Became an Evolving Space Monster

Chapter 261:

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Kesha Arma's 1st Command Headquarters.

The massive, cylindrical structure stood like a fortress within a fortress, with an imposing level of security. It had to be, as the 1st Command Headquarters was the only gateway to the space fortress's reactor. If the reactor was the heart, then the 1st Command Headquarters could be considered the brain.

And it was here that the ruler of the fortress, Montana Marcio, resided.

In his office, filled with precious treasures and rare taxidermy animals, two men were engaged in conversation.

"How are the preparations coming along?" Montana asked.

"The guests bringing items for the auction arrived at the military port an hour ago. All arrangements for their reception were completed 30 hours in advance, so there shouldn't be any issues," the other man replied.

"This time, there can't be any mistakes. You understand that, right?"

"Of course," the man affirmed.

He offered a cigar to the male wolf beastkin he had been conversing with.

The beastkin, a white tiger with strikingly white fur, was named Kadun. He bore the moniker "Snow Claw", serving as the underboss of the Marcio Cartel.

"Thank you", Kadun responded respectfully, accepting the cigar but not lighting it. Montana, knowing Kadun wouldn’t light his cigar, lit his own instead.

"The credits we earn this time will be used for a transaction with the Megacorp. With luck, we might be able to buy a suitable planet."

"Are you planning to purchase a planet?" Kadun asked.

"Yes. There's a noticeable shift in the Imperial Council's mood lately. The topic of strengthening the military for another Outspacer invasion has become a public concern."

"You mean there's a chance Kesha Arma could be mobilized," Kadun deduced.

Montana didn't reply and instead took another puff of his cigar.

Though the Marcio Cartel controlled Kesha Arma, the true owner of this city was the Cult Empire. Montana had managed to seize control through aggressive lobbying within the Imperial Council, but if the Empire's policies changed, they would be forced out.

Hence, Montana planned to use this opportunity to acquire a new planet and relocate the cartel's headquarters.

"It would be ideal if we could gain recognition from Megacorp Noble Capital, but that might be beyond reach."

"The Garmelda family prefers to keep their ties with us hidden", Kadun observed.

"Unfortunately, we'll have to settle for what we can this time."

The two men then continued discussing the fortress’s operations and the cartel’s businesses for some time.

Hours later, Kadun finally left the office. As he stepped outside, his subordinates, who had been waiting, quickly fell in line behind him.

"What's the status on the junkies?" he asked.

"Uh, well… it seems it’s not drugs but an infectious disease. We’re seeing a rapid increase in patients showing similar symptoms..."

"What?"

The subordinate fell silent as Kadun furrowed his brow.

Although the cartel's boss held the highest rank, Kadun, standing before him, was known as the 'most dangerous man' in the Marcio Cartel. He was notorious for never forgiving subordinates who made mistakes.

Kadun glared silently at the subordinate before speaking again.

"The boss is fully focused on this operation. We can’t afford any slip-ups."

"Y-Yes, sir!"

"You have 12 hours to handle it. Use whatever personnel and equipment you need."

"Uh, the thing is…"

Despite Kadun’s assurance that he’d have the full backing of the underboss, the subordinate hesitated with a nervous expression.

"What’s the problem?"

"W-Well, we’ve had an increasing number of deserters among our members over the past few days. Probably because they’re afraid of getting infected... Erk!"

Once again, the subordinate couldn’t finish his report, as Kadun had grabbed his face. The sickening sound of bones breaking filled the air, and the subordinate’s body went limp.

"Growl… And you tell me this now?" Kadun snarled, but the subordinate, his skull crushed, could no longer respond. Kadun’s gaze then swept over the remaining cartel members, who quickly bowed their heads in fear.

"Who’s the next highest-ranking among you?" he demanded.

"T-That would be me, sir!"

"Take care of the deserters and anyone showing symptoms, whether it’s from drugs or disease. As long as you don’t touch the guests, I don’t care how much blood is spilled. Kill anyone who seems suspicious."

"U-Understood!"

"You have 12 hours. Handle it within that time."

Leaving the corpse of the subordinate behind, Kadun vanished.

The pirate who had suddenly been promoted to an executive position immediately began issuing frantic orders to his underlings.

-

In space survival, the value of an orbital habitat is extremely high.

There are tens of thousands of star systems, with even more planets, yet the reason for possessing an orbital habitat is simple.

You can place it wherever you want.

By positioning a space fortress in a strategically important star system—or one you wish to make important—you can easily take control of it. That’s why among high-ranking players and large clans, those without orbital habitats are the exception rather than the rule.

"Of course, I'm an exception."

I’m not one to set up orbital habitats; I'm an Amorph that infiltrates and destroys them. Countless space fortresses have turned to cosmic dust at my hands.

The fortress I currently reside in, Kesha Arma, is one of them. This fortress, like the TNC Special Trade Hub, is a space structure that exists within the system. Since it's not something created by a player, it will regenerate after being destroyed over time.

This means it can be tackled multiple times.

In fact, I’ve destroyed Kesha Arma three times before, each time using a different method.

"I was a bit worried since things have changed from the game."

But now that I’m here, it seems it’ll be easier to conquer than in the game.

By successfully taking control of a few members of the Marcio Cartel that manage this fortress, I was able to obtain valuable intel.

Currently, the fortress isn't operating as efficiently as it did when it was under Imperial management.

Due to maintenance costs, the pirates have only kept life-support systems active in areas that are necessary. Only the profitable sections, like the military port and entertainment districts, as well as essential areas such as water purification and food production facilities, remain functional.

Other areas, like the sections occupied by the Cult's warrior battalions or zones with dense religious facilities, have been abandoned. Water and electricity supplies have been entirely cut off, and only the oxygen supply and gravity generation systems are running.

"In the game, there weren’t any neglected areas like this."

The Cult’s warriors patrolled everywhere to protect the fortress.

I picked up a metal plate lying on the ground.

On the metal plate was an emblem: a diamond within a circle, with two triangles inside the diamond. This symbol is one of the Cult's religious icons, primarily used by the Prophets' Association.

"The circle represents the world, the diamond is the eye, and the triangles symbolize wisdom and knowledge, right?"

I was currently in the zone where the Prophets of the Prophets' Association assigned to this fortress resided. All around me were metal structures of religious significance.

Although there were no collapsed buildings like in the factory district, the scattered emblems and the corroding surfaces of the structures suggested that they hadn’t been maintained for quite some time.

"I heard that aside from the patrols, no one comes here."

That made it an ideal spot to hide.

At that moment, my auxiliary organs detected vibrations in the air. Someone was approaching.

"They're here."

The object flying toward me with all its exterior lights turned off was a patrol craft. It landed in the plaza nearby.

As the rear hatch of the patrol craft opened, two familiar figures leaped out. A pink jellyfish about 50 cm in size and a white dragon with four crimson wings came rushing toward me.

｢Big One!｣

｢Elder One｣ ｢Hello｣

It was Number 26 and Adhai, who had been inside the container since we arrived at the fortress.

Although it had only been a few days since I last saw them, they welcomed me as if it had been weeks. Number 26 climbed onto my head, and Adhai softly nuzzled her neck against my arm.

[ZZZZ (Were you alright?)]

｢Yes. I studied alone.｣

｢I｣ ｢was bored｣ ｢The sick one｣ ｢isn’t fun｣

"I designed the humor program to be as entertaining as possible for a Gallagon. That assessment is unfair."

Then, the mutant Screamer, PS-111, crawled out.

"I request a reconsideration of that judgment based on reasonable analysis."

｢Look｣ ｢So｣ ｢Serious｣

Since leaving the dragon’s nest, the one who’s changed the most among us isn’t me but PS-111.

Its basic shape, which looks like a fusion of a spider and a scorpion, remained the same, but many aspects of its form had changed.

First, it’s grown considerably larger. Its body length alone reached 7 meters, and including its tail, it extended to 12 meters. Its eight legs had also lengthened and thickened accordingly. Previously, the legs exposed metal skeletons, muscular tissue, and flesh, but now, they were encased in a solid exoskeleton.

Not only the legs, but other parts of its body now had a layer of animal hide and exoskeleton covering the metallic framework. At a glance, it could easily be mistaken for a Hulk mutant or a genetically modified beast instead of a Screamer.

The head retained the appearance of a pale woman’s face entwined with thick cables. Although it looked similar to before, a new feature had been added: a psychic power modulation function. Thanks to this, it could now emit waves in a manner similar to how I communicate with monstrous tendrils.

Another noticeable change was the addition of four thin cables beneath its chin. It had created this part to address the inconvenience of extracting cables from its back whenever it needed to link with a ship's computer.

"In a way, it’s starting to resemble me."

｢I see. So, you intend to make this place your nest.｣

As I was pondering over PS-111, the Mother of the Sky approached and spoke to me after disembarking from the patrol ship.

Initially, the plan was to keep the family hidden inside the container until we attacked the fortress, but circumstances had changed. This place is rarely visited by pirates, making it the perfect hiding spot for them.

[ZZZ ZZZZ ZZZZZ (It's an abandoned area, so it should be fine)]

｢Hiding in a religious zone... If this were a game, it would have been impossible.｣

She let out a dry laugh as she gazed upon the sight of the Empire's three great symbols of power lying in ruins.

As she mentioned, the Cult's belief system emphasizes the 'teachings of Providence' above all else. Even during the three invasions of Kesha Arma, I had never once attacked the religious sector first.

‘Everything is always hardest the first time.’

After greeting everyone, I called over one of the pirates from the patrol ship. He knelt before me, wearing a joyful smile.

"What’s changed since then?"

"Six hours ago, the items to be auctioned arrived, and some have already been transported to the 3rd Command Center."

"Is that so?"

This was welcome news. What I'm after are the rare genetic essences of the creatures slated to be auctioned at Kesha Arma's large-scale event.

"Is the inventory list also kept at the 3rd Command Center?"

"The complete list is currently held by the sub-boss of the 2nd Command Center."

"The sub-boss... Are you referring to the wolf, Kadun?"

"Yes, it's Sub-boss Kadun."

I glanced at the Mother of the Sky. She nodded in affirmation.

For her to ascend in her deification process, she requires the heart of a shape-shifting wolf. This Kadun fits the bill perfectly as the suitable sacrifice.

‘This is convenient.’

Capturing the sub-boss means achieving two objectives at once.

‘Especially since preparations are complete.’

The seeds I had sown in Kesha Arma were already starting to sprout.

‘The Messenger of Mass Confusion is spreading rapidly.’

A pirate who had contracted the ‘Madness Bomb’ had already checked into a hospital. The authorities seem to be too preoccupied with the auction to respond effectively, allowing the Messenger of Mass Confusion to spread at an alarming rate.

In about three or four days, there will be a massive outbreak of deranged crowds rampaging everywhere.

If I target the life-support systems then, the damage will be even greater. One of the managers in that sector is already under the control of a parasite, so I can initiate an attack at any moment.

‘But that’s only after I’ve consumed all the rare creatures.’

"Any other reports?"

In response to my question, my loyal underling answered.

"There’s one more thing. The authorities are currently organizing a large-scale search team to eradicate drug addicts. This area is expected to be included in their search route."

A search team, huh.

Using my abilities, I can easily hide, so it's not particularly concerning. Alternatively, I could capture a search team member and plant a parasite within them.

‘Wait a minute? Instead of that….’

Suddenly, a brilliant idea struck me.

"Is there any chance you could have the sub-boss included in that search team?"

"I’m not certain, but it might be possible, depending on the situation."

Depending on the situation, huh.

In that case, all I need to do is create the 'right' situation.

I'll lure the wolf to this abandoned sector myself.