Ch.469Trash Planet (1)

When I woke up after a nap, the nest had expanded quite a bit.

The wide farmland that had been spread out in front of the factory was now pitch black. The once clear, transparent air had turned gray, mixed with toxic substances.

It’s an environment so harsh that no human could possibly survive, but for me, it’s nothing but comfortable.

‘At this rate, I just need to wait about 10 more minutes.’

By then, the nest will reach its growth limit. Then I’ll be able to experiment with ‘Terramorph.’

‘By the way, where did No. 26 and Adhigh Orr go?’

It’s unusual—normally when we fall asleep together, they stay until we wake up.

‘Did they go get breakfast?’

“The big baby is awake.”

Speak of the devil—the two of them appeared in the distance.

“Look at this. I made it!”

No. 26 approached, frantically moving fins the size of a small car. Something was placed on its body—a 2-meter wide calorie block with genetically modified plants stuck in it like candles.

It seems they went to the factory to make this.

“I’ll give it to you, so eat it!”

[Zzzzzz (Thank you)]

No. 26 handed over the calorie block with a proud attitude.

Despite its confident demeanor, the visual wasn’t particularly appealing. It looked like a cake molded from dirt and wood by a giant.

It obviously wouldn’t taste good. I should focus on the energy supply aspect. I took a bite of half the cake the creature had made.

‘Not bad?’

The genetically modified plant that looked like corn tasted like a strong cinnamon pastry, unlike its appearance. Thanks to that, the pungent taste of the calorie block was neutralized, making it edible.

[Zzzzzz (Delicious)]

“Really? Wow!”

“Great one” “this” “more” “delicious”

At that moment, Adhigh Orr interrupted, throwing a metal container filled with meat juice into my mouth. As soon as I chewed the container, a savory liquid flowed out, moistening my mouth.

[Zzzzzz Zzzzzz (This is good too)]

“There’s more, so eat more!”

Before I could swallow what was in my mouth, another calorie block entered. This one had pieces of meat mixed into the block.

“Taste” “good” “more” “eat”

Before I could savor the texture, a container of meat juice flew in.

Is it just my imagination? Somehow it looks like they’re competing to feed me.

‘I was hungry anyway, so this works out well.’

I was feeling hungry after spitting out a lot of black mucus before going to sleep. I gobbled down whatever they gave me.

‘After checking the Terramorph, should we get going?’

We came here just to take a short rest.

Our final destination isn’t here but the Megacorp’s junkyard.

I heard from Shinobu, the Space Dog ranker of the Dominants. Apparently, Akira Yujin visits the junkyard periodically, away from prying eyes.

The goal of this journey is to infiltrate that place and prepare an ambush while he’s unaware.

On our way here, I learned additional information. The Returnists’ strongest force and the 4th ranked Outspacer launched an all-out offensive against Megacorp.

Akira must be too busy dealing with the Outspacer to pay attention to anything else.

In other words, now is the perfect opportunity to infiltrate the junkyard.

While eating and thinking about what to do next, I noticed the nest had already reached its growth limit.

[Zzzzzz Zzzz Zzzzzz Zzzz Zzzz Zzzzzzzzz (There’s something I want to try. Could you move away for a moment?)]

“What? What is it?”

“?”

[Zzzzzz Zzzzzz Zzzzzzzzz (I’m going to make something with the nest)]

Before experimenting, I sent all the kids outside the nest and connected the auxiliary organ under my jaw to the nest.

“Terramorph conversion possible.”

‘Good.’

A welcome message appears. I immediately used the ability. Then everything around me began to shake. Not just the entire nest, but even the ground outside vibrated.

Black mucus shot upward like fountain water. Black pillars rising from all directions quickly enveloped my body.

My vision was instantly plunged into darkness because of the black walls. The mucus felt all over my body, similar to when I entered a cocoon.

The difference is that the link is still maintained. I can clearly sense what’s happening outside.

The nest, which had taken over the vast farmland, rapidly contracted around me. Mucus accumulated below as well, gradually raising my position.

In less than a few minutes, the wide nest completely disappeared. What remained on the devastated land was a black sphere.

This bio-structure, larger than a Gigacracker, is my new body.

And inside this massive body were various organs recreated in bizarre forms.

Lungs filled with smog towers, a stomach where black mucus and acidic solution pooled like a swamp, passages circulating black mucus, and more. Among these overwhelmingly large organs was the room where I resided.

This is the heart and brain of the Terramorph.

‘It’s incredibly huge.’

It’s so enormous that I can hardly believe it’s my body.

Is it because it’s too big? Even just staying still, massive amounts of energy are constantly draining. I could barely maintain balance thanks to the “Dragon’s Heart.”

‘Can this thing even move?’

Unlike the complex internal structure, the exterior is a simple spherical shape. There are no visible legs.

The moment I thought that, the Terramorph—my second body connected to me—moved. An invisible energy field generated by the “Twisted Abomination” effect lifted the giant sphere into the air.

‘The energy field effect has gotten stronger.’

More precisely, the Terramorph surrounding the main body is helping control the energy field. I don’t need to concentrate separately until the energy field escapes outside.

However, considering the energy consumption, I should avoid direct combat.

The duration of the Terramorph is related to my energy reserves. Right now, I’m barely maintaining it with the Dragon’s Heart. If the balance breaks, it won’t last long before deactivating.

“Suddenly an earthquake… What’s that?”

“Observation results confirm it’s a substance similar to AMorph secretions.”

“The big baby made it! Really big, right?”

“Agree”

The conversation between the kids below was transmitted to me through the energy field.

Not only the Screamer sisters who ran out of the factory because of the earthquake, but even the kids who were watching me seemed quite surprised.

It’s a natural reaction. From the outside, it’s an enormous size that can’t be taken in at a glance.

‘I wonder if I can bring them inside?’

Since I made it using the nest as material, changing its form should also be possible. I focused my consciousness on the physical body rather than the energy field.

The surface responded immediately. Three hook-shaped pillars emerged from the bottom of the sphere and extended toward the ground.

At the end of each hook pillar was a hole covered with sharp spikes.

‘So this is the mouth.’

I call it a mouth because the holes are connected to the organs inside the body.

“Terramorph ‘Harvest Mode’ activated. Would you like to harvest?”

‘Huh?’

A text box suddenly appeared. I hurriedly selected cancel.

I don’t know exactly what “Harvest Mode” means. But I do know it’s not something to do when the kids are under the pillars.

The pillars that were advancing toward the ground stopped midway. All the densely erected spikes tilted diagonally.

“I want to come in!”

No. 26, reading my intention, flew into the mouth. The others followed behind.

I modified the internal structure of the Terramorph so the kids could come up quickly.

It wasn’t as flexible as a regular nest or an infested ship, but I could freely manipulate the passages that spread like spider webs. I connected a passage from the mouth directly to the room where I was.

Thanks to this, all the kids arrived at the heart early.

“So this is the newly acquired power. The ability to strengthen the nest—it’s the opposite of the original.”

Isabelle, having apparently read the information on her way, showed an interested reaction.

“I thought it would be an ability related to genetic essence acquisition.”

[Zzz Zzz Zzz Zz Zzzzzzz (I don’t know yet. I need to experiment more)]

“Are you talking about the ‘Harvest Mode’ that appeared earlier?”

The presence of a mouth means it can consume objects. The possibility that Harvest Mode is related to essence acquisition can’t be ruled out.

However, judging by the structure of the mouth, it doesn’t seem suited for predation. It’s too large to catch small creatures.

‘Now that everyone’s safely inside, should I check it out?’

I manipulated the Terramorph as I did before. The modified passages returned to their original positions, and the stopped hook pillars moved again.

The pillars, which continued to extend downward, pierced into the desert-like ground. Then the large mouths began chewing on the surface of the earth.

The densely packed teeth mercilessly crushed large rocks. Small soil particles flowed into the digestive organs along with the mucus.

“The new house is shaking. Wobbling is fun!”

“This bio-structure is very interesting. AMorph secretions are organically changing their properties to maintain the structure.”

The vibrations caused by the moving organs shook the heart chamber. No. 26 surfed on the mucus, and PS-111 followed behind, diligently collecting mucus samples.

“Feeling” “strange” “keeps” “getting sticky”

Unlike the two who seemed to be enjoying themselves, Adhigh Orr appeared uncomfortable with the shaking space and slightly fluttered its wings.

‘So this is what harvest means.’

It’s a disappointing result for such a grand name as “Harvest Mode.”

Moreover, since the soil had been drained of nutrients, the energy that could be obtained was extremely minimal.

Just as I was about to feel slightly disappointed, a new text box appeared.

“Harvest effect activated! Successfully extracted ‘Contamination Organ’ genetic essence from terrain type ‘Contaminated Wasteland'”

“‘Harvest Mode’ dormant. 23:59:59 until reactivation.”

‘Oh?’

Right after the message appeared, the mouth that had been working hard stopped. The three hook pillars were retracted back into the sphere.

‘I got a trait without eating a creature?’

The result was remarkably groundbreaking, making my previous disappointment seem foolish.

In Space Survival, there’s only one way to gain traits without directly eating creatures: consuming genetic samples. There’s no other method.

‘Is this the true ability of the Terramorph?’

Harvesting essence mixed in minerals or soil by consuming them.

Although it has the drawback of being usable only once every 24 hours, it’s still an ability with tremendous potential.

[Zzzzzzzz Zzzzzz Zzzzzz Zzzzzz (PS-111. Have you finished replenishing enough?)]

The Screamer, who had been focused on collecting samples by scraping the walls of the heart chamber, nodded.

“Yes. I’ve absorbed all the energy produced by the factory reactor. We can jump to our destination without any problems.”

[Zzzzzz Zzzz Zzzz Zzzzzz Zzzzzzzzzzz (Then, could you possibly move larger objects too?)]

“Larger objects?”

The creature blinked, understanding what I meant.

It would be a waste to use it just once and cancel. I want to experiment more before the energy runs out.

“I don’t know if the bio-structure can withstand the jump.”

[Zzz Zzzzzz Zzzzzzz Zz Zzzzzzzzz (You don’t need to worry about that. It’s quite sturdy)]

“We’ll need to stop during the voyage to rest and replenish energy.”

[Zzzzzzzz (That part too)]

If we’re going to experiment anyway, we’ll need to stop midway. At that time, feeding mucus to PS-111 will solve the energy supply problem.

“Then it’s possible.”

[Zzzz (Good)]

“Shall we depart now?”

[Zzzzzz (Please)]

Upon my request, PS-111 floated into the air. Simultaneously, the two circular wings attached to the back of its head sprayed warp particles.

Shortly after, a blue light engulfed the entire Terramorph.