Chapter 266:

Chapter 266:

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The pirates in the A-guard post stared at the monitors with bewildered expressions.

The screens displaying footage from the cameras were shutting off rapidly, one after the other. First, the surveillance outpost, then the entrance, and then the underground corridors. Judging by the malfunctioning cameras, the disruptions were drawing closer to their guard post.

Everyone there knew the cameras weren’t failing for no reason. The walls of the guard post were trembling ever so slightly, as if something massive was moving and causing intermittent vibrations.

The problem was that those vibrations were growing stronger. Some unknown entity was breaking through the corridor’s cameras and security doors, heading straight for them.

“What about the corridor lockdown procedure?”

“It activated as soon as the surveillance outpost camera went out.”

“...Damn it. Even with a plasma cutter, nothing can get through this fast.”

“This isn’t good. Everyone, grab your gear. You, scrawny one, head to Section B.”

“Tell the mercenaries while you're at it.”

“...Damn. Fine.”

The pirates hurriedly grabbed the equipment stored in the guard post. While his comrades prepared to fight, the scrawny pirate grabbed only a psychic rifle and sprinted out of the post.

The lights embedded in the corridor ceiling shone brightly, illuminating the path ahead. The corridor, with its simple cylindrical design, appeared as it always did—nothing unusual about it.

Except for the trembling light.

The scrawny pirate rushed toward the security door at the end of the short corridor and began manipulating the terminal beside it. Meanwhile, the vibrations became more frequent.

“Hurry up and open!”

The pirate anxiously tapped his foot as the door slowly opened. Just then, the light above his head began to flicker uncertainly.

Startled, he turned around to see the lights near the guard post flicker out, one by one. The only remaining light came from the post itself.

Then, just like a candle being snuffed out, that light too vanished.

“...Gulp.”

The pirate swallowed nervously at the sight. At that moment, the security door finally opened. Half crawling, he slipped through and sealed the door behind him.

The security doors installed between corridors were over a meter thick and built with a dual-layer structure, making it nearly impossible to breach, even with a plasma cutter. The doors between the corridors were far sturdier than the entrance door, so the mysterious intruder wouldn’t be able to get in easily.

Nothing emerged from the darkness before the door fully closed. The only thing that filled the pitch-black corridor was an unnatural silence.

“Phew...”

Breathing a sigh of relief, the pirate stepped back from the door.

Before that thing arrives, he needed to get to Section B and warn them.

The space where he stood was so vast that he had to crane his neck back to see the ceiling. It wasn’t completely empty either—freezer containers were stacked in multiple layers throughout the area.

This was Storage Area A.

Those containers were all goods brought in by customers visiting the city for the auction. Although he couldn’t see them from here, further inside, there would be mercenaries and androids guarding the containers.

The scrawny pirate connected the battery to his psychic rifle and advanced deeper inside. The temperature was low, likely due to the cold air leaking from the containers. If it weren’t for the android standing guard in front of one, he would’ve been shivering from both the cold and fear.

“It’ll be fine. It’s just a misunderstanding or something. Yeah, that’s it.”

Muttering to himself, he walked for a few minutes until he heard voices beyond the massive containers. Turning the corner, he saw five mercenaries chatting.

“Huh? Aren’t you the pirate from the guard post?”

“What brings you here?”

Panicked, the scrawny pirate shouted at the mercenaries.

“There’s no time for this! Things are going completely crazy outside!”

“Outside?”

“What the hell are you talking about?”

"Our team hasn't sent any word."

"Of course they haven't! They're all dead! We need to alert the others immediately...."

"What? Are you serious? What nonsense is this?"

"Do you even know who you're talking to, spouting that kind of crap?"

The mercenaries showed no signs of listening, and the scrawny pirate grew frustrated. Other mercenaries guarding nearby containers also approached, curious about the commotion.

"What’s with all the noise?"

"He says our team guarding the outside is down."

The pirate briefly considered just shutting the door on him, but changed his mind. It would be better to have two people rather than one to escape from whatever was chasing them. He quickly stopped the door from closing any further.

Just as the mercenary was about to cross the threshold, a deafening noise echoed through the room, and the door shook violently.

"W-What was that?!"

"It's here! The monster is chasing me!"

"Shit!"

Hearing the mercenary’s shout, the pirate frantically resumed closing the door. It continued to inch shut at a maddeningly slow pace, but just before it sealed completely, something shifted in the shadows beyond.

'!'

Though he only glimpsed it for a moment, the pirate knew he would never forget that sight for the rest of his life. A pink snake, covered in countless eyes, writhed in their direction as if greeting them, only to vanish from view.

"W-What the hell was that? I've never seen such a monstrosity in my life."

"...I have no idea either."

"Damn it! We need to warn Section B... What about your weapon?"

"I dropped it while running from that thing."

The pirate scowled at the mercenary’s response. Without a weapon, they had no way of defending themselves if the monster breached the shielding door.

'Well, I could always use him as bait.'

The pirate was the only one armed. If, by some chance, the creature managed to break through before they reached Section B, he could always throw the mercenary to it and buy himself some time.

"For now, let’s head to the guard station in Section B."

"Right."

The mercenary seemed completely oblivious to what the pirate was thinking. The two of them proceeded down the corridor leading to Section B's guard station.

'At least the cameras are still working.'

As they walked, the pirate checked the ceiling-mounted cameras. Fortunately, the power to the surveillance system hadn’t gone out. The guards in Section B would have seen them by now and should be preparing some kind of response.

'No, I should contact them from here.'

Even though their radios weren’t functioning, there was still one way to communicate.

Each section of this underground storage area was equipped with a hardline communication system, designed to function even during radio outages or EMP attacks from other species. It had been installed by the Marcio Cartel precisely for situations like this.

The pirate had wanted to use it before entering this area, but the hardline terminal in Section A was located near the entrance to the underground storage, making it inaccessible at the time. He waved at the camera, signaling that he would use the hardline system.

"What are you doing?"

"Don't concern yourself with it."

There was no need to show respect to the mercenary he was planning to use as bait anyway. The pirate curtly replied and approached the wall, where a small switch was hidden. Upon pressing it, an ivory-colored rod connected to a wire inside the wall popped out.

"What's that?"

"A Cultist-made hardline communication device."

"Hmm? We have something like that down here?"

The mercenary sounded intrigued, but the pirate didn’t bother replying.

He disconnected the psychic rifle’s charger and plugged it into the device. Since the communication system was made by Cultists, it required psychic power to operate.

After a moment, the device lit up.

"It's working! This is the guard station in Section A. Can you hear me?"

「Ch-ch-chh... look... ch-ch-chh」

The pirate felt a brief surge of triumph and yelled into the device. A crackling voice answered through the static.

"I can’t hear you well. This is Section A. Do you copy?"

「Ch-chh... behind... ch-chh... behind... ch-ch-chh」

"What? What are you saying?"

「Behind you! Look behind you!」

As soon as the static cleared, the voice on the other end screamed in panic.

"Behind? What’s wrong with...?"

Puzzled, the pirate turned around. In that instant, he understood what the guard in Section B had been trying to say.

「The monster is behind you!」

No one remained alive in the corridor to respond to the swaying, trembling communication device hanging from the wall.