Ch.388Sudden Attack (4)

I examined the chip that came from the Chief Secretary’s head.

Its appearance was similar to the obedience device implanted in employees. Judging by how hot the surface was, this small device was clearly what killed both the parasite and the Chief Secretary.

‘Why would someone like him have such a thing in his head?’

This corpse with a melted brain was, until just seconds ago, the representative of the colony’s highest authority. Having a bomb in his head despite not being an employee was nonsensical.

‘It wasn’t voluntary.’

Lee Zhao, the Megacorp’s Prime Capital and LV-06’s general administrator. That man had planted a bomb in his own representative’s head.

In this world, there aren’t many beings capable of controlling a sentient being’s brain. And among them, only one enjoys using the strategy of infecting key figures to disrupt enemy lines.

‘They were targeting me!’

The moment I realized this, the building shook violently. The trap set by my enemies had begun to activate.

I quickly deactivated “Clever Weakling.” My body grew rapidly, breaking through the surrounding walls. With wings spread wide, I flew upward through the collapsing building.

From the air, I could see multiple buildings collapsing simultaneously. The ground itself was caving in.

This wasn’t my doing.

Star Union, which specializes in conventional weapons, possesses a super-weapon class bomb. Its power is strong enough to destroy an entire planet.

Its official name is “PMB (Particle Manipulation Bomb).” It’s more commonly known by its nickname, “Alphaboy.”

This bomb boasts the most powerful destructive force among all installable bombs in the game.

I’ve experienced it several times when fighting Star Union in the game. So I know exactly what happens when the bomb activates.

That city sinking into the ground is the result of a PMB.

‘They made it activate when the chip in the Chief Secretary’s head was triggered.’

Planting a bomb in the head of a Megacorp elite, hiding Star Union’s super-weapon in a colony despite being enemies…

‘And turning an entire planet into a trap just to catch me.’

These are all things only a player could do.

Lee Zhao and the players set a trap knowing I would come here.

‘…If it’s a PMB, I need to escape quickly.’

The surface, hit by the bomb’s energy, is already well into its destruction.

The sky above is still better, but not normal by any means. The planet’s atmosphere is distorted by energy, creating colorful auroras everywhere.

If I stay any longer, I’m finished too. I need to get beyond the bomb’s range quickly.

Flying through the rainbow-colored sky covered in all sorts of colors, I spotted a large pink jellyfish floating in the distance.

It was No. 26 in combat mode. He was trying to protect the others by embracing them with his fins.

Above him, I could see Adhigh Orr spinning around, covered in “Red Armor.” Thanks to his near-perfect defensive abilities, he looked relatively unharmed.

Still, since he can’t completely protect his entire body, he’ll be in danger if we waste more time. I moved the monster’s tentacles to send out an invisible wave.

[■re y■u ■■(■re you ■kay?)]

“■■■!”

[■■■ ■■■■ ■■(■ome ■ver ■ere)]

Was it the bomb’s energy interfering? Strangely, the wave kept cutting out. Adhigh’s thought waves also felt strange, like they had noise in them, unlike usual.

Still, being clever, he immediately understood my intention and flew over. When my left head opened its mouth, he immediately entered.

“Great One” “Little One” “Hurry” “Help us!”

No need to worry, that’s exactly what I’m doing. After taking Adhigh in first, I approached No. 26.

Due to the energy waves emitted by the bomb, his outer skin was slowly peeling off. It must be quite painful, but he was enduring it to protect the others.

[■■■■ ■■■(■ood ■ob)]

“■■■■■?”

I brought my three heads close to his fins. The companions protected by his fins safely crossed over to me. Finally, No. 26 quickly reduced his size and jumped into my mouth.

“Little One” “Are you okay?”

“It hurts…”

“Why is Star Union’s PMB here?”

“AMorph! Even you are in danger from Alphaboy! If we don’t get away quickly…”

No. 26, Adhigh Orr, Sky Mother, PS-111, Isabelle. Everyone is safe. I prepared for faster-than-light travel to escape.

Energy produced within my body emanated, transforming into a blue light cluster. Just as my entire body was about to be dyed blue as usual, the light suddenly flickered out.

‘Huh?’

I tried the faster-than-light travel again. But just like before, the light enveloped my body and then cut off midway. As if something was interfering.

‘What’s happening?’

Then PS-111, who had entered my right head, spoke to me.

“‘AMorph’. A special energy field, presumably generated from outside the planet, is currently detected. This energy field is blocking faster-than-light travel.”

[What?]

I focused on my auxiliary organs after hearing his words. Perhaps because I was within the PMB’s energy influence, I couldn’t sense the energy field he mentioned.

‘An energy field that blocks faster-than-light travel…’

As far as I know, there’s only one being that can block faster-than-light travel: Voltex One, which specializes in large-scale warp abilities. It can artificially block others’ faster-than-light movement.

‘Is it here?’

This isn’t its habitat. Unless Coldblood summoned it, it’s impossible for it to appear here.

‘…No. Let’s put that aside for now.’

What’s more important now is escaping from LV-06. Since faster-than-light travel is impossible, I need to fly out directly.

I strongly flapped my wing arms, striking the air. The air was pushed away, and my body stretched forward.

My outer skin, a mix of black and red due to the “Destroyer Carapace” effect, glowed red. This wasn’t simply due to the heat of the atmosphere. It was because the energy generated by the PMB’s activation was burning my body.

“Pain Reduction activated!”

‘Ugh!’

The text box warns me to get out of here immediately.

The membrane of my wings tears, and the carapaces protecting my body’s surface gradually turn to dust. It’s like the pain of putting my entire body in a shredder.

Perhaps due to the pain of my body melting, bad memories surface. The accident that changed everything for me and my family.

‘No. I can endure this much.’

Unlike the past, I now have a strong body and special traits. I continued upward without stopping.

Perhaps AMorph’s body understood my will. The membrane that seemed about to be torn to shreds began to regenerate slowly. The outer skin and carapaces also slowly regained their original form.

The powerful healing ability “Superior Homeostasis” and “Pain Reduction” which alleviates pain, are helping my will to survive remain unbroken.

‘Just a little more…!’

After flying desperately like that, the surroundings eventually darkened.

I’ve left the planet’s atmosphere, but I still can’t relax. The PMB, having consumed the entire planet, will release an enormous amount of energy as its final act. If I get caught in that, I’ll definitely die in my current state.

‘I need to create distance quickly.’

As I was flying with all my might, even more than when escaping the planet, I spotted a small dot in the distance. I thought it might be a meteorite fragment floating in space, but it wasn’t.

‘Enemy!’

Over a hundred torpedoes were flying toward me. I couldn’t see clearly what grade they were because they were small, but they likely possessed considerable power.

‘I can’t waste time dealing with them here.’

Since I need to focus on escaping the PMB’s range, it’s difficult for me to shoot them down one by one.

Of course, it’s different for those aboard my body.

[Adhigh]

When I opened my left head’s mouth, Adhigh pulled out an attack card he had prepared inside.

With his entire body enveloped in a red glow, he raised his head toward the direction from which the torpedoes were coming. The mythical power that only Red Gallergorn, the greatest of space dragons, can wield. “Star Flame,” created by condensing starlight, erupted from the tip of his tentacle.

The purple sphere, flying at high speed, collided with the torpedoes. An explosion occurred as if the sun had manifested there. The approaching torpedoes instantly vanished.

[Well done]

“Star power” “Used” “Hungry”

[I’ll give you something delicious later]

Perhaps because he had consumed a large amount of power, he leaned against my teeth.

Thanks to Adhigh blocking the torpedoes, I continued flying to distance myself from LV-06.

And shortly after, my auxiliary organs shook violently. A shock greater than the pain I felt when escaping the planet hit my body.

“Great ■■e!”

“■■■■! St■■■■!”

An energy storm larger than the Star Flame Adhigh had fired struck me. My body, out of control, collided with a small meteorite floating in space.

“■■■’s ■■■■ is ■■■■. We ■■■■ to ■■■■ ■■■■.”

“■■■■! We ■■■’t ■■■■ ■■■!”

I can feel the kids inside my mouth saying something. Whether it’s because I’m caught in the explosion or because of the pain, it doesn’t matter.

I raised my central head while my body was embedded in the meteorite.

In the distance, I could see an enormous swirl of light raging over a space filled with darkness. What was a Megacorp colony just minutes ago had now become cosmic dust.

‘Somehow I survived.’

I barely escaped the PMB’s range. If I had been even a little later, I would have met the same fate as the shattered planet.

Of course, I’m quite injured now, but this is nothing. With Superior Homeostasis, I can recover given enough time.

Thinking that, as I tried to extract my body from the meteorite, my auxiliary organs buzzed.

“Encountered beings that cannot be escaped.”

Foggy scenes appeared and disappeared in succession.

“Predator Sense,” the trait that warns me whenever my life is in danger, had activated after a long time.

And the beings that forced the activation of Predator Sense revealed themselves in space.

‘…Oh no.’

Star Union, Megacorp, and Outspacer.

The fleets of three species that can never mix, whether in the game or in this world, were surrounding me.