Ch.34Monster (2)

T&C Special Trade Center’s Administrative District.

It was a completely different image from other districts that were saturated with artificial light created by billboards.

Life with nature.

True to the slogan that symbolized the Administrative District, well-maintained trees and shrubs were densely planted on both sides of marble sidewalks. Small birds flew and chirped among the trees.

Beyond the fresh forest showing off its vitality stood tall white rectangular high-rise buildings. They were branch offices of government agencies or renowned companies operating under Megacorps.

Past these beautiful but flat buildings, at the center of the district, stood an architectural structure taller and more unique than any surrounding building.

With a spiral exterior reminiscent of a twisted bread and a design that spread out at the top like widely outstretched hands, this building dominated the city skyline.

The name of this majestic building was Monument.

True to the T&C family’s emphasis on efficiency, they gave this simple name—meaning memorial—to the building that symbolized the first space city.

The top floor of Monument was currently occupied by Lila Chamberlain, the youngest daughter of Sadam Chamberlain and the general manager of the Special Trade Center.

At present, she was in a meeting with the city’s leadership.

Around a mahogany round table sat Lila, district chiefs, and team leaders from government offices, while only the deputy team leader of the Human Resource Management Team stood nervously.

Lila, a beautiful woman with long blonde hair, looked up from reading a report and spoke.

“Human Resource Management Team.”

“Yes, yes!”

“The supplies that arrived this time decreased by 3%. Can I know the reason?”

The deputy team leader hiccupped at her question.

“Hic! Th-that’s because the Z-101 ranch planet and P-82 livestock planet had lower production this year…”

“Our Special Trade Center can substitute up to 20% of ’employees’ for the entertainment district through other routes. However, a 3% decrease in supply is by no means a small figure. We can’t be complacent just because it’s within the allowable range.”

“Y-yes, but that…”

“Everyone knows that 40% of the Special Trade Center’s income comes from the entertainment district. If the Human Resource Management Team’s supply drops by 3%, the entertainment district will inevitably bear that burden.”

Lila was speaking in a calm tone, but everyone knew what she meant. It was a warning asking why they hadn’t established new routes to meet the quota.

“Deputy Team Leader, or rather, Mr. Pisaro.”

“Yes, yes!”

“Do you know what’s most important to a merchant?”

“Credits, perhaps…”

“Credits are important, of course, but the most important thing is trust. You might make excuses that supply is difficult due to circumstances this time. But what if that breaks trust? These are customers who have come all this way with difficulty. Once they’re disappointed, they never return.”

“I-I’ll keep that in mind!”

“I might overlook it at other times, but this is a crucial period. I’m sure everyone knows there’s not much time left until the board meeting.”

When the word ‘board meeting’ came from her lips, everyone at the table nodded with grim expressions.

Anyone working under the T&C family would know how desperately the T&C head wanted the Megacorp CEO position.

“This first board meeting is scheduled to be held here at the T&C Special Trade Center. Enormous numbers of tourists will visit this city. There must not be even the slightest error.”

“Understood!”

“Contact the leadership of both planets and tell them to somehow meet the quota, even if they have to spray aphrodisiacs across the entire planet. Understood?”

“Yes!”

“Now, next person. Entertainment district? I’m always looking forward to it. Please begin.”

“Yes.”

While the deputy team leader sat down wiping cold sweat, another team’s presenter began their report.

After three hours, the meeting ended.

Lila, sitting alone in the conference room after all team leaders had left, sighed.

“Phew.”

There was still a month left until the first board meeting to elect the Megacorp CEO. Though time remained, she, as the general manager, felt like she needed ten bodies to handle everything.

‘Still, if this goes well, the position of successor won’t just be a dream.’

The T&C family has a unique characteristic different from other Noble Capitals.

The exact name of T&C is Thompson & Chamberlain. It’s called T&C after the first letters of each surname, T and C.

As the name suggests, two surnames coexist within one family in T&C. The Thompson clan and the Chamberlain clan compete, and whoever wins becomes the head of T&C.

Currently, the Chamberlain surname holds the position of family head, but it’s uncertain who will take it in the next generation.

‘The Thompson side is plotting.’

Becoming the family head means monopolizing all rights of the family and Megacorp-related interests related to T&C.

The Chamberlains have held the position of family head for several generations, so the Thompson side is extremely bitter. If the next head position is taken by Thompson, a bloodbath would surely follow.

At that moment, the conference room door opened and a secretary entered.

“Miss. Here’s the list of dignitaries who have requested to visit on the board meeting date you mentioned.”

Lila checked the tablet pad handed by the secretary.

As she scrolled down checking the names on the list, she was startled by the name at the end.

“…Is this list accurate?”

“Yes. Is there a problem?”

“Akira Yujin is attending?”

“Yes. The House Yugin contacted us an hour ago. They said he won’t attend the board meeting but will only tour the city.”

“Ha.”

Lila let out a hollow laugh at the absurd statement.

The ancient monster, easily hundreds of years old, casually sightseeing? What a tasteless joke.

‘Current Megacorp CEO Akira Yujin is coming here.’

She was well aware of his achievements and notoriety, known as the ancient king of Earth.

“Usurper.”

Lila inadvertently uttered Akira Yujin’s nickname.

“Usurper” is the word Akira Yujin hates most and an expression other Noble Capitals use to mock him. As the nickname suggests, Akira Yujin was never meant to be the family head. As his name reveals, he didn’t even have the qualification to inherit the family.

‘House Yugin values bloodline after all.’

The five major families of Noble Capital each have elements they value.

The T&C family values competition, House Yugin values bloodline, and Garmelda, famous for powered suit development, values technology—each adopts concepts befitting their respective fields as family mottos.

True to their emphasis on bloodline, Yugin traditionally had family heads with blood from their root ethnicity.

‘In an era where terraforming happens regularly, ethnicity seems outdated.’

She couldn’t understand it, but anyway, Akira’s bloodline was far from the roots of House Yugin, so he wasn’t a formal successor.

The reason he became the family head was simple. He was the only figure in the history of House Yugin, no, Noble Capital, who became family head through a coup.

‘Was it Junwoo Yujin?’

The ill-fated head who would have smoothly run the family but was eliminated by Akira. After his death, all his blood relatives met miserable ends.

‘Moreover, that crazy Akira even turned Junwoo Yujin’s daughter into a shadow.’

The reason Akira Yujin is considered cruel isn’t because he kills people indiscriminately.

He’s criticized because he kills or tortures people regardless of whether they’re from the same Noble Capital or family.

Lila herself enjoys hunting humans on ranch planets annually, but she doesn’t harm family members without reason. In that sense, Akira can be seen as an anomalous existence even among Noble Capitals.

The reason this eccentric, unsuited for Noble Capital, could maintain the position of family head was because he was competent.

Unfortunate for Junwoo Yujin, but after his death, House Yugin was flourishing unprecedentedly.

Lila, also being in a position to command people, knows it’s not easy to rule people through fear.

It might be possible for a short period, but the opponent is a monster who has ruled House Yugin for nearly a century. It would be nearly impossible for her, still a novice, to face him.

‘A formidable opponent.’

Given that even her father struggles against him, she would likely be crushed mercilessly if she directly confronted Akira.

‘…No. Failure is the foundation for growth. Even if I lose to him, I can take it as experience.’

True to her T&C family heritage, she didn’t fear competition and challenges. Even if she lost, she thought she could recover anytime since she had many years left to live.

Does she truly know?

That a terrible danger has already taken root in her territory.

–

[Zzzzz (Is it delicious?)]

“Yes.”

Compared to the cyborg’s house, the neighboring house had a much more lived-in feel.

The furniture was neat, and the entire house was clean, suggesting frequent cleaning. The refrigerator was stocked with food like sandwiches made from synthetic meat and dried vegetables.

I watched No. 26 eagerly emptying the refrigerator with a pleased expression.

‘I’m hungry too, but.’

Looking at the neighbor whose waist was severed by the tail, I want to tear into that fresh flesh right away. However, there’s still work to be done.

I quickly devoured the sandwich No. 26 had taken out and got up from my seat.

[Zzzz zzzzzz zzzzzz (I’ll go to the neighbor’s house for a moment)]

“Okay. Be careful.”

Entering the cyborg’s house, I first looked for his communication device. I turned on the communicator that had fallen beside the bed and entered the password.

‘Let’s see. The workplace number…’

As I scrolled through the saved contacts, an interesting name caught my eye.

‘Crazy Dog. This must be it.’

Every employee is bound to hate their boss. I pressed firmly on the name “Crazy Dog.”

As soon as the signal went through, the other party answered the call.

“Ras, you crazy bastard! Why aren’t you coming to work when we’re so busy!”

“I quit.”

“What? Are you crazy?”

“Take care.”

“You crazy son of a bitch, really…!”

After finishing the call using the mimicry function of my imitation organ, I pressed end call.

Every day, every hour, numerous alien species workers enter this place. If one person quits without reason, there are many to replace him. If he had deep bonds with colleagues at work, it might be different, but Ras, the owner of my voice, doesn’t seem to be such a case. Judging by the team leader’s reaction and looking at the contacts and call history, he was close to being a loner.

‘He’ll probably be forgotten after today.’

Like the port worker I ate before, Ras will also be forgotten.

‘Still, it’s better to wrap things up properly.’

I opened the laptop in the living room. If I send a resignation email to his workplace using his work laptop, there shouldn’t be any major issues.

‘It might be handled by phone, but just to be safe.’

After eating many people later, it might not matter, but now is the time to be careful.

Being a wealthy space city, there are numerous androids, and though few in number, a defense fleet is stationed. Compared to the research ship I was on before, it’s much wider so there are many places to hide, but the surveillance network is also incomparably more detailed than before.

‘I need to be cautious for now.’

It’s better if the fact that I’ve eaten someone doesn’t get discovered. I can’t hide it forever, but I should delay it as much as possible until I’m strong enough.

‘Let’s see what kind of person he is.’

Since I need to send an email, I should know roughly what kind of person he is, so I opened the files on the laptop one by one.

The laptop’s owner, Ras, doesn’t seem to have been a particularly diligent cyborg. Despite being a work laptop, it’s overflowing with things unrelated to work.

‘A pervert in the space age, really.’

Since I wasn’t interested in the cyborg’s sexual preferences, I deleted those files. As I continued opening and closing files to check, a file with a curious title caught my eye.

‘Smuggled Animal Surveillance Team Seizure List?’

When I clicked on the file, dense text filled the small monitor. As the file name suggested, it was a compilation of seizure cases of animals brought in for smuggling.

‘Smuggled animals, huh.’

Even a brief look showed an impressive variety. Most had been transferred to other planets, but there were still quite a few creatures remaining in the port district.

‘Eating these would give me quite a lot of essence.’

This apartment is a decent food source in its own right, but not as good as the smuggled animals in the port district. If I could eat just half of those animals, it would greatly help my growth.

‘But the surveillance won’t be easy.’

If an animal they’re managing disappears, anyone who isn’t a fool would notice quickly. If they report to the police and an investigation starts, it becomes troublesome.

Then there are two methods.

‘Bribe an employee, or find a smuggled animal broker.’

Bribing an employee isn’t too difficult. I can still mimic Ras with my imitation organ, so I can call another employee. I can eat that employee and then create transfer documents myself, making it easy to sneak away one or two animals.

‘If I want to eat more, I’ll need a broker.’

Looking at the list, there are parts that are vaguely organized, such as the destination of the creatures being left blank. These parts were probably intercepted by brokers.

I should either directly contact a broker to divert creatures or eat a broker and pretend to be one to seize creatures.

‘I need to make good use of Ras’s identity.’

He’s leaving behind so much even in death. If only he had tasted better, I would have liked him much more. What a pity.

After sending the email, I took the laptop and returned to the neighboring house.

“Baby, welcome back.”

[Zzzz zzzzzz zzzz (I’m not eating that)]

“You shouldn’t be picky about food.”

[Zz zzzzzz zzzzzz (I’ll eat something else)]

“Something else?”

[Zz zzzzzzzz (Yes. You eat it)]

No. 26 blinked its lights, not understanding what I meant. When I nodded to indicate it was okay, it carefully began eating the neighboring man.

Watching the man’s face melt away by No. 26, I thought.

Something more delicious than that awaits me.

I licked my lips, imagining the joy of devouring genetic essence.