So, the testimony of Kang Sibang (Age: ???, Birthplace: Incheon Dungeon, Slime) was as follows.
[I was living just fine with the other slimes, but then those b*stards invaded! F*ck!]
“Could you maybe leave out the swearing…?”
[Especially our Great King Slime Big Brother…]
From that point on, Gang Sibang seemed to choke up with emotion.
Big Brother, he says.
Does some kind of age-based hierarchy exist even among slimes?
He’s a Confucian slime… Just as that thought crossed my mind.
[Anyway, as soon as those shits invaded, they flattened our entire dungeon and started installing whatever they wanted. Then guys with pale faces, guys in black, guys with scars on their faces—anyway, all sorts of weird-looking humans came barging in!]
How should I put this?
The summary of the incident felt like those forced evictions in redevelopment areas during the 80s.
The original residents strongly opposing the forced removal, hired thugs storming in, people getting injured or killed by excavators pushing through recklessly—
[And then, some of the younger slime brothers were brutally…]
Thinking of it that way, a surge of pity for Kang Sibang washed over me.
You were homeless.
‘Then by “pale-faced guys,” is this the kind of language they were using?’
I played some Russian audio for Kang Sibang. Immediately, he gave a vigorous nod of affirmation.
[Yeah, that b*stard!]
Oho.
Now the picture was roughly coming together.
In the original work, it was mentioned that Go Cheolwon used his position as mayor to create unregistered illegal dungeons all over Incheon.
He used those dungeons to carry out illegal smuggling of items to places like North Korea and Russia.
However, the exact method was never detailed in the original story. Hearing that this dungeon was Kang Sibang’s hometown made it clear.
This b*stard.
He was abusing the local government greenbelt areas to use the dungeons located there for illegal smuggling.
Those dungeons likely had multiple entrances and exits, connecting to North Korea and Russia.
Now that a rough map had been formed, I first infiltrated this place with Kang Sibang to gather evidence.
Of course, I could have reported this to my superiors first, but that would make things complicated. They don’t know the original story.
If I reported it to Kwon Ikseong—
‘I will send an official cooperation request to the local government regarding this matter to verify the details.’
—That kind of principled, textbook answer would return.
If I reported it to Pi Sowon—
‘Let’s just crush the smugglers first. Come on.’
Prodding the smugglers might lead to information leaking out, causing us to miss the pinnacle of the pyramid, Go Cheolwon.
And more importantly—
‘…Choi Woojin will get involved in this too.’
Because the dungeon where Choi Woojin’s parents died was right near here.
In the first place, the reason Choi Woojin started digging into this dungeon in the original work was to get closer to the truth behind his parents’ deaths.
Therefore, it was right to proceed with this without Choi Woojin’s knowledge.
If Choi Woojin prematurely learned too much about his parents’ case—
‘He’d end up finding out about my mother, too.’
He might already know, but I didn’t particularly want him to find out ahead of time.
I recalled the conversation I had with Lee Yugyeom three hours ago.
‘Still, don’t work too hard.’
‘On what?’
‘What you’re doing right now.’
Lee Yugyeom said while quietly fiddling with the certificate of death in the line of duty.
‘It’s dangerous.’
I didn’t miss the meaning behind those words. But I didn’t answer the meaning behind those words either.
Because of this damn quest, my life was already held as collateral on a time limit.
And there is no relationship in this world that lasts forever without a parting.
We learned that early on, didn’t we?
So get a bit stronger, Yugyeom.
Because I’m doing the same.
That was the meaning of my silence.
[F*ck! Those b*stards are going in over there!]
Having left my arms at some point to climb a tree, Kang Sibang pointed out the entrance being used by the people who had gotten out of the cargo truck from earlier.
“Alright. We’re going in, too.”
I whispered to Kang Sibang and headed toward the dungeon entrance.
Wait, this was…… the dungeon entrance?
After confirming no one was near the cargo truck with its headlights off, I looked at the giant tree.
Beneath the tree stood a sign that read: ‘Natural Monument: Dohwa-dong Hackberry Tree.’
Below that, some rather grand words were written, which boiled down to this:
In the past, Dohwa-dong was a place where sailors heading out to sea and their families performed rituals for a safe return. It has served as a kind of sacred tree, believed to possess spiritual power.
…Thinking about how the civil servant who created this sign must have dug through every piece of available data brought tears to my eyes.
Whatever the case, this hackberry tree played a major role in this area being designated as a Green Belt. It was judged to have historical value and significance for nature conservation.
‘It’s not technically wrong, but—’
The problem was that the citizens of Incheon had no idea that a massive dungeon lay beneath this sacred tree, where slimes lived peacefully.
When a dungeon like this exists, if it isn’t managed properly—meaning the municipal Dungeon Management Division or the Hunter Administration Bureau doesn’t conduct periodic safety inspections—secondary and tertiary accidents are bound to happen.
If dungeon stability drops, monsters can pop out of the entrance, and the sensitivity to Dungeon Breaks in the vicinity increases, causing a Break to occur.
That’s how people, like Choi Woojin’s parents, end up dying in unexpected Breaks.
To think that the sacred tree that once protected the region has now become a hotbed of corruption for a local power player and a disaster for the area.
It was truly ironic.
[Hurry up and pay your respects.]
It was then.
Kang Sibang said something nonsensical.
Pay respects to whom? There’s no one here.
[This tree is our eldest Big Brother.]
…Oh. I see.
This Confucian slime.
But without a word of complaint, I bowed my head toward the silent tree.
“Hello there…”
It’s sad enough having your home taken away; one shouldn’t just barge in just because only the house site remains.
As I bowed with that thought, a giant knot in the middle of the sacred tree’s trunk suddenly began to widen.
“…?”
I was momentarily flustered.
Is this seriously the dungeon entrance?
Does it open this easily?
I had come prepared with a related item I’d asked Kang Ilyeon to make, just in case a barrier stone or something similar was installed at the entrance.
Yet the barrier opened with a single bow.
[Thank you, Big Brother!]
I watched the slime hop onto the knot while shouting a greeting that sounded like something out of a noir film.
Kang Sibang looked back at me and said:
[What are you doing? Get over here, f*ck!]
“…I’m coming, I’m coming.”
I glanced up at the sacred tree and gave one more polite bow.
“I’ll be back in just a little bit, okayyy…?”
After I spoke, the tips of the tree’s branches swayed.
It was likely just the wind, but for some reason, it felt like it had answered me.
* * *
Upon arriving inside the dungeon, there was a slightly dark corridor at first, but it soon opened up into a wide, cavernous structure.
And over there, something resembling a crude office building made of shipping containers could be seen, near a spot lush with trees and bushes no different from the forest above.
[That’s where I used to live. The dew I drank there was delicious. Kka! F*ck!]
The ‘dew’ you were drinking, was it perhaps…
I swallowed that question and hid myself in the bushes. This was because people’s heads started to become visible as soon as we entered the dungeon.
And then, I used it.
As If It Were There, As If It Weren’t (A)
The skill.
This was a ‘Special’ skill I had obtained after entering Kang Sibang’s body last time.
It had been worth the effort of building up his affinity by feeding him expensive food.
I knew that a Great King Slime could gain a translucent body when it grew in size, but I didn’t expect a skill like this.
This skill was specialized for concealing one’s own body.
In other words, turning one’s body invisible.
However, since it didn’t erase one’s presence entirely, a certain amount of caution was necessary.
It was the same logic as how a Great King Slime being transparent didn’t mean its mass or the sensation of touch disappeared.
I looked at Kang Sibang, who had blended seamlessly into the bushes without even needing to conceal himself, and spoke softly.
“That way.”
I gestured with my chin toward the containers in the back, where people were moving busily.
The undercover investigation had officially begun.
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