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Chapter 528: Headbutt (4)

Shhhhhh……!

It felt like a sauna room.

Smoke pouring out from Earth’s body had completely filled the control room.

And in the middle of it, Yeongwoo was staring in disbelief at the words flashing before his eyes.

「Purpose Reassignment Complete」

| Combat Use

‘…Combat use? Then what was it until now?’

Earth’s new designation: Combat.

Maybe that’s why—the presence Yeongwoo felt from Earth beyond the haze of smoke was far greater than before.

And in fact—

Drrrk, drrrk, drrrk!

Something inside the smoke was filling up the space, reaching all the way to the ceiling of the control room. Follow current novᴇls on No(ᴠ)ᴇlFire.nᴇt

“What… what the hell?”

Even Yeongwoo, who wasn’t easily rattled, raised his head with a troubled look.

『Ughhh…….』

A deep groan echoed down from the ceiling—Earth’s voice.

As the smoke slowly cleared, the silhouette that came into view was anything but ordinary.

—Huh? What’s wrong with that guy?

Jiseon also looked up and instinctively took a step back.

Thuuud!

Earth’s head, now changed for combat, was pressing against the ceiling.

That meant his height was at least five meters.

And not just that—

『This is…….』

Earth bent his right arm at a right angle—his bulging biceps swelling so massively they pressed against his forearm.

Because of the Purpose Reassignment, his whole body had transformed into a monstrous wall of muscle.

Even his handsome, long-haired face had been reforged with harsher, reinforced features.

As for his bare torso—already exposed from earlier—its grotesquely massive pectorals were enough to seize everyone’s attention.

“…What the hell happened to you?”

Yeongwoo looked him up and down in disbelief.

Earth, staring at his now thickened hands, shook his head.

『I… I don’t know either.』

“So this is Purpose Reassignment? Must be.”

『Seems like it. My aggression’s up, and my actual combat capacity too—it feels way stronger.』

“What? Even if it’s a planet-ship, can it really change by itself like that?”

Yeongwoo frowned, but Moro explained from the back.

『Well, it was a residential planet, after all.』

“A residential planet…? You mean there are separate residential and combat designations?”

『I never knew for sure before, but it seems that way.』

Planets that had “residents” were generally weaker in combat and had gentler dispositions—Moro’s reasoning.

‘True enough… Earth should’ve had planetary dignity, but it was more like a scarecrow—weak.’

Yeongwoo recalled their first encounter.

Hadn’t even Pluto, a dwarf planet, surpassed Earth in combat power?

The reason lay in their usage roles.

“But… Earth isn’t going to go around raiding people, right?”

『Of course not. There’s the non-aggression principle between celestial bodies and noble houses.』

“Then why change Earth’s designation to combat at all?”

Yeongwoo glanced at the monster Earth had become.

This time, Earth himself replied.

『Not sure exactly how strong I’ve gotten, but as a planet-ship, lots of functions improved—propulsion, durability, that kind of thing.』

“Oh? Then it boosts survivability for headbutts too?”

『…Maybe? Somewhat, at least.』

But another opinion rose.

Sssk.

The eldest, Golux, raised his hand.

『Perhaps… it’s for the Hearing.』

“Hearing? What’s that supposed to mean?”

『The fact you’re being chased by the galactic core—it must be for a Hearing.』

Though, as Golux added, “Hearing” was really just armed suppression in disguise.

『No matter how formidable your martial skills, you can’t fight the core’s executives alone. They’re stars with enormous bodies.』

Then he turned his gaze from Yeongwoo to Earth.

『But… if it’s another celestial body, that’s different. Free from the non-aggression principle. And if its body is fully clad in collision scars……』

Golux trailed off, but everyone understood.

“You mean Earth’s Purpose Reassignment… is for a fight with the galactic core?”

『At least, that’s how I see it.』

“I see… that makes sense.”

As Yeongwoo had learned, the universe always provided many paths.

Like when he chose 30,000 Karma supplies instead of monopolizing 3 million Karma—there was still a golden ratio route waiting.

Likewise, for a planet-ship choosing the insane path of orbital defection, contingency plans existed too.

And that was—

‘A body full of collision scars, and Purpose Reassignment.’

Yeongwoo gazed into the distant future.

Earth shrank his body back down.

Srrrip.

His grotesque facial structure returned to normal, his overblown muscles subsided somewhat.

Still, he remained far more muscular than before.

“Why shrink? You looked badass.”

『…I hate it. Makes me look like a monster.』

“Well, when the galactic core shows up, you’ll need that monster power.”

The core’s pursuit—still unseen, but inevitable.

If even Golux mentioned Hearings, then the core must have intervened before.

‘So, the next step is obvious.’

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Earth-ship’s full armament.

Collision scars.

As Yeongwoo stared out the window into space, Earth walked up grimly.

Thud.

『What are you plotting now?』

“Your fists.”

『…Huh?』

“To leave collision scars on your fists, which region do we have to headbutt into?”

『That would be…….』

Earth’s eyes turned outward.

After a moment, he answered.

『The right fist—Africa.』

“And the left?”

『Alaska.』

“What? But almost nobody lives there.”

With surveys being updated constantly, by the time they reached the next star, Africa would be viable for scars too.

『Well… Alaska being the left hand is a blessing, I guess. Fewer people to trouble.』

Even as a combat planet, Earth still thought of his residents.

Yeongwoo, however, thought differently.

“Anyway, plenty of space to lease. But we’ll need variable rent depending on risk.”

『What do you mean?』

“Collision scars mean those areas are potential shields or weapons. Naturally, high-risk zones.”

『…That’s true.』

Though the planet’s shield covered all, that only worked for moderate damage.

Overwhelming attacks required collision scars to absorb.

『Then we’ll need to warn tenants. But… would anyone even rent?』

“Only ones tough enough. Maybe those with hardy bodies or who can build underground cities.”

『Sounds difficult.』

“Everything’s hard at first. Once we get the ball rolling, it’ll be fine.”

But the real issue: where to find tenants.

Perhaps Doatel, with its massive refugee fleets?

‘They’ve got tens of millions—maybe billions. They’re the prime candidates.’

Yeongwoo immediately summoned Kubu.

“Administrator.”

Kubu opened his eyes in the air, as if waiting.

Srrrip.

―Yes, speak.

“Can you send a message to Doatel?”

―Possible.

“Ask if any refugees want to rent on Earth-ship.”

―……?

Kubu blinked, hesitating.

But as a seasoned administrator, he quickly adapted.

―Rent… weekly?

“Ah.”

A surprisingly sharp question.

Yeongwoo had only thought of “monthly rent” in Earth terms.

“But yeah—if they might die tomorrow, monthly rent is useless.”

―Exactly.

“Still, we need steady cashflow……”

Which raised the question:

—So, weekly rent or daily?

Just as Jiseon said, the payment cycle had to be set.

Yeongwoo clapped his hands.

“Weekly rent makes sense, doesn’t it?”

—Why?

“Because tenants might die before a month’s up.”

—Ah, true.

If you lived on Earth-ship, that was entirely possible.

An entire clan wiped out in a week—destroyed by galactic fury, planetary bombardment, or worse.

—So how much per week?

“Well……”

Yeongwoo’s eyes sparkled as he scanned the vast universe.

“Starting bid—50 million. Auction style.”

—Auction?

“Of course. From our side, it’s housing aliens. If they can’t even pay 50 million, not worth it.”

But since refugee wealth varied widely, letting the market set the price was best.

“Doatel’s got millions, even billions. Some of them must be filthy rich.”

—And the first lease location?

That was easy. Only one land area already had collision scars.

“U.S., central Nevada.”

A vast expanse of land.

The drawback: surrounded by Earthlings.

“But since it’s the first lease zone, we’ll enforce strict management. No discrimination, no persecution. And most importantly—”

Yeongwoo raised a finger.

“The first lease won’t have fluctuating weekly rent.”

Jiseon’s eyes widened.

—Wait, so you mean other regions will……

“Haha. When the product value rises, so does the price.”

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