Suddenly, I Became a Slime

Chapter 17: Han Seori

[Access permission being verified….]

[Permission granted.]

[Retrieving relevant information.]

[███-KR-1] -> [███-KR-2]

[Canned food that nobody eats] -> [Infinitely ███ing chunks of meat]

[Photo of an old canned food]

[Photo of a giant pillar-shaped hole-pierced machine]

Date of initial discovery: 19██.9.2. (Estimated)

Initially discovered as the form of an old canned food (███-KR-1), but reclassified as opened ███-KR-2 during experiments at the ███ branch. It is assumed that ███-KR-1 got lost during this process.

Initially thought to be canned food distributed during the World War, but later confirmed to be a product that has never been manufactured by any company.

Content was estimated to consist of things that do not exist in the world.

Subsequently confirmed as anomaly through the following experiments, and accommodated in ███.

• When hit with a hammer, it produced a dull sound and did not cause any significant damage.
• Firearms were ineffective and caused an accidental injury during the process.
• Bladed weapons were ineffective.
• Hydraulic press was used but the equipment malfunctioned. After replacing the damaged parts and attempting again with anomaly ███-KR-1 placed sideways, the equipment malfunctioned once more.
• No visible changes occurred when explosives were used.
• For further experiments, refer to the separate report.

Following is an excerpt of the experiment record when anomaly ███-KR-1 was opened.

Dr. ███: Can you check if there’s a record of the can being opened with a can opener?

Agent ███: Doesn’t seem to be one.

Dr. ███: Really? Why not?

Agent ███: If I knew that, wouldn’t I be dressed the same as you, Doctor?

Dr. ███: Stop messing around and bring a can opener.

Subsequently, Agent ███ exited the lab and reentered with a can opener.

███ Dr.: Who’s that person behind you?

███ Agent: Brought him just in case. Because I’m precious.

███ Dr.: …Remember everything gets documented?

███ Agent: Geez, it’s just opening a can, why are you like this? Weren’t you the one who was going to do it anyway, Dr.?

███ Dr.: Heh heh… Well, you brought him, so let’s give it a shot. You followed the process and brought him, right?

███ Agent: Yes.

███: …Are you really going to give me ██ for just opening a can?

Conversations unrelated to the experiment that followed have been edited out.

Dr. ███: Alright, let’s get started then.

Following Dr. ███ instructions, ███ used the can opener on ███-KR-1.

Previously unresponsive, ███-KR-1 suffered damage to its lid when the can opener was applied.

Dr. ███: What the? Why is it opening?

Agent ███: Huh? Huh?

███: Aaah!

Recording terminated.

Outcome: The packaging of ███-KR-1 was opened, revealing the ███-KR-2 inside.

• The exposed ███-KR-2 expanded, filling the entire ███ laboratory.
• ███ that didn’t manage to flee the scene were presumed to have been engulfed by the expanding ███-KR-2.
• With a Level 1 alert issued by Dr. ███, the facility was temporarily closed due to the uncontrollable expansion of the ███-KR-2.

For details on the damages and records, refer to the separate report.

Following the 5th ███-KR-2 disposal meeting, it was decided to process ███-KR-2 for consumption through ███lent ███ple █o..

The food safety was confirmed after seven experiments.

• Most participants reported enjoying the cut products of the ███-KR-2.

[███-KR-2 Consumption Report]

[███-KR-2 Processing Facility Blueprints]

[███-KR-2 Processing Plant Security Measures Report]

Writer: Dr. Han██.

During the regular inspection, foreign substances entered from outside, and the procedures were followed to handle them.

Subsequently, it was confirmed that it operated without any anomalies.

‘Phew…’

Han Seori sighs as she gazes at the monitor, taking a break from writing the report.

She looks over the records one more time, just in case, but there doesn’t seem to be any particularly helpful information. Only the result of handling the ‘foreign substance’ suspected to be a tiny slime girl.

Upon careful consideration, she realizes that it is a common occurrence. Anomalies appearing randomly and then disappearing is something that happens frequently.

It is just one of the many anomalies she has encountered and processed.

‘…’

Unable to find an answer to why the slime girl keeps bothering her, Han Seori asks herself but can’t find a solution.

Ultimately, the Director with dangerous intentions failed to achieve their goal, and the silenced anomaly that had escaped seems like a good outcome, right?

However, not satisfied, she absentmindedly taps on the computer again.

[████-KR] - Under investigation.

The screen displays information on the slime girl stored in the database.

Naturally, it is still in the investigation stage.

Han Seori scratches her head as if realizing something while looking at it.

‘…It was my doing.’

It must be bothering her like this because she couldn’t conclude it.

Now that it has come to this, it seems necessary to find traces of the slime girl, ‘Damn Snot.’

At least entering either disappearance or acquisition in that database seems like it would ease her conscience a bit.

…By the way.

’What the heck is ‘Damn Snot’ really… It’s getting absurd.’

Inside the isolation room, Han Seori eats a hamburger, letting out an indeterminate sigh while recalling the slime girl that had been bouncing around.

She gets up from her seat, hangs her ID card around her neck, and leaves the room.

It seems like she will have to search for traces of the slime girl here for a while.

‘…Let’s consider it as a vacation.’

She grimaces as she thinks of the pillar beyond the control zone.

It feels like an extremely unpleasant place to call it a vacation.

She heads towards the control zone.

I see my severed leg buried in a chunk of flesh protruding outward.

It’s not uncomfortable, but witnessing a part of me disappear like that is quite… shocking.

But should I call it a blessing in disguise?

As I crawl inside, I realize my body has shrunk.

Looking down, I see the severed leg has grown back, but it seems like my body has shrunk instead.

Although I’m mentally shocked, it makes it even more convenient to hide my body.

…If I just shrug this off, I feel like I won’t be myself, so I make an effort to feel uneasy.

Even though that feeling quickly disappears as the smell of retort food wafts up…

Anyway.

As I continue to move inside, whether it’s due to the darkness or not, I can’t make out what’s in front of me.

*Gulp.*

Suddenly.

I begin to fall downwards.

A gust of wind shakes my body more severely than the wind that almost created a hole in me a while ago.

No, I managed to hide, but is this how it ends up?

A somewhat anticlimactic ending– *Argh!*

Falling down, I collide with a chunk of meat trying to escape through another hole with a thud!

Feeling like my soul is escaping, my vision blurs, but it seems to slow down my fall.

*Thump!*

My vision wavers.

It reminds me of the sight of Japanese people pounding rice cakes that I saw on the internet.

*Thump!*

Whenever I hear the sound, I inevitably collide with the chunk of meat, slowing down.

…After several collisions.

*Thud!*

I land on the hard floor like a piece of gum.

If this were a ride, as soon as I got out of here, I would have sued the amusement park.

If I had been a person instead of jelly, by now I would have probably ended up similar to that chunk of meat.

Feeling like my bones are shaking, I sit there dazed, then I snap out of it and look around.

For some reason, there is a faint light, so checking the surroundings is not a problem.

But… something is off.

The overall vibe of the room feels similar to that of the white room where I had recently eaten a hamburger and delicious food.

Although everything is in shambles, it looks the same.

Scary enough to raise questions.

*Pop!*

I see the mound of minced meat in the center of the room swelling and rising.

And at its base, there is a small tin can.

So, um…

It’s filled to the top, spewing out numerous pieces of minced meat.

Is that sound coming from that small can?

Does this… make sense?

It feels like all the common sense I knew so far has already died.

With squelching sounds, the bright red minced meat continues to inflate without stopping.

Then what should we call that kind of meat?

Canned essence of meat?

No wonder it tasted weird; it’s coming from there.

…Wait, so they’re selling that kind of thing in MREs?

Unbelievable.

The darkness seems much deeper than I thought.

I can’t help but doubt if they want to sell my jelly all inflated like this.

While I’m feeling blue like that.

Something strange is visible beside the canned food.

I bend down to get a closer look.

…A white skull catches my eye.

The skull, wearing clothes with numbers on them. It’s so shattered that it looks like it can’t break more.

There is enough of the shape of the skull left to tell it’s a human skull, but I probably wouldn’t have realized it was a skull if that much wasn’t left.

Although this factory is already a lost cause, the sanitary conditions are beyond dreadful.

I blame myself for eating this deliciously until now.

So this is where the cheap and tasty aspect comes from.

…I wonder if reporting it to the Food and Drug Administration would solve it?

I’m having a foolish thought.

[#@$&*(!]

My jelly shivers at the sudden sound of a voice. A strange voice that doesn’t seem to spread into the air.

It’s coming from a canned food with red chunks of meat sticking out.

…Can’t I really report this?

I stare at the canned food with a sense of unease.