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[Translator – Seraph]
[Proofreader – Draxx]
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Chapter 449
‘As expected, they’re leaving without a clue.’
In the distance, a thin beam of light shimmered faintly in the darkness.
A submersible, roughly the size of a small patrol ship, was cutting through the deep-sea currents, completely unaware of what was silently tailing them from below.
‘Well, normal humans wouldn’t be able to see me anyway.’
Right now, I was using two traits simultaneously to conceal myself.
First, the Dark Shroud, which spread like smoke to mask me and the others.
This special substance expelled through biological pipes nullified detection systems. Ideally, it would cover a much wider area, but the intense water pressure limited it to just my immediate surroundings.
What made up for that shortcoming was my unique trait, Sinister Mimic.
Besides enhancing the Symbol of Hunt trait, Sinister Mimic granted me an exceptional camouflage ability. Thanks to it, my body hidden within the shroud had morphed to resemble the surrounding terrain.
The outer shell now mimicked the texture of the icy sea floor. The massive cephalothorax and back-tendrils had been shaped into ridges, making me look like just another hill on the seabed.
Many creatures had traits for mimicking their surroundings, but nothing came close to Sinister Mimic. Its disguise was so flawless, even PS-111 with cameras embedded in its eyes would struggle to detect me.
‘There’s no way ordinary biological eyes could see through this.’
The effect even adapted to environmental shifts in real time replicating the shifting seabed and flowing currents perfectly. Despite several close passes, the submersible had detected nothing.
Which meant tailing the enemy was no problem at all.
‘Except for one thing.’
The only hassle was that everyone had to cling tightly to me as we moved.
None of my companions had reliable stealth capabilities. To evade Megacorp’s detection systems, they had to remain within the radius of my Dark Shroud.
So PS-111, Isabel, and Adhai were all pressed close against me.
PS-111 had folded its wings like a beetle and clung to my tail. Isabel, with her long and slender body, hugged the seafloor and used my bulk as cover.
Adhai had a similarly slim build, but her large wings made things trickier. She was also using her Red Armor to withstand deep-sea pressure, making her stand out even more.
So I wrapped my arms around her, keeping her completely hidden from view.
[ZZZ (You okay?)]
｢Can’t move. Feels tight. Armor… focus… uncomfortable. Still…｣
She had been grumbling through her thought-waves, but suddenly paused. Then, she rested her head against my inner chest.
｢…Sometimes, it’s not so bad.｣
I had been worried, but judging from her thoughts, her mood seemed fine after all.
[ZZZ (What about you two?)]
｢No problem.｣
｢Condition nominal. Adaptations optimized for extreme environments.｣
The Screamer sisters replied just as they had in space projecting psychic waveforms instead of speech.
Unlike her still-learning sister, PS-111’s signals were clear and precise, likely a result of having a High Councilor’s brain transplanted into her systems.
With everyone accounted for, I tilted my head up and looked overhead.
Near the edge of the Dark Shroud, a small pink jellyfish floated leisurely.
It was Number 26, our only companion born and raised in the ocean.
Being back in a familiar environment seemed to suit it far better than dry land ever had.
‘Can’t blame it.’
Sea Demons can function on land, but their true habitat is the deep sea. Just from looking at their physiology, it’s obvious they're not built for land travel.
If anything, Number 26’s ability to move about on land is the strange part.
‘Glad it’s enjoying itself.’
There was a strange warmth in watching it swim so happily.
Number 26 had done so much for me, yet there wasn’t much I could do in return. The best I could offer was to find some prey it might enjoy.
‘If only there were oceans near Adhai’s home…’
Unfortunately, there are no oceans near the Gallagons’ habitat.
There’s a hot spring fed by geothermal rivers and acid rain, but that’s hardly the same thing.
‘Could I maybe make one myself using a trait?’
I was still thinking over whether one of my abilities might allow that, when Number 26 swam over.
｢Big One, there’s no food here. Not a single bite.｣
Its thought-wave carried clear confusion.
‘True.’
As far as I know, there are no Sea Demons native to NOX. But there are other deep-sea predators. Things like the Pale Mask, which I’ve encountered before.
There should be plenty of marine life forms in the deep sea. If we’ve come down this far, it’d be normal to see at least a few creatures swimming around.
But so far, the only living thing we’ve seen is that submersible up ahead.
‘It’s got to be one of two things.’
Either that sub is deliberately following safe routes or Megacorp has already wiped out everything dangerous in these waters.
Neither option is far-fetched.
The first thing Megacorp players usually do when building a base is cleanse the surrounding ecosystem. It’s all about eliminating risk and collecting genetic samples along the way.
This research facility may have gone through the same process.
｢I wanted to give Big One a present.｣
[ZZZZ ZZZ (It’s fine. Let’s keep looking.)]
｢Okay.｣
If the base owners already cleaned out the wilds, we’re not likely to find anything out here. But inside the facility that sub is heading to there might still be something edible.
‘Though we probably won’t be able to hunt it.’
A shame, but I’ll have to look forward to the coming battle with the Outspacers instead.
So we quietly continued trailing the sub.
A few hours later, a faint glimmer appeared in the pitch-black sea ahead no bigger than a grain of sand.
‘That must be it.’
As we got closer, the submerged research facility slowly came into view.
Several dozen kilometers beneath the ocean, a massive man-made structure sat anchored to the seafloor. That was the deep-sea base.
Its design was striking an enormous toroidal structure wrapped around a central dome. Like someone had cut Saturn in half and dropped it underwater.
‘That’s huge.’
Not quite the size of a planet, but the facility was well beyond standard specs. Just the outer ring alone looked to be twice the diameter of a typical orbital city.
｢Never seen… a base that big.｣
｢Scale exceeds Megacorp’s standard research complexes.｣
Isabel and PS-111 each voiced their thoughts. I agreed. Even in the game, I’d never seen an undersea city that large.
‘And the layout’s odd, too.’
Typical underwater bases include massive elevator towers and communication arrays to connect with surface facilities.
But this one had none of that.
Being a secret base, they must’ve deliberately removed entry points to control traffic.
‘Let’s get closer and take a look.’
I stopped trailing the sub and slowly changed course toward the base.
Then PS-111 spoke up.
｢Amorph. A problem has occurred.｣
[ZZZZ (What is it?)]
｢Base communications network… The security level is extreme. Cannot intercept or disrupt.｣
[ZZZ ZZZ Z (Not even with your signal disruptors?)]
｢Correct. No effect. Direct connection is only viable method.｣
This is the same system that can hijack battleship comms and even tap into satellites with ease. For PS-111 to say it’s impossible the security must be on another level.
‘So what now…?’
There was no way to sneak in from here. A facility that monitors the entire ocean wouldn’t fail to detect damage to its structure. If something triggered an alert, they’d call for reinforcements immediately.
‘Using the infected is off the table.’
The hosts carrying the parasite are currently back at the surface facility, far from here. Bringing them all the way down to infiltrate this place? No way. It’s not viable.
In that case, it’d be faster to figure out a way to infect someone inside the base instead.
‘Wait a second…’
An idea flashed through my mind.
‘Come to think of it, I haven’t used that since the Great Infector changed.’
The Unique Trait Great Infector allows me to select infection- and nest-type traits and imbue them with special effects.
Thanks to that trait, I’d once been able to release acidic fungus as a breath weapon or spray machine-corrupting microbes in cloud form.
But after merging with the Twisted Abomination, the effect of the Great Infector changed.
Before, I could strengthen up to six traits: three infection-type and three nest-type.
Now, I could choose up to three traits from either category and grant them a special effect called ‘Psychic Contamination Boost’.
This change had reset the traits I’d previously enhanced like Parasitic Hive and Acidic Fungal Glands. I hadn’t reassigned them since, simply because I hadn’t needed to.
‘Looks like now’s the time.’
I summoned the text box.
[Great Infector]
You are one, yet many.
｢You may select up to 3 traits from the Infection/Nest Enhancement categories and grant them a special effect.
*Psychic Contamination Boost: Unassigned, Unassigned, Unassigned
*Note: Once all effects are granted, traits cannot be swapped until the enhanced traits are removed.
*PS: Depending on perspective, the individual may become the collective.｣
All slots were marked as ‘Unassigned’. But I already knew which trait I wanted to empower.
[ZZZ ZZZ ZZZ (Can you tell where the comms equipment is located?)]
｢Precise estimate unavailable.｣
[ZZZ ZZZ ZZ (Just need the general area and sector.)]
｢That much is possible.｣
I began slowly circling the perimeter of the facility. Along the way, PS-111 pointed out spots that likely contained communication terminals.
Once I had a good idea of the layout, I set the trait I had in mind Gremlin Moss, a fused trait that had proven useful against machines.
‘If it still spreads like a cloud, that would be perfect.’
Or maybe, given the new ‘Psychic Contamination’ modifier, it might behave differently, something linked to psychic influence.
‘Either way, I’ll find out by using it.’
[ZZZ ZZZ ZZ (You two, back away for a moment.)]
They might get caught in the effect. I distanced myself slightly from the Screamer Sisters and moved toward one of the locations PS-111 had indicated.
Then I activated the newly enhanced Gremlin Moss.
A strange shimmer began to flow from my body light spilling beyond the edge of the Dark Veil.
Tiny glowing motes, like fireflies in the abyss, drifted out into the open waters and slowly descended onto the icy crust.
｢Wow! Sparkle-sparkle! It’s so pretty!｣
Number 26’s gleeful pulse resonated around me.
And it was beautiful visually. The way those glowing motes glimmered on the ocean floor was mesmerizing.
But what my energy field detected told a different story. The Gremlin Moss had nothing in common with real fireflies or anything innocent.
Ominous sparks drifted slowly outward, then began to creep, inch by inch, over the human-built structure coiling into cracks and seams like living fog.
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[Translator – Seraph]
[Proofreader – Draxx]
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