Suddenly, I Became a Slime

Chapter 18: Like a Fairy Tale

[!#$%^_]

…What could it be, really?

Even as I roll the jelly around and think hard, I can’t figure out what the ‘voice’ is trying to say.

As I approach it, the loud ringing seems so immense that I understand why there is no one in here.

If one kept hearing this kind of thing, an ordinary person would probably feel immense stress.

So, is this some sort of controlled area?

Trembling at the vibrations emitted by the voice, I brush off my shivering body and cautiously venture away from the canned food to explore the place.

As a result, a room with a similar feel to the place I had stayed briefly before comes into view again.

But unlike there, I don’t feel the same. I feel more confused than in a white room.

Even amidst this, whether it is electricity or not, a few remaining light bulbs are emitting a very dim light.

I am quite uneasy about how it seems like they are about to go out any moment, but still shining.

Maybe this is also some kind of special device like the canned food over there.

Upon closer inspection, something resembling an exit passage catches my eye.

Determined to see if I can leave from here, I cautiously approach, but the heavily crumpled door shows no signs of opening.

The bulbs are working, so why isn’t this guy budging at all?

Well, the answer is simple. It must be too damaged to even qualify for the term “worn.”

If the bulb was also shattered, it would have been scary.

Still, thanks to the cracks, I can sneak a peek outside through the door.

If I had an ordinary body, even approaching the smashed door would have been difficult, but I have a body that can handle such minor things.

But if I move carelessly, I might end up getting cut just like my leg had been severed a while ago. I have to be careful.

Even with my diminished body, it isn’t easy dangling from the door, but I manage to peer outside, swaying back and forth.

I thought I would see a similar sight to when I had left the place where I had eaten a hamburger, but…

What I see is a space with a completely different atmosphere from the inside of the cannery. The solid walls stand firm, separating the space where the can and I are, as if to say that nothing can escape.

When reaching the wall, I see a part of the scenery I had expected, but beyond the wall, the atmosphere is completely different, like it is a different space.

I wonder if finding out what’s beyond that wall would be… perhaps impossible.

Though I have a body that can melt anything, first, I need to swallow it, right?

It is doubtful if I can melt it, and I have no idea how big I have to become to swallow those walls.

That means the passage for me to go outside is…

[@$&)@!]

It seems like the only way out is through that loud can emitting chunks of meat.

…Now that I look at it, the ceiling has collapsed.

I gaze at the chunks of meat rising through the large hole. The can babbling something from below is a bonus.

As I watch the meat rising as if they are bean sprouts,

I chuckle softly.

Anyway.

The reason for laughing is nothing special.

Watching the chunks of meat endlessly rising towards the top, I recall a fairytale I read when I was young.

The protagonist in that fairytale surely… rose to the sky riding up on a beanstalk growing so rapidly, going into a large castle to steal a giant’s treasure and become rich. It feels like a similar story.

It is a bit vague, but it is probably something similar─

Wait a minute.

…What if I climb up on this guy like the protagonist in that fairytale?

I’m actually in a better situation than him.

I have a body much more flexible than a human’s, and although the fairytale protagonist surely climbed up one stem at a time…

I’m more like taking a super high-speed elevator up.

Since the meat is rapidly growing from the can, who knows where it ends.

It means if you just grab onto it, you can go up.

Otherwise, like the fairytale protagonist, you have to go up one step at a time.

…Why bother going back when there’s an easy way out?

[!((!)!)]

And I really want to leave that noisy can behind fast.

But making such a noise… Does that mean it’s alive too?

…I don’t know. Should I be the one to find out?

I glance around once more, confirm there is no other way, and slowly approach the can.

[!$$]

It is quite unpleasant to be barked at by that inexplicable voice.

However, I decide to endure it with a generous heart. That bean sprout will be the one to help me escape from here.

Although I am not exactly thrilled by the sight of chunks of meat popping out of the small can.

Looking at my transparent body will probably bring some good after all.

…Maybe it’s because I’ve already eaten a ton of MREs outside.

What could the guy who was already going to be eaten do anyway?

At any rate.

I approach the guy, causing my jelly to tremble.

I stick to the growing chunks of meat like glue.

As my sticky hands cling to the chunks of meat.

My body starts to shoot up at an uncontrollable speed. It is so fast that I think maybe I have been too careless.

Riding a gyro drop without any safety measures would probably feel like this.

No, it can’t be compared. At least that goes up slowly when it rises.

My body shoots up at a rapid speed as if it were a rocket launching.

Taken aback, I naturally have to embrace the chunk of meat tightly. Embracing a huge chunk of meat feels strangely pleasant, but I have to concentrate because I know that if I let it go, I will definitely fall down like I did earlier.

This time, I might not have the same luck as before.

I could just end up as a scattered jelly mess on the floor.

Realizing that I start to worry if I have acted too rashly. There must be a reason, even in fairy tales, why the protagonist slowly climbs up, right?

Fairy tales are supposed to give moral lessons, so maybe there is a lesson in that, too?

In the midst of my irrational thoughts, I feel like the speed at which I am rising is accelerating.

…In this state, can I really escape through the hole? If I get caught slipping into the hole by chance, it probably won’t end well.

I soon regret clinging to that hunk of meat.

But it’s too late now.

Whether I end up alive or dead like the man who rode the tiger, I need to pull through.

Yet I can’t help but wonder how it would’ve been if I had just slowly climbed up step by step.

“Umm…”

As Han Seori enters the control zone, she inspects the machinery, suddenly feeling hungry.

Quite some time has passed since she entered, and seeing the chunks of meat in front of her, the hunger is only natural.

Although curious, Han Seori can’t participate in the safety assessment of those chunks, having only tried them once from an MRE outside.

Naturally, the memory of the taste of the meat triggers her hunger.

Even though she had tried it only once and found it unpleasant, the taste lingered in her mind.

‘Should I eat something?’

Thinking of ordering food if Kim Cheonsu is still around, Han Seori sets off.

At the moment, when she is leaving the containment area,

*Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep!*

“…Huh?”

Once again, a loud alarm starts ringing throughout the containment area.

Just shortly after dealing with the anomaly.

It is supposed to be a frustrating and confusing situation.

Somehow, Han Seori finds herself smiling.

…It is a strange expression, resembling a programmer driven crazy by recurring bugs, yet a glimmer of hope sparks in her mind.

To have consecutive abnormalities in a dormant anomaly means there is a cause.

The high possibility is that the cause could be the slime girl she thought she had eliminated.

Han Seori takes a step towards the panel immediately.

Regardless of whether the slime girl is alive, she has to address the issue at hand first.

Rather than worrying about the meat going up the factory, the issue is that the chunks of meat are not being discharged.

As Han Seori approaches the panel.

She sees red lumps of meat dripping sky-blue mucus.

There are a significant number of them.

Seeing the mucus, the slime girl naturally comes to mind.

‘…What’s going on?’

Han Seori is extremely flustered.

But she is a pro.

Despite her head being in a panic, unsure of what to do, her body reaches the panel and starts operating it to resolve the situation.

Of course, her speed is slower due to the panic, but her body is moving to address the issue.

She slowly follows the procedure to resolve the problem.

*Beep, beep, beep, beep.*

Unpleasant sounds fill her space.

Han Seori doesn’t stop her hands, but her eyes are busy searching for the potential slime girl wherever she might be.