Suddenly, I Became a Slime

Chapter 63: Inside

“Damn it.”

Yoo Kangjik muttered while fumbling with his increasingly sparse hair.

Feeling the slick sensation from his hard fingertips, he sighed deeply as if the ground would cave in and took his hand off.

What more could touching it do besides making it shine?

But he couldn’t help feeling a little wronged.

‘What the hell do they think I am?’

His role, dispatched from the main branch, was to inspect the lower branches and research centers.

Of course… nominally, his duties included helping out.

But still.

It was fine that the head of the research center, who could be considered the top rank, had his corruption revealed, and the position suddenly became vacant.

That was exactly what he had to do.

However.

As if the world was mocking him, strange things kept happening.

And the result was the current situation.

Deputy Director Han Seori took an anomaly and an agent with her and went down to the East Sea branch.

If it had ended there, he would have thought there must be some reason,

‘It’s just a guess, but there might be an intrusion or attack soon.’

‘What?’

‘I’ll tell you more later. Please take care of the research center.’

‘Wait, hold on!’

Yoo Kangjik felt like his hair was falling out of his head.

Although helping was part of his job,

*Sigh.*

Complaining wouldn’t change anything.

More than that, Han Seori’s meaningful… no, clear warning weighed on his mind.

He stared at the slowly decreasing red timer, lost in thought.

‘…Certainly.’

Calming his mind and mulling it over, there were quite a few suspicious points.

First of all, it was strange for those guys, whose existence was only vaguely known, to suddenly engage in such public activities.

Rather than a sudden change of heart, it seemed reasonable to think that it was to hide some other purpose.

‘It seems Han Seori left with an anomaly.’

Pondering what it could be, Yoo Kangjik felt like he knew what it was.

Manipulating the panel, he saw an empty isolation room on his screen.

It was a pristine white room that felt somewhat luxurious to be called an isolation room.

‘…Could their real target be 7496-KR?’

If so, Han Seori’s actions were somewhat understandable.

Amidst the chaos in all the branches and research centers nationwide,

The state of alert at the East Sea branch, where something was currently detected, would be the most… strict.

Was it because she herself was unsure that she didn’t say it in detail?

‘Hmm…’

Yoo Kangjik’s contemplation didn’t last long.

Although he hadn’t observed Han Seori for very long, the judgment she had shown so far was quite excellent.

Her being selected as the deputy director at that age… was probably the decision of those above rather than the director’s influence.

…Even though she sometimes acts in ways he can’t understand, in the end, hasn’t it all turned out fine?

‘It’s well known that doctors are all eccentrics.’

Isn’t that why people like him are here?

Han Seori also falls into that category… an eccentric.

“Tsk.”

Yoo Kangjik, who clicked his tongue softly, scratched his oddly shiny crown and manipulated the panel.

Then, in the (by his standards) luxurious isolation room that had been empty, 7496-KR appeared with her small slimes.

The slime girl, little slime girl, and moving doll wriggled while looking at the TV.

‘It should be enough as an illusion.’

He wasn’t sure if they were really after 7496-KR.

But what Yoo Kangjik did next, thinking this was probably Han Seori’s intention,

…was preparing for intrusion and attack.

Yoo Kangjik really hoped that if something had to happen… it would be an intrusion.

That would minimize the damage.

However.

The next day at dawn,

An explosion was heard from somewhere in the research center.

“Damn it.”

He felt very wronged.

Climbing up the sticky stomach wall… I saw something strange.

Something that looked like a door was attached to the whale’s stomach.

A door that seemed to be made of a very sturdy material.

When I pulled the handle, fortunately, it wasn’t locked, and a door barely big enough for one person opened without resistance.

*Creak!*

As if it hadn’t been maintained for a long time, the door let out a sharp scream.

If I were human, I might have frowned and let go of the handle.

Anyway.

As I opened the door and went inside… I saw a passageway made of flesh.

…I really feel like I’ve entered a game.

Perhaps for economic reasons, only the floor showed traces of humans, and the rest was close to a perforated organ.

Then,

*Booooom!*

A huge vibration and sound rang out, shaking Daesik.

Is it because the door is open?

Indeed, it would be natural to feel discomfort if a hole suddenly opened in your stomach.

*Creak!*

When I closed the door I was holding, there was no sound, as if it was relieved.

Then, *gulp!* I, lost in thought with Daesik wobbling,

Should I just leave it open?

Wouldn’t it collapse from exhaustion?

But soon, I decided to just keep it closed.

My limited knowledge tells me that the largest whale on Earth lives fine, even with cancer.

So even if it feels discomfort, it will likely adapt quickly.

Then, it seemed best to choose the option that didn’t hurt my conscience.

…Well, it might not matter.

I had a feeling that in the worst case, either I or this whale would have to die… for there to be an ending.

Where the hell did this thing suddenly pop out from?

Thinking like that, I walked along the passageway made of flesh.

Since only the path to follow was covered with flooring, there was no worry of getting lost.

The only problem was that the passageway was narrower than it looked from the outside.

It seems to be gradually healing.

It wasn’t a problem for me to pass through, but it would be difficult for an adult male.

As I progressed, feeling the damp sensation touching my jelly,

A rather large space welcomed us, unlike the passageway.

It was as if someone had made a base, and there were traces of something having been installed.

Those traces were also all crumpled as the space healed, so I couldn’t tell what this place was for.

…If I could fathom the thoughts of those who make this kind of thing in a place like this, wouldn’t that be even more problematic?

Still, one thing became clear.

The flying whale is not a mecha whale… but a being that has something presumed to be human-made base-like thing inside for some purpose.

And now that it has served its purpose, it seems they took the important things and… left everything else behind.

Thinking that, I felt a little sorry for the whale.

I was a bit displeased that it hurt Han Seori to eat me,

Anyway.

Since the passageway was still there, I moved my feet again with a *squish squish*.

Because once this passageway and space completely heal, I won’t be able to pass through again.

But that won’t be today.

Probably.

While walking through the stretchy yet solid and narrow passageway,

A door similar to the one on the stomach wall appeared.

This time, it looked a little sturdier, so it seemed to be a rather important space.

*Creak… squeak.*

Is that why?

The door won’t open.

After thinking for a moment, I enveloped the handle in my slime.

I couldn’t eat the whale, but melting a small handle wasn’t that difficult.

As the handle that entered my slime melted, the lock seemed to have been released, and the door rattled.

…I don’t think I can close this again.

Will it be okay?

I don’t know.

Thus, entering through the opened door,

*Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump!*

I felt something huge vibrating.

Thinking there might be another creature, my startled gaze fell upon

a fiercely beating red something.

*Thump! Thump! Thump!*

That… seemed to be the heart.

Although it was too huge to be called a heart… my meager knowledge was telling me it was the heart.

Every time it pounded, a gruesome sound of *Thwack! Thwack!* reverberated around.

Indeed.

Since it’s such a large creature… the heart must be that huge too.

Then,

A foul stench came from somewhere.

Although a fishy smell had been present in the passageways I’d passed through, the stench here was incomparably foul.

So much so that even Sosik and Daesik trembled and clung to my body.

*Thump! Thump!*

Putting aside the pounding heart for now, I *squish squish* moved my feet to find the source of that foul odor first.

Finding the source was… both easy and a little difficult.

No matter how absurd it may sound, that was actually the case.

Because,

The stench was emanating from the entire space where the heart was beating.

And its source was,

For some reason, rotting and crumbling chunks of flesh…

…and there weren’t just one or two of those rotten chunks.

Unlike the outside that was gradually healing,

The Sky Whale seemed to be rotting from the inside.

Seeing that,

I felt strange.