Ch.4Survive (4)

The Ganymede Colony native Wei was feeling miserable due to his terrible situation.

When he joined the project, he was overjoyed to learn that his superior was a Noble Capital from Earth. Noble Capital, the ruling class of Megacorp, and from Earth no less—literally equivalent to royalty. Forming connections with them could make his dream of Mars immigration a reality.

With such expectations, he boarded the ship, but it didn’t take long for Wei’s dream to shatter.

‘Crazy psycho woman. She said today was a day off.’

Wei kept wiping sweat from his half-balding head while stealing glances at the young, capable superior standing beside him.

Her name was Kisaragi Yujin. She was Wei’s superior and a Noble Capital belonging to House Yugin, one of the five great families ruling Earth.

Unlike usual, she was wearing casual clothes and holding a cat in her arms.

‘Damn it. Why does a cat need a walk?’

Wei regretted going to the garden just to get some fresh air. Kisaragi repeated what she had said dozens of times before arriving at the lab.

“When will Subject No. 26 finally show results?”

“There are definitely responses now. If you could just give us a little more time…”

“Time is credit. If we don’t have results worth reporting to the company before reaching our destination, the company might reconsider your ’employment.'”

“Gah?! Please, anything but that…!”

When the word ’employment’ left her lips, sweat poured down Wei’s head like a waterfall. As a senior researcher at Megacorp, he knew exactly what ’employment’ meant.

His eyes briefly turned to the brain in the test tube. It felt as if his predecessor was beckoning him to join them.

“Senior Researcher, no, Mr. Wei.”

“Y-yes?”

Kisaragi, who had been glaring with a cold expression, suddenly changed her demeanor and began comforting him in a gentle voice.

“I don’t want that outcome either. I have expectations for you too. If you can extract ‘useful results’ from Subject No. 26, a promotion to Chief Researcher wouldn’t be just a dream.”

“R-really?”

“Yes. At minimum Chief Researcher, and if things go well, you might even establish connections with Mars. They’re very interested in this project.”

Hearing this, Wei’s eyes sparkled.

He decided to tell her about a method he had only conceptualized but never actually attempted.

“There is one method left…”

“What is it?”

“Administering Psyonium.”

“Psyonium? You mean the drug made by Star Union?”

“That’s right.”

Kisaragi Yujin silently stroked the cat’s head. The cat purred, apparently enjoying its owner’s affectionate touch.

“Psyonium has awakening effects—”

“I know what effects it has. I’ve worked on related projects before. Psyonium, huh? That’s a drug we haven’t tried yet.”

“Actually, there are a few more—”

“We’ve tried everything with similar components. Psyonium is all that’s left.”

Kisaragi’s gaze turned toward Subject No. 26. It wasn’t the gentle look she had when petting the cat. Her expression while observing the test subject resembled a machine sorting products in a factory.

“Fine. Administer it right now.”

“What? But, if it doesn’t absorb the neutralizer, it could affect life support.”

“That would mean waiting until tomorrow. We don’t have much time left.”

The statement about running out of time didn’t apply just to Wei.

As the project leader, she would also be held responsible if the experiment failed. She was from a much higher class than Wei. The impact of a blemish on her career would be much greater.

Moreover, she had never experienced failure in her life. With her first failure looming, she couldn’t help but feel anxious.

“As you know, we should have had research results by now.”

“Y-yes, that’s true, but…”

“We should be finalizing reports for presentation, but we still haven’t elicited any meaningful response from the subject. I trust you understand how serious this situation is.”

Wei couldn’t argue because her words were true.

“…Understood. I’ll administer it immediately.”

Wei took out a purple test tube from the refrigerator.

“First, I’ll administer 0.01mg.”

After connecting the tube to a hose, Wei operated the terminal, and a small amount of the substance was injected into the test chamber.

The bubble amoeba showed no reaction. The graph on the terminal screen showed no significant changes.

Wei wiped away the pouring sweat and pressed the terminal button again.

“Administering 0.05mg.”

This time there was a reaction. The bubble amoeba twitched as if in pain.

Wei couldn’t hide his joy at seeing the expected reaction after causing pain to the test subject. Interest also appeared on Kisaragi’s face as she watched the subject.

“Next, 0.07mg…”

“Wait. Since there’s a reaction, we can increase it more.”

“Pardon?”

“Administer all of it.”

“T-that’s a bit…”

“Move aside.”

When Wei hesitated, Kisaragi pushed him away and pressed the injection button herself.

All the liquid in the test tube flowed into the test chamber.

Soon, the bubble amoeba’s body expanded greatly as if someone had inflated it. Lights flickered wildly from its body, and its skin tore as it couldn’t contain the expanding body. It was clear to anyone that the bubble amoeba was suffering extreme pain, but none of the people present cared about that issue.

‘Please! Just a little more!’

Wei clenched his fist as he watched the graph on the terminal screen soaring without limit.

After about five minutes.

The graph suddenly plummeted to the bottom. Wei felt that the shape of the falling graph matched his future.

Subject No. 26 in the test chamber no longer glowed pink. It had turned white as if forcibly bleached and remained motionless.

“Wake it up.”

“Yes.”

Unlike the despairing Wei, Kisaragi’s voice showed no emotion. Wei pressed the electric shock button with a grim feeling.

Bubbles rose in the test chamber, and the bubble amoeba jumped. It was twitching slightly, but its color remained white, indicating it was barely alive.

“Interesting results. Try more tests with Subject No. 26.”

“Is that okay?”

“If you get meaningful results after trying again, report to me.”

Wei’s face brightened like a prisoner who had received a death sentence but was then pardoned. Kisaragi, who had made a person go between heaven and hell with just a word, suddenly felt a gaze and looked toward the ventilation fan.

‘I feel that gaze again.’

Nothing was visible beyond the ventilation fan.

–

The experiment I just witnessed had meaning for me too.

The Psyonium they injected into Subject No. 26 is a substance I know well.

‘A stimulant that temporarily unlocks sealed racial traits.’

In the game, consuming Psyonium reduces maximum health but unlocks sealed racial traits for a limited time.

For example, if I consumed Psyonium, I could temporarily use abilities that aren’t available at the Hatchling stage. I could use traits like acidic blood or enhanced exoskeleton that are normally obtained at the Morphlet stage.

It’s an incredible item when used at the right time, but perhaps because of its drug setting, its duration decreases each time you use it. So it was mainly used in the early to mid-game rather than late game.

‘Does the bubble amoeba have traits I don’t know about?’

I feel like I’ve eaten thousands of them before, but I never saw any hidden traits. Since there was no mention of this in the community, maybe Subject No. 26 is a special individual, or there are differences between reality and the game.

‘Anyway, learning about the existence of Psyonium is progress.’

It could be useful if I end up in all-out war with the humans on the ship.

Returning to my nest, I laid down again. As my body relaxed, thoughts I had been deliberately avoiding resurfaced.

‘That creature asked me for help.’

Subject No. 26, injected with a massive dose of Psyonium, had begged me for salvation. Its screams were still vivid.

It pleaded to stop because it was in pain, begged to be saved, but the researchers couldn’t perceive those wavelengths. Even if they knew it was in pain, they wouldn’t have stopped.

The unfortunate truth is that this horrible torture isn’t over. The Megacorp researchers will continue the Psyonium experiments until the bubble amoeba can’t endure and dies.

I knew there was nothing but darkness ahead for that creature. I had spared it because I judged the bubble amoeba’s genetic essence to be useless; otherwise, it would have been my prey candidate too.

Yet why was this unpleasant feeling creeping up from a corner of my mind?

Why were its wailing cries still echoing in my head?

‘It’s unpleasant. I really don’t like this.’

Looking at this, I’m not yet a complete “honorary AMorph.” I want to rush over and tear them apart right now.

Originally, I planned to hunt more leisurely, but my mind has changed. If asked whether this is purely for emotional reasons, that’s half true.

I was engulfed in anger, but at the same time, I was extremely calm. I made this judgment because I believed there were valid grounds to target her. Among today’s achievements, besides learning about Psyonium, I also gained useful information about Kisaragi Yujin.

‘The cat she brought.’

Thanks to my hypersenses, I could tell how much she cherished the cat.

Through my auxiliary organs, I could easily deduce her significant attachment to the cat by monitoring her heartbeat, breathing, and upper body movements while holding it. It wasn’t hard to imagine how such a person would react if the cat died.

‘Many vulnerabilities would be exposed.’

Naturally, the cat doesn’t receive separate security. It’s usually alone except when called by its owner. The people on the ship have no idea how devastated Kisaragi Yujin would be if her beloved cat died.

In essence, my plan is to use the cat as bait to lure my prey.

‘Kisaragi Yujin. You will die within days.’

From the darkness, I pronounced her death sentence.