I Became an Evolving Space Monster
Chapter 426

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[Translator – Seraph]

[Proofreader – Draxx]

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Chapter 426

The Supreme Governing Body of the Star Union — the Mechanical Council.

This council is run by twelve high-performance androids known as the High Commissioners.

Their purpose is to rule over the vast territories and populations of the Union, and to assist the Supreme Leader. Each of them is designed to effectively handle the field they are assigned.

The twelfth commissioner, Pisces Twelve, is responsible for the domain of exploration. Her role is to analyze and catalogue the many resources scattered throughout the immense cosmos.

Normally, Pisces rarely left the capital planet, Zax-01. Most data was collected via drones or lower-tier androids. She would process all the incoming data with her overwhelming computational capacity.

But lately, things had changed. More and more, she found herself having to leave Zax-01.

The Mechanical Council and the Supreme Leader were secretly carrying out a project—one critical enough to directly affect the future of the Star Union.

Pisces’ collaboration with the Space Dogs was part of this project’s success. She had no complaints, understanding the importance of her role.

Except for one thing.

“Hey, tin can. What’s the situation on the surface?”

The crude voice snapped her out of her focus. Still synced with the ship’s computer, she activated the visual input cameras.

The speaker stood right in front of her.

A young human male, his face and neck covered in scales. His name was Shinobu, head of the Shino Group, and her current partner on this mission.

“Hey? Tin can? I asked you a question.”

“…Facility maintenance is complete. In approximately one hour and forty-five minutes, the planetary atmosphere will stabilize.”

“What? So it takes two hours? If this were a game, it’d be over in ten minutes. They made item stats just like in games, but when it comes to this stuff…”

“…However, if I remotely access the terraforming machine and recalibrate it, I can shorten the time. So be quiet.”

Shinobu shut his mouth at that.

Having silenced him, Pisces connected the cable at the back of her neck into the ship’s mainframe again.

But the quiet didn’t last long.

“You know, this reminds me of the time I learned how to hunt Arcane Orcas. Those useless bastards wouldn’t teach me anything—it was hell…”

Shinobu’s chatter resumed only minutes later.

Ignoring him would’ve been nice, but she couldn’t. Ironically, the value he brought to the mission came from that very rambling.

Brought in by the Supreme Leader two years ago, Shinobu had extensive knowledge of rare lifeforms—some of it beyond even the Mechanical Council’s reach.

The ongoing dangerous creature extermination campaign? It had been initiated based on information from his head. So Pisces couldn’t disregard him outright.

As she tried to juggle both tasks, she suddenly paused at an anomaly.

“…Those bastards said I ruined the mood—what a joke…”

“Pisces Twelve. I’ve detected a problem. Be quiet.”

“Huh? Problem?”

While remotely accessing the terraforming machine, she had detected suspicious activity.

“Someone attempted remote access.”

“Probably that guy—what’s his name? Conan? Maybe he was fiddling with it during repairs.”

“Negative. If that were the case, traces of intrusion would remain.”

Space Dogs often used cheap hacking modules bought off the black market. The downside of such modules was their tendency to leave plenty of traces.

Yet, the terraforming system’s security logs showed none.

Or rather—it looked as though the traces had been meticulously erased. If not for Pisces’ analytical prowess, even she wouldn’t have noticed.

Whoever had hacked in displayed near-machine-level precision. But if they had the skill to infiltrate the terraforming system… could they have done more?

“So? Why’d you stop talking? You know I hate when people stop mid-sent—”

“Still verifying. Wait.”

With that, Pisces quickly scanned the storage vault containing ‘critical assets’. Data from internal cameras and various security systems flooded her consciousness.

Within moments, she had processed the massive data set—and confirmed that the same high-level hacker had infiltrated the vault.

Unlike the terraforming machine, this time there were no traces of remote access. Had she not caught the first intrusion, she wouldn’t even have suspected this one.

“There was an unauthorized entry into the vault.”

“What?”

The traces had been found by checking each video log manually.

One video had been tampered with.

The intruder had physically entered the vault, then altered the footage afterward.

“Exactly one hour ago, an unauthorized individual was inside the vault for twenty minutes.”

Shinobu’s face hardened.

“What about our stuff?”

“No components are missing.”

“…I’m going down there to check myself. Get everything ready. And while I’m gone, find out which bastard did this.”

“Search personnel and equipment are already prepared.”

The conversation ended there.

Shinobu, now completely expressionless, walked out. Pisces was left alone in the room.

She turned back to her console, compiling every bit of data produced by AG-01 to track the intruder.

This—this was the essence of the Star Union’s finest. The job of a High Commissioner.

It wouldn’t take long to find whoever did this.

***

Five massive transport ships plunged through thunderclouds toward the ground. Larger than most patrol craft, the ships landed on the port like steel spears falling from the sky.

As the hatches opened, giants of steel stepped out—Monster Walkers, the elite combat mechs of the Star Union.

These were the upgraded versions of Heavy Walkers, living up to their name with monstrous specs. Equipped with three walker-class engines, they boasted superior power, firepower, mobility, and armor.

But due to their immense cost, even the Star Union didn’t deploy them often.

And now, dozens of them had been deployed here. Every single one operated by a Space Dog.

｢Hmph. It’s strange—there’s no one around, even though we just landed.｣

｢I called a guy I know at the port. Says there’s nothing unusual going on.｣

｢Not a single rat in sight, and they say it's all fine? What a load of crap.｣

The pirates' voices bounced between the comm systems built into the cockpits of the Walkers.

Standing among the towering machines, Shinobu said nothing. He didn't need to. His proxy would speak for him.

｢Priority is the warehouse sweep. If you spot anything suspicious along the way, shoot to kill. Don’t hesitate just because they’re pirates.｣

｢Understood!｣

Sutherland, Shinobu’s puppet, conveyed his master’s will word-for-word. The pilots, unaware their leader was just a figurehead, responded with confidence.

And then, the metal giants began to move. Shinobu walked with them, blending in seamlessly.

With each step of the 8 to 9-meter-tall Monster Walkers, the ground cracked and boomed with dull, seismic echoes.

Despite the deafening racket, no one emerged. The buildings remained lit but lifeless. The entire area felt less like a port and more like a graveyard.

｢………｣

Maybe it was the eerie stillness, but even the chatter over the comms began to die down.

Shinobu let the silence settle as he turned his thoughts to the unknown intruder.

Though he always acted the fool, his mind was far from empty. That lightheartedness was just a survival tactic.

Back in reality, he’d been nothing more than a small-time thug in a street gang. Surviving among villains required him to act harmless and cheerful. In truth, he was cautious and calculating.

‘So who the hell broke in?’

As he guided his Walker forward, he began to mentally list the possibilities.

A betrayer from his own crew? Unlikely. If it had been someone from the separatists hiding here, Pisces would’ve flagged it already.

‘Don’t tell me… another Ranker?’

Whoever it was had slipped past the scrutiny of a High Councilor who monitored things around the clock. Very few could pull that off.

Maybe one of Akira Yujin’s Shadows… or a Ranker from the Return Faction who could duplicate themselves?

‘No, definitely not a Shadow.’

Shinobu and Akira were allies. There’d be no need to sneak around—he could just request one of the superweapons outright.

And as for the Return Faction? That was doubtful, too. Since before he’d even awakened in this unfamiliar world, the Dominators and Returnees had maintained a tense truce.

Even when he’d destroyed a nest and killed the Outspeaker Queen, the Fourth Empress hadn’t retaliated.

With the Return Faction’s top power keeping still, it didn’t make sense for someone else from their ranks to come all this way just to raid a warehouse.

‘Unless…’

｢We’ve reached the warehouse.｣

The comms snapped him out of his thoughts. The screen, synced with the external cameras, showed the black structure ahead.

Maybe he’d zoned out—he’d arrived sooner than expected.

｢Who’s in charge here?｣

｢The Shinoni Cartel is responsible. Should I call them?｣

｢No need. We’re moving everything inside anyway. Just open it with the Walkers.｣

｢Understood.｣

Following Sutherland’s command, one of the Walkers stepped up to the warehouse. Its arm-mounted plasma cutter activated, aiming to slice through the door.

Shinobu watched from behind when suddenly a separate comm unit buzzed in his pocket.

It was his dedicated line to Pisces.

“Found anything? Who’s behind this?”

Static crackled through the line.

｢Krrzzzt—Intruder—Krrzzzt—Satellite—Krrzzzt｣

“What? Speak clearly.”

｢Comm stabilization complete. The intruder has seized control of the communication satellite.｣

“What!?”

｢What’s in front of you—it’s a trap. Proceed with caution.｣

The moment Pisces gave the warning, the warehouse doors opened—on their own.

More precisely, it wasn't that the warehouse opened—

It was that something merely posing as a warehouse had reverted to its original form.

What emerged was a ghostly, scale-covered beast, its surface pale as death.

With three long, branching necks, it coiled around one of the Walkers and dragged it down into the massive pit that lay behind.

｢W-What the hell is—Kzzzzch—Aaaagh!—Kzzzzzzt—shk｣

The comms went dead with that final scream—short, panicked, and cut off in an instant.

Moments later, an eerie sound began to rise from the hole.

It was a strange, continuous rush—like heavy rain hammering against pavement, or the sludge-like flow of mud and debris from a collapsing mountain.

Why was such a sound coming from beneath the earth…

Who was making it…

The answer came quickly.

From the edge of the abyss, something emerged.

Humanoid in outline—but far from human in every other way.

｢W-What the hell is that?!｣

｢This is insane! All units, get ready for battle—now!｣

Bizarre things covered in black mud poured out of the pit, starting with the pilots' shouts.

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[Translator – Seraph]

[Proofreader – Draxx]

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