Ch.440The Enemy Within (1)

“Jacob, this is Blair. We’ve secured a total of 17 survivors.”

In the captain’s room with a rigid atmosphere devoid of any decorations.

The Special Rescue Team Leader Blair was reporting to his superior on the other end of the communicator.

“Seven from Third Capital, ten from Middle Capital, and they’re currently being examined. Yes. Yes. I’ll begin interrogations as soon as the examinations are complete. Yes! Loyalty!”

After saluting and ending the communication, he immediately contacted the ship’s quarantine team.

“How far along are the examinations?”

“So far, two have been completed, and one is currently in progress.”

“What did you say?”

“The Third Capital survivors are strongly resisting, which is delaying the examinations.”

“Tsk, force them to comply even if you have to use physical means. It doesn’t matter if they get injured.”

“Pardon? That’s…”

“I’ll take full responsibility. Make sure everyone is examined by the end of today.”

“Yes, sir!”

After giving a few more orders to his subordinate, he concluded the communication.

Unlike the silent captain’s room, his mind was racing.

The current interim family head has been terminating various projects initiated by the previous family head under the pretext of management rationalization, and eliminating related organizations.

The old faction of House Egerton is the result of those who became targets of liquidation gathering together. And the group Blair belongs to, the Silver Lion Knights, is the core force supporting the old faction.

In the past, they were deeply involved in the new Hulk Mutant Project secretly led by Danver Egerton. They were also responsible for managing the slush funds Danver had set aside for the project.

Without that, the old faction couldn’t have grown as large as it is now.

However, the current situation isn’t entirely favorable.

With Danver already dead, time is on the side of the interim family head. While they currently have enough power to pressure and check the interim family head, it’s not enough. Once the slush funds run out, it’s over.

The old faction needed a new breakthrough.

In this situation, the Outspacer problem erupted.

While the family suffered significant damage from the massive attack, it was different from the Silver Lion Knights’ perspective.

This was an opportunity to turn the situation around.

Encounters with Outspacers are rare in Megacorps. Even House Egerton doesn’t have much accumulated information. As a result, they were struggling with developing weapons against Outspacers.

The leadership of the Knights planned to quickly secure information related to Outspacers and take the lead in ship development.

Rescuing survivors was also part of this information gathering. After all, there’s no resource more useful for weapon development than the experiences of those who have been defeated.

‘If this goes well…’

Knight Commander Jacob promised substantial rewards to those who gathered high-quality information. Blair was promised an amount he had never dreamed of in his life.

‘That reward is mine. I won’t give it to anyone else.’

To grasp wealth, he needed to move even more busily than now.

He resumed his work with a smile on his lips.

–

“Hey, are you done?”

“Done? Hell no. Those damn Third Capital bastards.”

“Third Capital?”

The quarantine team member resting in front of the examination room sighed at his colleague’s question.

“Yeah. Those nobodies have such high pride. They won’t listen even when threatened with guns.”

“Tough job. Here, have one of these.”

The quarantine team member gulped down the energy drink his colleague handed him.

“I was thinking of having a drink with the guys later, what do you think?”

“I’ll decide whether to go or not after work is done.”

“How much is left?”

“We’re done with the Third Capital folks, ten Middle Capital people left.”

“Tsk, let me know when you’re finished.”

After parting with his colleague, the quarantine team member entered the examination room.

The interior of the examination room was so clean it resembled an operating room, with various advanced medical devices scattered throughout. The quarantine team member’s job was to use all these devices to examine the survivors’ physical condition.

The Outspacer queen who led this massive attack reportedly uses spies. She injects parasites into humans or Cult members to extract enemy information.

After learning this from a spy dispatched to the Cult Empire, the Silver Lion Knights converted the medical room on the rescue ship into an examination room. The purpose was to check for parasites and, if found, extract them for research.

Of course, this was the position of the upper echelons of the Knights. The survivors couldn’t help but be bewildered by the suddenly stringent examination procedures.

“Damn it! How much longer do we have to wait?”

“Let us out quickly!”

“Why do we have to be treated like this?!”

Inside isolation rooms located at the back of the examination room, people wearing only white gowns over their naked bodies were confined. All of them were out of their minds after being trapped in small isolation rooms for hours.

“Next is number 8. Please come out.”

The quarantine team member’s annoyed tone made the ten survivors curse.

“Don’t be ridiculous! Do you know who I am?”

“What Capital are you from? Don’t you know I have connections on Mars?”

“…Sigh.”

The quarantine team member didn’t respond and operated his terminal. Cold disinfectant gas forcefully sprayed from the floor of the isolation rooms. The survivors in each isolation room either coughed continuously or trembled while bending over.

“Kyaaak?!”

“Argh! S-stop!”

“If you want to finish quickly, shut up and stay still. Understand?”

“Yes, yes! I understand, so please stop…!”

After forcibly silencing the survivors, the quarantine team member continued with the examinations.

Several hours passed.

At a time when more people on the ship were asleep than awake. All examined individuals had been moved to temporary accommodations, and only two people remained in the isolation rooms.

“Next is… number 16?”

The long examination was coming to an end. The quarantine team member licked his lips at the thought of drinking with his colleagues.

“Wait a moment!”

At that moment, the man numbered 16 called out to him.

“Yes. Number 16, please come out.”

“That’s not it, I need to tell you something…”

The quarantine team member thought he was going to complain again without getting his act together. He was about to tell him to shut up and come out when he was startled by the man’s face.

A complexion pale to the point of being completely white, unfocused eyes, and abnormally profuse sweating. It was clearly not a normal appearance by anyone’s standards.

“What’s wrong with your face?”

“It’s not me, it’s the person with me who’s acting strange.”

“The person with you?”

The survivor pointed with his chin to the woman numbered 17 in another isolation room. She was crouching down, making it impossible to see her face.

“You’re saying that woman is strange?”

“Yes. She’s been like that ever since she was hit with the disinfectant gas earlier.”

Now that he mentioned it, it was true. That woman had been in that position without moving an inch for quite some time.

It’s virtually impossible for an ordinary person to remain motionless in a small isolation room for hours.

“Anything else unusual?”

“I saw something like a worm wriggling in her ear.”

“A worm? Are you sure?”

“Yes. As soon as she made eye contact with me, it quickly hid inside. I saw it clearly.”

The survivor might have been mistaken, but the woman’s behavior was indeed suspicious. The quarantine team member walked to the front of the isolation room where survivor number 17 was.

“Hey, number 17. Come out.”

“……”

No response. The quarantine team member operated his terminal. Ice-cold disinfectant gas enveloped survivor number 17. The crouching woman quickly stood up.

The moment he saw her face, suspicion turned into certainty. Despite her body freezing, she maintained a perfect poker face. She moved mechanically, as if controlled by someone’s command.

“Damn! Don’t move!”

The quarantine team member hastily drew his Gauss rifle. While aiming at the target behind the transparent wall, he tried to contact his other colleagues.

“Kyaaaak!”

At that moment, the woman screamed and headbutted the wall. Blood and flesh splattered on the wall, but she didn’t stop.

“This is the quarantine team… ugh?!”

The isolation rooms on this ship were designed to be very sturdy given their purpose. Unless opened from the outside, a bare human couldn’t get out.

“Kyaaa!”

That should have been the case, but suddenly the isolation room door opened. The woman with a bloodied face lunged out and pounced on the quarantine team member.

“Urgh?”

Pushed by the monstrous strength, the quarantine team member lost his balance and fell backward. The woman, revealing her blood-soaked teeth, tried to bite his face.

“Kek?!”

If the quarantine team member hadn’t struck the woman with his Gauss rifle, he would have lost his life already.

As the woman staggered from the blow to her head, the quarantine team member rolled to the side and escaped.

Then he fired the rifle.

“Eat this!”

“Kyaak!”

The muzzle spewed fire, and a barrage of lethal tungsten bullets tore through the enemy’s abdomen.

Charred flesh and shattered bone fragments scattered. The woman, with half her waist blown away, collapsed as if sitting down.

The quarantine team member got up from his position, breathing heavily.

“Is, is she dead?”

No sooner had he finished speaking than the woman’s head moved. Her mouth opened wide enough to tear, and a black creature resembling a catfish crawled out from inside.

“…Disgusting.”

Judging by its repulsive appearance, it was undoubtedly an Outspacer parasite.

As he was about to capture it with a prepared trap, others who had heard the gunshot rushed into the examination room.

“What was that gunshot… oh my!”

“Damn, what is that?”

“You came quickly.”

The quarantine team member briefly explained what had happened.

“So that’s an Outspacer parasite?”

“Controlling a person’s head, it’s as malicious as it looks.”

“If you understand, help me now.”

The quarantine team member and his colleagues together captured the parasitic creature and disposed of the woman’s body.

Unlike when it was inside a human body, the monster showed little movement. It remained the same after being transferred to a test tube.

“Please deliver this test tube and the woman’s blood samples to the research team.”

“What about you?”

Instead of answering, the quarantine team member pointed to the isolation room. There was survivor number 16, trembling while pressing his body against the wall.

“Do you need any assistance?”

“There’s only one person left, so there’s no need.”

“Then we’ll go.”

After his colleagues left, only the two of them remained in the examination room.

“Is, is it over?”

“Yes. Only your examination remains.”

“Phew, I’m glad things worked out.”

The man must have been quite frightened, as his complexion was still pale. He was also sweating profusely, making him look in poor condition.

“You’ll be able to go to the temporary accommodation soon, so please bear with it a little longer.”

“Thank you.”

If it weren’t for that man, his life might have been in danger. The quarantine team member, aware of this fact, treated the survivor with a gentler attitude than before.

“Please enter here and stand still.”

“What is this machine?”

“It’s a machine that examines the inside of your body. It won’t hurt or anything, so don’t worry.”

The man who came out of the isolation room entered a machine the size of a small room as instructed by the quarantine team member. The quarantine team member operated the machine from outside.

“What? Why is this happening again?”

Despite operating it the same way as before, the machine wasn’t responding. Even when he pressed the terminal firmly with his fingers, it only emitted short beep sounds.

‘Come to think of it, the isolation room door suddenly opened earlier too.’

“Excuse me? Is something wrong?”

Just as he was beginning to suspect the consecutive machine malfunctions, a voice came from inside the machine.

“Ahem, it’s nothing. Please wait a moment.”

“Um, there are sparks flying inside. Is this normal?”

“Huh?”

Needless to say, this machine doesn’t have such a function. The quarantine team member entered the machine.

“Where did you see sparks?”

“Over there.”

He examined the part the man pointed to, but it was fine.

“There’s nothing wrong here. Are you sure?”

“I definitely saw it, that’s strange.”

“Let’s get out first and start with another examination…”

The quarantine team member turned his head and paused at what he saw.

“What’s wrong?”

“Your eyes…”

“Pardon?”

The quarantine team member’s gaze was fixed directly on the man’s face.

This was because the position of the man’s eyes was not normal. The two eyes that should have been between the nose and forehead had descended to around the jaw.

“Ah. This happens again.”

A flat-toned voice echoed inside the machine.

But that sound wasn’t coming from the man’s mouth.

“It’s about time for a change anyway.”

With those words, the man’s face split open on both sides.

And a moment later.

The quarantine team member walked out of the machine alone.

Unlike when he entered, his complexion had turned pale as he left the examination room.