Chapter 92: Full Armor |
Where is this place again?
Unlike the pure white space earlier, Kim Cheonsu found himself standing in a pitch-black space, feeling dazed.
He was sure he had been in a place that was white in all directions, so why was he in a place like this?
It was a situation that should have made him feel perplexed and frightened, but Kim Cheonsu was strangely calm.
As he gazed blankly at his surroundings, something caught his eye.
A strange object was beginning to appear.
No, rather than strange… it was an object that looked somehow familiar.
No, it wasn’t an object but seemed to be a living creature.
As if sensing his gaze, the creature he had been looking at quickly approached him.
With startling speed.
‘Oh.’
The approaching creature had a very… familiar appearance to him.
It had a slightly sticky, translucent blue body.
In other words…
It was the slime girl.
While Kim Cheonsu blinked in surprise at the sudden appearance,
The slime girl who had come up to him *smack!* punched him in the stomach.
Kim Cheonsu felt his body being pushed back slightly as he took the slime girl’s punch.
As he did so, something felt strange.
No matter how much of a water punch the slime girl’s fist was, it was definitely strange that he couldn’t feel anything at all.
‘Ah.’
Kim Cheonsu finally realized this was a dream.
A dream he had been having frequently since ‘that incident’… a dream that even felt familiar.
Rubbing his stomach where the slime girl had struck, Kim Cheonsu looked at the slime girl who seemed to be furious for some reason.
Why did she look so angry?
No, even so, who hits someone out of nowhere like that?
…Though it didn’t hurt.
As he grumbled to himself, Kim Cheonsu felt something was off.
A relatively clear consciousness upon realizing it was a dream.
Usually, he would wake up around this point.
…For some reason, he didn’t wake up.
It felt like he was having a lucid dream.
Feeling a sense of comfort, Kim Cheonsu scratched his head.
Hmm.
I guess it’s fine as long as it feels good.
With that thought, he felt his mind becoming hazy.
The darkness around him seemed like it would be great for taking a nap.
As he felt his consciousness sinking into the darkness, he let go of his senses, which were already blurry…
*Slap!*
*Whoosh!*
Kim Cheonsu felt his head spinning and quickly came to his senses.
Blinking slowly, the slime girl had an absurd expression on her face.
She began slapping his face back and forth. *Smack, smack, smack, smack.*
Alternating between the sides.
Although it didn’t hurt, Kim Cheonsu felt his mind becoming clearer from the constantly shifting vision.
‘St-stop. I get it! I don’t know what it is, but I understand!’
Kim Cheonsu made a declaration of surrender, but his cry didn’t echo out as a voice.
The slime girl slapped Kim Cheonsu’s cheeks, punched his stomach, shook his collar *jolt, jolt*, and only then did she seem satisfied and stop moving.
As Kim Cheonsu fell to the ground feeling dizzy, the slime girl turned her body with her arms crossed.
Looking at the slime girl’s soft body, Kim Cheonsu got up.
…Whatever kind of absurd dream this is, it’s my dream, so this much should be fine, right?
He felt a little indignant about being hit out of nowhere.
Carefully moving, he raised his fist above his head.
He gave the slime girl’s head a *smack!* with his fist.
Then the slime girl looked at Kim Cheonsu with her head caved in.
Startled by that bizarre sight, Kim Cheonsu…
*Crack!*
“Ah.”
He woke up from his sleep with his fist raised in the air.
Awake, he shivered, feeling as if his skin would tear from the cold.
Ah.
Leaning his body against a large bag, he sighed upon discovering that the fire he had lit had gone out.
White fog from his mouth spread out like mist.
Eventually, he took out a lighter from his bag and relit the dead fire, pondering the dream he just had.
‘…Could it be.’
Was I about to die just now?
Thinking that if he had fallen asleep there, he might have really parted with this world, Kim Cheonsu felt chills running down his spine, separate from the cold.
‘…Then.’
Did she save me?
The dream with the slime girl that he had started occasionally having since ‘that day.’
At first, he thought it was just something blue, but the shape of the slime girl became a little clearer day by day.
Kim Cheonsu, who had been wondering why he was having such a dream…
…was sincerely grateful for that dream this time.
Even though he still had no idea what was going on.
As Kim Cheonsu was feeling thankful to the slime girl, he thought something else was strange.
‘It wasn’t like this when I left the research center.’
Why did the weather suddenly change like this?
No matter how much he thought about it, it didn’t seem like an ordinary situation…
Especially since the location of the research center, no matter how cold it was, wasn’t outside the Korean Peninsula.
‘…Is there something going on?’
His senses were screaming at him.
That the cause of this incident might be an unknown anomaly.
‘Come to think of it.’
He recalled a conversation he had while delivering information Han Seori had compiled to a nearby branch.
‘They said they were having a hard time because anomalies were suddenly popping up like mushrooms after rain.’
Reflecting on that… it wouldn’t be strange if a new anomaly had appeared near the research center where he and Han Seori were staying.
No, rather, there was a high possibility of that.
‘…This is driving me crazy.’
Kim Cheonsu, who had been relieved after dealing with the steel snake, which was the most threatening thing around, regretted his thoughts.
But then Kim Cheonsu shook his head.
‘Regretting won’t change anything.’
Comforting himself, he checked what he had left.
Fortunately, there was a lot of food.
…The chunks of meat were frozen solid, so it would be a bit… difficult to eat them, but still, it’s better than nothing, right?
The toys he had brought for the slime girl and the girl’s slimes… it seemed best to throw them away.
He felt a little sorry, but in order to reduce any unnecessary weight, even a little, it couldn’t be helped.
Kim Cheonsu organized his luggage while warming himself by the blazing fire.
After finishing organizing, he fell into contemplation again.
‘…What do I do now?’
He had memorized the way back to the research center, but in the current situation, it was useless knowledge.
What good would it be when he didn’t even know where this place was…?
Sighing, he warmed a frozen chocolate bar and ate it to replenish his sugar levels.
Then, to his ears…
Hey!
A familiar voice.
An unforgettable voice reached him.
It was Han Seori’s voice as if looking for someone.
‘…Did she come to rescue me?’
Feeling moved to the point where the tip of his nose stung, he…
…hardened his expression as he recalled that the current situation might be caused by an anomaly.
If anyone's there, please answer!
The one making Han Seori’s voice… was it really Han Seori?
Or… could it be an unknown anomaly?
As he pondered, the voice that had been coming from quite close was gradually moving away.
He had to make a choice.
To find a way out of here without any clues.
…Or to chase after that voice, hoping it was the real Han Seori.
Or… staying here and enduring until rescue comes could also be an option.
Kim Cheonsu looked at the transmitter he had put in his pocket.
It was something Han Seori had prepared for him just in case.
…But maybe due to the cold, it didn’t seem to be working.
Without this signal, would they be able to find me?
Perhaps the voice he was hearing now was Han Seori, who had come to find him before the transmitter signal was cut off.
Pondering with a throbbing head, Kim Cheonsu stood up with his bag.
It seemed he had decided to follow the voice.
Behind him as he slowly left the cave…
…the toys that hadn’t met their owner faced the cold wind, creating an eerie atmosphere.
“Are you uncomfortable?”
I shook my head at Han Seori’s question.
Then Han Seori put a large hood over my head with an apologetic expression.
Looking at the mirror beside me, I saw the silhouette of a girl bundled up in clothes.
The large hood hid my face.
…That’s right.
I was currently dressed up to go outside.
Since there were no clothes that fit me right away, I wore clothes that were cut and pieced together from Han Seori and Kim Cheonsu’s clothes.
Insulation wasn’t really important anyway.
This was… to prepare for any situations that might occur while I was active outside.
In other words.
In case I suddenly encountered humans.
That kind of situation.
Yeah.
A bad feeling never misses the mark, and I decided to go outside to look for Kim Cheonsu, who wasn’t coming back.
From the moment the spherical guy said he couldn’t send out drones, there wasn’t much of a choice.
…On top of that, Kim Cheonsu’s signal had suddenly disappeared.
It was clear that something bad had happened to him.
Especially since there was a snowstorm outside that I had never seen before.
Seeing that, it was understandable that Kim Cheonsu could have lost his way.
But why was there such a snowstorm?
Am I really in Korea right now?
As if to answer my questions,
Han Seori spoke in a worried voice.
“I think a new anomaly may have appeared nearby.”
…So, anomalies just pop up out of nowhere like this?
Thinking that, the people who had been hiding their existence until now suddenly seemed amazing, albeit in a new light.
As I nodded my head inwardly, Han Seori attached a familiar device to the nape of my neck, saying,
“So be careful. I’ll help you as much as I can.”
I nodded silently.
No, I can’t speak anyway.
Before leaving the facility, I looked at Han Seori.
Behind her, spheres and slimes, except for me, were huddled together.
Because of these ridiculous clothes I was wearing, the other slimes couldn’t go outside.
…Even if they could go out with me, it was uncertain whether they would be of help, but it was still disappointing.
If there was any consolation, it was that thanks to the sphere, I could receive Han Seori’s help even in this absurd situation.
Ah, geez.
Should I give the sphere a kiss or something?
…He wouldn’t like it, would he?
Receiving Han Seori’s send-off, I stepped out of the facility and thought as I faced the blowing snowstorm.
The clothes were blocking my vision, making it very uncomfortable.
I can’t take them off, and it’s really… inconvenient.
Anyways.
Let’s go find Kim Cheonsu.
Following Han Seori’s guidance, I took steps toward the place where Kim Cheonsu’s signal was last cut off.
