Ch.68Underground Beast (2)

[Zzzz Zzzz Zzzzzz (Kids, wake up and eat)]

“Wow!”

“Food!”

After looking around the area, I woke up the kids.

The food for them was six corpse catfish.

I carried them using my combat arms, the small arms on my chest, and my mouth.

[Zzzzzz Zzzz Zzzzzz (After eating, we’ll go somewhere else)]

“Going to make a home?”

[Zz (Yes)]

As always, No. 26 understands quickly.

It grabbed the catfish with its tentacles and put it inside its body. Because of its translucent body, I could clearly see the catfish dissolving inside.

“Delicious.”

True to its nature, No. 26 quickly devoured one catfish without being picky.

In contrast, Adhigh Orr frowned as soon as it sucked the blood from the corpse catfish with its mouth tentacles.

“Food” “Tastes bad”

This is the first time I’ve seen a Gallergorn make such a distorted expression. It seems to have more expressive emotions than an AMorph, which can only move its mouth.

“Taste” “Terrible”

It must have tasted really bad because it shook its body in disgust.

‘Well, it is pretty bad.’

The worst food I’ve eaten since becoming an AMorph was the calorie bar.

Until I ate the corpse catfish, that is.

I brought it to them, but it’s clearly bad-tasting. I didn’t have anything particular to say about Adhigh’s complaints.

But No. 26 seemed to disagree.

It pulled out a tentacle and slapped Adhigh’s head.

“Pain!”

“Big kid ate a lot to get big. If you want to be like big kid, you have to eat everything.”

“I” “Growth” “Want”

“Yes.”

“I” “Growth” “Bigger” “Adult” “Egg” “Possible”

“……”

“Pain!”

Well, they seem to be getting along, so I’ll leave them be.

I waited until they finished eating the corpse catfish, then took them to the next location.

In this sewer, there are processing facilities for sewage purification placed between passages.

Here, corpse catfish and small sewage treatment facilities filter out large foreign substances in the first stage, and then the contaminated water is passed to the massive sewage treatment plant deep underground the city for secondary purification.

‘After checking, I found there are no detectors except where the small sewage treatment facilities are.’

The detectors seem to be designed to send signals only when objects too large for the small sewage treatment facilities are nearby.

I observed from a distance and noticed they don’t send signals just for corpse catfish moving around.

‘With my size, I’ll definitely trigger them.’

Adhigh, the smallest among us, would barely avoid the detector’s conditions.

‘Even if I don’t trigger it, setting up a nest near the detectors would be dangerous.’

Since there’s a small sewage treatment facility nearby, city managers are very likely to come for regular inspections.

If we’re unlucky, people might come today, so I can’t set up a nest there.

‘This should be good enough?’

The spot where I want to set up my new nest is equidistant from both a manhole and sewage treatment facility.

The water is relatively shallow here, and there are protruding parts on the wall that provide space to stand on. No. 26 and I are fine, but Adhigh isn’t an aquatic creature, so it needs a comfortable space to rest.

[Zzzz Zzzz Zzzz (I’ll make a home, so wait)]

“Okay”

After telling the kids, I climbed up the wall to the ceiling.

The nest I had previously laid was completely destroyed while I was asleep.

‘As expected.’

The enemies quickly found the secret passage. They must have removed my nest while searching the passage.

So I plan to set up a new nest here in the sewer.

‘Normally, I would lay it on the floor, but.’

Usually, I would wait for the mucus from my body to harden and become a nest, but not this time. I need to directly apply the secreted mucus to make the nest.

‘I can’t set up the nest underwater.’

If it goes into water, the mucus will be diluted and won’t harden. However, once completed, it doesn’t matter if the stems and spores of the nest go into the water.

‘Still, water is a good medium.’

The nest detects nearby objects and environments through various stimuli from the surroundings.

If it touches water, it can easily observe a wider range than usual through vibrations.

In the current situation where I can’t wait for the nest to expand, water is an effective tool to enhance my nest’s functions.

‘Let’s begin.’

I used my arms to apply the mucus being secreted from my body to the ceiling.

The highly viscous mucus dripped down and hardened like stalactites. The mucus flowing along the round passage walls spread like tree trunks and slightly touched the water surface.

An hour after I started making the nest, the basic framework was complete.

The new nest on the walls and ceiling will grow on its own without me touching it.

‘Good.’

After confirming that the nest was slowly expanding its territory, I pressed my body tightly against the ceiling. I firmly secured myself with hands and feet to avoid falling, then linked my auxiliary organ in my jaw with the nest.

The nest grabbed my consciousness and pulled it sharply. Instead of AMorph’s small body, this massive artificial structure felt like my own body.

Information about the liquids flowing through the city’s veins and the impurities within them seeped into my mind.

In the darkness without a single point of light, corpse catfish pounce on corpses and food that died without even being named.

Beneath the bright and glamorous city lies an immeasurable amount of gloom.

Ignoring the catfish tearing at corpses like anglerfish, I was looking around the sewer when something unexpected caught my senses.

‘People?’

Suddenly, I sensed human presence throughout the sewer.

At first, I thought they were illegally dumped corpses. But seeing that they weren’t moving with the current but moving on their own, they were definitely alive.

‘People came here?’

And so many at once?

‘I need to check.’

I disconnected the link and jumped into the water.

“Where are you going?”

[Zzzz Zzzz (I need to check something)]

“Okay. I’ll wait.”

After telling No. 26 I was going out, I headed toward where human movement was detected.

While moving underwater, I noticed a change in the water flow. I slightly raised my auxiliary organ above the surface to detect air, and heard human voices from far away.

‘Not just one or two.’

I’m currently at a fork in the road.

From the left, I detected movement of 10 people, and from the right, 3 people. Judging from their unrefined movements and trembling voices, they were all civilians.

‘Why would ordinary people come here?’

I lowered my body again to submerge, then moved toward the right passage where there were fewer people.

In the sewer, quiet except for the sound of water.

The noise made by the three people echoed through it.

“F-fuck, if we survive here, they’ll definitely clear our debt, right?”

“That’s what I heard.”

“Damn, it’s better than dying in the entertainment district. Do you know what happened to the people who came with me? They all became sashimi while still alive.”

“Ugh, fuck, that’s creepy. Those crazy bastards. What’s here that made them send us?”

“Whatever it is, they keep their promises. If we make it out alive, we’re all free.”

“Sigh, lucky bastard. His head is full of flowers.”

Three men were approaching, talking to each other.

They came to this dirty place without protective suits, just their bare bodies. Only oxygen masks covering their faces were the sole tools protecting them in this contaminated space.

“I was already running my ass off in the entertainment district, and now I’m running my ass off in sewage.”

“Stop complaining. The water’s getting deeper, so be careful everyone.”

“Shit, I have aquaphobia…”

The passage I’m in is deep by human standards.

The sewage level that was at their waist suddenly rose to their chest, causing them to curse.

“Motherfucking Amicorp! At least give us protective suits!”

“Be careful not to get water on your guns! Those cost credits!”

“Debt or whatever, I’m going to freeze to death.”

They each held their flashlights and laser pistols high to keep them from touching the water.

Submerging to the bottom to avoid the flashlight beams, I thought.

‘They’re not managers.’

Those in charge of infrastructure in the space city are all high-level administrators. They wouldn’t come to the sewer with such shabby equipment.

Moreover, something one of them said caught my attention.

‘Debt repayment?’

In Megacorp, the term “debt repayment” is used in two ways. One is the dictionary meaning, and the other refers to work that those “employed” by Megacorp must do.

Those employed by Megacorp are divided into three categories.

Individuals with overwhelming debt, criminals who committed serious crimes, or humans from farm planets that breed employees.

Employees are treated not as humans but as livestock or resources.

The employment period lasts until Megacorp decides they’ve made enough profit. Until then, they must follow whatever Megacorp orders.

‘In the community, they jokingly call them corporate slaves.’

According to the setting, all mercenaries used by Megacorp players are former employees. Just as mercenaries in the game are often used as scouts or meat shields, most employees die before completing their debt repayment.

‘And that debt is passed on to family or relatives, according to the setting.’

Personally, I think it’s a bit too harsh, but I heard it was welcomed by users who like the dystopian feel.

‘Anyway, those guys seem to be employees.’

Employees are essentially less than slaves and can’t leave their posts at will. The fact that they’re here means someone deliberately ordered them to come.

‘Let’s watch a bit more.’

I slowly approached them while staying submerged. The water rippled slightly with my slow movement.

“Huh!”

“What’s wrong?”

“Something just moved underwater.”

“Hey, fuck, don’t do that!”

“What nonsense are you talking about? There’s no one here but us.”

“No, really! Something really moved there!”

“*Static* Team 15. What’s going on? Why have you stopped?”

“Uh, nothing.”

“*Static* Other teams are still moving. Team 15 doesn’t seem very committed to debt fulfillment.”

“N-no, that’s not true! We’ll move right away!”

The man at the front kept bowing to the small communicator on his chest.

After the communication ended, the man was so angry that he started beating the person next to him.

He hit him on the head with a flashlight, causing blood to flow from the crown of the victim’s head.

“You bastard! If you want to become raw meat while alive, die alone! Don’t drag us down with you!”

“S-sorry!”

“Stop fighting, you crazy bastards!”

They are indeed bait, as I suspected.

I can guess who put bait here.

‘Egerton Knights.’

It must be them, who recently arrived here for the board meeting, causing trouble.

‘Still, I didn’t expect them to find me this quickly.’

The enemies are tracking my movements faster than I anticipated.

The fact that the knights know about the sewer means that the city’s leaders are sharing all the operation details. They could have sent heavily armed knights and soldiers right away, but they’re not doing that.

‘They’re not concerned about casualties. They must have something up their sleeve.’

Either way, killing these three here is on hold.

I’m still uncertain about their plan, and unless the enemy is stupid, they’ve likely set traps for the bait.

I remained still without moving.

The three passed by me, trembling with anxiety and fear.

“See! You idiot, there’s nothing here.”

“D-did I see wrong?”

“*Cough* I’m already feeling sick. Let’s finish quickly and go.”

I quietly followed behind them.

Along the way, one of them with keen senses shined a flashlight behind them, but I wasn’t caught.

The water was so dirty that nothing inside could be seen.

As I continued following them, we reached a crossroads and cavity where multiple passages connected. There were 60 people in similar attire waiting there.

Among them stood a knight in silver medium armor.

If I got any closer, I might be detected. I stayed behind the wall with only my auxiliary organ exposed, remaining still.

“Looks like everyone’s here.”

The knight, unaware of my presence, picked up a communicator.

“This is Team 3 Tennessee. All 60 members present with no issues.”

“*Static* This is Team 1 Vickers. All 80 members present with no issues.”

“*Static* This is Team 2 Jacob. 5 members haven’t arrived yet, *static*, waiting.”

“This is Team 3 Tennessee. Jacob sir, your signal is poor, please check.”

“*Static* Under, *static*, stood.”

I eavesdropped on their conversation while scanning the surroundings with my auxiliary organ.

I sensed multiple footsteps above my head. Judging by their orderly movement, they were all soldiers.

‘With a manhole nearby, they’re trying to use this place as a base.’

Based on the information I overheard, the enemy has three bases in total.

When I linked with my nest, I couldn’t sense the other two locations. The bases seem to be quite far apart from each other.

They’re using a method of starting with a wide search area and slowly narrowing it down to specific points. The enemies are trying to surround me.

‘They’re trying to lure me into eating the bait and drive me into a specific area.’

Like fox hunting.

The difference is that instead of hunting dogs, they’ve released multiple baits.

Every time I take the bait, the knights and army will continue to refine their encirclement.

Then, once the encirclement is complete, they’ll finally carry out the extermination operation.

“Team 3 Tennessee. Standing by for operation.”

“*Static* Team 2 Jacob. All assembled.”

“*Static* Team 1 Vickers. Confirmed. Initiating evil spirit hunting operation. Everyone release the bait.”

“You all heard that? Move quickly.”

“Y-yes, sir!”

The knight who called himself Tennessee ended the communication and ordered the people.

Despite being openly treated as bait, none of the people here showed any signs of resistance.

‘Of course, since they have bombs in their heads.’

To be precise, they’re micro-chips that emit electromagnetic waves upon receiving a specific signal, but the effect is no different from a bomb. It fries the brain if orders are disobeyed.

The baits began to return through the passage they came from with gloomy faces.

The three who had guided me here were also about to turn back when Tennessee called them.

“You there.”

“Yes?”

“Why is there blood on your head? Were you attacked?”

“Ah, no sir. This friend fell…”

“Tsk, pathetic.”

As Tennessee clicked his tongue and gestured, the three bowed their heads and moved again.

‘Hmm.’

If the bait stops in place, communication from headquarters comes immediately. I saw it directly when I followed the three earlier, so it’s certain.

They likely have chips implanted in their bodies that send signals according to their movement. The order the baits received was probably to keep moving continuously along a predetermined route without rest.

‘And if someone dies or becomes unable to move, that’s when they dispatch knights and soldiers.’

But that scene just now.

The base doesn’t know about minor injuries to the bait.

‘This is going to get interesting.’

The unstable communication in the sewer, limited information between parties, a dark battlefield with many obstacles.

All of these suit my taste.

‘You’re going to hunt me?’

That’s an interesting statement. I quite enjoy hunting too.

We’ll see who becomes the fox when this hunt is over.