“…What is it? Why has the ‘Sky Whale’ already appeared?”
The masked woman murmured in a voice that sounded like she was frowning.
Her eyes seemed to be looking at the screen in front of her.
On the screen, all that could be seen was the massive tail of the whale vanishing into the clouds, swaying slightly.
She, too, was late in understanding the unexpected situation.
But it didn’t matter much.
She didn’t have any sense of loyalty to her “former” workplace, after all.
Executing their plan according to a timer?
Had anyone even mentioned what would happen once the timer was up?
The timer itself was more of a deception, meant to put pressure on all the branches and laboratories.
Moreover, the unexpected release of the Sky Whale, soaring gracefully through the air, was actually welcome to her.
It would be good if it went to a place crowded with people and made its presence known.
“Still,” she thought.
I should hurry with my plan.
I intended to start earlier than the timer anyway, so everything should already be ready. Although a “giant” bait had been thrown out without planning, it shouldn’t affect anything.
Her goal—what concerned her—was to take the Singularity known as the jelly-made girl in 7496 – KR.
Since the Sky Whale had escaped earlier than expected, she felt she needed to advance the timing of her infiltration at the laboratory where her target Singularity was located.
Even though she intended to act before the timer, it was slightly earlier than planned, but aside from the slight inconvenience, everything looked good.
In fact, the early release might even be a positive turn.
Wasn’t an ambush the most effective?
As the saying goes, to deceive the enemy, you must first deceive your allies.
Imagining what was about to happen, she chuckled and dialed a number somewhere.
Her voice became silly as she said:
“Let’s move up the plan.”
Sighing could be heard on the other side, but the woman ended the call without any complaints, clearly in a good mood.
Once she hung up, her tone returned to normal.
Was it because she believed everything was going according to plan?
Her mask seemed to sway with her skewed smile.
—
*
Hm.
How did Pinocchio escape from inside the shark’s stomach? Was it a shark? Or was it a whale? Inside a shark’s stomach, I wouldn’t be able to move at all… isn’t it supposed to be a whale?
…It probably doesn’t matter whether it’s a shark or a whale. If they’re this big, it shouldn’t make a difference, right?
Thinking back, it seems like Geppetto was swallowed first, not Pinocchio.
So, in that case, I’m Geppetto, and the solution would be waiting for Pinocchio to rescue me?
…That’s unlikely.
If I were to ask “Have you come to rescue me?” the only answer might be “No, I’ve been swallowed too.”
Let’s not dwell on the small detail that I can’t actually speak underwater.
In fact, the moment I jumped in, I felt the stomach around me bubbling like it was trying to digest me.
Though it wasn’t particularly surprising.
I could dissolve things like that inside my body as well.
The only problem was what would happen when the concrete under my feet disappeared.
It was probably being dissolved by the whale’s gastric acid.
Would I be okay if I fell into that?
Just because I can dissolve doesn’t mean I can’t be dissolved.
Even if I were turned into jelly, I’d still just be one coin.
I don’t want to literally become jelly just by accidentally being swallowed.
Daesik and Sosik, perched on my head and shoulders, seem anxious, likely sensing they might not get a second chance.
Putting the floating acid puddle beneath me aside for now.
Let’s check my surroundings.
Dark and damp.
Of course, there aren’t any lights in here, so that’s normal.
Being inside an intestine, the dampness is also to be expected.
Though the darkness isn’t surprising, the vastness of this stomach is overwhelming.
It feels as if I’m on a tiny boat drifting in the sea of gastric acid.
How do I find its esophagus and create an opening?
For one, I can’t even get close.
Even if I could produce some acidic mucus to cut through, would it be enough to pierce through the stomach lining?
Swallowing something might help, but…
Swallowing something would be the only way to melt through, but…
…Let’s consider another approach.
Another thought crossed my mind, which was rather classic.
…Letting myself drift away and be expelled from ‘that place’ could be a solution.
Alternatively, finding the stomach wall and escaping through the mouth or anus could also work.
It shouldn’t be too hard as long as I can reach the stomach wall.
But one major issue still remains.
This whale might release some fragrant X.
Worse, it could happen while we’re high in the sky.
If I’m expelled, I might end up splatted onto the ground or plunged deep into the sea near Bikini City.
…Wouldn’t that be bad?
Instead of enjoying watching the flying whale from the outside, I’m stuck in a grim survival situation.
Instead, the ideal scenario might be sticking to a non-digestible surface and waiting for help from Pinocchio—be it Han Seori or Kim Cheon-soo, or someone else entirely.
With my limited knowledge, I can’t figure out how to subdue this flying behemoth, but maybe they have an idea.
In the middle of my thoughts—
Splash!
Zuuuuk!
Craaaack!
Odd sounds echoed through the space.
Snapping out of my thoughts, the smell of acid grew stronger, and I noticed moving shapes in the dim light.
Looking closer, I saw Sosik, hanging onto my back, extending a tentacle and pulling on another large chunk of floating concrete.
My concrete chunk seemed relatively smaller, so as Sosik extended the jelly, the piece I was standing on began moving toward the larger concrete.
Ah, so this is how it’s done.
I had considered using the jelly as oars in this acid lake, but…
Apparently, Sosik’s creative ideas were better due to his youth.
Considering he’s under a year old, his youthful creativity shone through.
After all, childhood is said to be the peak of creativity.
However, since he’s so young, the speed of moving the concrete wasn’t very fast.
It’s the adult’s role to step in at times like this.
I extended my tentacle as well, hooking onto a piece of concrete.
This significantly increased our speed, allowing us to transfer to a larger piece of concrete.
Reaching a relatively higher area, I could vaguely see what looked like the stomach wall in the distance.
It should be the stomach wall, given the surroundings.
Since everything here is slowly being dissolved, anything that still appears to move must be part of the whale’s internal structure.
Let’s aim for that area.
As my vision adjusted, I planned the optimal route toward the pulsating pink stomach wall.
First, I’ll ride this concrete piece, then transfer to the next, and so on.
Good.
It should work.
The original idea came from Sosik, but it’s my job to refine the plan.
Though either he’s fatigued after coming up with the idea, or he just wants me to handle it—he’s now dangling from my shoulder, slumped over.
Daesik continues to cheer us on by waving his arms from atop my head.
…If only there were popcorn here.
Sigh.
Youngsters…
Clearly, it’s time for the adult to take charge.
Getting back on the piece of concrete, I extended my tentacle toward the next one.
Craaaack!
It felt like rowing a boat on a lake.
Of course, I’ve never actually been in one since I don’t have anyone to row with, but I imagine it’s like this.
Like if you let piranhas loose in a lake, it would be similar.
Zuuuuuk!
Craaaack!
A crunching sound accompanied our movement as the three of us sailed across the acid lake.
Though it seemed close from atop the large piece of concrete, the actual distance was considerable.
Still, thankfully, my stamina is inexhaustible.
After moving for some time, a faint pink wall loomed in sight.
…So the whale’s internal walls could be this large.
Looking at the pulsating, fleshy wall.
Something strange caught my attention.
Among the whale’s intestines, unmistakably organic, iron parts were sticking out here and there.
I almost missed it due to its elevated position, but now I could clearly see it.
…What is that?
Maybe this isn’t a regular flying whale after all.
Could it be a mechanical whale?
Suddenly, it felt like this creature had grown stranger and more mysterious.
After a brief moment of thought, I silently latched myself onto the stomach wall.
It was soft and pulsed in a peculiar way, which was… unsettling.
Anyway.
Having attached myself, I moved carefully to check the strange spot before more acid leaked out.
Perhaps… this could lead to a new escape route, and the idea made me feel not entirely bad.
