“Hmph.”
Hwang Bo-yul stared at the scene on the screen, blinking her eyes and then rubbing them with her sleeve, suspecting that she might be hallucinating.
But the scene before her eyes did not change.
Thus, she had no choice but to acknowledge what she saw.
7496 – KR was retrieving the bodies of operatives from the water… and collecting their ID tags.
Bo-yul’s expression looked very complicated as she watched.
They had departed to investigate the singularity, but many never returned. Some were lost without even their bodies being recovered due to the nature of the singularity.
Bo-yul had wanted to recover their remains, but she knew it would only create more casualties. Especially since the search teams that went out never returned either.
This left her with an odd feeling as she watched the Jelly Girl do what she herself could not.
The girl would place the bodies on tree roots to prevent further decay, then collect the tags.
Gazing with a wistful look, Hwang Bo-yul asked Kim Cheon-soo, who stood beside her with a troubled expression:
“…Have you ever trained her for such situations?”
Caught off guard by the sudden question, Kim Cheon-soo hesitated briefly before shaking his head.
“No. All we taught her was… perhaps how to write.”
“…Then what explain those actions?”
Kim Cheon-soo was speechless, frankly as surprised by Jelly’s behavior as Hwang Bo-yul. While retrieving bodies was understandable – the girl seemed to genuinely like humans – it was her collecting the tags that defied comprehension.
That implied she understood their significance.
Even Cheon-soo realized this must mean the girl understood their meaning, though it was hard to believe.
“…Perhaps she understands more than we realize. 7496 – KR has shown a high level of intelligence.”
“…”
While difficult to accept, Bo-yul exhaled in resignation. Though complex, she felt relieved that at least some form of identification might be returned. Though it wouldn’t bring truth to the families, it would provide them something to remember their loved ones by.
Turning her attention back to the screen, Bo-yul watched Jelly continue her work in the swamp.
What expression was she wearing now? Sadness? Or worse, mockery?
Recalling her first meeting with Jelly, Bo-yul remembered the girl’s seemingly innocent and clumsy demeanor, then her confident entrance into the swamp. This inconsistency troubled her.
“Is any of this your true self?”
As confusing as it was, Bo-yul felt this singularity was fundamentally different from others she’d encountered.
Watching Jelly suddenly dive into the muddy water caused alarm. Though normally it might not concern her, after seeing her careful recovery efforts, Bo-yul felt genuine worry.
Even Kim Cheon-soo showed unease.
For some time, both watched the screen in growing concern.
Following the knowledge pouch’s guidance had been straightforward, but the muddy water obscured visibility significantly.
While she could sense direction from the pouch, the oppressive weight pressing on her body was uncomfortable. It felt like being smothered under a mud-soaked blanket.
Unlike the previous swamp’s empty expanse, she now felt definite malevolent presence.
‘Was this what created the tags within my body?’
Her jelly seemed to churn with hostility as she pondered.
Perhaps her true nature was emerging since no one was watching.
Regardless, she wanted to confront the perpetrator directly.
Emerging from the mud, she found herself not outside but in some kind of enclosed space. The tunnel she had passed through seemed like it led into something’s maw.
Recalling past experiences where she had consumed those that tried to consume her (except for the whale), this could be advantageous.
However, upon adjusting to the dim light, she realized this appeared more like a cave than truly inside a living being.
Still, she needed to escape. Or rather, she needed to face the large toad-shaped creature creeping toward her.
The transparent amphibian revealed clothes floating within its semi-translucent body – the clothes of those operatives she had recovered outside.
Before she could fully react, the creature’s massive tongue shot out toward her.
