Living through this feels wilder than a rollercoaster… or can this even be called thrilling?
If a human body were to experience this, it would likely be pulverized before feeling any excitement, so it feels more appropriate to say one would feel fear rather than thrill.
Hmm… In reality, fear and excitement might be similar emotions, but let’s set that aside for now.
The point is, I’m currently in an extreme situation.
To be honest, I had high hopes when I got involved, but I have no idea what to do about it.
Continuously, stones or something else unknown would hit my body, and all I could see was utter darkness.
Occasionally, when parts of the facility’s interior flashed by, I could recognize my surroundings, but otherwise, it felt like I was being buried alive.
Of course, being buried alive wouldn’t feel like riding on some amusement park ride…
Still, it certainly wasn’t enjoyable.
Every time I emerged from a hole, I could see the facility crumbling apart, and I worried that it was about to collapse entirely or reach a point of no return.
Even in such a situation, there’s something I can do—I seem to have made it to the control room.
Han Seori did say she would help, but instead of help, I still felt a chill, making me think that I hadn’t yet reached the control room.
Or perhaps…
The facility could be completely wrecked, rendering me unable to do anything.
The destruction was so immense that it brought the phrase “completely trashed” to mind.
…So, what happens next?
I might be able to survive, somehow…
But if the temperature isn’t quickly normalized, the two humans might freeze to death faster than at the mercy of this insane steel snake.
I really didn’t want that, so…
I had to do something before the situation got worse.
Making my body more sticky, I clung to the rigid body of the creature and moved forward.
Although I was still getting dirt in my mouth even as I clung tightly, I was still able to move.
Not long after,
I managed to reach the junction where the creature’s body segments connected.
I could clearly feel how rigid its joints were.
If I were to break this… would it self-destruct?
Perhaps it would lose the thrust to move and simply stop.
Frankly, it was too difficult to predict what would happen.
Back when I had a human body, I loved adventures and explored mysteries, but I only encountered such things after becoming Jelly.
The things I dealt with as a human were either understandable within the realm of common sense…
…or completely absurd and far-fetched.
It’s nearly impossible for me to understand how this thing is even moving, so predicting what would happen if I break it is akin to rolling a dice with many sides and trying to guess the outcome.
Worse still, this dice has symbols other than numbers engraved on it.
Absolutely worst-case scenario.
But doing nothing would be worse.
With my sticky body, I reached the junction of the steel snake’s body and slipped through, finding a protruding part.
While observing the knowledge bag floating above my head,
I covered it with my body.
I planned to start by melting this thing and consuming it.
It was difficult to find such a spot externally, but it was possible within this joint where things were relatively calm.
Of course, compared to the outside, calm here still meant my body could spill unpleasant liquids if a human were inside.
In any case,
I could feel the protruding part starting to melt.
It tasted slightly metallic and unpleasant, similar to licking blood off a split lip.
I also felt a tingling sensation, akin to eating spicy Sichuan food.
…Though the taste was nowhere near as good.
I wouldn’t pay money to eat this. Even if they paid me to eat it, it wouldn’t be worth it.
Still, the fact that I could taste anything at all was somewhat comforting, so like a reluctant child, I forced myself to eat it, bit by painful bit.
A moment later,
I didn’t just feel it was my imagination; the creature’s movements had slowed slightly.
By that time, I’d melted a considerable portion of its joint.
Then I heard a deep “koo-goo-ng!”
The section of the body I was eroding stopped moving inside the facility.
Fortunately, it seemed the facility repair had been successful, and bright lights had filled the previously darkened corridors.
Though dim and sparking,
they did count as repaired, and a sense of relief crept in.
However, thanks to the lights, I could clearly see the damage inflicted on the steel creature.
Its once solid steel body now looked loose and wobbly.
…Maybe somewhat exaggerated, but that description fit perfectly.
The mechanical joints connecting the steel were exposed, and the areas I had eaten were tilted, almost ready to snap.
Perhaps because of that, its movements had ceased.
Thanks to the facility starting up again, I could feel a warm breeze on my skin.
At that, Jelly let out a soft “plop.”
…What?
This was… Easier than expected?
Feeling quite triumphant and melting more of its body, I was focused,
then came a sound from within the creature’s body: “Click, click… clang.”
Something ominous.
Instinctively sensing danger, I quickly rolled away just as a laser shot through where I had been.
I saw the steel hit by the laser hiss and melt like grilled meat.
The sight of molten metal dripping clearly demonstrated the laser’s intensity.
As the saying goes, “small peppers are the hottest” – a laser so tiny was immensely powerful.
The thought of almost turning into boiling Jelly gruel made my stomach churn.
“Vi-eeng.”
Another menacing sound.
I had enough room to stand, but immediately crouched down instead.
And another “chiiik” of a laser grazed past, hitting the knowledge bag.
The bag bubbled and then exploded with a “poooyk!”
Jelly shivered in fear, and despite new knowledge bags sprouting up almost immediately, staying here longer felt increasingly dangerous.
But,
What machine could possibly be firing such lethal lasers?
Are they planning to self-destruct?
Avoiding the lasers, I scrambled out to cling to the dangling body of the steel snake.
Once outside, the lasers stopped chasing me.
I let out an anxious “plop,” then cautiously looked back at the joint.
There,
a robot, something you might see in an anime or a game, floated around.
A drone with a near-futuristic design,
swinging its cameras to check its surroundings before emitting some mysterious sounds, as if it thought I had disappeared.
Not long after, a few more drones, slightly different but similar to the first one, flew in from the presumed direction of the steel snake’s body.
While I watched dumbfounded, these drones began repairing the damaged snake.
Contrasting with the earlier powerful lasers aimed at me, they fired weaker beams to fix the loose joints. Strangely, some drones disassembled themselves and were used as repair parts.
Watching their work reminded me of the ultimate male dream – I remained there, watching them repair with Jelly’s bubbling sounds.
Realizing my thoughts, I quickly shook myself awake.
Now wasn’t the time for this.
If these drones managed to fix it, the steel snake could start moving again – a fact even a kindergartener could infer.
But,
what to do?
I had decided, but I didn’t yet know how.
Perhaps I could destroy all these drones.
The one firing the powerful laser is somewhat… scary, but if I could get closer, I might be able to handle it.
Given how digestible they seemed, I could melt and consume them upon getting close.
While calculating the best course of action,
a voice suddenly reached me.
[Can you hear me?]
Startled, I quivered, and Han Seori giggled before speaking in a low tone.
[Though I don’t know exactly how you stopped that thing, thanks to your efforts, we’ve gathered a lot of useful information.]
Of course, it’s Seori!
So I just need to jump out now, right?
Prepping myself to descend back into the facility, suddenly,
Han Seori’s voice came as a thunderclap.
[A stronger signal has been detected inside near you. So… I’m really sorry to ask this, but you’ll need to go in there and… take care of it.]
My body started getting sticky again.
Whether it was to reattach to the steel snake or,
maybe it was the liquid equivalent of tears.
Right.
It ends up like this in the end.
[Chun-su will soon be here to help you enter.]
Oh.
That’s… Very reliable.
While emitting sigh-like bubbling sounds,
I spotted Kim Cheon-soo, drenched in sweat, sprinting toward me from the corner behind me.
And on his head,
was Ellis (Daesik), waving his arms as if shouting “Charge! Charge!”
In Kim Cheon-soo’s hand,
was some sort of bomb.
Wait.
Hold on a minute.
He’s not about to throw that, right?
They always say that bad premonitions never lie.
“Damn! I’m gonna die!” shouted Kim Cheon-soo in frustration.
And with that cry,
the bomb-like object spun in a parabolic arc and headed straight toward me.
Of course, that guy fits the stereotype.
