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Chapter 10

Even though they don’t use the term ‘capital’, there is a place that could be called the center of MegaCorp, and that place is Earth. They refer to it as their headquarters.

On that Earth, the heart of MegaCorp was established. Five corporations had contributed to the founding of MegaCorp, and they were the kings of Earth.

Among these five major families, the Yujin family, which had its roots in what was once called East Asia, stood out. Yujin Agriculture, which started as a small business in South Korea, never forgot its origins, even after becoming a giant corporation that dominated the galaxy.

The ancient capital of a country that no longer existed had become the Yujin family’s mansion. It wasn’t a metaphor; the entire city had become the residence of the Yujin family.

Inside the gigantic dome-shaped mansion, there were maglev trains and small aircraft for transportation, and even an artificial sun for the internal ecosystem.

Compared to other planets, this place was ahead by about a century. Here, millions of ‘tools’ served the members of the Yujin family and attended to their needs. Amidst all the high-tech marvels, there was an old cabin and a garden.

This was the residence of the head of the Yujin family, Akira Yujin.

Akira Yujin, the Sun King of the solar system, had served as MegaCorp’s CEO three times in a row.

Despite being over 200 years old, thanks to genetic modification treatments, he looked no older than middle age.

Two men in suits stood near the garden. One was an elderly man with white, combed-back hair, and the other was a younger man.

They had been waiting here for an hour already. Though there might have been some discontent, they remained silent.

Dogs don’t bark until their owner commands them. They waited for Akira to finish his business.

Akira, who had been working the fields with a hoe, finally stood up.

“You’ve waited a long time. Come here.”

In response to Akira’s words, the younger man approached him.

“What’s the matter?”

“It’s about the young lady.”

“Young lady?”

Akira raised an eyebrow. The man added a few more words.

“It’s Miss Keisaragi.”

“Oh, the third daughter.”

Only then did Akira remember, and he smiled as if he had just recalled something. The corners of the old man’s eyes, who had been silently observing, twitched slightly.

“Right, what about Keisaragi?”

“The young lady’s signal device has been destroyed.”

The meaning of those words was clear. Keisaragi Yujin was dead.

Akira frowned at those words.

“That can’t be. I never assigned anything burdensome to Keisaragi.”

“The last signal came from C-08. It’s Space Dog territory.”

“Hmm.”

Listening to the man’s words, Akira nodded and raised the hoe he had been holding. He then brought it down on the man’s head.

The man with the hoe stuck in his head couldn’t even scream and slumped down. Akira didn’t stop there; he pulled the hoe out and continued to strike the man’s face.

The sound of flesh being mashed filled the garden.

With blood and brain matter on his face and hands, Akira tossed the hoe onto the corpse.

“Dispose of it.”

“Yes.”

The old man flicked his fingers as if this wasn’t an uncommon occurrence. At that moment, two men in black suits entered the garden from outside, picked up the body, and swiftly disappeared.

“The hoe is rather useless. Our most important tools are the people. You know that, right?”

“Yes, I will be cautious.”

“Good.”

The reason the man died was simple. Akira answered unasked questions twice.

“Ten billion credits have been spent on raising Keisaragi. That’s an amount comparable to the development cost of a new battleship.”

“…”

“Even genetic modification treatments were performed on her frail body. Do you think pirates or the like would be able to touch her?”

Akira took a towel from his pocket and wiped his face.

“I wonder who would dare harm the heir of the Yujin family.”

“…”

“Keisaragi’s ship. Was the captain Yuseong Samuel?”

“Yes.”

“Then it’s closer to Saturn, right? That’s where the Samuel family has influence.”

The Samuels were a Primate Capital that held sway over Mars. While they couldn’t compete with the Noble Capitals, they still vied for the position of MegaCorp’s rulers.

“Then, could it be Eden’s plan? No, Eden’s heir is a coward. He doesn’t have the courage to challenge the Yujin family like that.”

The heir he mentioned is the current head of the Eden family, known in society as the “Tiger of Mars.”

He was considered a lesser figure compared to Akira, who held such an imposing presence. The butler was aware of the fact that while the head of the Eden family was assassinated twice, Akira assumed the role of the Yujin family’s master. Therefore, the butler could confidently assert that the old man before him had the right to make such a statement.

“If it’s not Eden, then who could it be? Ah, well. What do you think?”

“I think it might have been T&C’s doing.”

The Butler replied promptly. Akira seemed to like this response, and his eyes crescented in approval.

“Haha, we seem to be on the same page.”

“…”

“T&C and Eden may seem to be at odds over Jupiter’s dominion, but they are secretly working together. After all, Eden’s credits come from T&C.”

The Butler didn’t show it, but he was internally shocked. He had only been speculating, and he had no idea that the two parties had actually formed an alliance. The fact that T&C, the rulers of Earth, and Eden, the Martian nobility, had joined forces was a top-secret matter, known to only a handful of people aside from the heads of the two families. Unfortunately, Akira was one of those who knew.

“That snake-like brat probably plans to dominate the board before the council meeting. You must know that, too.”

Akira handed Butler a blood-soaked towel.

“Yes. T&C’s family head, Samdam Chemblin, is eyeing your position, my lord.”

“I see. That audacious little punk. It seems he’s not afraid to target me.”

The situation seemed quite entertaining to Akira, who burst into laughter while covered in blood.

The Butler, who had been silently waiting, remained unfazed. He had seen Akira’s actions for decades and felt no emotion now.

Akira suddenly stopped laughing, as if his previous mirth had been a lie. His face was devoid of any expression.

“That’s right. That arrogant little brat. He must be planning to outmaneuver me before the council meeting.”

“We have the rightful claim, so let us strike first. Inform everyone in the family.”

“Yes.”

“And…”

For the first time, life returned to Akira’s emotionless face as his eyes lit up.

“Anyone who has damaged my assets should be killed. Yuseong Samuel of the Samuel family and anyone even remotely related to his ship. Bring them all to me.”

“Yes.”

“There’s a shadow infiltrator near C-08. Contact them and take care of it.”

“…Understood.”

The term ‘shadow’ startled the Butler.

‘Shadow’ referred to a special unit directly under the family head, made up of genetically modified mutants with extreme enhancements, known for their immense combat abilities and ruthless efficiency.

‘It looks like a storm is brewing.’

Once the shadows were deployed, the fate of Yuseong Samuel and his subordinates was sealed. The future held nothing but a gruesome destiny for them, to the point where death might be considered a mercy.

With a small measure of consolation sent to those somewhere out there in the cosmos, the Butler quietly withdrew.

Meanwhile, on some distant corner of Earth, a massive war and ruthless slaughter were unfolding.

On Samuel’s ship, chaos reigned due to an unexpected disaster.

“What the hell is going on here?!”

Samuel was on the verge of collapsing.

Before him lay what used to be the mortuary, but now only ashes remained in the place where it had been. A sudden fire had razed it to the ground.

The Crisis Management officer summoned his subordinates.

“What the hell happened?”

“W-Well… you see…”

Under the sharp gaze of the Crisis Management Officer, the soldiers nervously explained what they had witnessed.

“We smelled something strange inside, sir, and saw smoke coming out. So we decided to investigate.”

“Is that so?”

According to the soldiers, during their watch, they had detected an unusual smell and smoke emanating from inside. As they were not supposed to enter except for the doctor, they had waited for a relief doctor to arrive.

As time passed and the smoke didn’t dissipate, the soldiers reluctantly opened the door and entered.

What greeted them was not the doctor but a raging fire.

“I don’t understand. How can there be a fire in a place where there’s only corpses?”

“What… what happened here?”

The chief of the medical team, who had arrived late, was shocked at the scene.

Seeing the state of their captain, who was unable to respond, the Crisis Management officer briefly explained the situation.

Having heard the story, the medical officer stiffened his expression.

“It’s possible that the chemical compounds stored in the morgue ignited, but it’s highly unusual for a fire of this magnitude to occur.”

“What do you mean?”

The medical team leader sealed his lips, cautiously glancing around.

‘Artificial fire.’

Just as the medical officer had said, if there was an arsonist among the crew, the situation was grave. Moreover, the intent to set fire to the place where the research team leader’s remains were stored was glaringly suspicious.

“…Let’s start by examining the bodies.”

“That’s a good idea.”

After extinguishing the fire, the soldiers took out the bodies. The medical officer meticulously examined the charred remains.

“This person was one of the team members working overtime.”

Checking from the upper body to the head was particularly difficult due to severe burns, but they could identify the subordinate by the ring on their hand.

As the medical officer contemplated the bitterness of the subordinate’s death, he completed the autopsy of the remaining bodies. Then, he realized that someone was missing.

“Are all the bodies here?”

“Yes. Why do you ask?”

“…”

The medical officer moved to another location with the captain and other officers. He revealed that some of the bodies were missing, a fact that others couldn’t bear to hear.

“The security guard and the research team leader’s bodies are missing?”

“Yes.”

“They didn’t just walk away on their own, is there any possibility of that happening?”

“Medical officer, did you see it correctly?”

“I double-checked it several times. Only two bodies are missing.”

Following the death of the research officer, now a mysterious arson case had unfolded.

‘Someone from within is attacking us.’

That fact crossed everyone’s minds.

“Not ghosts, but… ”

“Could it be unidentified extraterrestrial life forms on board?”

“Hey! Is this some kind of joke? Stop with the nonsense!”

“It’s just a suggestion, what’s got the material management officer so worked up?”

“Ah, it’s nothing.”

“More importantly, the biggest problem is the missing body of the research officer. Didn’t we agree to rendezvous with pirates at C-08?”

The question raised by someone was met with a visibly concerned expression from Samuel. If they lost Keisaragi’s body as well, he would have no cards left to play.

Samuel urgently ordered, “We must find the body at all costs! Do you understand?”

“Shouldn’t we focus on finding the culprit first…?”

“Damn it! This isn’t just my problem. If you’re worried about Noble Capital’s retaliation, then cooperate as much as possible!”

Samuel’s words were correct. Keisaragi Yujin’s death was inevitable, but not being able to secure the body left no room for excuses. At the very least, they had to keep the body intact, or else a future more dreadful than death awaited them.

“Crisis Management officer.”

“Yes, Captain.”

“Did you try contacting them?”

“Yes, as soon as the meeting ended.”

“Damn it. Let’s not talk about this. Just make sure the body is transferred properly.”

“Are you sure?”

“If we’ve found it and can’t figure out how to handle it, that’s also a problem. Just make sure to find it before the rendezvous.”

It was a risky gamble, but the Crisis Management officer didn’t point that out. Samuel might not know, but he had different thoughts in mind.

Like an assassin concealing a dagger in their bosom, he nodded with an emotionless face.

Following the Crisis Management officer, Samuel summoned the officer of the security team.

The security officer was visibly shaken because he was not without responsibility for the messed-up situation.

Samuel placed both hands on his shoulders.

“You know, we have to catch the culprit.”

“I..I’m already doing my best”

“Your best isn’t enough. You have permission to search all the crew members if you need to. Find the culprit, and I’ll delegate all authority concerning this matter.”

Although the captain offered to transfer all authority, the security officer’s expression remained grim.

‘Can we really catch them?’

He wasn’t confident, but he couldn’t admit it.

“Very well, we will definitely find them.”

“I trust you.”

The security officer reluctantly responded with a show of confidence.

While everyone was in a state of confusion, the culprit who had caused this situation from the ceiling vent was silently observing them.

As the officers dispersed, “it” followed one of them discreetly.

***

‘Things have worked out very well.’

A way to hide my identity and disrupt the enemies, That was the fire.

Setting fire to the chemical compounds inside the morgue was an act almost unimaginable for an extraterrestrial being.

Of course, they might find it suspicious since no one from the outside came in, but they wouldn’t suspect it was done by a human. They wouldn’t doubt themselves.

After consuming the security guard’s body entirely, I collected the chemicals inside the morgue. Dropping a few drops of acidic blood onto the toxic substances, the flames quickly erupted.

‘Enhanced exoskeletons are fire-resistant.’

The flames enveloped my body, but I hardly felt the heat. I calmly passed through the fire and ascended to the morgue’s ceiling.

I waited a little away from the morgue, and people began to gather. The fire had quickly been extinguished, but most of what was inside had turned into ashes.

The bodies had been well taken care of, but there was one moment when things nearly got dangerous.

‘I can’t believe they brought up the topic of extraterrestrial life forms.’

I thought my cover would be blown thanks to the perceptive officer. But it got buried thanks to the material management officer’s outrage.

After that, the captain and the officers kept pouring out important information, not realizing I was listening.

‘Pirates, huh? The captain has really lost it.’

Space Dogs, I know them well. It’s a coalition of various species who engage in piracy, self-proclaimed conquerors of the cosmos yet labeled as cosmic trash by others. They occasionally take on mercenary work, but they’ll betray you at the slightest provocation. Sometimes it’s said that trusting Space Dogs is worse than trusting Amorph, who doesn’t make any sense.

Speculation suggests that the captain planned the docking to shift the blame for Keisaragi’s death onto the pirates. If he had known a bit more about the Space Dogs, he would never have made such a choice. It doesn’t seem like the captain made that foolish decision himself; someone must have influenced him.

‘It seems like the Crisis Management officer was leading it. I should keep an eye on him. Perhaps he’s in cahoots with the pirates.’

‘What should I do if the pirates attack this ship?’

It’s not all good or all bad; there are pros and cons. One advantage is that the Space Dogs are composed of various species, so the range of genetic essences I can obtain is broader. If the pirates were to raid the research ship, I could easily acquire various genetic essences.

‘The downside is that the genetic essences I can obtain from the research ship will be reduced.’

I don’t know how many people are on the pirate side, but from what I’ve seen, the chances of this research ship winning are slim. Even the soldiers on guard are in a situation where they’ve had to put on their reinforced suits, so they won’t be able to defeat the pirates, who are treating looting and fighting as if they were eating. Most of the crew will die in battle, and then my intake of genetic essences will decrease.

‘Let’s put this part on hold.’

I’ll probably need to assess the pirates’ level before making a judgment. While lost in thought, the meeting ended. Everyone went back to their tasks, but my super senses detected something unusual.

‘That person?’

The material management officer, who strongly denied my presence, seemed off in some way. He appeared fine on the outside, but something was amiss inside. His heartbeat was faster than the others’, and cold sweat dripped from the hidden areas of his clothing. These were typical symptoms of nervousness.

‘Why was he so nervous?’

He couldn’t possibly have anything to do with this situation. I was initially going to return to my nest, but I became intrigued. I followed behind the material management officer. Even as he walked, he constantly glanced behind him.

‘Why would he react like that unless he’s hiding something?’

He continued to walk cautiously, and then he stopped in front of the cargo hold.