Chapter 512

Episode 512. Cold, gloomy, and complicated. (5)

Well, it’s true that there were some minor incidents, but other than that, there didn’t seem to be any major issues.

I decided not to care at all about whether the users in this area formed clans or not and just have my own time.

After all, there wasn’t any big event happening right now, and it’s not like the surrounding users were invading either.

On the flip side, I didn’t have any plans to invade anywhere myself, so enjoying this peaceful time was the right thing to do, right?

So, no matter what the users in the area did, as long as it wasn’t hostile, I made it clear that they could do whatever they wanted.

“Oh, oppa, you know I’m pregnant now, so you think I can’t do anything reckless, right?”

“Yeah, so there’s no need to push yourself so hard…”

*Thud!*

“But other places are totally fine to use…♡”

“Huh?”

After meeting Marian for the first time in a while, I got caught up in her plan to squeeze me dry using every part of her except the “front.”

And then, after all that…

“Hyeet, oh, oppa, be a little gentler… Ahhh!”

Watching Marian, who had become a third-rate hole, get completely wrecked by me, who had been strengthened by Grigri’s insane stamina potion.

I spent a sticky, steamy time with Marian, going “ushaa ushaa, ungnya ungnya, pat-gomul, eung, and push push, eungnyo bet, eunggiit.”

Of course, I wasn’t a wild stallion galloping across the plains, so I didn’t just do that kind of stuff.

I also did quite a lot of other things, spending my time very productively.

But what kind of things, you ask? For example…

*Boom!*

*Kyaaaaaah!!*

“What the heck is that?”

“It’s a chimera weapon created by Professor Gryanarr and Dr. Nero by combining mechanical and biological traits.”

“…Chimera weapon?”

“Yeah, you know that D-class superhuman the Commander got last time? They used that as material.”

“But why is it rampaging in the middle of the base now?”

“Apparently, there was a malfunction in the drug injection machine, and instead of a sedative, they injected a stimulant.”

There was also an incident where the joint chimera Kanfu created by Grigri and Nero Nero went berserk, causing superhumans to fight each other in the base.

“Your ears are so soft, it feels nice.”

“Meow… It feels good when you touch me too.”

“Since they’re cat ears, it would feel even better if you put your hand inside the furry part, right?”

“Oh.”

With not much to do, Ignis spent his time fiddling with Smeragi’s ears while she sat in front of him.

“Uh, hey, wait, how far is this going in?”

“Meowaaaah♡”

“Shouldn’t I pull my hand out? Is this really okay?!”

“Ah, nooo! Don’t, don’t pull it out, meowaaaah♡”

“Holy crap.”

Maybe it was because Gryanarr had done some intense modifications earlier.

Ignis was shocked to see his hand go all the way up to his forearm inside Smeragi’s ear.

“Commander Icarus, one of my hobby fleet’s Harpy-class ships has gone missing… Do you happen to know where it went?”

“A ship just disappeared?”

Hearing a story that sounded like the start of a Neapolitan ghost story from Princess Luka, I thought this event might be ghost-themed and got interested.

“Um… Princess, I’m sorry, but we found where the Harpy-class is.”

“Oh?”

“But… it’s… uh.”

“Where is it? I can’t pinpoint its exact location on the neural network.”

“Well, it seems that Commander Icarus’s Kraken No. 3 ate our Harpy-class.”

“Whoa.”

“What.”

It turned out that Kraken No. 3, who was less than a week old, got tired and hungry while leveling up and secretly ate one of Princess Luka’s ships as a snack.

Because of that, I had to apologize to Princess Luka and compensate her with resources to build a new ship.

Nothing too serious, but all sorts of random incidents kept happening, keeping me constantly entertained.

==========

But not long after I started experiencing these things, some trivial rumors started creeping in from all over.

And skipping all the miscellaneous stuff, if I were to pick just the juicy bits…

—————————————–

Title: Is it true that the Icarus Kingdom will give up its territory to users if they form a clan?

Author: ㅇㅇ

Content: [Users in the clan chatroom getting excited about possibly receiving territory rights from Icarus.jpg]

So, if there’s a clan that took over a base, are they supposed to just hand it over or something?

Wow, insane.

Comments:

– [No way they’d do that lololol]

– [What kind of templar is this?]

– [Dude, logically, why would Icarus give you guys territorial rights?;;]

– [Our Clan Leader said they’d give it though]

—————————————–

Title: Heard they’re taking over bases and solidifying a proxy control system.

Author: ㅇㅇ

Content: [A user.jpg from some chatroom where Icarus is talking about transferring base authority to users and switching to a proxy control system.]

Is this for real?

No matter how I think about it, it sounds like total nonsense.

I’m a newbie who just joined a clan, so I don’t know if that’s true or not.

Comments:

– [These kinds of stories keep popping up lately]

– [Just go ask Icarus directly, why are you asking us;;]

– [But all those bases are places Icarus took over themselves, why would they just hand them over for free?]

– [There’s talk that managing multiple bases is too much, so they’re handing them over, but is that just BS?] (Author)

– [How would I know? If I knew, I wouldn’t be here, I’d be Icarus]

—————————————–

Title: Isn’t this just Icarus pulling some trick because they don’t want to create a massive clan in the Central Zone?

Author: ㅇㅇ

Content: [A conspiracy theory.jpg about Icarus reorganizing the ruling structure through clans.]

They’re saying it’s because being the Clan Leader would be too much responsibility.

So they’re creating small clan leaders to divide the territory, let them gain experience, and then later absorb them all to naturally form a massive clan structure.

Comments:

– [That’s what it is]

– [They’re all a bunch of jerks!]

– [Oh, that’s a really interesting take]

– [But didn’t the person in question clearly say they’d never run a clan?]

– [People’s minds can change, you know ㅇㅇ]

– [It’s better to step back and observe for now, the person in question hasn’t said anything]

—————————————–

“What kind of nonsense is this?”

“Exactly.”

Seeing all these ridiculous conspiracy theories popping up, I naturally felt my brain short-circuiting and my sanity ascending to the heavens.

Of course, that dazed state didn’t last long.

“Commander, snap out of it and assess the situation first.”

“Y-yeah, you’re right.”

Thanks to Jessica shaking my shoulder and bringing me back to reality, I managed to pull myself together and figure out what the heck was going on.