Ch.82Monument Security Team (1)

# Monument’s Conference Room.

Today marks the fifth day since the board meeting began.

All the team leaders in the conference room were hanging their heads and keeping their mouths shut.

They had gathered here several times since the board meeting, but the atmosphere had never been this bad.

The reason was Lila, the owner of the city, who sat at the head of the table.

With coldness flowing across her face, she opened her mouth.

“The board meeting over the past five days has been a complete failure.”

“……”

“I don’t need to tell you whose fault it is.”

Someone gulped at Lila’s declaration.

There were two people who had been obstacles in this board meeting.

One was Akira Yujin.

The king of House Yugin and ruler of Megacorp had been actively lobbying outside the meeting hall.

‘What a filthy character. It’s an unspoken rule that CEOs don’t attend board meetings.’

Under Megacorp law, campaigning by a CEO or CEO candidate is defined as illegal.

Of course, just because something is law doesn’t mean everyone follows it—that’s the way of the human world. All houses lobbied in one way or another before or during elections. Since everyone did it, they all kept quiet about it.

But Akira had gone too far.

He openly met with elders from other houses, offering deals in exchange for their votes.

It was clearly illegal, so Lila protested, but her efforts were thwarted by interference from the pro-Akira faction led by Wei Zhao.

That alone was difficult enough, but there was an even more serious problem.

‘Those damn zealous Thomsons!’

People from the Thomson family, one of the two surnames that make up T&C, were actively obstructing her.

They welcomed the idea of a CEO coming from T&C, but they opposed Sadam Chamberlain becoming CEO.

Currently, the power balance between the two surnames favored Chamberlain at about 60-40.

If Sadam became CEO, the gap would obviously widen much further.

That’s why Thomson people were causing all sorts of trouble for the Prime Capitals who had come to the city.

House T&C was formed by combining the Thomson and Chamberlain surnames.

Even if the Chamberlain side claimed they were different from Thomson, outsiders viewed them as one entity.

In other words, every time Thomson acted like hooligans, the image of the entire Chamberlain side, led by Sadam, could only plummet.

The Thomson problem was an unsolvable issue that even her father, nicknamed “the Snake,” couldn’t resolve.

Naturally, it was an issue she couldn’t solve either.

“If things continue like this, I’ll be stripped of my position as general manager, and if a new manager comes in, all of you whom I personally appointed will be expelled as well.”

Her words were true.

Regardless of her situation, T&C immediately expels anyone deemed incompetent.

If Lila were to be expelled, all the personnel she had appointed would either be banished to the frontier or have to look for different work altogether.

“I trust none of you are looking forward to such a future.”

“O-Of course not! General Manager!”

All the team leaders jumped to their feet and shouted vigorously.

Lila silently nodded.

She deliberately maintained discipline because these were difficult times.

If she lost her authority, those present would surely harbor different thoughts.

‘But the fundamental problem still hasn’t been resolved.’

She needed a breakthrough.

Her gaze turned to the autopsy team leader, who was attending for the first time.

“Autopsy Team Leader.”

“Yes, yes!”

His face had been deathly pale even before entering the conference room, and he straightened his back at Lila’s call.

“Have you registered the genetic data collected from the monster?”

“N-Not yet.”

According to protocol, when a new organism is discovered, its genetic data should be registered in the Megacorp Data Archive.

However, those who made their living from genetic information, such as House Yugin or House Egerton, often treated genes as corporate secrets and didn’t register them.

After a moment’s consideration, Lila spoke.

“Please postpone the registration, but continue the research. I’ll take responsibility.”

“U-Understood.”

“And can you present your current research findings immediately?”

“What? Well, if I prepare, it shouldn’t be difficult…”

“Then complete it by tomorrow afternoon and report to me. If the results are satisfactory, we’ll present it together during the new business section of the board meeting.”

All team leaders were shocked by Lila’s bombshell announcement.

The city’s manager had always been cautious, thoroughly reviewing all business ventures before proceeding.

Everyone was naturally surprised that she would suddenly proceed with a new project.

“I’ll only be giving a general introduction, so you don’t need to feel too much pressure. There’s a lot to review regarding the project’s budget, personnel, and so on, so we’ll examine those aspects step by step after the presentation.”

“Yes, yes!”

At Lila’s unprecedented decision, all team leaders looked at the autopsy team leader with envious eyes.

If the results were good, the autopsy team leader’s rapid promotion was practically guaranteed.

“Congratulations.”

“Th-Thank you.”

The biological management team leader sitting next to the autopsy team leader congratulated him with an expression of extreme envy.

Despite everyone’s envy, the autopsy team leader was feeling miserable inside, contrary to his outward appearance.

‘What the hell! What sin did I commit to deserve such hardship….’

The autopsy team leader cursed inwardly. Even now, a terrible parasite had taken residence in his head.

But he couldn’t say anything.

He had seen his subordinate researchers being eaten alive by the monster.

His dream was to live a long, healthy life.

Money and power mean nothing once you’re dead.

“Then I’ll leave it to you.”

“Yes….”

Misinterpreting the autopsy team leader’s awkward expression as nervousness, Lila picked up the tablet pad placed on the mahogany table.

“Now, shall we start the meeting? *cough* *ahem*”

Perhaps she was tired from the board meeting.

Lila coughed once and began the meeting.

# –

‘No predation effect this time.’

I felt disappointed as I picked my teeth with my elongated nail.

Today marks the fifth day since I entered this building.

So far, I’ve eaten a total of 7 Cult members.

On the first day, I hunted one Cult member in the Third Central Control Room, and on the second day, I wasted the entire day sleeping due to the aftereffects of the Hunt Aspect.

From the third day, I resumed hunting, eating two people each day until today.

All targets were Cult members assigned to control rooms.

‘Control rooms 3 through 6 aren’t particularly challenging.’

Only Control Room 3 had just two Cult members working there as an exception, while Control Rooms 4 through 6 each had three Cult members.

I ate all but one from each control room.

The reason I left one was simple: to create new minions.

‘I also need someone to handle retiree processing.’

In other situations, the HR department would surely have been suspicious, but not this time.

‘The board meeting actually worked in my favor.’

Due to the board meeting, the workload increased significantly, leading to a rise in voluntary resignations among Cult members. Thanks to this, the HR department didn’t find it suspicious that multiple retirees were emerging from the control rooms.

Of course, they did come to inspect the working environment last night, but by then everything was already over.

The Cult members remaining in Control Rooms 3 through 5 had all become my slaves.

And today, I ate two Cult members from Control Room 6 and turned one into my slave.

“…Are you finished?”

Anna, who had been waiting while I ate, asked me.

Next to her stood the newly infected Cult member from Control Room 6 with a gloomy expression.

He seemed very uncomfortable about having handed over his colleagues.

‘I was quite disappointed too.’

From the fourth day onward, I hunted Cult members without using the Hunt Aspect.

This was because I ran out of food to fill my stomach after the aspect effect ended.

‘I emptied the freezer storage on the third day, so I had no choice.’

As a result, I couldn’t trigger as many predation effects as I’d hoped.

‘No, that’s not right. I gained a new fusion trait and unlocked a type, so it’s been quite profitable.’

I’ve acquired quite a few traits from eating the remaining samples, researchers, and Cult members.

Among them, two traits are usable:

The fusion trait “Ghost Claw” from the psychic category, and “Pain Reduction,” a trait related to the new type.

First, Ghost Claw.

It’s a fusion trait combining the “Beast Claw” I already had with the “Psychic Whip” trait I obtained from killing Cult members.

The claws at the end of my combat arms now look different from before. They’ve changed from large hook-like shapes to thinner, scythe-like forms, with surfaces glowing a vivid purple.

‘Ghost Claw can easily phase through even solid walls.’

I held the master card that belonged to the Cult member I just ate. When I applied force, the card passed through my hand and fell to the floor.

It would be perfect if the effect applied to my entire body, but unfortunately, it doesn’t.

The phasing ability only works up to my hands.

Still, it’s beneficial enough when fighting enemies in heavy armor, as I can attack by penetrating their armor.

In other words, it’s useful when fighting enemies wearing thick armor, like Egerton’s knights or Hulk Mutants.

‘Next is Pain Reduction.’

Surprisingly, Pain Reduction was a trait I acquired on the first day, from eating a researcher while suffering from the Hunt Aspect’s aftereffects.

‘Was it the researcher who said never to get married?’

I don’t know what kind of married life he had, but it doesn’t seem to have been very peaceful.

Pain Reduction is a trait that applies passively, like a complete organism, and its effect is simple:

‘Pain relief.’

In the game, when a player suffers critical damage, there’s a certain probability of negative status effects like panic or seizures. The Pain Reduction trait alleviates these effects.

In other words, it’s a trait that allows you to maintain your sanity even when critically injured.

‘This is exactly the trait I need.’

During my previous battle with the knight, when I was cut by the Blade Claw, I screamed.

The situation was favorable to me at the time, but if it hadn’t been, I might have been in great danger.

When the body is in severe pain, humans become frightened, and when critically injured, they want to flee.

While my body is that of an AMorph, my mind is human.

That human nature could potentially cause me to lose in battle if I’m not careful.

‘With Pain Reduction, the probability of making meaningless choices during combat will decrease.’

The benefits from the new trait don’t end there.

Since Pain Reduction is a special form of defensive ability, it belongs to neither the physical nor psychic categories, but to an entirely different category.

Specifically, the special defense category.

Thanks to this, I now have a total of 4 unlocked types.

‘I already obtained the physical enhancement and psychic enhancement types. The infection and special defense enhancement types have only had their type information unlocked.’

If I unlock one more type information here and obtain a fusion trait of that type, I can advance to Transcendence Level 2.

‘Come to think of it, the evolution condition also required 4 types.’

To evolve into a Subadult, I need not only to eat specific species but also to have 4 fully acquired types.

This is where the problem lies.

When advancing to Transcendence Level 2, I gain new type information and traits related to that type that didn’t exist before.

In this process, fusion traits are used as materials, which means the opportunity to evolve into a Subadult becomes more distant.

Conversely, if I evolve into a Subadult first, I’ll still have to carry the taboo that occurred at Transcendence Level 1.

‘If I can’t advance to Transcendence Level 2, the taboos that occur when gaining new unique traits will continue to accumulate.’

Even if not immediately, there will definitely come a time when I must break through to Transcendence Level 2.

‘Transcendence Level 2 or Subadult?’

After much deliberation, I shook my head.

‘There’s no point in worrying about it now.’

I haven’t fulfilled all the conditions for either option.

Both are goals that should be attempted only after sufficient preparation.

‘In the game, it was a one-way street.’

With the situation unfolding so differently from the game, I feel more intrigued than afraid.

I’m curious about what awaits after becoming a Subadult.

Feeling a slight excitement, I got up.

‘So what’s next?’

Whether for Transcendence Level 2 or Subadult evolution, I need to gather genetic essence either way.

And my purpose for coming here is to eat Cult members.

I fiddled with the master card, thinking about what to do next.

‘There are two types of departments where Cult members mainly work.’

The place with the most Cult members is the Central Control Room.

Currently, I haven’t targeted the First Central Control Room, which manages Monument’s central AI computer, and the Second Central Control Room, which manages the guest rooms.

The First Central Control Room has only 3 Cult monitors, but all three are extremely powerful, while the Second Central Control Room has 24 affiliated Cult members.

The former excels in quality, and the latter excels in quantity.

If I kill all the Cult members in the Second Central Control Room, I’ll automatically fulfill the condition of killing 20 species that use psychic power.

‘The problem is that it’s not easy.’

Among the Cult members in the First and Second Central Control Rooms, there are those with Soul Link. If someone on the same team is attacked during work, it will immediately affect the rest of the team members.

‘I need to prepare properly before targeting the higher control rooms.’

Besides the central control rooms, another option is the security team.

Monument’s security team consists of numerous Volf agents and a small number of Cult leaders.

It’s a department with a good balance, structured so that sensitive Cult members who have good intuition command Volfs who have a keen sense of smell and are sensitive to environmental changes.

‘I still haven’t fulfilled the evolution conditions for both Volf and Cult.’

Originally, I had planned to hunt Volfs by patrolling the apartment complexes in the residential district.

However, since the plan didn’t go as expected, I’ve only fulfilled the condition of killing 20 humanoid species.

If I target the security team first, I can simultaneously fulfill two evolution conditions: species capable of transformation and species using psychic power.

Of course, the number of Cult members in the security team isn’t as many as in the central control rooms.

At most, maybe 5 people.

Targeting only the security team won’t be enough to fulfill the Cult number requirement, though I’m not sure about the Volf number.

‘But the security team can get me out of Monument.’

Besides guarding the building, monitoring the entry and exit of people and goods is also the security team’s role.

If I take control of the security team, I can go out to the administrative district and hunt more easily.

In other words, I can target Cult members from the First and Second Central Control Rooms when they leave work.

‘They might be tense at work.’

But would they be the same at home?

Even if Cult members have good intuition, they wouldn’t imagine being ambushed in their most comfortable space.

My gaze turned to the numerous screens installed in the control room.

Volfs and Cult members from Monument’s security team were patrolling corridors equipped with cameras.

Chatting during patrol, they seemed completely unaware of the danger they were in.

‘The security team is my next target.’

Those carefree furry creatures are my new prey.