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Chapter 13
It feels like my body is drooping and melting away.
I keep wanting to lean against something, to lie down somewhere… maybe I’m getting sleepy too.
‘N-no!’
Get it together.
I’m being influenced by the mind of whatever I’ve possessed again.
I probably don’t even have anything that could be called hands among my body parts right now… wait, I don’t.
I panicked for a moment, but thankfully the end of my body stretched out and moved according to my thoughts.
One advantage of becoming a giant slime is that my body is made of jelly, so I can freely reshape and reassemble it however I want!
Using the newly made hand, the first thing I did was hug Lee Yooji, who was standing there blankly in shock.
Well, more accurately, I stuffed her into my transparent belly fat.
As long as I’m controlling my body, the slime fluid touching her won’t hurt her.
‘She just won’t be able to move.’
Because slime fluid is originally a powerful neurotoxin.
Next, I urgently swallowed Choi Woojin into my mouth just as he was trying to pull out a weapon.
Without even a groan, he disappeared into my stomach.
‘…I just ate the protagonist.’
This feels really strange.
I could feel Choi Woojin making one last struggle inside my stomach.
The poking sensation made my insides churn like I’d eaten spoiled food—
Gurgle, gurgle…
But after wobbling my stomach a few times, things soon became quiet.
‘Oh, I think I just controlled a slime body properly.’
Back when I possessed Lulu, and now this too… somehow, constantly learning how to use the bodies of non-human things doesn’t feel all that great…
Still, Choi Woojin was the strongest being in this world setting, so I wouldn’t be able to keep him paralyzed for long.
Now then, lastly—
“Gyaaaah! Don’t come near me…!”
Kang Ilyeon blew a whistle, activating the golems.
The golems plunged their fists into my belly fat—
‘But I’m an A-rank monster right now.’
I easily flicked them away and reached my hand toward Kang Ilyeon.
“Qyuuuuung…?”
I wanted to tell her not to be afraid, but that was all that came out of my mouth.
I effortlessly picked Kang Ilyeon up and stuffed her into my mouth—
Gulp.
After successfully swallowing all three people, I pulled out the keyring attached to Alex’s waist as he lay collapsed on the floor.
It was a cat-shaped keyring, the same kind Kang Wolyeon had, only a different color.
An employee keyring that served as a key to a warehouse belonging to Susubat somewhere in Seoul.
As long as there wasn’t a powerful barrier in place, I could escape quickly even with this droopy body, so getting out came first.
A mere gatekeeper could be taken care of with my neurotoxin anyway.
Still, I couldn’t use the cat keyring I personally owned.
‘If I head to the Hunter Investigation Unit while still looking like a slime, my identity will be exposed instantly.’
Thinking that, I activated the keyring.
To escape a subspace and return to the original location, you just do this—
◐◑
You take eyes shaped like this—
◑◐
—and turn them back like this.
Ugh… my hands are sticky, so it wasn’t easy, but somehow I managed it.
I could feel nearby debris gradually sticking to my body as it continued growing larger, and I closed my eyes.
Because exiting a subspace can make you a little dizzy.
And when I opened them—
“…?”
“Qyuuuuuu…?”
What I saw around me was a wide space like an abandoned factory, with oil drums scattered here and there.
And standing in that space was someone I had never expected to see.
A calm face that rarely showed surprise.
Perfectly balanced, harmonious features I loved so much.
“…What…?”
…twists.
His flustered eyes shook.
At the same time, the nameplate attached to his broad chest swayed too.
Hunter Investigation Unit, Team 1
Team Leader Kwon Ikseong
…It was Ikseong!
And the moment I recognized him, the very first thing that happened was—
My stomach twisted.
It felt like someone was punching my insides.
“Qquuuu!”
I tried my hardest to hold it in, but I couldn’t.
The body part that could probably be called my mouth opened wide, and the three humans tangled together with slime fluid burst out from my stomach.
“Qyuuuuuuuu!”
After throwing everything up, my body felt completely drained of moisture, and I gradually began shrinking.
Maybe I’d overused the slime fluid—my “neurotoxin.”
Before I knew it, I was staring at the three humans, now bigger than me.
Kang Ilyeon, unconscious.
Lee Yooji, who also seemed unconscious.
And Choi Woojin, covered head to toe in slime juice, looking exhausted as he gazed up at Kwon Ikseong.
Looking at Kwon Ikseong staring down at him, Choi Woojin gave a little wave.
“Hi, mister investigator.”
LIKE HELL THIS IS A GOOD TIME TO SAY HI!
* * *
Ham Mina, the rookie investigator of Team 1.
Not even a month into the job yet, she arrived at the scene with a tense expression.
Thanks to entering with the highest overall score, she had managed to get assigned to Team 1, the ace team—but that was where the real problem started.
The ace team’s abilities were simply too overwhelming.
Especially Kwon Ikseong. During meetings, he would reconstruct crime scenes and issue deductions from just a few clues as if he had personally witnessed everything happen.
It was honestly terrifying.
Still, she thought she had been keeping up fairly well.
Her direct senior had even told her this—
“You’re catching on pretty fast, rookie. Just as expected from a promising talent.”
The words “promising talent” made her motivation burn even brighter.
She had joined with a genuine sense of duty.
Several guilds had tried to recruit her too, but she had turned them all down.
But—
“Still, don’t push yourself too hard. Especially today—the illegal weapon trade site is packed with weapons, so it’s dangerous. Got it? The moment you let your guard down, one shot.”
The warning that she could die at any moment stirred a primal fear inside her.
‘Do all investigators continue this job while carrying around this kind of fear?’
She had been thinking that when—
Hunter Investigation Unit, 57th Class Group Chat
As she opened her phone to look through the case materials, she noticed the group chat exploding with messages.
‘…?’
Without realizing it, her finger tapped into the chat.
Is this video really the rookie from Team 5?
The one who came in dead last on the fitness test?
Shouldn’t you watch what you say?
Doesn’t matter. They’re not in this chat. Came in at the very last minute so we never got their number.
Still, let’s not rank people by calling them dead last or whatever.
Holy crap, they’re F-rank and kicked a D-rank like that?
Do they have twenty lives or something?
What video are they talking about…?
She unconsciously scrolled upward to check the top of the chat when—
“Hey, rookie. Didn’t I tell you today’s scene is dangerous? We’re almost there.”
The voice came from Yeo Hyeongse, her direct senior, sitting in the driver’s seat.
“Ah, yes sir.”
Just as she hurriedly tried to put away her phone—
Yeo Hyeongse’s phone rang.
It was Team Leader Kwon Ikseong.
“Yes, Team Leader. We’re almost at the scene anyway. As for dangerous conditions on-site—”
[Can a healer come?]
At those words, Yeo Hyeongse’s face stiffened.
Ham Mina tensed up too.
“Did… someone get hurt?”
As Yeo Hyeongse’s trembling voice filled the car, Ham Mina instinctively reached for the revolver at her waist.
Then she heard Kwon Ikseong sigh.
Team Leader Kwon had sighed.
That alone was shocking.
Kwon Ikseong was the type of person who almost never showed emotion.
But the words that came next were completely unexpected.
[The youngest investigator from Team 5 has fainted.]
“…What? Team 5’s rookie?”
Yeo Hyeongse’s voice cracked in disbelief.
Why would Team 5’s rookie faint at Team 1’s operation site?
[Yes. And it seems we may have discovered a newly connected subspace. You could say direct evidence is… pouring out right now. I’ve already called the forensics team, so tell the other investigators to remain at headquarters.]
And with that next statement, it was practically a declaration that the case had been solved the moment Team 1 arrived.
After hanging up, Yeo Hyeongse spoke in a dazed voice.
“Then… doesn’t that mean the case is closed?”
