Became an Evolving Space Monster

“The signal has come. Prepare for entry.”

The 4th squad, under the command of Yannick, stood at their secret camp.

The movements of the members became busy.

Externally known as the reserve unit under the 2nd division, when Vice Commander Vicus reported the unit details to the defense force, they declared themselves as part of the 2nd division. However, that was not the reality.

The 4th squad received a secret order from Denver. Their mission was not to kill the monster but to capture it alive. Additionally, they were ordered to eliminate any other defense force if discovered during their mission.

“Commander Yannick, all preparations are complete.”

“Good.”

The Lion Knights were composed entirely of veterans with genetically enhanced warriors, but the 20 members of the 4th squad were selected from among them as elites.

Furthermore, their weaponry and equipment were exceptional, taken from the armory within the ship.

Apart from the plasma bolters, the standard equipment of the knights, they had two additional pieces of equipment. The first was the auto-plasma pistol attached to the reinforced shoulder armor. It boasted superior performance to the original, with improved durability and the ability to synchronize with the user’s vision for automatic defensive shooting.

The other equipment was the assault pack attached to the backs of all members of the 4th squad. The assault pack was designed for operations in harsh environments, including space. It not only reinforced the performance of the attached armor but also featured jetpack and oxygen supply functions.

In summary, it could be considered an enhanced version of the reinforced armor.

Both pieces of equipment were astronomically expensive, matching the price of a small colonial planet. Even for Prime Capital Eden, they were so costly that they could only be deployed in truly crucial battles.

“What about the launchers?”

“For now, bring them along.”

In response to Yannick’s words, a member hoisted a plasma launcher onto his back.

With all preparations complete, Yannick and the 20 knights entered the sewer.

Due to the knights leaping over the contaminated water, the residents in the underground hid in panic.

“Distance to the target, 1 km remaining.”

“At the upcoming intersection, everyone turn right.”

It was a maze-like sewer, but the movements of the silver knights were decisive. Thanks to various mechanical devices attached to their helmets, real-time information about the sewer’s interior was constantly relayed to them.

“Enemy forces detected 20m ahead.”

“Everyone, bypass them.”

While eliminating encountered defense forces was part of their mission, there was no need to deliberately engage if it could be avoided. The knights moved towards their objective, avoiding the operational radius of the defense forces displayed on their devices.

“Hold on, everyone, stop.”

At Yannick’s command, the members of the 4th squad, who had been running against the current, came to a halt. Floating in front of them was a grotesque object – the corpse of a deceased deserter due to the compliance device.

Approaching the corpse, Yannick examined its condition. The sight was gruesome; the head had exploded due to the compliance device, and blood was dripping down. Even more horrifying was the state of the abdomen. The abdominal skin showed signs of an internal explosion, and all the organs inside were charred. Inside the belly, compliance devices and signal chips were visible.

‘What has that creature done?’

Upon inspecting the corpse, Yannick immediately understood what the monster had done. It had forcibly made the deserters swallow compliance devices and signal chips.

‘I need to report this.’

Yannick picked up his communication device to inform Jacob of the situation. Since the activities of the 4th squad were confidential, they were not linked to headquarters or cameras. Thus, essential information had to be reported through wireless communication.

“Fed one to a corpse?”

“Yes.”

“I see. Since there are people nearby, I’ll cut it short.”

“Understood.”

After ending the communication with Jacob, Yannick looked back at his subordinates.

“Be cautious, everyone. This doesn’t seem like an ordinary enemy.”

“Got it.”

Leaving the corpse behind, they resumed their journey toward the objective.

Where they disappeared, the lone corpse swaying along the waves suddenly got sucked into the water.

***

‘Gone.’

After the knights left, I, who had been lying not far away from them, got up. Before their arrival, I had been examining a corpse along the path. It was necessary to fill in the final piece of my plan.

As I attempted to investigate the corpse further, my auxiliary organ warned me. The rapidly fluctuating water indicated that the knights were approaching at high speed. Rather than facing them head-on, I chose to hide and observe the situation.

‘I have no idea about the enemy’s level of armament and numbers coming this way.’

Observing and, if the enemy seemed manageable, ambushing them; otherwise, just gathering information and retreating would be the plan. I submerged myself and pressed my body against the ground.

‘Surprisingly, they arrived faster than I thought.’

Initially, I wondered if they had set up another camp nearby. However, my assumption was incorrect as I observed their appearance.

‘They were wearing assault packs.’

Assault packs significantly enhanced the functionality of reinforced suits and offered various useful effects. Therefore, in the game, assault packs were so popular among MegaCorp players that they were often referred to as mercenaries’ uniforms. The presence or absence of this equipment could completely change the planets that could be conquered.

‘Although the price is outrageously expensive.’

In any case, those who wore assault packs on top of advanced reinforced suits were proudly displaying enhanced physical abilities. In the sewage filled with contaminated water, they moved at an extremely fast pace, almost as if running on flat ground. Thus, they had caught up with the other squads faster than expected.

‘There are 20 of them. Fighting them head-on with all of them equipped with assault packs would be burdensome.’

While using the ‘Symbol of the Hunt’ would lead to an easy victory, the aftermath was the issue. Due to the nature of endurance, I wouldn’t collapse immediately, but it would affect my future combat performance. Additionally, losing sanity was also a problem.

‘Sanity and knowledge.’

These were my essential weapons. Losing either of these would reduce me to a mere beast.

‘Becoming a beast without reason in a situation of fighting multiple enemies is dangerous.’

Although enemies were generally considered smarter than wild animals, they still categorized me as a wild animal.

‘In such a situation, if the enemies get what they want, it’s a shortcut to defeat.’

Therefore, I postponed the fight momentarily. As a result, the group of 20 did not discover me.

The only income I gained from delaying the fight was confirming the enemy’s equipment level.

‘The vision system doesn’t have much difference among the knights.’

Despite wearing assault packs, except for a few pieces of equipment, the rest was similar to regular knights. From what I had observed, the enemy’s detection methods included heat detection and vibration detection.

‘Vibration detection is ineffective due to the constantly fluctuating waves.’

‘Heat detection is the same.’

Due to soaking in the cold water of the sewage for a long time, my outer layer was practically an ice coating. Even if they saw me through heat detection, I would appear as a rough surface.

‘I’ve confirmed the level of their perception system. A surprise attack should be easy.’

The enemies were gone, and it was time to finish my business quickly and follow them. I submerged myself again and examined the melted interior of the corpse.

‘Here it is.’

Holding a small signal chip in my hand, I gently scratched the combat sewage wall with it.

And then, I inserted the chips I had been carrying into the remains.

‘I need to use them as a new bait, so they must not be damaged.’

Since I had discovered a group of knights, the corpse-bait had already achieved my first goal.

‘But if it ends here, it’s not fun.’

The reason I safely stored the chips taken from the corpse was for the second plan to complement the first.

‘When chasing maggots, there will be a point where they gather.’

Either the starting points of the scattered enemies were closer than I expected, or they could assemble earlier for reasons I hadn’t considered. At that moment, I planned to create a new bait to shake up the enemies, utilizing the new corpse-bait.

‘Those who entered the underground don’t know about maggots.’

Maggots roaming in the sewer were not naturally occurring organisms. They were deliberately released by city administrators for the efficient management of the sewer system. If I had thrown many maggots as bait from the beginning, there would undoubtedly be someone among the city officials questioning me.

‘They might think I’m using maggots for a disruption operation.’

If they became cautious, well-prepared, and started tracking me, the disadvantage would be on my side. Therefore, I intentionally implanted a signal chip in only one maggot.

Before entering, they probably thought I was just catching and eating the employee without knowing the presence of the signal chip. Unfortunately, the knights moved faster than I expected and discovered the corpse.

‘I was planning to eat and dispose of the corpse while collecting the chip.’

It was an unfortunate accident that they found the corpse before I could carry out my plan.

‘Especially when the path to find maggots overlaps with the location of the corpse.’

Other corpses were far away from the maggots, making it difficult for them to be discovered unless someone intentionally sought the corpses.

‘However, this corpse was unfortunately in the knights’ path.’

Because I allowed it to roam freely without controlling it like a parasite, it became an unexpected incident.

However, the fortunate thing was that they didn’t know about the maggots.

The discovery of the corpse was not a significant problem. I swallowed the remnants of the corpse I was holding without leaving any traces, as I continued to chase the 20 knights.

After dealing with them, my plan was to return to the hidden location of the chips.

‘Next, I’ll create a new bait.’

Then, the enemies would be extremely confused.

‘Now that the bait suddenly becomes two.’

Once they entered the sewer, it wouldn’t be easy to call sewer officials for questioning. During that time, if I escaped, their operation would automatically fail.

‘Of course, I have no intention of running away.’

As seen when the knights didn’t detect me earlier, it’s evident that the knights couldn’t detect the maggots swimming in the water.

I don’t know how many soldiers from the city’s defense fleet are there, but it’s challenging to think that their equipment level is worse than elite knights.

‘If they were barehanded, they could probably sense creatures passing between their legs.’

If the enemies were barehanded, I wouldn’t have gone through all this trouble. In any case, the remaining distance to the maggots is now not much.

‘No other enemies can be sensed around here.’

The meaning of that statement is clear—one that is highly advantageous for me. I approached one of the knights in the rear closely. Moving submerged and sticking to the sewer floor made almost no sound.

The surface around the knight who was running vigorously in the water was in great turmoil. I grabbed his hind legs with the combat limb from underwater.

“!”

The knight was about to fall. Before he could make a sound, I quickly bit into his neck. With my jaw strengthened by bite strength characteristics, I crushed the knight’s cervical vertebrae.

Meanwhile, the other knights had no idea that their comrade in the rear had been taken down, and they continued to run ahead.

‘Being too fast is also a problem.!

I ripped off the assault pack from the knight’s back and smashed the battery of the powered armor. The light went out from the powered armor, and the knight’s body slumped lifelessly.

I carried the doughy body of the knight and submerged into the water, as if seeping through.

***

“The remaining distance to the target is 30 meters. The enemy’s speed is slowing down.”

“Everyone, stop.”

At Yannick’s command, the knights came to a halt in their tracks.

‘That guy, who was moving at an incredible speed until now, suddenly slowed down.’

If it weren’t for the assault pack, he would have been difficult to chase. As a result, the other teams were far behind.

In this situation, which is crucial for Yannick to secretly capture the monster, it is very advantageous.

‘Seeing the slowdown in speed, it seems he’s noticed our pursuit.’

Considering the intelligence of that creature, it might be planning to ambush the knights.

‘Not being able to gauge the opponent’s level, it seems a beast is just a beast.’

No matter how powerful the monster is, handling the firepower of the 20 present here is almost impossible.

Yannick made a vow.

He will teach that ferocious beast the truth that there is a sky above the sky.

‘Before the battle, I need to check the personnel.’

Yannick stood in place and observed the weapons of each of his men.

‘Hmm? Someone is missing.’

One of the members who was originally at the back was not there.

Perplexed, Yannick counted again, but there was no way someone missing could appear.

There were 19 members present.

In the place where there should have been a member, there was only a dense shadow.

‘Shadow? Could it be?!’

Realizing the meaning of that unnatural shadow, Yannick shouted.

But it was already too late.

The shadow shot up from the water, and a long, giant serpent emerged, wrapping around one of the knights.

At the same time, the auto-plasma gun attached to the shoulder of a knight next to the captured comrade activated and fired.

“Ugh?!”

“Oh no!”

“Everyone, watch out for friendly fire!”

However, the serpent used the captured knight as a shield, and the plasma energy broke through the knight’s sturdy armor, spraying blood into the air.

With about half of the upper body gone, the comrade was carried by the serpent and disappeared into the murky sewer water.

The knights pulled out their bolt guns and began firing into the water. The green energy pellets illuminated the dark sewer.

“Cease fire! Cease fire!”

Yannick shouted as if cursing, and the members stopped firing.

Where the serpent disappeared, only the right arm of their fallen comrade remained, floating in the dark sewage.

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