The homnd of the Cultists is vastly different from Earth—a ce of high temperatures and scarce water, resembling Earth''s deserts. Without their psychic abilities, they could never have built a civilization on such a barren.


    Berzan 02''s environment bears a strong resemnce to their homnd. Endless red sands and rocky terrain, asionally interrupted by glimmers of blue oases—featuresmonly seen on the Cultists'' homeworld.


    Just as their ancestors built an empire upon the sand, their descendants constructed sprawling cities atop the crimson earth.


    A forest of buildings stretches across the vast desert. The pale ivory structures reflect the light of the sands, casting a reddish hue.


    It has been a day since we arrived here, with the help of a new underling.


    The day I infected Knowledge Keeper Charas, I sent the information we had gathered from her and the ship to PS-111. Details like which vessel to stow away on to enter Berzan 02 undetected and where that ship was currently located.


    While we spent two days aboard a battleship, they covertly boarded a massive cargo freighter en route to the Aur Star System.


    Since Adhai, the fastest among us, carried PS-111 and 26, boarding the freighter was not difficult.


    Of course, it wasn’t entirely smooth. PS-111’s size nearly got it caught on radar during boarding, but ording to it, 26’s quick thinking saved the day.Anyway, their freighter arrives today. For now, I’m waiting at the port district with Charas.


    “It’s here,” said Charas, seated in the cockpit of her personal spacecraft.


    Through the reinforced ss at the ship''s front, we watched a massive vesselnd. Its gray exterior and long, rectangr design were crude but functional—a cargo ship formerly used by StarUnion forbor supply.


    Berzan 02 is one of thergest ve markets in the Cultist Empire. Forbor suppliers, there’s no better ce to source cyborg materials.


    Somewhere within that colossal ship, they’re hiding.


    When the ship’s doors opened, cyborgs disembarked. They didn’t seem to be unloading cargo, but when the ship departs, it’ll likely be filled with cryo-containers packed with humans and other species.


    “What’s the n?”


    “We wait.”


    Though the cyborgs had disembarked, too many eyes were still watching. I waited for the area to clear.


    ‘This should do.’


    After about three hours, the number of Cultists and outsiders in the vicinity dwindled significantly.


    “Get ready.”


    Following mymand, Charas maneuvered her ship close to the freighter’s side, as nned. As we approached, a side hatch on the freighter opened, as if on cue.


    In response, the rear hatch of our ship opened swiftly. As the two openings aligned, three familiar silhouettes emerged.


    They quickly boarded Charas’ spacecraft, and she wasted no time elerating out of the port.


    [ZZZ ZZZZ (Good job, all three of you.)]


    “An error of approximately two seconds urred but remained within eptable parameters. No significant issues arose.”


    ?Little Big One!?


    ?Big One??Why??did you get smaller??


    Reunited after a few days, they were just as lively as ever.


    26, having shrunk itself, perched atop my head, while Adhai prodded my thick fur with her forepaws.


    “So, where to next?”


    Charas, piloting the spacecraft, turned to ask me.


    She showed no sign of unease despite sharing her ship with four monsters. Perhaps the surreal nature of her reality had convinced her this was all a vivid nightmare.


    At her question, I looked toward PS-111. Its red-lensed eyes flickered as it processed iing data from the MPS-05 it was synchronized with.


    “‘Mid-One’ has secured a hiding spot and is waiting for us there, It said.”


    While I waited at the port, the Mother of the Sky and MPS-05 had gone ahead to scout for a ce where I could stay hidden.


    The effect of ‘Clever Weakling’sts seven days, and three days had already passed. In four more days, my body would revert to itsrger form.


    ‘There’s a chance we won’t find 22nd in time.’


    Even if we knew themunicator''s location, there was no guarantee 22nd would be near it. Searching the entire could be necessary.


    In anticipation of such dys, I had asked her to prepare a hideout in advance.


    [ZZZZ ZZZZZ (Guide Charas.)]


    PS-111 responded to my words, crawling toward the cockpit. The sight of a seven-meter-long humanoid-faced spider, excluding its tail, made Charas flinch despite herposure.


    “To the old hover-bus center on Glory Street,” it said.


    “…Understood.”


    Our spacecraft flew past countless buildings, heading toward the destination.


    As we progressed, the buildings adorned with reddish hues became sparse, reced by ominous-looking structures.


    ‘So that’s why they chose Glory Street...’


    I was familiar with Glory Street—a district on the outskirts of the city, notorious for its proximity to a major ve market and its frequent Cultist visitors.


    But what I saw through the reinforced ss bore no resemnce to anything glorious.


    ‘It’s fallen into ruin.’


    The once-bustling ve market was nowhere in sight. The area was littered with buildings half-buried in sand, a testament to its decline.


    Charasnded the spacecraft in front of arge structure resembling an inverted triangle. The building looked entirely neglected.


    From inside, the Mother of the Sky emerged, in her beast-like form, walking out to greet us.


    [ZZZ ZZZZ ZZZZZ (Impressive that you found a ce like this.)]


    ?Because it’s ‘a ce like this,’ it was cheap, wasn’t it??


    [ZZZ (Fair point.)]


    ?Originally, this hover-bus center was built with the ve market in mind. But when arger market was established elsewhere, the area declined, and the center was abandoned.?


    She was right. On our way here, we hadn’t seen any other ships or Cultists around.


    ?Oh, and the broker told me an interesting story.?


    [ZZZZ ZZ (Interesting story?)]


    ?It’s better if you see it for yourself.?


    Her amber eyes, reflecting a deeper hue under the reddish light, curved like crescent moons as she gave a sly smile. She led us inside without further exnation.


    The interior of the hover-bus center was the epitome of destion. Cracked walls revealed rusting steel beams, and sand covered the floor in thickyers.


    ‘At least it’s spacious.’


    Despite its age, the ce wasrge enough to amodate my full-sized form with room to spare. But it seemed the Mother of the Sky had more to show.


    ‘Stairs?’


    For a hover-bus center, a connection to an underground area seemed out of ce.


    Following her down, we were greeted by a massive subterranean space and iplete tracks branching in various directions.


    ‘Now I see why she wanted me to see it myself.’


    It appeared this hover-bus center had been intended to double as a subway facility.


    ?It was never finished, so it isn’t connected to anywhere else. Opposition was too strong, apparently.?


    The Cultists’ homeworld, a desert, has never favored building underground structures. They’ll only construct such things when deemed necessary, like the subway system on the space fortress. But here on Berzan 02, such measures weren’t deemed essential.


    ‘And even if they built one in a ce like this, no one would use it.’


    I surveyed the half-built underground station.


    ‘This is perfect.’


    As a hideout, this location had everything we needed. The unconnected tracks were advantageous. If necessary, I could always dig more myself.


    ?And there’s more to see.?


    [ZZ (Hmm?)]


    “I will exin from here,” PS-111 interjected, stepping forward.


    As we moved deeper inside, PS-111 reunited with MPS-05. It approached a terminal tucked away in a corner and began operating it. Sparks erupted from the cavernous ceiling, followed by the grating sound of old machinery behind the walls.


    Soon, a decrepit camera projected an image of a several-meter-wide sphere onto the wall.


    ‘This is... Berzan 02?’


    Over the map of Berzan 02, colorful markers floated sporadically.


    “This is the nned map of hover-bus centers and their surrounding ve markets on Berzan 02,” PS-111 said.


    ?Given 22nd’s species, they are most likely disguising themselves as a ve in one of the markets.?


    [ZZZZ ZZ ZZZZ ZZ ZZ Z ZZ ZZZZ ZZZZZZZ (So these markers might indicate where they are?)]


    ?Yes, starting from here would be best.?


    22nd belongs to the Coldbloods, a species persecuted by the Empire. Disguising themselves as a ve would be a strategic move, especially on a where the Prophet Order’srgest branch operates.


    ‘Not a bad start.’


    I leaned closer to examine the map of Berzan 02.


    ‘They sell creatures at ve markets too.’


    While ve trading is the primary business,rge-scale locations like Berzan 02 also deal in rare creatures on asion.


    ‘Not quite on the level of Kesha Arma, but still worthwhile.’


    Finding 22nd while simultaneously gathering gic essences seemed like a productive n.


    ---


    A White Room


    In the sterile, white chamber, a woman with ck hair sat on a chair, her head bowed low.


    Behind her stood two indistinct figures, their faces obscured by a haze of ck mist, as if they had been deliberately pixted.


    The faceless figures leaned close to her ears, whispering incessantly. Their murmurs were so persistent that their expressions were almost palpable, despite theck of visible features.


    The room reverberated with a cacophony of whispers, no longer subtle or gentle. It filled the spacepletely, yet the woman remained still, as if oblivious to the oppressive noise.


    Suddenly, she lifted her head.


    Her ck eyes, mirroring the hue of her hair, stared straight ahead.


    The woman spoke.


    ?You must ■■ t


    “Gah!”


    Si-Hyun Yujin gasped, jolting awake. Her face reflected faintly on the transparent biocapsule wall in front of her.


    Sweat-soaked strands of ck hair clung to her skin, her visage eerily resembling the woman she had seen in her dream.


    ‘That dream again.’


    Since her resurrection in a cloned body, her dreams had always been the same. She would relive the moment when the unidentified monstrosity that killed "Si-Hyun Yujin" struck her down once more.


    PR/N:- The author referred Si-Hyun as ‘it’ because this is a clone version of Si-Hyun, so we will also be using ‘it’ from here onwards.


    No matter what she tried, the nightmares never left her.


    That was, until the day she obtained the artifact on the Gagon’s. Since that day, the dreams of being attacked by the unidentified creature had vanished.


    But in their ce came this dream.


    The dream of two beings whispering endlessly to her.


    At first, their voices were sweet andforting. They seemed to guide her as if she were lost, leading her onto the correct path.


    But at some point, her perception shifted. She began to feel an unease, a revulsion. It wasn’t guidance they offered; it was control.


    Once that thought took root, the pleasant dream turned into a nightmare. Now, she couldn’t sleep unless she was inside the biocapsule.


    "They said there was a mountain beyond the mountain."


    With a brief, self-deprecating murmur, Si-hyun rose from the capsule.


    As the ss walls opened, a cool breeze enveloped its bare body. The cold air from the air conditioning swept away the beads of sweat on its skin.


    When it stepped out of the capsule, the lights gradually activated, casting a natural light across the room.


    The soft glow illuminated a room that exuded both elegance and an exotic atmosphere. The geometric patterns on the walls and ceiling were unlike anything found in Megacorp’s facilities.


    Even in such an unfamiliar space, Si-Hyun walked out of the capsule with ease.


    Though the difort from the nightmare had eased, it didn’t feel like sleeping again anytime soon.


    It picked up the gown and pad left beside the capsule. As always, it decided to start the day earlier than the others.


    ‘It will be hard to recruit more personnel now. Quality must be considered as much as quantity...’


    While focusing on its tasks, time passed by. But the sound of a knock suddenly broke its concentration.


    "Come in."


    The door, with a vintage design, opened to reveal a creature that resembled a reptilian human base mixed with insect features.


    This was a species notmonly seen in Megacorp, a Coldblood. The creature, smaller than usual Coldbloods, wore a silver ne around its neck.


    "Did you cough, Si-hyun Yujin?"


    "It seems the meeting time has alreadye."


    "Yes. Min-seok Yujin is waiting in the reception room on the first floor."


    "I’ll be there soon. Wait for me. I’ll dress myself."


    "Understood."


    Despite the words, the Coldblood brought Si-Hyun its clothing and offered it. Si-Hyun narrowed its eyes slightly but said nothing.


    It knew why the Coldblood acted like this. The excessive politeness, as though addressing royalty, was because this creature was a ve.


    And such scenes weremon on this ce, Berzan 02.


    After dressing, just before leaving the room, Si-Hyun spoke.


    "Always, thank you."


    The Coldblood only bowed its head in response, offering no verbal reply. It wasn’t expecting one in return, either.


    Once the room’s upant had left, the Coldblood quietly raised its head.


    Its vertical pupils, characteristic of reptiles, reflected Si-Hyun’s retreating figure. Only the creature knew what thoughts ran through its mind.


    After watching Si-Hyun for a moment, the Coldblood resumed cleaning the room, as usual.