Colonial Suit

In the dim red light, a deep passage meandered downwards. The cave walls writhed slowly, occasionally spewing out scorching, poisonous gas. The air was thick with a burnt and acidic stench.

The corpse of a space mercenary lay on the ground, their armor riddled with corrosion and burn marks.

They hadn't been attacked; the cause of death was the failure of their life support system. The armor that once protected them had become a sealed container of poisonous gas, effectively poisoning them to death. Perhaps this mercenary was once a meteor-class warrior, but in the face of the poisonous gas deep within these ruins, they were as fragile as a chick...

A clean hand flipped the mercenary's corpse over. Old Man Death examined it, then stood up.

"We're almost there. This kid was the unlucky one who got teleported in by the spatial rift earlier. Looks like his preparations weren't good; the energy and potions he carried couldn't meet his consumption needs. That's why he became prey to the poisonous gas. So pathetic. Look at him; even his body has been corroded away. All that's left are a few bones."

"I don't know what you guys think, but I believe if you're going to die, you should die on the battlefield. This kind of death is truly meaningless."

"Yes, Old Man Death, sir," the other mercenaries replied.

Old Man Death finally nodded and continued deeper. As they continued to venture further, and the surrounding environment deteriorated dramatically, Old Man Death felt that he was getting closer and closer to his goal. He couldn't wait to see the end of the cave, the treasure that had remained intact for nearly ten thousand years, the treasure of Crodir...

That was the essence of Crodir, the thing that he, the space mercenary, the space pirate, and even all of humanity desired most.

With it, they could shed their weak status and enter the ranks of the cosmic aristocracy.

Cosmic aristocracy. What an honorable title. Just thinking about it was exciting. For this goal, Old Man Death didn't mind paying even more.

In the silent passage, only the footsteps of the mercenaries and space pirates could be heard. The team moved quickly; in fact, at this stage, no one was willing to wait even a second longer. Due to the poisonous gas and heat, they were constantly consuming the life support energy of their armor. Many warriors were already running low on energy and potions.

Of course, the warriors who remained were the best of the best on this mission. Even without armor, they could survive in this environment, but in doing so, they would inevitably have to focus on life support, and their strength would be greatly diminished in a fight.

The team advanced silently, and unknowingly, a long time passed. Suddenly, Old Man Death stopped.

He turned his head and glanced at the mercenaries behind him. "How many of us are left?"

"There are seventy-three of us, Old Man Death, sir," the mercenary replied. He knew this number well, because he was the leader of the second echelon.

But Old Man Death's pupils suddenly contracted, and his voice became low. "Then why do I only sense seventy-two people?"

"That's impossible, sir," the mercenary leader immediately retorted. Just as he was about to speak, Old Man Death's expression changed again.

"No, it's seventy-one!"

"What!?" The mercenary leader was shocked and hurriedly turned his head. He saw a mercenary at the back of the group fall to the ground.

His armor was still intact, but the inside was empty. Through the armor's visor, the leader could even see the targeting system and the smart brain screen inside. But the mercenary inside had disappeared without a trace in an instant.

"Ah!" The leader was startled and couldn't help but cry out in alarm.

But it was too late to say anything. Almost in an instant, more than a dozen mercenaries at the rear of the team collapsed to the ground. Their armor was all undamaged, but the people inside had disappeared.

"Wha… what's going on? Alert! Be on alert immediately!" The mercenary leader screamed hysterically, while simultaneously activating the armor's defense system. A massive tower shield unfolded from his hand and instantly stood in front of him. At the same time as he reacted, all the mercenaries acted, quickly forming a circle, surrounding Jules and Old Man Death.

The mercenaries' reaction was undeniably fast, but even at their fastest, three mercenaries still fell during this process, their bizarre deaths indistinguishable from their companions before.

In the very center of the team, Jules' face was as pale as paper as she stared blankly at her fallen comrades.

Just now, just seconds ago, they were still living teammates, but now only empty suits of armor remained. This extremely cruel contrast was almost unbearable for Jules. Even though she was a mercenary, even though she had experienced fierce battles, when had she ever seen such a bizarre, such a ruthless death?

In the face of unknown danger, life was so fragile, so insignificant.

"Jules, get behind me."

Just then, Old Man Death's voice came to her ears, and Jules suddenly woke up from her dream and let out a cry, hiding behind Old Man Death.

Only then did Old Man Death carefully scan the corpses of the dead mercenaries, then close his eyes.

His expression was very calm, as if he hadn't seen the deaths of these mercenaries. But at the same time as he closed his eyes, a powerful psionic sense descended into this passage like a substance, heavily and truly pressing down on every mercenary.

The mercenaries suddenly felt relieved, but their faces revealed a relieved expression.

Although Old Man Death's psionic sense was very stressful, they knew that this was precisely the embodiment of Old Man Death protecting them. When the psionic sense of a stellar-class warrior filled the space, no one could sneak attack them again.

This mysterious and bizarre enemy would also reveal its true form.

The acidic smell in the air became even stronger, and gradually, every mercenary could hear their own heartbeat, and their breathing became more and more rapid.

Just then, Old Man Death suddenly groaned and then looked sharply in one direction.

"Get out here!!"

Before his voice faded, the space in that area suddenly twisted, and a dim, blurred figure appeared. Then, before the mercenaries could react, the surrounding cave walls suddenly vibrated, writhing, spreading like living things, separating. In just an instant, a super-huge cave was formed around them.

Above the huge cave, a blood-like mist was rolling and wriggling, it was that blurry shadow, and in the center of this strange mist, a pair of bloodshot eyes were staring at them coldly.

At the same time, a cold, yet violent psionic sense suddenly began to flow.

"Discovered…"

"In that case… kill them all… Hand over your flesh, souls, energy… and be the nourishment for my rebirth!!"

Before the words faded, a blood-colored whirlwind suddenly appeared in the sky above the cave, sweeping towards them madly.

"Careful!!"

"Full defense!"

"Open the protective layer!!"

"Ah…………"(To be continued.)