Ch.32Shell (3)

The next day, Ras reported the strange man he had seen yesterday to the police before going to work.

Having made the report, there was nothing more he could do. The rest would be handled by the police.

So he spent the day at his busy workplace, completely forgetting about yesterday’s incident.

While immersed in his work, before he knew it, quitting time approached. He quickly packed his bag, trying to escape this hellish place, but his manager stopped him.

“Ras, you bastard. You’re not leaving today.”

Judging by his manager’s expression, if he tried to leave, she might feed him to a Mountain Crawler. In the end, Ras had to work overtime with other team members against his will.

“…That crazy bitch of a manager.”

It was nearly midnight when he was finally freed from work.

Normally, he would go to an establishment to relieve stress, but it was already quite late. If he needed to go to work tomorrow, he had to return home.

Ras bought synthetic alcohol as usual and walked out of the subway station in the residential district.

The streetlight that had been broken yesterday was now repaired and shining brightly. The brightly lit street showed no sign of any suspicious individuals.

On his way home, his eyes once again caught sight of the manhole.

Unlike yesterday, the cover was tightly closed.

Seeing the manhole brought back frightening memories from yesterday. Ras swallowed hard and walked past it.

Fortunately, nothing concerning happened until he reached his apartment complex.

“Phew.”

Ras sighed after passing through the entrance of the complex.

Thinking he was safe now that he’d made it this far, he looked up at the third-floor corridor where his apartment was located.

There, Ras thought his heart would stop.

Something pitch black was standing in the apartment corridor.

That thing, with its long tail and four arms, moved with bizarre motions, then opened his apartment door and went inside.

“……”

He silently took out his communicator.

–

‘It’s cramped.’

As expected, the cyborg’s home wasn’t very spacious. The structure was close to a studio apartment consisting of a bathroom, living room, and balcony.

After deciding to target the cyborg, I checked who lived in this apartment building.

‘During the day, most people are either at work or sleeping, so it was easy to investigate.’

Throughout the day, I roamed the rooftop and corridors, collecting necessary information about who to target first and when to transform. If no one was home, I’d go inside to check for traces; if someone was there, I’d observe from outside using my auxiliary organs.

After thorough investigation, I discovered that besides humans and cyborgs, various species resided here. Coldblood reptilian humans, the half-human half-beast Volf species, and more—there was an abundance of diverse prey.

‘It’s good since I’ll need to eat specific species to become a Subadult.’

From the Subadult stage, evolution conditions become more complex than before.

’20 shapeshifting species, 20 humanoid species, 20 species that use psychic power. And…’

I need to devour a total of 60 playable species and additionally achieve one high-difficulty condition.

‘The condition is to acquire 4 types.’

Space Survival emphasizes PK. Devouring other species isn’t particularly difficult for an AMorph.

The problem is the condition of acquiring 4 types.

Currently, I’ve already obtained one physical enhancement type and am on the verge of getting the psychic enhancement type. It might seem like I’m halfway there, but considering the type penalties, I still have a long way to go.

‘Many users quit at this point.’

Types aren’t unlocked simply by having many characteristics. You also need characteristics that act as keys for unlocking type conditions, and you need to gather related characteristics. Moreover, predation effects don’t always occur.

That’s why most AMorph players quit here and raised other species instead. It might be a wise decision in some ways, since evolution conditions after the Subadult stage are much more difficult.

‘The Special Trade Center has many alien species visiting, so it’s convenient to collect genes all at once.’

It’s inefficient to visit planets where needed species live to collect genetic essences one by one. Targeting places where many gather is the shortcut to rapid evolution.

Especially since Megacorp has diplomatic relations with the Cult, there are quite a few Cult members who have migrated to this Special Trade Center.

‘I should be able to meet them if I go to the Central Administrative District.’

If I eat them too, I can easily achieve the condition of eating 60 alien species.

‘Good. Since I’ll be staying here for a while, let’s see what kind of place this is.’

I thoroughly examined the entire apartment. No. 26 seemed to like this cramped and dirty space, wandering around licking things here and there.

‘The soundproofing isn’t very good.’

That was my first thought after looking around. I could hear loud TV sounds from the neighboring and upstairs apartments.

‘No one lives downstairs.’

There might be a prospective tenant, but it’s currently vacant. When I evolve to Juvenile, my weight will increase significantly, so people downstairs would quickly notice something strange about the upstairs apartment.

‘I calculated that too, but… huh?’

My auxiliary organs gave me a warning signal. Someone was coming from the corridor.

[Zzzzz (Come here)]

“Baby, what’s wrong?”

[Zzzzz (Someone’s coming)]

After calling No. 26, I calculated the footsteps walking down the corridor. There were three people in total: the cyborg and two others I didn’t know.

‘Police.’

I had no intention of fighting with law enforcement this early. I decided to hide inside the apartment.

–

“You said a monster entered your home?”

“Yes.”

“The door looks fine though.”

“I’m telling you it picked the lock and went in!”

“Ah, I see.”

Ras found the police officers’ nonchalant attitude incredibly frustrating. He had clearly requested all available backup when reporting, but the fact that only two officers came already angered him.

“Is that alcohol in your hand?”

“What?”

“According to our records, you made a false report about seeing a strange person. Are you perhaps intoxicated?”

“……”

He almost cursed at them but barely managed to hold back.

Ras belonged to the Low Capital class. If he had been Middle Capital, these officers would never have been so disrespectful.

Although the police officers were also Low Capital, unlike him, they were civil servants. Despite being in the same class, their higher position allowed them to behave this way.

Of course, Ras also treated Non-Capitals below him like dogs, but isn’t that just how people are? People tend to forget what they’ve done to others but remember clearly what’s been done to them.

“Since we received a report, we’ll check it out. Open the door.”

“…Grr, yes.”

Grinding his teeth, Ras entered the password. The door opened, and the police officers entered his apartment.

The officers clicked their tongues at Ras’s apartment, which was too dirty to even politely call clean.

“Ugh, what is this, a pigsty?”

“Ahem, you should clean up your place.”

When Ras shot them a look that said to hurry up and check, they shook their heads. One officer examined the bathroom, while the other checked the balcony.

“There’s nothing here.”

“That can’t be!”

“Look, there’s no one in the bathroom either.”

The officer opened the bathroom door to show him, but there was no one inside. Only a dirty bathtub and an unwashed toilet greeted its owner.

‘This can’t be…’

No matter how he looked, the monster was nowhere to be seen, as if it had ascended to the sky or sunk into the ground. When he pulled back the curtain covering the balcony, all he could see was the darkness that had fallen over the entire complex.

“Should we check the refrigerator too?”

Ras nodded at the officer’s mocking question. The officer snickered and opened the refrigerator.

Inside, apart from a half-eaten sandwich, it was packed full of synthetic alcohol bottles.

“Tsk, you should drink in moderation.”

“This can’t be happening! I clearly saw it with my own eyes!”

“Tsk tsk, if you’re a cyborg, you should get your eyes replaced first.”

Despite the officer’s offensive remark, Ras had no time to care. Although he was someone who didn’t believe in ghost stories or supernatural things at all, the situation he was facing now was bizarrely unbelievable.

‘I didn’t take my eyes off it until the police arrived…’

He wondered if it had escaped through the window, but there were no signs of it being opened or closed. And if a monster had been crawling outside the window, other residents would surely have noticed.

“Were there any reports from other apartments…?”

“Listen, you’re the only one who reported anything. Get a grip.”

“That can’t be…!”

When Ras shouted, someone from the neighboring apartment banged on the wall loudly, complaining about the noise. The police officers frowned at the thumping noise. Their faces clearly showed they didn’t want to stay in this place any longer.

“Ahem, we’ve confirmed there’s nothing inside. Anything else you’d like to say?”

“We came during our patrol. If there’s another problem, please report it again.”

With those words, the police officers left.

Left alone, Ras slumped down on his bed.

If he reported again, they would probably take the report, but it was obvious the same situation would repeat itself.

‘Damn it, did I see wrong? Or did it really leave in the meantime?’

Although the officers’ attitude was far from good, they had checked everywhere they could. The bathroom, the balcony, even the refrigerator. There was no more space in this apartment where a monster could hide.

‘M-maybe I should check once more just in case…’

Trembling, Ras approached the bathroom door. The door he opened every morning felt strangely unfamiliar today. He gulped and flung the door wide open.

It was exactly as they had checked earlier. A cockroach, startled by Ras, scurried away into the drain.

“……”

The ominous feeling remained just a feeling. After checking the balcony as well, Ras was finally able to relax.

“Phew, damn. I must be seeing things.”

It was ridiculous to say a cyborg was seeing things, but he was sincere.

He took out a synthetic alcohol from the refrigerator, sat on the bed, and turned on the virtual TV. Watching holograms of scantily clad women flirting definitely made him feel better.

After finishing one bottle of synthetic alcohol, Ras contemplated. He had to return to work in a few hours, and if he drank too much, he would suffer from a headache all day.

“Ah, screw it. When have I ever cared?”

The craving for alcohol, combined with the feeling that he wouldn’t be able to sleep without getting drunk, significantly influenced his decision.

After emptying another bottle, he collapsed onto the bed. Although his home was like a doghouse, he wanted to sleep like an Upper Capital, which is why he had bought a relatively large bed.

‘This feels good.’

The wide and soft bed embraced him. Intoxication and comfort began to take over his mind.

‘Tomorrow after work, I’ll pick a woman who looks like my manager.’

As he was determined to blow off all the stress about the woman who made him work overtime, he heard a sound.

It sounded like something large was being dragged from the apartment below.

Grrrk grrrk grk

‘What an idiot, do this during the day, not at night.’

After mentally cursing, he tried to go back to sleep. Just as he was about to fall asleep, he remembered an important fact.

No one lived in the apartment below his.

Grrrk grrrk grk

“……”

Ras became wide awake as if cold water had been poured all over his body. He wanted to think the sound was coming from another apartment, but the irritating noise piercing his ears now was too close.

As if it was coming from under his wide and large bed.

The monster he had seen. At first, he thought it was very large, but thinking about it again, it wasn’t.

Excluding the tail, it was about two-thirds the size of an adult male. To be precise, it was just the right size to barely hide under a bed.

Grrrk grrrk grk

As soon as that thought crossed his mind, Ras’s body began to tremble like an aspen leaf. Desperately hoping this was just another delusion, he barely managed to open his eyes.

When he turned his gaze from the familiar ceiling toward his feet.

There ‘it’ was, with only its head sticking out, showing its teeth in a grin.

–

Gary couldn’t sleep because of the person next door screaming in the middle of the night.

“That crazy bastard, I’m really not letting this go this time.”

Fuming, he stormed out and banged hard on the neighbor’s door.

“Hey, you bastard! Come out right now… *sniff sniff* What’s this smell?”

As he was banging on the door, Gary frowned at an unidentifiable smell. It was like the metallic smell from a hardware store mixed with some kind of unknown pheromone.

‘Why is there a metal smell in the middle of the night?’

As he was wondering about the sudden smell, the door opened.

“Why are you making such a racket in the middle of the night? Did you lease this place?”

“I’m sorry.”

The man living next door, Ras, apologized for Gary’s anger. Gary was about to unleash a barrage of curses, but he couldn’t.

There was something off about Ras who was looking at him. Having encountered him a few times before, Gary roughly knew what kind of impression he gave.

The current Ras was clearly not in a normal state.

‘W-why does he look so creepy?’

He was staring at Gary with an expressionless face, not blinking at all. Overwhelmed by his appearance, Gary was at a loss for words.

“A-ahem, it’s nighttime. I’d appreciate if you could be more careful.”

“I’m sorry.”

“That’s fine. Just be careful from now on.”

Seeing him repeat apologies like a broken machine, Gary just wanted to leave this place immediately. He just told him to be careful and went back to his own apartment.

So he didn’t hear what Ras said after.

“The next target has been decided.”

–

After sending the neighbor back and returning home, I found No. 26 rummaging through the refrigerator. It was putting sandwiches from the refrigerator into its body one by one.

“I’m hungry. I want to eat.”

[Zzzz zzz (Eat a lot)]

Leaving No. 26 to wander around and gather food, I picked up an arm lying on the blood-soaked floor.

‘This tastes bad.’

Surprisingly, Ras was the second worst-tasting prey I’ve ever eaten. His flesh smelled of alcohol and had a rotten smell like old meat. Except for the calorie bar that had no taste at all, he could be considered the worst-tasting.

‘Does health affect taste?’

He didn’t look like someone with healthy eating habits, but I didn’t expect him to taste this bad. I was slightly worried since I would have to eat similar sentient beings in this apartment in the future.

‘Well, I’ll have to force myself to eat.’

To evolve, I need to eat this cyborg completely. After somehow managing to devour everything, a text window popped up with a congratulatory message.

“‘Morphlet’->’Juvenile’ evolution conditions have been met. Would you like to evolve?”

I originally planned to finish this on the Megacorp research ship, but I’ve come a long way.

[Zzzzzz zzzzz (I’m going to become an egg for a while)]

“An egg? Why are you becoming an egg when you’re a baby?”

[Zzzz zzz (To grow bigger)]

“So baby is becoming a big baby?”

[Zz zzzzz grr (Yes. Don’t worry)]

After warning No. 26 in case it might be surprised, I accepted.

The power of a Juvenile that I briefly tasted with Psyonium—it’s time to properly experience it.