Ch.376Swamp (2)

“What’s the estimated arrival time?”

“Twenty minutes on foot, sir.”

“Everyone check if your life support systems are functioning properly. Don’t forget to check the spare oxygen capsules and medical kits.”

“Yes, sir!”

Inside the transport ship that had landed dozens of kilometers away from their destination.

Twenty-one pirates were doing final equipment checks before departure.

“The wild animals living here have fucking thick hides. So armor-piercing and penetrating rounds are standard. Everyone switch your ammo.”

“Understood!”

The members of the Hamilton Cartel were all former Megacorp soldiers. Perhaps that’s why they looked so practiced as they checked their power suits and gauss rifles.

“All units, activate power suits. We’re moving out.”

At Boss Sechan Hamilton’s command, twenty pirates activated the bio-helmets on their heads.

This planet was a hellish inferno of extreme heat. That’s why everyone had prepared special power suits typically used for combat in outer space.

The power suits worn by the pirates were new products from House Garmelda.

Unlike regular mid-tier power suits, these completely protected the entire body like spacesuits. Not only did they offer enhanced defense, but they also significantly boosted strength assistance functions, allowing operations in harsh environments.

As the transport ship’s door opened, Sechan stepped out first. The pirates in their thick power suits followed behind him.

“What fucking terrible weather, Captain.”

“Volcanic planets are like this everywhere. Be careful—if your helmet comes off, you’re dead.”

Unlike what he told his subordinates, Sechan wasn’t wearing a helmet. He had specially made goggles, but most of his face was exposed.

The air outside the transport ship was hot enough to instantly burn the skin of an ordinary human.

The reason he could come out with his face exposed was because of his skin. His entire face was covered with rough, rock-hard hide.

Sechan had received genetic implant treatments typically only available to high-ranking Megacorp officials. Heat and toxic air posed no threat to him.

In fact, he was checking communications in the hot wind without any discomfort.

“Vice Captain, can you hear me clearly from up there?”

“Communication status good. No problems.”

“Good. Let’s move.”

“Yes, sir!”

The twenty-one individuals armed with cutting-edge equipment began running.

The outsiders sprinted across the barren land covered in fire and ash. Their footprints on the black ground quickly disappeared due to the volcanic ash blowing in the hot wind.

Since they were running in power suits, their speed was remarkably fast. With each step, their massive frames leaped several meters into the air.

Even while running, their eyes constantly moved, scanning for potential dangers. The visors attached to their helmets continuously displayed various information about the surrounding environment to support the users.

“Movement confirmed 150 meters away at 2 o’clock!”

“Confirmed as gas erupting from underground! No life form movement detected!”

“You stupid bastard, pay attention!”

“Sorry, sir!”

Ten minutes after departure, no significant threats had been detected.

While everyone else was relieved not to have encountered enemies, Sechan wasn’t.

‘…Something’s not right.’

Planets with extreme natural environments—volcanic, ice, or ocean types—all shared a common trait.

Not only were the environments hostile, but the native creatures were also extremely threatening.

Sechan had predicted they would encounter wild animals at least once on their way to client S.

‘But we haven’t seen any creatures for ten minutes.’

To be precise, they hadn’t detected any “living beings” during their movement.

There were no distant sightings of beasts moving around, no monsters spotted in the sky. Not even tracks of animals were visible.

It was as if no creatures lived in this area.

“Vice Captain, it’s Sechan. How’s the life form detection going?”

“We’re still detecting life signals all around. The signal interference is preventing proper identification.”

“What about client S?”

“They’re scheduled to visit in two hours. No response since communication ended.”

“Understood. Keep trying to detect life signals. Contact me immediately if you get any proper results.”

An uneasiness like black smoke crept up inside him, but he had no intention of canceling the operation.

‘We might just be lucky not to have encountered anything.’

They might have coincidentally avoided predators. Or perhaps this area was naturally uninhabited.

‘Let’s finish this quickly and get out of here.’

He forcibly suppressed the anxiety in his mind.

Ten minutes after ending communication with the vice captain, they arrived at their destination.

The pirates hid behind a tall rocky hill and observed the situation.

Three Cult ships were haphazardly parked on the black ground. Though they had already confirmed this from above, seeing it in person made it clear the ships had been landed in a hurry.

In front of the ships was a temporary structure that looked like a makeshift camp. The structure appeared half-built and quite unsightly.

“As I explained before, six people will enter each ship. The remaining three will search the temporary camp.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Move as quickly and quietly as possible so they can’t respond. Understood?”

“Yes, sir!”

“Then begin.”

With Sechan’s final word, the pirates emerged from the rocky hill. They instantly infiltrated their assigned ships and structures.

If any of them had lagged behind even slightly, they would have witnessed it.

The rocky hill moving on its own and crawling beneath the ground.

–

“What the fuck?”

“…What the hell were these bastards doing here?”

The pirates assigned to search the temporary structure were shocked.

The interior was in worse condition than they had imagined.

It wasn’t because of the wires, cables, and large metal pieces scattered messily across the floor.

What shocked them was the ceiling. Animal hides were hanging from it like ornaments.

“Let’s see what kind of psychopath made this shit.”

The pirates activated the infrared vision on their helmet visors. After confirming they could clearly see the dark interior of the facility, they moved deeper inside.

“Damn, this is fucking disgusting.”

“Probably blood that dripped from above.”

The floor of the facility was covered with sticky liquid, possibly blood that had dripped from the hanging flesh. The pirates cursed at the unpleasant sensation with each step.

“There might be information left on the computer. I’ll check it out.”

One of the pirates went deeper into the facility to examine the computer. The remaining two examined the meat chunks hanging from the ceiling.

“Did they bring these after clearing the area?”

“No wonder we didn’t see anyone on our way here—they’re all dead.”

“This looks like lava raptor hide. It’s been skinned very cleanly.”

“The captain mentioned that client S once requested rare creature transport.”

“Really?”

Whoever created this facility had decent skills despite their bizarre aesthetic sensibilities. The skinned hides had almost no blemishes.

As they looked around, something unusual caught their eye.

“Hey, look at this. Doesn’t this corpse look human?”

“Let me see.”

“I was really startled for a moment, thinking it was real.”

“Yeah. This part is an arm, and this part is the chest…”

The two examining the mysterious hide gradually fell silent.

“Hey, is this…?”

“Holy fucking shit…”

Although the part corresponding to the head was missing, they quickly realized whose hide it was.

And now they noticed there were many similar hides.

“The blood hasn’t dried yet. It was skinned recently.”

“This place is dangerous. Let’s get out.”

But contrary to their words, they couldn’t leave immediately.

Their colleague who had gone deeper to investigate the computer wasn’t responding to their communications.

“What the hell? Where did he go?”

“Hey! Answer me!”

Only silence came through the communicator.

They ran to where their colleague had last been. Only the computer pad he had been using remained.

Someone else was in here with them.

Realizing this fact, they gripped their gauss rifles tightly and surveyed their surroundings.

“Captain, the situation here is completely fucked. We need to retreat… Captain?”

“*static*”

“Damn it! Try contacting the ship.”

“No good. This one’s dead too.”

Both being former soldiers, they understood how serious the situation was. They put their backs together and slowly moved toward the entrance.

As they passed the corpse hides hanging from the ceiling, something unusual caught one pirate’s eye.

A human female head was placed among the metal fragments. One might think a human head wouldn’t stand out in a place full of corpses, but all the hides here were headless.

That’s why the solitary head was so noticeable. Especially since it appeared to have belonged to a beautiful woman in life.

‘Fuck, what kind of sick bastard would…’

What’s more, the woman’s head had its eyes wide open. It looked so lifelike that it was extremely creepy.

Just as the pirate was thinking about the sick taste of whoever did this…

The woman’s eyes moved.

“Huh?”

The eyeballs moved slowly, like a camera turning. Seeing this, the pirate felt the back of his neck grow damp.

Then the pile of metal began to move. The pirate who had made eye contact with the woman’s head gradually looked up.

He had thought the severed head was placed on a pile of metal, but that was a mistake.

“It” was a giant spider with a human woman’s head.

“Where are you going?”

“It” looked down at the pirates, tilting its neck in a grotesque manner, showing no emotion.

When they saw their colleague in its hands, they vaguely understood.

Why only hides were hanging from the ceiling.

But the pirates, overwhelmed by the sight that defied common sense, couldn’t move a muscle.

“I needed more muscles and bones for body calibration. You came at just the right time.”

Moments later, screams echoed from outside the mysterious structure.

The victims’ death cries were soon buried in the fierce hot wind.