5
Chapter 5
Yuna's dive continued. Glancing over the Submarine's dashboard, she said.
"We're already at 400m. We're halfway there, guys."
Proving that her title as an S-rank Production Hunter wasn't just for show, her Submarine boasted truly incredible performance.
Thump- Thump-
A Shark that looked to be about 7 meters long opened its jaws wide and tried to sink its teeth into the glass, but the window, heavily reinforced with durability options, didn't even budge.
- Damn, that huge Shark is just thumping against the glass and can't even pierce it LOL The S-rank Production Type is a true legend
- Those teeth are fcking gross
- The thrill is just insane ]_];
Meanwhile, a donation message popped up with a Clink- sound effect.
- Areuyang donated 1,000 won! Thank you~! -
[ But don't Monster Fish appear if you go down to 800m? ]
"Monster Fish? What's that?"
- You don't know what Monster Fish are?
- What's a Monster Fish, you damn nerd
- Isn't it that? Those massive fish that supposedly appear from 600m or 700m down
"I'm not really sure... Aren't they just big fish? Something like that 5-meter Shark that showed up in Hawaii last time?"
Or maybe this thing right in front of us, Yuna muttered.
This was the general public's perception of Monster Fish.
Unless someone had seen a Monster Fish with their own eyes, they knew absolutely nothing about its appearance, size, or level of danger.
Because there was simply no data. No photos, no videos. No one had the luxury to film them, and until now, there hadn't been any equipment capable of doing so.
The only Monster Fish people ever encountered were the processed ones sitting on the display stands at the Hunter Association's material market.
And even those were in drastically short supply.
So, people just assumed they were some kind of really big fish and left it at that.
- Super Big Awesome Cannon donated 1,000 won! Thank you~! -
[ They say it's an unbelievably huge fish that appears around 700m underwater. The Bellua Maria the Streamer used last time to make a cannon is a Monster Fish. ]
- And what the heck is a Bellua
- You don't know what a Bellua is? Is this guy a civilian?
- I don't know either, aren't you just a weird nerd?
- Wait, she made a cannon too?
- There's something like that
- I'm seriously going to track you down
- The Bellua was a fish? Wasn't it a lizard?
- Fr I thought it was a lizard too.
- They're talking about things only they know again
The moment the Bellua was mentioned, the chat's reaction began to split.
The Bellua was like the mackerel of the Monster Fish world. Compared to other Monster Fish, it was caught the most and had the most public exposure.
To begin with, the name Bellua Maria itself implied as much. Translated literally, it just meant sea monster.
Of course, this name was given because it was the first one discovered.
Anyway, the Bellua was like a superstar or an idol among Monster Fish. It was the Monster Fish most commonly seen by people. In the form of crafting materials, of course.
Because its hide and teeth were incredibly hard yet strangely flexible, it was a material with quite a dedicated fanbase.
Naturally, if it was about the Bellua, she had plenty to say as well.
"Ah, that's a Monster Fish? I know about the Bellua too. Its shell is really hard, so it doesn't even crack under most impacts. If you use it to make something like a cannon barrel..."
- Ah, her switch just flipped again
- Who brought up the Monster Fish
- I like it, though?
- └ This is Shin Yuna's alt account, I saw it
They chatted noisily like that for a while. In the meantime, they saw some fascinating things,
"Wow, guys, look at that! What kind of fish is that? Looks like there are thousands of them. It must be safe traveling in a school like that."
and saw some funny things.
"Ahahaha!! Is this showing up well on camera? How can a fish look like this?"
- 'Yep' donated 1,000 won! Thank you~! -
[ I'm just a normal viewer, though? ]
- I said I'm seriously going to track you down
- Take that back right now
- You know you can get sued for stating facts, right?
They also saw some pretty things.
"Wow, this jellyfish is really pretty. How is its light so bright? Can you see it well on the screen?"
- Let's turn off the lights and look, it's pretty
"Ah, turning off the lights is a great idea. I'll turn them off right now."
Clank-
- How is even the sound of turning off the lights steampunk, you crazy b*tch
"Because that's life.... But it really is pretty with the lights off. Whoever came up with that idea earlier, come here. I'll give you a compliment."
Down, and down. Yuna's Submarine had soon reached 700m underwater, the 'Monster Fish Zone'.
"Looking at the dashboard, this is the 700m mark, but there's nothing much here? It's just dark."
- The drama queens who said we'd all die once we passed 700m are completely ruined LOL
- It's just the entrance, so of course there's nothing yet. It gets really dangerous if we go deeper!!
- But what difference does a Monster Fish make? Even that huge Shark just went thump-thump and left against this Submarine LOL
As they descended this far, the 700m Monster Fish Zone and the Monster Fish had somehow become a meme on the stream. It was because a specific few people had made a huge fuss, yelling, 'If you go down to 700m, you'll all die!!'
And since there was nothing even after reaching the 700m mark, it was only natural they became laughingstocks.
It was also true that the Submarine's performance shown so far had been incredible. For those who had the perception that a Monster Fish was just a slightly large fish, there was absolutely nothing to be afraid of.
And, surprisingly, Yuna didn't encounter a single Monster Fish while descending to the 800m mark.
"Tada, we hit 800m. I should take a commemorative photo of the dashboard before we go up."
- Monster Fish fanatics, please sign here! The Bellua is... a lizard...
- If it was going to be like this, why did they make such a fuss?
- The Submarine really is fcking sturdy LOL To think she came down 800m in something the size of Yuna
- Today's stream was packed with content LOL
"What do you mean it's already packed. I have to film the trip back up, too."
- Wow LOL
- Stream time is duplicating LOL
- But isn't she going to abandon us for a few weeks saying she's making something else again after this?
- Uh oh
"Hey, abandon you guys? Since I already built the Submarine, I should use it a bit more. But the deep sea is less fun than I thought. Should I only go down a little bit from now on?"
- That's probably better yep
- Fr. The deep sea is just pitch black and there's nothing much here?
- ???: Ah, I'm telling you there are Monster Fish!!
- Ack LOL
Click- Yuna took a picture of the dashboard reading [800m] with the phone she brought, then turned the Submarine around and started moving toward the surface.
And, at the 750m mark.
- Elan Vital donated 1,000 won! Thank you~! -
[ What's that twinkling thing over there on the right? ]
"Huh? A twinkling thing? Wait a sec... Oh? It's true? What is that?"
Just as the message said, there was something faintly twinkling in a corner of the rightward view.
It was too dark to see clearly, but it was a pillar of light stretching vertically. It felt like looking at a skyscraper from the sky on a cloudy night.
"Oh... I think it would look really pretty up close, let's go take a look."
The Monster Fish fanatics in the chat rose up and made a huge fuss again, but she didn't care. It was a bit scary at first, but now it was just mildly annoying.
Gurgle-
Driving the Submarine closer, the outline of the light pillar definitely became visible.
"Wow...."
And the revealed sight was so enchanting that Yuna forgot to even commentate and just stared at the spectacle.
A deep sea entirely devoid of color, and a pillar of light radiating an iridescent brilliance within it.
It was like a festival being held at a skyscraper beneath the sea.
Yuna wanted to see that blindingly beautiful halo of light up closer.
So, getting even closer, she realized it was a fish.
A fish easily looking to be 70m long, radiating light from its entire body, was swimming upright, facing the surface.
"Wow... This is the most fascinating thing I've seen today? How can a fish like this exist?"
- Wow that's seriously fcking pretty
- Is this that Monster Fish?
- It's fascinating, but definitely not something to make a fuss over
She agreed with the majority opinion dominating the chat. If it was such a mysterious existence, it was naturally that Monster Fish. However, there didn't seem to be any need to be scared.
"It's really pretty. If I use this for the T-Tube thumbnail, the views will be insane, right?"
To get a good angle, Yuna moved the Submarine back and forth, taking pictures of the Monster Fish from various angles.
She thought it was a good idea to come down. She got to see something this pretty, and looking at the viewer count, it had surpassed 50,000 before she knew it.
'Me... 50,000...!'
South Korea's population is 100 million. In other words, 1 out of every 2,000 people in South Korea was watching her stream.
Even in a world where internet broadcasting is massively popular, it was an incredible number.
But something felt lacking. She felt like she could take a really good picture of this Monster Fish. It was frustrating how the pictures came out just slightly off from the perfect angle.
In truth, it was because Galecus, sensing prey, was slowly diving down and changing its position.
She gradually forgot about the stream and focused solely on taking pictures of the Monster Fish.
And deeper, and deeper, she went.
Downwards.
Yuna remained solely absorbed in taking pictures.
Looking at the sub-cam's dashboard, the depth had already surpassed 1km underwater, and as if to prove that fact, the sound of metal bending with a Clank- Clank- could be heard little by little from outside the Submarine.
The Submarine was being crushed by the water pressure.
Sensing the anomaly, the chat window was also going crazy.
- sheha donated 10,000 won! Thank you~! -
[ Look at the dashboard, the dashboard ]
Even with the voice message firing off, Yuna pretended not to hear and remained engrossed in taking pictures.
- Super Big Awesome Cannon donated 1,000 won! Thank you~! -
[ You crazy b*tch you wnet down 1km so ggo up hurry up ]
-Fck why isn't she going up, what the hell
-Isn't she not going up because she knows she's safe? Because she's still fine?
-Do the sounds you're hearing right now sound like they're coming from a perfectly fine submarine, you fck?
-What do we do, call 911 or something
-└ Are you an idiot?
Even those who initially thought nothing of it were now engulfed in panic. In a situation where her life could easily be in danger, no one could offer her any help.
- 'yep' donated 1,000 won! Thank you~! -
[Voice Recording]
"Fck go up you're seriously fcked!!!!"
When messages didn't work, they resorted to screaming at the top of their lungs through voice recording donations, but there was no way it would reach her, already utterly mesmerized.
And the Submarine was truly getting crushed; the bending of the walls was now visible even on the sub-cam.
The chat was in absolute chaos. Some people just left the stream on and stamped their feet in anxiety, some were still sending voice recordings, and others had given up and left the stream entirely.
The viewer count, which had surpassed 50,000, had already dropped down to 30,000.
And, the moment the depth on the dashboard surpassed 1.2km. All the lights inside the Submarine turned off, and only the red emergency lights blinked on.
"Emergency situation occurring. The water depth is excessively deep."
Inside the Submarine where the mechanical announcement echoed,
"Wow, this is really pretty...."
Yuna was taking pictures of the Monster Fish. The camera attached to the Submarine for filming had long since been crushed and stopped working.
With a blank expression, she had even stopped driving the Submarine, mindlessly pressing the shutter of the non-functioning camera.
Just when everyone thought it was truly the end.
Swoosh-!
"Wow... this is really pretty... huh...?"
The Submarine abruptly spun around to face away from the Monster Fish.
There was no autopilot function, and she hadn't turned it herself, so there was only one conclusion.
Something from the outside had turned the Submarine around.
But what? How? Why?
However, none of that mattered to Yuna.
"Wh- what is this? What's going on right... 1.2km?!"
Only then did she check the condition of the Submarine she was sitting in, and,
"G- gasp... gasp...!"
She fell into extreme terror. Various parts of the Submarine were already crushed.
The controls? The engine? They were dead, of course. No matter how much she jerked the levers, only a Gurgle- sound and rising bubbles could be seen through the window; it showed no sign of moving.
"P- please save me!! Is anyone there?!!"
She blabbered anything that came to mind without even knowing what she was saying. Instantly overwhelmed by extreme fear, a panic attack had struck.
And right in front of her, as she was on the verge of fainting—or rather, right in front of her Submarine—someone appeared.
Right. Not something, but someone.
A woman with long blue hair and blue eyes, wearing a full-body Bodysuit that only revealed her face.
The B-Rank Hunter Yoo Parang was facing her.
"Wh- who...?"
"I'll save you."
A rare sight of a person inside a submarine and a person outside in the water having a vocal conversation. But Yuna had no time to care about such things.
She said she would save her.
Yuna nodded frantically.
Watching her, Parang thought it was fortunate that the worst-case scenario had been avoided.
'Amazingly, the glass didn't break.'
Surprisingly, amid all that chaos, the windshield had maintained its initial state without a single scratch. It seemed her boasting about heavily applying all sorts of reinforcement options wasn't just a bluff.
"We're going up, so don't panic and touch things; just stay still."
Then Parang went around to the side of the Submarine, grabbed a protruding U-shaped section, and started swimming toward the surface.
The Submarine smoothly glided upwards.