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[Translator – Seraph]
[Proofreader – Draxx]
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Chapter 448
NOX-02. Codename: Nox.
This planet held the most crucial yet least valued resource in the NEO-3 system:
Water.
Nox was a water world, its surface entirely covered in ocean. It was the primary source of water for the system’s inhabitants.
According to the lore uncovered by Megacorp players, space colonization used to be severely limited due to a lack of technology. During the early colonization phases, whether a planet had water like NEO-3 was a top priority.
But that changed. With the advent of terraforming systems and other advanced methods to generate water, the value of natural water sources had drastically declined.
And besides, Space Survival was a game. Many survival mechanics were streamlined. Water consumption included. That made Nox a rather unappealing planet in the eyes of players.
But what if this wasn’t a game? What if this was reality?
Then everything changes.
Humans who haven’t undergone genetic enhancements require much more water to survive. Living off minimal game-style hydration would definitely lead to problems.
And no matter how advanced your tech is, creating water from scratch is costly. If a system already has a water source, it saves a lot of resources.
Taking that into account, the real-world value of Nox is probably far greater than I ever considered.
‘Still, that doesn’t mean it’s a good place for a research facility.’
Nox has no real landmasses; its entire foundation is submerged. The average ocean depth spans dozens of kilometers. In the game, there were only floating resort platforms and water extraction stations to transport the liquid offworld.
That’s not to say you can’t build a research base here. It’s just not practical. You’d have to build deep-sea underwater facilities, like constructing an orbital fortress beneath the waves. Sure, it’s doable but expensive and inefficient, especially when there are better locations available.
‘Unless, of course, they chose this place precisely to stay out of sight.’
Why they built a research facility on Nox and what’s inside was something I intended to find out now.
Lying inside the hangar, I activated the comms using the secondary organ beneath my jaw.
“What happened with the thing we discussed?”
｢Following the Amorph’s suggestion, we quickly received planetary entry clearance.｣
｢Honestly, I didn’t expect it to go this smoothly. You really are a master manipulator.｣
PS-111 replied in its usual flat tone, and Isabel, who was on the bridge with it, offered a dry remark that could’ve been admiration or disgust.
‘Just as I expected.’
It had been two days since we left the wreckage of the orbital city. Now, we were arriving near Nox.
Since the rescue ship we were on had been authorized by the Edgerton family, moving freely through the system wasn’t a problem.
But just because we had a travel permit didn’t mean we could walk into a secret facility without restrictions. Entering Nox would involve far stricter inspections.
And obviously, I had no patience for such tedious procedures.
That’s why I chose the easier path. The method I was best at.
Deceiving someone above the gatekeepers.
This ship might look like a rescue vessel, but its real mission was different. Its objective was to secure survivors infected with the Outsapcer parasite.
And the one who issued that mission was Jacob, the ruler of NEO-3.
He was the same man who had ordered Blair, the ship’s former captain, to transport the infected back to NEO-3.
‘That guy definitely pulled strings to get us through the gateway quarantine with such ease.’
Judging by Blair’s recorded logs, Jacob had been doing all this for profit. He planned to research the new species of parasite embedded in the infected and use it to develop new weapons.
To Jacob, the Outsapcer parasite was everything. And like any true Prime Capital elitist, he wouldn’t care what happened to the subordinates carrying out his orders. All he wanted was the infected, safely delivered to him; anything else was expendable.
And now, just two days ago, he had lost an entire orbital city. He’d be desperate to recoup that loss making him easier to fool.
‘So, I had Joel contact Jacob on Blair’s behalf.’
We told him Blair had died during the escape from the gate city and that Joel had taken over as captain. Our request was simple: stop by Nox for ship repairs and to restock on supplies.
As you can see, it went exactly as planned.
Jacob, suspecting nothing, gave us full clearance to enter the planet.
｢Then I’ll begin preparations for planetary entry.｣
"Thanks. I’m counting on you."
Right after ending the transmission, I felt a faint tremor ripple through the hangar wall. The ship was accelerating approaching Nox.
｢Big One, it's moving.｣
Sensing the vibration, Number 26 sent out a pulse laced with curiosity. It tucked the cultist-style psychic terminal it had been playing with back into its body and came closer to me.
｢Where are we going?｣
[ZZZ ZZZ ZZZZ (We’re going to a water-filled ocean planet.)]
｢Ocean?｣
At the mention of the word, its body shimmered with excitement.
｢I know oceans really well! They’re comfortable, cozy, easy to move in, and full of nice friends! Some bad friends bother the nice ones, but I can punish them!｣
[ZZZ (Right.)]
Number 26 eagerly waved its pink tentacles as it spoke, visibly thrilled to hear something it recognized.
｢Ocean｣ ｢Not great｣
Adhai, on the other hand, responded dryly.
｢Water｣ ｢Too much｣ ｢No ground｣ ｢Hard to rest｣ ｢Mid-flight｣ ｢Impossible｣
｢No, no! Just float and it’s easy.｣
｢Water｣ ｢Landing｣ ｢Sink｣ ｢Not good｣
｢I’ll teach the Little One. She just needs to study.｣
Adhai, who had been grooming her wings nearby, gave her head a small shake as if the idea alone was unpleasant.
Can’t blame her.
Gallagons typically lived in volcanic or frozen worlds harsh environments, sure, but ones they were familiar with. Worlds full of liquid water weren’t part of that.
Adhai had at least encountered the ocean before while traveling with us. But even then, it hadn’t been a good experience.
‘That was during our trip to the Cult’s holy site, wasn’t it?’
Back then, due to unfortunate circumstances, we had been separated. Adhai had to cross the ocean while badly injured. No wonder she hated it.
｢There’s lots of tasty food in the ocean. Both little ones and big ones love it.｣
｢Food?｣
｢Yep! The hard ones are fun to break open and eat. And the small ones that swarm together are yummy if you swallow a bunch at once!｣
｢Food｣ ｢Hunting｣ ｢Good｣
Though she’d seemed uninterested at first, Adhai’s expression shifted at the mention of unfamiliar prey.
｢Strong prey｣ ｢Hunt｣ ｢For Big One｣
[ZZ (For me?)]
｢A gift.｣
She said it while brushing the tip of her tail lightly along my carapace.
She’s always enjoyed hunting. Clearly, she was looking forward to facing new prey in a new environment.
｢I’ll give Big One a gift too!｣
Number 26 let out an excited pulse and leapt onto my head.
｢I’ll bring you the tastiest food!｣
[ZZZ (Thanks.)]
｢Yay!｣
｢Me｣ ｢Biggest prey｣ ｢Gift｣ ｢Big prey｣ ｢Tasty｣
[ZZZ Z (Thanks, Adhai, too.)]
｢Little One doesn’t like the ocean, so she doesn’t have to.｣
｢Little Adult｣ ｢Promised｣ ｢To teach｣
｢Little One is smart. She’ll figure it out.｣
｢Actually｣ ｢Studying｣ ｢Unnecessary｣ ｢I’ve gotten stronger｣ ｢I can hunt alone now｣
[ZZZHuh?)]
｢Prey run away well. No matter how strong you are, you can’t find them.｣
｢Me｣ ｢Fast｣ ｢They can’t escape｣
｢Speed isn’t enough. If they hide, it doesn’t matter. Ocean prey hide really well.｣
｢Wrong｣ ｢Me｣ ｢Search｣ ｢Hunt｣ ｢All｣ ｢Good at it｣
[ZZZ (Wait a second?)]
The flow of conversation was… off. The content was oddly aggressive, even though their pulses and thoughts weren’t carrying any strong emotions.
‘Are they just bored?’
That would make sense. Ever since we met up, we’d all been cooped up in this ship no real meals, no hunting, nothing but travel. They were restless.
Sea Demons and Red Gallagons can go months without food, but even so, hunger-induced stress was hard to avoid.
‘I’ll have to find something edible once we’re down there.’
That should help lighten the mood.
[ZZZ ZZZZ ZZ ZZZZZ (We’ll be landing soon. I know it’s boring, but just hang in there a little longer.)]
｢Okay.｣
｢Got it.｣
I calmed the two down with gentle strokes. Almost instantly, they softened, as if nothing had happened.
“…By the way, are you sure that body can handle the water?”
Then came Isabel’s voice from outside.
“Not the body, but those wings look awfully thin.”
“It’s fine. With continuous improvements, the wings now have 71% of the outer shell’s durability. There will be no issue operating in the deep sea.”
“Good to hear.”
The Screamer sisters entered the hangar together, chatting as usual.
“Amorph. The ship is scheduled to arrive at the designated destination in ten minutes.”
PS-111 had left the bridge after switching the ship into auto-navigation mode. Until we reached the floating station on Nox, the crew under my control would assist the ship’s systems.
‘But by then, we wouldn’t be on the ship anymore.’
“How long until we enter the atmosphere?”
“Seven minutes remaining.”
Just as it said, exactly seven minutes later, the ship breached Nox’s atmosphere.
The hangar doors opened. Thick, humid air rushed inside.
A stunning panorama spread before us brilliant white clouds and an endless stretch of blue sea. There wasn’t a speck of brown or green. No land.
[ZZZ (Let’s go.)]
And so, toward this planet even bluer than Earth itself, I leapt with all of them following me.
***
Beep.
‘Hmm?’
The man, just about to reach into a snack bag, paused at the unfamiliar sound. He dusted off the crumbs and fiddled with the terminal connected to his computer.
‘A meteorite?’
His submersible had detected an unidentified shockwave from the ocean surface.
As he reviewed the scan logs, his coworker approached with a cup of coffee.
“What’s up?”
“A minor shockwave just registered from this coordinate. There wasn’t any meteor forecast for today, right?”
“Could it be lightning?”
“Tch. No, the wave pattern’s totally different.”
Both men stared at the screen. There was no further movement from the point of origin.
“We’ll have to check it out directly.”
“Figures.”
Their surveillance sub belonged to a deep-sea base located far beneath the surface. Their job was to report any arrivals, human or otherwise.
“Alright. Let’s move.”
The submersible swiftly navigated toward the location.
About ten minutes later, they arrived at the coordinates where the anomaly had occurred.
“Seeing anything?”
“Nothing. Checked for life signatures, micro-energy waves, vibrations, temperature you name it. Not a trace.”
Their sub was equipped with high-end sensors. Even after several scans, nothing registered.
“That’s weird. Why does this part show up as blank?”
“Blank?”
“Look. This whole area’s just... wiped clean.”
“Huh. So it is.”
“Screw it. We’re checking with our own eyes.”
“Got it.”
The coworker adjusted the controls and launched a search flare.
A small artificial sun bloomed outside the reinforced glass. The flare drifted downward, casting immense light into the dark depths.
And with that light, the blank spot on their sensors finally came into view.
“Is that it?”
“Looks like a small hill.”
A low mound of solid ice stood at the seafloor, roughly 20 meters tall. Possibly near a hydrothermal vent black steam-like mist veiled the entire formation.
“Doesn’t look weird to me. Maybe a sensor glitch?”
“When was our last maintenance again?”
“Guess it is about time. Let’s head back.”
They circled the area multiple times but found nothing out of the ordinary. The sub turned to return to base.
And so, they didn’t see it.
The mound, shrouded in dark mist, moved. Very slowly. Very quietly.
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[Translator – Seraph]
[Proofreader – Draxx]
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