I Became an Evolving Space Monster - Chapter 375

 
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A huge star burns like a bonfire illuminating the pitch-black darkness.
 
While the old celestial body named ‘Olga’, a red giant star, was emitting its own light, a spacecraft appeared with a blue light.
 
“Superlight voyage completed. Red giant star ‘Olga’ confirmed. “We arrived safely in the Dorane star system.”
 
The situation room has a clean atmosphere as if it was made of white marble.
 
Humans in military uniforms are operating computers in front of a hologram of a star map floating in the center. The people in the situation room were so orderly in their clothing and behavior that they were reminiscent of soldiers.
 
However, their identities are not soldiers.
 
“hey. “Now that you’ve arrived, please contact your employer again.”
“yes. “Captain.”
 
The name of the man called captain by the sailors was Sechan Hamilton. This is Space Dog from Megacorp.
 
At one time, he was a soldier working in a crisis management team on a warship or a space city security team. After retiring from work, he became a pirate.
 
In Megacorp, piracy is a serious crime, but many soldiers engage in corruption by interacting with pirate cartels. Most of them are caught by Megacorp and meet a miserable end, but there are cases where they are lucky and retire without being caught. Se-chan and his subordinates were also such a lucky case.
 
Sechan’s faction, the Hamilton Cartel, is comprised of all members who are former military veterans. Is that why? Unlike regular pirates, they tended to pursue activities in sunny areas.

Instead of serious crimes such as smuggling or human trafficking, credits were earned through security-related activities such as guarding key figures and transporting important goods.
 
Of course, if they had only engaged in legal activities, they would not have been called pirates. I was often tasked with dirty work, such as guarding criminals or secretly transporting terrorist objects. This kind of illegal work was something that had to be done because it made a decent profit.
 
Anyway, Se-chan did a pretty good job. The Hamilton Cartel has never been pursued by Megacorp or any other major force. His relationship with other pirates was also good.
 
This is because he is well versed in network management.
 
Continuing to do business by maintaining friendly relationships with profitable customers and relationships established in the past while in the military. He thoroughly managed those he deemed important.

Thanks to this, the Hamilton Cartel was able to safely engage in piracy while avoiding the pursuit of large powers.
 
Customers in Asuka 44 in the Dorane star system were also one of Sechan’s main management targets.
 
What the customer asked was very simple. Regular procurement of large numbers of slaves, luxuries and other necessities. The request itself was simple, and the compensation was very generous.
 
In fact, this contract with good terms has been going on for several years already. There was no better customer than this in this fierce situation. So, whenever a transaction was made, he would visit the planet in person.
 
I was planning on doing that this time too, but a problem arose.
 
Usually, you will get a reply if you contact us 3 days before arrival, but this time there was no reply. Even though I kept sending messages until yesterday, there was still no response.
 
“Captain, we still can’t contact you.”
“what? “Go ahead.”
“yep.”
 
Se-chan frowned as he gave orders to his subordinates.
 
‘What the hell is happening all of a sudden?’
 
We already finished talking about the transaction with them 7 days ago, and received a portion of the transaction amount as an advance deposit. In such a situation, there is no way they would suddenly cancel the deal.
 
‘Could it be that they made a deal with other bastards other than us?’
 
Recently, there was talk of a pirate with a strange name wandering around the Dorane star system. They call themselves the Shino Alliance, and I heard that their power is formidable.
 
‘…no. If that were the case, I wouldn’t have given credit in the first place.’
 
Moreover, the customer he met, ‘S’, was cautious and suspicious of everything. The odds of becoming friendly with pirates who had just appeared here were low.
 
‘Then something is wrong.’
“Can’t you still contact me?”
“yes. “It appears that there is a problem with the satellite, as the signal itself is not going through.”
“Are there any traces of faster-than-light sailing around?”
“Not detected.”
 
The Dorane star system is a land without an owner. Those who stay at Asuka 44 are actually the only intelligent beings here. It would be safe to say that there was no chance of being attacked by someone in such a situation.
 
‘It’s a good thing if there’s a problem with the satellite and it’s being repaired.’
 
Just looking at it that way, the atmosphere wasn’t very good.
 
If it had been any other customer, I would have backed out right away, but the person I was dealing with was customer S. If the contract is canceled here, it will be difficult to meet a customer like that again in the future.
 
“What would you like to do?”
“hmm.”
 
The second captain standing next to the captain’s seat asked him.
 
Se-chan, who was staring at the hologram without answering, finally made a decision.
 
“Approach Asuka 44 and send communication once again. “Even if there are no communication satellites, if you get close to the planet, a signal will be sent.”
“All right.”
 
Once the destination was set, the rocket thrusters on the sides and rear of the hull spouted fire.
 
As the ship moved, the hologram map changed moment by moment. The ship printed in the shape of a triangle gradually got closer to Asuka 44. No other structures are shown.
 
“Communication satellites are not detected. “Hasn’t something happened?”
“You’ll find out when you get there.”
“…You must move carefully.”
 
Se-chan slightly nodded his head at the advice of his vice-captain.
 
After about an hour, Sechan’s boat arrived near Asuka 44.
 
“good. “Try again.”
“yep.”
 
A sailor who received Se-chan’s instructions attempted to communicate. If there is a communication facility on the planet, whether a ship or a structure, the signal sent by them will be received.
 
Everyone remained silent and watched the message ‘Attempting communication’ printed as a hologram.
 
And after a while, the message changed.
 
“Communication has been established with the ground.”
“Whew. Good. Where is it connected?”
 
The sailor in charge of communications tilted his head while operating the computer.
 
“Uh, well, it’s connected to the ship’s communications network, not the base.”
“Ship communications network? No, where is the base going and do I get a call from the ship? No, more than that, why aren’t you doing a video connection?”
“I’ll check.”
 
The sailor typed the message and delivered it to the other party. Then a new message was printed at the bottom of the hologram.
 
“Due to the abnormal activity of the supervolcano, the base collapsed and volcanic ash covered the atmosphere, causing radio interference. Please understand… What kind of bullshit is this?”
“It is certainly true that Asuka 44’s volcanic activity is intense…”
“No, that’s still true. “I’ve been there and it’s not at a level where it would collapse like that.”
 
Se-chan visited Asuka 44’s base several times before for business purposes. So I knew very well how strong the base was. It was at a level where it would never collapse unless a bomb exploded inside.
 
The message arrived again, and the sailor confirmed it.
 
“Currently, personnel at the base are said to be taking refuge in a safe location with the remaining ships.”
“Evacuating? Activate the detection system and check if what I said is true.”
“yes.”

This ship is an improved version of the Edgerton family’s large destroyer. As it is a ship that is actively used on the battlefield, it is on a different level from the scrap metal ships used by ordinary pirates. The detection system is also much more high-performance.
 
An external camera mounted outside the hull was activated and filmed the point where communication was connected. Eventually, the results captured by the camera were transmitted as holographic images.
 
Several ivory ships were anchored on the black ground. Most of the exterior walls were charred black, and some showed signs of slight damage to the guns or propellers.
 
And in front of it were small structures that appeared to be temporarily installed.
 
“What is the condition? “Is it because of a volcanic eruption like I said?”
“There are traces of changes in the metal structure caused by high-temperature heat.”
“That area appears to be damage from a collision.”
“What is the creature’s reaction?”
“Response to life confirmed within a 10 km radius from the connected ship. “It appears that the error occurred due to radio wave interference.”
 
We tried various detection systems, but other than the cameras that captured the ship and simple structure, all came out wrong. As they said, it was clear that a problem had arisen when a supervolcano on the planet exploded.
 
‘No, that’s still true.’

Se-chan didn’t understand.
 
These are people who dared to come and reside on a volcanic planet in this remote star system. I don’t know if it’s true that a few volcanoes explode and completely collapse like that.
 
While he was still suspicious, another message arrived.
 
“Captain, since the situation is like this, I will come here directly from over there and receive the goods.”
“You’re coming to my boat?”
“How do I do this?”
“….”
 
As soon as he heard those words, he was convinced.
 
‘This chewy, something is decorating.’
 
Customer S has never once sent anyone to his ship. He only dealt with his base.
 
It was suspicious to anyone that such a person would suddenly do business on the other party’s ship under such circumstances.
 
He was silent for a moment and looked at the hologram with narrowed eyes.
 
“Say you’ll go from here. Vice-captain. “Recruit people to come down, and prepare the equipment I will use.”
“It’s dangerous!”
 
The vice-captain also felt that this situation was suspicious and tried to stop Se-chan.
 
But he had already made up his mind. His eyes turned to the ships captured on camera.
 
‘I don’t know what kind of trick it is, but…’
 
As a former soldier, he knows how valuable those ships lying around are.
 
‘The base over there has been destroyed and there are few ships. There won’t be many survivors.’
 
In this case, it is unclear whether we will be able to continue trading in the future. In that case, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to take this opportunity to end the relationship.
 
“From now on, the vice-captain will assume the position of temporary captain. “The period is until I return.”
“Captain!”
 
Se-chan left the command to the vice-captain and left the situation room.
 
Customer S is a customer who has left a lot of profit to him so far. I appreciate that, but he is a pirate. I have no intention of paying attention when I can extract more from the opponent.
 
‘Let’s keep the ships as souvenirs of the end of the deal.’
 
Ten minutes later, a transport from Sechan’s ship descended through the planet’s atmosphere.

“Watch next episode”