I Became an Evolving Space Monster

–

A large warehouse located in a port.

Many intelligent beings are moving around busily. Although the races were different, including humans, cyborgs, rock walkers, and insect men, they had one thing in common. Everyone is wearing reinforced clothing with camouflage paint.

Armed with better equipment than the regular army protecting the planet, their true identity was surprisingly pirates. They are not ordinary pirates, but the Sinoni Cartel, a notorious pirate group.

On the second floor of the warehouse, Ventress, the vice leader of the Sinoni Cartel, was looking down on the gang members. At that time, an executive approached him.

“Boss. “The hacking team will be ready in 5 minutes.”

While watching the gang members through the window, he turned his head when he heard the executive’s words.

“What is the arrangement?”
“The assault team and support team have all been deployed. The separatist side is also ready.”

While reporting, the executive operated a mechanical device and created a hologram.

A hologram of a large city model appeared in front of the two. Small circles were displayed on the outskirts of the city.

The hologram is the result of realizing a research complex attached to a commercial city. Those circles are Ventress’s subordinates.

These were all prepared to attack the research complex.

“good. Once the hacking is over, the separatists and the assault team go in together. “The rest wait.”
“All right.”
“Assault team should not act as usual, but move accordingly while considering the situation.”

The location of the troops, the state of their armament, everything is according to plan. Ventress checked the hologram and nodded, satisfied.

“Oh, me and the assistant pastor? Is it really okay for us to do as we please?”

But at that time, the executive put a candle to the good mood.

“The boss told me to be quiet…”
“You have to speak clearly. “I told you to prepare first and wait to avoid any problems.”

Currently, the head of Sino Group is pursuing a plan. The details were secret, so Ventress found out thanks to hearing it from the boss.

‘I said I needed to take control of a few planets for the plan to succeed.’

AG-01, a planet in the Jer-11 star system, is one of those targets.

Ventress’ mission is to take control of the planet before the Shino Group’s core forces arrive. To do that, we need to get rid of the anxiety factors here in advance.

“And aren’t you being careful to get caught as late as possible? “Do you think I’m such a brat that I’m giving credit to the National Guard?”
“That’s…”
“Anyway, we have to get rid of those fucking terrorists. “How great would it be if we could make each other feel weak like we do now?”
“That is certainly true, but what is stimulating Noble Capital is…”
“Anyway. “I’m considering everything, so don’t ask any more questions.”

Ventress was annoyed by her subordinate’s continued pouting, but decided to hold back this time. He was quite capable among the executives, so it would have been a shame to throw him away like this.

The executives also knew that it would be dangerous to point out any more information, so they kept quiet.

At that time, the lights inside the warehouse suddenly blinked. The light of the hologram also dimmed for a moment and then returned to its original state.

“what?”
“It looks like lightning struck.”
“Did the kids you sent to fix the terraforming machine fall asleep after playing? Why is it still like this?”

“Well, they say it’s in worse condition than expected. I checked earlier and it seems it will take a few more days…”
“Tsk, you idiots.”

Ventress clicked her tongue as the thunder continued to pound outside.

“What about communications? “It’s not like something gets cut off during the operation, right?”
“yes. “It’s been pre-maintained, so there’s no problem.”

Just then, a message was displayed on the hologram saying that the hacking team’s preparations were complete.

“Ready. “You can rush in.”
“Ah, that’s good. “Go ahead right away.”
“All right. Assault team, enter.”

As soon as the command was given, the circles on the holographic city began to move.

–

Black visitors enter the research complex filled with rain, mud, and fog.

Wearing heavy reinforced clothing, they moved nimbly like hunting dogs stalking their prey. There was no shaking at all even when passing through a field filled with landmines and combat drones. After passing through the most dangerous area, they stopped behind a building.

｢Did everyone come in okay?｣
｢Yep.｣
｢No problem.｣

The leader of the assault team sent by Ventress quickly checked the subordinates who followed. The number of subordinates is 20. It was exactly the same as when it came in.

The Sinoni Cartel’s main enemies are wild animals, but that doesn’t mean they can’t catch people. Everyone was familiar with this type of intrusion operation as they had conducted it several times.

“This is Josh. We have entered the eastern sector.”
“The separatists said they took over the watchtower first, so join us immediately.”
“Understood.”

After completing communication with the warehouse headquarters, they ran to a nearby long building.

｢I’ll enter the code, so beware of the rest.｣
｢Yep!｣

The leader standing in front of the door entered the security code he received two days ago. The security at the main gate of the guard tower was lifted and the solid metal door was opened. Twenty pirates quickly entered the tower.

“what? “Why is the light off?”

The inside of the building was completely dark. Even the emergency lights didn’t come on. Even though there were people who came in before them. Josh, the leader of the pirates, immediately contacted headquarters.

“The power went out inside the guard tower. “Is it true that they have taken over?”
“I just received a call from there. They said they fired an EMP at the building.”
“Yes? Why all of a sudden…”
“We’ll discuss that later.” They say they are waiting upstairs, so go up and join them.”

Despite the sudden change, the executives at headquarters showed no signs of disturbance.

‘This person didn’t have this kind of personality to begin with?’

It was strange that the separatists used EMP, but the overly calm appearance of the executives was also strange.

｢What should we do?｣
｢… Everyone moves with utmost caution. If you see anything, shoot it right away.”

I didn’t even understand what the situation was, but I had no choice. Josh and the pirates began walking down the hallway, each carrying their own weapons.

Even if the electricity to the building was cut off, the interior was clearly visible thanks to the helmet’s heat-detecting vision function. They walked in line and soon reached the stairs.

“Be careful because you don’t know what will come out….”

While Josh was talking to his subordinates, he realized something strange.

There were a total of 20 people here, including him. But right now, there were only 14 people he could see.

“hey! Where did the kids behind you go?”
“Yes? “Huh, huh?”

The pirates turned around and realized that their comrade had disappeared.

“We were definitely together just now!”
“Me too!”

There is a single hallway between the building entrance and the stairs. The length of the hallway itself is not long. It is impossible to disappear without a sound in less than a few seconds.

The pirates hastily manipulated the terminal and checked the detector.

“What is this?”
“How did this happen?”

There were a total of twenty signals of gang members displayed on the detector. The problem is that 5 of them are on floors other than the first floor. The only way to go upstairs in this building is to use the stairs in front of them.

“Damn it! “Get out of here right now!”
“Yep!”

Because the situation was unusual, Josh abandoned the missing people. The pirates hurried back the way they came.

But this time too, reality betrayed their expectations.

A tree had grown in the hallway, which was empty when I entered. Withered branches touched the ceiling and walls, and in the middle, a bony body covered with withered bark could be seen.

｢….｣

The pirates said nothing. It was because I was overwhelmed by the absurd reality.

‘illusion? Or poison gas? How did they get through the helmet? Is it really psychic power?’

Josh also tried to analyze the situation, but it wasn’t easy. Even if they were hallucinating, it was undoubtedly true that several gang members had moved to another floor in an instant.

｢Hee, hee?! Oh, a colleague has disappeared again!”

And as if reading his thoughts, the five people in the back row disappeared again. This time too, there were no sounds or signs.

It was as if the hallway had swallowed the pirates whole.

‘We have to get out of here quickly!’

This is not the time to worry. It’s just outside after passing that tree. Josh tried to keep his composure and gave orders.

“…cut down the tree.”

One of his subordinates slowly approached the tree. He activated the ‘Blade Claw’ mounted on his arm with trembling hands.

The ultra-vibrating saw blade protruding from the back of the hand vibrates and makes a familiar noise. The owner of the saw blade slowly raised his arm.

Now all that remains is to cut the branches, but the subordinate hesitates.

｢Did you hear?｣
｢What just happened?｣

Other gang members are also embarrassed. The pirate stopped cutting down the tree and put his face close to the branch.

The sound is heard again. This time Josh heard clearly.

｢Sound of laughter?｣

A little girl’s laughter is heard from within the trees. It was a voice so refreshing that it reminded me of clear spring water. As soon as I heard how beautiful it was, I felt like my tension was completely relieved.

Otherwise, he would have immediately noticed that the bare branch was pointing towards the back of the pirate’s head.

｢Careful!｣
｢Yes?｣

The moment Josh belatedly shouted, a tree branch pierced his subordinate’s head.

–

｢Gasp, gasp, gasp….’

A pirate wearing a reinforced suit runs through a foggy street.

His right arm was missing, and there was a deep wound on his back. Even though he was a cyborg with physical abilities stronger than those of humans, his injuries were very serious.

｢Gasp, gasp, gasp….’

While running frantically, he hid behind a nearby building. The mechanical eyes behind the cracked helmet moved constantly.

‘Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck!’

As the cyborg pirate continued to look around to see who was coming, he recalled what had happened a while ago.

The assault team he belonged to was headed to the genetic center in the southern sector, guided by an executive. Although we did not encounter any enemies while moving, no one thought it was anything strange. Because I saw people walking around inside the building.

The problem arose in a park near the center.

While passing through a park filled with abandoned, dead trees, they heard singing. The innocent humming of little girls echoed in the gloomy park.

The pirates stopped running for a moment after hearing the music, and from then on, a terrible nightmare began. The trees that had been standing quietly moved and attacked the assault team.

‘Damn it! ‘I’ve never seen a tree that seduces with song!’

Additionally, the trees drank the blood of living creatures. Every time a dying branch stuck into the body of a fellow tree, the street tree seemed to come back to life. The shell came to life, and the singing voice became more and more beautiful.

The cyborg pirate’s companions tried to resist somehow, but ultimately failed. The evil tree monster wasn’t the only enemy there.

Spores that spray acidic liquid everywhere, bizarre plants that spread a strange smell that causes colleagues to harm themselves, giant flying insects with human faces, threadworms covered in human skin, etc. The beings I feared seeing in my dreams slaughtered the pirates.

While his colleagues were being attacked, the cyborg pirate secretly escaped the scene.

‘We have to get back to headquarters quickly!’

Joining another team is not a good idea. If those monsters exist in each area, they too will not be able to avoid annihilation.

After resting for a while, he ran again.

Because of the pain coming from the wound, the module embedded in the head continues to send out danger signals. I desperately wanted to rest right away, but if I stopped here, it would be over.

He ran without stopping until he was out of the complex. Fortunately, despite the misfortune, there were no monsters in sight.

｢Phew, Joe, good.｣

His eyes see a black field created by mud and cloud shadows. There are mines and combat drones scattered throughout the field. You can only get out of this place by following the same path you came in.

The cyborg pirate crossed the field, careful not to deviate from the safe route. When I got about halfway, a light started flashing inside the visor of my helmet.

It was a communication from headquarters. It seemed like it was only now that he was leaving the complex.

“…Why are you contacting me now?”
“I’m sorry. “We were late because we were preparing a rescue boat.”

It’s a lie. To his knowledge, the Sinoni Cartel has never sent reinforcements to rescue its members.

“shit! All of my colleagues who entered the southern section were hit.”
“All of them were hit?”
“Yes! Everyone died and I was the only one left!”
“I understand. “If you tell me the location, I will send a rescue boat there.”
“…Are you sure?”

The cyborg pirate hesitated and then recited the coordinates of his location.

｢Outskirts of the southern district.｣
｢Yes. Where is the rescue boat landing site? I’ll go there.”
“There’s no need to do that.”
“Okay?”

I asked back because I didn’t know the English sentence, but the answer came from somewhere other than the communicator.

With an eerie mechanical sound, the mines buried in the ground all jumped into the air.

“Thank you for your cooperation in the experiment.”

The flash of light from the forcibly activated mine surrounded him.

“Watch next episode”