"The murderer was arrested an hour ago, due to a voluntary surrender to the police," Verdalis reported.
"Are you sure that it isn't a case of attention-seeking?" I asked.
"The suspect had a hand of one of the victims in his possession. Additionally, he led us to the corpses of 15 additional victims."
"What does that bring the total count to?" I asked, obviously already knowing the answer.
"39."
Well, actually, I would say that the number would be 41, with the two whose bodies I took over. But I had the strong feeling that now wasn't the appropriate time to discuss this philosophical dilemma.
"Inform the public right now, but keep the police patrols up for another week. Also, do we have a motive?"
Verdalis thought for a moment before responding.
"He said that he killed the first victim to steal drugs. After he took them, he entered a drug-induced murder spree." Hesitating for a moment, he spoke up again.
"I am not sure if we should believe him. I would recommend a soul search," he said.
"He might very well be lying, but I don't think it concerns us. Just send him to Ceengel and be done with it."
"How does it not concern us?" He looked very confused.
"Well, he might have very well lied, but logically I don't think the lie is that important, for example because he is a spy, traitor, or has any deeper reasons behind it. It might just be so simple that he wants a lighter sentence by saying he was under the influence of drugs while on the murder spree."
Normally, I would not be so confident with this, but this time the culprit was literally me, so there was no risk of unexpected consequences. So this wasn't exactly something I would lose sleep over, although that might be different for Verdalis, who I could tell was still not convinced.
"Look, if you want to be sure, just write the order in his file, and let the jailers at Ceengel do the mind reading. They have all the time in the world," I said, clearly ending the conversation.
"As you order."
................
POV: 1st Avatar, Codename Severance
"3 Credits," a large green alien with scars all over his face said. This guy was clearly hired to intimidate unruly customers, but I didn't want any trouble, so I just handed over 3 coins.
Which is one of those moments where I really appreciated my civilization. In civilizations where Mechanics were there from the start all throughout their founding, all currency is usually digital. But Eozarithians kept a physical currency active at the same time.
The outward reason is, of course, to preserve freedom. But anyone with even 2 brain cells could tell that our leadership was likely not 100% confident in besting some of our enemies in the digital realm.
"Once you are in your room, select the planet or space station you want to leave at, so that we will stop there. If your destination is outside of the Eozarithian Star Cluster, you will be asked to pay an additional fee per Star Cluster." The fact that passengers were supposed to check the general route of this 'space taxi' beforehand was, of course, implied.
I nodded in response, quite satisfied with the service. Yes, the guy was unfriendly, but I could keep my face covered in a hood. Clearly, they often deal with people of questionable origin.
My room was easy to find. Metallic without any windows, it is honestly not too different from the cell that poor loser Nr. 2 ended up in.
......
9 days later
BeepBeepBeep
"We will reach Planet Urandiwa in 30 minutes, please make your way to the exit." The automatic alert for my selected exit location rang, and I instantly made my way out of the room.
All I have on me at the moment are my clothes, a communicator, and 14 physical credits. I had thought about taking weapons and ammunition that my main body had won through 'government spending', but in the end that wasn't worth the connection it might leave behind.
Honestly, even the fact that the body of the drug addict I had taken over came from Vril'okai was more of a connection than I was comfortable with.
On my way through the ship, I recollected the information I learned about my destination. I was originally made aware of it because of the crystals mentioned by the 'Government Spending' skill.
Urandiwa is inhabited by humans that have joined the interstellar age less than 200 years ago. The whole planet is covered in oceans and forests. With less than 2 billion inhabitants and no major threats, its biggest industry is tourism.
The planet is ruled by a group of supers who call themselves 'Corells Third'. Although 'group' is a very optimistic way to say 'gang'. Murder, trafficking, and slave trade—there is no crime they have not committed.
Not on Urandiwa though. As their main source of income and base of operations, they didn't risk it getting a bad reputation. Overall, I am not worried in the slightest. After all, I am not a human.
And as an Eozarithian, I might be of the second-lowest social standing, but my race still ruled this Star Cluster, and they would not hesitate to make an example out of a planet or two.
Eozarithians could enslave Eozarithians, but if an outsider were to harm even someone as lowly as an Eozarithian slave, they would find out the price to pay.
My goal for this trip? The 5 yellow-green Maryntz crystals hidden under the second-highest tree in Waplin Forest.
Originally, I didn't know what they were, but had the instinct that they might be valuable. It cost me a million EXP after all. So after I took over this body, and got a communicator that wasn't associated with my main body, I looked it up.
They are not as ridiculously valuable as the Iridium mine that I once learned about, but they are definitely valuable—ridiculously so.
Maryntz Crystals are the main part in the planet-destroying cannons of the Elmkin Association. You need a few dozen to hundreds of these cannons to destroy a planet, of course, but they still pack a punch. Depending on size and color, the crystals usually go for a few hundred thousand to 1–2 million credits each.
Swoosh
The door to the space station opened up before me, and the handful of others that also elected to get off on this planet.
......
ChirpChirpChirp
"Look over there, that's the Purple Ground Dove in its mating ritual," our guide whispered, so as to not scare the birds away.
Several members of our little group took out devices to record the birds and their mating calls. I just stood a bit further back, like about 60% of our group.
From our previous interactions, I could tell that the people around me were more interested in plants or mammals, with a few of them being just general tourists like I am. While the ones around the guide are clearly here for the birds.
I wondered if this purple bird evolved naturally. That was clearly just to alleviate my boredom, though.
About 5 minutes later, our group continued moving. We stopped once someone spotted an animal they wanted to photograph or every once in a while, when we reached a famous tourist spot, where our guide would then tell us a bit about the planet's ecosystem or history.
I followed the group for a good two and a half hours, before I quietly slipped away from the back of the group, into the wild forest. In the tour up to this point, the guide had stressed again and again that we should not leave the group, as wild beasts populated the forest.
All I could say to that is that it's quite liberating to take such life-altering risks with someone else's body. I might joke, but if this body dies, I will be in quite a bit of trouble.
Mainly concerning how I would go about getting another body, as I don't think doing the whole 'there was a serial killer, but we caught him' shtick would work that well a second time.
Clutching my gun in one hand, I carefully made my way through the forest.
With every little movement, be it a leaf or a small animal, my heart jumped in my chest. The only thing keeping me even remotely calm was the undivided attention from my main body on the current situation.
While I could not outright use my strength, I can use my skills like hand-to-hand combat that were purely mental in a sense, and more importantly my intelligence, to increase my reaction speed.
Rustle
Rustle
My heart jumped again just for an instant, before I realized that what jumped out of the bush in front of me was just a squirrel.
"Huuuu," I breathed in and out deeply, to relieve the stress. Almost out of instinct, I checked the skyline for the biggest tree I could currently see.
400 meters.
That is my best estimate, but these things could be deceiving in a dense forest like this. But just as I was about to continue...
Swish
A tiger-like animal jumped out of the same bush and swiftly bit down on the squirrel's neck.
Before the squirrel even died, my arm was already extended, pointing the gun straight at the predator's head.
"Don't do it..."
"Just turn around man, no need to die here..." I pleaded with the tiger.
"Just enjoy your mea—" my words had no effect on the animal, as it lunged at me.
Bang
One shot, one kill. The only problem? That shot was definitely heard throughout the whole forest.