My efforts to find a way to open the door were… completely fruitless.
The neatly closed door had no gaps for my Jelly to infiltrate.
I even considered forcing Jelly through and squeezing in after it, but aside from the practical issue that my precious parts wouldn’t fit through…
The door was seamless, its surface so smooth it could be mistaken for a wall.
Why was it unnecessarily so well-made?
Even if it wasn’t going to be used and would just be abandoned like this…
Still, it must have been made with the intention of being used at some point, right?
Still, I couldn’t help but feel wistful that it wouldn’t have been nice if they had made it just a little less secure?
It wasn’t shoddy construction — but wouldn’t leaving a small gap for me have been okay?
…Since I was attempting something that wouldn’t succeed anyway, foolish thoughts kept popping into my mind.
Shaking my head, I resolved to abandon my efforts to open the door and instead look for another way in.
As I stopped Jung-sik, who was repeatedly ramming into the door, I examined the area around it.
I even considered melting the door, but unlike when I ate the Whale’s heart, now I had no starting point to consume.
If I could only find something small I could at least attempt to swallow…
No such openings existed.
It’s not like hearts and solid steel walls are comparable anyway…
Meanwhile, faint noises from the other side of the door kept reaching my ears.
As if mocking me.
Growing slightly irritated, I surveyed the surroundings.
And there I found it — the promised path to victory.
Of course, the ventilation duct, which in such places always functions as a penetration route.
It’s the indispensable side character in any infiltration scene, allowing access even to the most secure locations.
The interesting part is…
No matter how secure the place is…
…for some reason, the vents are always a bit loose.
Anyway…
With nothing to lose, I made my body sticky and climbed up the wall.
If only I could fly… it would’ve been great to manifest that ability sooner.
Reaching the vent’s entrance, I gripped it tightly and pulled with all my might.
Though heavier than expected, I figured I could still manage.
However…
The vent entrance refused to budge and instead, my hands cleanly sliced off, falling to the ground with a thud.
Though they quickly regenerated as if nothing had happened, the puddles of Jelly on the floor betrayed what had just occurred.
What just happened?
On closer inspection, I noticed large screws embedded in every corner.
…Now that I think about it, I’ve been through something similar before.
Could I try melting Jelly into these screws?
I briefly considered it, but seeing no particular need to consume solid metal, I decided to use the method I had employed last time.
Even if it’s claimed that I can do anything, isn’t it better not to feel the metallic taste against my tongue if I don’t have to?
No one’s forcing me to eat it.
Before anything else…
I made a loud sound…
Landing on the floor, I picked up Sosik who had been leaning against the wall, doing nothing.
He wriggled like a fish out of water as I lifted him.
Bringing him to the door, I handed him a fallen metal rod.
Though it looked for a moment like he was considering hitting me…
Surely that was my imagination?
After feeling a strange sensation, I demonstrated knocking on the door with the rod.
He reluctantly tapped the door with the rod — the sound faint and rather ridiculous.
Ting… Ting… Ting…
After setting Sosik aside for now and placing Daesik nearby, I and Jung-sik floated upward to reach the vent entrance.
Then, forcing Jung-sik into the vent bit by bit…
Though his whale-like body made it feel like animal cruelty, his Jelly structure separated into units, slowly sliding into the vent.
After assisting Jung-sik through, it was my turn.
Pressing against the vent entrance, I felt a strange sensation as my body separated, slowly sliding inside.
The peculiar feeling of passing through a vent was rather different this time.
Previously, I had to wait a bit for the Jelly to catch up, but now…
The speed at which Jelly reformed was disorientingly fast, almost outpacing anything I’d experienced before.
Lost in admiration at the rapid regeneration…
…My body got stuck halfway through the vent entrance.
To clarify:
My body was pinned at the waist by the vent’s metal grating.
My lower half dangled outside the vent while my upper half…
…was now being rammed by Jung-sik’s angry body slams.
His powerful slams were quite fierce.
Though I didn’t get to move out of the way, all I could hear was a metallic “thud” sound.
Anyway…
I started doubting Jung-sik’s psychological well-being.
Eventually, pushing him back, I managed to wiggle my body into the vent.
Inside the narrow, dusty space, I even began to feel a strange sense of comfort.
Now, I suppose I qualify as a professional at vent infiltration.
Still, I’d prefer to avoid the taste of dust.
After briefly recomposing myself, Jung-sik and I began advancing through the vent.
All while listening carefully to the sound of Sosik knocking on the door outside…
…just in case.
If the knowledge pouch’s guidance fails, it’s good to have a backup.
So, to account for these situations where the pouch is erratic…
…why is it behaving this way now?
Once inside, the knowledge pouch, which had been pointing toward the door, started wavering.
Since I didn’t fully comprehend its operation, I had no clue why it was behaving this way.
Could there be other Singularities causing this strange reaction?
Jelly began to feel tense.
It would have been nice if something ominous had at least warned us ahead of time.
Still unnerved, I listened to the sound of Sosik knocking as we advanced through the empty vent.
The exit I sought was not far away.
After all, it was just on the other side of the entrance.
Looking through the exit, I found what one would typically imagine when thinking of a “laboratory.”
Though fully furnished, it was oddly empty.
It felt like a model home.
Boom, Boom.
From this vantage point, I could see the door Sosik kept knocking on.
The persistent sound indicated he was doing his job as instructed.
Honestly, I’d just let him knock out of annoyance at his laziness.
Still, I felt oddly satisfied that he followed orders.
For a moment, lost in these strange thoughts, I prepared to enter.
Keeping him knocking outside any longer would be unfair.
Pushing Jung-sik in first, I slid through similarly to how I entered.
He apparently grew more relaxed having done this before as he floated right to the sound of the knocking door.
Thud!
Landing gracefully, Jung-sik began slamming his body repeatedly against the door, mimicking the sounds outside.
…Was the sound outside bothering him?
Though I can understand his irritation, if I think about it like floor noise…
I wish he would stop.
Shaking my head as I approached the door, there was a switch, positioned at an adult’s hand level.
The label indicated it was a manual opening mechanism, so lowering it should open the door.
My heart raced with excitement.
As my Jelly bubbled, I leapt and grabbed the handle, pulling down with my weight.
With a loud crash, the tightly sealed crack parted.
Approaching, I exerted minimal force, and the door opened effortlessly, making my earlier struggles seem laughably unnecessary.
However…
Thwack!
As the door opened, a metal rod struck my body unexpectedly.
Startled, I noticed who was behind it — Daesik, also known as Alice.
Realizing she had struck me, Daesik seemed startled and dropped the metal rod.
As I blankly looked to the side, Sosik was slumped against the wall, his face showing disappointment.
I had thought he was working hard…
But was he slacking off?
…Is Daesik the only reliable one among them?
Is the eldest truly the best?
If I could sigh, I would definitely let out a deep one echoing into the floor.
Shaking my head, I embraced Daesik.
She seemed uneasy for hitting me with the rod, but calmed down when I gently patted her head.
With the now unconscious Jung-sik and the lazy Sosik, we followed the knowledge pouch’s guidance again, searching within the room.
Not long after…
Beneath a large table, we discovered a strange object.
Definitely strange.
Even though there was no electricity in this area, it was functioning normally, making its placement here questionable.
So…
What appeared before me…
Somehow…
Whir, whir, whir…
Was spinning.
A fan.
