EP.17 To Hong Kong (3)

 

Just as the pelican eel has a mouth resembling a pelican’s, the balloon eel really has a balloon-like body.

 

The size of this balloon is a staggering 70% of its body. When fully inflated, it can hold prey up to five times its body size.

 

So theoretically, a 100-meter-long Rassius could swallow a 450-meter-long sperm whale.

 

In reality, its appetite is so voracious that if the two were to meet, Rassius would likely try to eat the whale.

 

Whether it could digest it is another matter, but still.

 

Parang entered the inside of Rassius.

 

Naturally, it was pitch dark, so she turned on her flashlight.

 

The light illuminated her surroundings, revealing the interior.

 

─The inside is cleaner than I thought?

 

The inside was indeed cleaner than expected. This was natural since the pouch had looked deflated from the outside. It was probably in a fasting state.

 

Parang had entered the stomach of a fasting monster. Why?

 

Because the object was here. Originally, Rassius was a species that didn’t exceed 30 meters in length. But at 100 meters, it was clear.

 

It must have swallowed the object and kept it inside. Given its habit of swallowing everything it encountered, it was no surprise. It was the sad nature of a balloon eel that had invested all its stats into its mouth.

 

─But if it can swallow a whale, why is it so cramped in here?

 

─Seriously, it’s suffocatingly tight.

 

“That’s because we’re inside a deflated balloon. The size adjusts based on the prey inside.”

 

And a 100-meter-long Rassius didn’t even consider a 1.6-meter-tall Parang as food.

 

As evidence, no digestive fluids were being secreted inside Rassius’s pouch.

 

Not that it mattered to Parang.

 

She continued her explanation with the flashlight on.

 

In the pitch-black darkness, only the small space illuminated by the round light was visible.

 

“Rassius’s pouch is incredibly elastic, so it doesn’t need to be large by default. If it were too big, it would just hinder swimming.”

 

In fact, a balloon eel with an uninflated pouch looked like a normal large-mouthed eel. The swimming part was a bit different, though. The original balloon eel had invested all its stats into its mouth, resulting in poor swimming abilities.

 

So, it usually stood vertically like other ribbonfish or eels, using the bioluminescent organ on its tail to lure and catch prey.

 

But that’s the story of the balloon eel. Rassius, on the other hand, was undoubtedly one of the top predators in the monster world. Its swimming speed was average for the deep sea.

 

So, if one could ride inside it like Parang, it was like using a free subway in the deep sea.

 

She had actually tried it a few times. The direction was random, so it wasn’t very effective.

 

─Why would you even try that?

 

─”Shall we ride?”

 

─This crazy woman…

 

Parang smiled contentedly as she glanced at the chat.

 

There were no messages saying they would quit watching. It was a bit annoying.

 

She wondered if she should create a chant for them to recite. Something like “Scary, scary ocean, don’t dive, dive” seemed just right.

 

Parang felt a bit peeved at the chat.

 

“Then this time, I’ll let you experience what it feels like to be digested inside Rassius. Think of it as ASMR.”

 

─?

 

─?

 

─???

 

─What

 

─What

 

Parang looked around for a moment and then said, “Ah, here it is,” as she pointed the camera at a corner. At a glance, it looked somewhat like a human uvula.

 

“There are several of these columns inside Rassius’s pouch. When the pouch is full, the food inside touches the columns. When the columns are tilted, it triggers the secretion of digestive fluids.”

 

Parang explained matter-of-factly.

 

“Now, I’m going to touch this and let you experience what it feels like to be digested. Maybe such a scary experience will make you lose the desire to dive?”

 

─I already don’t want to

 

“It’s too late.”

 

Parang grabbed the top of the fleshy column and slammed it to the ground.

 

The column bent backward and almost lay flat on the ground.

 

As long as it stayed tilted, digestive fluids would continue to be secreted.

 

“Now, the water inside will slowly drain, and the space will be filled with highly acidic digestive fluids. It’s about ten times more acidic than human stomach acid.”

 

─So that means the pH is 0.5?

 

“Something like that.”

 

According to Vertea, it was reliable information.

 

Anyway, Parang began to be digested inside the monster.

 

– Boooooo. –

 

“That’s the sound of digestive fluids being released,” Parang whispered.

 

And then, silence. The water grew murkier, likely due to the stomach acid.

 

[Skill, ‘Clear Mirror Still Water’ is activated.]

 

A common piece of knowledge for hunters: they could control the power of their skills.

 

It was similar to how a human could control the strength of their arm swings.

 

Currently, Parang was purifying only the water within 5 centimeters of her skin. It was to provide a more realistic experience.

 

Soon, the water became truly murky, as if she were in muddy water. It took on a sickly hue somewhere between gray and green.

 

The flashlight was now almost useless, failing to provide any visibility.

 

From various places, sounds like shaaaa— and chiiii— began to emerge.

 

It was the sound of other monster remnants inside the balloon dissolving.

 

Parang adjusted her phone to turn off the ‘Underwater Voice Optimization’ option.

 

Instantly, even the sound disappeared. It was like the muffled noises one heard underwater. Only the sounds of rising bubbles and the secretion of digestive fluids remained.

 

– Boooooo— Boooooo. –

 

– Shuaaa. –

 

The water’s color stopped changing. It probably meant the stomach was now 100% filled with digestive fluids.

 

– Thud— Thud. –

 

Something floating bumped against Parang’s left arm. When she turned her head, she saw a half-dissolved piece of meat, its shape unrecognizable.

 

The piece of meat, which must have once been bright red, was dissolving in real-time.

 

Thirty minutes passed like that.

 

Honestly, Parang hadn’t planned to stay for thirty minutes. She had just gotten lost in thought.

 

“Hmm, I think that’s enough.”

 

In fact, she was startled when she checked the time. Had it really been thirty minutes?

 

She had thought only about five minutes had passed.

 

─’Iron Man’ donated 10,000 won! –

 

[ Teacher, I promise never to dive again. Please save me. ]

 

─’Sky Letter’ donated 25,000 won! –

 

[ Where is this…? Who am I…? ]

 

─’Jang Baeksoon’ donated 1,000 won! –

 

[ Host, please have mercy. ]

 

Since she had turned off the donation alerts to set the mood, the messages now flooded in all at once.

 

“Hmm, I’m sorry. I didn’t plan to go this far, but I got lost in thought.”

 

This was genuine.

 

─I’ve lived to see the day where I watch a broadcast of someone being digested inside a fish’s stomach

 

─Lol, this is crazy

 

“Now, do you feel like diving anymore? If you dive, you might end up having a similar experience to this one, and it could be your last.”

 

─This was the most terrifying threat I’d ever heard in my life

 

─Directly experiencing it and saying it’s a threat is on a whole different level

 

Parang smiled satisfactorily as she wielded her harpoon and pierced Rassius’s stomach, emerging from the inside.

 

As she did, the digestive fluids flowed out like a flood, spreading around her.

 

And Rassius was probably going to die.

 

ㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡ!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Before long, Rassius’s balloon had inflated to an enormous size, almost merging with its body.

 

And inside that inflated balloon was not meat, but a sea of extremely acidic stomach acid.

 

Those who had experienced stomach acid reflux would know how painful this was.

 

Moreover, Parang had just pierced Rassius’s stomach.

 

“It looks like it hurts a lot.”

 

─Maybe applying some Albochil would help

 

That seemed like a good idea. She should try it next time.

 

Parang created a water bomb and inserted it into Rassius’s stomach.

 

She had a talent for this kind of thing.

 

ㅡㅡㅡㅡ!!!!!!!!ㅡㅡㅡ!!!ㅡ!!!!ㅡ!!!!!!

 

With a cheerful sound, Rassius finally died.

 

The object would probably sink to the bottom, and then wander around this area until it was eaten by another monster. The object was too small, so Elvira had attached a tracking device to it.

 

Parang checked the location of the East China Sea 2nd Object on her phone as it grew farther away.

 

She would probably have to come back to subdue it in about a month or two.

 

Why not just destroy it instead of leaving it like that?

 

But the object was indestructible. Elvira’s mines and Diego’s attempts to crush it had failed. Russell had almost broken his teeth.

 

So, should they just bring it up to the surface and isolate it?

 

That was absurd. The object was small, but that was relative to its own standard. The East China Sea 2nd Object was a massive sphere with a radius of 30 meters and a diameter of 60 meters. The Statue of Liberty was 93 meters tall. Where would they even isolate something like that?

 

And even if they managed to bring it up to the surface and isolate it, there would be problems. They had no idea what kind of phenomenon it would cause.

 

A 100-meter dragon could continuously appear.

 

So, what could they do? They had to manage these alien objects by assigning people to take shifts.

 

But that’s that, and this is this. Parang’s stomach started growling. She hadn’t eaten a single meal since this morning.

 

She needed to finish up quickly and head to Xiao’s place to eat until she was full.

 

Parang increased her speed.