Ch.259Encroach (1)

“Hey, did you hear? There was a commotion in the city area an hour ago.”

“A commotion?”

“Some crazy guy attacked the Martio Cartel and got killed.”

“Whoa.”

In the space fortress Kesha Arma, the status of the Martio Cartel extends far beyond mere ownership.

The Martio Cartel controls all the important facilities in the fortress. This means that the right to life of all residents lies in the hands of the cartel.

From what Gidkyu heard, the cartel once herded those who defied them into a single sector and removed the oxygen.

That’s why the name Martio is never taken lightly in this city. It’s surprising that someone would dare to challenge such an entity. This was certainly an incident worthy of his gossipy colleague’s interest.

“Who got attacked?”

“Brother Jonas. The crazy guy bit his neck, so he was taken to the hospital.”

“…The exosuit fetishist got attacked? Wait, how could an ordinary person bite someone wearing an exosuit?”

“The guys who were with him said he seemed like a junkie. Maybe he was high on Psyonium or something—they said his physical abilities were incredibly enhanced.”

“A junkie, huh.”

Hearing that word, Gidkyu recalled what had happened that morning.

The image of the port guard with a grotesque smile watching the hover bus. There had been more than a few others standing around with similar expressions.

‘The higher-ups will handle it.’

Recently, the Martio Cartel has been preparing for an important business venture. In a few days, an auction for smuggled animals and slaves is scheduled to take place. Because of this, ships of different species from all over space are gathering.

In this situation, the cartel wouldn’t ignore junkies causing trouble. There would likely be a major crackdown.

It’s ironic that criminals would be cracking down on drug users, but it’s none of Gidkyu’s business. The task assigned to him by the organization was more important than bashing in the heads of junkies.

“By the way, looking at those dishes makes me hungry.”

“Why? Do you want to be ejected into space like your predecessors?”

“I’m just saying. No need to be so touchy.”

Before Gidkyu and his colleague Freddy lay a feast of delicacies one might see only once in a lifetime.

They were in what was once called the Second Command Center. Currently, it functions as a hotel for the Martio Cartel’s most important clients.

Their job was to ensure that the food safely reached the VIP staying on the upper floor.

For this purpose, they were quite heavily armed for low-ranking members. They had been issued new mid-grade exosuits and Gauss rifles. Judging by their armament alone, they were comparable to a Megacorp’s armed police team.

“Preparations complete. Moving now.”

The android that had loaded all the dishes onto the cart began to move. Following the android into the elevator, the two fell silent.

The elevator, which had been ascending rapidly, stopped at the 100th floor.

As the doors opened, a corridor as luxurious as the food being transported by the android greeted them. The two followed the android out.

In the corridor stood pirates wearing high-grade exosuits and fully armed androids. Feeling their gazes, Gidkyu gulped.

The guest staying on the 100th floor was a very important person. So important that the cartel boss had issued strict orders to treat them with the same respect as himself.

“Pass through.”

After passing through the stringent security guards and entering the room, laughter could be heard from inside.

Though he had heard that voice only a few times a year, he clearly remembered who it belonged to.

The owner of Kesha Arma and the boss of the Martio Cartel.

One of the elders wielding the strongest influence in Space Dog, Montana Martio.

As they entered the enormous dining room with the android, they saw a giant with brown skin and a Cult with deer antlers.

“Hahaha, Cults are truly fascinating!”

“Fascinating, is it? An interesting perspective.”

The man who filled the sofa—large enough to comfortably seat three adult men—was the ruler of the space fortress.

The Cult woman nodding with a cold expression despite her words was the VIP invited by Montana Martio.

She was an ultra-special VIP who had been staying on this spacious 100th floor for nearly half a year. Important enough that Montana Martio had to flatter her like this.

“Ah! The meal has arrived just in time, Lady Cynthia.”

“I appreciate your consideration.”

“Consideration? Considering the favor I’ve received from you and him, this is hardly enough.”

At his gesture, the android began setting up the dishes.

From this point on, they had nothing more to do. Gidkyu and his colleague bowed respectfully and withdrew.

“Holy shit, do you know who that Cult is? I’ve never seen the boss act like that before.”

As soon as they entered the elevator, the gossipy pirate started chattering about what they had just witnessed. Gidkyu responded nonchalantly.

“She must be important if she’s been staying here for half a year.”

“No one has stayed here for more than a month until now.”

“They’re people who have nothing to do with us, so don’t worry about it.”

Since they had just delivered dinner, their duties were complete. Other members of the organization would handle the rest of the hospitality.

The two returned their equipment and left the Second Command Center building.

“Hey, I’ll pay for everything tonight. Let’s live like kings.”

“This bastard’s spending freely after just riding a hover bus.”

They needed to show their faces at the command center again tomorrow. But in true pirate fashion, neither of them cared.

Whether he had credits or not didn’t matter. Gidkyu had lived without planning so far. He would continue to do so.

–

“Urgh.”

Heavily intoxicated, Gidkyu left the upscale bar. His colleague had long since disappeared with a Volf prostitute.

He considered indulging in the same pleasure, but his credits held him back. Due to the extravagance of the past few days, his terminal was sending warning signals.

‘I’ll just win more.’

Everything is difficult only the first time. Since he’d hit the jackpot once, the second one would surely come faster.

With such complacent thoughts, Gidkyu walked down the street.

Unlike his regular bar near the arena, this area was filled with high-end entertainment facilities. That’s why it was relatively quiet compared to other entertainment districts. Once the auction starts, this place would become as crowded as the other sectors.

‘Should I walk?’

With few credits left and wanting to sober up, he decided to walk toward the sector where his capsule residence was located.

Despite the late hour, there were quite a few people on the street. Those who came to this street generally had two purposes: enjoying themselves with women or drinking copious amounts of alcohol.

However, the people on the street were standing outside, waiting for someone, rather than entering the establishments.

‘What are they doing?’

Even in his drunken state, it seemed strange, but Gidkyu ignored it. His life wasn’t leisurely enough to worry about the behavior of people richer than him.

After walking for about 30 minutes, the entertainment district ended, and he entered a street full of dilapidated buildings.

This was the sector where the fortress’s old armory and factories were located. During the time when the Cult managed it, the lights never went out, but not anymore. It only became active briefly during auctions. Usually, it was practically an abandoned sector with no human warmth.

Although electricity didn’t reach here, fortunately it wasn’t dark, thanks to the light from the planet above.

So there was no reason to be afraid, but today the atmosphere felt different.

‘…Damn. What’s going on?’

The street he walked every day after work looked even more decrepit, and there was a strong feeling that something was lurking inside the abandoned buildings. The atmosphere was so heavy that even he, drunk as he was, felt a slight tremor.

It was as if the entire street was alive and writhing.

‘This atmosphere is fucked up.’

Thinking he should get home quickly, he put strength into his feet. His cyborg-modified body forcibly increased the rate of alcohol decomposition.

In an instant, his mind cleared, and he heard something.

It was footsteps. Not of one person, but several, coming from behind.

‘What the hell….’

The moment he turned his head, he felt as if he’d been doused with cold water.

In the light shining down from the planet, a group stood in the street.

Some wore shabby clothes, others wore security guard uniforms. Some wore old jackets like Gidkyu’s, the kind pirates typically wore.

Fifteen people in different attire stood in the street, staring at him. All with their lips curled up in smiles.

“W-what are you bastards doing!”

Gidkyu shouted at the group staring at him with grotesque faces. He quickly pulled out a laser pistol from his chest and aimed it at the enemies.

‘What the hell is this!’

They were clearly the group of junkies his colleague had mentioned. Facing them directly, they seemed even more dangerous than he’d heard.

‘…I need to escape.’

They had even bitten someone wearing an exosuit. If he fought them, who knows what would happen. The only option seemed to be hiding in a building and calling for other members.

Gidkyu fired his pistol at the leader and ran as fast as he could. He didn’t check whether he hit or missed. Escaping was the priority.

“Huff, huff, huff!”

Since fleeing from the Star Union, this was the first time he had sprinted with all his might. He hid inside an abandoned building nearby.

It was a derelict building with nothing intact—windows, walls, ceiling, all collapsed—but the debris actually made it easier to hide. Concealing himself behind the debris, he used a broken mirror to observe the street.

He saw the group of junkies passing by the building where he was hiding. As expected, they hadn’t found him.

“Phew, damn…”

“Are you alright?”

“!”

Just as he was about to relax, a voice from inside made him jump to his feet. He pointed his gun in the direction of the voice, and a young man emerged from the darkness.

“Don’t shoot.”

“Shimura Cartel?”

Gidkyu immediately recognized which organization the young pirate with green hair belonged to. He was a member of the Shimura Cartel operating in the port.

It was a small organization with only five members, so even the Martio Cartel was ignoring them.

‘No, this isn’t the time to be thinking about that.’

Gidkyu took out his terminal to request support.

“Hey, it’s me. There are junkies swarming all over the armory sector. Come quickly… What? You idiots. The Second Command Center is close to here. Contact them and call for help! Yeah! Yeah! Tell them I requested it!”

With the support request done, he put away his terminal. The green-haired pirate approached him.

“You seem to have connections with the Second Command Center.”

“Of course I know it well, since it’s my workplace.”

“Is that so? Impressive.”

The green-haired pirate nodded as if in admiration.

It would take Gidkyu’s colleagues about 10 more minutes to get here. He spoke while using the mirror to check if the junkie group was coming.

“What are you doing here? Looking for food?”

“I came because there’s an item I need here.”

“You crazy bastard. You should have come during the day.”

“I ended up like this trying to avoid surveillance cameras.”

Hearing the other’s explanation, Gidkyu snorted in disbelief.

“What nonsense. Do you know how long it’s been since the cameras here stopped working?”

“Is that so?”

“Do you think we’re idle enough to supply energy to unnecessary places? This isn’t the only place like this.”

“That’s true.”

“Stupid guy.”

“I’m curious about something. What do you do at the Second Command Center?”

“Security. I can’t tell you more details than that.”

During their conversation, Gidkyu felt something strange.

The green-haired pirate said he came in the middle of the night to find an item. And in a ruin covered with countless debris at that.

If that were the case, he should have brought search equipment, or at least a flashlight, but there were no such tools visible on his person.

“If you’re looking for something, should you be just standing here?”

“It’s fine. I’ve already found it.”

“Found it? What is it?”

Gidkyu asked, but the green-haired pirate just smiled mysteriously and remained silent. Since they were both pirates, one might think he didn’t want to show his valuable item, but something felt off.

‘Besides…’

Gidkyu checked on the junkies roaming outside.

They were examining all the other buildings but not approaching this ruin. It seemed as if something here was preventing them from approaching.

Suddenly, he remembered a story he had heard at a bar a few days ago.

The rumor of a demon wearing human skin. It was eerily similar to his current situation.

‘…Shit.’

The conversation ended there. In the ruins, only the sound of two people breathing could be heard.

Judging by the breathing alone, he was undoubtedly human, but Gidkyu couldn’t be reassured. What if that breathing was actually the sound of a demon salivating at the sight of him?

With trembling hands, he picked up the broken mirror shard again. His heart raced as if he were sprinting. He wanted to confirm with his own eyes, but he couldn’t bring himself to do it.

Holding the mirror, he aimed it not at the street but in the opposite direction, behind his shoulder. If the person was truly human, the green-haired pirate should be visible.

He thought so, but soon regretted his action.

What he saw behind his shoulder was none other than a spider-like monster.

The creature was crouched low, extending its maw behind his head.