The Spider Queen

Chapter 338: Twisted Into A Dark Obsession

Don’t lose control…

Don’t lose control…

Don’t lose control…

Sophie kept repeating those words over and over in her mind as she felt the terrible urge to kill both survivors in front of her.

The expressionless mask that she had chosen to display to the prisoners was threatening to crack as Pirene finished talking.

“You will have twenty minutes of rest before the next stage begins,” Sophie muttered hoarsely as she clenched her hands tightly.

She needed to leave now before something happened that she would regret.

The hybrid girl picked up the two cone-shaped devices from the survivors’ laps and then walked out of the room.

Bleep! Bleep!

Sophie pressed multiple buttons on the sides of the two devices and then tossed them into her storage bag.

She walked out of the cafeteria with slow purposeful steps and left the survivors to recover from the interrogation.

The survivors didn’t even dare to exhale until the figure of their tormentor vanished from their sight.

Sophie left the cafeteria with the frustrated feeling in her heart now openly displayed on her face. 

The bloodlust buried inside her body was threatening to resurface.

“Arghh…. FUCK! FUCK! FUCK!” Sophie screamed as she violently slammed her fist against a nearby wall.

The force of her blow caused the metalloid wall to instantly collapse. 

Again and again, she continued to punch until her knuckles begun to bleed and purplish bruises formed.

Sophie started to breathe heavily as the corners of her eyes slowly turned red. 

The bruises and wounds on her hands regenerated instantly and a fiery rage bubbled beneath her anguished expression.

Why?!

I WAS SO CLOSE!

WHY?!

Sophie kneeled down and let out an animalistic howl as the stress that had been building up for the last few months was proving to be too much to bear.

She was only an eighteen-year-old girl. 

It was true that there were the memories of a much older female from ancient Earth in her mind, but Sophie was still fundamentally a teenager.

Having to put on a brave face and constantly reassure Lily that everything was going to be okay was tiring.

And to make matters worse, she would now have to face Captain Dawn without the aid of high-powered weaponry.

This starship was essentially grounded so unless she could trick her target into getting in range of the orbital cannons there was nothing she could do.

Of course, that plan would only work if one of the survivors was familiar with operating the weapons systems and now Sophie wasn’t so optimistic.

Damn… actually the plan wouldn’t even work because firing off an orbital canon at point blank range from the ground would cause an explosion that would damage the starship.

What were her options now?

Kill the rest of the survivors and attempt to ambush the knights? 

Bloodlust surged in Sophie’s chest, but the hybrid girl fought that addicting feeling back down.

No… she had already spilled enough.

Sophie sighed and leaned her head back as she tried to figure out her next step. 

This was a medium class spacecraft so there was the realistic possibility that other members of the order would realise that something was wrong.

Maybe the higher ups had already attempted to contact the crew on the upper deck but had received no replies.

It was only a matter of time before someone was sent to this region to investigate what had happened to the ship.

They needed to depart before then. 

Sophie was not arrogant enough to think that she could travel through the universe unchallenged so the possibility of the Sun’s Glory sending a void stage cultivator scared her.

There was only one hope left. 

Sophie narrowed her eyes and stared thoughtfully at the mutilated corpses laying on the ground. 

On such a spacefaring vessel…. 

Wouldn’t there be escape pods or smaller starships stored onboard? 

In the event of an emergency, surely the upper-level officers didn’t expect to die with their fellow crewmembers.

Good… 

Sophie smiled lightly as a thin flicker of hope appeared in her heart. All was not lost if these escape pods really existed.

Like a drowning man grasping onto a piece of driftwood, Sophie clung to this possibility with a fierce desperation.

She turned around and headed towards the cafeteria level immediately.

All thoughts of using interrogation techniques and psychological warfare had been flung to the back of her mind.

Sophie just wanted to know if there was a chance. 

No matter what she had to do… no matter what sufferings she had to endure… no matter what kind of beast she became…

Please… please… 

Give me a way to go back home.

Sophie couldn’t notice at the time, but her golden eyes were shining with a faint trace of madness.

Her desire to return to the Earth Federation had become twisted into a dark obsession.

Sophie kicked open the doors of the cafeteria and activated her movement technique to instantly teleport in front of the tied-up survivors.

She grabbed Pirene by the neck and pulled the struggling prisoner up until their faces were eye level.

Sophie could smell the fear wafting off the trembling alien as she applied more pressure to his windpipe.

“Hey… does this starship have escape pods or spacecrafts that are capable of warp drive?” Sophie growled darkly.

She could see confusion on her captive’s face as he couldn’t understand why he was suddenly being questioned.

“Answer the question and you win the game immediately,” Sophie whispered and stared deep into Pirene’s eyes. 

Her golden pupils contained a monstrous killing intent that caused the hairs on the prisoner’s arms to stand up.

Eovoby froze in horror when he heard the monster give out this unexpected offer. 

Did the game only have one stage? Or had the creature gotten bored toying with them?

Pirene’s eyes widened in astonishment, and he could not help but sneak a glance at his companion who was shivering.

Could he live?

Guilt flooded the alien’s heart as he realised that winning the game would lead to the death of his colleague but…

His own life was more important.

Sophie smiled as she observed the fierce internal struggle play out on the face of her captive. 

Her patience to carefully weave a sinister web of psychological tricks had run out but the previous work that she had done on the survivors was more than enough to damage and twist their psyche.

Pirene hesitated for a brief moment and then the words flowed out his mouth almost unconsciously,

“There are basic escape pods on the thirteenth level that can survive up to three weeks in space and are capable of atmospheric entry,” Pirene explained.

“I… I… don’t have the security clearance to confirm but I did hear from one of my friends who… was an officer that the command deck has a secret room containing four basic spacecrafts…”

“These vessels only have basic weaponry and shields, but the warp drive inside has enough fuel for three weeks.”

“And how many people would you need to operate one of those vessels?” Sophie leaned in closer and whispered in her prisoner’s ears.

Pirene stammered under the icy cold pressure that was surrounding his body. 

He sensed that whatever he said next would determine his fate.

Pirene muttered, “Just… one… a main pilot technically but… to be safe… probably two auxiliary pilots as well…” 

He stumbled backwards as Sophie suddenly released the tight grip that she had on his collar. 

She felt anxious as the possibility that these escape spacecrafts may not have an onboard AI unit flashed across her mind.

“Are there any pilots left among your colleagues in the holding room?” Sophie roared with nervous anticipation.

“Just…

“WAIT DON’T TELL HER…” Eovoby yelled as he realised what the monster truly wanted. 

The time Sophie had spent focusing on Pirene gave her other captive the opportunity to get a brief moment of clarity.

Why do this pointless game? Why not just eat them both if she was truly hungry?

The monster’s main goal wasn’t to kill them all because she wanted to escape but couldn’t without help! 

If she only needed a certain number of them… 

Would the remaining survivors be expendable? 

Unfortunately, his shout came too late as Pirene finished his sentence.

“Two.”

A genuine smile flashed across Sophie’s face, and she could not help but laugh. 

Perhaps her luck hadn’t run out after all.