Chapter 84: Made of steel |
It’s more thrilling than any rollercoaster I’ve ridden in my life… no, can you even call this thrilling?
If I had ridden it with a human body, I would have turned into minced meat before I could feel the thrill, so it seemed more accurate to say I felt terror rather than thrill.
Well… in reality, these two emotions are similar, but let’s put that aside for now.
The point is that I am currently facing such an extreme situation.
To be honest, I ambitiously clung on, but… I have no idea what to do.
Rocks or whatever kept plunging into my body, and all I could see was intense darkness.
When I could occasionally glimpse the inside of the facility, I could make out my surroundings, but otherwise, it really felt like being buried alive.
Of course, if you’re buried alive, you wouldn’t feel… like you’re riding an amusement park ride.
That being said.
Because every time I emerged from a hole, I saw the facility being horribly destroyed.
I was worried it might really collapse or become irreparable at this rate.
I can still do something in this situation…
Han Seori definitely said she would help… but it seemed she still hadn’t reached the control room yet.
If not that.
The facility might be wrecked, and they might be unable to do anything.
Because the facility was being destroyed so terribly, the phrase “smashed to pieces” naturally came to mind.
…So what will happen from now on?
I’ll probably survive somehow, but…
If they don’t normalize the temperature right away, the two of them will die by freezing faster than by falling victim to this berserk steel snake.
I really didn’t want that to happen.
So.
I thought I should do something before it wreaks more havoc.
I made my body even stickier and adhered to its solid body, moving forward.
Even though I stuck my body close, the earthy taste entering my body was the same, but I could move somehow.
Before long.
I could reach the joint where its body connected.
I clearly felt its body, which was mostly solid with a joint-like part in the center, wobbling.
If I cut that off… won’t it self-destruct?
Perhaps it will lose the propulsion to move and stop.
Honestly, it was too difficult to predict what would happen.
It’s true that when I had a human body, I loved adventures and wandered in search of mysteries.
But actually, I was able to see such things after I became a slime.
In the first place, the things I encountered as a human were either understandable within common sense.
…Or very absurd nonsense.
Since I can’t even figure out how this moves, predicting what will happen if I cut it is… like rolling a polyhedral die and guessing the number.
Moreover, it’s a die with things other than numbers engraved on it.
The worst.
But it will be better than doing nothing.
I, who reached the joint of the steel snake’s body with my sticky body, crawled in and found the protruding part.
Still looking at the knowledge pouch spinning above my head.
I covered it with my body.
I plan to melt and eat it, starting from there.
From the outside, it wasn’t easy to find such a part, but the space between the joints was relatively cozy, so it was possible.
Of course, it’s only cozy compared to the outside. If a human entered here, they would likely spill unpleasant fluids here and there.
Anyway.
Meanwhile, I felt the protruding part that entered my body slowly melting.
It has a slightly disgusting taste, like sucking on iron. It also tasted like licking blood from a burst lip.
Something tingling… it feels like eating food with Sichuan peppercorns.
…It feels like that, but it’s incomparably disgusting.
This isn’t something you should pay to eat. It seems like you wouldn’t be satisfied even if you were paid to eat it.
The fact that I could taste it was a joyful thing in itself, so I endured it like a child eating something they don’t like and melted it with difficulty.
After a while.
It wasn’t just my imagination. I felt its movement slow down a little.
Meanwhile, my body melted a considerable amount of its joint.
*Clank.*
With that sound, the body I was gnawing at stopped inside the facility.
Fortunately, as if the facility had been successfully restored, a bright light came into the corridor that had been thickly covered in darkness.
…Although it was sporadic and sparks were flying due to the damage.
It was restored anyway, so I felt relieved in a corner of my heart.
Separately from that, thanks to the light, I could clearly see what happened to its body.
Perhaps because I nibbled at it little by little, its steel body was in a dangling state.
…It didn’t feel like I was exaggerating much, but that expression fit perfectly.
The mechanical device that seemed to connect steel to steel was exposed, and where I had eaten away looked slightly tilted, as if it would break off with a little more effort.
Perhaps because of that, it also stopped moving.
As if the facility was operating, I felt warm air touch my body.
Then my jelly bubbled.
…What?
It’s… easier than I thought?
I felt triumphant and focused more on melting its body with a grin. At that moment…
*Click, click… clack.*
I heard an ominous noise from inside its body.
Feeling a creepy sensation, I immediately rolled my body.
I saw something like a laser being fired at the spot where I had been.
Soon, the steel hit by the laser melted with a sizzling sound… as if grilling meat.
Drops of molten metal falling showed how powerful the laser was.
They say small chili peppers are spicy, but a laser that was barely a dot was that strong.
…Thinking that I almost turned into a bubbling slime soup, I didn’t feel very good.
*Whirring.*
Another ominous sound is heard.
I, who was standing tall enough for a gap to open, quickly lowered my posture.
Then, the laser grazed the knowledge pouch and slashed through it with a *sizzle*.
The knowledge pouch grazed by the laser bubbled and *pop!* burst.
Feeling my jelly shudder, I moved my body.
The knowledge pouch soon sprouted again, but I thought it was dangerous to keep staying here.
But wait.
What the heck is firing these vicious lasers?
Is it trying to self-destruct?
I, who fled in a fluster to avoid the laser, clung to the dangling exterior of the steel snake.
Once I went outside, the laser didn’t seem to follow me.
I, who let out a sigh of relief in bubbles, slyly raised my gaze and looked at the inside of the joint.
And there…
I saw a robot floating around that looked like it would appear in anime or games.
A drone… that looked like what you would commonly call a future design.
It seemed to be looking around, turning its camera here and there. When it thought I had disappeared, it made a strange sound.
Not long after, a few drones that looked similar but slightly different from it flew in from the inside of the steel snake’s body.
As I blankly watched, the drones began repairing the steel snake’s damaged joint.
Unlike the laser that had been aimed at me earlier, they fired a weak laser to attach the loose parts, and some drones suddenly disassembled and became parts to restore the steel snake.
…I absentmindedly watched it while bubbling my slime, as it seemed to embody a man’s fantasy.
Then, I suddenly came to my senses.
I thought this wasn’t the time to be doing this.
It was obvious even to a kindergartener - once they finished repairing, the steel snake would move again.
But.
…What should I do?
I made the decision, but I didn’t know what to do.
Should I break all those drones first?
The one that fires a strong laser is a bit… scary, but if I get close enough, I think I can somehow manage.
Since it has a form that’s easy to melt and eat… if I get close enough, I think I can devour it.
As I glanced at them, plotting the optimal route in my mind.
Can you hear me?
Suddenly, I heard Han Seori’s voice.
Feeling dazed, I nodded my jelly, and Han Seori chuckled and spoke softly.
I don't know how you did it, but thanks to you stopping it, I was able to gather a lot of information in my own way.
That’s Han Seori for you!
Then I can just jump down from here now, right?
As I prepared to fall into the facility while reducing my stickiness.
Han Seori’s voice, like a bolt from the blue, reached my jelly.
A larger signal than the ones near you is being detected from the inside. So... I'm sorry to say this, but it seems you'll have to go inside and... take care of it.
My hands become sticky again.
It was to stick to the steel snake again, but.
…It might be liquid that flowed out instead of tears.
Yeah.
In the end, it comes to this.
Soon, Cheonsu will arrive to help you get in.
Oh.
That’s… very reassuring… maybe?
As I made bubbling, that sounded like a sigh.
Behind me, from the corner of the visible facility.
I saw Kim Cheonsu running towards me, drenched in sweat.
On his head, Alice (Daesik) is clinging, gesturing as if shouting, “Charge! Charge!”
And in Kim Cheonsu’s hand.
He was holding something like a bomb.
Uh.
Wait a minute.
You’re not going to throw that now, are you?
They say an unfortunate premonition is never wrong.
“This is killing me, really!”
Along with Kim Cheonsu’s scream, which sounded like it was squeezed out of him.
The bomb-like thing in his hand flew towards me, drawing an arc while spinning.
As expected, he is a stupid man!
