Chapter 28: Is this what I wished for?
Chapter 28: Is this what I wished for?
If they were providing me with three meals a day, it might be less than I think, but if it’s one meal a day… it could be more time than I expected.
Well, what’s the point of knowing how much time has passed?
Time is no longer an important resource for me.
No, rather, I should say I have an abundance of it now.
I’ve gone from being a time beggar to a time Bill Gates.
Lying in a white room with unpleasant toys, I can understand why NEETs frequently surf the internet.
It’s excruciatingly boring.
Maybe they do it because they feel like they’ll go crazy if they don’t do something, just like me.
It could also be due to anxiety.
Compared to that, my situation isn’t too bad.
At least I don’t have to worry about making a living in the future.
Although there’s no bed, it’s much better than when I was wandering the sewers, and as I mentioned earlier, meals come regularly, even if I’m not sure if they arrive on time.
If there were only other things besides toys, anyone could enjoy the life of a carefree unemployed person that everyone dreams of.
Is this too greedy of me?
It doesn’t seem impossible if I slowly melt my shining intelligence into a puddle of brilliance.
I devoured the horned wolf and fiddled with the protruding knowledge pouch, grumbling in my jelly mind.
It’s because I haven’t had a chance to show off my brilliant intelligence lately.
Even the visits of Han Seori, who sold me to the deputy director, have become infrequent.
She just opens the door and enters with a face full of fatigue, only to give me snacks.
She doesn’t try to experiment on me with her eyes rolling back like last time.
It doesn’t seem like she’s lost interest… I don’t know.
I’d have to know something to say.
The only people I know here are Han Seori, the deputy director, and lastly, the coward.
I don’t even know their names except for Han Seori.
Well… it’s not like we’re close, right?
Except for Han Seori, I guess you could say we have an awkward relationship. I haven’t even seen the coward since I came here.
I spent time blankly staring at the knowledge pouch that swayed back and forth when I tilted my head like a mesmerizing pendulum of wisdom.
Even the doll soldier game I enjoyed has become boring now.
As I was doing that.
Suddenly, I became curious about what was in the room next to mine.
It was a belated interest, but it was unavoidable for me. Since there wasn’t a single hole to escape through, I never even thought about it in the first place.
In other words, my boredom has finally reached its limit.
As I abruptly stood up from my spot, Daesik, who was squirming next to Alice, shook his body.
He placed the caramel-stained wrapper on his head as if saving it for later, which looked quite funny.
Taking my eyes off Daesik, I stuck to the white wall like a curious blob of jelly.
Although I didn’t know who lived next door, I thought I might be able to find out something by doing this.
But.
It seems to be well soundproofed.
I remember when I stayed at a motel once, I could clearly hear the sounds of lovemaking from the next room.
… It’s not like I’m comparing it to that, but I did it anyway.
Considering the time when I went on an outing trapped in a glass container, the distance seemed quite significant.
There’s no way I could hear anything.
The moment I shook my head with a grumbling sound.
I heard a noise.
It’s a faint sound.
I hear a strange sound from somewhere.
What is this sound?
Following the source of the noise, I realized it was coming from beyond the door that Han Seori always entered and exited.
It seemed to be a sound coming from outside, not from a neighbour.
What could it be?
Then, the scene I saw on my first day here suddenly came to mind.
The person suffering with blood flowing from both eyes and the chaotic crowd.
Did another accident occur?
I started to think that this place might not be as safe as I thought.
At that moment.
The door opened, revealing Han Seori with a hurried expression and a glass container.
At the same time.
I hear an ominous sound.
I had a bad feeling about this, like a jelly sensing an impending earthquake.
<!-- slime -->“Ah… this isn’t right.”
Han Seori buried her face on the desk, scratching her head in frustration.
It seemed that the grand plan to increase the slime girl’s favorability had failed. Although the atmosphere was great at first.
‘The hazard test ruined everything.’
Who would have thought that she would suddenly awaken her abilities when threatened? She knocked down the horned wolf with a thud and devoured it.
It might be a refreshing scene in a novel, but to Han Seori, it sounded like her plan was falling apart.
On top of that, after eating it, there were even changes in her body.
Because of that, the meals provided to 7496-KR
were limited to fast food and snacks.Some even said that they shouldn’t be provided at all, but…
‘That’s a bit too much.’
If she goes on a rampage because she doesn’t even have that, who will take responsibility?
It was clear that it would be the worst choice to make the accumulated favorability disappear like a popped bubble.
Anyway.
Because of that, an additional obstacle was added to Han Seori’s argument to make effective use of 7496-KR.
While they were tempted by her proposal to utilize 7496-KR, even Han Seori couldn’t refute the question of whether she was truly being controlled. What if she gained sufficient power through that intelligence? Would she remain obedient?
Even Han Seori hesitated for a moment at that question, so the deputy director… no, Yoo Kangjik flatly rejected it.
‘Isn’t it better than people dying…?’
How can she show that the slime girl is favourable and cooperative towards humans and us?
Honestly, it seemed difficult.
Even if the slime girl knew how to write, it didn’t seem like it would make much difference.
The answer that would come back was obvious.
How can we trust that? They would say.
‘Should I give up?’
Since it wasn’t the only thing Han Seori had to worry about, 7496-KR, she slowly began to feel tired. At least taking the time to give snacks to the slime girl was the only thing that brought a smile to her face.
… If only she had just stored her mass and used it, being cute, pretty, and squishy, none of this would have happened.
Han Seori grumbled to herself and reviewed the video recorded during the hazard test.
Upon closer inspection, it seemed that when the horn of the horned wolf touched a slightly discoloured part inside the slime girl’s body, her movements reversed as if a hidden switch had been flipped.
As if a switch had been pressed.
After that, when the slime girl swung her fist, it was estimated that instead of a metallic *clank!*, a fleshy *thud!* resonated through the air.
‘Come to think of it.’
I had fed her some chunks of metal for experimentation.
‘Is it because of that?’
Since it was roughly similar in terms of sound, Han Seori’s guess didn’t seem entirely wrong.
So is it my fault?
Then.
Someone knocked on the door.
Han Seori, who was biting her nails, pressed a button on the desk, and the door opened, revealing an armed person entering.
“Dr. Han.”
“Ah… right. You said a new anomaly was arriving today.”
“Yes. Shall we go?”
“Alright….”
Yeah, let’s work instead.
Since finding a way to utilize the slime girl seemed bleak, Han Seori also began to feel like giving up.
Although she felt a bit attached since she had saved her from the director’s clutches… if it doesn’t work, it doesn’t work, right?
As Han Seori followed the armed person, embracing her concerns, she muttered upon seeing someone who looked a bit clumsy.
“There’s an unfamiliar face.”
“Ah, yes. A few new recruits joined recently.”
“Ah.”
That means someone ‘quit’.
Indeed, is there no way to… make use of it?
It made her feel bitter, even though she had become accustomed to seeing a normal person disappear and a new one take their place.
Then.
*Bang!*
A strange sound came from beyond the corridor. Since it wasn’t a pleasant sound, not only Han Seori, who was thinking about other things, but also those escorting her stiffened their bodies.
At that moment, a voice flowed from the waist of the person who was talking to Han Seori.
Accident occurred during anomaly transport. The anomaly currently being transported is...
“…Oh no.”
An ominous sound is heard.
Han Seori, who grasped the situation from the radio transmission, recalled the anomaly scheduled to arrive today.
“…Wasn’t it an entity that doesn’t react unless there’s an anomaly nearby?”
In response to her question, the man holding the walkie-talkie sighed and said,
“It must be a mistake made by the new recruit.”
“…We don’t know.”
Han Seori, who pressed her temples firmly as if she had a headache, spoke in a calm voice.
“Move all the anomalies nearby to another location. It seems to be around here. Call for more support.”
“Understood.”
Nothing seems to be going well.
Even though Han Seori thought it was fortunate that the anomaly had been identified, 7496-KR, the slime girl, came to her mind.
‘…She should be isolated nearby.’
Realizing this, Han Seori headed to the isolation room where the slime girl was, carrying the glass container she had used to move the slime girl.
Others will take care of moving the rest, but isn’t she the only one who doesn’t avoid the slime girl?
If she hesitated, not only the person moving the slime girl but also the slime girl herself would certainly be in danger.
So.
It was only natural for Han Seori, who thought she was the only one who could move the slime girl, to open the isolation room where the slime girl was with the glass container.
Opening the door and flinching at the sight of the slime girl right in front of her, Han Seori hurriedly picked up the slime girl and put her in the glass container.
However, despite Han Seori’s efforts.
The alarm began to sound in the corridor, its shrill cry echoing through the halls.
It seemed that contrary to her thoughts, the situation would not be easily resolved.