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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator – Seraph]
[Proofreader – Draxx]
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Chapter 355
"Not as much as I thought, huh?"
I shook the half-sunk pirate ship, as if shaking out the remaining crumbs from a bag of snacks. The pirates inside were ejected into the zero-gravity space. Whether they were alive or dead didn’t matter; they all got sucked into my mouth, which had split into three sections.
‘Tch.’
Maybe because I had gotten bigger, even dozens of pirates didn't fill me up. Not satisfied with the taste, the heads on either side of me licked the corners of my mouth with their tongues.
｢Big one｣ ｢Glutton｣ ｢Glutton｣
Adhai, who had eaten one of the pirates and was in a good mood, flew around me, teasing me.
｢Don’t tease the big one.｣
｢Glutton｣ ｢Actually...｣
Number 26, who was nestled in Adhai's small arms, didn’t like Adhai’s attitude. It grew tentacles from its body and struck at the little gallagon’s head.
Well, it tried to. Adhai swiftly dodged the tentacles, and the attack was ineffective.
｢Little one｣ ｢Attack｣ ｢Predict｣ ｢Easy｣ ｢Now｣ ｢Missed｣
｢Really?｣
｢?｣
｢Really? Really? Really? Really? Really?｣
｢Wait｣ ｢That’s｣ ｢A lot｣
｢The little one dodges well, so it’s fine.｣
｢That’s｣ ｢Cheating.｣
Before long, Number 26, now fully in battle mode, slipped out of my arms and began chasing after Adhai.
I left them to play together and shook the ship, wondering if there were any pirates left to loot.
That’s when the Mother of the Sky appeared from the wreckage. Spreading her agate-colored wings in griffon form, she flew toward me.
｢While cleaning up, I found something strange.｣
[ZZZZ (Something strange?)]
She showed me what she had been holding in her beak.
It was a plasma rifle.
It was a long, thin rectangular design, about 60-70 cm in length, with green rails on the front and a small terminal pad mounted on the top. It also had a small trigger and a mount for stability.
It was exactly the type of item I had seen countless times in the game.
‘Plasma rifle?’
According to the setting, the history of plasma weapons was essentially the history of weight reduction and stabilization.
Plasma weapons developed for space battles between ships had tremendous firepower, but they also had many drawbacks. They were large, energy-hungry, and difficult to handle unless you had a military-grade spaceship.
After years of research, plasma weapons gradually became smaller.
The results of this size reduction were the plasma launchers, plasma bolters, and pistols.
However, there was a slight catch with all of these.
The bolter, due to its weight and recoil, was difficult to use without wearing heavy armor. Plasma pistols were unsafe and had incredibly high production costs. The launcher, being a squad-support weapon, wasn’t really practical in most situations.
But there was one plasma weapon that had completely solved all these issues.
That was the plasma rifle the Mother of the Sky showed me.
It was the perfect weapon, having passed all tests in weight, firepower, and safety.
The firepower exceeded that of the bolter, and the recoil was almost nonexistent. The weight was light enough for a trained soldier to carry for long periods. It was also made from rare metals, making it durable and resistant to damage over time.
However, it came with a high production cost, and its manufacturing required advanced technology, which meant only top-tier mega-corp players could produce it in the game. It was a weapon classified as the highest tech in the system.
In the game, plasma rifles were also restricted to use only on Earth and Mars. This was due to the seven families who controlled the technology, ensuring that it could only be used on designated planets to prevent technology leaks.
‘So why is it here?’
[ZZZZ ZZZZ ZZZZ ZZ ZZZ (Did the pirates have plasma rifles?)]
｢Yeah, not all of them, but one of them had it.｣
In the game, thanks to player-to-player trading, mercenaries armed with plasma rifles were common.
But that was in the game world. If I were a high-ranking member of Megacorp, I would do everything in my power to prevent the export of plasma rifles.
[ZZZZ ZZZ ZZ ZZZZ (These guys looted ships in the solar system?)]
｢Not likely. If they had thousands of warships, maybe. But with their level, it’s definitely impossible.｣
[ZZZZ ZZ ZZ ZZZZZZ (But they don’t seem like they're from Earth.)]
｢Maybe they're pirates related to players.｣
According to her reasoning, it would actually be unnatural to assume these pirates have no connection to players in this situation.
However, there are a few unclear points.
‘They’re too weak for people carrying such valuable weapons.’
None of the top-ranked players I’ve fought against ever equipped their subordinates with plasma rifles. This suggests that using such rifles in the game world isn't as practical as it may seem.
It was suspicious that such low-level pirates who couldn’t even compare to a typical player had plasma rifles, weapons that even ranked players would have trouble securing.
‘Besides, this isn’t exactly an important system.’
This place didn’t have any rare resources, nor was it of military significance. I had stopped here during faster-than-light travel simply to gather some snacks. Given I hadn’t encountered any other ships on the way, it was hard to even consider this system as one controlled by pirates.
‘I’ll need to ask the others, too.’
While I was attacking the pirate ship, a few of the pirates had moved to the mining ship. One of them might have a plasma rifle.
I bit into the outer wall of the mining ship with my three mouths. I tore through the tough exterior and shoved my head inside.
Just as I was about to spread the shockwaves with my tentacles, a long shape appeared at the far end of the corridor, lit by red emergency lights. It was Isabel a being with a long snake-like body and dozens of arms.
She had been about to swallow a pirate when our eyes met. One of her hands was holding a plasma rifle.
[ZZZ ZZZZ ZZZZ ZZZ (There’s a plasma rifle here too.)]
After hearing me, Isabel spat out the cyborg pirate she had been holding. The unconscious pirate, despite wearing heavy armor, had been utterly mangled.
Isabel retrieved the discarded pirate and floated over to me.
"I grabbed it just in case. Looks like that pirate ship had one too."
[ZZ ZZZ (Is your body alright?)]
"I’ve been hit a few times, but I’m fine."
Isabel gracefully spun in mid-air. Though there were scorch marks on her chrome-scaled body, the damage wasn’t serious.
‘Maybe it’s because of the materials used in the Ring of Agony? Seems pretty durable.’
She had been hit with a plasma rifle, but the damage was minimal. It didn’t seem like it was worth worrying about.
[ZZ ZZ ZZZ (Is there anything else?)]
Isabel shook her head and held up the pirate she had just caught.
"This guy was holding the rifle. He looks like the leader."
[ZZ (Really?)]
That was good news.
I pulled my head out and inserted one of my combat arms into the hole I had made in the mining ship. From a hole in my arm, enhanced parasites burst out and moved toward their new home. A short while later, one of the parasites finished its mission and sent me a wave signal.
[ZZZZ ZZ ZZ ZZZZ (Sorry, but could you do the interrogation for me?)]
Being large makes it hard to interrogate pirates in space. I handed the task to the Mother of the Sky and resumed scanning the debris of the pirate ship floating around.
‘Is there anything unusual?’
I had already confirmed that the pirate ship’s weaponry was lacking before the assault. Once again, I found no signs of anything strange.
‘Wait, nothing at all?’
Then, I remembered the features of space-dogs. Pirates usually paint their cartel's unique symbol on their ships. This marks their territory and helps avoid fights with other pirates.
However, there was no cartel mark on this ship.
‘Did it get wiped off because I destroyed the ship?’
I checked even the smallest debris but found no traces of painted marks on the outer walls.
‘They have plasma rifles, and they don’t have a pirate mark…’
I don’t know who these people are, but it seems like it’s time to leave here quickly.
At that moment, the parasite that had settled on the pirate captain's head sent me a signal. Through the hole I had made, the Mother of the Sky, Isabel, and PS-111 emerged after finishing the interrogation.
[ZZZ ZZ (What happened?)]
｢…It seems like they might be related to the players.｣
[ZZ ZZZ ZZZ ZZ ZZZ ZZ ZZZZ (Could it be related to the place we’re heading to?)]
｢There’s no Space Dog ranked player in the Return Faction, so that’s probably not it. Oh, and check this out.｣
She gestured, and Isabel floated up, holding a small piece of cloth and offering it to me. The cloth, shaped like a banner, bore the pirate cartel mark I had been looking for.
However, something about the mark seemed off. It wasn’t a picture it was a set of characters.
[ZZ ZZ ZZ (Isn’t this Japanese?)]
｢Yeah. The front is Japanese, and the back is in Hanja. The captain said he’s the leader of the ‘Shinoroku’ (しの六) cartel.｣
[PR/N: (しの六) means “Six days of the fourth Lunar Moon” they are ‘taian’, ‘butsumetsu’, ‘senpu’, ‘tomobiki’, ‘shakko’ and ‘sensho’.]
Hearing it was Japanese reminded me of a certain player: the arrogant and brutal Megacorp ranker, Akira Yujin.
‘Is this related to the third ranker?’
｢Their cartel is structured a bit unusually. Unlike normal pirates, they’ve formed an alliance. There are six different cartels united right now.｣
[ZZZ ZZZ ZZZZ ZZZ ZZZZZZ (Is that why the name has the number six in it?)]
[PR/N: That’s why they are called “Six days of the Fourth Lunar Moon”]
｢Yeah. The captain said he received this weapon from Cartel Number One.｣
From what I heard from Jason before, the third ranker is the head of the Yujin family. He might have used his power as head of the family to organize the pirates and provide them with weapons.
‘The one who organized the cartel must also be a ranker.’
To control pirates who betray others at the drop of a hat, a ranker would be needed. The Space Dog ranker working with Akira Yujin could very well be the one leading them.
[ZZZ ZZZ ZZ (What’s their goal?)]
｢I asked them, but there’s no special goal. They just use the weapons to steadily plunder in a designated area. That’s it.｣
[ZZ ZZZZ (What about the other cartels?)]
｢They move independently, so I don’t know what they do regularly. They only contact each other periodically there’s little to no exchange otherwise.｣
The pirate captain, despite holding good weapons, didn’t know much. Because of this, the true purpose of their actions remains unclear.
‘At least we found out before they got to us.’
Knowing that the Ruling faction is up to something was a valuable bit of intel.
[ZZZ ZZZ ZZZZZ ZZZ ZZ (We can’t let them find out that we met them.)]
｢We’ve already destroyed the ship. What do you expect me to do?｣
[ZZZ ZZZ ZZZ ZZZZ ZZZ (We’ve got a new ship. We can just say we transferred to it.)]
The most important figure, the captain, is still alive, and the two plasma rifles are undamaged.
Also, there are still crew members inside the mining ship. I had called them out while PS-111 and Isabel were handling the crew.
By infecting the crew members with parasites, we can disguise them as pirates and avoid detection.
Once I had a plan, it was time for action.
The others and I teamed up to find the crew members inside the mining ship and infect them with parasites. There were a few survivors we didn’t infect, but I left them be. They were few in number, and all escape pods were destroyed, so they wouldn’t be able to do anything.
Once everything was set, I instructed the parasites to keep moving along their designated course, as they did before. Even if I was far away, the parasites would follow my orders to the end.
｢The humans are leaving.｣
Leaving Number 26, who waved its tentacles innocently behind me, the pirate ship grew smaller and smaller.
‘Good.’
Next time we encounter pirates, I should ask if anyone knows anything about the cartel alliance. Cartel alliances aren’t very common, so someone must have some information.
Having sent the pirates far off, I initiated faster-than-light travel with the others onboard.
My body, wrapped in blue energy, exceeded the speed of light, transcending space itself. The stars and the surrounding darkness blended into a chaotic mix like spilled paint.
It was an incredibly beautiful sight, but I couldn’t afford to be distracted. Every second, my body was crossing through stars. I had to stay focused on the jump route to make sure we reached our destination safely.
How much time had passed?
The swirling brilliance of stars faded, replaced by a red glow. An aging star emitted its final light in the darkness of space.
The red giant, named Olga, boasted a size far beyond that of our Sun.
One of the planets under this dying sun’s light hid a ranked player from the Return Wave, who was in charge of weapon management.
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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator – Seraph]
[Proofreader – Draxx]
Join our Discord for release updates!
https://discord.com/invite/dbdMDhzWa2
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