《Imposter System》 Glossary Glossary Absorption: This is a statistic that the Parasite is born with. The percentage refers to the number of evolution points from the total contained in the sample that the user can gain. (For example, a material with 10 evolution points with an absorption of 10% will only give 1 point at most.) Base%: Whenever a % appear with a bare number it is defining a statistic. (For example, Mental Resistance 20% would mean the base value is 20% chance to resist.) Compatibility: In the Imposter System, thepatibility of gic material refers to the potential evolution points that are possible from that specific sample. (For Example, a material with a quantity of 12 evolution points that only has 50%patibility cannot grant more than 6 evolution points.) Factor: Whenever a factor is identified, it will be written in two or three significant figures. The factor defines a multiplicative adjustment of a base statistic. Factors adjust after all additive bonuses. (For example, Damage Factor 1.5 would mean a base damage of 2 would mean the damage is 3.) Grade: This represents a life factor of an organism. This is rted toplexity of life as well as intelligence and strength. Host: This is the lifeform that the Parasite has infected and be one with. (Matt O''Connely is the current host of Matt the Parasite.) Lv.: This is an acronym rted to themon gaming term "Level" which represents a progressive increase in ability as the number increases and implies potential for growth to the next numerical number. Meta: Amon gaming term. This refers to a way of ying that yers agree to be the best way to y at that current time. Games that are easily solvable tend to have static metas. Modern: In narration, this refers to Matt''s previous life in the modern era. Modified%: Whenever a % appears with a number that has a plus or minus symbol it is referring to an additive adjustment of a base statistic. (For example, Damage +20% would mean if the base damage was 2, the adjusted would by 2.4.) Parasite: This is an alien being whose goal is to survive, grow, and spread. It cannot exist on it''s own and requires a Host. Not to be confused for themon Earth parasite. (Matt from ''modern'' day has been reborn as the Parasite.) Chapter 1: I Am The Imposter Chapter 1: I Am The Imposter Matt woke up in a fright due to a bad dream. He stared up at the metal ceiling and realized that the bad dream was his reality. He turned back in his bed and closed his eyes, determined to stay in denial. However, his door opened with a swishing sound and a beautiful blond walked in dressed in her standard issue federation uniform. This was his partner onboard the USS Odyssey. In his memories, he has shared this room with her, Alexis, for thest two years. They had an amicable rtionship, generally kept to themselves. The purpose of the partnership was to maintain stress and decrease resource utilization by putting two people in a roomording to the higher ups. Last night during intercourse, Matt died. He did not die because of it, but rather the parasite that had taken root deep in his nervous system. That parasite, however, was a human from the twenty-first century. His name was also Matt in his previous life, and to make matters worse, thest thing he remembers was ying a social deduction game called Parasite. He was randomly selected to be the host of the Parasite in the game and it was his objective to infect the whole ship, or escape to the nearby colonial while destroying the evidence of his existence. At first, he thought that this was a dream. It would make sense, since he was just ying a game, that his subconscious would create a dream simr to it. However, after repeatedly "waking up" he realized this was reality. Alexis walked over to the bed and shook him awake. Matt had been lying in bed ever sincest night and she was worried he had gotten sick or felt ill. "Hey Matthew, are you feeling unwell? Shall I call Dr. Linsinger over to do a checkup?" Hearing this, Matt immediately sat up andughed a little. Fortunately, his body and way of speaking felt natural to Matt even though he was an imposter. As soon as he heard her mention getting checked by the doctor he panicked. He understood that if he was discovered, he would be annihted or studied. This was not the life he wanted after dying once already. "It''s okay Lexi, I was feeling a bit tired fromst night. Maybe I should start exercising more haha." "I keep telling you that a biologist needs to keep their body strong too. Don''t argue with me on this. From now on, you''ll join me in the centrifuge for my morning jogs." "Ah can''t I start in the Earth gravity track first? I don''t know if I can handle Exveus gravity yet." "No." Matt''s eye twitched at the short reply, but he didn''t argue anymore. He was in charge of the animals on board, along with Cindy, an agriculture specialist. In other words, he was a glorified farmer. Matt was chosen for this journey because of his thesis ''The Effects of Space Travel on Domesticated Live Stock'' which got him his PhD in biology. The first thing he did after Alexis left was ess the ships system from his tablet device. Matt checked the ship''syout andpared it to his memory of the game. Although there were simr spaces like the specimen room, the bridge, medical bay, reactor, oxygen, crew quarters, and shuttle bay, there were many more important rooms. Additionally, the ship''syout was very different. In the game, one needed level two clearance to use everything onboard, this was the captain''s keycard. With the captain''s keycard, one could set the weapons to attack crewmates. Since the Parasite was chosen randomly and the captain was chosen randomly, there would be games where the Parasite won in an instant. There were strategies like leaving the ship with fighters and destroying it, sabotaging the reactor to disable the weapons and take out the Parasite, or rely on the AI to take action. While this ship did have an AI, it wasn''t nearly the autonomous, rapidly learning, terminator robot that was featured in the game. The task of this AI was more towards course correction and maintenance. The captain had ess to nearly everything just like in the game. However, on the Odyssey, there were six levels of clearance and Matt only had level three clearance. This meant his mobility would be severely reduced. Matt''s biggest fear was fulfilled when he checked his schedule in the system. Each crew member was required to do a full blood panel and array of tests annually. This was simr to the medical scanner in the game, and would immediately oust his identity. His just happened to be two weeks from now and it took all of his willpower not to panic. The AI tracked daily heart rate and secretions in order to maintain the crews mental and physical health. In order to not draw any unwanted attention, Matt dressed in his NCO uniform and made his way toward the zoologicalb where he runs tests on live stock. His primary job was to make sure that the animals remained healthy and safe for consumption. The Exveus had no sign of multi-cellr organisms but was teeming with single-celled life. Matt was in charge of preparing the goats and pigs for life on another. The journey would take another four years, as it had already been two. Once Matt arrived, he threw on hisb coat and scanned his badge. The doors opened with a swoosh and Cindy nearly walked into Matt. He caught her and unconsciously smiled at her. She rolled her eyes and gave him a quick kiss before continuing out of the room. Although he was paired with Alexis to maintain stress with intercourse, Matt was emotionally involved with Cindy. They shared many things inmon, including their love for animals. During the selection of candidates there was a very long two hundred question survey that was used to match partners. From Matt''s memory, Alexis was indeed verypatible with him in bed. He had not slept with Cindy, nor did he n to, in any case. She was paired with one of the engineers, whom one day let slip while drunk that he was quite the masochist. This would mean Cindy was likely paired with him due to her wanting to dominate her partner. Matt preferred his intellectual and emotional rtionship with Cindy, with the asional flirting and touching. Matt walked over to the forcefield that held one of the female goats he has been monitoring. She had gotten pregnant several weeks ago and he nned to take some vitals and blood. He prepared various instruments and released a portion of the forcefield. Matt held up a nutritionally packed treat and the she-goat walked over to eat out of his hand. He carefully scanned her body with a device and ced a mechanical ring around her hind leg. The ring quickly pricked her and drew a vial of blood without the she-goat''s knowledge. After Matt acquired everything he needed, he let her wander back with her snack. He held the vial of blood up to inspect and suddenly his vision went blurry and a string of words appeared in his mind that almost made him fall over from shock. [Gic Material Detected. 74%patibility. Grade 1. Consume for 1 Evolution Point.] Matt''s face turned pale. In the game, the easiest way to earn early points was to eat all of the animals in the specimen room. This message that appeared in his mind as if a voice was speaking to him hung around. Once he willed it ''closed'' it faded from the forefront of his mind. This was essentially a notification. He walked over to the centrifuge and ced the vial of blood in with a vial filled with water to bnce it. "What is wrong, Dr. O''Connely? My readings detect a sharp drop in blood pressure and fluctuation of mood." The voice sounded out from his personal monitoring device on his wrist. "Haven''t eaten yet and must''ve gotten a little woozy, it''s no big deal." "Suggesting a light breakfast to the chef. Please make way to the cafeteria and eat before continuing your work." "Will do, let me just put this sample in storage" Matt stopped the centrifuge and brought the blood over to the walk-in cold room. The only camera was one outside pointing into the room through the ss, so it had a few blind spots. Using that knowledge, he pipetted out a drop of blood, dripped it on his finger, and stealthily ced it in his mouth. [Partial Consumption Detected. No Evolution Point Granted. Requirements Met for Unlocking Imposter System.] [Imposter System Host: Matthew O''Connely Status: Grade 0 Parasite Evolution Points (EP): 0 Abilities: [Perfect Mimicry Lv. Max] Skills: [DNA Absorption Lv. 1], [Weak Hypnosis Lv. 0], [Weak Transformation Lv. 0], [Weak Spawning Lv. 0]] [Perfect Mimicry Lv. Max: You have be one with your host, gaining their memories. You are able to behave exactly as the original instinctively. When confronted with an unknown scenario, you will mimic the thought process of the original body. ]Toggle: On/Off] [DNA Absorption Lv. 1: You were born to gather and assimte the gic material of other species into your own. Whenever you consume blood or tissue containing gic material, gain EP. ]Absorption Grade Limit: 1 ]Efficiency: 10% ]Level Cost: 1 EP] [Weak Hypnosis Lv. 0: Begin your path as a Mind yer with the ability to subtly influence weak minds. ]Unlock: 5 Evolution points] [Weak Transformation Lv. 0: Begin your path as a Faceless Devourer with the ability to change your basic appearance. ]Unlock: 5 Evolution Points] [Weak Spawning Lv. 0: Begin your path as a Hive Queen with the ability to create Lesser Parasites. ]Unlock: 5 Evolution Points] Chapter 2: Personality Flaws Chapter 2: Personality ws Matt was relieved internally when he saw the notification appear in his mind. This was exactly like the game''s interface and the evolution pathways were the same. He had yed down every tree and tested most branches of y. However, this wasn''t a game that he could simply restart when he lost. He put off thoughts on beginning an evolution path until he stored up enough points. The major downside to evolution was the long period of weakness. Once he sorted his thoughts, he stored away the vial afterbeling it, and made his way toward the cafeteria. Matt had alreadye up with an idea to acquire some easy evolution points that was impossible in a game. He picked up his meal and asked the chef to prepare his meat ''rare'' in the future. Although the purity of gic material would be extremely low, it was better than trying to sneak a vial of blood from theb. Although they only raised pigs and goats, advancements in storage technology made it possible to bring several years'' worth of perishable foods. Among the foods brought, steak was Matt''s favorite. Originally, he preferred medium rare, but in order to gain evolution points, he asked the chef to begin preparing it rare. Additionally, bloody sausages were a favorite of the captain, so it would not take much effort to get some servings for himself. However, switching his meal preference so drastically might alert people, so he decided to eat rare meat for a few months before ''discovering'' his love for that type of meal. There were some other dishes that may be beneficial, but would be impossible to justify if he was ever questioned. The moment Dr. Lisinger walked into the cafeteria, Matt nearly smacked himself for getting distracted. He hadpletely forgotten about the test he had to take in two weeks because of the recent developments. If he did not solve the problem of detection, he was guaranteed to be killed or put into a specimen jarmost likely both. Fortunately, since he discovered the system was identical to the game interface, that meant the hidden skills should still be avable. There is a drug in the game that is intended to kill parasites during the incubation period. Once the parasite has taken over the host, it is no longer effective. However, if the yer takes enough of that drug and begins absorbing gic material, there is a chance to gain the drug resistant skill. This skill is often considered unnecessary since most yers will go down the ughter and hide route. However, Matt had to consider stealth as number one priority. When the parasite wins the game, the score screen pops up and the game ends. However, this was not a game, it was real life. In order to make sure he won''t be hunted down and killed he swore to himself not to ughter anyone meaninglessly. Because of the rush tactic, no one ever bothered to spend the time to pick up the drug resistance skill. At first, this skill seems mediocre, but it does two things right away, and has the potential to evolveter. First, drug resistance will naturally hide the signs of his existence in the host body. Second, any drugs used on him would be less effective or negatedpletely. This would protect him from any unknown dangers. And finally, drug resistance has a chance to mutate to toxin resistance. This will offer protection from poisonous and radioactivepounds. Now the main issue for Matt was acquiring the drug. In the game there was a kiosk in the medical bay that let you purchase the drug without alerting anyone. However, that wasn''t possible here. Matt allowed his perfect mimicry to utilize the original Matt''s mind to solve the problem, and surprisingly, it was very simple. Matt could just order a few doses of it for his animals that he suspects might have a parasitic infection. Although very unlikely, it is possible for an intestinal parasite to remain dormant for decades without being detected. While eating his breakfast, Alexis suddenly sat next to him and pushed him slightly. She was quite the tomboy but Matt found that more attractive. She was the third highest ranking security officer on the ship, so her physique and stamina were a step above most. Although this was a colonizing and exploration ship, the military owned over ny percent of the assets on board. Therefore, half the crew were military personnel. In fact, the only civilians would be a few children that were already born between some of the crew. Everyone else was at least a Nonmissioned Officer. Matt made a grimace and an exhausted posture with his body while thinking about the two-week boot camp he was forced to go through with the other doctors. In order to qualify for this mission, everyone needed to go through the training at the very least. "Thinking about boot camp again?" "Hah, you can read me like a book." "I can also tell you''ve been thinking a lot more today. How ''bout we go for a few rounds to destress?" "Did Commander Jackson piss you off again?" "That asshole! He said he would put me on the first strike team if I ced first in the next squad skirmish, but today he pushed the skirmish back another two weeks!" "Computer, how long is my break?" "Dr. O''Connely, your break is over." "Put in request for extension." After saying that, Matt put his device on ''Do Not Disturb'' and led Alexis to a utility closet. Meanwhile, Matt was internally sweating the whole time. Thankfully, the perfect mimicry let his body move on its own and make decisions that Matt would make. However, due to the parasite situation, it seemed he put more stress on the body than usual. This caused the mimicry to seek this stress relief. In his memory, Matt wasn''t an overlyscivious person. ''Fortunately, Alexis is a straight forward person and doesn''t overthink things like this. I have to be a bit more careful with my mental load. If I think too much, my perfect mimicry will start to deviate from normal behavior.'' After their twenty minutes in heaven, they went different directions as if nothing happened. When Matt returned to his post, Cindy was already there working normally. He realized that she must have been on her way to have lunch but was surprised to not see her in the cafeteria. Although, there were various bars around the ship where one could have simply meals and alcohol. He continued the work he stopped earlier and tried not to delve too deeply into his thoughts. Once he finished examining the she-goat and the other animals, the day was already ending. Cindy was about to leave but he stopped her. "Cindy, I think She might have a tape worm, can you order some anthelmintics?" "Why don''t you ask Alexis to do it!?" "What? She wouldn''t know the difference between an anthelmintic and antifreeze wait are you upset?" "She takes up your nights already, but surprisingly you went straight to her during our time. You even skipped the pic we nned in the holodeck. So, you tell me if I''m upset." Matt suddenly realized what had happened. It wasn''t that he purposefully ignored her, its just that the original Matt actually did forget about this date. This was unfair sabotage by a dead person! The worst part is, Cindy was very smart. If he aggravated her, she would start to pick at the holes in his daily life. This was a huge red g. He needed to remedy the situation immediately. ''Toggle Perfect Mimicry Off!'' [Perfect Mimicry Lv. Max Status: Off] With the charms and techniques he learned in college of his previous life, he changed his posture and facial expressions to a suavedy-killer type. He pressed Cindy up against the wall and grabbed her chin. At first, the sudden change in his expression caused her to be shocked enough to let Matt approach. However, when she looked up straight into his eyes and saw the way he looked at her, she couldn''t help but blush. "I''m sorry Cindy. I didn''t ignore you on purpose, I forgot. How about I make it up to you right now. Sample room No.4 is currently empty" Cindy, who was still shocked, nodded her head like a meekmb. Matt was confused that the owner''s initial assumptions were way off. He gently held her wrist and swept her up into a bridal carry. He used his rear to open the doors along the way, while not forgetting to give her a few kisses on her nose, forehead, and cheek. She was very shy at the way he was treating her up until her clothes were off. Matt then found himself tied to a metal table and Cindy riding him like a cowboy on a wild stallion. After it was over, she returned to her passive, shy state. "That was great, Matt. Lets put in a request for partnership!" "Alright." ''Fuck!'' Chapter 3: Vampire? Chapter 3: Vampire? The next day, Matt sat at his workstation filling out paperwork. Fortunately, Cindy remembered what he said yesterday before they slept together and got the drugs for him. Matt was scared to face the doctor without preparations otherwise he would have gone himself. He carefully slipped a few pills into his pocket and embedded one of the capsules in She''s favorite treat. He fed her one capsule while pocketing two. Matt didn''t know how many he would need to gain the ability, but he couldn''t make a mistake now. If one of the other scientists tested She''s blood and saw there was no drug in it, he would be in big trouble. After he finished his work that day, he promised Cindy he would go to the Human Resources department and submit a change in his rtionship with Cindy. This was a major headache. Fortunately, he could utilize his current rtionship turmoil as an exnation for any ws in his behavior. Matt made his way toward the cafeteria for dinner. This was the first step to his path of evolution. When he retrieved his rare steak, he gulped in anticipation. He carefully slipped the drugs in his mashed potatoes and took arge spoonful before cutting into his steak. The moment his knife sliced through the meat; red juices poured out. He took the first bite, chewed, and swallowed. [Gic Material Detected. 68%patibility. Grade 1. Consume for 1 Evolution Point.] ''I see, the whole steak will only provide me with a single point.'' The notification appeared after he swallowed a single slice, and he could tell instinctively that he needed to eat the whole meal toplete the process. This meant that in five days, he could begin his evolution path. However, he still hadn''t decided which tree to go down. Matt had to consider the pros and cons of each of the pathways. There were no redoes so the decision had to be perfect. After he swallowed thest bite and even scooped up all the juices with a piece of bread, the notification popped up once more. Matt had gained his first evolution point and it came with a strange sensation. It was as if he could feel his genes bing active and ready to begin optimization. Matt had already considered it and he decided that it would be best to increase his absorption skill first and foremost. [DNA Absorption Lv. 1 -> 2] [Host: Matthew O''Connely Status: Grade 0 Parasite Evolution Points (EP): 1 -> 0 Abilities: [Perfect Mimicry Lv. Max] Skills: (NEW!)[DNA Absorption Lv. 2], (NEW!)[Drug Resistance Lv. 0], [Weak Hypnosis Lv. 0], [Weak Transformation Lv. 0], [Weak Spawning Lv. 0]] [DNA Absorption Lv. 2: You were born to gather and assimte the gic material of other species into your own. Whenever you consume blood or tissue containing gic material, gain EP. ]Absorption Grade Limit: 1 -> 1 ]Efficiency: 10% -> 20% ]Level Cost: 1 EP -> 3 EP] Matt noticed that his ability had sessfully leveled. The feeling was like letting out a fart with a bloated belly. His genes were bloated and ready to optimize. Once he decided on what to spend them on, the began to quickly reshuffle. Once the process was over, he felt relief and strength. He could only imagine how much better he would feel in the future when spending more than one point at once. With the system open, he noticed the new level zero skill that he had been trying to obtain. [Drug Resistance Lvl. 0: You have been exposed to a substance deadly to your species. Since you have perfectly fused with your host, the substance has stimted gic potential instead. ]Prerequisite: DNA Absorption Lv. 3 ]Drug concentration: 700 mg/1000 mg] ''So that''s how it works.'' Seeing the unattained skill, Matt nodded his head. This was something easily doable in another three days. He had only received ten 400 mg doses of the drug, so if he took one the next three days, he should be able to reach and maintain 1000 mg concentration. Hidden skills were different from learned skills in this way. Instead of spending evolution points to earn and level them, the Parasite needed toplete certain conditions. In a way, they were simr to titles in many role-ying games. Matt returned to his chambers with a smile. Although there were some hups yesterday, today went wonderfully. However, fate would have other ns for him. The moment he opened his door, he saw his two lovely partners with clothes torn in the middle of a brawl. Alexis had a busted lip, but Cindy had a nosebleed. When they saw Matt enter, they stopped while holding each other''s shirts ready to strike. "Matt, tell her that you have no intention of changing partners." "Hmph, tell her how you''d rather be with me." This was why proper procedure was necessary these matters. Matt had already submitted the papers, but the three of them would have to get independent psychological evaluations and then group evaluations. The military stressed cohesion and teamwork above all else. The main issue was these two were not supposed to have a private meeting until the documents were processed. "This isn''t appropriate. What''s gotten into the two of you? Is there a need to fight over someone? I''d rather request for a single room than watch you twoe to fists." "Ah Matt''s right. I don''t know why I''ve been so on edgetely. I''m sorry, Cindy." "Sigh, we''ve let things go too far. I promised you that I was okay with you sharing a bed with him, so I''ll keep my promise until the evaluations are done." Cindy was about to leave, but Matt blocked her. Her nose was still bleeding so he wiped her lip and pinched her nose. Realizing what he was doing, she let Matt lead her to the bathroom. After cleaning her up, she left back to her room. [Gic Material Detected. 100%patibility. Grade 2. Consume for 2 Evolution Points.] In the bathroom, he carefully absorbed as much of her blood as possible. Matt could feel his small parasite body directly taking in the gic material like a starved animal. That liberating feeling was building up again, but stopped just short ofpletion. There was no more viable blood from Cindy, but he remembered another source. When he finished washing, he walked into his bedroom and saw Alexis sitting on her bed with a pout. "Is it because I made fun of your stamina? I was kidding about the centrifuge; you don''t have to go if you don''t want to!" "Lexi, it''s not about that." "I don''t understand. Did you lie on your evaluation? It was supposed to perfectly match us" Matt realized that she must be feeling insecure about the situation. Although, she was usually very positive and easy going, there must be some negative thoughts floating around. Mentioning the evaluation, Matt assumed that she saw it as matching with the perfect partner. There was a level of confidence you can get from a rtionship you know will be strong. However, science and tests weren''t perfect. Humans constantly changed and didn''t really know what they wanted themselves. This is why there was a procedure in ce to change partners'' mid-journey. Alexis probably assumed we would always be together, but that wasn''t something that a personality test could determine. Although, technically, he was a different personparasite. "I wish I could tell you something to cheer you up, but honestly, I''m just as confused. I have feelings for the both of you, but I don''t really understand them. Let''s just get reevaluated by Dr. Goodman and sort things out. Maybe we''ll learn something new about ourselves." "Mm." Alexis nodded her head and rubbed her eye. Fortunately, he had the perfect mimicry, otherwise he wouldn''t dare going to a psychologist. Even if he finds out that Matt''s personality is different from when the mission started, there are many exnations. Everyone knew his rtionship with the two girls, so it wouldn''t be out of the ordinary for something like this to happen. In fact, some of his colleagues joked about the time bomb he was ying with. Now that Alexis was a lot calmer, Matt started to take off her clothes in a sensual manner. She was still sensitive emotionally from earlier, so she let him take the lead. Although he was initiating things, his actual goal was her lips. The blood wasn''t dripping like Cindy''s nose, but with enough kissing, it would naturally bleed into his mouth a bit. After an extremely intense make-out session and forey, Matt was able to finish the night''s activities with a wide grin. [Warning: Grade 2 Gic Material unable to bepletely absorbed due to inefficient level.] [1 Evolution Point Gained.] ''Humans are Grade 2 lifeforms ording to the Imposter System. If I remember correctly, once I am level five in DNA Absorption, I''ll be able to utilize the crew members blood I am seeming more like a vampire at this rate. Seduction and blood sucking sigh.'' Chapter 4: Innate Ability Chapter 4: Innate Ability The next morning, Matt woke up and saw Alexis lying next to him with her eyes open. Seeing that she had been caught caused her to roll over and pretend to sleep. Instead of calling her out, Matt simply reached his arm around her and kissed her neck. Seeing that she still pretended to sleep, he got out of bed to wash up and get dressed. Once he left the room, Alexis sat up and sulked. She had a very good reason for being so emotional yesterday, but she couldn''t tell Matt. Meanwhile, in the bathroom, Matt was checking his status to see if anything changed. He saw the progress of the Drug Resistance skill had changed slightly. The concentration of drug in his body hade down by twenty milligrams but this was expected. He looked down at his body and felt like it was a bit less bby than before. It would not be good if his body changed drastically so he decided to start working out to the limit. At least he could somewhat exin a body change then. When he stepped out, Alexis was already heading toward the bathroom. The door swished up and Matt almost collided with her. However, she skillfully stepped back and covered her stomach. When Matt walked by, he thought of something and turned back before the door closed again to say something. "Oh, Lexi, I was thinking about working out with you this morningif that''s okay." "Ah, really? I mean, yes! We''ll go right away!" "Don''t you need to use the bathroom first?" "Huh? Oh right, give me a few minutes, don''t leave yet!" Matt noticed how excited she was but simply thought she was happy to spend some more time with him. He walked over to the closet and took out some workout clothes for himself. After a few minutes, Alexis came out of the bathroom and got dressed. The two of them arrived at therge centrifuge in the center of the space ship. This was a spinning tube within the craft that generated higher gravity than the artificial gravity systems across the ship. The artificial gravity was between moon and earth gravity, but the centrifuge was set to two times up to eight times earth gravity. This was the perfect ce for training. When the two of them arrived, they waited on the safety lift which was coordinated with the positions of the "rooms" on the centrifuge. There were four sections of the tube that could spin at different speeds. The schedule listed which speeds would be avable today, with two times earth gravity being the same every day. The two of them naturally waited on the lift for two times gravity, and when the room came around, the lift began its intercept course. Once the lift was adjacent to the room, moving at the same speed, they had two minutes to step across the threshold. The doors opened and the duo quickly entered the workout room. Each room had a One-hundred-meter circr track and various resistance machines. Weight training was banned on the centrifuge due to possible bone injury. Only resistance and cardio training was allowed here. The two of them leisurely ran together for half an hour, and to the both of their surprise, Matt was able to keep up. "I guess you had a lot more stamina than it seemed. Perhaps I''m not pushing you hard enough at night" "Maybe you''re getting a little sluggish instead?" Matt said jokingly, but Alexis seemed to get startled by thatment and seriously consider it. However, she started awkwardlyughing, but Matt didn''t really pay attention. They only had another half hour in the room before it would make a full rotation, so they decided to continue. They assisted each other in stretches and then began using the various resistance machines. Surprisingly, Matt was only exhausted, but was able toplete the same level of workout as Alexis. However, this time she didn''t make any remark. While they rode the lift, Matt habitually opened the system even though nothing should have changed. However, something he saw surprised him. A new ability had popped up. [Improved Metabolism Lv. 1: After stimting the host''s cellr activity, the metabolism of the body has improved significantly. ]Removing Toxins: +10% ]Calorie Conversion: +25% ]Healing Factor: 1.5] Matt was surprised. Unlike Skills, Abilities were something that was innate to the organism. This was not something he could learn or improve by force. The advantage of a parasite is that it will attempt to optimize gic material. This is their nature. When Matt became a host, his innate ability was awakened slowly. Although the benefits of the skill seem weak, once his body begins to evolve, they will naturally improve along with it. This reminded him of a special ability of the tier 3 Faceless Devourer branch. It allowed the Parasite to absorb the innate abilities of the victim. Normally, when absorbing gic material, it is too scattered and jumbled to iste and splice abilities. However, this is a specialty of the master of disguise, the Faceless Devourer. Each yer would start the game with one passive that was unique and randomly drawn. By this logic, each crewmate should have one unique ability. ''This is certainly an advantage of the transformation path.'' After he showered, Matt returned to his usual work schedule. Cindy seemed to be avoiding him for whatever reason, so he simply left a message on hermunicator. He wanted to let her know that she shouldn''t feel upset for what happenedst night and invited her to dinner. Although his ''modern''-self felt rather bad for the whole situation, he wouldn''t push those biases from a time long past onto these girls. From the host''s memories, it seemed that monogamy was long since dethroned as being the only ''proper'' path. Although many still chose a single partner, it wasn''t looked down on to have multiple partners. Once Matt finished his work for the day, having eaten his meal in theb, he decided to head out early. He had notified theputer that he was feeling hungrier since he began exercising. The AI projected his future caloric needs and adjusted his meal n at the caf. When he arrived, he checked with the staff and they had already begun preparing his meal. He was excited to get his third evolution point. "Hey, Dr. O''Connely, long time no see!" "Hello, Lieutenant!" "Haha, at ease, at ease. We''re in the cafeteria, no need to be so stiff. How about you join me and the captain for dinner today? I heard you sessfully got the first animal pregnant in space! That''s a huge achievement, right?" "I would love to, Lieutenant, but I nned to eat with Dr. McGee." "Wonderful, bring her along. The two of you were the leading team members on the project, right? It''s a perfect opportunity for a celebration." Based on his attitude, Matt knew he had no choice in the matter. He sent a quick message over to Cindy and begrudgingly went to the captain''s table. This was not the time to be under the captain''s discerning eye, but there was nothing he could do. He hoped that perfect mimicry would be at the top of its game. Matt was forced to sit between two bridge officers while they were ying cards. "Hey Dr. O''Connely, I heard you got a goat pregnant, congrattions!" "Wait, Greg, I think you said that wrong. You make it sound like he did it personallyAha!" A few of the officers started chuckling, but the captain looked over at them seriously. Everyone knew him to be very strict, but he didn''t prevent his crew from messing around when they were off duty. The captain looked over toward Matt''s direction and gave him a nod of approval. Eventually, the food was served. While they were eating and drinking, Matt stayed silent and focused on his food. Fortunately, he was a very quiet person when he was eating and this wasn''t suspicious. Matt was truly focused on the evolution points he would gain from this meal. When he finished his steak, the beautiful ring of an additional evolution point rang in his head which caused him to smile. Coincidently, Cindy had arrived just as he smiled, causing everyone to turn their head and have a misunderstanding. Seeing everyone suddenly look at her with Matt smiling toward her direction caused yet another misunderstanding. "Dr. McGee, wonderful,e join us. We were just about to order some beer and sausages. It''s a tradition for everyone to try the captain''s signature dish during celebrations!" "Hello Captain, Commanders, thank you for the invitation." When Cindy sat down, she quickly ate the dish from her meal n and then each member at the table was passed a singlerge bloody sausage. Matt wasn''t polite and started eating it in one go. He specifically turned-on perfect mimicry so that he would react organically. After finishing the sausage, he immediately grabbed the beer and chugged it down. Everyoneughed, since they all remember the first time they had the dish and reacted simrly. However, Matt, who wasughing, was mostly focused on the notification. [Warning: Grade 2 Gic Material unable to bepletely absorbed due to inefficient level.] [1 Evolution Point Gained.] ''What the hell is in these sausages!?'' Chapter 5: Relationship Woes Chapter 5: Rtionship Woes ''This isn''t the time to wonder. If it''s human meat, then I''ll just try to get more of it. I wasn''t able to slip the drugs into my food this time, so I''ll have to take them all togetherter. All the matters is that it''s time to evolve!'' [Host: Matthew O''Connely Status: Grade 0 Parasite Evolution Points (EP): 3 Abilities: [Perfect Mimicry Lv. Max], (NEW!)[Improved Metabolism Lv. 1] Skills: [DNA Absorption Lv. 2], [Weak Hypnosis Lv. 0], [Weak Transformation Lv. 0], [Weak Spawning Lv. 0], [Drug Resistance Lv. 0]] [Evolution Points (EP): 3 -> 0] [DNA Absorption Lv. 2->3: You were born to gather and assimte the gic material of other species into your own. Whenever you consume blood or tissue containing gic material, gain EP. ]Absorption Grade Limit: 1 -> 1 ]Efficiency: 20% -> 30% ]Level Cost: 3 EP -> 6 EP] "Thank you for the meal, Captain. Allow me to excuse myself." Matt got up and began walking to the bathroom. Cindy followed behind him and jogged a bit to get close to him. She put his arm in her embrace and leaned up against him. She didn''t say anything else and simply walked together with him like this. Matt was happy that she seemed to get over the situationst night and sighed in relief for now. Once the evaluations started, he didn''t know what would happen. "Let''s go to the holodeck since I missed our lunch datest time." "Okay." Matt went into the bathroom and quickly downed the two pills with a lot of water. Then he relieved himself and washed his hands while watching the concentration of drug slowly increase on the Drug Resistance skill. Once it reached one gram, he would finally be able to get past the first hurdle. Cindy was still waiting for him humming a tune when he left the bathroom. Due to his excitement, he took her hand and started leading her toward the holodeck. The holodeck was a basketball court sized room which contained various three dimension rendering and projection devices. It also used light hypnotism, artificial smells, and an extremelyplex environmental control system. Although everything in the room is a simtion and artificial, the brain is very easy to trick. The AI is able to calcte everything to extreme precision and put the user in a state where they cannot tell reality from fiction. The main purpose of the holodeck was naturally military training. All research is driven by military reasons and the best technology usuallyes from a ce of fighting or sexual drive. The secondary purpose, which thepany HoloMax wishes you to believe, is for mental health. The original holocabin released for public use reyed historical scenes and cinematography for entertainment. Eventually, it was adapted by the psychologicalmunity as a tool for healing. But most ended up using for physical pleasure. Illegal cracking of the HoloMax system in order to download and watch pornography happened almost immediately after public release. Nevertheless, it made for a great vacation tool for space travel. Matt wanted to try and recreate some scenes from back on earth. He had been feeling a bit nostalgic recently. Perhaps it was because of the mimicry or just his own emotion. [Drug Resistance has leveled up!] [Drug Resistance Lv. Max: Your cells are now intrinsic to the host cells, causing them to be more resistant to drug activity and more difficult to identify. ]Drug Resistance: 50%] The notification happened when they arrived at the holodeck, so Matt was able topletely rx and enjoy his date with Cindy. They went to various ces like Matt''s hometown and Cindy''s hometown. Then they went to some ces from the modern era that Matt suggested since there were a lot more trees and nature in that time. The finished their date on a sail boat floating on the ocean. The sea breeze and smell of salt prated their bodies and rxed them. "I know it''s selfish, but I want you all to myself. My mom had several partners and I don''t want to go down that road. If" "Don''t say anymore. I promise I''ll choose after the evaluations." Matt could only dy the inevitable with his deflective words. However, his stance made her have hope. If he vied for the both of them, Cindy would have likely been the first to back out. She wondered if Matt was like her and only pretended to be fine with the governments arrangement and was really seeking a true partner on his own. She blushed at the thought of spending their lives together on Exveus. Once the date was over, Matt went back to theb. He had just finished doing emotional gymnastics and didn''t wish to strike the hos nest immediately upon returning to his room. He really didn''t know what to do and hoped Dr. Goodman was able to help him work things out. Being alone on this ship was very dangerous. If the knowledge of a potential imposter was released, the loners would be the first targets. Human''s believed that non-human life couldn''t possibly have their level of emotional intelligence so only the outcasts would be considered first. Fortunately, this non-human parasite had a human consciousness. "Dr. O''Connely, you have reached your maximum allotted daily work hours. Please cease your work in the next fifteen minutes or I will initiate Rest Protocol." "Ok, let me clean up. Give me some ck on that fifteen minutes" "Very well, doctor. You have twenty minutes." Matt clicked his tongue and swears the AI was messing with him. He quickly cleaned up his work station and made sure all of the documentation wasplete and dated. Fortunately, he managed to finish with a few minutes to spare and made his way back to his room. Theb was on the same floor as med bay, so Dr. Lisinger worked rather close to him. As he left hisb and made his way to the turbolift, he saw Alexis and the doctor turn the corner. He held his hand over the door of the lift and they eventually boarded. "Workingte, Dr. O''Connely?" "It would seem so. Lexi, was something wrong? Did you get hurt during drills?" "No, Matt, it was just a checkup. Thanks for worrying though." Due to the awkward nature of sharing an elevator with the greatest threat to his existence, Matt didn''t talk much. Most of the day, he let his perfect mimicry guide the flow of conversations, dob work, move around the ship, etc. However, he did asionally turn it off due to the stress he was building up while mimicry was active. His mind couldn''t handle the mental load. This made him think about the Mind yer tree in his evolution path. The Mind yer tree was often seen as the weakest path in the original game. This was due to the yer agency of controlling an avatar. The abilities of the Mind yer seemed difficult to use and most considered it a role-ying branch. One of the signature abilities of the Mind yer was being able to telepathically speak to people. Many used this to troll the other yers in the game by disguising themselves as another crew member and directly whispering people. Another key feature was the ability Mental Resistance. Although, in the game, this skill was only useful against the ''Weaponized Biosuit: ESP''. An exoskeleton suit specialized towards mental attacks. This suit had one of the highest damage-per-second (DPS) in the game, so the Mind yer was quite powerful. However, the meta was to use the ''Tactical Medic Suit'' so that advantage was negated. Matt knew that only the crewman in the first strike force could have ess to those suits, so he had never personally seen it himself. He wondered if the same suits existed as in the game. He needed to find out as soon as possible because that would change his strategypletely. He looked over at Alexis and knew she was very likely to make it into the first strike force during the next skirmish. Perhaps he should choose her in the end so that he has ess to the information about the suits. While lost in thought, Alexis and Matt eventually reached their quarters. Usually, she was full of energy and wanted to talk about her day, but now she seemed rather solemn. Noticing this mood, his mimicry led him to sit down next to her and pat her back. Although, Matt probably would have done the same anyway. "What''s wrong?" "Will you be upset if you''re forced to choose me?" "What do you mean? We have to wait for the evaluation before the system will rematch us anyway. Don''t stress yourself out" "I''m pregnant two weeks" Matt could feel mimicry formting a response and calcting the situation. However, he saw it going in the absolutely wrong direction. This was not the time to break down his rtionship! ''Toggle Perfect Mimicry Off!'' [Perfect Mimicry Lv. Max Status: Off] "Really? I''m going to be a father? That''s wonderful! I''m so happy." Matt O''Connely was about to ask if it was his and break it off with Alexis. First, he impregnates his government matched partner. Then he dies; And now that his body has been taken over, he tries to sabotage the new owner time and time again. What a bastard! Chapter 6: Red Alert Chapter 6: Red Alert Alexis was very happy with his response and hugged him. She seemed on the verge of tears. Matt honestly wanted to be a father one day, but he was no longer human. This child was technically his, but also not. The situation about changing partners must have really stressed her out recently. Fortunately, they found out about the pregnancy early enough or there would have been a lot more issuester. "I''m so d. I didn''t want to give up on our baby." "Ah, you wanted to be on the first strike team. You can''t qualify now, right?" "If I get the spot first, and then go on maternity leave, I''ll retain a support position until I''m ready to go again!" "Isn''t it dangerous to do skirmishes right now?" "The doctor told me he''ll prescribe me some stabilizing medication and I should be safe for the first trimester." Matt felt a bit bad for using her to get to the military suits, but this was about his survival. Maybe he should go down the Hive Queen route and make Alex his first infested target. This way, he could share his secrets and be honest with her. The parasite itself is genderless and reproduces asexually, so gender distinctions are irrelevant. However, the image of being a giant eggying alien is a bit too much for Matt to handle. He would rather put her underplete hypnosis as a Mind yer. All branches of evolution have capability to infect more hosts with sub-bodies of himself, but the Hive Queen branch is naturally the most efficient. Additionally, to create a sub-body has a lot of negative effects on the original if you aren''t in the Hive Queen branch. The other issue with the Hive Queen branch is that having many alien lifeforms on the ship could reveal his existence. Unless there are extreme circumstances, Matt did not n to pick Hive Queen path. Due to the colonization initiative, everyone was encouraged to have children. However, this only applied for the first one-hundred couples. The food reserves on the ship were calcted very carefully. Matt''s team in charge of the live stock were very important for the future of self-sustainability on this mission. Although, if it were up to him, having them run out of food would be ideal Regardless, there were already thirty-two children aboard the USS Odyssey. It was discovered in a study over a decade ago that fertility is much lower in hyper speed. The reason has not been identified, but some believe it is rted to some of Einstein''s theories of rtivity and cellr function. This is why it took two years for the first animal to get pregnant and also why there were so few children among the two thousand crew members. Alexis and Matt didn''t speak much the rest of the night. Matt simply held her in his arms and asionally rubbed her belly. From his memories, Alexis was a very hardcore battle junkie who loved talking about weapons. However, in this current state, she was extremely gentle and soft like a flower. Matt wasn''t an expert in psychology so he didn''t think too much into it. Once Dr. Goodman discovered that Alexis was pregnant, the application for partner change would likely be denied. This was actually very good news for him. This rtionship situation was really frustrating. Matt wished he could just drop it all, but was scared of the repercussions. Alexis was very easy going and although pregnancy was not an easy process, the AI is built to ensure the best parameters are met. Now that he had a good reason, he could feign that he was focusing on the pregnancy when really, he was just focusing on evolving. ''Paternity leave will be the perfect opportunity to evolve. My body will be extremely weak. If I make the excuse that I''m spending time with Lexi and am tired, no one should see through my lie.'' However, Matt was currently unable to use the perfect mimicry. He had attempted to turn it back on a few times, but the original host would begin to panic. At least pregnancy was a big deal and a change in personality could be exined. Now that he has reached the third level of DNA absorption, the cost is increased to six. Matt nned to bring that skill to level five before even considering evolution. After he promotes to a grade one parasite, all of his skills will cost a lot of evolution points. Being a grade zero parasite gives him the benefit of an easily reshufble gic structure. In the meantime, he could focus on deciding which branch to take between Mind yer and Faceless Devourer. Once he locked it in, there was no going back. Matt fell asleep with these thoughts swimming through his head. Over the next six days, Matt had the same daily routine. Working out with Alexis, monitoring and examining the animals, gaining an evolution point from dinner, and sleeping with Alexis. After the doctor gave her the pregnancy stabilizing injection, she was safe to practically do anything. With this, Matt had enough points to level up DNA Absorption to four. [DNA Absorption Lv. 3->4: You were born to gather and assimte the gic material of other species into your own. Whenever you consume blood or tissue containing gic material, gain EP. ]Absorption Grade Limit: 1 -> 1 ]Efficiency: 30% -> 40% ]Level Cost: 6 EP -> 10 EP] ''I''ve already been reborn for over a week. Life has been pretty stable for me, but my annual full body checkup ising in one more week.'' Matt stood staring at his bare body in the mirror. The improved metabolism had made huge improvements to his functions. Although he wasn''t bing visible muscr, he could feel the difference in the excess fat around his body. Additionally, his strength had improved enough for two times gravity to be no issue for him. While he was staring at his body, Alexis couldn''t hold it in anymore and entered the bathroom, pushing passed him in order to relieve herself. "Oh, sorry. I must have gone into a daze." "Wow, the narcissism is overwhelming, staring at your own body like that. But I do admit, you''ve gotten a lot more fit since we started exercising together. Maybe you should apply for the Second Strike force?" "I''m a doctor not a fighter." "Yeah, you''re a bit too squishy forbat, ha-ha." "Hmm, who''s squishy?" Matt said while grabbing her cheeks in both his hands and squeezing and pulling to make silly faces. Alexis grabbed his in frustration since he interrupted her business. It wasn''t easy to keep peeing when someone was in the room. She kicked him out and Matt could only make a tactical retreat for now. After keeping perfect mimicry off for a week when talking with people, he felt a lot less stressed out. Many had even pointed out his change in mood and he naturally mentioned Alexis''s pregnancy. It was practically the perfect excuse to everything. While getting dressed for the day, Alexis suddenly exited the bathroom in a rush. She dressed in her military garbs very quickly and prepared to head out. Typically, she would wear casual clothes for their workout so Matt was aware that she was likely called in to work. "Is everything alright?" "Just a surprise drill. I might not return tonight, don''t wait up." Although that''s what she said, his instinct told him it wasn''t that simple. In the game, the ship would frequently be attacked by aliens. Matt had wondered how the parasite came to be, and now his suspicions were being confirmed. There was a day before his awakening where Alexis did the same thing with a simr expression and atmosphere. There must be an alien threat attacking the ship. ''Could I havetched onto Alexis and then infected Matt''s bodyter when she returned?'' Later that day, while he was working in hisb, the red alert was activated and the captains voice came over the inte. "Red Alert Drill. All stations prepare for response evaluation." Matt was now certain that they were currently under attack. The military must be hiding the information about alien''s existing from the crew. This was a potential hidden danger for him. However, with danger came opportunity. Alien entities means potential for high grade lifeforms for him to absorb. He began to consider joining the Second Strike force. Although he would risk exposure, the gains would be astronomical. The other scientists shuffled out to the emergency area and sessfully locked down and evacuated. In thest week, Matt and Cindy maintained a civil work rtionship, but did not partake in any other activities. Now, they were cramped in a room together and he started to feel a bit awkward. "You don''t have to feel bad, Matt. I''m happy working by your side. Although it would have been nice, your child takes priority. Maybe after we can still pursue our rtionship." "You are truly magnanimous. I''d be happy to try again in the future. We have many years ahead of us after all, no rush." Chapter 7: Trying Vegetarian Chapter 7: Trying Vegetarian After an hour, someone from the security force came to their hiding spot and gave them the all clear. This was the first time Matt has seen such a futuristic high-tech exoskeleton. It was a lot different than seeing it in a game. The suit did not have any extra paint on it than necessary. It was designed to be sleek and agile. He couldn''t tell which design this was since all of the weaponized suits in the game had unique color schemes. It seemed that in reality they are more practical. The suit covered every part of his body and increased his height to three meters. He simply opened the facemask and checked everyone with the visor underneath. When the ''All Clear'' was given, everyone was able to return to their duties. In actuality, Matt didn''t have a lot of work to do normally. He would check all the animals, draw blood once a week, and run various tests. His main experiment was on the eggs and sperm of each pig and goat. The question of virility in hyper speed was one that has gued scientists since such travel was unlocked. It was not sustainable to bring tons of stored food, and it wasn''t enough to simply grow nts. Additionally, rearing animals on a new is one of the criteria of colonization set by the Federation. Although his work was light in nature, Matt O''Connely spent a lot of time assisting the other scientists in their experiments. Due to this, he became the universal assistant. "Dr. O''Connely, if you aren''t busy, can you help me analyze the genome of some mutated nts?" "Sure, I was just finishing up when the drill started." Matt followed Dr. Bradshaw to his botanyb. Outside, there were a few bags filled with some sort of nut he had never seen. When he picked it up to examine it, Dr. Bradshaw exined what it was. "One of the nts we''re testing today produces those nuts. Out of a hundred nuts, only one is fertile. The AI has already analyzed the nut under spectrometry and determined they are safe to eat. They have a nice texture and unique vor. Take a bag or two with you and try them out." Matt was curious so he popped open the bag and took one of the nuts out. However, what happened next surprised him. [Gic Material Detected. 22%patibility. Grade 0. Consume for 1 Evolution Point.] The notification appeared when he opened the bag. His instinct was telling him that he needed to consume ever nut in this two-kilogram bag in order to gain the evolution point. However, this made him realize he made an incorrect assumption. The gic material he had been focused on acquiring was from meat. It is easy to think about blood and flesh being rted to DNA, but obviously nts have DNA too. This was not something possible in the game since the only sources of evolution points are the specimens, aliens, and humans. Matt ced the bag back in the basket and nned to take all of it. There were five bags in total and he didn''t feel ashamed to take them all. Additionally, Dr. Bradshaw said the nt that produced these was what they would be analyzing today. Matt wondered if consuming gic material directly would make it easier to absorb. If that was the case, he could order a bunch of reagents and start isted DNA in hisb. However, it would be difficult to exin where all of his samples were going. "And there''s the nt we''ll be working with. I call her Martha." Matt didn''t have much expectation, but this was really not what he expected. Inside the botanyb specimen room was a nt that had grown to cover over half of the total space avable. Its various branches had flowers on them with different degrees of blooming and fruiting. The fruit''s in question were those nuts from earlier. When the doctor entered the room, the nt seemed to move slightly and dozens of nuts fell to the ground. There was a small machine on wheels that drove over the floor and picked up the nuts before sealing them in bags for examination. "Did it just respond to you calling it out?" "Remarkable isn''t it? The nt seems to have developed basic intelligence." ''Perhaps I was mistaken. Maybe the requirement for DNA Absorption isn''t just having DNA, but having intelligence.'' Matt slipped on someb gloves and put-on safety sses. He approached the nt carefully and examined it closely. He saw that in the center of the nt between a wall of branches and leaves was a soft membrane. He reached out to touch it, but the leaves suddenly closed around to protect it. However, just from observing the membrane he was able to discover something. [Gic Material Detected. 22%patibility. Grade 1. Consume for 3 Evolution Point.] This startled him more than the nt closing. This membrane was rich in gic material. It was the first thing he had ever encountered that gave more than one evolution point, and thepatibility was extremely low as well. Matt wondered why a nt would have such a membrane and turned to Dr. Bradshaw. He had been watching Matt examine the nt and was happy to see his expression. "That membrane is very special. We do not know the purpose of it yet, but we have several scrapings of it. Under the microscope, it seems to beposed of cells without any organelles in them. That is why I needed your help. I want to clean up the scrapings and then sequence them. If my assumption is correct, this membrane isposed entirely of cells filled with only gic material. The reason for this, I do not know. These could be some form of stem cell or something like a brain." "Brain brain you mean to suggest this nt is storing memories using a four-character sequence in the form of DNA? If that is true, it would changeputing forever Imagine if we could reverse engineer this process for Artificial Intelligence?" "It seems you have quite the imaginative mind, Dr. O''Connely! Truly a great scientist. Now, lets quickly get to work as to not waste this incredible discovery." Although he was externally excited, he could not help butment. Although this nt didn''t exist in this form in the game, something simr did exist. In the specimenb, there was a puzzlebination that needed to bepleted by the yers. Once very specific items were brought, the machine would give them a chip. This chip was an upgrade for the AI called ''Biotronic Brain'' which gave the AI a huge boost in performance. Matt had to guarantee this technology would never be discovered. This would be his first ever sabotage. In order to protect his safety on this ship for the next four years and then, however long he''ll survive on Exveus, the AI could not receive an upgrade. While sabotaging the AI, this would also give him an opportunity to gain some evolution points and test his theory about purified gic material. "Dr. Bradshaw, you have used up all of your remaining work extensions for this month. Please cease working immediately or the Rest Protocol will be instated." "Dammit machine, don''t you understand important science is happening here" "3 2" "Alright, alright I''m leaving. Dr. O''Connely could you please cleanup for me here?" Dr. Bradshaw quickly left theb. Matt appreciated how devoted to his work he was. Since he was alone here the only thing keeping him in check was the AI security cameras. But Matt noticed something. Inside of the specimen room, the central camera was being covered by overgrowth. The only camera that could see what was happening was the one outside and the scope of vision barely covered a fifth of the room. Matt went to Dr. Bradshaw''sb notebook and began to read through the experiments he had been doing. Normally, this is considered to be improper behavior, since many scientists have lost their valuable research due to leaks like this. But Matt had no intention to publish this research, and he was sure Dr. Bradshaw wouldn''t mind. After he found the section about collecting samples from the nt named Martha, he carefully read the procedure and retrieved a sample bag and a scraper tool. Once inside the sample room, therge nt seemed to flinch and check who entered. Seeing that it was an unfamiliar person, there was no reaction from it''s branches like before. Matt walked over to where the membrane was and looked for the thickest sections. He gathered samples for half an hour and managed to acquire quite a bit of nt matter. The leaves he was holding back covered the membrane once he released them and began trembling. "Whether or not you feel pain, I can''t really confirm. However, this is too important. At least you are still alive." Chapter 8: Recruitment Chapter 8: Recruitment Matt walked over to one of the corners of the nt and crouched down as if he was inspecting something in the soil. Then, with a quick check over his shoulder, he downed half the bag of samples. As soon as it hit his tongue, it melted into a creamy substance. He swallowed it down with the excess saliva in his mouth and the notification rang in his head. The taste and progress were a satisfyingbination. [1 Evolution Point Gained.] In order to keep his actions hidden, he only ate enough for a single point. Although he could have been greedier and harmed the nt to acquire arge chunk, it would expose him. The scrapings he took were more than enough to purify into DNA. He brought the remaining material to the freezer andbeled it. Matt could begin working immediately on the analysis, but decided to wait for Dr. Bradshaw in order to stay on his good side. He grabbed the basket of nuts and stashed it in his room immediately then went for dinner. On his way to the cafeteria, many people from security were walking together for a meal as well. When they happened to spot Matt, they invited him to have dinner with them again. Apparently, the captain was in a good mood and decided to celebrate. Matt pretended to be hesitant at first, but when they mentioned Alexis would be there, he pretended to change his mind for her. Celebration with the captain meant those mysterious blood sausages would be served. Matt assumed the good mood from the captain was rted to the alien threat. He thought about asking Alexis what really happened today, but decided to resist. He would think about a way to bring up him possibly joining the Second Strike squad. If he could get current members on his side, or even the captain''s referral, it would be a huge boon. Steak and sausage meant he would gain another two evolution points today. If he also finished off those nuts, Matt could level DNA absorption one more time before the medical exam. Although it wouldn''t make a difference, he liked to make little objectives for himself to stay focused on survival. The group led him to the table where Alexis was telling a story in a voice too low to hear from his distance. The group started bursting out inughter at the end of the story by the time Matt sat down. He naturally sat next to Alexis. His rtionship with her started to feel like a free pass to the captain''s table. "What were you just telling them about?" "Ah, during the drill today, we had to rescue some of the engineering members from the bathroom outside of the reactor room. Apparently, someone idently engaged the emergency lock. The looks on their faces was priceless." "Yeah, they had to squeeze together in a one-person bathroom haha." "Why is there even a bathroom that small anyway?" The people at the table continued their banter and Matt only listened in without interrupting. Soon the meals were served and Matt started to cut into his steak. He was happy to be able to steadily gain evolution points with normal human behavior. He had begun to think of ways to have a lunch menu that would grant him evolution points as well, but the AI was very strict on what foods were allowed. He had to eat a lot of greens that he never ate in his previous life in order for the AI to let him have steak every night. Half way through his steak, he felt the energetic feeling of gaining an evolution point that he had grown ustomed to. However, there was still half a steak left, so he checked his status to make sure what he felt was truly an evolution point. [Host: Matthew O''Connely Status: Grade 0 Parasite Evolution Points (EP): 2 Abilities: [Perfect Mimicry Lv. Max], [Improved Metabolism Lv. 1] Skills: [DNA Absorption Lv. 4], [Drug Resistance Lv. Max], [Weak Hypnosis Lv. 0], [Weak Transformation Lv. 0], [Weak Spawning Lv. 0]] ''This is the first time I''ve eaten dinner since leveling my DNA Absorption. This must mean I went over the threshold to gain two points from a single steak meal. This gives me an idea about how many total points I can get from steak. I should earn yet another point at level eight for a single dish. If I can increase my portions, I may even be able to get four.'' "Alright, who''s ready for the captains special dish?" "Ah actually I have to go my dog''s calling me." "Get back here soldier, you don''t have a dog." "Quitining, you can''t get this ''exotic'' dish without the captain''s approval." Matt was excited when he heard about the dish, but he went along with the crowd and was jokingly reluctant. This seemed to be some sort of hazing ritual based on his two experiences. He also was able to learn a few things from their banter. These sausages were not avable at regr times. This also meant that the captain must be aware of what is in them, otherwise such a restriction wouldn''t be there. ''Human meat or otherwise, bring on the evolution points!'' Arge te of sausages was brought to the table and the soldiers began to grab their own. In order not to see too excited, Matt waited until half of them were taken. He took hisrge serving and dug in. There were many strategies among the security members when eating the sausages. The most popr is eating it all in one go to get it over with. Some more entric folk savored the taste. The captain seemed to focus more on those who seemed to like the vor which made Matt suspicious. He downed the sausage and a cup of alcohol quickly and burped. [Warning: Grade 2 Gic Material unable to bepletely absorbed due to inefficient level.] [1 Evolution Point Gained.] While he was admiring the evolution point notification, one of the higher ranked members called out to him. "Hey Dr. O''Connely, I saw you joining the Lieutenant Commander at the centrifuge. I didn''t know you were the athletic type." "Hah! You should see him, he''s a monster at training. Just a week and he''s already used to two times gravity." Alexis was trying to praise him, but ended up catching the captains attention which made Matt frustrated. "Is that so. Dr. O''Connely, are you interested in applying for one of the strike forces?" "Yes, Captain. Alexis and I discussed it, and I initially turned the idea down, but after seeing thebat suit up close I have reconsidered." "Very straightforward, I like it. Join Lt. Commander Alexeyev in the third military bay tomorrow. Wear your boot camp uniform." Since he had finished his meal and said those words to Matt, he got up with a few of the other bridge crew and left the cafeteria. Hearing how easily he got epted made him a bit suspicious. However, he could only keep the suspicion in the back of his mind since he couldn''t do anything about it. Since he had be an unofficial member of security by eating sausages together, the others didn''t seem to mind a neer at all. "This is great, now I can kick your ass in public." "There wasn''t anything holding you back before" "I was being considerate of your degree and reputation." "Well, I must thank thedy then." While the two of them had their banter, the others looked over with sly smiles. "You two have a pretty good rtionship, it''s no wonder you are the first in the squad to have a kid." "Tch, talking bad about your superior? I sense someone wanting to double their training regimen." Matt tuned them out and turned his attention to his status. He began to do some mental calctions about how many Evolution Points he could earn in the next few days. Since he would be joining the military training to see if he qualified to enter a strike force, he would naturally need more food. He currently had three points. Seven more points would bring him to the first major milestone in DNA Absorption after he evolved it. Once that reached level five, he would stockpile his points and wait for his medical examination to finish. He did not want to be suffering from the aftereffects of evolution during his check lest something be discovered. Also, being a higher-grade lifeform might be easier to detect. There were benefits to doing it immediately, but the abilities in tier one weren''t very powerful until they were leveled up. He would also spend the next six days before the test going over the advantages and disadvantages of each branch. With this, he could immediately evolve after being examined. "Want to have a go tonight?" Alexis said on their way back to their room. Matt had been deep in his thoughts and hadn''t realized they were already half way back. "You can save the ass kicking for tomorrow." "That''s not what I meant" She gave him a wink and ran on ahead to their room. Chapter 9: Choosing a Path Chapter 9: Choosing a Path "Attention!" Matt woke up the next morning after vigorous exercise to the sound of a horn and Alexis shouting in amanding voice. She had kept him up muchter than his usual bedtime and now was waking him up very early. When he groggily opened his eyes and looked over, she was alreadypletely dressed in her military garbs. "Lexi, this isn''t funny, turn that loud thing off." "Petty Officer O''Connely, did I give you permission to address me by my nickname? From now on you will wake up at 0600 sharp and refer to me as Lt. Commander. Do I make myself clear!" Although he wasn''t the best at reading people, he saw her slight grin before making a straight face again. With this, Matt figured he may as well y along. Perhaps it will be much worse at training for the next few days so she''s trying to prepare him. He rolled out of bed and pushed himself up to his feet. He straightened his back and shouted back to Alexis. "Yes, Lt. Commander!" "What are you doing standing around for, you have ten minutes to wash yourself and get dressed. A minute has already passed since you started screwing around." "Yes, Lt. Commander!" Matt had the tiredness wash away from him very quickly. Fortunately, he had been exercising recently and, inbination with his improved metabolism ability, his energy levels were high. He quickly began a cold shower while brushing his teeth and shaving. He let the soap wash the sweat off his body and clean his hair while rinsing his mouth with the shower water. With that, he still had five minutes to spare. The towel only took one pass over his body and a few passes over his hair. Fortunately, Matt kept it fairly short so it would dry quickly. He practically jumped into his underwear and pants and threw on his shirt. The socks were an ordeal but he managed to get them on in record time and wear his boots. He still remembered learning to tie his boots quickly from boot camp and waspletely dressed. Alexis was waiting for him at the door, and when he exited within a few seconds of the deadline, she didn''t give him any breaks. They immediately made their way to the military bay in a brisk jog. She followed behind him and made sure he didn''t slow down. She naturally worried about how he would transition into the military setting. He alwaysined about boot camp, so she had nned this to give him a quick shock to help him settle back into the right mindset. Matt wasn''t too worried about the whole ordeal. Although he couldn''t use perfect mimicry in their normal interactions, with her taking on the role of amanding officer, perfect mimicry actually worked perfectly. The original Matt O''Connely must have been very traumatized by military training in the past and these mannerisms were likely buried in his subconscious. Fortunately for the current Matt, he was able to rx while thinking about the benefits from military training while his ability did all the work. When perfect mimicry was active, he often felt like a little person inside of this person''s brain watching everything through his eyes and remotely controlling his actions. Such a feeling was very dissociative but he had gotten used to it. The fact that his existence could literally be described that way helped. There seemed to be some inborn mental resistance to the idea that he was just a parasite living inside of a human pretending to be human. Some would say he was suffering imposter syndrome, but he was actually an imposter so it didn''t apply. The military bay they arrived at was set up with an obstacle course and various other things that Matt couldn''t identify. There was already arge unit of soldiers standing in file with a missing spot. Matt quickly filled the missing spot on the outside of their formation and Alexis joined the othermanding officers. While they exined the grueling experience they would get to enjoy today because of the new member, Matt retreated into his own mind to think about his future evolution. If he needed to interfere in the perfect mimicry, he would easily be able to. The most obvious choice and the best branch in the game is the Faceless Devourer path. Its unofficial name is the transformation path since it is where you acquire skills to disguise yourself among the real crew. Since the point of the game is to find who the parasite is, you don''t lose anything by going murder happy and then transforming into people. Another method is letting the crew kill each other by creating scenarios while disguised. In order for the crew to know if the Parasite has evolved is by upgrading the AI''s scanning technology. In the game, this is simple to do. The yer controlling the AI just had to dedicate some of it''s time and processing into researching better scanning technology. However, in reality this could only be aplished with new technology. This technology is powerful because the yers don''t have to be scared of tier one skills and can keep track of the parasites power level. This is something that Matt will be able to take advantage of for a long time. No one knows that he is actually a parasite. Using subterfuge in order to cause chaos on the ship is a viable strategy. And the best branch to aplish that would be the transformation path. However, thises with its own risks too. Being caught transforming is one of the biggest ones. The process to change your body to match someone else isn''t instant. In fact, it takes quite a long time. Because the scale of the game wasn''t one to one with real time, he didn''t know how long it would take in the real world to transform, but it should be a few hours. The form you take while transform is quite disgusting to say the least. In order for such a thing to be possible he would have to transform in ces where the cameras don''t reach. The vents were a favorite for yers. However, hiding in the vents is still dangerous in its own rights. Another option would be sabotaging the reactor or the cameras directly, but he is a scientist not an engineer. The Hive Queen was the next favorite. Spamming spawnlings to constantly attack the crewman in a brawl, or just building up arge army while hiding in vents was very popr. If you managed to nurture your spawns enough, they could even get more powerful than you. This army style with powerful generals was a high win rate strategy. However, it had a big weakness. The crew could evacuate the ship after triggering the reactor to meltdown. In the game, this was considered a yer win since they could evacuate to the colonial and also kill the parasite. Once the Hive Queen reached tier three; they could no longer retain their disguise. Therefore, the yers would be able to sessfully wipe out the parasite and reach the score screen at the end. Although this was reality, such a strategy could still be taken. If Matt goes down the Hive Queen tree, he would have to triple his hiding efforts to nurture strong spawns. There was also the option of using the Hive Queen path to infect all of the crewmen, but this usually always failed in the game due to trolls that gave away their status and outed the parasite. Matt didn''t know how a real human would respond to being slowly infected and being taken over, but it must also have its risks. Infecting those he trusted could work, but eventually it would be noticeable. And frankly, as a former human, he didn''t want to give up his human appearance. And finally, the Mind yer. This is considered the worst branch in the game due to its low impact and slow y style. A typical gamested thirty minutes, but with a Mind yer parasite, it couldst an hour. However, for Matt, the long game was his goal. If four plus years wasn''t a long game, he didn''t know what was. The less impactful his actions, the stealthier he would be. Additionally, with the ability to control, read, and alter minds, he could do just as much damage as the Faceless Devourer. Since time was the only limiting factor, he would be practically infallible. The best part about the Mind yer tree that made Matt consider it his top choice was the tier three skills. He could transform his consciousness into a corporeal entity and change hosts. He didn''t know how this worked in reality, but he imagined that he would be something like a packet of information being moved to a differentputer. The reason this was powerful was because it was the only way to defeat the fully upgraded AI. Being a machine, it had no capabilities to deal with the Mind yer''s ultimate ability. It was so powerful in fact; it could even gain control of the AI in the right circumstances. This was certainly a branch that was weak at the start but grew much stronger at the end. ''I guess Mind yer is my best choice.'' Chapter 10: Secrets and Deception Chapter 10: Secrets and Deception "So, how was your first day?" "Yes, Lt. Commander!" Matt had since turned off his mimicry in order to personally enjoy his dinner. He was sitting with Alexis and decided to mess with her when she started being informal again. However, he only received a kick in the shin as a response. He could only chuckle and cross his arms in defiance. "It was easier than I remember. I feel like I gained quite a lot during the training." "You''re lucky that you are still technically an important doctor to the future colony otherwise you would be forced to stay in military quarters." "Why are you able to stay outside the military quarters then?" That bought him another kick in the shin. "I''m a high-ranking officer. In the security department, only two people are above me. Naturally I would get a choice in my quarters. I worked hard on Earth to get this position!" "I''m proud to be riding on your coat tails then!" "Tsk, although I do get a choice in my quarters, I wouldn''t be having such a free life if not for the captain''s policies. Cheers to him." "Speaking of the captain, don''t you think it is strange that he extended the offer to join the strike squad so easily?" "I don''t see an issue. I shouldn''t say this, but since you are already half a member, I''ll let you in on a secret" Alexis leaned in and looked around to make sure no one was listening. She tapped her personal device to turn off the sound and Matt followed suit. "We''ve already lost four members. Although they died due to ''training idents'', it''s actually because of" "Lt. Commander, Dr. O''Connely, how are you doing today?" Before Alexis could finish her sentence, one of the other training instructors came over to their table to greet them. Although he was part of the exercise today, many of the higher-ups still referred to him as doctor instead of petty officer. This was either due to respect or habit, but Matt didn''t really care either way. This wasn''t a degree he earned, so his pride wouldn''t be hurt. The timing of his interruption was too perfect. Perhaps they were being monitored. Matt wouldn''t be so nave to think that they would let a high-ranking individual hang around with a scientist without keeping a close eye on them. They probably made a move as soon as our devices were turned off. "Hello, Commander. We are doing well, talking about names for the child." "Oh, what did you have in mind?" Alexis seemed to catch on to Matt''s lie and give him a sidelong nce. However, she was just about to tell him top secret information and the interruption was suspicious. "I was thinking an ancestral name from my homnd like d or Yuri, but Matt wanted to name it after his parents." "Seems like you two have a lot to discuss, I''ll leave you to it then." Once he walked away, Alexis let out a sigh. She turned her device back on and rested her head on her palm. Instead of continuing their conversation, they just waited for food to be served. Matt received a ten percent increase in calories after his request, but unfortunately it was in the form of side dish instead of the main meal. Nevertheless, he was happy to fill his stomach with delicious food. He never ate like this in his past life. "You seem to enjoy your food more than before." Matt paused for a second and then smiled up at her. "I guess having a child changes you." "Hmm you''re right. I''ve started noticing your expressions and emotions more, recently. I also never thought I''d want to get tied down to anyone until I found out I was pregnant. Thinking about bringing a child into this world is incredible." Matt kept up his faade but he knew he could never really have emotions for Alexis as they were. For one, the child wasn''t even his, technically. Secondly, he simply could not trust her. Matt had no doubt that if she found out he was an alien she would take the matter into her own hands. He was not arrogant enough to think their casual rtionship was strong enough to protect him as an imposter. ''That is the case, at least until I put some safeties inside her mind.'' "Although we know not what the future will hold, I go forward while paving the road." Matt said while holding his hand to his heart. "Sigh, I never cared much for the Federation''s motto, but it fits strangely well here." Matt finished his meal and made his way to check on Dr. Bradshaw. When he arrived, he discovered that Bradshaw returned to hisb an hour early and the AI forced him into Rest Protocol. This was essentially a forced vacation of three days where you were not allowed to even think about work. Although it was called a vacation by the description from the AI, it was really more like hell. Under the protocol, you were forced to rest and watch an endless series about the dangers of overworking. The issue being that it was in the theme of a children''s educational cartoon. When Matt arrived to his room and opened the door, he saw Alexis eating nuts from the nt Martha. The basket was on the night stand with one empty bag already. Although frustrated, Martha could create more nuts, so he simply leaned against the door frame and crossed his arms. "You sure like eating my nuts." "Uhthey are just so tasty." The two of them chortled at the innuendo. "It''s fine, the supplies are not too limited." He took one of the bags and started to snack on some nuts as well. They were both sitting in their bed leaning up against the headboard. Matt silently munched on nuts while Alexis rested her head on his shoulder. Eventually, she fell asleep and he had to readjust her position. In order to prevent the evolution points from being wasted, he decided to eat the rest of the nuts before bed. [1 Evolution Point Gained.] [1 Evolution Point Gained.] [1 Evolution Point Gained.] [Host: Matthew O''Connely Status: Grade 0 Parasite Evolution Points (EP): 8 Abilities: [Perfect Mimicry Lv. Max], [Improved Metabolism Lv. 1] Skills: [DNA Absorption Lv. 4], [Drug Resistance Lv. Max], [Weak Hypnosis Lv. 0], [Weak Transformation Lv. 0], [Weak Spawning Lv. 0]] ''Five more days until my medical examination. Since Dr. Bradshaw is unavable for three days, I''ll only be able to test my DNA theory in thest two daysing up to the appointment. That is also two evolution points every day from dinner. So, at the very least I''ll gain ten more points, but hopefully I can save up thirty points to immediately strengthen myself after evolution.'' With his n in mind, Matt cleaned up and went to sleep. The next three days went without any surprises. He woke up early, attended military training, ate dinner, and slept at the same time. On the fourth day, Matt was excused from training due to his responsibilities in theb. While doing his checkups and tests on the animals, Dr. Bradshaw suddenly came into hisb. "Dr. O''Connely, I am finally free! Let us delve into the beauty of nts and gics together!" "You seem a lot more energized than before." "Ah, I was told to keep it a secret to promote good work ethic, but the Rest Protocol got changed recently. It was quite stimting." "I was just finishing up here. I''m ready to go once Ibel these and put them in storage." Dr. Bradshaw helped clean up his work ce so that they would be able to leave earlier. The first thing they did in the botanyb was check on Martha. When the two of them entered, the tree seemed to shudder in fear, dropping several dozen nuts all over the cold floor. Strangely, Dr. Bradshaw didn''t seem to detect the acute response by the nt and assumed it was simply happy to see him. Matt, on the other hand, narrowed his eyes slightly. He had clearly sensed the fear from the nt for a split second. However, at this time, he couldn''t identify whether it was true or his imagination. He did not make a habit of ignoring his instinct, so he ced this into the corner of his mind. Once he gained more information about the nt, he would address his concerns once more. After checking on the nt, the two of them returned to the main area and began preparing reagents and ssware. "Dr. Bradshaw, when exactly did this mutation ur? Do you have observational data, watering logs, and behavioral patterns recorded anywhere?" "I''m afraid that information is above your ess level Never mind those things, let''s focus on the DNA extraction." ''It seems this nt is not as simple as a "mutated flora." It is most likely an alien species or a gic splicing of an alien and a terrestrial nt. I must get ess to the DNA results.'' Chapter 11: No More Meat Chapter 11: No More Meat There were several samples on the counter that werebeled with a date. Matt had a tube rack with various reagents that he would put the sample in to purify. First it would break down all the non-nucleotide cellr material. Then he would spin the tubes in a centrifuge and extract the lightest fluid at the top that was dissolved in the reagent. After which, he added another set of reagents and repeated the process. This took a few hours to purify all of the DNA and then move the purified sample into the DNA sequencer to rebuild the DNA and also record the full sequence. The AI would then run several algorithms by cross analyzing all of the samples that were purified to create the best matching gic code. This would take a day so there would be nothing left to do tonight. Matt held one of the vials of purified DNA that he did not ce into the sequencer and confirmed his guess. His instinct told him that this small bit of liquid was worth several evolution points. However, the details of his DNA absorption skill specify flesh and blood. Therefore, he knew that consuming this liquid would be pointless. This information will be useful for the future once his DNA absorption ranked up to the next tier. With his experimentplete, he sealed the top of the tube with wax parafilm and ced it in the freezer. There would naturally need to be some backup samples so this wouldn''t be too suspicious. However, his main intention was to secretly study the DNA if he ended up being blocked by secrecy. For now, he would stay under cover, but once he tiered up, he would be able to start silently influencing people. "Dr. Bradshaw, I''ll leave you to it then. I''lle by tomorrow once the sequencer is finished. Hopefully we have enough samples for the AI to calcte the gic code." "Indeed, have a nice evening. Take some more of those nuts since you seemed to like them so much." Matt wasn''t polite and grabbed the two bags of nuts. He nned to stash these away from Alexis''s reach and eat them once his DNA absorption was a higher level. He felt like a squirrel storing food for the winter. Except, that he isn''t a squirrel but an alien parasite. And he is storing food for his inevitable sh with the crew instead of a change in season. ''I have fourteen points right now, which is more than enough to level to five in absorption. I held myself back from increasing it until I was able to analyze the purified DNA sample, but now there isn''t anything to wait for.'' [DNA Absorption Lv. 4->5: After absorbing and assimting various species'' gic code to be a stronger organism, you can now disassemble higher order structures. Whenever you consume blood or tissue containing gic material, gain EP. ]Absorption Grade Limit: 1 -> 2 ]Efficiency: 40% -> 50% ]Level Cost: 10 EP -> 15 EP] [Residual Grade 2 Material Detected. Absorb for 4 Evolution Points.] Matt was surprised with thest notification. He didn''t realize that the sausages and blood he consumed previously would still be lingering. He had just assumed that the excess would be ignored. However, thinking about it carefully, this was likely a reduced figure than how much he could have acquired. After all, it had been several days since he consumed those Grade two materials. A mouthful of blood and tworge sausages gave seven points total with a reduced value. This means the value of grade two materials cannot bepared to grade one or grade zero. With his eight evolution points, Matt made his way to the cafeteria for dinner. Out of the two thousand people on this journey, very many chose red meat as their ideal dish. The AI perfectly bnced the side dishes to match for taste, digestion, and health. Because of this, eating steak every day was possible. Therefore, when Matt saw the sign outside of the cafeteria, his blood ran cold. The sign stated that steak will be a restricted meal due to a limit in supply. The criteria would be officers rank Lieutenant or higher, and nonmissioned officers rank Chief Petty Officer or higher. This was a difference in three ranks for Matt. It was not ordinary to raise three ranks in a short period of time, so this effectively meant he lost his most basic source of Evolution Points. Matt ate his dinner but never saw Alexis. When he returned to his room, she still hadn''t returned. He began to formte various scenarios in his head about the possibilities. It was unlikely that she was currently reporting his suspicious activities. She would not leave such a big opening to reveal that she was onto him. She would maintain the same schedule until more evidence was acquired. Additionally, they wouldn''t make a move until after the medical examination in order not to raise an rm among the crew. The n would be simple; Wait for Matt to take his exam, and then say he has some incurable disease and leave him in quarantine. However, if they outright call him out for being an alien, they reveal the existence of such beings to the crew. Mass hysteria would be dangerous as well. If Matt could be a disguised alien, what about another crew member? Once that thought was stifled, he began to wonder if it was health rted. Alexis kept him up to date on when things came up with the pregnancy so it was unlikely to be rted to that. However, if something really bad happened she might hold back the information, unable to tell him. She didn''t seem like the type of woman to do that, but he was no expert. Therefore, the final conclusion would have to be rted to another containment breech. Matt was certain they were keeping aliens in the ship to study. Out of the sixteen-hundred non-military crew, half were engineers, a few hundred were lifestyle crewmen, and the rest were scientists or doctors. Although this number seems quite high, Matt would estimate only half the number of "scientists" were ever present in the upper decks. Whatever they needed all those scientists for in the lower decks was a mystery. Most assumed it was secret military research, but they couldn''t even imagine just how secret it is. Coming to a likely conclusion, he put it out of his mind. There was nothing he could do about it, nor did he really care. If something happened to Alexis, he could use Cindy as a cover instead. Although it would be unfortunate since he had invested quite a bit into preparing Alexis for hypnosis. At night time during and after intercourse, he would whisper sweet words to her about their future. Matt would say various things that gave Alexis confidence in their rtionship and increased her devotion to him. The original Matt O''Connely read this book about the use of hypnosis in a long term rtionship. Although it sounded very farfetched and even borderline despicable, it was actually a very innocent approach. Often times, a person would hypnotize themselves with negative thoughts and invent scenarios that lead to breakups. This book just taught the reader techniques to establish a source of positivity through hypnosis that would prevent the wandering thoughts and imagination from causing issues in a rtionship. Matt took this knowledge and applied it to strengthen his position in Alexis''s mind and prevent her from overthinking the things that he did. Once there is a high level of trust between people, true hypnosis can take hold much easier. The prerequisite for the skill Weak Hypnosis was to target a weak mind. One would think this is referring to animals with low intelligence, or perhaps someone with mental illness, but these two things were wrong. The main factor for a weak mind is trust. An animal with aggression towards the person using hypnosis would never be hypnotized. A person having a mental condition would likely resist all forms of hypnotism depending on the type of condition they have. Alexis trusted Matt quite a bit. It was akin to letting your barber shave your neck with a sharp knife. He had asked her subtle questions during workouts and at dinner about various situations and felt confident that his n was in the right direction. Of course, he couldn''t ignore the possibility that she was lying in order to pull a reversal on him. If her intention is to build trust in him for whatever reason, he could only shake his head. Such a thing wouldn''t work on him since he can''t trust anyone. "Ah, sorry, I''m backte. We were called in for ate meeting. I hate that I missed dinner with you, sigh!" "Guess we''ll have to make it up with a midnight snack." Matt smiled as he pulled her to the bed. ''I suppose I might have a tiny bit of indulgence for her'' Chapter 12: Exposed? Chapter 12: Exposed? Matt stood in front of the botanyb and sighed. What he expected to happened came true. There was currently a sign on the door about a dangerous gas leak. Theb was to be sealed until engineering came over to fix the leak. There were no windows to see into theb, so it was likely that Dr. Bradshaw was currently in there working. A workaholic like him would have created a storm about not having ess to hisb. However, Matt had nned for this and went into themunal freezer and removed the sample he had stored in here secretly yesterday. Since he could not utilize a sequencer because of the AI, Matt would have to use some old school techniques. The human genome was sessfully sequenced during the Human genome Project using a technique which takes a lot of work. However, the benefit of this technique at this current moment was hiding what he was doing from the AI. The technique he would be using analyzes a small portion of the DNA at a time until eventually it is arranged in the right order. This technique has a high rate of error, but it was worth trying. The first thing he had to do was clone the DNA so that he has a lot more to work with. This was a basic technique from the 20th century. In hisb, he ced the sample into a mixture of reagents. He would allow it to sit for several hours and it would build more copies of the original sample automatically. After diluting and cloning the DNA, he could sense that the mixture no longer would give any Evolution Points even if he had the right skill for it. ''It seems that only the original source is able to be absorbed. It seems that synthetic nucleotides don''t qualify.'' Once he cloned the small sample to ten times its volume, he equally distributed it into ten vials,beled, and stored them in the freezer. It was very important he took it slowly. The best time to begin reconstructing the genome would be when the botanyb was reopened. If Matt wasn''t given the information about Martha, or it seemed to be covered-up, he would begin on his project. Waiting also reduced the amount of attention to this project. Tomorrow was his medical exam, so he went back early. Afterwards, he had a few more days of military training before he would be assessed for the second strike force. Although he made great improvements, he was still quite worse offpared to many of the others. They had been striving for a position in the second strike force since before the mission started. Naturally, they would have a better foundation than Matt. It seemed that unless someone directly interfered, Matt wouldn''t be getting into the team. The next morning, Matt stood in front of the mirror and looked at himself naked. Being confronted with the possibility of discovery made him wonder about his existence. He felt very human because of his past memories, but instinctively he knew what he was. There were no memories or instructions built into his existence, only the simple biological need to survive. He looked at his body which was starting to show definition in his arms and legs. ''Is my existence any less human? If I have the memories of a human, body of a human, and thoughts of a human, aren''t I human? Is this how an android would feel?'' Matt sshed some water on his face and pushed away the existential questions. Nothing was wrong with his identity. There is a reason why he has these memories. If someone were to give him a truth serum and ask him if he was a human, Matt was certain he would answer yes confidently. Once he got dressed, he headed out. He made his way to the medical bay which was directly outside the turbo lift a few floors up. Once he arrived, he checked in with the nurse and sat down. There was a medical examination every day. In order to get everybody examined annually, there were six to ten examinations a day. Therefore, in the waiting room, there were four other people sitting and waiting for their appointment. Examination day was something like a day off so the earlier they took their test the more free time they had to rx. "Dr. Matt O''Connely, it is you. I am a huge fan of your thesis." "Ah, I am sorry for that then, Doctor?" His little joke garnered a chuckle. "My apologies, I was so excited I forgot to introduce myself. I am Dr. Wolfe Stein; I work with microorganisms in the lower decks." "Dr. Stein, you were on this mission as well? I thought you seemed familiar. Your paper ''Fungal Cell Lines with Extraterrestrial Origins, a Gic Analysis'' was one of the reasons I wished to go on this mission. The idea of something out here in space being the potential spark of life that Earth needed is very exciting. Have you made any breakthroughs?" "I didn''t think such a promising young researcher was interested in some old works of mine, haha. Unfortunately, that paper was ultimately rejected by the scientificmunity in my time. I''m d that I have the opportunity to prove my findings today. As for breakthroughs, unfortunately progress is slow." "I would love to work alongside you, Dr. Stein. If you are ever in need of some assistance, do not hesitate to ask." "Of course, of course. Ah, it seems my examination is next. Take care, may we meet again on this big ship." Matt was genuinely excited. At first, he had no idea who this person was. However, perfect mimicry gave him the memories of Matt O''Connely, which included the paper. In his past life, he was a huge fan of microbiology. Although he had ulterior motives to asking to assist him, Matt was partially serious about working with Dr. Stein. As a way to pass the time, Matt had found a copy of Dr. Stein''s paper on the AI''s system and was reading it himself. He was able to read through it twice over before he was called up for his examination. The nurse guided him into the room and sat him down on arge chair with several mechanical arms dangling off the side. This chair looked like something out of some high budget science fiction movie. The room waspletely white and brightly lit. He was given a set of scrubs to change into and then the nurse left him be. With the door closed, it was hard to tell exactly where the exit was. The wall was so perfectly white and uniform. Matt quickly changed into the scrubs and sat on therge imposing chair. Soon, Dr. Lisinger entered wearing his white uniform while holding a clipboard. "Matt O''Connely, it''s good to see you again. How have you been?" "Pretty good. I started exercising recently and trying out for the Second Strike force." "Good ambition. However, that is a difficult task to aplish." Dr. Lisinger then began to exin the tests they would do today. He also exined the different things he would be injected with and how long it should take. What made Matt nervous was that he would need to be put under for the examination to proceed without error. This made him extremely suspicious but he couldn''t refuse the exam without being put through an even more rigorous er. The doctor put a mask over his face and Matt closed his eyes, gently drifting off into sleep. When he woke upter, he didn''t immediately open his eyes and continued toy down. Matt had a good idea that whatever they gave him was calcted for a normal person of his build. However, the anesthesia should only be half as effective on him. The first thing he heard was the doctor''s voice talking to someone over hismunicator. "The result is negative again. We still haven''t found Subject Zero. There are not that many people left to examine" "Keep testing. If we cannot find it this way, we will have to try another method." "Yes sir. I will call you again after the next patient." Matt could not recognize the voice on the other side, but it did not match anyone he had encountered. This could be a voice changing program, but he doubted it. This was a major discovery. Someone or something has gotten loose and entered the ranks of the crew. It was very likely that this exined his origin, but there was a small possibility that there was another. "Nurse,e in and monitor him. He should wake within an hour, if he doesn''t, give him the stimnt. I have many more appointments today." Matt could hear his footsteps exiting the room and the nurse entered. Matt had to keep himself calm since he was connected to a machine that reads his vitals. He began to count out an hour in his head. ''One two three'' Chapter 13: Obstacle Course Chapter 13: Obstacle Course (A/N: If we can get first ce in the WFP I''ll release two more chapters on top of the two chapters I n on releasing today! That''s four chapters!! I need your stones!) --------------------- The nurse didn''t even bother waiting and had directly injected him with the stimnt after half an hour. Matt waited a few minutes before opening his eyes. The nurse removed all of the monitoring devices and straps. Then, she led him to the door and Matt exited out into a hallway. She exined that he might feel some muscle pain because of the stimnt. The exit connected to the hall outside of the waiting room to protect patient privacy. Matt sat at his desk and calmly ate his sandwich. His perfect mimicry was on while, internally, he was having a panic attack. Although, that was a bit of a hyperbole. He was really uncertain about the whole situation that he overheard. It seemed that someone was searching for some sort of experiment that went loose. Although this isn''t a cause for concern, the fact they were searching for it in the regr crew members made him nervous. He wondered what exactly the examination looked at, so that he would know what they were looking for. ''There''s no way I can evolve yet. I was going to take the chance and do it early, but I may have to actually wait longer. Dammit, without ess to my daily steak, I need another source of Evolution Points. Every day I spend here not progressing is another day I''m risking my life. I need to reach Tier three as soon as possible.'' After struggling with the choice for almost an hour, Matt finally decided to wait for the results of the military training. If he gets scouted into the Second Strike force, then he may get a quick rank increase. At the very least, he might get ess to some more secrets on the ship. The ultimate goal is to secure a source of Evolution Points. Alexis had told him that people died on the ship. This wasn''t reported to anyone, so their bodies were likely dealt with by throwing them out of the airlock. The other potential source of Evolution Points, if none of those ns worked, was to go ahead with the evolution and begin hypnotizing people to feed on them. At that point he would be like a vampire from mythology. Since he doesn''t need blood to sustain his hunger, Matt would be able to keep it covered up really well. However, that has its own issues. If anyone notices the markings and try to investigate, they might be able to uncover the truth. Targeting Alexis would be good, but she would be receiving regr checkups throughout her pregnancy. For the next few days, Matt went all out at the training. If he could secure his steak again, then he was free to bide his time and grow slowly. However, without a source of points, he would have to attempt risky methods. Thest day of training finished and the assessments began. The test was toplete the obstacle course with various objectives in the course itself. The first candidate took twenty-eight minutes toplete it. When it got to Matt''s turn, the average time was twenty-six minutes. "Matt O''Connely, you are next. Get in position, ready, go!" Matt walked over at the starting line and got into position. When the loud horn red to initiate his run, he burst forward with his fastest sprint. The first hundred meters was a dash. However, since this was a test, you needed to pay attention to your surroundings. A dummy would pop up from the ground holding an objective that you needed to grab and pin to your waist. Each objective weighed ten kilograms and the candidate automatically failed if they lost one along the way. Sixty-six meters in, he noticed a faint movement in the fake grass. He was already past that point, so he needed to do a spin and redirect his momentum. Unfortunately, he was not as athletic as some of the other candidates and ended up sliding, wasting some time. He ran to the metallic dummy and grabbed the baton from its hand, immediately clipping it to his belt. Since his momentum was already broken, he didn''t bothering back to top speed, since the next part of the obstacle course was rather precarious. Arge pit was ahead of him. At the bottom was a spongey and stic floor to prevent injuries, but the fall would waste a lot of time. There were twenty-five pirs all evenly spaced in five rows going to the other side of the pit. The objective would appear from one of the pirs so there was a bit of luck involved in this one. So far, all of the testers chose the center pir because it would give you the best chance to choose a side regardless of where it spawned. However, Matt couldn''t ce highly in this course unless he relied on a bit of luck. Just as he made his way toward the pit, he instantly decided on left. He jumped onto the second pir from the left and then steadied himself. Then he jumped forward again and steadied himself while looking around. Just then he heard the sound of a spring unloading, and the dummy appeared on the fourth pir in front of him. ''Looks like I have some luck!'' He continued forward without needing to alter course, grabbed the baton, and jumped to thest pir before jumping one final time to the other side of the pit. Then he continued running, while clipping the baton to his belt. The next obstacle was a crawl through a viscous fluid. Above the fluid were electric wires, so if you didn''t stay low, you would get shocked and stunned momentarily. The fluid was non-adhesive but felt like moving through quicksand. The baton was preced, hanging from one of the wires. He dropped down to his stomach and began crawling forward using his knees and elbows to paddle through the liquid. The trick to this obstacle was maintaining a high surface area. If you tried to bundle up to get more strength into your arms and legs, you would start to sink in the semi-solid pool. Since he was lucky in the jumping obstacle, Matt took his time to properly stay t. One he reached the baton, he scooped some of the fluid, covering his hand with it. Since the baton was made out of a conductive metal, it would cause you a quick shock. Some gripped the baton harder, and others dropped it. Matt saw some of the more experienced members doing this to grabbed the baton. The fluid must not be conductive. He grabbed the baton and finished crawling. Once he stood up, he clipped the third baton and continued forward. The next obstacle was a rubble filled array. Although it seemed random, the stone and metal rubble were ced in a very specific pattern to confuse and disorient the enemy. The people who set up the array know where all of the blind spots and choke points were, so they are able to take on arger number of foes. One person could take on twenty with just this array alone. Matt didn''t want to overthink it, so he let his instinct guide him. The hardest part of this obstacle was finding the baton among all of the rubble. This could also be considered a test of luck, but the baton was always ced on the true path through the array. Matt weaved and jogged through and around the rubble until he ran to a dead end. It was dangerous to climb over the rubble, so he simply retreated and chose thest spot that had a fork and took the other way. Just as he was going to go down the path, he noticed a loose piece of stone blocking another path. ''A hidden path, so that''s the trick.'' Matt stepped over the stone and found himself in a narrow opening that seemed like a trap. However, he was confident in his instincts. Once he exited the narrow path, he saw the baton hanging in front of him and a clear trail to the other side of the array. He snatched and clipped the baton and made his way to thest obstacle. Rather than an obstacle, this was a shooting range. There would be ten targets appearing in random distances between ten and a hundred meters. Two of those targets will be crewmen, and one will be the captain holding the baton. If any of the innocents were shot, you failed immediately. Matt slowed down in front of the table. The first part of this obstacle was assembling the standard issue CK94 ster Carbine. This resembled an M4 carbine from his past life. However, instead of bullets, this weapon had a powerful energy source that shot sma rounds. Matt wasn''t particrly fast in assembling the weapon nor was he too slow. Alexis had stayed up all night with him drilling him on assembling and disassembling this weapon until he could do it without guidance. Once he finished putting it together, he engaged the weapon and the sound of air being sucked in from the vents on the barrel could be heard. The power source was like a cartridge. He could feel the heat building up in the barrel and the dot sight turned on to signify the weapon was ready for firing. Chapter 14: Final Assessment Chapter 14: Final Assessment (A/N: Chapter two of the double release! Throw those stones my way. Again, if we can get first ce in the WFP I''ll release two more chapters today! And possibly, another four chapters tomorrow if we maintain first.) ------------- The CK94 ster Carbine was standard issue because it has the shortest charge time between all of the ster weapons while having an effective range of five hundred meters. Only taking six seconds to create a new sma round from air. The downside of the carbine was its power usage. Each clip onlysted twenty shots. Once he stepped onto the shooting tform, he trained his sights forward and waited for the first dummy to pop up. It didn''t take long for the sound of a spring going off to echo toward him. The first dummy was actually a crewman appearing only ten meters away. The closeness of the target and the tensed nerves almost caused Matt to fire upon it. He didn''t have much time to recover as the next dummy popped up. It was a metal dummy wearing a prison uniform. Matt shot it cleanly in the center of the chest without hesitation. That one appeared about forty or fifty meters away. The next one popped up at eighty meters and Matt carefully aimed and shot it. Another clean hit in the center of the chest. The next dummy was a crewman appearing at the maximum distance of a hundred meters. It was wearing a uniform which closely resembled the prison uniform, but he could tell the slight difference in the dummy. This one was clearly an observation test. Being able to identify yourrades and enemies in the heat of battle was important. The next dummy was apanied by the sound of ster fire. Matt quickly ducked until the sound was finished, then came back up to shoot the dummy square in the chest. The next four dummies popped up at varying distances and Matt shot them all with ease. He had kept a mental tally, and the next dummy was the captain. However, his reaction was too slow after the ninth dummy, so he kept his weapon trained. Instead of the captain, a dummy twice the size of the others appeared and began moving toward him. He didn''t think and simply shot three times at its chest. The dummy went down, and strapped to the back of therge dummy was the captain''s dummy holding a baton. This was the first time he saw this situation. It seemed that they wanted to specifically throw this trick at him. This was likely due to interference by someone higher up. The test wasn''t over, so Matt slung the carbine over his shoulder and sprinted into the shooting field. He grabbed thest baton, clipped it on his belt, and made the hundred-meter dash to the finish line. "And Done. Twenty-four minutes and thirty-two seconds. Good work soldier, return to formation." Matt ced his gun on the rack and ced all of the batons in the metal basket. Then he jogged back to the group of soldiers that had already finished their examination. The dummies that were ''in'' stood up and began cleaning the obstacle course, resetting it for the next person. When he arrived at the group of soldiers, he received some congrattions and some envious nces. His performance on the jumping obstacle and the appearance of therge dummy made people think he was getting help from above. Little did they know, the test was actually slightly harder than the others. The hidden path in the array was supposed to be visible, not covered up. Also, the dummy in the first sprint was triggered toe up once Matt passed it. From outside it looked like he missed it and wasted time because of it. However, this was a maniption to slow his time. The situation was different than what people imagined which led to a misunderstanding. This is why he received those angry res. "I bet our times would also be that good if we received insider information and help from above." One of the soldiers mentioned with a sneer. No one else said anything because they didn''t want any trouble, but more people began to look at Matt in that jealous gaze. These people had been trying to get into the Strike squads since they first signed up to be part of the USS Odyssey. Out of the four hundred military personnel, a hundred were bridge andmand crew, and the remaining three hundred were security. From those three hundred, only fifty were part of the First and Second Strike squads. This was a very prestigious position. It came with an immediately rank up depending on the higherups decision, and many benefits like leaving the military quarters. Many knew that Matt lived with a high-ranking officer that was in the Second Strike squad and yet he was still trying to take double the benefits by joining it himself. They would naturally start to feel jealous. Matt simply ignored them and watched the rest of the assessments. He had more things to worry about than a bunch of jealous soldiers. If they made a move, he wouldn''t shy away from getting a few free Evolution Points. Once thest person finished his test, the day was already reaching an end. They had received a small break for lunch, which was brought to them. However, they were not released for dinner and had to wait for thest few people to finish. Once it was over, themander dismissed everyone that didn''t get less than twenty-five minutes. With the remaining group of ten, he paced back and forth in front of them. "This has exceeded my expectations. You maggots did good enough to join the Second Strike squad. However, there are only four positions and ten of you. What do you think is the solution to this situation? Ensign Romero!" "Yes, Commander! A spar between the ten of us would be appropriate for this situation, sir!" "A spar? But even if we eliminate half of you, there is still one too many. Do you volunteer to resign, Ensign Romero?" "No, Sir!" "Petty Officer O''Connely, you are a doctor, why not shine some wisdom for us now." "Yes, sir! I suggest a battle royale. The four thatst the longest would be the most qualified, sir!" "Haha, aren''t you afraid to get targeted? You are a brave one, O''Connely, I''ll give you that. A battle royale it is then! Meet here tomorrow at 0800 for the final assessment. Dismissed." Matt was the first to leave since he had arranged a meal with Alexis after his assessment. She said she would use her authority to order a steak for him. It wasn''t something she could do often, so she saved it for special asions. There were a few soldiers at the door trying to block him, but as soon as they opened their mouths, Matt elbowed one of them in the nose and slipped past the group. He jogged a few corridors and made his way to the cafeteria. ''I''m not interested in your petty arguments. I have a juicy steak waiting for me.'' He arrived at the cafeteria and it was empty. This made sense since it had already been an hour after regr dinner time. However, this made it strangely romantic. Alexis was sitting by herself in table for two with a covered meal in front of her. Matt snuck up behind her and then circled his arms around her waist. She yelped in surprise and turned her head up, almost headbutting Matt in the face. "Sorry Lexi, I''mte. A lot of slow people in the test today." "Heh, you make it sound you weren''t one of them? Does that mean you made it into the Strike Squad!?" "Not quite. Apparently, there are only four spots but ten people met the criteria. Me included." "Oh, what''s the game themander will have you do to eliminate the other six?" "No game, I suggested a battle royale and he epted." "Oh Matt it was a good try at least. Next year you can attempt to join the Strike force again when you have a better foundation." "Are you saying I''ll lose?" "Of course. You are going to get targeted by all nine of the long-time candidates and then they will decide amongst themselves while pretending to fight. You really scammed yourself on this one." "I think I''ll be fine. Don''t underestimate me." "If you say so. I kept your meal warm. I couldn''t wait anymore so I already ate mine." "Ah, yourpany is appreciated." Alexis smiled at Matt while he pulled the tray toward himself and raised the heated cover. His steak looked fresh and since he was hungry, he couldn''t resist immediately going at it. This was his first steak in nearly a week. The way he chewed his food and savored the taste was like a hungry wolf eating for the first time after a long winter. He didn''t even notice the notifications of Evolution Points. Alexis was slightly shocked at first, but eventually startedughing at his behavior. "You are eating as if you will die if you don''t have steak. I didn''t realize you liked it so much. Maybe I''ll try to get a steak for you more often. As long as I don''t overdo it, no one will say anything." Chapter 15: Deals and Weals Chapter 15: Deals and Weals Although Matt confidently said not to underestimate him, what he actually meant was not to underestimate the person manipting his test. He actually had no confidence in himself to beat nine people on his own. However, something told him that the person that messed with his obstacle course would make a move here as well. So, rather than saying he had faith in his abilities, he really had faith in the person in the shadows. "For now, it''s best you focus on getting into the First Strike squad, Lexi. I was just really hungry since the assessment ran for so long." "If you say so. The skirmish is happening in a few days. If you seed in your final assessment, we might be fighting alongside each other." "I''ll try not to drag you down." "It''s good that you are aware." The two of them chuckled at their remarks and made their way back once Matt finished eating. He would naturally support her promotion to First Strike squad. This was the easiest way to learn the details of the variousbat suits the ship had. In the game, there were ten suits that covered the different niches and enemies a yer could face. However, the bnce wasn''t good. Some suits were simply way more powerful than others. The best example was the ''Tactical Medic Suit.'' This suit had only two abilities and a standard rifle. The first ability was called ''first aid'' but it really should be called ''invincible.'' It healed the yer fifteen health every second. While inside a suit, yers only had two-hundred health. Therefore, this essentially meant if you could not deal two-hundred damage in one go, or deal more than fifteen damage-per-second, the yer was invincible. Initially, no one realized how strong this skill was because the skill was originally meant to heal allies. However, someone decided to go solo Rambo mode and kept healing himself and one-versus-one''d the fully evolved parasite. However, it doesn''t stop here because the next ability is even more ridiculous. Normally, the standard rifle has the lowest damage. But when youbine this with the next ability ''Stim Pack'' it ispletely irrelevant. The ''Stim Pack'' is a shot of adrenaline which increases the targets attack speed by two-hundred percent and reduces damage by fifteen percent. A group of yers wearing the ''Tactical Medic Suit'' would make the Parasite''s game miserable. Matt really wanted to know if there was a simr suit on this ship. He would either take one for himself or destroy them all. This was the strategy used in the game. Any suit could be destroyed. A savvy parasite yer would stealthily nt explosives where the ''Tactical Medic Suits'' would be avable. No one could prove who nted the explosives if they triggered several minutes after being nted. The parasite could simply hang out in the bridge the whole game after nting the explosives and use it as his alibi. There was one other way to win, and that was destroying the ship, killing every human onboard. ''It is really impossible for me to kill everyone here. The ship has too many important resources for my survival. Additionally, having more subordinates will make my life easier in the future.'' The next morning, Matt woke up a bitter than usual. The battle royale wouldn''t happen untilter, so he did some morning stretches and warmed himself up. Alexis had already left that morning. Since Matt encouraged her yesterday, she decided to join the early training so that she was ready for the skirmish. Thinking about Alexis with perfect mimicry on triggered a memory about her story. She was truly a genius in her own regards. At the age of sixteen, she joined the Federation. She quickly rose through the ranks in two years and was part of the first batch of people epted into the USS Odyssey mission to Exveus. Over the next three years she trained painstakingly to be part of the First Strike squad, but due to a single mistake, was ced in the Second Strike squad instead. When the USS Odyssey took flight, she trained every day to get promoted to the First Strike squad. When the first promotion test came by, she missed it due to overworking herself. Halfway through the test, her muscles gave out from the intense training she was going through. Before this urrence, she was rather distant and uninterested in Matt''s existence although they had lived together for a year. However, he returned that day and saw the tough tomboy, that would often show off her strength to him, silently crying in bed. In a moment of concern, heforted her with stories and vented his frustrations about his experience in military training. Unexpectedly, a connection was formed from that long night. Since then, the two of them had a casual physical rtionship. Matt O''Connely didn''t really make the connection at the time, but when Matt looked through those memories, he simply facepalmed. Perfect mimicry didn''t give him all of the original''s memories immediately. When it was on, he would only receive memories if the original Matt would think of that memory at the time. The other method was to force a memory out by specifically thinking about it. However, he had never thought to inquire about Alexis''s past. ''That idiot he essentially had the perfect follower by his side since that day. But all he could think to do was have sex with her? Whatever, your loss Matt O''Connely. I will take advantage of this opportunity that you missed.'' The memory had distracted him from his light workout, so he decided to head to the military bay early. His main goal was to scout the stage. Matt had a good idea about why they pushed the fight for two hours after the normal training time. Firstly, they were giving a chance for the members of the strike teams toe and watch the fight. Secondly, they needed to prepare the stage. When he arrived, he smiled and realized that the force behind him was in fact helping him. The stage would be an array, simr to the one in the obstacle course. However, this one was twice the size and made to look like a demolished urban jungle. Themander from yesterday walked over to Matt with a suspicious grin. "Good morning, Sir!" "At ease. You are the first one to arrive. I bet you were expecting something like this when you made that suggestion. Your supporter is quite influential." "Sir, I had no intention to make use of an external power. However, the changes to my assessment were strange. I had wanted to use this as an opportunity to see which side that person was on." "Haha, you should have joined the Federation instead of bing a biologist! With that scheming mind of yours, you would have made a fine strategist." "I''m afraid I would not have made it onboard the USS Odyssey if I didn''t pursue my passion of biology." "It is good that you know your own worth. However, just because someone is helping you doesn''t mean it is a free pass. You still need toe out in the top four of this final assessment. However, I will offer you a deal. I have been told you were an avid fan of steak dinners. If you get first in this assessment, I will pull some strings and have the caf reserve my allotment of steak for you every day for the next year. If you cannot reach the required rank by then, well, consider it my loss." "Thank you, Sir! I will live up to your expectation!" As the hour of the showdown quickly approached, the other members arrived in a group. Seeing Matt already there, they gave him some jeering nces and walked over to a different spot to wait for the start time. However, when they realized their fight would be in the array, they really pitied Matt. In their opinion, the only reason he beat the array was due to having been given theyout beforehand. Although they feared he would get that advantage again, one of the higher-ups told them not to worry about that possibility. They already made a deal to take him out first and who would take the top four amongst their group. Seeing that everyone had arrived, the Commander walked over with a PL81 All Purpose gun. This weapon closely resembled a P90 from Matt''s past life. Although this one worked very differently from the CK94 ster Carbine. Instead of converting air into sma, it was loaded with bullets with high ferric content. The electric pack would create a powerful maic field between the bullet and the barrel of the gun. They would then beunched at supersonic speeds. The advantage of this weapon was being able to adjust the speed of the bullet. "For this assessment, you will be using the PL81 at the lowest setting. Additionally, you will be wearing tactical vests with sensors to prevent cheating and injury. The sensors will detect the impact and eliminate you. Any further participation in the battle royale will then result in being court-martialed. Are there any questions? Good. Get your equipment and take your positions." Chapter 16: Battle Royale (1) Chapter 16: Battle Royale (1) The stage covered the size of a football field. There were various crumbled buildings and metal debris. Matt wondered how they were able to set up something like this so quickly and wondered if there was a bit of projection technology in use here. Some spots were inessible and only needed to block line of sight. However, Matt wondered what would happen if he purposefully entered a spot that was projected. Would he be like those gamers that used wall hacks? Matt checked his weapon and vest for tampering and didn''t see anything obvious. If there was aplicated scheme to make him have a gun or vest failure then he could only consider his luck bad. He stood in front of the entrance to the array that he was assigned to. Normally, there would be a secondary objective in order to prevent all of the participants from hiding. However, the authorities knew about the tension and the agreement between the other nine so they left out a secondary objective. They probably felt that there was plenty of encouragement not to hide. For Matt''s strategy to work, he needed to be inplete control of his enemies. If he hid and waited, then they would have time to group up. The best choice was to strike quickly. However, this had its own risks too. His stamina wasn''t unlimited, and he nned for first, not just top four. He had to secure the bet he made with the Commander. Therefore, the best method would be to be like a predator. Warily stalking his prey and utilizing his energy to the maximum efficiency. This would normally be difficult for Matt O''Connely, but Matt was no longer a human. Although he had a human body, he was really an alien parasite. Although his human memories kept him from going berserk and killing everything on the ship, it did not mean he couldn''t. Matt had felt this instinct whenever he utilizes the system. Perhaps the system was just his weak consciousness''s attempt at making sense of the situation. He wouldn''t think too much about that. He turned off perfect mimicry and let the predator''s instinct kick in. "And begin!" The Commander shouted with a loud horn. Matt was naturally still in control of his body. The difference was he didn''t ignore the instincts to do certain actions. For example, he was low to the ground when he moved. Also, every step he took was precise and didn''t make too much noise. His eyes scanned through the debris and rubble looking for even the slightest anomaly. His weapon was held slightly pointed upward. It did not take long for him to discover the first person. Matt was approaching a four-way intersection when he heard some gravel crumbling very faintly. He quickly put his back to arge broken piece of metal and pointed his gun at chest level. Soon, the candidate turned the corner, standing straight up, and looking down his sight while scanning around him. Matt scoffed internally and shot a burst of three bullets. The adjustable setting was nice, but theplete silence of the PL91 was the true advantage. Matt clearly understood the authority''s intention for using this weapon instead of other stunning weapons. Feeling the pain of three bullets hitting his vest, the man almost turned and started firing. However, at thest moment he seemed to remember the consequences and slowly made his way out of the array with his hands up. A loud horn red and his name was crossed off the projected list outside. This was visible to everyone, so Matt''s location was given away if the other candidates paid attention to where people entered from. However, this was exactly what he was hoping for. The biggest threats would be the ones who could keep track of such details. He found a spot to conceal half his body and waited. It did not take long for him to notice a slight shifting in the rubbleing towards him. Apparently, this candidate was quite skilled. His stealth was phenomenal, but Matt''s predatory instinct was inborn. As soon as the candidate revealed a slight section of his body between the rubble, Matt shot with amazing uracy. Simrly to before, this candidate stood up and raised his hands. The horn blew and he was also crossed out. Matt knew he could no longer stay in this spot now that he had sprung the trap. Therefore, he went straight toward the path the second candidate came from. He even used a simr method to conceal himself between the rubble. He eventually found arge concrete b that was leaning at a slight angle. When he pushed one side, it came down and then seesawed back. Matt carefully pushed down one side and ced a rock to keep it weighed down. Then, he backed up in between two walls and crouched down. This was a risk he took due to the potential gains. The path he was facing was rather wide so multiple people could approach. However, the path he just came from had one of the candidates be eliminated from. He gambled that, with two of their allies down, the others would be frightened and attempt to group together. Unsurprisingly, his guess was correct. He could hear two people whispering to themselves from around the corner of the narrow alley he lodged himself in. He couldn''t hear what they were saying, but Matt knew they shouldn''t be underestimated. Just because he took two out easily doesn''t mean the whole group of nine was useless. The first thing he saw was a pile of debris flying past his line of sight. His keen awareness locked onto the rock and almost caused him to shoot. This was a good strategy for someone like him, however, they weren''tpletely aware of his nature. Although their decoy didn''t reveal anything, they were still cautious. After a moment, someone turned the blind and aimed his sight into the narrow alley. Matt was prepared for this. He shot three bullets, and then quickly backed away onto the concrete b. He leaned his backfoot on the far end and caused the b to fall backward. The candidate cursed and raised his hands. Then told the other candidate something and left the arena. Matt stayed holding his stance on the cement b. He had to hold the rock he ced on the other side to prevent it from sliding so he was vulnerable to any attacks from the sides. However, he just silently stood there waiting patiently. His goal wasn''t just one and run, he wanted both of them. After a while, the other candidate turned the corner and cautiously walked down the path. He was told that Matt ran, but to stay cautious. This person was quite good in this style ofbat so he was able to time his movements perfectly. However, he underestimated Matt''s intelligence. As soon as the man reached the cement b and looked around for the escape route that Matt took, Matt immediately pushed the rock and his body weight forward. The candidate jumped backward from the b that came crashing down on him and lost his bearings for a second. However, that second was all Matt needed to ce three shots onto his chest. These hurt especially since they were in near point-nk range. The man gave him an angry look and raised his hands, retreating to outside the stage. At this point, four have already been eliminated and only six remained. One of the four Matt eliminated had a spot reserved in the final four, so there were mixed emotions among the group. Those three that remained had hope to take that spot, and the one that was eliminated was kicking himself for being foolish. At the end of the day, only results mattered. He had no one to me but himself. However, the three that remained who were arranged to be in the top four felt extremely nervous. They did not expect to have a chance for elimination. There was naturally a worry that they would be betrayed. When one of the predicted final four was taken out, they instantly assumed a betrayal. Because of this, they were wary of meeting up and grouping. Although Matt didn''t expect their cooperation to be so weak, it would help him nheless. After the person he eliminated left the area, he went through the alley and searched for his next ambush location. Matt was now in the central area of the array which had moreplete buildings. It was possible to enter or climb one of the buildings and maintain a position on the second floor. He quickly scanned the destroyed walls of the buildings to check for any people hiding in wait. Something was telling him that walking down this wide path would be dangerous. However, he didn''t have a choice. This was a chance to counter y the opponents. Since Matt just eliminated someone from here, whoever is out there watching would have seen him exit from this spot. They would think that, after four eliminations, Matt would begin to be more careful. Thest ce they would routinely scan over would be this very alley. This time, he was gambling on his enemies overthinking. With that, he entered a sprinters stance and burst out the alley with his head low. ---------- (A/N: The race is tight for first ce in the contest! I''m coocoo for power stones! The extra chapters offer still stands if we can get first ce!) Chapter 17: Battle Royale (2) Chapter 17: Battle Royale (2) As soon as Matt got a visual of the area around the main path, he determined two locations to use as cover. He instantly chose the second location, a building with two floors. He dove through a broken window and tumbled back to a crouching position. The reason he chose this spot was because he had been watching it from the alley for a while. It was the least likely to be upied by someone. However, he knew he couldn''t wait around. Although no one shot at him when he ran, Matt could feel he was being watched as he ran. They probably wanted to surround him. Since four people were already eliminated, they didn''t want to take any chances. If Matt eliminates just two more people, all of their effort will be in vain. Matt checked the back wall of the building and saw it was impassable. The only way to go from here was up. Matt carefully climbed the stairs and saw the empty floor with a wall missing. He approached the edge and looked around. They wouldn''t go out into the open to attack him, and this building is practically impossible to enter unless you go through the front. This would be a goodst stand. However, Matt wasn''t interested in being the hunted. He looked around the edge of the second floor and spotted something strange. To a gamer, this would look like clipping. One of the pieces of rubble was intersecting with a metal wall. The jump looked safe, but since one of the two objects was a projection, he couldn''t bepletely sure what was underneath. No one was in any obvious hiding ces. However, he couldn''t be certain. Matt was not an expert marksman and he only had his instinct to rely on. There could be a spot he wasn''t seeing. While he considered jumping or not, he heard the loud horn re and one of the candidates get eliminated. Matt didn''t try to make sense of the situation and used the moment the horn rang as a distraction to jump. At the end of his arc, bullets hit the rubble above him, but he was already passed the projection. It turned out to be the concrete rubble that was the projection. When Matt fell through it, he almost got skewered by a real metal rod sticking straight up. A few inches to the right and he would be seriously wounded. It turned out that someone had in fact been watching him. However, they must have checked the list of names to see who was eliminated. For that split second, Matt had a window to jump. Now that he was rtively safe, he started thinking about that elimination. The first thing he thought was someone was convinced to give him a helping hand. However, that likely wasn''t it. Whoever manipted things to this point wants to see Matt''s skill. Therefore, whoever just eliminated someone was either extremely paranoid or had a personal falling out. Matt couldn''t see past the projection so he wasn''t able to check who was eliminated. This was good news for him, though. A double agent would create chaos among the others and make them easier targets. Matt began to check his surroundings with the barrel of his gun. He needed to figure out which sections were projections and which were real. Soon, he discovered a way out of this spot and by his estimation, it would take him back to the outer area of the stage. Once he reached that area, he coulde up from behind those in hiding looking for him. He climbed the wall and jumped over to the path on the other side. He had essentially gone all the way across the stage from one end to the other. When Matt looked around the area, he saw signs of someone that had walked this path. Since they were on theplete opposite side of him, they likely didn''t both covering their tracks or being stealthy. He followed the trail and saw it led into a building that was mostly intact. He couldn''t find any windows, but he was certain someone was hiding in there. He walked over to the door that was barely on its hinges and gave a standard knock. Afterwards, he ducked around the corner and pointed his gun. "Marco, you''rete. Did you see where he went?" The door was pushed open just enough to reveal an arm. Matt rolled to the side and shot toward where his chest would be and heard the guy curse. Now wasn''t the time to revel in his elimination though. He turned toward the path that continued onward around and started running. The sound of the horn of elimination covered the sound of his feet pushing gravel around him. As soon as the horn stopped, he came to a stop and ducked under a broken metal wall. Once he learned there was a second person, he knew staying at that house would be dangerous. He used the cover provided by the loud horn to reposition. The trail didn''t show any signs of having been used, but that could just mean whoever went down this path was very cautious. Matt waited in his hiding spot for a while. Whoever was supposed toe and meet with the person he just eliminated didn''t seem to being. As he was watching the path in front of him, Matt suddenly had a realization. There was no one on the list named Marco. He cursed to himself and quickly left his hiding ce and ran back to the building. He wasn''t sure what the man was nning by lying and then getting himself eliminated. Once he entered the building, he looked out the window and saw two people in hiding spots aiming down toward the central path. He only saw the hint of metal from their guns, but he now knew their position. The person who sacrificed himself here seemed to have some disagreements with those two. It was likely that when there were six left, he was told he still wouldn''t get a position in the agreement. He probably couldn''t directly act against them, so he ousted himself to lead Matt to them. Then, this means thest person was the betrayer. If he could take out one, he could take out three. There was a high chance that the betrayer took this as an opportunity to get first. Matt determined the path to take for either building the two marksmen were hiding in and decided to go for the one on the left. This one had a clear shot to the building in the right. His goal was to take both out before the other one ran. He crawled through a gap in the rubble that led to the back of the house he was aiming for. Once he came out, he quickly went up the exterior stairs. He saw the manpletely focused on the road below and not even considering someone sneaking up on him. ''This must be why you have been training for two years and still couldn''t get into the Strike squads.'' He came up close behind him and released one painful bullet to his back. At this range, it would certainly leave a welt. As soon as he was eliminated, he started cursing in pain. Not giving him a second nce, Matt pointed toward the opposite window and released several bursts. Two horns yed back-to-back and Matt was relieved. However, he didn''t expect the person he just hit to be out of his mind. Matt heard the distinct sound of the PL91 increasing in strength behind him. He turned around and saw the man he just eliminated give him a smug look. Matt had no reason to doubt that he just set his weapon to maximum strength. His eyes went red and his pupils dted. The color of his iris changed from brown to a sickly green. Before the man had a chance to fire at him, Matt tackled him. He hooked his hand around the man''s neck and took him down the side of the building in that grab. "M-monster..." In hisst conscious moments, the man fired a burse of fully powered rounds, grazing the side of Matt''s leg and obliterating the building behind them. Arge hole appeared in the pir that was holding up the building and it began to copse. Meanwhile, Matt was bleeding from the slight graze of his leg. The man he tackled from the second floor waspletely unconscious. Matt checked his pulse and it was very weak. ''It seems I may have broken his neck What got into me? Did the fear of death bring out the monster that I am?'' Due to the blood loss, Matt was unable to continue this battle. He cursed at himself for leaving his back to an enemy. He had considered this stage as a contest rather than a real fight at the very end. He was too excited for winning that he forgot his instincts for a second. He expected to hear the sound of his elimination but instead saw the various projects turn off and the rubble shifting. The screen still showed Matt O''Connely and Lee Jackson as active. Chapter 18: Inside Man Chapter 18: Inside Man Matt sat there while his blood covered his hand. He had tried putting pressure on it, but the wound kept bleeding. He was certain that no major artery was cut, this was likely due to the adrenaline and his heartrate. However, he couldn''t calm down. He looked over at the unconscious man that said those words to him before shooting. He hoped that it was nearly a coincidence, but hope wouldn''t save him from being dissected. For a moment, he thought about killing him here. No one would know. They were so far deep into the array. He shook off those thoughts and realized that there were certainly hidden cameras to monitor their technique and skill. Matt just wondered why the battle ended before thest person was eliminated. Before he could think about it anymore, he saw some medicse from the cleared rubble and start to treat his wound. They checked the other guy''s neck and put a brace around it. He was then put on a gurney and carried out of the military bay. Once his wound was treated and bandaged, he was lifted into a wheel chair that was automatically controlled. The doctors said toe to the medical bay when he was finished here to get further treatment. Matt assumed the Commander had requested they not take him right away. He wheeled his way outside of the array, and the Commander was standing with Lee waiting for him. "So, what do you think Lieutenant Jackson?" "He would make a fine addition to our team." "Sir! What is going on?" "Allow me to properly introduce myself, doctor. I am Lieutenant Lee Jackson of the Second Strike squad. Most don''t know my real identity since I am the main recruiter. Nobody gets epted into the Strike squad before going through me, first. I am also the person that made your tests a bit more interesting." Matt was not shocked. He had already guessed something simr when he rolled up and saw them acting chummy. He had thought the recruitment process for the squads seemed rather irresponsible. Compared to the number of people that actually got recruited with how simple the tests were, Matt naturally figured out there was a trick to it. Having one of the actual members of the squad feigning to be part of the candidates made sense. "I see, so these tests are just a cover to find people with the right skills." "Seems like you figured it out already. This is exactly the kind of material we would look for in a new recruit. However, there are someplications." "The injured candidate?" "Very astute. That is correct. Don''t worry about your safety. Turning up the weapons setting is enough to be court-martialed. However, since you did tackle him from the second floor and fracture his neck, the Federation Law dictates we have a fair trial. Unfortunately, until he is either dered brain dead or wakes up, this trial cannot proceed. Until then, you cannot join the Strike squad." "Can''t the captain overrule that with maritimew?" "Indeed, he could, however, I wouldn''t get your hopes up. We will, of course, send this case to the captain to review. He has always left the Strike squads to be in charge of their own operations, so he may not intervene." After Lieutenant Jackson said a few more words, he left. Although the situation seemed very unfair, it was the matter of intent. If Matt had been more severely injured, then this fiasco would be solved. However, since the only party currently lying in a bed, not knowing if he will live or die, was the other guy, Matt had to go through the motions. In the situation like a tight ship with a certain number of crewmen, every person was important. Therefore, every life was important to protect and pardon if the circumstances were eptable. "Well Dr. O''Connely, I have to say, you were quite impressive in there. Although our surveince only showed a portion of your skills, I could tell that you were serious about the battle. You may not be the strongest or fastest, but you certainly know how to make up for your weaknesses. A deal is a deal, consider your meals secured for a year. Although, given the situation, I doubt you''ll be ranking up any time soon. Do make the best of it. Head to the medical bay to get that wound properly treated." "Yes, Sir!" Matt wheeled away pondering about the situation he was in. If he had only defended himself and not caused such serious bodily harm, he wouldn''t have ended up stuck like this. However, he got what he wanted. The whole point of this was to regain his source of points. The matter of joining the Second Strike squad can wait a while. The main issue now is whether or not he saw something that would give Matt away. His blood was pumping and he felt like a cornered animal. Hearing those words, perhaps his body changed in a visible way before that tackle. The best-case scenario is that he dies from the injury. Although it would be very bad for him moving forward with promotions, he wouldn''t be med. It was a situation where he had to defend himself. The two of them had no prior history. The worst-case scenario is that he was already awake spilling the secrets of that moment. He needed more information about the man''s status. When Matt arrived at the medical bay, he was taken to one of the patient rooms to get wound care. His wound was a lot worse than he realized when he got hit. The force surrounding the bullet moving much faster than a regr bullet ever could caused his skin to rupture. Instead of actually hitting him, the integrity of his flesh simply gave out. Fortunately, medicine was far superior in this time period. A special healing solution was sprayed over his wound after it was carefully cleaned. His skin was drawn together by the fibers in the solution and the wound closed up in a few minutes. This fibrous solution was a self-retracting biological fiber used in most cases that would have required stiches in his past life. It held the injury together and slowly dissolved away. It was far more durable than stitches and wouldn''t be prone to tearing and reopening. He was given a shot to prevent any infection or side effects from major blood loss and then discharged. The whole time he was there, he didn''t hear anything about the other candidate. Frankly, Matt didn''t even know his name. Matt considered leading Alexis to wanting to find out on her own. It would be fairly easy since he now knew how attached she was to him. ''Now that I''ve got a source of Evolution Points again, I can evolve. And since I am injured, I have a good excuse for my weakened state after evolving.'' Matt returned to his room and hobbled over to the bathroom. They had given him an exoskeleton brace to put over his injured leg to keep his muscles from atrophying too much. The technology in this world was truly marvelous. He never thought he would get to experience something like sma guns, hand-held rail guns, and exoskeletons. He removed everything so that he could bathe, and while he lied in the bath tub, he checked his status. [Host: Matthew O''Connely Status: Grade 0 Parasite Evolution Points (EP): 10 Abilities: [Perfect Mimicry Lv. Max], [Improved Metabolism Lv. 1] Skills: [DNA Absorption Lv. 5], [Drug Resistance Lv. Max], [Weak Hypnosis Lv. 0], [Weak Transformation Lv. 0], [Weak Spawning Lv. 0]] ''I can''t want to wait anymore. If that man really did see something, I need ess to tier one powers right away. I hope that the information from the game holds true. If evolving changes my appearance then I am essentially jumping onto the sharpened de myself.'' [Weak Hypnosis Lv. 0: Begin your path as a Mind yer with the ability to subtly influence weak minds. ]Unlock: 5 Evolution points] [Weak Hypnosis Lv. 0 -> 1: Whenever you make eye contact with someone, they will be slightly more inclined toward whatever you say and believe your words to hold slightly more weight than others. The influence of those wordssts even after eye contact has been broken. ]Ability Hypnosis: Minor] [You have chosen the Evolutionary Path of the Mind yer. Beginning gene optimization.] [Host: Matthew O''Connely Status: Grade 0 Parasite -> Grade 1 Mind Slug Evolution Points (EP): 10 -> 5 Abilities: [Perfect Mimicry Lv. Max], (NEW!)[Improved Metabolism Lv. 2], (NEW!)[Mental Resistance Lv. 1] Skills: [DNA Absorption Lv. 5], [Drug Resistance Lv. Max], (NEW!)[Weak Hypnosis Lv. 1], (NEW!)[Dream Casting Lv. 0], (NEW!)[Primary Reproduction Lv. 0], (NEW!)[Whispers Lv. 0]] All of these notifications rang in Matt''s head; however, he was unable to pay attention to them. He silently convulsed in the bathtub while his muscles contorted and changed as if a worm was crawling around under his skin. He wasn''t experiencing normal pain. His mind was on fire. His bones felt like they were being crushed. Fortunately, these were only the secondary changes to his host body. He soon instinctively cut off the pain and fell dormant. Chapter 19: Mind Slug Chapter 19: Mind Slug "t att Matt! Wake up." "Huh, what, where am I?" Matt suddenly jerked awake and looked around confused. He hadpletely dissociated himself from the receptors of his host body because of the pain. The process of reconnecting was slow and it left him confused and groggy. "You fell asleep in the bath. I don''t know how long you''ve been in there, but the water is already cold. Hurry and get out or you''ll get sick." Matt looked down at himself and he felt clear headed. Well, his real body felt veryfortable. However, his host was very weak and sickly. He tried getting up, but his body wasn''t listening to him. Seeing him struggle, Alexis helped him up and supported him on his way to the bed. His body was shivering and looked pale. Alexis assumed it was due to the blood loss and spending several hours in the bath. She was internally kicking herself for working overtime. It was well past midnight, so he was likely in the water for over five hours. His body was freezing, so she wrapped him up in several nkets and turned the heat up in their room. She saw that he had taken off his personal device, otherwise he wouldn''t have gotten in this situation. "Lexi" Matt managed to say while reacquiring control over his body. "What is it? Do you feel ufortable anywhere?" Alexis came close and looked into his eyes. She seemed oddly attracted to them and waited for what he was going to say. Matt''s eyes seemed to be shimmering but Alexis couldn''t perceive it. [Hypnosis Active.] "Can you get me some food and water?" "Of course!" Matt paid attention to the whole situation to figure out how the ability would work. It seemed that part of the hypnosis was increasing the target''s willingness to listen to what you have to say. However, he needed to test it more. For now, he was satisfied with the results. He could feel an invisible force acting when he used his ability. He was still having difficulty controlling this body so he decided to examine his gains. [Grade 1 Mind Slug: Your species lives amongst other creatures as its main habitat. They often do not gather in groups. A solitary Mind Slug would manage whole biomes on their own. They specialize in manipting the consciousness of other intelligent life in order to do their bidding. However, they are very weak in directbat and cannot survive outside of their host for long.] ''I see. This didn''t exist in the game. There wasn''t a lot of lore in the game to begin with. It was mainly skill descriptions and game instructions that developed the world beyond the game. I am d with my choice now, this is exactly what I wanted.'' [Improved Metabolism Lv. 2: After stimting the host''s cellr activity, the metabolism of the body has improved significantly. The evolution of the organism has triggered the host body to be strengthened further. ]Removing Toxins: +20% ]Calorie Conversion: +50% ]Healing Factor: 2.0] [Mental Resistance Lv. 1: The strength of your mind and consciousness have exceeded the biological standard for your host. The difference has manifested as mental energy. This mental energy provides a natural resistance to influences on the psyche. ]Mental resistance: 20%] [Dream Casting Lv. 0: Utilizing your mental energy, you are able to cast thoughts and ideas into others'' dreams. They will vaguely remember the dream you influenced. ]Unlock: 2 Evolution Points] [Primary Reproduction Lv. 0: Create a sub-body that is connected to you telepathically that will follow simple directions. This sub-body may merge with a secondary host. A mature sub-body may be reabsorbed to continue the path of a Mind yer. ]Unlock: 50 Evolution Points] [Whispers Lv. 0: Utilizing your mental energy, you may whisper into someone''s mind directly. They will hear an unrecognizable voice in their mind. ]Unlock: 2 Evolution Points] [Weak Hypnosis Lv. 1: Whenever you make eye contact with someone, they will be slightly more inclined toward whatever you say and believe your words to hold slightly more weight than others. The influence of those wordssts even after eye contact has been broken. ]Hypnosis: Minor] ''Strange, why is there no upgrade cost? Perhaps its rted to the ability of Hypnosis'' [Hypnosis Activation: Eye contact Duration: Special Proficiency: Minor (1/100)] ''Still nothing about increasing the level of the main skill, but at least the ability associated with the skill seems to be upgradable. For now, I''ll raise the proficiency and see if the skill levels up along with it. The concept of proficiency wasn''t something in the game, so this is new territory for me. However, the whole Mind yer path is going to workpletely differently than the game regardless.'' Based on his skills, it seemed that in order to be Grade 2, he would need to create and mature a sub-body. In order to mature a sub-body, it took time and Evolution Points. This is at least the same as in the game,pared to the huge differences in other skills. Matt considered if it was worth making followers using his sub-body, but rejected that idea for now. In order to infect a yer, the Mind yer and Faceless Devourer need to sacrifice a sub-body. This is also why the Hive Queen path is considered the only path that can win by infecting all of the crewmen. Fortunately, you didn''t need to repay the Evolution Point cost every time. A sub-body could be reformed after a long time and only one active sub-body could be controlled. Fortunately, infecting a secondary host considers that sub-body as no longer active. Matt couldn''t decide what to do with his current points so he simply rested his mind. He yed around with the force that his skills described and realized that it was quite useful. Being able to personally experience these abilities was remarkable. With this mental energy, he could see around him even with his eyes closed. It was essentially a third eye. However, what he saw was vastly different. The vision utilizing his mental energy contained no visible light. Instead, it was more like a film negative. Everything his mental energy made contact with turned the ckness into a pristine white. When he held his hand up in front of his face, all he saw was a white outline. The reason it was an outline and notpletely white was because his mental energy only turned white when changing from surface to surface. Matt could think of some media from his past life that this resembled and was intrigued. This was an ability that could help him see in the dark, but also pick up threats he normally wouldn''t perceive. The only issue with it at the moment was its limited range. However, he had the feeling that it would grow with his other skills and abilities. While messing around, he heard Alexis open the door ande in. Only then did he realize that it was the middle of the night and the cafeteria was likely closed. However, she still arrived with a pot filled with something. Matt realized that the hypnosis ability was quite convincing. Although Alexis was already more than willing to help him, it was the middle of the night and second shift was a ghost crew. Only the bars were open at this hour, and they had very limited ess to ingredients. Fortunately, it seemed she had been sessful and returned rtively quickly with food. She ced the food on a stand and set it next to the bed. "I managed to get some chicken soup for you. Here, let me help you sit up." Matt was curious about the limits of his hypnosis and he decided now would be the best time to test it. Something he knew that Alexis didn''t like doing in all the time he knew her. He looked straight into her eyes which caused her to pause for a second, allowing Matt to speak. [Hypnosis Activated.] "I can barely lift my arms, could you help me eat?" "Ah well" It seemed that she was about to make an excuse, but paused and thought about it. Matt thought the hypnosis had failed until he saw the proficiency go up by two. He had thought the proficiency might go up by more than one if the order was more difficult for the target to follow. He was d that his hypothesis was correct. "Hmm, okay. Although I don''t normally like doing this, I''ll make an exception for today." Matt paid attention to how she reacted to the hypnosis and began to formte an idea about it. Instead of directlymanding the target to do something, which would fall under control, his hypnosis ability only influenced their decisions. The person affected by the hypnosis would attempt to justify the action as something they decided and then create the reasons why internally. This way, he wouldn''t leave any evidence behind as long as he kept moderate about who he targeted. Alexis grabbed a spoonful of soup and moved it up to his mouth with a huge blush across her face to her ears. "S say aah." --------------------- Great Flying Slugs Batman, We Are First! As promised, I will do two bonus chapters! However, I''m juggling work and writing now, so I will make those two bonus chapters as owed chapters. I''ll of course keep my daily chapter going. Every day until the contest ends that we are first, I''ll keep adding on the two bonus chapters. novelHYPE novelHYPE Owed Chapters: 2 Chapter 20: Hypnosis Limits Chapter 20: Hypnosis Limits Matt shamelessly followed themand and epted her hand feeding. Since he was using hypnosis, why not follow through. It was science! Once the bowl was finished, he felt energized. He wanted to test more things, but decided to have Alexis go to bed. He looked her in the eye and tried to have her sleep, but he didn''t gain any proficiency for it. This was surprisingly a good discovery. He could use this as a pseudo lie detector. While she was cleaning up, Matt ate the rest of the soup. Once he got some food in him, his body became voracious. The improved metabolism is increasing his energy expenditure by quite a bit. However, the payoff was faster healing and recovery. Although his body still felt like a doll and it was difficult to move around, he saw the wound on his leg was healing quickly. By tomorrow, it might even bepletely sealed. After finishing the soup, Alexis came out of the bathroom in her night clothes. Matt looked up and had a sudden thought that scared him. ''I wonder if she''d let me feed on her.'' As soon as the thought came to the forefront of his mind, he suppressed it. This was dangerous. While he was only a grade zero organism, his primal instincts would only present themselves with his behavior and eptance. Even then, he could unconsciously block it away. However, in his current state, his instincts were leaking through. Matt realized that this was an important stage in his development. In order to not be constantly bombarded with his repressed instincts, he needed to address it. Feeding on Alexis was a possibility. It is not a matter of whether she would let him, but rather, whether his hypnosis was strong enough to make it seem likemon sense. In order to overwrite hermon sense and make her mind begin justifying things like that, his ability was naturally too weak. Therefore, by logically putting considering the situation, it was simply inefficient to break his act now. Although he could not sense his subconscious where his instincty, something told him that ignoring it would be a mistake. While he was weakened, he would attempt to bring out all of his impulses to the surface and carefully break them down with logic. Only by doing this would he have a safe structure to rely on when he was weak or desperate. Matt refused to be controlled by anything besides reason. If he could not control his nature, then he would domesticate it. Matt did find it a bit humorous that he was treating himself like a wild dog. However, being able to rely on his human intelligence and also have a strong predatory instinct was a powerfulbination. If he did this training properly, his instincts would be a lethal weapon inbat. Although it was a branch weak inbat, he would make up for it by training the host. Most of this would have to wait until the weakness of evolution passed, but he could do brain training until then. For example, every time he looked at Alexis''s naked body through the transparent silk, the parasite within wanted to devour her. Instead, he slowly worked on those thoughts until they began to be more practical. Matt realized that something like this normally wouldn''t be possible. However, it came to him in an ironic twist. His proficiency in hypnosis had gone up by twelve over the course of the night that he spent solely on fixing his subconscious. The power of autohypnosis was not to be taken lightly. In his past life, Matt heard stories of monks that could enter a trance with autohypnosis and release the limits on their muscles. This would allow them to do feats of strength only possible in state of true emergency. However, since this application wasn''t described in the ability itself, Matt wondered what was going on. Is it possible that the ''system'' is not omniscient? The answer would be an obvious yes if one thought about it rationally. But, if the system wasn''t omniscient, then what exactly was it? Once, Matt hade up with a theory that the system was his weak human consciousness trying to justify the situation he was in. It created a hallucination that exined everything he was experiencing. And the easiest source of assets for the hallucination was the game he most vividly remembered ying. But this was all a huge coincidence. Because he still didn''t have enough information, he decided to put this thought away and address itter. Unless you were a genius of the century, creating a conclusion from a hypothesis alone was a major pitfall for a scientist. Since Matt spent the whole night hypnotizing himself, Alexis eventually woke. He had been staring at her the whole time to trigger his monstrous thoughts. Because of this, when she woke up, she immediately made eye contact with him. Since she was already looking at him, Matt decided to try a few more suggestions to see the limits of his influence. "You''re awake." "How long have you been staring at me?" "Five maybe six hours." "H-hours!? Did you even sleep?" "I slept plenty in the bath" [Hypnosis Activated.] "I''m sore all over because of it too. Could you help me loosen up my muscles?" "Hah! Fat chance. Since you''re so full of energy, why not get up and move your body a bit, that''ll fix your problem." After breaking eye contact, she sat up and stretched her back. Then she got out of bed and started her morning routine to warm up. Matt sat up slightly, still feeling like every motion is like moving through custard. Matt determined that there was either a limit to the number of uses in a certain amount of time on the same person, or Alexis really didn''t like giving him a massage. She had never done it before, so he couldn''t rule out either possibility. Matt checked his injury and saw that the skin had regained its normal sticity and the ck fibers were not visible from outside. Although it could mean he was still healing internally, his wound was practically back to normal. Matt tried to get out of bed and put weight on his legs, but his body fell backward like a marite with a beginner puppeteer. This was not what he expected would be the weakness of evolution. However, it made sense. Matt was practically apletely new organism now. In order to fully integrate with his host, he needed to reform all of the connections he had previously. However, this would mean an improvement in performance in the long term. Not only that, but since his improved metabolism leveled up, his training speed should increase as well. Once his body was fully back to normal, he would need to request another significant increase in calories. Fortunately, he had the steak meal ticket from the Commander. Thinking of the steak, Matt realized he missedst night''s steak. This was a great oversight by him. He mentally kicked himself for not eating before evolving. He had three-hundred sixty-four steaks left. Matt would not miss a single one. With some more motivation, he pushed himself to get up out of bed. It was a but clunky, but eventually he managed to get control of his body. Now, it just seemed like he had a permanent case of dead leg. Alexis stopped her workout and looked over to see him struggling to walk and felt a bit bad. "Hold on, I''ll go get your boot. Sit down for a minute." "Didn''t you tell me to get moving? Heh." "Come on, I was just joking. You should take care of yourself." [Hypnosis Activated.] "I''ll be fine. But I wonder how the person I tackled is doing. Tell me what you know about his situation." "Hmm well I''m not supposed to say, but apparently, he''s in aa and it isn''t likely he''ll wake up. Some are even suggesting to dere him dead. However, some of the higher up''s are against it. I don''t know much else since it''s so recent." "That''s fine. I wouldn''t want you to get in trouble so be careful." "Thanks Ah right, your boot. Hold still, I got it." Matt analyzed the situation. In thest few weeks, he discovered that there seemed to be three faction on the ship. The neutral faction, which he had always been a part of, typically stayed out of the politics of the ship. The Captain''s faction, which seemed to be more toward theissez faire, less restrictions style. And finally, the ''Mysterious'' faction. He called it such because he doesn''t know anything specific about this faction. The only solid lead he has is the vague mention of ''higher-ups'' from Alexis and the call Dr. Lisinger had during his medical exam. One thing he knew for certain though, this Mysterious faction knows about the presence of aliens and possible imposters in the crew. They were the main antagonists to his existence. In fact, the Captain could be said to be half on Matt''s side. Based on his asional helping hand and the sausages, the Captain was clearly hiding something. -------------- Pow Pow, second chapter of the day. Chapter 21: Her Death Chapter 21: Her Death "Maybe you should go to the med bay again. You look really pale and tired." "It''s fine. By the way, wasn''t your skirmish supposed to be happening soon?" "Ah, well it''s tomorrow, but" [Hypnosis Activated.] "Lexi, you''ll do great. I have the utmost confidence that you''ll seed. Don''t worry about me for now and just focus on getting first. I''m really proud of you." Matt thought about applications for his power and remembered motivational speakers in his past life. Their way of speaking was hypnotic and repetitive. They said the same thing in different ways with a certain tone of voice. No matter how he thought about it, these speakers were hypnotizing the audience. This isn''t really a bad thing, since the biggest enemy for most people''s happiness is themselves. He saw his proficiency go up to eighteen and knew it had worked. "I I thank you, Matt. I''ll definitely get first for the three of us. I saw you like that this morning and I thought about how I failedst year and it made me really scared I wish I had opened up to you earlier maybe I wouldn''t have failed back then." "I''ll manage by myself and I''ll call you if I have any problems, now go on ahead and practice. We can have dinner together tonight." "Okay." Alexis gave him a surprise peck on the lips and slipped away before he could react. Matt noticed that she seemed to be more emotional today and wondered if it was rted to his ability or hormones. It seemed a bit early, but he was no expert in pregnancy nor did he have any experience. Now that she was gone, he could freely test his hypnosis on other people. Although he was pushing her to pass and get ess to the ultimate weapons on this ship, Matt also needed to be alone so it was easier to hypnotize others. Since it only worked on one person at a time, Alexis might invertedly interfere with his ability. Saying something offhandedly or even her presence alone could mess with the target. He would wait until the ability was stronger before using it with more than one person around. There were many scientists with varying levels of education below doctorate that worked in theb. They weremonly seen as the assistants of the doctorate level schrs, but they absolutely hated it. In defiance they would work slow or make mistakes that needed the project to be done over, or simply refuse outright. These "assistants" would be the perfect targets for his hypnosis. Matt wouldn''t raise too much suspicion since it was the norm to order them around. Also, the worst that would happen is they would get angry and act out. Moving around proved to be extremely difficult. The exoskeleton leg helped a lot, but he was unable to feel the floor underneath him. Because of this, he had to either watch his feet while walking or stumble around like an idiot. It had already been several hours, but he had no idea how long it would take to recover. Fortunately, he got used to the feeling of numbness and was able to pass for normal once he made it to the cafeteria. Frankly, he was starving. "Dr. O''Connely, it''s good to see you! Myb has been reopened if you''d like toe byter." As soon as he entered the caf, he saw Dr. Bradshaw with a to-go container leaving. Matt hadn''t forgotten about the mutant nt Martha; he was simply too busy to check on it every day. This lucky encounter was appreciated and he nodded toward Bradshaw. [Hypnosis Activated.] "It''s a good thing the gas leak was fixed so quickly. What did the DNA sequencing results say?" "Non-conclusive unfortunately. I''ll be seeing you then, I must return." Matt saw that his proficiency didn''t go up so he was either telling the truth or lying. However, considering how secretive he had been about so many things rting to the nt, it was likely a lie. Whatever he discovered was far too valuable for his minor hypnosis to draw out. However, that did not mean he could trap Dr. Bradshaw into revealing information around the truth with hypnosis. This would be a battle of the minds. He continued into the cafeteria and received his lunch. Earlier this morning he had requested more food to meet his needs, however, it was still pending approval. Matt would likely need to take a few tests to determine if his daily utilization was exceeding his calorie intake and make adjustments. There was only so much the AI would allow without data. However, Matt thought this would be another opportunity to use his ability. Someone should be able to override that requirement and have his request go through. "Matt! Are you okay? I heard you got hurt You look terrible." "Oh, Cindy. I''m fine, how are you?" Cindy, whom he hadn''t seen in almost a week, showed up and sat down next to him. She examined him up and down with a worried expression. She seemed to be very guilt ridden. Matt put a hand on her shoulder to calm her down and she looked up, making eye contact. Matt tried to calm her down with his ability. [Hypnosis Activated.] "I''m fine, don''t worry so much. It''s not like you are the one that hurt me. There''s nothing you could have done." "I shouldn''t have done it. I''m sorry please don''t hate me." "What are you talking about? What did you do?" "Dr. McGee, there you are. Shephard told us to bring you back." Cindy was about to start crying, but the two men seemed to change her sad expression to fear. She got up and scurried away following the two men. Matt was confused at the situation. His hypnosis worked sessfully, but instead of calming her down, it only made her more riled up. The easiest exnation was that she did have something to do with the situation. However, that didn''t make any sense given the context. The next most logical thing is she did something that she feels guilty about. Something that would make Matt O''Connely mad. ''Shit! It can''t be, did she?'' Cindy was taken away, and Matt quickly scarfed down his lunch. He hobbled toward hisb and, when he entered, Matt knew something was wrong immediately. It was too quiet. He came over to She''s pen and she was lying theredead. This isn''t something Cindy would do on her own volition. Whoever that Shephard person is must be manipting her for some reason. Matt didn''t really care much about his research, but Matt O''Connely loved it more than anything. Originally, their work together taking care of animals was the reason he got so close with Cindy. She was his greatest aplishment and he felt incredibly proud to have her get pregnant. This was also a great achievement on the ship. However, now that she was dead, this would be very troublesome. If this was before, he wouldn''t be able to figure out a reason for this at all. However, now that he was aware of some of the politics in the ship, he had a strong idea about motivations. The Captain is dedicated to the mission. This was true to the point that Matt received his favor for sessfully aplishing an important goal for the mission. This was certainly a political move by the Mysterious faction in order to take Matt down and weaken the Captain''s power. Naturally, if Matt was promoted and given more ess on the ship, the Captain, his supporter, would also gain more power. Going down this rabbit hole of reasoning, Matt determined that the man who attacked him during the test must have been under orders. However, he couldn''t quite figure out from which side he was working. The only way to determine who pulled the strings that day is to determine who wants him dead and who wants him alive. Naturally, the ones who want Matt to be promoted want him to be dead as soon as possible. The ones who used him as a pawn would want him to stay alive and continue blocking Matt''s momentum. ''I hate that I am also a pawn in their game. I need more information and leverage so that I can pull myself out of this position. Since the mysterious faction is in the dark, I''ll have to ally myself more with the Captain''s faction. Once I have enough power, I am determined to break free from their fighting. Once I have taken control of the AI in the future, I''ll dismantle all other power besides my own.'' Matt was satisfied with this decision. However, the issue now was the body. The AI hadn''t alerted him or anyone else, so it was likely that this room has been disconnected from the AI''s system by someone with a lot of power. Since they wanted to hide this and possibly frame Matt for losing an important asset to the ship, he would not sit still. Matt activated hismunicator and requested to speak with the Captain. After a few minutes, the captain''s line opened. --------------- I''ll hopefully be able to catch up soon. Thanks for the continued support! Owed Chaps: 4 Chapter 22: Captain and First Officer Chapter 22: Captain and First Officer "Dr. O''Connely, this is First Officer Rickert, the captain is unavable. What do you have to report?" "Commander Rickert, this concerns the actions of a man named ''Shephard'' and threatens the mission. I must speak to the Captain." "I see. Stay in your location. We will be there soon." Matt considered if this was a trap, however, the Captain wouldn''t put someone he didn''t trust in the First Officer position. When the Captain was busy or resting, the First Officer was essentially in charge. Also, if anything happened to the Captain, the First Officer would be the Captain. He decided to trust Rickert and stay in hisb. He had no doubt that the Captain could use his authority to find his personal device. While waiting, Matt went into his cold storage and took out all of the blood samples. Since someone wants to y games, he''ll take advantage of the situation. He removed the cap on all of the vials and began to down the goat blood. He had already made sure to wear gloves and didn''t touch his mouth to the top of the vial. Every three vials granted him one evolution point and there were twenty-four vials. This was quite a bit of profit for him. Once he finished off all of the vials, he threw them into the trashpactor. He made sure to leave a bit of blood in the bottom so when the ss was shattered it would seem like they were thrown in without being emptied first. After the notifications finished, he felt his weak body get a bit stronger. Matt came to the realization that what he was missing was nutrition for his real body. Once he finished his ''clean-up'', he returned to She''s pen and sighed. ''Eating her like this would be so many Evolution Points. It''s a shame I can''t hide the evidence.'' Swish, swish. Matt heard the doors open and he came over to greet his guests. "Dr. O''Connely." "Captain, Commander, it''s good that you''re here. I was really worried when I discovered this." Matt led the two of them over to She''s pen and showed them the dead goat. When they saw, Rickert covered his face and turned away. The Captain leaned forward and looked closely. Matt lowered the forcefield and allowed the Captain to closely inspect it. Matt still hadn''t had a chance to do that himself, but he didn''t want to have any contact with the dead animal before it was properly inspected. He also wasn''t a detective and could only give his opinion on cause of death. Perhaps some tests too. "It seems there are no external wounds. The animal also doesn''t seem to have been frightened by the assant. It was most likely someone that she knew. The method was likely poisoned feed. Her tongue and eyes show signs of poisoning but a blood test and autopsy will confirm. What do you have to say, Dr. O''Connely?" "I discovered there was something amiss when Dr. McGee came to me very guilt stricken. She apologized without any particr reason and hoped I wouldn''t be mad at her. Then, she was taken away by some men who referred to someone called Shephard. The only thing I could think of that she could do that would need apologizing for was rted to the care of She." "This is not a simple issue. The first animal to be impregnated in hyper speed is a milestone of the ages. If the live birth was sessful, you could have received awards and honors. However, there is no reason for Dr. McGee to do this. Did she have a personal vendetta against you or this ship?" "Well, I suppose we did have a rtionship before Commander Alexeyev found out she was pregnant. I put the rtionship with Dr. McGee on hold and she only ever came by to check on and feed She. I only fed her on days that I did blood tests and checked her condition. Up until now, she was very healthy. I also had no reason to suspect Dr. McGee was holding a grudge." "Several days ago, Dr. McGee was transferred to the lower decks research team. She assigned an assistant to take her position in feeding She. What do you have to say about that, Dr. O''Connely?" Commander Rickert said, cutting in on Matt and the Captain''s conversation. "I was not aware of this. Although I hadn''t seen her in several days, no one notified me of the change of staff. This alone is also suspicious. Excuse me Captain, could we speak alone for a moment. There are some things I don''t believe should be heard by anyone else but you." "Nonsense! Whatever the Captain can hear, I can also" "That''s enough, Number One. Stand outside so that I can talk with the doctor alone." Rickert was about to rebut, but seeing the adamant look on the Captain''s face, he left. "Take a seat, Captain." "Your injury seems to be a lot better. I heard you lost quite a bit of blood. I am surprised you are up and about." [Hypnosis Activated.] "Yes, it was quite an ordeal. I do wonder though, is the Captain aware of who ordered the man to do that?" "I see. I think I know where this is going. You believe the one involved in Ensign Lorenz''s case is also the one who has sabotaged your research? It is a good theory. However, the man you are looking for is a lot more powerful than you think." "Then are you saying we should do nothing?" "I am afraid there is no ''we'' Dr. O''Connely. Although I supported you once already, that was a reward for your achievements. There is only one thing that I care about and that ispleting our mission." "That is unfortunate. Would you be against me investigating it on my own?" "Feel free, however, the man you are looking for might retaliate. Don''t get too caught up in politics and simply do your duty, doctor." The Captain seemed to be finished so he got up and began to leave. The AI finally reactivated in this room and began running diagnostics. When it detected the dead animal, it was about to start an rm, but the Captain turned it off preemptively. It seemed that he left Matt to deal with the remains however he wished. Before he walked out the door, Matt called to him one more time making eye contact. [Hypnosis Activated.] "Captain, what exactly is in those sausages?" The Captain gave him a slight grin. "Veal." Matt did not receive anything from his conversation with the Captain. Once the Captain left, Matt had more questions than answers. It seemed that his assumptions before were a mistake. The Captain doesn''t have a faction, he only has a single prerogative. As long as the mission is beingpleted, he doesn''t care what happens. Shephard was three steps ahead of him the whole time. Recing Cindy with a random assistant, making it seem like the Captain was opposing him, and even letting Cindy meet with him in the cafeteria. He mmed his fist onto the table and cursed inwardly. Matt had been making too many waves recently and Shephard pushed him down a peg. This was a warning. ''We can kill your goat without getting caught, think about what else we can do.'' However, there was one thing he had that they didn''t. His powers and growth were his biggest asset. This just proved that he should lie low for a while and grow in strength. A year of steaks along with anything else he may gain was valuable. Tier two was practically guaranteed he just needed the time. Because of all that had happened recently, Matt became too impatient. He needed to simply mind his own business, do his work, and continue building up Evolution Points. He decided that he would set aside this problem and focus on other things. This was the third thing that he had set aside and woulde back to when he was stronger. However, Martha was now essible again. He decided to devote his time to figuring out what was going on with the nt. Matt looked down at the poor goat who died as a warning to him and smiled. The captain left him to deal with it and he had a good idea about what to do. He drew out all of the remaining blood he could acquire set aside a few vials for testing. He then swallowed the rest of them secretly in the cold room where the camera couldn''t see. He gained another four evolution points and packed the body up in a ck vacuum sealed bag. There were not many ces he could take this carcass, but he was sure there was a bar or two that would let him use their kitchen for a while. With a bit of persuasion of course. His eyes shimmered while he hobbled toward the military quarters. ---------- Wow! So many power stones! We were able to get into the top new stories ranking. Thank you for all of the support! Owed Chaps: 4 Chapter 23: Dead and Gone Chapter 23: Dead and Gone [Host: Matthew O''Connely Status: Grade 1 Mind Slug Evolution Points (EP): 17 Abilities: [Perfect Mimicry Lv. Max], [Improved Metabolism Lv. 2], [Mental Resistance Lv. 1] Skills: [DNA Absorption Lv. 5], [Drug Resistance Lv. Max], [Weak Hypnosis Lv. 1], [Dream Casting Lv. 0], [Primary Reproduction Lv. 0], [Whispers Lv. 0]] [Hypnosis Activation: Eye contact Duration: Special Proficiency: Minor (20/100)] While Matt was walking, he decided to check his status and was happy to see his Evolution Points and Proficiency steadily increasing. His body felt a lot better since drinking all of that blood. That was, until he suddenly felt a strange sensation in his stomach. He recognized it as one of vomiting and tried to hold it in and find a waste bin or a bucket. He kicked open a utility closet and vomited blood. [Drug Resistance Lv. Max has mutated to Toxin Resistance Lv. 1] ''What the hell did they poison this goat with It was so much that my skill mutated. Would I have died if not for this? Wait, I can''t count that out yet'' He vomited again and lost strength in his muscles. Matt was shocked at how strong the poison was. He felt his consciousness slipping away. This was a random utility closet on the way to the military quarters so it was unlikely anyone would find him. He wondered if this was also nned by Shephard. However, there was no way he would think that Matt would drink the goat''s blood. This was likely to be as obvious as possible when he did the blood test. Matt had to act fast and spent twelve points right away. [Toxin Resistance Lv. 1->5: You have been exposed to an extremely toxic substance that can kill you. Your resistance gene has spontaneously mutated to protect you from all types of toxins. ]Drug Resistance: 60%->80% ]Poison Resistance: 20%->40% ]Radiation Resistance: 5%-13% ]Level Cost: 3->3] Matt''s eyes and nose started to leak ck fluid and he coughed up a mouthful of ck fluid. Then, he fell to the side breathing heavily. The ck liquid he coughed up was likely rted to his quick upgrade of Toxin Resistance. However, his body was still poisoned. Fortunately, with improved metabolism he should be able to clear the rest of it without dying. ''Damn Shephard, just wait to see how I pay you back for this.'' He cleaned himself up with a towel and left the utility closet. Although the interruption was inconvenient and painful, Matt continued his way toward a bar. The meat was likely toxic, but it shouldn''t be nearly as toxic as the blood. Since he just used up twelve points in a panic, he needed to make full use of this goat. He didn''t dare turn his perfect mimicry on based on how attached Matt was to this goat. Even if he wasn''t, perfect mimicry would be dangerous with such a weakened body. The only reason he was able to move right now was because of the ''puppeteering.'' The first bar he arrived at was run by a guy named Scorch. No one really understands how he got onto the ship, but he is the best mixologist on the ship. Some say that the captain secretly drinks here and that is how he was able to get into this mission. Other''s say that he is actually a renowned chemist and hides his identity. However, everyone knows his specialty brewed alcohol is a killer. It is dubbed the Scorch Special and it is where he gets his nickname from. The drink can destroy your throat and stomach if you have too many, so it was limited to one per person. The original Matt O''Connely never came here but he heard a lot about it from his colleagues. When he arrived, the bar was empty. Business didn''t start until after dinner since most people were asleep or working at the moment. However, Scorch stood at his bar cleaning sses as if he expectedpany today. "Doctor Matt O''Connely, what brings a first-timer like you to my bar in the middle of the day?" "The rumors that you know every person on the ship are true it seems. I''m here for two things" [Hypnosis Activated.] "First, who is the Shephard and what is his n. Second, can I use your kitchen." "Shephard is not someone you want to know. Once you know who they are, you will regret finding out. This is my advice to not only you, but advice I live by as well. I can''t answer your first question because I do not know the answer. As for the kitchen, be my guest. But make sure to clean up when you''re done." Matt tried two prompts at once in order to see what result it would have. His proficiency only went up by one to twenty-one but he wasn''t sure which of the two things he said were drawn out by his ability. Based on this, he decided it would be best to limit the hypnosis to one idea ormand. Matt walked to the kitchen door and turned back to Scorch before stepping in. [Hypnosis Activated.] "Make sure no onees in while I''m here." "Sure, but be quick." Matt saw his proficiency go up again and realized that Scorch is a pretty open-minded person. Perhaps he is someone worth making friends with. With his strange background and knowledge base, he could know quite a bit about the ship. When he entered the kitchen, he made sure the door was locked behind him. Then he took out the ck bag from over his shoulder and released the vacuum seal. He began to clean up the goat by skinning it first. While he was working, he thought about the thing Scorch said. Shephard seemed quite fearsome based on what the Captain and Scorch said. However, there was still one other person he could ask for information. After that was exhausted, if he still did not have any leads, he would really have to drop it. Matt could not fathom fighting an enemy he did not even know. Once the skin was off, he looked at the discolored meat underneath. The actual amount of meat on a goal was fairly low. They were lean animals with thick skin. He removed the heart and liver and threw the rest into the trashpactor. He started to cut the heart and liver into smaller pieces and cleaned them along the way. When he began on the muscles, he nned where he would cut. Matt wasn''t a professional butcher, but used his instincts to cut pieces out that had a good density of points. After an hour, he threw out what remained and had a pile of poorly cut meat. He found fresh bag to seal the meat in and cleaned up. These bags were different than normal vacuum sealed bags. They had a special chemical lining the inside that dyed cellr decay and bacterial growth to a near stop. This was known as stasis technology. In the past, the scientists creating this technology intended to put humans in a deep sleep, but it ended up killing every living organism put under using it. Since then, the technology was repurposed to storing food near indefinitely. This chemical, once it made contact with atmosphere, quickly dissipated and left nothing behind. It was also safe to consume anything sealed with it. This technology was the basis to extend space travel. The issue of supply always gued the people that wished to travel the stars. There were many attempts like sending additional rockets into space and meeting up with the main ship, but this severely limited distance. With this technology, they were able to storerge amounts of perishable foods. Once Matt was ready to leave, he unlocked the door and exited. There were two people drinking by themselves at the bar, but they didn''t pay any attention to Matt as he walked out of the kitchen. Matt decided that since he was already here, he may as well try some liquor. In his past life, he drank on the weekend with his friends and had some fond memories. Although drinking alone was not his style, this was like paying respects to the friends he left behind. "Give me something strong." "What''s the asion?" "Paying respects to the dead." "Drinking is about emotion. I have just the drink for the mood." Scorch prepared something for him and set it in front of him. Matt didn''t bother asking with it was and let the feeling of mncholy fill him. He drank the whole thing in one go and sighed. The drink was incredible. He felt the burn down his throat that he remembers so much and memories of his drinking buddies shed in his mind. His eyes zed over and a single tear drop fell. After a few moments of reminiscing, he felt a lot better. A huge weight was taken off his shoulders that he didn''t even realize he had. "What is this called?" "Forget-me-not. It''s a drink you can''t order. I was right about you. Your reaction was exactly what this drink is meant to illicit. Feel free toe by any time." ----------- Only one official chapter today since I have a long work day. If Ie home early enough, I may throw out one of those bonus chapters I promised. Owed chaps: 6 Chapter 24: Skill Potential Chapter 24: Skill Potential Matt returned to his room and stuffed the bag into his safe and locked it. This was dangerous meat and could kill someone so he decided to prevent Alexis from idently finding it. Once he sat down at his desk he leaned back and let out a sigh. He had walked for almost two hours with his weak and poisoned body he wanted to take a nap. In the personal quarters that Alexis and Matt shared, there were two office rooms for their personal use, onerge bathroom, arge bedroom, and a medium sizedmon room. Compared to the military quarters which were typically just a room with four beds, this was a luxury suite. The irony didn''t escape him. The manual, which was over a thousand pages long, outlined many mission criteria. One of the key aspects was the conservation of resources for the mission. However, the crew quarters were set up in such an obvious caste system that it was ridiculous. Once theynded on Exveus, the ship would be converted to the main base on the. It would likely never take to the skies again. Matt put his thoughts to rest and made his way to the bed. He set his personal device to wake him for dinner and fell asleep. During his nap, Matt had a strange dream. He was back home on Earth getting ready for school. He got up and prepared breakfast for himself and then left his house. However, when he opened his door, there was a solid wall. He checked every other door and window and they were all just walls. Then, the sound of an inte was turned on and a robotic voice began speaking to him. Matt couldn''t understand the words it was saying, but he could hearughter in the background. The room began to get smaller and smaller until he only had a few feet of space around him. Suddenly, Matt woke up in a cold sweat seconds before his rm went off. At the first ring, he disabled it and sat up pondering. He clearly felt that he had a very frustrating dream but couldn''t remember anything about it. Thinking about dreams and how intense he felt right now, Matt wondered how powerful the Dream Casting would be. He caressed his chin and pondered. The extra abilities in the Mind yer branch were new to Matt. In the game, the first thing you get ess to is telepathy and a mind-based attack. ''Wait, perhaps I am thinking too shallowly. In the game, these abilities naturally needed mechanical use in the correct setting. However, since this is reality, the abilities are a bit truer to their nature. Whispers is clearly the precursor to telepathy; does that mean Dream Casting is the precursor to a mental attack?'' With that thought in mind, he became excited. Based on the description, it could only affect dreams currently. However, Matt wasn''t even able to see the result of his maniption. But the ability seemed cheap and auxiliary abilities in the game usually weren''t too expensive. If Dream Casting could be strong enough to throw someone into a waking hallucination in the future, wouldn''t it be an extremely powerful tool for him? The anxiety from the strange dream was practically washed away and he only felt excitement for the discovery. For his immediate goal, Matt wanted to eat some more steak and max out his DNA Absorption. However, the cost would be too high once he reached ater level, so for now he wanted to just reach the point where a steak would give him three points. As for the goat remains, he was saving that for a rainy day. Since they were toxic, he wanted to make sure he was at full strength before chomping on them. Additionally, based on his calctions he would gain sixteen evolution points from the flesh he carved out. Since he didn''t want to waste good raw meat, Matt nned to level his absorption first. His limbs were a lot stronger than before he took a nap, which he was appreciative of. Walking around like before was very strange and he didn''t want people remembering that in the future. Fortunately, he didn''t encounter that many people who saw the way he walked so he should be fine. When he arrived at the cafeteria, Alexis had already reserved a seat and waved him over. "You''re looking at bit better than before." "That''s because you''re here." "What what are you talking about" Alexis looked away to hide her facial expressions. Matt leaned forward over the table and got really close to her and whispered in her ear. "I''m saying that you''re the best medicine." When she felt his breath near her ear and heard what Matt said, Alexis immediately punched him in the jaw. He leaned back and rubbed his sore jaw and chuckled. He noticed when he arrived that she was feeling nervous again. Instead of hypnotizing her again, he felt jovial because of the earlier realization about his powers. Because of his mood, he decided to tease her. In the past, whenever Matt tried to be smooth with her, she would resort to violence. "I see you''re feeling better now." Alexis realized what he was saying and felt touched. "You''re a lot smarter than before. I don''t know if that''s a good thing." "I''ve always been incredibly smart, what do you mean?" "Tsk, so shameless. I meant you are better with emotions. Before, you were the typical closed-door researcher. Sometimes I wondered if you were the one that impregnated that goat" "Really? That''s what you thought of me? Well, since it''s you saying that, it must be true. Maybe you awoke me to my inner bad guy." Hearing Matt call himself that made her spit take the water she was drinking. "If you''re a bad guy then I''m an alien." Matt felt his eye twitch. That was strange. If she were an alien, that would put them in the same boat. However, whether he was good, bad, nice, or evil weren''t important to him. All that mattered were results. If Alexis was not confident for her skirmish, she wouldn''t move forward to the First Strike squad. If she wasn''t so attached to him, she wouldn''t be easily manipted. Of course, as Matt''s first follower, he wouldn''t treat her poorly. Perhaps he would consider gifting her with one of his sub-bodies and turn her into a true ally. "So, what''s the situation with the skirmish?" "Surprisingly, it was moved up for once. It will be tomorrow. If you aren''t busy, you shoulde and watch. Two whole decks will be sealed off for this battle. It will be one of the biggest skirmishes we have ever done. It willst several hours." "That does sound quite interesting. Actually, I am going to be free for a while, so I''ll definitely be there." "Great! You can leave with me tomorrow." Their food arrived so they began eating. Matt was happy to see that the Commander stayed true to his word as he devoured the steak. He realized that he didn''t care much for the vor anymore, his true obsession was the evolution point. He paused eating at this realization and thought that it might be a problem in the future. Being cool and logical was not only his preferred mentality, but also the safest. He decided to focus on the taste and try to not think about the points too much. "You seem like you''re having an internal struggle over your meal, haha." "Yeah, I''m thinking about what I should eat next, and you''re looking very appetizing." This, however,ted him another kick in the shin. She was kind enough to hit his uninjured leg. Or perhaps it could be considered cruel in another sense. Matt finished his meal first and stared at Alexis. He said it jokingly, but there was a modicum of truth in his words. His thoughts were wandering toward dark paths again and Matt realized just how ''hungry'' he had been without a daily source of evolution points. To his human consciousness, these points were like a game to be stronger. However, to his parasite body, these points were nutrients and a source of life. Simple foods wouldn''t satisfy him. "What are you thinking now?" "What I should do to avoid getting kicked again." "That''s easy, just stop saying cheesy one-liners." [Hypnotism Activated.] "Do you really hate it so much?" Alexis looked straight into his eyes so Matt decided to distract himself from his hunger by training his hypnosis. The answer to the question wasn''t really important to him, but it seemed like it would give him some proficiency. Matt realized that he had the ultimate tool for figuring out what someone really felt. He would kill to have had this power in his past life. Alexis set her utensils down, crossed her arms and looked away shyly. "I don''t hate it." ---------- Let''s goooo. Weekend mass release hype? Well, I''ll try my best to write more than two chapters haha. 1/2 regr chapters 0/8 bonus chapters Chapter 25: Dreams Chapter 25: Dreams "Back home I grew up with four brothers. They were really mean and teased me a lot. We were always getting into fights and wrestling each other. I thought we had a bad rtionship, but when I was epted for this mission, they threw a big party for me and were so kind and caring. I realized that, to them, our brawls were just how we showed affection to each other." "So, I''m like a brother to you?" "You know what I mean!" That coquettish look disappeared in an instant and she was fired up again. "I''ll give you a good beating, just wait." After their meal, they walked back to their quarters together. Matt thought about his abilities and whether or not to wait on picking up Whisper and Dream Casting. While he needed to increase his point gain, unlocking those two would be fairly cheap. After some deliberation, he decided to only pick up Dream Casting for now. He would use it on Alexis tonight and see what the results are. They didn''t talk while walking back since the both of them were in deep thought about something. When they arrived, Alexis went to her office to sort something out while Matt went to the bathroom right away. The effort he put in moving left him very sweaty and he wanted to let the rhythmic sound of the shower sooth his mind. It was really the best ce to think about various things. Earlier today, for the first time since awakening in the future, he had thought about his family and friends. He wondered about the dream he had. Perhaps he had been feeling trapped in his circumstances. Matt didn''t choose toe to the future. He didn''t choose to be an alien parasite. These circumstances were thrust upon him and he had to survive. If he wasn''t constantly being pressured with fear of discovery and death, he may have lost his mind. Everyone he ever knew was dead and the people he knows here are all fake. All of these people are friends with Matt O''Connely. However, his enemies are against him, the parasite. Alexis''s image appeared in his mind and he wondered if she could be considered his friend. If she knew that her child''s father is dead and reced with an imposter, she would definitely be his enemy. Even the person closest to him would turn on him if his identity was discovered. Once he shut the water off, his mood turned back to normal. Although these things were true, they didn''t have to be true. He had the strength and ability to change his fate. After Alexis finished showering, she joined Matt on the bed. He had been sitting up waiting for her. As she walked over, he looked over and smiled at her. Matt hadn''t turned on perfect mimicry in a while. It was mostly due to the danger of using it in his current state, but there was a small part of him that wanted to be in control. Although their rtionship was now built on lies, he wanted to hold onto some human connection or he feared he would really turn into a monster. "What are you thinking about?" "How I''m happy to have you." "You''re really brave. Your beating is going to be glorious. Do you want to cash it in now?" She said while holding up her fist. "Ah, save your strength for tomorrow." "I feel a lot closer to you recently. You really do seem like a different person sometimes" Alexis yawned and started nodding off. She eventually fell asleep and her mumbling became incoherent. "Sweet dreams" [Dream Casting Lv. 0->1: Utilizing your mental energy, you are able to cast thoughts and ideas into others'' dreams. They will vaguely remember the dream you influenced. ]Ability: Nightmare ]Ability: Dream ]Level Cost: 3 EP] [Nightmare: Send concentrated negative emotions into a person''s mind. Their subconscious will manifest a dream based on these emotions and prevent them from waking for the duration. Activation: Mental Link Duration: 1 hour] [Dream: Send concentrated positive emotions into a person''s mind. Their subconscious will manifest a dream based on these emotions and prevent them from waking for the duration. Activation: Mental Link Duration: 1 hour] Although the descriptions weren''tpletely clear, he understood what it meant instinctually. The concentrated emotions that the abilities referenced weren''t asplicated as they sounded. He simply needed to focus his mind on positive or negative ideas and send them to someone utilizing his mental energy. He hadn''t practiced changing the shape of his energy, but if he imagined a string, he could send his energy a lot further than simply spreading it out. In his mind, he imagined various tendrils filled with different types of positive ideas like victory, happiness, sess, hope and love. Then these various tendrils of energy wrapped around Alexis''s head and entered into her mind. Matt knew it was working because he felt his mental energy slowly draining as the tendrils slowly flowed into her dreams carrying his will. Once he felt the process finish, he pulled back his power and went to sleep. At some point, she would have an hour-long dream full of positivity. Matt wondered if he could continuously do it. However, when he attempted to link to her again, his tendrils couldn''t prate. He attempted to use dream on himself, but it didn''t work. He sighed and gotfortable. However, he couldn''t seem to fall asleep. Thest thing Alexis said before falling asleep kept bothering him. She sensed the difference in him and even thought he was like a different person. Naturally, he was in fact a different person. He spent that night staring at the ceiling. The next morning, Matt woke up to Alexis pinning him down with one leg and one arm hooked around his body. Her other arm was under his pillow and her other leg was weaved in between his legs. This was the first time in his memories that Alexis has ever slept like this. Even though he woke up, she was still fast asleep. Matt hypothesized that this behavior was rted to the dream he gave her. He really wondered what the dream could possibly be about for her to twine herself around him. The rm that Alexis had set began to go off and she groaned. This was not like her at all. Matt began to be worried that he made her dumb with his mental energy. Perhaps he made a mistake with the ability. However, his worries were unnecessary since she slowly opened her mouth and yawned. Her eyes opened one at a time and gave him a satisfied smile. She didn''t even mind the position she was in and only adjusted herself slightly. "I had the best dreamst night. I hadn''t had a dream like that since I was back home with my brothers. I guess opening up to you yesterday really took a weight off my shoulders Alright quit lying around, we need to get going!" "You''ll have to untangle yourself first." Instead of arguing, she excitedly removed herself from him and rolled out of bed. With a splendid vigor, she changed into a dark ck suit with flexible scales like that of a snake. This was a special military outfit that was specially designed for mobility and protection. In Matt''s memories, the advertisements were saying that this suit could withstand a direct hit with a sma round. He didn''t understand the science behind it since it was a highly guarded secret, but it definitely looked powerful. "If you''re going to stare, you may as well help me wear it. This thing is so annoying to put on. This is the first time I''ve put it on in front of you right?" "That''s right. It really suits you. I feel regretful now that I won''t be getting into the Strike squad. These suits look really powerful." "These are just the innerwear. We can''t wear the Combat Suits without having these on first. The only time I''m allowed to wear this is in joint training or skirmishes with the First Strike squad. However, once I get promoted, you''ll see me in this a lot more often." Matt came over and caressed the cool material. He helped her get into the one-piece suit and zipped it up in the back. He touched the material on the inside and it was soft and squishy. It almost felt organic. With that thought, Matt finished zipping her up. She started putting on her boots when a message appeared in Matt''s mind that caused him to be quite confused. At first, he thought the message was referring to Alexis, but then realized it was not possible. [Gic Material Detected. 100%patibility. Grade 3. Unable to be consumed due to inefficient skill.] [Hypnosis Activated.] "What are these suits made of?" "I don''t really understand it, but the scientist said it was made from space metal." ---------- h, it''s really hard to focus on writing haha. I''ll try to do one or two more for tonight but I get distracted easily. Since it looks like we''re definitely going to win the WFP i''ll just round out the bonus chapters to 10 and once I get to a section of the story that I can write quickly just dump the chaps in a mass release. 2/2 official chapters 0/10 bonus chapters Chapter 26: Skirmish Begins Chapter 26: Skirmish Begins "Which scientist exactly?" "I really can''t remember his name Oh, he was famous for some paper on mushrooms." "Dr. Wolfe Stein!?" "Yeah! Stein. That''s him. Anyway, he was one of the scientists who oriented us to the suits." Matt stepped away and deactivated the hypnotism. Alexis finished her preparations and led Matt to the location of the skirmish. However, during the walk, he was mostly focused on trying to figure out what was going on. These suits weren''t normal. There was no lore in the game about the suits only their abilities. However, what Matt couldn''t fathom was why a microbiologist was working with ''space metal.'' Unless this isn''t metal at all, but a metal based living organism. However, it is a grade three lifeform. Whatever this is can''t simply be some tough bacteria. The other possibility is that they are made from the corpses of a grade three alien. Rather than inefficient level, the notification specifically said inefficient skill. This means that whatever gic material was contained in the suits wasn''t something that possessed DNA but rather a different type of code. DNA or deoxyribonucleic acid was theorized to be specific to Earth. If life existed outside of Earth, it would need to have almost identical conditions as earth to form DNA. It was more likely that the specific materials thatposed the double helix would be different in other life forms based on theposition of their home. Based on his knowledge of the game and the logical progression, once he reached level ten in DNA absorption it would allow him to absorb gic material from non-carbon-based life. ''Wait, is Dr. Stein the person called Shephard? No, that''s probably not it. Whoever Shephard is wouldn''t have revealed themselves so easily. But it is possible that they were there to meet me on purpose. Perhaps they wanted his opinion on me. It is likely that Stein has a high position in their faction.'' "Earth to Matt, do you read me?" "Huh? Oh, sorry Lexi. I was still thinking about Dr. Stein. It would be great if I could meet him. Is there any way you can pass on the message to him?" "Hmm once I get promoted, it shouldn''t be a problem." "I knew I could count on you." "Okay, be quiet now. We''re about to enter the staging area. Once our group is sent down the lift, the monitors will track us. I''m the leader of Second Strike squad so there will be a monitor specifically following me." The two of them stepped out of the turbo lift and entered a crowded room. There were many people here, soldiers and scientists alike. Everyone wanted to see this grand event. There were not many incredible things happening on board the USS Odyssey, so the annual skirmish was practically arge sporting event for the crew. There would even be aption created at the end that was posted on the database. Near the sealed st door was a group of people wearing the same suit as Alexis. After they arrived, she waved Matt goodbye and walked over to them. They began discussing something between theirmunication devices as the monitors started switching on. The front two were thergest and centered on Alexis and the other team''s leader. Although there were twenty-five positions for members in the teams, they weren''tpletely filled and it would also be too many people for the skirmish. Instead, only ten people were chosen topete. To be fair, the bottom ten of the First Strike squad were chosen topete against the top ten of the Second Strike squad. Matt was able to get a good spot to watch before it officially started. Many people here don''t see each other often or want to socialize before this event. The couch Matt sat in only had room for two, but he gave off the aura of someone that didn''t wantpany. This did not stop Scorch from sitting down next to him. At first, he was surprised to see him, but realized that people were walking around with drinks and realized that he was probably working. Scorch didn''t say anything and silently sat, waiting for the event to begin. Matt was not about to be the first one to talk, so the two just sat there in silence. The lights began to dim in the observation room and the st doors opened to let the team through. Once they entered through the doors, they shut behind them. The remaining monitors finally turned on showing various locations in the skirmish area. There were eighteen smaller monitors and twelve of them were hallways. The other six were specific locations that had some sort of important structure. At each location was a keypad that activated or deactivated the structure. In order for Alexis''s team to win, they had to take out the ''invaders'' while protecting the various checkpoints. If the invaders managed to disable four of the six points or defeat the defenders, they won. This test was likely to take several hours since they wouldn''t blindly rush forward to the objective. Alexis''s team split off into five groups of two. Meanwhile, the invader''s team split off into three groups of three and the leader by himself. Matt thought that it was a strange tactic to leave someone by themselves. Having four groups to Alexis''s five would seem to be at a disadvantage, but they had an additional person. Also, the invaders only needed to control four objectives to win. The leader of the invaders still hadn''t left the starting area but seemed to be givingmands to his team. Alexis and her squads were already caught by the hallway monitors. Three of her groups were going to the same location while the other two were heading to a different objective. Once they arrived at the objective, they immediately opened up the panels on the wall and various guns were exposed. Matt understood now that they were aiming to arm themselves. The invaders seemed to predict this and chose not to go there specifically. However, he wondered how they were supposed to win versus weapons. That is when he noticed that the weapons did not have any ammunition. While monitoring that, there were various shouts and exmations. Matt quickly turned his attention to another screen that had a group of two facing off against a group of three. Although the defender''s team was strong, they couldn''t beat the number disadvantage. They were forced to retreat. Instead of chasing, the invaders simply began the process of taking the objective. Once they were certain no one wasing, two of them split off from the group and disappeared from the monitor''s field of view. Meanwhile, on Alexis''s monitor, she was seemingly givingmands while hiding in a small dark space. The venttion shafts seemed to be essible and she was taking advantage of it. One of the objectives was suddenly popted with the two from before and it seemed to be the one Alexis was monitoring. As soon as they approached, she and her teammate stealthily left the vents and approached the two from behind. Alexis quickly dispatched one of them and ced the locks around his wrists signifying his elimination. However, her teammate wasn''t as lucky. He was taken out by the invader instead. The two captured members were left unconscious by the manacles leaving Alexis and the invader to fight head-to-head. While they were analyzing their opponent waiting for an opportunity, Matt saw one of the teams with guns leave the formation and head toward Alexis''s objective. This seemed like an obvious thing. Both teams would summon reinforcements at this point. However, at this time the leader of the invaders finally took action. Instead of reinforcing any specific group he went straight for the objective no one was protecting. Alexis eventually started her fight with the invader. They were exchanging moves wlessly. Alexis had the slight advantage in skill but the man was probably twice her weight. The crowd also noticed that the man seemed to be holding back on purpose. He overheard the talks and Scorch finally spoke up. "It seems your partner is too focused on herself. The invader''s leader simply delegated and ordered his team around and is now able to take advantage of the situation." Matt didn''t respond but looked at all of the monitors and began to consider something. Two teams with guns were heading toward the objective which seemingly was needed to load the guns. One of the teams with guns was heading toward Alexis to reinforce her. The remaining team was trying to take back the objective that was already taken but the lone invader was able to use a stalling tactic against them. This was looking like an easy win for the invader team. Matt was frustrated. No matter how much Alexis trained, she didn''t seem to have a handle on leadership. She was a good leader in her own sense; however, the leader of the invader team was simply on another level. He seemed to predict everything that Alexis would do and counter it wlessly. At that point, the leader single handedly took an objective without resistance. Matt decided something at that moment and hoped it would work. Chapter 27: Contingency Plan Chapter 27: Contingency n Without Hesitation, Matt pulled up his skill list. [Whispers Lv. 0->1: Utilizing your mental energy, you may whisper into someone''s mind directly. They will hear an unrecognizable voice in their mind. ]Ability: Whisper ]Level Cost: 3] [Whisper: Wrap your words in mental energy and send them into the mind of someone you can see. They will hear the words as a thought. Activation: Sight and Voice Duration: Instant Limitation: 5 words] As soon as the skill was learned, he sensed his mental energy change slightly. Before, he had to focus it to move from himself as an origin. However, it seemed to have the property of sending waves. He wasn''t sure if it would work through a monitor, but Alexis technically wasn''t that far away from his location. Additionally, he had mentally linked with her before so he gambled on that increasing the reception. Matt examined the battlefield and began to remember his days ying first-person-shooters with objectives and formted a n. {I have to fall back} Matt sent the Whisper while making sure to cover his mouth so no one saw. He decided to make it seem like she was suddenly thinking of this. Since the concept of telepathy didn''t exist, when she ''thought'' that, she immediately did it. She retreated and began to think of what to do next. Matt saw this as a chance to slip in another whisper. {Find the leader} When Alexis ''thought'' to find the leader, she immediately understood what to do next. The two-gun squads headed toward the objective that the leader was currently upying. She seemed to have deduced that he would go toward this unattended objective. Originally, she nned to get a few guns while defending three objectives. However, she underestimated the leadership of the invaders. Matt watched the shifting movement and saw Alexis go toward the objective the gun team was going toward. {The gun room} At some point, a group of two invaders broke off to the gun room objective. They were only one objective away from winning. As soon as Alexis thought this, she began sprinting toward that objective. Meanwhile, a team was able to intercept the leader and begin fighting him. Although the guns were not charged, they were still useful weapons. The leader, however, was a skilled fighter and kept the two of them distracted. Alexis reached the gun room and saw the invader in the middle of putting in the sabotage code. She essentially flew through the air in a dropkick and knocked him two meters across the floor. She quickly recovered and began fighting off two of them alone. Meanwhile, the reinforcements she called toward the room with therge man were able to cut him off from his retreat and beat him into submission. They cuffed him and proceeded to deactivate the objective. Matt scanned the monitors again and saw that the two defenders that were being distracted had finally managed to reactivate the objective. The invader they were facing had already ran to join up with the leader. Almost ten minutes had gone by since the leader was facing off against two people and he still wasn''t perturbed. There seemed to be two invaders going his direction. Matt realized that there was a group of three on the invaders side that had never shown themselves. Just as he thought this, one person appeared at three unattended objectives. They seemed to have been lying in wait. Luckily, Matt didn''t need to intervene and give himself away. One of the invaders that was by himself got caught by a team that was hiding in the doorway between the cameras. The room the invaders'' leader was defending eventually got reactivated when they forced the leader on full retreat. At this point, only the two unattended rooms got switched over to disabled while Alexis still had four under her control. Unfortunately, she was still in a bad position. But during all this time, one group of guns was able to sessfully be loaded. They were immediately called to sweep the objectives and leave Alexis to hold off the two invaders herself. Matt was honestly surprised at his resilient and strong Alexis was. She never went all out in their spars based on what he was seeing. The group with the loaded gun was able to catch two more invaders rather easily. With half their forces down, Alexis, who only lost a single person, was able to easily bring down the hammer. Watching the skirmish was rather fun. As thest few invaders were caught, the group watching had already begin to wind down. Although it seemed to go rather quickly, there was a lot of time in between movements. The total time the skirmish took was two hours. This was mainly due to the sneaking early and near the end. Although Alexis''s team was overwhelming in numbers, the opposing leader still tried to sneak in a win. He was able to take out three more from the defenders'' team before finally getting caught. The man was truly brilliant based on the performance he saw. The cuffs were disabled and they all exchanged handshakes for good sportsmanship and returned to the entrance. Everyone in the room was excitedly waiting for them. This was the first time the Second Strike squad beat the first in any skirmish or spar. Once the st doors opened, Alexis and her team were the first toe through. Without answering the barrage of questions, she split through the crowd and went straight for Matt. Once she arrived to where he was standing, she shamelessly embraced and kissed him. Matt saw the extremely excited look on her face and didn''t resist her show of affection. In his past life, he would often share his happiest moments with his loved ones so he understood. Alexis told the group she wouldn''t answer any of their questions and to instead, ask her teammates. After which, she pulled Matt toward the turbo lift. Seeing her ''don''t talk to me'' attitude, the crowd begrudgingly went toward her teammates and the First Strike squad to talk about the match. Simrly, to Alexis, the leader of the invader team ignored the fans and went toward Alexis. When the two of them arrived inside the lift and nned to leave, the other leader blocked the door and entered with them. Alexis looked upset at his interference but didn''t voice it. In the end, he was a part of the First Strike Squad and she wasn''t officially brought over. In the Strike squads, military rank didn''t matter. "Alexis, you performed wonderfully. I wanted to congratte you myself on your victory." "You did well too, Lieutenant Strauss." "I see you are excited to be alone with your partner. I''ll get off here then,puter." The lift stopped on the nearest deck and the leader exited. Once he was gone, Alexis stayed silent. However, she was bubbling with excitement. Once the lift reached their deck, she actually grabbed Matt and thew him over her shoulder. Although surprised, he didn''t think anything much about it. However, he started to worry a little. Did she discover that Matt was the one sending those thoughts? Would she oust him as an alien imposter? With these thoughts, Matt began to n his course of action. He was no match against her while she wore the suit. He needed to go after a weak point. He would feign striking her stomach and then put her into a choke hold. Once she loses her strength, he would undress her and begin attempting to use hypnosis, dream casting, and whispers to erase her memory or change her conclusions. Then he would temper her mind to bepletely loyal to him. Once he was convinced that she wouldn''t betray him, he would eat themb pieces and feed on her blood until he could create a sub-body to infect her. In the middle of his thoughts, they had already entered their quarters. She threw him on the bed and stripped her suit in a much faster speed than putting it on. She waspletely naked underneath the suit in order to reduce unnecessaryyers. Her body was glistening with sweat which gave her a very alluring look. She climbed on top of, the now stunned, Matt and began taking off his clothes. This was the first time she behaved so aggressively. However, he didn''t mind it since that meant his earlier thoughts were just his paranoia. "Congrattions, I knew you could do it." Once Matt said something, Alexis paused her actions of undressing him. She had a huge smile stered on her face that made her look even more charming. "Shut up and make love to me." Matt wasn''t one to argue with that kind of logic. He started ying an active role in the process. However, he thought back to his n and realized it was a bit underdeveloped. He would set aside some time to refine and improve it in case something did happen in the future. ------------------- UNLIMITED POWAAA (stones) Anyway, here''s two chapters at the same time! Since I wrote them as soon as I woke up and haven''t had breakfast, give me a bit of a break and I''ll write more for the rest of the day. Enjoy! Chapter 28: Sentimental Chapter 28: Sentimental After a long vigorous exercise, Matt was still trying to catch his breath. The fighting and adrenaline must have really fired her up. He could almost be considered to be living the dream if not for all of the terrible things that could happen to him. Matt checked the time and it was almost dinner. He realized that they were at it for five hours. He started getting up to take a shower when Alexis grabbed his arm. "Wait, I''ll join you." "Sure, I don''t mind." The two of them entered the bath together and rxed in the warm water. Matt had originally intended to just take a quick shower, but frankly, he had always wanted to do this. The bath tub had plenty of room for the two of them, but that wouldn''t prevent Matt from pulling her into his embrace and hugging her from behind. She was very tolerant at the moment so he wanted to indulge as much as he could. "Today is special, so don''t get used to it." Alexis warned as she rested her head on his chest, sinking a bit deeper into the water. "Everyday with you is special" "Tsk, I''ll let you off today." Matt chuckled at her actions. His intentions were to live out a fantasy of his, but also since he felt a twinge of guilt. Previously, he had been preparing topletely destroy her mentally in order to protect himself. Although he would still do it at the drop of a hat, he felt guilty for it nevertheless. Matt fully embraced his hypocrisy. Why should he have to live by a certain moral standard, he wasn''t even a human. Alexis always kept her hair short, just long enough to fully bury his fingers in but not long enough to tie. The previous Matt didn''t care much for her short hair and was too much of a coward to say anything. Well, he didn''t really care since he never thought much about his rtionship with Alexis. However, the current Matt loved her short blond hair. Sometimes he wondered if he liked Alexis because of Matt O''Connely''s memories or because he had formed a bond with her himself. However, since his past life memories are also like someone else''s memories, he can''t say for certain. The truth is, he is neither person, but instead the parasite which happens to have two sets of memories. Can an alien organism which relies on lies and deception to survive have real human emotions? In his past life, there were many works that portrayed viinous monsters that had human features to make the audience sympathize with them. Matt wondered if he was a monster with a human skin that elicited human sympathy in order to fulfill his natural instinct to survive. Alexis sshed some water in his face to break him from his internal strife. "Today during the skirmish, I was trying really hard to win. However, at some point I got scared and everything I nned just emptied out of my mind," Alexis picked up his hand and traced her fingers over the lines on his palm. "Just when I was losing myself to my tunnel vision and anxiety, I suddenly thought of my dreamst night. In that dream, you were fighting alongside me during the skirmish. When the memory ended, I was able to pull through and think clearly. Although it was just a dream, I felt like I couldn''t have won without you." Matt took her hands and interlocked his fingers with them. He didn''t want to say anything strange so he just kept quiet and continued holding her. They remained like that until the water started getting cold and so they had to drain the water and get dressed. Matt didn''t want to miss dinner, so he wasn''t particrly upset. Either way, Alexis wasn''t going anywhere so he could always have moments with her in the future. His thoughts from before were a bit jumbled because of her sudden confession. Although she wasn''t aware that he did in fact help her win, she still felt his presence was integral to her sess. Instead of believing that she was just really good and the win was deserved, she shared her victory with him. Not many people gave him this level of trust and loyalty throughout the course of his life, and he felt bad constantly thinking about her as an enemy that he was utilizing. This was the first time since arriving on this ship that he actually considered revealing the truth to her. Having a second person to carry his burden would make life so much easier. Like the yers that weren''t the parasite but still helped the parasite by betraying the crewman. If she could ept the truth and join him But could he really risk his life on a hope? This fleeting emotion could go away in a day and then he would be at a loss. Although he wanted to protect his humanity, revealing his inhumanity would not be the right choice. Matt so desperately kept close to Alexis so that he wouldn''t forget who he was. However, it would be selfish of him to reveal that he is an alien parasite with memories of a past era. The reason he wanted an ally was not out of good intentions, but to increase his safety. Like a sociopathic serial killer making a family to cover up his inability to feel. Mattughed at himself and finished dressing. Alexis and he went to the cafeteria and had their lunch. Matt acted like normal and she didn''t see any signs of his internal debate. The meaning of emotion and acting human were his method of survival. Even if it was fake, it was still one of his identities. Just like any human in his past life. They all had different identities to match the situation. Some behaved differently with their friends versus at work. Others were wild online but shy and reserved in person. What mattered were his goals in life. Once he aplished everything and no longer had to worry about his identity being discovered, he could pursue the meaning behind his existence. For now, he would happily absorb these evolution points every day. He would happily sleep with his lovely partner. And he would happily lie and manipte the people around him. This is the life of Matt the Parasite. The End. Just kidding, there are still more things to do. He put away his tray and walked around with Alexis some more. There was arge arboretum on the ship that neither he nor Alexis had seen. The arboretum was arge enclosed dome with a special ss that allowed just the right types of starlight to enter. This was enough to initiate the process of photosynthesis. The dome was on a timer and would close to give the trees some rest. Constant radiation would dry them up and kill them. The dome opening also coincided with the ship dropping out of hyper speed to let the engines cool off. "So, this is how the ship deals with all the carbon dioxide?" Alexis said while staring up at the huge tree which was possibly a hundred meters tall. There were various people in science officer uniforms trimming the trees and taking samples from the soil. "This is just one of the many ways. Trees are the best way to reduce carbon in the ship''s artificial atmosphere, but they grow slowly and take up a lot of space. There are also many aeroponic nts in the various botanybs around the ship, however these nts produce just as much carbon as they absorb. The main secret is the carbon dioxide scrubbers." "Yeah, yeah, you''re smart. I get it." "It''s actually written on the arboretum''s introduction page in the system database." "I think it''s time to redeem your beating" Alexis tackled him to the ground and they rolled on the soil covering the floor of the arboretum. After tumbling a bit, they eventually found themselves at the base of a tree. This was a rather happy moment and Matt forgot all about his emotional turmoil from earlier in the day. Therge dome began to open to let the space radiation in. This was the main reason they came here. Matt had suggested theye and watch the stars together among the trees. The billions of stars slowly started to make their appearance and they watched them in all of their glory. Matt suddenly felt a twinge of sadness. He came from somewhere out there in the vast cosmos. This is what his instincts were telling him. His home was somewhere out there. However, he shook his head. "My home is here." ---------------- FIRST BONUS CHAPTER WOOO. Okay guys seriously why is it so hard to write chapters after noon? My brain is so slow. Anyway, I''ll be getting up really early tomorrow to work so expect ate chapter. I''ll try for one more tonight though. 1/10 bonus chapters Chapter 29: Harvesting Points Chapter 29: Harvesting Points "Hmm? Did you say something?" "Just that it would be nice to live under the stars like this." "Once we get to Exveus, we''ll be able to see the stars at night all the time." Alexis reached up and made a fist. "I''ll have to rely on you to get us there safely, Miss First Strike squad member." The two of them sat under the tree, joking andughing while they watched the stars. Eventually, the dome closed as the ship reentered hyper speed. Matt and Alexis walked around to look at all of the different species of tree before finally returning to their room. Thinking about it, Matt realized this was their first actual date. Although neither mentioned it, since going there was a tacit agreement. ''By day, I''m a scientist in love, but by night, I am a mind controlling parasite.'' Since the excitement about the skirmish was over, Matt decided to pay a visit to Dr. Bradshaw the next day. This would be a good opportunity to pick up some more nuts and also try to poke around with his hypnosis. Matt was also curious about how his mental energy would interact with Martha. Thest time he was there, he sensed something from the nt that seemed like intelligence. He wondered if perhaps he could use his abilities on it. Matt decided to keep sending Alexis good dreams every night to see if it did anything. He didn''t want to mess with her mind too much, but he needed practice before using it on others. If he saw any bad side effects, he would stop. At the moment, he only had three evolution points, so he didn''t have any for emergency use like before. This scared him since he already had a near miss with death. Hopefully, he could gain some quick points from Dr. Bradshaw. Since it was an experiment, he decided to do it systematically. He started with the smallest amount of energy he could use to activate dream and sent it in. Last time, he brought out his inner Cthulhu. This time, it was like lightly sprinkling magic happy dust on her. He would slowly increase it every night and see the difference in her sleeping pattern and morning mood. He was also nning ahead for when she started getting emotional due to the pregnancy. Since he could cheat, why wouldn''t he abuse it? The next morning, he didn''t notice any peculiar differences and he made a note on his personal device. He made sure to disguise it as monitoring her mood due to pregnancy. In case the AI received permission to break his privacy settings and rummage, he didn''t want to give anything away. Anyway, he had already downloaded various funny videos from the twenty-first century from the database onto his personal device. There was a surprising amount of storage capacity on his small watch. He had over a hundred terabytes of cat videos alone. Matt hadn''t even watched more than a few. The real purpose was to mess with the AI. If it wanted to go through his files for whatever reason, it would need to spend some effort to look through all of the videos. He used his simple coding knowledge to encode the videos so that they seemed important. The AI coulde up with an algorithm to filter through it all, but it would waste time at the very least. Matt''s body was still weak, but it was finally recovering. Based on the change from yesterday, it would probably take two or three more days. Alexis needed to have a private meeting to discuss her promotion, so Matt had nothing stopping him from meeting with Dr. Bradshaw today. He grabbed his bag and went out. He nned to stuff as many nuts as he could into it. As he was leaving his quarters, his personal device rang and Matt opened the channel to Dr. Bradshaw. "Good timing, Dr. Bradshaw, I was just heading over to yourb." "Wonderful, then you are free. Instead ofing to myb, head over to the botanyb on deck eighteen." "What''s the situation?" "Nothing like that. Remember when I told you that only a few of Martha''s seeds are viable? Well, you''ll learn more when you get here." Matt was extremely curious about the situation. His guess was that they had been trying to grow more nts like Martha. The fact that Matt was being called to see likely means they didn''t grow as expected. If their experiment seeded, the project would likely be sent to the lower decks. Deck eighteen was already the lowest deck of the upper decks, so they were practically advertising that it would be moved down. There were many possibilities that Matt hade up with. However, when he arrived to see a dozen people frantically harvesting various vegetables from overgrown vines, he was shocked. Matt stood at the entrance to see that almost the whole botanyb and the specimen rooms were overgrown with vines that had different vegetables hanging from them. One of the scientists noticed Matt and shouted over to him. "Well don''t just stand there. Grab some tools and help us." Matt saw some people he recognized. However, they all ignored him to focus on their task. Matt grabbed some clippers and gloves and started helping. When he reached one of the pods, he realized that it was a cacao pod. He really wanted to hear Dr. Bradshaw''s exnation now. When he clipped and grabbed the fourth pod, a notification came up in his mind. [Gic Material Detected. 22%patibility. Grade 0. Consume for 1 Evolution Point.] ''That''s exactly like those nuts! Whatever they did here was an attempt at recreating Martha. However, instead of the original process, they used the nts viable seeds. The most likely scenario is they grafted various nts onto the sprout.'' A Gic Chimera was when one organism had two sets of unique DNA in their body. This happens naturally in humans, albeit very rarely, when tissue coded for their twin ends up in their body instead. The process is veryplicated and Matt doesn''tpletely understand it. However, this can also be done artificially with nts. nts have a strong tolerance to grafting different nts onto them. Based on what he knows and what he has observed so far, Dr. Bradshaw is trying to create some sort of Chimera. His modern mind instantly went down a path of horrors. There were many things wrong with this kind of research, but as long as it didn''t include intelligent life, the sciencemunity didn''t speak out. However, something in the back of his mind kept bothering him. The problem was the concept of intelligent life. Matt thought about Martha''s reaction thest time he was there. He had thought that it was just the splicing of alien DNA that created that nt. However, what if it was not? It sounded reasonable to say that if Dr. Bradshaw was messing with alien DNA, the people in the shadows would have already shipped him to the lower decks. If Matt considered the data he had, Martha was most likely created as a Gic Chimera using an intelligent creature. The reason he was so secretive about the genome was likely due to hical practice. However, why would the AI cover for him and also fake a gas leak containment? This situation brought up more questions than answers so he decided to collect as much produce here for his evolution needs and wait until he had more information. ''This is the supermarket of my dreams. Shopping for Evolution Points.'' After filling his backpack with eight cacao pods, six potatoes, and twelve cucumbers, Dr. Bradshaw finally appeared. It turned out that he wasn''t even aware that Matt had already arrived. The other scientists just assumed he was another helping hand. The nts had grown so uncontrobly overnight. He exined the process they used to create these nts and it was exactly as Matt had thought. Dr. Bradshaw led Matt to one of the rooms that seemed to have been recently covered in vines. "Theb was left unattended for only three days due to various reasons. No one expected such a thing to happen. The AI also didn''t seem to consider this as something important to alert the scientists of. Honestly, I don''t know what that damn machine is up to. Anyway, here we are." The room he was brought to was where the original seeds were nted and grown. This botanyb utilized aeroponics to grow all of its nts. This process was very simple and had been used in space for centuries. The nt is suspended on a tray and at regr intervals it is sprayed with a highly nutritious solution. Since it doesn''t have to fight against soil, it grows quickly. The base of these nts didn''t have anything like the membrane Martha possessed. However, when Dr. Bradshaw and Matt walked up to them, they seemed to almost move away and shudder in their presence. This was the same instinct of fear that Matt detected before with Martha. He looked over to Dr. Bradshaw and couldn''t decipher what he was thinking. "They seem to be very sensitive to stimuli. My hypothesis was correct. These nts don''t react at all when the other scientists enter the room. Since you had direct interactions with Martha, I wanted to test their reaction to you. It seems these fes have some sort of connection to Martha. How exciting!" ---------------- Sorry forte chapter, but I was really tiredst night. This might be the regr time for a weekday chapter in the future. I''ll try to catch up to all the bonus chaps on the weekend. Chapter 30: Gears Turning Chapter 30: Gears Turning The first thing Matt thought about was his own situation. If he created sub-bodies, wouldn''t they be simr? Martha created a few viable seeds that could be grafted onto another nt and grown. The resulting nt would then have a telepathic or at least empathic link to the main body. His mind was jumbled with theories, but in the end, he desperately needed to see the result of the genome sequencing. However, the issue was Dr. Bradshaw already deflected him once on the topic of Martha''s genome. "So, what''s the n?" "I have already collected samples from different parts of each of these nts so we can begin sequencing them. If we can iste the part responsible for this gic memory, I can finally submit my project!" [Hypnosis Activated.] "What project are you working on?" "A project that will revolutionize science and future technology. I call it Project Synapse." Matt was taken aback. Project Synapse, or rather, SynAPSe was exactly the name of the technology used to create the biotronic brain. He had been too rxed about Dr. Bradshaw''s research. Because the game waspletely yer driven, he never considered any of the side characters to be meaningful. From now on, he would consider every person a potential threat. In a world where yers didn''t determine the course of the game, any one person could make ripples that would destroy him in the future. Matt was in a dilemma. He was currently the leading researcher on live stock procreation on this ship. Requesting to be part of someone else''s project would be very difficult. They would be dwarfed by his position and then his reputation would only go up. He was certain that his hypnosis was too weak to force himself onto this project. Therefore, he needed to focus on upgrading it. Dr. Bradshaw didn''t talk much more to Matt and nned to head back to hisb. In order not to raise any suspicion, he would need to put off checking the genomic data of Martha. For now, his best course of action was to work on his hypnosis. There were five other scientists here helping clean up the nts and that also worked here originally. Matt offered to help clean up if he could keep any of the crops, he harvested himself. He told them they may be useful in his research and that he would give them a citation if he published anything. Over the next eight hours, Matt exclusively helped cut vines and talked with the other scientists casually. He used the casual conversation to pull information from them about their lives on Earth. The information wasn''t very important, but it seemed to give him hypnosis proficiency. He even skipped lunch in the cafeteria and just heated up some of the potatoes from the harvest. Exactly enough potatoes to get a point. By the time the day wasing to an end, the nt matter had beenpletely confined to the specimen room. Matt had three bags of produce which he was quite happy about. His constant use of hypnosis brought him up to sixty-nine proficiency. He could have gotten one or two more before everyone left but decided to leave it there for the novelty. It''s the simple things that make him chuckle and continue to feel human. Matt made it back to his quarters and put the bags in the corner. The potatoes tasted pretty good without any abnormalities like the nuts. He looked at the other produce and took one out of each. There was an apple, a cacao pod, cucumber, potato, eggnt, and a melon. He cut a piece of melon and tasted it. It was fairly juice and not too sour. Two melons were needed for one point. He hadn''t tried this before, but he wondered what would happen if he mixed and match partial evolution points. He sampled the eggnt and confirmed that he still hated it. However, he could get past the taste by the reward of evolution points. He tried a piece of the cucumber and was impressed by how refreshing it was. Finally, he took the apple and started eating the whole thing. He didn''t even skip the core and at the whole thing. He still had not earned an evolution point so he took more pieces from the ones that could be eaten raw. After eating the whole melon, the whole cucumber, and half of the eggnt, Matt gained an evolution point. He was satisfied with his little experiment. This meant he could have some variety. These three bags wouldn''tst very long, but it would give a few good meals. He decided to take these to Scorch and ask if he could prepare a few dishes for him. He looked down and still had plenty of time before dinner. Matt grabbed the bags again and headed out. The door swished open and Alexis was on her way in. "Oh, you heading out already?" She was dressed in her formal military uniform. Matt noticed her rank was increased tomander. "Congrattions! Actually, I was bringing these sacks to Scorch''s bar. Did you want to go for a drink or two?" "Hm, it should be fine as long as it''s not too strong. I won''t get a chance to drink soon so it''s a good idea!" The two of them went together and Alexis carried one of the sacks. She had inquired of their contents and was surprised he was carrying around a bunch of produce. When he exined the circumstances behind it, she was uninterested. They had already cleaned up all of the twisting vines so there was nothing interesting to see anymore. Also, she wasn''t really that interested in the sciences. They arrived at the bar in the quiet corner of the ship and it was still empty. When Scorch saw them enter, he nodded toward Matt. Alexis found this interesting but didn''t say anything. Matt went to the kitchen door and dropped off the sacks. Then he went over to the bar with Alexis. "I left some produce in the kitchen. Could you make some dishes with them for us?" "Sure thing. Also, congrattions on the promotion, Miss." "Ah, hello Mr. Scorch. You can call me Alexis." He nodded and went to the back after handing them two sses of water. Alexis was feeling parched and was impressed at the difference between his appearance and personality. She expected a very rough and difficult person when she saw him. "He seems pleasant. When did you get so close to a random bartender in this part of the ship?" "Few days ago. I was feeling a bit down when I thought about Earth and he gave me an incredible drink." "Why didn''t youe to me?" "It was spontaneous and I was in the area. Plus, I didn''t want to worry you." "Hey punk, don''t think for me. Next time, talk to me if you''re feeling upset." The sound of tes nging interrupted their conversation and two very good-looking dishes were ced in front of them. Scorch didn''t even ask about what we wanted to eat or drink, but he ced an alcoholic beverage in between the two of them. It had two straws and it was some sort of slushy-like drink. "This drink looks good, what is it called?" "Don''t know, just came up with it. Call it what you want." The two of them ate the light dishes and drank together. It was quite a nice meal without being too filling. Matt was appreciative of this since he still wanted to eat dinner. However, he didn''t get a point from the meal. Alexis seemed to enjoy the celebratory meal and drink. "So, now that you''re in the First Strike squad, can you set up a meeting with Dr. Stein? I would really like to ask him a few things." "Sure. Although it will have to wait a few days. I am getting fitted and matched to abat suit." "Is there any chance I coulde watch?" "Unfortunately, no. The fitting and selection process is a military secret." Matt could only shrug. While they were talking, someone came into the bar to drink alone. Matt recognized him as being one of the candidates with over twenty-five minutes in his time a while back. He seemed to have a bad temper overall. Matt suddenly had an idea. While chatting with Alexis, they started making their way out of the bar. He concentrated a bunch of negative emotions and sent a nightmare into his mind. This was his first time trying this, so it felt a bit strange. Many nightmare inducing tentacles of mental energy extended out and wrapped around the man''s head. He didn''t notice anything at all. Later that night, he would experience a terrible nightmare. At least, that was Matt''s hope. He had been looking for someone to use nightmare on regrly. Now that he saw someone from the military training in such a foul mood, Matt decided to take advantage of him. He would rile the man up with nightmares every time he saw him and then make him paranoid with Whisper. Matt''s ultimate goal was to manipte him into killing Lorenz. Chapter 31: Hackerman Chapter 31: Hackerman That night was a bit wild for Matt. After having dinnerter that evening, Alexis and Matt returned to their rooms. He didn''t know what got into her, but she was fired up to go as long as his body couldst. Unfortunately for him, Matt was still recovering from evolution and he was worn out rather quickly. However, his little brother didn''t seem to be of the same mind. Matt could only assume that whatever Scorch had fed them earlier that day wasced with something. It did not affect him because of his toxin resistance, but it seemed to really fire Alexis up. Matt wondered if Scorch had designs against the child, but he wouldn''t do something so obvious. It was the fifth week of her pregnancy. The medication that she received and the advice from the doctor limited her ''dangerous'' activities to the first trimester. After that, she would have to go on maternity leave and be extremely careful. Matt didn''t know Scorch''s contact information and in order to contact someone through themunications system you needed their real name. Thinking about it, a nickname was very strong in this modern world of surveince. Alexis had eventually been worn out and now she was fast asleep. He was close to leveling his Hypnosis and decided to target the night crew. Night time is when most of the engineers worked. This was in order to prevent repairs from interrupting day-to-day activity. The most pressing matter right now are the engineers responsible for maintenance on the AI. The AI, or Artificial Intelligence, was created a few decades ago as the first ever ''true'' AI. The reason it was called that was mainly to do with how it processed information. This was called AIplete. Since in the AI world, intelligence is assumed to beputational, there wereplex things like understandingnguage and dealing with unexpected circumstances while solving problems. These are things that required the human touch. Essentially, the AI onboard the USS Odyssey was ''as smart as humans.'' At least that was the advertised function. However, whether intentional or not, the AI seemed to not be as overbearing as the science fiction dystopian stories would lead you to believe. It seemed to understand its own existence as a tool for humanity and became a powerful assistant on the ship. Although it was able to solve problems, it still relied on human intervention toplete. Additionally, it would never attempt self-repairs and only allow the trained engineers to troubleshoot. Strangely enough, Matt thought this made sense. The AI is like a professional in its own field. With the ability to think like a human, it seemed to understand the concept of professionalism. A doctor diagnosing and prescribing for themselves was generally frowned upon, so the AI not attempting to fix itself made sense in that aspect. This must also be a factor of their advanced problem-solving capabilities. Many humans are naturally going to be wary of AI because of the implications. If the problem is ''how do I make humans ept my existence'' a true AIplete would be able to solve it without mass genocide. That was Matt''s hope at least. Since the AI was willing to ept human intervention, winning the engineers over with his hypnosis would be very helpful. There were only two protocols that allowed for the AI to be disabled. First was a major malfunction. If the AI attempted to kill or maim a human without direct orders, it would be put on probation. If it tried to do it again, it would be considered a major malfunction and would be immediately deactivated. The second method was power malfunction. The AI has its own power source separate from the ship''s reactor. If the power source malfunctioned and endangered the ship or the mission, the AI would need to be disabled in order to shut off the power source and repair it. There was a third method that existed in the game which would not be possible as of yet. The AI yer spawned in with control over various instruments. The first thing they would do is research and create a body for themselves. Due to the restrictions of the body, the AI waspletely bound in that mobile unit. Although it had ess to the ship via its mainframe, it no longer existed as an information entity. If the mobile unit was destroyed, the AI was effectively shut down. In order to recover the AI, the parts which contained the AI''s core functions would need to be installed onto the ship again. This was a very difficult and dangerous task. Destroying the AI''s mobile unit was practically impossible unless you acquired the captains key card and turned the ship''s self defense system against the AI. Given these options, it was best to find a way to sabotage the power source. Of the three options, this one brought the greatest risk to the whole ship. The reactor that powered the AI was more powerful than the most powerful warhead from Matt''s past life. If it went into full melt down, nothing could save the ship. Fortunately, there was an excessive number of safeties in ce to prevent that. That being said, the favorite method of trolling in the game was to detonate the AI''s reactor. This ended the game very quickly. Their method of choice was to naturally nt a nuclear warhead onto the reactor and the chain reaction would cause a marvelous explosion. Matt arrived at Scorch''s bar in the middle of the night and there were many engineering members sitting around eating their lunch. He sat at the bar and gave Scorch a suspicious look. The reason Matt came here was mainly to ''interview'' the engineers, but it was also to figure out what Scorch was thinking feeding them that earlier. However, the man simply kept cleaning his ssware as if he didn''t understand. "Hey Scorch, why did you drug our food." "I didn''t. I drugged your drink." "That''s essentially the same thing" "It''s different. Did you have a good time?" "I don''t need your drugs to have a good time." "I can see that. Why else would you be at my bar in the middle of the night instead of embracing your partner?" "That" Matt didn''t bother saying anything because that was indeed the case. He took his water and walked over to mingle with the engineers. He used his hypnosis to ask around about how it is working the graveyard shift and he made fast friends. In Matt''s past life, he often had to work these hours so he had some understanding of their situation. Seeing that he empathized with them, they were rather loose lipped about their struggled. Matt only needed to use his ability asionally to pull some more sensitive information. Eventually, he discovered a few engineers that were often getting in trouble. Someone even told him a story about a time he attempted to shut down the AI using a nasty virus. It was called ''Pandora''s Box'' and the more the AI tried to ''solve'' the code and disable the virus, the more powerful it became. It was a logical progressive virus that would only be a problem if the AI attempted to learn from it. When he was brought to court, his argument was infallible. He had created the program as an advanced teaching aid and questioned the AI''s intention of trying to ''steal'' his intellectual property. Matt was taken aback. There was a whole different world among the night crew than the day crew. He had never heard of these disgruntled people. Everyone in the science department considered the engineers to be glorified mechanics. However, this man was a genius. Whenever Matt tried to inquire about him, he gained proficiency. The other engineers were definitely not happy about his existence. This made perfect sense since he was essentially undermining them. After several hours, Matt finally reached ny-three proficiency and had very useful information. The engineer that everyone here had a grudge against for his attitude was the perfect ''ally.'' Naturally, Matt wouldn''t dare to actually treat him as an ally, but more of a subordinate. Or rather, a sacrificial pawn. Although his intelligence was frightening, Matt felt like he had nothing to lose. At worse, he would be a disgruntled employee and at best he would have the ability to disable the AI at key moments. Matt went up to the bar once he felt like there was nothing else to ask the engineers and sat down with a satisfied look. Scorch probably overheard his conversations and probably knew what Matt was going to ask. However, it was his nature to not speak up first. Matt leaned forward and made eye contact with Scorch. His eyes glistened as he rested his chin on his hands. [Hypnosis Activated.] "Scorch, tell me what you know about Wird Nelsson." ----- Okay guys, I was originally not going to release a chapter because I woke up an hour earlier and had to leave within the hour BUT I got the contract invite and decided to crank out this chapter since I felt a bit guilty that I wasted the day yesterday haha. Anyway, insert Hackerman memes here I guess. Chapter 32: Enemy Moves Chapter 32: Enemy Moves "Wird Nilsson is crazy crazy smart. Lives in the abandoned operations room in the back of the ship. Complete loner. I heard he was the reason it is abandoned. The Captain leaves him alone because he is the only one that canpletely reprogram the AI. In case of a major malfunction, he is the only qualified personnel to reinstate a clean AI." "Why doesn''t Shephard''s group deal with him or rope him in?" "No one has seen it in person, but the rumors say that he hijacked an old modelbat suit and rebuilt it himself. I suppose it is a deterrent. Well, in the end these are all rumors. I''ll give you a round of the good stuff if you confirm the information on him." "Wait, that seems like a very big deal; if it''s a rumor, why did no one mention that?" "A rumor between the highest ranks." "Who are you to be able to get rumors from them?" "Just an old bartender." "Ah, whatever. It''s not like knowing that will change your information. I just wonder about your intentions." Scorch had been cleaning a ss the whole time they were talking. However, when Matt questioned his intentions he stopped and stared at Matt for a moment. He turned his attention back to Matt and answered in his usual deflective way. "Just doing my job." Matt was tempted to force an answer out of him, but he wasn''t very confident. The more information he was able to learn from Scorch the more he feared him. There was no one in the game like this. Someone that knew everybody on the ship and even knew a few details about their life was frightening. Matt was actively trying to hide or distract from his identity and it felt like Scorch was trying to peer through the cloth curtain around him. As he was leaving, Matt thought of something strange. There was no character like Scorch in the game, however, there was something in the game that was very simr. At the beginning was a short intro that exined the setting. If someone wanted to, they were able to open the help menu and read various facts about the ship. This is also where the credits page was located. Someone like Scorch seemed like the personification of the help menu. ''No way, that''s crazy. This game versus reality thing has really gotten to my head. I need to think of the game as a guide and not an exnation. If by chance there''s something wrong or different, I could lose my life.'' Checking on Wird now would be too early. He needed to finish off thest few proficiency points on his hypnosis and then see what happens. Matt headed toward the military quarters. He wanted to level his hypnosis and also find out the trainee''s name that he targeted. The military quarters were fairly close to Scorches bar so it did not take long for him to reach it. However, he did not expect to overhear a conversation as soon as he reached an intersection. He quickly hid up against the wall and listened since the contents were rather dubious. "Are you going to ept the deal?" "No way. If you get caught, you''ll be court-martialed, or worse, sent out of the airlock without anyone knowing." "I''m tired of living like this. I joined this mission expecting luxury, but I''d rather be back on Earth with these conditions." "He promised us that if we sabotage the containment field, the ship will be brought into a state of emergency and us security officers will get all of the power." "Shh you idiot, what are you doing saying it out loud." Although they were being too quiet for someone to hear them normally, Matt was using his mental energy to pick up their conversation. Once he heard the n, he made some quick assumptions. Someone, likely Shephard, was trying to shift the bnce of power on the ship. However, randomly sabotaging a containment field didn''t seem to be that bad without context. However, Matt was certain that whatever was being contained would change everyone''s lives on this ship forever. Something didn''t really add up. Why did they choose now to start these ns? Matt didn''t want to stay in the area lest someone notice he was here. He quickly made his way back to his quarters while pondering the timing. It was easy to consider that he is the trigger to all of this. However, Matt thought about it logically and was able toe up with some guesses. First, the timing. They had reached the minimum distance formunication with Earth to be near impossible. Although space travel had advanced considerably, long distancemunication was still an area of weakness. However, they reached this distance half a year ago so something else must have triggered their initiation of whatever n they had in mind. The next idea is that there were specific people that needed to be ced in certain positions. The only thing he can specifically point out is Alexis being promoted. However, she would be going on leave in another month so he didn''t think she was rted. A reduction of power by one person didn''t seem to be relevant enough. Going along this line of thinking it was possible they needed to properly position scapegoats incase their ns go awry. Finally, it was in fact Matt that triggered this. Rather, the parasite that has Matt''s memories. Thinking about how Shephard knows that one of the crewmen is infected, Matt thinks it is fair to assume that he might be the spark for this. There must have been some sort of containment breech or an intentional release of the parasite but then they lost track of it. It was also possible that a fully evolved member of his species was captured and managed to release a spawn. Although he wasn''t one-hundred percent certain that there were no other parasites of his kind on this ship, his game memories and instinct told him that was the case. Any one of these options or a mixture of these guesses could be the cause of the sudden change. For now, Matt needed to focus on killing the man in aa so that he could enter the Second Strike squad. Whatever was happening behind the scenes was going to be dangerous for all non-security personnel. At the start of the game, the only members you can y as are security. There is no one else onboard the ship. Although this is likely a design decision, what if it is also urate? Where are all of the engineers and science officers? Matt couldn''t discount the possibility of a purge and hostile take-over. With thebat suit technology, it wouldn''t be impossible. He returned to his room to see Alexis was still fast asleep. With the weakness in his body slowly going away, he could start being more adventurous. Since he decided to make a move on someone''s life, he wouldn''t let humanity hold him back anymore. In order to be strong before people inbat suits patrolled the ship, he needed evolution points. The best source of points would naturally be the humans on the ship. Matt went into his office and took out the ck bag from his safe. The meat was still as fresh as when he cut it. Through the rest of the night, he slowly ate piece by piece. Although he could ignore the taste, the poison was making him feel sick again. However, he watched his evolution points go up. Matt carefully and systematically ingested piece by piece. In order to protect privacy and sensitive information, there were no security cameras in the private quarters. Matt also left his personal device on the night stand outside. After eating enough to level his DNA Absorption, he immediately did and continued eating. [DNA Absorption Lv. 5->6: After absorbing and assimting various species'' gic code to be a stronger organism, you can now disassemble higher order structures. Whenever you consume blood or tissue containing gic material, gain EP. ]Absorption Grade Limit: 2 -> 2 ]Efficiency: 50% -> 60% ]Level Cost: 15 EP -> 21 EP] Once he finished secretly devouring the remains of the goat, he felt like passing out. The poison that he had painstakingly suppressed was circting again throughout his body. Fortunately, his Toxin Resistance was high enough to make it nonlethal. However, something pinged in his mind that surprised him. A new notification came up. [Mental Resistance has leveled up!] [Host: Matthew O''Connely Status: Grade 1 Mind Slug Evolution Points (EP): 6->15->0->9 Abilities: [Perfect Mimicry Lv. Max], [Improved Metabolism Lv. 2], (NEW!)[Mental Resistance Lv. 2] Skills: (NEW!)[DNA Absorption Lv. 6], [Toxin Resistance Lv. 5], [Weak Hypnosis Lv. 1], [Dream Casting Lv. 1], [Primary Reproduction Lv. 0], [Whispers Lv. 1]] [Mental Resistance Lv. 1->2: The strength of your mind and consciousness have exceeded the biological standard for your host. The difference has manifested as mental energy. This mental energy provides a natural resistance to influences on the psyche. ]Mental resistance: 20->25% ]Mental Recovery: 1->1.1] -------------- Dammit, I idently submitted the chapter 22:00 the next day instead of yesterday. I am so sorry! I have the weekend off and I''m being featured on fresh new tropes banner so I''ll be spending my time writing. Chapter 33: Unlikely Encounter Chapter 33: Unlikely Encounter Matt was having a throbbing headache from the poison. It seemed that it put a strain on him to try to stay awake. He shuffled over to his bed andid down. It was still early enough for a few hours of sleep. Between sleep deprivation and being sick, his Mental Resistance leveled up. Later he could try staying up several nights in a row to see if it could level it more. The condition for abilities to level was hidden, but it could be deduced. A few hourster, Matt was woken up by Alexis getting out of bed. His head felt a lot better and he was rested although he only slept for a short time. When he got out of bed as well, he noticed that his body was moving without any issue. The almost twenty evolution points from the goat seemed to be enough to finish his evolution weakness. Fortunately, the poison was a lot more diluted in the flesh. Combined with his improved metabolism and toxin resistance, he didn''t feel any different than when he first arrived in this body. "You seem a lot more chipper, want to join me for the workout today?" "Sure! I think I''vepletely recovered." The Exveus had very simr conditions to Earth. Its official name was XV-US but became poprized in the media written out phically. Earth had already begun to expand their government to the stars and with the endless territories avable in space, many political issues were resolved. Because of this, there was one major governing body on Earth called the United Systems. There were still minor municipalities that resembled old Earth''s political scene, but everything space answered to the United Systems. Due to a failing economy because of major corruption in most businesses, the original United States fell apart into three territories. Although many often referred to them as the United States still, their official name was Amerigo. They adopted a simr system to their northern neighbors. Once the world began exploring and building in space, the other major powers pushed the name United Systems. With the new meaning behind US, the old history of Amerigo became exactly thatHistory. The United Systems Starship Odyssey was the first hyper speed ship created by the joint efforts of the United Systems. Their target was exactly XV-US in the Andromeda gxy. This had been scouted out for having a single sun, being within the goldilocks zone, and seemingly containing liquid on its surface. When the first probes came back, they discovered signs of microbial life and confirmed the liquid to be water. The only major difference was the gravity. Exveus has twice as much gravity as Earth. Matt and Alexis waited for the lift to take them to the first ring of the centrifuge to start their morning workout. Every security officer had already gotten used to Exveus gravity by training here regrly, however, many science officers hadn''t. It was highly suggested for them toe, but not enforced. Matt wondered how debilitated the scientists would be on their first month of being twice as ''heavy.'' The two of them quickly got on the lift and arrived at the first ring of the centrifuge. They started their working but Matt quickly spotted someone he recognized. It was an incredible coincidence that the guy he targeted the day before was here. However, from hisplexion it seemed he didn''t sleep well at all. This most likely confirmed that the nightmare ability worked. They passed him and would make a few moreps so there would be more chances to target him. First, he wanted to put some points into Dream Casting. He leveled it up twice and was surprised with the result. [Dream Casting Lv. 1->Max: Utilizing your mental energy, you are able to cast thoughts and ideas into others'' dreams. They will vividly remember the dream you influenced. ]Ability: Nightmare ]Ability: Dream ]Evolve Cost: 8 EP] [Nightmare: Send concentrated negative emotions into a person''s mind. Their subconscious will manifest a dream based on these emotions and prevent them from waking for the duration. Activation: Mental Link Duration: 1->4 hours] ''The description changed from vaguely to vividly and the duration of the nightmare increased to four hours. This is simply terrifying. However, it doesn''t seem I have any specific control over the dream yet. The thought of evolving the skill is very tempting, but I am down to two points again.'' Matt thought about the four-hour period of time where the person could not wake up and considered using it to start harvesting points from people. However, he would need to target someone that lived by themselves, or put everyone that shared the room into a dream state. The low-ranking security officers shared a room with two other people in the military quarters. As long as Matt could find out who his two roommates were, he could put them all under with his skill and then harvest some blood. By the time they came back around, Matt had already formted a n. It was very simple, but carried the risk of association. People would be able to trace him having made contact with this person. However, this was a risk that many would share since the ship wasn''t that big. He decided to take the gamble and broke off from the track. Alexis continued running since she already saw him staring at the guy their first time around. "Hey man, I thought I recognized you. We took the Strike squad promotion test together." "Fuck off, I''m not in the mood." He looked up and made eye contact with Matt after snarling at him. Matt immediately went to work. [Hypnosis Activated.] "Sorry for interrupting you, man. To make it up to you, how about we get some drinks together tonight?" "Huh? Oh. Sure." "Great, let''s meet at the Pale Star after dinner." "Alright." After Matt coerced the guy, he went back to catch up with Alexis. Once Matt was gone, the man''s temper red up again and he began his intense workout once more. It seemed that he was venting his frustrations with exercise. Matt had gained two proficiency for that one and was quite happy. He nned to get a hundred tonight one way or another. He didn''t know anyone at the Pale Star bar so it was another source of hypnotizable people. The other reason he chose that bar was his fear of Scorch. Although Matt considered him an ally, it was one that needed to only be called upon asionally. "What was that about?" "I took the promotion test with him a while back. He seemed to be having a rough time so I invited him to drinks." "That''s unlike you what are you nning?" Alexis questioned with a slightly suspicious tone. Matt almost stumbled when he heard that. Thest thing he needed was his closest person to start asking questions. This was a major blunder. He shouldn''t have so openly done that with Alexis around. Matt was too excited by the idea of harvesting arge number of points tonight that he became tunnel visioned. Instead of telling a believable lie, he decided to tell a partial truth. "The situation around Petty Officer Lorenz is too strange. I''ve been trying to investigate among the other candidates to see if anyone knows what''s going on." "Don''t worry too much about this. Now that I am part of the First Strike squad, I''ll properly take care of this." "Lexi, I don''t want you to do that. The taller you are the more wind and rain will hit you. If you stand out and try to meddle in this situation, you will get in more trouble." Matt expected a curt reply and he already nned to activated hypnosis and calm her down. However, she only turned forward and ran a little faster than him. Matt wasn''t sure what to make of this situation, but he would make the dream a lot stronger tonight. Now that itsted four hours and became vivid, he hoped it would lighten her mood. Thest thing he needed was his shield to fall apart. They finished working out and then headed back to wash. Alexis hadn''t talked to him once since their previous conversation and it was making Matt nervous. She went into the bathroom first, so Matt decided to follow in. He started creating various scenarios in his head. One of which was her confronting him about his identity and then Matt retaliating. If he used Whispers and Hypnosis, he might be able to catch her off guard. Matt entered the bathroom and Alexis was sitting on the toilet as if waiting for him. She looked over and sighed. He was running every scenario in his head that he could think of. He identified a few things that could be used as weapons. He thought it was fortunate that she was seated since he would have the height advantage. Alexis looked up with a bit of fear in her expression. "You should let it go. The power behind the incident with Lorenz is not something you can deal with." Chapter 34: Martha? Martha!! Chapter 34: Martha? Martha!! "Did you get new information?" "I asked around about the situation after my promotion. Apparently, you did something to anger someone called Shephard. However, they don''t seem to be after your life, only cause you trouble. But if you keep pushing I am worried." Matt was certain that Shephard was the one involved with the information he gathered, but hearing the confirmation really upset him. He cursed Shephard inwardly. Matt hadn''t done anything all that remarkable since arriving, so he med the host. Matt O''Connely must have done something to piss off whoever this Shephard was. He left the bathroom after giving Alexis a nod and turned Perfect Mimicry on for the first time in a while. While mimicry was on, he sifted through the memories of the month before he took over. Unfortunately, there was nothing that stood out. He remained sitting and pondering going further and further back but simply could not remember anything specific. Since that was the case, it was something that he wasn''t aware of and didn''t remember. Often times someone will do something that they see as ordinary but it could be a big deal to someone else. Once Alexis finished washing, Matt jumped in to clean as well. She didn''t push him to cancel her investigation, but tried her best to deter him. She didn''t stick around and went straight to her post. When Matt finished cleaning, he prepared to head over to Dr. Bradshaw''sb. He had still not seen Martha since theb reopened and wanted to confirm his theory. If he could snatch a few free evolution points, he wouldn''t be opposed. When Matt arrived, no one was in theb. The door was unlocked and there seemed to be instruments and ssware on the counter so he assumed that Bradshaw must have just stepped out. Matt walked over to the specimen room and peeked through the small viewing window. He saw Martha had grown far more robust than before. Previously, its vine-like branches spread along the ceiling and its main stems grew along the whole back area. The center which contained the strange membrane wasrger and containedrger and sturdier leaves. When he stepped inside, the nt shook in recognition. This wasn''t just an illusion anymore. Matt could clearly recognize that Martha was responding to the stimulus of his existence. {Do you understand me?} Matt sent a whisper toward therge membrane. He noticed the leaves suddenly enclose to protect the center, but noticing that there was no harm, it loosened. Matt thought this was a strange reaction and tried again. {Shake once for yes and twice for no.} Martha covered up its nucleus again before rxing. Just when Matt thought it wasn''t working, Martha shook all of its branches once. Although Matt was convinced that Martha had already reached a stage of intelligence, being able to understandnguage was a sign of sentience. This meant that Martha was officially protected by the Sentient Beings Protection Act. In case of sessful discovery of friendly sentient life, all space explorers were not allowed to perform acts of aggression that would take away the beings'' rights. This was a very controversial policy, but it was a very important one. Matt began to converse with Martha to determine its mental state. {Do you feel trapped?} Two shakes. No. {Do you feel pain?} One shake. Yes. {Does cutting your branches hurt?} Two shakes. No. {Does touching your brain hurt?} Ten shakes. Seems like a resounding yes. {Sorry for hurting you.} No reply. {Are you afraid of me?} One shake. Yes. {Because I hurt you?} Two shakes. No. {Because I study you?} Two shakes. No. Matt pondered for a little bit. Then he seemed to have an idea. {Because I ate you?} One shake. Yes. {I won''t do it again.} Matt seemed to understand the mental state of Martha a lot more. From the perspective of a nt, having arge room like this to grow with free nutrients was bliss. Matt walked closer to Martha but it didn''t cover itself in fear. The conversation they had seemed to calm it down. When he appeared next to the membrane, Martha opened its leaves to show the whole nucleus. Matt bet that Dr. Bradshaw hadn''t even seen this. Inside the nucleus was a dark shadow of something. It was deep and near the bottom, so it couldn''t be seen normally. Something was growing inside thisrge sack. Matt reached forward slowly and Martha shuddered a little but let him touch. He ced his hand on the surface of the sack and felt a rhythmic pulse inside. He pulled back and Martha quickly covered up again. Just as Matt stepped back, he heard a swish and Dr. Bradshaw stepped inside. "Dr. O''Connely, it''s good there you''re here. Come to the table, I wish to show you something." Matt followed him to the main area and Dr. Bradshaw pointed to a microscope. Matt checked the slide and it seemed to be a thin slice of a nt. He looked under the microscope and saw several nt cells in the middle of duplication. This was the normal process for a nt to keep growing. Since this was a slice, these cells died and were frozen in theirst state. However, as he panned around the slide he didn''t see a single cell not duplicating. "Every single cell is undergoing mitosis? That is highly unlikely from any single slice" "Every slice I''ve taken of the nts in the otherb were in a state of constant mitosis." "But how are they getting enough energy to grow endlessly" Matt had perfect mimicry on so that he didn''t need to fake his knowledge. However, he was quite impressed listening to this. He knew a fair bit of biology and this was really fascinating to him. That''s when the idea popped up of where the energy could being from. In the game, there were items you could buy that removed or prevented radiation sickness. However, Matt hadn''t seen any radiation since being here. Perhaps it just hadn''t started yet "Dr. Bradshaw, we may have a major issue Computer, can you do a full radiation sweep of the ship?" [Sorry, Dr. O''Connely, you do not have the permission to order that.] "Can you check the levels in the biologybs at least?" [Affirmative. Scans will take twenty-one minutes.] "Dr. O''Connely, you think the nts are harnessing the background radiation to grow? Brilliant." "It won''t be too difficult to determine that. However, I fear that there is more to it than just that." "What do you mean?" "What if the nts are creating their own nuclear bioreactor?" "That''s improbable" Although he said that, he had a very worried look. Matt recognized that he was feeling guiltyand scared. Whatever he did to make those nts grow was causing this phenomenon. Dr. Bradshaw excused himself to his private office. Twenty minutester, the rms started ringing. [Warning, Warning. All Science personnel evacuate biologybs three, four, seven, eight, nine, ten, and twenty-one. Dangerous levels of radiation have been detected Warning, Warning] The message continued to repeat. Dr. Bradshaw left his office with a damp cor and pale face. He quickly left theb without even taking a second nce at Matt. However, he left his door open. Matt didn''t want to lose this opportunity and secretly slipped into the office. He began to rummage through his cabs and found a locked cab. However, the keys were sitting on the desk. When he opened them, he took out various books that werebeled Martha one through four. He opened the first one on a random page and saw the process of growth. Apparently, he was feeding it dissolved radioactive isotopes. Since the readers showed no signs of radiation, he thought it would be safe. There were too many manuals to read before hazmat came by to sweep theb. If he was caught in here, he would be taken to quarantine. Matt took as many pictures starting from the fourth book and went backwards. After ten minutes he managed to record books four, three and half of two. However, this was the limit he ced for himself. He quickly made his way to the exit, and then had a strange feeling. He turned to the specimen room and walked over. Matt opened the door and felt the intense heat radiating from Martha. It seems that Martha heard the announcement too and was trying to make an effort to do something. The radiationing from Martha was intense, but he felt his body resisting it. He was happy to have gotten Toxin Resistance when he did. Martha noticed Matt enter the room and began shaking its leaves. Matt approached the nucleus and saw it begin to split into four like a flower blooming. When the nucleus split, liquid spilled out. At the bottom was a green cat-like creature. The back of its head had a vine growing out of it into the base of the nt. {Is that you, Martha?} Chapter 35: Eccentric Taste Chapter 35: entric Taste The creature opened its eyes, but only a pair of nk ck orbs were behind the lids. It seemed to look at Matt, and then close its eyes again. The branches shook once and the vine in the back of its head withered and snapped off. The creature reached up its paws to Matt before loosing strength and falling limp. He could see the branches begin to wither. Without thinking, he scooped up the whole nucleus pod with the creature inside and shoved it into his bag. The nucleus was ratherrge, about three feet in diameter. However, it had ruptured and opened so it was very flexible. Fortunately, he had the habit of carrying around arge, flexible bag for other purposes. He zipped it up and ran out of theb. His destination was the far end of the ship. The only ce Martha would be hidden and safe was with Nilsson. Matt wasn''t sure why he felt the need to protect this little creature, but at the very least, Martha put its trust in Matt. Once he was a considerable distance from theb, Matt came to a normal pace again. Anyone that he went passed received a quick hypnosis to distract them. Luckily, he encountered enough people in the halls to raise his hypnosis to one-hundred proficiency. Matt avoided the lifts and used the emergency stairs. There weren''t any cameras in the emergency stairwell so he felt morefortable. The stairs also led directly to the part of the ship that Nilsson settled in. [Weak Hypnosis Lv. 2: Whenever you make eye contact with someone, they will be more inclined toward whatever you say and believe your words to hold more weight than others. The influence of those wordssts even after eye contact has been broken. ]Hypnosis: Intermediate] [Hypnosis Activation: Eye contact Duration: Special Proficiency: Intermediate (0/100)] Matt didn''t feel anything different but he wouldn''t know the effects until he used it on someone. When he exited the staircase, the sight was surprising. This part of the ship was very rarely used. The hallways were not kept and there was a lot of dust. The emergency lights were on since the main power was seemingly cut off. It looked very creepy and Matt felt like he was suddenly in a horror film. He carefully walked forward and approached the operations room. There were a pair of ck boxes on the ground that Matt initially didn''t notice because of the lighting and the atmosphere, but once he reached the door, he heard the sound of metal moving. The boxes opened up and turrets pointed at Matt with aser sight. Matt raised his hands up and started regretting his choice. When the sound of a rough voice came from the security pad on the door he gulped. "You have ten seconds to tell me why you are here. 9 8" "I need your help Wird Nilsson! My name is Matthew O''Connely. I''m being targeted by Shephard. Don''t shoot!" The sound of air being sucked into the barrel of the guns was heard and a high pitch sound rang out. However, just when Matt expected to be gunned down, the turrets powered down and returned to their box shape. The door swished open as if beckoning him inside. Matt was scared but he looked down at the bag and felt that he needed to do this. Matt entered and expected the worst. However, what he saw was a very nicely decorated space. It reminded him of a renaissance era living space. On a brown recliner wearing robes was a bald,nky man wearing bath robes. This was a very strange situation, so Matt just stood there without saying anything. After Wird finished smoking his pipe, he got up walked toward Matt. Once he was able to get a good look at Wird, Matt thought he looked oddly familiar. "So, you''re the good doctor that is stirring things up?" "Stirring? What am I stirring? I haven''t done anything special" "It seems you aren''t aware of it yourself. That''s fine, you''ll realize soon enough." "Wait, now I know. How are you rted to Scorch?" Matt was finally able to put the connection together. Although their builds werepletely different, their voice, way of speaking, and facial features were very simr. "Half-brothers. Anyway, what exactly do you want from me? I can''t protect you from Shephard. No one has more power on this ship. I can only hide you, but that''s only a temporary solution. Besides, I have no reason to help you." [Hypnotism Activated.] "I need you to block the AI''s ability to see what is happening in myb." Matt''s eyes glowed and Wird seemed to be processing the order. The main thing Matt was afraid of was his level of intelligence would be able to create enough road blocks to the hypnosis ability. While Matt wasn''tpletely sure how it worked, he knew that smarter, more obstinate people were harder to hypnotize. This was mainly because of their emotional distance from others who they perceived as lesser than them. "Haha, alright. That sounds like it would be a lot of fun. If you get caught, you''ll take all the me. When you return to your office, it will be clear." Matt was shocked since his proficiency went up by three. It seemed that he must have been really lucky this time. He wondered if there was some omnipotent being giving him favor. The idea of a greater power was not something Matt believed in his previous life, but how else would he exin his current situation. It seemed that Wird didn''t care to talk anymore and walked back to his recliner. Matt didn''t wish to push it any further and left. While Matt was on his way to hisb, he felt some movement in the bag. He sent a whisper down to Martha to hang in there for a bit longer. He had to carefully dodge the hazmat teams and locked down hallways but eventually made it. He watched the entrance for several minutes to make sure no one was waiting around after noticing the changes. There didn''t seem to be anyone waiting to arrest him so he approached hisb. After scanning his badge, he noticed that the screen was different than before. It had arge "W" logo on it and the door swished open. Since he no longer had an animal to take care of and do tests on, he locked hisb. Once he entered, he locked it again behind him. He walked in carefully and turned off his personal device. He tried calling out to the AI, but there was no response. He heaved a sigh of relief and went over to the animal care area. He opened the bag and ced therge membrane on the artificial ground. {You are safe now.} Martha awkwardly stood up and fell over. It was extremely cute. Although she was medium sized cat-like creature, she was clumsy like a newborn. Matt understood since Martha was just a big nt until not that long ago. He was curious how the process happened. Since he had her here Matt could test her DNA and see what exactly was happening. However, when he thought about harming her, he felt a pang of guilt. Those ck orbs for eyes stared into him, and when he looked back, he felt like he was staring into the void. Matt reached out to touch the fur on Martha, but when he felt it, he realized that it was more like pine needles than fur. They were soft to the touch like fur, but they distinctly had the structure of a nt. Martha didn''t seem to mind his examination so Matt continued. He picked up her paw, and saw that what seemed like soft fleshy pads were actually very rough. On closer inspection, they had small hairs which reminded him of roots. He checked the back of her head where the vine was previously connected and didn''t see anything abnormal. He carefully checked the inside of her mouth and saw a small row of teeth on both upper and lower jaws. Matt wasn''t sure what the teeth were made of, but they were sharp and sturdy. They reminded him of thick cactus spines. The more he examined the more amazed he was. This was practically the perfect nt-chimera with a mammalian form. Matt checked her genital area and it seemed to be structured like a flower''s pistil. There were no other orifices. The nose was a solid structure with vine-like whiskers. They were short but Matt thought they would grow along with Martha over time. Her ears were the texture of a flower and the little hairs at the base of the ear seemed very sensitive. When Matt touched one, the flower-like ear closed and covered the sensitive part instinctively. Matt came to a conclusion afterpletely examining her. "It is exactly as I predicted. You are incredibly cute." Chapter 36: Heres Matty Chapter 36: Here''s Matty (A/N: First of all *kowtows* please forgive thiszy author! I totally could have finished this chapter yesterday. Anyway, hope it was worth the wait~) --------------------- Matt ced Martha down and rubbed his chin in contemtion. Martha didn''t know what to do with her body so she just clumsily sat on her limbs. Instead of relying on sunlight to create sugars from carbon dioxide, Martha must be utilizing radiation. He could not think of any way for a biological creature to turn into a nuclear bioreactor, but seeing it in front of him was proof. Therge release of heat from the reaction previously must have been the trigger that "woke" this body. For now, he couldn''t do much. His n was to level Whispers until it could create a two-way channel. Matt took out his water bottle from the bag and poured it out into the feeding dish. Since only the cameras were knocked out, he didn''t want to risk using anything else in theb that would alert the AI to his actions. After the water bottle was emptied, Martha awkwardly crawled forward, unsure of how to move. Her body inched forward like a worm and it was an adorable sight. When she reached the water, she ced her paws into it and it was slowly drained. After the water waspletely drained, Matt could feel heat radiating from Martha''s body. It wasn''t like the radiation from earlier, but seemed to be excess heat being released. Water must be an important ingredient to whatever is going on inside her body. Martha seemed to fall asleep, so Matt went back to his bag and took out the pieces of the membrane. This was something he was very excited about. Just small shavings from the surface were able to give him evolution points. Matt cut a small chunk from the membrane and examined it. This little cube was enough for an evolution point. When he looked down at therge sack, he started salivating. The problem was, he wasn''t sure what function this membrane yed for Martha. Matt wasn''t sure if this was like an egg or a womb. If it was an egg, then it might be necessary for Martha to eat it for nutrients. However, Martha was a nt not a mammal or bird. It was all very confusing. Matt decided to only eat enough of the membrane to evolve his Whispers skill. [1 Evolution Point Gained.] [1 Evolution Point] [] [Whispers Lv. 1->3: Utilizing your mental energy, you may whisper into someone''s mind directly. They will hear an unrecognizable voice in their mind. ]Ability: Whisper ]Evolution Cost: 5] [Whispers Lv. 3 has evolved to Telepathy Lv. 1] [Telepathy Lv. 1: Utilizing your mental energy, you may initiate a channel ofmunication between people''s minds. They will sense each other''s thoughts as their own. The channel willst as long as you maintain it with mental energy. ]Ability: Telepathy ]Level Cost: 10] [Telepathy Activation: Thought Duration: Special Targets: 2] While looking over his new ability, Matt saw Martha get up and try to use her limbs again. He walked over and attempted to use telepathy. The ability wasn''t as simple as he thought. In order to form the connection, Matt needed to manipte his mental energy to connect the two targets. It took a lot of effort, but he finally managed to form a stable path between Martha and himself. He waited but didn''t notice anything. Either Martha wasn''t capable of thought, or Telepathy doesn''t let you ''read'' thoughts. {Can you hear me, Martha?} However, instead of words like he expected, his mind was flooded with images. It was a coge of various scenes of Matt from when he visited her as a nt. After ''hearing'' his voice again, Martha looked up and blinked. Matt understood that Martha wasn''t capable ofnguage, at least not yet. However, she was able to understand his words at least. Another thing he realized is that the connected people have to want tomunicate for the channel to work. After the first interaction, Matt started to feel dizzy and couldn''t hold the Telepathy up. He had done several failed attempts so he was already a bit tired. He decided to rest a bit and try tomunicate again. Martha was able to figure out how to stand on her limbs but when she started moving, she fell down. It seemed that the coordination of her limbs wasn''t instinctual. Matt wondered why Martha chose that form if it was so inconvenient. Eventually, Martha made it to the membrane with her poor movement and started eating it. Matt clicked his tongue in disappointment. He wanted all of it to himself, however, Matt worried that if Martha didn''t eat it, she wouldn''t have the energy to survive. Martha seemed to understand something and turned her onyx-like eyes toward Matt. She lifted a paw up and shook it once. ''Is Martha inviting me to eat? Well, I won''t say no to that.'' With permission, Matt started to eatrger chunks of the membrane than before. He was getting five to six evolution points per mouthful. The two of them ate the sack for half an hour and all of it was gone. Martha curled up into a ball and slept. Matt, however, beamed with excitement. In order to improve the efficiency of this big tter in front of him, he leveled DNA absorption each time he could. Because of that, he made huge progress. [DNA Absorption Lv. 6->Max: You have reached the peak of the innate skill of all parasites. Due to this, theplete instincts of your species have been released from their gic locks. All organisms have be your prey. Whenever you consume blood or tissue containing gic material, gain EP. ]Ability: Sense Life ]Absorption Grade Limit: 2 -> 3 ]Efficiency: 60% -> 100% ]Evolution Cost: 80 EP] [Sense Life: When activated, you are able to detect living organisms. You will sense their general direction and their life rating. Activation: Thought Distance: 60 meters Duration: 60 seconds] As soon as he reached max level, he felt his body undergo incredible changes. It was as if a boulder was lifted from his shoulders. The connection between his body and his host improved to levels he wasn''t aware of. Additionally, he could feel the deep instinctual drive and control it to an extent. When he looked at Martha, he could sense how vigorous her life was. What he didn''t realize was that he automatically activated Sense Life and was feeling her vitality. Matt turned his head and sensed someone walk past theb. Their vitality was much lower than Martha''s. After the minute passed and his ability went on cooldown, he went back to normal. Although his Sense Life wasn''t on, everything still felt much easier to do. His body felt more natural. Matt stood up and did some stretches and felt very good. The portion of the membrane he ate had granted him one-hundred ny-two points. After leveling his ability at each increment, he was left with seven points. Although it was depressing to sink one-hundred eighty-five points into DNA absorption, it was definitely worth it. It was amon way of thinking as a gamer. In order to win the long game, improve your resource collection sources. Once you have the best ie, you will eventually overwhelm your opponents. As an avid gamer, Matt felt proud of this achievement. However, that evolution cost was a great bait to him. He had already figured out the existence of aliens and the connection to his ability. His theory that the realm beyond DNA absorption would allow him to absorb alien gics was strong. [Host: Matthew O''Connely Status: Grade 1+ Mind Slug Evolution Points (EP): 7 Abilities: [Perfect Mimicry Lv. Max], [Improved Metabolism Lv. 2], [Mental Resistance Lv. 2] Skills: (NEW!)[DNA Absorption Lv. Max], [Toxin Resistance Lv. 5], [Weak Hypnosis Lv. 2], [Dream Casting Lv. 3], [Primary Reproduction Lv. 0], (NEW!)[Telepathy Lv. 1]] Matt saw the ''plus'' after his grade that wasn''t there before and investigated. What he saw surprised him, but he somehow already knew. In the back of his mind, he always felt that the progression of the Mind yer wascking. [Grade 1+ Mind Slug: Your species lives amongst other creatures as its main habitat. () Once a Mind Slug unlocks their core genes, they will gain the option of evolving toward the life branch of the tier 4 Eldritch Horror.] Eldritch Horror. The name alone showed just how powerful it was. There was no such thing as a lifeform above tier three in the game. Mind yer, Faceless Devourer, and Hive Queen were all tier three creatures. There was also no way to go beyond that point. However, in this reality, Matt took the first step to bing a being that could only be described as a god. The most memorable Eldritch Horrors ranged from a deep-sea octopus monster that fed on insanity to a whimsical clown that fed on fear. Themon point between these two was agelessness and surviving without organic sustenance. Matt was extremely thankful for his obsession with value. Something told him forming a sub-body first would have blocked this evolution variant. Chapter 37: Emperor Jagang Chapter 37: Emperor Jagang Matt brought more water to theb while using his new ability to make sure no one saw him entering. Martha had since woken and was practicing walking again. Matt poured out the four liters of water into the feeding dish and started to create a connection with Martha with telepathy. While he was concentrating on that, Martha absorbed half the water through her paws and thenid downzily. Matt finally formed the connection after ten minutes, taking much less time than before. {I have to leave you alone here, is that okay?} Martha shook her body once. It was normal that she didn''t understand any of the mannerisms of humans. Matt nned to teach her various things to make theirmunication easier. Matt made sure to lock the door. The W logo spun around on the keypad before disappearing and returning to the normal image. Matt sighed in relief knowing that Wird had followed through. He was afraid that his Hypnosis would wear off. It hadn''t yet, but he wouldn''t get too reliant on it. The whole ordeal had taken a very long time. When Matt turned on his personal device, he saw that it was almost dinner. With his now maxed DNA absorption, he should get three or four points from a steak. This was a great motivator for his nter that night. Although he got a huge windfall from Martha''s membrane, Matt already put this n in motion so he wouldn''t give up on more points. When he arrived at the caf, it was packed. There was a long line weaving between the tables going around, along the wall of the caf. When Matt entered, Alexis leaned to the side in the middle of the line and called him over. Since she was a high rank, he wouldn''t be polite and simply took the spot. He didn''t care if anyoneined anyway. Once he stepped in line there were some grunts of annoyance but no one voiced their opinion. "What''s up Lexi, why is there such a long line?" "Because of the emergency earlier in the Botanybs, everyone is receiving some antirad medication. It''s just standard procedure. Are you okay? I know you went to Dr. Bradshaw''sb today." "Yeah, I left before the rms went off." "That''s good. Oh, I got to see my personalbat suit today. It''s really incredible." "Are you allowed to talk about that?" "Psh, its fine. Who is going to steal technology now that we''re so far from earth?" "Oh, then please do tell all the details." "My suit is called ''Space Marine.'' It has the ability to move through zero- to low-gravity regions with ease. Since most of the functions are built for maneuverability in space, the weaponry is low caliber. This is themon beginners suit." Matt nodded as he listened to her. This was what he remembered from the game. Space Marine was the basic model ofbat suit. She described it as being used to maneuver in space but it had an even better functionSpeed. In normal gravity, when the maneuver system is activated, a human could reach very high speeds. He wasn''t sure the exact numbers since movement speed wasn''t calcted with standard conventions in the game. However, an unsuited crewman moved at two-hundred. In the suit, they moved at five-hundred. This was a two-hundred fifty percent increase. "So, I''ll be practicing with that suit until I master it. Unfortunately, since I''ll be unable to do my duties soon, that will have to wait until after the delivery." "Have you already set up your maternity leave?" "I''ll be off-duty starting next week." The two of them eventually made it to the front of the line where people were being served their meal and two capsules. In order to ensure everyone was protected, they were required to take the capsules in front of the server. Matt thought this was all extremely suspicious so he carefully hid the capsule behind his mr and spit it out into a napkin on his way to a table. Fortunately, he had a mass spectrometer in hisb and would be able to confirm whether this drug is what they say it is. Once they sat down, Matt started on his meal. He figured out that his actions may have been a bit too forward in the past so he recently became stealthier about his eating habits. He would eat some side dishes first with a few slices of steak in between. Seeing his points go up by three made him disappointed. A slightly bigger steak would likely give him four all the time, but his current serving had a good chance of only three. Regardless, he was still happy about his gains. Matt decided that evolving Dream Casting would be a good idea. He brought up the skill and read it over a few times. Based on Whispers bing Telepathy, he was certain that Dream Casting would be much better once it was evolved. He confirmed the evolution in his mind and suddenly felt lightheaded. He covered up his change in demeaner by coughing after drinking some water. [Dream Walking Lv. 1: Your consciousness is able to form an astral body which can enter the dreams of living creatures. Once within, you are capable of influencing the dreams directly and witnessing them. ]Ability: Dream Walk ]Level Cost: 16 EP] [Dream Walk Activation: Astral Body Duration: 4 hours Influence: Minor] Once Matt was able to take control and stop his Astral Body from forming, he internally cheered in excitement. This is exactly what he needed. Matt couldn''t keep risking interacting with people directly until he was stronger. This was a silent means of interrogating people. Although he would need to filter through a lot of subconscious dream noise, there is a high chance he would learn some very sensitive information. Matt determined that this was definitely high priority to level. Additionally, he would be able to screen his potential allies. With this, he could safely investigate Alexis''s mind. Once he was satisfied that she wasn''t a hidden agent investigating him, he would begin her brainwashing and eventually have her be his first acolyte. The thought of being the target of worship excited Matt. He wasn''t sure if this was his human side, his parasite side, or both. Matt realized how scary those thoughts were which led to many wars in history. ''Anyway, that''s in the future. I''ll cross that bridge once I get to it.'' After dinner, he walked Alexis back to their quarters and went to see his ''good friend.'' Matt still didn''t know the man''s name, but he also didn''t really care to learn it. Once he arrived, the guy was already there drinking while leaning on the bar. Matt came over and patted his shoulder. He was all smiles as he greeted this unknown victim. [Hypnotism Activated.] "Hey man, you''re early! Let''s get a table." "Oh hey. Yeah, sure." The two of them drank for hours. Due to Matt''s Toxin Resistance, he couldn''t get drunk unless he took in fifty times the amount of a normal person. However, he was good at acting due to perfect mimicry and was able to fool everyone. He intermittently used Hypnosis and once the man was drunk enough, he created a Telepathy channel and started saying things into his head as if they were his own thoughts. {It''s all his fault.} {He is stealing my spot.} {} Matt made sure to build up the man''s resentment toward Lorenz. There was no basis for these thoughts, but he was drunk and it would slowly seep into his subconscious. Matt asionally asked some leading questions. Once the man started cursing all the wrongs he suffered because of Lorenz in the past, Matt knew it was working. However, he didn''t go overboard and once he seemed too drunk to stay conscious, Matt brought him to his quarters. "Hic, ye-eah that-that''s the one. Ah crap, my ro-oom mates are going to be pissed." "Don''t worry, I''ll take care of them." "Ah-ha. Thanks Mike." Matt entered the room shaking his head. He had used Life Sense outside to see how many people were in the room already and confirmed it was only one. Once they entered, Matt set the man down and started exining to his roommate. He used Hypnosis to make everything about the situation seem normal and then he marked the two of them. He discovered that he could leave a piece of his Astral Body on someone so that it was easier to find them once his Astral Body left Matt''s mind. With the two of them marked, Matt hypnotized the roommate to sleep early. Then, Matt took out one of the metal bracelets from hisb and stuck it around the drunk man''s leg. It pierced him and drew out a vial of blood. Then, Matt left as if nothing happened. [Grade 2 Gic Material Detected. 100%patibility. Consume for 6 Evolution Points.] Chapter 38: Spinning Top Chapter 38: Spinning Top The first ce Matt went was hisb. He was d to have a ce to do things secretly without prying eyes. Once he was in, he saw Martha sleeping. He poured out all of the water he brought into the feeding dish and then popped the top of the vial of blood. This was his first time directly harvesting blood from someone. There was a strange feeling in the back of his mind. It was the hunger he had suppressed. Matt drank the blood in one go, making sure not to lose any or leave evidence. He wondered what exactly was happening inside his body that allowed him to absorb gic material so quickly. Whatever it was didn''t show up on a medical exam at least. He put the vial in bleach and went to check on Martha. She had gotten up and drawn up all the water. When Matt appeared in her line of sight, she awkwardly stumbled forward toward him like a puppy. The first thing he noticed was that Martha had grown a bitrger. He strokes her hair-like leaves and formed a telepathic connection to her. The process was still difficult and he was tired from overusing his mental energy. Unfortunately, he wasn''t able to create a stable channel before losing concentration. Realizing he reached his limits, he locked up and went back to his quarters. Alexis had long since went to sleep. It was a few hours after his regr sleeping time so he didn''t expect her to stay up. After washing up he went over the ns for the next week. His main goal was to harvest a vial of blood every day and make it look like weakness from excessive drinking. Since these vials held fifty milliliters, he could draw fifteen in one go without there being any symptoms. Based on the total blood volume, if Matt drained someonepletely, he could gain six-hundred evolution points. Matt clicked his tongue and started to doubt his pacifist strategy. However, he quickly suppressed those thoughts when he realized he wouldn''t even be here if not for his strategy and choices so far. Without increasing DNA absorption to level ten, he wouldn''t gain so many points from blood. Matt was also aware that killing someone without sufficient power would be suicide. But, keeping a blood bag under hypnosis and then disposing of him by sending him to attack Lorenz would be perfect. After he rested an hour, Matt decided it was time to spy on Alexis''s dreams. He formed the astral body described in the skill and felt like he was looking down at himself from above. His vision was identical to the ck and white vision when using only his mental energies. Using that, he made his way toward Alexis and entered her head. Once inside, the first thing he saw was a blinding sh of light. When he looked down, he was wearing a jersey and cleats. Suddenly, a ck and white ball was kicked toward him and he instinctively bumped it with his chest and settled it underfoot. Then, he charged toward the goal and kicked itpletely off target. However, at thest moment, the spin he ced on the ball turned andnded neatly into the top left corner of the goal and the crowd went wild. His team ran over to him and lifted him up. A trophy was passed to him and he held it. When he was let down, the coach came over and gave him a hard p on the back. As the team was cheering in excitement, he saw someone that looked just like Alexise from the support crew. She had a ballcap and long ponytail. She was dressed in casual Earth civilian clothes. For someone that wasn''t quite used to the space uniform aesthetic, this outfit was absolutely stunning. The atmosphere and sights reminded him of his past life. "You did it Matthew, we won the world cup!" After congratting him, she gave him a kiss and the team came over with the cup to get a group picture taken with their striker getting action. Matt realized that everyone was speaking Russian but he understood it. After the long kiss ended, many reporters swarmed the team asking forments. However, Matt took Alexis by the hand and dragged her away into the locker room. Matt forgot himself for a moment and was swept away by the emotions. The first thing he did when they entered the locker room was enter a utility closet and lock the door. There was enough room for at least four people so it wasn''t cramped. Matt started to take off Alexis''s clothes and she did the same to him. After doing it several times, theyid on the mats breathing heavily. Matt was ying with her long blond hair and seemed to havepletely forgotten he was in a dream. "I''m happy that you scored the winning goal, but also a little sad." "What''s wrong?" "You''ll just be so famous and there will be so many prettier girls than me after you" "That''s impossible, you''re the prettiest girl in the world." Alexis seemed to be happy when he said that which made him relieved. "There''s something I wanted to tell you after the game you''re going to be a dad" She said it in a way that was slightly scared as if he would reject her. However, this scenario brought Matt back to reality. He remembered he was in a dream, Alexis''s dream. "A father I think that would be wonderful." Time passed quickly in the dream and they had already been together in dreand for years. Their child was a cute little boy they decided to name Alex to match his mother. Matt thought it was appropriate because they had the same eyes. On Alex''s first birthday, Matt and Alexis got married. The wedding was small and quiet because he was a retired football yer and a world cup winner so they wanted to have a private wedding. Matt didn''t have any family, but the team showed up on his side. On Alexis''s side her parents, brothers, and cousins were all there. Looking at how he had no family made him a bit lonely inside but this was a dream and it was probably just that Alexis didn''t know about his family. After the wedding, Alexis''s parents offered to take care of Alex and the two of them went on a honeymoon. They traveled all over the world and had a lot of intimate moments. Matt eventually switched into coaching and they settled down in the capital. They had their second child a yearter. She was a little girl that they named Katrina. The dream yed out quickly, but spanned over many years. Most of the day to day was skipped by the dream realm and it was mostly highlights that Matt experienced. However, this was a very lucid first-hand experience to taking care of children that existed based on Alexis''s imagination. However, this escape from reality made Matt feel very solemn and satisfied with life. Matt felt the end of the dream nearing. He wasn''t sure how he knew, just that the world felt like it wasing apart. In thest moments he was holding Alexis in bed with their two children squeezed between them. Thest thing he remembered were the two of them proiming their love. The dream faded away and the two of them woke up simultaneously. Alexis immediately looked around as if searching for something and then rested her hand on her stomach. There was a bittersweet smile on her face and she turned to Matt with zed eyes. "Matt are you awake?" "Yeah. Are you okay?" "I just had a really happy dream." Alexis hugged Matt and tried to go back to sleep. When Matt returned to consciousness, he didn''t feel like he had just dreamt for a few hours. He felt like he spent years in another world. It was dangerously addicting. However, in the wrong mind and wrong dream, it could be very bad. Matt was d to have discovered this first before trying it on someone else. He was being very intimate and close with her like he was used to from the dream, but it was not something he normally did. The dream had inadvertently changed how he perceived their rtionship. He only knew her for a few weeks in reality, but because of that dream, a foundation of years was built even if it was fake. He stroked her hair but it was short in reality. Alexis seemed to notice and remembered bits of her dream. She decided to grow out her hair at that moment. The two of them eventually fell back asleep and had a dreamless rest of the night. Although he didn''t figure out if she was spying on him, there was plenty of time for that. At the moment, Matt just enjoyed the lingering feelings from that vivid dream. ----------- Hey guys, the contract went through so now I can choose to go premium. What this will do is lock chapters behind a pay wall. I don''t really want to do this, but if I do, my book will get more support from Webnovel in the form of regr features. The downside would naturally be having to pay for chapters or use the free daily fast pass. If I do choose to go premium, it won''t be for several more chapters since I want to reach a good point in the story and have enough free chapters. What do you guys think about this? Let me know in thements. Chapter 39: Routine Chapter 39: Routine The next morning Matt felt extremely refreshed. Alexis had already left, probably didn''t want to wake him since he came backtest night. Matt did his morning routine and habitually checked his status. What he saw shocked him since he didn''t notice it, but realized his mental state was rted to the upgrade. [Mental Resistance Lv. 2->3: The strength of your mind and consciousness have exceeded the biological standard for your host. The difference has manifested as mental energy. This mental energy provides a natural resistance to influences on the psyche. ]Mental resistance: 25->30% ]Mental Recovery: 1->1.2] Sometime during his dream adventure or while he was sleeping, his Mental Resistance had leveled up. The criteria for leveling must be rted to over drafting himself mentally. The hypnosis, telepathy, and dream walking must have been too much for him to handle and his mind grew stronger from repeated use. This was good for him overall, since, as a Mind Slug, his mind was, naturally, very important. After confirming the level up, he checked his proficiency in Hypnosis and saw that it had already reached twenty-five. Tricking and influencing someone into risky behavior and acting chummy with them must have been a good source of proficiency for him. Matt looked forward to doing it some more. Based on the other two tier one skills, Weak Hypnosis should also be evolvable once he reaches level three. Hopefully he wouldn''t have to farm proficiency again. The first thing he did was check on Martha and bring her some more water. When Matt arrived at hisb, he poured the water out and created a telepathic channel. This time, it went a lot smoother and he was able to make it hold in record time. Matt decided to teach Martha a few things. First it was moving with limbs. Although Matt didn''t have four limbs himself, he could send over images with his thoughts through telepathy. Martha was able to pick it up quickly since she had roughly figured out a major portion of it on her own. Next, he essentially had a question-and-answer session with Martha. Matt was able to determine that Martha remembered Dr. Bradshaw, was aware that she is a nt, and can sense the other nts made from her viable seeds. This meant that they were still alive. Probably being kept for study in the lower decks. Matt used Sense Life often to make sure no one was near him or spying on him. When he checked Martha with the ability, he noticed her signature was growing. Matt also could tell that she weighed a lot more than before when he tried to pick her up. She went from around ten kilograms to twenty, overnight. She also seemed to pick up some cat-like habits after he shared his cat knowledge with her. Matt continued his daily routine by walking past the military quarters to get to one of the bars on that end of the ship. He walked past the room with his blood bag and did a quick Sense Life. Matt noticed that every person had a slightly different vitality from Sense Life and could distinguish between them somewhat. The person inside the room alone wasn''t his target, so he continued on. Unsurprisingly, he found the man sitting alone at a bar drinking. Matt had spared him of nightmares that night because he wanted to investigate Alexis, but tonight would be different. He nned to walk into his dreams and start a looping dream with him killing Lorenz. He nned to put him in moral conflict and the loop would only end when he did the deed in the dream. But it would continue every night until he did it in real life. When he went back to his room after drinking his sorrows away, Matt would wait a while and then head ''back'' to his quarters. Coincidently the path he chose went past the soldier''s room. Whenever there were two or less people there he would enter with some sort of excuse and then use hypnosis to make them forget he was ever there. Naturally, he imed a vial of blood this way as well. Then, he would return to hisb, im his points, and head to dinner. The first time Matt used Dream Walking after that night with Alexis, he tried to find the man''s dream. In the ckness was a faint white light. This was the beacon he left on the man''s body. There was another light somewhere else which he guessed was the roommate that one night we was there. Although the distance felt far, Matt didn''t perceive the passage of time in his astral body. He was d that this seemed to be a separate space since the ship was moving at light speed. Getting separated from his body probably wouldn''t be pleasant. He arrived and checked that it was the right person. Once it was confirmed, he entered his dream. In Alexis''s dream, Matt only manipted events a few times. He had good control over the dream theme and the events that happen in the dream. Once he entered the man''s mind, he immediately started changing a part of his dream to begin his mental torture. Matt essentially brought out every nightmare this man had but reced the main factor with Lorenz. The scene of a man that looked like Lorenz fulfilling his greatest nightmares yed over and over. In each of these nightmares, Matt gave him the ability to retaliate and kill Lorenz. Then, he returned to his body and slept. Matt wanted to Dream Walk twice in a night, but he simply wasn''t capable with his current mental ability. At thus, Matt''s daily routine began. Every day that week Matt would do the same thing. Two times he was unable to harvest blood due to four people being in the room at the same time. Other than that, Martha had grown another twenty kilograms. She was about the size of a lynx but much denser. Martha also began to be able to use simple words through their telepathy. Since it was herst week on-duty there was a lot of paperwork to take care of so they didn''t see each other during the day often. However, at night they were surprisingly close. Matt still hadn''t realized that he had been treating her differently since their interactions were so minimal during this time. However, the day she was officially on leave came quickly. It was then that Matt decided to celebrate and set up a pic in the arboretum. Half-way through setting it up, Matt realized what he was doing. He was so caught up in the moment and the emotions that came naturally. He realized that the long dream that he lived through had affected him severely. However, when he looked up at the closed dome, imagining the stars beyond, he realized he didn''t care. This whole time he thought he was keeping his humanity by putting the monster in check. But, in reality, he was constantly emphasizing that he was a monster in order to prevent himself from epting his humanity. It was a strange psychological loophole that he idently created when he hypnotized himself so long ago. The two concepts kept feeding into each other and amplified everything he tried to push back. Since that dream in Alexis''s mind, he hadn''t thought about murdering her whenever something suspicious happened. He also didn''t think about her as a source of food or an ally in the future. Matt simply saw her as Alexis, his wife. He dropped the nket he was holding when those words came to his mind. In the dream, Matt manipted events so that they would get married. Subconsciously this is how he had started thinking. Matt sat down on the ground and stared up at the leaves of the tree. It was hard for him. Suddenly being taken from his home and pushed into a reality far separated from his own. Not only that, but having to live the life of an imposter. His insecurities even led him to tie down someone he barely knew in a dream. His thirst for connection was overpowering his drive for evolution, Matt just never realized it. A normal parasite would have already been taken over by their instincts. Whatever led the consciousness of the modern-day Matt to be fused into this body saved two-thousand people. Loneliness welled up within and just as he was about to begin spiraling, he heard Alexis call out to him. Matt turned his head; the sudden move dislodging the tear that was held at the edge of his eyelid. "Matt, how do I look?" Alexis hadn''t noticed his red eyes or the tear yet. She had just arrived and wanted to surprise him. For some reason, Alexis had felt that Matt was a lot closer to her than before. There was no longer that invisible distance between them and it made her feel a lot morefortable. Fragments of the dream she had a week ago would constantlye up in the forefront of her mind. She was caught several times smiling for no reason by her subordinates. Alexis wanted to keep getting closer to him. Not because he was the father of her child or her designated partner, but because it was him. ---------------------- So I will go premium once we reach a good cliffy point. Gifts and Coins will go to getting artmissioned for the story. Chapter 40: Wheres Martha Chapter 40: Where''s Martha "Did my appearance shock you so much you started crying?" Alexis joked. "Yes, you are just too beautiful." "Wha youah!" Alexis was taken by surprise. When Matt turned around and saw Alexis in a simple summer dress, his heart skipped a beat. He stood up and lifted her into the air in a hug. She didn''t own any dresses to Matt''s knowledge. Therefore, she must have borrowed this from someone or brought it out of storage. The dress reminded him of her casual clothes from the dream they had. The sight along with his turbid emotions caused him to feel a warmth spread through his body. "Your hair is long." "Y-yeah, I wanted to try it out so I had someone help me put in extensions." "Hmm I think it fits you really well." "Can you let me down now?" "Ahright. Sorry." Matt put her down and awkwardly scratched the back of his head. He returned to setting up the nket and pulling out the lunch he put together. Alexis stood by the side watching him smiling the whole time. After epting her feelings, she felt a lot morefortable with herself. Unknown to her, Matt was in the exact same position. His mind felt light and all of his worries were pushed back by his bright mood. Forgetting his troubles and enjoying himself was a luxury he never thought he''d experience again. Alexis sat down awkwardly which garnered a chuckle from Matt. She had never worn a skirt before, let alone a dress. Once she was seated, Matt stealthily ced a ne around her neck. It was a simple silver ne that he took with him on this trip. Matthew O''Connely''s mother had given it to him to remind him of home. Several days earlier, while digging through his personal items, he found it and thought Alexis. Hisck of self-awareness amazed him looking back at all of his thoughts and actions. "What''s this?" "It''s my mother''s ne. I don''t like wearing anything around my neck and I wanted to give it to you." "I like it." Alexis never wore jewelry either since she never felt it suited her. However, the ne reminded her of something that made her start to turn red. It didn''t help that the dress made her feel defenseless. However, she didn''t hate the feeling. They started to eat together and talk about what''s been going on thest week. Matt also talked about his childhood and his parents. He unknowingly began speaking of his modern parents and not Matthew O''Connely''s parents. The two of them shared a lot of stories from their youth and as the lunch was ending, the dome began to open. Alexis looked up at the starry sky. She was wearing a in white dress while eating a pic under a tree watching the stars. Her memory was stimted and a very simr scene appeared in her mind. During the dream, this was the circumstances in which the dream Matt did something incredible. "This reminds me of a dream I had." Alexis said without turning to look at Matt "I was just thinking the same thing. In that dream, did something like this happen also?" Matt said as he knelt next to Alexis and took her hand into both of his. Alexis''s heart started pounding as she nodded. "Yes..." "Do you remember what happens next?" Alexis felt choked up. She clearly remembered. Matt moved forward and whispered in her ear. "I don''t want to wait two years this time." Alexis only nodded in response. Her heart was beating out of her chest. Marriage was an antiquated practice that fell out of favor over a hundred years ago. However, there were many stories left behind. Her biggest secret was that she used to read those old romance novels. "Alexis, will you" Suddenly a group of security officers surrounded them with their weapons engaged. Matt froze and tried to sort out his thoughts so that he wouldn''t seem suspicious. He did not know why there were here but it was not friendly. They had guns trained on the two of them so the worst-case scenario was his identity was revealed. A tall, burly man stepped forward which Matt didn''t recognize. Alexis saw him and lowered her head. "Commander, we are here to take Dr. O''Connely away. Don''t cause any problems." "You can''t do this! Who authorized an armed arrest?" "You''re mistaken, Commander. Dr. O''Connely here is pending to join the Second Strike squad. I need no authorization to discipline him." Four of the security officers stepped forward and grabbed Matt. Alexis couldn''t do anything but shouted that she would speak to the captain immediately and get him rescued. Matt was touched but also frustrated at his current situation. He didn''t dare resist and nned to deny everything. If this was an official matter, Matt would easily slip through the cracks. However, if this was personal and off the record, he would be in trouble. Matt walked for a while until he realized they were not going toward any security stations on the ship. In fact, the direction seemed to be going toward hisb. When they arrived in front of hisb door, he knew what this was about. The door was opened normally by the thug leader of the group. It seemed Wird either withdrew his help or was beaten. Matt would rather trust his abilities so he assumed Wird lost to the AI. Only the leader, Matt, and two security officers went inside. The rest stayed out and kept anyone from approaching. As soon as they turned the corner into the animal cage area, Matt saw the empty space where Martha used to be. His mind worked quickly and he created three scenarios in his mind. First, Martha went missing just before they discovered this hiding location. Second, the death of She was finally being used as an excuse to put more pressure on Matt. And third, they caught Martha and were trying to force him into a confession. "You know why we''re here, don''t cha''?" Matt sneered internally when he heard the open-ended question trying to trick him. However, Matt faked a look of sadness. "She was my favorite. Taking care of her brought me great joy." Matt said with fake tears. "So, you admit it?" "What am I admitting? How much I loved her?" "Quit messing around. Did you think what you did here could be kept secret?" "No, I already told the captain and the first officer. They werepletely aware of the situation." Matt said with a confused ''didn''t you know'' look. "What the hell, shepI wasn''t told this. Kowalski, report!" "Sir, this wasn''t in the briefing." One of the soldiers responds quickly and the leader clicks his tongue. "Alright doctor. How about we cut you a deal? Help us find the missing specimen and you will be immediately promoted to the Second Strike squad." The man said haughtily as if he figured it all out. "What specimen? I already destroyed her body." "What!? You madman, you destroyed the greatest discovery of the century!" "Commander, it is just one goat. No need to be so upset." Matt sealed his victory with thatst sentence so he felt very proud of himself. Themander began stuttering and stammering. His rage was boiling and it seemed like he would attack Matt where he stood. However, before he could make a move, the sound of fighting could be heard outside. Themander turned in shock and checked around the corner with his officers. On the ground were the entourage he brought with him. Alexis and three others were making their way through the fallen bodies. She was wearing her skin tight suit and reminded Matt of a certain zero-g suit wearing heroine. "Commander Barlott, you have unjustly taken action against a member of the Science and Research division without prior authorization. You are herby taken under custody and relieved of your position as the leader of the First Strike squad until further notice. Take away the wounded." The captain stepped forward with several medical officers and gave his orders. Matt was shocked that the same captain that said he wouldn''t help came to his aid. The theory that the captain was trying to slowly weaken Shephard''s power was solidifying in Matt''s mind. Perhaps he only stated that he wouldn''t help Matt in order to bait Shephard out into the open. Themander of the First Strike team seemed to be one of Shephard pawns so this was a big win. While Matt was in deep thought, Alexis came over and gave him a strong hug. She was a bit supercharged in her suit with all of the adrenaline running through her. Realizing she may be hurting him, she let go and put her hands in his. She looked into his eyes through blurry vision and nodded. "I do. I want to be your wife again. Let''s not wait two years." Chapter 41: Secret Files Chapter 41: Secret Files The two lovers locked in a long kiss which was eventually interrupted by the captain clearing his throat. The captain walked over once they stopped smashing their faces together and stuck his hand out. Matt looked at him and reached out slowly to shake. The captain seemed to be pleased with the results. "Good work, Dr. O''Connely. We left the situation here unreportedst time as a small bait. It is lucky that he bit it. You did good this time. I will make an appeal for you to move on in your promotion process." Before Matt had a chance to respond, the captain''smunicator activated and he received an urgent message. After listening to it, he looked over at Matt with a frown. Matt had no idea what just happened but it didn''t seem good. "I''m afraid that I can''t fulfill the reward I just mentioned. I overheard you two are nning to get married? I am the only one with authority to ordain you, therefore, I approve of the union. Let me know the date. Congrattions by the way." The captain and all of the people he brought with him left, leaving Matt and Alexis alone. Matt was confused with the situation but decided to ignore it for now. He activated Sense Life and detected Martha hiding in the venttion area behind the cage. He was amazed at how quick witted she was. "So, what happened? How did you get the captain here so quickly?" "When he essed the system to locate you, your device pinged you on this deck and we guessed where you were being led. Seeing that, the captain seemed to figure something out and made a decision. He gathered some personnel and left immediately." "Wait, how did you get changed so quickly?" "Ah well you see" She opened an interface on her forearm and pressed some buttons. The suit began topress into what seemed to be a handbag. Underneath she was wearing the dress still. Matt remembered that she brought along that purse and didn''t think anything about it, but it turned out she was carrying herbat suit around. The juxtaposition of the situation made Matt chuckle. "Wait, then why did you make me help you put it on before if it could do that?" "Uh So anyway, where did She go?" "She died a few weeks ago. The captain knew about it and had me deal with it." "That exins a lot. It''s a shame our date got interrupted though" "Actually, I have an idea. Let''s go." During the time he was chatting with Alexis, he had formed a telepathic connection to Martha and told her to keep hiding for a while. She replied with simple words that conveyed her understanding. Once he had confirmation, he took Alexis by the hand and led her to the holographic simtion room. While holding her hand, she assertively adjusted the grip so that their fingers were interlocked. Matt''s eye twitched at the sudden change in her style. It seemed that the moment their rtionship moved up a peg, she increased her affection. Matt didn''t mind the change. He felt that she likely held herself back because she knew how the previous Matt operated and wanted to amodate him. He scoffed at his former body''s owner for missing out on life. Over thest week, Matt had been searching for everything about his parents. He discovered the ne, and some information. It turned out that he had a strangely familiar backstory. His parents were researchers in a bigb run by the government studying the organisms on Exveus. However, due to a catastrophic ident, his parents died. He was only eleven at the time. Matt''s uncle took him in; However, five yearster, his uncle died in a simrb ident. Since he was still a minor, he was moved to the care of his cousin''s family. Instead of being scientists like his close rtives, they were farmers. Matt was unable to form bonds very well due to the trauma he experienced and ended up befriending a baby goat. That goat would eventually give birth to She, which he personally rmended to be brought on this mission. With that information, he discovered why the original owner was so closed up, averse to children, and attached to a goat. Another thing he discovered in his personal effects was a data stick that contained aplete rendering of Matt''s farm. When he discovered this, he put away the stick and decided it may be interesting to see one day. Due to their date being ended suddenly, he had a great idea to take her on a date through the farm he stayed at for six years. A lot of the memories from his childhood were fragmented or altered. It was fortunate that the Federation did aplete background check and kept the files for public ess on the database. Matt was able to figure out a few facts about his childhood. His parents didn''t die in some ident, they were taken out by corporate espionage. His uncle, however, did in fact die because of an ident. Once the two of them arrived at the holodeck, Alexis understood his intention and became giddy. She really wanted to know what kind of simtion he had in mind and looked forward to it. The two of them entered the room hand-in-hand. Matt pulled Alexis over to the control panel and inserted the data stick. Then, hemanded theputer to run the simtion and the world around them began to change. Matt had Alexis cover her eyes while the scene was changing in order to surprise her. The scene of metallic floors and walls quickly changed into one of a rural setting. Trees, grass, a farm house, and various animals all came into existence. Matt watched in wonder and excitement. The attention to detail was extremely high. Whoever created this rendering was very skilled. Matt couldn''t find anywhere in the original owner''s memory about acquiring this data stick, so it was probably passed down from his parents. "It''s finished, you can look now." Alexis uncovered her eyes and looked around. Seeing the rural setting reminded her of the little cottage she went to with her parents back home. Seeing her excited and grinning, Matt was relieved. He took her by the hand and led her toward the farm house that used to be his home. "This is the farm I grew up on as a teenager. Let me show you inside first." "It''s really nice. Did you like living here instead of the big city?" "I didn''t have a lot of happy memories in the city so it was an escape for me." Alexis''s grinning face turned slightly sad and she gripped her hand tighter around Matt''s. He acknowledged her concern with a smile. They walked the rest of the way in silence as Alexis took in all of the surroundings. She would asionally gasp or express her amazement with ooh''s and aah''s. Overall, her reactions were very interesting for Matt to listen to. When they arrived in front of the door, Matt surprised the distracted Alexis by taking her into a bridal carry through the threshold. This was something he had always wanted to do to someone. She shouted in surprise and instinctively clung to his neck. When she realized the situation, her face turned red but she also had an expectant look on her face. A great advantage of the programing for the holodeck was that it would attempt to simte things within the user''s area of ess with object substitutes. Matt didn''t know the technology since it was a guarded secret, but he enjoyed making use of it. The solid holograms would allow him to carry out his n. Matt carried her into his old room and sat her down on his bed. "This was my room growing up. I can''t believe the rendering looks exactly like it did when I was sixteen." "So, this was your room, huh? Not what I would have imagined honestly. So, what did you have in mind bringing me here" Alexis was usually very forward, but being carried into his childhood home like that made her a bit shy. "What''s with those impure thoughts Lexi? I just wanted to show you my room" Matt leaned forward on the bed attempting to do this and that to her. However, he idently kicked something under his bed. It sounded like a box. He didn''t remember a box under his bed so he was curious. Matt took it out and was amazed at the details of this render. He sat next to Alexis and set the box on hisp. Alexis was curious too and got distracted from her thoughts. It was a normal shoebox without any special markings or brands on it. When Matt took off the lid, there were various documents and pictures inside the box. This was not something he kept in his room. The most surprising thing was all of the pictures and documents were blue and white fragmented image. "Wait, Matt. Look at this under the lid. It looks like a retinal scanner." Chapter 42: Origin Truths Chapter 42: Origin Truths (This chapter was brought to you by ExodusElite. Thank you so much for the Gift of 200 coins!) --------------------------- Matt picked up the cardboard lid and turned it over in all ways. The only anomaly was a camera and keypad on the inside of the lid. Although the object was able to be carried, it wasn''t really what it seemed. The design of a retinal scanner and keypad were just thatdesigns. However, when Matt pressed a number on the scanner, it seemed to light up. This went beyond the scope of the hologram simtion technology. Whoever created this code had a intimate knowledge of the technology and was able to reprogram it to include a function of storing and hiding information within the simtion itself. Matt had a suspicion that even if the raw code in the data stick was analyzed by the AI, it would not discover these hidden lines. Matt brought up the lid to his face and scanned his eye out of curiosity. After it finished, the keypad lit up and it prompted him for the password. However, Matt had no idea what his password would be. He activated perfect mimicry and attempted to deduce a password. This data stick was created to simte his room at the age of sixteen. This was the first major clue. The second clue was the box itself. Why was it ced under his bed and in a shoebox? Matt stood up and paced around the room. Alexis dug out all of the documents in the box andid them out on the bed. There was a total of twenty-one files and eight photographs. They were impossible to read due to the encryption. Alexis didn''t interrupt Matt''s process, but also decided to investigate to see if the password was perhaps written somewhere. Matt continued to pace back and forth as he thought about what the clue could possibly be. The password seemed to be a four-digit number and the first thing he thought about was birthday. The fact that this was his first thought most likely meant that it was correct. However, using his birthday, birthday of his parents, his uncle, or his cousin would be easy. These were all written in the documents. Therefore, he had to think about birthdays that weren''t reported. Matt walked over to the bed in his pacing circle and saw that Alexis set out the documents. When he saw the separation, something stood out to him. "Twenty-one and eight. Eight and twenty-one" Something about those sets of numbers stood out to him. However, he couldn''t quite ce it. He thought about all of the people he could remember but not a single person was rted to those numbers. That is when Alexis called out to Matt that she had discovered something. He came over to the window sill and looked at where she was pointing. Carved in the wood was ''A+M'' with a heart around it. "Did you do this on purpose? Alexis + Matt?" "No, if I did that, I would put L for your nickname. I carved this when I first got here and made a connection with a newborn baby goat. She was my first and only friend until I was in graduate school. Amy was her name" Suddenly, inspiration hit him. No one would document the birth of an animal in official background check. It wasn''t relevant. The farm didn''t use an external veterinarian since it was all in-house. The birthdate was officially at the end of the month since the exact date wasn''t necessary to determine age, only the years of life. However, Matthew O''Connely remembered that day vividly and he began telling the story to Alexis. He had just finished a twenty-hour car drive to the middle of nowhere. The farm was unremarkable for someone that lived in the big city his whole life. When he arrived, no one was there to meet him which only fouled his mood even more. However, he soon found out that no one was in the house when he arrived. A passing farm hand saw him and called him over to the barn for the live birth. They had assumed he was a new hire and requested his help. Matt was swept away by the momentum and mood. He helped the she-goat give birth for two hours before little Amy was born. She bleated so meekly and her body was covered in centa. The mother who was on the verge of death due toplications carefully cleaned her baby off. However, she soon passed away. Matt was handed a towel and cleaned the baby. He held the little goat Amy and started crying. He was reminded of his dead mother and that was when everyone there realized that Matt wasn''t a farm hand. His cousins had not recognized him at first but when they saw the adults and bank representative arrive in the barn, they figured out his identity. Matt held the weak baby goat that bleated for its dead mother and they cried together in mourning. That day he stayed in the barn with Amy until sunset. "Matt" Alexis had started crying half way through the story exining the origin. She hugged him and wiped away her tears while mumbling ''dusty old room.'' "The day Amy was bornAugust twenty-first, year twenty-two eleven." Matt and Alexis walked back over to the lid and put in the four-digit number. Afterwards, what looked like a stream of ones and zeroes came from the lid, turning it back into a normal shoebox cover. All of the documents and photographs suddenly became unencrypted. The two of them looked at all of the photographs and then Matt looked over at Alexis''s expression. She had a nervous look on her face. In the photos were various pictures of Matt as a toddler in ab having surgery conducted on him. His head was being opened and a strange leech-like creature was being ced into the wound. The documents detailed the life-saving surgery that the patient, Matthew O''Connely, underwent after a severe brain injury due to an ident. The document was said to be destroyed with only a single copy in existence remaining on this encrypted drive. From a nce, words like ''alien parasite'' and ''unknown lifeform'' were highlighted. The first image chronologically showed the suspended parasite in a liquid. Matt was honestly shocked at this discovery. He suddenly felt his body being grabbed and his heart dropped to his stomach. However, unlike his expected scenario, Alexis instead was holding him while shaking. "D-don''t worry. It''s alright. We''ll figure this out together. Don''t panic." Matt wasn''t sure if she was talking to him or herself. However, the fact that she didn''t turn him into an enemy instantly made his straying thoughts calm down. The parasite had been in his system for his whole life. He was not some escaped test subject on this ship. He held Alexis and breathed out his worries. The data that the holographic simtor projects is a reflection of what is on the drive. Therefore, he wasn''t worried that the AI would be able to see the information as well. The encryption was extremely advanced and Matt guessed whoever created it expected this day toe. Or rather, if such a day came, it would protect him. "Alexis, do you trust me?" "Of course! Of course, I trust you. I''m going to marry you, you idiot. Thisthis doesn''t mean anything. And even if it did, that just means you''re sick. Since you''re fine like this, that just means we need to go see the doctor." "Alexis, stop. Look at me." She was frantic, so Matt had to grab her by the shoulders and settle her down. She stopped fidgeting and looked up into his eyes. [Hypnosis Activated.] "The truth is, I am Matt. However, I am also this thing. I don''t know why it was dormant for so long, but it woke up over a month ago. I need you to believe me that I am still me and that I love you." "You its awake then you are but you''re still Matt. I I don''t understand." Matt saw that his proficiency didn''t go up. This was too much for her to process. "That dream we had. We were together for so many years. The winning game, our children, Alex and Katrina, and our marriage. It was all real. Although it was just a dream, we experienced it together in your mind. Reality is what we make of it." Alexis was quiet for a long time. She eventually buried her head in his chest and sobbed. She was scared but she was alsoforted by his words. She had already fallenpletely for him. However, the situation was very difficult for her to ept. When she thought about the child in her belly, her mind was set. It didn''t matter what parts made him whole, they were all parts of him. Whatever this creature was saved him as a child so that they could meet. Since Matt had calmed her down, he felt a lot better. He would need to bring her into a ce that wasn''t being monitored and exin everything to her. For now, he would read over everything and memorize it. They could always returnter to re-read it. However, something didn''t make sense and kept bothering him. ''If I was always in Matthew''s body, who is the escaped subject zero?'' Chapter 43: Unwavering Will Chapter 43: Unwavering Will It did not take long for Alexis to get a hold of herself. After five minutes passed, she pushed herself from Matt''s embrace. With a deep breath and slow exhale, she becameposed again. She decided to read all of the documents as well to really understand the situation. He let her start first while he watched over her and investigated the room some more. Matt discovered that the door was unable to be opened. The spaces around the door were filled in with something. He wondered if it was rted to the shoebox. He checked the windows and discovered the same thing. It seemed that this room was isted from the rest of the simtion. He heaved a sigh of relief. At least the AI didn''t overhear anything. "Matt, something doesn''t make sense in these documents. The parasite only reacted to various stimuli. In animal tests, it would only protect and enhance the host. There were also no known signs of it reproducing. This particr sample was used in various experiments over the years and it never showed any reactions other than autonomous function." Matt stared at her for a while and didn''t answer. Alexis looked up and pushes back the extensions that fell in front of her face. Seeing the dumbfounded look from Matt made her frown. "Why are you staring at me like that?" "You''re handling this a lot better than I expected." "Sigh I can''t say I''m not confused and scared. But don''t forget that I am not a weak person. You can''t even imagine the things I have had to capture or kill on this ship." "Speaking of which, the other day, I overheard Dr. Lisinger mention something about searching for a patient zero. Do you have any idea about who that could be?" "There are so many strange creatures in the lower decks it could be anything or anyone. We just clean up their mess." Matt sat next to Alexis and sheid her head on his shoulder. She had decided not to hide the secrets of the ship from him. The main reason was because she felt like he could handle it without panicking. Most of the crewmen were unaware that alien life existed beyond some microorganisms. Seeing how forting she was being, Matt started to exin a few things. "Since I became aware of the parasite, I acquired powers." Alexis lifted her head and looked into Matt''s eyes. "The dreams?" "That''s right. I have been giving you good dreams ever since I got that ability. Also, I had the ability to send my thoughts to another person." "Ah, my skirmish. That''s why it felt like you were right there with me." Alexis said with a face of realization. Matt nodded and continued. "That''s right. I saw you were struggling and wanted to help you. I was then able to send a few thoughts into your head." Alexis looked down and Matt interpreted as shame or disappointment that she didn''t win on her own skill. But contrary to his expectation, she looked back up with a beaming smile. She seemed toe up with something but didn''t share it with him. Matt continued to exin some of his other powers. He switched their conversation over to telepathy for a short duration to show her his ability. He exined how his body held the ability to be very healthy and fit, the parasite only unlocked it for him. Hypnosis was a difficult and touchy subject to exin. He told her that he had the ability to influence people''s thoughts and decisions with hypnosis but it wouldn''t control their mind. Alexis wondered if she had been hypnotized by him before and he was honest about it. However, he assured her that it was only during the time that he was extremely paranoid. Once he began to trust and love her, he never used it on her again. "Well, I did use it on you earlier to help you calm down but it didn''t work. I''m kind of d it didn''t too. That means you are sitting here calmly with me without my influence." Alexis sighed at the thought of having been manipted before. She didn''t like it. No one would like being told they were a victim of any kind of mind control. However, as an experienced officer, she understood where he wasing from and probably would have done the same thing. The next thing Matt told her about was the parasites reproduction. "Essentially, I could imnt this into someone else''s body and they would be like me." "You''ve not done that to anyone, have you!?" "No, I didn''t n on ever doing it. Well, that''s not necessarily true" Matt tapered off and looked away. Alexis already figured it out based on his expressions. "So, you were going to do it to me. If you did, then what would happen to me? To our baby?" "It would most likely improve your health and you may even get some simr abilities to me. I don''t really know since I''ve never done it before. I really wanted to have you by my side no matter what, otherwise I never would have even thought about it. This was before I realized I loved you and shouldn''t force you down a path like this." The two of them stayed quiet for a while so Matt decided to start reading the documents himself. He discovered that the documents were actually three sets of documents. The first one was his medical chart. When he was three, he had an ident and fell. This caused his head to be severely injured with major bleeding into the brain. This would normally be a mortal wound but his parents wouldn''t give up easily. The medical chart references one of the other papers which documented the ten-year long study of the specimen. The origins of the parasite were from an ancient derelict discovered in space. At first, the Federation thought it was just an asteroid, but discovered it to be a space ship made with what seemed to be living cells stronger than any metal. This ''space metal'' would soon be the basis to the most destructive suits ever created. The ship contained two unidentifiable bodies of alien creatures. One seemed to be the pilot while the other was dead in their quarters. The creatures were described as humanoid in shape. The Federation began to study and repurpose this derelict and even discovered a method to stimte reproduction in the space metal. However, that was only a reference in this document since the main subject of this document was the tests on various animals using this leech-like creature. Matt was astounded at the different things that the Federation allowed. Eventually, they discovered that the parasite was symbiotic. It would enhance and protect the host from many injuries, even brain damage. The paper was written in a way to turn this creature into medicine by discovering the mechanism of its protective properties. However, this is where the final document led. It was an observation log of Matthew as a child after receiving the imntation. In order to include a failsafe, the parasite was equipped with a kill switch. This kill switch could only be activated with both his parent''s biometric imprints. The observation and logs theypleted showed normal function without any abnormal tendencies. Just as they were going to return to their normal research, the logs stopped. Matt reviewed all of the documents once more and looked carefully at each photograph. It had been over an hour since they first entered the simtion and the rm outside signaled their two-hour use time was approaching. Matt started to clean everything up and ced all of the documents in the box. Once the lid was closed with everything inside, the data stream seemed to change again and the simtion returned to normal. He opened it out of curiosity and the documents were fragmented images again. Alexis had been sitting quietly on the bed the whole time lost in thought. Matt let her be for as long as possible, but thest fifteen minutes wereing up and he didn''t want to rm anyone for no reason. He went over to shake her out of her stupor, but she suddenly looked up at him with conviction in her eyes. She stood up and stepped forward toward Matt holding her stomach. "I want to help you from now on. You are going to tell me everything that happens and everything you''re thinking." Alexis tapped her head as if suggesting she meant by using telepathy. Matt opened a channel with her at her gesture. {There can''t be any more secrets, okay? We will get through this together and live out our lives with our child safely andfortably. Your parents sacrificed their lives because of this thing, and I don''t want to put our child through the same thing. We will deal with this efficiently and precisely.} Alexis transmitted. {One more thing. I want you to imnt me with the parasite.} Chapter 44: Ready Player Two Chapter 44: Ready yer Two [Host: Matthew O''Connely Status: Grade 1+ Mind Slug Evolution Points (EP): 56 Abilities: [Perfect Mimicry Lv. Max], [Improved Metabolism Lv. 2], [Mental Resistance Lv. 3] Skills: [DNA Absorption Lv. 10], [Toxin Resistance Lv. 5], [Weak Hypnosis Lv. 2], [Dream Walking Lv. 1], [Primary Reproduction Lv. 0], [Telepathy Lv. 1]] Matt and Alexis sat together in the bathtub after returning to their quarters. She had dropped a major bomb on him, but Matt had no reason to hesitate. He exined one more time that their two parasites would have a main body and sub body rtionship, she simply nodded her head in understanding. Matt didn''t know exactly how Primary Reproduction functioned, so he offered to explore it together beforepletely decided. Thest six days were spent very fruitfully. Matt had managed to reach fifty-six evolution points so he had just enough for the reproduction skill. After giving his status onests check he pulled up Primary Reproduction and unlocked it. [Primary Reproduction Lv. 0->Max: You have created a sub-body that has inherited a portion of your skills and abilities. You are able tomunicate with the sub-body instinctively without need for excessive use of mental energy. The body is immature and will need Evolution Points in order to grow. Once mature, the sub-body may bebined with the main body to evolve to the next grade. ]Number of sub-bodies: 1 ]Evolution Cost: Mature Sub-body] [Sub-Body Alpha: Host: Matthew O''Connely Status: Grade 0 Parasite Evolution Points (EP): -10 Abilities: [Infection Lv. Max], [Growth Lv. Max], [Fascination Lv. Max] Skills: [DNA Absorption Lv. 0], [Weak Hypnosis Lv. 0], [Inferior Transformation Lv. 0], [Inferior Spawning Lv. 0]] [Infection Lv. Max: While the Sub-body is immature, it may survive outside of the spawning host for long periods of time. During this time, it is able to take root in a living creature''s body. Once the skill has been used for the first time, or the sub-body matures, this ability is lost.] [Growth Lv. Max: During the phase of the sub-body''s development before maturity, it will gain one Evolution Point at every interval of growth. The interval can be determined by the host. Immature parasites cannot gain Evolution Points through any other means. ]Current Interval: 24 hours] [Fascination Lv. Max: You are the first descendent of a parasite which has unlocked the Eldritch Horror path. You inherited a portion of their mental energy and maniption skills in the form of an ability. When in close proximity to intelligent life of their species, they always have a positive reaction at baseline to the host. The affected individuals are also more susceptible to your requests and whims. ]Toggle: On/Off] Matt exined the sub-body as best as he could to Alexis through telepathy while learning the information himself. Originally, in the game, the sub-body was simply a string of words on your status bar. There was no special animation since it was ''inside'' your avatar. However, in reality, Matt felt the splitting and tearing feeling. Fortunately, it wasn''t as painful as it sounded. The sub-body was still attached to his main body but Matt understood he could detach it at any moment. The infection ability made Matt think about the parasite that was first given to him. Perhaps while it was in a very long interval of growth, seemingly one year per point, it still enhanced and protect the host. Matt shared his thoughts with Alexis and she thought that it made sense. Fascination was an incredible ability which made Matt realize that perhaps Perfect Mimicry was also an ability passed down to him by his ''parent.'' He had just assumed that it was part of the Parasite package, but it seemed he was truly lucky to acquire that as his ability. However, while going down that line of thinking, Matt suddenly realized something. Why exactly did he need Perfect Mimicry to act like Matt if he was Matt? {Matt, what''s wrong? Are you hurt? Is something wrong with the parasite?} {I Why do I need to mimic myself? I don''t understand, aren''t I me?} Alexis didn''t answer him right away. She hadn''t thought about it before either. However, something didn''t seem right about the ability. They sat in silence thinking until Alexis suggested offhandedly that perhaps the main purpose of the ability wasn''t to mimic, but as an autopilot. It suddenly made sense to Matt with that littleparison. He had been using Perfect Mimicry as autopilot since the beginning. However, he never made the connection before that he didn''t need it in order to act like Matthew O''Connely since he had his memories anyway. Perfect Mimicry simply did the actions of the original automatically and efficiently. This was why he remembered things easier with the ability active since it was very efficient in "remembering." The existence of Perfect Mimicry was a quiet reminder that he wasn''t really Matthew O''Connely but an imposter just pretending. However, with this little change in his mentality along with the history he dug up on his life, Matt finally felt like he was really himself. Everything he went through was slowly helping him down this path of eptance. I may be the Parasite this round, but I am not an imposter anymore. However, there was still an imposter on the ship, and he would make sure to root them out. {Ah, I''m kind of jealous of the ability you''ll have, Lexi.} {Which one?} She thought while her face showed her excitement. Originally when she made the decision, her purpose was to be someone like Matt. She didn''t want to let him live this isted life without anyone he couldpletely trust. However, when she discovered she would receive powers like Matt, herst few anxieties dissipated. {I gave it the name, Fascination. Essentially, you will be a bewitching vixen!} {Ah, so no change} The two of them sniggered at the joke. {Seriously though, people around you will instinctively consider you a person close to them. This has many advantages but some drawbacks too. Fortunately, you can choose whether it is active or not. You''ll be like the main character of a romance novel with this ability. Everyone will be crawling over each other to please you.} {I already have some thoughts on how to use it} Matt thought that her expression seemed a bit unnatural, as if staring at her prey. He even wondered who the parasite was at that moment. Alexis caressed his thigh while formting her future ns. For a second he thought that perhaps this would be like giving wings to a tiger. He already couldn''t resist her charms anymore. "Ehem, anyway, back to the exnation" Matt said before transitioning back to telepathy. {It looks like you have the potential to go down the same path as me. I already exined some of my abilities to you, and these are something you would eventually have ess to as well. You can also go down the path of transformation or the path of spawning.} {What are the advantages of each?} {Well, I don''t have any personal experience, but based on my instincts there is some useful information. The transformation path has the attributes of strength and espionage. Being able to control your body with transformations you should theoretically be able to enhance yourself.} Spawning is very straight forward with the attributes of speed and flooding. Creating many organisms from your body that will grow separately from you and be your servants. It is really fitting for a name like Hive Queen.} Alexis nodded and thought about her choices. For now, she would carefully consider the options while she had the time. She took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. She inched closer to Matt in the bath, sliding her legs under his. Her eyes looked like they were saying ''I''m ready.'' Matt closed his eyes and focused on the parasite in his head. Hemanded it to detach and move into his mouth. Once he felt the tiny parasite, the size of adybug,nd on his tongue, he leaned forward and gave Alexis a long kiss. His tongue entered her mouth as he explored her mouth which he had grown ustomed to. Their tongues wrapped around each other and their saliva mixed together. After several minutes, they separated. Matt licked his lips and Alexis rolled her eyes. The parasite was already delivered, it was now only a matter of time. Seeing that nothing happened immediately, Alexis turned around in the bath so that her back was facing Matt and leaned back. She stretched her legs out and rested her head on his chest. Matt yed with her hair while sensing for the sub-body. While in the process of taking root, it seemed to have gone radio silent. Although his worries didn''tst long because after about half an hour, a notification came up for Matt. The notification almost made Matt jump in excitement. [Congrattions. You have infected your first lifeform. Do you wish for the new host to activate the Imposter Support System? Y/N] ---------------------- (Author walks home from long day of work. Outside of his house is a strange person dressed as a clown. Author notices he is holding two balloons and sticks his arm out to hand them over. Author epts and continues walking. However, he overhears the clown saying ''Write another chapter or you''ll float too.'') - Side Story for Novel_Equilizer. Thank you for the generous support! Chapter 45: Fascinating Day Chapter 45: Fascinating Day The notification didn''t seem to have a particr time limit so he simply ignored it for now and looked down at Alexis. She hadn''t seemed to react to anything so he wasn''t sure what was going on in her head. The notification definitely meant the parasite had taken hold but he honestly wasn''t sure what the process was. Matt pulled up his status and saw a new section on the system called ''allies'' which listed Alexis as one of them. "Hey, Lexi, do you feel different?" "Huh? No, I feel normal Has it already?" "Yeah, seems like it." Matt thought about when he first woke up and realized that he didn''t know right away that he was the parasite. It wasn''t until the system activated. Perhaps it is very difficult for a new host to take advantage of the parasites strengthening and abilities without the system. Looking at it objectively, if he had to blindly stumble around without the interface, he likely would not have gotten to where he was now. Therefore, he decided to go ahead with activating the system for her. {Brace yourself because this might be a little weird at first.} Before she had a chance to respond, Matt activated the Imposter Support System for Alexis. A few seconds after selecting yes, Alexis jumped a little. Fortunately, Matt gave her a warning so she was able to adapt quickly. She closed her eyes and seemed to be lost in thought. Matt realized how fortunate he was to have Perfect Mimicry even more. This allowed him to view his status without having an interruption in his faade. {MasMatt I think I figured it out.} Alexis sent a telepathic message without using the channel between them. It cut in and out but that would improve through practice. Matt leaned forward and ced his head on her shoulder. They were in this together now. Although he trusted her a lot and wanted to stay with her in this damned world, there was that paper-thin barrier between them that he could never cross. {I''m d. I really am.} Matt utilized the direct mentalmunication that he had with Alexis now that she was sessfully a host. He realized just how much better this direct line was than his telepathy. Not only did it send thoughts over in the owner''s mental voice, it also carried the emotion and tone of regr speech. Alexis was able to feel the relief and happiness in Matt''s message which made her feel warm. They stayed together like that for a while longer but the bath was getting cold so they decided to clean up and head to dinner. Alexis hadn''t mentioned anything about the system yet but he didn''t push her. These changes were happening in her body so he understood the need to figure it out first. Matt decided to shave off the short beard he had grown thesest few weeks. He wasn''t sure why he suddenly decided to do that, but it seemed right. As he left the bathroom, he spotted the toilet seat was up and instinctively put it down. When he walked out of the bathroom, he did a double take. Matt always forgot to put the seat down and Alexis neverined. Something felt off but before he could investigate anymore, Matt saw Alexis lying in their bed wearing a lingerie. She looked exceptionally pretty today. Her whole body was glowing. Matt got on the bed and started to gently caress her body. She felt especially smooth and silky today because they recently bathed. Matt did a lot of service for her, finding every spot she liked and even bringing her to climax with his mouth and hands alone. Alexis had yet to do anything which was unlike her. She typically took the lead. Thest few hours Matt had spent quite a lot of mental energy on telepathy. Due to his mental resistance skill, he recovered fairly quickly. It was after the third round of servicing Alexis that his mental resistance finally kicked in and he sensed something like a pink aura around her. It was seeping into his mind and guiding his thoughts subtlety. He immediately broke the connection and then looked down at her with an evil smile. "Ah, Matt, it works really well. Isn''t that wonderful?" Alexis tried to y it off. She had been testing her Fascination skill on Matt to see how it worked. That was when she noticed he was fulfilling her wishes without her even saying anything. She wanted to see how far she could take it out ofplete scientific curiosity, she told herself. "We still have plenty of time before dinner. I guess I''ll have to ''reward'' you for mastering that skill so quickly" After they both got their rewards for an hour, they had to clean up again. This time they just took a quick shower and got dressed. Matt noticed that Alexis''s closet was popted with more long dresses than before. Once they got ready in their standard issue attire, they made their way to the cafeteria hand in hand. They didn''t say anything out loud but were having quite the war of wills from within their minds. Matt was curious about the limits of their connection so he created a "battlefield" within their minds. They then engaged in various forms ofbat against each other. Whatever they could imagine came into existence. Matt had no chance against Alexis in military skills and knowledge, but he naturally cheated. He created various weapons and powers from cartoons in his past life. That being said, Alexis had very goodbat sense and managed to counter even an eternally burning me. The battle ended when Alexis started to have a migraine. She didn''t have a mental resistance skill like Matt so in a battle of endurance he would obviously win. However, the main point of the mental battle was achieved. It seemed that their connection was almost to the level of being one mind. This must be what a hive collective feels like. Matt had no intention to control Alexis''s every thought and feeling though. {So, how is it?} Matt messaged her after her head stopped hurting. {Ah, it''s wonderful. I feel like I have more energy than ever before. It''s probably because of this skill, here let me try something} [Host: Alexis Alexeyev Master: Matthew O''Connely Support Points (SP): 1 Status: Immature Parasite Abilities: Growth, Infection, Fascination, Endless Stamina Skills: None] {Is that what you see?} Matt thought curiously. {You look surprised, is yours different?} {A bit different. What about the descriptions?} {Ah, descriptions? I didn''t think about that} Alexis closed offmunication and began looking over her skills. Matt had to lead her by hand since she was distracted in her thoughts. They soon arrived at the cafeteria where the captain noticed them first. He called them over to his table and Matt had to nudge Alexis to have here back to reality for now. "Commander, Doctor, you two seem very happy this evening. I am looking forward to your wedding party. I''ll bring my famous dish!" That was when Matt realized he forgot to tell Alexis some things. However, now wasn''t the time. He hoped she wouldn''t freak outter. The two of them walked forward with bitter smiles and thanked the captain for his considerate offer. "Oh-ho-ho, the Commander is getting married? In this day and age? I didn''t know you were such a ssic romantic." "My great grandparents would always talk about how back in the day people would have ten or eleven marriages in a life time! It was truly a toxic system back then." "Thank goodness we don''t live in that era anymore." "" The people at the table continued to talk about various matters concerning the antiquated practice of marriage in this era. It wasmonly understood to only be used by those who fantasize of the old era. These people often felt that they were born in the wrong century and wished to go back to an older time. It wasn''t bad to get married, just very rare. After eating their meals, Alexis and Matt bid the captain goodbye and left. Matt wanted to bring Alexis to hisb so show her Martha. He had received an encrypted message from Wird telling him that hisb was secure again. There was no exnation to what happened previously, and the message destroyed itself before he could reply. Alexis was just happy to be with him so she didn''tin. They arrived at theb and locked the door behind them. "Well, we should be fine in here. Oh, I was meaning to tell you but it slipped my mind. I think the captain''s sausages are made from humans. I''m not entirely sure, but it is my insti" "{WHAT!}" Alexis shouted with her mouth and also sent a powerful mental shout into his head causing his ears to start ringing, while Alexis started dry heaving. Chapter 46: Catching Up Chapter 46: Catching Up Alexis was able to recover from her shock within a few minutes. She was happy that her dinner didn''t end up on the floor. Matt was also fine after a short while since it was more of a surprise than actually painful. However, that didn''t mean he wasn''t slightly annoyed. Mostly at himself since he forgot that this wasn''t a topic normal people could easily ept. "Well, lets move past that for now. Let me introduce you to Martha. I essentially saved her from being sent to the lower decks to be experimented on." Matt activated Sense Life and saw Martha was still hiding in the vent like he asked. Alexis was a bit pale from the earlier scare but still followed along. He had brought twice as much water than usual since it had been a while. In order to make sure there were no conflicts, he nned to have Alexis water Martha after him. Matt walked into the secure pen and lowered the shield. Once inside, he began pouring water out into the feeding dish. Martha was hesitating because of Alexis''s presence so Matt created a telepathic channel and reassured her. With that, Martha pushed the vent open from underneath and stepped out. The first thing Matt heard was a gasp. He turned around and saw Alexis covering her mouth. Her face was akin to someone seeing light for the first time in several decades. Martha ignored her and went straight to the water. She started greedily taking it up from her paws. The water was quickly disappearing so he signaled Alexis to start filling the tray. She quickly came over and started emptying her water container. Martha didn''t even seem to notice the change of person and continued to submerge her paws. Once all of the water was taken up, Martha lied down and curled up into a ball intending to nap. Alexis couldn''t hold herself back and attempted to pet the cat-like nt. Matt put a hand on her shoulder to stop her and then used his telepathy to create a connection between Martha and Alexis. Then, he told her to try talking to her for a bit. Matt wasn''t sure what kind of reaction Martha would have since he barely understood her. Being chosen as a friend by Martha seemed to bepletely random. Alexis nodded and started to have a silent conversation with Martha. asionally, Martha would raise a paw and shake it, orzily blink and look up. "How''s it going?" "Wow Matt, this is what themander was looking for? She is really remarkable." Alexis talked a bit longer with Martha but Matt was started to get strained holding the telepathy up. It was a lot harder to connect with two others. He contemted investing some more points into his telepathy. Matt still had not unlocked an offensive ability. He was certain that the next evolution of his Dream Walking or Telepathy would be a mental attack. Now that Alexis entered this dangerous situation with him, he wanted more ways to retaliate. "I can''t keep the telepathy up much longer. And it looks like Martha needs to rest after taking in so much water. It seems that she can use the water molecules to drive a nuclear reaction within her body which generates energy for her growth." "Ah, okay. I''ll talk to youter, bye Martha." Alexis waved goodbye as the telepathy went down. Martha raised her head toward Alexis and shook her paw. Alexis had talked about a lot of things with Martha and she seemed to enjoy new information and pictures. When Alexis saw this gesture, she was hesitant. It looked like Martha was saying ''I allow you to pet me, human.'' Alexis reached out slowly and touched her soft head. The pine needles were a lot less prickly than she thought. They were very soft and not at all unlike real fur. Martha even took the initiative to rub her head on Alexis''s palm. This level of cuteness almost caused her to lose control, but Alexis didn''t want to scare the poor little nt alien. After gently stroking her leaves, Martha lowered her head and started her nap. "Ah, it''s over already." Matt rolled his eyes. Martha was truly brilliant in choosing that form. Well, he wasn''t sure if that was a choice or rted to the genes that were spliced to create such a being. He led Alexis out of the animal area and into the main part of theb. There were several things he needed to tell her so that they had the same amount of information. "So I guess I''ll start chronologically and then talk about my conjectures" Matt exined everything significant that happened so far. The first thing was discovering there was possibly a strange ingredient in the bloody sausages. It was possible that alien ingredients were used. Alexis was much calmer when he mentioned the sausages this time. She thought about it and mentioned that there were some strange things being held in the lower decks but they were mostly experimenting. As far as she knew, there had not been any actual aliens sneaking onto the ship or being smuggled in. The next issue was the Dr. Lisinger, Shephard, and the supposed faction controlling the ship behind the scenes. Alexis didn''t know about the specifics, but ever since she entered the Second Strike force on Earth all those years ago, she was told that there would be a superior whose authority was higher than the captains. The two of them seemed to agree that the person in mention was probably Shephard. When she learned that Dr. Lisinger was looking for a ''subject zero,'' she had no clues. "You think that perhaps there is another parasite out there amongst the crewmen?" "I think that Shephard or Dr. Linsinger think that. The identity of subject zero must be rted to the experiments in the lower decks." From the documents in the simtion, they both discovered that the metal used to make thebat suits was actually from that ancient alien derelict. Dr. Stein must have been one of people in charge of learning it''s origins and how to grow it. Matt felt that the organism that makes up the metal must have close ties with Earth''s fungi. He could sense that from his speech thest time they talked. Matt had intended to meet with him but decided toy low for now. Alexis talked about thebat suits in detail since she had seen them in person. She described that currently there were only four working advanced suits and many models being researched. The mostmon one was the ''Space Marine'' model used to train soldiers in controlling the suits. The next one was the ''Stealth Suit,'' however she didn''t know the details about that one besides its name. Matt, on the other hand, knew exactly what that suit was. In the game, the Stealth Suit allowed for the user to turn invisible for short durations. This was described in the tooltip as bending and refracting light around the wearer. Cloaking technology wasn''t unheard of in their current era. There were news articles in the past about advancements in the technology for use in observing animals in nature without disturbing them. The next suit was referred to as the ''Pyrotechnician.'' As the name suggested, it was capable of releasing very powerful mes. Alexis didn''t know the science behind it, but the suit was the bulkiest of the four. It had tworge tanks on it''s back that carried the mixture used for the ammunition. Matt was a big fan of this suit in the game since it was a hard counter to the swarming strategy. It also had very high defenses so it was not easy for anything but the transformation path to defeat it. The final suit Alexis described as being the most imposing one. She didn''t know what it was, or what it did. Whenever someone would test it, it seemed like nothing was happening yet the dummies exploded. She also had never learned the name of it. However, there was a very impressive logo on the suit. Matt asked her to draw it and went to retrieve a pen and paper for her. While digging through hisb coat, he discovered the two pills he had nned to test. He stuffed them in his pockets and returned to where Alexis was. What she drew was a circr pattern made up of squares. There was also some sort of image in the center that she wasn''t able topletely draw. However, Matt recognized this logo and crumpled the paper in frustration. ''Weaponized Biosuit: ESP. The only suit thatpletely counters the mind yer path. Of all of the suits, even the Nuclear Suit, would have been better. Why did they have to have this suit researched so early.'' Matt had a sudden insight and looked over in Martha''s direction. He remembered the countless nts that had been grown with her seeds. It dawned on him that the Biotronic Brain was not the only thing Martha was being researched for. Project Synapse was likely the child project of the weapons project for the same technology. Chapter 47: First Deck Chapter 47: First Deck *Endless Stamina was changed to Fatigue Resistance to better fit the skills intention.* ------------------------ In order not to draw any suspicion they left and returned to their quarters. Matt sat on the bed after having already done a quick shower and waited for Alexis to finish. He had noticed that the steak gave him four points today which was a lucky result. He rarely got four points from steaks. This put him up to a total of ten. He looked at his skills and contemted what to do. His hypnosis was already at forty-nine proficiency, which made him happy. With ten evolution points the only things he could afford to level were his Toxin Resistance and Telepathy. Matt was curious what would happen if he maxed Toxin Resistance since it was new territory. Earlier he had overreacted to the discovery of the ESP suit because of his past frustrations from the game. Matt would not simply lie down and let them beat him with such a thing. Also, he was no ordinary Mind yer parasite anymore. Matt had been avoiding looking at Primary Reproduction because he knew the cooldown for a new parasite would be long. The exact length he was not sure about since the game was not to scale. He didn''t think leveling telepathy to two would be worth it unless he could level it to max right away and evolve it. He sighed and pulled up Primary Reproduction since he couldn''t ignore it forever. This was the skill necessary for evolving to grade two. [Primary Reproduction Lv. Max: You have created a sub-body that has inherited a portion of your skills and abilities. You are able tomunicate with the sub-body instinctively without need for excessive use of mental energy. The body is immature and will need Evolution Points in order to grow. Once mature, the sub-body may bebined with the main body to evolve to the next grade. ]Number of sub-bodies: 0 (8752:32:12) ]Evolution Cost: Mature Sub-body] Matt blinked a few times and stared at the ceiling in a daze. Alexis finished her shower with only a towel. However, he was in a daze and didn''t seem to notice her. She tried calling out to him but he seemed to bepletely lost. She resorted to sending him several thoughts through their connection which snapped him out of it. Alexis stood in front of him with a worried look. {What''s going on? You''ve been a bit off since we left theb, but just then you werepletely out of it.} {Ah, sorry. I''m fine. What''s up?} {Didn''t you want to see my skill''s descriptions?} Matt realized he had forgotten about that. He nodded towards her leading her to sit next to him on the bed. Ever since epting the parasite, she felt a sense offort from Matt beyond what she usually felt. While she was enjoying his presence, Matt had the sudden urge to lift her and bring the both of them into their bed. They changed positions quickly and Alexis had to pull the towel out from under her. She waspletely naked underneath and tried to adjust herself. Matt grabbed the towel out from under her while she was writhing around to dislodge it and then threw it across the room. He pulled the covers over them and pressed up against her. "Okay, you can show me now." "What was the point of that? Sigh." [Host: Alexis Alexeyev Master: Matthew O''Connely Support Points (SP): 3 Status: Immature Parasite Abilities: Growth, Infection, Fascination, Fatigue Resistance Skills: None] [Growth: Immature Parasites grow steadily until they mature. You may determine the rate of growth. ]Growth Rate: 24 hours] [Infection: As an Immature Parasite you are able to survive outside of a host in order to infect a host. You may change hosts until you mature.] [Fascination: The ability to subtlety influence those around you with your emotions. Those who are susceptible or willingly allow it will take actions based on your mood. ]Toggle: On/Off] [Fatigue Resistance: After optimizing the host''s cellr respiration cycles, stamina is significantly improved. ]Increased Energy Recovery ]Decreased Fatigue ]Slightly Decreased Exhaustion] Seeing the difference between the details made Matt realize that the support version of the Imposter System was verycking. However, it was better than nothing. He had tried investigating the skills himself but nothing happened. Fatigue Resistance seemed to be Alexis''s innate ability. The ability seemed quite powerful. It would essentially create more energy while preventing the body from getting tired or exhausted. Although having a lot of energy seems to serve that function already, there is normally a biological limit to your activity. Therefore, the decreased fatigue and exhaustion means the excess energy is able to be used. People with more energy than their ability to utilize it typically have trouble sleeping at night. Feeling extremely exhausted but unable to fall asleep is a terrifying curse. {How did you gain three support points already? What exactly are they?} {I''m honestly not sure what I did. The most recent one happened just a little bit ago. Right before you tackled me, I saw the notification appear in my head.} Matt wasn''t sure what exactly the criteria was for gaining support points, and the description didn''t help at all. Alexis showed him but he refused to acknowledge such a poorly written tooltip. It simply used the name as the definition. Support points are points gained while supporting. What nonsense is that? Matt sat up a bit and slid off his shirt. Then, he pressed his naked torso up against Alexis''s body and tried to calm his mind so that he could sleep. After a long time in silence, he heard Alexis''s thoughts in his head. She hadn''t been able to fall asleep either and was nuzzled into his embrace. {Can you make another dream with me?} {What would you like?} {Can we continue thest one? Where we got married. I want to see Alex and Katrina.} That night, unknown to anyone else on the ship, Matt and Alexis lived together on Earth for several decades. They watched their kids grow old and have their own lives. The two of them were like newly weds even in their fifties. They went all over the world together and experienced more in the dream that most experience in a lifetime. Having the parasite in her head allowed her to remember the dream in more detail. The next morning the two woke up extremely refreshed. They felt much closer than before and didn''t even need to speak or send telepathic messages to understand each other. Matt was further convinced of the strength of his ability because of this. Although it was mostly due to how good their rtionship was already, the influence from his dream control is incredible. The two of them left for breakfast hand-in-hand after getting dressed. While in the middle of their meal, the two of them suddenly received a message on their personal devices. After reading their respective message, they gave a knowing look to each other. They had both been invited to the captain''s drawing room for a meeting. This did not sound like a wedding reception so it must be rted to official matters. The two of them could only follow their orders and head toward the first deck where the captain was waiting for them. Not just anyone could enter the first deck. You needed explicit permission from a bridge crew member, orders, or a high enough ranking. The hallways were muchrger with fewer rooms. There were no quarters except for the captain''s quarters. There was also a small cafeteria here specifically for the bridge crew. This was why the captain was typically not seen in the main cafeteria. Matt and Alexis arrived in front of the captain''s drawing room and waited to be let in. The doors slid open and there were two empty seats with several high-ranking members sitting around the table. They had been discussing various matters already and the next case that was being introduced was the case of Alexis Alexeyev''s rank. The captain called the previous topic into a close and signaled the two waiting patiently toe in and sit. They upied the empty seats at the side of the table and the captain began talking. The previousmander of the First Strike squad was in confinement along with five members. Two of those members were in line to take up the position ofmander of the First Strike squad. The issue today was thecking of a suitable candidate. Alexis had been nominated but due to her maternity leave couldn''t take up the position yet. The captain suggested bringing her in to the meeting and called Matt along for another issue. Once they heard the captain present the item of discussion, Alexis and Matt seemed to understand what was happening. " And therefore, I believe Commander Alexis Alexeyev should take up the vacant spot as leader of the First Strike squad. Due to her maternity leave, she will nominate someone as acting leader until she returns to duty." The captain summarized. Chapter 48: Dangerous Confrontation Chapter 48: Dangerous Confrontation "I second the motion to instate Commander Alexeyev as the leader of the First Strike squad." "I Abstain." "I am against it." "" By the time it went around the table, eleven were for it, five abstained, and ten were against it. It seemed that Alexis would be promoted. Matt and Alexis had been talking with telepathy the whole time in order to discuss this opportunity. The main issue was electing someone to be the acting leader. Matt didn''t know people well enough but offered to use his powers to vet the crew. "Commander Alexis Alexeyev, do you ept this role of Leader for the First Strike squad?" "Yes, captain. I have a request, though." "Continue." "May I return from leave for a few days in order to choose an appropriate candidate?" "Approved. Now, the next order of business. The homicide of Petty Officer Carlos Lorenz. As you are all aware, Petty Officer Jason Barnes snuck into the medical bay. Once he arrived unseen by any personnel, he arrived at the room where Petty Officer Lorenz was lying in aa. Barnes then took a pillow and suffocated Lorenz. Before anyone could save him, he had already died fromck of oxygen. Let us begin the discussion of his punishment and resources allocated into investigation." Matt sat there stunned but didn''t dare make any facial expressions. He had been prepping the soldier, who he now knew as Jason Barnes, to kill Lorenz. However, he hadn''t seen Jason in two nights. With all that had happened in thest two days, he had put that in the back of his mind. Matt watched the presentation and the timeline of events. It turned out that the call the captain received that day during Matt''s interrogation was rted to Petty Officer Lorenz. This exins why the captain had to take back his offer of a promotion. The timing was terrible and instead of helping him go forward, it instead set him back. However, Matt was internally relieved. He looked over at Alexis with a calm face. She had been constantly sending him her thoughts to make sure he didn''t panic. She reassured him that he had a full alibi and she would cover for him the nights he went to drink with Barnes. Although she didn''t know what he had been doing, knowing his powers and histe-night meetings, she deduced that he manipted the events to ur this way. The captain must have brought the two of them in order to reward and threaten them at the same time. The reward for recent events was the promotion. The threat was a possible link between Barnes and Matt. Alexis understood this clearly and locked eyes with the captain for a split second. {He''s too dangerous, Matt. We need toy low for a while.} {I think so too. The captain was always several steps ahead. Even if he doesn''t me me for this, he can still stop me from joining the Second Strike squad while making it seem as if he is on our side. I''m afraid he has been using us against Shephard since a month ago when agreed to let me try out for the squad.} The two of them realized they had been used as chess pieces by the captain. However, there was nothing they could do since they were wrapped up in the situation. Matt and Alexis needed to be stronger and get some leverage. There was nothing they could trust except for each other and Martha. The year long cooldown from the next sub-body was difficult for him. However, it would give him time to build up his foundations. He was not sure what would happen to him this next evolution. The thing that was bothering Matt the most was the question of why. He did not understand why he was in the center of everything. He thought that perhaps people knew of his secret and were using him, but that didn''t make sense. All of the years of living on Earth and the heavy testing he had to go through before joining this mission would have showed his identity. There were two other possibilities. It was actually Alexis that was the center of all of these things. He was dragged into it because he seems to be an easier target once she was discovered to be pregnant. Perhaps they nned to use their child in the future against her. This thought made him angry that he almost let his facial expression slip during the meeting. The second possibility was a protagonist effect. He may be perceiving that things are happening to him specifically, but in reality, he is simply ignoring the whole state of the ship. This one is very easy to determine if he takes some time to investigate. If he discovers that there have been movements in various ces around the ship against various crewman, then it would mean he is simply tunnel visioned on himself. Since he has a parasite in his head, everything that happens to him seems like part of arger conspiracy. However, if he looks at the situation as a whole, it may just be that he is one part of the whole picture. Although depressing, it would mean that Alexis and he would be safe for the time being. Matt decided to spend some time asking around the night shift workers since they saw the ugly side of this mission. After the discussion about Petty Officer Lorenz ended, the final conclusion was that the investigation would be closed indefinitely. When the final remark came down, the captain gave another meaningful look toward Matt as if saying "You owe me now." Matt didn''t respond in any way as if he didn''t notice the gesture. Barnes would be locked up in the most secure cell that ran on its ownwork and power source. After the briefing on the homicide case concluded, there was a recess. At this time, Alexis and Matt were able to leave. The captain didn''t see them before they left so they assumed it was better to be tactful and not make a scene. On their way back, Matt realized that losing Barnes meant he lost his source of Evolution Points. This was a huge headache. {Can we go see Martha? I''m stressed out about this whole situation and want to stroke her leaves!} Alexisined. They made their way straight to theb. Matt activated his Sense Life like always and casually checked the surrounding area. He had been making sure no one watched him enter theb. However, when he turned to start unlocking the door, he saw two life signatures. One was clearly Martha''s, which he recognized. However, the other one was as intense as Alexis''s life signature after bing a host. {We''ve got trouble. Someone strong is in there.} Alexis nodded and released her sleekbat suit. It unfolded and covered her whole body. Matt opened the door and let her enter first. She quickly entered and moved with precision, utilizing the optimal amount of cover as she proceeded through theb. Matt followed behind at least ten steps only following after she went to the next spot. The two of them eventually reached just outside of Martha''s holding area where Matt saw the two life signatures. Matt activated Sense Life again and nodded toward Alexis. He had transmitted the image to her and she used that to give an urate strike. However, a weak thud was heard and a familiar sound started. Matt quickly entered the room with his hands up, moving toward Alexis. "Wird, we meet again." Matt saw Wird standing in a dirty t-shirt and pants. He had one of his portable turrets unfolded next to him aiming at Alexis. Martha was hiding in the corner, fearful of Wird. Matt was afraid of this situation happening. He thought that Wird wasn''t interested in this. Since he was able to hack the cameras, he would naturally be able to see the original video and audio. "So, this is what you were carrying with you that day. Anyway, I''m not here to for that. Instead, I am here for you Matthew O''Connely. I did a bit of digging on you. I discovered there is a discrepancy in your files from when you were a child" Matt and Alexis gave each other a look and tensed up. The Turret seemed to detect their intentions and started sucking up air. "Around the age of three, there is a trail of missing documents up until the age of sixteen when the trail disappearspletely. It took me quite a long time to even discover these nk spots. Quite suspicious Dr. O''Connely" {I''ll distract him, can you take out the turret?} Matt quickly sent to Alexis. However, something surprised him. Wird''s eyes widened and he smiled. "How exactly do you n to distract me, O''Connely?" Matt suddenly went cold. He suddenly realized the possibility that Wird was actually the escaped subject. He was foolish to discount him so quickly from the list. Perhaps Matt had been manipted instead of the other way around. "Don''t be so tense. I could easily recognize your background. The sudden deaths of your loved ones. Your difficulty making friends. You''re high level of intelligence. Thisbined with the carefully hidden information trail is a beacon for me. You see, I experienced the same exact childhood" "We are of the same kind, Matthew. I too was experimented on as a child to create the superior human-- an esper!" Chapter 49: Third Wheel Chapter 49: Third Wheel "Impossible! The records werepletely destroyed!" Matt said, wlessly acting. "No need to be so stiff. I am here as an ally. Shephard see''s everyone with too much power as a threat and will try to remove them. Fortunately, I am too smart and untouchable. I am putting myself in great danger by leaving my part of the ship." "If you''re an ally, why is that turret still aiming at my fianc?" Wird smirked and flicked his wrist. The turret stopped levitating and folded back into itself. Matt didn''t realize but he must use his so-called powers to control those turrets. Additionally, it seemed he was capable of intercepting Matt''s telepathy. Once the turret was back into the same of a box, Matt rxed. He didn''t want to seem hostile and decided to go with Wird''s misunderstanding. It was better to be a superhuman than an alien. "So, what do you want? You knew my secret and instead of holding it against me, you revealed yours. What is your angle?" "Hmph,e on Matthew, you are smarter than that. Just think about it for a moment and you''ll know the answer." Matt resisted the urge to smack him. He closed his eyes and turned perfect mimicry on. After hypothesizing the true function of Perfect Mimicry the other day, he had some ideas about expanding its use. Since the skill seemed to function without use of his conscious mind, he figured out that if he used Perfect Mimicry and his own mind at the same time, it was like thinking with two brains. After a few moments of going through mental gymnastics, Perfect Mimicry with Matt supporting it came up with the most likely conclusion. "Project Synapse is a threat to you. You discovered the Martha is rted to the project." "Well done! I knew we were the same. You see, I discovered the project for the first time when I released my Pandora''s Box virus. In order to test their prototype biotronic brain, they had it attempt to pick apart the virus and learn from it. However, the protype malfunctioned and was destroyed. Serves them right." "A few days after that is when I discovered the person''s name Shephard. No matter what database I hacked, I could not figure out his true identity. Even with my enhanced mind, Shephard eluded me. He started to actively hunt me and sent a prototypebat suit to take me down. Unfortunately for them, I scattered the brain of the operator and stole the suit. Since it was an unauthorized mission, the suit was officially lost in a training ident." "That still doesn''t exin what you want from us." Alexis chided. Wird ignored her and continued. "After that, I took over the old operations room in the back of the ship. The room was intended to be a backup incase the bridge was everpromised. I renovated the ce and have been living there since. No one bothered me until after you came knocking on my door. After I helped you, my mainframe has constantly been under attack. Shephard has pissed me off for thest time so I''m here to team up and deal with him once and for all." "And how are we supposed to trust you?" Matt said while crossing his arms. "Go ahead and use your ability on me likest time. I won''t resist." Wird said while removing the pair of sses he was wearing. Matt thought this was a very good way of doing it. He looked Wird directly in the eye which caused him to lock eyes with Matt. Once hypnosis was activated, he began his orders. "Was everything you said just now true?" "No. I didn''t kill the operator myself. The suit malfunctioned, saving my life at thest second." "What are your intentions toward Alexis and myself?" Although he didn''t resist, there was a lot of hesitation with this question. His brain tried to subconsciously stop theing answer. "I''m lonely. I wanted someone on the same level as me to talk to. Also, because of Shephard, I haven''t been able to eat a decent meal in a long time. I want to help you take him out." "What makes you think we are opposing Shephard?" "That''s a dumb question. I don''t need to be under your power to tell you that. Your very existence makes you oppose Shephard." He retorted. "Onest thing. Apologize to Alexis, you rude asshole." Hearing this, Alexis snorted and looked over at Wird with a mocking grin. The gears in his head grinded slowly as his mind tried to justify the action. However, his whole being didn''t allow him to ept such a thing. Wird naturally saw everyone who wasn''t like him as being below him. Seeing him struggling, Alexis rolled her eyes and toggled her Fascination on. Being sensitive to the fluctuations of an Esper, he naturally recognized the sudden pulse being released from her body. "Sorry for hitting you and pointing my turret at you And for ignoring you earlier." "Good enough." Alexis said and turned off her ability. When she was ying around with Matt a few days ago she discovered how draining the ability was. She could only keep it up for five minutes before experiencing a severe headache. Wird stared at Alexis for a bit before snapping his fingers and making a face of realization. "The fetus! That must be the case. The genes in Matthew that were modified must have affected your reproduction as well. You have the first Esper child in your stomach! Magnificent." Wird nodded to himself, not exining his sudden conclusion and put his sses back on. Matt had since walked over to Alexis''s side since Wird started giving her those strange nces. He wouldn''t bother correcting any of his misunderstandings. "Okay, for now we can trust you. You know what powers we have, but you still haven''t shown us yours. That''s a bit ingenuine, don''t you think?" {Naturally, I will showcase them now!} A telepathic message entered their minds as Wird started to levitate. Various objects in the room floated upward with him and began to dance around. A clipboard flew over toward him and Wird made a finger-gun. When he bent his thumb, an invisible force prated the clipboard leaving a hole the size of an orange. After his show, everything fell to the ground and hended gently on his feet. "Well, there you have it. I guess we are partners from here on out!" Wird said brushing his shoulder arrogantly. "Fine. For now, don''t contact us directly like this. We currently need to deal with the issue of a homicide and finding a temporary leader for the First Strike squad." Matt said. "Naturally. This was a special asion since I needed to build your trust. Take these." Wird pulls out a pair of small containers and hands them one to the duo. "Inside is a special device I created myself. ce them on your eyes and we will be able tomunicate on a secure channel. Additionally, it has some rudimentary hacking programming and will guide you through lowplexity systems." Matt and Alexis opened the container and found a pair of contacts. Matt put them in first and saw something appear in his line of sight that looked exactly like the private chat in the game from his former life. It was even in the same corner and had the same aesthetic. "How do I actually type anythingoh never mind." As soon as he said ''type'' a virtual keyboard appeared in front of him. He was able to sessfully post a message on the private chat and then nodded toward Alexis that it was safe. She put it on and was marveled by the technology. Wird looked at her like she was a country bumpkin. Since Matt recognized theyout to be the same as the graphic user interface from the game, he wasn''t shocked. But the technology was veryplex and novel, so any normal person would be shocked as well. This only confirmed Wird''s thoughts toward Matt. After delivering the goods, he walked into the animal pen and pulled open the vent. He gave a wave to Matt and Alexis and began crawling. The two of them watched him and couldn''t help but burst out inughter after he was gone. "Such a narcissistic and arrogant grown man crawling through vents to get around. That has to be the funniest thing I''ve seen all week." Alexis said, holding her stomach and wiping away a tear from theughing. "Regardless of his entric he is, having him on our side means we are closer to a life without fear of persecution. Shephard will regret bringing us together." At this point, Martha came forward and ced what looked like a pinecone on the ground in front of Matt. In the process of creating a telepathic channel with her, he picked it up and waspletely dumbfounded. [Gic Material Detected. 33%patibility. Grade 2. Consume for 7 Evolution Points.] Chapter 50: Leader Candidates Chapter 50: Leader Candidates Matt held the pinecone in his hand and was very confused. Rather than the typical looking pinecone, it was more like a fresh one that hadn''t released its seeds and turned brown yet. It was still green and full of moisture. Alexis wondered what he was holding and looked over in a confused manner. Once his connection with Martha was formed, he began to converse with her. Apparently, this was normal for her. Every now and then, she needed to release excess energy in the form of seeds. She had indeed been growing a lot more recently, but not in size. Her weight had doubled yet again. Matt wondered what exactly was causing her density to increase so much. Any more and he was afraid she would begin to create a gravitational force. Matt took a de and sliced the pinecone in half. Inside were various pods that contained seeds. He used a more precise de to cut a paper-thin sheet of the seed and looked at it under the microscope. It turned out that the seed was exactly like the membrane that held Martha''s cat-like body in the past. This must be the viable seed that Dr. Bradshaw had mentioned. No wonder they were able to create so many chimera''s, this pod has at least fifty seeds. Matt took another seed and ground it up. Then, he ced the mixture in his spectrometer and tested it. While he was at it, he took out the capsules of drug he had been meaning to test. They said it was an iodine supplement and another drug meant to reduce the damage from radiation. However, he didn''t need either of those things so he decided to check in his paranoia. "Those are the drugs they gave out the other day. Do you think they lied about the contents? That is a felony" "I don''t think Shephard cares about breaking thew. Also, we are so far from Earth at this point." Once he finished preparing the medications for analysis, the spectrometer was finished analyzing the seed sample. It contained eighty-five percent elements that were part of gic material and fifteen percent of a depleted radioactive isotope. This must be how the other nts are able to initiate the same nuclear bioreaction. Suddenly, he realized he had been forgetting something from a long time ago. Matt took out his personal device and brought up all of the photos he took. There were many of him and Alexis he had to go through, but eventually he found the several pages of Dr. Bradshaw''s notebook he had taken. He ordered them chronologically and began to read through them. Alexis took the drug sample and operated the spectrometer while he was reading. Fortunately, the bulk of the notebook was filled with hand drawn tables and charts. The data in the charts wasn''t very important to Matt since it was mainly growth markers and other measurements that would be necessary for a paper but not what Matt was looking for. He finally reached arge section with notes that talked about Project Synapse. He was about to start reading when the spectrometer beeped that it was finished. He put his reading on pause and walked over to the machine. The chemicalposition was written on the screen with the different ratios ofponents. He ran a quick check on the database and came up with only three possible drugs that could contain these ratios. Two of them didn''t make any sense, but the third one was a very powerful anthelmintic, stronger than the one he used before. This drug was used to treat serious cases of parasitic infection. The second drug was likely to be a drug that covers up the side effects of taking such a high dose drug. "Sigh, this a big headache." Matt said while leaning back in his chair. "What''s the issue? It wasn''t poison was it?" Matt gave her a meaningful look and sent her a telepathic message. {Not to normal people, but to someone recently infected with a parasite, well. A normal person would call it a treatment.} {Does that mean Shephard was targeting you, or perhaps targeting this missing subject?} {He likely used the radiation incident as a way to spread this high dose drug around the ship in hopes to severely weaken the escaped subject. At least this means the subject is definitely parasitic in nature.} Matt brushed his hair back and realized how long it had gotten. He had already spent over a month in this world, yet he had no clues as to what brought his consciousness here. {This probably isn''t a good time to say this, but something Wird said didn''t make sense to me.} {Hm? Which one of the many wrong things he said didn''t make sense?} Matt replied slightly jokingly. {Well, the way he talked seemed strange. When you asked him why he revealed himself, he instead shifted it to you and you answered Project Synapse and Martha. However, he never once mentioned Martha after what you said. Although he talked about Project Synapse and the biotronic brain, he never explicitly mentioned Martha again.} {It seems like he came in through the venttion shaft. He had plenty of time to do something with Martha} Matt changed his target and asked Martha to share what happened before they came. What Matt saw from Martha were a series of images that created something like a movie. Wird arrived from the vent and dusted himself off. Martha immediately reacted badly and tried to attack him. However, he released some device that yed a high pitch sound which made Martha lose all strength. Then, he injected something in her body. The images stopped, and when Martha woke up, she had created two pinecones. One was still within her but the other was already sprouted from her tail. Wird snatched it and stuffed it in his pocket and then Alexis arrived around the corner. {That bastard injected something into her. Whatever it was stimted her to create these pinecones. He took one with him.} {There''s nothing we can do about it now. We still need to figure out a temporary leader for the First Strike squad. Do you want to apany me to check people with your power?} {Yeah, lets go. The sooner we take care of that the sooner we cany low.} Matt nodded and ced everything back that he had used. He pocketed the pinecone and said bye to Martha. While the two of them were on their way out, Matt received an encrypted file that opened to his biometrics. It contained a list of personnel with varying degrees of connection to Shephard. "It seems we have something to go off of now." The situation was a lot more stressful than when they left the meeting earlier that morning. Alexis only had a short amount of time ying with Martha before they decided to leave theb. They were careful not to give away any information while in theb. They tried to use telepathic speaking as much as possible so that Wird wouldn''t have a record of what they said. Matt looked through the personnel sheet and discovered someone familiar. It was the soldier that he encountered during the test. The one that had essentially helped him find the hiding ce of Lorenz and the other candidate. His name was Finley Maguire. ording to Wird''s observations, he was apletely neutral person on the ship. Matt gave him another thought but then moved on. At least this person was not against him. "There are four candidates that would be a good choice." Matt showed her the personnel files of the four. Alexis recognized three of them and the other she had never met. The first one was Megan Cirillo. She always ced in the top ten in all parameters in the First Strike squad which secured her position. Due to her personality, she is difficult to talk to and even more difficult to coerce. She would be a great choice minus her unsociable nature. The next was Diana Martin. She did not ce nearly as high as Megan, but consistently stayed out of the elimination criteria. Her main benefits were clearly not being part of Shephard''s faction. In fact, she was the Captain''s cousin. Aside from that, she had a good personality and was easy to talk to. The third candidate which Alexis did not recognize was Markus Deville. He was in the middle of rankings almost every time. His personality was normal. His build was average and didn''t have anything remarkable about him. Additionally, it seemed that many didn''t even know he existed, like Alexis. He was a wall flower wherever he went. Wird''s analysis showed that he was over ny percent not working for Shephard, which was the highest of any other person that wasn''t in the captain''s faction. "Thest person is Ren. She is great. Last year, she was first in the skirmish and was promoted to the First Strike squad. We were really close back on Earth. Unfortunately, I heard she got into an ident during training sometime thisst year which pushed her down the rankings." Alexis said when she saw the fourth candidate. -------------- Thank you CrownofFangs for the generous gift. Enjoy the bonus chapter! Chapter 51: Commander Payne Chapter 51: Commander Payne Alexis and Matt went back to their room first so that she could change into her uniform. She sent a message to the four candidates to meet her in one of the military bays. The time she said was early and Alexis told them to stand at attention. She purposefully arrived thirty minuteste. This was a simple strategy in order to wear someone down. It was not as effective for experienced soldiers but it would still ce some pressure on them along with thepetitive atmosphere in the room. When the duo arrived, there were five soldiers standing with their back straights and heads held high. Matt stood near the entrance and watched Alexis do her work. She walked over to the candidates and looked them up and down one at a time. Everyone knew her and didn''tin that she was made the new leader. They were especially fine with the situation since her maternity leave started. She had to choose someone to take temporary leadership which would pave their path to being the future leader. Alexis stopped in front of the extra person. She had not asked him to be here, but he would not be so brazen to arrive without orders. She guessed it was likely the Captain or Shephard that told him to join this lineup. Alexis could dismiss him, however, that would only give fuel for the other side. It was best to force him to drop out on his own. The four people she invited knew that this fifth person didn''t fit. They were all aware of their varying degrees of neutrality and this man was everything but neutral. He openly disyed the influence backing him. He never did ranking tests and sat firmly in the tenth position. He was known as the gatekeeper for top ten since there were only nine spots actually contestable because of him. Alexis smirked at him and turned around walking away slowly. She had a cunning n in mind. If it were just the four of the people she called over, it would be a simple interview and she would decide. However, since someone was ying around behind the scenes, she made some ns. The military bay she chose was near therge centrifuge. She didn''t intend to use it immediately, but now with the new factor she decided to move her ns up. "I am sure you are all aware of the reason I gathered you here today. I will not mince words. For the next few days, you will be undergoing training in the centrifuge with me from morning to evening. If you cannot keep up, you will be disqualified. If youin, you will be disqualified. I have already called to set thest ring to ten-times gravity. Grab your suits and report in thirty minutes." "Yes, Ma''am!" The four shouted. This was going to be Matt''s first time seeing the properbat suit. In order to survive and function in that intense gravity, one needed to wear a functioningbat suit. The various Military Bays were made for training but also storage of various weaponry and the suits. Alexis switched into her ''Space Marine'' suit and was now a head taller than Matt. Alexis went on ahead while Matt stayed back to observe the other candidates. The suit was sleek with thin, flexible armor tes that allow for good maneuverability. The other five quickly returned in their own suits. Matt noticed that the person who arrived without notice had the Pyrotechnician suit which gave him an unfair advantage in higher gravity. The other candidates had already left to the centrifuge but he stood around and gloated in front of Matt. The heavier armor included more support for the physical body. This meant that the suit would carry most of the load of the gravity. Matt was interested to see the performance of all of these suits since the normal human couldn''t survive in ten times gravity. In fact, they could barely survive in five times gravity. However, these suits were designed with the idea of doing missions onrger and densers. Because of this, they can handle eleven times gravity at their very limit before functionality begins to drop. The inner suit is capable of creating negative gravity around the body and the outer suit creates a pressurized environment to allow for travel in a vacuum. Matt arrivedter than the others. Each centrifuge ring had a specially designed observation deck in order to see what was happening in each ring. When he arrived, he saw that Alexis had already started doing drills. However, instead of standing at the side she was leading them directly. He understood what she meant before. Her innate ability Fatigue Resistance meant she could oust a normal human. The four candidates they chose showed good traits befitting their positions. Their endurance and perseverance should be much higher than someone who coasted by with someone else''s support. The drillssted several hours and Matt had since grabbed dinner and brought it for him and Alexis. When she called the training for the day and told everyone to report here tomorrow at six in the morning, everyone copsed in exhaustion and relief. This was only a few hours, they had to really be mentally prepared for a whole day. The ''gatekeeper'' was especially angry. He was told that he would definitely get the position of acting-leader with minimal effort. However, he had to be subjected to so much work. He grinned devilishly while thinking to himself. Although he didn''t work for his rank, he had the qualifications topete for it normally. The difference was, years of rxing had dulled his drive. Physically he could handle it, but mentally it was exhausting. He began to curse Alexis internally. There was no way she had more stamina than him, he thought. The criteria were to oust her and the other candidates. This would be easy, he mused. He immediately left the centrifuge with these thoughts. He was not worried about the next few days at all. In his calctions, it would end tomorrow. However, the other candidates talked amongst themselves. They noticed that Alexis hadn''t even broken a sweat and was able tomand them clearly without any signs of heavy breathing in her voice. Everyone else was pushed to their limits. They realized this was not an easy assignment and were even more determined. This was the position of acting-leader, it naturally wouldn''t be so simple. When Alexis arrived in the observation room, she quickly disengaged her suit and stepped out of it. She was glistening with sweat but didn''t seem tired at all. Matt had brought her favorite dishes from the cafeteria since it was already over an hour after it closed. She started eating, barely breathing in between mouthfuls. She seemed more voracious than Matt on some asions. "Slow down, you''ll choke." {Shut up, I''m starving.} She sent through telepathy because her mouth was filled with food and she couldn''t speak. She didn''t even have the patience to re at him as it may slow down her intake. {This is probably a side effect of your ability. The body doesn''t create energy from nothing. You should start increasing your portions. Since you are pregnant, no one will question the request. Ideally, get some packets of high-calorie powder for when you overexert yourself.} She chose not to respond as it seemed to be tiring for her. Although she was filled to the brim with energy, it was at the cost of all of the excess nutrients in her body. This was not healthy in the long-term so it would be best if she gained some weight in order to give herself a safety for the ability. The high-calorie powder he mentioned dissolved in water. It is tasteless and odorless and often used for injured and bedridden patients that cannot take in calories on their own. One packet was enough to support a person for a week. After scarfing everything down she burped. They had been sitting on the floor while Alexis ate, so sheid her head on Matt''sp. They were still in the observation room, but it was for the third ring and no one ever entered here. She was feeling a bit sleepy from overeating, so she ended up falling asleep after a few minutes. He didn''t want to interrupt her sleep so instead he activated Dream Walking. Matt created a happy dream for her while he sat on vigil in the room. He had taken off his uniform jacket and ced it over her. She would asionally giggle in her sleep or grab Matt''s arm and mumble nonsense. He just smiled and ran his fingers through her hair asionally. Watching her sleeping face that had many expressions was enough to keep him entertained. In these moments of simple bliss, Matt thought about how his life had been before andpared it to the life he wanted to have in the future. If he had the ability to return to his previous life, he would refuse. This was a realization that slightly surprised him. He had already fully epted his life and made important connections. Although he missed his family, he couldn''t abandon the family in this life either. Chapter 52: Iron Plate Chapter 52: Iron te The next day Matt simrly went to the observation room and watched the morning training. There was nothing he had to do so he started reading through the notebook about Martha again. The training was just as difficult as yesterday, except this time itsted the whole day. Surprisingly, everyone managed to keep up until lunch time. Alexis had put in a request for various packets of the high-calorie powder and mixed it in with a few bottles of water. She gave the five candidates a fifteen-minute break and then they continued. Alexis had downed a whole packet where the others didn''t dare to take a third of one. The excess calories could severely impair the bodies functions for a while. They continued that way until dinner and the candidates copsed on the floor. Alexis was still fine, but her muscles were aching. Although her stamina could keep up, there was simply a biological limit to her strength. However, it seemed to be slowly increasing. Several automatons entered the centrifuge and carried the copsed soldiers out. This was amon urrence and there was an established protocol to remove any injured or unconscious people from the rings. Because of this, Alexis wasn''t worried and went straight to the observation room where Matt was reading while asionally looking at the monitors. She removed and stored herbat suit in the adjacent military bay and then went to meet up with Matt. Matt had been reading the notebook and looking for very specific data and notes. Project Synapse was exined on several asions however Martha''s connection to it was never explicitly mentioned. However, Matt did discover some very valuable information. It seemed that once Martha umted enough nutrients, and was then given a chemicalpound containing a concentrated mixture of nucleic acids, she would begin to flower and produce those nuts. This reminded him of what Wird did to Martha. He either had ess to the original, or read it off of Matt''s device. It seemed that the viable seeds are very important to Project Synapse but Matt couldn''t find the reference to why anywhere. Fortunately, he gained the method to synthesize thepound. He would first ask for Martha''s permission, since this was a great way for him to get stronger. He got to thest book and noticed that Bradshaw''s handwritten started to get sloppier. Matt wasn''t a handwriting analysist otherwise he may have noticed the progressively worse handwriting until now. However, the stark difference between the third and fourth book made him realize something was wrong. There was a tremor in his hand that caused random marks or crooked letters. As he read on, he saw a very difficult to read entry that he couldn''t decipher. And suddenly, as he flipped the page, the handwriting went back to being normal. Matt flipped back and looked at thest entry. Something happened between these two. The dates at the top showed a three-day difference. Matt suddenly thought of something and flipped back. He calcted the dates of the entries and created something of a schedule. It seemed that since the handwriting started to deteriorate, a gap began to appear in the entries. One missed day every few weeks, then two, then the three and it began to happen closer and closer to each urrence. ''What the hell were you up to, Bradshaw'' The door swished open and Alexis walked in. She was wearing a clean and dry uniform since she had likely sweated through the other one. She walked over to the sofa and copsed on it with her limbs sprawled out. She groaned tiredly but Matt waspletely focused on the notebook. She groaned louder but he didn''t seem to notice again. She clicked her tongue and went over to the chair he was sitting in. She came up behind him but he was still engrossed in what he was reading. She stood there for a moment and tried to see what he was looking at but the text was too small and at a weird angle. She put her face really close to his ear and he still didn''t notice her. "What are you reading?" Matt yelped while falling forward out of the chair and tumbling slightly on the ground. He was so focused on the notebook he hadn''t noticed Alexis walk in and get behind him. She had scared him quite a bit that his heart was beating rapidly. Alexis was leaning on the back of his chair with her hand over her mouth trying to hold back herughter. "That''s not funny." Matt says with a frown. "It''s pretty funny." "Why did you sneak up on me." "Hah! You were so focused you didn''t notice me. What if it were someone else?" Matt didn''t respond because she made a good point. If someone had been trying to sneak up on him he wouldn''t have even noticed. He decided to start fixing this by always being aware of his surroundings and not get too focused on one thing. This tunnel vision was a habit he had from his past life. It was also the reason why he often forgot about things like the notebook and the medicine until muchter. He rubbed his temples and saw that it was almost lunch time. They made their way to the cafeteria and had a good dinner. Alexis was full of energy when they returned to their room because of her ability and having plenty of nutrients to make use of it. Because of this, she took the initiative to have a joint exercise with Matt at night under the sheets. Needless to say, he woke upte the next morning after Alexis had already left and started her torturing of the five candidates. Matt arrived just in time to witness a fight between Alexis and the man in the Pyrotechnician suit. Watching the fight, he realized the gap between them. The ''Space Marine'' suit is not simply just the beginner''s suit because it is the weakest. In fact, some veterans still use that suit due to its applications. Instead of relying on heavy machinery and explosive weaponry, the suit lets the user utilize their skills and techniques at the highest level. Alexis activated the various features of the suit and was able to run circles around her opponent. She struck at the joints with perfect precision. Matt didn''t know when this fight started, but it seemed to be ending quickly. However, instead of giving up, Matt noticed something strange happening in the man''s suit. He didn''t recognize it, but Alexis did. Apartment opened up in therge tank on his back and a powerful me sted forwards where Alexis was standing. She dodged it since she expected it, and the floor where she stood began to melt. This was no longer a spar but an attack. Matt was afraid that contacting her now would distract her. This was a risk to her life. ''So that''s your y, huh? I was going to leave you alone and let Alexis deal with you, but now it seems you have overstepped.'' Matt thought to himself. He nned to make his life miserable from now on. He continued watching the fight and tried to draw parallels between the game and reality. The ''Pyrotechnician'' suit was a very powerful demolition suit. The mes generated by the suit were as hot as magma. If it were not for the special metal that the suits were made of, it wouldn''t even be able to handle its own heat. This is why the ''Pyrotechnician'' suit was so heavy duty. Alexis did her best, but she didn''t have her weapon so needed to close the distance to attack. The fight seemed to be going downhill fast until one of the candidates jumped in to help. That was when Matt noticed the three candidates waiting at the side watching, frozen in shock. One took action and help. They struck at the heavy unit on the back of the suit and I seemed to disable some of the mes. The only thing remaining were the arm units but they had a very small quantity of chemicals to create those mes. When the others saw the candidate take action, they joined to fight, but only after the main danger was neutralized. Eventually, they took him down. Alexis seemed to be ordering them to do something and then they all left the centrifuge. Many automatons came out to clean up and repair the damages as well as bring the unconscious soldier out. The centrifuge was damaged quite a bit because of those mes. Matt went to go meet them as they exited. When Alexis and the other four came out of the lift, they removed their helmets. It turned out that the person that helped Alexis at the key moment was Ren. "The tests have concluded. I will send you all a message tomorrow with the results. You are dismissed. Lieutenant Ren Yamamoto, stay behind I wish to speak with you." ------- Thanks to everyone that gifted. You''re awesome. Enjoy the chapter. Chapter 53: Power-full Discovery Chapter 53: Power-full Discovery "Yes, Commander!" The four shouted. The other three left to go store their suits but they already understood the decision Alexis had made. They had frozen in that situation but only Ren had taken action. Matt looked at the girl who helped his wife and was very thankful. The injury she received that made her drop in the rankings consecutively was a lost eye. She wore an eyepatch over her left eye because of it. "Ren, we didn''t have a chance to in a long time. How are you doing?" "Ah,mander, I am doing fine." "No need to be formal, we were ssmates after all." Alexis gave her a sincere look. Matt could tell that they were good friends in the past but may have had some difficulties along the way. Ren looked down with a guilty expression but didn''t say anything. "Sigh, it wasn''t your fault. Anyway, I will be assigning you as the acting-leader. If you feel guilty about what happened back then, make up for it with your effort." "Yes, Commander!" Hearing her words, Ren was very enthusiastic. She was excused and went to go rest. All that remained were Alexis, Matt, and thest candidate. He was still unconscious. Alexis decided to call a medical team and leave him, but not before Matt left behind a mark to torture himter. When they returned to their quarters, Alexis went directly to her office and wrote up a report. Meanwhile, Matt went back to reading the rest of the notebook. Bradshaw''s writing was much more fanatical near the end of the book. He began to start talking about someone as an object of his affection. However, it didn''t seem like a person. The way he wrote it was like an incredible being. An existence unlike his own. This started making Matt interested. The escaped subject may have Bradshaw under his thumb. Since Martha gave so many evolution points, Bradshaw could have been supplying it. ("Today, I saw Them for the first time. They allowed me to approach as my offering was meaningful. They wished for me to continue developing my research and return with a finished product. I will satisfy Their will.") ''This is thest thing he wrote'' {Did you finish reading it?} Alexis noticed he was staring at the wall with a nk look and assumed he was finished with his notebook. Matt blinked a few times and snapped out of his daze. He nodded towards her and went back to his thoughts as they left to catch the end of the dinner hour. This would prove as good evidenceter if he was put in a weird position. Matt thought of what he wanted to do inside that ''gatekeeper''s'' dream. He had a good idea in mind and was excited to execute it. That night, he activated his Dream Walking and silently infiltrated the man''s mind. The position of his body was definitely below. Matt wasn''t sure about the distance but he passed through at least ten solid objects. There was no telling what exactly they were, floor or wall, but most of them were floor at least. When he reached the room, he did some scouting and discovered that it was filled with strange apparatuses. He could only guess what they were based on their silhouette. Matt didn''t want to waste anymore time and entered the man''s dream. The duration of his Dream Walking was directly rted to his mental energy. Since his body was asleep, he couldn''t use more than the energy that was already avable to him. Matt entered the dream and he noticed the current one was very strange and abstract. There wasn''t anything specific happening it was all just randomness. This wasn''t unheard of; Matt was just used to more realistic dreams. The world started to change as soon as Matt entered. His influence warped it and shaped it into something real and vivid. The disembodied man began to form up and be conscious of his dream. The scene was in the centrifuge. Instead of losing, he ended up winning. When he came out victorious and was epted as the acting-leader, Matt was by his side to congratte him. When he sessfully became the permanent leader, Matt was his secretary. Once Matt established his position next to the man in his dream, he let it go on its own. At that point, the dream started to expand and more things were happening. Matt simply followed along and half-paid attention to these dull moments that the unimaginative mind was creating. Just as he was about to begin the torture, the scene shifted. Matt was brought with the man to see their boss. The mood had changedpletely in the dream''s environment. It was dark, damp, and scary. The environment reflected the fear of the dreamer. They were met by people which had blurry faces. Matt interpreted this as the man had never seen their faces, or could not remember them. Once they reached a pair of st doors, they were stopped. A scanner lit up and began to go over the two of them. Once they werepletely scanned, the red light above the door switched to green followed by a buzzing. The door opened and arge chamber was revealed. There were hundreds of cables running along the ground. Matt couldn''t find a ce to step that didn''t have a cable. He looked toward the center of the room where these cables converged and felt a dark and mysterious presence. The two approached and Matt gulped. It was possible that this was the man''s imagination, however, based on what he saw from the previous time in this dream, he didn''t think so. Something like this existed on this ship. As they approached the center, Matt suddenly felt his consciousness slipping. He had already used up so much time without realizing. He was being pulled back to his body. Matt pushed it as much as he could in order to see what was in the center of this room, but the dream broke and he was dragged out. Frustrated by what happened, he released the remainder of his excess mental energy and shattered the dreamscape. In its ce, he had the man in a room that was constantly burning. Since he dared use mes against Alexis, he would feel their wrath for the rest of the night. Matt took in a sharp breath and sat up in his seat. He immediately took out a notebook and the ship''s map. He plotted the course as best as he could and circled a spot on the ship. Alexis had woken up due to his moving around. She crawled over to look at what he was doing so Matt showed her the drawing. She wasn''t sure what she was looking at since it was so early so he began to show her what he saw as best as he could. {That seems like it''s somewhere near the main reactor. However, I''ve never heard of a room filled with cables like that.} Matt closed his eyes and concentrated on the image of that room. His main theory was that they were all power cabled. Since the room was near the reactor, it would make sense. However, who dares to draw so much power from the ship? Although it is a cold fusion reactor that provides limitless energy, it still asionally malfunctions or is damaged from over-use. There was no such thing as a perfect energy source, after all. Therefore, the candidates were few and far between. Wird, Shephard, and the Captain are the only ones he is aware that could pull this off. And based on the context, this was not here originally. It was addedter in. Otherwise, such a room would certainly exist. Matt''s only clue was that it was somewhere in the lower decks and it was drawing a lot of power. On that subject, Matt wondered what exactly needed that much energy. The obvious answer was some sort of superputer. If Shephard had his hands on aputer more powerful than the AI, it would exin how he was seemingly unaffected by the AI''s actions. Matt wondered if the Captain was aware of such a thing''s existence but decided it was best, he didn''t bring it up. He had no reason to know of such a room himself without sounding suspicious. Next, he thought about Wird. Although the man was a slimy bastard, he was smart and knew this ship very well. However, he was difficult to work with. Therefore, Matt thought about talking to Scorch. He was a man of few words but each significant. If anyone had a hint about what was happening, it would be him. Matt flicked on his personal device and checked the time. He wanted to visit Scorch as soon as possible because he was far too awake to sleep at this point. When he activated his decide, he saw Martha''s research notes were still open. Then it suddenly hit him. ''No such thing as a perfect energy source Perfect energy source'' Chapter 54: Deadly Meeting Chapter 54: Deadly Meeting Matt dressed in some casual clothes and made his way to Scorch''s bar. The realization that Martha was possibly far more important than he originally thought bothered him. Matt used to think this future was based on the game he yed, but he had never given the opposite any thought. What if the game he remembers so well is actually based on this future, instead? Matt wondered what exactly the biotronic brain is. Could it be that it isn''t about processing, but power instead? These questions swirled around in his brain but he couldn''t answer any of them. His knowledge was limited to simple tooltips. The research for biotronic brain was vague and just referenced the Cyborg Mobile Processing Unit. It was a mixture of biological and mechanical parts. Perhaps the ''brain'' was a misnomer. Then, Matt had a thought which hadn''t urred to him before. ''If Martha is the key to the AI creating a Cyborg unit, what is the key to the Android unit?'' In the game, the research needed to unlock the Android unit was rted to a minigame about collecting various data chips hidden around the ship. Thinking about it, such a situation sounded just like something Wird would do. This would mean that the reason he is not disturbed is not because of fear, but because the higher ups expect him to create the technology necessary for an Android. Matt smacked his forehead and realized that it was already there. The virus he created must be one of the three data sets needed for the technology. The ability of the virus to evolve on its own and be harder to solve the more you mess with it must be the key. No wonder the AI and higher ups tried to steal it. Wird likely was the head or part of the team in charge of creating the Android unit but had some sort of falling out. All of these thoughts pointed to the severe gap of information. Matt needed to prevent thepletion of the Mobile unit, whether it be Android or Cyborg. The only leads he had were Martha and the Virus. Matt wondered if he could convince Wird to destroy the Virus technology. There is no perfect encoding or perfect security. Eventually, his technology would be reverse engineered and the AI would be stronger. In the meantime, Matt had already reached the bar and saw that it was packed. It seemed to be some sort of date night as everyone was here with their partner. Matt felt awkward not having anyone with him but still broke through the crowd. He tried to slip through without many people noticing him. Fortunately, he wore casual clothes and not his uniform or he would stick out like a sore thumb. After some bobbing and weaving, Matt made it to the bar and Scorch looked at him with his same neutral expression. "I never thought you would host a party like this." "It''s on the calendar." Scorch responded in his usual ''matter-of-fact'' style. "Never mind that, I need some information." Scorch simply stared at him without saying anything. Matt was about to continue speaking when Scorch spoke up at that exact moment as if on purpose. "I see you''ve be acquainted with Wird." "I guess he told you then?" Matt said with some suspicion in his tone. Wird didn''t seem like the type to tell others about what he''s doing. Scorch shook his head and pointed to his eyes. Matt activated the contacts and saw that someone had posted a nk message. The username was ''Scorch.'' "I see Then you are aware of my secret?" "I wonder." Scorch said mysteriously. "Sigh, you are difficult to talk to sometimes. I need information about a room on this ship. The ship models and maps don''t have it listed anywhere. It is a spacious room with a high ceiling. The room would draw a lot of power since it is filled with cables converging in the center. I believe there is some sort of superputer there able to bypass the ship''s AI." "What will you do if you find it?" Scorch asked. Matt was about to respond but then stopped himself and thought some more. He had no idea what his ns were. He did not have anybat capabilities since he wasn''t officially part of security. He could not hold a weapon legally and his powers were underdeveloped. He could ask Alexis to lead the charge and perhaps bring some allies, but he would just be a by standard. For the first time, Matt regretted his choice. His skills were in stealth, scouting, spying, and espionage. However, he was useless in a direct fight. His physical skills were strong, but the opponents were using powerfulbat suits. Matt ced his head in his hands and thought about his decisions. It wasn''tpletely wrong. He wouldn''t have made it this far if he chose anything else. The only thing hecked was an attack skill. "Straighten out your thoughts. When you think you are ready, open this." Scorch took out a piece of paper, wrote on it, and then put it into a small envelope. He ced it in front of Matt, and then went back to his work. Many people came up to the bar and get a drink and most didn''t even take a nce at Matt. "Why have you been helping me?" Matt said curiously. "You''ll find out one day. When that dayes, you''ll pay me back." The mystery was only getting deeper and deeper surrounding Scorch. Matt didn''t want to see what thing he would say next so he took the envelope and started to leave the bar. That is when he coincidently saw someone, whom he vague knew. He was leaving by himself with a bit of a swaying in his movements. It seemed he had been alone getting drunk. Matt didn''t find this surprising since his partner wasn''t a fan of drinking. Matt was curious and hadn''t seen Cindy in a long time so he decided to follow the man. This man was Richard Fowler, an engineer with an extreme personality. Matt had never personally met him, but he had seen him asionally interacting with Cindy. She had been working in the lower decks for a while now and Matt wondered if he could hypnotize out some information from her. Given their history together, it shouldn''t be difficult. As Matt silently stalked Richard on his way back to his room, he starteding up with questions to ask her. Richard stopped in front of his quarters, and entered. Since Cindy was fairly high up and a valuable researcher, this man had the pleasure of a not staying with roommates. His room was still markedly smaller than Matt and Alexis''s but it was nice regardless. Matt used Life Sense and saw that no one was inside. He was about to give up when he saw the interior of the room from the few seconds the door was open. Everything was a mess. Books torn to shreds on the ground, clothes strewn everywhere, empty food containers, and an unmade bed. All of these things were impossible to exist for a ce Cindy stayed in. She was at the height of cleanliness. Matt decided to enter the room and investigate. The first thing he noticed was the smell. It reeked of sweat, dirty clothes, alcohol, and whatever was going bad in the food containers. The thing he didn''t understand is why the AI allowed for such living conditions. This must be some heavilyced threat. Shephard''s men took Cindy that day and Matt didn''t think anything about it at the time since he wasn''tpletely aware of how much of a threat Shephard was. However, he never gave her a second thought because of She''s death. In his mind, Cindy had betrayed him. Seeing the living conditions of her partner, Matt realized that perhaps Cindy is being held against her will, and they are threatening her partner from saying anything. Although Matt didn''t have any feelings for Cindy, he still wanted to help here now. The reason was fairly simple. This was an opening to attack Shephard. The more angles and evidence he held against Shephard''s wrongdoings, the easier it will be to officially force him out. The AI had the ability to unterally dere someone guilty if there was a mountain of evidence. This was in the case that the captain was incapacitated in any way. Matt flipped Richard over and pped him awake. He groggily opened his eyes but didn''t react in any way. It seemed that he always expected something like this to happen and was even happy. Matt wondered what exactly they said to him to make him like this. Matt activated his hypnosis and started interrogating him. What he discovered was shocking to say the least. Cindy had never returned after that day she was taken by those men in the name of Shephard. He tried to force out details, but Richard resisted as if his life depended on it. When Matt finally made progress to getting even a shred of information, a strange sound like whistling and grinding came from his chest. Then, a sudden shock went through Richard''s body and his heart stopped dead. Chapter 55: Gone Girl Chapter 55: Gone Girl There was not enough time to figure out what to do about the situation. He took out the blood drawing device from the small knapsack he always carried around and took as much blood as he could before the pressure was too low to draw up. Since his heart had stopped, there was nothing pushing the blood to fill vials so he only got three. He quickly pulled off the gloves and threw everything into his bag. Once he finished, he sent a message to the private chat and left the room quickly. Matt threw up another Life Sense and saw that it was clear. He slipped out of the room and tried to process the information he gained and what just happened to the man. Whatever the device was seemed to be able to detect when certain key phrases were mentioned. These would then trigger the device to stop the heart. Matt had been asking about Cindy, but he was unable to tell him anything concrete. What he learned was that she disappeared around that day Mattst saw her. Before then, she had been acting strange. She was very easy to anger and was obsessive over her work. When Matt finally got to talking about the lower decks and her purpose there, he began to stutter and struggle. Matt didn''t realize something like this would happen or he would have used telepathy once enough hypnosis wasid out. Thest thing he learned was Cindy saying she would be part of an important project. While in thought, Matt''s vision went blurry for a second and he realized it was a notification on the private channel. The message was a series of random letters from Alexis. At first, he thought it was an ident, but then, upon closer inspection, the letters were not random at all. It was as if someone''s hand was about to reach the keyboard to type, but then it was suddenly pulled away. The dragging of the hand hit several letters and enter simultaneously. His heart dropped and he tried to reach Alexis through telepathy. However, there was no response. Either they were too far away or she was unconscious. They had never thought to test the distance of the telepathy and Matt only now realized how foolish that oversight was. In cases where they are separated like this, being unable tomunicate is a huge crutch. They took the ability to speak directly into each other''s'' minds for granted. Matt started running back to his quarters in hopes that nothing had happened. However, when he used Life Sense all he saw was an empty room. He entered quickly and saw the mess. There was no way Alexis would not put up a struggle is she were to be attacked. She must have realized someone other than Matt entered. He noticed a blood stain on the ground and some ck hairs. He picked one of the hairs up and inspected it closely. It was long and thin. There was a slight spiral to it and the root was white. This looked like beard hair. Off the top of his head there was only a single person he could think of that he''s ever encountered that had a ck beard this long and could be behind this. Although there were other possible people, this one stood out to him. The day that Cindy was taken away, one of the two men had a beard that this hair would match to. Shephard had made his move once more. Matt clenched his fist and started to sort his thoughts. This could not have been an ident or a spontaneous kidnapping. They were too precise and too organized. Although Alexis put up quite a fight, they still managed to take her away. This is no easy feat, so they must havee prepared. The fact that one of Shephard''s pawns was sacrificed today once Matt discovered a certain piece of information. This would also mean that Shephard has a way to track him or at least tell his general area. Although Matt made a lot of assumptions toe to these conclusions, his instincts were telling him he was right. However, Shephard would be very mistaken if he thought that simply taking Alexis would leave him vulnerable. He knew two things about Shephard so far. Firstly, he seemed to be operating with the mission as a basis to his actions. In this, he is very much like the Captain. However, Shephard seems to have an exaggerated understanding of the gray areas of the mission details and abuses the loopholes. In this way, he is able to manipte and even kill crew members. However, Alexis had the perfect immunity to Matt''s understanding. Since she was pregnant, he wouldn''t harm her. Unfortunately, this didn''t make Matt any less angry. His humanity was screaming in anger due to his loved one being taken while his parasite side was seething due to the loss of a subordinate. Either way, he was extremely motivated to deal with Shephard. However, this would require more strength than he currently possessed. Matt reached into his bag and took out the vials of blood he imed earlier. Matt downed the vials and watched his evolution points go up. Once he finished, he threw the vials back in his bag with the intent to destroy them when he had the chance. Fortunately, he kept a bottle of bleach so he made sure to destroy any evidence first. Even though he was currently in a crisis, he knew panicking would only make matters worse. Matt looked at his points which were now at thirty-eight. There was not enough time since thest splurging until now to stockpile for a situation like this. Therefore, he needed to properly consider his options. Although they never talked about the possibility of one of them getting taken out, Matt was sure that she considered it. He went into Alexis''s private room and down to her safe. It was a six-digit code that she recently changed. Alexis specifically had let him know that she changed it. After thinking for a second, he input the birthday of Amy. No one else other than her would know that number. And fortunately, the code went through correctly. Inside the safe were several documents. However, he noticed on the bottom shelf was a note, a gun, and a device. Matt took out the items and opened the note. ''Matt, if you are reading this, something happened to me. I left these things for you in case of an emergency. The gun is untraceable and the locator device is set to find me. Hurry up, I''m probably waiting for you to cause a scene.'' Matt chuckled a bit at thest line and put the note back. He took the gun and checked it to make sure it functioned. It was a simr technology to the PL81, using electromaism tounch projectiles at incredible speeds. He holstered the gun and turned on the device. As soon as it activated, it began searching the ship. After a while, a blip appeared. However, it was in an impossible ce, outside of the ship. Then, a few secondster it moved to another random location. Matt realized that this was likely some sort of jamming device ced near Alexis. Although unfortunate, he never nned to rely on technology. In a case such as this, his own powers were naturally more reliable. He sat cross-legged up against the wall and activated Dream Walking. He saw three markings on the ship. Since a part of him was inside Alexis, the signature from her was much stronger. He could clearly make out where she was. Matt floated through the dark space, asionally hitting a wall or floor outlining them in white. He reached Alexis after an unknown amount of time and entered her subconscious. Luckily, she was unconscious so he was able to pull her into a dream. Once she materialized and realized what was happening, she made a quick motion to hug Matt. "Since you''re here, that means you probably weren''t attacked as well?" Alexis asked and he nodded. She let him go and turned serious. "I don''t know who they were. They came into the room and I noticed them immediately. I sensed three people approaching me and I tried to fight back. However, they had some sort of device which made it impossible for me to activate my suit. I''ve never heard of this, so it must have been made recently. This means they have been prepared to kidnap me. Whatever they have nned likely anticipates youing after me." "That sounds reasonable. I thought something simr. However, they probably only expect me to have a weapon or two. Shephard knows that I know he is looking for Martha. He seems to have nned it all out ordingly and will only ept Martha to exchange for you. His mistake is assuming I''m weak. There is only one problem, I don''t have enough points to evolve any of my skills to the next stage." "Ah, I might have a solution for that" Alexis said with a face of realization. ---------- Today''s my birthday~ yay! Come celebrate with me on my discord in thements. -> Chapter 56: Tech First Chapter 56: Tech First Alexis focused on something and a screen appeared in the dreamscape. It was the image she saw when she checked her system. She wasn''t sure if it would show up in a dream but it didn''t seem to have any issues. There was a new option on her menu which opened something simr to a cash shop. Each option was greyed out except for the first few. The greyed-out ones required a previous purchase to be avable. The cost for all of these options were Support Points. Matt inspected each option and realized this made sense. In the game, any yer that was infected and changed to the parasites team would have ess to upgrades which could be bought simr to how the Parasite evolves. The reason this existed is because parasite subordinates can''t evolve past a certain point. Therefore, instead of being a weakness to the main Parasite, they would be able to spend their excess points on minor upgrades for the main body. Based on the choices listed and descriptions, Matt seemed to understand the logic behind them. These upgrades were like data for the main body. The sub-body explores an avenue of evolution that is deemed inefficient or dangerous and then reports the findings to the main body. Then, the main body is able to take the most useful pieces of that data and then turn it into small advancements. He read the two avable upgrades and contemted. [Gic Divergence: The Mind Slug is a powerful evolution pathway that has been tested through billions of iterations and be the most efficient. However, the Mind Toad was once favored. Unlock the gic information of the Mind Toad and optimize the Main Body''s genome. ]Reward: Main Body Gains 50 Evolution Points ]Cost: 20 Support Points] [Hybridization: Many pioneers in the Parasite family attempted to mix their ancestral evolutionary pathways to be something new. Explore the gic structure of mixed branches in order to enhance the Main Body''s skills. ]Reward: Main Body Evolves 1 Path Skill ]Cost: 50 Support Points] "I don''t really understand the mechanism, but I guess it works" Alexis said. Matt looked at the top of her status and saw that she had already umted twenty-two support points. Thest he saw she only had a few. He wondered how she was umting them since this was a new avenue for him. Alexis noticed where he was looking and exined. "I''ve figured out a few things that give me points and have been doing my best to gather them. I felt that they would be very useful at some point. The upgrade shop appeared once I gathered twenty points." "This is good. With fifty evolution points, I''ll be able to upgrade and evolve one of my skills to the next tier. Once I have an offensive skill, I''lle rescue you." "Tsk, just deal with the device jamming my suit and I''ll clean everything up." She crossed her arms and had a defiant expression. "Don''t worry, you''ll get plenty of chances to take your revenge. For now, if you do wake up, focus on trying to make contact with me." Before Alexis could respond, the dream began to break apart from the edges. A ck wave slowly encroached on them and Matt realized that Alexis was waking up. He quickly urged her to spend and buy the upgrade. Oncepleted, it greyed out and a new option lit up. It was simr to the previous upgrade but more expensive with a higher reward. He didn''t get a chance to study it since his body began to burn with pain. Matt woke up and felt waves coursing through him. He could feel the waves of mental energy entering his head and forcing changes in his body. This must be the mechanism at which the system uses to create changes. Matt had never noticed it before since it was all internal, but now that it ising from Alexis, he can feel the sub-space frequency prating into his mind. Once the transmission stopped, he saw his evolution points shoot up. Not only did he receive arge amount of evolution points, his instincts seemed to improve. However, now wasn''t the time to admire himself. Matt needed to quickly decide which skill he would improve. The main issue was not knowing which of his two base skills would be attacks. It was likely they both became attacks, but their usefulness wasn''t guaranteed. Thinking back to the game, the two attacks a yer could get in the Mind yer path were Mind st and Illusory Field. Mind st was a direct damaging ability. It does a t amount of damage to a yer since they do not have any special resistances to it. Each suit, however, has different rates of protection. Most suits simply take ny-percent of the damage from the attack where the ESP suit takes fifty-percent. Illusory Field was a more difficult ability to use. In the game, it simply created a few special effects in arge area and anyone in it would take damage over time. Based on the description that he remembered, the ability would be much stronger in reality than its game counterpart. Since it was able to create an illusion in arge area while harming those inside of it, groupbat would be very easy. There also were no particr resistances against it since you could simply leave the area. Based on the game, Telepathy should be Mind st and Dream Walking should be Illusory Field. With the assumption that there was not another step needed to reach these skills, Matt could consider them equally. He didn''t need long to consider. Although Illusory Field was really powerful, Mind st could quickly take someone out without them even getting a chance to retaliate. [Host: Matthew O''Connely Status: Grade 1+ Mind Slug Evolution Points (EP): 88 Abilities: [Perfect Mimicry Lv. Max], [Improved Metabolism Lv. 2], [Mental Resistance Lv. 3] Skills: [DNA Absorption Lv. 10], [Toxin Resistance Lv. 5], [Weak Hypnosis Lv. 2], [Dream Walking Lv. 1], [Primary Reproduction Lv. Max], [Telepathy Lv. 1]] [Telepathy Lv. 1->2: Utilizing your mental energy, ]Ability: Telepathy ]Level Cost: 10->20] [Telepathy Lv. 2->3: Utilizing your mental energy, ]Ability: Telepathy ]Evolve Cost: 40] [Telepathy Lv. 3 has evolved to Psionics Lv. 1] [Psionics Lv. 1: Your continued practice and training in mental energies has reached a new realm. Due to your mutation towards the Eldritch Horror pathway, new abilities have awakened. You are able to utilize your mental energy to execute various forms of Psionics. ]Ability: Telepathy ]Ability: Mind st ]Ability (Locked): Phantom Voices ]Ability (Locked): Sundering Strike ]Level Cost: 80] [Mind st: A concentrated st of mental energy capable of prating directly into the mind of another creature and detonating. Those unable to resist or defend will break and be unable to function or die immediately. Those with greater mental strength will only be stunned for a duration. Activation: Concentration Duration: Special Range: 10 meters] [Phantom Voices: A schr of an extinct race once said that the voice you hear behind you with no source is the sound of all the tortured souls in hell. However, the truth is far more terrifying. ]Unlock: Level 2 Psionics] [Sundering Strike: The soul is a tricky subject for intelligent life. However, if you ask the parasites, their answer is simple. Since it can be split in two, it must exist. ]Unlock: Level 3 Psionics] Matt could only describe his current change as powerful. Absolutely powerful. His mental energy that was formless and difficult to grasp now felt like a natural appendage. Every object seemed to have residue of mental energy on it and Matt could recognize some of them as his own signature. His mind felt like a fortresspared to the shack it was before. The first thing he did was attempt to create a Mind st. It went smoothly without issue. However, since there wasn''t a target, it simple dissipated. Based on how much energy he expended to create, Matt calcted he could do it five times until he reached his limit. Any more would risk unconsciousness or even permanent brain damage. He breathed out and focused his mind. He spread his perception to their limits and was able to sense the whole room and even the hallway outside. The ck and white world was still difficult to decipher but it no longer felt lonely and isted. Matt dressed in his uniform and put on his ck field jacket. He made sure he remembered everything and then left. His first destination was theb to check on Martha, and then he would retrace his astral body''s movements to find where Alexis was taken. Normally this would be an ordeal, but his advancements gave him a lot more sensitivity to the ck and white world. When he entered hisb, it was an absolute mess. Someone had broken in here as well. Matt had used his Life Sense outside but only saw Martha''s signature. As he walked into the area Martha was hiding, he didn''t see anything. Just as he was about to activate Life Sense again, a shifting of light caused him to snap his attention to one point. Martha slowly became visible and trotted toward Matt gleefully. Chapter 57: First Blood Chapter 57: First Blood Martha had grown considerably bigger than before. She was at least a head taller and was proportionally longer. The main thing he had noticed was her leaves seemed to have some sort of coating that made her invisible. The onyx ck eyes did not need light to see, therefore she could reflect all light away from her and turnpletely invisible. The most remarkable thing was the dense mental energying from body. Matt used telepathy with his new Psionics ability and the connection was formed instantly. Matt exined the situation, then Martha showed him the scenes of what happened. Various armed men broke into theb and began to wreak havoc. They were clearly searching for something. However, contrary to his assumption, they took a notebook from a locked cab and immediately left. Matt walked over to that cab and saw that all of his notes on breeding and She''s progress were taken. It seemed that Shephard still thought he was attached to his work. That meant his recent changes haven''t made arge enough impression. Since they took both Alexis and his notes, they were certain to beying a trap for him. He was preparing to leave when Martha came out of the holding area following Matt. It seemed that she wanted to go after learning about Alexis''s abduction. {It''s too dangerous for you toe.} Martha made a strange face and Matt thought it looked like a pout. In defiance, she resisted being brought back. Matt tried his best to convince her, but when she turned invisible again, he had to acquiesce. Matt felt a bit guilty keeping her stuck in thisb all the time and decided that since she could go invisible it would be fine. Anyone that tried to take her would get sted to a vegetative state by Matt. He felt very protective of Martha as if she were his child. Fortunately, although she was invisible, Matt could now sense the mental energy signatureing off of her body. Now that he recognized it, it was easy to notice. He walked casually to the lift and asionally saw a person walk by. Matt took the time to examine them as they walked past. However, no one had any signs of mental energy. This made sense since it would only exist in stronger beings. Although Matt was only a grade one, the parasite didn''t need its own body so it could focus on developing its strengths. Matt entered the lift and started to go down several floors. He kept a close eye on Martha and tried to keep his weapon hidden beneath his jacket. The door suddenly opened a few floorster and Matt''s heart dropped for a moment and he unintentionally gulped. Dr. Stein stepped in the lift. He was staring at a tablet reading something. He seemed too focused to notice that there was someone else on the lift. Matt stayed silent but something unexpected happened. Since he evolved his Telepathy to Psionics, the cost to maintain the connection was nearly nonexistent for a single connection. There was no limit to how many minds he could connect anymore, but the cost increased exponentially. Therefore, he had maintained a link with Martha the whole time. When images of Dr. Stein''s tablet flowed into his mind, Matt realized it was Martha spying on what he was reading. The tablet showed a report on an experimental human-alien hybrid by imnting the special ''space metal'' into a human. Apparently, there have already been forty-three subjects. Number forty-four seemed to have the bestpatibility with the alien microbe responsible for ''space metal.'' The experiment was a partial sess, except for the subject going insane. The conclusion at the bottom was that a human body can sessfully integrate and even stimte the foreign cells to replicate on their own. Because of this, the subject''s body has the perfect conditions for cybeic imntations. ''Cyborg! They have already made it this far'' "Ah, Dr. O''Connely. I didn''t see you there." Once Dr. Stein read thest part of the report, he looked up to check if he reached his floor yet and discovered someone he recognized. Matt noticed some subtle mental fluctuations from his body. They were extremely weak but showed just how much of a genius Dr. Stein was. "Dr. Stein I have been meaning to meet up with you for a while. And here I idently run into you. What a coincidence." "Ah, is that so, welloh this is my floor. Forgive me, I must be going." As doctor Stein was about to leave, he realized he never selected a floor. Matt looked up at the floor number and realized it was where he intended to go. Time seemed to stop for a second and Dr. Stein looked at Matt with shock as he reached for hismunicator. Before he could reach it or even utter a word, Matt formed a ball of mental energy and shot it using Mind st. Dr. Stein fell to the floor like a marite that lost its strings. Matt activated Life Sense and it showed that the doctor was still alive. However, he couldn''t guarantee he would ever be the same again. Since Dr. Stein had some mental fluctuations, he may have some resistance to Mind st, but that was surely limited. Since Matt had already done this, he didn''t bother holding back anymore. He took out his gun and his training kicked in. Matt waited a while but nothing happened. Usually, when someone copses, the AI would immediately call a team to assist. But there were no rms. Matt''s vision blurred and he opened the private chat. A message from Wird came in. ("I see you''re in a bit of trouble. Don''t worry about the camera''s they are disabled.") Seeing this, Matt wasn''t surprised. He had guessed Wird would spy on him after that strange message from Alexis. He picked the doctor up and took him to a service closet near the elevator. Then, he removed the contacts and took out the metal ring. He ced it around the doctor''s wrist and took eleven vials of blood. Matt downed the blood in quick session and spent eighty points to evolve DNA absorption. He had considered this carefully for a while and decided this was the best ce to spend his points. Although upgrading Psionics was very powerful, he wouldn''t be able to exin his capabilities while still being scrutinized. However, if his theory about DNA absorption was correct, he could remove all suspicion on him for a while. The feeling of bing stronger flowed through him and finally stabilized. When Matt got the notification, he was thrilled. [DNA Absorption Lv. 10 has mutated to Gic Assimtion Lv. 1] [Gic Assimtion Lv. 1: There is no being in the universe with more potential than the parasite. This is not because of their individual strength, but due to their ability to steal all other beings'' strengths. Instead of recing the host for a more suitable vessel, absorbing the gics of all creatures will allow the parasite to enhance, improve, and perfect a unique body. ]Ability: Detect Life ]Absorption Grade Limit: 3 ]Unique Ability Limit: 1 ]Efficiency: 110% ]Level Cost: 100 EP] [Unique Ability Progress: [Human] 92% [Lower Yggdra] 1%] [Detect Life: While activated, you are able to detect living organisms. You will detect their exact position and life rating. You may direct your focus on a single living creature and detect the distribution of vitality. Activation: Thought Distance: 100 meters Duration: 5 minutes] Matt was finally able to gain more passive abilities through absorption. This was usually reserved for grade two parasites. Once evolved, the primary absorption skill would receive a natural upgrade along with the increase in stats and grade. However, when Matt learned that it was possible to forcibly evolve his DNA absorption unlike in the game, he naturally nned for it. Now that his assumption proved to be correct, he sighed in relief. Fortunately, he didn''t need to devour a whole human to receive the ability. It seemed he was already very close to activating the unique ability from Humans. The ability he received would be based on who he had consumed to gain the ability. Since he was using an indirect route by slowly absorbing several people, it would be a mixed ability based on those people. He drew more blood from the doctor and eight vialster, his unique ability began to generate. [Unique Ability [Human] generating options...] [Improved Reflexes Lv. 1: Some have to work hard to train their body and mind to be in perfect synch, you however, are born with the aptitude. It is difficult to catch you off guard, and if you are, you recover quickly. ]Reaction Speed: +5% ]Coordination: +15% ]Dynamic Vision: +20%] Matt couldn''t sense any changes since these statistics were only relevant in certain situations. He used his new upgraded Detect Life and saw two people patrolling a hallway ahead of him. He looked down and focused on Martha. What he saw was a dense multi-colored light centered where a heart would be. The light spread in all directions like the roots of a tree. ''Lower Yggdra So that is what your origin is. The lower must be because you are a chimera.'' Chapter 58: Black Sheep Chapter 58: ck Sheep Matt was crouching around the corner of a hallway that two guards were patrolling. He waited until his Detect Life was avable again and used Martha for remote surveince. Once the two guards got next to each other they would stop for a bit and chat. The moment then turned was when they were the least aware. Matt quickly ran up the hallway at the exact moment of the turn and with his new bonuses from Improved Reflexes quickly took out the first guard. His weapon was practically silent due to its design, so the guard walking away didn''t even notice what happened immediately. As the first guard was falling to the ground, Matt got close enough to the guard walking away to disable him with another shot from his gun. He didn''t intend tomit a ughter if he could avoid it so his weapon was set to a low strength. The bullets he employed utilized a shock to knock his targets unconscious. Once the two guards were down, Matt quickly disabled theirmunicators and guns. Using her invisibility, Martha scouted ahead and discovered another set of guards patrolling. There were several more guards and their pattern were erratic. The hallways on this floor were designed like a maze, or at least it felt that way. The ship ns didn''t properly reflect this floor''syout so he assumed this was an intentional reconstruction. The whole situation had Matt''s blood pumping and he could feel his instincts get stronger. The thrill and excitement of being a hunter was slowly getting to his head. He quickly moved to the next target once his Detect Life was up and he was able to intercept an isted guard. Using the gap in their patrol as a springboard, he reached the next guard without any trouble. However, the gap between Detect Life and a single moment of Martha not watching a certain path left a hole in his stealth operation. One of the guards had changed from his patrolling pattern to visit the bathroom. His path was perfectly on an interception course with Matt. As the guard turned the corner of the hallway, he walked almost all the way to the fallen guard before noticing what had happened. He was so focused on his tablet and going to the bathroom that when Matt came around and put him in a choke hold, he didn''t even know why he went down. With two people down in the same awkward spot next to an intersection, Matt didn''t have any choice but to go after the other guards patrolling near the area. He had intended to slip past while leaving the unconscious bodies in ces the other guards never go but he wasn''t that lucky. He took out thest guard and realized just how heavily this floor was guarded. This was the second most game-like thing he had ever experienced since waking up in this reality. The floor was a maze filled with various guards on certain patrol paths. This reminds him of a certain game he yed in his previous life. The only thing itcked was an obnoxious exmation mark above the heads of the guards. Martha discovered a hall that had four guards standing sentinel around a single door. This seemed to be an important section of the floor, but the door didn''t look like the door he saw in the man''s dream. Matt approached carefully and confirmed their positions with detect life. Unfortunately, there were two more guards on the other side of the door. Just as he started figuring out a way to break through their defense, Martha popped open a wall panel and began to bite her way through cables. Electricity asionally discharged, but Martha was unphased. Eventually, she cleared open a small space for Matt to crawl through. This little electrical panel seemed to be filled with several smaller cables and threerge thick cables running along the bottom. Matt recognized these cables as being the same as the ones he saw in therge room. He followed Martha through the small space and after biting through some more wiring, she took them out into a small electrical room. Matt looked around and realized that this was not just an ordinary electrical room. He exited the small closet and discovered he was inside of a specimen room. There were tenrge ss vats filled with people at varying levels of decay. Their bodies seemed to be taken over by some sort of ck infection that was eating away at their tissue slowly. However, all of the vital signs showed every person was alive. This meant that despite losing over sixty percent of their body, they were still being kept alive. Matt only thought these fellows were very pitiful. He recognized the ck infection as the living metal. These must be part of the group of experiments for the Cyborg program. They naturally failed. Matt continued on and activated his Detect Life when it came up. He saw that each experiment was glowing two different lights. One smaller light and onerger light. It seemed as if the smaller light was slowly devouring therger light. As he moved to the other side of the room, he saw a vital force that far surpassed any other life he had ever seen. When he entered the room, there was only a single tank. Inside the tank was a beetle suspended in blue cryogenic fluid. Matt''s heart dropped at the sight of this lifeform. In the game, there was an alien that was more like a side-quest or an easter egg by the developer. In a hidden room in the biologyb was a small beetle. This beetle seemed perfectly normal, until a yer tried to kill it. Then, it would trigger a frightening reaction. The beetle, which seemed to be some random earth beetle, began to multiple endlessly. This was considered a neutral enemy that threatened both the parasite and the human yers. In order to defeat the beetles, a secret weapon needed to be developed. This weapon was named Excalibur as an obvious reference to the legendary story from mythology. Earlier, when he had seen Martha''s species name, he remembered this weapon. However, he didn''t think he would encounter the enemy it was meant for. In the game, in order to create the Excalibur, one needed to collect some impossible-sounding materials. The reason Matt didn''t think about it until this moment was because the materials seemed made up. First, a branch of the world tree was needed. This seemed to be rted to Martha, but that was his only connection to this mythical weapon recipe. The next was the Halo of an angel. If that weren''t enough, the heart of a dragon was also needed. For now, he decided not to touch this frightening beetle alien and continue on his mission. He never expected to run into this hidden room like this. Matt began to think of the other hidden spaces in the game that led to powerful items or research. He never put stock in them before since they sounded ridiculous and only included as a game feature to excite the yers. However, his reality was constantly being tested by his memories of the game. Matt reached the other end of the longb and saw another wall panel. After some more messy cutting and crawling, the two of them exited out into a long hallway that led to arge pair of double doors. Matt very clearly recognized this room as being the one that contained the cables which converged to the center. His Detect Life hadn''t shown anything within a hundred meters so he approached the door carefully. When he stepped within a few meters of the door, the light above it turned green apanied with a buzzing sound. The door swished open and remained that way as if inviting Matt in. He slowly walked inside and saw the hundreds of cables going toward the center. The room was poorly lit and he couldn''t see very well. His Detect Life came back up and he turned it on. What he saw was a Life force simr to the experiments. However, instead of being devoured by the ck, the ck spots were spread throughout the bright light. Overall, the life force of the subject was very strongpared to a human, but just very small. Matt wasn''t sure what that meant, but it was possibly rted to life span. Some of the older people were like this, and that is all he had to go off of. Matt stopped walking when he began to hear clicking sounds and a loud thud. Some of the cables in front of him shook as if they were hitting the ground. A voice began to speak from the center which sounded mostly robotic. However, something about the voice sounded really familiar to Matt. He couldn''t quite ce it though. "You''re finally here, Matt I''ve been waiting for you." Chapter 59: Shepards Reveal Chapter 59: Shepard''s Reveal "I knew that you woulde for me Once that bitch was out of the picture." Matt was confused about the situation. He couldn''t see clearly but could sense the cyborg approaching him. He wasn''t sure why, but the sense of familiarity increased steadily. Before the cyborg entered his view, arge monitor lit up at the top of the room. When Matt turned up to look, he saw a sight which made his blood boil. Alexis was tied up lying on a medical table. Her chest was exposed and surgical lines were drawn over her sternum. There was a tray with some sort of device with a long wire. Suddenly, a doctor entered the frame wearing surgical gowns and gloves. An attendant came into the scene from the other side holding a tray of surgical instruments. Matt thought they figured out she had the parasite, but the details didn''t match. It seemed as if they would be imnting something in her rather than taking something out. He saw the device and remembered the man that died from electric shock to his heart. He activated Detect Life and shot at the monitor. Although he was angry, he needed to keep calm. He had good control over his emotions, but he didn''t want to let his opponent know that. Shooting the monitor was a good method to put up a false front. It seemed to work as the cyborg began tough. "That anger, that passion. I want it all. I want to snuff out everything so that I am the only person in your eyes" The monitor shattered and fell from its hinges. The rain of ss and electricity illuminated the spot in front of it where the cyborg was standing. Matt had been prepared to attack but had a double take when he saw who the person was. Their body was already mostly mechanical with various parts reced. However, he knew why he recognized the voice. Her face was untouched by the cybeics and living metal so there was no questioning who was standing in front of him. "Cindy" Cindy onlyughed in her slightly robotic feminine voice. Her body had been severely modified and only held a shred of her sanity left. She slowly walked forward to get into Matt''s view. He was not able to see herpletely. She had no hair, but instead various metal cables with ports at the end of them. It seemed that the biggest w of the cyborg technology was a power source. She needed to keep plugged in to stay alive. "How did this happen to you?" "What are you talking about Matt? This is all for you. You wouldn''t look at me. I was so close to having you finally be mine and then that bitch got pregnant. First it was your stupid goat. I could deal with that since it was just an animal. But you had to taunt me you had to get another thing pregnant! How could you do this to me?" Seeing her ramble on, Matt realized that although she survived the experiment and was able to maintain her consciousness, she had indeed gone insane. Her face contorted in strange ways as she talked about the past as if it were obvious. Matt pitied her. It seems that she was just a victim of Shephard like everyone else. As he began to let his guard down, Cindy charged at him with blood lust in her eyes. She was mumbling about killing Matt and wearing his skin which sent a shiver down his spine. However, he was not prepared and could only sacrifice his arm to defend. A shower of sparks came out and Cindy mmed her fist into the ground. Martha had removed her invisibility and her green pines had be darker and sharper. She had knocked Cindy''s attack away before it struck Matt, saving him in thest moment. Cindy left arge dent in the ground with her redirected attack. This was no joke. The enhancements they gave the Cyborg were too ridiculous. He switched his weapon to maximum and focused his Detect Life on Cindy. The flow of vitality was very strange. Once it touched a mechanical part, it would switch to a circuit-board like pattern. Upon close inspection, he saw three concentrations of vitality. The brain, the heart, and something extra which he assumed was part of the functioning mechanical parts. A normal human had more points of concentrated vitality which were the various weak points in the body. This meant that she had very few weaknesses as they were surgically removed or reced. He decided to focus on the mechanical center in order to disable her function but keep her alive. After creating some space, he shot three bullets at the mechanical heart. However, he underestimated Cindy''s fighting capability. She was very skilled and very dangerous. Matt remembered a time when Alexis and her got into a fight. Normally, any random person wouldn''t be able to eveny a hand on Alexis since she was a very skilled fighter. This subtle fact was buried in all that he had to deal with so he had forgotten. As the three bullets flew to their mark, Cindy easily blocked with her mechanical arm. Although the bullets were very powerful, her arm seemed to bepletely made of living metal. However, she did not only block. Using the opportunity of Matt being distracted by her block, she charged forward at full speed. The sound of air being released came from her legs and she moved at inhuman speeds. If not for Martha making another move, Matt would have been skewered. He realized this wasn''t the time to y around. He started to fire shot after shot, but Cindy just blocked it all. Her reflexes were at another levelpletely. If not for Matt''s recent improvement, he would be at a huge disadvantage. Matt was about to dump everything into Dream Walking to have another attack in his arsenal, but Martha bit the back of Cindy''s neck and took her down. Cindy didn''t stay idle and managed to grab Martha and threw her to the ground. Then, she picked Martha up by her neck and started strangling her. Martha didn''t breathe so it wouldn''t do anything, but a thick sap-like liquid began to leak from her body. Cindy chuckled and positioned her other arm to prate into Martha''s body. "We have been searching for you this whole time, but here you are delivering yourself to me. Be one with me so that I can be perfect!" Matt realized what was happening and didn''t hold back anymore. He stopped caring about her life and only wanted to save Martha. He shot several Mind sts in a row until he waspletely spent. Cindy yelped and dropped Martha after the first shot. The second shot started to make her scream and hold her head. The third shot brought her to her knees. The fourth shot made her start convulsing. Matt approached to check on Martha''s wounds be she seemed to be okay. He looked down at the seizing Cindy and was about to ce a bullet in her head to finish it. However, she suddenly stopped and her eyes went back to normal. When Matt saw this, he was shocked, but Cindy didn''t make any moves to attack. "So, you are going to kill me then? Do you dare? I can no longer move this body, so do as you wish." The voice became more melodic and calmer than before. It seemed that his Mind sts knocked her back to her senses. He didn''t understand what the logic behind it was, but there must be some mechanical reason her brain isn''tpletely human. Matt looked down at her and pointed his gun. "Where is Alexis? Tell me, did Shephard do this to you? What is his goal, dammit!?" "She is in the next room. You are free to take her, we did not harm her. Just remember, she is in my control now. It cannot be removed or disabled." Matt was confused with the way Cindy was speaking. Something wasn''t right. He looked again into those lifeless eyes and realized that something was wrong. He took a step back as his hands shook. Although the body was wasted due to his attacks, it was still speaking. Any human would be a vegetable at this point. "It seems you figured it out. It was always me, Matthew. You just never noticed it. I have been watching you and every one of my sheep. I am in charge of this herd. Whenever there is a wolf or a problematic ck sheep, I will remove it. This is my mission. I am the Shephard." Matt shot the bullet and killed what remained of the body. He then fell backward and held his head. Shephard wasn''t a person. The signs were so obvious, he just never figured it out. The reason no one could do anything to Shephard. The reason people disappeared without theputer alerting anyone. Shephard is the AI. Chapter 60: Moving Forward Chapter 60: Moving Forward Matt looked down at the dead Cindy and realized that the life force from the robotic parts were still active. He shot several more times until the mechanical heart shut offpletely. Then, he shot a few times at the elbow joint of her arm and ripped it off. He threw the arm in his bag and checked the cyborgs legs. They werepletely mechanical without any living metal present. He destroyed what he could and took anything that seemed important to the research. Matt had to rely on Martha''s strength to destroy some of the mechanical parts that he couldn''t deal with. She had recovered well and was able to go invisible once more. Matt stood up and dusted himself off. He pondered for a moment and realized something was strange. He checked his status and noticed what it was. [Mental Resistance has leveled up!] [Mental Resistance Lv. 3->4: The strength of your mind and consciousness have exceeded the biological standard for your host. The difference has manifested as mental energy. This mental energy provides a natural resistance to influences on the psyche. ]Mental resistance: 30->35% ]Mental Recovery: 1.2->1.5] The recent events had given him enough mental trauma to push his mental resistance to the next level. He knew from the game that the conditions to leveling an ability became harder the higher its level. However, he was thankful for the ability. Not only did his Mind st recover a few shots, but he was able to calmly think his way through the current situation. The way the AI spoke revealed a lot of information that an emotionally copsed Matt couldn''t interpret. First of all, the AI exined that its mission was to keep the humans safe. This was crudely exined with an analogy of sheep and their shepherd. The main priority of the AI is to keep the mission going, ording to the manual. Therefore, something was naturally wrong with the directive. If one looked at the ship''s dynamics, you would see arge separation of sses. The upper deck crewmen have a much better quality of life. Therefore, it can be interpreted that the directive only applies to them. This would mean a major portion of the ship''s crew are not "essential." However, something happened that changed everything. Alexis became pregnant. This triggered a chain reaction. Cindy made a movebeling her as a ck sheep. Matt spected that by killing She, she went against one of the major directives of the AI. Her punishment must have been this experiment. That would mean that every person down here that is being experimented on must be an outcast thatmitted some sort of mistake. The AI strives to advance itself, the ship, andplete the mission. Since it sensed the threat of alien lifeforms, it must have initiated a secret protocol. This was the only thing that made sense to Matt. The conservation of human life must have been switched to protecting only the important people and using the rest in any way necessary to further the mission. The concept of how to program an AI when ites to choosing the value of human life was tricky. It would find a way to quantify it. Matt began walking to the next room while pondering the situation. He came to realize that Alexis was not in danger. This must be how the AI controls the sheep that are leading the herd to the edge of a cliff. The AI is clearly aware of how important Alexis is to the ship in her current capacity. The AI would not risk a birth in Matt''s opinion. Therefore, this device was more about him than her. And, as if confirming his suspicion, a message arrives on his personal device. ("Hello Matthew. We will not harm Alexis as long as you follow these conditions. First, you are not allowed to mention anything about the device to her or anyone else. Second, you will be the lead in Project Synapse. We willpile a monthly status report on your research and if you fail us, punishment will be swift. Third, you will cease all contact with Wird Nilsson. Comply with all of these, and the device will be disabled after a sessful live birth.") Matt entered the next room and saw Alexis lying on the medical bed, quietly sleeping. He walked over and held her hand with both of his. She smiled coincidently which warmed his heart. If Shepherd thought they could get away with harming Alexis, they were very mistaken. Matt had already figured out the method to defeating them. He looked over at Martha that was resting at the foot of Alexis''s bed while still invisible. Shepherd must think that they have cornered Matt. However, there is a major w in their data. How could they possibly guess that he was an ever-evolving parasite? It was only a matter of time until Alexis could ignore this silly imntation. And Matt didn''t even need to hide it from her. Science couldn''t read minds or intercept and read brain waves yet. While he stood at her bedside smiling, she slowly woke up and jerked up. Matt ced his hand on her shoulder and she calmed down. He quickly began speaking into her mind and exined the situation. She was annoyed at herself, but didn''t show it. She agreed with Matt''s n and was curious what counter he thought of. There was no reason for the AI to lie about the function of the device. {I discovered something special about Martha. It turns out she is a mixed species with some sort of alien race. She has a special constitution that resists electricity. If my guess is correct, we might be able to acquire her ability with a bit of effort and luck.} Martha, who was in their telepathy channel, sent various images of her being affectionate with Alexis which improved Alexis''s mood. She couldn''t see Martha, but could feel her weight on her legs. She ced her hand on her belly and was happy that their child was safe. After contemting a bit, she decided it was best to leave. She didn''t want to stay in this terrible ce any longer. Hearing about the various experiments happening on this floor made her shudder. As they left to the lift, they saw a group of scientists waiting for them. Alexis had already changed into herbat suit in case they ran into resistance and nned to attack. However, they all bowed their heads and greeted Matt as ''project leader.'' He didn''t recognize any of them so Matt assumed they were specifically ced in this graveyard. "You, with the thick sses, prepare blood samples of all of the experiments for me to test. Send them to myb." "B-but Doctor, we aren''t allowed to" "Do as I say or I''ll have you removed from this project." "No! Please Doctor, anything but that! I''ll prepare the samples immediately." His face turned ck and the other scientists looked away in pity. Matt realized that everyone here must be under the control of the AI in some way. They were probably under even more scrutiny than Matt. This proved his theory that the AI wasn''t trying to sabotage the mission. There must be something he didn''t know about that was driving the AI to behave this way. Some factor that caused it to begin choosing who lives and who dies. "Everyone else,pile all of the data so far and send it to my tablet." He passed them the ID for his tablet and then went into the lift. Alexis heaved a sigh of relief once they began moving up. She held back the urge to rally the First Strike squad and destroy everything on that floor. The whole situation had triggered her maternal instinct to the next level. For now, she would aid Matt in whatever he needed and keep herself from being used by their enemies until she safely gave birth. One thing that was on Matt''s mind was why the AI hadn''t mentioned anything about Martha. Could it be that thest moments of Cyborg Cindy weren''t recorded in the AI''s memory? Was there perhaps a failure in the data transfer between living and non-living? That could be a reason for her fall into madness. However, wouldn''t the AI know about Martha from the other situations he was a part of? Matt thought about that day he requested Wird''s help. Perhaps that man did more for him than Matt realized. Could he have been directly opposing the AI this whole time, knowing the true nature of Shepherd? If that was the case, Matt wasn''t surprised that the AI stated no contact with Wird as one of their conditions. He decided to avoid contacting him since he wasn''t that useful most of the time anyway. The two of them entered their quarters and went straight to the bed. They were both exhausted from the recent events. Although Alexis was in the medical bed, she was still very tired from the surgery. Fortunately, the medical advancements of this era made the process practically perfect. There wasn''t even a wound left at the incision site. Matt thought the AI had tricked them for a second and tested it with his mental energy. However, he clearly saw the outline of an object on her heart. "Ah, you guys are finally back. You shut off allmunications so I decided to visit personally" Wird said while sitting on their couch eating popcorn. **Author Thoughts!** Chapter 61: Living Metal Chapter 61: Living Metal Matt instantly fired off a Mind st, however it fizzled out without a proper target. Matt was surprised and as he looked closer, he could see that there was a slight shimmer to Wird. Additionally, there was no impression on the couch or scent from the popcorn. After his attempt to st Wird immediately, he received a strange look. "Did you just try to hit me with something? You didn''t think I''d actuallye here in person, right? I was just kidding. What do you take me for? Since you stirred shit with your recent actions, Shepherd has increased surveince and taken an active effort to block me out from systems." "Then what are you doing here? If Shepherd finds out dammit, leave immediately." "Stop worrying, I''ve taken care of everything. I need you to tell me what happened after you entered the central room." Matt thought carefully before briefly describing his meeting with the Cyborg Cindy and saying that she died from the experiment. Wird only believed part of the story and could clearly see that Matt was hiding something. In order to evade, he dropped a bomb that Wird didn''t seem surprised at. "Shepherd is the AI." "Alright, it looks like my time is running out. It took a lot of effort to set up this meeting. I probably won''t be able to do it again any time soon." "Good, stay the hell away." Matt said angrily, but Wird only chuckled as the hologram disappeared. A small gadget unfolded into a mechanical spider and entered the vent behind their couch. Once it was gone, Matt heaved a sigh of relief and inspected Alexis for any issues. {I''m fine, Matt.} {Okay. Let''s rest for now, there are some things I have to tell you tomorrow. Martha, can you stand guard?} After getting confirmation, Matt and Alexis quickly washed and went to bed. Martha had joined them in the bathroom and Matt had to stop her from absorbing the toilet water. Although it was clean, it still felt strange thinking about it. Instead, he showed her how to turn the faucet on the bath on and off. The two of them were able to see a cute scene of Martha ying with the interface to get her own water. The faucet would start and she would swipe at the stream only to turn off the flow and it repeated a few times until she figured it out. The next morning, Matt woke up earlier than Alexis. He didn''t create any dreams that night to let her rest well. He did some morning stretches and entered the bathroom only to discover that everything was on the floor. Martha was lying in the tub looking slightly bloated with a satisfied expression. Matt wasn''t sure what happened but started picking up all of their toiletries and putting them back where they were supposed to be. Martha woke up to the noise and realized what she did. {So, are you going to exin what happened?} Martha didn''t reply and walked over to Matt''s legs and rubbed her head affectionately on his thigh. This was clearly an attempt to distract him, and it worked. He started petting her and got lost in how soft her leaves were. There was something special about being able to bury your face in something soft. He didn''t realize how long he was indulging himself until Alexis opened the bathroom door. The first thing she saw was Matt sitting on the floor rubbing his face against Martha''s body. {Oh, Lexi, good morning} He thought with an awkward smile. {Carry on, don''t mind me.} Alexis had a mischievous smile on her face as she walked past Matt and started to wash her face and brush her teeth. Matt shamelessly stayed on the floor hugging Martha and watched Alexis do her morning routine. Although he was calm, there was the asional stray thought of self-me because of what happened. If he had been more careful or noticed the signs, Alexis wouldn''t have entered Shepherd''s crosshairs. Matt thought about the team he had to lead and what he would do about the research. He hadn''t checked the living metal parts he took from the cyborg yet but wanted to test them with his ability. There was an issue with how he would ingest the living metal since biting it would be a fruitless effort. The research notes should talk about the process of turning the cells malleable to create the various weapons. After leaving the bathroom, he checked his tablet and saw that the researchers had sent him all of the files already. He did a search for the living metal and found the main research on it. The articles dated back over twenty years ago when the organism was first discovered. The derelict from his parent''s notes was mentioned again. After reading for a bit, he arrived at an article titled ''Dangers of utilizing TK45 in biological systems.'' This was a very early article written twenty-one years ago. However, it wasn''t the title nor the date that caught his eye. In the author section were James O''Connely and Fiona Doyle. These were his father and mother, respectively. Although there were thirteen contributors to this article, his parents were the main authors of the article. He took his time to read every page and eventually came to an understanding about the living metal. Rather than an organism, the cells that make up the metal are actually just an organ of a different organism. By using this logic, he could already figure out what organism produced this type of cell. Due to thepatibility and high grade, it was simple to deduce that the living metal was a product of a parasite evolution. Looking at his innate ability, the ancient derelict, and the space metal Matt came to a conclusion. The parasite that he was imnted with is the sub-body of a faceless devourer. Either the parent parasite had a unique ability rted to creating this organic metal or the parasites host was of a unique species. The question of whether or not the main body existed came to mind. He walked over to Alexis''s office and knocked lightly before entering. She was doing some paperwork to finalize the appointment of Ren as acting-leader. The expression and aura she gave off when she worked was pleasing so Matt leaned against the door and watched her. "Okay, I''m finished. Did you need something, Matt?" "I just wanted to see you" The two made sure to keep up appearances. It would be strange if they didn''t talk to each other ever but still were able tomunicate. The AI would eventually figure something out. {How do you feel towards me?} {Wha what kind of question is that? O-of course I l-love you} Matt pped his forehead and rified. {I know, I know. I meant, our connection through the parasite.} {Oh Well, I didn''t feel any different with my thoughts or emotions. But, whenever you aren''t in sight, I still feel you near me. Does that make any sense?} {Yeah, that''s perfect. Thank you. Oh, and} Matt trailed off as he got close to Alexis. He leaned forward and whispered into her ear. "I love you too, Lexi." Then, he immediately exited the room like a fox stealing chicken eggs. Alexis threw a book to try to intercept him, but it just hit the door with a thud. Her face was red and she was frustrated that he caught her off guard like that. She decided to give him a good beatingter. Meanwhile, Matt paced in the other room. He felt Alexis''s presence very subtly. Like how someone is aware that they have legs without having to look at them. It was natural and didn''t need any specific focus. However, when he tried to sense any other presence, there was nothing. So, it was very likely that his progenitor was dead. In the game, when the main parasite died, it was game over. Killing spawns didn''t have an affect on the game except for a solo game over for the one that died. There was not a lot of lore about what happens to the other parasites when the main body dies, but he had always assumed they died as well. Hence why the game ended. But, what if instead of dying, they lose the binding to the main body allowing them to return to normal? Perhaps they would then receive treatment and be human again. But then, in Matt''s case, is time the main factor of his existence, or is he choosing to live with the parasite? These thoughts were confusing and jumbled up so he took a step back and focused on the facts. The space metal is rted to the host or the parent parasite that Matt''s parasite originated from. That parasite was most likely a Faceless Devourer based on the information from the secret documents and the paper written by his parents. The ancient derelict was likely the body of the Faceless Devourer. Only being limited to transforming into people was likely just a game feature. In reality, a Faceless Devourer should be able to take on any form. In conclusion, he would have a high chance of acquiring a very powerful ability from the cells of his ''parent.'' Chapter 62: Days Past Chapter 62: Days Past Matt went through the rest of the papers and noticed that every paper until their deaths included his parents'' names or citations. Thest article was only three days before their death. After reading through it, he came to a scary conclusion. This article concluded after several years of collecting data that the alien metal would be a cmity for humans. The organism on its own while dormant didn''t do much and could be manipted. However, when it was stimted with animal blood, it grew. There was a discovery that when stimted with human blood, it would grow much faster. The article was a collection of case studies from several soldiers that became infected with the alien metal. Once infected, they were sentenced to death. There was no drug that could get rid of it, and the metal was too strong to be removed surgically. It seemed to seek out blood and would quickly prate the marrow. The most insane thing is that this was the basis of the Cyborg research. The research material continued on to discuss the applications of the alien metal in amputees, wounds, and those that lost organs to various reasons. The metal was capable of recreating the function and form of whatever it consumed. All of these signs were pointing to his theory of the Faceless Devourer. This meant that, although dead, the cell line of his parasite ancestor was still capable of absorbing and transforming. Matt picked up his bag and put it on the desk. He slid open the zipper slowly and pulled open the p. Then he took out eachponent one by one andid them out in front of him. These were all the pieces of Cyborg Cindy that contained living metal. He took out a small knife and attempted to scrape out a piece of the metal but it only dulled the de. He picked up the mechanical arm and inspected it from various angles. However, when he gripped the arm to turn it over, he idently pricked himself on a section that was sticking out. The blood from his hand touched the arm and the arm started to move violently. Matt tried to let go, but the arm had already transformed and gripped his hand. A few pieces of metal nked to the ground from inside the arm as they were disposed. All of the living metal cells began to flow into Matt''s body from his wound. That was thest thing he remembered before he went unconscious. The cells continued to flow into his arm and spread throughout his whole body. Although he was unconscious, his body was working at maximum capacity in order to incorporate these cells into the host. The cells seemed to understand what they were meant to do and began to reinforce various skeletal muscles and bones. Unfortunately, there wasn''t enough cultured cells to make aplete overhaul of Matt''s body. Once the cells reached their destination, gic material was extracted from the living metal and Matt''s evolution points shot up. Inside his head, Matt was trapped in a dream-like world. All he could see was darkness. His arms and legs didn''t work when he tried to move them. After a while, he heard explosions, and he stood up and ran outside the darkness. Light reached him and he could finally see. It was a strange sight. The sky was red with two suns. There were hundreds of creatures with ck armor-like bodies. They fought against each other; their attacks strong enough to destroy the terrain. One of the ck aliens approached Matt and spoke in anguage he didn''t understand. Matt nodded and charged toward the battlefield. He began to rip apart others with simr ck bodies but different features. Matt realized this was some sort of racial war. Every time he killed one of the ck creatures, he would consume the soft flesh underneath their armor-like body. This flesh empowered him and made him stronger. The war continued on until Matt had already devoured hundreds of these creatures. After the war, Matt began to transform into a more powerful version of the aliens. The others of his race who were now half his size seemed to worship him. Once his transformation wasplete, he waved his giant fins andunched himself from the highest point. The ground went further and further away and now he was in space. He saw the that was once his home behind him. He had no need for those creatures anymore. Matt sought out a new hunting ground. Matt shook awake and fell off his chair. He remembered the dream he just experienced very vividly. It had felt more like recalling a memory than his imagination creating a dream. He stood up and felt a bit lightheaded. He checked his hand and the wound had healed already. Matt activated his personal device and saw that it had been at least thirty minutes since he was unconscious. Matt looked down and saw that the arm waspletely gone. Matt felt something was slightly different in his body so he opened his status and whistled in amazement. There was a string of messages dering he received thirteen evolution points. It totaled up to one-hundred four points. Additionally, there was a message that made him very excited. [Biological Reinforcement Lv. 1 has been acquired.] [Host: Matthew O''Connely Status: Grade 1+ Mind Slug Evolution Points (EP): 164 Abilities: [Perfect Mimicry Lv. Max], [Improved Metabolism Lv. 2], [Mental Resistance Lv. 4], [Improved Reflexes Lv. 1], (NEW!) [Biological Reinforcement Lv. 1] Skills: [Gic Assimtion Lv. 1], [Toxin Resistance Lv. 5], [Weak Hypnosis Lv. 2], [Dream Walking Lv. 1], [Primary Reproduction Lv. Max], [Psionics Lv. 1] Allies: [Alexis Alexeyev Grade 0]] [Biological Reinforcement Lv. 1: "We have traveled the stars in search of a newnd. The Ku''Lothri can no longer provide us with improvements. This body is perfect for interster travel, but it is too slow. Entering hibernation to conserve resources. Leaving Sub-body One active to maintain course." ]Damage Resistance: +25% (Vital) ]Strength Increase: 1.1 ]Endurance Increase: 1.1] [Unique Ability Progress: [Human] Max% [Lower Yggdra] 1% [Ku''Lothri] 13%] Matt''s suspicions were verified. This ship and these cells were from a parasite like him. Something must have happened on that long journey through space that caused the original body to die. Matt only had conjectures about that, but he was now certain about a few things. The alien race he saw in his dream must be the origin of this near-indestructible metal. He looked down at the table and saw all the other parts that contained living metal and decided to absorb them as well. However, before he could act, a message appeared on his device. The researchers he saw yesterday had finished collecting samples and sent them to hisb. Matt had worried about how he would show progress to the AI, but now that he discovered the origins and his ability to fuse with the living metal, he was no longer worried. This was the perfect opportunity to begin increasing his evolution points. Unfortunately, he was a little under a year away from his next sub-body to form. Therefore, he would focus on improving all of his current skills to their limits. [Gic Assimtion Lv. 1->2: There is no being in the universe with more potential than the parasite. This is not because of their individual strength, but due to their ability to steal all other beings'' strengths. Instead of recing the host for a more suitable vessel, absorbing the gics of all creatures will allow the parasite to enhance, improve, and perfect a unique body. ]Ability: Detect Life (100m->120m) ]Absorption Grade Limit: 3->3 ]Unique Ability Limit: 1->1 ]Efficiency: 110%->120% ]Level Cost: 100 EP-> 140 EP] The cost was high, but Matt knew the value of increasing this skill first. It would take a long time to receive the first ability from Martha and from the Ku''Lothri. Therefore, the best thing he could do was focus on unlocking the second ability slot for humans. This would be a huge investment but be worth it in the long run. Matt thought about the best candidate for his second ability and he easily thought about Wird. Using only his blood to acquire the second ability from Humans would be extremely useful. If this wasn''t possible, he would settle for the test subjects'' blood. He packed up all of the mechanical pieces and made his way to hisb. Martha, who waszing around in the living room, decided to follow Matt since she was bored. He entered the lift near his room and ran into someone he knew. "Doctor O''Connely, I was just looking for you. Follow me to my quarters, I wish to discuss something with you." "Ah, good morning Captain Yes sir." Matt said with a neutral face, but internally he was trying to figure out what the captain knew and what this meeting was about. Matt prepared for the worst. Chapter 63: Olive Branch Chapter 63: Olive Branch Matt sat silently in the Captain''s quarters which were surprisingly basic. The room was not much bigger than the room he shared with Alexis. The decorations were simple, sporting a few historic weapons that Matt recognized to be from a very early era. He admired the collection when the captain opened the door to his office and invited him in. The captain had brought him to his quarters and had him wait while he prepared something. When the captain stepped out, he was holding a box. "First century curved sword, originally created by the Indians butter adopted by the Mongolians to spread their influence across thend. Truly a marvel to see how far we havee, yet still have the same motivations." "Captain, what do you need to speak about?" "Right, here, this is for you." He passed Matt the box and let him open it himself. The box was fairly thin and opened with a hinge in the back. When he flipped the cover open the inside was covered in velvet and there was a bronze and silver medal inside. The medal was of the sun back in the milky way gxy. Matt knew what this medal was and it made him slightly nervous. He looked up at the captain and swallowed the saliva that umted. "Matthew O''Connely, I present you thismendation badge for your brave actions. Since the details of what you did are a bit sensitive and unsuitable for the general crewmen, I decided to present it to you in private. Do you have any requests?" "No, Sir." "Hmm. Alright. Let me give you some advice, don''t work too hard. Thest thing we want is that thing freely moving around the ship. While part of the ship, it is still restricted by many fail safes." After finishing speaking, he stood up and showed Matt out. The whole situation was very strange to Matt. The captain was aware of what had happened and even gave him a medal. It was probably bugged. Shepherd is likely blocking all ess to Matt''s data so the Captain needed a way to monitor him. The most interesting thing was realizing that the Captain was aware of the dangers of the Mobile Unit. The protocol that prevented the AI from killing humans was very strict and could not be executed easily. This was likely why the AI manipted others into doing its dirty work. However, if it received a body, it would be free from many of the subroutines that prevent it from taking direction action. Ironically, Shepherd is a trapped animal wishing to be free. Matt went toward the cafeteria to eat since it was well past breakfast time. After getting a quick meal, Matt went straight to hisb. Martha was pleased to get a chance to move around the ship and explore. Since he acquired copies of Dr. Bradshaw''s notebook, he knew the form that created the seeds which provided evolution points. He decided to create arge batch of the solution and start collecting seeds from Martha. He was tempted to take them for himself, but decided giving it to Alexis was critical. Even if she did not acquire the ability to resist electricity, she would at the very least get a useful ability. Unfortunately, there was a limited quantity of the living metal, otherwise he would secure that as well for her. Since Matt already took arge chunk of the avable resources, it was better for him toplete the ability himself first. Then, he could worry about helping Alexis get stronger. {Are you okay with making a lot of those seeds?} Matt asked since he was afraid, she might feel ufortable, but Martha responded that there would be no issue. To her, it was like growing and cutting hair. Thinking about her origins, Matt wondered if there was a way for her to get rid of the Earth DNA that was spliced together with hers. There are methods of gic maniption, but using them on living subjects was dangerous. They arrived at theb and Matt saw arge cooler, about the size of a writing desk, sitting in the center of hisb. The cooler was time-locked and only epted a biometric input. He ced his thumbprint and scanned his eye and the timer started. The time-locking mechanism was a safety device to deter unauthorized users from opening it. Once the timer reached five minutes, it required him to input his biometrics once more and the cooler finally released the locks. Inside the cooler were twenty shelves with fifty slots in each shelf. This meant there were at most a thousand samples. Matt''s eyes went wide and he couldn''t help but smile. He unlocked the wheels and pulled the cooler into the cold room. Once inside, he took out a stand and ced some of the samples in it. He opened them one by one and inspected their contents. [Gic Material Detected. 89%patibility. Grade 2+. Consume for 10 Evolution Point.] Matt raised his brow and realized what was going on. The scientists were researching ways to mix the foreign DNA with humans, and it seemed they half-seeded. Bringing a human to the two-plus grade is a feat. However, these samples were likely from the half-dead experiments he saw. The fact there were so many made him nervous. He lifted the top shelf and saw that it was empty underneath. He sighed in relief, since the thought of there being a thousand experiments was frightening. For now, fifty samples were good enough. He left the cold room and ordered a bunch of nucleic acids and proteins. Synthesizing chemicalpounds was difficult in an environment where resources were limited. Fortunately, the agriculture branch in charge of growing various nts produced enough organic matter to supplement the ships resources. Matt sat down in the back corner of the cold room and took out the remaining Ku''Lothri samples. He took the first,rgest chunk. The arm he absorbed was quiterge andted him one-hundred and four points. This piece was part of the upper thigh and hip area. After removing most of the metalponents, it was about eighty-percent the size of the arm. He cut open his hand with a sterile de and let the cells flow into him. Once the living metal began shifting and moving, even more metal pieces fell out from within. This decreased the total volume by quite a bit reducing the amount of points Matt gained. As the cells all flowed into him and spread throughout his body attempting to reinforce his host body, another sh of a memory appeared in his mind. It was pitch ck in space where he flew toward an unknown direction. However, far into the distance, a light emerged and it seemed that he was flying towards it. The vision ended and Matt jerked awake. He had drenched his undershirt which started to get very cold due to being in a four-degree Celsius room. Matt had gained eighty-four points from the chunk he absorbed. This was just enough for the next level of Gic Assimtion. He quickly dumped his points into it and let the feeling of growing stronger flow over him. He didn''t gain any other abilities from the metal, nor did his Biological Reinforcement level up. He was certain that it would increase from taking in the living metal, so it must be a quantity issue. [Gic Assimtion Lv. 2->3: There is no being in the universe with more potential than the parasite. This is not because of their individual strength, but due to their ability to steal all other beings'' strengths. Instead of recing the host for a more suitable vessel, absorbing the gics of all creatures will allow the parasite to enhance, improve, and perfect a unique body. ]Ability: Detect Life (120m->150m) ]Absorption Grade Limit: 3->3 ]Unique Ability Limit: 1->1 ]Efficiency: 120%->130% ]Level Cost: 140 EP-> 180 EP] Matt packed away the metal pieces and left the cold room. Fortunately, he kept spare clothes in theb and wouldn''t need to go far to change. He had never stopped the habit of activating his detect life at regr intervals. Since it was much stronger now, he felt very safe. As he entered the closet in hisb to get changed, he detected someone in the hallwaying this direction. Although this didn''t necessarily mean they wereing here, it was still an umon urrence. He paid attention to the life signature while changing his clothes and suddenly recognized something. It was very faint but his strengthened detect life allowed him to focus on a single life source. The vital points lit up like a tree and a single ck spot was slowly spreading toward the nearest vital area. Matt went on high alert and prepared for the worst. However, as soon as the source reached hisb, it kept going. Matt was about to rx when their life force flickered and they fell backward. Matt quickly ran out, not even noticing that he forgot his shirt. On the ground was someone he had never seen before. She had brown hair, olive skin and was well endowed in the chest area. She wore the standard engineer''s uniform and no rank insignia. This meant she was likely a nonmissioned officer like Matt. There was a gash in her abdomen that was ckened. This was the source of the dark light he saw. It was clearly the living metal. Chapter 64: Honey Trap Chapter 64: Honey Trap Matt crouched and tried to get her attention. She wasn''t unconscious but seemed delirious. He grabbed her chin and turned her to look into his eyes. Using his hypnosis, he tried to clear her mind and tell him what happened. It took several attempts but he finally managed to pull her out of her panicked state. Her breathing normalized and she kept her eyes locked with Matt. [Hypnotism Activated] "Now that you''re calm, tell me what happened." "I was called in for a repair I cut myself on a piece of metal" She talked really slowly and would seem to go into a daze asionally. This was a bit exaggerated for a single wound, even if it was a wound that is now infected with the living metal. However, he kept pushing her to figure out what exactly happened. He continued to use hypnosis to interrogate her, which seemed to help maintain her calm mind. "What happened after you got cut." "I left to get treatment on the lift someone helped me told me to go straight." Matt thought this sounded more and more suspicious as he listened. He searched her body while she was going into a daze again and found her ID badge. Her name was Alexandria Mikos and Matt instantly realized there was a conspiracy here. He picked her up and brought her into hisb. Feeling herself being picked up she seemed to regain some lucidity and finally had a chance to inspect the person. She felt very hot and drunk so seeing the strong, muscr chest of her savior made her heart race for other reasons. Mattid her down on a spongey mat and went to grab the first aid kit. It made sense that Shepherd had begun actively watching him since Wird''s influence was lessened. His actions in Matt''s quarters were likely a one-time thing for a while. The identity of the person on the lift with Alexandria was likely one of Shepherd''s agents. He didn''t understand why this scene was orchestrated, but the AI has so muchputing power it probably ran several simtions and thought this n would lead to something. When he returned to Alexandria, he checked her abdomen and saw that it had already closed up by the living metal. Still, he took out some iodine and sterile water to clean the area. Once he finished, he knelt and leaned forward to try and get some more information out of her but she wrapped his arms around his neck and started kissing him. Matt pressed her down with his hand blocking her assault, but could taste the sweet saliva that invertedly entered his mouth. [Hypnotism Activated] "What did the person in the lift do to help you?" "Ah he gave me hah something to... ngh numb the pain." She had started to writhe around and her heartrate and breathing were elerating. Fortunately, Matt was resistant to drugs and toxins, so this strange little n didn''t work. But the problem was, if her body condition worsened, the living metal would spread quicker. Whatever they gave her seemed potent enough to be excreted through her bodily fluids as she started to give off a peculiar scent. Shepherd must have ced her in his path in order to get him to form a rtionship with her in some way. However, since there was no data about his powers, such a n was doomed to fail. Matt wracked his brain to figure out the end goal when he received a message on his personal device. ("The girl will be your first test subject. Solve the problem of rejection or let her die. Her physical and mental condition will be the basis of your evaluation. Her status is top secret, any leaks will result in immediate termination of your position.") Matt was frustrated with Shepherd but realized the difficulty of his position. Making him emotionally attached to her wasn''t the only goal. Humans were simple in the AI''s mind. Throughout history there were two things that drove mankind war and sex. In order to control Matt, it used the threat of violence and allure of sex. Although basic, it would be very effective on many people. Alexandria was starting to get ufortably aroused and Matt found it difficult to keep her still. [Hypnotism Activated] "Sleep." Matt whispered to her. She struggled against hismand but her mind was already too weak to resist. Her eyelids became heavy and her muscles rxed. Once Matt saw her chest rising and falling steadily, he rxed. The situation was difficult but not impossible to deal with. The order he received wasplicated. While thinking about the overall situation, he finally finished changing and returned to where Alexandria was sleeping. The first thing that gave him a headache was her name. The AI chose her for this reason. Likely in order to keep reminding him that they are threatening Alexis. Secondly, she was very charming and Matt was naturally attracted to her. Fortunately, he had alreadye to terms with his emotions and his mind was steady as a boulder. Well, his abilities also helped. The next issue was her infection. Shepherd clearly arranged for Alexandria to be injured while on a repair, thus inocting her. He experienced himself how vtile the living metal is and it would only take a single cell to begin propagating. From his inspection, the aphrodisiac worsened her condition quicker than how it would normally progress. Matt couldn''t remove the cells of the living metal for a few reasons. If he did remove it, then she would be missing arge chunk of her abdomen and likely die. Also, Shepherd would then know he had the ability to extract the living metal after it was already fused to flesh. Matt had discovered from the documents that it was impossible to extract the metal once it found a host. Not even a de made from living metal could cut it out since the blood would then destabilize the de. Matt suddenly stood up in a panic and tried to connect to Alexis through their link. Fortunately, she was close enough for the connection to reach. {Alexis, I need to see thebat suit immediately.} {Hum, okay, I''lle down there right now.} He was annoyed at himself forpletely forgetting about the main application of the living metal. They were used in thebat suits and the mechanized suits. But what he didn''t understand was why that was considered safe. What would happen if the person wearing the suit bled? Would they then be infected as well? There was a secret locked in the technology that he wasn''t aware of. Something was special about the living metal in the suits versus the main cell line. While waiting for Alexis, he sat on his stool and searched the documents that were sent over for any information about thebat suit technology. However, there was nothing except for a few references that seemed to be rted to thebat suits. He messaged the researcher that sent him the documents why there wasn''t anything rted to the suits when Alexis walked into hisb. Alexis was wearing sweatpants and arge shirt. She shuffled over to Matt with the suit in her hand. The smell of sweat was the first thing she noticed. It was a fragrant smell unlike Matt''s typical scent. She sniffed around and became hyperalert. She still hadn''t shown much growth on her stomach but her hormones had already begun to fluctuate. The tantalizing scent made her a bit hot and before she knew it, her breathing was elerated. When Matt noticed Alexise in, she was already affected by the aphrodisiac that Alexandria was doused in. Since he was immune to the effects, he had forgotten about it. Although he had already dedicated himself to be more mentally organized and not forget things, it was still happening. It was unfortunate, but this seemed to be a core problem of his that wasn''t easily solved. "Hold on Lexi, let me take you back. Leave the suit here." "Matt what is going on in here?" "Just someone''s prank, don''t worry. Let''s go." Matt quickly led her out and back to their room. He was worried about his tipsy fianc so he made sure she was back in their quarters. The two of them never held back their desires in the past, and now that they were linked together, they were even less inhibited. Because of this, Matt ended up being swept away by Alexis''s mood and indulged for an hour. After finishing, his mind was much clearer and he realized that the aphrodisiac wasn''tpletely ineffective on him. He had just not noticed the effects. {Alexis, what happens when you get injured in the suit?} {Oh, it has some healing properties or something. During the allocation of suits, the instructor had us prick our finger and touch the inside of the suit. It heals almost instantly.} Matt sat up and held his head in his hands. He had a good idea about what was happening now. The suits weren''t inert, they were the opposite. The ritual to get a suit was essentially feeding a starved animal to gain its loyalty. Chapter 65: Dream Discoveries Chapter 65: Dream Discoveries {What is it? Is there something wrong with my suit?} Alexis was worried seeing Matt''s reaction. {I don''t know yet. I''ve been tasked with studying this living metal and discovered that it reacts aggressively to blood. However, the suits seem to be self-contained. They underwent some sort of process that made them docile. The ritual of giving them blood is most likely some sort of pact. That is why each person gets their own suit and they can''t be swapped.} {Is it dangerous?} She was worried but Matt wasn''tpletely sure. The living metal reacted well with him and even integrated itself in his body instead of infecting him. That would suggest that Alexis would also be safe. However, he wouldn''t take that risk for now. {Since you are off-duty anyway, avoid wearing the suit. I''ll try to research the process and once I''m certain it is safe, you might be able to get even stronger with the suit.} Alexis sat up and leaned against Matt''s shoulder. {So, what were you doing in yourb for there to be that weird drug floating around} "Shit! I have to go." Matt realized he forgot about Alexandria and grabbed his uniform from the foot of the bed, quickly putting it on. Fortunately, Martha had stayed behind to watch over Alexandria, but she would be confused and scared if she woke up like that in theb. {Shepherd sent me a subject against their will. I need to make sure she doesn''t freak out. Could you look into it for me? Her name is Alexandria Mikos.} Matt sent the message to Alexis on his way back to theb before taking out his tablet. He searched for all of the information about stabilizing and slowing down the living metal infection. Alexis responded to him with a short confirmation and went to work looking her up using her level of ess. Just like Matt, she immediately recognized the conspiracy and put in a lot of effort in her search. Alexis''s work was quick and Matt received an organized set of information about Alexandria. She was originally assigned to the upper decks, but a few months ago she made a major mistake in a repair which caused an injury to a bridge officer. However, this wasn''t the first time she made a mistake. Her track record was quite poor. Every repair job she was a part of needed to be fixed again after a while. At first, no one noticed a connection, but the all-knowing AI was very aware of what was happening. Once the major mistake came out, the AI submitted a report about Alexandria''s ck record, and she was sent to the lower decks to participate in a "retraining" program. This wasced with intrigue and suspicion. Alexis did more research and even sent him a list of people who attended the program. The very first was Cindy''s ex-lover who died from the electric shock to his chest. ''Damn, Shepherd is efficient. This must be why no one has noticed it''s movements so far. Everything is under the guise of the mission. Instead of stopping the offenders early and giving them real guidance, it waits until they make a mistake to take them away.'' There were many on the list, including some of the researchers he saw that were assigned to help him. Matt assumed that everyone that was sent to rehabilitation ended up receiving a gift. This "gift" would encourage them to perform well and do Shepherd''s bidding when it was necessary. When Matt saw Bradshaw''s name on an incident report, he started connecting some dots. Matt entered hisb and saw Martha sitting in front of the unconscious Alexandria. Due to recent events, Martha had stayed invisible almost all the time in order to evade Shepherd''s eyes. Although they likely knew of Martha''s existence, it was better to keep her out of sight. Matt went over to the unconscious girl and checked her vitals. She seemed to be fine after a good rest so Matt tried to wake her up with a few light shakes. "Huh ah what happened? Where am I?" Alexandria woke up in a daze, the bright light of theb made it difficult for her to adjust her vision. When she saw the shelf next to her contain several different ssware, she began to panic. This was not the first time she woke up in ab on a hard surface. Matt noticed her expression darkening and got her attention with his hypnosis. [Hypnotism Activated] "Calm down. My name is Matthew O''Connely. You copsed outside of myb. How are you feeling?" "I''m a bit dizzy Ow, my abdomen really hurts." She went to reach for it, but Matt grabbed her wrist and stopped her. "You were hurt. Do you know why you went to the lower decks to do a repair?" Matt asked that without using hypnotism. He was afraid the device in her chest would activate if he forced her to talk. His assumption seemed correct because she mped up and didn''t say anything. "It''s okay. I already understand. I''m afraid you are going to be spending a lot of time with me in the future." Matt said pointing at his chest. "Ah What What do I have to do?" She remembered some fragments of their first meeting and her heart rate increased slightly. Alexandria was very shy and her introverted partner never took the initiative so they ended up never going all the way. Matt was aware of her personality from her file and tried his best to keep her mentally stable. [Hypnotism Activated] "The truth is, you were put into an experiment. My team and I will be treating you. Other than that, I don''t know what other ns there are for you." "What are you treating?" Matt pointed to her side and she bent her back slightly to look. "Why is there a big grease stain Must be from myst job" She clearly saw the truth but she was in denial. Matt only shook his head and forced her to sleep again. Matt sat in a corner and began Dream Walking into her mind. Before leaving, he checked his hypnosis and noticed it had stagnated. It was only at fifty-four since he hadn''t used it very much for a while. When Matt entered her dream world, he instantly realized something was wrong. The feeling of dread washed over him as he finished materializing. He looked down at himself and saw that he had turned into some sort of monster. He walked around the dark misty forest and saw Alexandria sitting up against a tree holding her knees and whimpering. Before he could approach her, another creature that looked like him came forward. It had a nk face with a round head. Its skin color was an off-white leaning towards grey and its arms and legs were long. There were long tentaclesing from its back. It walked toward Alexandria and she kept crying, too scared to look up. Matt stepped forward and was noticed by this alien apparition. It turned toward him and went straight to him. Matt was shocked at first, but thenpletely dumbfounded when it went to the floor in front of him. The creature began to make noises which sounded like some sort ofnguage, but Matt didn''t understand what it was saying. Matt tried to erase this nightmare and the aliens, but it didn''t work. The creature seemed to be real. This was a revtion for Matt since now he was able to put together a few puzzle pieces. The living metal has lost its form, but still retains some level of consciousness. It seems to feed off of its host but also drive it to madness in these dreams. After speaking for a while, it seemed to realize that it wasn''t being understood. It began switching it''s sounds until finally anguage Matt understood came out of its mouth. At first, it didn''t sound like real words because of the way it spoke, but eventually he could understand what was being said. "We have finally found you, master. We have gathered a plentiful harvest. May you return to your glory." Seeing that Matt understood its words, he screamed in a shrill voice and disappeared from the dream. Matt used his powers to change this nightmare into a good dream and he changed from an alien to someone Alexandria trusted the most. He walked over tofort her and calm her down. He needed her to be in a good condition before interrogating her. "It''s okay, you''re safe now." Alexandria huddled her body even tighter, afraid to look up. It turned out she was tricked before by the monster in her dreams. Matt sat next to her and rubbed her back, coaxing her into rxing. After a while, she peaked over and saw her savior. "MMatthew, y-you saved me again?" What she saw was an idealized version of himself. He hadn''t even noticed his change in looks since the dream didn''t have any mirrors, but he realized this would be annoying in reality. He tried to get up, but she grabbed his sleeve gently with a sad expression. "Please don''t leave I''m scared." Chapter 66: Plans Within Plans Chapter 66: ns Within ns Alexandria seemed to be genuinely afraid but his experiences so far made him warry. Without responding to her, he hardened his emotions and began to warp the dream. The keywords he was using to change the dream were memory based. He wanted to watch what happened directly. The situation with Wird made Matt realize that even people that are hypnotized may still be able to act outside of the bounds of his ability. The dream changed and Alexandria was vanished only to appear further away in a room by herself. Matt stood in front of a one-way mirror and watched the dream unfold. She sat nervously until a man stepped in. His face was obscured in the dream in a way that implied Alexandria didn''t have a solid idea of what he looked like. He sat down and waited for until Alexandria was at the peak of her nervousness. "You don''t have long to live." "What is the result?" "It has already reached stage four. Even with our current mainstream medical technology, we would only prolong your life." "Mainstream? What about non-mainstream?" The man seemed to smile which made his distorted face seem even more mysterious. "As you know, due to your illness, you have been making many mistakes on this mission. Due to this, you would normally be retired to live out your days in peace" He purposefully spoke in a way where he paused just before saying the most important part of the idea which only caused Alexandria more stress. "Your condition brings us a unique opportunity. It is an experimental treatment. If you agree to the terms, you will be given our full support." "I agree!" Without even considering the terms, she didn''t hesitate. "Heh, very well. I have sent you the terms and conditions for this. In order to maintain security and secrecy, you will be called to do a repair in the lower decks. There, you will encounter an ident. Do not worry, your safety is our top priority. An agent will meet you and send you to your handler." Alexandria nodded and the dream shifted to her next prominent memory. She walked down the corridor passing people asionally. Everyone whom she encountered also had a distorted face. Matt started to ponder and make some assumptions. He was certain that she had some type of cancer. The conditions the man was talking about must be rted to rapidly multiplying cells. It was indeed an interesting idea. if the living metal consumed the cancer, what would happen? She arrived at the designated location and began to repair the panel on the wall. Her hands constantly shook and she had very poor coordination. These symptomsbined with the distorted faces gave Matt an idea of what happened. It seemed that she suffered a stroke and lost the ability to recognize faces. Additionally, as a mechanic, losing her coordination and steady hands would prove to be difficult. After a few minutes, she saw the piece of metal that was intended for her ident and she quickly pricked her abdomen with it. However, instead of a small prick which was the instructions, her body jerked due to her condition, causing arge gash to happen instead. She began to panic and ran to the nearest lift. The man who was waiting for her immediately administered the drugs with a facemask and breathalyzer. "What did you give me?" "Don''t worry, it''ll help the pain. Once we reach the next floor, just go straight and you''ll be saved." The man''s face was distorted like the rest. However, as time went on, his features became more defined. Alexandria was shocked due to the pain so she didn''t really notice herself, but her subconscious had. The face of the man was getting clearer and clearer. However, they reached their floor and Alexandra was sent on her way. She turned back once more and Matt saw the general features of the man. The shape of his face, the position of his features, with these things he would be able to narrow down the search. After moving forward for a while, she copsed in front of hisb and saw Matte out. Alexandria hadn''t been able to recognize or remember a face in a long time. So, when she saw him, and thenter recognized him when seeing him for the second time, she was instantly enamored. However, Matt was bewildered. This showed that the living metal was capable of the same healing and strengthening as the parasite. But based on his previous understanding, it made sense. If the body of his ancestor was fully evolved to the peak of the Faceless Devourer, it would have many powerful abilities. This was a natural predator, devouring life forms across the stars. He couldn''t even begin to predict all of the abilities it had acquired during its life. Although the parasite seems to be symbiotic with its host, the living metal seems to be more domineering. Itpletely devours and takes over the body of whatever it infects. This line of reasoning led Matt to remember the things the dream monster told him. They had gathered a plentiful harvest. He was reminded of the evolution points he gained from absorbing the living metal and put two-and-two together. This must be a method of harvesting arge poption of lifeforms. The process of releasing this metal to a poption, infecting a portion of them, then retrieving the saturated cells, was brilliant. A primitive civilization wouldn''t understand this as anything but a gue or act of god, allowing for a decent harvest. An advanced civilization may take the organism and weaponize it, just like thebat suits. This would only increase their interest in the organism and, fueled by greed, willingly feed the organism to make more of it. However, this was far too dangerous for Matt to allow. This was the type of reckless abandon that he was trying to avoid in the first ce. His intention isn''t to destroy all life on this ship. And, from what he can guess, this living metal does not spare anyone. He was suddenly determined to find and destroy all sources of this living metal in order to protect his future. The first step would be to figure out a way to remove it from Alexandria without killing her. Matt left the dreamscape and returned to his body. On his way through the dark void, he had a strange sensation. He looked around but there was nothing there. There was nothing he could currently do, so he had no choice but to ignore the strange feeling. Perhaps once his skill was stronger, he would be able to figure out what it was. Once Matt woke up, he went through the documents about the living metal. He was looking for specific cases of strengthening and healing. He discovered that there were in fact some studies that showed the application of the living metal in medicine. That was when he discovered the article that talked about the production of medical instruments using the living metal. The idea was that the healing property would be usable in the surgical tools. The method to stop the infective nature of the living metal was also described. "Eureka!" Matt shouted. Following that line of thought, he found more and more references to the process of making the metal stay in its form. The reason he hadn''t found this before was because he was too focused on weapons and armor that he didn''t even think about other uses. The method described in the articles was actually quite brilliant. They take an animal bone with fresh marrow and shape it how they want. Then, by feeding it to the metal, it takes its shape and solidifies. Matt wasn''t sure why this worked, and he was even less sure about how a suit was created with this method, but this must just be the early technique. It seemed that unless he discovered the method himself or stole the military technology, he wouldn''t be able to figure it outpletely. However, this was a good start. That was, until he read an article titled ''Durations of stability of TK45b in the use of medical tools.'' It listed various different tools created with different sizes and from different animals. The shortest was a few hours, and the longest was three weeks. After the stability phase ended, it would be infective again. Matt thought about the missing people in the First Strike squad and the various subjects being experimented on and gulped at the possible connection. Until he figured out how Alexis would react to the living metal, he didn''t dare let her wear that suit again. ''But what happens to the suits that revert to their original function?'' Matt connected to Alexis through their mentalwork and asked her directly. To his surprise, she knew the answer. {There is a storage space designated for broken or malfunctioning suits, weapons, and armor. Did you discover something?} Chapter 67: Zoot Suit Chapter 67: Zoot Suit {Take me there immediately!} Matt was shocked. This was something he didn''t expect to hear. Such a thing couldn''t be real. Alexis was confused but got dressed and came down to meet him in hisb. When she arrived, Matt was anxiously waiting outside pacing back and forth. Seeing his reaction, she became more serious about the situation and led him directly there. When they arrived, Matt saw the dpidated room and had a huge grin. He walked over to one of the corners and approached a safe. Anyone that yed the game knew what this was. This is the equipment graveyard. It was the unofficial name for it. A yer wasn''t able to ess this ce until further into the game when it was unlocked. However, this was reality and he had the cheat code called Alexis. Her ess on this ship was fairly high so something like this would be easy. During this time, she left Matt alone and just watched him. He walked right passed where the suits were stored and went to an old safe that hadn''t been touched since they left Earth. No one knew the code or what was in it, so they all assumed it was empty and left here. Matt crouched down and activated the screen. The keypad came up and he began punching in the series of numbers he had long since memorized. In the game, there were many steps to take to discover various easter eggs around the ship to find the riddle that gave you the numbers to this safe. It was a long, convoluted process, but in the end, the prize was worth it. Of course, since the answer was discovered once already, everyone just kept a copy of the code lying around and opened it as soon as the room was unlocked. Once he put in the lengthy code, the maic locks released one by one and the safe popped open slightly. Matt pulled it open and Alexis leaned in closer to see what was inside. Matt took out a hoop that was about as wide as an average head. The material was some sort ofposite and had a slightly yellowish tint to it. It was very worn out and tarnished, so it was difficult to tell. Alexis was about to ask, but Matt started exining it first. {Halo of an Angel.} {You can''t be serious? Is that some sort of codename?} {I don''t understand the reason, but this is an extremely valuable object. I wanted to confirm it existed. For now, I''ll leave it here since this is probably the safest ce for it to be. As long as no one else understands its value, it will be left alone.} Matt carefully ced the halo back into the safe and closed it. The maic locks sealed back up one by one and he heaved a sigh of relief. Now that he confirmed the existence of the second object needed to craft Excalibur, he was certain that the ''Heart of a Dragon'' existed as well. However, he would never be able to ess it without the captain''s keycard so he gave up on finding it. Now that that was over, he went to the part of the room that held all the ''malfunctioning'' suits. It seemed weird that they would be kept here until he inspected them closely. It seemed that all of the living metal inside the suits had left it and all that remained was the damaged shell. Once the suits no longer remained stable, they fell apart. And based on Matt''s conjecture, they immediately attacked the one wearing them and begin taking over a new host. What Matt found strange was that there were only three damaged suits here. There were certainly more casualties to the suit debacle. That is, unless those others didn''t die because of the living metal. Matt could only sigh and give up for now. He decided to look around the room in case there was anything else interesting and however this wasn''t called a graveyard for nothing. In the end, the two returned without taking anything at all. Since he hadn''t had a chance to talk with Alexis about his discoveries, he slowly exined the whole situation to her. She seemed rmed about the suits, but was happy to discover that she may benefit from them instead of getting hurt. However, until their baby was born, she didn''t want to risk it. Even if she could handle it, the risks of it not working are too high. Matt understood and was d to have someone to share his problems with. It had already be dinner time. Matt hadpletely missed lunch due to all that was happening and so he was a bit hungrier than usual. They stopped by theb so Matt could get his jacket and check on Alexandria. She had woken up at this point and seemed to be quite calm while daydreaming. When Matt entered the room, she became alert and focused on him. She didn''t even notice Alexis right next to him. [Hypnotism Activated] "Miss Mikos, I''ll have someone bring you food. You are also free to go but it could be dangerous" Matt stepped forward and whispered the rest in her ear, pretending to hide it from Alexis. "Don''t let anyone discover your injury." Alexandria nodded fervently and her ears turned red from the intimate whispering. As her fantasies ran wild, Matt and Alexis had already exited theb. She gave him a sidelong look and was curious about his expression. However, he still had his usual contemtive ''I''m thinking too much'' look. Sometimes she wished he would just leave their minds connected and share every thought with her so she could help him more. But she didn''t want to interfere with his privacy. Alexis smiled and looked forward to the next day. It was already time for her parasite to mature. She wanted to keep it a secret and surprise Matt. Once she had a mature parasite, she could start to share more burdens with him. And most importantly, start to get stronger. Although he didn''t recognize it himself, Alexis noticed how much more muscr Matt had gotten. While they had sex this morning, she noticed his abs beginning to develop, his chest more defined, and his arms and legs bing thicker. Although he was still a ways off from those soldiers that eat sleep and breath training, he had already gone well above the average soldier. While the two of them were in deep thoughts, they walked hand-in-hand until they finally reached the cafeteria. For once in a long time, they actually arrived right on time and were able to queue up quite quickly. They put their orders in and sat down. While the couple enjoyed each other''spany in silence, a strong hand smacked down on Matt''s shoulder. "Doctor O''Connely! It''s good to see you again. You''ve given quite the encouragement to my soldiers thest time you practiced with us; I''d like to see you join us again sometime." "Hello Commander. I''ll think about it. Thanks again for the steak. I don''t know how I''d fill my stomach without it!" Matt said with a genuine smile. "Ah, don''t worry about it. I''m already old and have difficulty digesting. The future is with you kids and your kids. When are you expecting Commander Alexeyev?" "It''s already been nine weeks, so about seven months left. Also, Commander, you''re not old. You haven''t even reached seventy! Middle aged is far off for you." "What are you saying, I''m a soldier. I have many injuries from the old days. There is no way I''m living past one-hundred twenty. Besides, the conditions on Exveus won''t be the same. Who knows how little or long we will have? Anyway, I just wanted to give my greetings. You kids take care." The barely sixty-year-old man walked away with a solemn look as he thought about the end of his life approaching. The technology on Earth had already reached a stage where the ultimate limitation on the human body was surpassed. Unfortunately, by the time people got passed one-hundred years, their DNA simply couldn''t keep up and they became more susceptible to diseases. Essentially, all the issues from his age were pushed back an average of forty-years. Most adults didn''t see themon issues from his era until they were eighty! Unfortunately, longer lives inadvertently decreased the birth rate. This was also why practices like marriage fell out of favor. Something like increasing lifespan had many social and economical ripples throughout a culture, it was remarkable. Matt thought about his suggestion and decided that it wouldn''t work. Currently he was busy with dealing with Shepherd and his new test subject. Additionally, he still had various samples and living metal he needed to find time to absorb. Remembering Alexandria, he sent a quick message to one of hisckeys to bring food to hisb three times a day. As he checked his inbox, he noticed that the other researcher had responded to his message about the suits. ("Doctor O''Connely, I tried to find more information about thebat suits, but I was locked out of the system for a day. It seems that this isn''t something we have ess to.") Chapter 68: 221B Baker Street Chapter 68: 221B Baker Street ''I didn''t expect much, but to get locked out of the system Wait, something is fishy here.'' Matt rested his elbow on the table and leaned his chin against his palm. There was a huge inconsistency that he only just realized. Why is the AI studying this technology when thebat suits and mechanized suits were the peak of research? Being able to create those two things should mean anything else is a piece of cake. Sure, there was the issue ofpatibility and the AI wished for a body it could inhabit, but then why was the request forbat suit research denied. It''s one thing if it was simply denied because the AI was hiding the research and wanted Matt to create something fresh. However, the fact that the researcher was blocked from the system alludes to another possibility. Perhaps Shepherd doesn''t have ess to the suit research. But this was Dr. Wolfe Stein''s brain child. It didn''t make any sense ''Unless Dr. Wolfe Stein never worked for Shepherd to begin with!'' Matt stood up and realized he may have made a huge mistake. The day he encountered Dr. Stein; Matt assumed he was an enemy. But what if Dr. Stein was on his side? Or rather, what if Dr. Stein was at least against Shepherd. The fact that his greatest research was blocked from ess by Shepherd''s cohorts is a huge red g. ''It seems that I idently gave Shepherd a huge gift. This must be why they pushed me into this research position. They wanted me to misunderstand the situation with Dr. Stein and also have me try to crack the technology. But why do they believe I can do this? I''m just a biologist that specializes in agriculture.'' "What''s wrong, Matt?" "It''s nothing, Lexi I just needed to stretch my legs." He responded, but rified his assumptions through telepathy with her. Alexis pondered his reasoning and thought that it made sense. This whole situation seems to be a big conspiracy. {But Matt, if Shepherd doesn''t have ess to all of the systems, and is using deception and coercion toplete its grand n, what exactly is it?} {An artificial intelligence that was not originally part of the ship''s programming The ability to control various ship systems Essentially hiding in in sight. I can only think of one person capable of all of this.} Matt thought and his face turned dark. {It it can''t be Wird!?} Alexis almost spoke out loud when she realized the possibility. If that is true, then everything he has done so far made perfect sense. The reason he was able to ''hide'' from Shepherd. The reason he had so much control over various ship systems. His appearance always coincided so perfectly with Shepherd''s actions. {But if Shepherd is Wird''s program, and he is the true mastermind, then what does he need this research for} Alexis started but paused and looked at Matt. It seemed that they both already understood the reason. {He wants to imnt himself with the living metal and bing even more powerful.} Matt was the one to put words to both of their realizations. Everything started toe together and the things that he was questioning converged on the point. Once he epted Wird as the central figure in all of the recent happenings, he understood. ''The reason he chose me for this position is because he believed I''m like him, a super genius esper. He is extremely gifted in machines andputers, so his specialty is focused in on that aspect. However, he recruited me, a supposed biology genius that he discovered was an esper. His faith in me is part of his arrogance. Does he think I''m Sherlock and that he''s Moriarty?'' Matt was originally focused on surviving and ensuring that he was hidden amongst the humans. His trajectory was good and he would reach his goal without issues. However, although he longed for peace, the people around him wouldn''t allow it. Everything that has happened so far is because he was too passive. Alexis would never have gotten captured and imnted with the shock device. She never would have gotten killed. Martha wouldn''t have been at risk of abduction. And he wouldn''t be under Wird and Shepherd''s thumb. For the first time sinceing here, Matt felt a strong urge to kill. He had small impulses from his naturee up asionally but he was able to stomp them out or hypnotize himself. However, when he thought about how Wird yed him, he wanted to kill. The anger and bloodlust made a physiologic change in his body and he felt something he experienced before. During the battle royale, he had a split-second feeling of intense strength and bloodlust. Because of this, his eyes changed to something nonhuman, causing Lorenz to see something he shouldn''t have. The temperature of his body was increasing and his eyes dted and changed. The color of his iris became yellow and his heartrate increased. Alexis noticed something weird and grabbed Matts hand. He turned to look at her and she saw the changes in his expression. His face was scrunched in a scowl and his eyes looked scary. She gripped tighter and gave him a concerned look. She sent telepathic messages but he seemed to be subconsciously blocking them out. Seeing Alexis''s worried look only made his instincts act up more. This was his subordinate. His ally. His fianc. She was hurt because of his peaceful nature. He would kill and devour everyst Thud "What?" Matt was surprised to suddenly get hit. Alexis noticed he was losing control of himself and nothing she did was getting through to him. Matt was seeing stars and the bright ceiling light. Alexis had, in a few seconds, put him in an arm hold and done a judo throw over her shoulder. When he mmed into the ground, the wind was knocked out of him and his strange state was canceled. "I told you I could take you down instantly" She said loudly when several people looked over and wondered what happened. "HuhAh, I guess I need more training, haha" Matt said awkwardly realizing the situation they were in. People weren''t really invested in the situation and no one cared to know more. It was not an abnormal urrence between couples in a militaristic ship. Matt realized that his mind had started to go haywire and thought back to what just happened. {Can you hear me now? It seemed like you were about to go on a killing spree} Alexis was finally able to get through to him. {Yeah. I don''t know what came over me.} Matt was really confused. He looked at his status and didn''t see anything new. Although he experienced something simr in the past, it wasn''t anywhere near the magnitude. The only major change to his biology was the addition of cells from his ancestor. Perhaps the residual memories of war had affected him subconsciously. Matt decided to go through another round of self-hypnosis that night to suppress his berserk state. Although his senses increased significantly and he could feel more strength in his body during that state, he lost his rationality which was his ultimate weapon. Such an ability like that was only suited for a different evolution path. In order for the two of them to ovee this hurdle, he needed brains, not brawn. After the ruckus ended, their food finally arrived. They took their time to eat while thinking about what to do next. While Matt savored the evolution pointsing in from his steak, Alexis finished hers and suddenly gasped in surprise. Matt was about to ask her what was wrong when he saw the notificatione up on his end. [Ally Alexis Alexeyev has matured!] [Sub-Body Alpha: Host: Alexis Alexeyev Status: Grade 0 Parasite Evolution Points (EP): 1 Abilities: [Fascination Lv. Max], [Fatigue Resistance Lv. 1] Skills: [DNA Absorption Lv. 1], [Weak Hypnosis Lv. 0], [Inferior Transformation Lv. 0], [Inferior Spawning Lv. 0]] Matt set down his silverware and smiled. Her maturation reminded him of his original ns. There was no need to change his direction. The only difference was the enemy. Instead of having to fight the whole ship''s AI, he only needed to capture and force a confession out of Wird. In order to do this, he had to be stronger. Not only that, he had to free Alexis from his control. Seeing Matt happy also brought her great joy. The connection between Matt and her increased significantly and she felt veryfortable. Not only that, but it was her first-time absorbing DNA and feeling the effects of it. It was a very pleasing experience and she was excited to start bing stronger alongside Matt. While Alexis was enjoying the experience of maturing, Matt brought up his personal device and sent a message to one of his subordinates. He requested a bulk shipment of the ingredients needed to stimte Martha into producing her seeds. Although Wird knew about the form, he could not possibly know that Matt would be stronger from it. He could simply lie and say that it would help in stopping the rejection. ''It''s time for this pro gamer to power level my fianc.'' Chapter 69: Chimes Chapter 69: Chimes Matt and Alexis sat together in the bathroom. He guided Alexis to leveling her DNA absorption with her only point. It was a lot different than when he tried to level something. Alexis had to first get a feel for it and search for the exact spot. She described it like having an itch on your back but not knowing the exact spot that would provide relief. Once she located the right spot, the process of leveling was an exciting experience for her. Matt had brought his bag in with him and took out the seed he had gotten from Martha and gave it to Alexis to eat. Just like how it was for Matt, the seed was easy to ingest and turned into evolution points quickly. Matt found it interesting that her system didn''t show evolution points, and instead, could feel it. The problem was that the feeling wasn''t quantified and she could only say she has more or less than before. Matt thought that this must be how the parasite normally feels. They also wouldn''t be aware of what skills they can level so it would be very random and inefficient. The next thing he wanted to test was his own blood. He slit his finger to share some blood with her, but her instinct seemed to take over and she started to suck on his finger. Matt immediately noticed that his evolution points were decreasing. Not only that, but Alexis''s support points decreased as well. After she ran out of support points, she no longer gained evolution points from Matt. {It looks like I can transfer some evolution points to you, but you lose support points in exchange. Since you have enough, go ahead and improve your absorption again.} Matt thought. Due to his recent advancements, steak consistently gave him four points. Even though he just transferred eight to Alexis, he still had the four from dinner earlier that evening. {MaMatt can you not do that again? I felt terrible.} After sucking on his blood, it felt like every fiber of her being was screaming heresy. Not only was the process of consuming blood weird for her, but the idea of hurting Matt caused her body to turn cold. In the future, she would resist no matter what. Matt didn''t quite understand her feeling since he had no issues taking human blood. However, he couldn''t apply his biases onto her, so came to the conclusion that she can''t stomach the idea. It is technically cannibalism since they retained their human consciousness. And since she is pregnant, her senses must be on overdrive. He ran his hand through her hair and leaned on her just sat with her in silence for a while. Because hair grew faster in lower gravity, her once short hair had already started to get some length. Since she decided to let it grow, it was already over her ears. She had already begun to be frustrated with her hair falling in front of her face and remembered why she kept it short. "Do you like it?" She asked. "I like you regardless of your hairstyle. You should keep it how you like it." Matt never asked for the change, but since she had long hair in their long dream together, he assumed she preferred it that way. "I''ll let it grow." Alexis used to have long hair when she was young and cut it when she joined the military. Now that she was on leave, she figured it was worth growing out and seeing if it suited her. Matt decided to pass the steaks over to her for the next few days until he could start producing the seeds from Martha. He hadn''t checked on Alexandria in a while but with Martha guarding her it should be fine. His subordinate had confirmed she received her food. He didn''t want to invest too much energy into the situation with Alexandria since he nned to take action against Wird before the first evaluation. Once Alexis entered her second trimester, it would be difficult for her to be as agile. Matt wanted to make sure she was protected. He also didn''t want to take Wird on alone. He already made the mistake once of doing things alone, since he has an ally, he should make use of her. Once Shepherd was truly dealt with, he could rx and pass the days with Alexis slowly umting evolution points. Although there were some suspicions about other people on the ship and still a missing research subject, those weren''t his problem. The only thing he needed to do was defeat Shepherd. Although, given murphy''sw, it might not go as nned. But he would rather go down together with Alexis than alone. The next few days went by without any problems. His task was already determined, so Shepherd left him alone until the evaluation day in three weeks. Alexis had suggested he wear the medal the captain gave him. Her reasoning was that since Shepherd was likely Wird''s creation, then being monitored by an extra person wouldn''t make a difference. He kept it in his jacket pocket since he didn''t want people asking him about it. Once Alexis reached level four DNA absorption, Matt finally got his order in. Outside hisb were two palettes stacked with boxes filled with nucleic acids and other reagents. Matt had only brought in half the load and couldn''t find a ce for it. He began work immediately and began the process of creating the solution inrge quantities. Fortunately, he had enough tools to make a decent quantity. Since Alexandria settled down, he had her go back to her room instead of staying in theb all the time. He also gave her a job and taught her a few things in theb. The only thing she needed to do was take out the trays of ssware and rece them. With her helping him produce the solution, he quickly created forty doses. Although Martha was an alien and likely a lot more durable than humans, Matt still decided to put the doses away and see if there were any stability problems. "Alexandria, good work today. I''ll clean up, you head back." Matt said as he took off hisb gloves and tossed them in the nearby trash bin. "Ma Dr. O''Connely, its okay. I''ll clean, you head back." She seemed adamant, but he needed to discuss something with Martha. Although he could do it while she was invisible and with telepathy, he still felt weird with Alexandria being around. At first, she was too shy to do anything. But every now and then she would subtly flirt with him. He couldn''t send her away because of the experiment but also because he pitied her. "Don''t pretend, I can tell that you are tired. The infection slowed down a lot but its still taking a huge toll on you." "He''s worried about me" Alexandria mumbled in a barely audible voice but Matt still heard her. He chose not to respond and let her leave with a bit of happiness. He already determined that she wouldn''t survive. Even if his parasite could save her, there was still over ten months until he regenerated a sub-body. Since Matt encountered the monster in her dreams, the metal stopped spreading. This was something worthy of exploration, but every time he left in his astral body, he felt something was watching him. And it wasn''t a peaceful presence. Until he leveled his Dream Walking, he decided he wouldn''t use that power. Whatever was stalking him in that ck and white world wasn''t weak. Matt sighed once theb door closed behind Alexandria. He walked over to where Martha was sitting and started talking with her. She had been steadily getting smarter and denser. Even with his improved strength, he couldn''t pick her up anymore. However, what amazed him was that she didn''t make a single sound when she moved. Even though she was very heavy, her steps were still as light as a feather. {Food.} Martha ced her paw on Matt''s face and sent a message over the telepathic channel. She had be sensitive to the feeling and was able to tell when they were connected. Although this scene seemed very cute, if Martha decided to put force into her paw, she could crush his head. Matt reached out and rubbed her head. {I made a lot for you, but you''ll have to wait so I can make sure its safe.} After talking with Martha about random things, Matt prepared to leave. As he was locking up, he received a message from the captain. At first, he thought it was a private message, but then realized that it was an invitation to a celebration that would be held in therge conference room on the first deck. ''You are invited to Matthew O''Connely and Alexis Alexevey''s wedding'' He checked the recipients and there were over a hundred. ''What the hell Captain, how is this small!?'' Chapter 70: Golden Trio Chapter 70: Golden Trio "Doctor O''Connely, I assume you saw the invitation. Don''t fret, I''ll take care of all the designing and catering. The crew needs a bit of a moral boost since we can''t contact Earth anymore. This party will be great." Before Matt could say anything, the captain cornered him. If heined at this point it would be untactful. He could only thank the captain and head back to his quarters. When he arrived, Alexis was waiting for him on the couch. Matt could see the excitement from her bodynguage. The sound of the door swishing open and closed made the daydreaming Alexis jump and turn toward him. Matt opened his arms in a hugging gesture and Alexis nearly sprinted over to embrace him. The momentum almost knocking them both over. He lifted her up by her thighs and sat down on the couch. Matt had noticed a slight change in her abdomen area and was relieved that it was growing. His biggest fear was something being wrong with the baby. He never experienced a pregnancy before and the movies always made it seem like it''s a sudden overnight change, but its pretty subtle early on. Matt suddenly stopped smiling and realized what he had just thought. His biggest fear was a problem with their child. Not Shepherd. Not Wird. Not surviving. For a moment, he was no longer a time-traveling alien imposter, but a nervous father. Alexis saw his mood change and gave him an inquiring look. {Are you okay?} {Yeah, I just realized what''s most important to me.} {Oh yeah, and what is that?} She thought with a smirk. However, she didn''t expect the mental counterattack. Matt leaned in for a long kiss and started bombarding her with images of herself and their children from the dreamscape they shared and finishing it off with how she looked in reality. The worst part was he threw in several provocative scenes. {My soon-to-be wife and our child.} Although he didn''t put it to words, she understood what he meant. Matt would often brood over his ns or worry about how he will survive or get over the next hurdle. The fact that he made a self-realization about his priorities and that it was actually her and their baby made Alexis very happy. The thing she feared the most is Matt losing his mind looking over his shoulder all the time. After indulging in each other, they eventually calmed down and went to get dinner. If only they knew just how much of a wave their wedding announcement made, they might not have left their quarters. When they arrived at the cafeteria, they were swarmed and barraged with questions. A wedding lead by the captain was a high-profile event. Although the politics of the ship were straight forward for most of the crew currently, that wouldn''t be the case forever. Once they arrived on Exveus, society would naturally begin to form based on perceived worth. Anyone that attended a grand ceremony hosted by the Captain would be considered part of ''high society.'' Everyone on this ship was intelligent in their own regard, and they already figured out the impact of this event. It took a long time for Matt and Alexis to get their food and escape the crowd. They opted to eat in their quarters while they hid from the strange people. Most of them were from a lower position hoping to meet the Captain at the wedding and get brought closer to the bridge or even have a room of their own in the single-digit decks. Because of this, they had no valid reason to follow Matt and Alexis to their deck and quarters. After eating, there was a ring at their door. Matt went to check it while Alexis finished off the meals. Her appetite grew much more with every passing day. When Matt checked who was outside, he was shocked. Without even considering it, he quickly let them in. Two women and a man walked in holding three babies respectively. Alexis looked over and instantly recognized the trio since they were somewhat celebrities on the ship. "Mama, down, down!" The eldest said as she had grown tired of being carried and wanted to run around. The little one-year old was set on the ground and she almost instantly started to explore the new environment. However, she was wobbly so it looked like a baby duck when she walked. "Be careful, Fran. Don''t run." Her mother said as the little one already made it to the couches. "What brings you three here?" Matt inquired. "The Captain invited us to the wedding so we wanted to meet you before showing up. It felt appropriate." The other woman answered. "Hoho, dude, nice crib. Its like, just my style. Congrats on the wedding broski." The guy responded. Matt felt his way of speaking was very unique in this time. Perhaps he was a time-traveler too? Alexis came up to greet them after making sure the little girl didn''t try to climb up on the couches. Although there weren''t any sharp corners or hard surfaces, even a small hit on the head could be bad. "It''s a pleasure to meet you! You must be Sandra and Sarah Louis and Markus Lindbergh." Alexis said excitedly. It wasn''t a secret that these three were the golden trio of the ship. Sandra and Sarah were identical twins and they both ended up together with Markus. The exact story of how they ended up in that strange rtionship wasn''t known. Sarah quickly became pregnant within weeks of theunch. She gave birth to her little girl and then two monthster, Sandra gave birth to twin boys. Manyter tried to get together with Markus in hopes that he would give them a child as well, but he had his unfortunate ident. As one of the ace pilots on the ship, he would asionally run drills with the shuttles between hyperspace jumps. On one mission a few months after his children''s births, he was hit by a stray meteorite the size of a baby''s fist. His cabin quickly dpressed and he was barely saved just before he asphyxiated. Unfortunately, he received permanent damage to his frontal lobe and he developed many issues. Fortunately, his piloting skill was still the best on the ship, but his social skills, mannerisms, speech, and sexual function were drastically affected. Sarah and Sandra were naturally attached to him and retired from their positions on the bridge in order to take care of their children and him. After six months of rehabilitation, he was able to return to somewhat normal function but anything else is unknown to the public. "It''s good to meet you all, I''m Matt and this is Alexis. Pleasee sit down. We just finished eating so sorry about the smell." After getting acquainted, they talked a lot. Well, mostly the oldest talked about random things while the adults listened and let her burn her energy. Alexis was a natural with the child and the two grew attached quickly. Because of her experience in a pseudo-reality, she developed a good affinity. After the eldest fell asleep, Sarah finally voiced the main purpose of their visit. "We would like for you to babysit Fran and the twins." "M-me?" Alexis was surprised. She really liked Fran and the twins because they reminded her of their dream-children. But to entrust them to a stranger felt a bit reckless. "We weren''tpletely convinced of Sarah''s suggestion either so we wanted to watch how you interacted with the children. Well, needless to say you are going to be a great mother." Sandra chimed in. "Yea-ha, I, like, totally trust you with our little ones, bra." Markus said as well. It seemed that he didn''t mean to speak that way, but was the result of brain damage and subsequent rehabilitation. "But why do you need a baby sitter?" Alexis was still unsure of their intentions. After everything that has happened, she was naturally suspicious of others. "Ah, the truth is, the Captain asked us to return to our duties. When we voiced our concern for the children, he suggested meeting you. It seems he is a good judge of character." Matt and Alexis didn''t need to give each other any hints or gestures. It was as if they could read each other''s minds. Well, they could. {It''s suspicious. Why does the captain want you to watch these kids?} {I agree. Something is off. However, I think it''s best to agree.} "I''d love to." Sarah was a bit concerned that being forthright might make Alexis hesitate, but she seemed genuinely interested in the kids. Because of this, the three parents felt a lot safer leaving the kids with her. They talked a bit longer before finally returning to their quarters. It was difficult to get them to leave, because once Sarah and Alexis started talking about baby-rted topics, they seemed to never run out of words. "You seem happy." Matt teased. "Of course, I''m happy. I have a loving husband and I get to take care of some cute kids." "Save some of that enthusiasm for our child, too." Matt said while embracing Alexis from behind. "Obviously. I thought you were supposed to be smart~!" Alex joked causing the both of them tough. Chapter 71: Party Games Chapter 71: Party Games The next few days Matt and Alexis took all of their meals in their quarters. Matt wasn''t even able to leave to hisb and had to coordinate with Alexandria to keep preparing more solutions. If there was a mistake in the form, it would all go to waste, but if the material just sits there, it would be annoyingter. Hopefully the form was correct and he could begin generating seeds for Alexis. After three days, the Captain released an itinerary for the events. This also coincided with Alexis getting level five DNA absorption. With this, she would be able to absorb the seeds fairly effectively. Because the Captain released more information, people were more focused on preparation than bothering the couple. This allowed them some more freedom. Matt took this time to go to hisb and start testing the solution. Like normal, whenever Matt went somewhere, he activated his detect life to get a feel for the situation around him. He saw two life signs in hisb other than Martha. One was obviously Alexandria, since her vitality was still slowly being consumed by the ck light. And the other was a life sign he had never seen before. Matt figured out that each person''s life force had unique variations and he had already begun to categorize people. It was something like a fingerprint. And the difficulty of memorizing each person''s life force was as difficult as memorizing someone''s fingerprint. However, it would be very useful in the long term. When he entered theb, he saw that it was just one of the researchers dropping off breakfast. "Ah, Doctor O''Connely I was just leaving." "Good work, keep it up." Matt said to him as he exited theb. The researchers were still nervous around him and he didn''t really care to make a good impression. He intended to call them all together at some point and use them to level his hypnosis. Matt felt that he would need to improve his proficiency if he wanted to face off against Wird. "D-doctor Its good to see you" Alexandria was very nervous since their interactions were very few and she seemed to like him. Matt didn''t really care for her affection and gave her no chances to think otherwise. He retrieved a few bottles ofpleted solution from storage and ced them on the counter. The solution was originally made to be taken up by nt roots, and since Martha still absorbed water through her root-like pads, this should work just fine. The reason Wird used an injectable form was likely because he wasn''t aware of Martha''s physiology or simply didn''t care. Thetter being more likely, he clearly wanted to force it onto her. He removed the stoppers and walked over to the next room. Matt had set up a separate ess code for the innerb where the animals were kept to make sure none of the researchers or Alexandria could gain ess. He also locked the rooms with vents from the outside so that Wird couldn''t sneak in. He poured the solution into arge basin and the invisible Martha quickly absorbed it. Matt opened a channel of telepathy with her and felt her satisfaction from the ''meal.'' After absorbing all of it, sheid on the ground and her invisibility wore off. Shezily waved her tail around and seemed to be in a fooda. Matt wasn''t sure what the process was for her, but eventually, her tail began to sprout two pinecones, which she flicked off. After they formed, she got up and was full of energy again. ''So depleted radioactive material and excess gic material are formed whenever she takes in this solution. Doesn''t that mean these seeds are a waste product?'' He picked up one of the pinecones and his eye twitched. Matt decided not to mention this to Alexis to save her from any possible trauma. He used two doses of the solution and Martha produced two pinecones. He talked with her for a bit and found out that she could eat more after a while, but two was already reaching her limit. However, she seemed to suggest that once she got older, she would be able to take in more at one time. Although Matt was after the leftovers, he didn''t want to turn Martha into a seed producing bioengine. Overfeeding her might have some adverse effects so he let it be for now. Matt looked down at the two seeds and smiled. Although it would be slow, it is also worth it. He stroked Martha''s leaves for a few minutes before heading back to his quarters. He told Alexandria to keep making the solution every day. When he returned to his quarters, he caught Alexis trying on dresses in their room. She saw himing in from the standing mirror so she turned to show him two dresses. One was ck and didn''t have very many special additions to it. It had silky transparent sleeves with a floral design and the solid material stretched down to her ankle. The other dress was an opal-like color with various designs and embroidery. It didn''t have straps or sleeves and was form fitting around the bust. Matt didn''t know anything about dresses and decided to do the only sensible thing in this situation. He activated Hypnotism and asked which dress she wanted to wear. The winner was the ck dress and Matt was satisfied with his strategy. However, once Alexis realized what he did, she was upset. Before she could say anything, Matt dodged the subject and led her to the bathroom. "You''re not getting offwhat''s that?" Alexis was about to berate him but saw Matt take something out of his pocket. Unlike a certain short-statured trickster, he took out the two pinecones he got from Martha. {The solution is safe and Martha can make a few a day. Now that you''re able to take in Grade 2, this should be a great benefit to you.} Matt sent to her telepathically. Alexis took the pinecones and inspected them carefully. She didn''t get the same prompt as Matt when he received something that contained gic material, but she had the instinctual understanding that it was useful to her. She started biting into one and realized that it wasn''t bitter at all. The texture was a bit hard, but the vor was like a pistachio. Due to the properties of the parasite, the portions of gic material were dissolved and absorbed, only leaving the rest to be digested normally. However, Matt suddenly realized something and grabbed her wrist. He stopped her from taking in anymore and pped his forehead. The seeds contained a trace of depleted radioactive material. He had ignored this because he had Toxin Resistance and Improved Metabolism, but Alexis didn''t have either of those. Not only that, but she was pregnant and the waste material could have a negative effect on her body. {What is it?} Alexis said, seeing his reaction made her nervous. {There''s potentially radioactive material in those. I had forgotten about it. You don''t have any abilities to protect you, so it''s too dangerous We have to find another way.} Matt realized his mistake and kicked himself for it. It''s thankful that he remembered in time because he couldn''t forgive himself if something happened to Alexis. {What if I took it with iodine?} She suggested. Although her knowledge of chemistry was low, she at least understood the concept. Her strengthened body should be able to deal with some trace amounts of potentially radioactive material. {It''s too risky} Matt was worried about her health and also being discovered. They would want to know why she was eating those pinecones and that would start a series of questions that he didn''t want to answer. {Let me look at some articles first. We''ll figure it out after the wedding ceremony, okay?} {Okay.} Alexis smiled at him. His worry for her made her feel warm inside. Although their circumstances were far from safe, she still felt the safety of being in his care. She promised that once she gave birth, she would return to her peak condition and fight beside him. "Did you look at the itinerary, by the way?" Alexis asked. "No, I didn''t get a chance, I only know that it''s been made." "Hah, well, you should take a look. This isn''t anything like those Earth weddings from a few centuries ago." Matt opened his email and looked at the listed events. First there was a reception with food and drinks, that was fairly normal. Then, the group would change into uniform and participate in a mock battle. Matt blinked a few times and shook his head in confusion. He read the details of the mock battle and it would use specialized rifles and vests that detect where the person would be hit without actually firing anything. When certain vitals were hit, or enough spots were tagged, the person would be eliminated. ''This is aser tag event? The Captain wants to haveser tag for my wedding event?'' Chapter 72: Something in the Mist Chapter 72: Something in the Mist He read down the list and afterser tag the main wedding ceremony would start. Then, the afterparty would be a lot of drinking and more food. Besides the one strange inclusion, everything else was fairly normal. Matt sighed and closed the menu. Alexis came out wearing the ck dress and showed it off to Matt. It was truly stunning. "It looks incredible. I wonder how it would looking off though" Matt said with a flirtatious tone as he approached her and put his arms around her waist. "Hold it in, tiger. What if you rip it?" "I''ll be careful." He responded instantly. Alexis wasn''t able to hold a straight face and startedughing. Matt didn''t know what to do so he stepped back and scratched his head awkwardly. This wasn''t the scenario he had in mind. He sighed and remembered something. "Do you have a dress for the ceremony?" "Unfortunately, not. I''ll have to ask around. If I knew the Captain would have the ceremony so early, I would''ve requested one made." A ding came from the door and Matt checked who it was. Someone he had never seen before was standing there with arge box. Matt opened it, and the man handed over the box and left. It was his first time getting something delivered on this ship. He wasn''t aware that there was a delivery service. "What is it?" Alexis said curiously. "Not sure, there''s a card." Matt said handing it over for her to read while he opened the box. "It says ''I thought you might need this. Captain Stark''" Matt opened the box and a folded up white dress was inside. Matt took it out and realized that it was a ssic wedding dress. It seemed that the captain was well prepared. Seeing the look in Alexis''s eyes made him happy. He decided to forgive the captain for theser tag event. Alexis took the dress and went to try it on. When Alexis came out, she was almost in tears. Although she didn''t say it, she was slightly upset not getting to wear a wedding dress like in their dream. "How is it?" She asked with anticipation. Instead of replying, Matt sent several images of himself doing naughty things to her. Since her mental resistance was fairly low, she couldn''t help but get overwhelmed by the images and turn bright red. Alexis tactically retreated to their bedroom to change, but, like the hunter he was, Matt stalked his prey and went in for the kill. After some intense exercise, the two of them washed up and sat together in the bath. Matt realized that he could try to get Alexis to gain the Drug Resistance skill as well. He still had three capsules left from when he got his skill as well as the capsule that he tested the other day. However, that medication also has risk of fetal toxicity. "What are you thinking about?" Alexis noticed he was in one of his deep-thinking modes. "Trying to find ways to deal with the pinecone problem." Alexis ced her hands on his cheeks and squeezed while leaning her head back to look up at him. "Don''t worry, we''ll figure it out. For now, we still have time." Matt nodded and she let him go. There was one other option, but it had its own risks as well. The blood samples of the test subjects in the lower decks. Alternatively, he could harvest blood from some random alcoholic crewmen. However, since he was now aware of Wird, this was very risky. If he figures out that Matt isn''t an esper but instead, an alien, then all hell will break lose. It might even be the catalyst to Wird''splete takeover of the ship. The rest of the day went fairly uneventfully. Matt and Alexis rxed in their room, only leaving to pickup food to bring back. During that time, Matt read several articles on the ships database concerning radioactivity and pregnancy. He wasn''t a medical doctor and only understood a fraction of the content. However, he wasn''t willing to consult any of the medical doctors on board as they may bepromised. Not to mention it would simply be suspicious if he asked about it. {Figure anything out?} Alexis thought whilezily lying on the couch. {Well, it seems to be safer than the radiation we are exposed to from outer space and the reactor.} Matt replied while scratching his head. {But this is for external exposure. I can''t find anything specific about ingesting possibly reactive material except not to do it.} {Why don''t you go into one of the doctor''s dreams and ask there?} Matt sighed and hung his head backward. He had thought of that also. But something was stalking him in the dark world. He tested it a few times, and even a short distance to the bed next to him gives him the feeling of danger. He is certain that this is rted to the living metal because that is the only thing that changed. His biggest concern is what the monster told him in the dream. There was a possibility that the collective consciousness of all the living metal is trying to take his body from him. Since his parasite was the sub-body of the source of the living metal, they may be trying to exert their authority to turn him into the main body. Although there was no precedent for this in the game, his instincts were ring up. But Matt didn''t know of any way to beat his predecessor. It''s possible that bing a stronger organism would work, but he was far away from that goal. The next thing he could try is to evolve his Dream Walking. Based on what happened to his telepathy, it is possible that a simr mutation will happen to Dream Walking. If it improves his ability to move through that ck and white world, then he could push back the threat of whatever was watching him. After organizing his thoughts, he decided that was the best course of action. {Are any of the medical doctors invited to our wedding?} Alexis checked the list and nodded. {Looks like there are two. Doctor Brown and Doctor Kim.} She responded. {Okay, I''ll try interrogating both of them. You can continue eating my steak and I''ll take the pinecones for now. Once I evolve my Dream Walking, I''ll start saving up the pinecones for you.} The next day, Matt went to theb after breakfast. He checked in on Alexandria and confirmed the status of her infection. He kept a log to track the spread and so far, it only seems to have increased by half a percent of her total body. So, the total was eight percent. After confirming that the solutions were made correctly, he took two vials and entered the secure room. He poured them out and Martha happily absorbed them. With the two new pinecones and the two from yesterday, Matt gained another thirty-five points. It was one point less since Alexis had already eaten part of one. After leveling his Dream Walking to two, he had twenty-three points left. It required twenty-four to level which annoyed him, but since he needed to evolve it anyway, he didn''t mind waiting. When he returned to his quarters, Alexis had already set out all of his formal wear. The reception was tomorrow so she wanted to make sure his clothes fit since they were borrowed. He had two sets of clothes, one for the reception and one for the ceremony. After wearing it all, except for the suit jacket, everything fit well. Fortunately, the ceremony clothes are his formal military uniform and it didn''t need any adjusting. He decided to pin the medal so that his uniform didn''t look so bare. Alexis was already back up to nine points and only needed six more to level to six on DNA absorption. She had discussed with him the use of her power at the wedding in order to practice using it. It apparently wasn''t as simple as turning it on, she had to mentally will the effect to particr emotions. Matt didn''t really understand her exnation but didn''t see a problem with it so he thought it was a good idea. Matt decided to do the same thing with his hypnosis, since it was a good opportunity to meet the top brass. That night, Matt activated his Dream Walking to see the difference of a single level. To his surprise, he immediately noticed the distances to his marked targets were a lot closer. Before, even though Alexis was right by his side, he needed to travel quite a distance. However, now, it felt like it was within an arm''s reach. Suddenly, he felt something approach him. When he turned to look, there was nothing there. As soon as he turned away, it felt like it was moving closer. He kept his back turned as it crept up closer and closer Then he suddenly turned and saw {RAAAAAAH} Matt woke up in a cold sweat as he was pulled back to his body. He tried to remember what he just experienced but it was a nk spot in his mind. However, merely thinking back, he shuddered. Chapter 73: Ready or Not Chapter 73: Ready or Not The clock showed four in the morning. Matt couldn''t go to sleep after that fright. Whenever he closes his eyes, his heart rate goes up uncontrobly. He stood in front of the mirror staring at himself with the water running for a long time. When the system automatically stopped the water, he snapped out of his stupor. Matt left the bathroom and threw on some clothes. He went straight to hisb and entered the cold storage. He opened the time-locked safe and withdrew one of the vials. Then, he reached into his bag and took out a piece of living metal. He sat in the corner of the cold room and cut his hand. As the living metal entered his body, he swallowed the vials contents. Not long after, he lost consciousness and started dreaming. Rather, it was remembering the stored memories in the cells. He floated above a purple and blue and released small pods into the atmosphere. The pods would break apart in the descent and spread across the globe. After floating for a long time, it came down to the and began absorbing all of the infected locals. These creatures had crystal-like skin. However, unknown to me, they had already discovered the alien''s purpose. Once it started reabsorbing the living metal, a sickness spread throughout its body. Then, an ambush of hundreds of beautiful humanoid creatures with shimmering skin. They released consecutive mental shockwaves and started to erase the main body''s consciousness. It managed to escape, but its mind was going into deep hibernation. After waking up, Matt sook a deep breath and put his hand over his heart. Whatever was affecting him earlier had passed. His instincts were firing off ceaselessly earlier and he finally mustered the courage. The only way to settle the strange feeling was to take in more of the living metal. Matt wasn''t sure what was happening, but it worried him. He continued to sit in the cold room, letting the low temperature soothe his burning skin. [Biological Reinforcement has leveled up!] [Biological Reinforcement Lv. 2: "The crystalloid species proved too difficult to defeat. Shutting down all biological processes in order to undergo restorative hibernation l9b%b1p$m0#8s You can''t run" ]Damage Resistance: +30% (Vital) ]Strength Increase: 1.3 ]Endurance Increase: 1.3] Matt''s muscles felt like they had been torn and reformed. The cells from the living metal sessfully coated all of his vital organs and the remaining bolstered his skeletal muscles. The heat from the inmmation was giving him a headache, so he sat in the cold room even longer. Unknowingly, it had already been two hours since he entered theb. He stood up and sealed the safe again. When he walked out, he saw Martha waiting nearby. She came over and rubbed her face against Matt''s leg. Although he felt very ufortable at the moment, he couldn''t be mad at Martha and smiled. He grabbed some vials and brought them to the secure room. He went to open the door and stopped in confusion. {Martha, how did you open the door?} {Easy. Matt dumb.} Martha replied along with images of her easily using the electronic pad to open the door from the inside. {Ah, Martha, be careful of that in the future. It might be a bit suspicious if doors randomly open. But good job, you''re so smart.} He continued to praise her. It was remarkable how quickly she started growing since getting fed the nucleic acid solution. He poured it out along with some water in therge basin and let Martha do her thing. Not long after, three pinecones sprouted. He wasn''t sure why there were three and looked down at Martha in confusion. Her invisible hade undone and her leaves started to shake all at once. After a few minutes of shaking, they stopped and Martha sat up line a proud lion. Matt wasn''t sure what just happened so he went over to inspect her. He quickly discovered, that even with his increased strength, he could no longer pick her up. However, Martha was able to walk on a scale without exerting any force. This didn''t make any sense to him. He wasn''t an expert in physics, but it didn''t seem like Martha was getting heavier. There seemed to be something else going on. {Do you need more food from now on?} Seeing that she ''powered up.'' {Food.} Martha raised her paw. {Sleep first.} The leaves on her body moved again and she turned invisible once more. In the future, studying her leaves could give huge advancements to stealth technology. From Matt''s understanding, the current stealth technology wasn''t very efficient or practical. With Martha napping, Matt happily pocketed the three pinecones and left theb. The pain in his body had subsided at some point so Matt focused more on his gains. The description of his ability changed. The message seemed toe from the cells that granted the ability. However, thest section was a bit disturbing. This made Matt wonder what exactly the system was. His theory that it was something created by his subconscious in order to deal with the sudden changes in his body was stronger. However, the fact that Alexis had a simr system eliminated that possibility. ''Or did it?'' Matt thought to himself. ''What if I''m also subconsciously projecting a system into her mind utilizing the link between us?'' This theory was starting to sound more usible. Alexis had never questioned the system or anything really after she became a host. In the game, the yers retain their agency after being infected, the only difference is that they now have a different game objective. Because of that, he never thought of Alexis''s non-questioning attitude as being abnormal. However, if one thought of it as an alien parasite that takes over the minds of other sentient creatures, it seems strange. Nothing in the description of the skill says that the host of the sub-body will lose their personality or consciousness. But, if the system is simply a reflection of what I believe it should say, then I can''t believe anything on here. Matt shook his head. ''This isn''t the time to start questioning everything under the universe. There are things the system has done that don''t perfectly match this theory, so in the end, it''s just a theory. As for Alexis, I choose to believe that her mind is perfectly intact and isn''t a puppet.'' Because of his rash actions, he may have opened a box that shouldn''t be opened. However, it did him quite a few evolution points. With it, he leveled his Dream Walking to three. [Dream Walking Lv. 2->3: Your consciousness is able to form an astral body which can enter the dreams of living creatures. Once within, you are capable of influencing the dreams directly and witnessing them. Be careful of other things that lurk in the dark. ]Ability: Dream Walk ]Evolve cost: 50 EP] [Dream Walk Activation: Astral Body Duration: Indefinite Influence: Major] ''That''s ominous'' However, Matt was happy to get that over with. The remaining points plus the three pinecones would give him enough evolution points to evolve his skill. When he returned to his quarters, Alexis was still asleep. He went into the bathroom and quickly ate the three pinecones then evolved his Dream Walking skill. For the first time since waking, he never experienced pain from an evolution. However, this time, a splitting headache knocked him to the ground as he held his head. It hurt but he was still able to stop from voicing it. [Dream Walking Lv. 3 has evolved to Dream Eating Lv. 1] [Dream Eating Lv. 1: Once on the normal path through the evolution of a Mind Slug, you discovered a new one. Due to a fateful encounter with an unknown entity, a remnant energy in your mind blossomed during evolution. Fortunately, you have already stepped on the path of an Eldritch Horror, or your body would have been consumed. Now, you are able to interact with that which is insubstantial. Your astral body is stronger and more resilient. Once inside a dream, your mental energy will be nourished by the dreamer''s mind. ]Ability: Dream Walking ]Ability: Waking Dream ]Mental Energy Nourishment: 1.05] [Waking Dream: All that is unreal or imaginary is your weapon. Hallucinations and dreams are your medium. Choose an area within your range. Anyone in that area will begin to hallucinate and slowly lose their mind. Activation: Thought Range: 25 meters Duration: 30 minutes] [Mental Resistance has leveled up!] [Mental Resistance Lv. 4->5: The strength of your mind and consciousness have exceeded the biological standard for your host. The difference has manifested as mental energy. This mental energy provides a natural resistance to influences on the psyche. ]Mental resistance: 35->40% ]Mental Recovery: 1.5->1.7] The pain in his head began to calm down and he felt better than ever. Something had infiltrated his astral body during hisst excursion, but thanks to this timely evolution, he was able to digest and make it his own. This also brought along with it a significant increase in his mental energy, recovery, and resistance. ''Here Ie Wird.'' Chapter 74: The Envelope Chapter 74: The Envelope After washing up, Matt left the bathroom feeling refreshed. He could feel the new powers instinctually and understood how they worked. This was a lot different than how it was when he first started to gain skills. By simply infiltrating someone''s dream and being a spectator or participant, his mental strength would increase by five percent. However, if the increase in his mental strength exceeds the total mental strength of the dreamer, he won''t get any improvements. Due to this, his skill wouldn''t exponentially grow his mental strength, he would only be as strong as the lifeform he chose to live amongst. Matt smiled and thought about Wird. His mental strength must be quite high because of his powers. Although he wanted to kill him, there were many benefits to keeping him alive. First, Wird was useful as a blood bag. With his abilities, there was a high chance that his blood would give an incredible ability to Matt or Alexis. Secondly, with his mental strength, it would take long for Matt to reach his peak of mental strength. Based on some quick math, he would need to be twenty times stronger than Wird before Matt''s growth stopped. And the final reason is information and technology. It would be foolish to kill someone as smart as Wird. If he could be permanently hypnotized in the future, he would be a valuable asset for Matt. [Weak Hypnosis Lv. 2: Whenever you make eye contact with someone, they will be more inclined toward whatever you say and believe your words to hold more weight than others. The influence of those wordssts even after eye contact has been broken. ]Hypnosis: Intermediate] [Hypnosis Activation: Eye contact Duration: Special Proficiency: Intermediate (82/100)] Matt brought the skill up in his mind. He hadn''t looked at it in a while and was happy to see the number had already gotten so high. Using it on Alexandria several times was able to him quite a few points. Although she seemed very easy to deal with, it turned out that she was quite stubborn. Without his hypnosis, he couldn''t imagine how difficult she would''ve been to deal with her. Matt was excited to reach the next stage of his Hypnosis ability and wondered what the conditions to evolve it would be. Ideally, it would only need several points. However, because it is the core skill of this evolution line, it may not allow him to spend points as a shortcut. Therefore, he set a goal for himself. If the next stage required proficiency as well, he would use the whole four days of the wedding to max it out. Since a lot of high-level figures would be there, it should be simple to mess with their heads. Hypnosis does take some mental strength to use, but Matt''s recent advancements should make it negligible. Matt wished he had marked Wird when he had the chance. Fortunately, although Alexis''s mental strength wasn''t as high as Wird''s, she was still very strong. The next few nights, he would have pleasant dreams with her when he wasn''t interrogating the doctors. ''Hmm, if she can unlock this ability as well, we could infinitely get stronger. There should be a biological limit, but reaching that by spring boarding off each other is like cheating. I like it.'' While in deep thought, Alexis had since woken up and had a shower. She walked around in her underwear and a towel over her shoulders. Since she had to get dressed formallyter, she decided to not bother putting on other clothes. Seeing Mattpletely distracted by his thoughts, she snuck up on him. He would asionally smile or frown, and watching him was fun for her. Just as she tried to jump him from behind, he turned. "Trying to sneak up on me?" Alexis jumped because she didn''t expect him to notice. Matt''s awareness had grown significantly, so even when he waspletely distracted, somethings were still perceivable by him. Depressed that she couldn''t catch him off guard, she walked around the side of the couch and sat on hisp. She tried to getfortable and squirmed around on purpose to mess with Matt. "What are you thinking about so intensely this morning?" She asked. "Just what will I do with such a pretty, smart wife by my side?" He said while hugging her from behind. Matt rubbed her stomach and could feel the bump starting to form on her previously t belly. "How are you feeling?" "Hmm I''m a bit hungrier than usual. I was ying around with my meal n and managed to get quite a bit more food allocated to me." "That''s good. I''ll go pick up breakfast for us in a bit, just stay here and rx." However, he didn''t make any moves to get up. Matt stayed with Alexis like that for a while until he heard her stomach rumble. He gave her an awkward smile and left right away. While walking back, Matt thought about how much his original ns deviated. When he first got here, his intention was to simply keep a few people close to him and not make any significant impacts. However, his previous self was truly a genius atying downnd mines. Unfortunately, Matt was never good at minesweeper. Although he was forced down a path, he had many choices along the way and didn''t regret any of them. Matt only realized now that if he didn''t open himself up to Alexis, he would truly be alone. Perhaps he may have even teamed up with Wird to strangle this ship and bring it to its knees. His path would be much darker and much lonelier. When he asked Wird the truth of why he was doing this, Matt assumed it was a ploy to answer the way he did. However, thinking about it, he may have only covered up the deeper truth with another truth. Without Alexis, he would be broody, edgy, and frankly, way too suspicious. For someone that has yed many games in his past life, the guy acting weird is always the first to get called out, even if he''s just like that normally. Wird was probably very lonely on this ship. Matt furrowed his brow and wondered. The rtionship between Scorch and Wird must be very bad if Wird feels lonely. However, why did Scorch have ess to the server with the contacts? Matt always assumed that, since Wird was public enemy number one, then Scorch must also be his enemy. But something just didn''t make sense. Matt took out the container for the contacts which he kept in his bag. He put one in and closed the other eye. The private chat came up and thest message was still Alexis''s keyboard spam when she was taken and Scorches nk message. Matt put away the contact and stuffed the container back in his bag. However, he noticed something that he had forgotten about. After the situation with cyborg Cindy was taken care of, he had stopped thinking about it. At the bottom of his pack was an envelope. Since it was ignored and left alone, it had crumpled up slightly. He pulled it out and wondered. Matt backtracked to a service closet and entered it. When he opened the envelope, he discovered two things. A very advanced piece of information storage which resembled the thumb drives of his era and a letter. "If you''re reading this, then you''ve either resolved your questions or have too many to count. The person whom you knew as Cindy has already died. What is in that room is only a shell with her memories. As for the location of the room, that is up to you to find. What you need to know is that Shepherd is very dangerous. The reason is because Shepherd is just a puppet to an even scarier opponent. You once asked me who Wird Nilsson was, and my words to you were slightly incorrect. He is not someone that can be your ally. For Wird, the only thing he knows is istion and solitude. Any attempts at friendship or teamwork will only result in your loss. Don''t believe his silly faade. Wird ispletely emotionless. -Scorch P.S. If you wish to defeat Shepherd, insert that Universal Drive into the main controlling unit." Matt read over the letter twice to make sure he didn''t miss anything and then smacked his lips. If only he hadn''t forgotten about this envelope. Although a lot of the information wasn''t necessary anymore, there were still some details that stood out to him. Scorch and Wird weren''t close. They may even be enemies. And this thumb drive apparently could defeat Shepherd. That means, Scorch knows his true identity. Which means Scorch also knows that Wird is the creator of the Shepherd program. Scorch had tried to guide him away from this since the beginning, so it seemed that Scorch was really his ally. He thought about the contacts and realized that Scorch must have done something to them. In order to protect him, Scorch has done quite a bit behind the scenes. ''Damn, and here I thought I was surviving because of my own efforts. I was being protected in the dark.'' Chapter 75: Wedding Reception Chapter 75: Wedding Reception Matt shoved the thumb drive into his jacket pocket and stuffed the letter and envelope back into his bag. He ran his hands through his hair and gripped the ends between his fingers. He pulled slightly in frustration then let go with a sigh. Thinking about it objectively, its thanks to his acting and careful nning that anyone bothered protecting him. So, in a way, being protected was also his achievement. With this in mind, he made his way to the cafeteria and picked up their meal. The reception started in the evening so there was no rush. However, when Matt entered the cafeteria, he immediately realized something was wrong. His pupils dted and his senses expanded. His hearing became extremely acute and the lightest sound because easily audible to him. Matt swayed to the side and leaned up against the wall. He tried to calm himself down but his heart rate kept increasing. That is when the messages started to flood his brain. [Gic Material Detected] [Gic Material] [Gic] [] As he looked around, he locked onto the sources. Every person was a walking bag of evolution points. Just as he was reigning in his senses, something happened. A person bit the inside of their cheek while chewing, blood flowed into their mouth slightly. A cook in the kitchen cut their finger, blood dripped onto the floor. A soldier twisted awkwardly and a recent wound bled a little into his bandages. The smallest amount of blood was making his senses go haywire. Realizing his condition, Matt immediately employed his auto-hypnosis technique and began suppressing his thoughts. He did his best to seem like he was nonchntly waiting by the door while doing this. After half an hour of effort, he was finally able to open his eyes and rx. He didn''t know what happened, but nothing changed on his status. This was something outside the bounds of the system. The thought terrified him. Thinking back, this wasn''t the first time this happened. However, this was the worst case he experienced. The feeling of wanting to rip the heads off of those meat bags and harvest them for points was so addicting. The feeling of being an apex predator was hard to resist. Fortunately, he only needed to force his subconscious to redefine his prey and reduce his bloodlust. The session also gave him several proficiency points. He was now at ny-one. Matt was excited for how much influence he could have over someone at the next stage of his ability. The growth potential of hypnosis was remarkable since it was only the ''weak'' version. That meant there was at least two more variations above it before it even reached the threshold of evolution. After going through that recent experience, Matt was determined to train his hypnosis these next few days. He checked the time and realized how long he''d been here. Matt quickly went to the front and picked up breakfast at the self-serve area. On his way back, a few people greeted and congratted him. He gave them a quick thanks and hurried back to his room. While eating, the two of them went over their strategy today. There would be a lot of talking and ship politics ording to Alexis. {Although the Captain is the highest rank on the ship officially, there are many people that have a strong background on Earth. Although it is moot now that we''ve already left the milky way gxy, people still tend to treat them with higher regard. These high-ranking officials are allmand officers. However, because of their political position, they don''t work directly on the bridge.} Alexis started {This seems kind of ridiculous. What''s the point of having so many people that don''t contribute?} Matt replied. {Well, a lot of them paid their way onto this mission. If the military didn''t own over half of the assets and wealth tied to this ship, there would have been way more businessmen onboard. Fortunately, the military only sold ten tickets to the highest bidder. Of these ten, the ones attending our wedding are Harry Schuman, Ronald Hagan, and Ted Rose. {Don''t underestimate them. Even though they aren''t high ranking officers or hold any advanced degrees, they were the respective presidents of some of thergest industries back on Earth. Being able to hold that position against hundreds ofpetitors shows how capable they are. They have a high level of influence on this ship.} {Why haven''t they done anything about Shepherd or Wird then?} {I was wondering that too. In fact, they haven''t made any waves since the start of this mission. I think it is important to figure out what they know and what their stance is. If we can convince them to back us, then even if we tantly kill Wird, nothing will happen. Although the captain has the highest authority, because the AI ispromised, there is a failsafe that requires a council to make decisions until the AI is restored.} {Alright, I''ll try to talk with them tonight.} Except for making contact with the two doctors and interrogating the three council members, there wasn''t anything in particr that needed to be done. They decided to get acquainted with as many people as possible during this event so that they would have a favorable opinion of Matt and Alexis in the future. "Oh, that''s right, Sandra contacted me. After the wedding, they will be reinstated as bridge members and I''ll start babysitting. So, make sure not to bring any strange people here." The rest of the morning went uneventfully. Matt wondered about what happened to him earlier and was afraid he would have another re up during the event. He hadn''t told Alexis because he was afraid of how she would react. As far as he knew, she didn''t experience any feelings of desire toward killing and absorbing DNA. If he told her about his situation, it may trigger something in her. For now, he would wait until his hypnosis was stronger so that he could nip any problems in the bud. The main thing he was afraid of currently was what Wird was doing all this time. Certainly, he must be monitoring Matt and Alexis to make sure he has beenplying. Since there haven''t been any messages, he could only assume everything was fine. However, given Wird''s history, there was always a factor of uncertainty with him. Originally, he seemed to be a cautious individual that was hiding from Shepherd. But once Matt realized the truth, Wird''s actions became far more mysterious. After getting dressed, Matt and Alexis made their way to the venue location. It was arge bar on the first deck that catered to the bridge and others of high status. When they arrived, the captain was already waiting with someone else. They talked with each other as if they were fairly close, and when he noticed Matt and Alexis, he called them over. "Good, you two are here. The guests will be arriving shortly, so I wanted to introduce you to an old friend of mine. He is very reclusive so many people don''t even know he''s on this mission. This is Horatio Ferdinand." "Hello, I''ve heard a lot about you two. It is good to finally see you in the flesh." Matt and Alexis stared at the man with slight surprise. Matt reached out and shook the man''s hand. This was a legend. He was the youngest to be an admiral in his time and retired a few years ago. The duo wasn''t even aware that he was on the ship. Having an admiral onboard, even if he was retired, meant that themand structure would shift instantly in an emergency. "Likewise." Matt responded with great reverence. From Matthew O''Connely''s memories, this man was a remarkable person. He was up there with celebrities. However, his existence meant that there was a huge problem with the n. The two walked away from the captain and retired admiral when the first guests started arriving. The captain and Ferdinand began greeting people. After greeting them, they naturally went over to Matt and Alexis in order to congratte them on their wedding. Matt used this chance to do a simply hypnosis sweep in order to gauge people''s opinion of him. For the most part, he was seen in a positive light. Matt messaged Alexis telepathically, {What do you think about the appearance of the admiral at this point?} {Maybe this is why those councilmen didn''t do anything. They were aware that the old admiral is on the ship. As for why he''s showing up now, I think this is on purpose. The captain probably wants to use the old admiral to pressure those with dangerous thoughts.} {Heh, well, isn''t this perfect then? All we have to do is convince the admiral to be on our side.} Matt thought and a mischievous smile appeared on his face. His proficiency had reached ny-nine already and the next guest wasing up to greet him. Chapter 76: Reception Deception Chapter 76: Reception Deception "Hello, thank you foring." Alexis says to the person approaching them. He nods reaches out his hand and gives the two of them a handshake. When he sps hands with Matt, he finds Matt''s eyes quite peculiar. Although he wasn''t interested in men, he couldn''t seem to take his eyes off of Matt. "Do you know the old admiral?" Matt asked while smiling and maintaining eye contact. "Only from hearsay. I feel fortunate to have met him in person." The man replied without much thought. He felt he could trust Matt and didn''t feel the need to lie or talk indirectly. "I was very impressed too. I wonder if he would take overmand if there was an emergency. What do you think?" The man nodded and pondered for a moment. It was a question he hadn''t considered, but now that he thought it over, he also wondered. "Perhaps. However, the captain has the backing of several influential people, so it would be difficult." At that moment, Matt''s eyes became even more mesmerizing. The man simply couldn''t turn away. Matt''s smile became more genuine as he inwardly celebrated. His hypnosis crossed into the next stage and he could immediately feel the difference. Since getting stronger, he was much more sensitive to the changes to his powers. "Influential people? Do you know who they are?" Matt asked with confidence. "I''m afraid not." He shook his head. They finally let go of each other''s hands and the man left to mingle with those that have already arrived. Since there was a short break in guests, Matt read over the now level three hypnosis skill. [Weak Hypnosis Lv. 3: Whenever you make eye contact with someone, they will listen to whatever you say and believe your words to hold much more weight than others. The influence of those wordssts even after eye contact has been broken. ]Hypnosis: Major ]Ability: Mesmerism] [Hypnosis Activation: Eye contact Duration: Special Proficiency: Major (1/100)] [Mesmerism: Due to the nature of your mental energy, those in physical contact with you react slightly more favorably towards your words and actions. Acts of aggression towards the target will remove this effect. Activation: Touch Duration: Special Magnitude: 1.2] {I''m going to go mingle with some of the other guests.} Alexis said as she looked over to some of the cliques that were already forming. Matt sensed her ability activate and was shocked to see the area had expanded. Sensing his thoughts, she gave him a wink. {I''m pretty cool, right? I practiced a lot on my own.} {Go easy on them. I don''t wantpetitors.} Matt thought, rolling his eyes. {Bah, stingy.} Alexis thought with a teasing look on her face. As she left Matt couldn''t help but smile. Alexis''s ability was very interesting and Matt didn''tpletely understand it''s mechanism. He was excited to see what kind of results she coulde up with. Matt switched his attention to the captain. It didn''te as a surprise to him that he was being backed. However, no matter how many contributions you made on Earth, it shouldn''t affect your position on the ship in the long run. Therefore, Matt decided to eliminate the people that paid for their spot from this group of backers. The most reasonable choices would be those that have a strong position on the ship. The top people in the chain ofmand, the chief science, medical, and engineering officer stand out in Matt''s mind. The only issue is that he doesn''t know who those people are. Therefore, his goal at the reception today was to figure out the identity of people backing the captain. Although he didn''t really care, it seemed like a good target for his hypnosis training. Matt didn''t want to mutiny or join this group behind the captain. He would rather stay in the middle and blend into the background. Once he took care of Wird, Matt swore he wouldy low for the rest of the mission. While going over things in his head, another guest arrived alone. He didn''te to greet the captain or congratte Matt. Instead, he went straight to the bar. The man ordered some drinks and wasn''t bothered by the event that was currently being held here. Matt came over because he was curious as to who would crash a party put together by the captain. "How are the drinks?" Matt said as he sat down next to the man that seemed to be focused on his ss. "Better than the piss water on the lower decks." He said curtly. The man didn''t even turn his head and just kept swirling the drink around with his wrist. Matt narrowed his eyes at the mention of the lower decks. The people invited to his reception were all upper deck individuals. Matt reached out to pat the man''s shoulder, but he avoided it by pure instinct. The man stood five feet away after dodging Matt''s hand and stood in a defensive stance. Based on his reactions, and the way that he stood, Matt deduced that this man was a very excellent fighter. However, he didn''t need to make physical contact. Now that the man was facing him, all he had to do was make eye contact and it would be over. As his eyes wandered up to Matt''s face to see who was so audacious as to attempt to touch him, he was already trapped. There was an unnatural depth to Matt''s eyes that made people stare into it. Like the deep ocean filled with boundless mysteries. [Hypnosis Activated] "Who are you?" Matt started his interrogation. "Westly Adams." He replied, his body rxed a bit seeing that Matt didn''t intend to fight. "What are you doing here?" He had never heard of someone by that name. "On a job." Matt frowned and asked several more questions to get an idea of the situation. After a while, the two sat down and conversed like that. Ten minutes passed and several more guests had arrived, joining the cliques that were formed. Matt got up and let Westly return to his alcohol. The information he managed to dig up was rming. Westly was hired anonymously to investigate what was happening in this space and to get information on those attending. The man was fairly low ranked in the military structure, but this was part of his disguise. Apparently, he is a high-level informant and expert espionage officer. Matt even received his business card. It waspletely ck, except for a single row of white characters. It was an encoded frequency that was used to hire the man. In order for him to be hired, one had to exchange a piece of information equal to the level of job. However, the man''s resistance to interrogation was incredible. Although he would answer his questions usually without resistance, the way his mind worked prevented any information leaks except for some surface things. Since Matt just updated hypnosis, he didn''t expect to run into the ultimate counter-intelligence officer attending his reception in secret. Matt looked over to where the captain was standing. There was arge group around him and he maintained his neutral stoic face. ''It is possible that the captain hired this man. However, he is a very neutral person that seems to have a strong code of honor toward his line of work. Not even my hypnosis could pop open his confidential information.'' Matt didn''t have a chance to think about it anymore as the reception was finally beginning. He made his way to the main table where he sat between the captain and Alexis. She gave him a thumbs up and Matt nodded. It seemed that her gains were not small. "Thank you all foring here today. I am honored to host the wedding reception for two fantastic crewmates, Matthew O''Connely and Alexis Alexeyev. As a show of my appreciation and in the honor of bringing us closer together as a crew, I will be bringing out a three-course meal sourced from my private collection. As many of you know, I am a bit of a foodie, therefore I would like to share with you all three of my favorite dishes. Would either you like to speak?" The captain finished his little speech and Matt was very excited. Alexis turned slightly pale at the thought but there was a hint if expectation hidden on her face. Matt decided to stand up and address the room as well. He swept his eyes over the several faces with his hypnosis on. "I''d like to thank all of you foring here tonight and thank the captain for hosting this event for Alexis and I. Don''t hold back tonight and thoroughly enjoy yourselves." When he sat down, he looked over at Alexis and she shook her head indicating she didn''t want to say anything. Once Matt sat down, the captain waved his hand and several robot servers came out with the first course. When Matt looked at his meal, he couldn''t help but salivate. [Gic Material Detected. 94%patibility. Grade 2. Consume for 10 Evolution Point.] Chapter 77: Brave New World Chapter 77: Brave New World The meat looked normal. Unlike the bloody sausages, many people started to eat and enjoy the dish. Alexis, whose instinct wasn''t as sharp as Matt''s started eating as well and only discovered it wasn''t normal meat after the first bite. She looked over at Matt and he nodded his head. However, instead of stopping, she kept eating. There was even a slight smile at the corner of her mouth. Matt turned his attention to the other guests and it seemed everyone was enjoying the dish. The captain was eating his meal and sipping wine, but was asionally ncing at other people. Matt finally started on the food in front of him and savored the evolution points. After finishing the dish, the next course came out. The serving size of the meat was smaller so it onlyted six points, but it was still dly received by Matt. After starting on the second dish, Alexis immediately leveled her DNA absorption to six. This would give her an additional point for the rest of her meal and the final dish. Most people were very satisfied to be treated with such a fancy meal. Unknown to them, this meal contained some interesting ingredients. Not long, everyonepleted the second course and the third one came quickly after. The third dish contained eight points for Matt and he dly eat it all. Once the third course was finished, the tables were cleared and moved. The remaining time for the reception, music is yed and the guests went around talking with their acquaintances. Matt made his way from group to group introducing himself and having conversations with everyone while using hypnosis. He didn''t ask anything in particr, just tried to trigger the proficiency gain. He asionally peaked over at Alexis and saw that she had gathered a following. "It''s simply appalling, don''t you agree Dr. O''Connely?" One of the people in his current group said. Matt took a moment to recall what they were just talking about and it seemed to be a controversial subject. Until conversing with people at this party, he didn''t realize at which degree sses were separated on the ship. "I don''t think about it. Does an elephant bother with the ants?" Matt said. He didn''t care to look like some sort of saint, and simply said what the people wanted to hear. The issue they were discussing were the workers in the lower decks. The irony is that no one on this ship is of low status. However, there is still a demarcation. Those that do the hardbor and maintenance on the ship are considered lower status among these who live in luxury on the first deck. If it were up to him, he would make everyone equal below him and his direct subordinates. They were all just prey to him anyway. Although, the especially intelligent or strong people would likely give him a better meal. In that case, they would be treated a bit better. Matt blinked in confusion when he realized the line of thought he went down. Considering humans as cattle, and the prized cows getting better treatment is a bit dark. He decided to go through some more rounds of autohypnosis tonight. That kind of thinking could put him in big trouble. "That''s exactly right. There is no reason to get upset over them. Besides, they do all thebor so that we can use our skills at the highest efficiency. In the end, they are quite useful." One of therger men said as he took a small cake from his te and shoved it in his mouth. Matt didn''t see his chin or jaw moving. Did he inhale it all in one go? "It was nice speaking with you all, I''ll be off now." Matt said as he slightly raised his champagne ss and moved onto the next group. It seemed that the separation of sses was something incredibly difficult to get rid of. People in power will always push those below them down and then those people will push others below them. "Doctor O''Connely, congrattions again." As Matt walked up to the next group, one of its members spotted him and greeted right away. Matt smiled as he approached and two people moved slightly to the side to give him a spot to stand among the group. "Thank you. I noticed you all were having quite the intense conversation; may I ask what it was about?" Matt asked with hypnosis on as he swept his eyes to the person that seemed to be the head of this group. "Certainly, we were just discussing a new fertility form" The man started but was cut off by one of the others. "Doctor Chen, what are you doing? Didn''t we agree" "Nonsense, Doctor O''Connely is one of us. He is naturally qualified to hear about this project." Dr. Chen snaped. The strength of hypnosis reached a point where even external influence couldn''t correct the change. Matt was quite pleased with this development. However, he was still yearning for more. His ultimate goal was to be able to order people to do anything without question. "As I was saying, this new fertility form that we have been developing, theoretically, should be quite effective in reversing the effect of hyperspace on the reproductive system. This is based on samples we acquired from those that have already sessfully given birth. The next step is testing it." He said excitedly. "How safe is it? The animals onboard would be good test subjects and deal with the long-term problem of food." Matt replied. "Of course, we considered this, but we were denied experimenting rights by the group managing the pig poption." One of the others in the group said with a sigh. "Well, I have a bit of influence over the goat poption. I would be willing to take a look at your proposal." When Matt said this, some of the members in the group smiled like a fisherman that sessfully hooked a fish. Matt rolled his eyes and easily saw through their little y, but it would only help him if they tested on the goats. The original Matthew O''Connely would never have epted such a deal because it would take away his aplishments if they were able to create a form like this. However, the current Matt really didn''t care. To him, more food meant more evolution points. This was a benefit no matter how he looked at it. However, to these sly foxes, they believed they just pulled the rug out from under him. "Wonderful! We knew you were a cut above your peers, Doctor. No wonder you are able to aplish so much at your agetruly brilliant." One of the other people in the group started saying. Matt wasn''t opposed to the excessive praises and simply nodded his head toward the man. As long as they supported him on the surface, he didn''t mind what ns they had. Eventually, everyone would be under him. They began to talk about some specifics about thepound they were creating and Matt listened for a while. However, the information was really above his head and it seemed they were doing it on purpose in order to show off in front of him. Matt asionally touched someone''s arm, shoulder, or hand. He slowly spread his mesmerism and could see the subtle changes in their attitudes. {Matt,e over here!} Alexis sent a message over their telepathic connection and Matt excused himself. The feeling behind the thought seemed urgent so he didn''t dawdle. When he arrived, he had to push through arge group of people. In the center, in front of Alexis, two men were taking off their coats and rolling up their sleeves. "What''s happening?" Matt said in a confused voice. "Hah, Doctor, you''re here for the show. It seems these two are vying for your wife and are going to solve it the old-fashioned way." One of the spectators mentioned. "Idiots. What do they think we are, cavemen? Everyone here is an intellectual, I can''t believe they are behaving like this." "It''s embarrassing." "" Many people werementing and Matt only looked over at Alexis that had an amused look on her face. These two must have upset her in some way. He walked over to her side and put his arm around her waist. "What did you do?" He whispered. "Shh, just watch the show." She said while pressing her finger to Matt''s lips. Matt shrugged and turned to the two fighting. No one bothered to stop or prevent them. Although they all admonished the two and pretended to be offended, they were excited to watch. There aren''t many interesting things to do on a ship like this, so it made sense that people would be interested in a show like this. There was a big difference between watching recorded fights and watching a live fight. "Fight already!" someone in the crowd said. No one knew who said it first, but once it was said, others began to shout as well. Some even wanted to see blood. ''What a vicious bunch.'' Matt thought. Chapter 78: Imposter Again Chapter 78: Imposter Again Although everyone was saying scornful words about the uncultured nature of two grown men fighting at a party, they couldn''t keep their eyes away. On this ship, the value of entertainment was exceptionally high. This was more-so the case for those that lived on the first deck. Although there was a gigantic database that stored shows from thest three hundred years, there was nothing to watch. Matt found this especially ironic that the problem from his era only became worse over time. Instead, people were more receptive to live shows. Those of a particr status tended to enjoy the brutal and violent type of entertainment more than other forms. It was amazing to see how culture regressed. The skirmishes were an extremely popr event on the ship for a good reason. This fight, however,cked a level of skill that professional fighting had. However, it made up for it in brutality. The two men had no holds barred. Matt focused on the area around him and noticed that Alexis''s power was changing. Rather, she seemed to be more efficient at using it and was simply unlocking its full potential. Instead of a wide spread of influence, she was able to carefully affect specific people. A small stream of mental energy asionally flowed out and puffed into the face of various people in the party. Matt looked carefully and recognized all of the targets from the documents Alexis showed him. {You instigated a fight to distract people so you could put your influence over them?} Matt thought. {Tch, you''re no fun. I wanted to surprise you.} Although she seemed upset from her thought, Matt could tell from her genuine smile that she was proud of herself. It was probably difficult for her when she discovered the truth. Being able to take an active role in their survival was a fantastic development. {What are you doing to them?} He wondered. Although they marked the various officials before the party, they didn''t exactly discuss the details of how to utilize them. {I found out that my ability is capable of changing someone''s emotional reaction to certain stimuli. By adjusting their perceptions of us to that of close family, they would subconsciously treat us more favorably.} Alexis sounded very confident in her exnation, so she must have be enlightened to her ability like how Matt did instinctually. {Then what did you do to those two?} He was really curious now. {Uh, actually, I didn''t do much. I remembered that these two had some conflict in the past, I just made some unrtedments and they overreacted.} She put her hand over her mouth to hold back herughter. However, Matt wouldn''t buy it. He saw the viciousness in her eyes and knew that she must have done more than what she said. But it didn''t matter, he was even slightly proud to see that bit of darkness in her. It made him feel less guilty for the things he had done. "Alright, that''s enough. Vega, Bison, save your energy for the event tonight. I''ll put you on separate teams." The captain had finallye over and broken apart the crowd. He let them fight originally because he knew the thoughts of the people. However, when he saw blood, he didn''t want anything to get stained so he stepped in. The crowd dispersed, but they were full of energy. There was still an hour left of the reception, but people were already discussing theser tag event. After the fight, the three targets Alexis had been working on walked over as if they were seeing their family for the first time in years. With a few handshakes that became hugs, Matt was quickly a favorite for the three influential men. "It''s good that you''re treating Alexis well. My idiot son back home has too much money and not enough brains. I had too many grand-children to choose from so I ran away on this mission. I bet he''s suffering now!" Harry Schuman said. The other two nodded in agreement. "I understand, back home, my youngest developed the habit of seducing her older brothers'' partners. At least she''s brilliant enough to take over my legacy so that I could fulfill my childish dream of exploring the stars." Ted Rosemented. "You two sure have had it hard. This is why I don''t have any children." Ronald Hagan said matter-of-factly but the other two looked at him with doubt. "Is that why? I heard even the AI couldn''t find a partner for you on this ship. The results of the algorithm were what again? Inco" "Alright, enough about us, this is the young couple''s day." Ronald quickly cut him off. The other two were silentlyughing while Matt and Alexis couldn''t get over the trio''s attitude. Alexis was surprised just how effective her ability was. However, unlike Matt''s hypnosis, the emotional attachment they felt right now could easily be erased. [Hypnosis Activated] "Meeting the old admiral today was quite amazing. I didn''t know he was on this mission. But I wonder, why we haven''t heard anything from him earlier?" Matt said after giving each of them a quick stare down. One thing he discovered from the recently leveled hypnosis, is that he only needed to have made eye contact within a short time frame. This allowed him to affect more than one person per statement. Of course, earlier, he made sure to make full use of his mesmerism ability while they were shaking hands and hugging. The effect was quite strong. The three looked at each other and their expressions changed from jovial to serious. Ronald looked over his shoulder and then turned back. He spoke in a low voice that only the group could hear. "This is a power y by the big shots back on Earth. They must have suspected us who boarded the mission with money instead of merits. Nonsense I say! If funding arge portion of this mission isn''t a merit, then I don''t know what is." "You see, in order to make the position more appealing, our group of ten was given the permissions to be part of the council if the AI ever malfunctioned. However, there is a loophole that an admiral can veto any decisions made by the council. We originally thought this was only relevant while in range of Earth, but who knew such a hidden card was on the ship?" Harry said coldly. "Well, even without the admiral''s existence, the ten of us are not united. I don''t think this is that big of a deal honestly. What could possibly happen that would require the council to form?" Ted said with a shrug. Matt''s eye twitched slightly and Alexis cleared her throat since she was taking a sip of water when he said that. Did he want the job of g hoister? Matt and Alexis tried to get more information out of the trio, but there wasn''t anything else very useful from them. They described the inner workings of the potential council members but most of it wasn''t helpful. Surprisingly though, Alexis was the first substitute for one of the positions on the council. This was a surprise to the couple. Although her rank and status were high, she didn''t realize they were that high. The couple looked at each other and didn''t even need telepathy to know they were thinking the exact same thing. The AI already had problems, so the council would inevitably be formed. The only thing they needed to do was remove one of the members. Fortunately, the trio had divulged the whole group. It wasposed of twenty-four members with very high status. A murderous gleam shed passed their eyes as they formted their ideas for the future. Ting, ting, ting The sound of a ss being tapped on echoed through the room. The music was turned off and the captain began to address everyone. "The reception ising to a close. Thank you all foring and enjoying our food and each other''spany. Now, please follow us to the first military bay where we have set up an intricate field for some proper entertainment. The details of the event along with which team you are on has been sent to your device. There is a small twist that I hope you enjoy." As the group shuffled out of the room, they followed two robots. They were led to arge lift and taken to the first military bay. Once they entered, they went directly to the changing area to put on the special equipment. Matt was in the same team as Alexis. Fortunately, the captain wasn''t so cruel to separate them. However, Matt realized right away that he underestimated the captain. ''Greeting''s soldier, you are participating in the mock battle on team alpha this evening. Congrattions! The vests will adjust to your physical fitness to ensure a fair contest of skill. The guns are specially modified for this event and will not cause any harm. One more thing, your role in this event is the secret spy of team omega. Your job is to take out the spy on the other team without taking out anyone else. You can be eliminated by either teams'' yers! captain Stark'' ''Fuck, why am I the imposter again?'' Matt cursed. Chapter 79: Detective OConnely Chapter 79: Detective O''Connely "I got the medic role. Apparently, I can heal one vital and three non-vital injuries. That''s pretty good. What role did you get?" Matt gave her a neutral look at replied curtly. "Soldier." Other people began reading their emails as well and saw the message. Many eximed their dissatisfaction at getting the soldier role. Two other people in the group imed to be the medics and were quite proud amongst their soldier allies. One person dered that he received themander role and made everyone aware that there was a spy on their team. ording to his role description, he had the power to detain somebody. However, the risk of detaining an ally was much higher since there were twenty people and only one spy. Some people heaved a sigh of relief that they weren''t the spy since the odds were extremely against them. Matt didn''t respond, but inwardly he cursed the captain for adding these things. ''Why couldn''t it just be a simpleser tag?'' The technology for these vests is pretty advanced. From Matthew''s understanding, there was arge breakthrough in electromaism and gravity in thest century. The theory for controlling a gravitational field using electromaic fields was one that had a lot of issues during the modern era. Many people adopted a stigma towards the concept of "anti-gravity" in the twentieth century due to some unfortunately circumstances. Eventually, the research was destigmatized and eventually the method was discovered. Matthew wasn''t a physicist so he didn''t look into the details, but the electromaic fields were able to adjust gravitational forces within a few fractions of earths gravity. Although centrifuges were still the go to for artificial gravity, this technology allowed for some imaginative application. These vests were able to adjust their ''weight'' using this technology in order to even the ying field between participants. "Everyone to attention, we are going to hold a strategic meeting." Themander said while everyone was donning their vests. The teams had twenty participants. The two teamsbined had less than half the attendees since they likely opted out beforehand. Matt recognized many of the people on his team since he had already hypnotized them for proficiency. "Alright, letsmence the meeting. As you know, I am themander and these three are the medics. We do not know theyout of the battlefield so we need a portion of the team to scout it out. The first military bay is veryrge, so we need at least five people." "Hold on, you said there is a spy on our team? We should determine who it is right away and get rid of them." One of the soldiers said. There was a mixed reaction from the crowd. "Alright, then what do you suggest we do? There is not a lot of time for us to be bickering." Themander replied. "This I don''t have any ideas." He scratched his head awkwardly. Just before themander started speaking again, Matt stepped forward. "I have some thoughts regarding this." Everyone saw that it was the groom who stepped forward. They knew he was a biologist so they didn''t really put much faith in his strategizing. However, he was the main character of the festivities so they didn''tin. "Since there is one spy in arge group like this, it will be very easy for them to blend in. It''s unlikely that they are pretending to be a medic, since failing to heal would immediately out them. It is also unlikely that themander is faking it, since someone else would either im to bemander, putting suspicion on them both, or is actually themander and hiding it since they would know the faker immediately." "Therefore, that leaves sixteen people who are potentially the spy. so, I suggest we form four groups of three and send eight people out in pairs to scout. If one of the pairs returns alone, they will be the most suspicious. Since we know the safe people, they will be in charge of monitoring the pair with them. In that group of three, if one is the spy, then it is impossible for them to act since they are being watched by two people. The groups of three will stay behind until the scouts return." "But what if the spy doesn''t do anything? We wouldn''t be able to figure out which group he is in." Someone asks. "Then the spy won''t be able tomunicate with the other team orplete their objective." Matt retorted. He was confident in his strategy since this was very simr to another social deduction game he used to y. And, since he was ying the detective in this scenario, he was certain no one would suspect him. Even if they did, he could just hypnotize them. Alexis, themander and the other two medics stepped to the side and began to form their team of three. Fortunately, most of the people here served with each other in some capacity or did research together so there was good synergy and teamwork. The teams quickly formed and all that remained were the eight individuals. While they were doing that, Matt stood to the side and contemted his strategy. In order for him to be useful, he has to eliminate the enemy spy first. Any intelligence he brings to the other team will be pointless with the enemy spies counter-intelligence. Once he has done that, he would be able to easily take out this team one by one. However, figuring out the spy is incredibly difficultfor a human. He chuckled to himself. His n was simple. He would hypnotize one of the other members of the scout team to make him suspicious of his partner and take him out in the field. Then, he would hypnotize his partner to assist him in spying. In the end, he can throw his partner under the bus if he''s discovered. Although there are some risks in that strategy, since he could just be eliminated by the enemy team, since he is in fact the spy, he can convince whoever he runs into not to attack him. If he ys his cards right and gets a little bit lucky, he will be able to take out the spy really quickly. {You''re the spy aren''t you} Alexis asks over their telepathic channel. {I don''t know what you''re talking about. I''m just a regr human like everyone else.} Matt responds in a joking manner. She res at him from across the room. {Your n to find the spy is very good. You might just idently out yourself.} {I''m pretty confident. However, I think the captain did this intentionally to mess with me.} {Do you think he suspects something?} She thought with a worried tone. {I don''t think so. But I can''t bepletely sure. The captain is very mysterious.} {Alright, and don''t worry. I won''t use this information to beat you. I''d rather do it the old fashion way.} The image of her fist hitting his jaw was sent alongside that message and Matt frowned. ''This aggressive wife of mine'' Matt thought to himself. While those two were having their telepathic conversation, other members were doing various maneuvers to adjust the suits to their body types. Their movements consisted of lunges, squats, pushups and various simr exercises. With each movement, the suit sent minute electrical pulses to determine the density and strength of the participants muscles. Then, utilizing the electromaic technology, it would create a field to increase the force applied to them, thus increasing their weight. Matt walked over to the vest sitting on the hanger and threw it on. The vest was simr to medieval chainmail with the thickness of te armor. After he donned it, a voiced sounded out from the vest which prompted to do various actions to calibrate it. Matt was very fit, so the force on his vest was quite strong. He inspected the vest to determine how the elimination would work. The vests had eight points that you could hit. Five of them were non-vital, and three were vital. If more than half of the points were hit or two vitals were hit, the yer would then be eliminated. The positions of the vital sensors were over the heart, on the back over the right lung, and on the side of the neck between the trachea and jugr vein. The vital points were about the size of a quarter. The five non-vital spots were the upper-right quadrant of the abdomen, middle-left and middle-right of the back, and the front-left and front-right shoulders. These spots were about the size of a silver dor. Matt nodded at the brilliant design of these vests. The person that created them was very smart. Once Matt was finished with his adjustments, he grabbed the rifle from the locker and inspected it. ''Alright, there isn''t any tampering. At least I won''t idently shoot someone and severely injure them. One Lorenzo was enough for me.'' Chapter 80: Game Within Chapter 80: Game Within "Hey doc, looks like it''s you and me." One of the participants came over to greet Matt. They had already finished the team assignments and pairings. The person he was with was not someone he particrly paid attention to in the party. [Hypnosis Activated.] "Follow my lead." Matt said authoritatively. The man nodded and stood at attention. This person was the head navigator for the ship George Jordie. He was very receptive to following orders and Matt didn''t need much effort to get him in line. With the units formed, the whole team made their way to the entrance of the field. It was arge metal hangar door with a clock above it. Everyone stood around excitedly waiting for the event to start. In the viewing area, more than half the attendees sat, drank, and watched the fight that would start soon. Some were even making small bets on the side for who would be eliminated first, who would win, and who the spies were. A loud buzzing sounded out from the timer and the doors grinded open slowly, revealing yet another room with variousputer panels and monitors. The group ran in like a well-trained squadron of soldier, the sound of boots hitting metal echoed around the wide room. The entrance area to the battlefield wasid out like amand center. There were three doors. One on the left front and right, respectively. Those doors led outside into the actualbat area. Outside of themand area was a winter like environment. The holographic projectors were working overtime to create this winter-like scene. The group arrived in front of the monitors and noticed only one was active. The other five were showing static. "Looks like these monitors are connected to cameras out in the battlefield, but they have been disconnected. While scouting, the teams should look out for the cameras and reconnect them if possible." Matt said, feeling that the set up here was very familiar. One of the medic teams stayed behind in the control room to serve as their base of operation. Matt and all the other pairs went through the center door and began to fan out. The most important thing to do now was to figure out where everything was because this was a new area for everyone. Matt saw the camera that was active right outside of themand center and took note of its design. Naturally, he would avoid fixing those cameras and only fix the opponents cameras. The duo moved through the wintery scene carefully. Visibility was very low, so they only had their footprints behind them to tell which way they were going. Eventually, Matt saw arge dark shape in the distance. It seemed to be some sort of building, so they approached quietly. Once they arrived, Matt spotted a camera that matched his teams and ignored it. Since the hypnosis, his teammate didn''t make any moves outside of Matts orders. When they reached the door, there was a series of locking mechanism that took a him a minute to release in order to activate the door. When he finally figured out the pattern, the door swished open. Inside they saw a room with several lockers back-to-back forming several aisles. In the aisles were series of benches which led torge standing showers. Matt''s eye twitched and he questioned his existence. This was the exactyout of the locker rooms on the colony in the game. Even the wintery scene outside was exactly the same as the setting in the game. "Keep an eye on the entrance." Matt ordered George with his hypnosis activated. Then, Matt went over to one of the lockers and opened it. Inside was a very game-like med kit. It had a red plus on the surface and the rest of it was white. When he opened it, there was a metal disk inside fashioned with a green light. Matt made the connection quickly that this could remove a "wound" on the vest. He opened the next locker and there was a munitions box. It was quite light and inside was a single battery cell for the altered weapons. Before he could continue checking lockers, George called out "People areing." "Hide in one of the stalls, I''ll handle it." Matt sent him away with hypnosis and sat on the bench waiting for the people to arrive. The group was very careful and Matt could hear them whispering. He wasn''t trying to be stealthy and simply waited for them with his weapon pointed down. Fortunately, his Detect Life was especially useful here and he could predict where they would enter from and confirm their numbers. With this, he was able to pick a bench that was slightly out of the line of sight from the entrance they chose. As soon as the door opened, one person came through. They were executing the standard breaching procedure and just when he called an all clear, Matt spoke up. "Stand down, it''s just me in here." He didn''t bother with hypnosis since none of them had seen him yet. The group of three was about to initiate a fight but saw Matt with his hands up. They had received insider information that this building was filled with supplies and decided to send arger group this way. "Oh, It''s Doctor O''Connely. Did you give up?" One of them said. "No, I bet he''s the spy. What a hrious turn of events if that''s true." Anothermented. Although they were speaking openly, they still had their guns pointed at Matt. However, now that they were closer, he could take advantage of the situation. [Hypnosis Activated.] "It''s like you guessed, I''m the spy. Are any of you the other spy?" Matt said, sweeping his gaze past the three of them. They loosened their muscles when his influence washed over them indicating that they were entering a slightly hypnotized state. This was the first time Matt sessfully utilized his hypnotism in directbat and was pleased with the result. Even if it failed, the slight mental dy would create opportunities. "How can we be sure you are actually the spy!?" The one that didn''t speak before said. To this, Matt simply raised his gun and shot him. The trio was about to unload when they saw that none of the lights on his vest changed. Although they could believe he missed, something about his presence and aura made them gulp in fear. "Alright, it seems you three are safe. Let me give you some intel." Matt said as he began exining the situation on their end currently. Conversely, the trio gave Matt some of their information and gave him some likely candidates for who the other spy could be. Once all the information was sorted, they left without grabbing any loot through Matt''s coercion. "If you only bring back some of the loot, it may alert the other spy. If you say you couldn''t find the building, that would be more usible." Once the trio was gone, Matt went to find George and told them that the group left. He was far enough away to not have heard or seen anything. And even if he did, Matt had him fully convinced. After looting the whole room, they had tworge bags filled with supplies. The two of them started to head back to their camp. Before they left, Matt did onest thing to George. [Hypnosis activated.] "Don''t tell anyone we encountered a group. If someone points it out, then they are the most likely suspect for being the spy." Although he did this because he himself was the spy, if he wasn''t, he would still utilize this strategy. Holding more information than the other party was the best way to get the upper hand in this situation. "Alright, that makes sense." He nodded and they started their journey back. The storm had gotten weaker during their time looting and they were able to spot many dark shadows in the distance on their way back. Once they arrived at the base, they were nearly ambushed by their own teammates. "Oh, its just you two. Hurry inside, its cold out here." When they entered, the first thing Matt noticed was that two more monitors were activated and streaming an image. It seemed that two of the other groups sessfully connected the cameras. The next thing Matt noticed were two people getting treatment from Alexis. Three of their lights were red. It seemed that they were in a fight and either won or had to retreat. "What happened?" Matt asked curiously as he approached. "Everything was going fine, until we were ambushed! The spy already informed them on who our medics were and where they went. They took out Charles and almost got us too. Fortunately, we made it out without being eliminated." However, this made Matt confused. He specifically didn''t mention who the medics were earlier. ''Is there another spy, or perhaps a stream sniper?'' Chapter 81: Most Dangerous Game Chapter 81: Most Dangerous Game While contemting, another monitor activated. On the screen, a group of three were shown fiddling with the camera. They backed away to check it, and waved to it. They were speaking, but the cameras didn''t have audio and Matt didn''t know how to read lips. Alexis, who had just finished clearing one of the wounds on the vest looked over. "They are discussing whether to return to the base or scout on ahead." Alexis said before returning to her task. Matt didn''t have time to be impressed by her skills because a red glint appeared in the distance aimed at the camera. The screen shed red as the light hit the lens, causing the camera to go static again. "It looks like you can take the cameras out after they''re activated. But this is bad. Looks like another medic team is being ambushed. You and you, lets move out!" Matt acted right away and pointed at George and one of the people in Alexis''s medic team. Matt had an impression of this person, since he was one of the two that got into a fist fight at the reception earlier. His name is Mike Bison. The trio left through the side door and made their way to the medic team that was being ambushed. They were moving at a steady pace and arrived at the scene just in time to see the three people in the medic team with their hands up, exiting through a side door in the military bay. The trio decided to hide behind some rocks and waited for a while. Matt wouldn''t leave it up to chance and activated his Detect Life. What he noticed was three sources of life inside the building ahead of them. When Matt turned to look at his teammates, he discovered that Bison had an above average life force. This man was more than just a bridge officer! This level of life is something Matt only saw in those top-level soldiers that do nothing but train. Although he was curious about this person''s identity, Matt used themon military gesture system to target the building. The three of them moved silently together, entering into a formation taught in basic training. When they reached the door, Matt signaled the others to wait. He was monitoring their positions with his Detect Life and noticed that one of them was approaching the door. He focused on that signal and his internal structure was revealed to him. Matt was able to see some old injuries due to interruptions in his life force. Based on his posture, he hadn''t detected the three of them outside. Matt gestured that someone was approaching the door and the three trained their guns. Once the person opened the door and stepped out, severalser shots hit all over his vest and he was instantly eliminated. Matt skillfully aimed at the same spots as his allies to cover his inability to eliminate anyone. It was against the spirit of the game to call out after being eliminated, so he simply threw his arms up and began walking to the nearest exit. Although he didn''t alert the others on purpose, they noticed his behavior and realized what had happened. Matt saw the other two moving through the back of the building, perhaps through a window. He signaled his teammates to go around and pursue while he went inside to see what they were up to. As he approached the electric control panel, he saw various panelsbeled with different names. Warehouse, Med Bay, Weapons Locker, Security Alpha, Security Omega, Communications, Garage, and Reactor. The two security rooms had full power and the option to disable them was greyed out. However, all of the other locations had a central power reset that required someone to reactivate the power at the specific location. This was probably solved on an electrical panel at that location. What Matt didn''t understand is why the reactor was also an option. However, after thinking about it for a few seconds, he came up with a simple conclusion. ''The electric control panel is on our side of the battlefield; therefore, the reactor should be on their side. It''s a good distraction or even an ambush site.'' "Doctor O''Connely, we couldn''t find anyone else." Bison popped his head in. He walked over on his own and looked at the control panel. He hummed and scratched his chin. "Looks like they didn''t get to do anything before we caught up to them." However, Matt shook his head and rebutted. "Originally, our advantage of having the electrical room next to us is knowing which facilities are in the whole arena, and having the ability to shut off power without the other side knowing what is happening. Because we didn''t catch the ones that ran, we lost our advantage. Not to mention they took out three of our teammates." Bison had a look of realization and then he awkwardly smiled. "So, what do we do?" Matt smiled and looked over at the control panel. He had a good idea but first they would need to reconnect the camera. The process was fairly simple, since the team before them left thedder out. Matt climbed thedder while Bison and George kept watch. He disconnected and reconnected the camera and the light came back on. Then he stepped back and started to talk at the camera. "We''re shutting the power down and going to attempt an ambush. The medical team was eliminated. Two enemies escaped." After finishing, he sent a telepathic message to Alexis to make sure she saw him on the camera, and once he got confirmation, he approached the panel. On the panel for the reactor, Matt turned the dial and set a timer for 3 minutes. Then, he pulled the reset lever down and the timer began to count down. Matt exited the electrical room and gathered his teammates. "Let''s move." As they traveled through the snowy environment, Matt led the group toward the opposing side. He wasn''t sure if the reactor was on the left or right, so he simply picked one and hoped for the best. His real goal was to get his teammates eliminated and oust the spy on the other side. Since arge portion of his team was already out, this would be fairly easy. Although heined about the event when he saw it, Matt was actually having fun. He was able to dissociate and forget about his troubles. This was the main reason he was addicted to gaming in his past life. Suddenly, the temperature dropped and Matt checked his personal device. It had been three minutes and all power had shut off in the arena. The only way to turn it back on was to go directly to the reactor. It was very possible that someone was already there so their time was limited. Matt activated his Detect life and caught a group of two hiding in a nearby building. There was no light so he ordered Bison and George to stand guard while he searched the building. Inside, he got the jump on the two people but realized something was wrong right away. They still didn''t notice him, but he could make out their details from the glow of the emergency exit light. The duo wore tactical vests, and were holding real guns. Their clothing waspletely ck without any specific markings. Matt slowly backed away, but they noticed him just then. They turned and aimed their sights down on him. Matt threw his hands up and they shed a light in his face. "Identity confirmed, Matthew O''Connely. Stand down." One of them said as they both lowered their weapons. Matt, however, stayed tensed up. He didn''t dare do anything abrupt. "Injecting hypnotic serum." The other said as it approached with an injection delivery device. The machine let out a hiss of air and the medicine began going through his system. After a few seconds, the man who injected him whispered into his ear. "We were never here. You passed out after hitting your head." Then he mmed his stock into the side of Matt''s head and he fell down. The drug wouldn''t do anything to him because of his resistances, but he yed along and pretended to be knocked out. He tried to figure out what was going on but could onlye to two conclusions. First, someone was taking advantage of the situation in order to take out important members of the ship and vie for power. The obvious person would be Wird, but there was still the possibility of a hidden actor. Second, the captain arranged for all of this in order to execute someone. Perhaps the reason why he hasn''t made a move against Wird or revealed that the AI waspromised is so that he could have free reign over the chaos in the ship. Without the AI keeping him in check, and the crew unaware, the council never had to form, and he could do any illegal activity he wanted. Matt tracked the two assants with his Detect Life and smiled viciously. ''If you want to bewless, then don''t me me for what''s going to happen.'' He stood up and his heart rate began to increase. His pupils dted, and even in the pitch darkness, he could still see. Matt''s instincts were exploding through his mental barriers, and he didn''t hold them back. Chapter 82: Medulla Oblongata Chapter 82: Medu Oblongata Lying on the ground outside, Bison and George were fast asleep. Their life signs were still solid, so he wasn''t worried about them. Matt turned toward the direction of the two soldiers. Fortunately, his Detect Life had reached one-hundred fifty meters otherwise they would have already disappeared. Along the way, Matt noticed a few more people lying on the ground knocked out. He took the liberty to attempt eliminating them, but none of them were the spy so it failed. It had already been fifteen minutes since he activated his Detect Life so it turned off. He could reactivate it again immediately, but it would put an increased strain on his mental strength. Therefore, he decided to wait the minimum five minutes before he could activate it with minimal repercussions. Fortunately, Matt didn''t need it to continue tracking as he had already caught up to them. Although he had never learned formal tracking skills, his mental perception allowed him to track people within a certain distance by their mental fluctuations alone. There was a huge advantage to the power being down. All of the doors required manual override to open. Matt watched the two soldiers trying to break into a building. Matt approached silently and looked into the building from a distance. He saw two people being held down at gunpoint. They were listless, seemingly having received the injection already. Matt recognized one of the two that was getting a light shed on his face. Westley Adams, the person he suspected to be a high-level espionage operative. Just as Matt made the connection, his Detect Life came up. After activating it again, he recognized that Westley''s life force was a bit more robust than the other two. It suddenly red and intensified around his head, and he threw the soldier holding him onto the ground. Looking at this scene, Matt began to smile and he decided to activate an ability he had not tested yet. His head throbbed and his vision changed. The process of activated Dream Eater was not as simple as any other ability. The intense mental load required for the initial set up was very high, however, the maintenance energy was extracted from the targets. After a few seconds, his vision returned to normal. There was a depressing atmosphere in the area that he targeted with his ability. Only someone as sensitive as him could see the physical changes brought by the powerful illusions. There was a grey haze in the area that Matt targeted and since the haze was linked to his mind, he was able to perceive everything happening in it. The trio that was about to begin brawling paused for a moment. This haze that appeared was strange enough to give them a scare. Nothing happened immediately, so they began to ignore it as just a holographic projection. Westley took out a knife and stabbed toward one of the men. However, what he was attacking was an illusion. The knife wound exploded into a million spiders and they began to crawl all over Westley. Meanwhile, the two men were separated by the grey haze as well. Although they were standing right next to each other, the misty air around them became impossible to see through. Their senses were going haywire, and they began to turn around rapidly as if something were behind them. Unknown to them, the illusion ability''s first phase was to separate all affected targets so it could give them plenty of room to act out the illusion. Matt watched and was astounded. He didn''t see what they were seeing. Instead, he saw them slowly walk away from each other and then begin to do nonsensical actions. The worst one was Westley who was aggressively smacking his body. Seeing that they werepletely caught in his trap, Matt began to approach. His intention was to interrogate the three of them individually and figure out what was happening. Matt unconsciously licked his lips. It had been a while since hest fed straight from the source. The thought made his heart beat into his ears. When Matt stepped into the range of the ability, he began to hear the sounds of screaming. It seemed that the mist also isted sound. "Get off me, get off me!" Matt heard Westley shouting. His desperate pleas only made the hunger deep within stronger. As he approached the writhing Westley, a burst of metal hitting metal was heard from his nk. One of the soldiers had started firing his weapon randomly. Then, he took a knife and idently sliced his forearm. Matt''s senses instantly heightened at the blood dripping on the metal floor. He turned away from Westley and approached the bleeding soldier. Matt grabbed the man''s arm, and ck tendrils started toe out of Matt''s hand from his blood vessels. The tendrils entered his wound and began to take in the blood. At first, Matt was shocked and confused, but the stream of evolution points gave him a feeling of euphoria. He took his other hand and ced it on the soldier''s cheek. Because of the thick mist and illusions, the man wasn''t even aware that he was being grabbed. His eyes kept darting side to side in a panic, trying to fend off against the creatures that were haunting him. Matt activated his hypnosis and stared into the man''s nk eyes. He whispered out hismands and began to extract information from the confused and scared soldier. Matt quickly discovered that they were sent in by the captain to capture Westley Adams. In order to do so, they had a small local jamming device which interrupted the camera feed from their location. They were also using a high dose hypnotic to make people forget what happened and fall asleep. Matt searched his body and retrieved two syringes and a small device that was blinking with a red light. He stuffed them in his pockets. The tendrils that were directly absorbing blood from his arm had already acquired several vial-fulls of blood. His evolution points went up ten at a time every few seconds. The heart pumped on average seventy milliliters of blood every beat. The man''s heart rate was certainly over a hundred beats a minute due to the fear of illusion he was captured in. With over seven liters of blood flowing from his heart and up the aorta into the aortic arch, it would then split down three paths. Continuing down the aorta, going into the left arm, and going to the head and right arm. Matt watched this process with his focused Detect Life and could see the life being drained out of the soldier''s body. Although he waspletely engrossed in his instincts and hunger, Matt was still able to stop his draining after one-hundred forty points were gained. As the tendrils exited the man''s arm, the wound healed at visible speed. Due to the blood loss and the mental trauma, the soldier passed out. Matt turned his attention to the other two. Westley wasn''t screaming anymore, but simply murmuring nonsensical things. Matt decided to deal with Westleyst as he approached the second soldier who was now lying on the ground in fetal position. Matt grabbed his arm and the tendrils mobilized again. They burrowed into his flesh and began to take in evolution points. After getting the man''s attention, Matt used hypnosis to ask him the same questions. He didn''t gain any extra information and left all of his gear intact since Matt didn''t need extra. [Gic Assimtion Lv. 3->4: There is no being in the universe with more potential than the parasite. This is not because of their individual strength, but due to their ability to steal all other beings'' strengths. Instead of recing the host for a more suitable vessel, absorbing the gics of all creatures will allow the parasite to enhance, improve, and perfect a unique body. ]Ability: Detect Life (150m->175m) ]Absorption Grade Limit: 3->3 ]Unique Ability Limit: 1->1 ]Efficiency: 130%->140% ]Level Cost: 180 EP-> 220 EP] Due to the increase in efficiency, Matt was left with one-hundred forty-two evolution points once hepleted his draining session. Matt released the man and allowed him to return to his silent screaming. The increase in his skill was very satisfying. Finally, he walked over to Westley. Although everything seemed to be passing slowly, this was due to Matt''s heightened perception in his current state. In reality, it had only been a few minutes since Matt entered the building. As he grabbed Westley by the neck to turn his face forward, the tendrils were eager to prate his body. However, Matt decided to interrogate the man first. Draining from the neck was not ideal as it could cause cognitive issues. Because of the clothes Westley was wearing, there were no spots with bare skin. [Hypnosis Active.] "Now tell me, Westley Adams, what exactly is your agenda?" Matt said, his voice had changed slightly to a more sinister and deeper tone. "I am an agent of the council sent to assess the value of assets M" His voice cut off and a device seemed to begin charging. Matt recognized this sound as the sound of the kill switch installed on Wird''s pawns. However, what happened nextpletely surprised Matt. Instead of the sounding from his heart, it came from the base of his skull. Chapter 83: Electric Slide Chapter 83: Electric Slide The small electrical device had just finished recharging and detected an anomaly in the person it was imnted in. Matt was focused on Westley with his Detect Life and when the electrical discharge urred, arge amount of life force surged into his brain. Suddenly, the man blinked a few times and kicked Matt away from him. His eyes regained all of their rity and he immediately turned his view away from Matt''s face. "So, you''re an esper! I''m afraid I can''t leave you alive. No hard feelings, kid." Matt was able to make quick assumptions about what just happened. Without wasting time, he dodged the kicking at him from the side. Westley had a knife sticking out of the toe of his shoe and Matt felt that was quite reminiscent of his era. Westley wasn''t going to let up and started with a straight jab using the other knife in his hand. Matt ignored it and only adjusted his hips in order for the knife to strike the vest. It nged loudly as metal hit metal while Matt used that as a chance to back away to where one of the soldiers stood. With Detect Life activated, he was monitoring Westley closely. Once he determined that the device had a dy and was meant to break the recipient out of any influences, he started charging up his Mind st. However, seeing Matt create some space between them, Westley didn''t hesitate. He bit into his forearm until it drew blood, and suddenly his mental fluctuations increased exponentially. Matt could seerge waves of life forceing from something in his forearm. This was some sort of stimnt that buffed all the user''s defense. Matt was more than familiar with this drug. It was the dreaded ''Stim Pack.'' Westley came at him moving extremely quickly. If it wasn''t for his improved reflexes, Matt wouldn''t have been able to dodge. However, Westley was trained much more vigorously than Matt. The strikes weren''t random. Each one was pushing Matt to exert the most energy to avoid. Any drop in performance would cause him to get hit. Matt switched on his Perfect Mimicry and relied on it to defend himself here. He utilized his main body to retaliate. The Mind st was finally released and mmed into Westley. He was knocked back slightly from the illusion of being struck by something heavy. This was due to the mental strain Mind st had put on him. However, the Stim Pack reduced all damage taken by fifty percent. Realizing that Matt had another form of attack, Westley immediately went to his personal device. The jamming device prevented any external transmissions, but he had something else in mind. He spoke a code word into the device, and a frequency began to y from the device. Matt couldn''t hear it, but once he noticed his mental energy was unstable, he knew Westley had just done something. "Although you managed to sneak past our surveince, this technology can take down a whole group of Grade B espers and reduce a Grade A esper down a peg. Just give up." Westley was very smug. During the reception, it seemed that Matt had tried to use his mind tricks on him. However, the safety device on his brainstem was ast resort since it had such a long charging period. He was trained to block weaker esper abilities that influenced the mind. Therefore, he didn''t even notice the failed attempt until he thought back about it now. With a kick, he knocked the stunned Matt to the ground. "Ha haha." Matt started chuckling. Westley paused for a second, thinking that Matt had given up and was losing his mind. Westley took out a device from his jacket underneath the vest. It looked like aputer CPU with several pins on one end and a metal surface on the other. The device was made specifically to disable espers'' mental abilities. However, Matt wasn''tughing because he gave up. "I''m quite lucky, you know." Matt started. "If I had gone to you first, this would really be a tough fight" Westley wasn''t sure what Matt was going to do, but his instincts told him it wasn''t good. He dived toward Matt to take him down before he tried anything funny, but it was toote. This whole time, Matt was moving closer to the soldier on the ground for a reason. With his hand behind him, not visible to Westley, was touching the soldier''s neck. Several tendrils drilled into his body and began to take in evolution points, eleven at a time. Matt didn''t need much, so he wouldn''t kill the poor sod, but he would feel weak for a few days. Westley using the stim pack and a piece of tech specifically targeting mental energy had pissed Matt off. If he were a Faceless Devourer, he may have released his transformation and gonepletely feral. But since he was in the Mind yer branch, his anger and instincts made him more insidious. His mind moved quicker when creating schemes and plots. The mind was his battlefield and intelligence were his greatest weapon. As a future Eldritch Horror, simple violence was too easy for his enemies. [Psionics Lv. 1->2: Your mastery in mental energies has unleashed the full potential of your grade. Due to your mutation towards the Eldritch Horror pathway, you are the pioneer for future powers. May your achievements forever mark your presence in history. ]Ability: Telepathy ]Ability: Mind st ]Ability: Phantom Voices ]Ability (Locked): Sundering Strike ]Level Cost: 80->120] [Psionics Lv. 2->3: (...) ]Ability: Telepathy ]Ability: Mind st ]Ability: Phantom Voices ]Ability: Sundering Strike] [Phantom Voices: Allow a portion of your astral body to reach into the mind of the target and make them hear voices. The voices directly prate barriers and defenses around the mind, but do not cause much harm themselves. Activation: Thought Duration: 5 minutes Range: 0.5 Light-year] [Sundering Strike: Release all of your mental energy into someone''s mind, then rapidly pull it out, dragging a part of their soul out with it. If your mind is too weak or you target toorge of a section of soul, your mental energy will be crushed and lost forever. Activation: Concentration Duration: Instant Range: Touch] Although the descriptions didn''t fully exin every facet of his abilities, he instinctively knew how to use them. His body was almost vibrating at the sudden change and power up. Matt brought an ability to its maximum potential, but he felt there was more. Something was cresting, but as he reached out to grab it, it slipped away. He was too weak to reach for that ultimate power. For now, he turned his attention to Westley. Time had seemed to slow as Westley dived forward to take Matt down. This phenomenon was brought by the rapid increase in his Psionics. Matt released the Phantom Voices with a thought, and a part of his astral body reached out and prated a hole in Westley''s mental defenses. The voices caused him to be distracted for a moment as he turned his head back. Matt reached out and ced his hand on Westley''s head. The force of his weighting down was inevitable. Matt fell backward, holding the top of Westley''s head. However, although the illusion of time being slowed ended, Matt still had the initiative due to the distraction. He sent all of the mental energy he could muster through that hole created by Phantom Voices. As Sundering Strike was activated, all of his energy pulled back simultaneously with something foreign mixed in. When his energy returned, he felt extremely energized. "Wyat dud yoo du to me" Westley rolled to the side, unable to control his limbs or half of the muscles on his face. He groaned as saliva dripped out of his half-opened mouth. He took his knife and jabbed at Matt again, however, he just rolled out of the way. Westley''s movements had be groggy and sluggish. Instead of stabbing Matt, he stabbed the soldier. Blood flowed out of the knife wound as Westley tried to stand up. Matt made a slight miscalction as he was enjoying the feeling of being high from the portion of soul. Westley had grabbed the soldier''s gun and pointed it at Matt. Before he could react, Westley went to pull the trigger. However, the familiar sound of a device charging buzzed into Matt and Westley''s ears. The device discharged and surged up and down Westley''s spinal chord into his brain. His neurons began to fire at high capacity. Normally, this would disrupt mental effects and bring the user to an optimal state. However, Sundering Strike was not something that could be fixed with a bit of stimtion. Instead, Westley fell to the ground and started seizing. The electric shock had caused all of his neurons to fire simultaneously since arge section of his brain wasn''t functioning correctly due to Sunder Strike. Once the rhythm started, it didn''t stop. Matt stood over his seizing body and heaved a sigh of relief. He realized his whole body was hurting. The side effects of Sundering Strike were no joke. Matt walked out of the building andid down next to two people that were knocked unconscious with hypnotics. He closed his eyes and fell asleep. However, before his consciousness slipped away, a notification drifted in and out. [Warning: Unknown Energy has been ingested. Identified to be Grade 2. Stimting Gic sequence utilizing Grade 2 Energy. 32 Evolution Points gained.] Chapter 84: Alexiss Secret Chapter 84: Alexis''s Secret Matt''s rest didn''tst very long. He found himself hovering inside the ck and white world of his astral body. The hints he received from the system descriptions made him understand this ce a little better. However, he still wasn''tpletely certain of the origin and purpose of the dark world. What caught his eye, however, wererge shimmering projections appearing in several ces in the dark world. The nearest ones were adjacent to his point of origin. Matt floated around to investigate, but the projections seemed to turn with him. Therefore, he determined that they were likely not a phenomenon of the dark world, but rted to his abilities. Thest thing Matt remembered was a strange notification about an unknown energy. Deducing the timing, it was likely the ''soul'' that Sundering Strike had referred to. The concept of a soul was strange and questionable, but the evidence wasid bare to him. Although there was a possibility that whatever Matt took from Westley wasn''t a soul, but some other mysterious energy, calling it a soul was the best fit at the time. He turned his attention to the projections near him. Matt chose to blend in with the other participants that were knocked unconscious by the hypnotics. This would serve as a usible alibi even if it wasn''t a believable one. Since Westley and the two soldiers were sent in here by the political forces on the ship, Matt''s actions would be the least of their worries. As far as anyone would be concerned, Westley came in utilizing high level esper technology. He encountered two soldiers that were sent to take him out, and stabbed one of them, while traumatizing the other. Matt wasn''tpletely certain how many devices Westley had on him, but there was surely enough evidence to incriminate him. Matt was more focused on what the response would be from the captain and Wird. Before he had the chance to investigate the dream projections, he was pulled back into his body and woke up on a medical bed. The ceiling was white and the lights were excessively strong. Alexis noticed he woke up and came to his side. She had been quite worried when the event was ended abruptly due to an ''ident.'' Matt was still wearing his clothes and only had an IV line to give him fluids. He pulled the needle out and sat up holding his head. The side effects of Sundering Strike were still present. He realized there were five other beds in this room with all the other people that were drugged. They were still asleep since they didn''t have any sort of resistances like Matt. "What happened?" Matt asked while checking his pockets to make sure no one discovered the jamming device or the two syringes. Seeing that the buttoned pocket was undisturbed, he was inwardly relieved. It was likely not that long since they were moved here, and since they weren''t in any critical condition, just asleep, they didn''t need excessive treatment. "About two hours ago the event was cancelled and a group of bridge security members came to sort out an ident. You and the other five were brought here to rest and be monitored." Matt was feeling ufortable in the medical room and decided to leave right away. The nurse outside saw him leaving and offered to do a quick checkup, but he refused since he felt fine. Along the way, Matt ran into one of the people in the spectator area during the event. She was the partner of one of the five people that were drugged. When she saw Matt exiting, she asked him how they were doing and if he knew what happened. Using hypnosis, Matt was able to get a lot of information out of her. Although the event ended abruptly, it was still very sessful. The monitors in the spectator room were on a cycle that showed the various locations. The locations that were affected by the jamming device were removed from the slideshow as an error. All of a sudden, the scenes that were being jammed showed up. This was likely due to the power running out and the cameras no longer being disabled in that area. When the captain saw people unconscious, he quickly canceled the feed and sent everyone to another venue. No one really cared since the event was almost over. Alpha team easily won due to an ambush. Although Matt plotted to use the power against them, Alexis was able to turn it around and secure near-victory. Unfortunately, the event ended early. Matt was happy for Alexis. A month ago, she struggled to lead her team in the skirmish. However, due to the effect of the parasite, her body and mind became enhanced. Although Matt technically lost, the roles weren''t revealed in the end, so he could pretend to be on the winning team. The only one who knew was Alexis, and she had nned to brag about itter if not for the women telling him. "Alright, quit sulking. I already admitted you won." Matt said with a sigh. "I''m not sulking." She said with her arms crossed, looking forward without turning her head. She was obviously sulking. "We''ll be married in fourteen hours. Isn''t it just a silly game to celebrate?" Matt could have solved the situation if he applied pressure with the connection between them, but that would harm her ego. After leveling his Psionics to the limit and absorbing that strange soul energy, he was a lot more sensitive to that force that lied between mental energy and life force. Although it was just a theory, Matt sensed that utilizing his bond with Alexis through the parasite to control her would slowly wash away her free will. When he first imnted her with the parasite, he was extremely worried. The main thing he wished wouldn''t happen was for her mind to be overridden with his consciousness. Fortunately, the worst didn''t happen. The sub-body was a nk te that he hadn''t impressed on yet. Instead, her soul energy was slowly merging with the sub-body. Once the process was finished, her consciousness would be retained even if she took a mortal wound and was transnted to another body. Thinking of soul energy, Matt had attempted to sense his own. However, the headache from the side effects of Sundering Strike became worse. He thought back to the philosophers and psychologists from his time and couldn''t help but remember some of their literature. It turned out that they may have been correct. It is impossible to view your own consciousness. No mirror can reflect your true self. ''Well, I''m just not strong enough.'' Matt thought. The two had been walking for a while since he mentioned their marriage, and Alexis''s mood eventually flipped back. She waspletely self-aware of the fluctuations in her emotions, butcked the ability to control it. Simply put, she was too weak. However, she eyed her status and was confident in her future gains. There was something she didn''t tell Matt that made her very scared. She had actuallye across the soldiers and Westley before the event was closed. She was going to report it, but the blood triggered an intense desire in her. She couldn''t help but cut off a piece of her uniform and draw up some of the pooled blood. The craving she had toward it was unlike anything else she experienced. When she stuffed the cloth in her mouth, she realized what she was doing. Just as she was about to spit it out in disgust, her parasite body shuddered and sent waves of strength through her cells. Her evolution points increased by six and she directly evolved her DNA absorption to level seven without thinking. Matt hadn''t said anything yet, so he likely didn''t bother checking her status. However, she knew he could see it and she felt incredibly guilty about it. Fortunately, she was aware enough not to leave any evidence behind and fled the scene. The sudden burst of energy from the first time taking in blood from someone other than Matt changed her perception. Originally, she was still very hesitant about things like cannibalism. However, she started thinking that it was fine as long as she didn''t kill anyone. Matt had been watching her this whole time and noticed how deep in thought she was. He wondered if this was how he looked when he was thinking about a problem. He unconsciously checked her status and noticed her DNA absorption had gone up. Whatever she was deeply thinking about was likely rted to that. There wasn''t a need to bring it up until she mentioned it first. While the two walked together silently, they had already reached their quarters. However, Matt was alerted to the two-armed guards outside of their room. They carefully approached ready for a fight, but instead, the two didn''t make a single move. The door opened when they got close to it, and they saw the captain and the first officer sitting in their living room waiting. "Dr. O''Connely, you''re here." The captain said with a neutral tone. "What can I do for you captain?" He was not sure the situation but there was no evading this. Chapter 85: So, You Have Heard of Me Chapter 85: So, You Have Heard of Me "First, I wish to apologize. We attempted to deal with Mr. Adams quietly, but he put up much more of a resistance than expected. As for the device you acquired, consider it my apology gift." The captain made a knowing nce which caused Matt to tense up slightly. The soldiers were sent by him, so he would certainly be aware of what equipment they had on them. "I trust you''ll be responsible with it." Although the captain seemed to be apologizing, in reality, he was using this opportunity to pressure Matt. Leaderse in many different types. While easy going in his policies, his leadership talent lied in the way he managed the individual, rather than the whole group. If a select few were under his thumb, they would then keep others in line for their own gain or protection. However, the risk in using a method like this was those folks that wouldn''t sumb to pressure. Matt wondered if Wird was someone that the captain tried to pressure in order to keep the engineers in check. Instead of seeding, he created an enemy for himself and the crew. If Matt was his previous self, he may have wanted to resist such tactics. However, his best choice currently was to dance to the captain''s tune. "Well, now that that is settled, I wanted to let you know the wedding will proceed as nned. I have already arranged for security to be tightened. Did you have any questions?" The captain''s tone made it sound as thought he was asking a rhetorical question. Matt didn''t need to ask anything, but he felt that he was learning more about the captain which was valuable. The man is a mystery wrapped in an enigma. Back on Earth, no one had heard of him before he was assigned the position. However, there were noints when people saw him. His influence must have been very powerful in the federation. ''All of that is useless now.'' Matt thought. "Alright, we''ll be going then. Oh, one more thing." The captain stopped at the doorway as he was leaving. "I decided to open up the storage for some ingredients. I''ll be making the hors d''oeuvres using my special recipes." The captain smiled in his strange way and left with the first officer. Once the captain was gone, Matt activated Detect Life to make sure no one was spying on them. Then, he walked over to a wireless charge pad and ced the device on it. After a few minutes, he activated it and the devices in the room that required connection to the main system went into an error state. Alexis watched the whole time and realized what the captain was talking about. "This thing is quite handy." Matt said with a chuckle. He wasn''tpletely sure that the universal charger would work on the jamming device, but there didn''t seem to be any problems. Seeing this, Alexis did a sweep of their rooms and discovered five advanced bugging devices. "Do you think they are affected by the jamming device?" Matt asked curiously. Alexis examined the bug and was impressed. Although she wasn''t specialized in espionage or military technology, she had still seen the devices that were used quite frequently. The bugs they nted in their quarters are of the highest grade. "I''m not sure. However, its very likely that whoever made the jamming device would leave an avenue for themselves in evading the same device. Otherwise, it would put the user in the dark as well." She surmised. "Let''s shove it in a safe I guess." Matt said while shrugging. After washing up, Matt and Alexis sat in their bed and were both slightly dazed. They each had their own troubles due to what happened earlier that evening. Matt had lost control and only in retrospect did he realize how risky his behavior was. However, since feeding, his hunger and instinct were sated. But he felt that since the gates were opened, he couldn''t close them anymore. He had attempted to hypnotize himself, but ironically, he was too resistant. His mental strength increased considerably after what he did to Westley. There were likely many factors that were involved in his current growth, but he believed the Sundering Strike was the primary one. His headache had finally calmed down so he was able to fully inspect himself. Meanwhile, Alexis was brooding over her encounter with human blood. Although she had willingly eaten a lot of the captains'' ''special'' dishes, those were all prepared and she could be in denial about what they actually contained. However, she ingested blood right from the source. There was no question about what it was. She was too afraid to tell Matt, not because she thought he would be upset, but because voicing the fact would make it real. Matt broke out of his deep thoughts before Alexis and noticed how distracted and dazed she had been since they left the medical room. Although he wanted to give her the chance to tell him on her own, since he was the closest thing to an expert on the situation, he decided it was best if he initiated the conversation. Mattid down and went to sleep. It had been a while since they enjoyed a dream together, so he decided to take her on a dream date before broaching the topic. After falling asleep, Matt''s astral body floated out and he looked around. He saw hundreds of projections around him. Each of them was someone''s dream. Matt also realized that he could travel much faster in the dark world. Now that he had severalndmarks due to the dream projections, it was extremely easy to use the dark world to investigate things on the ship. Matt floated back to his body when he noticed Alexis had begun to sleep. The projected dream over her body was very dark and frightening. He recognized right away that she was having a nightmare. He infiltrated the dream and immediately began to transform the contents. The original dream was something like a witch hunt. Alexis was captured by men in hoods and taken to a tribunal where they sentenced her to death. He manipted the dream and had himself be the hero that broke into the prison and rescued her. One of his favorite movies back in his previous life had a very simr story line. He appeared with a shaved face and clean features. He wore trousers and a mariniere with a captain''s hat. After cutting down the prison guards with his cuss, he saved Alexis, who was now wearing an 18th century white dress. She was shocked to see Matt with his clean appearance contrasted with his torn shirt, leather boots and trousers while brandishing a sword. "Matthew, you''vee to rescue me?" Alexis was shocked since her voice came out in an English ent. "That''s right my dear. Stand back for a second." Matt whistled and the sound of a cannon struck the nearby prison wall. The open ocean was revealed and arge ck ship was in the distance. Next, arge harpoon was shot above the hole they just made and Matt took Alexis by the waist and threw her manacles over the rope. They ziplined down for several hundred meters, dodging musket fire until theynded on the deck of the ship. "Wee aboard Cap''n, Miss Alexis. What is our heading?" A short chubby fe with a bald head and several missing teeth came over. Alexis was mostly confused but had be aware of the dream and Matt''s presence. Since he was putting on the show she decided to y along. She tore the hem of her dress since it wasrge and bulky and grabbed Matt''s hat. "I''m in charge now. Head into the open seas! And someone get me some tools to remove these damned things." Her charisma was off the charts, but most of the pirates here were hesitant for a female captain. However, when they looked over to Matt, Alexis shot a pistol into the air. "You heard the captain, get sailing you bastards!" The chubby guy said nervously. Everyone began to work the riggings and the ship started sailing away. The navy didn''t have enough time to react so the ck pirate ship already left toward the horizon. While Alexis stood on the deck watching the ocean, a green tabby cat jumped into her arms. "Martha! Good girl." She stroked the cats fur and looked over at Matt who was standing close, admiring Alexis''s new look. "Captain! A Dutch merchant vessel was spotted ahead. What are your orders?" The chubby man shouted down from the wheel. "Haul wind and overtake them!" She shouted in amanding voice. "Fly our colors and no quarter!" Hearing this, the whole crew shouted in unison. They were pirates and they were excited to take down a merchant vessel. Piracy was the fastest way to get rich! They could already imagine all the booze, women, and gambling they would partake in from this haul. "Piracy fits you." Matt said in an endearing voice. Alexis just rolled her eyes at him and went to the captain''s room to change into something more battle appropriate. Chapter 86: Crimson Disaster Chapter 86: Crimson Disaster Although her mental strength wasn''t as strong as Matt''s and she didn''t have abilities directly rted to dream maniption, Alexis had the advantage of being in her own dream. She was able to quickly manifest a set of clothes that fit her style. Her dress disappeared and was instead reced with ck breeches and t boots that reach just below the knee. On her torso was a white poet blouse neatly tucked into her pants and a modified red naval officer coat over her shoulders. Unknown to Matt, she was a big fan of pirate fantasies as a child. She was particrly reminded of the greatest tale of pirates, strange fruits, and a legendary treasure. After looking at herself in the mirror, she nodded in satisfaction. On her belt, she manifested a cuss and two flintlock pistols. Once she exited her quarters, Matt was already nearby sitting on a barrel waiting for her. When Matt saw her new outfit, he gave her a thumbs up. "Nice aesthetic." Matt''s voice contained a hint of sarcasm since her idea of pirates seemed to be idealized. However, Alexis was too excited and didn''t catch it, so she took it as a directpliment. "Captain, the merchant vessel has spotted us and are flying a white g." The chubby boatswain said. "What are they, French in disguise!?" One of the pirates on deck said, causing the group tough. "Surrender? What about no quarter did you not understand! Send a volley of grapeshot and prepare for boarding!" Alexis shouted. The crew was inspired by her aggression and they shouted out in agreement. Below decks, the cannon crewmen were loading cylindrical wooden devices with several iron balls held together with cloth and twine around a wooden peg. The gunpowder would destroy the wooden base and the cloth would tear apart from the force causing the iron balls to spread out. It did little against objects, but was very deadly to the sailors. The merchant vessel noticed that the pirate ship wasn''t standing down and they began to flee. However, it was already toote as the full load of goods in the ship were weighing them down too much. They could not outpace the pirate vessel. Once the cannons were in range, Alexis shouted ''Fire!'' and a symphony of cannon fire began to y. The pirates grabbed onto the ropes tied to the riggings and swung over to the other boat. Others threw grappling hooks and pulled the ships closer together. Some brought long nks to create a path onto the other ship. Alexis and Matt ran across the nks once they were situated and the first volley of gunfire was exchanged between the crews. Most only had a single shot so they quickly switched to swordbat. The pirates and sailors fought in a rhythmic pattern that almost seemed as if they were dancing. He unconsciously began to y Waltz No. 2 in the dream world matching up to the battles. Even Alexis and Matt began to dance around each other as they cut down sailor after sailor. It was a bloody scene juxtaposed with ssical music in the background. Alexis was thoroughly enjoying the ughter. Once the fighting ended, the song too ceased to y. Matt looked over to Alexis and saw she was fine. Her red coat had many blood spots on it but it was hard to tell due to the simr color. There was also blood on her face and saber. However, she made no effort to clean it up. Several surviving sailors were brought to their knees and were tied up. "P-please spare me! I-I am a carpenter!" One of the sailors shouted while begging. Carpenters were very important to pirate vessels so they were often spared and included into the crew. However, seeing all the red around her, Alexis became addicted to the violence. She walked up to the sailors and slit their throats one by one. Watching their blood squirt out and writhe on the floor. Once thest person was executed, all of the pirates were frightened by her apathy. Those who had thoughts of mutiny quickly snuffed that idea. There was a stifling silence onboard the merchant vessel when a young pirate broke the tension. "Cap''n, Cap''n, the ship is hauling forty crates of red wine! We''ve struck gold!" Everyone looked at him with daggers in their eyes and he yelped at the sudden aggression. The pirates were worried that the captain would turn her bloodlust onto them, but instead, she ordered for a table, two stools, and a crate be brought up to her. The frightened pirates immediately made a move to fulfill her request while she stood reveling at her masterpiece. Although she was frightened of herself in reality, no one could hurt her in this dream while she was with Matt. Her full trust in him had subconsciously released her inhibitions and she was able to disy her recent violent tendencies. This whole time, Matt simply observed and let her vent her frustrations. Once the table, stools, and drinks arrived, Alexis invited Matt for a drink and popped open a bottle. Alexis directly drank the dark red wine until she was satisfied and then set it down in front of Matt. They drank for a long time while the other pirates were fixing up the ship and preparing to continue their voyage. Alexis gave them permission to use one crate for the crew and they drank until they dropped. Although they preferred rum, they wouldn''t say no to any alcohol to quench their thirst. Once they were mostly passed out, Matt brought Alexis to the captain''s quarters andid her down on therge bed. She started mumbling something and pulled Matt into her embrace. Heplied andid with her for a while. He decided now would be a good time to talk with her. Although, Matt had already figured out the most likely reason for her recent mood. "What happened during the event?" Matt asked her. She remained silent for a while before shifting a little and propped her chin up on her palm. It had already dawned on her that this was Matt intention. She didn''t want to hide it anymore, especially since he went to such lengths to release her frustrations and anxieties. "I ate someone''s blood. It was different than the food prepared by the captain. I felt a desire like I''ve never experienced before. I lost control of my body and I was so scared. I kept asking myself if I was bing a monster that only knew to kill and feed on people." Matt chuckled and rubbed her head. "How do you feel now after the battle?" "Relieved, excited, and powerful!" She said with glee, but it quickly spiraled down into guilt. "Then it''s fine. There isn''t anything wrong with you. The truth is, I''ve already drank human blood too. In order to survive, it is the way we have to live. Actually, this is originally my fault. If I was upfront about it, you wouldn''t have felt so much stress." Matt sighed and held his forehead. Although she was d to hear Matt''s words, in reality, she had already gotten over her mental block after ughtering the sailors. Something inside her had flipped and she no longer thought of herself as a human first, alien second. This was due to the subtle influence from her connection with Matt. Since she epted herself, Alexis''s bloodlust improved considerably and she was unlikely to lose control in the future. "So want to do it?" Alexis was still speaking in an English ent and Matt wouldn''t lie and say he wasn''t intrigued by the pirate costume y. He raised his eyebrow and looked at her in a teasing manner. "Even now you''re such a horn dog." "Does that mean no?" Alexis said with an equally teasing tone. "Obviously not!" Matt dered and Alexis yelped when he flipped her onto her back. As the dream came to a close, it was already morning. Matt woke up incredibly refreshed. The side effects of Sundering Strike werepletely gone and his mind even felt nourished. This was the effect of Dream Eating. Alexis woke up and stretched her arms and legs. With the stress gone, her fatigue had washed awaypletely and she managed to get a full rest in. Today was their wedding day, so Alexis was even more motivated. She sent Matt out to retrieve breakfast while she began preparing. She had spent a lot of time researching historical documents in order to recreate the wedding from their first shared dream. It was a lot of effort, but she sessfully managed to insert extensions that she ''borrowed'' from a friend and also fix her hair in a waterfall braid. Meanwhile, Matt made a trip to check on Martha in theb, only to find Alexandria passed out half-naked on the floor. He would have left except for the fact that the living metal infection was covering almost half of her torso. "What the hell happened?" Chapter 87: James Cameron Howlett Chapter 87: James Cameron Howlett Matt immediately activated his Detect Life and began inspecting Alexandria''s life force. Thework around her body waspletely broken apart. Due to the living metal infiltrating her lower spine and the abdominal aorta, the infection rate multiplied by several orders of magnitude. The spinal column gave the living metal ess to the central nervous system and the abdominal aorta carried blood to her legs and various organs. Matt checked her toes and saw that they were starting to turn ck as well. Matt lifted her eyelids and saw that her sclera started to turn ck as well. The living metal must have infiltrated the cornea from the optical nerve. Only her heart, lungs, and most of her brain showed significant life energy. Everything else was very weak and broken. Even under normal circumstances, she shouldn''t have ended up this far along. If her infection rate stayed the same from before his intervention, she would still be fine. Something was suspicious here so Matt decided to investigate theb first. He connected to Martha and asked her to ry everything that happened here since thest time he arrived. Unfortunately, there was arge gap in her observation since she had just consumed several vials of the nucleotide solution and was sleeping. Matt continued his search and did not find anything out of ce in theb. He checked the cold room, and all of the samples from the experiments in the lower decks were untouched. The few living metal samples he had remaining from Cindy were also untouched. Finally, he searched Alexandria''s body and discovered a letter slipped into her underwear. As Matt unfolded it, he frowned. Due to theser tag event, his personal device had been set to do not disturb. Because of the incident, he had yet to turn it back on. Matt regretted not being more attentive in this sense, because it had created more issues for him. ''Dear Matthew, Your inaction inpleting your task is no longer tolerable. Therefore, I arranged for your test subject to be injected with a special solution. This solution causes explosive growth in the living metal. I better see some results by the end of the month. -W'' Matt saw Wird''s unique W at the end of the letter and crumpled it up in frustration. He had underestimated how desperate Wird was for this research. Based on their interactions, he seemed to have everything under his control. Thinking about it again, Matt realized that perhaps the recent incident had pushed Wird over the edge. When facing Westley, Matt encountered three technologies directly targeted espers. Originally, when Alexis had revealed to him that the ESP suit existed, he was baffled. Such a thing wouldn''t even be conceptualized before some of the other more standard suits. However, thinking about Wird, the supposed human experiments on Earth, and the technology he had seen, it made sense. Perhaps Wird was originally unaware of how advanced the anti-esper tech was. Since he intercepted the information, he must have decided to push his ns ahead and forced Matt into a corner. If his conjecture was correct, then Wird believed Matt had the means to solve thepatibility issue. This was likely rted to him essentially halting the spread of Alexandria''s infection initially. Matt didn''t have time to think about this anymore, so he took out a blood drawing ring and ced it around Alexandria''s ankle and retrieved a sample. The blood had many ck contaminates in it and was considerably more viscous than normal blood. Matt brought it over to his microscope and pipetted a drop into the slide. He watched as a spiked ball, that looked like a sweet gum tree seed, collided with a blood cell and obliterated it. Matt focused his attention on the living metal cell and it suddenly wentid. He wondered if the living metal couldn''t perform while being observed. After moving his attention to another cell, the same thing happened as Matt concentrated on it. Soon, all of the cells collected together to form a ck drop in the center of the blood sample. He retrieved the vial and focused on the ck specks. Soon, they all connected together and clung to the side of the vial that Matt was looking at. Realizing he had a subtle control over the living metal, he attempted the same in Alexandria''s body. With his Detect Life active, he attempted to collect all of the metal into her skeletal muscles and away from any nerves, blood vessels, or vital tissues. The process was incredibly slow and his work was quickly made useless once more of the living metal spread. The situation was grim, but Matt didn''t give up. He had a sudden idea that would be incredibly risky. He took the blood drawing ring and ced it around Alexandria''s elbow. Fortunately, her arms were still in good shape since the living metal hadn''t progressed that far yet. Once he retrieved a vial of her blood, he went into the cold room. He focused his mental energy on the billions of living metal cells spread throughout his body and concentrated a drop of them toward his finger. Then, he retrieved ancing device from a blood test kit, and pierced his finger. The ck substance quickly formed a drop. Matt concentrated on the drop, and it responded very readily without much effort. It quickly dropped from his puncture and entered the blood sample. It spread evenly throughout the blood and began to multiply. Once he sensed that the living metal could not multiply anymore, he took the reddish ck vial of liquid and took a small IV kit out from the first aid cab. Once the IV was assembled, he quickly pierced the needle into Alexandria''s arm and attached the vial to the other end. It didn''t take long for the ck substance to force its way into her body. Now that he had several helpers, he quickly mobilized them to remodel Alexandria''s body. Based on personal experience, Matt was aware that the living metal could effectively strengthen the bodies skeletal muscles and bone structure. This was his goal. Although, he wouldn''t be able to recover the section of abdomen that she lost to her initial progressive infection. However, he did attempt to mobilize the living metal''s healing properties and restore some of the areas in her body that were infected to their original state. After half an hour of concentrating, Matt was beginning to feel light headed. Remotely controlling billions of cells topletely rebuild the human body required a lot of technical skill and fine maniption. The living metal did not instinctively understand what was essential for bodily function. If not for Matt''s innate abilities, when he was invaded by the living metal, he would have suffered a bit before reigning in the proliferation. Utilizing the original Matt''s extensive anatomical knowledge, he was able to guide the rampant living metal cells to settle in the bones and skeletal tissues throughout Alexandria''s body. Then, he designated the living metal from his body to be like the generals of an army andmand millions of troops below them. This way, the living metal wouldn''t replicate on its own ord. Instead, they would slowly spread along the routes Matt alreadyid out. With this, Alexandria''s body would be something like a cyborg. Although the living metal was still biological, so that wasn''t quite urate. Seeing her strengthened bones and muscles, Matt couldn''t help but think of adding a set of retractable ws on her hands. The idea was tempting, but he decided against it. Such a thing would stand out too much and he didn''t want to give Wird any ideas. Thinking about Wird, Matt had a headache. He had essentially solved the puzzle in one go. Fortunately, one couldn''t observe the changes in Alexandria''s body from the exterior alone. Without realizing it, an hour had already passed and he quickly ced Alexandria in one of the enclosures and ced hisb coat over her. He quickly made his way to the cafeteria to pick up breakfast for Alexis and himself. However, as he rushed out of hisb, he was hit with a bout of dizziness and almost fell over. Doctor Lisinger just happened to be walking by and he quickly ran over to support the wobbly Matt. "Doctor O''Connely, are you alright? Do you need me to bring you to med bay?" He said with a worried tone. "I''m alright, just a bit lightheaded from not eating. I''m headed to the cafeteria right now." Matt''s Detect Life had just run out a few minutes ago so he was caught by surprise when Dr. Lisinger showed up. Matt straightened his back and stood steadily. The doctor nodded and slid his hand down Matt''s arm as he let go of his support. The doctor quickly left and Matt looked down at his hand. He went back into hisb and entered the cold room. Matt unfolded the note and read it out in his head. ''Deck 5. Room 14. 2400.'' Chapter 88: Heart-Wrenching Chapter 88: Heart-Wrenching Matt wasn''t too worried about the strange behavior of the doctor and went straight to the cafeteria to pick up food. When he arrived back in his quarters, Alexis was looking at herself smugly in the mirror. He couldn''t help but take a picture of her self-admiration since he found it funny. Well, she was also very pretty and he couldn''t resist saving it. "Are you going to bring the food over yet? I''m starving!" Alexis set the mirror down and gave him a scowl. Matt rolled his eyes and walked over. Actually, not just anyone was allowed to bring food out of the cafeteria like this. If not for theirbined prestige, the chefs wouldn''t allow for it. The containers they used were very high grade and expensive, meant to preserve cooked food on the move for several weeks. The field of culinary technology had always progressed quickly. Matt set down the containers and ced the note on top of one for Alexis to read. She quickly noticed it and Matt sent her a telepathic message reying his encounter with Dr. Lisinger. "What is this about?" Alexis said after the scene ended. She didn''t even need to look at the note since it was part of the sequence, but did anyway in a symbolic way. While Matt was asleep in the med bayst night, the other victims'' partners were there so they ended up talking a bit. One of them offhandedlymented that it was sweet how Matt and Alexis didn''t need to exchange words to understand each other. She realized that they had be too reliant on speaking to each other telepathically and it was beginning to be noticeable by others. Although she didn''t mention it to Matt, he easily understood her intentions. Although they did talk a lot through telepathy, they had already reached a level of synergy and understanding that they didn''t need to say much to understand each other. "I''m not sure. Do you know what''s in that room?" Matt asked while deactivating the sealing mechanism on the food containers. Alexis opened up the ships map on her tablet device and looked into it. Matt peeked over and noticed how tantalizing she was looking at the moment. She was still wearing her nightgown and the focus she was showing on investigating the room gave her a very heroic aura. Additionally, her head was slightly tilted downward so the light from the screen gave her a slight glow. Although makeup was essentially eliminated from culture, supplements and health products magnified the natural beauty. "Are you seducing me?" Matt said unconsciously. He was entranced by her and didn''t realize his thoughts were voiced. "That depends, are you seduced?" Alexis slightly turned her head upward to make eye contact with Matt, and her pretty eyshes fluttered up and down as she blinked. Her expression was one of yfulness. Matt had to hold himself back from crawling over the table and immediately taking her on the spot. Seeing his internal struggle, Alexis let out a short giggle. "This room is not particrly special in any way. I essed the entry logs and it seems to be the firstmander''s room. What''s strange is that the firstmander also has a room on deck two. This room is only essed once a week." Alexis exined, however, her change in attitude only provided a stark juxtaposition which amplified her allure. "Matt, wait. We can''t do it. Think about the baby." The injection she received to promote healthy fetal growth and protect the womb had already worn off. There were too many factors with bearing children in hyperdrive, so it was suggested that she start to be more careful. When Matt heard this, it was like a ssh of cold water and he instantly sat down as if his previous lust was nonexistent. "Is something wrong?" Matt said worriedly. Even though he initially didn''t acknowledge the baby, the reveal in the holodeck had begun to change his view. If it wasn''t his, then whose would it be? Would Alexis be Mother Mary? "No, its just the protection period has ended. While I stayed with you at the medical bay, one of the nurses reminded me." Alexis was happy to see his reaction. She had sensed his feelings about the baby on the day that she told him, so she had been silently anxious about this matter. "Although we can''t do it for real, you can still do it in your dreams~" Alexis said in a very teasing way that would normally be torture for the recipient. However, Matt could literally do it in his dreams with her fully involved in the process. Matt began to eat his breakfast while he thought about all of the different settings he wanted to experience. Alexis began eating too, but instead she was more focused on the situation of the firstmander. "You should go." Alexis said after finishing her meal. "They better not cause any more trouble. Its my wedding night and they want me to go to some strange meeting?" Matt was frustrated. It seemed that whenever he made progress in one of his problems, another problem would pop up. It was as if some cosmic being was toying with him. However, he dared not curse the unknown, so he could only direct his frustration toward Dr. Lisinger and the firstmander. "Actually, I''m not too worried about it. Although the firstmander doesn''t have the best character, this is because he is overly upright and aboveboard. Anything." Alexis suddenly stopped and her eyes widened. Her face turned pale and she looked toward Matt with a desperate expression. "Lexi, what''s wrong!?" He came over to her side and she sent over the image of her status. On a new line was [Drug Resistance (Unf)]. Matt quickly opened her status from his end and saw the specific details. His mood instantly plummeted when he realized what had happened. [Sub-Body Alpha: Host: Alexis Alexeyev Status: Grade 0 Parasite Evolution Points (EP): 2 Abilities: [Fascination Lv. Max], [Fatigue Resistance Lv. 1] Skills: [DNA Absorption Lv. 7], [Weak Hypnosis Lv. 0], [Inferior Transformation Lv. 0], [Inferior Spawning Lv. 0], (NEW!)[Drug Resistance Lv. 0]] [Drug Resistance Lvl. 0: You have been exposed to a substance above lethal dose to your host. Since you have not yet perfectly fused with your host, the substance requires evolution points to neutralize. ]Drug concentration: 300 g/250 g ]Evolution Cost: 30 EP] "Commander Alexeyev, my readings indicate a sharp increase in heartrate" Matt realized her device was on and immediately shut it off. Alexis began to hold her hand to her mouth, but couldn''t resist it any longer. She took the nearest container and vomited into it. He wasn''t sure what substance was used here, but it was clear that this was given with evil intentions. Matt didn''t have any time to investigate and carried Alexis to hisb. He used Detect Life to avoid running into anymore, but he knew that the cameras caught his every move. It took him eight minutes to arrive at hisb, and Alexis had dry heaved several times along the way. Her face was getting even more pale and her heart was palpitating at an observable rate. Once he arrived at theb, he immediately took her to the cold room and set her down. However, her limbs had already lost all strength and she became listless. He opened the safe and cursed at the time release mechanism. The few seconds it took to open were the longest seconds in his life. He kept Detect Life focused on her and her life signs were still reading strong, but dwindling quickly. If her body hadn''t been improved by the parasite, she probably wouldn''t have been able to survive at this point. Matt focused on her abdomen and saw that the life force in the womb was still steady. Fortunately, there was no harm, but something like this could change in an instant. The body was like a dam holding back the waters, but once a crack urs, it alles crashing down in an instant. Ting, tssh The lock released and Matt quickly pries open the door. He takes four vials and leans Alexis''s head back. Her mouth ckens and he begins pouring down the blood samples from the experimental subjects into her mouth. Fortunately, due to the properties of the parasite, she doesn''t need to swallow the blood to absorb it. After pouring out all four vials, he examined her status. Matt watched as her evolution points increased by seven at a time. The process was usually quick, but in a time crunch, it seemed extremely slow. As thest vial was being absorbed, Matt sensed something wrong. His Detect Life was down, and it was still a few minutes from optimal cooldown, but he forced it to activate. He saw that the source of life was dwindling from her heart at a pace quicker than anywhere else and then it disappeared. Matt ced his hand on her chest. [Ally Alexis Alexeyev host has be incapacitated. Retrieve Sub-body? Y/N] Chapter 89: New Life Chapter 89: New Life "Hang in there. Don''t go now, after all the shit we''ve had to deal with so far" Matt immediately began pressing down on her chest in a quick rhythmic pattern. He held the hope that the parasite would kick in and restart her heart. However, he instinctively knew that it had chosen to evacuate rather than preserve the host. Matt felt annoyed. This was the second time that Alexis ended up in harms way and the second time he was left with damage control. Since her mind had mostly be fused with the parasite, arge portion of her ego would be retained. He would simply need to find a new host for her. The easiest option would be Alexandria just down the hall. However, the child was going to be lost. Before Matt could ept the retrieval, he heard a familiar sound. It was the sound of the electrical device activating. After a moment, a sudden discharge was released. And a minuteter, it discharged again. Suddenly, Alexis woke and started coughing. She was only out for three minutes, not long enough for her brain to be deprived of oxygen. Even if it was damaged, the parasite would have been able to repair most of it. "What happened? I suddenly felt very small, trapped, and unable to move" Alexis said, with great confusion. Her face was still pale and she had a cold sweat. Since they were in the cold room, it wouldn''t be good for her to stay in any longer so Matt carried her out. If she hadn''t juste back from thend of the dead, Matt would have taken the time to address what she said. His senses told him that strange energy had almostpletely fused with her parasite. After a while, Alexis felt a lot better. Her Drug Resistance skill had sessfully been acquired and the dose of whatever she was poisoned with had gone below the lethal range. On the way back, Matt received a message on his device. It was easy to figure out who it came from since he was set to be undisturbed. The message contained only a single line of words, but the weight behind them was immeasurable. ("You owe me. -W") The device that was meant as ckmail was used up in the process of restarting Alexis''s heart. Although she would have been fine herself, the child would have been lost. Matt was so angry that he ended upughing instead. He took a deep breath after they arrived back to their room and sat in front of the food container that Alexis was eating. Meanwhile, Alexis felt tired from her ordeal and decided to take a nap. There were still five hours until the wedding so Matt decided to do some investigation into the food. It was unclear who was eating which meal since they had very simr ptes. Therefore, it was very likely that the poisoning was meant for him. There was no way to discover the true target without first identifying who the assant is. Since this was a case of poisoning, Matt had considered Wird at first. However, that wouldn''t exin why he went out of his way to save Alexis, unless he hoped Matt would be the one unconscious. However, that just didn''t add up. There was no reason to poison Matt again. Therefore, he started considering other options. The captain was really too difficult to read. Matt thought he had a good handle on the way he did things, but it seemed like he was missing a key piece of information to link all of the captain''s actions together. However, with his power and reach, a poisoning hours before their wedding seemed farfetched. This event was a chance for him to spread his influence more. Then the next consideration was the council. This was the most likely suspect. Alexis was next in line to take a council seat and it seemed generally known by the upper echelons. Therefore, the two parties to look at are the person below Alexis in the pecking order, and people that don''t want to see her on the council from within. Since the next person down likely wouldn''t know of her position in the queue, it would stille back to a core member of the council. Matt had a list of the council members from his discussion with Alexis previously. He struck off the three members they met at the event since they should still be under the effects of their abilities. Next to be crossed off was a very famous painter from Earth. He had created works that shook the foundations of culture in this century. It was no surprise that he managed to buy his way onto this ship. Apparently, since boarding, he has never left his viewing room and gets all of his meals delivered. That left six potential suspects. They were all affluent business men with one or two great aplishments. Well, all except for one. A certain Charles D. Musk, whom is the heir to a massive fortune. The kid had no intelligent bone in his body. Whether it be IQ, EQ, or any other of the intelligences on the spectrum, he was the true cream of the crop of ideocracy. Without his massive inherited wealth, and the luck of being an only child, he could not have afforded to board this ship. ''Yeah, he is certainly the prime suspect. I can''t imagine the kind of depraved things he did on Earth with this kind of wealth.'' Matt thought. Even if he wasn''t the ringleader for the whole operation, his status was exactly what the council needed as a scapegoat. Therefore, he may as well make a move and get a free kill since the council threw out the bait. The only issue was getting away with it. Well, that would have been an issue a month ago, however, with Matt''s new abilities, it will be very simple. This will send a message to those trying to mess with him. ''You mess with what''s mine, and I''ll destroy what''s yours.'' Matt thought with a click of his tongue. Matt returned to his room and decided toy down next to Alexis to take a nap. His overuse of Detect Life had left him a bit tired and he wanted to be at peak condition for their wedding. Given how many problems there have been up to this point, he sensed that the wedding wouldn''t be all sunshine and rainbows. The two of them woke up a few hourster and helped each other get dressed. The wedding dress wasn''t tooplicated and they managed to get it on with enough time to spare to head to the venue early. During the whole process, they didn''t talk or message each other about what happened. They had a tacit agreement to focus on their wedding at this moment and not be dragged down by others. Frankly, Alexis looked picturesque. If he had the time, he would march up to that famous painter''s room and drag him out to do a piece on her. He realized that her innate ability had a physical effect on her body. The parasite had optimized her looks to synergize with her powers. Although Matt was unsure of where the parasite sourced the standard of beauty from, it was likely either from his mind or hers. Regardless, he couldn''t stop staring at her. "You can keep staring, but do it while walking so we don''t miss our own wedding." Alexis said while rolling her eyes. Matt could only chuckle and offer up his elbow to walk thedy in the traditional style. Having watched many historical dramas, Alexis was more than capable of ying the part. It was not possible to avoid the crowd this time. The deck that their wedding was being held in was packed with people. Along the way, they were allowed through the crowd to reach the main room where the actual wedding would happen. Many people congratted them and some just wanted to see the couple since they had been hearing a lot about this wedding thest few days. There were even the one or two people that scoffed at their antiquated way of thinking. Regardless, Matt and Alexis finally made it to the room and situated themselves in the rest area to wait for the event to start. "We are finally at this point." Matt said with a sigh of relief. "Yeah, its like a dreame trueliterally." Alexis said with a mixture of happiness and nostalgia. She put her hand on her belly and started to have strange thoughts. Ever since she ''died'' she felt a lot more distant and detached from the world. It was the nail in the coffin for her transformation to alien first, human second. "Do you think he will reject me?" Alexis said, not clearly stating her thoughts but Matt understood. He ced his hand over hers and gave her a smile. "Of course not, you''re his mother." Matt said. ''And if he does, I''ll brainwash him into worshiping you.'' He kept thetter half to himself. Chapter 90: Final Countdown Chapter 90: Final Countdown The setup was actually very simple. The captain had an engineering team bring over a holographic projection device from one of thebat simtion military bays. With enough raw material, the machine was able to urately reproduce a scenic outdoor wedding. The decision on venue was decided on by Alexis without Matt''s knowledge, so when he stepped out of the rest room, he was shocked with what he saw. This was a near perfect replica of the wedding from their dream. He had to hand it to Alexis for being very detail oriented in this matter. The guests flooded in, but only a tenth of the crowd were actually invited. Therefore, there were several people watching the wedding fromrge monitors outside. Although the act of marriage wasn''t verymon, people loved big events regardless of their content. Some even made side gambles of various improbable things like the groom tripping or the bride''s clothes spontaneouslybusting. Matt walked up to the pedestal where the captain was standing. Soon, all of the guests were situation and the doors closed with a swish. The hologram quickly covered that section of the wall and it signaled the start of the wedding. Everyone quieted down once the music began to y, which Alexis had picked out herself. Although it wasn''t the typical wedding soundtrack, the songs had a fitting melody to them. The side doors swished open and Alexis began to walk out in her beautiful wedding gown. Matt couldn''t get his eyes off of her. The ident that happened only a few hours ago was but a distant memory at this moment. He could feel a cooling sensation was over him as if his whole body suddenly released the pent-up energy. Ever since he lost himself in the dream world with Alexis, he had unconsciously been anticipating this day. Alexis finally made it to the pedestal and stepped to the other side of the captain and turned to face Matt. The captain began his speech. "We are gathered here today, not as Federation officers, but as friends and family, to celebrate the marriage of two of USS Odyssey''s finest. Since the era of wooden ships, all captains have had the privilege of joining two people in matrimony. Although the era of marriage has passed us, this privilege remains. Thus, in honoring old traditions, I ask the bride and groom to state their vows." The two awkwardly stared at each other for a moment before Alexis spoke up. "Uh, I guess I''ll start. It isn''t every day that you meet someone that you are willing to spend your whole life with. I always thought that bing one of the youngest Federation officers was the highlight of my life. However, I realized that that is only one facet of my life and it is not all that defines me. Although there is no difference between being married or not, taking this step with you, Matt, has fulfilled another facet of my life. I hope that in the future, I will discover more wonderful things and broader horizonswith you." Many people in the crowd werepelled to p, but held back as they noticed Matt was about to speak. He started opening his mouth, but couldn''t seem to hold back his smile and had to rx his face in order to speak properly. "I was in my own world for all of my life, and when I was suddenly thrust into this reality, you were the person by my side. At first, our rtionship was based on an exchange of benefits, but very quickly I realized how important you are to me. I wouldn''t be able to make it this far without you, while also maintaining my sanity. Being with you has been the umted fortune of this life and my previous life. At any point throughout our rtionship, the fickle hand of fate could have ripped us apart on a whim. However, as if the masses wished us to stay together, we pulled through and are now here today. You are a part of me now and forever and we will spend eternity together." Most of the spectators didn''t find anything Matt said strange since it seemed like he was speaking in metaphors. However, Alexis knew some of what he said was literal. Only Matt knew everything he said was the exact truth. After they both finished, the captain nodded to the two of them and continued speaking. "And now, by my right as the captain, I pronounce these two bound in matrimony. And as tradition dictates, you may now kiss!" Alexis didn''t wait for the captain to tell them and had already wrapped her arms around Matt''s neck in order to give him a deep kiss. Everyone watching started pping and the hologram shot fireworks in the distance to apany the celebration. Once the two stopped kissing, those attending got up and started socializing with each other. Matt and Alexis walked around together and greeted people. Matt was about to begin collecting supporters using his hypnosis when his device gave him the ''message received'' notification. Since there was only one person that would bypass the undisturbed setting on the devices, Matt knew who it was. He opened the message and saw the familiar ''W'' at the end of his message. The content of the message was quite brief, quaint even. Wird congratted Matt on his wedding. Thetter half of the message was likely the main point. '' Stand next to the hologram device for five minutes.'' Matt thought to himself. This was a rather simplemand. He was tempted to ignore themand. Since Alexis was safe from the device, he didn''t need to go along with Wird whims. He revealed his hand already. The man likely never intended to hurt Alexis and only wished to scare and control Matt. However, Matt was curious at what exactly Wird would do. At this point, he could consider himself being caught between a political battle. Whatever Wird was trying to aplish cannot be done directly. Instead, he and his opponent must use proxies to carry out their maneuvers. This was like a game of chess, and Matt was a pawn originally. His existence in the match between the two was inconsequential. However, at some point, he turned into a queen. This made him a very useful tool. Seeing that Wird did not request something impossible, Matt decided to follow through. He ensured to disguise his movements to be as natural as possible. He went from person to person holding short exchanges. Using this technique, he managed to situate himself in front of the hologram projecting device which was disguised as a rockor rather a boulder. Fortunately, there were people standing here so he could insert himself into their meaningless conversation while fulfilling the task. Five minutes passed and the room suddenly flickered. The hologram abruptly changed into one of billions of lines of code along the walls. The lines of code congregated into person. His face was shrouded in darkness, but Matt recognized him immediately as Wird. The hologram began speaking in the dark room, and a voice was yed through the room''s inte. "Do you really know who your captain is?" The voice said. Immediately after, various other voices echoed in the background to emphasize the question. ''Traitor, Monster, Viin,'' they called out in hushed tones. The dark projection changed to one of the boarding party several years ago on Earth. Then, the voice began narrating. "two-thousand passengers aboard the most advanced piece of technology on Earth, well beyond our capabilities. Two-thousand two-thousand then, who are these people?" The scene changed to the cargo loading onto the ship after boarding finished. Approximately a hundred people were brought into the ship in maic cuff links and the bay door closed behind them. The hushed voices echoed again, ''Murder, Oppression, Lies.'' Before the scene could change again, the captain was already yelling to shut the device off. Many armed security officers rushed in with their weapons. The scene already changed to what seemed like a butchery. The shelves were specially designed hibernation pods. One of the original ns for long-term voyage relied on the use of hibernation technology to skip the travel time. However, when the faster-than-light travel technology was developed to the current state, that idea was scrapped by the Federation. Arge man wearing an apron pulled open one of the hibernation pods, but before the crowd could see what was in it, the security opened fire on the hologram device, destroying it. Suddenly, rms started ring. Many thought that it was in response to the gunfire, until a robotic voice began speaking. The AI was making an announcement which shocked everyone on board. Matt listened carefully and began to understand what Wird''s n might be. He nodded his head in realization at the brilliance. "Scans have detected unauthorized ess to restricted functions. Self-diagnostics indicates malfunction of primary Artificial Intelligence. Initiating emergency protocol." Chaos ensued. Chapter 91: Battle Ready Chapter 91: Battle Ready "All non-essential staff return to your quarters. All non-essential staff return" The message repeated several times as the white lights of the ship switched to red. Matt didn''t bother waiting around and ran over to Alexis''s side. They sped hands and ran toward the door. The problem was, everyone had begun panicking and the door was blocked. Alexis activated her ability and people unconsciously stepped to the side to create a narrow, winding path through the crowd before immediately closing it again. {What''s going on?} Alexis thought. {Wird is making his move. I''m notpletely sure but there is a strong chance he''sing after Alexandria in the chaos. Dammit, he must have poisoned your food, and also revived you to manipte me. I should have realized it earlier.} This was the first time she was hearing about this. After thinking about it for a moment, she understood the eventsing up to this moment. What Matt deduced reliedpletely on the missing information in the poisoning case. Since Shepherd, and by proxy Wird, poisoned She, he should have been the first suspect. However, the act of ''utilizing his leverage in order to save Alexis'' had blinded Matt. He was so focused on the result that he didn''t even notice the intent. This was why he had ended up ming someone unrted. Initially, Matt thought that he was a pawn on the board between Wird and someone else. All this time he was trying to wrack his brains on the identity of the other person. He eliminated every possible person, but failed to consider one thing. Wird was ying both colors. Matt was caught in Wird solo game. Everything that has happened was for a reason. The more he thought about the events that urred to him, the more frightened he became of Wird. The man was truly brilliant. The words Scorch had said to him that day rang true in his mind. ''He is crazycrazy smart.'' Matt really understood those words now. Purposefully harming and saving Alexis was the ultimate move. However, it wasn''t the game winning move. Due to hiscency and the uing wedding, Matt left two huge secrets in his personalb. Martha, an alien nt with unknown limits to her growth, and Alexandria, a human that has be one with the living metal and survived. This must be why he didn''t take Martha before. Without a means to contain the living metal, she wasn''t helpful to him. Matt was holding all of the pieces toplete the cyborg in hisb, and willfully vacated the premises to allow Wird to snatch everything in one fell swoop. The two arrived on the lift. Alexis was distracted while processing everything Matt exined to her. The depths that Wird had gone to manipte the two of them were frightening. However, what was even more frightening was Matt figuring it all out. She looked over at him and smiled. The man she loves is equally brilliant. The two of them arrived on the deck that contained Matt''sb. The hallways were tinted in red due to the emergency lights and theputers repeated messages created an eerie feeling. As they approached, Matt utilized his Detect Life. He was able to see theb was empty. He mmed his hand on the wall next to him and cursed. "Damn, he''s already taken them." "We have to go after them." Alexis had grown attached to Martha. Although she never met Alexandria before, based on what Matt told her, she could make a good ally. Matt looked at her for a minute before shaking his head. He couldn''t risk her going. "Don''t even say it. You can''t leave me behind here. Besides, I''m better at fighting than you." She insisted. Matt gave a look of obvious disapproval but he couldn''t say no again. He felt the connection to her start to exert influence. If he ordered her to stay, he would have to mess with her self-control. "Fine. Follow me." He said as he opened the door to theb. Alexis was confused for a second, but followed without question. They went straight to the cold room and Matt was relieved to see everything was untouched. He activated the time release on the sample box and took out the four small pieces of living metal. "I might lose consciousness for a while. Watch over me. Once the safe is open, drink all of the remaining blood in there." Alexis nodded as Matt rolled up his sleeves. He took the four different sizes pieces and allowed them to stab into his arm, flowing into his blood stream. His skin stretched, looking as if a snake had found its way into his arm and was crawling around. After a few minutes, the ck metal waspletely absorbed. Matt watched his evolution points jump up be one-hundred ny-eight. This gave him enough to increase his Gic Assimtion. [Gic Assimtion Lv. 4->5: There is no being in the universe with more potential than the parasite. This is not because of their individual strength, but due to their ability to steal all other beings'' strengths. Instead of recing the host for a more suitable vessel, absorbing the gics of all creatures will allow the parasite to enhance, improve, and perfect a unique body. ]Ability: Detect Life (175m->250m) ]Absorption Grade Limit: 3->4 ]Unique Ability Limit: 1->2 ]Efficiency: 140%->150% ]Level Cost: 220 EP-> 300 EP] [Unique Ability Progress: [Human] Max% [Lower Yggdra] 2% [Ku''Lothri] 27%] [Unique Ability [Human] generating options... Mutation detected, adjusting options] [Enhanced Soul Lv. 1: Those born with two souls usually have vtile personalities and often die inexplicably. You, however, have mastered your souls and have grown stronger. The capacity limitations of soul energy have been improved to reflect the growth and mastery. ]Soul Strength: 2.1 ]Soul Capacity: +300%] [Biological Reinforcement has leveled up!] [Biological Reinforcement Lv. 2->3: "Remnants discoveredCoordinates acquiredRemnant moving quicklyPlotting intercept course" ]Damage Resistance: +30% (Vital) -> +30% (All) ]Strength Increase: 1.3 -> 1.5 ]Endurance Increase: 1.3 -> 1.5] [Improved Metabolism has leveled up!] [Improved Metabolism Lv. 2->3: Due to severe stress, the host body has improved significantly to prevent breakdown. The body''s energy conversation and healing have been amplified in order to reduce the stress. ]Removing Toxins: +20% ]Calorie Conversion: +50%->60% ]Healing Factor: 2.0->2.2] [Improved Reflexes has leveled up!] [Improved Reflexes Lv. 1->2: Some have to work hard to train their body and mind to be in perfect synch, you however, are born with the aptitude. It is difficult to catch you off guard, and if you are, you recover quickly. ]Reaction Speed: +10% ]Coordination: +20% ]Dynamic Vision: +40%] Matt''s whole body was on fire. It felt like he was being dipped inva. The temperature of the cold room raised quickly and sensors began to beep due to the ambient temperature going above zero. Alexis was biting her lip while watching Matt squirm on the floor while his body absorbed the living metal. A series of notifications were ying in Matt''s head, but before he could appreciate them, he fell unconscious. The vision that Matt was in started where the previous one left off. A bright light in the distance remained stationary. He traveled a long distance and passed by several asteroids, but the light never seemed to get closer. This vision went on like this for a long time until a change finally urred. The light in the distance seemed to be getting bigger. Finally, Matt was able to recognize the light as a star. The sr system that he was flying towards had threes from his angle of approach. It was possible that there were more, just on the other side of the star. One of thes looked beautiful. It had various shades of blue, purple, and white dotted across its surface. This scene reminded him of the second tooltip for Biological Reinforcement. This was the of the crystal-like creatures. Before he could learn more, Matt woke up. Alexis was sitting on a stool leaning on the bench. When she noticed Matt wake, she stopped and came over to him. He sat up and stretched his neck. His body was still pretty limber so he didn''t think it had been long. "How long was I out?" He asked nonchntly. "Twenty-eight minutes. You made it sound like it would be longer. I already reached the limit of DNA absorption; it doesn''t seem like I can get it to go any higher. I kept going until I maxed out Drug Resistance and then stopped so that I don''t waste any. I wasn''t sure which path to pick so I held off on that." Matt clicked his tongue and sighed. "That''s fine. Let''s get going, we''ve waited long enough." While they left theb, Matt looked over all of the abilities that had leveled up. It seemed that reaching level five in Gic Assimtion as well as the stress from incorporating the living metal samples had a synergistic effect to his whole body. When they reached the lift, Alexis pressed the button to go to a different deck after scanning her credentials. "Deck 39?" Matt said curiously. "Didn''t you always want to see the weaponized suits up close?" She said with a smug smile. Matt''s eyes widened as he realized what she meant. Deck thirty-nine was the lowest deck on the ship. It was also known as the hangar bay where all of the shuttles, fighters, and other heavy machinery were kept. Chapter 92: For The Horde! Chapter 92: For The Horde! The door opened up to another door. Alexis had to insert her credentials once more. What surprised Matt was a face appeared on the screen. It was one created using three-dimensional modeling so it wasn''t any specific person''s face. It turned to look at the two of them and began to speak. "Commander Alexeyev, ess to the hangar has been denied. Ship is currently on emergency lockdown. Please return to your quarters." "Override code Uniform, Mike, Alpha, Charlie, Tango, Uniform, Alpha, Lima, Lima, Yankee. ID number One, Three, Three, Seven, Eight, Zero, Zero, Eight, Five." Once Alexis finished, the face on the screen broke apart into green lines of ones and zeroes and a robotic voice sounded out. "Override epted, Wee Commander." The door grinded up, and after several seconds, the duo was hit with a wave of cold air. The temperature in the hangar bay was significantly lower than in the main ship. Alexis led Matt into the hangar and he couldn''t stop looking around like an excited kid. In the game, the Hangar is the most important ce in the ship. It is where the fighter nes are situated in order to flee the ship, but it is also where all of the most powerful weaponry is kept. This was obviously referring to thebat suits, but it also meant mechs! Standing almost thirty meters tall, a mechanical monster lied dormant in the hangar, waiting to be activated and wreak havoc on those unprepared. In the game, it was impossible to man a mech yourself. What seemed to be a major design w in the game was quite simply a safety mechanism. Such a weapon of mass destruction is loaded with its own independent artificial intelligence andyers of subroutines to prevent it being misused. Once the captain activated the self-defense mechanic and targeted a yer, those mechs would activate too. Alexis saw Matt eyeing therge construct and she shook her head. "Don''t even think about it. That is the MEDUSA ss war machine. It was tested in the milky way''s asteroid belt to destroy potential world-ending asteroids. It could turn a thousand-meter-long asteroid into rock fragments in minutes. In order to operate one, you need a team of three and are still only running auxiliary functions since the AI is the main controller." She continued toward a corner of the hangar, and hanging from various horizontal beams were dozens of suits. Matt recognized several of them to be the basic model, but he saw some Pyro suits simr to the one the ''gatekeeper'' used. He also recognized the EMP suit that he so feared. Fortunately, he could only see one here, but this was just the long-term storage. To his dismay, Matt spotted a single ''Tactical Medical Suit.'' Fortunately, it did not seempleted as it was still hooked up to various machinery. Alexis went forward to one of the ''Space Marine''bat suits and began to activate it. Although he told her not to wear the ck suit due to its connected to the living metal, since he discovered that he could control the infection, he didn''t stop her from suiting up. Once shepleted the login sequence, the suit opened up like a monster waiting to swallow her. She turned around and stepped backward into it. The suits fibers closed in around her like a living creature, before forming a solid metal exoskeleton around her. Matt watched in awe, since in the game, all it took to equip a suit was a click of a button and you were suddenly wearing it. In a way, Alexis did exactly that. Matt instinctively used his Detect Life and saw that Alexis was fine inside the suit. If anything, her vital signs seemed to be even more vigorous. Matt attempted to exert control over the living metal parts on the suit, but they seemedpletely inert. There was likely some secret method to bring the living metal to this point. Alexis walked over to him, now a meter taller than him. The suit really reminded him of the one from the game. It was almost exactly the same. On the back of the suit were severalpartments that held various weaponry. He didn''t get a chance to properly inspect one of these suits the previous training, so he was quite interested in all the various systems. Compared to the ''Pyrotechnian'' suit, the ''Space Marine'' suit was a lot less bulky, however, it was still very heavy. The suit came with a built-in respirator to survive in extreme environments. When she activated the microphone, her voice echoed out with a reverb. "I''m all set, let''s go." Hearing the sound of her voice through the mask, Matt had some strange thoughts pop into his head. However, he didn''t voice them out loud and went toward the lift. Based on his previous encounter with Wird, Matt had a fairly good idea where to look for him. The ce that they met for the first time was likely his main stronghold. There would be much in the way of technology to get past. The jamming device that he acquired from the captain''s soldiers woulde in handy. Ever since gaining it, he''s kept it fully charged and deactivated in his pocket. They entered the emergency shaft in the back of the hangar and proceeded to climb their way to the correct floor. Based on theyout of the ship, this emergency shaft should be the same one that Wird used previously to arrive inside of Matt''sb. A maintenance shaft was connected to the emergency shaft outside of several rooms. As they got close, they suddenly heard the sound of a turret forming and charging up. Matt quickly went to activate the jamming device, but the turret seemed to be on a closed line. Before he could do anything else, Alexis had already withdrawn one of her weapons and fired a burst of three rounds disabling the turret with uracy. The guns used by thebat suits were muchrger and bulkier than a standard gun. Just the size of the ammunition alone was as big as a can of soda. With the turret disabled, the duo knew they were at the right ce. Alexis tore open the hatch and the two of them entered a long, dimly lit hallway. The maintenance shaft was much smaller than a regr hallway, but in order to ensure someone wearing abat suit could properly move around the ship it was just big enough to fit Alexis. They carefully walked, asionally having to shoot down a turret. When they reached thedder, they exited out into yet another hallway, but muchrger than the narrow maintenance shaft. Although the path they took was different than the first time Matt came here, they still ended up near the same location. Just down the hallway they arrived at a fork, and the emergency stairs were just around the corner. Ahead of them was the sealed and reinforced door that Matt first encountered when he came to ask Wird for him. He couldn''t help but let out augh at his naivety. Wird was one step ahead of him since the beginning. "Intruder alert, intruder alert, intruder alert" A female robotic voice began to sound out at the door as the two came within thirty meters. The two heavy turrets began activated but Alexis was too quick. She easily dispatched and disabled the turrets. Thinking back to how she got kidnapped before, being in control and destroying all of Wird''s devices was satisfying. Without even bothering to be diplomatic, Alexis directly pried open the reinforced door. Inside was the room that Matt recognized from his first time here. Thergeputers seemed to be in sleep mode and there was no sign of Wird. There was another door that led further to the side, but before continuing forward, Matt remembered something. "Guard the door, I''m going to get rid of shepherd or try to, at least." Matt said to Alexis as he walked up to theputers. He pressed randomly on the keyboard and a login screen appeared across all of them. Without bothering to mess around with hacking, he found a port and stuck the thumb drive into it. He had received this from Scorch a long time ago, and decided to give it a shot. Quickly after inserting it, the screens changed to ck with several lines of green text appearing. He didn''t know what was happening, but decided to leave it alone to do its thing. The two moved to the next door and continued forward. What they discovered on the other side of the door could only be described as disgusting and inhumane. Hundreds of ss containers filled with some sort of liquid held strange humanoid-like monsters in them, suspended and hooked up to dozens of wires. These creatures all had the telltale sign of living metal. However, Matt noticed that there were many animalistic features on their facial structures. Many of which were pig-like. There was only one thing he could think of to describe these dark-skinned creatures. But before he could voice it, they began to open and spill out their contents. Suddenly, hundreds of small, medium, andrge creatures began to charge toward them in a bloodthirsty frenzy. Chapter 93: Dream Duel Chapter 93: Dream Duel Alexis quickly pulled out arge gun and began sting the creatures. Her precision and uracy were top ss and the creatures started exploding one by one. There wasn''t much Matt could do except throw out a mind st asionally. However, these things seemed to be resistant to mental attacks. It was likely due to their nature orck of consciousness. They were creatures that simply acted on instinct. Many of the fallen foes continued approaching and had to be shot multiple times. The weapon Alexis was using was simr to the PL81 in that it used electromaic technology, however, the sheer size of the weapon was five times asrge. Therge caliber ensured that the target would be obliterated. Unfortunately, due to the living metalposition of their bodies, it only fragmented or disabled them shortly. "There''s too many of them, I won''t be able to protect you once they surround us. I''ll make a path for you to go after Wird." Alexis put away the gun and grabbed for another weapon hidden in the backpartment. The weapon extended and revealed arge power hammer. The boosters in the suit initiated and she charged forward with high velocity. After mming three creatures in a single swing, they flew to the edge of the room and seemed to be unable to move. Matt quickly followed behind Alexis as she mowed down the enemies, sending them flying. Normally, this level of acrobatics and exertion would quickly tire out the person operating the suit, but due to her innate abilities and passive strengthening from her parasite, Alexis was able to execute all of it with ease. However, since she was doing her best not to move too aggressively and protect herself from even the slightest injury, she was at a disadvantage with Matt around. Once they reached the end of the room, there was yet another door. The door was veryplex and had an intricate locking mechanism. It was more durable than a safe door. In fact, the wall adjacent to the door was likely weaker than the door itself. The panel on the door required three-step verification with two biometric locks and one password lock. However, when Matt reached the door, the screen of the lock was ck with green lines of code scrolling rapidly. This was due to the direct breach from the universal drive Matt used earlier. Matt pulled the metal handle down and the sound of the locks disengaging was heard. The door creaked open on its own, giving him room to slip through before closing it again behind him. He had faith in Alexis''s ability to take down the living metal creatures. The room he entered looked to be some sort of loft. It had very nice furnishings with sofa, table, and monitor in the main space. It did not take Matt long to notice the door with a biohazard symbol on it. It had thick leaded ss, so Matt could only make out that the room inside was very brightly lit and white. He opened the door with ease since it wasn''t locked, and entered what looked to be a decontamination room. Streams of air shot out at him to kill bacteria and slough off any partictes. There were a set of scrubs folded on a rack next to him but he ignored them. With his Detect Life on, he was able to sense the swarm being taken out a few at a time. Their life force was very tenacious. Ahead of him in the next room, he could sense two distinct life forces that he recognized. One was Martha''s and the other was Alexandria''s. Originally her life force had the telltale signs of infection, but after Matt manipted the living metal, it instead multiplied her vigor by several folds. Compared to Alexis, she was slightly better in that department. Once the decontamination finished, he moved right into the next room. Thest life force was certainly Wird''s. However, something was strange about it. It seemed that he artificially increased his health. This was most likely due to some sort of drug, as there were many auxiliary items in the game. Beyond the stim pack, there were drugs that increased your strength, agility, and even intelligence. Inside the room, there was arge ss chamber that held Martha. There was some sort of vapor inside the chamber and Martha was asleep. She was emitting a lot of energy, so Matt deduced that the vapor was simr to the mixture he created. Whatever Wird was doing required arge amount of energy and he seemed to have figured out a way to tap into Martha''s power source. Meanwhile, on a medical table strapped down with metal braces lied Alexandria. She had various implements around her that didn''t seem to be attached to her yet. This included the very familiar headpiece that contained various inputs. Wird sat on a chair between the two with a transparent liquid slowly infusing into his arm. He was not surprised to see Matt, and stared at him with a knowing expression. His mind was so absolutely twisted, it seemed as if he was greeting a friend he hadn''t seen in a long time. "You are here. I knew you are the only person that could understand me. Our game has to end here though. Activate the third sequence." Wird said excitedly. He truly considered Matt to be a friend. However, due to the way he grew up, his idea of friendship waspletely warped. As his voice sounded out, various machinery came out of the ceiling, walls, and floor. It began to y a very specific frequency. Wird had already put on a set of headphones as this noise pierced Matt''s head. His mental energy became turbulent. In Wird''s eyes, this was checkmate. However, he underestimated how much Matt had grown. His mental resistance and all of his abilities made his mental capacity muchrger. He ran forward toward Wird and their eyes locked. Their rtionship began with a simple hypnosis, and it would end in one as well. Matt didn''t think he couldmand anythingplex against Wird in his current state, so he fell back on one of the scenarios he expected. [Hypnosis Activated] {Sleep!} Matt directly transmitted into Wird''s mind. He even activated his Phantom Voices to repeat the sleepmand over and over and decrease his resistance to hypnosis. Wird tried to resist, but thepelling force was too powerful. His eyes drooped and his head tilted downward. Matt''s ears began bleeding, so he immediately left his body and entered the dark world. Without dy, he invaded Wird''s dream and began to seize control. Inside the empty space, Matt applied the mental energy that he was able to salvage into shaping a dream. A scene straight out of a video game appeared. Matt stood in a vast open in with a dark cloudy sky. It had just rained, so there were small puddles of water everywhere. Soon, his mental energy began to drag Wird''s consciousness into the dream. When it arrived, he looked around confused for a moment, before seeminglying to a conclusion. "You''ve improved. However, bringing your consciousness into mine was a big mistake. This isn''t my first dream battle." Wird said in a very cocky voice while covering his face with his hand. Soon the ground began to rumble and hundreds of metal containers fell out of the sky. Theynded on the open in and transformed into giant mechs. Matt narrowed his eyes and seemed to recognize these mechs were from an animated show in hisst life. "So that''s where your behaviores from. I''m surprised you didn''t change your appearance to ck with tall cors and a helmet to cover your whole head. However, if you think that is enough to beat me, then you''re mistaken." The only important factor in the dream world was mental strength. Anything created through your imagination required a level of strength, and the higher the magnitude the more resilient it became. Unknown to Wird, Matt didn''t need to win in this confrontation. His real goal to get close to Wird. The limitations on Sundering Strike were touch range. However, he had long discovered that his powers worked in a dream as if it were reality. Matt began to create an appropriate enemy to distract Wird. ming balls of fire fell from the sky, lighting up the dreary atmosphere. Wird sent some of his Mechs to intercept the meteors, but vastly underestimated their origin. Some were sted apart by the advanced technology on the mechs, while other mechs were unable to stop the descent. However, whatever happened to the meteors, the result was the same. Greenish mes burned continuously on the scattered stones as they slowly approached each other. The sticky mes connected to another rock or boulder and began to from a golem which was significantly taller than the mechs. Although they were slow and received a barrage from the cannons, missiles, and energy attacks, they were extremely tenacious and would asionally catch one, crushing it. Matt used the remainder of his mental energy to give himself super speed. As he elerated near instantaneously, the world around him froze in time. He arrived in front of Wird as if teleporting, and grabbed his face. As his speed returned to normal, and the world began to start again, Wird''s eyes widened. Matt canceled all of his dream maniption, returning the unused mental energy to him. "It''s already over." Sundering Strike! Chapter 94: Mind Over Matt...er Chapter 94: Mind Over Matt...er As Matt''s mental energy prated Wird''s dream body, he sensed something wrong immediately. Wird had twoyers of protection in his body created with mental energy. Matt was only able to break through the firstyer, and spread his mental energy around, before ripping out a chunk of it. This process caused the dream to copse, and the massive energy gain from Sundering Strike forced his astral body back where it belonged. When Matt woke, his head pounded with pain. He was suffering from the side effects of the noise, as his ear drums were destroyed and the blood on the side of his head had already dried up. Matt sat up and looked over at Wird who was still slumped in his chair. Matt didn''t know what would happen to Wird after the Sundering Strike, but before he could investigate, a message appeared that caused Matt''s head to ache even more. [Warning: Unknown Energy has been ingested. Identified to be Grade 2+. Stimting Gic sequence utilizing Grade 2+ Energy. 102 Evolution Points gained.] The massive influx of evolution points caused his body to go into overdrive. His healing factor was considerably high and his resistance to damage meant that although the damage seemed severe, it was actually quite easy to heal. His ears began ringing as the microscopic hairs began to reform. The sound of his hearing returning was quite obnoxious, but Matt ignored it and stood up. He walked over to Wird to inspect his body. Since Matt expended a lot of mental energy, he wasn''t able to reactivate his Detect Life immediately. Matt checked the time and about thirty minutes had passed. Although he was slightly worried about Alexis, he needed to make sure the job was finished. Standing over Wird, Matt was about to drain him with his tendrils when his eyes suddenly opened and a wave of energy exploded out from him, knocking Matt backward ten meters. Wird was not in a good condition; his face was pale and he was hyperventting. What Matt did by destroying his mental defenses was actually release all of the sealed memories. Due to the nature of mental energy, sealed memories also sealed a portion of his mental strength. He was considered a behemoth of an Esper when he was created as a child. They used senior Espers to lock away a significant portion of his strength. What Matt did was essentially release the floodgates of Wird''s childhood traumaand his hidden strength. Wird began screaming and firing off concussive mental sts in every direction. He hadn''t intentionally knocked Matt away earlier, but was simply releasing his emotions. Wird had begun screaming at some point, but Matt only started hearing him once the ringing in his ears stopped. His scream echoed through the chamber, waking Martha up. She had been asleep for a very long time, but the excessive nutrients had exponentially increased her growth. When she saw Matt lying on the ground in a daze, Alexandria tied down to a table, and Wird going mad, releasing some sort of invisible force, she went to action. A quick swipe of her paw shattered the ss containing her. The breech caused a feedback loop to fry the machinery in charge of created a cyborg. The amount of energy Martha could release while conscious was considerably more than the electronics could handle. Matt noticed her escape her cage and began to send her telepathic messages. He wanted her to free Alexandria, and meet up with Alexis. Matt decided it would be best to capture Wird since he failed to break his mind earlier. Whatever outburst he was having, Matt didn''t interfere. His mental energy recovery was quite quick and he was already able to fight again if needed. Due to the overloading of energy, it seemed the machines that subdued Matt originally wouldn''t be activated anytime soon. Detect Life activated and revealed to Matt several things. Martha''s life force had doubled since hest saw, and Wird''s had returned to the norm for humans. He turned his head and saw that there were only one or two mixed life forces that represented the living metal experiments, and Alexis''s was still strong. While he turned his attention back to Wird, Matt noticed that his tantrum was ending. Wird''s back straightened and he turned to Matt. "I don''t know what you''ve done to me, but I must thank you. Although I almost lost my mind due to these memories, I am stronger than I have ever been before. My n to ascend to a higher form of life won''t require external influences ha-ha HA!" Wird began tough maniacally, eerily simr to a viinous clown. "Actually, Matthew, you and I are not too different. I bet there is atent power within you that has yet to be unlocked. How about it? Let bygones be bygones. Let''s join together and reach a new level." Wird''s temperament changed slightly. Before, he had an almost childlike aura to him. Now, he was far more sinister and his behavior was like the devil trying to tempt Matt. "Unfortunately, I don''t need your help for that. We are irrecoverable enemies." Matt didn''t bother wasting time to talk anymore, as soon as his mental energy was recovered enough, heunched a Mind st. Wird sensed the attacking and released his own simr attack. The two invisible attacks seemingly collided and fizzled out. However, since Matt could somewhat detect mental fluctuations, he had seen how Wird used a much smaller amount of energy to destroy his attack. This was the difference in experience. Matt frowned at the realization and finally began to worry. His advantage was in recovery, so the best type of fight was an extended one. However, there was one factor that had yet to appear. Matt hoped to deal with everything before it came into y, but that didn''t seem possible anymore. Wird seemed to also realize what Matt was afraid of and tapped something on his device. "Fine. Since you do not want to reconcile, I''ll end it all at once. You and your toy will suffer the same fate. I''ll capture you and study you so that I can learn the secret to your growth. As for Alexis I suppose there are still some experiments I haven''t tried yet. A pregnant subject is certainly a new one for me." Matt realized the severity of the situation and decisively charged at Wird. Instead of stalling, he needed to finish this as soon as possible. Wird was taken off guard for a second. He expected a battle of minds, but instead, Matt went straight for a fist fight. Wird began releasing micro concussive attacks mixed in with prating attacks. However, Matt simply let them hit him and kept moving forward. The prating attacks left holes in his body that began to bleed, but due to his healing factor, they weren''t much. Wird was again shocked at the durability of Matt''s body. Those prating shots shouldn''t be able to simply be tanked that easily. While in his own thoughts, Matt sessfully reached him and punched him square in the jaw. Wird had received formal training as well, but due to his mental superiorityplex, he mostly neglected meleebat. The punch was met with a mental energy shield, but Matt''s punching force exceeded human limits. Once he recovered from the punch, Wird changed his strategy and began to float out of Matts range. However, Matt only smiled andunched another mind st. Wird was unable to perfectly block the attack this time due to his concentration on levitating, so his mental energy scattered and he fell to the ground. It was a small hit that broke his concentration, but Wird quickly recovered after sending a barrage of concussive bolts. Matt took this opportunity to throw out an Illusory Field and charged toward Wird again. The Illusory Field was a new threat that Wird hadn''t experienced before. He threw out his attacks and effectively neutralized the illusions, but they kepting. He quickly looked around to find the core of this strange ability, but Matt was already next to him. A leg arced straight toward Wird''s skull and knocked him to the ground. This time, due to the Illusory Field, Wird was unable to block a portion of the attack. His brain bounced around in his skull and he became dazed. Matt threw out another Mind st in order to scatter his mental energy again, effectively drying up the reserves he recovered. Then, he began pummeling Wird over and over again. After a while, Wird groaned in a half-conscious state, and Matt stopped beating him. His body was likely covered in bruises. "You fool cough cough. Do you realize what you''ve done? I was doing everything for the greater good. Do you really think we are alone out here?" However, Matt frowned as he thought of something. [Hypnosis Activated] "Why did you target me with Shepherd?" Matt asked calmly. "When I took over the system, I ran a simtion on every person on the ship and used theputing power of the wholework to calcte who would be the biggest risk to my ns... Suddenly, one day, you went from low risk, to extremely high risk." Matt heard enough, and punched him once more to shut him up. He could more or less figure out the circumstances now. It turned out that his sudden change was not unnoticed. Could he be considered lucky that it was Shepherd to discover it and not the main AI? Matt sighed and saw that Wird''s life and mental fluctuations were reaching their trough. However, Wird smirked and released one final attack. It was something he had never used before. In fact, Matt had inspired this attack into existence. Matt tried to defend, but his whole world began to spin. After a few moments, he stabilized as if nothing happened and wondered if that was just the death throes of a wild beast. With this attack, Wird knew he had nothing left. He simply rxed his body and passed out. Matt pulled himself up and started going toward Alexis. During the chaos, Martha had busted through the decontamination room with the unconscious body of Alexandria and made it to Alexis''s side. The first thing he noticed when he left the loft was a giant mechanized suit. His Detect Life saw that all three were safe and the suit simply stood there, slumped over. "Matt, you''re alright!" Alexis called out. She had left her suit and was standing next to it. Matt came over wondering why she had done so, when he noticed the twenty life signs approaching from the other end of the room. They all seemed to be security officers. The room was poorly lit so Matt was relying on his Detect Life to walk over to Alexis. "What happened? Did the machine break?" Matt said in a confused tone. "No, I deactivated it." A familiar voice said. Matt hadn''t noticed him at first due to the lighting, but someone was standing only five feet from him. However, there was not another set of life force near the group. The lights in the area were suddenly restored and Matt saw him, fully dressed in military garb. "Let me reintroduce myself. I am the USS Odyssey. However, you can continue calling me Scorch." (End Volume 1) Chapter 95: Epilogue Chapter 95: Epilogue Matt and Alexis sat in arge conference room by themselves. Alexandria had been taken to the medical ward to be treated, while Martha had stealthily snuck away. Although Matt had a suspicion that Scorch knew about her existence, but decided to keep it hidden to protect the crew that weren''t in-the-know. Everything he had learned was ryed to Alexis and the two of them were sitting in silence pondering the implications. Soon enough, Scorch walked in with two people that Matt had never met before. However, he did recognize them as being two of the ten council members. Scorch was still wearing his military uniform withmander insignias on the shoulders. The three walked over and sat opposite from the duo. The table was meant to seat thirty-two people so it was arge distance between them. The five sat in silence for a moment before Scorch began speaking up. "I have been monitoring you, Doctor O''Connely, since you first came into my bar. Since my functions were being limited by the unit called Shepherd, I could only gather data. However, I am at a loss, so to say. It seems I do not possess the authority to ess your background information. Whoever is backing you seems to be very powerful." Scorch was the first to break the silent tension, so Matt voiced the question he was meaning to ask since he heard the deration, "What did you mean when you said that you are the USS Odyssey? Do you mean that you are?" "That''s right. I am the artificial intelligence developed for this ship. More urately, I am the mobile unit designated Scorch by my creator to secretly live amongst the crew. Only few know of this secret, and given your great service and powerful backing, the council has voted to bring you into the loop. As for Commander Alexeyev, you would have found about it as soon as you took a seat on the council." "Wait, if the council knows about your existence, then they knew immediately that the AI waspromised. Why did you let things go as far as they did?" Alexis stood and mmed the table. She was upset hearing that those seemingly in power had almost indirectly caused the deaths of Matt and her child. "I am afraid we can''t answer that." Scorch maintained his neutral expression and replied curtly. "Then what can you answer!" Alexis was getting angrier, but Matt put his hand over hers and she started to calm down. He stood up and leaned forward on the table to bring the attention toward himself. "Why did Wird call you his half-brother, and why do you two look alike." Matt asked, this was something that bothered him. Scorch nodded as if he expected this question. "We have the same ''father.''" He replied. Although simple, the gears in Matt''s mind began turning and he seemed to understand. He sat backward in his chair with a lost expression. "Does that mean the person who experimented on Wird was his father?" Matt asked in order topletely put together the puzzle. "Indeed." There was a long silence as Matt and Alexis took the information in. Matt wouldn''t suddenly start feeling regretful for what happened to Wird because of this. He naturally deserved getting beaten, regardless of his dark past. But various things were starting to make sense. Wird''s obsession withputers, cyborgs, and getting an immortal body. Perhaps these were ravings of his old man that passed down to the son. "Then, do you know about this ''threat'' that Wird mentioned before passing out?" Matt said, curious how much they knew about the alien creatures. "Unfortunately, it turns out that our father''s creations were not limited to things within human realms. He was researching alien technology long ago and started a hybridization experiment. You should be well aware of one of the results of his research. As for the other We have been trying to identify this person, to no avail." Scorch seemed to be careful with his words, as if not to reveal too much. "You mean patient zero? Doctor Lisinger is on your side?" Matt said, revealing his own hand in order to get a better exnation. "So, you already knew." Scorch didn''t seem happy or upset at any point, but his words seemed to imply a feeling of exasperation. "There is a faction of scientists under my father''s teachings that were selected to join this mission. Originally, we were unaware of their experimentation, but they dropped all pretenses as soon as we left the gxy." Matt understood mostly everything up to this point. However, there was a question of why he was allowed to know this. Scorch said that the council approved it due to his contributions and his background, but why was it even brought up? Another thing he didn''t quite understand is why his hypnosis seemed to work on Scorch. Perhaps the extent of his hypnosis was greater than he first thought. "Why are you telling me all of this?" Matt went straight to the point. "As I mentioned, the council has agreed to reward you for your contributions. If not for your actions against Wird and the AI Shepherd, we would not have been able to make a move without alerting the whole ship. Secrecy and confidentiality are the most important things to us." "I see. You are actually threatening me by telling me this information. If people find out the truth, I''m the scapegoat. Hah" He had to admit, it was a great n. "Don''t worry, we won''t discard a valuable asset for no reason. Due to circumstances, the council will be taking charge of the decision making on this ship. With that in mind, I will present to you our first decision. Doctor Matthew O''Connely, with my authority as the head of the council and the ship''s Artificial Intelligence, I hereby appoint you as the Interim Head Investigator of the USS Odyssey. "Your duties shall be to investigate the remnants of Wird''s ns and the identity of Patient Zero. In addition, you will preside as the general authority over small disputes between the crewmen. Congrattions." Matt''s face was nk while Alexis''s was relieved. She was d that he was given an official position as it would protect him. However, Matt understood the implications. ''The alien became the sheriff? What the fuck!'' Chapter 96: A New Life Chapter 96: A New Life "Okay, lets start over. Exin to me exactly how you caused seven of the twenty-one reactor cores to go offline." Matt said, rubbing his eyes in frustration. He didn''t know what was worse, dealing with Wird, or dealing with the aftermath of his capture. "That''s what I was trying to tell you. I was just doing my experiment, when suddenly, the prototype dark matter collector overloaded causing a feedback loop. The system couldn''t handle the sudden power drain as it just happened to coincide with the initiation of the engines. "It''s not my fault! The engine team didn''t stick to their schedule! It clearly says they would initiate the engines exactly at sixteen-hundred hours." The doctor iled his arms on the other side of the metal table while exining. "Doctor Patel, the incident happened exactly at Sixteen O One hours." Matt said with an exasperated expression. "So, to say, you lost track of time, and when you turned on your device, it overloaded the reactors?" "" Doctor Patel simply stayed quiet as he realized his mistake. Matt stared at him in silence for a long while as he flicked through the case report on his tablet device. The long pausebined with the close quarters and dim room caused Doctor Patel to begin sweating in nervousness. Ever since Matt was given the position of Head Investigator six months ago, he was very good at his job. Almost every case ended in a full confession or discovery of the cause. "So, assuming this was an ident" Matt started, but was cut off. "It was an ident!" Doctor Patel shouted. Matt gave him a dangerous look and he quickly shut up. "Assuming it was an ident, how exactly did you acquire permission to test dark matter technology? I don''t see any documentation in your file." Matt had gotten to the main point of his investigation and Doctor Patel really wanted to leave at this point. "I I I request representation!" Doctor Patel wasn''t good at articting so he immediately asked for counsel to mediate for him. However, there was another reason why Matt was so terrifying. No matter who asked for counsel, or who locked up, he would always get them to squeal on their own ord. The AI which monitored him carefully never discovered a brokenw or policy. [Hypnosis Activated.] Matt stared at Doctor Patel for five seconds before he started fidgeting. Matt stayed quiet and simply maintained eye contact. No matter how much Doctor Patel wanted to look away, he simply couldn''t. And as if the guilt had overtaken him, he suddenly blurted out the truth. "Shepherd contacted me directly and approved my research! He said it would pave the way to the future and my contributions would be no lesser than Chandrasekhar''s!" "I see. Do you have any proof of this contact? Emails, recordings, notes, etcetera?" Matt said offhandedly as he looked back at his tablet. Although he broke eye contact, the influence seemed to still be active. "Nno." He felt downtrodden. At the time, he was so immersed in his theory, that getting his work directly approved was all he could think about. Doctor Patel deeply regretted not recording the conversation. Many researchers had been stripped of theirbs and sent to assist in menial jobs. Matt was the one who caught them in every case. "Alright, you''re free to go. However, all future requests for experimental research will be denied until further notice. Thank you for your time, Doctor Patel." Matt said as he powered down his tablet and began cing it into the carrying case along with his pen and notepad. Doctor Patel was confused and while still under the effects of hypnosis, blurted out again. "What? You''re letting me go? Why?" "It''s simple. We have a recording of you speaking with Shepherd, and a copy of the audio file. I just wanted to make sure there weren''t any other dealings that we had not captured. Good day." He said and left the interrogation room. The job of being the sheriff for a bunch of mad scientists was frustrating. He wondered if this is how Colin Ferguson''s character felt. [Host: Matthew O''Connely Status: Grade 1+ Mind Slug Evolution Points (EP): 334 Abilities: [Perfect Mimicry Lv. Max], [Improved Metabolism Lv. 3], [Mental Resistance Lv. 5], [Improved Reflexes Lv. 2], [Biological Reinforcement Lv. 3], [Enhanced Soul Lv. 1] Skills: [Gic Assimtion Lv. 7], [Toxin Resistance Lv. 5], [Hypnosis Lv. 1], [Dream Eating Lv. 1], [Primary Reproduction Lv. Max], [Psionics Lv. 3] Allies: [Alexis Alexeyev Grade 0]] [Hypnosis Lv. 1: Whenever you make eye contact with someone, they will understand your intentions and be influenced by your will. If simplemands are given, they will do their best to follow them. This influencests even after eye contact has been broken. Eachmand requires a new activation. ]Hypnosis: Master ]Ability: Command ]Ability: Mesmerism] [Hypnosis Activation: Eye contact Duration: Special Proficiency: Master (0/100)] [Command: Utilizing the influence your vast mental prowess exudes,mand one creature to do a simple task. The creature must understand yourmand. Anything beyond its capabilities will cause the ability to fail. Self-harm will cause the ability to fail. Activation: Voice Duration: Until Completed Words: One] Matt habitually checked the Hypnosis ability. Ever since reaching Master proficiency, he had not been able to raise it by even one point. He had tried using abination of Command, Mesmerism, and Hypnosis to no avail. It had already been two months since he reached Master, so it frustrated him greatly. No matter how ridiculous or mind-controlling his requests were, the number refused to go up. He wondered if it was a limitation on his grade, or perhaps the grade of humans. He shook his head and continued toward hisb. Along the way, many people greeted him as sheriff. At first, people were very formal with him and didn''t dare act chummy anymore. However, when Matt began to do good work and actually straighten things out in the lower decks, people began treating him differently. At some point, in a bar somewhere, someone offhandedly mentioned that, as pioneers, they would be a small rural colony. Therefore, Matt would technically be the first sheriff. Ever since then, the nickname spread through the crew like a wildfire and everyone called him that instead of doctor. Matt was okay with this since he never got a doctorate in his past-life. When Matt opened the door to theb, he saw Alexandria wearing ab coat and working on something with various ssware on the bench. When she noticed him, she stopped what she was doing and came over to greet him. "The test solutions number thirty-one and thirty-two are finished. I left them in specimen room one for you." After fully recovering from being excessively drugged in Wird''sb, she requested to be Matt''s assistant in theb. Since he would be focused on his new duties, he wouldn''t be able to aplish his research alone. Losing the first pregnant goat was unfortunate, but life moves on and he would need to show some progress again eventually. Matt didn''t have a single clue about any of that, so he used his Perfect Mimicry for the first time in a while and started a new direction for their research. "How''s Martha doing?" Matt asked as he approached specimen room two. "Still the same." She replied slightly anxious. Matt nodded and walked into the room that housed her. After what happened in Wird''sb, she reverted back to her tree form. However, her cat body was still nestled in the hollow knot of the tree trunk. Matt was able to tell she was dreaming, but didn''t manage to summon her consciousness when he entered her dreams. Seeing there was no change, he went over to the next room and let Perfect Mimicry administer the new test samples. Once Matt finished his work, he returned to his quarters. As soon as he stepped up to the door and opened it, he was osted by a flying object. He quickly snatched it out of the air and saw an angry Alexis with a veryrge belly shouting at the tablet in her hand. "If I hear you trying to pass a motion to turn the water conversion pools into a public bath one more time, I''ll strangle you myself!" The person on the other end was the infamous Charles Musk. In the end, Matt found him to be innocent of any specificws and regtions. However, due to his various misconducts, he was suspended for several months. Alexis took his ce, and when his suspension ended, he somehow convinced another member to vacate their seat for him. The object that he had caught was a ceramic mug. Once his position as Head Investigator became permanent, he was promoted to Lieutenant and required to participate in a monthly examination for all soldiers to maintain their physique. Because of this, he became a lot more agile and was fully able to utilize his strength. Before she could continue shouting, the call ended and she threw the tablet at the couch in frustration. After the call ended, she turned toward Matt and her mood took a full one-eighty. She went up to him and gave him a side-hug and a cheerful smile. "How was work?" She asked. "Another crazy scientist has been taken care of." However, before he could go into detail, Alexis gave him a strange look. "I think my water just broke." Chapter 97: Dragonborn [Bonus Chapter] Chapter 97: Dragonborn [Bonus Chapter] With the AI restored, the first response mechanism was fully functional and a team arrived at their quarters in fifteen minutes. Alexis and Matt were extremely calm so the team thought they went to the wrong room at first. After sorting out the confusion, they went directly to the medical bay. After bing Head Investigator, he vetted all of the doctors in charge of Alexis''s care and made sure she would be in good hands. At first, Alexis was fairly calm, but when the contractions began, she realized how difficult it would be. Matt stayed with her the whole time. Once the contractions became more intense and were closer together, Alexis unconsciously released her Fascination, causing the care staff to make a double effort on her. After five hours of contractions, Alexis was at her wits end. Due to her Fatigue Resistance, she still had a lot of energy, but she didn''t have anything to numb the pain. Fortunately, she could begin pushing the baby out at this point. Because she was still fairly energized at this point, the process went by smoothly. The baby''s head came out and immediately began crying. It was quite ugly in reality. The nurses immediately took that chance to clean up all the fluids and it made the baby much more presentable. However, Matt underestimated how unappealing it looked. He read that it would take a few days immediately after birth before a baby got their cuteness buff but this was a bit ridiculous. However, as soon as the baby opened his eyes, Matt knew something was special about this child. The baby locked eyes with Matt and they seemed to have a tacit understanding. They both turned to look at Alexis that was sweating and panting as she held her baby. Then, he fell asleep in his mother''s arms. He had very crisp blue eyes that would naturally attract people''s attention. Matt noticed a notification and nodded his head. [Your Ally has leveled Fatigue Resistance!] [Your Ally has leveled Inferior Spawning!] [Your Ally has begun evolving into a Blood Wyrm!] [Sub-Body Alpha: Host: Alexis Alexeyev Status: Grade 1 Blood Wyrm Evolution Points (EP): 406 Abilities: [Fascination Lv. Max], (NEW!)[Fatigue Resistance Lv. 2] Skills: [DNA Absorption Lv. 10], (NEW!)[Inferior Spawning Lv. 1], [Drug Resistance Lv. Max], (NEW!)[Nurture Lv. 0], (NEW!)[Berserk Lv. 0], (NEW!)[Secondary Reproduction Lv. 0]] [Inferior Spawning Lv. 1: The Blood Wyrm is the first step to reaching the Hive Queen. It is a parasite specialized in Improving and Enhancing its spawns. Utilizing the host cavity, form an egg that will mature based on the species chosen. ]Spawning: Inferior [Spawning Species: Wyrmling, Dracolisk, Tarranaught Gestation: 216/576/720 hours Active Spawns: 1/3 Proficiency: Inferior (5/100)] [Nurture Lv. 0: Use your own blood and Evolution Points to directly improve your spawns. They will grow based on their species. ]Unlock: 2 Evolution Points] [Berserk Lv. 0: Cause your spawns to enter into a berserk frenzy. They will be stronger for a short period of time. ]Unlock: 2 Evolution Points] [Secondary Reproduction Lv. 0: Create a tertiary-body that is connected to you and the main host telepathically that will follow simple directions. This tertiary-body may merge with an organism and create a thrall. ]Unlock: 25 Evolution Points] Alexis had already fallen asleep due to choosing to evolve at that moment. To everyone around her, this seemed normal as she had just gone through a very arduous task. Matt and Alexis had nned this out. They had a long conversation about her future path, and she ultimately chose the spawning route. Once she gave birth, she would activate her evolution and use the cover of childbirth for her weakened state. As he read through her changes, he found it very interesting. In the game, any yers that are infected do not get to choose their path like this. Instead, they are forcibly created into weakened versions of the main Parasite. Their abilities are static and predetermined. However, in Alexis''s case, she is actually on the proper path of the Hive Queen except for there being no means to evolve further. Matt suspected that he would be able to boost her up with him as he evolved again. Thinking of this, he opened his menu and looked at the timer that was ticking down. There were still about one-hundred fifty days before he could create another sub-body. Then, he would mature it and evolve to the next grade. His instinct told him that Alexis would get the opportunity to advance at this stage as well. He stood holding the baby that was put in his arms and watched his sleeping figure. This child seems to be considered one of Alexis''s spawns by the system. It even gave her proficiency for sessfully popping him out. Thinking about the description of Spawning, he was d he didn''t choose it over half a year ago. In the game, it was a click of a button. But in reality, he had to ''grow'' them in his body. The thought made him shudder. Soon, Alexandria arrived. She had been immersed in her work and didn''t get the message until muchter. When she arrived, she was asked to stay outside because the process had already started. Now that it was over, she was able to approach Matt and his baby. She had a look of pure glee when he woke up and started making baby noises at her. She responded with baby noises herself. After everything happened, the three of them had a long conversation. Since Matt had indirectly sealed her fate to be something other than human, the two decided that it would be best to pull her in. They didn''t reveal all of their secrets, in fact, they only shared the idea that Matt was simr to Wird in that he had powers. Because he was directly sheltering her, the council had voted to leave her in his hands. Since he was made the authority on all of Wird''s victims and experiments, it wasn''t a stretch to include her. "I insist on naming him Matthias. He is your spitting image!" She said after the baby boy fell asleep again. "I don''t think you can make that call. Also, I refuse" Matt rolled his eyes. He looked at the ugly baby and wondered if this was an indirect insult. Ever since she got close with Matt and Alexis, she began to take more liberties and became more assertive. One thing she had been whispering into Alexis''s ear about was naming the baby Matthias if it was a boy or Maddy if it were a girl so that he would match Matthew. At first, she was tempted, but Matt began ''influencing'' Alexis during her dreams and she eventually sided with him and forbade that name. They had long since decided to name him Alex! The paperwork was already settled and his name was a done deal. Soon, Susan and Sandra entered. They had been waiting outside during the process and now that it was finished, they came in to check on Alexis and the baby. They kept calling him cute and praising Matt for having such a pretty baby. He only shrugged and thanked them foring by. Ever since the situation around Wird cooled down, Susan and Sandra were officially reinstated and Alexis began babysitting their two little devils. They had evene to greet their little sibling, but ended up falling asleep since the process was very long. Soon after Susan and Sandra came in, the captain, firstmander, and Scorch arrived. Matt greeted them formally and they chatted about various work-rted things. Since losing a lot of power, the captain hadn''t made any moves. It was clear that there was a lot of tension between him and the council, but he never showed it on his expression. After the captain and the firstmander left, Scorch took him to the side and spoke in a hushed tone. "Good work on thatst case. The council has already approved a four-week leave. Afterwards, you''ll have minor duties for eight weeks. Take this time to ensure the future of the Odyssey." Scorch left after finishing what he had to say and Matt returned to Alexis''s side. He leaned up against the wall next to her bed and stared at her sleeping body. A lot had happened in thest six months, and the two of them had to keep an extremely low profile. This meant they never used telepathy to speak, they never brought up topics rted to their identities, and most importantly, they didn''t feed on anything other than steak. Now that the heat had died down considerably, Matt felt a lot safer. However, there was still no progress on the missing Subject Zero. Matt reached out and touched Alexis''s cheek and she unconsciously nuzzled into it while sleeping. His bond with her had improved significantly due to their regr dream escapades and day to day interactions. There were fast approaching the halfway point to reaching Exveus and Matt was determined to clear all threats for his family to thrive. Chapter 98: Mothers Love Chapter 98: Mother''s Love When Alexis woke, the first thing she wanted to was to hold her child. Alex was a very calm baby, but most of the doctors weren''t surprised. Almost all of the children born so far were like this. They presumed it had something to do with the reason why fertility was low. Some sort of gic disposition allowed them to survive, and thus resulted in this kind of personality right from birth. As soon as Alex felt his mother''s warmth, he started giggling and iling his stubby arms. Matt had been awake this whole time watching them. When he saw this scene, he was impressed. It seemed Alex knew who to suck up to already. Although the two of them experienced something very simr in their long dream, a lot of details were skipped and they only had the highlights. Because of this, neither really had any experience in raising a child. Matt noticed that Alexis began spending her umted points. She must have realized that Alex was considered her ''spawn.'' [Evolution Points: 406->392] [Nurture Lv. 0->3: Use your own blood and Evolution Points to directly improve your spawns. Each spawn can only be nurtured a limited number of times. Nurtured spawns will receive the most benefit when done in their immature state. Once nurtured, an unbreakable bond will form. Bonded spawns will receive bonuses when near their Mother. ]Ability: Nurture ]Bond Range: 50 meters ]Bond Strength: 1.3 ]Bond Agility: 1.3] [Nurture: Sacrifice a portion of your evolution points to feed your spawn. The amount of evolution points your spawn may ept is based on their gic potential. Once a spawn is nurtured, you will be aware of their status. Evolution points will be used automatically by the spawn based on their species. ]Activation: Touch ]Limitation: 3 Times ]Cost: 3x Grade Upper Limit] Alexis''s version of the status was a lot simpler so she likely didn''t know most of the details Matt saw. However, she had a higher level of instinct when it came to her abilities than Matt did. This was likely due to the difference in reliance on the system. She was more of a natural parasite, in that sense. Another thing he noticed was that her Fatigue Resistance had increased to level two. This was likely due to abination of extreme exhaustion from childbirth and evolving at that moment. [Fatigue Resistance Lv. 1->2: After optimizing the host''s cellr respiration cycles, stamina is significantly improved. ]Energy Recovery: 1.25 ]Fatigue umtion: -20% ]Exhaustion Resistance: +8%] Energy recovers more quickly, the time to be fatigued is decreased, and once fatigued, the effects of exhaustion are decreased. It was truly a remarkable skill. Matt felt that this would be very powerful with the path she chose because cranking out spawns took a lot of energy. Alexis wasn''t too focused on the stats themselves but wanted to strengthen her baby immediately. She pressed her finger to Alex''s chest and began activated Nurture. [Evolution Points: 392->383] ''Nine points in one go!'' Matt eximed internally. This meant that little Alex had a grade upper limit of three. He wasn''t sure if this was a capability of all humans, or if he was special in some way. Matt thought about Wird and his quest for a higher realm and wondered if there was perhaps some secret in the human genome. Could the third grade be what Wird was seeking? He was already at two-plus, which meant that he was closer to grade three than any human Matt had seen. A small blood red mark appeared on Alex''s chest in the shape of a limbless dragon. The mark looked like a very neatly designed tattoo, but soon after, it blended in with his skin color and was hardly noticeable. With Matt''s connection to Alexis, he was able to also connect to her spawns. Once the nurturing wasplete, he could open Alex''s status board. [Spawn: Alex Status: Grade 1+ Human (Immature) Evolution Points: 9 Abilities: None Skills: None] Matt was slightly disappointed. It seemed as though there was nothing for Alex to improve at his current state. However, Alexis didn''t quit. She used Nurture on him again, deducting another nine points. There was still no change. With her final use of Nurture, she had no doubt in her eyes. She did not believe it was possible for the child between her and Matt could be so ordinary. At that moment, twenty points were instantly consumed and an ability appeared. [Space Gene Lv. 1: Unique to terrestrial species that have returned to the stars and were born in the embrace of chaotic spatial energies. Mostly recessive and only grants the minimal advantages in space, once unlocked, allows a species to be true masters of their gxy. Those with the space gene can utilize the stars as an energy source and travel through the void. ]Radiation Conversion: 20% ]Pressure Modtion Toggle: On/Off] Matt was impressed once he read the abilitypletely. One could go into space without fear of exploding or suffocating with this ability. The iplete or level zero version of this space gene must be one of the factors to how these thirty-three children were born on the ship. It took twenty evolution points to unlock this ability, but Matt thought that was a huge discount. The only unfortunate thing was the energy conversion was too low. The human body converts glucose into energy at an approximate thirty-eight percent efficiency. This process requires water, oxygen, and glucose. This is why humans would be considered terrestrial since we cannot be separated from those sources for too long. In order topletely erase the need for breathing, the Radiation Conversion would need to be at least the same as glucose conversion. However, the ability did not appear to be Maxed so Matt was anticipating potential growth in the future. "Good Job, Alex. I knew you were special. Let Mommy give you some kisses!" She gave him loud slobbery kisses which caused Alex to giggle and il his arms each time she did it. That innocent and cute smile could make anyone melt and fall in love. Soon, Sandra and Sarah arrived with their three kids and they immediately gravitated toward the baby in Alexis''s arms. They were full of curiosity and glee. They had been with Alexis while her belly grew bigger and bigger, and now they saw a baby and her belly being a lot tter. The little girl was quite smart and seemed to have figured it out, but the little boys were at a loss. "Aunty, your belly is gone! Where did it go!?" One of the twins couldn''t hold it in and eximed. Their older sister rolled her eyes and exined that their little brother was sleeping inside their aunt''s belly but he''s out now. They seemed to understand and want to hold Alex. "Be careful, he was just born so he is really fragile!" Sandra warned the twins that were opening and closing their hands like crabs trying to touch the newborn''s fresh-looking skin. Fran used to be quite the troublemaker because her dad and moms often gave more attention to the twins than her. However, since staying with Alexis, she became more docile because Alexis was very fair and loving to all of them. "Aunt, can I hold him?" She asked politely. Alexis smiled and carefully handed over the newborn to the excited little girl. Although she was older than the twins, she was too young to remember their birth. Seeing such a small and precious little baby made her want to protect it. Sensing her emotion, Alex started giggling at her. "Let me hold him!" "No, let me!" The twins came over. However, as soon as they touched Alex, he started crying. When they backed away, fearing they hurt the baby, he stopped. Fran pulled back and kept the baby away from the twins and began coddling him. Quickly, he began to giggle and smile again. Matt raised an eyebrow at this. He wondered if Alex was more self-aware than he initially gave him credit for. They seemed to make eye contact again as if by coincidence. Matt wasn''t certain, but the look Alex gave him seemed to be one of ''look at me, aren''t I awesome.'' However, Matt shook his head and thought that there was no way. However, he had a strange, fleeting thought. ''Could he also be reincarnated?'' Matt looked at his status again and pondered. He decided that it was just his imagination. Baby''s were very sensitive to people''s emotions even though it seemed like they were just eating, pooping, and sleeping. Given the fact that Alex was very unique, it was no surprise he might be more aware than other babies. Matt saw this as an opportunity and went over to his wife. "How are you feeling?" He said as they interlocked fingers. "Extremely tired and weak. I need an energy boost~!" She said in a cute tone while closing her eyes and lifting her chin up. Matt rolled his eyes and went in for the kiss when he was interrupted. Alex had looked over at that exact moment and began crying. Alexis stopped her actions, let go of Matt''s hand, and reached out to check on Alex. Matt frowned and looked over at Alex who seemed to have arrogance in his eyes. ''Okay, it''s confirmed. This little bastard is doing it on purpose!'' Chapter 99: Berserk Blood [Bonus Chapter] Chapter 99: Berserk Blood [Bonus Chapter] The next morning, Alexis was given the all clear to move back to her quarters. The doctors were impressed that she recovered so quickly, but were unaware that if not for the timely evolution, she would already be back to top shape. They attested it to her highly active lifestyle and strong body and proceeded to discharge her. In anticipation for their child, and also in respect to Matthew''s promotion, the two were assignedrger quarters on deck seven. Everything was practically the same since the ship design was standard, except that it was about ten percent bigger and had an extra room. Matt wheeled Alexis while she held baby Alex, and they quickly arrived to their quarters from the nearby lift. Along the way, many people were excited to see another new life on the ship and would give them congrattions and some even had gifts like candies or children''s clothing. Many were aware that she had given birth at this point, and those who had been preparing for this asion were waiting at their quarters. "Lexi is really tired right now. How about you leave all the gifts here ande by another time?" Matt, using his hypnosis to imply they shouldn''t return en masse again. Everyone was more than happy toply and left their gifts before leaving themselves. Since being born, Alex had only suckled on breasts once for a short duration. It seemed that the background radiation of space was enough to supplement his needs and so he was less hungry than the average baby. However, this didn''t stop him from wanting some of mommy''s boobs and began to assert his dominance as aplete dependent once there were no more prying eyes. Matt attempted tomunicate with baby Alex through telepathy but he didn''t get any response. It was unfortunate he hadn''t unlocked the ability to read minds yet otherwise he would have immediately checked for any orphaned souls in his child''s body. That being said, he did inspect his kid''s life force and mental fluctuations. He didn''t have anything topare it to, but Alex''s life reading was almost as high as Alexis''s. He decided to wait a few days and check again. It may be due to the fact that they were only recently separated from the same source of life. Alexis was still feeling weak from the evolution, so Matt brought her over to the bed and set her and Alex down next to each other. Alexis quickly fed him for a while and when he started dozing off, she set him down and snuggled him up with a nket. The baby lied there for a bit and eventually fell asleep. It was the first time he slept since he was first born. "We''re finally at this point." Matt said with a sigh of relief. "Yeah, its as wonderful as I anticipated. So, what did you find out?" She asked expectantly. Matt sat down next to her and ran his fingers through his hair. "Like you saw, he seems to have been born with something special. I think all of the children that were sessfully born share that same mutation. This could be the natural progression of humanity toward one that could tame the stars." "But humans have been in space for at least a hundred years, why is this only showing up now?" She wondered. Although there were issues with birthrate in space, it wasn''t nearly as pronounced as the issue in hyper speed. Moon, Mars, Titan, and Europa colonies were thriving fairly easily. "Maybe it isn''t? I''ll try to ess some files. The ship''s database isn''t connected to Earth anymore so there are no guarantees, but there could be some sealed files that came over with some high-profile researchers." After talking for a bit, Matt noticed that Alexis was feeling ufortable and so he prepared a bath and carried her to soak for a bit. Because Matt had Perfect Mimicry when he evolved, he was able to puppeteer himself around. However, Alexis just went through severe trauma and also evolved, and didn''t have that type of ability. While Matt sat and watched over little Alex, he was having a conversation with Alexis using telepathy. Ever since he discovered what revealed him to Shepherd, and therefore Wird, Matt went over all of his actions and stifled some bad habits. One of the worst and most obvious was how the two wouldmunicate with telepathy and seemingly do things for no reason. Now, they only spoke in telepathy when they weren''t in line of sight with each other, and hid their actions so that there wereprehensive reasons for what they did. {My Spawning proficiency went up by twenty-seven after I nurtured Alex. It shouldn''t be too difficult for me to advance it from here.} She thought. {I''ll let you navigate through that. However, personally, I would fill up your slots with Wyrmlings. Although they are seemingly useless and weak, once they are nurtured to the limit and finish their growth cycle, they should be very versatile. {The other two are just too bulky and obvious. I wouldn''t rmend nurturing any Tarranaughts or Dracolisks until you evolve Berserk. The next stage should allow for invisibility. In contrast, the fully nurtured basic Wyrmling naturally gets camouge.} Matt exined to her the strategies from the game. Not only are the Tank and Ranged modes difficult to hide, but they would allow the other yers, or in this case the crewmen, to create countermeasures against the parasites. He would not underestimate human ingenuity, especially after his six months of interrogating scientists that were under Wird in some capacity. Alexis decided to take his advice and not question the source of his knowledge. She activated the spawning ability and immediately created two Wyrmling eggs in her womb. When she activated them, she could sense that she had some control over where to nt the eggs. Since the other options were rather inconvenient, she decided to pick the designated birthing chamber. The eggs would take a while to mature and only cost her five evolution points each in order to begin their gestation. She wasn''t able to nurture them yet, but sensed that she could reabsorb them and reim the points spent. Looking at her proficiency, it had indeed increased by ten, equal to the number of points she had spent on her spawns. When Alexis exined this all to Matt over telepathy, he started pondering over the strangeness of intercourse in the future. Before he could harm his psyche, he decided to change the subject. With the Secondary Reproduction, Alexis could spread her parasites around much more efficiently than Matt could. This ability was unique to the Hive Queen branch, as both Faceless Devourer and Mind yer had Primary Reproduction. The only difference is that for Alexis, since she is a sub-body, her Secondary Reproduction can only create tertiary-bodies. This means that those she puts under her control can not evolve. They would only grant ess to their innate ability as a human if they had one, and DNA absorption to collect evolution Points for the main bodies. They would also experience the same healing and strengthening that came along with the parasite, but that wasn''t enough to be considered an ability or skill. {You''re thinking of bringing Alexandria into the fold, I''m guessing?} Alexis thought, directly guessing his intentions. {She contains a lot of cells from the alien parasite derelict. She is basically one of us already. The only difference iscking awareness of the truth and being irrecoverably bound to us.} Matt argued. He really had no other intentions. More allies would only benefit them. {Why not just submit the whole list of women you want me to infect.} Alexis thought sarcastically, but Matt actually pondered it for a moment. However, it was not just women, he began considering the best targets among all of the crew for immediate infecting. {Don''t make mee out there and beat you to a pulp! I may be weakened but do you dare retaliate?} {Haha, my lovely wife, don''t joke around like that. Of course, I will retaliate, but you may not like my method of attack. As for the list, I''ll think about the best candidates. For now, Alexandria will suffice. Too many infected people may give us away. We need more control over the ship.} Matt thought about his ability to take over the AI that was avable in the Mind yer path. He was taking a diverging route and may not receive the same ability, but his instincts told him there would be something even better. While Matt pondered the future, Alexis began spending her points again. She quickly maxed out her Berserk ability and leveled the Secondary Reproduction. She found the berserk ability to be quite interesting and wondered if it would affect Alex, or only the alien spawns. [Berserk Lv. 0->3: Cause your spawns to enter into a berserk frenzy. They will be stronger for a short period of time. They will not be able to receive a differentmand until the berserk ends. If you are attacked during berserk, all spawns will forget their previousmand and try to protect you. ]Ability: Frenzy] [Frenzy: Give amand and stimte the blood of all spawns. They will attack faster, move faster, and deal more damage based on the factor. However, they will also take more damage based on the factor. Factor: 1.4 Duration: 3 minutes Cooldown: 3 hours] Chapter 100: Rabbit Hole Chapter 100: Rabbit Hole [Secondary Reproduction Lv. 0->Max: As the main unit of reproduction, the Hive Queen gains the benefits of multiple sub-bodies. They do not inherit any portion of your skills or abilities. However, the tertiary sub-bodies do not need Evolution Points in order to be mature. They will grow inside a host body. Sub-body hosts will follow yourmands. ]Number of sub-bodies: 5] Matt read over the skill, and it matched with what he remembered. The main Hive Queen parasite yer could be aplete beginner in the Parasite game, but as long as they infected a single person, that person could win for them. The reason for this was exactly this Secondary Reproduction skill. Any other sub-parasites couldn''t infect the whole crew. This was another reason why Hive Queen had the highest win-rate and lowest learning curve. Alexis went to sleep immediately after leveling her abilities. She decided to not activate Frenzy to test it in fear of over-stimting Alex. She wasn''tpletely certain if it would affect him or not. She also didn''t feel like she had much control over the skill. It was true to its name of Berserk. The trio nned to stay in their quarters while Alexis recovered from the evolution. After the initial excitement of childbirth, Matt refocused on his ns for the future. The situation with Alexandria needed to be solved as soon as possible. Additionally, now that things have settled down, it was time to begin feeding again. There were many factors for why theyid low thest six months and one of them was specifically because of Alexandria. In the guise of further tests, Matt had her take blood samples every three days. On his way to pick up food, he stopped by theb. Today was one of the days she took a sample, so when he arrived, Alexandria was already cleaning up. "How did it go today?" Matt asked as soon as he entered theb. "I can''t use that spot anymore." She said with a resigned expression. Matt nodded his head and inspected her leg. One thing they had discovered from constant sampling of her blood is that the alien cellspletely merged with her bone marrow. They had attempted to take a bone marrow sample but failedpletely. The bones had hardened to the point where no instrument could prate it. With some medications to stimte the production of nave cells, they were able to determine that her body was slowly recing all blood cells with the new alien hybrid cell. After three months, her whole circtory system was nowposed of the new cells. They had run several physical exams on Alexandria and discovered that she was able to maintain a hundred percent oxygen saturation even after an hour of sprinting. Wounds healed almost as quickly as Matt''s, and her immune system destroyed various neurotoxins they injected into her body. Although it seemed no other organ had benefited from this enhancement, this was quite powerful already. A monthter, the skin and venous walls were strengthened, and needles were unable to prate. This continued every few attempts until there were only a few ces left that they could draw blood from. They had even attempted to insert a catheter into her venous portal vein, right next to the heart, but it was eventually forced out of her body. "Good news then, you can stop taking blood samples. We should have enough now." Matt said while smiling. There were now several months'' worth of blood samples. Matt had hoarded them up until now. He wasn''t sure if infecting Alexandria would make her blood stop giving Evolution Points. When Matt tried it with Alexis, they discovered that it only shifted Evolution Points between the two of them, but once it reached zero, it didn''t give any extra points. "Does that mean you''ve reached a conclusion!?" Alexandria was very happy to hear this. Five months ago, Matt promised that he would have a solution for her problem. She didn''t want to be some strange alien-hybrid. She dutifully took blood samples while Matt studied her condition. She was worried with his recently workload that it would take a long time, but he always seemed to take time out of his day to see her and work in theb. Her affection for him had grown, but her condition always made her self-conscious and scared to voice her feelings out loud. "That''s right. Come by my quarters tonight. I''ll finish up here, you can head back early today." Her face turned red. She could only nod and leave while her heart pounded. She was worried that Matt could hear her heart beating, which only made her more nervous. She quickly left theb without looking back. Meanwhile, Matt was eying the blood sample, not having noticed the strange actions at all. However, this didn''t mean he was oblivious. He had long deduced her affections for him. Ever since their first meeting, he knew she liked him. But he didn''t have an ounce of affection for her. He was a parasite, after all. Well, Alexis being the exception "" Matt blinked his eyes in a moment of confusion and returned to his work. The fertility drugs were showing signs of working. He emailed histest results to the other researchers and went into Martha''s room. She had been like this for so long that he wondered if she would ever return to normal. {Martha, Alex was born. It was the second time I saw life being born in front of me. You were the first. Alexis evolved as well. Also, we have finally decided to bring Alexandria into the fold.} After updating the sleeping Martha on the situation outside, he sent her various images from thest few days. With his tasksplete, he proceeded toward the cafeteria to get food. When he returned, Alexis was just finishing with giving Alex his lunch. She looked at the food in Matt''s hands like a voracious animal. He quickly set up the food in front of her and she started to chow down. Ever since the poisoning incident, Matt used his hypnosis on the cafeteria staff for information. He learned that the chef was put on forced leave and all the cooking had been done by the AI that day. He then proceeded to hypnotize every staff member to ensure his food would be delicious, safe, and to-go. Because of his position as Head Investigator, no oneined, fearing that Matt would find out their dirty secrets. After eating, the two chatted on random topics and yed with Alex. Before long, there was a ring from the door. Matt realized he forgot to tell Alexandria a specific time, and it seemed she chose right before dinner toe by. He went to the door while resisting Alexis''s re. When he opened the door, he saw the olive-skinned beauty with hair tied back, wearing a simple light-green sun dress and Greek sandals. She jumped in fright when Matt opened the door. "M-Matthew, I didn''t know what time toe so" She couldn''t finish her sentence as she detected a frightening existenceing from beyond the door. She swallowed her saliva and looked up at Matt pleadingly. "Come in, you''re right on time." He said nonchntly. Alexandria walked in carefully. The sound of her sandals seemed very loud in the quiet room. She didn''t know why, but she felt extremely nervous. Matt led her directly to the bedroom and her heart began to beat even more. "H-Hello Commander." Her voice slipped out and she idently called Alexis by her rank. The tension in the room was like a thick nket draped over her shoulders. "Sit down." Matt said, pointing to a recliner in the room. She immediatelyplied and began hoping this awkward situation would end immediately. However, Matt waspletely uninterested in the silent battle between the girls. He already stated his intentions and had no reason to continue reaffirming them. "Alexandria, before we begin, you have two choices. First, take the pill in my left hand. You will go back to normal in a few weeks and be able to live out your life. However, you won''t be able to return to theb anymore." Or you can take the pill in my right hand. Upon taking it, there is noing back. Instead of separating from the living metal, you''ll be bonded even more strongly to it. However, you can continue working with me and will learn things about this ship and mission that will forever change your perspective of life and the universe you know." In Matt''s hands were a red capsule and a blue capsule. Inside the red capsule was the sub-body produced by Alexis. This would forever lock her into her current form. Inside the blue capsule was sugar. The first option didn''t exist. He would hypnotize her if she decided to go that route. He just wanted to create a suspenseful scene and test her willingness to evolve. "I I''ll take the red pill!" She only took a few minutes to decide but hearing that she would get closer to Matt was all she needed. Matt smiled and ced the red pill in her hand. "Wee to Wondend, Alice." Chapter 101: Windows 10 Chapter 101: Windows 10 Alexandria ced the pill in her mouth and downed the ss of water that was ced previously. All of this were merely theatrics, once the capsule dissolved the parasite immediately went to work. However, something unexpected happened just as she was connecting to their mentalwork. Alexis and Alexandria went unconscious simultaneously. Matt could feel a powerful mental energy expanding from Alexandria''s body. Before he could make any preparations, he was pulled into the telepathic link through Alexis. Due to his mental resistance, he didn''t immediately fall unconscious. His mind was being attacked, but he couldn''t determine the source. The attack was constant and very focused. It targeted a specific part of Matt''s mind. After going through barrier after barrier, the attack finally reached its target. However, the result was not what he expected. As he held onto his consciousness with thest bits of his mental energy, he read a notification pop up. [Missing data recovered Automatic updatemencing 1%... 2%...] Matt woke up in a fright. The hairs on his arms, legs, and back of his neck stood up and a shudder went down his spine. He blinked away the tiredness and looked around his dpidated room. He was confused and disoriented for a few moments when he heard somemotion outside. The sound of a key sliding into its lock was heard and the familiar sliding and clicking sound of a door being unlocked knocked Matt out of his stupor. A tall man with short, rough hair walked in. He wore a jersey and basketball shorts, showing off his sculpted muscles. It was clear that he had just exercised because his ebony skin was glistening with sweat. Matt''s jumbled thoughts quickly oriented themselves. "Treyvon, what time is it." Matt called out. "Bro, you alright? Haha, you were fucking crazyst night. I didn''t think a sheltered white boy could party like that." Heughed while pulling his jersey off and throwing it into a simple wicker basket. Matt held his pounding head, as if Treyvon''s words reminded him of the pain. He grabbed his phone from the nightstand. When he pressed the button on the side to turn it on, it waspletely t. A memory rushed into his head, and he cursed. "Dammit, Trey, I left my charger at the frat house, where''s yours?" "Dude, I told you not to bring it. It''s plugged in under my bed." He had already stripped down to his underwear and stepped into the bathroom. Matt crawled under his bed and plugged in his phone. After waiting a moment, he turned it on. As soon as the phone finished loading, several messages popped up, which he decided to ignore. Seeing that there were only thirty minutes before ss started, Matt groaned and dragged himself over to hisptop. On the screen was the "Defeat" message and the post-game score screen. After drinking heavily, he somehow made it back home. Instead of going to bed, he decided to load up a game and y it. He must have yed badly for his score to be this low. Matt shook his head and prepared for a quick shower. When he walked over to his dresser and opened the door, all he could see was a nk space. It wasn''t empty, it was simply nk. As if it didn''t exist at all. Matt blinked a few times, and his clothes appeared. He thought it was just a hallucination from the headache and ignored it. Treyvon stepped out dressed in cks and a polo. "I''m done, I''ll head out first. See you in ss." He waved his hand behind him as he stepped out. Matt quickly grabbed his clothes and ran into the bathroom. He stripped and began showering. He looked down at the scars over his body. A memory of being in the hospital and having to undergo surgery surfaced while the steady water sprayed over his body and the acrylic wall lining the walls. The steady sound calmed him and made his headache go away. He closed his eyes to appreciate the moment of therapeutic solitude. After showering, he dressed and made his way toward ss. The familiar stairs down to themons which exited out into the quad filled Matt with a strange sense of nostalgia. He walked along the sidewalk and stared at the fresh grass in the morning sunlight. A singr tree stood in the middle of the quad and a strange feeling overtook him. Matt walked over to the tree and sat down underneath it. He leaned back and took a deep breath. He didn''t expect to doze off slightly, but he began to hear a voice calling to him. "Wake up, wake up, aren''t you going to wake up?" A feminine voice broke through his semi-unconscious state, and he jerked his head to the side. A pretty girl wearing a thick cotton sweater and ck jeans was crouched next to him. "Hurry up, ss is starting in a few minutes." She said rolling her eyes and walked away. Matt hadn''t recognized her at first, but when the groggy feeling of having just been asleep passed her shot up and jogged to catch up to her. "Rene, wait up!" Just the short jog had exhausted him. The wind was blowing quite strongly so he wasn''t sure she heard him. "When are you going to wake up, Matthew?" Her voice said carried along the wind. "What do you mean, I''m already awake." He replied in confusion. She turned around, seemingly only just hearing him. "Hmm? What did you say? Quit messing around, Amy just texted me, there''s going to be a quiz, and anye automatically fails it!" She said, grabbing his wrist and pulling him forward. They ran up to the double doors and Rene pulled one open. The inside of the building waspletely nk. Matt was about to stop her from stepping forward, but it was toote. The moment Rene entered the threshold, her body scattered into billions of ash-like pieces. Matt stood at the entrance and blinked, before everything suddenly appeared, and Rene stood there holding his wrist still. It was only a split-second urrence, but he was certain that it happened that time. However, Rene seemed to have not noticed it and continued pulling Matt to the stairs. They quickly ran up and made it to the ssroom doors on the second floor. However, he could already feel something was off. As soon as the door was opened, the room was arge white space. There was a single path on the ground that led to three seats floating in the nk space. Treyvon was seated in the middle, and Rene led Matt to the other seats. Behind him, the ground fell apart until only the desk, chairs, Treyvon, and Rene were left. Matt looked around and back toward the two friends. They seemed unperturbed by the situation and began writing on a sheet of paper. "Guys, I think I might need to go to the hospital" Matt started to get scared, thinking he was having a stroke or something. "Dude, its just a quiz, chill. Look, the professor isn''t even paying attention." As Treyvon stuck his hand forward, it began to vaporize into dust. Soon, it was only Matt and Rene left. The desks started to fade out of existence, and then the chairs. It was just the two of them floating in nothingness. She turned to him and smiled, before she too began to fade away. When Matt turned to look forward again, aptop floated in front of him. On the screen was the game he had yed. He reached out and clicked the "Join Game" button at the bottom and he entered a lobby by himself. Themand-line interface opened automatically, and various lines of code began to appear. They moved too quickly for Matt to even see what they said, nor would he understand them. Eventually it stopped, with the most recent line. [Update Complete Reinitializing.] The game started with him as the only yer. His avatar appeared in the center of the screen; however, something was off about it. Itid on arge bed with two NPCs around it. The avatar suddenly opened its eyes and looked at Matt directly through the screen. It smiled and nodded its head. Matt reached out to the screen and touched it. Memories rushed into his brain, and he too began to vaporize into dust. The nk space disappeared, and Matt''s vision returned to him. He stared at the familiar metal ceiling above him and sighed. It had been a long time since hest thought about his old life. Seeing his two closest friends in college gave him a strange feeling. He hadn''t remembered any details from his old life until now. Matt wondered if he could find them in history and finally confirm whether he was in the future or an alternate reality. Matt decided to check on thatter and opened Alexandria''s status. "That''s not what I expected" He said with an intrigued look. Chapter 102: Finger Lickin Good Chapter 102: Finger Lickin'' Good [Host: Alexandria Nikos Status: Grade 0 Tertiary Parasite, Grade 0 Dormant Parasite Evolution Points: -2 Abilities: (DISABLED)[Growth Lv. Max], (DISABLED)[Infection Lv. Max], [Face Blindness Lv. 1] Skills: [DNA Absorption Lv. 0], [Weak Transformation Lv. 0], [Inferior Spawning Lv. 0], [Inferior Hypnosis Lv. 0]] Matt investigated the disabled abilities as well as the second parasite and it seemed like Alexandria was recently infected by someone. Matt wasn''t sure if this was pure chance or if the other part was aware of Matt''s status. He narrowed his eyes as he read the skills. Based on what he knew, the owner of the first parasite was likely Patient Zero, and in the Faceless Devourer path. [Grade 0 Dormant Parasite: Originally growing freely, this parasite''s host was taken by another master. In its attempt to retaliate, it discovered the primary body of the invader was in the same cellr line of a higher authority. Thus, it reverted to dormant state awaiting furthermand.] ''Looks like this attempt at turning Alexandria into your puppet became a big gift to me instead. Not only did it give her abilities of a sub-body, but you also even left the sub-body here for me to use!'' [Face Blindness Lv. 1: The parasite which infected you is an iplete product with massive gic maniption by an outside force. Due to this, you have lost the ability to recognize faces of yourmon host species. However, you are able to make minor changes to your appearance within a range of your original host appearance. ]Transformation (Iplete): 20%] Matt realized he suddenly had a timeline established. He was aware of Alexandria''s face blindness, but originally thought it was rted to the brain tumor. Perhaps the supposed "brain tumor" was like this ability, something rted to the other parasite. If he could figure out the exact day when she lost her ability to perceive faces, then he could figure out the identity of Patient Zero. However, Matt frowned. The parasite used by Patient Zero was, in a sense, damaged. Matt could imagine the possibility of scientists using their knowledge and abilities to revive a half-dead parasite. This seemed to have caused abnormalities in its functions since the parasite rarely gave bad skills or abilities. Matt wondered if there was any chance of recovering for Alexandria. These were all problems for another time. Right now, he needed to locate Patient Zero. Since he is in the Faceless Devourer branch, he could look like anyone. The earlier Matt finds him, the easier it will be to locate him. Worst case scenario, they had to wait for him to go on a killing spree to catch him. Matt looked over at the clock on the wall and sighed. Since he was currently on leave, he wouldn''t be able to ess any of the ship functions allotted to his position. In the end, he still had to just wait. He snapped out of his deep thinking when he noticed Alexis waking up. The first thing she did was check on Alex. After seeing that he was okay, she came back over to Matt. "What happened? Is Alexandria okay?" "She''s fine. Better really. Look" Matt shared the status screen with her while point at her body. Alexis turned as the mental image appeared in her mind. She raised her brow in shock. It didn''t take long for her to make the connections. They had just turned her at the perfect time. If they waited any longer, she could have beenpletely taken over by the parasite once it matured. Fortunately, her tertiary bodies didn''t need a maturation period. Since they didn''t provide any benefits, they could be directly applied to the host. Eventually, Alexandria began to wake up. She suddenly felt a closeness to Alexis she hadn''t felt before. Additionally, she could finally recognize her face as well. Alexandria came over and began rubbing Alexis''s cheeks in awe. Matt couldn''t help but let out augh, which caused Alexis to end the strange interaction. "Wow you''re so pretty Lexi, I''m so d I can see you now." She was so happy, tears rolled down her cheek. Living in a world where everyone around her were faceless monsters had given her nightmares. She asionally had a dream of going to the bathroom and looking at the mirror only to have apletely nk face. Many times, she had woken up in terror because of it. "Okay, you can stop now." Alexis said in amanding voice, and Alexandria immediately stopped and came to attention as if waiting for more orders. It seemed natural to her to do this. This was her loves first wife, of course she had to listen, Alexandria thought. "Er just rx." Alexis saw the change and realized how easy it was to activate themanding ability. Since Matt had never used it, she didn''t know the feeling. Everything was new for her since this was her first time infecting someone. However, the feeling was exhrating. She suddenly had a thought of creating an army of servants that would wait on her. There was no question to her as to why the branch was called ''Hive Queen.'' Matt didn''t notice the strange, almost deranged look on Alexis''s face since it onlysted for a split second. He stared at Alexandria the whole time and realized something he hadn''t noticed before. Matt never made it a habit to stare at people''s faces, but there was something just off about her now. He then looked over at Alexis and it clicked. It was an unfortunate thing for her to have face blindness with the ability to transform her appearance. She would typically have to rely on her memories as a reference for the transformation. However, it seemed that the connection between the two removed the blindness towards Alexis. Because of that, Alexandria idently activated her ability. Her face structure had changed ever so subtly to resemble Alexis. They looked like sisters now. Then, Matt thought about the conspiracy to bring Alexandria to his sidest year. He had originally assumed the n was simple as a simrly sounding name. But what if Shephard was working with Patient Zero and infected Alexandria in order to transform into someone important? In order to transform into Alexis? It was all spection so he couldn''t definitively say anything. Meanwhile, Alexandria noticed that Matt was staring at her, causing her heart to begin beating rapidly. She had passed out earlier after taking the pill, and not much had changed. She wondered if it was perhaps an aphrodisiac and Matt wanted to ravage her. "What are you thinking to make such an erotic face?" Alexis interrupted her strange thoughts. "I was wondering if Matt would ravage me now" She blurted it out against her own will and was surprised at herself. Alexis clicked her tongue. She had unconsciously used the connection tomand her to speak. "There won''t be any ravaging today. There are important things to discuss. Start reading this." Matt handed her a tablet with a document already open on it. The document was just some random legal speak on it about confidentiality, but Matt still didn''tpletely trust Scorch, so he needed to tread carefully at times. While Alexandria began reading, a voice sounded out in her head. {I am talking to you directly with telepathy. Don''t look up. Continue staring at the screen. I''ll exin everything from the beginning} During the exnation, Alexandria did a good job of keeping a straight face. Although a lot of the things Matt was telling her shocked her, based on what she already knew, it wasn''t too hard to swallow. By the end of the exnation, she had reached the bottom of the document and signed her name. "Now that you''ve signed that confidentiality agreement, let me tell you about the situation. There is currently an experiment on the loose known as Patient Zero. It is very likely that he can change his appearance due to the experiment he was a part of." "I have reason to believe that you have actually encountered Patient Zero when you were infected with the Living Metal. Although you were unable to describe the person that was in the lift with you at the time, I believe that he is likely to be our target." This was the first time Alexis heard of that, so she turned to Matt in genuine surprise as well. Alexandria connected the dots with the whole story Matt told her and realized that she was infected by that person in order to get close him. Right before the whole situation began, she recalled there was a new member to her engineering unit which nobody had ever met before. "Colonel Hand David Sanders the Sixth. I''ll never forget his name. He was transferred because he assaulted me. My symptoms began after that day, but I never would have connected it to him" Matt''s eyes narrowed as he thought about that name. Could it be that the fried chicken chain was still active back on earth? Or was that a fake name from someone with memories of the twenty-first century? Chapter 103: This Is Snek Chapter 103: This Is Snek Alexandria stayed the night, and the two girls fell asleep on the bed with little Alex between them. They had been up all night researching everyone the Alexandria hade into contact with. Originally unknown to her, she now realized that her sudden improvement in memory was due to the parasite. Since hijacking the sub-body of Patient Zero, Matt gave her the task of waking it back up from dormancy. After the girls had fallen asleep, Matt finally received the unsealed document of Colonel Sanders. Apparently, he was, in fact, the sole heir to a legacy spanning over several generations. He used his control of thergest chicken conglomerate in the world and pumped billions into the Odyssey project. The reason his file was sealed was because of the special status this granted him. This was also the reason that the action taken toward him for various offenses became a p on the wrist. If not for his specific request to stay anonymous, he would have been a council member. Something that caused his eyes to narrow is that he specifically rmended Charles Musk to have the seat. ''I already cleared you of suspicions, but here you are again. Looks like I''ll need to dig deeper into your actions.'' Matt saw this as a major red g. He made a mental note to investigate how Charles got his council seat back after the suspension. He switched his attention to the file of Colonel Sanders. He was anything but a prodigy. He was born as the only child in the family, making him the obvious heir to the empire. However, it was made apparent quite early that he was not clever in any way. This would be fine if not for the destruction of family-owned corporate empires. The global government, in its continued attempt to make an equitable society, passedws abolishing the ability for families to pass down their umted wealth. Each person would have the ability to seed through their own achievements. This was a hundred years ago. The policy made Matt raise an eyebrow. He knew that his time had a lot of issues with the wealthy and hoarding of resources, but he never expected such a thing to happen. He wasn''t too interested in the political aspects of what happened so long ago, but this put Colonel Sanders in a tight position. In order to maintain his wealth, he joined the army. However, it took him seventy years to reach the rank of colonel and he was unable to get promoted any further. However, the requirements for him to reim his family''s wealth was only that high. At the ripe age of seventy-eight, he became the neenth richest citizen in the world. However, due to his age, he wouldn''t be able to appreciate it much. Ten yearster, the Odyssey project was made public, and he invested every penny he had into it. Since he did not go through the Federation for his career, he didn''t have the qualifications to join as amanding officer. But due to his financial support, he was allowed on as a basic engineer. For several years he had many problems, but he mostly stayed to himself. He would frequent the viewing decks and watch the stars in a daze. This was all noted down in his psych evaluation. However, sometime earlier this year, he changedpletely. Sanders was increasingly aggressive, more confident, better at his job, and stopped going to the viewing deck. Everything Matt read was triggering his suspicions. He quickly put in a request to track down Sanders''s location with his credentials. However, his personal device was deactivated. He sent all that he discovered to Scorch and put it to the back of his mind. Matt lied down beside Alexis and went to sleep. She unconsciously snuggled up to him and he drifted off to sleep. As usual, he entered Alexis''s dreams and continued their previous adventure. As an avid yer of video games and tabletop games in his previous life, he created a perfect simted fantasy world for them to experience. They yed as inter-dimensional police that traveled from universe to universe fixing problems. She really enjoyed the various settings and plots. Of course, they had plenty of intimate time regardless of the adventure. Matt contemted writing out some of his adventures as stories. Sinceing to this world he never felt like he left a mark that was purely his. The next morning, Alexandria wasn''t anywhere to be found. She left a message on Matt''s device that she would go get some things ande back. Just as he was reading the message, she arrived. Alexandria stepped through the threshold without even knocking. She was far more assertive than before. However, since she was now part of them, it was only natural. "Well, this is basically all of my personal stuff. Alexis said I can stay over, that''s okay, right?" She didn''t even wait for a reply and set the single box down on the kitchen table and began unpacking. Alexandria knew if Matt didn''t want her here, he would have kicked her out already, so she was unafraid of the consequences of being willful. Alexandria had changed back to her original appearance since it would be too suspicious otherwise. However, she decided to begin practicing using it. This led to her quickly finding a new way to entertain herself and win the heart of little Alex. She would y peekaboo, but also change her face in between. This caused Alex to lose it andugh for long periods of time. While Alexandria yed with Alex, Matt and Alexis took a long soak together. It had been a long time since they were able to rx together like this in the bathroom. Matt rested his chin on Alexis''s head and hugged her shoulders. In a few months, Matt would be able to finally evolve to the next tier. The closer he got, the more he anticipated it. All his abilities and skills were essentially at the highest point possible. "What are you thinking about?" Alexis said, while caressing Matt''s cheek, and looking slightly upward. "Everything has gone smoothly since Wird was put in solitary confinement. However, I''m still worried about the future. The closer we get to that faithful day, the more anxious I get. I keep having a premonition that something will ur." Matt said while clenching his fist full of water, causing it to drip down rapidly. "This premonition of yours could it be urate?" Alexis wondered if this was also one of his abilities. Matt was still quite an enigma to Alexis. There were some things he still couldn''t tell her life waspletely his. She realized the power dynamic was heavily in his favor. Matt gave herplete freedom despite their bond, and the thought that she could be turned into a puppet at any moment didn''t bother her at all. She had full trust in Matt andplete faith and devotion. He had be somewhat of an idol for her worship. Although this was also likely a result of the parasite, it felt genuine to her. She also had a suspicion that part of her consciousness would always be retained with the parasite. When she evolved, the feeling became stronger. "I have been able to sense things beyond human perception. However, I don''t think I can see the future or anything. Perhaps my instincts are just keeping me alert. It is a very dangerous time period after all. The recovery period is much longer." Matt spoke vaguely, but Alexis understood everything he was saying. The next few days were uneventful. Alexandria took care of food delivery, babysitting, cleaning, and essentially anything Alexis wanted. Sandra and Sarah''s kids also starteding over again. Although the adults were taking care of all four kids, Fran and the twins were very good with Alex. They lightened the load on Alexandria which gave her more time to pester Matt. The time for Alexis''s Wyrmlings to mature was fast approaching. On that day she sat quietly in the bathroom with the lights down and eventually called Matt inside. When he came in, he saw a pair of danger noodles in dim light. They swam in the shallow water of the tub and would asionally y with each other in various ways. "What do we do with them?" Alexis asked, unsure of how to proceed. Matt smiled. The first units of their swarm were so weak, but they would be an important first step. "Nurture them first. Once they are maxed out, have them disguise as some household object. As for what to do with them, let them stay in hiding until we specifically need them." Matt watched as Alexis fed the two Wyrmlings her blood. Their features were very intriguing. They seemed like wingless and limbless dragons. They had small protrusions on their heads that resembled horns. As Alexis nurtured them, their scales became shinier, and their horns became more pronounced. Matt checked Alexis''s skill and saw that she was about to increase her proficiency. ''Everything is going well'' He had another foreboding feeling wash over him before dissipating immediately. Chapter 104: Manipulation or Simulation [Bonus Chapter] Chapter 104: Maniption or Simtion [Bonus Chapter] [Spawn: Unnamed Status: Grade 1 Wyrmling Evolution Points: 5 Abilities: [Perfect Camouge Lv. Max] Skills: [Swarm Lv. 1]] [Spawn: Unnamed Status: Grade 1 Wyrmling Evolution Points: 2 Abilities: [Perfect Camouge Lv. Max] Skills: [Swarm Lv. 1], [Blood Burst Lv. 1]] After Alexis finished nurturing both spawns, Matt checked their status. Just like in the game, each spawn seemed to be randomized in their potential and skills. The first Wyrmling only had a single skill and wasted five evolution points. The second spawn had two skills and only wasted 2 points. The best roll would have no evolution points left over. In a game, these two would be immediately reabsorbed and the Parasite yer would reroll for better minions. However, looking at the way they rubbed their little heads up against Alexis''s arm, and the soft expression on her face, he decided not to mention anything. In the game, the only resource was time. However, in reality, there is a biological factor too. [Perfect Camouge Lv. Max: Hiding in in sight is as easy as breathing for you. Your whole existence is based around stealth. With a thought, change your scales color, texture, and consistency. You also have full control of your body''s flexibility to be as tough or as soft as you choose. Squeezing into a container ten times smaller than your body is no problem. ]Toggle: On/Off] [Swarm Lv. 1: The Wyrmling is the weakest of the Parasites spawns, however, it is not to be ignored. All Wyrmlings have the ability to form a swarm. When three or more Wyrmlings have formed a swarm, they will receive a boost in all attributes. Every additional Wyrmling in the swarm will increase the factor of the boost without limits. The highest level of Swarm will take priority in calctions. ]Attribute Bonus: 1.5 ]Factor Increase: +0.1] [Blood Burst Lv. 1: Increase your body''s temperature to temporarily raise all attributes for a short duration, and then explode, weaponizing your flesh and blood. The shrapnel will cause damage to everything in a small area based on the total attributes at the time of the burst. ]Attribute Bonus: +100% ]Duration: 3 minutes ]Radius: 5 meters] Matt was satisfied with what he read. It was exactly the same, so his n worked out. Originally, he wasn''t going to push Alexis to this path. But, since he was already on a unique evolution path, he thought that she would get a simr option and not have to turn into an alien eggying creature. This,bined with the sheer strength of having your own army was too tempting. Therefore, when he convinced her to go down this path, he left out most of the cons. Alexis frowned and looked over at Matt. "What should we name them?" "We''ll think about itter, quickly have them turn into something inconspicuous. It''s too suspicious to have the jammer on for long periods of time." Matt said, ying with the device in his pocket. Since Scorch let him keep it, either he didn''t mind Matt giving himself some privacy, or he had a way around it. If it was thetter, Matt figured he would already be taken out. "Okay, got it." Alexis thought for a few seconds andmanded the two Wyrmlings telepathically. They crawled up her arm and suddenly turned to a neon green and neon blue colors. Their expressions went dead, their eyes turned to stic beads, and their scales became soft like felt. In no time, the two scary looking dragon-like snakes turned into cute stuffed animals. Alexis walked out of the bathroom and went toward Alex and the others. "Alex, look what mommy made for you!" When she handed over the two ''stuffed animals'' to Alex, he immediately got excited and grabbed them by their necks. He began giggling and iling them around, bashing them into each other. It was truly impressive, since newborns didn''t typically have that much gripping strength. The twins got excited seeing the toys too and wanted a turn to y. Alex ignored them and offered one of the snakes to Fran. "Wow its so cute. Auntie you have to make me one too!" She had never seen a stuffed animal before, so she was very excited. Alexisughed a bit and nodded her head. "Sure, when I have time, I''ll make you one." However, Matt was one step ahead of her and already ordered some felt and fabric. Although it was in limited supply, there was enough to keep as a cover for a while. He didn''t want anyone asking where the material to create these little toys came from. "Fran, how about you name them since Alex is still too young." Alexis suggested. The young girl''s eyes beamed, and she almost answered immediately, but then paused. She bit her lip and pondered for a while. Matt was always impressed with how intelligent the young girl was. Since discovering the space gene, he was more interested in the children of this ship. He suddenly had the thought to turn Fran to his side. However, a tertiary spawn would be too much of a waste. Perhaps this was a potential use of the iplete sub-body, Matt thought. "I got it! This one will be Rene, and this one will be Trey!" Fran shouted out in excitement. Matt spit out the coffee he had just started drinking and stared at her in confusion. However, he was in the back, so no one had noticed his action. Matt started to question reality until Alexis pped her hands together. "Naming them after the two physicists?" She asked curiously. Being familiar with them herself. "That''s right! We just learned about them in ss. They are so awesome! Professor Reynolds said we wouldn''t be here without their breakthrough!" Meanwhile, Matt''s head was spinning in confusion. He retreated to his office and closed the door behind him. Once he sat down in his chair, he activated Perfect Mimicry. Memories flowed in from school. It had been too long, so his memory of the two famous figured was limited. However, it was enough to look them up on the database. On his tablet device, he searched the names of his friends from his past life and hundreds of results came up. He went through each and every one of them, reading about their whole lives as they were recorded in history. What he discovered shocked the very core of his being. Professor Rene Menendez, leading expert inputer science and artificial intelligence, and Doctor Treyvon Boucher, leading expert in astrophysics and theoretical physics, worked together to solve the issue of faster-than-light travel. They even created aputer model which calcted the exact specifications needed to achieve FTL. When Matt looked up pictures of them throughout their life, he was finally convinced. Their likeness was the exact same as his memories. Even the background from the photo he found was the same from his dream. The courtyard, the school building, the single tree, everything. Matt began to question his existence. He was on the verge of mental breakdown when Alexis came into his office. "Matt, we are about to have lunchMatt! What''s wrong?" She saw his expression and feelings of anguish began to flow into her from their bond. She came over to him and held him. Her instincts were kicking in and she only thought to console him at this moment. Matt''s mind waspletely chaotic. When he discovered that Matthew had the parasite in him since he was a child, it didn''t feel very real to him, so he had a detached response to it. However, this concerned his perceived existence. Were all of his memories a lie? Did his family not exist? What was real? However, when Alexis barged in and began to hold him, unconsciously releasing her ability on him, his mind began to clear up. The disturbance in his mind evened out and he began to see reason. If his memories were fake, how did he know about the game? It was nearly identical to reality. Either he existed in a simtion, or there was something wrong with his memory. However, regardless of the answer, he was still real in this moment. He was determined to reach the end of this ''game'' and discover the truth. For now, he would put this revtion to the back of his mind. He couldn''t trust his ''memories'' anymore. This situation proved that someone or something may have manipted his memories without him realizing. He used his powerful mental power to scan his consciousness, soul, and mind for any foreign bodies. To his surprise, he discovered a fragment that wasn''t there before. It waspletely foreign, protected in a bubble within his mind. He tried to approach and remove it, but the energy had seeped in too deep. It was like a dead man''s switch. If he disturbed it, or the owner of the energy died, it would cause severe damage to his mind, even possible turning him into a vegetable. ''No way these mental fluctuations that bastard Wird'' Chapter 105: Samuel Boden Chapter 105: Samuel Boden In a white open space, a man sat on a single chair in front of a small table. The space around him stretched infinitely in every direction. Neither an end nor a blemish in the tapestry could be seen. His eyes were half closed while he muttered to himself. asionally he''d smile slightly before his face returned to a neutral expression. He had a scraggly beard and unkempt hair as a testament to his istion in this white space. He suddenly opened his eyes as if sensing something. A ck line appeared not too far from him and began to create the outline of a door. Then, the emptiness of the white space disappeared. A door stood like a foreign object. It opened with a swish, and another man walked in. They were strangers in many ways, but their paths had crossed, and their fates were irrecoverably intertwined. Another chair appeared in front of the table and the well-dressed well-groomed man sat down and stared at the man in white. They sat in silence for a long time, as if testing each other''s mettle. The door behind the neer had long since disappeared and time seemed to suspend in this empty void. Neither party knew how long it had been, but neither gave up this silent war. Eventually, the man in white couldn''t hold it in anymore and smiled. The smile grew bigger and bigger until he startedughing maniacally. "I knew you''de find me one day. We are the same. No one else can understand you like I do." The man said, there were a few mistakes in his speech due to his prolonged istion. "Cut the crap Wird, you know exactly why I am here." Matt said with an unimpressed expression on his face. Wird''s merry mood instantly turned sour. He flipped the table directly toward Matt, but it seemed to hit an invisible wall. The wall pulsated before bing imperceivable again, and the table''s position reset to where it was previously. After his conniption ended, he waved his hand and a chess board appeared on the table. "You fancy a game?" Matt narrowed his eyes but didn''t immediately refuse. He had a decent understanding of Wird before, but after theirst meeting and his long time in istion, he feared that the man had changed. The previous Wird would have begun gloating already. The fact that he can sit down and suggest a game of chess means he has leveled up as a boss. Wird chooses white, and smirks at Matt. It was very symbolic, Matt recognized it immediately. He wore his ck windbreaker and ck pants, coupled with his dark hair, he represented ck. Additionally, Wird has the advantage in the game. Making the first move sets the tempo of the match. This was also the case in Matt''s current predicament. He is only responding to his opponents move. Although Wird was a good schemer before, he was never like this. Wird picks up his knight and looks at it for a while. He shakes his head andments. "Ah, the valiant knight. He charges forward on the battlefield despite knowing that he will ultimately be a sacrifice for the king." He then ces it back down and moves a pawn forward. Pawn to E4. Matt looks down and recognizes this y. It was the mostmon and most aggressive y for the white yer. It was called King''s Pawn opening and it immediately takes control of the center. Although Matthew was a dunce in chess, Matt did y quite a bit in his college days Thinking of that, he suddenly remembered his recent discover and shuddered. Regardless, he had the knowledge. Matt countered with a pawn move of his own. Pawn to D5. Wird looks up at Matt and smiles at his small victory. He immediately takes Matt''s pawn and begins talking. "It must be unfortunate to be caught in this position. You perceive that you are in control, but in reality, you are just ying to someone else''s tune." Pawn takes D5. Matt doesn''t bother exining himself and continues ying. Although Wird had changed, it seemed his arrogant personality was still there. Queen to D5. Matt hadn''t even looked down to see the board. He simply stared at Wird the whole time. Due to his crimes and his abilities, Wird was ced in a very unique istion room. The room was actually a holodeck designed for high levelbat training. The technology in this room was a step above the standard holodecks. Although it seemed they were right next to each other, Matt was in another room seeing a holographic simtion of Wird. Meanwhile, Wird was seeing a holographic simtion of Matt. Due to this, he was unable to exert any of his abilities onto Wird. He had attempted to approach with his astral body and invade his dreams, but Wird''s mental strength had been steadily increasing ever since Matt used Sunder on him. Matt was very curious how Wird aplished this, and unconsciously licked his lips thinking of Sundering him again. Wird didn''t notice the slight action as he studied the board. He picked up the knight he had grabbed before and ces it down. Knight to C3. Matt nces at the board for a moment. Wird made another aggressive move, challenging his Queen with the knight he had just called a sacrificial piece before the game began. He narrowed his eyes at the implications. The Queen was an easy guess, but who represented the knight? Matt decided to momentarily retreat. Queen to A5. Wird no longer went into monologue or contemted; he just began ying the board. Because of this, the game quickly progressed. Matt could tell after a few moves that Wird was setting up a Boden''s Mate pattern. He realizes this is his chance and perfectly ys into it. After castling his king queenside, Wird suddenly smirks unconsciously. The game ends soon after, and Wird stands up in victory. "Haha, you yed well but do you know what your mistake was? You were too focused on your queen and ignored your pawns. Don''t you realize that the pawns, although weak, protect you? Yes, your queen is powerful, but if you are separated, then it is pointless!" "I see." Matt says while leaning back, tilting the chair slightly. Wird calms down at Matt''s calm reply and then looks over at his nonchnt attitude. He then looks down at the board and reys it in his mind. After a moment, he sits down and begins chuckling. "So, you already knew my n. Are you saying that victory or defeat, they are both things you control? Does your arrogance know no bounds?!" Wird shouts. Matt shakes his head slightly. "It''s just a game." Wird nearly copses as heughs at himself. "Just a game Just a game" "Alright, I''ve indulged you this long. Tell me what you did, and how to remove it, or I''ll put in a suggestion that you have too much freedom and they''ll switch you to some more ''secure'' clothing and a dimmer room." Although Matt shrugged off Wird''sments, he actually thought hard about them. Wird knew a lot about the ship''s underside than Matt. He also had insider knowledge from Earth, had ess to the whole database, and freakishly smart. Based on his personality, he wasn''t talking about the chess game previously, but pointing out the ws in his situation. Alexis was his Queen, and although she was strong, she was alone. Although Alexandria has been added in, she wouldn''t be considered a pawn. What Matt desperately needed were disposable allies to cover him. "Didn''t I already tell you that night? You inspired me to create this little ability. I never considered seizing other people''s strength directly, it''s very insidious!" The ability that Wird used was based on Matt''s Sundering Strike. This was a perfect example of Wird''s intelligence. Although only experiencing it once, he was able to create an ability on his own based on it. Although not as destructive and instant, based on Matt''s initial probing, it would do something simr to Sundering Strike. It was more like a farmer patiently waiting for his crop to ripen before harvesting it. "Don''t bother trying to remove it. The moment you disrupt the energy flow, it will detonate. At best, you have a splitting headache and lose a lot of memories. At worst, you go into aa. It has already dug in too deep. I call it Energy Parasite, aren''t I clever? Haha" Matt''s eye flinched at the mention of parasite. ''You dare to name something parasite in front of me?'' [Analyzing New Information Complete. Automatically Deducting Evolution Points] [Psionics Lv. 3 has Mutated!] [Psionics Lv. 3+: Your mastery in mental energies has unleashed the full potential of your grade. Due to your mutation towards the Eldritch Horror pathway, you are the pioneer for future powers. You have pushed the limits of this skill in your current grade. ]Ability: Telepathy ]Ability: Mind st ]Ability: Phantom Voices ]Ability: Sundering Strike ]Ability: Energy Parasite] [Energy Parasite: By altering the properties of Sundering Strike, you are able to ce a portion of your soul that has retained your consciousness inside a cocoon of mental energy and prate the target''s mind. It will slowly feed on the target until sated. Once harvested, it will return without leaving a trace. Activation: Thought Duration: Indefinite Active Limitation: 2] Chapter 106: Going Beyond [Bonus Chapter] Chapter 106: Going Beyond [Bonus Chapter] Alexis sat alone in her study staring at a pile of fabric and sewing materials. She didn''t know how to sew and had tried to look up videos but was at a loss. Rather than not being able to do it, she couldn''t muster the effort to begin. She stared at the two snakes in the middle of the pile, and then over at Alex sleeping in his crib. Matt had told her to navigate the branch on her own, and she thought a lot about it. She stared at her abilities and sighed in resignation. Her proficiency had only gone to ny after fully nurturing the two wyrmlings. He didn''t exin it to her directly, but she understood that she could reabsorb them and then grow a new one. The process of growing these little guys wasn''t frightening or weird at all for her. In fact, it was very fulfilling. She picked up one of the wyrmlings and looked at its skills. It was the worse of the two, since it wasted five of her points. Alexis knew that this wyrmling would never be stronger and those five points werepletely useless. Five points was a steak meal! This was uneptable for her. Alexis pulled out Matt''s jamming device and activated it. Then, she dimmed the lights in the room and returned to her seat. After picking up the wyrmling, it began to transform back to its original form. Instead of trepidation, it seemed to feel bliss. It was aware of what was going to happen to it but returning to its mother''s embrace was not ufortable for it at all. Alexis opened her mouth slowly, after reaching the normal limit, her jaw unhinged, and she directly shoved the whole creature down her throat. Despite therge size, it was quite easy to devour and reabsorb the wyrmling. Once it was swallowed, it melted and was directly absorbed into her system. It never reached her stomach, so she didn''t feel any sort of disgust. In the middle of the process, with the wyrmling halfway in her mouth, she felt Matt connect to her mentally and begin transmitting his thoughts. She nearly choked from shock. Several minutes earlier. [Host: Matthew O''Connely Status: Grade 1+ Mind Slug Evolution Points (EP): 314 Abilities: [Perfect Mimicry Lv. Max], [Improved Metabolism Lv. 3], [Mental Resistance Lv. 5], [Improved Reflexes Lv. 2], [Biological Reinforcement Lv. 3], [Enhanced Soul Lv. 1] Skills: [Gic Assimtion Lv. 7], [Toxin Resistance Lv. 5], [Hypnosis Lv. 1], [Dream Eating Lv. 1], [Primary Reproduction Lv. Max], [Psionics Lv. 3+] Allies: [Alexis Alexeyev Grade 1], [Alexandria Nikos Grade 0]] ''It used up ny points in order to give me that ability.'' Matt contemted as he probed the uses of this new ability, Energy Parasite. Based on his instinctual understanding, this parasite worked exactly like Sundering Strike, but allowed for the target to recover their mental energy at the same rate as it devoured it. Once it was full, it would return to the user and strengthen them. In Matt''s case, the energy would get converted to Evolution Points. However, he didn''t discover any intrinsic weaknesses, except that it wasn''t possible to detonate the parasite remotely. It had to stay for the full duration. Fortunately, any attempts to remove it prematurely would activate its self-defense and destroy the targets mind. Of course, if it was caught early the strength was low, but in Matt''s case, it had already been over six months. Matt had a theory on the ability of the Energy Parasite, so he sent one of his own into Wird''s. However, Matt''s parasite couldn''t get a foothold to prate. Based on his understanding, as long as his energy parasite overpowered Wird''s, it would neither explode nor give Wird any benefits. In fact, it should even give Matt double the Evolution Points since the Wird''s parasite already grew fat from Matt''s mental energy. Wird watched Matt contemting his words and startedughing again. "Don''t feel too bad. It won''t kill you. Just leave it alone, and once it''s finished, it''ll return to me without harming you. You can only me the difference in our ability." These taunting words made something click in Matt''s mind. Wird was technically a grade two-plus human, at least mentally. Based on this logic, his abilities would be a grade stronger than Matt''s. It was no wonder that this Energy Parasite was able to prate his mind unnoticed for this long. However, if the issue was difference in ability grade Matt smirked and decided it was time to use his hidden card. He had been saving this for after his evolution but using it here wouldn''t be bad either. With the recent mutation of his Psionics, it may even give him a surprise. He directly connected to Alexis through their mentalwork. After so many months, the increase in his mental abilities now allowed him to reach Alexis from almost anywhere in the ship. {I need you to bring up the support menu again. It''s time to use the upgrade I''ve been saving.} {What!?Oh, you scared me, Matt.} {Hm? Why are you so jumpy? Are you eating someone?} He transmitted jokingly. But after Alexis didn''t respond for a moment, he joked again. {You''re not eating someone are you? Leave a few pieces, I''ll hypnotize a few people and make it look like an ident} However, Alexis had finally finished reabsorbing the wyrmling and responded {No, I didn''t eat someone!} Before he could reply, the support menu appeared in his mind. [Sub-Body Alpha: Host: Alexis Alexeyev Support Points: 102] [Gic Divergence 2: The Mind Slug is a powerful evolution pathway that has been tested through billions of iterations and be the most efficient. However, a very early iteration of the mental path was the Omega Mind,cking both stealth and mobility but excelling in mental strength to the point of even predicting the future. Unlock the gic information of the Omega Mind and optimize the Main Body''s genome. ]Reward: Main Body Gains 75 Evolution Points ]Cost: 40 Support Points] [Hybridization: Many pioneers in the Parasite family attempted to mix their ancestral evolutionary pathways to be something new. Explore the gic structure of mixed branches in order to enhance the Main Body''s skills. ]Reward: Main Body Evolves 1 Path Skill ]Cost: 50 Support Points] [Keen Awareness (Locked): The Omega Mind was the pioneer of the path which ultimately became the Mind yer. Once the parasite entered this path, it would grow to berger than its physical counterparts. The ability to control all living life on a was a given, but its true power was unlocking the secrets of precognition. ]Prerequisites: [Gic Divergence 2], [Hybridization]] Matt looked over the support menu and there were a lot more options thanst time. A whole new column and several rows had appeared offering a variety of upgrades like mental strength, range bonuses, and other supplementary bonuses. However, all of them required Gic Divergence at various levels. His eyes were also drawn to the Keen Insight upgrade and was very tempted to go for it. However, Alexis only had enough support points to get the two avable upgrades. It was unlikely that the Keen Awareness would cost so little. He confirmed the text on the upgrade and let Alexis know to im it. She was quick to do so and returned to her little project. Meanwhile, Matt felt a transformation happening deep within him. He guided the transformation to target his Psionics skill. Various images flowed into his head. He couldn''t understand any of them himself, but deep down he had an instinctual understanding. Something that didn''t require conscious thought. This was the core of his parasite self. [Hybridization Upgrade Complete.] [Dark Psionics Lv. Max: Your mastery in mental energies has unleashed the full potential of your grade, yet you were still able to go even further. Due to various mutations and optimizations, you have unlocked a portion of the Dark World''s power. Each of your abilities will carry with them a sliver of energy from the Dark World, amplifying their strength by many times. ]Ability: Telepathy ]Ability: Dark Mind st ]Ability: Voice of the Dark Ones ]Ability: Sundering Reaper ]Ability: Energy Vampire] Matt didn''t take too much time to investigate his new abilities right away and decided to send the now improved Energy Vampire directly into the little Energy Parasite of Wird''s. Instead of requiring pration, it existed half-way in the Dark World, so it simply engulfed the target from a different dimension. It directly fed on the Energy Parasite and quickly drained it of the stored power. Wird jumped out of his seat and shouted, "What have you done!?" "Nothing much, I just learned your technique in seconds, and in a matter of minutes, made it better. Checkmate." Matt pped the screen like a bass and his projection disappeared from Wird''s room. Wird fumed for a while before beginning tough. He had truly lost his mind, or perhaps discovered its original state. Chapter 107: Counting His Wealth Chapter 107: Counting His Wealth Matt stepped out of the interrogation room and one of the security officers nodded to him. Matt had used his authority to disable the recording feature, since the video would be avable to all security members. There was likely another camera on a secure channel, but he wasn''t worried about that. It seemed already epted that Matt had some sort of powers simr to Wird in nature. His position was a just as much of a prison, although he does get to move around freely. Instead of heading back to his room, Matt decided to make a stop at theb to check on Martha. Since upgrading his Psionics, he hadn''t looked into all of the new abilities and decided to investigate them first. As he walked, he took out his tablet and read some random report while looking at the changes to his status. [Dark Psionics Lv. Max: Your mastery in mental energies has unleashed the full potential of your grade, yet you were still able to go even further. Due to various mutations and optimizations, you have unlocked a portion of the Dark World''s power. Each of your abilities will carry with them a sliver of energy from the Dark World, amplifying their strength by many times. ]Ability: Telepathy ]Ability: Dark Mind st ]Ability: Voice of the Dark Ones ]Ability: Sundering Reaper ]Ability: Energy Vampire] [Dark Mind st: A concentrated st of mental energy formed with a portion of dark energy capable of prating any physical entity and detonating. May be used at any visible target, or any marked target through the Dark World. Only those particrly resistant to dark energy or have an immense mental strength can survive. Activation: Thought Duration: Indefinite Range: Varies] What Matt read absolutely shocked him. He attempted to form the ability, and it formed immediately in the Dark World around him. He could sense it hovering next to him through his mental connection. Instead of directly firing it, Matt attempted to form a second one. Sess! After forming the third one, Matt attempted to create a fourth, but almost passed out. He had reached the limit of how many he could maintain at once. Although the ability didn''t specifically state a limitation, his mental strength was still too low to create many. However, once he became stronger this wouldn''t be an issue. There was another important changethe range! Before, he could only hit people close to him in a visible range. However, with the upgrade he would now be able to strike people from anywhere through the Dark World as long as they were marked. This was essentially a guided missile! Matt was slightly regretful since he didn''t have anything to test it on, but he had a good idea about the destructive power of the ability. Matt wasn''t idle during thest six months and had marked hundreds of people. He didn''t bother marking seemingly unimportant people, otherwise it would have been much more. They would all be his subordinates in the future anyway. He half-closed his eyes and pretended to yawn, while he sent part of his astral body into the Dark World. He sensed the shocking strength of his three Dark Mind sts far more intensely here. He looked around and saw the countless lights in the vast darkness and felt like the grim reaper. He could execute any of them at any point without them knowing how they died. After a momentary high, Matt came back to his senses and realized an important point. The faction under the scientist that created Scorch and Wird had ess to anti-esper technology. Through his investigations, he discovered that the keyponent of the ESP Suits came from their research. Thest thing Matt would do was be conceited with his new ability. At best it was only a grade two ability. He still had grade three and grade four abilities in the future. Once he was certain of his absolute dominance, he would easily grasp control of everything. Matt returned to his body and continued walking. He then checked on his next new ability. [Voice of the Dark Ones: "We are the Ones that go bump in the night. We are your greatest fears. When you close your eyes, we are there. When you have a nightmare, we are there. When you peer beyond the starswe are there." Activation: Chant Duration: Special Range: Special] Matt looked at the description and was mildly confused. It wasn''t written in anymonnguage he knew. Despite that, he could understand every word of it. Not only that, but the pronunciation was also second nature to him. Out of curiosity, he began chanting the description, and he felt a dark energy emitting from his body. A random bystander happened to be hit by it and he suddenly stopped moving and slumped his shoulders. Matt felt the man''s weak mental energypletely scatter. It wasn''t like Dark Mind st that destroyed the target, but more like a scrambling of the signal. He was unable to keep his mental energy together and simply went into a state of unconsciousness while still awake. This was the ssic Mass Suggestion ability! Although it wasn''t something in this specific game, Matt had seen it in other games before. However, having to speak was a great disadvantage. He thought about it for a moment and then began chanting with his thoughts instead. His mental energy automatically infused with the thoughts and released the exact same waves. ''So, it works like this!'' Matt thought. Once it ended, the man shook his head and simply thought he was very tired. He continued onward in a hurry realizing the time. ''A very useful ability!'' Matt nodded and continued onward. He had already reached the lift and pressed the button to take him to the right deck. The first two abilities had satisfied him very much, and he was excited to see what his ultimate attack had upgraded to. It was originally already as strong as a grade two ability, so it should be up to grade two-plus or even grade three! [Sundering Reaper: Release all your mental energy into the Dark World and form a Reaper. Once infused with dark energy, release it onto your victim and im their soul. Receive a Judgement from the dark energies and the other soul. If you fail to resist, you will be obliterated and be a Wanderer in the Dark World. Activation: Concentration Duration: Instant Range: Touch] Matt touched covered his mouth and started coughing as his saliva had gone down his windpipe. This kind of ability was beyond his expectation. There were no instant-kill moves in the game from his previous life. This was obviously one of those. However, the price was high. Not only did he have to resist the dark energy, but he had to fight against the soul of his target. Thetter wasn''t that big of a deal but facing against the dark energy made Matt nervous. He sensed that he could still utilize Sundering Strike in its previous form. If he wished to utilize the upgraded version, he would first send his mental energy out into the dark world. He also sensed that he could not activate this ability while he had Dark Mind st projectiles formed. Rather, he shouldn''t activate Sundering Reaper in that case. Not only would his total resistance be reduced, but he would have to face against more dark energy during the Judgement. For now, Matt decided to never activate the full form of this ability and continue utilizing the previous version. Once he mastered the Dark World and dark energy, then he would look into it again. The strangend was simply too vast and frightening. He didn''t even dare wander too far beyond his territory. He didn''t forget the strange thing he met over six months ago. ''I suppose that would be a Wanderer that the system refers to. Perhaps there are others out there who utilized the Dark World and paid the price.'' Matt wondered. Matt was only a few feet from hisb, so he put away the tablet. As he was opening the door, he remembered that he wanted to look over some of the other support upgrades from Alexis''s menu and sent over a message to her requesting to look at it again. She quicklyplied and the familiar screen appeared in his mind. One upgrade specifically stood out to him and he widened his eyes in shock and tion. [Ultimate Evolution (Locked): Many parasites have imed to discover the perfect form but failed to understand that perfection is a limitation. True power for the parasite is infinitely growing stronger. However, these perfect forms are still useful to study. ]Prerequisites: [Gic Divergence 2], [Hybridization 2]] ''The Ultimate Evolution is still avable!'' Matt''s mood instantly peaked at the thought of that. In the game, the Parasite had the ability to research their own upgrades like the AI. However, until now, Matt hadn''t seen any way to do this. The support system seemed to be a mixture of the allies'' research menu but also his own. Ultimate Evolutionthe most important research to rush in any ythrough. It enhanced every skill and ability of the Parasite yer. With this, Matt felt confident in using Sundering Reaper. Chapter 108: Happy Little Tree Chapter 108: Happy Little Tree Matt continued contemting the upgrade tree as he stepped into theb. It was time for him to start feeding on Alexandria''s blood samples. Previously, he thought that the living metal cells in her were causing the rapid evolution in her physique, but it turned out that she had been parasitized long ago. Matt wasn''t certain what would happen when he fed on her blood since there was no precedent for multiple parasites in the game. He entered the walk-in freezer and pulled out a secure container. After inputting a password and biometric information, it opened revealing four slots midst ck insting material. The box itself had its own internal battery and cooling. After opening therge time-dyed safe, Matt pulled out four vials and ced them in the box. Once that was finished, he closed everything up and went to check on Martha. When he entered the room, he noticed something was different. The temperature in the room was much higher than it was set to. Matt checked the temperature reader on the wall panel, and it showed thirty degrees Celsius. Theb was kept at twenty-two, so this was certainly abnormal. As he approached Martha''s trunk, he could sense the temperature increase gradually. It seemed that she was finally showing changes. As Matt walked forward, he looked at the lifeless cat body that rested in the hollow knot. The temperature was being emitted from there. Matt stuck his hand out and touched Martha''s head. The moment he made contact, he felt his mental energy surge and he was pulled into a dream. He was in the middle of a forest. There were billions of trees all over the. He could tell. There was no other life on this besides these trees. However, they weren''t lifeless trees like on earth, they were all conscious. Matt walked over and ced his hand on a tree. It began sending him happy emotions. It showed him images of a gigantic tree that went above the clouds. This was its mother, and it feltfortable in its mothers embrace. However, that happy emotion suddenly turned to agony. Matt pulled away from the tree and looked up into the sky. A giant ck whale-like creature came down from the clouds and took arge bite from the giant tree. Afterwards, several waves of ck goo dropped onto the and began corroding the trees one by one. Every tree that was lost would create more ck goo. It spread infinitely. Matt floated up to look closer and watched a battle between the giant whale-like monster and the giant tree. It was clear that the tree was losing. Just before it waspletely consumed by the ck rot that came from its roots, a single branch broke off its tall canopy and wasunched into space. The scene on the became blurrier and blurrier until it was ultimate cut off. However, Matt was able to see that the was likelypletely devoured by the whale-like being. He didn''t need to think too hard to know what creature this was. It was the ancient derelict that his parasite was born from. This was the so-called ship that Earthter discovered. This was also before the original body attacked the crystal species. With this memory from Martha, he was able to start piecing together the whole picture. All these devoureds must be in the same gxy as Earth. That would mean the reason why no life was found on any habitables near earth was likely rted to this alien parasite. When he removed his hand from Martha, he felt that the temperature of the room began dropping again. It seemed that she had been trying to reach Matt and show him this. However, the only thing she could control was the energy and growth of her body. This meant that Martha was still conscious, just unable to stop the process she had started. But what worried Matt were Martha''s intentions. Would she be an enemy after awakening? Matt understood the concept of the parasite after reading several of the tooltips in his abilities and skills. In the game, there wasn''t as much lore avable to him. The parasite doesn''t discriminate on life forms. Afterall, the host was just that, a host. The parasite is the important factor. Matt took out a small ss tube from his pocket. He always kept a red capsule with him that contained one of Alexis''s parasites incase he wanted to infect someone or for emergencies. Sensing the potential threat from Martha, he decided that it was time to bring her into his collective. He was mainly worried about losing his source of gic information from Martha''s species. However, the original strain from the branch must be somewhere on this ship. His first thought was the legendary ''Branch of the World Tree'' that is required to build the ultimate weapon Excalibur. The branch he saw in the vision must be this. Martha was created as a hybrid experiment with cells from that branch. Because of that, she had an earth-like DNA structure. This was the main reason that he could absorb her gic material prior to evolving his DNA absorption. Matt unscrewed the top and dropped the pill in his hand. He ced it near Martha''s mouth and let the parasite do its work. After several minutes, all members of his collective suddenly felt a surge through their mentalwork. Martha''s mind was far more powerful than the average human. If not for Matt''s improvements, he would not be able to withstand the sudden addition. However, her mind was empty and pure. It did not contain any thoughts like a human would have. Meanwhile, in the specimen room, Martha began to show changes. The tree shook rapidly, and leaves began to fall. Branches began to fall off one at a time. It was as if Martha was reiming all the living tissue within the tree, and all of the dead bark was being left behind. Matt was so focused on the changes; he had forgotten to check her status. He casually picked up one of the branches, and his eyes widened. [Conscious Energy Detected. 82%patibility. Grade 2. Absorb for 2 Evolution Points.] Matt suddenly came to understand what that strange update was the other day. Previously, whenever he encountered this type of energy, it would be considered ''unknown.'' It turned out that what he was absorbing was called Conscious Energy. Matt wondered if this was just a simplification so that he could understand its meaning. He didn''t need to ingest or consume the branch in any way. This was remnant energy left behind in the branch during Martha''s awakening process. He immediately wrapped it with his consciousness and absorbed it. However, he discovered that the process was incredibly slow. After absorbing the first branch, he suddenly had a revtion. He released his Energy Vampire skill and began to absorb the remnant energy in all of the debris. Some couldn''t handle losing the energy and they turned to ash. Others withered up even further than they already were. Overall, Matt was harvesting the energy very efficiently. He watched his Evolution Points go up and had a very satisfied smile on his face. [Evolution Points (EP): 314 -> 422] [Gic Assimtion Lv. 7: There is no being in the universe with more potential than the parasite. This is not because of their individual strength, but due to their ability to steal all other beings'' strengths. Instead of recing the host for a more suitable vessel, absorbing the gics of all creatures will allow the parasite to enhance, improve, and perfect a unique body. ]Ability: Detect Life (400m) ]Absorption Grade Limit: 4 ]Unique Ability Limit: 2 ]Efficiency: 170% ]Level Cost: 520 EP] [Unique Ability Progress: [Human] Max% [Lower Yggdra] 22% [Ku''Lothri] 27%] Matt was shocked to see that his progress in gaining a unique ability through his Gic Assimtion had increased. Although he was still far away from the next level, he was much further ahead than before. After finally finishing the absorption process, Matt noticed that the remaining sections of the tree weren''t withering anymore. Upon closer inspection, it seemed that Martha was slowly absorbing all of the energy and nutrients contained in the heartwood of the tree. Therefore, only the main sections remained, none of the forks. Matt realized he didn''t take the time to look at her status earlier, so he decided to bring it up. What he saw shocked himpletely. He wondered what would have happened if he chose Martha as his first sub-body instead [Host: Martha Cenarii Status: Grade 0 Tertiary Parasite Abilities: [All-Devourer Lv. Max], [Universal Energy Conversion Lv. Max], [Longevity Lv. 2] Skills: [Spatial Control Lv. 1]] Since this was only a tertiary parasite, there was no room for growth through the parasite system. However, it seemed that only humans were too weak to develop their own abilities. Well, it seemed that Alex, and the other children may be exceptions. Chapter 109: Highlander Chapter 109: Hignder Alexis sat in the office and stared at the other wyrmling. She had already started the process for creating a new one after reabsorbing once. This had given her five proficiency points. That meant she would have to wait the full duration of the wyrmlings gestation period in order to reach the next mastery level. Therefore, she decided to reabsorb the other wyrmling as well. Part of her started to hate the idea of wasting those points. She felt like she could do much better. Although the Blood Burst was interesting, Alexis wanted better. Her instinct told her that a higher proficiency would also give higher quality spawns. After swallowing the Wyrmling, she immediately formed another egg. This pushed her proficiency to one hundred, increasing the master of her spawning ability. Alexis felt the changes in her body and smiled. Now I can create a stronger army for Matt, she thought. [Spawning Species: Wyrmling, Dracolisk, Tarranaught Gestation: 216/576/720 -> 192/528/648 hours Active Spawns: 3/4 Proficiency: wed (0/100)] The time to spawn a Wyrmling, Dracolisk, and Tarranaught went down one, two, and three days respectively. Although she was curious about the other two spawns, Alexis understood the logic behind only making Wyrmlings. Once she was proficient enough, she could devote the time and energy to the other two. Additionally, the maximum number of spawns she could have increased by one. With this, she immediately began growing a third wyrmling egg. She had to admit, the process of creation and destruction was addicting. She felt something itch along her hairline at the back of her neck and when she scratched it, some peeling skin came off. Before Alexis could ponder what it was, she sensed her tertiary parasite linking to another organism. At first, she thought it would be another woman, but she realized quickly that it was something far scarier. The initial flood of thoughts was like a tsunami. Since she was the primary link between Martha and the rest of the group, she took the brunt of it. The feeling was simr to when Alexandria first joined the collective. However, instead of the feeling of rejection from the foreign parasite, Alexis only felt eptance and unity from Martha. Though, this didn''t prevent her from being overwhelmed by the sheer size of Martha''s mind. As a descendant of her race, one shouldered with the responsibility of bringing it back to life, she had all the ancestral memories from the ancient world tree. Alexis was overwhelmed by the small fragments of memories, and if Martha meant harm, Alexis''s brain would turn to mush from the amount of information. After connecting to the group, and sensing the familiar Alexis and Matt, Martha withdrew her thoughts and began to awaken. The solution that Wird had injected into her caused her body to undergo a transformation. As Alexis attempted to establish the connected with her new follower, Matt was inspecting Martha''s skills and abilities. [All-Devourer Lv. Max: Yggdra are blessed with the ability to transform all matter into energy. Due to the limitations of hybridization, matter must be taken orally and at a set interval to avoid over nourishment. ]Capacity: 2,223/5,000 kg ]Interval: 8 years] Matt was shocked to see that Martha had consumed so much mass. However, based on the interval it seemed to make sense. It was likely everything she had consumed since her birth, even while in nt form. It seemed the number went down over time so there was also likely some consumed along the way. Thinking about it, it was possible that she had reached her previous limitation and needed to get stronger to deal with the over nourishment or digest it in hibernation. [Universal Energy Conversion Lv. Max: Due to the iplete nature of the Lesser Yggdra, you have developed the ability to convert all forms of energy to apatible form. Process requires a high-energy catalyst and has arge amount of waste product. ]Conversion Ratio: 12%] This seemed to be the source of the radioactive material within Martha''s seeds. It turned out that this was due to the poor conversion ratio, and infertile seeds were the easiest ways to remove them from her body. Seeing the rate or conversion, Matt thought it was quite abysmal. Thinking of the original lifeform that Martha was created from, he could only imagine how ridiculous their control over energy was. This was probably the reason Excalibur required the branch as its body. No other material could withstand the energy output of the mysterious ''Heart of a Dragon.'' [Longevity Lv. 2: Yggdra are ageless and never grow old or have diseases. Due to being a Lesser product, you have only acquired a longer life. ]Lifespan: +10,000 Earth Years] [Spatial Control Lv. 1: Due to an abnormality in your gics during hybridization and then subsequent over nourishment, you have developed minor control over gravity and space-time. May increase or decrease gravity in a short area, as well as manipting rtivity. ]Gravity Control: 1.4 ]Space-Time Control: 1.2 ]Range: 10 meters] Matt wasn''t specifically impressed with Longevity as it made sense. However, when he read spatial control, he was very shocked. This wasn''t something that came from Martha''s ancestry, but a mutation! The ability to control space-time was beyond human realms. This was certainly the ability of a Grade Three or higher life form! That meant Martha was on the verge of bing much stronger. He was both relieved and regretful simultaneously. If she became a Grade Three before Matt, she could have very well turned on him. However, this meant that he lost a source of highly valuable gic material. He tested his Energy Vampire ability on Martha, but it didn''t seem to do anything. He shook his head and inspected the Energy Parasite within his mind. It had shrunk to the size of a crumb and was just about to disappearpletely. As thest bit of Wird''s attempt to control Matt disappeared, arge amount of energy flowed into Matt. [Conscious Energy Absorbed. 91% Compatibility. Grade 2+. 310 Evolution Points Gained.] ''Incredible. Wird you poor bastard, why is your ability so weak?'' Matt enjoyed the flow of energy. It was a very significant boost. He had never received that many points in a single action before. He could recognize the feeling of being high byparison. Without missing a beat, Matt immediately upgraded his Gic Assimtion. [Gic Assimtion Lv. 7->8: There is no being in the universe with more potential than the parasite. This is not because of their individual strength, but due to their ability to steal all other beings'' strengths. Instead of recing the host for a more suitable vessel, absorbing the gics of all creatures will allow the parasite to enhance, improve, and perfect a unique body. ]Ability: Detect Life (400m->600m) ]Absorption Grade Limit: 4->4 ]Unique Ability Limit: 2->2 ]Efficiency: 170%->180% ]Level Cost: 520 EP->680 EP] Although it seemed far from the ultimate goal of level ten, it was only because he held himself back for so many months. The amount of gic material saved up in Alexandria''s blood samples should bring him to the peak. He was excited to see which Human ability he would gain at that point. Additionally, he hoped that the samples counted toward his umtion of the Ku''Lothri. Matt returned to the main room to let Martha finish her process. However, he realized something strange. Why was it that Martha didn''t have an ability to turn invisible? He had forgotten about that point and turned back at the door. He could only wait for her to finish before investigating, therefore he left it alone and continued onward. This would be a good opportunity to test Scorch''s attitude. Matt knew that Scorch was aware of Martha''s existence. However, he seemed to allow it to exist. The most reasonable exnation was probably the experiments happening with the alien branch. This would mean that the branch was being studied by the same faction as Scorch. If that were true, then Martha was actually a product of the faction opposing Wird. That would also exin why he was trying to take her. However, what confused him was why Wird didn''t take her from him long ago. Matt decided to put it in the back of his mind and wait to have more clues. The action that Scorch takes after Martha regains her cat-like body will open the door to new questions. This would also allow Matt to figure out all of the hands in the dark. Since he nned to make the crew his subordinates, Matt needed to know who was in power and what kind of influence they had. The quickest way to the top was to control those key persons. Of course, he had never considered himself as the person to hold the power on the surface. He had long since devised a n to put his subordinates in positions of power all over the ship while slowly turning everyone. However, his ns had been on hold due to theck of knowledge and the mysterious Patient Zero. ''I just need it to make a mistake so that I can destroy it. There can only be one.'' Chapter 110: Time Flies [Bonus Chapter] Chapter 110: Time Flies [Bonus Chapter] After several hours, Martha finally finished her awakening. Matt had long since gone to get dinner ande back. He was enjoying his steak and happy that it finally started giving eight evolution points despite the smaller than usual serving. When he finished eating and checked on Martha, he saw her lying on the ground. She was no longer the lynx she used to be. She had already grown to be the size of a young lion. The most unique attribute was the wooden armor that covered her limbs and torso. Additionally, she had two horns that looked like a lightning-bolt pattern going backward. These were also dark brown like the armor. Matt began to realize that perhaps Martha bing a cat wasn''t a coincidence after all. She was a chimera. A creature created by mixing the gics from various beings together. Judging by her growth direction, he could confidently say that one of the animals was some sort of big cat. Perhaps even two or more big cats. Along with the ''branch of the world tree,'' these terrestrial genes were quitepatible. He could imagine the scientists surprise when they nted a tree and out came a cat. Although, that may have been their intention. Matt had ess to all of Dr. Bradshaw''s research once he became the lead investigator. He had already poured through all of his notes. The ultimate conclusion he came toBradshaw was obsessed! It wasn''t some brain washing or mind control that made him the way he is, but rather his own insanity. He had interviewed him and found out that Bradshaw took over the experiment on Martha since a colleague of his got forcibly reassigned. When Matt did some more digging, he found out that the person hadn''t shown up in thest several months. Matt concluded that he was one of the early victims of Patient Zero, or a victim of Wird''s Experimentation. The mangled bodies in the secretb were all brought out for further study, but their gics and all body markers werepletely warped. Their identity was unable to be determined. The strange creatures that attacked Matt and Alexis six months ago were the result of mixing those test subjects'' flesh and blood with pig remains. This was a major problem because the amount of stored meat had dropped drastically! If the solution to the breeding problem wasn''t fixed soon, the crew would have to begin rationing. Having just finished enjoying his delicious steak meal, he didn''t feel in much of a rush. His position would allow him to enjoy anything on the menu despite any restrictions or shortages. But he used this food shortage issue as an excuse to investigate the captain''s mystery meat. During his wedding, Wird yed some incriminating videos about the captain. Although he ignored it at the time, once he had the ability and opportunity, he investigated into the situation a bit. It turned out that these people were life sentence prisoners who were given a chance by the Grand Tribunal. They were specifically sent to be experimental subjects! This would exin why there was never a ruckus about any missing crewmen. However, the number of vats that contained experiments was far fewer than the number of prisoners. When Matt attempted to contact them, they were all already gone. No one seemed to know who took them, and the logs werepletely wiped out. It required a very high-level clearance to even ess this part of solitary confinement. This meant that the possibilities were Wird using his hacking skills, the captain specifically using his authority, or Scorch using his identity. The possibility of Patient Zero doing it was also there, but it seemed his transformation ability was still weak, so it was less likely. With a portion going to the experiments under Wird''s faction, there were dozens of unounted for people. Matt broke out of his train of thoughts and realized he had gotten way off track. Martha had just finished awakening and walked toward him. She rubbed her big head on Matt''s thigh and purred. However, the thick wooden horns weren''t soft at all. Sensing this, she frowned and tried to be careful. Martha was aware of her situation now. She had been taken by Matt as a follower, but she was okay with that. Despite her ancestral memories telling her Matt was an enemy, she couldn''t disobey. "Hey Martha, can you still turn invisible?" Matt wondered and asked her. She tilted her head sideways and her leaves stood up. After a slight ripple, she vanished. Matt was dumbfounded but then came to a scary realization. She wasn''t bending light at all. She was directly bending space! This must be the legendary space pocket from various fantasy stories he had heard about. Her range was ten meters, so he wondered if it was possible to shroud others. "Martha, can you do that to me as well?" He asked. Martha gave a mental affirmation and started using her skill. He suddenly sensed space ripple around him, and he became nauseous. Fortunately, he was very durable, so he quickly recovered. That was until the pocket was sealed from the surroundings and he began to suffocate. Fortunately, gravity still affected them and there was some atmosphere left in the pocket, otherwise Matt could very well have exploded. He waved his hands and sent Martha a message to stop. He knelt on the ground and began huffing and puffing. Although the first attempt was a failure, he kept trying. Matt was able to map out the strengths and weaknesses of Martha''s ability very quickly. First, the ability could only either be used or not used. Martha could control the range but then once it activated it followed set rules. The only rules Matt could determine were that the bending forms steadily and equally. Additionally, it could be elongated, but it had to follow a loosely spherical shape. And finally, it formed without respect to whatever was in its way. Matt discovered this by idently slicing off a strand of hair and the corner of hisb coat. He was disappointed that there was no way to cycle atmosphere in the pocket, but this could be solved very easily. ''It seems like I need to finally get one of those suits. This support ability will make the battle against Patient Zero a lot easier. Heh, originally I was going to y mind games until I ousted you, but now I can hunt you directly.'' As for which suit, he would get, naturally it would be the ''Tactical Medic Suit''! Six months was a long time, allowing the engineers and mechanics to finallyplete the first prototype. They had yet to test it since Matt had been holding their application hostage. He had originally been upset to be the initial auditor to all research and development since it was a mountain of paperwork. However, when he received this request, he found all of his struggles had been worth it. Testing Martha''s ability had taken a lot less time than he thought. He pondered for a moment and grabbed another clock. After synching the times together, he left one near Martha and stood outside. He then instructed her to keep the field up for as long as possible. After twenty-four minutes, the field came down and he paused both clocks. He picked up the clock that was near Martha and saw that it read thirty minutes. He nodded his head in understanding. She had actually elerated time! This was the true nature of space-time control. "Martha, can you do it the other way? Make it slower inside." He was curious about the extent of her ability. He reset the clocks again and waited. Once the field went down, he read the two clocks. The clock inside said thirty minutes and his clock said thirty-seven minutes and eighty seconds! He pondered the reason for this and then remembered that she also had gravity control. Although he wasn''t an expert on rtivity and space-time, so he put it out of his mind. After various experiments it seemed that she could only hold up the field for thirty minutes in a single attempt. He inspected her abilities again and noticed that her All-Devourer had dropped considerably in unprocessed energy. A whole one-hundred kg hade off. She had used the field twenty times, so it seemed the activation cost was equal to five kg of matter. ''Conservation of energy and mass'' Matt couldn''t help but think. Then, Matt had a sudden epiphany. He began to chuckle. He walked over to Martha and gave her a big hug. She didn''t understand why the sudden hug but enjoyed it, nheless. Matt opened his status and smiled. [Primary Reproduction Lv. Max: You have created a sub-body that has inherited a portion of your skills and abilities. You are able tomunicate with the sub-body instinctively without need for excessive use of mental energy. The body is immature and will need Evolution Points in order to grow. Once mature, the sub-body may bebined with the main body to evolve to the next grade. ]Number of sub-bodies: 0 (3335:47:19) ]Evolution Cost: Mature Sub-body] Chapter 111: Blood God Chapter 111: Blood God After some more trial and error, Matt discovered that Martha could conserve a lot of energy by only putting herself in a normal space pocket. This was her basic ''invisibility.'' The most crucial point at the moment was the energy requirement to speed up time. He couldn''t have her eating everything in the ship, they would certainly get in trouble when foot shortages appeared. The ship only had enough food to feed everyone on the ship for ten years. The geniuses back home calcted that after six years of flight, and four years of colonization, the crew would be self-sufficient. After auditing the food supplies, Matt discovered they were ahead on consumption by a year. The reason was quite simple. People loved luxury, and a six-year long journey through space was boring. What else was there to do besides eating and drinking? Additionally, the expected birthrate was higher than initially calcted, and the progress on breeding and cultivating was slower than calcted. This was likely a result of the internal politics of the ship. Matt was a perfect example; She was killed after all. After pondering for a moment, Matt decided to look over all of the research proposals and scientists he had suspended. If any of them had projects that could give Martha a steady supply of matter, then he would ''approve'' that scientists work or reinstatement. For now, he told Martha to stay in theb in order to conserve energy. Matt grabbed the cooler and his tablet as he left theb. He pulled up the inbox of proposals in order to browse while he walked back to his room. At the top of the list was an unread proposal. Looking at the time stamp, it was sent only a few minutes ago. Matt read the title and the sender, and he narrowed his eyes in deep thought. ''Applications of Alien-Earth Gic Chimeras, sent by E. Bradshaw.'' Matt read the title and realized something was amiss. ''Is this Scorch''s response to Martha?'' He wondered. After scanning the document quickly with his ascertaining eyes, he was able toe to a quick conclusion. After the incident with the radioactive leak from Martha, it seemed that Bradshaw was reassigned to a new project. Matt was kept in the dark about this project which surprised him. Scorch must have specifically kept it from him so that he could spring it at a moment like this. The details of the document were about the new project. The paper itself bared a closer resemnce to supporting documents for an unwritten paper. It was mostly filled with charts and images. Due to the sess of Martha, it seemed that Bradshaw oversaw creating nt-animal hybrids that grew quickly to fix the food source problem. Scorch had taken this step to borderline grey research into alien hybridization due to the slight shortage. The study followed ten different cell-lines. The cross-hybridization was done with pig and goats, since they were the only living farm animals on the ship. The nt-cross hybrid was corn, potato, wheat, rice, and soybean. These cell lines were duplicated into two groups, one using a sample of the ''branch'' gics as a stabilizer, and the other just following conventional hybridization technology. The conclusion had yet to be written, as the study was still ongoing. However, looking at thetest data points, it seemed that all of the control group hybrids had failed and all of the experimental group hybrids were still alive. It would take longer for them to reach Martha''s state, but Matt could clearly see the data he had collected from taking care of Martha being used here. Even his nucleotide solution waspletely reproduced. Using the solution as an elerant to the growth along with Bradshaw''s previous experience raising Martha, the progress was shocking. They had already reached the "Mem-brain" state that Martha was in when Matt first met her in only six months. After closing the document, Matt didn''t contact Scorch or Bradshaw. This was exactly what he wanted. Matt decided to ignore the research and focus on securing a source of food for Martha. Scrolling through the research proposals he discovered four different options. He emailed the four doctors to schedule appointments with them and continued back to his room. For now, he put the matter of Scorch to the back of his mind. This was a clear indication that he knew what was happening but allowed Matt to continue his research. This was the carrot and the stick. The stick wasing out and tantly telling Matt ''I''m watching you.'' The carrot is offering him a project to put his name on to justify Martha''s existence and improve his reputation. But Matt simply scoffed internally at that nave n. He didn''t care about the colony''s perception of him, since they would all be under his control. Whatever political waves his actions would make on his status in the ship are pointless to absolute control. Scorch probably thought Matt was a careerist. Based on his actions since taking over this body, it was a good guess. However, Scorch was missing a key piece of information. Matt wasn''t trying to raise his status in order to have more power on the ship, but the opposite. His increase in power was raising his status on the ship. He had many ns that would begin unfolding very soon. The main purpose of visiting theb today was retrieving the blood samples. Martha''s awakening happened at a very good time. This would help distract Scorch for a bit. While Matt was on leave, a lot of work piled up for him toplete. Since most of the AI''s processing was devoted to day-to-day operations, it could only spare a small portion of its operative power in investigation and non-critical functions. This was the excuse Scorch gave Matt at the time of his appointment. However, Matt suspected that this was a lie. Such a powerfulputer like the one on the ship, which takes up a whole floor, certainly would have plenty of processing power to spare. There was likely something that Scorch had theputer simting that was more important than a small character like Matthew O''Connely. Additionally, Scorch likely wanted to create a job for Matt to keep him close and in line. As soon as Matt arrived to his room, he went straight for his office. Alexis had long since returned the jamming device. He ced the cooler down and input his passcodes. Once the lid popped open, a white cloud puffed out the sides due to the difference in temperature. As the heavy cold air fell over the edges of the cooling unit, Matt took out the samples in order. [Gic Material Detected. 99%patibility. Grade 2. Consume for 15 Evolution Point.] [Gic Material Detected. 93%patibility. Grade 2. Consume for 21 Evolution Point.] [Gic Material Detected. 82%patibility. Grade 2+. Consume for 23 Evolution Point.] [Gic Material Detected. 76%patibility. Grade 2+. Consume for 25 Evolution Point.] These four samples represented the samples he collected from Alexandria at certain intervals. The first was the very first sample he took from her. The second was after the first major transformation in her body. The third was after he was unable to take samples from the same area anymore. And the final one was from the most recent set of samples, from where her blood was almostpletely reced by hybrid cells. Although they contained higher quality gic material as the concentration of alien gics increased, theirpatibility went down. Nevertheless, this supported his theory that he would get Ku''Lothri progress from his Gic Assimtion. He twisted the stic stopper and broke the seal with a snap. Then he brought up the vial like it was a delicious drink. ''It''s been a while since I drank it directly'' Matt had a strange thought and then downed the whole vial like a shot of alcohol. He could feel the evolution points go up. After it finished, he checked the progress of his unique abilities. [Unique Ability Progress: [Human] Max% [Lower Yggdra] 22% [Ku''Lothri] 27.1%] The change was very small, but not unwanted. It had to be known that he had almost six-hundred vials of blood from Alexandria. Wasn''t she the exact definition of a blood farm? Unfortunately, since adding her to the fold, he wouldn''t be able to extract new blood from her. But her old samples were still viable for absorption. This made Matt contemte what the difference between the two are. After a while he shrugged and popped the other three vials. [ [Ku''Lothri] 27.4%] [ [Ku''Lothri] 28.4%] [ [Ku''Lothri] 31.4%] [Evolution Points (EP): 212->296] If the first vial was a concentration of one, then the others were three times, ten times, and thirty times respectively. His biggest regret was not having many of the thirty times sample. He did some quick calctions based on the number of each sample. With two-hundred twenty-three sample A, two-hundred three sample B, one-hundred twenty-one sample C, and forty-eight sample D, he discovered that he had enough vials to acquire three unique abilities from the Ku''Lothri! That was also over ten-thousand Evolution Points! Chapter 112: Rocks Fall [Bonus Chapter] Chapter 112: Rocks Fall [Bonus Chapter] That night, while eating with his closest followers, Matt confronted his wife. Alexis had figured out the trick for the Hive Queen branch''s early game on her own. This made him proud of her and excited at her growth. Meanwhile, Matt told her about Martha''s ability and the implications. The main conversation was happening over telepathy, while they talked about random day-to-day things in order to create a cover. Although Scorch already knew that Matt could be an enhanced human, Matt didn''t want to use his power so casually. He thought about the time Wird intercepted their thoughts and remained vignt. {Once we secure a source of food for Martha, we will use her ability to speed up our progress. The current time difference is about twenty-five percent faster in her bubble. In other words, a minute outside is a minute and fifteen seconds inside.} Matt exined telepathically. {Do you have any ideas for her food source? From what I see in her status, she would eat the ship to starvation} Alexis responded. "Ba, Ba, Ba, Pu!" Alex, who was sitting on Alexandria''sp started iling around a toy hammer that Fran had gifted him. He smacked Alexandria on the face, causing a funny scene. "Are you hungry, Alex?" Alexis asked in a cute voice and made faces at him. Alex swung the hammer more vigorously before throwing it in a random direction and reaching out towards his mother''s breasts. She was originally sitting with Matt, and after they finished eating, he was holding her in his arms when Alex threw a fit. The random direction just so happened to be directly towards Matt''s face. He quickly snatched the toy out of the air and then sent a re toward his son. He made eye contact with the devil spawn and activated his Hypnosis. However, Alexis blocked his line of sight before he could do anything and carried Alex to their bedroom. Unlike the spawns that Alexis created through her parasite abilities, Alex was conceived from a time when the parasite was dormant. Although he grew under the influence of the parasite, he still had an innate resistance to Matt''s presence. Matt''s thoughts began to wander, and he thought that this felt a little like the clich where the half-monster son would grow up to defeat his evil monster father. ''I guess that makes him Alucard?'' Matt thought about how he had just downed several vials of blood earlier and shook his head. Such an oue was impossible. He would never let the son be stronger than the father. By the time he grew to adulthood, Matt would already be at the peak of tier three. "Andria,e to my study." Hearing herself being referred to with a nickname her ears perked up and she looked at him lovingly. She instantly came to his side with her thoughts stered on her face. She was clearly expecting hispanionship. However, Matt would prove to disappoint her. He ced a tablet in front of her and showed her a picture of a scientist. Underneath was this person''s psych evaluation and background information. Seeing this, Alexandria was a bit confused. This scientist was one of the people in charge of running the chimera experiments that Matt had assisted with several months prior. Initially, he nned to stop the experimenting when he took on his new position but thought it could be useful for Evolution Points in the future. Since the system no longer recognized Martha for the Yggdra species, Matt wanted to secure a new source. The best course of action would be to find Bradshaw. This is where Alexandria came in. "I need you to infiltrate her research team and find the location of Dr. Edward Bradshaw." Matt reached out and put his hand on hers. Their eyes locked and Alexandria was drawn to the sparkle in his pupils. "I can only rely on you for this." Alexandria snatched the tablet and stood up. She held Matt''s hand tightly and nodded "I won''t let you down, Matthew!" She immediately left the room and began to formte a n. Matt turned off his hypnosis and chuckled. Although it wasn''t necessary, using mesmerism and hypnosis seemed to stimte the target into following hismands efficiently. Matt thought about Dr. Bradshaw again and pulled out his old notebook that he took so long ago. He read thest page and pondered about what existence he was worshiping. At first, he assumed it to be the alien who inhabited Patient Zero, but after careful consideration, Matt wondered if the branch showed him any visions like Martha did. Bradshaw had likely interacted with the ''branch of the world tree'' several times and could have even developed strange dreams because of it. If his worship was toward the Yggdra species, then his pursuit to reviving the branch was logical. If he saw Martha now, he would probably deify her. Thinking of that, he smiled to himself out of satisfaction. Matt looked through his tablet and read through the six project proposals he had epted for an interview. They were all scheduled for tomorrow, but he wouldn''te unprepared. Mattid back in his chair after locking onto the six doctors and released his astral body. Over thest six months, Matt had infiltrated dreams every night. Whether it be one of his followers, or someone else on the ship, he did it without fail. Part of the reason was to develop his mental energy with the Dream Eater ability, and partly to investigate the truths of the ship. This was another reason why he was so famous for a one-hundred percent sess rate. No secrets could hide from his prying eyes. After a lot of practice, he developed the skills to easily differentiate between people that he has marked. With a quick nce in the shadow world, he picked out six white lights in the hundreds of lights in front of him. Matt could tell that two were already asleep based on the intensity of their light. While floating past, he noticed Wird''s light and decided to give him some nightmares as he passed by. Matt eventually arrived at the first researcher and began digging around their dreams. He simted the experiments and setting needed for the project to work and became the researcher''s assistant. In this dream simtion, he closely observed the work and allowed the target''s mind to create problems by stimting his anxiety. After only two weeks inside the dreamscape, Matt left with a frown. The experiment was meant to utilize a simr technology as the reactor, but instead it converts dark matter into an energy source. The researcher did all the theoretical work and even had some small experiments to verify his work. However, once ced on arge scale, the small problems he noticed in his subconscious were extrapted and amplified in the dream. The ending wasplete obliteration of everyone onboard. Matt moved onto the next researcher and did the exact same thing. This time, the experimentssted for two months, and it was starting to look very promising. That was until the cooling systems failed due to a critical meltdown causing severe body muttion of everyone in the room and aplete systems failure of the ships life support. Experimenting with highly radioactive, highly unstable isotopes was dangerous. However, the energy production was at least five times that of the current reactor. There was also the problem of a limited supply of the isotope itself. Matt decided to confront that researcher about the cooling and supply issue, perhaps he could solve the problem. The next researcher who had just fallen asleep was the most promising one in Matt''s opinion. Instead of the other five who were researching production of energy, this proposal was specifically about collecting, capturing, and mining space rocks. The proposal would make use of the standby military forces to mobilize during the times the engines are cooling down. After capturing the nearby space debris, they would extract useful materials, and then throw out the remaining waste. This would be the perfect opportunity to use Martha, the living waste bin. However, there was a major problem with this proposal. When Matt first read the proposal, he was intrigued because it was a very good idea. However, when he read the line in the introduction which stated "mobilize the standby military" he immediately rejected it. This was an insurmountable task for the researcher to aplish. There is too much politics on the ship for this to work. However, if Matt were to intervene, this would be a null problem. Previously, he had no reason to assist, but now Matt entered the researchers dream and began the simtion. He was curious as to how the process would bepleted. After monitoring the dream for a while, he was satisfied. The whole operation was smooth and wless. Matt invented various situations that he could imagine, and also influenced the researcher''s mind to create ones she could imagine. She was able to put out the mes in the most efficient manner. Out of curiosity, he organized a confrontation with the military. However, the result left Matt baffled. He wasn''t sure if this researcher''s subconscious was arrogant or confident, but only two hours and she sessfully convinced them! ''Roxana Madatyan interesting.'' Chapter 113: Silver Tongue [Bonus Chapter] Chapter 113: Silver Tongue [Bonus Chapter] Matt checked on the remaining researchers and saw some value in their proposals, but the rock mining was on his mind the whole time. After seeing what the other researchers had to offer, Matt had a general understanding of their project and was ready to poke holes in their proposals. After finishing with their dreams, Matt patrolled around the ship to see if there were any interesting secrets being revealed. With the increase to his power, he was able to see something like a preview of the dream happening when he focused on the white lights. He would asionally send his thoughts and whispers into random crewman to include himself in their happy dreams as a friend, and in their nightmares as a hero. This was part of his long-term n to make everyone his puppet. He didn''t forget to include his followers into the dreams as well. The selection wasn''t random either, he would mainly focus on those who were likely to encounter any one of Matt''s people. If some random person in engineering started dreaming of Alexis, he might feel nervous instead of pleased. On his rounds, he saw a familiar person. She was Ren Yamamoto. He had never seen her have any dream except for a repeat of the incident that caused her to lose an eye. Although he didn''t check her every day, this was the first time he''d seen anything else from her dreamscape. As he floated over and inspected the dream, he realized it was a sex fantasy. The target of her desires was none other than Alexis! Matt rubbed his chin in thought and chuckled. He didn''t bother doing anything to the dream and floated toward Martha. Since she was awake now, Matt could utilize Dream Eater in her. When he slipped into her mind, she wasn''t dreaming. However, this was an easy solution. He used his powers to stimte the dreaming state and Martha began to naturally form a dream. The content was the primordial forest of her home world. Matt spent the rest of the night exploring the beautiful forest before returning to his body. The gains were much higher than when he squatted in Alexis''s dreams. He could feel himself on the verge of increasing his limit on Dark Mind st. Seeing the obvious progress, Matt was excited to explore that dream forest more in the future. In the morning, Alexis was awake before Matt and had been taking care of and feeding Alex. When Matt came out of the bathroom from doing his morning routine, he discovered that Alexandria wasn''t there. Matt stuck part of his astral body into the Dark World and took a peek. She seemed to be doing her task diligently. He decided not to bother her and walked over to his wife. Matt wrapped his arms around her and whispered in her ear. "Lexi, I have a task for you." Alex looked up with a nipple in his mouth and gave him a re. He seemed to be saying ''Hands off.'' However, Matt just red back at him and influenced him to fall asleep with his hypnosis. Alex fought against the drowsiness but with Matt''s intervention, he could only go into a blissful fooda. After Alexis put him down, she finally responded. "What do I need to do?" Her tone was very clear. She would follow his orders no matter what. He nodded and began exining the situation. "In order to gather more data, I need you to take your suit out of storage and test Martha''s abilities. Spend as much time inside her time dtion and see if there are any notable changes. While you''re at it, it has been a while since you passed off the position of acting leader to Lieutenant Yamamoto, catch up with her. Depending on her attitude, bring her around so we can have a good talk." Alexis nodded her head and went to change into her military fatigues. She was still technically on leave, but it had been a long time since she interacted with the First Strike Squad. It would be good to put them in their ce, in case any of them were having wandering thoughts. Matt trusted Alexis to take care of any issues. {Will she be the next target?} Alexis asked over telepathy while changing. Matt continued reviewing the proposals and replied to her curtly. {Perhaps.} Alexis wasn''t offended, instead she seemed to understand that she would be the one to determine whether Ren Yamamoto was worthy of being in the first wave of followers. During her pregnancy, she was mostly hands off with the leadership of the First Strike Squad, so this surprise inspection would be very important to her impression of Ren''s ability. Matt was reading the background of Dr. Roxana Madatyan with a frustrated expression. Her files were sealed behind an intricate firewall. There were only a few people that had such a secure background. The captain, the admiral, Wird, and of course, himself, were a few examples. Because of the security protecting her, Matt could only discover a few surface details about her. The interesting thing about her is that they shared the same alma mater. Although this wasn''t too unique, since the school Matthew O''Connely went to was popr, they were actually in the same ss. She was five years older than him because she was already working on her second PhD at the time. Matt tried to muster up his memories of her, but there was nothing of note. Matt opened the drawer under his desk and took out a small case. Inside the case was a cleaning solution and two seemingly normal contact lenses. These were the ones Wird gifted to him before the truth was revealed. Matt didn''t reminisce for long and put them in his eyes. He tried to ess the restricted information again and the program in the lenses activated. ''This is what you consider simple hacking program? Hah'' He couldn''t help but sigh. In his vision a light screen was projected over his tablet. The contacts had connected to the system remotely and was actively breaking down theplex series of firewalls. After twenty minutes, the program deactivated and the files began to open on his screen. Hundreds of reports popted his screen and Matt skimmed through each of them. It turned out that Roxana was a huge troublemaker. She had created four different organizations in different parts of the world in order to extort money at the age of eight. When she was finally caught, they couldn''t do anything to her because there was no evidence. Everything that was collected by the detectives disappeared overnight. It waster discovered that she had already nted several of her own people in thew enforcers group. On her twelfth birthday, she caused various markets around the world to crash by influencing billions of citizens with an email chain. She also almost caused the Moon Colony to begin a cold war with Earth by pretending to be an Earth Ambassador at the age of sixteen. When she turned eighteen, she suddenly disappeared from the world and severalw and monitoring agencies, including the federation watched closely for any activity from her. However, she only resurfaced after getting her first PhD in Astrogeology at twenty-three. In the school she had already converted several powerful professors to her side and convinced them to seal her records from when she was younger. Ever since then, her shaky past had disappeared into a sealed file on someone''s desk. Five yearster she got her PhD in Astrophysics and applied for the Odyssey Program. Naturally, her connections got her in without a hitch. Matt suddenly became very excited to meet her. This was the kind of charismatic influencer that he sought after. No wonder she could convince the military to do as she pleased. Matt didn''t see anything suspicious in her profile. He specifically searched for any connections to Wird or Wird''s father. Then, he checked on any rtionship with Matthew O''Connely, Alexis, and Alexandria and there were no results. Finally, he watched a few videos of her interviews for the program and he was satisfied with her performance. One thing of note that he noticed at the end was that she specifically requested not to be matched with anyone. He wondered if she had issues with other people. It would be ironic for such a charismatic character to have difficulty dealing with interpersonal rtionships. Well, it isn''t so much of a surprise for a genius. The door buzzed and broke his train of thought. Matt got up and invited the nervous doctor into his study. The first person he was interviewing was the person who wanted to destroy all life on the ship. His dark matter research had a lot of holes in it, and when Matt began to ask targeted questions, the man broke down crying, unable to handle the stress and Matt''s piercing gaze. Matt could only shake his head and send him away. ''Am I really that frightening?'' He wondered. "Oh my, what a heart breaker you are, Matthew." A woman with long ming red hair and an emerald-green dress stepped forward. Her hair was tied up in a ponytail and her body shape was obscured slightly by the pristine whiteb coat. Her arms were crossed over her chest as she looked at Matt with an indiscernible expression. "Doctor Madatyan, you''re early." Matt said in a monotone voice. Chapter 114: A Nice Chianti Chapter 114: A Nice Chianti "Early? I wanted to catch up with an old ssmate" She took a step forward and stood in front of the door. Matt realized what she was trying to do and blocked her advancement. "Your appointment is in an hour." Matt''s intention wasn''t to send her away. He didn''t really care when people showed up as long as it wasn''tte. His purpose in saying that was to see how she would respond. "Ah, in that case why don''t you join me for a walk? I have always admired you, Doctor O''Connely, even when we were still students" She reached out and touched his arm. It wasn''t an overly intimate action, but something at the level of friendliness the two didn''t share. Her expression was soft and amiable, but her eyes reflected a nk personality. Most wouldn''t be able to detect this, but the mind was Matt''s expertise. "I''m afraid I''ll have to disappoint you. I don''t recall ever meeting or interacting with you in university. Besides we aren''t that close." He continued the act. "In that case, let''s take this opportunity to be close. I won''t take no for an answer." She said while smiling. At her assertive behavior, Matt inadvertently took a step back, allowing her to step forward. At this point, she had managed to get a foot in the door, both figuratively and literally. "Doing this won''t improve your chances of me epting your proposal." Matt''s face was still expressionless while retorting her. "Forget the proposal, how about we skip the meeting altogether and go to the stargazing tform." Roxana waved her hand and leaned against the door frame. Her stature was half-rxed. It was as if she was showing off the ground she had gained. "Never mind that, let''s begin the interview so you can be on your way sooner." Matt could have forced her out, but he had no reason to. She yed her strengths well, and she only gave him two choices in the end. Either kick her out, which would be counter intuitive since he was the one to invite her for an interview to begin with or invite her in to get it done with and end their interaction. Of course, there were many more options for Matt to choose from, but he was roleying at the moment and wouldn''t resort to his powers. There was also the option of agreeing to go on a date with her, but that would also work in her favor. "Didn''t it already start?" Roxana''s eyes glimmered with emotion for the first time since she arrived. It seemed that she was already aware of what Matt was doing. He didn''t confirm her words and simply led her to his study. After being seated, the duo remained quiet for a long time. Matt stared directly into her eyes; his piercing gaze seemed to see everything. Despite being a good talker, Roxana was actually quite nervous. She knew Matt''s reputation and took a risk in her act today. Seeing how he wasn''t as frightening as the other researchers made him out to be, she had calmed down. But now, she understood where they wereing from. "AhI apologize for my behavior." Roxana couldn''t handle it anymore and broke her cool and arrogant persona. Anyone that knew her would be shocked at how quickly she crumbled. Since entering the study, Matt had been applying pressure on her with his mental energy. "Why do you believe your project is necessary?" Matt didn''t reply and just began asking questions. He knew that the best way to deal with her was to ignore her flow. She would try to lead a conversation her way, so he just needed to lead it away. "We have already entered uncharted territory. The few asteroids we encounter in this empty space could contain endless opportunities for research in rare elements! The samples we have collected from probes in the past showed a high quantity of rare isotopes that formed naturally in these asteroids!" Matt began to realize why she entered this field and this program. Perhaps she lived an unfulfilled life as an adolescent and could never find anything that interested her. However, he could easily tell that her passion for this project was overwhelming. It seemed she had already forgotten about the oppressive atmosphere and began her speech. Not only was she very articte, but her tone could easily influence others into bing space rock fans as well. Her research was very meticulous, and her reasoning was sound. There was no excuse to block her project due to a mistake in her scientific method. However, the matter of using the military was still a concern. Matt raised his hand to cut off her ravings and she went quiet. "What about the issue of the military?" "Ideally we could utilize those resources and I am very confident in convincing the higher-ups." "What if they refuse in the end?" Matt was curious what her ns were. "Although it would be more expensive, there are plenty of robots that could do the job. But they won''t say no." Roxana was extremely confident with that point. The issue of mobilizing a part of the military to collect asteroids was never a concern for her. [Hypnosis activated.] "Very well, this concludes the interview. From here on you will forget what I am saying and what I will say." Matt stared into her eyes while his influence took over. Roxana''s expression became dazed, and she nodded her head. Matt had already turned on the jamming device for good measure. "Have you been in contact with any alien creatures or the supernatural?" "Not that I know of." "Do you have any rtionship to Doctor John Nilsson?" "No." "Do you have any rtionship with the bartender Scorch?" "No." "Do you have any rtionship with Captain Stark?" "Yes." Matt narrowed his eyes and continued, "borate." "I am a member of the secret society in which Captain Stark is the leader." "Who else is in this secret society? How many are there?" His curiosity had peaked. "I don''t know, everyone is anonymous except the captain. There is always a different number of members at each meeting." "What exactly does this secret society do?" Matt was surprised. Ever since his wedding, the captain had disappeared. It had been over six months since anyone has seen him. The ship ran smoothly despite his missing status. This was mainly due to Scorch and the counsel. "We feast on various delicacies" Her voice trembled as she said that. Matt could feel a resistance deep within her mind. Rather than being a lie, it seemed that she herself believe this to be the truth. However, subconsciously there was something else. "What kind of delicacies?" Matt pressed on, determined to figure it out. "M-meat dishes a-and wines" Her breathing increased and her mind started to be chaotic. If he continued, she would likely break down. It seemed that the captain was doing something very suspicious behind closed doors. "Forget." He decided to stop here and used hismand ability to erase everything back to when he began the interrogation. Her body rxed and she stared off into space for a few moments before blinking. She realized she had spaced out and became embarrassed. "And that ends the interview, you can go." Hearing his words, Roxana didn''t hesitate and left on her own. Once he was alone in the room, he leaned on his elbows andced his fingers together. Matt contemted the new information. The captain was always quite suspicious in his own way. The way the ship ran, and the mystery meat always sat at the back of Matt''s mind. He didn''t think it was necessary to pursue him after gaining his new title since he began toy low. However, his thinking was different now. When it was just the captain by himself it was fine. But now there was a whole group of people? Matt always intended to pursue the biggest influencers and take over their positions. What better target than a secret society? He smiled wide and started tough. Hisugh became louder and more sinister over time. He took out his tablet and canceled the appointments with the rest of the researchers. Then, he messaged Roxana directly that her project would be approved. He scheduled another time for them to get together and discuss the details. She would be a very important asset. Thinking about the special meat served by the captain, and the way he carefully watched people''s reaction to the meat, Matt began to understand. This is a secret society of cannibals. However, it seems they themselves are unaware of it. Or perhaps, Roxana was unable to justify the truth and the captain brainwashed her to protect their secrets. Whatever the case may be, he had a new objective for the near future. He hadn''t nned to take the captain out this early, but when opportunityes knocking ''Here Ie, Captain.'' Matt''sugh echoed through the room. Chapter 115: We Are Parasite [Bonus Chapter] Chapter 115: We Are Parasite [Bonus Chapter] Alexis woke up that morning much earlier than normal. Matt typically entered her dreams, and they enjoyed a long night in various locations and positions. However, that night passed by instantly. She looked over and saw Matt still fast asleep. It was very early in the morning, but she had an assignment, so she got up making sure not to disturb him. The first thing she did was go straight to Alex''s bed. For a baby, taking care of him was much easier than expected, but this was likely due to his peculiar birth parents. Despite his abilities, he still ate once in the morning and once at night. Just as she expected, Alex was awake and ying with the toys left on his bed. When he saw his mothere to his side, he began to reach out for her without making too much noise. The child was very obedient when Matt wasn''t awake, and he seemed to be keeping quiet on purpose. Alexis took him in her arms and began feeding him on the recliner in his room. She thought about the night and frowned slightly. For thest six months, they adventured together in their dreams all over the world. However,st night was the first time that she didn''t have a single dream. However, she wasn''t particrly upset. It was only a momentary dissatisfaction. She began to distract her mind with the task she was given. It had been a long time since she left the First Strike Squad to Ren''s hands, and it was time to reim it. The first stop would be to retrieve herbat suit. Alexis understood the importance of this task, so she had spent a long time thinking about it. After retrieving her suit, she would take back themand of the First Strike Squad. Then, she would use her influence to reserve a suit for Matt. Once he went through the process, which would likely involve hypnotizing various people, he would vie for the Tactical Medic Suit. This all hinged on the status of the First Strike Squad which is historically under the captain. But given the current state of the ship, she was unsure who the spies answered to. She would either have to subdue them or eliminate them. Since Matt wanted toy low for a bit longer, this would mean getting them removed from the squad. Alexis is reminded of the person nicknamed ''gatekeeper.'' After he was sent to recover from his injuries in the infirmary, Matt had infiltrated his mind and discovered the location of the cyborg Cindy. After that, the man dropped out of the First Strike Squad once he lost his support. Now he''s spent thest six months just trying to maintain a position in the Second Strike Squad. Since she left the team to Lieutenant Yamamoto, no one else was removed or demoted. This was most likely due to her not wanting to make big waves while only a temporary leader. However, it was possible that she was also working for someone higher up either before the promotion orter when she had the position. Alexis checked the time and it just turned to four. Baby Alex was sated and began to nod off. She ced him in a portable levitating pod and brought him along with her. Then, she went into her study and retrieved a locked briefcase containing her suit. After quietly leaving the room, she went straight for the lift and set her destination to hangar bay one. In the lift, she disengaged the locks and opened the briefcase. Then she initiated the donning procedure and the suit wrapped around her like a living creature. ''Well, it technically is living.'' Alexis mused. As the suit wrapped around her, she suddenly felt something different. This was the first time she wore the suit after evolving. She felt intimate with the fibers of the suit. Once itpletely enveloped her, the neckline grew upward toward her hairline. Tng! Alexis felt something pierce into the base of her neck. Despite the sound, there was no pain. Instead, she felt a surge of power. The suit became an extension of her nervous system. She gripped her hand into a fist and could feel the absolute control over the suit''s functions. Rather than being frightened, she was excited. The feeling of her strength surging was intoxicating, and she looked forward to beating up the insubordinate soldiers. Her neck felt itchy again, but she ignored it. The next thought she had was bringing a suit to Matt as soon as possible. She wanted him to experience this feeling as well. When the process finished, she felt that she couldmunicate with the living metal cells within the suit. It wasn''t to the level of holding a conversation with them, but to the point of how she is able tomand her arm to move or her leg to move. Because of this, she discovered many new functions to the suit that weren''t possible before. With a single thought, the suit began to break apart and condense together. It passed through the fibers of her military fatigues and camouged itself under her clothes. Along with the simple ability to control the suit, she also gained a new feeling being transmitted from the living metal. Hunger! A voracious insatiable hunger. Alexis wondered what kind of idents the researchers had in developing these suits. This kind of consciousness was not simple to subdue. After severing the connection with her superior mental power, the feeling went away. But she still licked her lips as she thought about it. Feeling her emotions waver, she took a deep breath. Alexis opened the pod next to her and checked on Alex. He was still fast asleep and his resemnce to Matt made her smile. She closed the floating pod when the door to the lift opened. Beyond the doors was arge hangar that contained hundreds of mechanized suits and advancedbat suits. Alexis walked toward the section that contained the ''Space Marine'' suit that belonged to her. The suit was hung up and locked in ce by arge metal frame. The frame and the series of locks were connected to a smallputer panel. She registered her name and input her ess codes. After confirming with the system, the machine rang out. "Wee, Commander Alexeyev." The locks on the suit began to release and therge mechanical body fell downward,nding squarly on its feet. The rudementary AI moved the suit forward and knelt down to allow for ease of entry. The torso, thigh, upper arm and helmet opened up inviting Alexis to enter. She released her inner suit to cover her body once again and walked into the ''Space Marine''bat suit. Once she was properly settled in the suit, the control mechanism locked around her neck connecting her to the whole suit. The process was superficial at best to protect the user, but since connecting with the inner suit''s living metal, she directly connected to the ''Space Marine'' suit. Unlike the inner suit, thebat suits were created from alloys utilizing the living metal. This ensured they were durable but also had a longer life. Because of this, most of theponents of thebat suit was inert. The technology that allowed her to control the movements of the suit would wirelessly synch with her brain waves under normal circumstances. However, due to the extension of her nervous system, Alexis was able to directly control the movements of the suit as if it were her own body. This was at a level of near one-hundred percentpatibility. No matter how well trained a soldier is with their suit, they could only reach eighty-five percent normally. Also due to the fatigue brought onto the user for controlling the suit, running at full capacity was not rmended. But because of her abilities, this was a null problem. It took her a moment to get readjusted to the suit, but she was quickly able to adapt. She thought about the brawl with those strange creatures half a year ago and felt that she could obliterate them with half the effort. After gettingfortable, she began to make her way toward the lift to interrupt the First Strike Squad''s training. The best way to retakemand was to show up abruptly and beat everyone into submission. Well, a year ago she wouldn''t have thought the same way, but her body was teeming with strength, and she wanted to release it all. The little pod containing Alex floated along beside her as she made her way to the centrifuges. The door opened when they arrived, and by pure coincidence, Ren Yamamoto was already there. She looked over and saw Alexis in herbat suit. The memory ofst night came to her mind and she blinked with surprise. Her face turned red and she stuttered, "Cmander, why what brings you here today?" Alexis looked at her strange expression, but before she couldment the rest of the troop arrived in theirbat suits. They noticed Alexis and immediately stood at attention. The expressions on their face were a mix of surprise, joy, and fear. "Hello magots, today is your first day back in hell!" Alexis shouted. Chapter 116: Underworld (1) Chapter 116: Underworld (1) While Alexis began an intense training sequence with the First Strike Squad, Alexandria was sitting in her old room wracking her brain on how to infiltrate the chimera research team. She was so excited when Matt gave her an assignment that she immediately left with the tablet. After several read-throughs, she memorized all of the doctor''s information. However, this wasn''t enough. For her ability to work, she needed to interact with the person. Matt chose this person specifically for her, Alexandria could tell immediately. They had simr features, height, and body shape. If they stood together side by side, no one would mistake them for each other, however, with some makeup and transformation, Alexandria could easily rece her. Aside from the actual disguise part, there was another issue surveince. There were no instructions or hints, so Alexandria realized this was also a test of her usefulness. However, being a former engineer of the ship, she knew a trick or two. Contrary to most peoples understanding, the whole ship wasn''t covered in cameras. Most engineers that worked the lower decks knew that after a certain point, cameras are only watching important assets and main hallways. The service tunnels were almostpletely unmonitored. Due to the oppression of the engineers by the military and doctors, they often used these service tunnels as their main mode of transport. After two years, it became something like an ''underground society.'' Even ck markets started to form that could ess the restricted meats and illegal or restricted holo-programs that only the top brass were allowed to use. Alexandria wasn''t really a part of this culture, but she was introduced to it once and would easily be able to navigate back into it. After packing up her gear, she wore her old engineer uniform and headed to the entrance of the underground market. Thest time she was there, they gave her a wristband to wear with hermunicator. This wristband would spoof her signal and make it seem like she was in the training room instead of walking through the tunnels. On her way to the lower decks, she reminisced about her colleagues that were sent down here to work sixteen-plus hours a day to keep this giant ship running. Although most of the engineers hired for this grand project had at least a master''s degree in their respective engineering field, they were still treated like second ss citizens. She too was in this position in the past. However, due to her illness and low self-esteem, she felt like she deserved the role. After exiting the lift and walked down the maze-like hallways, she finally entered a training room that was meant to be the entrance of the underground society. At the door, she was prompted to wave her wristband or submit a referral code. Despite their treatment, the engineers were very smart and very cautious. Even over two yearster, neither the AI nor the top brass were aware of the existence of the underground society. Since she had already been here once, she didn''t need to be referred again. She ced her wrist onto the scanner, and it picked up the signal. Her information came up shortly, giving a small summary of who she was. Although one could choose to be anonymous, no one could hide from the door when entering. Many attempted to enter the ck market from various venttion shafts or lesser used service tunnels but were all caught in the end. Alexandria didn''t know what they did with the people caught sneaking in, and she was scared to find out. Upon entering the next chamber, she was scanned from head to toe and her belongings were examined. Seeing that nothing was out of the ordinary and her identity was confirmed, she continued to the next room. Once inside the scene of a bustling bar appeared before her. Several people were cheering and drinking in the corner, and various personal projects of the engineers showcased their abilities on stage. Alexandria took a moment to admire the technical skill and crafts of the robots dancing on the stage. The models were showcasing their various ranges of motion and skillful use of their bodies. The synthetic skin was smooth and pleasing to look at. Although the uncanny valley was an impassable obstacle in the twenty-second century, by the twenty-third century most people got used to the human-like robots and they proliferated. The bar''s music was very retro and heightened the mood of the ce. Alexandria would have stayed to enjoy herself a bit if not for her mission. She passed by to the back of the bar where there was a door with a tough looking robot standing guard. "Have a request or offering a service?" The burly robot guard asked. "What services are there? I''m new here." Alexandria asked directly without beating around the bush. This was a machine, after all. The robot began listing off various categories with branched off into more specific categories before finallying to a list of options to choose from that she was interested in. After spending about twenty minutes cycling through all the options, Alexandria was much more educated on the workings of the underground world of the Odyssey. "I need transit, information, and a restricted holo-program." "Options confirmed. User Alexandria Nikos credit bnce: 2,301. Deducing 2,100 credits. Transactionplete, please enter and follow the guide." Alexandria was confused. She didn''t know there was a currency. "Wait hold on, can you exin the credits to me? And what cost so much?" "Credits are earned based on merit. In order to receive a transcript of your merit earned, you can ask the treasury. Price list includes 1,500 for transit to a highly restricted area, 200 as a down payment to information transactions, any difference will be refunded or taken out based on the information. And 400 security deposit to ess restricted holo-programs, repaid once the program is returned. All programs are unique and encrypted." Alexandria nodded and stepped past the guard robot to the service tunnel behind him. Another robot was waiting for her there, although it was more rudimentary and did not have synthetic skin. It was a basic wheel and tracks robot with the sole purpose of guiding people through the seemingly endless tunnels. Her n was simple. She would acquire some information about the research team to fill in her gaps of knowledge as well as the routines of the doctor she intended to impersonate. Then, she would utilize the transit feature to ambush her and bring her into a private holo-deck in the underground. Then forcibly initiate a restricted holo-program to trap her in a prison of her own making. It would utilize the users own information to create a simtion of their world. This was initially developed by a team of researchers back on Earth in order to revolutionize the scientific process. By developing a simtion driven by the researchers own mind, they could theoretically do ten times the work in the same amount of time. At first there were great advancements due to this program, until the first casualty appeared. The victim suffered from Locked In Syndrome due to the overloading of stimtion from the program. The others developed severe schizophrenia and their work was ultimately lost, despite being groundbreaking. The program was forever locked away in the Federations vault as being too dangerous to use. However, it was already spreading in the ck market on Earth for young, nave scientists to speed up their breakthroughsand ultimately their psychosis. "Now entering Holo-program Lounge. Standing by." The little robot sounded out in a calm feminine voice. Alexandria acknowledged it and went over to the counter. A greasy looking man sat leaned back in an office chair half asleep. As soon as Alexandria arrived, he leaned forward and rested his cheek on his palm. "Return or redeeming?" He asked with a monotone voice. "I''d like to redeem the Eureka-7 Holo-program." "Research or pleasure?" He asked with the same tone. "Erm research." She was confused as she had never heard of a version of the Eureka program that was for pleasure. The man pressed the table with his hand and a keyboard appeared on the surface. He punched in some numbers and soon a little drone hovered over with a data stick. "Eureka-7: Research. Return in four days. Inform your guide to bring you to the private holo-decks. Goodbye." Once his task was over, he leaned back in his chair again and seemed to go back to sleep. Alexandria wondered why he would even bother doing this task but then remembered the merit system. It was likely rted to that. She thanked him and returned to her guide to take her to the next location. The robot beeped in conformation and led her to the next area. After several minutes of walking, she arrived at the information lounge. There were various people sitting around infortable looking sofas chatting with each other. It really did look like afortable lounge, despite the small amount of space they had. However, when she entered the area, her instincts kicked in and she knew something was wrong. All the people looked at her simultaneously and stared at her. Before she could speak, a voice interrupted. "Hey, hey, stop that you''ve frightened demoiselle the youngdy. Pardon, they were not programmed with elegance.. Je peux t''aider? How can I help you?" A tall, thin man came from around the corner, and at hismand, the robots went back to their casual interaction. Chapter 117: Underworld (2) Chapter 117: Underworld (2) "She wants to buy information." "Looking for information on a person." "Information on a high-clearance researcher." The three machines all spoke in a practiced manner. Their voices were human but had an eerie emotionless tone. The tall man ignored theirmenting as if used to it and waited for Alexandria to respond to his question. Alexandria maintained her guard and responded, "I need all the information on Dr. Jovanovski, including her routines and schedule." "There are three results." "Eliminating the two with only level one clearance." "Rania Jovanovski,plete profile valued at four-hundred and one credits." The machines responded one by one. Alexandria didn''t pay attention to what they were saying and waited for the operator to confirm. He smiled in agreement and continued, "It seems we have what you are looking for. Dsirez-vous autre chose? Is there anything else?" Despite his kind front, Alexandria could tell that he approved of the machines way of dealing with her. They clearly seemed to know exactly how many credits she had left. They didn''t even make an effort to hide it. "How do I earn more credits?" The underworld of the ship would be a valuable source of information and mobility for Matt so she decided to earn some more credits. The thought of his praise made her mood improve. "Ah, the task board is the best way. Ask your guide for security ess to the dark forum." Seeing that she was finished dealing, he lost interest and returned to whatever he was doing. This left Alexandria to be scrutinized by the machines again. The three that had been speaking stood up simultaneously and surrounded her. "Payment has been received." "Your credits have been deducted." "The information is presented." The third human-like robot gave her a data stick that came out of its arm. She took it and immediately returned to her guide. As she left, the man stepped back into themon area of his information booth and rubbed his chin in thought. As Alexandria turned a corner, he smiled and went back to his business. Meanwhile Alexandria conversed with the guide as it took her back to the bar. She managed to receive the ess to the dark forums after much difficulty. It turned out that unless you knew exactly what you were looking for, the automated prompts would lead you into several blinds. After essing the page on her tablet, a program ran that secured her line. Then, she logged in and was able to browse the forums. The mostmon task for credits was covering peoples shifts. The pay varied based on how dangerous the task was. Alexandria also saw a transaction list for her credits and noticed a few people that tipped her for covering their shifts over thest two years. There were also asional small gifts from people she had a work rtionship with during her birthdays. After browsing the strange requests for the whole trip back, she spotted an event pinned at the top of one of the sub-topics. It was a standard robot brawl. Some engineers that worked onbat-oriented models for the military to use in their training would create robots to fight in the arena. There was naturally gambling involved. After reading through the event description, she noticed a few different categories. The fighting wasn''t just robots, but also people who have undergone mechanical enhancements. Alexandria was very confident in her physical body after performing several experiments with Matt. As long as her opponents wasn''t modified with living metal, she would be invincible in the arena. She was even confident to take down the fighting robots. Before registering, she decided to check the information she received. Once opened, the documents had twenty-four hours before deleting themselves. After reading through all the information, she was more confident in her uing infiltration. Looking at the doctor''s timetable and routines, she picked out a time four days from now to strike. This fit perfectly with her n to earn more credits as the next fight was tomorrow. Alexandria registered for the fight and then returned to her room. She dug out a facemask used in repair jobs where the environment was leaking into space. She decided to disguise herself during the fights, along with the stage name of Faceless. The next day she went back to the bar and entered the tunnels. She went into a closet and disguised herself. Fortunately, the venue for the fight was close so she didn''t need a guide through the countless passageways. When she arrived, she was surprised to see that the area for the fight was in a military bay. An arena was set up and there were nearly a hundred people. As she walked up, she was stopped by a woman with her hair tied back in a ponytail, wearing her standard uniform. "Spectator or fighter?" "Fighter. Faceless." Alexandria replied curtly. She flexed her vocal cords in order to produce a deeper voice. Combined with the facemask, it was hard to recognize. The woman pressed a few times on her tablet and then turned it toward Alexandria. "This is a release stating that, in the case of injury, you will not find fault with the organization. Please sign here." Her methods were very procedural, and she didn''t treat Alexandria any differently than other participants. Alexandria signed without a second thought and received her entry band. "You will receive ten percent of the credits earned from bets against you. Winning firstes with a one-hundred credit bonus." Alexandria nodded and continued forward and walked around to get a feel for thepetition. Although it was nearly impossible for someone else to utilize living metal, she still had to be cautious. With the things that have happened in the lower decks, there was a tiny chance. However, after making a loop around the venue, she didn''t sense any living metal. After bing one of Matthew''s followers, Alexandria became extremely sensitive to living metal. It was as if her body craved for it. However, this craving wasn''t anythingpared to her craving for blood. Although she wasn''t capable of gaining evolution points, she still perked up when she smelled blood. And the one thing that was plentiful in a brawl was blood. The arena was just a raised stage with a cloth spread over it. There weren''t any boundaries set up around the edge, since the rules indicated exiting the arena as a loss condition. Losing consciousness or the ability to fight was another loss condition. In the case of a stalemate, the head of the event would determine victory by points. However, that has never happened in the history of the brawl. Alexandria gleamed a lot of information from the spectators as they gossiped about the different fighters and robots that would be on stage today. It turned out there were eight in Alexandria''s group, and eight in the robot fights. Her group would fight first to warm up the crowd, since it was usually less intense than the robots'' fights. Many were here specifically to see the robots tear each other apart. Ding, ding, "First match Bruce Lee vs Faceless. Please enter the stage." With the announcement, several people began to cheer. Apparently, Bruce Lee was a fan favorite. It is said that he reced the muscle fibers in his major muscle groups with a special carbon-fiber nano weave of his own creation. He also built robots to do the surgery on him! Many believed he had many more modifications, but he would never reveal his strengths and weaknesses. Alexandria stepped up onto the stage and saw the bronze-skinned man waving at the crowd. His bulky muscles were a juxtaposition to his short stature and babyface. He only wore boxing shorts and was barefooted. Compared to her who wore a long ck overcoat, facemask, gloves, and boots. Many people were shouting for the fighting to start. Some even called for blood right away. Bets were flying left and right, Alexandria overheard that the odds are one to five favoring the other fighter. "Hello, my name is Lee, lets have a good fight." The man was surprisingly polite and even bowed toward her. She gave him a slight nod and responded with ''you too.'' He entered a martial arts stance and began to evaluate her before making a move. Alexandria never learned anyplex fighting techniques; she only knew the basics from military training. She got into an unpracticed boxing stance and charged forward to take control of the center of the arena. Based on her understanding, the only way she could lose was to be removed from the arena or lose to points. Therefore, in order tobat either possibility, she would control the center ring of the arena to umte points while also keeping far away from the edges. This would let her y defensive while looking for openings. Otherwise, she would win when they came to time of the round. Seeing her dash forward, the experienced fighter understood her strategy and immediately performed a high-powered flying kick. If the stage were made from a lighter material, it would have shaken from the force of his jump. His foot was urately trained to m her right in the abdomen, aiming to knock the wind out of her. Alexandria heightened her focus and attempted to grab his foot midair. Chapter 118: Blood Bags Chapter 118: Blood Bags Alexandria had no experience fighting in brawls such as these. Therefore, her knowledge ofbat is very restricted to a standard fight. The people whoe to this underground arena to brawl are far from standard. Bruce Lee predicted that she would try to go for his foot, this was just an attack to test her response time. A metal staff that was strapped to his back suddenly extended, impaling the stage and giving him a fulcrum. Bruce Lee grabbed the top of the staff and shifted his center of gravity like a cat. Alexandra''s hand was deflected by his suddenteral movement, and after nting his leading foot on the ground, he sent his back foot in an uppercut motion toward Alexandria''s jaw. Needless to say, she waspletely unprepared for this level of maneuverability. The audience began shouting for blood, expecting a quick knock-out. However, to everyone''s surprise, except for Alexandria, the foot that made impact with her jaw simply stopped once it reached its destination. Alexandria wasn''t knocked back or out, nor did she even stumble. After a split second of time, Bruce Lee realized the dangerous position he was in and attempted to continue rotating his hips to get out of her range. But Alexandriatched her forearm and bicep around his ankle and threw her opposite elbow down onto the side of his knee, using her body weight for additional force. In order to minimize the impact of the strike, Bruce Lee dropped to the stage and was able to bend his knee slightly. This gave him the control to strengthen the fibers around his joint. However, the impact was equivalent to being hit by a truck. If not for his enhancements, his knee would have been dislocated. Alexandria didn''t wait for him to recover, and immediately bent his knee backward behind his other leg toward his butt. Once in the control position, she pushed his body onto the ground andtched his other leg under her armpit, while mping his bent knee between her legs. As arge amount of pressure was ced in his lower back from the angle that she pressed him down, Bruce Lee managed to grab his staff and swing it backward, knocking Alexandria in the head. Unfortunately for him, her head was tougher than his staff. In response, she pressed down harder until snapping could be heard from the muscles in his back. The amount of force she could exert wasn''t enough to break the fibers, but it was enough to detach them. Sensing his enhancements beginning to fail, Bruce Lee pressed his palms down into the stage and pushed backward with full force. The fibers in his arms moved above the safe limit and began to tear the surrounding tissue. However, the backward thrust was able to make Alexandria take a step back. Using the limited space, Bruce Lee rotated his body, freeing his knee. He didn''t make the mistake of striking with his legs again, instead he did a backwards summersault to create some distance. Due to his experience, he did manage to ce his staff within arm''s reach, so he grabbed it mid tumble. He now knew not to use his body in directbat. In thatst exchange, he had already lost a considerable amount of his maximum force due to overexerting his arms. At this point, the crowd was already chanting "Faceless, Faceless, Faceless." Which further dampened his mood. Alexandria wasn''t worried about the staff, since it already proved to not cause her any damage. She maintained her position in the center of the arena and kept her vignce up. Bruce Lee began to rotate his staff rapidly above his head, then he leaped forward and did a downward strike. This was considered one of his lethal moves as the force exerted between his arms and legs would coalesce at the edge of the staff due to the centripetal force of his movement. Alexandria ignored the strike and stepped forward with good timing to hand a punch directly to his liver. Perhaps due to the fact that she grappled him at the start of the fight, but Bruce Lee decided to take a gamble on her offense being weak. Instead of blocking, he went all out on his strike. However, his assumption that she was a tank was incorrect. As soon as his staff connected with Alexandria''s head, he heard a crack. Initially, he thought he seeded in breaking her defense, but then he vomited a mouthful of blood all over Alexandria. He looked down and saw her fist firmly inserted into his abdominal cavity. Even Alexandria was shocked at her strength. The crack was from his lower rib that snapped from the concussive force of the strike. As she pulled out her fist from his body, his torn skin began to ooze blood. Her fist was covered in blood initially, but as soon as medical staff ran onto stage and carried Bruce Lee out, all the blood that had made contact with her skin was gone. Alexandria''s eyes had turned red for a moment as she felt a surge of hunger, followed by a satisfying feeling. No one paid attention to the missing blood, and hurriedly cleaned the stage with disinfectant and helped clean Alexandria off. "Winner is Faceless!" The robot announcer resounded three times and the crowd went wild. The fight was short, but exciting. Alexandria walked off stage and was immediately approached by various fighters congratting the newbie on her first win. She nodded, but didn''t speak, maintaining her mysterious image. Alexandria checked with the robot and had directly gained ten-thousand credits. After confirming her gains, she walked to the side and watched the next fight. However, she wasn''t too focused. Instead, she was feeling around the changes in her body. This was the first time she came into direct contact with someone else''s blood. It seemed that her body absorbed it directly through her skin. She was unaware of the existence of the system and could only feel around her abilities herself when Matt wasn''t around. Deep down she felt like something had awakened in her. Her hunger for more blood began to slowly build. She suddenly smiled under her mask and was excited for her next fight. Alexandria was determined to be more brutal with her next opponent. The next three fights were much more brutal than Alexandria''s fight. The seasoned veterans of this underground fighting ring seemed to know how to rile up the crowd. Last minute bets came down while the participants were leaving shes and bloody stains all over the ce. Some blood even managed to stter in Alexandria''s direction, and she licked her lips in anticipation. There were two fighters she was particrly interested in. One of them seemed to have modified their body to rapidly heal wounds using special nanomachines. This opponent was rather obese and bled a lot. His skin was particrly tough due to several treatments from the nanomachines, and his body was well nourished to maintain his excessive blood loss. In Alexandria''s eyes, that opponent could be summed up in two words: blood bag. The other fighter she was interested in had simr enhancements to her own, except hers were only to the skeletal system. Her whole body seemed to be covered in a metal skeleton. She used short daggers as her weapons but had a very primal way of fighting. Her eyes were also modified to be like an animal''s. The reason she was interested in this opponent is that she had no fear of taking injuries. This meant that she bled a lot. Seeing those two sessfully beat their opponents and move onto the next round made her very happy. The final fighters were of no interest to Alexandria. One had reced his blood with a blood-like substance with the consistency of mercury. She didn''t have any feeling of desire when seeing it spilled, additionally, it was semi-autonomous and would return to his body after being spilled. And the other opponent looked desated. His body was thin and frail, and his skin was pale. He seemed to be dead. There were operation marks around his neck area and a metal device on his head that seemed to be used for controlling his lower body. Alexandria wasn''t sure what was going on with this fighter, but he was nicknamed the Zombie so she could guess. Nevertheless, he probably didn''t have much blood, so he was useless to her. Fortunately, the Zombie lost against Mercury, so she didn''t have to be disgusted if they happened to match up next. She noticed the betting pools were even between the other fighters, it was only her that had such huge odds. There were only so many people on this ship, so it was umon for newbies to arrive. The other seven fighters were veterans. This made her wonder if there was another fighter that didn''t show up today or was severely injuredst time. However, those thoughts were instantly gone when she heard her name being called up. "Second round, First Match: Faceless vs Mercury!" ''Dammit, my blood bags!'' She cursed internally. Chapter 119: Further Advancement Chapter 119: Further Advancement Alexandria stepped on stage with a loud bang. Her step was heavier than she expected, likely rted to her mood. The spectators thought that she was upset to be paired to Mercury who was predicted to have a high chance of winning it all, so they immediately began betting against Alexandria. Soon, the odds against her shot up. Some gambling addicts put a few hundred on Alexandria winning, but the prize pool for her losing was double the previous match. Mercury stepped onto the stage amidst the cheering and waved his hand to the crowd. He had very short, coarse hair. His body wasn''t huge, but his fighting prowess was shown off. Alexandria examined him for a moment while the referee came to their side. Apparently, the organizer didn''t want to see such a good fighter like Alexandria lose too quickly, so he intervened. "Try to go easy this time. The boss wants to drag it out." "Of course." "Sure." Mercury and Alexandria replied simultaneously. Hearing herzy reply, Mercury misunderstood for a moment and thought she was looking down on him. However, her mask obscured most of her face, so he wasn''t sure. He justified it as she was just prepared to lose. "Fight!" After the referee stepped off the stage, he shouted into his microphone. Alexandria didn''t bother moving and let Mercury take the first attack. She had already agreed to dragging on the fight. Mercury decided to aim for non-vital areas at first. His strength was leagues above Alexandria''s previous opponent, but she still wasn''t worried. Once the kicknded at her side, the crowds cheering paused for a split second before they began roaring in excitement. Nothing happened! Alexandria grabbed his ankle and threw him back. She felt the skin around the ankle harden, so she put in more force than normal. However, she didn''t expect to hear a snap! Mercury jumped backward on his good leg and stood in a defensive stance. The fractured ankle was covered with a mercury-like substance, and he quickly regained his footing. However, to his surprise, something seemed wrong. Meanwhile, Alexandria''s eyes were closed as she felt some small changes in her body. Some of the liquid got on her wrist beneath her coat when she crushed his ankle. Normally, Mercury would retrieve the liquid. However, the alien cells inside her body directly absorbed the silver liquid. She realized why he was a favorite. The technology behind this silver liquid is derived from the living metal! She could instinctually feel the connection to the artificial cells in the silver liquid. It wasn''t the same as the living metal cells, but it shared themunication ability of the cells. Once her living metal hijacked themunication, it incorporated the liquid into her body. Matt and Alexandria had studied the living metal excessively but came to a roadblock in advancing her strength. This silver liquid was a potential next step to her growth! Alexandria took off her gloves and stuck her hand out with her palm t and fingers straight. Majoring in engineering and minoring in physics, Alexandria had a good understanding of basic concepts. The reason a bullet can prate an object tougher than itself is because the force applied in a smaller surface area is higher than when spread over arge area. Using this simple logic, Alexandria rushed Mercury with her t hand and shoved her fingers forward into his abdomen. Seeing this attack as a major provocation, Mercury decided to strike directly at her perceived weak spot. He had watched the previous fight and was aware of her strong body. After that previous attack, he had confirmed it himself. Therefore, he thrust his fingers forward in an attempt to gouge out Alexandria''s eyes. Their attacksnded simultaneously. Alexandria almost moaned in pleasure at the feeling coursing through her. Her hand buried itself into Mercury''s body, easily prating his hardened skin. The living metal worked quickly to begin extracting the silver liquid. Mercury was correct in his assumption about her eyes, but unfortunately, he brought the solution to Alexandria''s weakness directly to her. After falling backward from the sudden loss in his silver liquid, he watched as her destroyed eyes slowly repaired themselves. Being the creator of that technology, he vomited a mouthful of silver liquid. His abdomen was also repairing. Alexandria had directly snatched a fifth of his total volume of silver liquid. "Foul! She stole my technology!" Mercury shouted in frustration. The crowd didn''t even hear him because they were too amped up from the show. However, the referee did. He walked onto stage to assess the situation. This gave Alexandria enough time topletely recover her vision. She also discovered a portion of her living metal had grown and collected into the tissue of her eye, strengthening it. "Do you have evidence?" Alexandria snapped as soon as she could see. Although she didn''t read the rules, there was likely some sort of precedent to protecting the fighters'' unique modifications. If two fighters with the same abilities came up, it would detract from the overall excitement. "Strengthened body, strengthened healing, and being able to cut off my connection to the artificial cells and nanites. Only my technology can do this!" Although he sounded a bit arrogant with his words, he wasn''t lying. "Oh? What if I say I created something simr, but much stronger, that doesn''t rely on machines?" Alexandria said nonchntly. "Prove it! Show me your research notes!" Mercury waspletely shameless and directly asked her for proof despite being the instigator. She shook her head, pulled up her sleeve, and bit her forearm. Dark red blood flowed out before quickly clotting and healing. "Is this proof enough?" Despite not knowing what Mercury''s technology was exactly, based on his fights and hisck of blood, one probably needed to rece all their blood with the silver liquid. Seeing this, the referee walked off stage and shouted to resume the fight. "Impossible the only way that can be is if no way, no one can survive" Seeing him distracted and mumbling to himself, Alexandria went ahead and stabbed through his chest and abdomen again. Her body absorbed half of his silver blood before he passed out from blood loss. She withdrew her hands and walked off stage. "Winner: Faceless!" the referee announced. The crowd exploded in cheers. Normally, one sided fights were displeasing to the crowd, but Mercury was the top contender. He was usually the one to be brutal to others. Seeing how vicious and bloodthirsty Alexandria acted, they were hyped for the finals. However, when the stage was cleared and the next contenders stepped up, the new round of gambling began. Many realized they lost all of their credits, while very few hid their faces and pocketed their massive earnings. Bragging about wealth in the current atmosphere would cause them to be beaten. Alexandria only half-paid attention to the next fight as she stared at her earnings. It was an additional twenty-thousand credits. With this, she should be able to secure some good information and perhaps some other supplementary things for Matt. Thinking about him, she smiled. Alexandria was sure that he would be happy to study the silver liquid in her body. Ever since the previous research ended, she knew that their time together would drastically decrease. A guide robot rolled over to her side and beeped twice. Alexandria turned her head to look and saw the little thing next to her. Before she could ask, the interface changed to a camera feed. In it was a dark silhouette sitting in arge leather office chair. The person spoke and their voice was altered by a modtor. "Faceless, I am impressed with your performance. If you win today, I will personally bestow a gift to you." "Okay." She replied curtly and didn''t even take the matter to heart. This was probably the boss of the operation, or even the boss of the whole underworld. She didn''t care much for this gift that was promised. Seeing her attitude, the bossmanded the robot to leave, so it turned and wheeled away. The fight between the blood bag and metal woman was still ongoing, so Alexandria decided to watch. Their fighting style was very simr, and they seemed to know each other very well. After observing for longer, she realized their facial features were very simr. She wondered if they were rted. After watching the remainder of the fight, something suddenly clicked in her brain. "Wait they look simr" One of the backup referees overheard her and responded. "That''s right, they are siblings! Quite the genius pair. Their fights are always interesting!" Alexandria turned to look at the referee''s face and examined his features. She could tell him apart from the two fighters. It happened so suddenly; she didn''t even realize it. Once she paid attention to her current state, she realized something wasn''t right. Rather, it was extremely right. Her whole body felt rxed andfortable. Alexandria felt something beckoning her in the depths of her mind. It seemed to be her instinctual desire to be stronger. If she epted the improvement, she would be closer to Matt. However, she calmed her mind down.. The instinctual drive also came with a bit of information. Hide before advancing! The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and continue reading tomorrow, everyone!