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Chapter 74

[Note:- “모프박이” is a Korean slang term that refers to a person who enjoys and spends a significant amount of time playing the video game “MapleStory,” a popular multiplayer online role-playing game. The term combines “모프” (MapleStory’s Korean name) and “박이,” a suffix indicating a person who is a fan or enthusiast of something. In this context, “모프박이” would roughly translate to “Morph enthusiast” .]

Of course, I had an explanation for it.

‘If the character design is originally like this, there’s no need to criticize me.’

The Amorph race itself specialized in ambush and hunting. So, there would be no user who plays as conventionally as the game company prescribed, as much as I do.

Anyway, the reason why I brought up the past is due to the trait that I applied to my body. ‘Apparent death’. Surviving as an Amorph until it grows enough is not easy. Even if it evolves safely, it cannot entrust its back to comrades or clans like other races, always having to fight alone.

What characteristics does an Amorph Need the most? Surviving, devouring, evolving—among these, ironically, the most important thing for Amorph is the first one. ‘Surviving.’ Not dying and persistently surviving, just like a cockroach, is the essence of an Amorph play. Only by surviving can the rest—devouring, evolution, etc. be possible.

However, unless other players are fools, they won’t leave a potential threat as it is. Hence, there are players who specialize in hunting Amorph, and most users will try to kill Amorph if they discover it.

So, how can one survive safely?

‘After all they wanted me dead.’

At this point, I changed my approach. I would do what they wanted, but inversely. Hence I started to often disguise my death to escape enemy surveillance.

The ‘Apparent death’ trait, as the name suggests, temporarily puts the player in a half-dead state. In Space Survival, when a player dies, the corpse remains in place until resurrected. So, even if my corpse remains, enemies will find it hard to notice anything strange.

As the system judges it as equivalent to death, it appears as if I died without a hitch from the NPC’s point of view. For example, mercenaries scouting for MegaCorp can’t distinguish whether I faked my death with the trait or not. They simply report finding my corpse to their client.

‘In fact, it’s not a mistake or error on the NPC’s part; it’s designed that way in the system.’

When the ‘Apparent death’ trait activates, the caster’s health or status is all falsely displayed. Even players with the ability to read other’s information can’t distinguish whether I actually died or not.

The only way to see through the ‘Apparent death’, excluding the caster, is to use equipment, techniques, or characteristics that nullify its effects.

When enemies who don’t have a means to see through it, their reactions when they see my corpse usually fall into two categories. Most just leave the spot, satisfied with having killed me, or they quickly move away, assuming I might pull off some trickery.

Those who remain cautious and move away are not necessarily timid or cowardly. They have their reasons for behaving that way. Before engaging in a fight, I always prepare various things on the battlefield. Setting up nests in unexpected places and ambushing from there, etc.

‘There’s a trait related to nests that changes the respawn location after you die, to a nest.’

I’ve turned the tide of the battle using these methods several times. Therefore, players who have experienced many defeats against me become more cautious when fighting with me. Of course, there were brave users attempting to provoke me by defiling my corpse. There were many users who were driven by revenge, who were fueled by anger, lost their sanity and tried to torment me.

In such cases, there’s only one thing I can do.

‘Treat insanity with insanity.’

Anyway, I had many enemies, including players ranked lower or higher than me. For someone like me, always living in danger, the ‘Apparent death’ characteristic was one of the most useful.

‘I was lucky to have acquired such a good trait.’

Thankful for the taste of pork that the knight had, I picked up my gear and moved. I headed to the place where I first lured knights into a fight. Since there were four knight corpses left, I needed to take care of them.

‘I’ll give the female knight to the kids, and eat the rest.’

It would be nice to create a new decoy with the hidden signal chip, but with the current sewer conditions, it seemed challenging.

A significant portion of the surrounding walls had collapsed, so the signal chip would likely be damaged.

‘Anyway, due to the effect of Psychic Breath, the signal won’t be properly transmitted.’

Upon arriving at the location, I cleared the collapsed debris and retrieved the corpses. Thanks to the protection of the superior reinforced armor, the condition of the corpses was good.

I left the body of the female knight nearby and carried the corpses, chewing them.

‘It would be nice to eat leisurely, but there’s no time.’

I have to hurry since I don’t know when other enemies will come here.

‘Did they use the same genes? All of them taste like pork.’

Even though I like pork, having the same taste again and again makes it a bit boring.

‘There’s just one left, should I just give it to the kids?’

Perhaps it’s better for me to eat the female knight and give this corpse to the kids. While pondering over the corpses, the auxiliary organ sent a signal to me.

‘Someone is approaching from this direction.’

I took the female knight and the remaining corpses and submerged them into the water. By pressing my body against the floor, I could barely conceal myself except for the back part.

‘Fortunately, there’s a lot of debris around here.’

Concealing myself amidst the collapsed ruins, I heard voices from afar.

“Honestly, do we need to go rescue the knights?”

“Knights aren’t omnipotent, are they? They get hungry if they don’t eat, and they get squashed if the building collapses; it’s the same for ‘It’.”

The newly arrived individuals numbered six in total. They were all wearing gas masks and intermediate reinforced armor, carrying Gauss rifles.

‘They are the Defense Force.’

This space city is managed by T&C, and those responsible for city security and defense are undoubtedly military personnel from the Defense Fleet, not knights.

‘Indeed, the two divisions are conducting a joint operation.’

I had suspected this since the time they hired dozens of mercenaries, but now it was confirmed. Those soldiers came here to find the knights who were around here. They probably came to check if everything was okay since the sewer had collapsed.

They passed by without noticing my presence.

‘It’s a joint operation between the two families.’

The seven major families of MegaCorp are set to have a bad relationship with each other. This is because they compete for the pinnacle of power, the position of the CEO.

The right to nominate a CEO candidate lies with Noble Capital only, but Prime Capital also competes with them. Prime Capital dreams of promotion to Noble Capital because they only have the right to vote and cannot nominate a CEO candidate. To achieve this, one must pull down one of the five families above and climb up to take their position. Therefore, they naturally have no choice but to fight each other.

‘It seems like they’re cooperating for some reason before the board meeting.’

Eden is Prime Capital, and T&C is Noble Capital. Perhaps Eden made some kind of contract with T&C in exchange for their vote.

If there were significant security issues in the special trading center of T&C, the venue for the board meeting, it would be disadvantageous for those who made the secret agreement. They might be deliberately conducting a joint operation to prevent this.

‘Can I use this situation to my advantage?’

In fact, the situation I’m in is not very favorable. Although I have wiped out a unit of knights and devoured dozens of mercenaries so far, the overall situation is still unfavorable for me. My presence has already been discovered on the other side, and they have weapons that can kill me instantly.

‘Due to the characteristics of the infrastructure, they probably can’t attack me recklessly, but…’

If the T&C family judges that leaving my presence alone is more detrimental than destroying the sewer, they will mobilize the Defense Fleet.

‘Artillery fire can’t be stopped as a symbol of hunting.’

To fight against warships, you need special characteristics. Unfortunately, I can’t obtain that here.

‘Let’s organize the situation and conditions once.’

When I organize the information I obtained in the sewer, it goes as follows.

‘Currently, the enemies threatening me are T&C and Eden, two families.’

The reason they consider me a threat is that, prior to the Big Event, I’ve been disrupting security. They are conducting joint operations in the sewer to eliminate me, the unsettling factor, as quickly as possible.

‘I need to break that cooperation.’

In the first place, due to the MegaCorp structure, fights are inevitable.

Even a slight conflict could shake the friendship between the Eden family and the T&C family. Of course, since the two are in a secret agreement, it’s unlikely that the conflict over me will deepen significantly. I don’t wish for it to go that far either.

‘Causing confusion for them should be enough.’

So, how can I shake their relationship?

‘Since communication is unstable, information transmission may not be proper…’

Fortunately, I have a tool that can sow discord between the Defense Force and the knights.

‘There are corpses of knights and a launcher.’

I activated a small follow-up launcher. A light appeared on the small terminal hanging on the long, slender barrel over 1m.

‘The launcher is fine.’

Upon checking the knight’s corpse, except for the broken neck, everything else seemed intact. Without inspecting closely, it was difficult to sense that something was wrong.

‘Good. Let’s leave the bait here.’

Before entering the operation, I broke all of the female knight’s arms and legs.

“Ugh!”

A faint whimper came from the helmet, but I didn’t pay much attention. The reason I didn’t kill her, even though I could, is one.

‘If I kill her, it might not count for the kids’ growth conditions.’

Unlike me, who follows the rules of the game, number 26 and Adhai are creatures of this world. So, they are likely not identical to me, but still, you never know. After hiding the female knight underwater, I took the knight’s corpse and launcher and followed the Defense Force.

On the way, I had already contacted number 26 in advance. It was about what to do after my ‘death.’ Contrary to my expectations, number 26 reacted very violently to the fact that I was dying. It said he would rather die than leave me to die alone.

‘Surprisingly sensitive to death.’

Perhaps it’s because it has grown mentally. I didn’t expect number 26 to dislike it so much. Instead, I persuaded it by promising to bring tasty food.

It seemed more interested in the fact that I would definitely come back than the food.

｢If the big baby doesn’t come back, I’ll be really mad.｣

After that statement, Number 26 didn’t send any more signals.

‘Of course.’

What’s the use of all this if I’m going to die? Having explained the plan to number 26 like that, I increased my speed and closed the distance with the soldiers.

‘They haven’t gone far.’

Unlike the knights in superior reinforced armor, their movement speed wasn’t very fast.They still weren’t aware that something was chasing them from behind.

‘Is this distance enough?’

I calculated the distance with them and set up the knight’s corpse appropriately. Thanks to the armored form of reinforced armor, it wasn’t difficult to make it look like I was standing. In a half-submerged state behind the knight, I activated the launcher.

‘Charging 10…20…’

The sewer turned into a semi-ruin, murky water up to the waist, shadows.

And somewhere inside that darkness, the mysterious monster lurking.

‘It’s a perfect environment to lose your mind.’

I don’t intend to end it just by making them resent each other.

‘What’s important is action and results.’

By provoking a chaotic situation, there should be something I can gain.

‘If it’s a chaotic situation, anything can happen.’

‘Charging 40…70…’

For example, what if I were to appear in a situation where they are firing launchers at each other? What if, in the midst of their fight, I appear and ‘die’ by getting hit by a launcher?

‘Tracking me will end with that.’

As the cause of the joint sewer operation, I would be eliminated, leaving an unbridgeable gap between the knights and the defense force. Moreover, if I give the enemies the certainty that I am dead, my range of action will widen even further.

‘Old memories are coming back.’

It was the same when I fought against four clans on the Jungle Planet in the past.

The enemies’ power was overwhelmingly strong, and I was just a weak individual compared to them. The factor that allowed me to win even in unfavorable battles was that I used everything at my disposal. Among those factors was even the idea of my own death.

‘Charging 90…100%’

When the terminal’s number reached 100, an advanced weapon capable of destroying even a battleship spewed fire towards the soldiers.

***

“I’m wearing a gas mask and can still smell it, the hell is going on?”

“Cough, and the atmosphere doesn’t feel right either. I’ve been feeling strangely chilly since earlier…”

“Hey, dude, do you have to talk like that in such a crappy situation?”

“If we survive this mission, I’m going to propose to my fiancée when it’s over.”

“That crazy bastard is talking nonsense again.”

“The guy who goes out every morning and plays with himself on VR TV is talking about engagement, damn it.”

“It’s true! Not here in the Special Trade Center, but on another planet…”

While soldiers were chatting with each other, a green light suddenly flew from behind. The pale green beam, like a laser, turned not only the upper bodies of the soldiers but also the walls of the passage into dust.

“Enemy attack! Take cover, everyone!”

“Take cover!”

When the commanding officer shouted, other soldiers quickly hid behind the debris of the collapsed sewer.

“Damn! What was that just now?”

“Sergeant! It’s a plasma launcher!”

“What? Friendly fire?”

“The possibility is slim. The launcher is managed by a small computer.”

That means they are being targeted and shot at by the enemy. The sergeant slightly pulled his head back from behind cover to confirm the enemy’s appearance. In the darkness, the silver armor was certainly noticeable. Faced with the worst situation they didn’t expect, he cursed.

“…Have those damn knights gone crazy? Why are they shooting at us?”

“They might have mistaken us for monsters or…”

“Wait and see.”

Interrupting his subordinate’s words, the sergeant shouted loudly from behind cover.

“Hey! We belong to the defense force! We’re allies!”

His voice echoed in the sewer. As if in response to his words, the green light flashed again from the darkness on the other side.

“Son of a b*tch!”

The sergeant quickly threw himself into the sewage. The plasma beam barely missed his back.

“Sergeant!”

“You sons of b*tches!”

He didn’t die, but unfortunately, his subordinate who was in cover with him couldn’t escape that fate. The subordinate’s body disintegrated along with the cover by the intense energy.

“We don’t have enough firepower to fight the knights! I’ll cover you, so everyone retreat!”

“Understood!”

While the squad leader fired a gauss rifle at the enemy, other soldiers emerged from cover and leaped into the darkness.

“It doesn’t matter which team, just go and inform them! This knight is insane… Agh!”

A scream echoed from behind. It wasn’t hard for the soldiers to imagine what had happened to their leader.

“Sergeant!”

“Damn, the sergeant was wrong! Run, you bastards!”

Among the remaining soldiers, the one with the highest rank led his comrades down the corridor. The sounds of splashing water in the silent ruins were filled with the soldiers’ panting. With the death of their leader, their senses had become extremely sensitive. So, they could discern something alien mixed among the sounds of their footsteps.

“Ah!”

Following the scream, a loud splashing sound was heard. The soldier at the back of the team fell. The comrades quickly turned around, but he was instantly sucked into the water and disappeared. In his place, only a gauss rifle floated aimlessly.

“Damn!”

“Run!”

“Damn, damn, damn!”

The fleeing soldiers were almost out of their minds. Darkness, ambush, sudden death of comrades, and strangely unfavorable physical condition—all these factors turned well-trained soldiers into a disoriented group. In their heads, there was only the thought of staying alive. Perhaps because of this, after the sergeant’s scream, the plasma beams didn’t come flying anymore, but they didn’t sense anything odd. After running for a while, they finally met with other team members.

“Who’s there?”

“H-help me!”

“Huh? Why are you here? Wait, aren’t you all from Team 3?”

The escaping group encountered a mixed-gender reconnaissance unit from Team 1, wearing gas masks and intermediate reinforced suits with knights in silver armor scattered among the soldiers.

“Eek!”

“Have they gone crazy as a group? Why are they suddenly like this?”

The escaping soldiers screamed in horror at the sight of the chaotic scene. While the defenders of Team 1 were perplexed by the disheveled state of the escapees, the crisis management manager appeared.

“What’s going on?”

“These are members of Team 3’s reconnaissance unit. They suddenly came here, and…”

“Manager! Please save us!”

“Hmm? Did you find it? Calm down and tell me.”

The crisis management manager calmly questioned them. The escaping soldiers, who had somewhat stabilized, shouted while pointing at the knights.

“It’s them! Those knights attacked us with plasma launchers!”

“What?”

“Three out of six have died! All because of the knights’ attacks!”

Hearing this, the manager glanced at Vicus, the Vice commander of the knights. Vicus quickly managed his expression, but the manager didn’t miss it. The emotion that briefly appeared on his face and then disappeared was closer to an embarrassment than surprise. It was as if his hidden secret had been exposed.