I Became an Evolving Space Monster
Chapter 422

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[Translator – Seraph]

[Proofreader – Draxx]

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Chapter 422

Komon, leader of the Shino-Roku Cartel, hadn’t slept properly in months.

A cyborg with insomnia—it sounded like a bad joke. But it was true.

Everything began the day his ship was replaced with a MegaCorp mining vessel.

A few months ago, during a routine patrol, they had stumbled upon an idle mining ship.

They were thrilled—an easy haul for some quick credits.

But that joy vanished as quickly as it came, the moment the monster arrived.

The creature obliterated the pirate ship, then implanted something into the heads of the survivors—including Komon—before leaving without a word.

At the time, Komon had thought surviving was a blessing.He was wrong.

The ‘thing' inside his head began to torment him with pain.Relentless, unpredictable agony. So intense, it made daily life impossible.

And worse—any attempt to remove it or even talk about it brought even more pain.

As if the thing wanted to say: Don’t even dream of it.

Since that encounter, Komon's life had decayed rapidly.He was alive—but only in the sense that his body still functioned, locked in a prison built inside his own mind.

Only his cyborg augmentations allowed him to endure.The others hadn’t been so lucky. They all lost their minds and flung themselves into the void.

Maybe that’s why he didn’t feel anything—not even relief—when the Shino Group’s overlord summoned him.

Operations directly overseen by the top of the Shino Group usually brought massive profits.

This one probably would, too. But Komon couldn’t feel happy about it.

No amount of credits could fix what was happening inside his head.

Still, ignoring a direct summons was unthinkable.The moment the order came in, the Shino-Roku Cartel moved without hesitation.

And now, today marked one week since Komon had joined the Shino Group fleet.

“Boss, we’ll arrive in ten minutes.”

“….”

“Boss?”

Komon stirred at the sound of the voice.

“We’ll arrive at the target site in ten minutes.”

“…Target site?”

He opened his eyes and looked around.Inside a large transport ship, rows of pirates in exosuits sat strapped in.

Only then did he recall what he had been doing.

“You alright, boss?”

“Y-Yeah. Just… had something on my mind.”

“Sorry?”

“It’s fine. Just make sure everyone’s ready to deploy the moment we land.”

“Got it.”

Just a little while ago, the head of the Shinoichi Cartel had given him a direct order: There was a problem with the terraforming equipment on AG-01 due to an unstable atmosphere. Go fix it.

So he’d boarded this transport with his men and set out. Somewhere along the way, he must’ve dozed off.

‘Did I… fall asleep?’

Until now, he hadn’t been able to sleep at all.Not with that damned intruder in his head.

But ever since landing on this planet, the headaches had vanished.

The thing hadn’t died or been removed.For some reason, it had simply gone dormant once they touched down on AG-01.

Otherwise, he wouldn’t have been able to sleep so deeply.

‘Shit—whatever the reason, I don’t care.’

The thing was quiet now, and that was all that mattered. This was his chance. As soon as this job was done, he’d get it removed.

He’d heard this planet was once a test site for Hulk-Mutants.That meant there had to be advanced surgical equipment still around.

If anyone knew where to look, it’d be Shino-ni, the vice-boss who arrived earlier.

｢What should we do?｣

‘Huh?’

A subordinate’s robotic voice shook him from his thoughts again.

‘Wait… what?’

When he looked around, he realized the transport was gone.

In front of him were pirates in helmets, staring at him expectantly.

And he wasn’t on the ship anymore.

Puddles of water pooled on the floor.Their helmet-mounted headlights were the only light source.

Outside, a vicious wind howled.

They were inside the damaged terraforming facility.

‘When did we…?’

Komon asked himself, and slowly, the recent events began to resurface in his memory.

Despite the violent weather, the transport ship had landed safely in front of the terraforming structure. The Shino-Roku crew disembarked and hurried inside.

One unlucky subordinate was struck by lightning and vaporized along the way, but the rest had made it into the first floor without issue.

These were vivid, unforgettable memories—especially since they had just happened moments ago.

The fact that he’d forgotten them… was not normal.

｢Where should we start the repairs?｣

｢……｣

｢Boss?｣

｢Are you alright?｣

But even so, this was no time to fall apart.

If they returned now, not only would he fail to remove the thing inside his head, but he’d be scolded by the Shinoichi boss.

Worse, if that man reported Komon’s failure to the Shino Group’s true leaders, it could mean the end of the entire Shino-Roku Cartel’s standing.

They might even get expelled from the group.

‘That...That must not happen!’

If he was to extract the thing, the repairs had to be completed at all costs.

｢…You lot, head down to the basement and check the operational facilities.｣

｢Yes, sir!｣

｢The rest of you, come with me to the control room upstairs.｣

The pirates followed orders and quickly dispersed. The beams from their helmet-mounted lights receded into the dark as they moved.

Komon and the remaining crew began ascending the stairs.

The stairwell was pitch black—so dark that even the headlights couldn't distinguish the steps from the shadows. Everything reflected the same suffocating black.

Combined with the howling wind outside, the atmosphere was oppressive.

Even hardened criminals aren’t immune to fear.

The space itself seemed to claw at some deep, primal part of the brain. The pirates' backs quickly drenched in cold sweat as they climbed.

‘…Damn it.’

Komon wasn’t immune to the dread either.

The sudden lapses in memory only made it worse.

The stairs seemed endless, and the darkness ahead threatened to swallow his mind whole.

｢Boss.｣

｢!｣

He flinched at the voice in his helmet.

｢Boss, looks like there was an explosion here.｣

｢…I see.｣

For a moment, he feared he’d blacked out again—but thankfully, that wasn’t the case.

Looking where his subordinate pointed, he saw that a portion of the stairway and outer wall had collapsed.

The damage suggested a powerful force had ripped through it.

｢What’s on this level?｣

｢Uh, this one and the floors above and below it are just staff lounges.｣

He’d heard the facility had been attacked by separatists.

If they used explosives, why target this area? Wouldn’t it make more sense to go after the core systems or the terraforming modules?

There was no logical reason to hit a break room.

Probably unrelated to us, he tried to rationalize.

His job was to bring the facility back online. That was all.

But just then, he heard it— A whisper brushing his ear.

“Come here.”

‘…!’

Startled, Komon whipped around.

｢Who was that just now?｣

｢What do you mean, boss?｣

｢The voice. Who just spoke to me?｣

｢Huh?｣

｢None of us said anything, sir.｣

In the middle of the stairwell, only his subordinates stood—no one else.

Even when Komon looked down the stairs, there was no sign of anyone else.

｢What the hell is this…?｣

This way, the voice came again.

Komon snapped his head upward.

｢There! Someone’s up there!｣

｢What?｣

｢Boss?｣

｢You morons! Move! Get up there now!｣

The pirates, confused but obedient, followed his order without question. Their enhanced bodies easily cleared the collapsed steps as they leapt upward. Komon followed close behind, entering the corridor above with the rest of the squad.

｢Boss, what’s going on?｣

｢We’re not alone. There’s an intruder.｣

At the word intruder, the pirates immediately tensed up.

Since the separatist attack, this facility had been abandoned. Anyone sneaking into this dangerous place could only belong to one faction.

｢…Didn’t those psycho bastards all die off already?｣

｢Shit, are the Shino-ni freaks using us to clean up their mess?｣

Cursing under their breath, the pirates began searching the rooms along the corridor.

The building was mostly filled with climate control machinery and terraforming infrastructure. There weren’t many spaces designated for personal use—just a few break rooms, nothing more.

But in those few spaces, they found nothing. No trace of anyone.

｢This place is clear.｣

｢No. There’s still one spot left.｣

｢Huh?｣

Komon pointed toward the end of the hallway. A large elevator door was shut tight there.

｢Could be hiding inside.｣

｢That place, though… it’s a bit…｣

｢Then go die.｣

｢N-No, sir!｣

The pirates immediately obeyed, especially when Komon raised his plasma rifle at them without hesitation.

｢Open it.｣

The ones carrying plasma cutters stepped forward. A green glow briefly illuminated the dark corridor as they began slicing through the thick metal. Sparks flew, and the heavy door finally gave way with a screech.

The pirate at the front peered cautiously into the now-open elevator shaft.

｢It’s empty… nothing in there.｣

｢You sure?｣

｢Yeah, I double-checked and—wait! I see something!｣

He leaned deeper into the shaft, trying to get a better look.

｢What is that…?｣

Suddenly—

Something massive burst out from the darkness below.

A sickly white hand, unnaturally large—far larger than the elevator shaft itself—shot up and seized the pirate. In an instant, the hand yanked him down into the abyss.

｢What the hell!?｣

｢What was that?!｣

The others, who had been watching in stunned silence, finally registered what had happened.

A creature—something not human—had just snatched away their comrade.

｢M-Monster!｣

｢Shit! I can’t get a signal!｣

｢Boss! What do we do?!｣

Panic erupted through the helmet comms as fear overtook the group. Komon tried to regain control, to bark an order—

But a voice whispered in his head again:

“You’ve arrived.”

If not for the command echoing in his mind…

｢Why again—ugh?!｣

Snapping back to awareness, Komon found that he had dropped his plasma rifle without even realizing it.

The hallway that had looked normal just moments ago was now a scene of devastation.

Walls and ceiling were scorched, melted from high-energy blasts.

The floor was strewn with mangled, dismembered corpses.

｢N-No! I didn’t… I didn’t do this!｣

Come closer.

And then—

He was already inside the elevator.

The floor indicator numbers flickered rapidly past as the elevator descended.

｢S-Stop! Stop this!｣

Ding. Sublevel 4. Doors opening.

A cheerful chime rang out as the elevator doors slid open.

Against his will, his feet began to move.

‘This way.’

His arms, acting on their own, removed his helmet. Thick humidity and the stench of rot clung to his face—far too pungent for any ordinary terraforming facility.

And there—

The owner of that pale, monstrous hand was waiting for him.

“Y-You son of a bitch! This is my body! No one controls me!”

The elevator doors began to close behind him.

So did the light.

It wasn’t hard to imagine what would happen once the darkness swallowed him.

Komon muttered frantically, over and over:

“This is my body… This is my body… This is my body… This is—”

“It’s been a while.”

The pale figure before him spoke.

But not to Komon directly—It was addressing something inside his head.

“This is my body… my body…”

The elevator doors shut.

And the cyborg's voice fell silent.

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[Translator – Seraph]

[Proofreader – Draxx]

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