29
Chapter 29
"The Train you are looking at right now is a structure made up of five Vehicles, each being 1km wide, 1.5km high, and 7.7km long."
- WTF, what?
"I looked it up, and it's exactly 350 times larger than the standard dimensions of a regular steam locomotive. Which means it's a train built to be used by a person who is 700 meters tall."
The exact same dimensions as the 'Kitchen'.
It was a matter that applied to Hives all over the World.
One of the Deep Sea's secrets that Oceanus had yet to uncover.
Well, that was a separate matter. The Viewers watching the stream couldn't even wrap their heads around the sheer scale of the Hong Kong Hive.
It was only natural. No one could take their eyes off the Train right in front of them.
Because it was so massive, it just looked like a gigantic wall sitting before their eyes.
If Parang hadn't told them it was a Train, they really would have thought it was just a wall.
"It's the second-largest Hive in the World. The largest one is in the Pacific Ocean's Mariana Trench."
Truthfully, the expression 'in the Mariana Trench' was incorrect.
It was much more accurate to simply say the Mariana Trench was the Hive.
Parang's voice was completely serene as she added, 'We'll go there later, too.'
"Magnificent, isn't it?"
The Viewers wondered if the word 'magnificent' was really enough to summarize such a staggering spectacle.
Well, for Parang, who frequently came down here for maintenance, it practically felt like home by now.
She had even thought about wiping out all the Monster Fishes here one day to build an underwater base.
Though it had failed, getting stuck at the stage of bringing in construction materials.
Regardless, Parang planned to thoroughly comb through this Train for the next three days—today, tomorrow, and the day after.
Cars 4 and 5 on the first day, cars 2 and 3 on the second day, and the 1st car on the last day.
During that time, she was going to scrape the 'Train' right down to the Floor and broadcast the whole thing.
Because there were no entities in the 'Train' capable of launching a Mental Attack through the Monitor.
Most of them were Monster Fishes that crushed their opponents using purely physical bulk.
The larger the Hive, the stronger this tendency was.
Those stuck in a corner, forced to occasionally eat whatever Monster Fish happened to drift by, had to use all sorts of threats and seductions just to hold onto a single catch, but here, meat just swam right in whenever they opened their mouths.
In any ecosystem, those that struggled to 'mesmerize their opponents' were at the bottom of the food chain.
Any Monster Fishes trying to pull clumsy little tricks would immediately become a meal, which meant this place was packed with only the most ferocious, voracious, and massive ones.
Having finished her explanation up to that point, Parang prepared to proceed with the stream.
"Then I'll slowly head inside. Starting with the car located at the very top."
The 'Train' appeared to be positioned horizontally, but it was actually tilted slightly, putting the front section lower than the rear.
However, because it was a whopping 38km long, even a slight incline resulted in a 5km difference in elevation between the front and rear cars.
This was why she had referred to entering 'from the top' instead of the front or back.
And with a 5km difference in elevation, the types of Monster Fishes inhabiting the areas were naturally worlds apart as well.
It was a calculated decision, setting up the exploration order so that increasingly impactful Monster Fishes would appear for the sake of an entertaining stream.
Parang picked up her speed toward the Train's very first car.
- If they're all just super big, at least there won't be any gross ones, what a relief
- A newbie?
- Yep, a newbie.
- Definitely a newbie.
"Looks like you're new here. Quite a few Viewers used to have such brave thoughts."
Not anymore, though. Ever since someone brought up a brilliant idea in the community, Viewers who regularly watch Parang's stream always keep a sheet of wax Paper nearby.
It's to cover the Screen faster than anyone else in an emergency.
Seeing the Screen that could even rotate 360 degrees, some Viewers held onto the hope, thinking, 'Maybe there's an automatic filter?!'
However, Parang and Cylo completely agreed that 'we must show it exactly as it is so they won't even think about coming in,' so the Viewers had to bitterly fetch their wax Paper again.
Anyway, Parang arrived at the very rear of the Train.
As if to argue that there used to be more cars behind this one, the coupling that connected the cars was brutally torn apart.
Whether it actually existed or was just pretending to, no one knew.
Regardless, Parang boldly entered the Train.
The reaction in the Chat Window wasn't exactly explosive.
- Wow
- What the
Two or three short, sporadic messages popped up, and that was it.
The Viewers were so focused on the scenery inside the Train that they couldn't even think about typing in the chat.
They felt like tiny people who had come to the land of Giants and boarded their train.
The water inside the Hive was abnormally clear, so even though it had a deep blue tint, you could see from one end of the car to the other.
Which meant they could take in the entire view of the Train at a glance.
Chairs draped in luxurious-looking fabric, checkered carpets, and a snack cart tucked in one corner.
The premium wooden tables clearly hadn't begun to rot, even though they had obviously been submerged in water for a long time.
It felt like stepping into a scene from a Western Movie. Like a Waiter with a towel draped over his arm would come out to take your order if you rang the fancy bell on the table, and the shouts of Native Americans chasing on horseback could be heard outside the Window.
Ah, of course, that was assuming there weren't Monster Fishes swarming inside this Train.
The Train had literally become a city of Monster Fishes.
Thousands of white lights shining beneath the seats, impossible to tell if they were eyes or something else.
Starfish completely covering the Windows.
Coral reefs and sea anemones larger than the Monster Fishes, taking up space and growing on every seat.
Schools of whales swimming leisurely above them, alongside jellyfish of the exact same size.
And both familiar and unfamiliar Monster Fishes drifting calmly through all sorts of places.
All softly illuminated by a deep blue light.
The combination of a familiar space, unfamiliar colors, and bizarre props made it feel like walking into a bad dream.
Parang gave the Viewers time to fully appreciate this bizarre space.
So she slowly wandered around the Train, as if on a sightseeing tour.
Ah, but at a slightly fast pace, of course. Not that any Monster Fish would care even if Parang moved around a bit quickly.
After all, no lion would waste its energy trying to catch a Rat when gazelles and water buffaloes were roaming right in front of it.
Whether that Rat was fast or slow naturally mattered little to the lion.
Therefore, Parang could comfortably roam the Hive, giving the Viewers a guided tour of the place.
Of course, she wasn't just playing the role of a tour guide.
Whirrr-
'Still not picking up anything.... Are they not in this car....'
The electronic whirring sound had been coming from her chest for a while now.
It was the Equipment given to Parang by Cylo to find the Slayers' Corpse and Artifacts.
It worked by tracking the radio waves emitted by the Location Tracker injected into the Slayers' blood.
An Awakened's blood was quite a special substance, so it generally didn't leave the body.
It had stood its ground even while the body was being modified into something divine, which said it all.
It made Cylo, who had managed to draw Parang's blood, seem amazing all over again.
Anyway, if the Slayers' Corpse was nearby, this Jewel-like machine under her neck would beep wildly and send a signal. Almost like a Metal Detector.
It could scan a whopping 200m radius with Parang at the center.
However, no matter how much she roamed the Train cars, the Equipment remained dead silent.
Of course, even Parang didn't expect them to be conveniently located in the first car.
She had to go through all five cars anyway for the sake of the stream.
Still, not finding what she was looking for was quite an unpleasant feeling.
It was like when you didn't really want to watch TV, but since you had nothing else to do and were bored, you tried to turn it on only to find the remote missing.
That subtly frustrating and annoying feeling.
And Parang knew exactly how to relieve stress appropriately in times like this.
She charged at a goofy-looking Monster Fish swimming right next to her.
Bambaspis, whose only crime was being next to an irritated Parang, stared at her with wide eyes.
#
"Die, trash. You're disgusting. Get lost."
The usually gentle and good-natured Parang was wiping out Monster Fishes while spitting out terrifying lines. Let alone normal fish, she went after crustaceans and mollusks, catching one, moving to the next nearby Monster Fish, and repeating the hunt over and over.
And unlike her usual self, who was so sincere about explaining the Monster Fishes, she just sliced up everything in sight while spouting things like, 'Drop dead. You're filthy. Dirty. Low-class.'
Ah, of course, it wasn't because she was Human scum who would smash everything in the house just because she couldn't find the remote.
Truthfully, Parang also wanted to calmly explain each one and host a classy Monster Fish hunting stream.
However,
- More more more
- Wow today's stream is seriously so good wow
- Slurp slurp slurp why is this so tasty slurp slurp slurp why is this so tasty
- Dda-dda... ddyu-ddyu-ee-dda-dda... dda-dda-ddyu...
With the reaction being this explosive, she couldn't stop even if she wanted to.
The beginning of the incident was like this.
Parang, who had charged at the Bambaspis with a bit of irritation, paused for a moment.
Parang usually aimed for a stream with the vibe of a high-end restaurant, claiming to slowly cook and eat the Monster Fishes while providing a detailed explanation for each one she caught. (At least, that's what Parang thought.)
But right now, wasn't she swimming over to slaughter the Bambaspis in a blind fit of rage?
She stopped swimming for a moment to explain. She had to explain.
But as luck would have it, there was absolutely nothing to explain about this Bambaspis!!
It was originally a slightly stupid-looking fish that just got bigger, so there was really nothing to it.
So it all started with Parang explaining it exactly as it was.
"It's a Monster Fish called Bambaspis. Just a larger version of the original species. It doesn't have any special abilities."
That was when the irritation she felt earlier suddenly reared its head, and in a fit of emotion, she ended up blurting things out.
"Incompetent, useless, and pathetic. It probably would have ended its worthless life swimming around with a stupid look on its face forever anyway, so I'm personally putting it out of its misery."
At that, the chat exploded. They were going absolutely wild with joy.
Seeing that, Parang also had an epiphany.
She had decided to say harsh things occasionally since the Viewers liked it, but even so, it bothered her conscience to be so rude to the Viewers who tuned into her stream because they liked her.
She would feel less guilty if everyone watching was into that, but not everyone tuning into her stream liked it.
So, she had been wondering what to do when she realized something.
Couldn't she just say harsh things to the Monster Fishes?
With that in mind, she caught a few more nearby to test it out, and the reaction was truly explosive.
This way, Parang was happy because the Viewers were happy, the mysterious masochists were happy to get their reward, and the other Viewers could be satisfied watching Monster Fishes get sliced up refreshingly fast.
It was the completion of a utopia where no one got hurt except the Monster Fishes. Yoo Parang, just where were her limits!
Ah, of course, Parang was barely suppressing her itching mouth even as she sliced up the Monster Fishes right now.
'Ah, I should explain this one. Ah, this one is really dangerous.'
"Inferior species. Trash. Don't mess with a Human."
However, because of momentum, the reality was that she just kept hurling insults.
It was good, but she needed to restrain herself a bit. Parang thought she would only do it for today and seal it away for a while.
But when was she supposed to stop this?
She had already slaughtered a full 10% of the Monster Fishes in the first car. It was time to slowly rein it in.
In the midst of that, a donation popped up with perfect timing.
- User yep donated 1213 won! -
[ Watching you just slice up Monster Fishes is getting a bit boring, can't you show us something scary? ]
It was a rude message, but Parang grinned.
It was because she saw the incredibly ambiguous amount of 1213.
December 13th. Because that was Oceanus's foundation day.
Which of the five could it be? I'll have to ask later.
Whoever it was, they did her a solid. She promised herself she would buy them something delicious.
"Something scary? Sure."
- Don't do it don't do it don't do it
- Who the fuck are you
- No but why, we're having a good time right now
- Aaaaaaargh
- Streamer's switch got flipped, we're screwed LOL
- Teacher, we'll do better so please let it slide just this once
"No can do."
A faint smile on her face, Parang charged straight under the passenger seats.