affects me.

‘Let’s look at the advantages first.’

I’m guessing Humanity is likely a trait that affects the mind.

If it’s a mental trait, it would count as a psychic enhancement type. Most psychic-related traits are associated with mental abilities or telekinesis.

Psychic-related traits are not easy to secure early on. Having one is better than not having one.

‘On the other hand, the disadvantages…’

Not knowing what effect it has since it’s a trait I’ve never seen before. If it’s a trait that enhances human emotions, like ethics or consideration, it would be a minus for me.

I am an AMorph who can only evolve by eating other creatures and sentient beings. If I suddenly become unable to eat human flesh, it would be a big problem. Not only would it block my growth engine, but it would also pose a significant risk to my survival.

‘The risk is too high. Let’s decline.’

Just as I was about to cancel the trait acquisition, my jaw tingled with a warning.

My auxiliary organ was warning me, telling me to reconsider my choice.

‘Predator sense?’

Since this was the first time this had happened, I suspected my predator sense had activated. But even after waiting, the future prediction effect didn’t activate.

Then this warning is entirely a judgment made by the auxiliary organ, or the instinct inherent in the AMorph. It’s an ironic situation where the AMorph is saying ‘Humanity’ is important when I, a human, am saying it’s unnecessary.

However, I can’t ignore the warning from the auxiliary organ. While I may be an expert in the game, in reality, I’m still inexperienced. Without the assistance of the AMorph’s body, survival would have been impossible.

‘Is this really that important?’

I asked that in my mind, but the auxiliary organ didn’t answer. The tentacle under my jaw remained silent without any reaction.

‘To accept or not.’

It would be nice to reserve acceptance, but unfortunately, that’s not possible. If not accepted within 10 minutes, it’s considered canceled and the trait disappears. Reality might be different, but I don’t want to test it.

‘…Let’s accept it.’

After deliberation, I decided to acquire the Humanity trait.

I intended to fill the count for psychic-related types, but it was also hard to ignore a trait specifically recommended by my auxiliary organ. Until now, this little tentacle has never forced a dangerous choice on me. I decided to trust it this time too.

Upon acceptance, the translucent text window emitted light and disappeared.

And in my body…

‘Nothing seems different?’

Nothing strange sprouted from my head, nor did I feel an overwhelming sense of guilt. My body and mind felt the same as usual.

I reactivated the text window.

「Currently, there is 1 type available for specialization.」

「Psychic Enhancement Type (3/6)」

As expected, Humanity was classified as a mental-related trait.

Now I have three psychic-related traits: Predator Sense, Psychic Organ, and Humanity. I need three more psychic-related traits to acquire the type.

I opened the detailed description of the ‘Humanity’ trait.

「Humanity: Helps you make the right decision at the moment of choice.

*P.S.: May your choices have value.」

‘…Ambiguous.’

Even after reading the explanation, I couldn’t understand what effect it had. Deciding that further contemplation would be meaningless, I dismissed the text window.

‘Let’s just appreciate that I’ve met the type condition.’

Coming back to my senses, I saw No. 26 waiting for me. He seemed upset, his color was off.

「Baby, are you okay?」

[Zuzu (What’s wrong?)]

「You weren’t moving, it was strange.」

He must have been worried seeing me standing still and spacing out.

I stroked No. 26 to reassure him not to worry. He seemed relieved that I was back to normal and returned to his original pink color.

‘Who’s worrying about whom.’

I picked up the Sonic Blade the pirate had been holding and placed No. 26 on my shoulder.

Throughout the training room, the scent left by pirates trembling in fear lingered.

Needless to say, I have no intention of letting them escape.

–

The pirate was hiding in a locker in the changing room, trembling.

At first, he heard several laser shots and then silence. He thought the vice-captain had taken care of it and felt relieved, but he was wrong. The vice-captain had failed, and that thing was still alive.

Just moments ago, he heard the screams of his comrades hiding in the shower room. Their cries for help didn’t last long.

The pirate gulped and gripped his laser rifle tightly. He couldn’t understand why he had to endure such suffering.

Although he was a pirate, he hadn’t done anything more evil or cruel than others. Skinning the scalps of the rich or raping and killing women were things all pirates did. He had just lived as a pirate should.

‘Supreme Leader Jubaka, please look upon me with mercy…’

Since becoming a pirate, he had never uttered the name of the Star Union’s Supreme Leader. He was a pirate of the Dvarah Cartel, no longer a cyborg of the Star Union. But faced with the threat of death, he was unconsciously acting as he had been taught in his youth.

Just then, he heard the door open. The sound of something heavy moving broke the silence of the changing room.

The door closed, and an unpleasant silence hung in the changing room. Like cold sweat soaking his back, an invisible fear seeped into his heart.

That thing was inside the changing room. Was it waiting for the pirate to jump out?

It was surely a living creature, yet it made not a single sound of breathing. This inhuman aspect deepened the cyborg’s fear.

When the pirate didn’t come out despite the wait, the creature moved. After a few heavy footsteps, it began opening the lockers one by one.

Creak, bang

Creak, bang

Creak, bang

Creak, bang

The pirate felt like his heart would burst. The sound was getting closer and closer. Finally, the creature reached the locker next to where he was hiding.

Through the metal mesh of the locker, he could vaguely see the creature.

A beast with dark brown skin, almost black, its teeth stained with the blood of his comrades, stood before him. The smell of thick blood emanated from its body.

The creature lingered there for a moment, then disappeared.

As the nauseating smell of blood faded, the cyborg pirate breathed a sigh of relief.

He thought that after this raid, he would secretly escape. Boss Elchen wouldn’t let him go easily, but the universe is vast. If he fled to Star Union territory, even the Dvarah Cartel couldn’t do anything.

As he was thinking this, he suddenly heard a loud noise and felt intense pain in his abdomen.

Looking down, he saw a long spear had pierced through the locker door and impaled his stomach. The spear, or rather, the creature’s tail, was pulled out of his stomach and retreated outside.

Four hands tore off the door. The sight of the creature’s mouth opening wide was the last thing he remembered.

–

‘Where do you think you’re hiding?’

The cyborg who dared to deceive my senses died with his limbs separated by my combat arms. By eating his flesh, I’ve almost completed the evolution condition.

‘Just one more to eat.’

Of the 12 cyborgs that entered this ship, only one remains. When I checked from the nest, he was in the bridge control room.

‘Of all places, the control room.’

There’s someone troublesome in the control room. A genetically modified human, presumably from House Yugin.

‘Then should I take care of the boss first?’

As I was leaving the training room with No. 26, my auxiliary organ urgently signaled danger. I quickly jumped up to the ceiling.

Almost simultaneously, a massive fist struck where I had been standing. The alloy plate was punctured as if hit by plasma energy.

“There you are! You little shit!”

The one who demonstrated this tremendous power was the Hulk Mutant boss of the pirates.

I knew he would be big, but seeing him in person, his presence was truly impressive.

Standing over 3 meters tall with a massive build that seemed to be all muscle without a trace of fat, and a red mane around his neck from mixed wild animal genes. His appearance was as intimidating as the Four Heavenly Kings protecting Buddha.

“You fucking bastard, killing my men?”

Behind the growling boss were his subordinate and the medical team leader. I knew they were alive, but I didn’t expect them to side with the pirates.

‘This works out well.’

I was planning to eat the boss first anyway, and now they’ve come to me.

A Hulk Mutant would have many useful genes. It wouldn’t be bad to replenish my gene essence before going after a difficult opponent.

I jumped down from the ceiling and landed on the floor.

[Zuzuzuzu (Hide for a moment)]

「Scared! Dangerous!」

[Zuzu zuzu zuzuzu (Don’t worry.)]

「Baby, be careful!」

After calming No. 26 who was worried about me, I sent him away. He blended with the wall using his camouflage and remained motionless. Still, I could feel his anxiety.

Seeing him worried about me while curled up made me want to laugh, but unfortunately, the AMorph’s body structure doesn’t allow for laughter.

After confirming No. 26 was hidden, I turned to face the boss.

Currently, my height is just over 1.5 meters, while the opponent’s height is about twice mine. Anyone who doesn’t know better would think I’m at a complete disadvantage.

‘Let’s see what this enhanced Hulk Mutant can do.’

I licked my lips at the sight of the Hulk Mutant, a veritable treasure trove of gene essence.