——————
HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator – Seraph]
[Proofreader – Draxx]
Join our Discord for release updates!
https://discord.com/invite/dbdMDhzWa2
——————
Chapter 328
The next morning, I left the mansion with PS-111 in tow.
Today, the Mother of the Sky decided to stay behind with the children.
Although the mansion's owner had disguised their departure as a distant journey, it still felt odd that no one was around. When someone visits the mansion, it’s more natural for the managing slave to show their face. In reality, the house is in a remote location, so it’s unlikely anyone would come, but you can never be too sure.
"I am looking forward to meeting someone who knows me."
"I saw you yesterday."
"This is the first time seeing you with my own eyes."
It pointed at its eye with its hooked claws. The red camera lens, which replaced its eyeball, expanded and contracted repeatedly.
It had been in this state since yesterday. Despite its body being mostly mechanical, its anticipation and excitement were clearly evident.
‘This is the first time meeting someone who knows about the original.’
Ever since watching a video of the Mutant Screamer's creation on the Pyra Eleven's ship, PS-111 had become curious about what its original was like. It had never been to the Star Union's domain, so that curiosity remained unfulfilled.
If it were Isabel, the twin sister of the deceased 18th-ranked Penelope, she could probably grant its wish.
I boarded the airship with PS-111 and headed towards the warehouse area.
The warehouses were stacked in blocks, forming a massive pyramid-like structure. At the base of the pyramid, there was a large warehouse rented in the name of Charas.
After landing in front of the warehouse, I got off first. I authenticated using Charas' terminal pad, and the shielded door opened immediately.
PS-111, which had been holding the control stick, entered the warehouse along with the airship.
"There are no cameras here. You can get off."
Upon hearing my words, the biomechanical creature, with its eight long legs, crawled out of the airship.
"When will I be able to see ‘my sibling’?"
"It'll take a few more hours."
"You said they were twins, so they should be genetically identical to me."
"Well, maybe."
"Meeting another 'me' that wasn't cloned. It's quite an impressive experience."
In truth, the possibility of them being exactly the same was low. The fact that Isabel and Penelope were twins was based on the real world.
Based on what had happened so far, players who had fallen into Space Survival were born with bodies completely different from those in the real world. It wasn’t just their bodies that had changed many of them were not even human anymore.
Thus, the two sisters, aside from being the same species, probably didn’t have much in common. They had arrived in this world at very different times.
But if I explained this, it would get too complicated, so I decided to keep quiet.
As time passed, it became clear that it was almost time for her to arrive. While waiting, I heard someone knocking on the door from the outside.
‘She’s here.’
I operated the warehouse terminal to open the door. Isabel, dressed in a full-body cloth and wearing a gray mask, appeared. Since it was a place with cameras, she had disguised herself to sneak in.
She gave me a slight nod in greeting, then quickly walked over to PS-111.
"Nice to meet you. I am PS-111."
"......"
Isabel silently removed her gray mask and extended her hand. PS-111 lowered its body to make it easier for her to touch its face.
Her thin, delicate hand moved slowly before touching PS-111’s face.
As her hand made contact with the cold metal skin, Isabel trembled slightly. I could feel her emotions shifting.
"...As expected, it's you. You’re almost exactly the same as I remember."
She threw aside the mask and gently caressed PS-111’s face with both hands.
"Do you know my face?"
"Of course, I do. How could I not recognize my sister's face after seeing it for years?"
"I am Coldblood. My current face is quite different from the original."
At PS-111’s words, Isabel shook her head slowly.
"Have you never wondered why you ended up like this after you were destroyed once?"
"It’s thanks to the main controller’s energy and the organic material provided by the Amorph that made up my body."
"Then why did you end up like this? Couldn’t you have taken a more efficient form?"
Over 80% of PS-111's body is made of machinery, and it never hesitates when it speaks. But this time, even it couldn't bring itself to deny what was pointed out.
‘Now that I think about it…?’
Until Isabel made her observation, it hadn’t occurred to PS-111.
The current PS-111 was created after being destroyed while fighting an Ice Horror, and absorbing the psychic power of Number 26 and the organic material I provided. When compared to the Mutant Screamers produced by the Star Union, there was a significant difference in appearance.
Even when looking at the Mutant Screamers designed by Pyra Eleven, they were more like hybrids with randomly spliced genes, not at all like PS-111's well-defined form.
‘It almost seemed like it had an intangible structure.’
The face, in particular, was where this difference was most noticeable. PS-111’s face was gradually becoming more human, resembling that of a human woman. Aside from the red eyes and pale chrome-colored skin, it was hard to tell the difference.
Isabel raised her heels and moved even closer to PS-111. The Coldblood’s characteristic protruding snout was now near the pale chrome skin.
"This is really your face, isn't it?"
It spoke with a determined voice.
"Is it really the face?"
"Yes. Both of us, you and I, this is the face we had before becoming our current bodies."
"Does that mean my body and the sibling's body have switched?"
"I’m not exactly sure, but I think it’s something like that."
"Both of you were test subjects. I’ve gathered important information, so I will record it."
At PS-111’s unexpected reaction, Isabel let out a small laugh.
"I have a lot of questions for you, sibling."
"Not sibling call me Isabel."
"Unable to confirm. I lack the authority to reclassify the code name as 'Isabel'. Apologies."
"Ah, I guess it can’t be helped. What do you want to ask?"
Isabel asked in a soft voice. It was such a different tone from when we fought; she seemed completely gentle now.
PS-111, excited like a child receiving a gift, and Isabel, transformed into someone else entirely these were both sides I’d never seen before.
I watched them converse from a distance, enjoying their conversation.
Surprisingly, Isabel didn’t ask many questions. Perhaps because she knew that PS-111’s memories were incomplete, she spent most of the time answering PS-111's questions instead.
About an hour later, Isabel, who had been sitting beside PS-111, got up. She put the gray mask back on and approached me.
"Leaving already?"
"Yeah. I’ve got a busy day ahead, so I need to leave early."
"I see."
"Thanks for arranging this meeting."
The hostile demeanor she’d had when we first met was completely gone.
"You’ll be seeing me more often from now on, so there’s no need to thank me already."
"Right."
"I still have a lot to ask."
Hearing my words, Isabel made a sound that was somewhat like a laugh. The first time I saw her smile, she immediately left the warehouse.
"How was it? Was it a satisfying time?"
"If I were capable of feeling regret, I would be sad not to stay longer with my sibling or Isabel."
"I’m glad you’re happy."
After Isabel left, PS-111 approached me.
"I now have a new goal, thanks to the unexpected information I gathered."
"A new goal?"
"Yes."
As I fiddled with the terminal to leave the warehouse, PS-111 chattered next to me.
"My sibling said that I had many family members in the past."
"Family? Oh, you mean the Coldbloods in the underground."
"Yes. They were biologically unrelated individuals, but my original self irrationally decided to save them."
"Really?"
I had assumed that Isabel was the one who saved them, but it seemed that wasn’t the case.
‘Did the 18th-ranked person save them, and then it was passed on to PS-111?’
"My sibling judged them as your legacy and continuously supplied them with material resources."
As though reading my thoughts, PS-111 immediately resolved my confusion.
‘So that’s why it acted so awkwardly.’
Whenever the slaves referred to her as the savior, Isabel always showed a strange reaction. I thought it was because she was embarrassed, but that wasn’t it.
The real savior wasn’t her, but her older sister.
As PS-111 described it, the 40 Coldbloods were the legacy left by her twin sister.
‘Responsibility, and perhaps a sense of debt.’
The responsibility to protect those left behind by her sister, and the sense of indebtedness she felt whenever she saw them, knowing that she was the only one who survived. These two feelings likely bound Isabel.
"But you, sibling, insisted on illogical decisions, even as a slave. If you were an Amorph, you would have consumed everything to minimize your weaknesses."
I wanted to deny it, but I couldn’t. If I were in its place, I’d probably do the same.
"It’s not for me to say, but ‘illogical decisions’ aren’t necessarily bad."
"Is that so?"
"If I had only stuck to rational decisions, there wouldn’t be anyone left around me."
When I found out that Number 26 was a Sea Demon, I hesitated, but in the end, I didn’t consume it.
When I first met the mutated Gallagon Adhai, I wondered whether to eat it, but chose to spare its life.
I hadn’t taken the life of Mother of the Sky either, keeping her as insurance, but she had now become a solid ally.
"You wanted to kill me at first. I was too dangerous."
"I agree. I was an imperfect collection of elements, so it would have been reasonable to eliminate me."
"But you didn’t."
"Did you keep me because you thought I’d be useful in the future?"
"Not exactly, but something like that."
In my case, I judged that it would be more beneficial for the children to stay with me, so I made the decision. The fact that 18th-ranked Penelope saved the slaves should be understood in a completely different context.
‘It was probably a moral decision.’
Though I’ve never met Penelope directly in this world, judging by Isabel’s behavior, I can guess that’s what happened.
She must have felt pity for the wretched lives of the slaves and tried to help them.
‘In that sense, they’re alike.’
Isabel, a slave herself, taking care of other slaves, and her sister, trying to save her fellow kin leading miserable lives. The two were like reflections in a mirror. Calling them the "Savior Sisters" wouldn’t be far off. But that doesn’t mean the sisters should meet the same tragic end.
‘Once we leave here, most of what torments her will be gone.’
The legacy of the 18th-ranked person will live in a safe place, and the pain of losing her sister will be somewhat alleviated by PS-111. Even if there are scars left on her heart, what happens next is something no one can predict.
"I’m curious to see what kind of results illogical decisions will lead to. I’ll continue observing the family your original self left behind."
"Right. Once we leave here, you’ll be able to watch them."
I had set it so that the warehouse doors would open automatically when the airship approached, and I climbed aboard with PS-111.
"Or you could talk with Isabel. She might understand you better than I do."
"I agree. My sibling will be a great help to my development."
"You two must be such good sisters."
If PS-111 gets upgraded, it will be a huge benefit to me.
Isabel, too, would probably want to stay by her sister’s side. After seeing her today, I’m certain that she would follow me just to take care of PS-111.
‘If Isabel becomes an ally, dealing with other rankers’ threats will be much easier.’
I had been moving stealthily, avoiding rankers so far, due to a lack of information about my enemies. With Isabel around, I’d be able to move much more proactively.
The information and potential she held were not bad at all.
PS-111 and I returned to the mansion with a happy heart.
The next day, Isabel and I waited in the secluded alley where we were supposed to meet her.
But no matter how long we waited, Isabel didn’t show up.
---
When Si-Hyun Yujin opened her eyes, she momentarily thought she hadn’t woken up from a dream yet.
After obtaining the artifact, she always slept in a bio capsule. However, the sensations she felt throughout her body now were far from the artificial comfort the capsule usually provided.
The mattress gently wrapping around her back and waist, and the comfortable weight she felt on her chest, were things she couldn’t experience in the bio capsule.
She was currently lying on a luxurious bed. Only after recognizing this did she realize she must have fainted.
"Are you awake?"
At that moment, the door opened, and a familiar face walked in.
It was a Coldblood maid who had been taking care of her at the hotel. The small-statured Coldblood moved across the spacious room and placed a tray with a towel and cup next to her bed.
"Where is this?"
"This is the recovery room. We found you collapsed in your room and moved you here."
The Coldblood maid spoke as she handed Si-Hyun a drink.
"This is a juice made from wild cactus and several fruits. It should help ease your headache."
Upon hearing that it would alleviate her pain, Si-Hyun immediately drank the juice. She was taken aback.
She had expected it to be one of those usual promises, but the effect was remarkable. The intense pain in her head, which felt like it was being squeezed by a press, completely disappeared.
"...This is good."
"If you'd like, I can check if we can supply this juice to the ship."
"That would be wonderful. Please do."
Si-Hyun’s ship was scheduled to depart from Verzan02 this morning. If there were enough of this effective drink, she wouldn’t have to suffer from headaches for a while.
"Is there anything else you need?"
"Not for now."
"Then I will take my leave."
As Si-Hyun leaned back on the bed to rest, the maid quietly moved toward the door. Seeing this, Si-Hyun, without thinking, called the maid back.
"Would it be alright to speak for a moment?"
"Pardon?"
Had her sudden feeling of illness triggered this? Since becoming a clone, or even before that, she had never acted so impulsively.
She was startled by her own action, though she didn’t show it outwardly.
"I’d like to have a word with you."
"Of course."
The maid, Isabel, brought a small chair and sat beside the bed as Si-Hyun requested.
"What is your name?"
"My name is Isabel."
"Isabel? That’s not a typical cult name. How unusual."
Si-Hyun tilted her head, and the Coldblood maid, Isabel, politely bowed.
"It is the name given to me by those I loved most."
"I see. Alright, Isabel. Would you like to work for me?"
Though Si-Hyun had called her earlier on a whim, this time it was sincere. During their time at the Water Fortress, Isabel had helped Si-Hyun without causing any inconvenience. Si-Hyun had grown quite fond of this small Coldblood maid.
"Work for me, you say?"
"Yes. If you swear your loyalty to me, I’ll remove the shackles of slavery. All those who serve under me are free people."
At Si-Hyun’s offer, Isabel remained silent.
After a moment, the Coldblood gently shook her sharp snout side to side.
"It is a good offer, but I must decline."
"You want to remain a slave?"
"I have something to do. Far more important than the duties of a slave."
"…"
Isabel spoke calmly, and Si-Hyun, meeting her gaze, realized that the maid had a much firmer will than expected. She was a lot more resolute than Si-Hyun had thought.
As someone who had worked as an assassin for many years, Si-Hyun was good at reading the thoughts of others. Isabel’s mind was too strong to be called that of a mere slave.
‘What a pity.’
After confirming Isabel’s resolve, Si-Hyun reluctantly let go of the idea.
"It’s rare to see someone turn down my offer so decisively."
"I apologize."
"I’m not criticizing you, so there’s no need to worry. And by the way, the drink was excellent."
With a brief expression of thanks, Si-Hyun stood up. While she had been resting, preparations for departure were likely in full swing, and her disappearance had surely caused some commotion on the ship.
"Si-Hyun, my lord."
Just as she was about to leave the room, Isabel called out to her.
"Whatever trials come your way, remember who you are. Even if something tries to erase you, don’t give in and resist."
"...Is that a Coldblood proverb?"
"Not exactly, but it’s similar."
"I hope you too do not lose yourself and remember."
With that strange farewell, Si-Hyun left the recovery room.
Isabel watched the closed door and murmured softly to herself.
"...I am not a tool."
Neither she nor I.
She swallowed the unspoken final words and began tidying up the recovery room.
A few hours later, as scheduled, Si-Hyun Yujin’s ship departed Verzan-02.
——————
HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator – Seraph]
[Proofreader – Draxx]
Join our Discord for release updates!
https://discord.com/invite/dbdMDhzWa2
——————
