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Chapter 2

‘Let’s go to the cooling room next to the reactor.’

Even in the space age, the way humans handle heat hasn’t changed much from before. Next to the ship’s heart, the nuclear fusion engine, there was a cooling room responsible for temperature control.

‘The cooling room is an important facility, so not many people visit it.’

Despite being under strict security as a highly critical facility, the flip side is that there are fewer visitors. It’s like they say, where it’s darkest under the lamp. As long as I don’t physically interfere with the cooling room, the area around it is a good place to grow while avoiding the gaze of the surveillance.

Another advantage is that the cooling room is right next to the reactor. If, for some reason, I’m exposed to people, the cooling room is an easy place to use as a last line of defense.

‘If things go south, I can always destroy the reactor and the cooling room and make my escape.’

If there’s a problem with the cooling room, it means there’s also a problem with the reactor, and a ship with a malfunctioning heart has no choice but to stop operating. Once the ship stops operating, all the life support systems that maintain the ship’s environment will also cease to function.

Initially, they might try to recover the ship, such as by running the auxiliary engines, but that won’t last long either. Just as a creature with a damaged heart cannot escape death, the same goes for the ship. Unless there’s a nearby planet to crash-land on, the people on board the ship have only one fate: to kill and be killed in the dwindling oxygen.

Of course, if the ship were to stop, I would have nowhere to go, so I should leave attacking the reactor as a last resort.

‘Well then, shall we go?’

Before departing, I ate two more calorie bars. With my belly filled, I jumped up to the ceiling. Tiny suckers between my claws firmly anchored my body to the ceiling, allowing me to move easily even while hanging upside down. The reason insects can move along walls is thanks to structures called pulvilli.

These structures secrete a highly adhesive substance that helps them easily traverse smooth walls. Thanks to the substance secreted from between my claws, I could move just as smoothly while hanging from the ceiling.

While walking upside down on the ceiling, I noticed an entrance leading to an air duct. Its external appearance resembled an enlarged window-type ventilation fan, with iron bars screwed on the outside.

On the inside, a giant blade rotated incessantly, emitting a fierce sound as it carried out its work.

‘Breaking through the bars is still impossible.’

It would be nice to break everything impressively and enter, but it was impossible in my current Hatchling state. Even if I tried to strike the bars with my claws, there was doubt as to whether I could damage the tough alloy material. And even if I did manage to damage it, it would be a problem.

If there were any additional security measures, the AI overseeing the ship would immediately report any newly occurring errors to humans. In that case, my future would be nothing but tracking and death.

‘In this case, I’ll have to rely on my intellectual abilities.’

I raised my claws and turned the screws that secured the bars. If the ship’s humans had paid more attention to security, they might have welded this place shut. Fortunately, they were a tribe that liked to use 1234 as their cargo password.

The first barrier that blocked the air duct was easily disabled by my claws. The next obstacle was the blade of the ventilation fan on the inside.

‘This is the critical moment.’

I had two ways to pass through here. One was to time it and avoid the blade while entering, and the other was to bring something and damage the ventilation fan blade. It goes without saying, but the latter method was impossible.

Even if I threw an object at the thin fan blade, it was doubtful whether it would be enough to break it. Moreover, even if I succeeded in breaking it, there would be a problem. If there were any issues with the ventilation fan, the super AI controlling the ship would definitely not overlook it.

The AI would immediately report any newly occurring errors to humans. In that case, my remaining future would be nothing but tracking and death.

‘I have to go through here.’

From now on, it was time to rely on Amorph’s abilities. I just stood there, waiting, as I couldn’t risk entering and having the blade tear me to pieces.

While waiting, the auxiliary system began to collect various pieces of information, such as the flow of air, the flow of energy generated at the junction of the blades, and more.

It wasn’t just the auxiliary system working diligently. A highly developed sense of vision focused on the precise movements of the rotating blades to find weaknesses in the intricate machinery.

‘How much time had passed?’

The auxiliary system detected traces of iron oxide mixed in the air and fine metal particles carried by the wind. Additionally, it discovered that the junction of the rotating blades slowed down briefly at certain points due to wear and tear.

My brain, after reviewing all the information from my eyes and the auxiliary system, was saying, ‘Jump in right now’.

‘It’s now or never.’

I trusted my heightened senses and leaped into the ventilation duct. The merciless machine god struck me with its air pressure as the blade sliced through the air.

If I were still human, I might have shouted with joy, but my oral structure was not suited for laughter. All I could produce was a dry, hissing sound.

After briefly savoring the moment of survival, I continued my journey.

The ventilation duct had a complex, maze-like structure, but it posed no obstacle before my heightened senses. Normally, the ship’s interior, which was like blood vessels, would have been quiet, but today, it was even noisier due to the presence of an unfamiliar visitor.

The sounds of the wind passing through the various ventilation fans scattered throughout, combined with the noise of my claws colliding with the metal plates.

‘There are spiders here.’

The spiders and beatles I encountered on my way turned out to be good snacks during the journey. Both the Beatles and the spiders, like me, had been living well, thanks to the abundance of food and energy sources on the spaceship.

This ensured that I didn’t have to worry about hunger or energy shortages on my way.

Chewing on the spider’s legs as I walked, I sensed the residual heat remaining in the duct diminish faintly. It was evidence that I was getting closer to the cooling room.

I wanted to hurry, but the auxiliary system applied the brakes ahead. There was something important ahead, and it needed confirmation.

‘Hmm?’

I still couldn’t see it, but I detected wavelengths of light not far away. After walking tirelessly for about ten minutes on my four pairs of legs, I reached a section of the duct with an iron grating on the floor.

I stood on the grating, looking down. People in white coats were seen moving between large test tubes and incubators.

‘A laboratory? Wasn’t this supposed to be a regular spaceship?’

I had assumed it was a supply or cargo ship because of the amount of food and weapons in the cargo hold, but now, it turned out to be a laboratory.

If this ship was indeed a research vessel, it wouldn’t be a bad condition for me.

“Hey, how are the results for Experiment Subject 026?”

“It’s another failure.”

“Tsk, the Research officer is going to lose it again.”

“She’s an Earthling, after all. The captain can’t help but spoil her.”

“Sigh, let’s call it a day.”

After confirming that the two men left the laboratory, I unscrewed the grating and descended below.

‘They look like MegaCorp types.’

MegaCorp was a human faction that had thrived around the solar system, a race loosely inspired by Earthlings. According to the lore, they were governed by massive corporations instead of governments, and most of their members were extreme materialists.

While most human factions in the space survival game tended to be neutral, MegaCorp leaned more towards a villainous alignment, perhaps due to their lore.

‘There’s no place other than MegaCorp where they’d modify healthy individuals into slaves.’

MegaCorp captured and modified people who were either poor or members of other alien races through a process known as ‘Employment.’ It was one of the unique racial traits of MegaCorp, and in the game, players often found themselves actively using it because of the significant advantages it offered.

In the game, of course. In real life, why would anyone do such a thing? The air in the laboratory was thick with the scent of blood.

‘What should I do?’

The auxiliary system had provided me with the location of the refrigerator where the genetic samples were stored, but I couldn’t make a hasty decision.

‘When I eat is the crucial factor.’

For Amorph, collecting genetic essence wasn’t just about gathering genetic samples; it was about when to consume them.

To move beyond the hatchling stage, there was one essential condition: consuming a living sentient being. In other words, to evolve from a hatchling, one had to kill a person.

‘Killing a person…’

In the game, killing people was no problem, but could it be done in reality? Even if you thought you could easily do it now, when faced with it in reality, hesitation could be the end. My body was in such a fragile state that it had to be done with a single blow.

‘I should also refrain from causing a commotion here until I’m prepared.’

As much as I desired the genetic sample, eating and clearing it here would leave me unable to evade pursuit. Conquering the laboratory would only happen after I had killed and consumed a person.

‘Let’s see what’s here today.’

My path would greatly change depending on the purpose of this research ship. If it specialized in terrestrial combat mutant soldiers or studied Hulk mutants, I could secure a robust body and combat abilities.

On the other hand, if it was a place experimenting with space elves or cultists’ psychic abilities, I might gain powerful psychic powers.

‘Personally, I’d prefer the cultists, but it might be unrealistic to get psychic powers from the beginning.’

I began using all my sensory organs to examine what was in the laboratory.

Unlike the dark and dingy cargo hold, the laboratory was surrounded by clean white walls. It looked remarkably good on the surface, but paradoxically, it was filled with death and suffering behind the bright façade.

In the test tubes, living human brains and forcibly brought biological specimens were submerged in chemical solutions. AI in the incubators checked the status of embryos while sending electronic signals.

Various pieces of information poured into my head, such as the smell of chemical compounds, busy electromagnetic waves in the air, the scent of blood and decaying skin tissue, and pheromones unconsciously emitted by organisms in pain. Amidst the flood of information from the auxiliary system, I caught one unusual piece of information.

‘Help? Someone’s asking for help?’

Using special wavelengths that humans couldn’t perceive, some life form was requesting assistance from me.

Intrigued, I followed the wavelengths, which led me to a test chamber labeled [026]. Inside the chamber floated a pink, bubble-like organism.

‘A Bubble Amoeba.’

Bubble amoebas were non-player creatures that inhabited aquatic planets. They usually floated in water like droplets but would engulf and digest their prey in an instant when it came close.

Unless they were exceptionally large, they posed no significant threat to players, and they were harmless and cute-looking. Many players seeking solace in the harsh space survival world often favored them.

I had never expected them to possess intelligence. However, this one had approached me and sent another wave.

⌈Pain. Help.⌋

While an exact translation was impossible, thanks to Amorph’s unique senses, I could roughly grasp the meaning. This creature was in pain for some reason and was asking for my help.

‘What should I do?’

I could consider eating it, but based on my memory, the Bubble Amoeba had the most useless trait for Amorph.

Its trait was called “Oxygen Storage,” allowing it to provide a certain amount of oxygen in oxygen-deprived environments. While this might have been useful for other races, Amorph could survive for extended periods without oxygen, so this trait was entirely unnecessary.

‘Eating is out of the question. But I want to help, and I don’t know how.’

I focused my senses on the test chamber, searching for clues. I detected the flow of the mixture circulating within the thick hose connected at the bottom, the movements of measuring instruments inside the machine checking the liquid’s state, and a faint flow of electricity above the liquid’s surface.

‘Electricity?’

Come to think of it, the little guy had a small sensor attached to its body. Connected by a wire, the sensor periodically sent electricity through its body.

Understanding what the creature was requesting, I climbed up to the terminal next to the test chamber. On the terminal screen, there were periodic appearances of the creature’s bio-rhythm graph and the experiment results of the AI.

‘Was this what those two researchers were talking about earlier?’

Seems like they muttered about a failure and left without turning off the machine.

I pressed the terminal button to stop the experiment. The faint electrical signals from the sensor were cut off, and the creature regained its vitality. It blinked its pink bubble-like body as if expressing gratitude.

⌈Thanks.⌋

‘It’s okay’

I didn’t consider it a favor. If the creature had been necessary to me, I would have used it as a source for absorbing essence without hesitation. I just indulged in a whim momentarily, judging it as a harmless and incompetent creature.

‘Survive on your own.’

In MegaCorp’s lab, there was no avoiding destruction. Nevertheless, I hoped to spend what remained of my life as comfortably as possible and left the laboratory.

After about 30 minutes of walking through the corridor, the temperature suddenly dropped. Water droplets clung to the walls, and a thin frost covered the corridor floor.

I had finally reached the cooling chamber.

‘All right. Let’s make a nest now.’

I gathered water droplets stuck to the walls and swallowed them in one go. Then, I held water in my mouth for a while, as if gargling, and spat it out again.

It was no longer pure water. The water that entered my body had transformed into a substance with a peculiar composition harmful to creatures other than Amorph.

This filthy mucus, resembling gum chewed and spit out, had the effect of extending the lifespan of nearby Amorph, enhancing the effects of their heightened senses.

Once the coating of the corridor above the cooling chamber was complete, I settled down here. I stretched my body in the center of this sticky, toxic, and contaminated space. I felt cozy, like I was inside my mother’s womb, and closed my eyes.

‘I can feel it. The ship feels like a part of me.’

What’s the most important thing to win in a war?

It’s information.

The humans of MegaCorp and me, Amorph.

They didn’t know me, but I knew them. I knew where they were, what they were doing, where they were going, who they were talking to, and every piece of information flowed to me through the liquid that coated the corridor.

They wouldn’t know the war had already begun, and they were already in the midst of losing.

In the darkness of the nest, I smiled silently.