16
Chapter 16
Pop-! Pop-! Po-po-pop-!!
"Well, that's a bit gross."
Despite its intimidating aura, subduing the Macula was surprisingly simple. Parang threw a water droplet into its mouth, and it gulped it right down before exploding from the inside.
Honestly, if hunting was her only goal, she could have just thrown droplets into every hole in the Objet.
The reason she didn't do that was something Parang, the viewers, and the recently deceased Macula all knew.
Parang pulled the teeth from the Macula's mangled corpse and pocketed them.
- Wait, why didn't it go swoosh?
- Yeah? Didn't it come from a Gate?
- Oh, don't tell me.
That "don't tell me" was correct.
"The Macula is actually a creature that existed on Earth. It underwent a mutation due to the influence of a Gate."
Parang said nonchalantly. It wasn't that she was being lazy with the stream.
It was just that the dream she had yesterday was absolutely terrible. Normally, she would have been fine, but her head had been throbbing since she set off earlier, and now it was getting hard to bear.
Even for Parang, swimming non-stop for 24 hours under this much stress without transforming would leave anyone exhausted.
"Well, everyone. I guess I'm a lot more tired than I thought. It'd be better to turn the stream back on when we arrive at the next Objet. Goodbye for now."
- Wait, Streamer, you're just leaving suddenly like this again?
- You said no surprise stream endings this time!!
"Ah, it's nothing major, I just want to catch some sleep. What are you guys going to get out of watching me sleep anyway?"
- A whole damn lot, actually.
- Sleep stream, please!
- Streamer!!! It's an emergency!!!
"No."
Click.
The stream turned off.
Honestly, she kind of wanted to leave it on until the end, but sleeping in front of others was still a bit much.
Parang parted the water currents and moved forward smoothly. Her head was still throbbing.
Fortunately, the accommodation she liked to use at times like this was nearby.
#
Pitch-black, dark, and gloomy.
Parang arrived in a completely black space that could be called any of those names.
She was inside a cave on the seabed.
Her current depth was 3km. It wasn't exactly the perfect depth for sleeping... but whatever.
This was Parang's favorite accommodation. Whenever she swam to Hong Kong, she always used this place.
That was because there were absolutely no carnivorous monster fish in this vicinity. Not even a common Bellua could be found here.
Because of another monster fish that had a firm grip on this cave.
Boing- boing-
Parang lay down on top of the giant jellyfish's bell.
It was a monster fish called Aurita. A species known as the Moon Jellyfish had undergone a mutation under the influence of a Gate.
They lived in clusters in the dark sectors at a depth of 2.5km or more.
They aren't particularly carnivorous, and laying on them feels bouncy and soft.
Plus, they even glow in the pitch-black water.
Indeed, as Parang settled down and lay there, a Universe unfolded before her eyes.
Countless twinkling jellyfish looked as if they were pouring down. Up, down, and all around. The squishy stars swayed gracefully.
They have a relaxed and docile nature, moving at most about 5cm an hour. This aspect is exactly the same as their original species.
The reason they aren't eaten by other species is that they emit a deadly poison from their entire body, dyeing the space itself.
A normal Monster Fish cannot last more than 30 seconds in an Aurita's territory.
[ Skill, 'Clear Mirror, Still Water' is active. ]
That was irrelevant to Parang, the swimming Human water purifier.
Lying on the cozy jellyfish, Parang closed her eyes... and then opened them again.
Because she saw something incredibly awkward floating among the glowing jellyfish.
It was a Monster Fish Parang had never seen before.
That in itself wasn't surprising. It is safe to say that a new species of Monster Fish is discovered almost every single day. Among them, there must be at least one species that can withstand the poison of the Aurita.
However, its appearance was incredibly bizarre.
.......
Parang stared quietly at it as it floated silently in the water.
What should she call its shape? A T shape? No, there wasn't much difference in length between the top and bottom, so it would be more accurate to call it an upside-down T shape. In the center of its body, right where the horizontal and vertical lines met, there was one giant Eyeball.
Comparing it to the jellyfish right next to it, the size was 10m vertically and 20m horizontally. It wasn't on the large side for a Monster Fish.
Parang approached it a bit closer.
Then she could see the Monster Fish's appearance in more detail. Whether it was muscle or fat, its body was made of a bright red lump of meat. Looking closely, it also resembled Coral or a sea anemone. Parang snapped a Photo for now.
And sent it to Bertea. She would probably figure out something from it.
Swoosh-
This time, Parang stuck right next to the unidentified Monster Fish. Its pupils didn't even move, and there was no reaction at all even though she moved within arm's reach.
It didn't seem to be the type that sensed vibrations or heat.
So Parang reached out and poked it, poke.
Then,
Whir-
The eye moved and looked at Parang.
Despite how startling it was, Parang remained completely unmoving. Honestly, she had been through too much to be surprised by something like this.
What was more surprising was the texture of this unidentified T-shaped Monster.
It was hard and rough, and a bright red powder rubbed off onto her Suit gloves.
If she had to find the most similar thing... chalk, or a stone?
Well, she'd find out if she killed it. Parang created an air bubble, popped it with a pop, instantly soared upwards, and drove her Harpoon right into its eye with a thwack.
Since the pupil was only following Parang, the Harpoon naturally hit dead center.
Splat-! Blood sprayed out, threatening to soak Parang's body before smoothly disappearing.
And then, the Monster Fish sank.
At this point, Parang noticed three strange things.
First. If this was a Monster Fish from a Gate, it should have turned into dead light, disappeared, and left behind a Magic Stone. But it didn't.
Second. If so, this creature was a lifeform that already existed on Earth. But did such a lifeform ever exist in the Deep Sea?
Well, it was probably something along those lines. More importantly, it looked quite bizarre. Rather than simply being gross, it felt awkward to even call it a living creature..
Third. What should I eat when I get to Hong Kong? This was just to make up three things. Because three is perfect. Heaven, Earth, and Humanity; Wei, Shu, and Wu; Regret, Blood, and Obsession.
There were some unsettling points, but Monster Fish were essentially an amalgamation of unsettling things to begin with. Parang didn't place much meaning on it.
Parang grabbed the jellyfish right next to her and fell into a deep sleep.
#
A little while later.
[ LIVE – Swimming to Hong Kong ]
Parang's stream turned on.
- A
- A
- byss
- A
- byss
- byss
"I feel refreshed after sleeping. Let's get going again."
Underwater, Parang's mindset was invincible. No one was better at going their own way than her.
She was the very incarnation of doing things her way.
"The second Monster Fish I'm going to catch won't be that gross."
This was the truth. The guy she was going to catch right now wasn't particularly gross.
- Finally
- Don't believe it
- Is there anyone who actually believes this?
- 'yep' donated 1000 won! -
[ I won't be fooled anymore, Streamer. Just quickly tell us when to close our eyes. ]
"Well, it's the truth. Look."
Making a small noise of exertion, Parang sharply spun the Camera. Then, something massive and black appeared on the previously ultramarine Screen.
"This is the guy we're going to catch this time."
- Ah f*ck that scared me
- ? What is that?
- Yeah? What is this?
"Um, ah. That was too close. I'll step back a bit and show you."
Saying that, Parang backed away at an incredible speed....
"Ta-da, everyone. It's a Lassus."
- Uh...
- Hmm...
- Um...
The Chat Window fell into deep thought. The reason was simple.
If it was gross, they could just swear and ask if the Streamer was on her bullshit again like usual, and if it wasn't, they could just exclaim how much they loved Yoo Parang, but this was too ambiguous.
They weren't sure if they should consider this gross or not.
It's something... alright.
The black thing they had seen was the maw of a Monster Fish.
Lassus.
It was a Mutation of the species well-known to people as the Gulper Eel.
It was quite a celebrity even in Parang's past life.
Because if there was a YouTube video like TOP 5 Bizarre-Looking Deep Sea Fish, this guy was always included.
Its hunting method of sweeping up fish by opening its massive mouth, which took up almost ten percent of its body length, was a spectacle that couldn't be seen anywhere outside of the Deep Sea.
That thing had grown 50 times larger than the original, making its size 100m.
When it opened its mouth, its jaw length alone was 10m.
- But it looks way too different from the Gulper Eel I know?
- Right, was its mouth that small?
- Isn't it just because of the Mutation?
Since it was quite the celebrity, quite a few people recognized it. But the Lassus really was just a Gulper Eel that had grown to an ignorant size.
As was the case with most creatures that underwent a Mutation under the influence of a Gate. Normally, the original form itself was maintained, but the size would increase tremendously and strange abilities would be added.
This was just because the common knowledge known to the public was wrong.
The commonly known eel with a jaw size exceeding a third of its body is the Pelican Eel.
They are completely different species, but since they are lumped together under the label of roughly large-mouthed, long Deep Sea Fish, they have become interchangeable.
It was an unfair situation for both the Pelican Eel and the Gulper Eel.
Parang brought up the common knowledge she had picked up from Bertea.
"They both share the common trait of putting anything that enters their mouth into their body and digesting it, but the difference is that the Gulper Eel has a Pouch in its torso to store prey, whereas the Pelican Eel just crams prey into its body."
Actually, it would be clearer if I went in and showed you, Parang added.
- Huh?
- Huh?
- Shall we try getting eaten?
- Huh?
Actually, she had been planning to go inside even before turning on the stream.
Because there was something she wanted to try doing inside.
But since that was a surprise, she made up an excuse for now.
"There's a high chance that the next Objet is inside the Lassus."
I say there is a high chance, but it's safe to say it's 100%. From Parang's perspective, it was easier to just kill the Lassus outright and sink the Objet along with the corpse.
- I understand perfectly
- (I don't understand)
- Huh?
"I think it'd be better if I just go in and explain."
With those words, Parang slipped right into the Lassus's open mouth.
- yep donated 3000 won! -
[ In the end, it's just let's go in, LOL ]
"It's really not like that this time."
To be honest, it was. Parang felt a slight twinge of guilt.