Gravity Fluctuation (3)
"The thing we lack most right now isn't anything else—it's weapons."
Kanna brought up the situation back when the town was attacked.
"Weapons are an option. To be precise, they are a human right. If you have nothing in your hands when the enemy comes, you can't enforce your will. You'll end up as livestock or slaves. Or you might even become a puppeteered monster."
Her word choice was as direct as you'd expect from a soldier. Licorice grimaced, appearing uncomfortable, but Kanna didn't care.
"If we'd had enough weapons, the town wouldn't have been overrun. It wouldn't have ended with just letting off a canister of toxic gas—we could have defended it. Whichever choice we made, there would have been sacrifices, but that's better than losing the future altogether. Instead of scrambling to escape like now."
Everything she said was right. But raiding a military base wasn't an easy decision. The military bases had surely been overtaken by pureblood supremacists—where do you think the supplies went?
Obviously, most of it would be in the hands of the pureblood supremacists. We weren't hitting an abandoned base. We would have to raid a place crawling with pureblood supremacists armed with military weapons and the mutants they created.
I looked at Kanna, who was making her case passionately. She was a beastkin, apparently of the feline type, given her pronounced features—a black cat beastkin. Back in the hydroponic bay, she'd kept her helmet on, so I hadn't noticed.
Her team seemed to agree with her. Some looked reluctant but had resigned expressions, like they recognized we had no choice.
Licorice and Celestia were hesitating—in fact, they were holding back their words. Nadia and I were in the same boat.
"So what's our exact situation right now?"
"As you can see, it's not good. Honestly, I don't know if we can last three more days."
Kanna pulled up the current inventory of supplies and available energy on a holographic screen. However much we rationed them, basic fixed consumption remained significant.
"That's bad. Not even three days, huh..."
I sighed, lost in thought. You could say we'd be able to last three more days if you were thinking positively, but that didn't help the situation. Even the figure 'three days' was the most optimistic possible estimate.
If the pureblood supremacists discovered our location and attacked before then, it would all be over. We couldn't go back to the town to get supplies, either.
The toxic gas there would've mostly dissipated by now, blown away by the wind. But the pureblood supremacists could have retaken the area.
We barely had any decent weapons, so we were in no shape to fight them off or withstand an attack. And even if we somehow reclaimed the area, we'd likely lose it again, since our location was now known.
'I'd gotten attached. It felt stable, too.'
The town's outer wall gave us the sense we'd be safe from outside attacks, but we couldn't count on that anymore.
I asked for Licorice's opinion. Whatever I thought, she'd already considered it.
"The biggest reason we can't resupply is simple: we can't use the store system anymore."
Up till now we'd been able to reinforce the town thanks to the store system. But this temporary outpost, apart from the reverse icicles, was just a wasteland. Naturally, there was no store system here—only ice. Once we burned through the supplies we'd grabbed on our way out, that was it.
"I heard there's some sort of mobile outpost—was that at the military base Keter?"
"Yes. It was started for the same purpose as Griffin, and among the large-class ships, it's particularly huge—large enough to serve as a base."
Kanna added another holographic data window on the special operations capital ship, the Albatross. Its wings could fold and unfold, and it apparently produced its own energy.
Weaponry went without saying. Unlike the makeshift arsenal we had, it was equipped with real, properly built military weapons.
"It can navigate space, too. Warp drive is probably nonfunctional, though."
It turned out Albatross wasn't completed yet. The prototype had only been temporarily lifted to the military base Keter from the production facility. So, it was lacking some standard features.
"So, you're saying it could go from the surface up to orbit?"
"It could—if there's enough energy."
So if we just got that ship, could we escape right away? Licorice, reading my mind, answered instead of Kanna.
"Even if we could go up, we shouldn't—at least right now. They've tightened the blockade."
"......."
"They must have activated their military weapon satellites. We'd need to figure out how to disable them—either get the codes or destroy them. If we tried to escape without dealing with that, we'd just be shot down. Turned into a fireball."
"Nothing goes right for us."
When I grumbled, Licorice shrugged.
"In any case, Lee Hyun-woo, you know, don't you? We don't have much time, or many options. The enemy must know we're heading to the archive. Sooner or later, we'll have to fight the pureblood supremacists again. We need to prep as much as we can beforehand—gather up anything we're short on, weapons or whatever."
As she said, the archive would likely become the next battlefield. In fact, I was sure of it. The archive would have the data the pureblood supremacists wanted to hide, and we would need it—clashing would be inevitable.
I agreed with Kanna and Licorice. We needed power.
"Kanna, I heard the energy at the reactor chamber isn't enough, so additional work's required?"
"I won't deny it. Nothing to hide there."
Kanna immediately caught my drift and shook her head. She said the Albatross wasn't just needed for the operation itself—though that's part of it—but sincerely insisted it would be the key to escaping.
There were five reactors on Titan. We didn't need all of them online—just enough to reach the target energy.
The Albatross, meanwhile, was necessary to withstand the journey and the pureblood supremacist attacks.
"Well then, let's do it. I'm trusting that you've found a route to sneak into the military base and the Albatross might still be intact."
"Of course. I'll draw up the detailed plans quickly and get back to you."
Kanna resolved that her team would be at the front of the strike on the base. I hadn't known her long, so their proactive attitude felt a little odd.
But it wasn't a bad feeling. We'd grown much closer, having worked alongside the people from the town in such a short time.
Kanna's team also had great expectations for me—something I quickly understood. When Carry arrived at the town and briefed them on our situation, she'd shared the video of me beating the Whiteout to death—they had seen it too.
When I first subdued them, they hadn't been in top condition—it had felt like they let me get the drop on them. But now that feeling was mostly gone.
I knew that Kanna and her team weren't bad people. The reason so many survived after the town fell was thanks to their cooperation. You could say I owed them.
So I figured I could grant them what they wanted, just this once—even if it wasn't directly related to our escape.
'But since it IS related to our escape, I have no reason not to.'
We were all just trying to survive, after all. There was no reason for me to refuse to cooperate.
Once I'd agreed, the meeting proceeded smoothly.
Thanks to securing crucial parts from a crashed pureblood supremacist shuttle, Kyle was close to finishing repairs on the Griffin, and reinforcement work was also underway on the multi-legged tank and Alpha series—critical to our hit-and-run attack plan on Military Base Keter.
Other items discussed included personnel status and local scouting reports. The details were confounding, but there was nothing wrong with hearing them out, so I paid close attention.
Suddenly, I noticed someone watching me nearby—Celestia. What was odd was the emotion flickering in her blue eyes felt very unfamiliar.
'What's that?'
When I motioned as if to wonder why, Celestia looked even more flustered, turning away—as if she'd been staring at me without realizing it.
Could it be the after-effects of what happened in Heaven still hadn't worn off? Worried, I considered talking to her after the meeting.
"...... With that, today's morning meeting is adjourned. Please immediately share any exceptional developments."
Just as I was about to call Celestia, Licorice called out to me.
"Lee Hyun-woo, how's your body doing?"
"Eh? Oh..."
While I had glanced away for a second, Celestia had slipped out of view. There was definitely something up, but I couldn't figure out what.
'... Could it be because of that?'
Maybe it was due to the synchronized breathing we'd done right before escaping the underground sector.
'She remembers the whole thing?'
I thought she might have lost her memory after hitting her head, but if not, it was a bit embarrassing. Even if it was for a rescue, we really had collided quite a bit.
The air I'd filled my lungs with then had been hotter than expected—the sensation still lingered. Absentmindedly, I touched my lips, causing Licorice and Nadia to look at me quizzically.
"What's wrong?"
"Oh, nothing. I got a good night's sleep, so I'm fine."
"That's good. There's nothing for you to do right now, so if you feel up to it, go see Carrot. He's finished a preliminary analysis of the sample you brought."
My next destination was set. I replied, "Alright," and started to turn away, but stopped. Looking at the tired Licorice, I said something I'd forgotten before.
"Oh, Licorice. Thank you."
"Huh? For what?"
"Thanks to you, I was able to escape the underground sector easily."
I showed her the underground sector schematic she'd shared with me. It was incomplete, but without it, Celestia and I probably would have drowned. Licorice had basically saved my life again.
Licorice was briefly flustered by my thanks, then let out a small laugh and flicked her finger against my forehead.
"Better pay it back, you know?"
"I think I already treat you pretty well."
"Do even better."
How was I supposed to do any better? I couldn't help but look disgruntled. Feeling a mischievous urge, I feigned ignorance.
"But Licorice, did you wash up? You smell—"
"Hey!"
Licorice exploded, outraged at me resurrecting that word she'd managed to forget. Her face flushed so red it looked like it would burst.
A real volcano. If I wanted to survive, I had to get out of range. I grabbed Nadia's hand and fled.
"Nadia, let's run!"
"Huh? Uh, okay!"
Nadia and I dashed to the tent where Carrot was. Thankfully, Licorice didn't chase us. She just fumed in place.
I was worried about the aftermath, but that was a problem for future me. Right now, I was fine.
When we reached Carrot's tent—
"... Is something wrong? Don't tell me, are the pureblood supremacists attacking?"
Carrot, scanning a sample, was startled by our out-of-breath arrival and jumped up. He seemed ready to pack up and flee, but my words made him sag, letting out a chuckle, and he put the sample back on the table.
"If Licorice comes by, tell her we're not here. I cracked a joke, and she got really mad."
"Heh heh..."
Carrot wrapped it up by saying he liked seeing us get along. Though it seemed there was more he wanted to say, he just smiled faintly.
I wanted to chat about trivial things with him, since it felt like it had been a while, but I reminded myself why I was here and went straight to the point.
"You finished analyzing the sample, so I came. I have a lot of questions."
"The equipment's not great, so I didn't find much, but I can answer some of your questions. There are a few things worth separate mention, too."
Carrot motioned us in and started laying out the samples I'd brought from the underground sector.
A mutated plant piece, clear water from the sewage treatment facility, a piece of creep, a metallic spike presumed to be rare metal, and finally, a shard of wood from the laboratory.
"... Huh?"
I blinked at the last sample. Nadia pressed close to me, eyeing it nervously.
"What's wrong?"
"Uh, this... It wasn't like this before."
I was pointing at the wood fragment. What Celestia had shattered into pieces with her smart pistol was now whole again.
It didn't feel regenerated—more like time had reversed, as if it had regained its original form.
"It wasn't like this when you brought it? When I got it, it was in this state."
"I'd scooped up what was basically powder."
I sketched out what I remembered of its previous appearance. The change itself was significant, even if the shape wasn't radically different—possibly dangerous.
"Hmm... This shard resembles a blue crystal. More precisely, it emits a wavelength very similar to refined blue crystal—like the harmful elements have been eliminated."
"Is it storing energy inside?"
"Yes. It contains energy disproportionate to its size. I tried to extract it, but it wouldn't budge."
Carrot concluded that with current equipment, it was impossible to tamper with. He hadn't pushed it, fearing loss of stability and possible disaster.
"And the rest?"
"They're more or less fully analyzed. No big breakthroughs, though."
He briefly summed up each sample:
Mutated plant: Now just ordinary plant tissue—nothing special in its current dead state.
Clear treated water: Almost ultra-pure, with a small amount of blue crystal energy—very similar to the reverse icicles. No other special features.
Piece of creep: Same as the mutated plant. It's dead, so nothing new was found.
Metallic spike (rare metal): An unknown molecular structure. When exposed to refined blue crystal energy, it momentarily amplified the energy abnormally, but then stopped conducting, as if it had a lock.
Carrot guessed the blue crystal energy might be incompatible, or that something extra was needed.
"Based on the underground lab data, I suspect it reacts to psychic—or psionic—energy."
"All dead ends, huh."
The rare metal had potential, but even that was unclear. Where would we even get psionic energy, which fuels supernatural powers?
'Could I do it...?'
The thought crossed my mind, but I shook my head. Although I'd been a test subject for the pureblood supremacists, there was no point in assuming anything right now—I couldn't use such power.
"Sorry to put a damper on things, but our equipment's just too basic to uncover hidden secrets. Even what we had in the town wasn't enough. We need more specialized gear."
"... We do need to raid that military base soon. They should have something like a research vessel there, at least."
"A research vessel would be nice, yes. But don't push yourself. I'll search for other solutions, too."
Carrot let me keep the analyzed samples—except for a piece of the rare metal spike and the wood fragment that had re-formed.
I'd wanted to leave the latter, but Carrot suggested holding onto it for a few days since it was stable now, so I reluctantly took it.
"Um... Carrot, did you detect anything from Hyun-woo?"
Nadia asked cautiously. Carrot shook his head, exhaling.
"I checked him last time. The scanner said he was normal."
"But we didn't test his blood."
At the word 'blood test,' Carrot gave Nadia a grave look. She had lashed out at him furiously when it came up before.
She knew that well but was bringing it up first now, showing a change in her feelings.
"I'm sorry for that, about before."
"No, no. I spoke rashly—I was at fault. Don't worry. That said, are you sure about testing your blood?"
Carrot now looked at me. I nodded, not hesitating. Nadia had suggested it long ago. Even if I was definitely human, as a pureblood supremacist test subject, I couldn't rule out all risks, so a thorough check was needed.
"Yes."
"A wise choice. Of course, I promise to use your blood solely for analysis."
Carrot produced a syringe. The needle was thicker than I expected; nervously, I swallowed. I realized suddenly that I must have a strong dislike of needles—a gut-level aversion.
"What's wrong?"
"I... don't want to do this anymore."
"Hyun-woo."
Nadia held onto me with a pleading look when I took a step back. I could have shaken her off, but I relaxed.
Once I yielded, Carrot quickly drew my blood. Thanks to the large needle, it was over soon—any longer and it might have traumatized me.
"That's all for now. I know you're sturdy, but just in case, I'd say take it easy for a bit."
Carrot shared some extra data for us to review, saying it might help with the military base op.
I made myself comfortable in a random spot as Nadia sat beside me, and we started reading through the files.
〈On Mutants Based on Humans: Ghouls and Mimics.〉
"Before discussing details, note the name change: what used to be called a parasite is henceforth named Lamprey, due to their similarity in appearance.
These thin, tough mutants inhabit the creep. They behave in as disgusting a way as they look. Sometimes they burrow into and live in ghouls and mimics, boosting their host's regeneration.
If a Lamprey targets a human instead of another mutant, the process is expected to be horrendous. There are several vulnerable points, so if not protected, you could lose your life in an instant.
Because they constantly secrete mucus, flame throwers are less effective on them. Facing them alone is very dangerous. If there are too many, it's better to flee.
*Ghoul – Cramper.
First observed when the pureblood supremacists attacked the town. This is a new ghoul variant, seemingly fused with internal augmentations from a suit.
Almost every Cramper so far was a mutated soldier from the military base. Other staff from Heaven and normal humans, who have less advanced suits, seem unable to transform into this type.
The military base was confirmed lost on day one of the disaster. The proportion of Cramper-type ghouls among the ghoul population is expected to rise.
Normal ghouls prefer biting attacks, but Crampers tend to rush their targets. Sometimes they move so fast they lose control and their attacks miss.
But if they catch you, they will rip you apart. Even security robot Alpha, with medium armor, was torn in half by a Cramper.
Their pattern is linear but extremely powerful. Best to avoid or take them out in one shot.
Ghoul – Spitter.
A type that seems to branch off from a Lamprey mother managing cocoons in the creep. This one has acid pouches in its abdomen instead of Lamprey and fires the acid at high pressure.
The acid is why the town's shield degraded so fast. The high viscosity made it impossible to shake off once it stuck. You can neutralize them by rupturing the abdominal acid pouch from a distance.
If not killed thoroughly, their pouch regenerates and they resume attacking, so after neutralization, destroy the internal blue crystal.
If you hear a guttural growling, immediately stop moving and stay alert. A Spitter, drawing up acid, is likely watching from hiding.
On the plus side, because the acid atrophied their senses, spitters are somewhat dull. If you stand still, they might overlook you.
Where there are Spitters, there won't be creeps or Lampreys nearby. Wait for your chance before acting.
*Newly discovered blossom types: Whiteout and Blackout.
Twins with special mind-altering powers. Analyzing Whiteout's head and tail revealed blue crystal-like wavelengths.
With extremely strong energy as a medium, they manifest special powers—so-called supernatural powers. More samples needed.
*Mutated plants
These were found in Heaven's hydroponic bay and underground sector. So far, they've just grown abnormally large, but we'll need to monitor any new mutations.
Apparently, in the underground lab, tree roots absorbed the corpses of ghouls and others, so a fusion-type mutant of ghoul and plant might emerge.
As plants, they should be especially vulnerable to flamethrowers."
After taking all this in, I muttered,
"How can the pureblood supremacists control the mutants?"
"This rare metal might be the key."
It was a quiet mutter, but Carrot replied anyway—he suspected the pureblood supremacists were using rare-metal transmitters to control the mutants.
"That's a huge deal. Is it okay for me to keep it?"
"Just for research purposes. The rest, you carry. My gut says it's safer with you than with me."
"First time I've seen a researcher trust their gut."
Nadia whispered, which Carrot somehow overheard, and laughed. Nadia shrank back and hid behind me.
"Experience becomes intuition—and that intuition is instinct," he said, stroking his chin—saying now was one of those times.
"Then I'll trust you. Oh, and Carrot, that weakener you developed—it's really good. If you gave them out, fighting those things would be much easier. I caught the Whiteout thanks to that."
"I'm working on mass-producing them. As soon as I get the materials, I'll ramp up production."
We spent some time helping Carrot in his tent.
The next day, we packed up the temporary outpost and finished preparations to head to Military Base Keter.
-------------= Clacky's Corner -------------=
If you search for lamprey it is a very fitting name for the parasite mutant.
【ദ്ദി(⩌ᴗ⩌)】