Episode 537:
What can I say about Kim Ki-jeong?
“…Save people….”
I felt like I was going to die.
“Is this a world created for people to live in?”
“It certainly seems like a world created for death.”
“Okay, I said something pointless…”
Kim Ki-jeong tried to calm his upset stomach.
A lot of time had passed since Jeong In-ho and Seo Jang-hwa left first in an unusual way, but I couldn’t tell exactly how much time had passed. The aquarium with no windows was extremely large and extremely closed.
I think it felt like a mental hospital like something out of a thriller movie.
“Haa….”
I felt like I was going out of my mind if I was just listening to the sound of water in an aquarium with no clock.
“….”
A humming noise that feels as if the brain is being gently massaged and squeezed by a large hand.
It sounded like a ventilator, or like a child or an elderly person sobbing slowly. Is the sound made by a machine or a person?
Or maybe it’s just the sound of water, but the water of ‘Friends by the Stream’ is still as smooth as the surface of marble. How can sound come from motionless water?
“Ugh…”
Kim Ki-jeong still doesn’t know where this sound originated or what it means.
“I feel like I’m going to throw up.”
“Do you look like Yeon-seok?”
“That’s right…”
“Child, come to your senses. “If you lose your mind here, you’ll be in big trouble.”
“Then, let’s talk about something interesting…”
Kim Ki-jeong, who muttered like that, immediately corrected himself.
“No, no. Do not.”
“Oh? “Why?”
“The guy who sets the table for the crook is crazy.”
It was crazy to urge a talkative person named Han Do-yoon to tell interesting stories. At least that was the case for Kim Ki-jeong, who was stressed even by the sound of birds chirping in the morning.
I’ve already been exhausted for a long time, and I didn’t want to get even more tired.
“….”
“….”
So I just stared at the pure white water that calmly settled without any movement.
“….”
If I don’t distract myself like this, I feel like the sound will eat my ears….
“I feel like I’m going to die…”
I’m suffocating from the buzzing noise.
What it felt like was like someone pressing down on me while I was under a warm, humid blanket.
Sometimes they hit or pet them, and sometimes they just sit quietly or pass by without saying a word. Sometimes it feels like being stabbed with an awl.
Kim Ki-jeong reached into the inner pocket of his outerwear.
“What are you looking for?”
“Handkerchief….”
“Oh my, you must be having a hard time.”
“yes.”
Kim Ki-jeong thoroughly wiped his hands with a spotless black handkerchief.
I wanted to rip my ears off because I felt like my ears were getting dirty, I wanted to rip the soles of my feet because I felt like my feet were being stained with dirt, and I wanted to replace the brain fluid because I felt like my brain was being crushed. But I know I can’t do that.
Knowing that, Kim Ki-jeong wiped his hands.
“….”
Kim Ki-jeong looked down at his hands, which had already turned bright red.
I carefully selected and bought a handkerchief made of the softest and lightest material possible, but it was inevitable that my hands would get slightly hurt from rubbing more than necessary. Kim Ki-jeong frowned as his hand throbbed after vigorously wiping it.
Still, the terrible feeling seemed to be getting a little better.
“I’m really dying, really.”
Han Do-yoon responded slyly to those words.
“Maybe I should have brought motion sickness medicine.”
“I’ll have to take care of it next time.”
Kim Ki-jeong decided to treat this as ‘motion sickness’, borrowing Han Do-yoon’s words.
Because it’s not wrong.
“….”
Kim Ki-jeong, who took a deep breath again, looked at Do-yoon Han and asked.
“So… what is that ring you found earlier? Are you still moving?”
“I guess I just twitch sometimes.”
“It looks like it’s alive and moving, but it’s not trying to run away?”
The ring I found earlier did not just give the impression of ‘moving’. When we encountered it, the ring seemed to be alive, jumping up in surprise, running away, or expressing various emotions.
When Kim Ki-jeong looked into Han Do-yoon’s pocket, he blinked and then tilted his head.
“I don’t think so…”
Even as he said that, Han Do-yoon took out a ring from his pocket. At the same time, showing it to Kim Ki-jeong seemed to be intended to somehow distract the attention of Kim Ki-jeong, who was suffering from motion sickness.
“Look, it’s not moving, right?”
“…I see, you were walking around just fine.”
“I think so. “A person who pretends to be dead when they encounter a bear.”
“That won’t stop the bear from touching it.”
“Anyway.”
Kim Ki-jeong stared at the ring that Do-yoon Han was holding.
“ah.”
And I discovered one small, surprising fact.
“…Is this…water…?”
I didn’t notice it at first because it had a strange metallic luster, but upon closer inspection, the ring shining in black silver was completely transparent. The strangely pulsating interior of the ring seemed to indicate that it was not made of metal.
Han Do-yoon looked at the ring in confusion at Kim Ki-jeong’s words.
“uh? Uh… Is that so? But it’s solid…”
“In the other world, a ring made of water might not be that surprising.”
“That is true.”
“More than that… what’s written here?”
“yes?”
“wet suit.”
Kim Ki-jeong, who read the outside of the ring, was surprised by his own words and repeated them.
“…wet suit?”
this?
* * *
『I will call this a [wetsuit].
The wetsuit is a ring that can be found only after obtaining a license at the testing center in the feeding corner.
Looking at the records left by other survivors, it seems that they are randomly generated inside the aquarium only if you obtain a certificate. Then he runs away.
Why so fast?
It’s like a dog.
Mermaids call this a diving suit. If you really ask, it’s true, but no, we probably don’t have a different name that we have decided on socially. A ring or something. No matter how you look at it, it’s disappointing. They gave strange names to all the real things…. Don’t confuse people needlessly….
I thought they were talking about real wetsuits, but for some
reason
I couldn’t see
them, these bastards
….
The wetsuits are in the feeding experience corner. This is a ring that can be obtained only after obtaining a certificate at a pond (examination center). Looking at the records left by other survivors, it seems that when a test taker obtains a certificate, it is randomly generated inside the aquarium.
In other words, if you don’t get a certification, you won’t be able to find a wetsuit. This is because it cannot be created in the first place. If there are a large number of survivors entering the aquarium, the most effective method would be to place them in each theme zone and capture the randomly generated wetsuits.
Of course, I didn’t have anything like that.
Give
me a friend, too
. I’m so lonely. This bastard is so fucking fast.
This wetsuit runs away very quickly, so you have to be careful. Once caught, it rarely tries to run away, but sometimes it flinches. Looks scared. These days, even rings are scary. It seems crazy.
Extra
wetsuits are, to put it mildly, cowards. If you want to utilize it well, you need to build intimacy and break down boundaries. The sound of water coming from the aquarium
will make the ring even more distracting, but let’s be as patient as possible and adjust to the ring’s spirit.
Wetsuits recognize those who have acquired certification, but they do not provide unconditional help. The important thing is to break down the boundaries of the wetsuit, and if that doesn’t work, at least it should look easy.
In both cases, you can use a wetsuit, but of course it’s better to push boundaries if possible. If you look formidable, the penalty when using a wetsuit is much greater.
Oh,
I’m going to
cry
because
I have gills on my neck
…
This
aquarium
seems to have some conditions or rules. I think it’s a bit of a comprehensive element, but I’m not sure. The most obvious element is the fucking wetsuit.
If you use a wetsuit for too long, it becomes increasingly suffocating. In the beginning, when you take off the wetsuit, you can breathe again. If you use it again, it will be even more breathtaking than before.
Then, the mutation begins in parts that are not easily visible. Scales form on the neck and back, gills form, and strange membranes form. I think I’m probably turning into a fish. It doesn’t seem like they’re turning into the mermaids we saw at concerts or exams, but it’s really creepy. What on earth am I becoming?
Going crazy.
Save
….
ADD
!!!Important!!!!
Once the mutation progresses to a large extent, most monsters will not attack (but there are still assholes everywhere who will attack).
If you cut out the mutated area, you can prevent the mutation from progressing for a while (however, the cut out part will regenerate after a certain period of time).
Eating mermaid flesh can temporarily stop the transformation.
The more it comes in contact with water, the faster the mutation progresses (if possible, try to travel to dry places).
(Unsure) It seems that it can return to its original state if it goes outside the aquarium. (Unclear)
When it becomes a complete monster, its final form seems to be different for each person. There are many ways to transform into a wetsuit, even if it is not necessarily a wetsuit. Perhaps that is why the point at which mutation begins is also different. What am
I ,
mackerel or
blue fish
tuna?
What is it really?
Some people become sharks and some people become octopuses. Wow,
is the octopus crazy?
At least I’m glad it’s not turning into a slimy tentacle-type monster.
If you’re a fisherman, you’re a noble person. I would rather die
…
than be an octopus
. If
further
mutations occur, it becomes difficult to breathe outside of the water.
Save me,
I
want to go home. Why,
why
, why
, why ,
why do
I go home
. When the mutation progresses a lot, it seems that there are limitations in thinking and behavior.
I feel like I’m becoming an idiot.
I’m already an idiot.
Please send me home.
I don’t want to die here. It’s
too cold
here
. I don’t know . I
don’t know .
I’m scared
….”
-Survivor’s Record 5-
* * *
“….”
After reading the note, Jeong In-ho took it with his own hand. I smoothed my face.
“…Ha…”
I felt something hardened.
Song In-myeong, who was holding the door outside room number 10, probably seemed uneasy just standing quietly inside, spoke up.
“why? what? What. What’s going on? “What did you find?”
“…I found it. “I think this might be quite useful information.”
“If you find something like that, you should bring it out right away. What are you doing there?”
“When people see something shocking, they sometimes zone out and try to come to their senses.”
“Oh, I’m not even human?”
“…? Was it a person?”
“Then what do you think I am?”
It was so absurd that Jeong In-ho was able to easily regain his senses.
“pup?”
“what?”
“No, because I feel so sorry for the dog… Garbage… No, because recycling is useful… Food waste… No, there is room for use of this too… Fine dust… It’s a little more harmful than that. ….”
“Just put double lust. “Why are you so tired?”
“Fuck you bastard.”
“Ugh.”
Song In-myeong giggled and shrugged his shoulders, and Jeong In-ho eventually couldn’t hold back his disgust and wrinkled his face. I was able to get over the shock of seeing the notepad with poison called Song In-myeong.
The place where Jeong In-ho is now is none other than room 10. This place was probably connected to the ‘Amazon of the World’, and records of previous survivors were organized in diaries such as notebooks and notebooks.
Room 10 looked like a fairly decent-sized student room, but the numerous diaries filling the drawers and bookshelves made it feel bizarre.
“I can still look for more, but… I think it would be best to get this information out as soon as possible, so I’ll leave now.”
“If you’re going to come out, come out quickly. Oh, can you take the paper out of there? “That… paper with information written on it.”
“Probably not. I don’t know what kind of penalty there will be, so I think it would be better for me to just put it into words. “I remember most of it.”
“Oh, I’m a little uneasy… How can I trust your memory?”
“What’s insecure is your personality and human nature.”
Jeong In-ho, who was clicking his tongue and putting his notebook on the study desk, looked down at the notebook again with a strange feeling of discomfort.
“….”
Jeong In-ho touched his neck.
It was smooth and had no gills.
“…Haa….”
It was a truly crazy world.
(Continued in the next part)
