Days as a Spiritual Mentor in American Comics Chapter 6198: Soul Machine Utopia (66)

Chapter 6198: Chapter 5209: Soul Machine Utopia (66)

Shiller walked up. He initially thought it was an Ancient One, because after all, the body structure was very similar to the Ancient One. However, this Ancient One was overall smaller than the one they saw before, probably not even six feet tall, roughly the same as the human race, moreover it was thinner overall, the wings on its back were nearly invisible, and the tentacles had completely turned into something akin to a starfish; even if fully extended, they were quite short.

Shiller immediately realized that this might be a severely devolved Ancient One, that is, the last batch that went extinct. This batch of Ancient Ones might not fear the cold, after all, they had already established cities in the Arctic and stayed there for a long time, but their limbs had degenerated to a very severe degree, essentially akin to the human race devolving back to apes and monkeys.

That First World War veteran before, those tentacles looked a bit like oversized squid, appearing very robust and flexible; although on land it was just over two meters, in the sea its tentacles could fully extend and its length could double. But with the one lying here, the tentacles had completely devolved into organs supporting the body, without any other function.

Additionally, the wings on its back; the previous Ancient One had large wings that seemed like they could fly, at least glide, but now these were entirely ornamental.

In contrast, the barrel-like body became increasingly bloated, expanding all around, with many unique bristles added. More importantly, this Ancient One’s color was very vibrant, with hues of bright blue and green visible to the human race, and the starfish-like head had two long tentacles.

This is not a good sign. Even though Shiller wasn’t well-versed in biology, he understood that once a species starts to develop some ornamental elements useless for survival, and these organs grow increasingly large and vibrant, it implies there might be extremely intense intra-species competition.

For example, when the Pteranodon came to the final stages of its species’ lifecycle, they evolved many very exaggerated colorful crests, used for intimidation and to fight over mates, which meant survival resources were already very strained, necessitating such ways to compete for mating rights.

So the whole matter might be that the devolved Ancient One buried deep in the mountains somehow woke up and happened to encounter the sailors. The sailors couldn’t tell if they were dealing with beings of wisdom, thinking they looked terrifying and immediately opened fire, then ending up completely defeated by the Ancient One, wiped out.

“We have to go to the ship ourselves,” Professor Atwood said solemnly, “We need to request rescue from the supply ship and have them bring more manpower.”

“Should we make it public?” the students asked, “This might be the scientific expedition with the highest casualties in recent years.”

“Of course,” Professor Atwood said, “Not only should we make it public, but we also have to bring the bodies back, including this… monster’s.”

Peter immediately looked at Shiller, who shook his head at him, meaning there was no need to intervene. Taking a deceased one back was actually no big deal; after all, the Federal Government would likely just treat it as some kind of monster, and the Dunwich Horror Incident happened so long ago without causing much of a stir, indicating people in this world have become accustomed to the monsters that appear every now and then.

It proves true that every family has its own difficult story. In Gotham, nobody would find it strange if a madman suddenly rushed out onto the street; in New York, watching superheroes battle aliens is more of a daily occurrence; in the cosmos of Cthulhu Mythos, humans suddenly turning into tentacle monsters isn’t very hard to accept.

The most special thing about the Ancient Ones is that they are a race of intelligence with high technology, but this needs them to be alive to show. With only a corpse, even the second-rate pseudo-experts that the Federal Government can find would struggle to analyze anything.

The students took the supplies from the corpse aside from the clothes, and the cats also retrieved their equipment, then used snow to form a grave, temporarily keeping the body inside, to retrieve later when manpower is sufficient. The alien’s corpse was wrapped up and placed on a sled.

They continued heading towards the ship, Tibbers was quite accurate in determining the direction, and soon they found the ship without facing any obstacles, while the supply ship had already been waiting for quite a while.

The supply ship’s Captain hurriedly came aboard, and after exchanging pleasantries with Professor Atwood, began enquiring about progress. Clearly, they were affiliated with the NDP Foundation. Professor Atwood remained silent, merely showcasing the alien’s corpse.

The Captain was astonished, evidently unaware himself of what his boss was searching for. Perhaps they were expecting some geological data, or at best some mysticism relics. Unexpectedly, they’d end up bringing back a monster’s corpse.

The Captain was overjoyed, at least this could settle things, he organized some manpower to transport the corpse into the freezer, while beginning to unload supplies. However, all the cats noticed a sailor who appeared to be sneaky and suspicious.

At first, Little Superman wanted to head back to the cabins to catch mice. After eating so much jerky, he actually missed the juicy mice quite a bit. The students and professors wouldn’t expect cats to help with moving things, so they let them move around freely; Little Superman darted into the cabin.

Mice aren’t fools; they wouldn’t be active on the deck in broad daylight, they certainly seek places that are dark and damp. Little Superman fixed his gaze on a sizeable mouse, chased it into the lowest level cabin’s storage compartment. But that mouse squeezed into a gap, and Little Superman reached in with his paws.

But suddenly, he heard footsteps. Little Superman ignored it, thinking it was someone coming to the toilet, probably would leave in a bit, but he didn’t hear any sound of the toilet being used or footsteps returning, making him feel a bit strange.

He thought carefully, realizing the footsteps he heard earlier didn’t sound like a sailor. Cats have keen hearing and had long noticed, sailors who are on the ship year-round and do physical labor, have a different way of walking compared to the students and professors who seldom board the ship; it sounds more steady and powerful. But the footsteps he just heard were clearly a bit disorderly, sounding unlike a sailor.

Little Superman walked out silently. He crouched near the door seam and peeked outside, not seeing anything. So he walked alongside the corridor walls, peered into another storeroom, and then saw a shadow crouching behind some junk in the storeroom, not sure what they were doing.

Little Superman narrowed his eyes. He wanted to go inside, but after hesitating for a moment, he turned and quickly ran to the deck, where he found Peter and Shiller.

“Someone went to the lower deck’s storeroom,” Little Superman said. “He doesn’t look like a sailor, and he’s been squatting there for a long time, I have no idea what he’s doing.”

Shiller and Peter immediately realized something was amiss. They followed Little Superman to the lowest deck. The cats were small and walked silently, plus the lighting was extremely dim, so they reached the storeroom door without the person inside noticing them.

Peter poked his head inside and, sure enough, there was someone there. Observing carefully, he stood at the door for a while before running out to tell Shiller and Little Superman, “It’s Reck.”

“What?” Shiller said, surprised, “Who did you say it was?”

“Professor Reck, the biology professor,” Peter said in a lowered voice. “Previously, his unauthorized dissection was discovered, and he was disqualified from the research team, even suspended. I didn’t expect he’d follow the cargo ship here.”

“Is he hiding in the storeroom, planning to conduct field research alone after everyone leaves?” Little Superman asked suspiciously. “Is he crazy? Acting alone in a place like this is suicidal.”

“Something’s off,” Shiller said, his tone turning serious, “Reck, from beginning to end, seems suspicious, he might not be so simple.”

“Could he be contaminated?” Peter asked. “Perhaps beguiled by some Outer God, that’s why he’s doing this.”

“Outer Gods don’t beguile others, except Nyarlathotep; they aren’t interested in the Human race. If he had a connection with Nyarla, we should be able to sense it. Since we don’t feel it, that’s not the case.”

“Maybe he’s a cultist,” Little Superman said. “Those heretics act like madmen, sacrificing their lives for their goals. Reck sneaking here alone, it seems like the act of a cult believer driven mad.”

“We can’t rule that possibility out,” Shiller said, “but disguising himself as a supply on a cargo ship to come to the South Pole shows there’s something urgent for him to do here. What could it be?”

“Isn’t it for the expedition?” Little Superman said. “I think he might be trying to prove himself since the expedition team wouldn’t take him, so he came secretly.”

“But if he wanted to prove himself, he would need to conduct research here. He hasn’t brought any equipment, what’s he going to research?” Peter wondered.

Little Superman also recalled that the sneaky figure he saw wasn’t carrying a large backpack like the professors and students did. When hiding in the storeroom, he was alone, without other luggage.

Even if he could steal food from the ship, the professional equipment isn’t here; they’ve already been moved to the base. Without equipment, he can handle land animals, but what about those in the sea?

“It’s possible he hid his luggage,” Shiller suggested. “Let’s search the ship, especially check inside the cargo boxes. If he plans to hide it, likely it’s disguised as cargo.”

The cats split up to search, turning over every nook and cranny on the ship. The cargo boxes didn’t require their search; Professor Atwood was very meticulous, opening each box to inspect and count every supply without finding anything hidden.

“Now this is interesting,” Shiller said. “He didn’t bring anything, yet he insists on being here. This proves two things. First, he isn’t here for an expedition. Second, he’s confident he can navigate the South Pole without any survival supplies.”

“That’s impossible,” Little Superman said. “It’s so cold here, always windy. Forget everything else, at least he’d need a tent; otherwise, where would he sleep?”

Peter seemed to understand something and said: “For a Human, surviving here is tough, but if he isn’t one?”

Little Superman shivered: “Not a Human? Then what?”

Just then, they heard a sticky sound coming from the room. The cats gathered by the door and looked inside, witnessing a terrifying scene — the person squatting in the storeroom suddenly started to melt.