Butcher Demon Chapter 162

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VOL. 4 Rendezvous point

Butcher Demon Chapter 162: Noah's ark.

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◇◆◇ (Abigail's point of view)

Abigail was in the arsenal (weapons facility).

The main industry at Fort 88 is the military supply.  It generates income by licensing or selling weapons that are developed and tested in the front lines,  which is very useful in the war against the aliens.

　The most advanced weapons that have proven their worth on the front lines are being sought after all over the world.

　Under Penrose's supervision, Abigail has been assigned to the Weapons Research and Development (R&D) Institute as a special researcher, even in this situation She took her work seriously and went to work.

The zones related to weapons manufacturing are located near the city walls, because of potential accidents. Thus, the research and development center was also located right next to the city walls.

　She is currently receiving a lecture on the new large-scale weapons being developed there, but she still cannot accept what she sees before her eyes.

　---The mankind has developed the massive machine called "Yellow Crab," which was invented during the war against the aliens.

　Territories of the earth taken by the aliens are known to be quickly engulfed in deep forests, the cause of this is unknown.

　Once the territory has been lost, the asphalt has been stripped away and replaced by the roots of the trees, transforming the road into a bumpy, uneven terrain. This phenomenon acted as a natural barrier against mankind, Which has been heavily reliant on the invention called the wheel for many centuries.

　Therefore, a machine with powerful quadrupedal legs and a two-arm was developed, capable of traveling more efficiently than the wheel.  Their primary objectives are to cut down trees in the forest, move rocks out of the way, and make it possible for vehicles to pass through. And that machine is the Yellow Crab.

　Its long four legs allow it to move easily over the rough terrain of the forests, and two arms extend from its body, each end of which can be equipped with a chainsaw and other attachments for clearing the paths.

　It has two large spotlights at the top of the body for operations at night, and instead of foam, it emits a cloud of white smoke from a diesel engine.

　The yellow crab is named after its appearance, which vaguely resembles a crab. The whole chassis was painted yellow with black stripes, like a typical heavy construction machine. It is the best seller product from Fort 88.

　The yellow crab's size is fairly large for a typical heavy-duty machine. It has long legs that allow it to stride over fallen trees and large rocks, and its pilot's seat has a high viewpoint, so high that its head can be seen above the trees in the forest.

　Its lights look like large eyeballs, giving it a friendly look, and its movements are truly crab-like and rather humorous, giving it a Yuru-chara, in other words, a cute mascot looks. This makes it very popular among women and children.

The  "Yellow Crab-kun"  pushy toy series has become so popular that it has become a sought-after item for collectors, and Abigail also has a Yellow Crab key chain hanging from her bag.

It seems that this was based on yellow crab, but--. 

"Ha~~hahaha!　What do you think Abigail!　The latest creation of our!"

　The man - no, the child's name who's was laughing is Sheridan.

　He is a very unique researcher with the nickname  "Diabolic" even though he didn't have any military rank. According to Claudia, the senior secretary, he is an extremely promising rising star.

　The way he spoke is quite old-fashioned, and to Abigail's eyes, he looks to be in his early teens.

　When he walks, the hem of his lab coat scrapes the floor, and combined with his monocle, he looks like a child. Or maybe he really is a child.

"Yeah.......amazing."

　With a twitch in the corner of her eye, she managed to get those words out.

　Sheridan, not even pretending to care about her reaction, raised both of his hands in the air and shouted.

"With this <Despot>, it can single-handedly rush into a battle zone and clean up the battlefield in a flash, no matter how bad the conditions are! We've also added a tank gun so if any enemy golems appear, it can smash them easily!!, and the firing range is adjustable, so it can even take down a flying dragon!!"

　A weapon Sheridan has excitedly and proudly speaking about is Despot.

　Its original design may have been based on a yellow crab, but there is a large antenna attached to its body. Apparently, It is a wide-range radar.  the Despot is intended to detect aliens over a wide area by taking advantage of its ability to pop its head above the forest.

　In addition, a tank gun is sitting where the cockpit should be. It is outrageously out of place. And at the ends of the arms are a minigun in the right hand and a chain gun in the left. The square part of the shoulder is probably a rocket pod. Regardless, it just looks too aggressive.

　The body and arms are at least two times thicker than normal yellow crab, making the whole body look more macho. If the yellow crab is a slim king crab, this Despot is like a big Horsehair crab. It is not cute at all.

　Moreover, because of its extreme weight, the power source was replaced by a double turbo engine, with jet exhaust emanating from its back.

　A hot jet of steam blasts the ground with a shimmering heatwave, and it moves around in a slow and heavy crawl, almost like a Horsehair crab kaiju.

"Aliens will be blown away if they encounter it in the forest......."

"With the 10,000 horsepower, this Gavel of justice will decrees death to the aliens! It rains shells over their heads. One-sidedly crushing them from above. Hence, we have named this new weapon, the Despot! (Oppressor)"

After finishing his speech. Sheridan lowered his hands, forming a fist, and snorted.

".......I do love the name."

"Those aliens are no match when the row of Despot march forward! They will bow down before the army of terrifying Despot, unable to lift their heads!　Ha~~hahaha!"

Sheridan laughed hysterically, spreading both of his hands.

So this is the genius who made 'The most powerful weapon ever exist.'

　Abigail shook her head. trying to clear her mind.

"Do you ever consider that the body this huge will make it a easy target for the enemy's magic?"

"Of course I did!"

　At Abigail's point, Sheridan picked up the controller. The controller looked like an arcade joystick. This Despot seems to be remotely controlled. Since Sheridan looks like a child, the controller suited his appearance perfectly. Somehow, it reminded her of Tetsujin.

　As soon as he started to operate the controller, the body of the Despot suddenly started to move in a circular motion. It was as if it was doing a threatening dance.

"Like this, the Despot uses the flexibility of its multiple legs to keep its torso constantly moving, so that the enemy cannot hit the target!　On the other hand, the gun on the Despot has an automatic deviation firing mechanism and gyro-stabilizers, so it can easily aim--"

　Abigail looked around her as she half-listened to Sheridan's wordy explanation.

　In this large space, there were many weapons that had been developed for Fort 88, including the <Berserker> flagship tank, and the <Orison> self-propelled artillery gun, each of which had its own crew working busily at their tasks.

　She suddenly spotted a figure walking toward her from across the arsenal. It was a man in a long coat and an old man with a pair of glasses. At his feet was a well-bred police dog.

　They stopped in front of Abigail and Sheridan, who continued making a passionate speech.

　The old man looked at Abigail with a frown.

"Ah? have we ever met before?" 

"Oh it's her first time here grandpa."

"Grandpa Benedict. she's from the newspaper, you know, that......."

Sheridan leaned over to the old man called Benedict, whisper to him.

"oh...... I see. I see."

"Grandpa Benedict is my mentor.  He is the renowned expert  who designed the Slow tortoise!"

　Sheridan hummed.

　-I see, he wears the same identical monocle and the same white coat.

"Is he your grandchild?"

"Fufu...no" Benedict shook his head. "He just really respected me." He looked at Sheridan.

　Following the process, Abigail exchanged greetings with Benedict.

　Benedict's Hand touched her buttocks in a very natural manner.

　Abigail smiled at him.

"Well, I'm one of those people who decide who I respect, Old man."

"Fufu as expected of the brave war maiden!"

　As Benedict laughed loudly, a man in a long coat beside him stepped forward.

"-----The First Diabolic, the old and trusty researcher at Fort 88 for several generations. My old memories are getting a little fuzzy, but they haven't diminished yet."

 "And you are?" Abigail asked, and Benedict gestured to the man.

"Inspector McLaren, he's here to investigate a case." He introduced.

"That bastard reporter fooled everyone......oh excuse me.  I didn't expect the war maiden to be such a beautiful woman. Now I can brag to everyone in the station."

　Captain McLaren held out his hand.

"Abigail."

　As they shook hands, the dog at their feet barked.

"His name is Lestrade."

"Nice to meet you, Lestrade."

　Abigail patted the police dog on the head, and his face broke into a smile as he looked straight into her eyes.

　At that moment, Sheridan's voice rang out as if he had just thought of something.

"Oh, that' right, Why don't you ask her, Inspector McLaren?"

"Umm, but ......"

"Abigail was a well-known researcher at FORCOM. I have seen her papers, and she is a very talented person who knows a lot about alien technology!　We may be able to find out something. Also, she is now registered at the R&D center here by November, so there's no problem with the procedure."

　McLaren hesitated for a moment, but then said, "Well," and pulled a terminal out from under his coat and showed it to Abigail.

"Abigail, actually, I have Grandpa Benedict looking into this thing, and I'd like your opinion on it."

"What is it?"

　A video was playing on the terminal screen.

　From the image alone it was apparently clear that it was microscopic footage. The video showed microorganisms moving around with their tails twirling and turning.

"What is this?"

　But Abigail already had an inkling of what it was.

-- sperms.

　However, what made it somewhat odd was that the shapes and sizes of the microbes were all different.

"Well, they are sperms" 

　Benedict said.

"It can't be from a single species, right?"

"Yeah, looks like it."

　They were all too unevenly shaped. Each one was different in size. The length and shape of the tails also seemed inconsistent.

"Fu....we didn't mix them up, you see."

　When Abigail looked at Benedict, who just smiled and nodded his head, McLaren began to add.

"This is the sample of bodily fluid that was left at one of the crime scenes, the sample that I had collected with the intention of having it tested for the killer's DNA."

"Were the fluids recovered from the crime scene was already in this state?"

"I had someone knowledgeable in this field look at it, and he said it was a mixture of sperm from many different creatures."

"Are you sure that it's not a prank or someone trying to interfere with the investigation?"

"The word 'different' is the key. There are so many different species that it's ridiculous to even count them, Mammals, reptiles, even birds. It's too elaborate to be a prank, and it's not a trick that can be done by a single individual. Even if it was organized and prepared, I don't know what its purpose is. If they wanted to disrupt the investigation, they could have done more."

　Abigail's face turned serious.

"This is like Noah's Ark."

She jokingly muttered to herself.

　A ship full of seeds, carrying new life to the post-apocalyptic world,  That's what it looked like to Abigail.

　Then Sheridan said to her, "Oh, that's an interesting metaphor. Let's call the owner of this semen 'Noah'! " He was so on board.

"Also, Abigail.  I've been thinking about it for a while. Some of Noah's semen appeared to be human sperm! The biology girl in the lab next door worked all night to analyzed one!"

Sheridan said, and Benedict also nodded.

"The girl told me this morning with a sick look on her face that she was taking a vacation until the next year. She said that even when she closes her eyes, she has visions of sperm crawling behind her eyelids and she feels like she's going crazy. So, to cheer her up, I requested to have my semen tested, and then She punched this old body in the face."

"Grandpa, you're getting off track."

"Phew, excuse me."

　Sheridan interrupted and the old man laughed, but now we are back to square one.

"Even if we isolated one sperm at a time. There is no way we could analyze all of its DNA."

"That's true."

"Regarding the origin of the fluid ...... I have a few theories ...... but I don't want to make a fuss by saying something inappropriate. It would be helpful if you could share your findings with us before we submit a report."

　Benedict paused there and raised his eyelids, which were barely open, to look at Abigail.

"I hear you've been doing a lot of research on aliens."

　Indeed, Abigail had studied alien technology, even if she had little biological knowledge she had heard that aliens have the same basic physical structure as humans, and if their body fluids had such characteristics, she would have heard about them a long time ago.

"I've never heard something like that....... Inspector McLaren, what exactly is this case about?"

"I can't tell you,  the details are confidential."

"If you don't tell me, I'm going to send a letter to the press saying that you and your accomplices have sexually harassed me by stopping me in the middle of the work and forcing me to watch a video of semen for an exceedingly long period of time."

McLaren wince. Benedict and Sheridan also shiver because of the emphasis of the word 'accomplices'.

　Even the Lestrade at his feet was cowering and shivering in fear.

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