A Black Market LitRPG

Kyle ignored the message, staying wary as he stepped through the now-opened door of the administrator’s room. However, instead of seeing a control centre of some sort, it was instead a long hallway, dimly lit by barely functioning lights. There is still electricity in the place – entirely possible for someone to be alive.

He slowly stepped down the hallway, minimising the noise of his footsteps as much as he could as he approached a T-junction. On the wall was plastered a sign in the Council’s language, further cementing Kyle’s belief that this was a Galactic Era installation.

[]

Seed Storage? Is this a doomsday bunker? However, the existence of the green gaseous chambers that improved the hobgoblins did not seem right. It felt more like an experimental lab rather than a bunker meant for hiding out. There were no signs for shelter as well, so it did not feel like an evacuation point.

Kyle decided to check out the chemicals first, curious about the green gas. He had breathed in a few whiffs but felt no particular changes to his body.

He soon reached another metallic door, locked tight. Kyle was considering his options on breaking the lock when the door automatically opened for him, as though it was expecting him. This raised his suspicion even higher as he tried to figure out why did he have such privilege.

Is every System user an administrator? If there are such facilities in Versia, and Galactic Era tech was able to be recovered, perhaps they, too have a System User…

Kyle focused his attention on his immediate surroundings. He stepped through the door, revealing a bio lab that was clearly dedicated to genetic extermination. Hundreds of pressurised gas tanks were lined up in a packed formation, the tubes attached to their nozzles and running the entire length of the lab’s ceiling towards an exit duct that no doubt led to the individual gas chambers.

There were four vats in the lab, each with a floating specimen inside. Kyle could see that they were arranged in ascending order, with a goblin baby being the first, followed by a goblin child, a goblin adult and a hobgoblin adult.

Were the goblins artificially created? Or experimented on? Kyle moved over to the control terminal, where he spotted a helmetless human wearing an exosuit sitting on the chair, facing the vats. He readied himself for a fight, slowly moving up and using the hammer to spin the exosuit around slowly.

Only the dead, agonised face of its occupant stared back at Kyle, long dead before Kyle even arrived. Streaks of dried blood stains were marked on the wall, along with three other destroyed exosuits with no bodies. A pile of human bones lay in front of the exosuit pilot. Cannibalism. Not surprised.

He shoved the degraded exosuit and bones out of the way, tapping the control panel. Nothing responded despite electricity still being supplied to this place. Kyle tried tapping once again, prompting a shimmering sound to materialise behind him. He quickly swivelled and swung the hammer, only for the hammer to pass through a holographic human.

[Good morning, Administrator. What tasks would you like me to perform today?] The holographic AI human bowed, wearing a skimpy bikini that accentuated her curves in a disproportionate way. Kyle didn’t want to think about what the last survivor was doing with the AI.

“Revert to your default form and give me the logs of the lab. And call me sir.”

[Understood.] The A.I. reverted into a military-style uniform, complete with a beret. [Following Protocol 138A, all existing logs and data have been purged from the facility. Shall I attempt to uplink to the main server?]

“No, do not uplink. What is Protocol 138A?”

[I apologise. Information regarding Protocol 138A has also been erased.]

Kyle frowned, visibly frustrated. However, it was not unexpected to face such an issue.

Many human forces in the Galactic Era employed such tactics to mask their military or secret installations. Galactic Coordinates were a life-or-death matter. If they were leaked to a hostile alien force, it would be catastrophic. Kyle himself had employed such a protocol during his liberation war against the invading slovesa, preventing captured ships from leaking critical data of the core worlds.

“So you don’t know what this lab is for.”

[Correct. But I am connected to every mechanical and electrical system in this facility.]

“What defence systems are left?”

[Sorry, all defence systems have been neutralised.]

“What was your original purpose?”

[Sorry, I do not have the information to answer that.]

“What is this holographic interface that I have?”

[Sorry, I do not have the information to answer that.]

Kyle groaned. “What information do you actually have?”

[For one, I am well equipped with agricultural development. I have been able to restore many of the instructions needed to redevelop using the seeds stored in the Seed Storage section. I am also able to control the pressure of the gas tanks that are currently connected to the individual chambers, though I am unsure as to what their purpose is.]

Kyle sighed. If the A.I. had continued to be useless, he might have stormed the entire place just to find her databank and rebooted it in the most manual way possible. “That’s it?”

[Apologies. All other records have been eradicated. There is one remaining piece of data that I have retained, however.]

“Show me.”

[It is an instruction to connect to the main server. Shall I execute?]

“NO!” Kyle shouted quickly. He had no idea what forces were behind the planet or controlling any installation. If the force behind the main server found out that he had taken down one of their facilities, there would be severe repercussions. If Kyle were in that position, he would have done the same thing as well.

“Under no circumstances are you to make any radio transmissions, electrical connection, or conversation with anyone outside this facility except me. Got it?”

[Yes sir.]

Kyle pushed the dead exosuit wearer out of the chair, sitting down on it to rest. This is actually a blessing in disguise, but I must find a way to hide the existence of the A. I as much as possible. Spreading the word about such a facility among the common people is a good way to invite trouble.

He glanced at the A.I., who was still in a holographic form. It will be hard to utilise her to redevelop the area in this form. “Do you have a mechanical form or a robotic form that you can control as an avatar?”

[Affirmative. Please wait.]

A rumbling sound erupted from the other side of the research lab, where Kyle had yet to explore. The vibration shook the entire lab, rattling the bones on the floor while it was followed by a weird squelching sound and a gooey drip.

Soon, a stark naked female hobgoblin approached him, green goo still dripping from her skin. “Will this body suffice?”

Kyle was taken aback by the level of technology the A.I. boasted. This is truly an A-class technology – people would kill for such an A.I. in the Melsura Star Sector. “Any lash back if you die in this form?”

“None, sir. It is simply a remote avatar for me.”

Kyle grew a bit suspicious. “You must have records of using such a body before.”

“No, but I have retained the instruction on how to do so. Shall I terminate this avatar?”

“No need. This is fine.” Kyle quickly started planning in his head. With the help of this A.I. avatar, it could accelerate the redevelopment of the entire goblin society by centuries. All he had to do was to find some way to get the goblin society to accept the A.I. “Can you speak the goblin language?”

“No, sir. Information has been erased. But I can learn.”

“Good. Show me the seed storage now.”

Kyle followed the female hobgoblin towards the other end of the facility, which was revealed to have millions of native seeds kept for future planting, stored in cryogenic conditions. Some of the cryogenic storage boxes had already run out of energy but had enough insulation to keep out most of the heat from spoiling the seeds.

Kyle grinned as he surveyed the area, knowing that his bid to develop an agricultural system for the goblins and build a strong workforce could finally be accelerated.

Sahusa was panicking as he continued to hide in the armoury, worried about what happened to Kyle. He had not heard a single warrior past the armoury ever since, but Kyle not returning after a few hours worried him tremendously.

Suddenly, two pairs of footsteps could be heard approaching the barricaded door of the armoury. Sahusa quickly grabbed a sword and shield that was nearby, preparing to fight. Don’t look down on me! I am Sahusa the Great!

“Sahusa. You better be alive in there.” The voice of Kyle wafting through the barricades sent a wave of relief through Sahusa’s body, nearly bursting out into tears.

The barricade was quickly torn down, with Sahusa clamouring to his feet. “Osir, did you kill Osir?”

“He’s dead. Congratulations, you are now the king once more. I hope you remember our deal.”

“Indeed I have.” Sahusa nodded.

“Well, circumstances have changed. I would need to add one more condition to the deal.”

“One more condition…?” Sahusa’s eyes narrowed, his heart quickly turning to suspicion as he eyed Kyle warily. Humans had a strong reputation for being sneaky with their words. His father and grandfather had always told him not to trust the words of any humans.

“What is the condition? More territory? My people? Or complete control? I will not be a mere puppet like what you did to Gulak…” Sahusa continued as Kyle revealed the second person who was walking next to him.

“Nothing of the sort. I simply need you to take this hobgoblin as your queen.”

Sahusa’s eyes nearly popped out of their sockets as he intricately examined every curve of the sexy female hobgoblin in front of him. It was as though she had been perfectly crafted to the ideal female hobgoblin shape, her sharp yellow teeth perfectly aligned along with the smooth glistening texture of her green skin accentuating her lean muscles. Why does she look so familiar? Sahusa couldn’t quite put his finger on it, but he knew he had seen her somewhere before.

He gulped internally as he felt something akin to a purple arrow strike through his heart. Not even in the past year of indulging in decadence with the servants of the palace had he experienced such a flutter in his heart.

“Of course, of course!” Sahusa slicked back his pointy ears, putting on his best pose despite his dishevelled clothes and armour. He quickly moved past Kyle, kneeling in front of the female hobgoblin. “I would be honoured to know of your name, fair maiden.” Sahusa grabbed her hand.

In a blink of an eye, the female hobgoblin delivered a kick right into Sahusa’s shoulder, sending him crashing to the side.

Kyle was taken aback, but not because of how strong the female avatar was. “What is your name, by the way?”

“Apologise, but I do not have a name as well. If you must, my designation is EKV-29391-“

“Okay, never mind. From now on, your name is Orisa. You will act as a wife to the goblin king, Sahusa the Great. He will be your second-in-command. No command of his is to override mine.”

“Yes, sir.” The female hobgoblin nodded before heading over and picking up the groaning Sahusa. “My dear king, I’m sorry for kicking you.”

Sahusa’s heart fluttered even more as Orisa carried him in both arms like a maiden. “It’s okay, I have had worse with my first wife.” Sahusa muttered, clearly lovestruck.

“Okay, enough.” Kyle clapped his hands, interrupting them. “We still need to clean up the main rebel army and subjugate the rest of the tribes. Orisa, how far away from here can you operate?”

“I can operate effectively up to beyond 10 kilometres, but this will require me to deploy the antenna system of the mountain. Shall I deploy it?”

“No, do not deploy any radio equipment.” Kyle rejected the idea. As much as the antenna was directional, there would always be some leakage that could potentially tip off anyone watching. “Do not go further than what you can handle.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Sahusa. As part of our deal, you will now regain control of your kingdom. All goblins in the Culdao Peaks Area are to fall under your control. Do you understand? Work with my subordinate, Sasha. She knows what to do.”

Sahusa nodded but was confused as to where Kyle was walking off to. “Wait, where are you going? If we used your strength, we could easily dominate the rest of the tribes.”

“I’m going back to the oracle. I have a few personal things to settle…”

Kyle walked off, pulling back up the holographic messages that suddenly came in like a flood. Every hobgoblin he had killed inside was recorded, filling his vision.