But seven seconds later, I was removing the gas mask—albeit a modernized one—from Vector's face as he tried to twist away. Still, I couldn't break his neck; otherwise, I might not be able to absorb his knowledge. But I broke his other arm with great pleasure.
Finally overcoming his resistance, I removed the hooded mask first, then carefully unbuttoned the top of his suit so as not to damage the collar. And anyway, I would have to strip this corpse completely later anyway—I needed everything he had.
Now, without the mask, I was staring at a man who, judging by certain facial features, was a compatriot of my current body—or, to put it simply, a German.
And then—the long-awaited reward.
I sank my fangs into his throat and began greedily swallowing the crimson liquid. At the same time, as before, I consciously willed myself to absorb everything—but this time, as skills. If I managed to scroll through memory in an accelerated manner last time, why shouldn't such a trick be possible? And the consequences? Who cares about them. If I feel sick, I'll just down a couple of Lickers. I'm not picky... anymore.
You reap what you sow! There's no other way to put it.
I hadn't even imagined the trap I'd set for myself—and the hole in the wall, or the two hostile groups nearby, had nothing to do with it. The cause was far more mundane. While I was able to calmly "digest" the life of that suburban blond, it was more challenging with the special forces soldier, and then there was that inexplicable kickback.
And now—
I almost drowned in a flood of information.
Roughly speaking, I tore myself away from Vector's throat—or rather, Jacob's—and froze in shock. The reason was simple and terrifying: I perceived the corpse in front of me as myself. After a few seconds, the obsession began to recede, but by then I could no longer say for certain who I was—Alex, Nathan, or Jacob Nightroad.
And if almost nothing remained of the second except his body and accumulated knowledge, then in the struggle for dominance, Jacob's iron will had nearly overwhelmed me—Alex. And now all three names felt foreign, just like the lives attached to them.
So this is where it's led.
It won't be long before I develop a mental disorder. Although that assumes my brain is even functioning at all. If parts of it aren't working, disorders in those parts are unlikely to affect me. But then… how do I think?
Something pulled me in the wrong direction in my thoughts.
While my thoughts drifted somewhere far away, my body acted on its own—efficiently stripping the corpse and beginning to change clothes. It did so with alarming speed, as if it had performed this routine hundreds of times before. And, most interestingly, my initial assumption about size had been correct: Nathan and Jacob were built the same. That was deeply satisfying.
The same applied to the knowledge I absorbed, although, let's be honest, it was more like the personality I absorbed. The personality turned out to be too strong-willed, and I won't even mention the richness of his life. All of this fit my body perfectly. In other words, there was no need to relearn or adapt anything. Of course, it was still worth checking—it might just seem that way immediately after absorption—but at first glance, everything functioned flawlessly.
Even more interesting was Vector's suit—now mine. Or perhaps it had always been mine, if a stubborn part of my consciousness was to be believed. Maybe I really should stop absorbing living beings, or one day I'd realize that I was my own victim… again!
The suit had something resembling optical camouflage—like the Predator from the movie. And those "sophisticated gas masks" were packed with features: communications, sensors, and even recording capabilities. And I knew that everyone in the squad had them, but only two people actually used the recording function—Vector and Ghost.
Which meant I now possessed one very interesting file.
It clicked behind me, and a gun was pressed to my head.
Heh. The hunter becomes the hunted.
But I'd noticed you earlier, Foue Eyes—back when I were just stretching—thanks to my eyesight.
"Stay where you are, HiF-05," she ordered, her voice firm, without even thinking about lowering the weapon.
Heh, yes, now I know what scientists call me, but I don't like that name (although it's not even a nickname).
In the meantime, let's surprise my future information source. At least, I hope she'll be that.
With my speed, reflexes, and Vector's skills, I could move my head aside before she even pulled the trigger. In fact, given how smoothly the absorption had gone, an accidental shot right now might even be beneficial.
With that thought, I transmitted the conversation between the real Vector and Lupo—the one that took place immediately after they reviewed the cameras where I'd been spotted—straight to her comm device.
"What does this mean?" YYamata said. She flinched when she received my message, but not only did she not shoot, she also didn't give me a chance to slip away to a more advantageous position while she was listening to it.
"Only that your team doesn't trust you—to put it mildly. And I suspect the feeling is mutual. So I hope you won't mind if I play a little prank." I said with a chuckle, once again appreciating my choice of attire.
Now, with my voice muffled by the mask, I sounded like the real Vector.
🎁 Bonus chapter for 100 power stones!
The next bonus chapter will be for 200 power stones.