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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator – Seraph]
[Proofreader – Draxx]
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Chapter 376
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"Estimated time of arrival?"
"Approximately 20 minutes on foot."
"Make sure all life-support systems are functioning properly. Also, double-check the backup oxygen capsules and medical kits."
"Understood!"
Inside the transport ship, which had landed dozens of kilometers away from their destination, 21 pirates conducted a final equipment check before departure.
"The wildlife here has ridiculously thick hides. Use armor-piercing rounds and penetrator bullets as standard. Everyone, switch your ammo."
"Yes, sir!"
Every member of the Hamilton Cartel was formerly a soldier for Megacorp. Even before becoming pirates, they had participated in numerous battles. Perhaps because of that, they looked entirely at home as they checked their powered armor and Gauss rifles.
"Activate power armor. We're moving out."
At the command of their leader, Sechan Hamilton, the 20 pirates activated the bio-helmets on their heads.
This planet was a hellish inferno, with scorching heat radiating from every direction. As such, they had come prepared with specialized power armor designed for combat in space.
The suits they wore were the latest models released by the Garmelda family full-body protective gear, unlike standard mid-tier power armor, which left parts of the body exposed. Beyond its exceptional defensive capabilities, it also significantly boosted the wearer’s physical strength, making it ideal for operations in extreme environments.
As the transport ship’s hatch opened, Sechan stepped out first, followed closely by his men, clad in their thickly reinforced suits.
｢This weather is absolutely unbearable, Captain.｣
"Volcanic planets are all like this. If your helmet comes off, you're dead so be careful."
Despite his warning, Sechan himself was not wearing a helmet. Instead, he sported a pair of custom-made goggles, leaving most of his face exposed.
For a regular human, stepping outside without protection would have meant instant burns and excruciating pain. The air alone was hot enough to sear flesh in seconds.
Yet Sechan strode forward, unfazed. The reason? His skin. The parts of his face left unprotected by the goggles were covered in thick, rugged flesh tough as stone.
He had undergone a genetic augmentation procedure that only the upper echelons of Megacorp could afford. Toxic air and extreme heat posed no threat to him.
Casually, he checked their communications link.
"XO, can you hear me clearly from up top?"
｢Comms are stable. No issues.｣
"Good. Move out."
｢Yes, sir!｣
The 21 heavily armed figures launched into motion.
Across the barren wasteland of ash and fire, the intruders raced forward. Their footprints barely lasted a moment before being erased by the swirling volcanic dust.
Encased in power armor, their speed was nothing short of astounding. Each step propelled their massive bodies meters into the air, making their movement resemble great bounding leaps rather than traditional running.
Even as they sprinted, their eyes never stopped scanning the surroundings, constantly searching for threats. Their helmet visors displayed a constant feed of environmental data, analyzing everything within range.
｢Movement detected, 150 meters at 2 o’clock!｣
｢Confirmed as gas venting from underground. No biological activity detected.｣
｢You dumbass, stay focused!｣
｢Apologies, sir!｣
Ten minutes into their march, no hostiles had been encountered.
Most of the crew felt relieved by the lack of resistance. Sechan, however, felt the opposite.
‘…Something’s wrong.’
Volcanic planets, ice planets, ocean planets any world with extreme environmental conditions shared one universal trait:
Not only were the environments deadly, but so were the native lifeforms.
Creatures that thrived in such hostile conditions were invariably monstrous in size and strength, their aggression levels off the charts. Sechan had fully expected at least one encounter with a predator on their way to meet Client S.
‘Yet in ten minutes, they had seen nothing.’
To be precise, they had not seen a single living creature.
Not a single creature could be seen moving in the distance. No shadow of a beast prowling the land, no winged predator circling the sky.
There were no traces of predators, no tracks of animals passing through.
It was as if nothing lived in this entire area.
"XO, this is Sechan. What’s the status of the lifeform scans?"
｢Still detecting life signals all around us, but the interference is too strong to pinpoint anything.｣
"What about Client S?"
｢Scheduled to arrive in about two hours. No further communication since the last transmission.｣
"Got it. Keep running the scans, and report back the moment you get a clear reading."
A creeping unease, dark as the smoke rising from the ground, began to coil inside him.
But canceling the operation was not an option.
‘Maybe we just got lucky and avoided the local predators.’
Perhaps they had simply missed an encounter by chance. Or maybe this entire region was a natural dead zone, barren of life.
‘Let’s wrap this up quickly and get the hell out of here.’
Suppressing his discomfort, Sechan forced himself to focus.
Ten minutes after his last transmission with the XO, they reached their destination.
The pirates took cover behind a towering rock formation, scanning their target.
Three cultist ships stood haphazardly on the blackened earth. They had already observed them from above, but seeing them up close confirmed it these ships had been brought down in a rush.
In front of the vessels stood a crude makeshift camp. The structure was unfinished, a sloppily assembled mess.
"As planned, six men per ship. The remaining three will sweep the camp."
｢Understood.｣
"Move fast and quiet. We don’t want them reacting before we’re inside. Got it?"
｢Yes, sir!｣
"Begin."
At Sechan’s command, the pirates surged forward from their hiding place.
In an instant, they had split into their designated teams, entering the ships and structures.
If any of them had lagged behind, they might have noticed something strange.
The rock formation they had just used for cover was slowly sinking into the ground.
---
｢What the fuck?｣
｢…What the hell were these bastards doing here?｣
The pirates tasked with sweeping the makeshift camp were visibly unsettled.
It wasn’t the mess of tangled wiring, scattered cables, and jagged metal scraps littering the floor that disturbed them.
It was the ceiling.
Dozens of animal hides dangled from above, swaying like grotesque ornaments.
｢Who the hell set this up? Let’s take a look.｣
They activated the infrared mode on their helmet visors, instantly illuminating the dark interior. With a clearer view, they cautiously stepped forward.
｢Goddamn, the floor’s disgusting.｣
｢Probably all the blood dripping from above.｣
The floor was coated in a sticky, congealed mess likely the dried remnants of whatever had been skinned and hung from the ceiling. Every step the pirates took made an unpleasant squelching sound.
｢Might be some data left on the computers. Let me check.｣
One pirate moved toward the terminal deeper inside the structure, while the other two examined the hanging remains.
｢They must’ve been gathering local creatures.｣
｢That explains why we didn’t see anything alive on the way here. Everything was already slaughtered.｣
｢This looks like a lava raptor hide. It’s been skinned real clean.｣
｢Captain said Client S deals in rare wildlife transport.｣
｢That so?｣
Whoever had built this facility had a grotesque sense of aesthetics but at least they were skilled. The skinned hides were remarkably pristine, with barely a scratch on them.
As they continued their search, something unusual caught their eye.
｢Hey, hey. Look at this. Doesn’t this… look like human skin?｣
｢Let me see.｣
｢Damn, I thought it was real for a second.｣
｢Yeah… this part looks like an arm, and this… a chest…｣
The two pirates, staring at the mysterious hide, gradually fell silent.
｢Hey… this can’t be…｣
｢Holy fuck…｣
There was no head attached, but they quickly realized what they were looking at.
And now that they noticed, there wasn’t just one.
There were many.
｢The blood hasn’t dried yet. This was skinned recently.｣
｢What the hell were these sick fucks doing here?｣
｢We need to get out. Now.｣
But despite their words, they didn’t leave immediately.
Their crewmate had gone deeper inside to check the computer. Yet when they tried contacting him over comms, there was no response.
｢What the fuck? Where is he?｣
｢Hey! Say something!｣
Silence.
They ran toward the last place they had seen him.
Only his datapad remained.
The facility wasn’t large. There was no way someone could simply disappear without the others noticing.
Someone or something else was here.
Realizing this, the two pirates tightened their grips on their Gauss rifles and scanned their surroundings.
｢Captain, we’ve got a serious fucking problem. We need to retreat, Captain?｣
｢chhhzzzzzzttt｣
The radio connection was filled with static.
｢Shit! Try the ship!｣
｢It’s no use. Comms are dead.｣
They were soldiers once. They knew exactly what this meant.
Back-to-back, they slowly moved toward the exit.
As they passed beneath the hanging skins, something caught one pirate’s eye.
A human woman’s head lay atop a pile of metal scraps.
In a place littered with headless bodies, a severed head should not have stood out. But this one did.
It was beautiful. Or at least, it had been beautiful before death.
‘What kind of lunatic…’
The woman’s eyes were wide open, as if frozen in her final moment of terror.
It almost looked alive.
Just as the pirate thought this, the eyes moved.
｢Huh?｣
Slowly, like a camera adjusting its focus, the eyeballs shifted.
A cold sweat ran down the back of his neck.
Then, the pile of metal scraps began to move.
The pirate’s gaze instinctively drifted upward.
He had assumed the head had simply been placed atop the pile.
He was wrong.
‘It’ was a massive spider with the head of a human woman.
"Where do you think you’re going?"
The emotionless voice carried an unnatural, twisted inflection. As it cocked its head at an unnatural angle, its many legs clicked against the floor.
And in its grasp was their missing crewmate.
At that moment, they understood.
Why all the bodies hanging from the ceiling were missing their skin.
But faced with a horror that defied reason, neither pirate could move.
"I needed more muscle and bone for my adjustments. How fortunate of you to arrive."
Moments later, bloodcurdling screams echoed from the facility.
But in the scorching winds of the volcanic wasteland, those dying cries were quickly drowned out.
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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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