Chapter 67

chapter 67

i woke up feeling the undulating waves around my body.

‘how long did i sleep for?’

when i saw the faint light coming through the manhole, it seemed like daytime. focusing on my auxiliary organ, i heard the sounds of people walking above ground.

‘at least amorph doesn’t have a nose, luckily.’

in fact, among all the creatures present here, there was no one who had a nose. gallagons had tentacles instead of nose and mouth, and number 26 had no face to begin with.

i, too, had an auxiliary organ below my chin instead of a sensory organ like the nose. the olfactory information processed by the auxiliary organ felt like individually analyzing the components of odors. for example, the ratio of ammonia and nitrate in the flowing sewer water.

‘...let’s stop thinking about these things.’

i got up shaking off the unnecessary thoughts. i could see number 26 and adhai sleeping nearby. adhai had its head resting on number 26, emitting a faint light while sleeping.

‘since gallagons live in water.’

to me, it seemed like ordinary sewer water, but for it, it must feel like home.

without waking them up, i walked through the passage.

‘the diameter of the sewer is probably around 6 meters.’

seeing that there is plenty of space above my head even when i stand up, it should be about that size. even if i use the ‘symbol of hunt’, it seems like my head won’t touch it narrowly.

‘i was so tired that i couldn’t check it properly and just let it go. i activated the text box.’

i was so tired yesterday that i couldn’t check the traits properly, so i activated the text box.

[species: unidentified aggressive space morph

status: pre-saint (1st stage of transcendence)

objective: survive (2nd evolution successful)̃øv€lß1n.

possessed traits –

1)physical-related (applied type): wings, chitinous exoskeleton, regeneration (fusion), neurotoxin glands (fusion), reinforced exoskeleton, acidic blood, enhanced reflexes, mimicry, serrated tentacles, contamination organ, spine projectile organ, predator’s claw. metal absorption, perfect organism (unique), fire breath, endurance, pheromone enhancement, bloodsucking tentacle (fusion).

2)psychic-related(applied type): predator sense (fusion), human nature, monster’s tentacles, and clairvoyance, psychic resistance, insight.

3)infection-related: parasitic colony (fusion), cosmic bacteria.

type: physical enhancement type, psychic enhancement type]

[unread new messages have arrived. would you like to read them?]

‘huh?’

while checking the text box, i noticed a new trait.

‘bloodsucking tentacle? was the trait i acquired a bloodsucking feature?’

in a semi-conscious state, i had only confirmed that it wasn’t a trait with negative effects, but it turned out to be a not-so-bad result.

”bloodsucking’ traits aren’t rare in games. as in reality, there are many creatures that suck the bodily fluids of other animals.’

‘the effectiveness of the bloodsucking trait increases with size.’

for example gallagons had this trait naturally, so despite adhai being about 50 cm in size, he could suck all the blood from an adult man in less than 10 minutes.

the small suction cups on tentacles helped sucking blood at a very fast speed. larger creatures with more significant and bigger suction organs could likely suck blood at an even faster rate.

i pulled out the bloodsucking tentacle from my arm. the tentacle, which previously had neatly arranged saw blades across its surface, now had suction pads like that in an octopus’s leg.

looking at the suction pads, which had sharp tooth-like structures protruding inside, resembling jaws of a lamprey.

[pr/n- lamprey are parasitic eel like fishes that suck blood of other organisms]

‘since there’s a suction pad, i can use it when sticking to walls.’

when playing the game, i often used the bloodsucking tentacle for purposes other than bloodsucking. i mainly used it to suck all the blood from corpses to erase traces or to move around buildings using the suction-pad in the tentacle.

‘anyway, the bloodsucking tentacle is a highly versatile trait that has many uses, so that’s good.’

‘and... unexpectedly, there’s a new message again.’

i checked the message.

[‘transcendence’ material list: mimic organ, pheromone enhancement, clairvoyance, hallucination (not acquired)]

the newly arrived message contained information about new transcendence traits.

‘it seems like a new unique trait will be created if i combined these four traits.’

just like the complete organism which is a unique trait created by merging three physical-related traits through the transcendence system. this time, it appears to be a trait created by combining two physical-related traits and two psychic-related traits.

‘hallucination can’t be obtained here.’

the hallucination trait can only be obtained from the genetic essence of the red mist. since red mist creatures inhabit only the ancient ruins and the jungle planets,finding them here would be impossible.

‘even if it were available, i can’t make it right away.’

until i acquire two psychic-related traits, i can’t combine hallucination with transcendence. otherwise, the psychic type might be lost.

‘let’s keep this information aside for now.’

‘should i explore the surroundings a bit?’

i need to check if there’s a safer place than where we currently are, and whether there are any dangers nearby.

while navigating through the current, i sensed something through my auxiliary organ. something was moving in the murky water. i swung the bloodsucking tentacle, grabbed the object, and pulled it out. a creature with a slender, white body dangled from my tentacle.

“speak.”

“the manholes connected to the sewer have a square shape. what the crisis management team leader saw might not be a manhole connected to the sewer.”

“the security chief’s words are correct.”

“hmm.”

denver’s eyes sparkled at the words of the two leaders.

“deputy chief, ask the members. were there square manholes around the station where the fire occurred?”

“understood, sir.”

“do you think it’s possible that the creature went into the sewer?”

“if it’s close to the station, there’s a possibility.”

“but the sewer structure is much more complex than the subway tracks. there’s a high chance of another incident occurring before we find the creature.”

“i...i also think so!”

the crisis management team leader calmly stated his opinion, while the head of security department added in a hurried manner.

“what should we do?”

denver had little concern for the citizens of this city, whether they lived or died. even if hundreds or thousands of citizens died, capturing that monster alive would be beneficial to him.

however, stating that outright would tarnish the positive image he had built up until now.

“how about trying it like this?”

“what do you mean?”

“instead of personally searching, why not use a method to lure the creature out?”

“are you talking about a bait operation? but how do you plan to lure it out?”

“it’s almost certain that the creature preys on humans. so, if we provide prey from this side, wouldn’t that work?”

“are you suggesting we use resources from the entertainment district?”

“that’s right. after preparing traps in the sewer, we lure and eliminate it.”

it was clear that the creature was an intelligent being. however, it was not human.

being intelligent and having detailed information about the city were separate matters. unless the creature residing in this city was human, it would not find it strange for prey to enter the sewer.

initially, it might seem strange, but if prey continued to enter, the creature would likely dismiss any suspicions.

the crisis management team leader seemed to find denver’s suggestion a viable strategy and nodded in agreement.

“we need to consult with the human resources manager, but i think we can easily gather around 200 people.”

“it would be better if we could get more.”

“i...i’ll take care of that!”

“good. keep up the momentum, security chief.”

although the plan involved sacrificing 200 innocent lives as food for the carnivorous monster, no one in the room found it strange.

those employed by megacorp were not ‘human.’

they were classified as administrative resources. they could be slaughtered or euthanized as common resources when needed.

if capturing the monster meant business for denver and eliminating a potential threat to the city’s security for the two leaders, then everyone in the room would benefit.

“very well. if the deputy chief’s confirmation is complete, we’ll proceed with the operation immediately.”

“understood.”

“security chief, if this operation is successful, i’ll request clemency for you from the administrator.”

“really? i’ll do my best!”

“your majesty, while it may not be a proper military operation, it would be good to have a codename. if you could decide.”

“can i decide?”

“no one among the soldiers disrespects, your majesty. if you decide, it would be an honor for us.”

denver pondered for a moment. then he recalled what laila had said to him before.

what is that unseen, ghost-like entity?

recalling that memory, denver spoke.

“how about this? operation ghost hunt.”

“operation ghost hunt. excellent. we will exterminate that invisible ghost. hoorah!”

“very enthusiastic! hahaha.”

everything was going according to his plan. denver burst into genuine laughter, brimming with joy.

‘the creature is mine!’

the long-standing wish of the family was nearing fulfillment. while laughing, denver secretly clenched his fist.

he would not let go of the captured monster under any circumstances.

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