Chapter 109

Chapter 109. Living Test Subjects Are Precious, You Say?

Of course, the curiosity about Gryanarr’s strange behavior didn’t last long.

It couldn’t have, because it was only a matter of minutes before our eccentric Professor Gryanarr started acting all mad-scientist-like.

The reason for his behavior became clear when an event message popped up right in front of my eyes.

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<Event>

<Wow! Free Test Subjects!!!>

<Content: Gryanarr, who has been dedicated to various technological developments for a long time, has shown an almost obsessive level of expertise in new technologies.>

<However, when it comes to the recently sparked interest in 'biotechnology,' proper results have been hard to come by.>

<Of course, the reason for this is the lack of proper clinical trials.>

<Biotechnology, especially when aiming to enhance superhumans, absolutely requires humanoid test subjects for experiments...>

<Unfortunately, due to the indifference of a certain commander in the area where Gryanarr resides, obtaining proper test subjects has been as difficult as plucking stars from the sky.>

<Until now, Gryanarr has been conducting experiments using humanoid meat-dummies made from monster cells, thanks to Oxianor's generosity.>

<Or, on rare occasions, when tasked with enhancing the superhumans in the base, he could at least attempt something resembling an experiment.>

<But now, with the appearance of a large group of pirate captives, Gryanarr sees an opportunity to obtain a massive number of test subjects that he can freely experiment on...>

<This has excited him greatly, and he earnestly hopes to be given the pirates.>

<Option 1: ...The pirates who plundered us look pitiful. (Hand over all captured pirates to Gryanarr, slightly increase the chance of 'Enhancement Success,' and boost 'Biotechnology' research speed by 10%)>

<Option 2: Pirates are people too! Just make them work! (Allows construction of a forced labor camp, pirates can be immediately put to work, but rebellion chance increases by 5%)>

<Option 3: Ugh, just kill them all. (Execute all pirate captives, increase the chance of being attacked by pirates not affiliated with the 'Pirate Alliance' by 15%)>

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And it even came with detailed options, laid out like a menu.

‘Hmm.’

Aside from the long-winded content, the options themselves were quite telling.

Option 1 meant the pirate captives… Wait, so the pirate friends would be turned into lab rats, huh?

Option 2 was, as expected, a one-way ticket to the coal mines.

Option 3 was…

‘Wait, something feels off here.’

Wondering if I had misunderstood, I called Jessica over and showed her the event message, asking if she understood it.

Jessica read through the options and shook her head.

“Everything else aside, Option 3 is basically telling you not to do it, Commander.”

“Hmm.”

“It’s not about reducing the chance of being attacked by pirates, but increasing it by 15%… That would make mining operations in the Resource Zone a huge hassle.”

“Ah, I see.”

After Jessica’s explanation, I crossed out Option 3 and was left with Options 1 and 2. I kept pondering over them, but…

‘Hmm… No matter how I look at it, this feels like they’re holding a knife to my throat and forcing me to pick Option 1.’

Options 2 and 3 might seem normal at first glance, but they sneakily include some nasty consequences, clearly designed to screw me over later.

I only realized it now, but what on earth does ‘Rebellion Chance +5%’ in Option 2 even mean?

Anyway, the important thing is that Options 2 and 3 only *look* fine on the surface.

In reality, they exist purely to mess with people, so…

I shook my head internally and immediately declared my choice of Option 1.

<Option 1: ...The pirates who plundered us look pitiful. (Hand over all captured pirates to Gryanarr, slightly increase the chance of 'Enhancement Success,' and boost 'Biotechnology' research speed by 10%)>

“Gryanarr, you handle them from now on.”

“…Ohhh!”

Upon hearing my words, Gryanarr’s face lit up with a grin.

Soon, his signature purple glow began to radiate intensely as he…

Wan, dragging pirate prisoners with severed limbs and tentacles, hurriedly made his way to his nest… no, the Biological Research Institute.

And just like that, as Gryanarr and the maggots(?) disappeared, I decided to bring back the precious(?) experimental subjects(?) and leave some words of praise for Marian, who had been diligently managing them.

“Marian, you’ve worked so hard to bring these back and take care of them.”

“Uh, well, um… it’s nothing! Don’t worry too much about it!”

Of course, as always, Marian responded to my shower of praise by grinning from ear to ear, barely holding onto her composure, and looking utterly satisfied.

==========

Anyway, even amidst these trivial matters, the Ministry of Defense… no, our clock kept ticking. And perhaps because of that, the pressure from the excessive repair costs had finally lifted.

It had been three days since Gryanarr took the pirate prisoners away.

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<Favor Points: 452,332 points>

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While she was too immersed in research to come out for quests, the other four of us diligently worked on high-level quests in her place.

“Paperwork quests give surprisingly low points, huh?”

“Well, what can you do? Compared to the quests solved by superhumans like Ignis, the content is easier, after all.”

Jessica and I, along with Oxianor’s monster quests, steadily progressed through the daily quests. In just three days, we managed to earn 150,000 points, showing a decent start.

And most importantly…

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<Event>

<Chimera Production Project Complete!>

<Details: Professor Gryanarr, after grinding up dozens, no, hundreds of prisoners (due to command post space issues), has succeeded in creating a self-sufficient Chimera force within the base, separate from the 'Monster Breeding Facility.'>

<As of now, the production of 'Chimera Soldiers' is possible within the base.>

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‘Wow! Chimeras!’

I had been wondering what she was doing, holed up in the Biological Research Institute without even handling quests.

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<Chimera Soldiers>

<Each one is comparable to a D-rank superhuman.>

<Although the individuals who became Chimeras probably didn't want this, no one asked for their opinion, so they ended up as obedient biological weapons living a new life.>

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Hearing that we could now produce soldiers far superior to the regular troops or androids we used for shipboard combat, I felt immensely satisfied and decided to head straight to the Biological Research Institute to commend her.

But as soon as I opened the grotesquely transformed door of the Biological Research Institute and stepped inside…

“Ah, Commander? It’s been a while.”

“…”

“So, what do you think of the new ‘Chimera Production Facility’?”

Along with the sight of pirate prisoners turned into… whatever they were now, and some indescribably bizarre scene unfolding, I had no choice but to praise Gryanarr, who was overflowing with confidence, and quickly backstep out of the research institute with Jessica.