This Was a Trap

The Thorn Snake King moved so fast that an ordinary person could barely see it. Once it had raised its blade, even firing at it from point-blank range wouldn't stop it from killing you. But at that moment, its blade had only swung halfway when an invisible, concentrated shock wave slammed into its face.

There was a dull thud, and the Snake King flew backward like a lizard smacked in the face by a flyswatter.

"Psionic shock... So I'm a sensate too? Does that mean the bugs weren't after Ina, but the two of us?"

Yu Lian felt as though a great deal had happened in that brief moment, but to everyone else, it really had been just a moment. They'd blinked and vaguely seen a shadow shoot out of the churning dirt. Then, with a sharp slap, it had been flung away and landed among the crowd. Only then did everyone get a good look at what it was.

It looked like an oversized lizard, more than two meters long including its tail. Its back was covered in armor, with bone spikes jutting from the shell like a row of sharp thorns. Two half-open, batlike membranes shimmered faintly.

The monster lay on the ground, partly rolled onto its back, exposing its chest and belly—and another ferocious mouth filled with fine, hooked spikes. Both mouths let out threatening roars.

The sudden psionic shock had indeed left it a little dazed, but it wasn't dead. Put simply, psionic shock was one of the most basic and widely used abilities, and its power depended entirely on the user.

Lieutenant Monderson raised his chainsword and charged with a shout of "Monster!" He hadn't seen what had happened before, only that an enemy had appeared. In that moment, the greasy middle-aged man who'd spent his life wheeling and dealing to get by vanished once more, and the swordmaster of the space age took the stage again.

His sword came down like a thunderbolt, its path steady and true as he struck the Snake King in the waist. But it didn't have the same satisfying ease as chopping through vegetables. The low-intelligence monster had recovered a little and knew enough to dodge by using its opponent's force. At the last possible instant, it contracted its body and sprang up. Even so, its vulnerable waist was slashed open, and the chainsword's momentum sent it flying backward. It landed among the crowd with a smack.

"Bear strength!" Sergeant Baka bellowed an unintelligible roar in the dialect of the Bearn people, then swung his axe into the Snake King's face.

"Grrrah!" Sergeant Yoyo, the Black sergeant, let out another meaningless roar and brought his power hammer down with all his might.

Well, here they were again, reenacting that familiar scene of beating rice cakes. And it wasn't just those two—several other soldiers had rushed in with their weapons. Swords and blades came down in a clatter, sending blood and flesh flying.

Yu Lian let out a shaky breath of relief, then naturally met Ina's gaze. She'd been the closest, so she'd seen the whole thing, including the fleeting ripples in the air. Her cheek still felt as if it had been scraped by a knife, stinging and burning. Along with the shock in her eyes, there was now unmistakable curiosity.

"Don't bother guessing. I guess I'm a sensate now... But I really don't want to go down this dead-end path of becoming some idealistic idiot!"

The sergeant-major gave him a scornful look, much like the way people looked down on someone who said, "Why are my parents so rich? I want to make it on my own and live an ordinary life."

"I mean it. And actually... Never mind." Yu Lian looked at the cigar he'd unconsciously crushed flat. The pain in both senses of the word made him want to double over. Then he shouted to the people still pounding the monster like rice cakes, "Stop beating it! There might be something valuable in its stomach."

Lieutenant Monderson paused, then sprang into action as if wound up. He pushed through the crowd, pulled out a dagger, and expertly cut open the Snake King's corpse, which had already been battered wider by several inches. He rummaged around inside, then his hand stopped, and he began to move more carefully.

The lieutenant slowly stood and opened his palm. Three translucent crystals, each about the size of a thumb, lay there: one black, one green, and one orange-yellow.

"Th-these are... glow crystals, and they're this pure?" Delight flashed across the lieutenant's face. Then, as if he'd just remembered something, he looked at Yu Lian in puzzlement. "But how did you know?"

"I'd like to know why you're so practiced at this, too. You're a soldier—why have you maxed out your appraisal skills?"

"Well, um, a man's got to make a living somehow." The lieutenant gave a guileless, worldly smile, and the swordmaster persona vanished once more. Still, he waited eagerly for an explanation.

"That thing glowed earlier. It had an ability like an energy shield, which means there's something valuable inside it—most likely naturally occurring Zero Element. Of all the known Zero Element crystals, glow crystals are the ones that bond best with living creatures. They can be used as an energy source, and with a little processing, they're also popular as jewelry. They sell well." Yu Lian had already thought up an explanation, of course.

The lieutenant nodded in understanding, then asked suspiciously, "Did you learn that at school, too?"

"It's in the library records," Yu Lian said.

"You Moonies really are all freaks," Lieutenant Monderson muttered, then slipped the glow crystals into his storage compartment.

"Don't worry. You'll get your share when we sell them."

I'm not worried about that. You seem pretty fair about this sort of thing. Besides, if we really want to sell them, I might have a lot more connections than you do. For example, there's someone who's already entrenched in Tulong Harbor... Ugh, Tulong—agh!

Yu Lian pressed his temples, feeling as if his enormous head were about to split apart. He hadn't noticed the pain earlier, when he'd been fighting for his life against the bugs, but now it felt as though all the suffering he'd accumulated had erupted at once. On top of that, the red, black, green, purple, and yellow lights hadn't surged out, but they'd still taken a toll on his body. Pain and dizziness crashed toward his soul from every direction like an avalanche, threatening to bury the last scraps of his sanity.

He gagged, his eyes unfocused as he swayed on his feet.

"Ensign? Belinda!" Ina shouted for the young nurse.

Not again, surely? Lieutenant Monderson still thought it was his fault, and stood there helplessly.

"P-painkiller!" The young nurse rushed over, fumbling to pull out the arm-thick syringe again.

"Don't..." Yu Lian stopped Belinda.

That stuff had side effects, and he didn't trust her technique anyway.

"Ma'am, Lieutenant Monderson, I have something to say!" He was in pain and dizzy, but because the memories belonging to two different people had merged, his thoughts were clearer than ever.

He said gravely, "We can't stay here!"

How many times had he said that today? The lieutenant hurried over to reassure him. "Ensign, don't rush. You need to rest first! Yes, we're safe now. Rest and get your strength back. Leave the rest to me. Sleep, our little Moon child. Don't worry. When you wake up, we'll be at the base."

"We can't go back to the base! Don't worry, the base won't be attacked while we're out here! We've already covered most of the way, and Tulong Harbor is less than a day away. Hurry—go to Tulong! We absolutely can't return to the outpost..."

"Um, Ensign, everyone's exhausted, and we've used up most of our ammunition and supplies. And you're in this state..."

"Shut up! Listen to me! Shut up, and listen!"

"...I-I'm listening." The lieutenant wore the weary expression of someone thinking, Here it comes, here it comes. It's finally starting. You Moonies are bound to try to seize power sooner or later. I've been waiting ages. He forced a slightly stiff, doting smile.

"Don't you understand? Why was our convoy attacked? Why were the bugs different in every wave? Most importantly, why did they keep attacking us one wave at a time instead of all at once? This is a test! Lieutenant, a test of biological weapons!"

Yes, during the later Tulong Harbor Incident, there'd been no mention of any insect activity, and the future celebrity Ina had never brought it up. In fact, the insect swarm wouldn't land on the governments of the galaxy's desk as a real concern until the incident two years later.

Yu Lian didn't know whether his butterfly effect had brought the swarm here when it wasn't supposed to appear, or changed its original target. But that didn't matter—not right now. What mattered was that later historical records confirmed the first insect swarms had appeared in small numbers, just like this. They attacked caravans, travelers, patrolling soldiers, farms, and even small towns, but seemed to have no pattern. They appeared to be a mindless pack of savage beasts, rampaging without purpose.

No—wild animals were smarter. At least they attacked to fill their bellies, not simply to kill.

It wasn't until the swarm had become a calamity that people finally realized its goals had been clear all along. First, it was gathering genetic diversity. Every creature killed and devoured by an individual insect had its genetic information uploaded to the shared biological database of the swarm. This was the true meaning of "all for one, and one for all"—a hive mind.

Second, it was testing the combat capabilities of new insect varieties.

It fought opponents of different types and strengths, analyzing both their own weaknesses and strengths and those of their enemies. And, of course, the most important thing was to grow in secret and never take unnecessary risks. So, until the time was right, it wouldn't attack densely populated cities with complete defenses.

And most importantly of all, if it did something, it had to finish the job!

That was why it would keep attacking this small squad of twenty people. There was no reason for it to spare a small outpost with twice as many defenders. The safest place now was actually Tulong, even though it seemed about to be surrounded by an army of sandfolk.

"This is a trap!" he shouted. But that cry used up the last of his strength. His hand went slack, releasing the lieutenant's collar, and he lost consciousness.

Everyone looked at one another, at a loss.

"Sir, what do we..." Miss Belinda asked, looking to Lieutenant Monderson for guidance.

The lieutenant hesitated for a few seconds, then waved his hand with far too much force. "We're going back! Back to the base!"