Ch.298Infiltrate (1)

The Sky Mother had returned, so it was time to prepare to leave the planet.

Adhigh and I caught a massive amount of prey one last time. This was to ensure the Gallergorn would have plenty to eat for a while.

PS-111 left only one mini-screamer at the screamer support ship and went up to the Gigacracker first with the other four. The lone mini-screamer was assigned to manage and maintain the support ship.

The Sky Mother took on the role of transporting the four mini-screamers and PS-111. Though she sighed heavily and seemed really reluctant, she eventually accepted the task.

The Gallergorn herd was quite disappointed to hear we were leaving.

Especially the Gallergorn responsible for childcare were very sad when they heard No. 26 was leaving. They probably knew how much harder things would be without him around.

Ham Oort seemed distressed that his daughter was once again departing on a long journey. Adhigh must have felt similarly, as she spent some time with her mother after the hunt and before our departure.

After a day of wrapping things up, we returned to the Gigacracker.

When I entered the Gigacracker’s situation room, an unfamiliar device greeted me.

It looked like a miniaturized obelisk, about 1m in length. The exterior was a bright silver color with geometric patterns engraved on it.

‘A Cult interstellar communicator?’

The Cult, with their interest in geometry, often incorporate their aesthetic preferences when creating special equipment or ships. But this was the first time I’d seen an interstellar communicator that looked like this.

‘Has it been modified?’

Judging by its appearance and the multiple port holes at the bottom where there should have been nothing, it seemed unusual. Currently, cables and wires from inside the situation room were connected to those ports.

“It’s a modified model based on a Cult interstellar communicator. It was circulating in the black market, so it can operate on power sources other than psychic power.”

The Sky Mother, who had returned to her humanoid form, explained.

It seemed she had completely dismantled and brought the communicator that had been stored in the hideout.

[You went to contact them. Why did you bring it back?]

“Things got a bit complicated.”

She slightly furrowed her brow at my question.

“I kept trying to contact them after arriving, but there was no response. The signal was going through, so it’s not broken.”

[They’re not answering?]

“So I tried another method to check.”

[Another method?]

“Yes. There’s a location sharing function between linked devices.”

“Location coordinate analysis complete. Displaying hologram.”

With PS-111’s voice, who was working beside the communicator, a massive hologram appeared in the middle of the situation room.

The hologram showing the vast universe zoomed in on a specific point. Starting from a star system, then to a planet, and finally to a city within the planet before stopping.

“Planet Beryan02 in the Aur system.”

“Beryan02? They’re there?”

“Do you know it?”

Beryan02 in Aur99.

One of the most prosperous planets in the Cult Empire.

‘And the location of the Prophet Society’s largest branch.’

Originally, the headquarters of the Prophet Society isn’t Beryan02 but a desert planet called “Deliverer.”

However, that place is closer to being a cultural and historical center. The economic and military center is Beryan02. The Eye of Revelation Priest Order, a military group affiliated with the Prophet Society, is also stationed on Beryan02.

[Wasn’t No. 22 a Coldblood?]

“Right. Why would they go to the Empire?”

Coldblood have a bad reputation in the Cult Empire. Most are treated as cultists or criminals. Beryan02, where the Eye of Revelation Priest Order is stationed, is an even worse choice.

‘No. Maybe that’s exactly why.’

They might be exploiting the blind spot.

Beryan02 is the planet with the most active slave trade in the Empire. Even for a Coldblood, infiltration isn’t impossible if disguised as a slave.

‘How they’ll operate afterward is a separate issue.’

I’ve been to Beryan02 a few times in the game. I remember going there as an adult and finding the planet conquest quite difficult.

The moment you start rampaging on the planet, the powerful Eye of Revelation Priest Order, an enormous number of garrison troops, and numerous Cult players emerge from everywhere. Not to mention the planet’s defense facilities.

‘Well, I could fight now if needed, but…’

There’s one concern.

The 7th-ranked Cult ranker, Bumho.

Beryan02 is one of the Cult’s strongholds. If I were Bumho, I would have established forces there too.

‘It would be troublesome to encounter them there.’

Unlike the game, death in reality is final. It’s best to avoid all-out war before gathering sufficient information.

“We can’t take the Gigacracker. That would literally start a war.”

The Sky Mother spoke, reading my thoughts.

As she said, bringing a planet-destroying weapon would immediately trigger a war. If the entire planet falls into chaos, the chances of meeting No. 22 decrease, and they might even ally with No. 7. Even if I were No. 22, I wouldn’t want to talk to an AMorph who brought a Gigacracker.

“Then do you plan to hijack another ship?”

I remained silent at PS-111’s question.

‘A new ship.’

Surveillance on Beryan02 is quite strict. Unless it’s a ship that frequently visits the planet, using one that has never visited would almost certainly get caught.

And it’s not easy to manipulate port guards to pass through like we did at Kesha Arma. With a much larger population than a space fortress, there are many more surveillance officers.

‘This is trickier than I thought.’

Of all places, the hidden planet turns out to be the famous Beryan02. This complicates things. Even in the game, conquering that place required extensive preparation.

‘Should I just break through directly?’

In the game, I had to conquer it alone without tools, but things are different here. The 7th-ranked might be there, but we don’t know for sure.

Just as I wondered if I was overthinking, an idea came to mind.

‘Should I try that method?’

During my juvenile days in the game, I learned something from the Metallic Gremlins.

How they penetrate precise radar networks to infiltrate ships.

[How long would it take to get from here to Beryan02?]

“With the Gigacracker’s engine performance, we can arrive within 2 weeks.”

[If I go directly, how long might it take?]

“Based on accumulated data analysis, it would take between 3 to 5 weeks.”

[Good]

To execute the plan I’m considering, I need certain characteristics. About a month to Beryan02 isn’t bad.

“Go directly? How do you plan to do that?”

[I thought I’d try the old method for a change]

“…I have a bad feeling about this.”

[Which mini-screamer had interstellar communication capabilities? Was it No. 5?]

“Are you planning to take MPS-05?”

When I placed my combat arm on the floor, the mini-screamer named MPS-05 climbed onto my palm.

[Yes. I’ll need this one’s help]

I had injected it with characteristics not related to combat but to efficiently assist with interstellar communication functions.

‘I’ll need PS-111’s help for this plan.’

Or more precisely, PS-111’s.

I smiled at MPS-05, who was quietly looking up at me from my palm.

–

The “Surveillance Bureau” of the Aur system, which includes Beryan02.

The role of the Surveillance Bureau is to record the energy flow of superluminal power emitted by ships entering the star system. It’s an institution set up to prepare for unrecorded energy flows or ships that flee via superluminal navigation after causing problems.

Today, as usual, the Surveillance Bureau personnel were busy monitoring the numerous ships coming and going through the Aur system.

The sudden occurrence of unrecorded energy flow wasn’t particularly special to them. Dispatching a fleet belonging to the Surveillance Bureau to the location where energy was detected was also a common practice.

“Approaching the superluminal navigation occurrence point.”

“We should be able to observe by now. Knowledge Manager?”

“Hmm. It’s not being properly observed due to a powerful magnetic field.”

“Magnetic field? Is it from another star system?”

“Not certain. I’ll continue attempting to analyze the information.”

The elite fleet under the Surveillance Bureau approached the area where the unidentified magnetic field had spread.

In the situation room inside the ship, Cult crew members were displaying images from the ship’s external cameras and surveillance radar data in mid-air.

Meanwhile, Charas, the Knowledge Manager dispatched from the Surveillance Bureau, was quickly organizing the information in her head. Even recalling the wavelength data emitted by stars, nothing special came up.

The only thing showing a similar wavelength pattern wasn’t a case of stellar activity. It was a wavelength observed during an incident on a certain planet.

‘The Psygil08 disaster?’

She recalled that event, still occasionally referred to as ominous.

At that time, the Judge of the Imperial Mothership Damos08 and the mothership fleet, dispatched to purify the contamination, were annihilated by an unidentified entity. The Imperial Council named the mysterious creature the “Three-Headed Demon.”

And the wavelength observed by the Surveillance Bureau was similar to the unknown energy storm emitted by that monster.

‘…There are significant differences though. What should I do?’

In fact, the wavelengths weren’t completely identical. What was observed then was closer to an energy storm created by the concentration of massive energy. The flow of wavelengths emitted along with the energy storm was similar to the observed wavelength, but that was all.

Currently, there was neither the massive energy storm recorded at that time nor the appearance of the monster.

‘According to the report submitted by the Imperial Council, that thing can’t fly.’

The Aur system is incredibly far from the star system where the sacred site Psygil08 is located. Even if it could fly, it would be physically impossible to come here. Unless it could perform superluminal navigation.

“I’ve identified several results that match the wavelength. However, it’s difficult to be certain, so let’s request a review from the Surveillance Bureau.”

“Hmm, nothing wrong with being cautious. Let’s do that.”

“Entering the magnetic field area.”

As they entered the suddenly occurring magnetic field area, the lights inside the ship flickered momentarily. Though rare, such occurrences weren’t unheard of, so none of the crew members were disturbed. The same was true for other ships, not just the one Charas was on.

After quickly restoring the ship’s systems, they reached the point where a large amount of energy had occurred, that is, where the superluminal navigation had taken place.

Despite employing cameras less affected by the magnetic field and even warrior unit members capable of using psychic power techniques for search, nothing special was found.

“Nothing at all. Strange.”

“What do you plan to do?”

“Has this phenomenon been fully reported to the Surveillance Bureau?”

“Yes. They’re currently reviewing it.”

“Just in case, it would be good for some ships to remain here. I’ll contact the other ships directly about this.”

As the captain was about to contact other ships, a new image appeared in the situation room. It was an image displayed by the person in charge of the ship’s shield.

“Ship shield restored to normal from 99.9%. We collided with some small object.”

“Size of the collision object?”

“Less than 5m.”

“Must be a piece of drifting rock.”

Whether by coincidence or not, after the collision report, the magnetic field that had spread over a wide area gradually subsided.

After the anomaly subsided, the order from the Surveillance Bureau was to return. It was determined to be a natural phenomenon, but to prevent any unforeseen situations, only a few were to remain while the rest returned.

And so, the sudden magnetic field occurrence incident concluded uneventfully.