On my way back, I passed through the Basement 3rd Floor. A researcher was giving orders to a pair of servants as they hauled a motionless beastman out of a cell.
Zold and the others had been shoved into the back of the cage. They remained silent, offering no further resistance—or perhaps they simply couldn't. Zold himself was unconscious, a nasty bruise swelling on his cheek.
The person the researcher in the protective suit was carrying appeared to be a dead beastman. I couldn't see any external injuries, which meant they were likely already dead when we had passed by earlier.
"Carry him upstairs. He'll serve as feed for the experimental subject."
Oops. So that meant he was going to be Annette-chan’s meal? Which, indirectly, made him Miti-chan’s meal.
『Food? Can I eat? Nom nom?』
『Not yet, Miti-chan.』
I planned to make these guys Miti-chan’s food eventually, too. After all, she still needed to consume about twenty more people. I would let them off the hook for just a little longer, though.
If they were heading to Annette-chan’s area, they had to be involved in her research. If I followed them, I might be able to dig up some documents.
I followed them stealthily from the ceiling. Before heading to Annette-chan’s cell, they stopped in a different room.
It was a research lab filled with various documents. Was this where they conducted the research on Annette-chan? I peered down from the ceiling space.
A man sat at a desk, looking over documents he had pulled out. I saw a sketch of that eerie horn.
"The cultivation is proceeding smoothly. Fortuitously, the rival Synthetic Magic Beast Project collapsed after their Senior Researcher died in an accident. There is no doubt that in the next competition, our Artificial Majin will be chosen as the military's main force."
I had overlooked this place when I checked earlier because I hadn't rummaged through the desks, but there was no mistake—this research lab was related to Annette-chan.
"And the Activator?"
"Right here."
"Good. Inject it."
They injected something into the neck of the dead beastman child.
An Activator. Judging by the name, I wondered if it was something used to stimulate the growth of that Red Horn.
...Should I just go for it? Should I let her eat them?
These guys seemed more like assistants than servants, and all three of them were right here.
I had a few options: leave the researcher alive to interrogate him, wipe them all out and investigate myself, or just wait and see...
But I had already eaten someone who looked like a researcher earlier, so I felt I had waited long enough. Should I take action before I was discovered?
Then again, I didn't have the slightest clue what the world outside the research institute walls looked like.
Hmm.
...Wait! I just had a great idea. If I got inside those protective suits, couldn't I pretend to be human? It would be a human mimicry using my slime body.
If the protective suit was flimsy, I could tear a hole, slip inside, and kill the human within... that was certainly a possibility. I decided to test it out.
I moved quietly and found a locker. Inside was a spare protective suit. It was the perfect opportunity to see if I could make a hole... Mmm, no matter how much I tried to bite it, it wouldn't tear. Was it because I was using acid rather than actual teeth?
Apparently, these protective suits were resistant to chemicals. What a pain.
『Spirit-sama. There's a knife here.』
『Oh. You're right. Let's borrow that.』
Luckily, this was a research lab with various tools lying around. I had dissolved and eaten all the equipment in the first room, so I only had glass shards left in my inventory.
I might have been able to cut it with a shard, but I stealthily borrowed the knife instead. I confirmed that I could slice through the protective suit without any trouble.
Now then, let's do this. I targeted one of the assistants—the one who had stepped out into the hallway alone to carry the beastman’s corpse.
I crept up from the floor and extended a tentacle holding the knife...
...Ah, wait, I could just enter through the ankle gap. I didn't even need the knife. I tucked it away in my inventory.
"Huh? Did something snag on my leg—ack!"
I quickly drove a spike tentacle through his head. I used my slime body to support him just as he was about to collapse. Man, this was a lot of work! But okay, that's done. Now, if I just slid my main core into the protective suit...
"I've taken over the body!" I tried raising both arms. It was heavy.
『Food?』
『It’s food, but you can’t eat it yet.』
It was difficult, like operating a puppet, but I felt like I could get the hang of it with practice.
『Miti, this is how you move it. Do you think you can do it?』
『I'll try. Let me have it.』
I switched the controls to Auto Mode. She was a bit clumsy at first.
Ah, she tripped.
And my Halo was poking out through the back. That was dangerous. I was glad I noticed it before anyone else did.
『Mmm... Nnn! How's that!』
『Ooh, you're moving it. You're really moving it.』
『Heh-heh. I'm a genius.』
She started moving smoothly. I figured it was safe to leave her in Auto Mode now. Honestly, Miti-chan was quite adorable in her pride.
『So, do we deliver this food to Annette?』
『Hmm, what should we do... They injected that weird medicine, the Activator, into it... Let's just eat it.』
『I'll eat!』
Unknown dog-beastman child, please rest in peace. While still in Auto Mode, we dug in. Miti-chan extended a tentacle from the feet and munched away... Ah, the count moved up to 5. The person inside the protective suit was counted too.
It seemed the heart or the brain was the key. It looked like I wouldn't be able to advance the count by just nibbling on them without killing them.
『Humans are delicious, aren't they?』
『I'm a bit worried for the future if you start finding them too tasty.』
『I don't want Spirit-sama to hate me, so I'll be careful!』
I wondered if the Activator was having an effect on Miti-chan? She seemed to be getting much more energetic.
"Hey, did you deliver the feed? Then get back here already."
『Oops.』
Assistant 2, also in a protective suit, spoke to us. Fortunately, his back was turned to us. Close call.
"...? Hey, are you alright? You seem like you're in poor health."
Assistant 2 approached as he spoke. Crap, was he suspicious? Or was he just worried?
『Leave it to me, Spirit-sama. I can do it! ...Heave-ho.』
『Oh?』
"Hey, are you okay? Here, grab on, I'll lend you a shoulder— Hm? Guh!"
Miti-chan leaned on him, then slashed the neck of his protective suit with the knife. She slipped through the gap and killed him by piercing his head.
『...And then, split!』
『I'm Unit 2! Munch munch, I'll move this one! Leave it to me! Munch munch.』
What in the—!? A split, followed by a Miti-chan Unit 2? Wow, amazing. She was properly moving Assistant 2’s body. Indeed, she looked like someone wobbling from being in poor health. But since she had just started moving it, I expected she would improve quickly.
It seemed the first one was the main body, while Unit 2 was an independent entity.
The count was advancing too. It was valid even if the second one did the eating.
『Can you produce a Unit 3?』
『Nope. This is my limit.』
At least for now, Unit 2 was the limit of what she could move properly. I didn't know the principle behind it, but it seemed she shared knowledge—or rather, consciousness—with Unit 2.
While we were talking silently, Unit 2’s movements became more refined.
『How is it? Better?』
『Oh, it's gotten much better. You look like a normal person now... I think? Yeah.』
『Spirit-sama praised me. Happy! Sharing the tricks with Unit 1... Okay, good.』
『Ohh. This is how you move. I mostly get it now!』
Miti-chan linked arms with Unit 2 and spun around, dancing.
She was evolving so smoothly! With this growth speed... she was definitely a dangerous monster, wasn't she?