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Bermuda Chapter 103
🕑 Added 2024-05-16 10:25:10 +0000 UTCChapter 103
Hugo's eyebrows, which had moved slightly, rose up this time. Staring intently at Flynn, he shifted his gaze to the void for a moment, lost in deep thought.
As Hugo slowly reviewed the situation, he removed the hand rubbing his chin and spoke.
"An excellent analogy. It made sense right away."
"Haha, I thought so, right?"
Flynn's expression became greatly elated. Looking at him, Hugo nodded his head slowly once and asked,
"Then, are you saying the creatures have a purpose to lure humans?"
"Hmm... if my speculation is correct, yes, but I think we'll have to wait for the report from the pursuit team to know the exact purpose."
Although he said it easily, it was quite a complex hypothesis. They had to keep in mind the possibility that the creatures' purpose for luring them was a trap.
The large horde of Dermocas that had appeared in the plains a few hours ago was a far more overwhelming number than the Council had estimated for the total number of Dermocas on the peninsula.
The question was, where on earth had those numerous creatures been hiding? If the place they were trying to lure them to was their main base and nest, and they wanted to lure the enemy there to annihilate them, the pursuit team's personnel alone would be woefully insufficient to handle the creatures.
As he fleshed out the hypothesis and felt his head getting complicated, Flynn unconsciously brought up the name that came to mind.
"How about asking Leonardo about this topic now?"
At that name being mentioned again, Hugo's gaze toward Flynn became a bit colder. Feeling as if he was saying something unnecessary, Flynn hurriedly added,
"Leonardo knows a lot about monsters. Maybe he can read the monsters' thoughts and figure out their purpose. After all, he succeeded in luring the Council's pursuit team all the way to the vicinity of Frost."
It was certainly a reasonable point. However, Hugo averted his gaze as if he had no intention of listening further and shifted his eyes to his wrist watch.
"Yes, that might be the case. But when sharing the situation with Leonardo and seeking his advice, it would be better to leave out the last part. If you tell him the monsters' behavior is similar to what you did and ask him to infer their purpose... it will only make things worse."
"That... I know too. Of course I wouldn't say it like that."
Although he had no intention of saying it that way, when the Commander, who seemed to be listening intently, strangely nitpicked his words, Flynn felt embarrassed. With an awkward expression, he scratched his cheek and glanced at Hugo. It seemed like it wasn't just his imagination that Hugo's reaction was oddly different whenever that particular name came up.
In fact, there were many things he had wanted to ask about that name for a while, but Flynn had been repeatedly deliberating whether to ask or not, worried that it might be received as bothersome when the Commander already had a lot on his mind.
But now that he had laid the groundwork this much, he thought this might be the opportunity, so he tentatively opened his mouth.
"Um, Commander, have you tried talking with Leonardo?"
Having thrown the question, Flynn carefully observed Hugo's expression. However, there was no particularly meaningful change on his face as he looked at his watch.
"..."
But the silence that followed was quite long, enough to be considered meaningful. He remained like that for a long time without a word, and in the end, he turned his gaze elsewhere without answering Flynn's question. At Hugo's action, Flynn tilted his head.
According to his usual way, if it was work-related, he would have already ended the conversation by this point, regardless of the situation.
But Flynn knew. These past few days, he had been waiting for the right timing to have a conversation with Leonardo.
The fact that Hugo was waiting for the right timing meant that, contrary to expectations, he was considerably mindful of Leonardo's emotional state.
So Flynn thought that if the two of them talked again, things might work out well, which was why he kept "conceding" to Hugo topics that could be brought up to Leonardo, like now.
But even with such efforts, the Commander's current reaction was...
'Did the talk not go well? Or have they not even had a proper conversation yet...'
It was simply puzzling.
While Flynn was speculating about their situation, two of the investigators conducting the investigation at the center of the Southern Branch base camp approached where they were, carrying a stack of documents. The one who seemed to be the chief investigator stood in front of Hugo and spoke.
"Commander, may I report the investigation contents so far?"
Hugo, who had his gaze elsewhere, turned his head at the chief investigator's words. Then, upon discovering him, he readily answered as if he had been waiting.
"Yes, let's hear it."
It was a calm answer no different from usual, but to Flynn, who had known the Commander for a long time, it somehow seemed like he was pleased with the investigator for changing the subject.
With permission granted, the assistant investigator next to him unfolded one of the documents they brought and handed it to Hugo. As Hugo received the document, the chief investigator began the briefing.
"As instructed, we focused our investigation on the relationship between the egg and the Dermocas. Originally, we were planning to report to you after organizing it a bit more... but we thought it would be better to convey it quickly."
The document the investigator handed over contained the investigation results of the captured monsters so far and an analysis of the components that made up the individuals.
"First, to give you the conclusion, the epidermis and internal components of the individual inside the egg do not perfectly match those of adult Dermocas."
At the investigator's words, Hugo asked back with a subtle expression.
"They don't perfectly match? What does that mean? Are you saying they match to some extent?"
"Hmm... yes. You could say that, but first, please refer to this."
The investigator next to him unfolded another document and held it out to Hugo. The contents written there were data comparing the components collected from monsters discovered on the peninsula so far with those of other individuals.
"Recently, haven't mutant species been found suddenly in large numbers? So, as soon as they were captured, we collected and stored samples and kept records, and we were able to confirm quite surprising facts."
Hugo listened to the report while not taking his eyes off the document. Then, as he read the document, his brow gradually furrowed.
"The types and appearances of each individual were all different, but when compared to other individuals, the epidermis and internal components matched from a minimum of 70% to a maximum of 98%, and some genetic traits even matched. This was the same when compared to the individual inside the egg."
The investigator spoke with shining eyes as if it was a very interesting topic, but Flynn, who was listening to him, had an expression of not understanding well.
"Wait, wait a minute. What does that mean? The types and appearances are all different, but they match..."
"Simply put, it means that even if the species and appearance are different, they can have the same genetic traits."
The investigator handed a handwritten copy of the document he had given to Hugo to Flynn as well and continued his explanation.
"To give an example, a recessive gene that completely opens the throat when swallowing large objects and has a gland that secretes digestive fluid under the jaw is extremely rarely found in monsters on the peninsula. But among the recently discovered individuals, specimen #17, which is of the reptilian family, and specimen #19, which is of the avian family, have completely different species and appearances, but both possess the aforementioned characteristics."
"..."
"Moreover, the composition of the digestive fluid of the two individuals also almost matched, with only a difference in moisture content."
Flynn blinked, trying to understand his words that went deep despite saying it simply. Then suddenly, the mutant monster he had seen in the crater a few days ago came to Flynn's mind as he listened to the investigator's example.
That monster with a bizarre appearance had a body like a mollusk, but Leonardo had said that the monster possessed the same toxicity as an Ilaptor.
An Ilaptor and that mutant would have completely different appearances, let alone different species. Nevertheless, the fact that they had the same toxicity could be because the two individuals had the same genetic traits, just like the case the investigator mentioned.
While Flynn was recalling the conversation with Leonardo, Hugo, who had been looking at the document, asked the investigator,
"Is there a possibility that they share a common ancestor?"
At the unexpected words, Flynn looked up at Hugo with slightly surprised eyes. Eventually, to hear the answer, he turned to the chief investigator, who slowly nodded and replied,
"Yes, that's correct."
Hugo's eyes narrowed upon hearing the investigator's answer. Immediately after that, he looked at the contents written in the document once more and opened his mouth.
"Quickly resume the meeting."
Comments
Bernie Jay
There is so much talk of mutants in the monster population. Foreshadowing, mayhaps?
