Ch.9Evolution (2)

This is not an era where life is precious.

Now, no one feels uncomfortable about buying human lives with money.

The interesting thing is that even in this dystopian society, the culture of honoring the dead remains.

They’re keeping corpses so carefully when they could just throw them out into space.

There are two corpses I created in the morgue.

If there weren’t any guards, I would have gone down there and devoured them immediately.

‘Three outside, one inside.’

Perhaps because two people had died, the guards outside were unusually well-armed. All three were wearing enhancement suits.

‘I could fight one, but three is too much.’

It’s better to avoid combat with them since a prolonged fight would attract their colleagues.

‘The person inside is a civilian.’

Judging by the smell of disinfectant and formaldehyde, the person was a doctor. He was listening to music with earphones.

It’s a good situation for an ambush, but there’s a problem. His face is turned toward the ventilation duct.

Even with his ears covered, if I go down now, I’ll be caught immediately.

‘I need to divert his attention.’

Distraction is fundamental to hunting. I might as well use the new trait I’ve learned.

First, I changed position. From a spot beyond the doctor’s line of sight, I slightly scratched my forearm with my claw. Black blood resembling tar flowed from the thin wound.

The droplets ran down my arm and fell onto the alloy panel. The panel melted, emitting acrid smoke.

‘Acidic Blood trait.’

One of the traits I automatically acquired when evolving into a Morphlet. It’s a trait that acidifies blood to damage nearby enemies.

Like the reinforced exoskeleton, Acidic Blood might seem defensive, but its true value lies elsewhere.

‘It’s good for infiltration and destroying armor.’

The acid is stronger than chemical weapons and can easily melt alloy structures. It can be used to dissolve enemy armor early in combat or to infiltrate enemy bases or spaceships.

“Huh? *sniff sniff* What’s that smell?”

The doctor reacted to the toxic gas produced by the melting ceiling. He pinched his nose and kept turning his head.

“Why is that…?”

His gaze fell on the hole in the ceiling. The acidic liquid was now melting the stainless steel cart.

The doctor stood up and approached the melting cart.

The fruit has ripened sufficiently. I should harvest it before it rots.

I opened the ventilation duct and jumped down.

The doctor couldn’t detect my movement because of the smell and his earphones. Landing nimbly on the floor, I slowly rose to my feet.

“Acidic solution? Where did it come from?”

Realizing the pungent smell was toxic gas, the doctor quickly covered his mouth with his collar.

While he was looking up at the ruined ceiling, I moved closer to him.

“Guards… gah!”

When he turned around, I was right in front of him. His face turned pale as he held his breath.

My size is just over 1m. Though the doctor was taller than me, he didn’t notice the difference.

He was overwhelmed by my appearance.

Chitinous outer shell gleaming black like the depths of space.

Four long, massive arms that could touch the ground when extended, and thick, sturdy legs.

A tail powerful enough to pierce alloy.

Jaws that could easily crush human bones.

A creature that seemed to have risen from the depths of nightmares stood before his eyes.

His mouth opened involuntarily. I could feel air rising from his lungs, about to pass through his vocal cords and burst out.

He tried to scream but failed.

Because my meter-long tail was thrust into his mouth. The sharp stinger passed through his mouth and penetrated the back of his head.

“Gurrrrrk…”

His body trembled like weeds in the wind. Bloody foam flowed ceaselessly from his mouth. His white coat was stained red with evidence of his fading life.

The trembling of his pupils gradually subsided. Life drained from his eyes, filled with terror.

Thus, the prey died.

After retrieving my tail, I carefully laid down the lifeless doctor.

Fortunately, the guards at the door seemed completely unaware of the murder. There was no change in their movements.

‘It wasn’t planned hunting, but successful nonetheless.’

Honestly, it wasn’t a bad outcome. Thanks to this, my food supply increased to three.

I left the doctor’s corpse and searched for Kisaragi first.

Most of the freezers for storing corpses were empty.

Well, how many people would die on a mere research vessel, not even a battleship? Thanks to that, finding her wasn’t difficult.

Kisaragi Yujin’s corpse lay on a cold cart. Her severed head and neck remained unattached.

I could guess the reason.

‘It’s because she’s Noble Prime. They don’t allow anyone to touch their corpses.’

The doctors probably left it as is since the body might be damaged during chemical treatment.

I reached out and picked up her severed neck. With her eyes closed, her head looked like someone peacefully asleep.

Seeing her like that gave me a strange feeling.

No matter how accustomed I am to Space Survival, my mind is still that of an ordinary college student busy preparing for graduation.

Yet I killed people. Not only that, I feel no guilt even now as I’m about to eat corpses.

‘They say evil lurks within every human.’

Did I become corrupted after becoming an AMorph, adapting to my changed environment? Or was this ruthless killing monster my true self all along?

‘Thinking about it won’t solve anything.’

It would be ridiculous to say “I’m sorry” after killing three people. Besides, they wouldn’t leave me alone even if I apologized.

To survive, I must continue to kill.

That’s how an AMorph lives. It’s the way I must adapt to.

‘Let’s eat first.’

Having completed my evolution, I was very hungry. It was meaningless to have such thoughts in front of someone already dead.

I opened my elastic jaw wide. My mouth, gaping like an anaconda’s, swallowed the human head whole.

Sharp teeth tore through skin, and jaw strength that could crush steel shattered the skull. The brain, already ceased functioning, was crushed, and brain matter flowed out.

‘…Delicious.’

As expected, it was exquisite.

So much so that my earlier moral concerns seemed foolish.

Like eating a boiled lobster, I cracked the thick, hard skull, and the soft flesh inside slid down my throat. The hair was a bit bothersome, but I decided to consider that part of its character.

Overall, the human head was a very interesting taste. Of course it tasted good, but compared to the cat…

‘A different dimension of taste.’

That seems the appropriate description.

What I mean is, the cat could be compared to a franchise fast food restaurant. It’s the kind that competes with a taste verified through rigorous testing. A stimulating taste that hits your brain immediately.

But humans are different. They taste complex, like a dish prepared by a master chef who has cooked for ages.

‘Smack.’

After devouring the head in one go, I licked my lips.

The hunger, branded like a stigma on my species, urged me on.

To consume all the remaining corpses.

Following my instinct faithfully, I devoured the rest of her body.

‘The body has a different feel.’

Tearing off a leg and chewing it, the ratio of muscle to fat was fantastic. The cat I ate had a muscle to fat ratio close to 1:9, but Kisaragi had the perfect ratio for eating. It was perfect, as if someone had genetically modified her.

The skin and muscles were firm and chewy, providing eating pleasure, while the bones were hard, giving a satisfying crunch. The organs in the stomach were soft like well-boiled tomatoes.

‘Hmm?’

While eating, I felt something foreign in my mouth. I spat it onto my small hand and saw it was a small button-shaped device.

‘This came from the heart, right?’

I’m not sure if it’s a heart rate monitor or what kind of device it is. She didn’t look like it, but maybe her heart wasn’t good.

I dismissed it as unimportant and crushed the device under my foot.

After that, nothing artificial came out of her body. I left not a drop of blood, just as I had done when eating the cat.

[Predation Effect activated! Successfully acquired ‘Psychic Organ’ gene essence.]

[Stole ‘Psychic Organ’ from ‘Human’ biological traits.]

[Would you like to apply ‘Psychic Organ’?]

‘As expected.’

Psychic Organ. As I thought, Kisaragi Yujin had the Psychic Power trait.

To use Psychic Power, most species except Cult and a few others need a Psychic Organ.

‘Of all things, a Psychic Organ?’

AMorph is one of the few species that can use Psychic Power traits without a Psychic Organ.

If that weren’t the case, I wouldn’t have been able to use enhanced senses and would have died quickly.

For me to get the Psychic Organ trait… Kisaragi’s card was essentially worthless.

‘…Well. Let’s not think negatively.’

You can’t expect to succeed on your first try.

Things have gone better than expected so far, but failures are usually the norm.

Anyway, I need to accumulate traits to secure my type, so I decided to think positively.

When I selected accept, I immediately felt a signal from the back of my head. With the sound of flesh tearing, something protruded from inside.

Feeling the back of my head with my large arm, I found it was a small bundle of tentacles. Unlike humans, the AMorph’s Psychic Organ took the form of tentacles.

‘So this is what an AMorph’s looks like. Interesting.’

Even when playing the game, I never acquired a Psychic Organ. I was the type who didn’t collect unnecessary traits.

‘You never know.’

You can’t predict everything. Who knows if the Psychic Organ might luckily fuse with another trait and become useful?

‘There’s the precedent of Predator Sense, after all.’

After fiddling with the tentacles for a moment, I decided to focus on the feast again.

Opening the compartment next to where Kisaragi was stored, I found the guard’s corpse. It was the guard who died protecting Kisaragi from me.

I pulled out the corpse and took a big bite.

‘Hmmmm.’

The guard’s corpse had a somewhat subtle taste. It wasn’t that it tasted bad, just plainly good.

Unlike the cat with its overflowing juices or Kisaragi who tasted like fine dining, it was just decent enough to eat.

I don’t know why there’s such a difference, but I decided to focus on the energy it provided. Still, it had a lot of muscle, so it had a good chewing texture, making it quite decent when eaten with the mindset of enjoying intestines.

‘?’

While eating the guard, I heard a sound from outside. My blood-covered auxiliary organ wriggled, reading what was happening outside.

‘The guards are changing shifts.’

It seems there aren’t many enhancement suits on the ship, as the guards are handing them over to the newcomers. I gained valuable information that enhancement suits are scarce, but a problem arose.

‘This doctor will be replaced too, right?’

About 40 minutes have passed since I started eating Kisaragi. The replacement staff could arrive at any time.

The doctor inside died despite soldiers guarding outside.

In reality, this would be called a locked-room murder, but this is the space age. An era with as many unidentified aliens as stars in the sky. How would people living in such a world view this situation?

‘They’d suspect there’s a monster.’

It’s not desirable for people to be aware of my existence. When someone thinks they’re being targeted, their vigilance naturally increases.

I’m not strong enough yet for a full-scale battle with enemies. Until I become stronger, the object of suspicion should be other crew members, not me.

‘Should I just eat everything and disguise it as a disappearance? No, that would take too long.’

While contemplating what to do with the doctor’s corpse, I suddenly noticed the melted cart. Smoke was rising from the cart, which had been rendered unrecognizable by the acidic blood.

‘Smoke.’

Coincidentally, I’m in a morgue. A place stocked with all kinds of chemical substances, including embalming fluid for processing corpses.

Suddenly, an interesting idea came to mind.

A very beneficial method that would help me overcome my crisis while also tormenting the crew members.