Ep. 74
It's a bit hard to say this, but I wasn't popular in the game.
To be precise, although he had high recognition, he was not a popular person.
Space Survival players called me 'Morph Park'.
What's worse is that even in foreign communities, Morpbagi has become a kind of proper noun and a nickname used to refer to me.
Of course, it doesn't mean I have nothing to say.
'The character design is like this, so you can't criticize me.'
The Amorphs themselves are a race specialized in raids and hunting.
So, there will be no user who plays the game as standard as the game company decides than me.
Anyway, the reason I bring up stories from the past is because of the nostalgic characteristics applied to my body.
'I'm in a state of suspended animation.'
It is not easy for Amorph to survive until he grows up enough.
Even if they evolve safely, they cannot rely on their comrades or clan like other races, so they must always fight alone.
What are the most necessary characteristics for such an Amorph?
Among surviving, eating, and evolving, the most important thing for Aimorph is, ironically, the first.
'To survive.'
The key to playing Amorph is to survive persistently without dying like a cockroach.
Only if you survive can you evolve the rest of the things, such as hunting for food.
However, unless other players are idiots, there is no way they would leave this potential threat untouched.
There are players who specialize in hunting Amorphs, and other than them, most users also try to kill Amorphs in any way they can when they find them.
So how can we survive safely?
'They want me dead.'
Here I changed my thinking.
Conversely, by doing whatever they want.
I often faked my death to escape enemy surveillance.
As the name suggests, the 'state of suspended animation' trait puts the caster in a half-dead state.
When a player dies in Space Survival, their corpse remains in place until they are resurrected. So even if my corpse remains, it is difficult for enemies to notice anything strange.
Because the system gives the same judgment as death, it appears that the NPC is definitely dead.
For example, in the case of Megacorp's scout mercenary, I can't tell whether I'm faking death with a trait or not.
Just report to the player that they found my body.
'Actually, it's done systematically, so it's not the NPC's fault.'
When the suspended state is activated, the caster's health and status are all displayed falsely.
Even players with the ability to read information cannot tell whether I am really dead or not.
Excluding the caster, the only way to cancel the suspended state is to use equipment or technical characteristics that nullify the characteristic.
When enemies who do not have a means of disarming see my corpse, their reactions are usually divided into two types.
Most people just leave.
Either he will be satisfied with killing me, or he will think that I will do something and try to leave quickly.
Those who are wary and leave are not particularly timid or cowards. They also have a reason to act that way.
Usually, I always prepare various things on the battlefield before fighting the enemy.
They set up nests in unexpected places and jump out from there to pounce, etc.
'Because among the nest-related characteristics, there is a characteristic that changes the respawn location into a nest.'
This is not the first time we have achieved a come-from-behind victory using these various methods. So, the more a player gets hit by me, the more cautious they become.
Of course, it wasn't like there weren't brave users who tried to humanize the corpse.
There were definitely users who lost their senses and tried to harass me out of revenge.
In that case, there is only one thing I can do.
'Tooth for tooth, humanity for another.'
Anyway, I had a lot of enemies, and among them were players who were at the same rank or higher than me.
For me, who always lived in danger, being in a state of suspended animation was one of the most useful characteristics.
'You're lucky to get good traits.'
I thanked the driver who tasted like pork and moved on, carrying the female driver and the plasma launcher.
The place I'm headed to is where I first lured the knights and fought.
There are 4 corpses of knights left, so take them.
'I'll give it to the girls who live here and eat the rest myself.'
It would be nice to make a new bait with the signal chip I hid on the way, but it would be difficult given the state of the sewer.
Because a significant portion of the surrounding walls collapsed, the signal chip would have been damaged as well.
'The signal won't be transmitted properly anyway due to the influence of the psychic breath.'
When I arrived at the location, I cleared away the collapsed rubble and took out the bodies.
The bodies were clearly in good condition as they were protected by advanced reinforced clothing.
I threw the female knight nearby and picked up the corpses and chewed them.
'It would be nice to eat leisurely, but I don't have time.'
You need to hurry because you never know when other enemies will come here.
'Did they use the same genes? 'It all tastes like pork.'
I like pork, but I get tired of eating the same taste over and over again.
'I have one left, should I just give it to the kids?'
Wouldn't it be better for me to eat the female knight and take the body to the kids?
While I was worrying about the body, an auxiliary organ sent me a signal.
'Someone is coming this way.'
I dived into the water with the female knight and the remaining bodies.
As I pressed myself close to the floor, I was able to barely hide myself except for my back.
'It's a good thing there's a lot of debris around.'
As I was hiding under the guise of a collapsed ruin, I heard a voice from far away.
"Honestly, do we need to go rescue the knights?"
"Do you think a knight is all-powerful? "If they don't eat, they get hungry and roll over, and if a building collapses, they get crushed. It's the same."
A total of 6 new people appeared.
They all wore gas masks, intermediate reinforced suits, and were carrying Gauss rifles.
'It's the National Guard.'
This is a space city managed by T&C. Those in charge of city security and defense are, of course, soldiers from the Defense Fleet, not the Knights Templar.
'As expected, the two units are carrying out joint operations.'
I had suspected that this would be the case since I hired dozens of employees, but now it is clear.
Those soldiers came here to look for the knights around here. They must have come to check if it was okay because the sewer line had collapsed.
They passed by without knowing I was next to them.
'It's a joint operation between the two families.'
The seven major families of Megacorp are set to be at odds with each other.
This is because they compete for the CEO position, the pinnacle of power.
Noble Capital is the only class that has the right to nominate a CEO candidate, but Prime Capital also competes with them.
Since Prime Capital only has voting rights and no right to nominate a CEO candidate, they always dream of being promoted to Noble Capital.
To do so, the only way is to bring down one of the five families above and move up yourself.
Because of this, of course they have no choice but to fight fiercely with each other.
'I guess we can see that they are cooperating for some reason ahead of the board meeting.'
Egerton is Prime Capital and T&C is Noble Capital.
Perhaps the two made some sort of deal in exchange for Edgerton voting for T&C.
If a serious security problem arises at the T&C Special Trade Center, where the board meeting is held, it will be disadvantageous for the two who made the secret pact, so they are probably carrying out a joint operation on purpose.
'Couldn't this situation be used appropriately?'
Actually, my situation is not that good.
So far, I have annihilated a group of knights and eaten dozens of employees, but the situation of the war itself is still unfavorable to me.
Because my existence has already been discovered over there, and there are a lot of weapons on the other side that can kill me in an instant.
'Due to the nature of the sewer system, which is an infrastructure, we cannot attack that side carelessly…'
If the T&C family decides that leaving my presence alone would be more damaging than destroying the sewer system, they will mobilize the defense fleet.
'Naval gun fire cannot be prevented even as a symbol of hunting.'
Fighting ships directly requires special characteristics. Unfortunately you can't get that here.
'Let's summarize the situation and conditions.'
To summarize the information I obtained from the sewer, it is as follows.
'The enemies currently threatening me are the T&C and Edgerton families.'
The reason I am a threat to them is because I am disrupting public order ahead of the big event.
They are operating together in the sewers to eliminate me as a destabilizing factor as quickly as possible.
'We have to break up that partnership.'
In the first place, there cannot be no fight due to the structure of Megacorp.
Even if a little conflict arises, the friendship between the Egerton family and the T&C family will be greatly shaken.
Of course, since the two are in a secret relationship, it is difficult to believe that the conflict will deepen significantly due to me alone. I don't even want to go that far.
'It's enough to confuse them.'
So how can we shake things up between the two?
'The communication status is unstable, so information will not be delivered properly…'
I happen to have a tool that can drive a wedge between the National Guard and the Knights.
'There's the launcher and the knight's body.'
I activated the launcher with my small arm.
A small terminal mounted on an elongated gun barrel that was over 1 meter long lit up.
'There is no problem with the launcher.'
I checked the driver's body and found that other than the broken neck, everything else was fine.
Unless you came closer and looked closely, you wouldn't notice anything strange.
'good. Leave the food here.'
Before starting the operation, I broke both the female knight's arms and legs.
"Ugh!"
A low howling sound could be heard from inside the helmet, but it didn't bother me much.
I could have killed him, but there is one reason why I didn't.
'If I kill them, it might not be counted as a condition for the children's growth.'
Although it is reality, unlike me who follows the rules of the game, No. 26 and Aadhai are creatures of this world. So it's likely not the same as mine, but I still don't know.
After hiding the female knight well in the water, she followed the National Guard with the knight's body and launcher.
On the way, I contacted number 26 in advance.
About what to do after my 'death'.
No. 26 reacted much more violently to the fact that I was dying than expected.
He said he would rather die than let me die.
'You're surprisingly sensitive to death.'
Is it because I have grown mentally? I didn't know that No. 26 would be disliked this much.
I convinced him that I would bring him some tasty food instead.
It seemed more interested in my return than in its food.
"I'm going to be really angry if the big baby doesn't come back."
After saying that, No. 26 sent no more waves.
'of course.'
We're all doing this so we don't die, but what's the use if we die?
After explaining the plan to No. 26, I sped up and narrowed the distance between the soldiers.
'I couldn't go far.'
Unlike knights wearing advanced reinforced clothing, their moving speed was not that fast.
They were still unaware that something was chasing them from behind.
'Is this enough?'
After calculating the distance between them, I placed the knight's body appropriately.
Thanks to the reinforced suit in the form of armor, it was not difficult to make it look like it was standing.
Behind the driver, I activated the launcher in a semi-submerged state.
「Charging 10…20…」
A half-ruined sewer, waist-deep darkness.
And even a mysterious monster lurking somewhere inside.
'It's the perfect environment to lose your mind.'
I have no intention of ending this by turning enemies against each other.
'What matters is actions and results.'
There must be something I can gain by inducing a melee.
'If you're in a melee, anything can happen.'
「Charging 40…70…」
For example, what if I appear in a situation where everyone is firing launchers at each other?
What if I get hit by a launcher and 'die' while fighting each other?
'That's the end of your pursuit of me.'
As the cause of the joint sewer operation, I am erased and only an indelible gap remains between the Knights and the National Guard.
Moreover, if I can convince my enemies that I am dead, my radius of action will expand even further.
'It reminds me of old memories.'
It was like this before when I fought four clans on a jungle planet.
The enemy's power was so powerful that I knew no bounds, and I was just a weak individual compared to them.
The reason I was able to win even in unfavorable battles was because I used everything I could.
Among those factors was my own death.
「Charging 90…100%」
When the number of terminals reached 100, a high-tech weapon capable of destroying even a ship spewed fire at the soldiers.
–
"Even though I was wearing a gas mask, the smell came out. Is this real?"
"Cough. Besides, the atmosphere is not good for some reason. "I feel like I've been getting strange chills since a while ago…"
"Hey, do you really need to say something like that in this shitty situation?"
"After this operation is over, I'm going to ask my fiancé to marry me."
"That idiot is doing the damn thing again."
"The guy who goes out every morning and plays jerk-offs on VR TV is getting engaged."
"It's real! "It's not a special trade center here, but on another planet…"
While the soldiers were chatting among themselves, a green light suddenly flew from behind.
The chilling pale green beam pulverized not only the soldier's upper body but also the walls of the passage.
"It's an enemy attack! Everyone take cover!"
"Take cover!"
As the soldier in command shouted, other soldiers quickly hid behind the collapsed remains of the sewer.
"Fuck! "What was that just now?"
"Vice squad leader! "It's a plasma launcher!"
"what? "Are you Osaya?"
"That is unlikely. "Because the launcher is managed by a small computer."
That means they were aiming from the other side and shooting them.
The squad leader slightly lifted his head from cover to check the enemy's appearance.
Even though it was dark, the silver armor was clearly visible.
Faced with the worst situation he had ever expected, he let out a curse.
"…Are those loveless knights crazy? "Why are you shooting us?"
"Either I mistakenly saw it as a monster, or…"
"Wait."
Interrupting his subordinate, the squad leader shouted loudly from behind cover.
"hey! This belongs to the Defense Fleet! "He's an ally!"
His voice echoed through the sewers.
As if in answer to his words, a green light flashed again in the darkness beyond.
"Fuck you!"
The squad leader hurriedly fell facedown in the sewage water. A plasma beam passed by his back just in the nick of time.
"Squad leader!"
"You fucking bastards!"
He didn't die, but his subordinate who was taking cover with him did not. The subordinate's body was disintegrated along with the covering material by the high heat energy.
"There is not enough firepower to fight a knight! "I will provide cover, so everyone retreat!"
"All right!"
While the squad leader fired his Gauss rifle at the enemy, other soldiers jumped out of cover and ran into the darkness.
"It doesn't matter which team it is, go and let them know! "The article here is crazy… ugh!"
A scream heard from behind.
It was not difficult for the soldiers to imagine what their leader had become.
"Vice squad leader!"
"Fuck you, squad leader, you're wrong! Run fast, you bastards!"
Among the remaining soldiers, the one with the highest rank led his comrades and ran down the passage.
The quiet ruins were filled with the sound of water splashing and the sounds of soldiers panting.
Their senses became extremely sensitive due to the deaths of two of their colleagues and their squad leader.
So they could know.
That there was something foreign mixed in with their footsteps.
"evil!"
The scream was followed by a loud splash of water. Among my colleagues, the one who was last behind fell.
His colleagues quickly turned around, but he was quickly sucked into the water and was no longer seen.
Where he was, only the Gauss rifle was floating without its owner.
"Fuck!"
"run!"
"Fuck fuck fuck fuck!"
The fleeing soldiers were almost out of their minds.
The sudden death of his Dark Attack colleagues and his strangely poor physical condition.
All these requirements combined to turn well-trained soldiers into a ragtag group.
The only thought in their minds as they ran frantically was that they had to live.
Is that why?
After the squad leader's scream, the plasma beam stopped flying, but they did not feel anything strange.
After running for a while, they were finally able to meet the other team members.
"Who are you?"
"Please save me!"
"huh? Why are you here? Huh? "You are all in Team 3 camp, right?"
The team they encountered as they escaped was a mixed search team belonging to Team 1.
Among the soldiers wearing gas masks and mid-level reinforced uniforms, knights wearing silver armor could be seen.
"Huh?!"
"Are they crazy as a group? "Why is this happening all of a sudden?"
The fugitives who saw the knights screamed and fell asleep. While the defense forces of Team 1 were perplexed, leaving them in a panic, the leader of the search party, the crisis management team leader, appeared.
"What's going on?"
"These are exploration team members from three teams. He suddenly came here…"
"Vice-team leader! Please save me!"
"hmm? Did you find him? "Calm down and talk."
The crisis management team leader calmly consoled them.
As if the soldiers who had run away had stabilized to some extent, the highest rank among them pointed his finger at the knights and shouted.
"They! "Those knights attacked us with plasma launchers!"
"what?"
"Three out of six were killed! "All because of the knight's attack!"
The vice-team leader who heard those words looked at Vice-Captain Vickers, the leader of the knights.
Vickers hurried to control his expression, but the assistant team leader did not miss it.
The emotion that appeared on Vickers' face and then quickly disappeared. It was closer to embarrassment than surprise.
It's like when a hidden secret is discovered.
.
.
20 Advanced Chapters are currently available in Patreon, make sure to visit and support our team.
PATREON:
patreon.com/Immortal_author
KO-FI:
https://ko-fi.com/immortalauthor
DISCORD:
https://discord.gg/KscfBegBPT