006

'Predator sense?'

I double-checked the characteristics written in the text box.

｢Species: Unidentified hostile space creature

Status: Hatchling

Goal: Survive.

Possessed characteristics: Predator sense (fusion) Wings Chitinous outer shell Strong vitality Paralyzing poisonous stinger

I know that Space Survival has a characteristic fusion system. It is a system that combines two or more related characteristics into one enhanced characteristic.

Even traits that are not very helpful can often be transformed into powerful traits through fusion, so I also actively used them.

Because I used it so much, I was able to memorize all the characteristics and combination formulas that exist in this game.

'There's a trait I don't know about?'

No matter how many times I saw it, it was a feature I saw for the first time.

'Detect threats in advance.'

Features related to predicting the future also existed in games, but were usually implemented in a way that increased the evasion rate.

To be honest, it was only superficially good and not a useful feature.

'But this is reality. What will it be like?'

I focused my senses on the auxiliary organs as I did when using my extra senses.

The thin tentacle-shaped auxiliary organ attached to my chin wriggled and read the information floating in the air.

Perhaps because it has been strengthened compared to before, the amount of information collected is at an incomparably high level.

I was even able to tell what insects were in the cargo hold and what types of weapons were in the containers.

However, the expected future prediction effect did not occur. I thought it was because there was no threat to me.

'Is it the passive type?'

Even though it was a passive type that activated automatically, it could not necessarily be considered a bad thing. Since a threat could come unexpectedly, it was safe to see it as a benefit.

'Anyway, eating mammals gives me a lot more energy.'

The vitality within the body is vitality, but the feeling of fullness was definitely superior. It felt like the skin covering my stomach and back was being slightly stretched.

I returned to the nest with a pleasant feeling of fullness.

–

Historians say that Megacorp originated when seven companies on Earth and Mars colluded to maximize their profits.

The government could not stand by and see merchants overstepping its position, so it declared war on the seven major corporations.

After countless people were sacrificed to the point where blood formed an ocean, the final winners became the seven major corporations.

An era has begun in which all planets in the solar system are under the control of a single large corporate alliance, Mega Corp.

Afterwards, among the seven companies that were the foundation of Megacorp, five companies headquartered on Earth became the five major families of Noble Capital, and two companies located on Mars became Noble Capital of Mars.

Among the five major families of Noble Capital that dominate the earth, the Eugene family may be surprising, but it started out as a small agricultural company.

Eugene's ancestors were aware of the potential of genetically modified foods early on and invested enormous amounts of money in genetic engineering.

Even after the space age, such family customs were maintained. Thanks to this, the Eugene family possessed one of the most outstanding genetic engineering technologies in the galaxy.

Kisaragi Yujin was able to become an outstanding genetic engineer thanks to his family background.

Because she showed outstanding genius from a young age, her family invested heavily in her.

Thanks to that upbringing, she never felt a sense of lack in her life. I achieved everything I wanted, and even if I couldn't achieve it right away, I could get it if I waited a while.

Is that why?

She had a hard time accepting the fact that she had lost her possessions for the first time in her life.

"When can I see Caesar?"

"The soldiers are looking for you, so if you wait a little longer…"

"It's already been two hours! "Caesar is strict about meal times, but something must have happened!"

Her appearance was so different from usual that people who knew Kisaragi were surprised when they saw her.

Her well-maintained straight black hair had become scattered, and her usual icy expression was nowhere to be seen.

Now she was truly a madwoman.

Captain Samuel Yoosung sighed as he looked at her, who seemed to be out of her mind.

"This is a ship. "If the cat didn't escape by piloting the rescue boat, it must be somewhere on the ship."

"That's why I'm asking you to come find me right away!"

"What I'm saying is, if you wait, good things will come out."

Yoosung was a third capital from Satellite Titan. Although it was by no means a low class, it was nothing compared to Noble Capital in front of it. The gap between them was so great that if she told him to quit being captain, he would have to give up his position.

The person who held the power over his life and death was half crazy, so Yooseong wanted to go crazy too.

'What kind of cat is that!'

Yoosung barely suppressed the urge to scream, asking what he had done wrong to be tormenting him like this.

"What happened to the security guards?"

"They are all detained. The legal process is after arriving at the destination…"

"Execute him immediately."

"yes?"

Yoosung thought he heard wrong.

"If you're a captain, you have the right to summary judgment, right? Please exercise that authority right away."

"If we execute him for something like this, other soldiers will be agitated."

"This kind of thing?"

Yoosung, who met her murderous eyes, cleared his throat and corrected himself.

"Hmm, what I mean is, isn't it right to discuss disposition after the search has progressed to some extent? "There is no other meaning."

"Have you forgotten that this all happened because the soldiers didn't do their jobs properly?"

Yoosung knows. The fact that the soldiers on the ship are not at all friendly to cats.

To be honest, even he, the captain, ate raw meat once a week and filled the rest of his meals with cultured meat.

'Whereas that damn furry dog eats beef for every meal.'

He himself hates cats to death, but how can the soldiers do it?

There are probably quite a few soldiers who are happy to see misfortune befall a cat.

However, it was obvious that if he told the truth, Kisaragi's anger would be directed at him, so Yooseong kept his mouth shut.

"I am fully aware of the research team leader's concerns. "We will use this as an opportunity to strengthen the discipline of our soldiers."

"…I'll be back in two hours. "If you don't achieve results by then, you might want to hang up your hat."

Kisaragi left the captain's cabin after warning Yooseong.

'Where on earth are they?'

It wasn't like she was letting go while the soldiers were searching.

She created a tracker that could determine where Caesar went by looking at the fur left on the cushion.

The device worked successfully, but when she saw the results the machine printed, she fell into confusion.

Because her cat went to a place it could never go to using normal means.

Caesar unscrewed the wire mesh installed in the ventilation shaft and went into the cargo hold before disappearing.

No matter how you look at it, it was an incident involving human intervention, so Kisaragi called the cargo bay manager.

The manager was drinking at the restaurant with his colleagues all day, so his alibi was solid. However, it was true that he had neglected his duties, so Kisaragi tried to kill him.

If the captain had not stopped him, the manager would have been wandering forever in a universe filled with nothing but darkness.

Barely suppressing her anger, she took the trembling manager with her and searched the inside of the cargo hold.

Caesar's trail stopped near the container. And there were traces left by an unidentified creature. She collected traces, put them in the analyzer, but all that came out was the message "No information."

'It's genetic information that isn't even in the Megacorp data archive.'

Even for her, it wasn't easy to create a machine to track someone without any information. It's not that you can't make it, but it takes more time than other times.

No matter how fast it was to complete the machine, two days were needed, including additional work to increase the chance of success.

Caesar would not have died from that much starvation, but Kisaragi was feeling an inexplicable sense of anxiety.

Something was definitely wrong.

Her intuition tells her that something terrible happened in the cargo hold.

So, in order to somehow find Caesar quickly, he trained the innocent captain.

'I don't know who it is, but if I catch anyone who touches mine, I will kill them.'

She bit her nails without realizing it. The blood dripping from the tip of the fingernail clearly revealed the owner's emotions.

–

'Hmm?'

While I was lying in the nest and slowly digesting food, I felt a change in the ship.

Human movements are busier than usual. He must have realized that the cat was gone.

Thanks to the upgraded auxiliary organs compared to before, it was possible to roughly recognize the appearance of a moving human being. The figures were thick and their movements were powerful, so it seemed that all of the people who went out to search were soldiers.

Soldiers who can't even eat properly because they're looking for pets they don't like. Even in the space age, the absurdity of barracks remained the same.

'Everything is as expected.'

There are two main benefits I can gain from killing a cat.

First, it clouds Yujin Kisaragi's judgment.

Considering her behavior and the cat's nutritional status, Kisaragi was showing a lot of affection for her pet. Although she was a devil to the test subjects and researchers, she was like an angel to the animals she raised.

The type of person who only treats the things he or she cares about in a humane manner is not that rare. Such people have another thing in common.

'If what I'm holding in my hand is taken away, I go crazy.'

She is not worried that her pet will die or be in danger. They are just angry at the fact that their belongings were taken away by a complete stranger. She will react similarly if the most insignificant item she owns is taken away.

It is an emotion that can be concluded as irrational possessiveness or, simply put, obsession.

And it is difficult for an obsessed person to remain sane.

Second, it causes a wedge between Yujin Kisaragi and the soldiers.

The biggest obstacle to my attack on her were the guards. Because of the soldiers following us wherever we went, surprise attacks were almost impossible.

Even if I somehow succeeded in getting rid of her, if the soldiers found me, the loss would be greater than the gain.

So a gap was created.

So that she and the soldiers stay away from each other.

'The guards didn't like cats.'

A normal person would naturally be angry because they are using meat that they cannot even eat as cat food.

In fact, the cat is just an excuse and the essence is closer to anger against class. They are forcing ridiculous absurdities just because they are Noble Capital, but I am afraid of the consequences if I protest directly to Yujin Kisaragi.

'The owner is scared, but the pet is not scared.'

Simply put, her cat can be seen as acting as a kind of shield.

What if the scapegoat disappears in such a situation?

And what if they end up going through a lot of trouble trying to find the person they hate?

Will the soldiers be as dedicated to protecting her as before?

That's not all. Yujin Kisaragi also no longer trusts the soldiers.

The security guard's negligence was the biggest cause of the loss of what she loved.

'Thank you so much. 'It's a cat.'

They probably didn't know that a useless piece of flesh could cause such a butterfly effect.

I got up from my seat.

The law of the world is to harvest once you sow the seed.

The time has come to take Kisaragi Eugene's genetic essence.