Chapter 37: Don’t Mess With the Slime When It’s Eating

Chapter 37: Don’t Mess With the Slime When It’s Eating

“You don’t need to go in person, do you?”

“...I suggested it, so I can’t just back out now. And... if the target is there, my presence will be helpful.”

It doesn’t seem like that’s the only reason you’re doing this....

Kim Cheonsu, who had those words at the tip of his tongue, sighed deeply to himself.

As he looked at Han Seori wearing flashy equipment, he rubbed his neck as if troubled.

He tried to recall the root cause that led Han Seori to come all this way.

‘It must be because of 7496-KR...’

That damn snot from before.

What was it called now? Something Slime.

No matter how he thought about it, “damn snot” seemed to fit better, and the slime girl’s new name felt hazy to Kim Cheonsu.

...Considering what happened, “damn snot” did seem more appropriate.Reêad latest novels at novelhall.com

‘I’ve been thinking that since back then.’

Han Seori’s interest in 7496-KR seemed excessive, to the point of being concerning.

Even now, the way she spoke of the “target” was troubling...

“I hope it’ll be okay...”

No matter how you looked at it, she was clearly worried about 7496-KR, the slime girl.

It seemed she wanted to handle any unexpected situations herself.

Kim Cheonsu wasn’t in a position to just tell her no, so he couldn’t say much more.

Sensing his unease, Han Seori scratched her cheek with a slightly sheepish look and spoke in a low voice.

“I really don’t plan on going in myself.”

“That’s a relief then.”

Their conversation ended with those quiet words.

In the silence, the convoy of vehicles they were in continued toward the designated coordinates.

Inside the endlessly moving vehicle, Han Seori felt she understood why the ‘target’ director was absent from his post so often.

If he’s in such a remote place, of course, he’d have to be absent...

Han Seori shook her head, recalling what the director had told her when she was first assigned to the current lab.

Back then, she thought the director trusted and relied on her.

At that time...

‘...I was naive.’

Well, she was still young now.

Thinking that, Han Seori felt a bitter taste.

To put it coldly, she had been so absorbed in research that she had aided the director’s corruption... It was almost like cleaning up her own mess.

The slime girl wasn’t the only reason she was taking direct action. A sense of responsibility also played a part.

Anyhow.

She had seized an opportunity to make amends and things had been going according to plan so far, but...

Han Seori felt something was a bit off.

Even in her opinion, the current situation at the lab was... optimal for causing trouble.

However.

‘If I’m having this suspicion...’

‘Doesn’t it mean the other side could be thinking the same?’

Yet things were progressing too ideally.

Since she had been waiting for an insider to cause trouble, attaching a tracker was easy.

Just in case, she had put a transmitter on the doll the slime girl cherished, so there was no worry of losing it.

The coordinates sent by the tracker matched the transmitter’s location, so they weren’t chasing the wrong place.

Any sensible person would suspect a trap in this situation.

Of course, you could end up chasing shadows with a nonexistent threat, but something definitely felt amiss.

...But she also couldn’t ruin an ongoing operation based on unproven suspicions.

Han Seori sighed and once again warned those heading to the destination to be careful.

Meanwhile.



If I was caught by that... I probably wouldn’t even be a mouthful.

I didn’t think I’d amount to as much as a jelly stuck in its throat. I’d probably be gulped down in one go... and die.

Attempting to move really did seem like the best option, whether I ended up as porridge or rice.

If I kept moving, wouldn’t I eventually reach an exit?

There was an inner whisper that it would be much easier to find by going down, but would I be an idiot to go down after hearing those sounds?

I decided to go my own way—

The moment I made that decision.

*Crash!*

With that sound, I felt the sensation of my body falling downward. Before I could even figure out what happened, my body *Splat!* crashed into something hard.

*Plop...* A sound was heard, and some indescribably bizarre taste was felt.

Regaining my senses and restoring my vision...

A sight that was hard to accept unfolded around me.

What was presumed to be a corridor was drenched in red traces. They blatantly showed the meaning of the sounds I had been hearing.

However, it was... clean to the point the origin of the traces was unrecognizable.

Except for the red traces, that is.

What the hell... did this?

More importantly, what had entered my stomach now?

Although it had been in my sight, it was pushed to the back due to the vivid red scenes assaulting my eyes. I focused on the unnoticed something.

Then...

...I saw that the head of the pretty statue that had piqued my curiosity earlier was inside me.

What was slowly melting with a bubbling sound was none other than that statue.

Why... is this here?

Looking closely in confusion, I saw the statue was covered in red traces, just like the corridor.

The head was inside me so it was distinguishable, but I couldn’t see below it well.

However... some reddish tentacle-like things were visible here and there.

And following them back to their origin... they seemed to come from this statue.

...Ah.

The realization hit me.

My neighboring statue in the next room...

...Seemed to be a being similar to me.

So... it appeared I had interrupted its meal.

I felt cold slime flowing down my back.

Laughing awkwardly, I wanted to go back up and apologize for disturbing the meal, but...

Based on what I could see with my expanded vision, it seemed difficult for me to go back up there.

But something was strange.

*Bubble, bubble.*

Even though the one who had been eating was clearly slowly melting inside my body...

...It showed no movement at all.

It was still as if time had stopped.

I felt like I had gained the ability to stop time, like in some novel or comic.

I was unable to move rashly due to the anxiety that this statue would move with me if I did...

I sensed someone fleeing with small footsteps nearby.

Following that, the sound of busy footsteps was heard in the dark corridor.

And...

From all directions.

A lot of them.

There seemed to be nowhere to run.

Meanwhile...

*Bubble, bubble.*

The statue was slowly being digested inside my body.