“Isn’t it unnecessary for you to go personally?”
“…Since I’m the one who suggested it, I can’t back out now. And… if the target person is here, my presence will be helpful.”
That’s not the real reason, is it…?
Kim Cheon-soo let out a deep sigh in his mind as those words reached the tip of his tongue.
Watching Han Seori, who was outfitted with loud equipment, he unconsciously scratched his neck, looking troubled.
He contemplated the fundamental reason why Han Seori had come this far.
‘It must be because of 7496 – KR…’
Damn Mucus.
What was it again? Anyway, some Jelly.
No matter how he thought about it, Kim Cheon-soo felt that the name “Mucus” clung more closely.
The revised title of the Jelly Girl seemed vague to him.
Reflecting on the current situation, he thought that “Damn Mucus” was, in fact, more appropriate.
‘I’ve thought this since that time.’
Han Seori’s interest in 7496 – KR seemed excessively high.
Even now, while she mentioned the “target person,” it was clear that she was genuinely worried about 7496 – KR, that is, Jelly Girl.
It appeared that she intended to personally handle any sudden situations that might arise.
Yet, it wasn’t a position where Kim Cheon-soo could simply say it was a bad idea, so he didn’t say anything further.
Han Seori, sensing Kim Cheon-soo’s expression, gently scratched her cheek with an awkward smile and spoke softly.
“I wasn’t really planning to enter personally.”
“In that case, it’s a relief.”
With those softly spoken words, their conversation came to an end.
In silence, the convoy they were part of continued toward the designated coordinates.
Even within the ceaselessly moving vehicle, Han Seori understood why the director was away from his position so often.
If the director was in such a remote place, he had to leave his post, right?
Recalling the words the director had once said when she was assigned to the current lab, Han Seori shook her head.
Back then, she thought the director simply trusted her enough to assign her tasks.
Back then…
‘…I was younger after all.’
Although she was still young now.
Reflecting on this, Han Seori felt a touch of bitterness.
Frankly, she had been so absorbed in research that it amounted to aiding the director’s misdeeds. Perhaps now it was close to cleaning up her own mess.
While Jelly Girl was a significant reason for her being there, she also felt a sense of responsibility.
In any case,
She had seized an opportunity to make amends, and up until now, everything had gone according to plan. However…
Han Seori sensed something unsettling.
Even she acknowledged that the current state of the lab was ideal for causing trouble.
But…
‘If I’m having this thought…’
Could the other party be thinking the same?
Despite this, everything was going too perfectly.
It was easy to track the culprits since they had been watching an insider cause mischief.
Jelly Girl had also equipped her cherished doll with a transmitter, so there was no fear of losing them.
The coordinates sent by the tracker matched the transmitter’s location, so it wasn’t a wild goose chase.
A wise person would naturally suspect a trap in such a situation.
Of course, it’s possible one might be shadowboxing against non-existent threats, but there was definitely something unsettling.
That said, it wasn’t a matter of derailing something already in motion based on unfounded suspicion.
Han Seori warned those heading toward the destination to be careful and sighed deeply.
And then…
The vehicles began to come to a stop one by one as they reached their destination.
The surrounding area was…
Uncomfortably…
Quiet.
For some reason, it felt like something was wrong.
As I slowly crawled through the ventilation shaft, the dim light I had been following disappeared, and as time passed, the murmur of people began to reach me.
“What the hell! Why’s the generator broken?”
“Grab a flashlight if you don’t want to die!”
From the sounds of their hurried movements in the dark, it seemed they were not in a good state.
At this point, it was probably just a power outage, right?
But…
Scritch scritch… scritch… THUD.
A strange sound echoed in the darkness.
“Ah─”
BANG! BANG!
A gunshot went off, accompanied by the dying scream of an unknown man.
But soon after, all fell silent.
Snitch snitch… crunch crunch…
An extremely unpleasant sound rang out.
It sounded like something was crunching through bones… a strange noise.
Whatever was being chewed on… it was probably the body of the person who had been alive just moments ago.
Realizing this, Jelly felt nauseous.
It felt even worse than the rank smell of raw meat being eaten in the sewers.
…At least, it was fortunate not to see the scene directly. Otherwise, she might have vomited her own goo.
But her stomach settled quickly.
Upon feeling Daesik fidgeting above her, she realized it wasn’t the time to idle here.
Whatever had happened was unclear, but it was certainly advantageous for her.
It was a perfect day to escape.
While she felt a little sorry for those unnamed people, anyone working for that greedy-eyed master couldn’t be too good.
After rationalizing this, she wiggled some more.
Had she been human, she wouldn’t have been able to do this, but her Jelly eyes (she still wasn’t sure what exactly functioned as her eyes) adjusted quickly to the darkness, making movement possible.
“Eeek….”
Snitch snitch… crunch crunch. THUD! Gulp! Gulp!
The unpleasant sounds continued.
The curiosity she had felt upon seeing the statue earlier no longer stirred within her.
…Her Jelly was too precious for that.
As she moved her Jelly diligently, there was one issue:
Which way would lead her outside?
To be honest, she had never passed through such a place before.
The space had been so tight—so tight that she had just cut her Jelly and left it in the room she had been in earlier. It was only natural.
The phrase “mad as hell” probably came from moments like this.
Just then,
BANG! BANG! DADADADADADANG!
Gunshots rang out, hitting the place where she had hidden her body.
With a TUNK! TUNK! sound, holes were made, and some fragments pierced through her, delivering a most unpleasant taste.
Well, she should be thankful for not turning into a donut Jelly… But, how does one deal with this bad taste?
The shouting and gunfire stopped.
And, as expected, followed by the sickening sound of something tearing into a person again.
Even considering only what she had heard up until now, how massive must this thing be to eat so much?
If she were caught by it… she probably wouldn’t even make a single bite.
She wouldn’t even be as significant as a piece of konjac jelly stuck in someone’s throat. In an instant, it would swallow her whole… and she’d die.
Either way, it seemed best to keep moving, whether it leads to death or survival.
Couldn’t she find the exit by moving downward, as a quieter suggestion whispered in her mind?
After hearing such sounds, going down would be foolish, wouldn’t it?
Deciding to take her own path—
At that moment,
TUNK!
She felt a sensation of falling as her body dropped. Before even understanding what happened, she collided with something hard.
A gurgling sound followed, and an indescribably strange taste overwhelmed her.
Regaining her senses and restoring her vision,
An incomprehensible scene unfolded around her.
In what appeared to be a corridor, blood stains were spread generously. The sounds she had been hearing until now took on a grim clarity.
Though the blood stains were undeniable,
It was clean, aside from those stains.
What could have done this?
And what was this thing inside her?
She focused on something that had been overshadowed by the crimson spectacle, though it was right in front of her.
To her surprise,
The beautiful statue that had piqued her curiosity earlier was inside her, melting and making bubbling sounds.
Why… was it here?
Examining it closely with confusion, she noticed the statue was smeared with bloodstains like those on the corridor.
She could see the head clearly because it was inside her, but the lower part was obscured.
Still, she could make out some crimson tentacle-like things poking through.
And following their origin…
It appeared these tentacles were extensions of the statue itself.
…Ah.
It dawned on her then.
Her neighbor statue from the adjacent room…
…was probably someone like her.
Therefore, she had probably interrupted a meal.
A chilly, gooey sensation flowed down her Jelly back.
Despite wanting to laugh awkwardly and apologize for interrupting the meal and retreat back up…
Judging from her expanded vision, it seemed returning to the space above was not an option.
However, something was off.
Bubbling.
Though the statue, which had been eating, was slowly melting in her body…
…It showed no movement whatsoever.
It remained perfectly still, as if time had stopped.
It was like a scene from a novel or a comic where someone obtained the ability to stop time.
Caught between the feeling that any movement would make the statue stir, and hesitant to act—
She sensed someone nearby fleeing softly.
This was followed by hurried footsteps echoing through the dark corridor.
And these sounds were coming—
From all directions.
There seemed to be no place to run to.
Meanwhile,
Bubble. Bubble.
The statue continued to be slowly digested in her body.
