Ch.77Disguise (4)

–

The morning of the board meeting.

Preparations for a massive event were in full swing at the monument owned by House T&C.

While the entire building was filled with the noisy footsteps of servants rushing about, there was one place shrouded in silence.

A conference room in the monument.

There, the ruler of this city, Lila Chamberlain, had gathered with her secretary and close aides.

“How is House Egerton responding?”

“They plan to announce that this entire situation was the vice-captain’s independent action.”

“…Independent action?”

Lila couldn’t even manage a hollow laugh at her secretary’s words.

Thanks to the camera recordings from Defense Force survivors deployed in the demon-hunting operation and the report from the Crisis Management Team Leader, she had been able to grasp the full situation.

Who had released the unidentified biological weapon.

What the Silver Lion Knights had done to cover it up.

She knew everything.

‘How dare they in my city!’

Lila gritted her teeth.

She had long known that Danver was a cunning individual despite his outwardly jovial image.

But she never imagined he would pull such a stunt before the board meeting.

‘It’s all a misunderstanding? What a shameless bastard!’

Danver had been present when the Crisis Management Team Leader made his report.

He denied any knowledge of the matter, but Lila could easily tell he was lying.

Danver claimed all responsibility lay with the vice-captain.

He explained that he knew nothing about it, that the vice-captain held the real power in the order while he merely occupied the captain position for public image.

Such excuses would never work on the daughter of House T&C, who had long dealings with the Egertons.

“Who did you say was the only survivor besides the vice-captain?”

“Lady Catherine from the Silver Lion Knights.”

“What happened to her?”

The only survivor besides the vice-captain had been found in the ruins, completely battered.

Normally she should have been detained immediately, but her injuries were so severe that she had been transferred to the central hospital in the administrative district.

“Lady Catherine is currently receiving treatment for severe PTSD and physical damage.”

“When will interrogation be possible?”

“The doctors say that even after her body recovers, her mental damage is so extensive that treatment will be difficult. Their opinion is that she will likely suffer from aphasia for the rest of her life as an aftereffect.”

“Tsk. Extract information from her somehow after her treatment is complete. Torture is permitted if necessary.”

“Understood.”

Incredibly, one of the suspects in the incident had aphasia, while the other was missing.

Vice-captain Bickers, whom Danver claimed was the main culprit in this incident. Despite searching every sewer, they couldn’t find this most important figure.

‘Of course not. He’s already been eliminated.’

Why was only the person in charge nowhere to be found?

It was obvious that Danver had taken preemptive measures.

He continued to lie even though everything was transparent.

She wanted to immediately call her subordinates to detain Danver, but with superhuman patience, she barely managed to send him away.

‘Commercial district infrastructure half-destroyed, ambush on Defense Force soldiers, and smuggling of an unidentified test subject…’

Each one was a serious crime.

That alone was enough to make her blood boil, but there was something that angered her even more.

‘To think I have to leave that vicious man alone!’

Early in the morning, she had reported the details of the incident to Sadam Chamberlain.

And the response she received was simple.

‘Not only no revenge, but to bury the matter as is?’

For her father, who was aiming for the CEO position of Megacorp, House Egerton’s support was more important than this outdated special trade center.

She understood her family’s long-standing ambition, so it wasn’t incomprehensible.

But if she let this slide, she would become a fool who couldn’t say anything despite suffering tremendous humiliation.

‘To tell me to leave alone someone who has brought shame upon me, the General Manager of the T&C Special Trade Center!’

Everyone in Megacorp now knew that Danver had played a shallow trick against her.

Daily Mass had reported her humiliation as breaking news during the morning.

‘Wei Zhao, you filthy, despicable person…!’

She ground her teeth as she thought of Wei Zhao, who had used the media to humiliate her.

Danver had also suffered significant image damage because of Daily Mass, but he was still the head of his house.

Her position as a general manager of a city, who could be replaced at any time, was different.

‘If things continue like this, I’ll be the only one who suffers.’

Her father, who valued practical benefits over blood ties, might choose to discard her instead of seeking revenge.

In other words, she would become a sacrifice for improving relations with House Egerton.

“General Manager, what would you like to do?”

“…Detain all personnel related to the Silver Lion Knights. Have the Defense Fleet closely monitor those on the warship to prevent any ideas.”

“Understood.”

“Danver is permitted free movement only during the board meeting. The rest of the time, his movements are completely restricted.”

All she could do now was limit the actions of House Egerton’s people.

“Then I’ll take my leave.”

Her close aides left the conference room one by one after receiving their orders.

Despite calling a meeting during this busy time, nothing had been accomplished in the end.

Feeling powerless at this realization, a thought crossed Lila’s mind.

‘That’s the only card I have left.’

Lila called back her secretary who was about to leave the conference room.

“What happened to the test subject brought in by the Defense Force?”

“The corpse is currently stored in the science laboratory. The autopsy experiment is scheduled for late afternoon.”

The strange creature that House Egerton had smuggled into the Special Trade Center.

Its corpse had been acquired by the Defense Force and was now transferred to the science laboratory located in the basement of this monument.

‘A biological weapon newly developed by House Egerton.’

Obtaining that corpse was the only gain she had made from this incident.

“We need to get some results from that devilish monster somehow. Otherwise, the numbers don’t add up at all.”

“I’ll relay that exactly.”

Everyone had already experienced the power of Egerton’s secret weapon.

Even the Crisis Management Team Leader, a hero of reversal, had shown a frightened expression several times during his report.

If T&C, no, if Lila Chamberlain could obtain and mass-produce the genes of that monster?

Taking sole control of the family’s power would be no challenge at all.

‘When that day comes, I will become the head of the house.’

In the conference room, now empty after the secretary’s departure, Lila’s eyes quietly burned with ambition.

–

A few hours before Lila dreamed of rebellion in the monument.

Vice-captain Bickers of the Silver Lion Knights was still in the sewers.

Defense Force soldiers searching for him continued to patrol the area.

“He’s not here.”

“*static* Check, *static*, other places too.”

“Understood… Tsk. When will this communication network be fixed?”

As the pursuers moved away, Bickers, who had been hiding nearby, quietly raised his head above the water.

His current appearance was terrible.

With the power of his enhancement suit almost depleted, he had discarded everything except for the helmet and chest armor connected to the power source.

Without power, a high-grade enhancement suit is just a heavy burden, so he had no choice.

He muttered quietly with a dismayed expression.

“…To be defeated like this.”

He thought he had been sufficiently cautious and prepared, but he had completely misjudged.

The monster’s intelligence was beyond imagination, and both the Defense Force and the Knights had been manipulated by its divisive tactics.

‘Somehow I need to get out and report this fact to His Lordship.’

Bickers knew his master had abandoned him.

Seeing the soldiers searching for him, he was likely publicly portrayed as having attacked the Defense Force on his own initiative.

But it didn’t matter.

Danver had told him before. If something went wrong, he would have no choice but to hold him responsible.

Bickers had agreed at that time.

He was the sword that served His Lordship.

A sword is a tool that moves as its owner wishes. And a tool has no free will.

‘There seem to be no more soldiers around.’

Feeling that all presence had completely disappeared, Bickers moved again.

There was a way out nearby. A new path created when the sewer ceiling collapsed.

If he could get out there and hide in the ruins, an opportunity would surely arise.

“Cough, damn it.”

Without protective armor, he had to wade through the cold sewage directly with his body.

Moreover, his injured shoulder still ached despite receiving treatment.

Was it due to the combination of physical exhaustion and injury? He kept coughing.

Bickers covered his coughing mouth with his hand and moved diligently.

As he continued moving, he saw a beam of light ahead.

‘I’m almost there!’

Bickers climbed up the debris, escaping from the dirty water.

Having been in the water for so long, his fingertips were all swollen, and as he clawed at the hard metal fragments, his hands quickly became covered in blood.

‘Just a little more!’

Bickers climbed up, enduring the pain shooting through his hands.

Now, if he just reached out a little more, he would reach the surface.

As he extended his hand, the world stopped.

‘Huh?’

No. It wasn’t the world that had stopped, but himself.

His body slowly rose and then was sucked back into the sewer.

‘What, what is this…?’

As he was bewildered, suddenly an invisible pressure crushed his entire body.

The force constricting his body felt like entering the deep sea without any protective equipment.

“Kuh, kuheck! St-stop… ughk! Ack!”

His limbs began to twist on their own.

Like a puppet fixed to tight strings, his body was escaping his control.

From fingers to wrists, entire arms, from toes to ankles, entire legs were bent and broken at abnormal angles.

His waist twisted backward, and the ribs encasing his chest protruded through his skin.

Bickers unknowingly screamed, but his voice never made it outside.

When he looked back for the last time.

There was a pink balloon and two purple pupils.

–

“Food” “I” “Eat?”

“Yes. Little baby eats it all.”

Having succeeded in her hunt, she passed the prey to the small child.

While the small child ate, she constantly surveyed the surroundings.

The big child still didn’t seem to know, but she had grown once more from the previous battle.

She could now handle her innate mysterious power much more precisely.

Now she could use her mysterious power to detect and influence objects at a much greater distance than before.

Thanks to this, she could now observe where her beloved child was.

“Little baby needs to grow quickly.”

“Reason” “Unknown”

“Because big baby is having a hard time protecting us alone, so we need to help.”

“?”

She had not only grown physically.

Having grown mentally as well, she could understand that her beloved child was making great efforts for them.

She knew that the big child’s reason for protecting her and the small child stemmed from selfish desires.

And also that within him, a more altruistic emotion called ‘affection’ was gradually growing.

Just as she was changing, the big child was probably changing too.

“When little baby grows up, big baby will surely be happy.”

“I” “Adult” “Joy” “Welcome”

Of course, she doesn’t resent the big child’s attitude.

Because the big child already occupied too large a portion within her.

“I” “Growth” “Adult” “Know…”

“Shut up. Just eat quickly.”

“Pain!”

After scolding the small child for making unnecessary noise, she pondered what to do next.

The big child seemed to want them to hide quietly, but she had a slightly different idea.

“There are too many scary animals here. It’s hard for big baby to fight alone.”

To help him, she needed to grow as much as possible before meeting him.

“After eating all this, let’s go somewhere else.”

“Where?”

“Where there’s food.”

Fortunately, there was plenty of nutritious and easy-to-hunt prey in this underground area.

After all, the corpses of creatures with four appendages were scattered everywhere.

–

‘The camouflage seems to have worked.’

Upon regaining consciousness, I first examined my location with my auxiliary organs.

The smell of harsh chemicals and faint blood.

And the electromagnetic waves floating in the air and the mechanical sounds from various devices placed here and there.

All elements were telling me.

That this was the science laboratory in the basement of the monument.

Currently, I was tied down on a massive metal dissection table, lying face down.

They must have been quite cautious despite recognizing me as a corpse, as they had shackled all my arms and legs with metal handcuffs.

‘I’ll leave these be.’

Though they’re sturdy, they’re nothing before my strength.

I could break them immediately, but I didn’t because there were surveillance cameras in the laboratory.

I need to calculate and move carefully to avoid problems.

‘Let’s see. The gene sample storage should be nearby.’

The Special Trade Center isn’t strictly a facility specialized in genetic research.

If I had to classify it, it’s closer to a comprehensive entertainment facility.

‘Even so, a Megacorp scientific research facility must have a gene sample storage.’

The underground science laboratory is a facility that conducts various types of research to cultivate employees who are obedient to T&C.

By ‘cultivating obedient employees,’ I mean using genetic modification to make them unable to easily resist T&C.

‘Unlike Hulk Mutants, their main purpose is to give people only bad genes.’

Simply defined, it could be called a facility for turning humans into more inferior slaves.

Anyway, because it’s such a facility, various types of gene samples are stored here.

‘There’s no place in this city more optimized for gene farming than here.’

I don’t think they’ll have genes from rare creatures, but there are several genes worth targeting.

‘I just need to get genes related to unlocking new types.’

And currently, I have a trait that increases the probability of gene acquisition.

The Mark of the Hunt.

If I use it and raid this place, I should be able to unlock the new types I want.

‘First, I need someone to come for that.’

However, for my plan to succeed, several conditions need to be met.

I waited until those conditions were fulfilled.

After waiting for a while, I sensed movement outside the laboratory.

“The General Manager asked us to see if we could extract genes from it and weaponize them.”

“Makes sense. I heard it devoured dozens of soldiers and knights.”

With a notification sound confirming ID cards, the door opened, and four researchers in white gowns entered.

The researchers were wearing auxiliary equipment for dissecting large creatures.

Their suits had an exoskeleton exposed, making them look more rugged than regular enhancement suits, with two additional android-like auxiliary arms attached to their backs.

“It looks scary. We’re supposed to dissect this?”

“Sigh. Looks like we’ll be working overtime again today.”

“Then let’s get ready quickly.”

The researchers began placing various chemicals and dissection tools on the dissection table using their auxiliary arms.

‘Chemical agents.’

I needed something to create a smokescreen, and this was perfect. I moved my tail very slightly toward where the chemicals were.

“Huh?”

One of the researchers turned around. I remained perfectly still, as if I had always been in that position.

“Did I see wrong?”

“Hey, stop slacking and help us quickly.”

“Alright.”

Not sensing anything unusual, he focused on helping his colleagues move the dissection equipment.

I read their movements using only my auxiliary organs and thought.

‘The conditions are met.’

All the conditions needed before using the Mark of the Hunt had been fulfilled.

The Mark of the Hunt comes with a side effect of intense hunger that can make one lose rationality.

If there’s no prey around when the effect ends, I’ll lose my mind and go berserk. Then I’ll quickly be caught and eliminated by enemies.

‘To avoid trouble, I need to prepare food in advance.’

The four researchers in this laboratory.

They will be sacrifices for the Mark of the Hunt.

‘Of course, they’ll have to help me a little first.’

I secretly prepared while avoiding their gaze.

‘With surveillance cameras, it won’t be easy to sneak out.’

So I need helpful friends.

Kind friends who will obey my words.