Ch.387Sudden Attack (3)

A bar with an impressive black ebony table of classic design.

While music with an old-fashioned feel flowed through the establishment, a man sat down at the table.

“Two Ganymede whiskies. Prepared the usual way.”

“Understood.”

The bartender who took the order bowed respectfully. He began the process of melting the jelly-form whiskey from behind the barrier.

While waiting, the Chief Secretary scanned the interior of the establishment. The bar he had visited was a set created for a period drama set in Earth’s past.

‘It’s a shame they’ll remove it after the next filming is done.’

Just then, someone opened the door and entered. It was someone he knew well.

“Over here.”

“It’s been a while.”

Sechan, a man with rock-like rigid skin, came and sat beside him.

“You’ve never broken a deal before, what happened?”

“That’s how it turned out.”

Sechan looked quite different from how the Chief Secretary remembered him. His shabby appearance could be excused as he was a pirate, but his face was completely half-ruined. His eyes were hazy as if he’d taken drugs.

Sechan’s condition was very poor, like an employee right before undergoing Hulk Mutant modification surgery.

“Your two Ganymede whiskies, as ordered.”

“Tsk, well, since I ordered them, take one.”

“Thank you.”

The Chief Secretary took the glass from the bartender and took a sip. In contrast, Sechan only stared at his glass with hollow eyes, not drinking.

“So what are you looking to buy this time? Divert employees like before?”

“This time I need genetic samples.”

He slightly furrowed his brow while enjoying the sweet aroma of the whiskey.

“Genetic samples? Why suddenly?”

“The client I was dealing with before cut ties. I need to establish a new route, and this was the only place I could think of.”

“Hmm.”

“Would that be possible?”

The Chief Secretary didn’t answer and tapped his fingers on the table.

‘Buying genetic samples?’

Genetic sample trading is strictly regulated in Megacorp. Only those authorized by the seven houses can trade samples. Naturally, a mere pirate like Sechan isn’t included.

But not everything in the world follows the rules.

Many people secretly divert and sell samples. The Chief Secretary had done so himself when he was in the Genetic Design Team.

“What kind of samples do you want?”

“Could you get me the complete inventory list? I’d like to see directly…”

“Cut the bullshit. I don’t want to get caught leaking lists to some pirate nobody.”

“……”

“I can only get samples of grade 4 organisms or below. Grade 5 and above is too troublesome to erase records.”

In truth, if he pushed, even rare grade 6 organisms would be possible. He deliberately spoke strongly to maintain the upper hand in negotiations.

“Alright. Let’s go with grade 4 samples.”

But the other party showed indifference rather than negotiating.

“Huh? You’ll buy grade 4? That won’t be profitable.”

“It doesn’t matter.”

The Chief Secretary clicked his tongue softly at the uninteresting response. He had planned to make a good profit before Lee Zhao returned. Grade 4 alone offered little profit compared to the risk.

“…Tsk, I’ll see if I can pass along grade 5 as well.”

“Thank you.”

“But you’ll have to pay generously.”

“Don’t worry about that. I’ll deposit whatever amount you name.”

The Chief Secretary narrowed his eyes. This was the first time Sechan had been so submissive in their dealings.

‘His business must be in serious trouble.’

He looked very desperate now. It was rare for someone who had undergone genetic modification to deteriorate like this. People lose weight like that when they’ve suffered serious injuries or are mentally pushed to the extreme.

‘If his situation is bad, that’s good for me.’

“Fine. I’ll let you know what samples are available for sale in two days.”

“Understood.”

“Then, to celebrate our deal.”

They raised their glasses in a toast.

‘I should really clean him out properly this time.’

The thought of extracting a big score from the pirate automatically improved his mood. He swallowed the whiskey down his throat while indulging in happy fantasies.

“I’ll go first.”

“Yes.”

“Since you called me here, you pay for the drinks.”

The Chief Secretary left the establishment with light steps.

Outside, he could see cylindrical or rectangular skyscrapers covered with reinforced glass. All were buildings constructed in styles that were popular before Megacorp was born.

However, most of those buildings are currently empty. This is because entertainment production has been suspended. Except for a few buildings used by high-ranking officials, the rest only have lights on. Thanks to this, the streets surrounded by buildings were surprisingly quiet.

Of course, the Chief Secretary, who knew the colony’s system better than anyone, was accustomed to this strange atmosphere.

He walked down the street and stopped in front of a building. The airship he had arrived in was parked on the roof of this building.

Passing through the revolving door of the building, a bright lobby appeared. The Chief Secretary stood in front of the elevator inside the lobby and pressed the button. The number 30 on the position indicator rapidly decreased.

‘Should I suggest installing an airfield when building the next set?’

It was quite troublesome to go up and down the building every time he wanted to drink.

While thinking such idle thoughts and watching the position indicator, he suddenly realized something was wrong.

‘Why is it coming down from the 30th floor?’

There are only three people in this building: the pilot and guard in the airship, and himself. Of these, he is the only one who came down to the lobby. The guard and pilot are naturally staying on the rooftop to protect the airship.

The number now pointed to 15. He activated the watch-shaped terminal on his wrist. This was to contact his subordinate who should be on the rooftop.

After a moment, the communicator activated.

“Did anyone come down to the lobby?”

“What? No. We’ve been here the whole time.”

“What?”

Hearing those words, the Chief Secretary felt cold sweat running down his back.

The number on the position indicator was now 5. He had a very bad feeling.

The moment those elevator doors opened, something unimaginably terrible seemed about to happen.

‘…Damn!’

He ran toward the emergency exit in the corner of the lobby. As soon as he opened the emergency door, he hurriedly ran up the stairs.

‘What the hell is going on!’

It couldn’t be an employee or Hulk Mutant escaping. They have obedience devices and signal chips implanted in their heads, making impulsive actions impossible.

‘Could it be Sechan?’

He wondered if it might be one of his minions, but that didn’t make sense either. This is Megacorp’s colony LV-06. It would be suicide for a mere pirate to attack a high-ranking administrator of the colony.

“What’s happening?”

As if answering his confused mind, the guard’s voice flowed from the terminal.

“Chief Secretary?”

“…Being chased by an unidentified entity.”

“What?”

“Contact the Crisis Management Team, huff huff, tell them to, whew, seal off this building.”

“Understood.”

Despite the Chief Secretary’s urgent words, the guard responded without any agitation.

After ending the communication, he stopped around the 8th floor. Perhaps because he had suddenly run after drinking alcohol, he felt like his stomach was turning inside out.

‘I can’t, can’t run anymore. Ugh!’

He opened the emergency door and went into the corridor. Then he chose one of dozens of rooms and entered.

He quickly locked the door and collapsed against the wall. His heart felt like it would burst from fear and pain. He clutched his chest tightly and slowly caught his breath.

‘They won’t be able to, to follow me here…’

Through his panting, he noticed a large reinforced glass window on the opposite side of the door, facing the building’s exterior wall. The glass showed the panorama of the set, but the situation was too dire to enjoy it.

After that, about ten minutes passed. There was no sound from outside.

‘I told them to contact the Crisis Management Team, why is there no news?’

By now, there should be airships busily flying around outside the window.

As he was feeling something was wrong, a light came on his wrist terminal. It was a communication from the guard.

“The Crisis Management Team just completed the lockdown.”

“What? I don’t see anything.”

“They’re moving discreetly for safety reasons.”

At the guard’s words, he approached the glass wall. Looking outside the glass, there was no sign that the Crisis Management Team had arrived.

“I’m currently moving to protect you, Chief Secretary. When I arrive, I’ll knock on the door, so please open it.”

With those words, the communication ended.

Not even a few minutes later, there was a knocking sound at the door.

He, who had been looking out the window, approached the door.

Just as he was about to reach for the doorknob, a thought crossed his mind.

‘Wait. Did I even tell the guard my location?’

There are cameras throughout this building, so finding where he was hiding wouldn’t be difficult.

The problem was that the time was too short for someone to have found him that way.

“I’ve arrived, please open the door.”

Whatever was outside was not his guard.

“Are you in there? Chief Secretary?”

Knock knock

“Chief Secretary? Chief Secretary? Chief Secretary?”

Knock knock knock

At the rhythmically repeated knocking sound, the Chief Secretary stepped backward and accidentally fell.

The moment he made a noise falling to the floor, the knocking stopped abruptly.

“So you are in there after all.”

A low voice could be heard.

“It” broke down the door and pounced on him.

–

‘It’s been a while since I moved alone.’

I decided to operate solo for this mission.

Megacorp colonies have strict surveillance due to employee control. Cameras are installed everywhere, so moving with the kids would increase the chances of getting caught.

‘But not me.’

Infiltrating enemy territory alone and hunting targets is what I do best.

Moreover, my current condition is much better than when infiltrating in the game. Because I have the “Clever Weakling.”

After releasing “Nightmare Horizon,” I transformed into the Clever Weakling.

Numerous hairs covered the carapace and epidermis all over my body, and my body shape changed to a form that walks on four legs like a centaur.

Along with the change in body shape, my enormous body size that could easily surpass skyscrapers was greatly reduced. Currently, my body length, including the tail, does not exceed 5m.

Having transformed into a form optimized for infiltration and stealth, I secretly hid near the place where Sechan was supposed to meet his contact. Thanks to the Clever Weakling’s perk “Fur of Unknown Creature,” my appearance was never captured by cameras.

And while the Chief Secretary went to meet Sechan, I took care of the personnel in the airship. He had no idea his subordinates were disappearing into my stomach while he happily drank whiskey.

‘Well, even if he had known in advance, nothing would have changed.’

I looked down at the target I had just subdued. The man, hit by my casually swung foreleg, was trembling, having completely lost his will to fight.

‘Well then…’

Inside my arm, covered with fur over hard epidermis, a cute little one wriggled. A parasite that looked like an eel poked its head out.

“Hee, heek?!”

The man let out a short scream upon seeing the parasite and tried to escape. I firmly grabbed him with my elongated, sturdy chest arm.

“W-wait…kuhek?!”

As he opened his mouth to say something, the parasite entered. He struggled to vomit out the foreign substance that had invaded from outside, but it was a futile action.

In just a few seconds, he would serve a new master.

‘Let’s see how much he knows…’

At that moment, I suddenly felt a chilling sensation at the back of my neck. Simultaneously, the body of the Chief Secretary in my grasp went limp.

‘What?’

The eerie feeling I just had was the sensation transmitted when a parasite dies.

I hurriedly grabbed the Chief Secretary’s skull with my wing arm and applied force. Breaking through the hard bone, I saw the completely cooked parasite.

Among the flesh remnants left by the parasite was a mechanical chip similar to an obedience device.