I Became an Evolving Space Monster
Chapter 411

——————

[Translator – Seraph]

[Proofreader – Draxx]

——————

Chapter 411

-

A large warehouse by the port.

Various intelligent beings moved about in a rush—humans, cyborgs, rockwalkers, insectmen. Different species, but with one thing in common: all wore reinforced suits painted with camouflage.

Despite being more heavily armed than the planet’s regular army, they were, surprisingly, pirates. Specifically, the infamous Shinoni Cartel.

On the second floor of the warehouse, the cartel’s underboss, Ventris, looked down over the operation. Just then, one of his officers approached.

“Sir. The hacking team will be ready in five minutes.”

“What about deployment?”

“All squads are in position—assault teams, support units, even the separatists are on standby.”

While reporting, the officer manipulated a device, projecting a hologram in the air.

A miniature model of a city lit up before them. Along the outskirts were marked small circles.

This was a detailed model of the city’s industrial research zone. The circles represented the men Ventris had dispatched—units positioned in preparation for an attack.

“Good. Once the hacking finishes, send in the separatists first. Assault teams follow. The rest, hold position.”

“Understood.”

Everything—from troop placement to equipment—was unfolding exactly as planned. Ventris nodded in satisfaction.

“Uh, sir? Are we really allowed to proceed on our own like this?”

The officer’s question dampened the mood.

“The Boss told us to stay quiet…”

“Let’s get it straight. He said to stand by after preparing everything, not to sit on our hands.”

The current head of the Shino Group was executing a plan of his own. The details were top secret, but Ventris was among the few who had been briefed directly.

‘To pull this off, he said we’ll need control over several planets.’

Planet AG-01 in the ZER-11 system was one of those targets.

Ventris’s mission was to seize the planet before the Shino Group’s core forces arrived. To do that, he had to remove any unpredictable elements in advance.

“And we’ve been careful to avoid detection. You think I’m tossing bribes at the Defense Corps because I’m some dumb mutt?”

“Well, I—”

“We’ll have to deal with those terrorists anyway. If we can weaken each other like this, all the better.”

“That’s true… but provoking Noble Capital is still—”

“Enough. I’ve considered all angles. Don’t question me further.”

His voice carried an edge of irritation. The officer realized pushing any further might cost him and closed his mouth.

At that moment, the warehouse lights flickered all at once. Even the hologram dimmed briefly before stabilizing.

“What the hell?”

“Looks like lightning struck nearby.”

“Those terraform techs I sent—are they asleep at the controls? Why is it still like this?”

“They say the damage is worse than expected. I checked earlier—it’ll take a few more days.”

“Ugh, idiots.”

Thunder continued to boom from outside. Ventris clicked his tongue.

“What about comms? We’re not going to lose contact mid-op, right?”

“No, sir. We already serviced that line. Everything’s good.”

Right on cue, a message popped up on the hologram.

｢Ready. Proceeding with breach.｣

“Perfect. Begin the op.”

“Yes, sir. Assault team—move in!”

As the order was given, the small circles on the holographic city began to move.

***

Rain, mud, and fog shrouded the research district as black-armored figures made their approach.

Clad in heavy exosuits, they moved like hunting hounds tracking prey. Even while crossing fields rigged with mines and combat drones, their pace never slowed. They came to a halt behind one of the buildings after passing through the most hazardous zone.

｢Everyone in position?｣

｢Yes, sir.｣

｢All good.｣

The assault team leader, dispatched by Ventris, quickly checked over his squad. Twenty members—just as many as they brought in.

The Shinoni Cartel usually dealt with wild beasts, but they weren’t strangers to taking down people. This wasn’t their first infiltration op, either—every one of them was a veteran.

｢Josh here. We’ve entered the eastern sector.｣

｢The separatists said they’ve taken the watchtower. Link up with them.｣

｢Roger that.｣

They sprinted toward a long building nearby.

｢I’ll enter the code—rest of you, stay alert.｣

｢Yes, sir!｣

The leader entered a security code he’d received two days ago. The main gate’s lock disengaged with a click, and the heavy metal door slid open. The twenty pirates swiftly moved inside the tower.

｢What the… why are the lights out?｣

The interior was pitch black. Even the emergency lights were off—strange, given that someone else had supposedly entered before them. Assault team leader Josh immediately contacted HQ.

｢Power’s down inside the tower. Are we sure it’s been secured?｣

｢We just got word. The separatists deployed an EMP.｣

｢An EMP? All of a sudden? Why—｣

｢Sort it out later. They’re waiting upstairs. Go join them.｣

Despite the unexpected development, the officer at HQ remained unshaken.

‘He didn’t used to be this calm…’

The use of EMPs was already odd, but the officer’s cold demeanor was even more suspicious.

｢What’s the plan now?｣

｢…We move with maximum caution. If anything moves, shoot it.｣

Josh and his squad had no real understanding of the situation, but they had no choice. Weapons drawn, the pirates advanced down the corridor.

Though the building’s power was out, their helmet thermal vision let them see clearly. Maintaining formation, they reached the staircase within moments.

｢Stay sharp. We don’t know what we’ll find up—｣

Josh was in the middle of speaking to his subordinates when he noticed something off.

Including himself, there were twenty people on site. But now, only fourteen were visible to his eyes.

｢Where’d the ones at the back go?｣

｢Huh? Wh—what?｣

The pirates turned around—only then did they realize their comrades had vanished.

｢They were just right here with us!｣

｢Same here!｣

Between the building’s entrance and the stairwell was a single corridor—not long, and certainly not complex. Disappearing without a sound in a span of seconds should’ve been impossible.

Panicked, the pirates quickly worked their wrist units to check the detector readings.

｢What the hell is this?｣

｢How’s that even possible?｣

The detector still displayed twenty signals—all accounted for. But five of them were no longer on the first floor. Somehow, they’d ended up on a different level. The only way up was the stairwell right in front of them.

｢Damn it! We’re pulling out! Now!｣

｢Yes, sir!｣

Josh abandoned the missing without hesitation—the situation was clearly deteriorating. The pirates scrambled to retreat the way they had come.

But once again, reality betrayed their hopes.

The once-empty corridor was now blocked by something that shouldn’t have been there—a tree. It had grown up out of nowhere, its withered branches touching the ceiling and walls. In the center stood a shriveled, bark-covered trunk, gnarled and dry.

｢……｣

No one said a word. They were too overwhelmed by the absurdity of it all.

‘A hallucination? Poison gas? How would it get through the helmet? No—could it be psychic power?’

Josh tried to make sense of the scene, but it wasn’t easy. Even if this were some kind of illusion, the fact remained that multiple team members had instantly relocated to a different floor.

｢H-heek?! A-another five just vanished!｣

Almost as if reading his thoughts, five more pirates at the rear vanished. No sound. No warning. Nothing.

It was as if the corridor itself was swallowing them whole.

‘I need to get out of here—now!’

There was no time to think. Just past that tree was the exit. Josh forced himself to remain calm as he gave the order.

｢…Cut the tree.｣

One of the pirates cautiously approached. With trembling fingers, he activated the blade claw mounted to his forearm.

A vibrating saw blade emerged from his wrist, humming with familiar, mechanical intensity. Slowly, he raised his arm toward the branches.

He was just about to begin cutting—then froze.

｢Did you hear that?｣

｢What… what was that sound?｣

Even the others were startled. The pirate paused, leaning his face closer to the gnarled branches.

Then they heard it again. This time, Josh heard it too—clearly.

｢Laughter?｣

From within the tree came the sound of a young girl giggling. The voice was so pure and clear, it brought to mind a sparkling mountain spring. It was beautiful—almost impossibly so. The moment they heard it, the tension in their bodies loosened.

Had they not been enchanted, they might have noticed the skeletal branch creeping silently toward the back of the pirate’s skull.

｢Look out!｣

｢Huh?｣

Josh shouted too late.

The branch pierced straight through the back of the pirate’s head.

***

｢Huff… huff… huff…｣

A pirate in a powered suit sprinted through a fog-choked street.

His right arm was completely gone, and a deep wound tore across his back. Even with a body enhanced beyond human limits, the injuries were severe—life-threatening.

｢Khagh… huff… huff…｣

Panting, disoriented, he ducked behind a nearby building. Through the cracked visor of his helmet, his mechanical eye twitched restlessly, scanning the surroundings.

‘Shitshitshitshitshit!’

Keeping a constant watch for movement, the cyborg pirate mentally replayed the nightmare that had just unfolded.

His assault squad, guided by a senior officer, had been heading to the genetics center in the southern sector. They hadn’t encountered any hostiles during the approach—no one had thought that odd. After all, they’d seen people inside the buildings.

The problem started near a park close to the center.

The place was full of dead, neglected trees. While passing through it, they heard singing—lighthearted humming, the voices of young girls, echoing eerily through the gloomy park.

The moment they heard it, the squad paused.

That was the beginning of the nightmare.

The once-still street trees began to move—and then they attacked.

‘Damn it! I’ve never heard of trees that lure you in with songs!’

And these weren’t just strange trees—they drank blood.

Every time a withered branch pierced a comrade’s body, the trees seemed to come back to life. Their bark turned supple, and the singing grew sweeter—more beautiful with every drop of blood.

They resisted with everything they had. But it wasn’t just the trees.

Acid-spitting spores burst through the air. Bizarre plants released maddening scents that made comrades slash at their own throats. Giant flying insects with human faces, and hideous worms wearing human skin like a coat—all of it was too grotesque for dreams, let alone reality.

While his comrades were being massacred, the cyborg pirate had quietly slipped away.

‘I need to get back to HQ—fast!’

Joining up with another squad was pointless. If those monsters were spread across all districts, then the others were likely dead too.

He took a brief rest—just enough to catch his breath—then pushed forward again.

Pain screamed from his injuries. The module in his skull kept flashing alerts. He wanted to stop. Desperately. But resting here meant death.

So he kept running. All the way to the edge of the district. No monsters followed, thankfully.

｢Hah… th-that’s good…｣

Ahead, the black field stretched out—where mud and cloud-shadows mingled into gloom. Landmines and combat drones were scattered across the terrain. The only way out was to follow the path they used to come in.

The cyborg pirate crossed the field with caution, sticking close to the known safe route. Around the halfway point, a flicker lit up on the inside of his visor.

A transmission—from HQ. It seemed they had finally noticed he was leaving the district.

｢…Why are you only contacting me now?｣

｢Apologies. We were preparing a recovery shuttle.｣

Lies.

The Shinoni Cartel had never once dispatched reinforcements to save a member.

｢Damn it! Everyone who went into the south sector is dead!｣

｢All of them?｣

｢Yes! I’m the only one left!｣

｢Understood. Give me your location and I’ll dispatch the shuttle.｣

｢…Are you serious?｣

The cyborg hesitated, then gave the coordinates of his current position.

｢Southern sector perimeter, got it.｣

｢Yes. Where will the shuttle land? I’ll make my way there.｣

｢That won’t be necessary.｣

｢What?｣

He frowned, confused—but the reply didn’t come through the comms.

Instead, it came from the field itself.

With a chilling mechanical sound, the buried mines all around him sprang into the air.

｢Thank you for participating in our experiment.｣

A flood of blinding light engulfed him—triggered by the forcibly activated mines.

——————

[Translator – Seraph]

[Proofreader – Draxx]

——————