The Regressor Only Protects Me [EN]: Chapter 34

#34. Alligator Turtle Swamp (2)

Alligator Turtle.

It’s a turtle also known as a living fossil [a species that has remained largely unchanged over millions of years].

Its appearance is dinosaur-like, characterized by its reddish carapace [the bony upper shell of a turtle or tortoise].

The most significant characteristic is that the alligator turtle doesn’t actively hunt like other turtles.

Instead, the alligator turtle simply opens its mouth and waits for fish to swim inside.

The alligator turtle camouflages itself perfectly, like a hidden danger within the sea.

The colorful, worm-like protrusions on its tongue serve to lure unsuspecting fish.

The moment a fish enters its mouth, it snaps shut with incredible speed.

Prey that enters the alligator turtle’s maw is invariably consumed.

Just like the blond man right before our eyes.

“It’s an alligator turtle.”

“……”

I glanced sideways at Jin Jaehee.

For the first time, Jin Jaehee looked genuinely flustered.

“There was nothing there, then suddenly the turtle’s face appeared. What’s going on?”

I stiffened, only moving my eyes to scan the surroundings.

There’s really nothing.

The monster’s face wasn’t visible anywhere.

I couldn’t understand how dozens of people here hadn’t noticed until such a massive face suddenly popped out.

Moreover, it didn’t make sense that such a huge face could disappear so quickly.

Jin Jaehee swallowed hard and replied.

“Of course, you wouldn’t know. Even the fish that are eaten by real alligator turtles don’t realize it’s the alligator turtle’s tongue. Alligator turtles are masters of camouflage. Human eyes can’t discern what is an alligator turtle.”

“……You’re saying we don’t even know which objects around us are part of its tongue?”

“That’s why it’s such a big problem. Maybe this entire building is its tongue.”

The tongue of such a massive monster disguised as surrounding objects, preying on humans.

It was a truly terrifying thought.

In reality, the blond man had merely touched the wall.

But that wall was the alligator turtle’s tongue, and the blond man was ultimately devoured.

At that moment, Lee Chungchun looked at the people and said.

“I… I’ll be the bait.”

His hands were trembling uncontrollably.

I turned to look at him.

No, everyone here looked at him.

“I’m a police officer. I have a duty to protect the safety of citizens. I… I’ll be the bait, so everyone, don’t look back and run out of the building.”

At those words, smiles flickered across the faces of some people.

A sense of relief that they might survive.

It was a natural, instinctive reaction, but I found it somewhat repulsive.

Lee Chungchun moved his arm slightly, preparing to make a run for it.

But Jin Jaehee stopped him.

“It’s no use. The alligator turtle’s mouth is instantaneous.”

“……Pardon?”

“The traps set by the alligator turtle are instantaneous. The moment you touch it, the mouth closes immediately, like an automatic door. We don’t even know how many alligator turtles are in this building. It’s a pointless act.”

At Jin Jaehee’s words, Lee Chungchun froze.

Then, a woman on the opposite table shouted at Jin Jaehee.

“T-then what do we do?!”

Jin Jaehee pondered for a moment before saying.

“…It’s not like there’s absolutely no way.”

“What is it? Tell us quickly!”

This time, a man next to her shouted at Jin Jaehee.

Jin Jaehee remained silent for another moment before finally opening her mouth.

“Alligator turtles have to move to breathe. When they move, their camouflage is undone, and we can see them. We can escape then.”

“Wh-when does that thing breathe?!”

Jin Jaehee squeezed her eyes shut.

Jin Jaehee, who had maintained her composure in any situation, was now visibly shaken.

Seeing her flustered, I finally realized the gravity of the situation.

“I don’t know. It could be 10 years.”

“1… 10 years?”

“That’s absurd… 10 years? You’re saying it breathes once every 10 years?”

“Then do we have to stay here like this for 10 years without moving?”

People despaired.

Some even shed tears.

The situation was truly dire.

Even the regressionist [someone who has returned from the future] Jin Jaehee was flustered.

In the end, we had crawled into the alligator turtle’s swamp with our own feet.

At that moment, a middle-aged woman shook her head.

“But how do you know that?? Are you… a manager [referring to someone with knowledge of the monsters and dungeons]?”

In fact, that was the question that should have been asked first.

No matter how much they thought about it, people couldn’t understand how Jin Jaehee knew all these facts.

The middle-aged woman’s eyes were moist.

She looked like she was about to burst into tears at any moment.

“I can’t trust you. How can I trust you!”

And the woman turned in the opposite direction.

In that direction, there were stairs leading down.

Everyone was watching the woman.

“…It’s a lie. That’s why she’s so confident because it’s a lie. Right? A lie. A lie… a lie.”

The woman was also feeling conflicted about her choice.

The hope that Jin Jaehee’s words were a lie and the despair that her words might actually be true.

And the woman walked forward one step at a time, as if possessed.

She headed towards the stairs without any problems for a few steps.

Then, the woman smiled and looked back.

“See? Nothing’s happening. Huh? Ahaha. Nothing’s hap-!”

Crunch-!

As she took another step forward, the monster’s face appeared once again.

The monster devoured the woman’s body and disappeared into thin air again.

Only splatters of red blood remained where the woman had been.

“Ah……”

“Ugh……!”

“Aaa……”

Sighs erupted from various places.

The day was gradually darkening, and night was approaching.

And no one here could move.

Not even a single step.

* * *

Three hours had passed.

No one moved.

Night had already fallen, and a chill entered through the gaping windows.

People were trembling, their eyes blinking.

Thud-!

And a man, unable to withstand the cold, eventually collapsed where he stood.

Waiting for hours, no, days… no.

A wait that might last for years.

There was no solution.

For the past 3 hours, I had been moving my eyes non-stop.

Left, right, up, down.

I tried not to miss even the slightest change.

It had been like this from the beginning, but there is always a solution to every phenomenon.

I couldn’t die here.

I will definitely survive.

Jin Jaehee said to me.

“…Expecting it to move is a futile effort.”

“I know.”

I’m not expecting it to move.

What I’m expecting is something else.

The eyes.

It must be watching us from somewhere.

Even if it can hold its breath for a long time, it will keep watching us with its eyes.

The alligator turtle’s eyes might be the small scissors on the table.

Or it could be the CCTV [closed-circuit television] camera on the corner of the wall, or even the tiny button in the elevator.

According to Jin Jaehee, the alligator turtle’s camouflage ability was beyond human comprehension.

Everything visible was ultimately its trap.

‘…Let’s stay calm.’

I had to stay calm.

I had to calmly sort out the situation and find a solution.

Simply trembling in fear wouldn’t change anything.

In the end, we have to move.

Time was on the alligator turtle’s side.

This is a Minesweeper game.

The Minesweeper game I used to play in the elementary school computer lab.

The strategy for the Minesweeper game is simple.

Gradually expand the area from the position where I am standing.

“Jin Jaehee.”

“Yeah. Tell me.”

When I called out, Jin Jaehee answered immediately.

I took off my padding [padded jacket] and carefully placed it under my feet.

I took off my padding, windbreaker, fleece, and hoodie.

Only then did a white t-shirt appear, and I even took off the white t-shirt.

“What are you doing?”

Jin Jaehee turned to look at me and asked, but I didn’t pay attention.

And I took off my last thermal underwear top.

For a moment, an enormous chill hit my bare skin.

I took off my thermal underwear top and quickly put on the other clothes one by one.

I felt the gazes of several people.

I put on my padding again and zipped it up to my neck.

Then, I started tearing the thermal underwear I had taken off with my mouth.

Tear, tear.

Since it didn’t tear well with my mouth, I cut it with my military knife.

I made it as long as possible so that it could be used like a string.

When I stretched out the string made of thermal underwear, I secured a length of about 1m 50cm [approximately 5 feet].

I connected it to the end of the knife.

“From now on, start with the closest things one by one. Stab everything, every object, with this.”

I threw the knife connected to the thermal underwear string to Jin Jaehee.

Jin Jaehee caught it and watched it, then nodded as if she realized what I meant.

“Okay. I’ll try.”

I had to find the eyes.

And it was right for Jin Jaehee, who was good at handling swords, to throw it.

The cold became even more intense, and our defenseless bodies would soon suffer from hypothermia [a dangerous drop in body temperature].

We had to get out of here as quickly as possible.

Jin Jaehee threw the knife.

Whoosh- Clang!

The plate on the table shattered from her knife.

There was no movement.

The plate was not part of it.

And Jin Jaehee slowly pulled the thermal underwear string connected to the knife to retrieve the knife again.

Repeat, repeat, repeat, and repeat again.

Whoosh- Clang!

Whoosh- Shatter!

Whoosh- Thud!

Dishes, corpses, doorbells, frozen meat, forks, chairs, cushions.

Objects if they were objects.

Corpses if they were corpses.

Jin Jaehee threw the knife at everything.

“Hoo-.”

Breath continued to escape from her lips.

As the night deepened, breathing became difficult.

Every time I inhaled, I felt like my lungs were freezing.

Jin Jaehee touched all the objects around her and then took a step.

It was only one step now.

How many steps would it take to get to the building entrance?

Thinking about it made me feel even more dizzy.

The work continued for several more hours.

In this place, only two sounds filled the silence.

The groans of people.

The sound of something breaking.

Thud-!

As the night deepened, people fell one by one.

They had fallen because they couldn’t withstand the cold and fatigue.

Now, she had only moved five steps.

So far, five people had fallen.

Everyone had collapsed, unable to overcome the cold.

A job that might never end.

It was like finding a landmine in a vast meadow with just a small stick.

We would never be able to leave the building alive in this way.

The cold continued, and our body temperature dropped.

When the body reached its limit, the brain could not think normally either.

My eyelids also became heavy, and I felt like I was about to fall forward at any moment.

No.

I felt like I was going out of my mind.

“Kang Si-on……!”

Jin Jaehee was calling me.

But I couldn’t see her.

I kept hearing her voice.

Like a mosquito buzzing, her voice echoed alternately from left to right.

Thud. Thud.

I tapped my temples with my palm.

I mustn’t fall asleep.

If I fall asleep.

“…There’s no other way. I’ll just try it.”

Swish-.

At that moment, I saw something sparkling in my dim vision.

Only then could I lift my head slightly and see her.

Jin Jaehee was holding a sword out of its scabbard.

She was planning to kill the alligator turtle alone.

The light of the sword blade reflected by the moonlight pouring through the window.

I frowned because of the sparkling light.

And I remembered something when I saw that sparkling light.

Jin Jaehee was about to take a step forward.

‘That’s it… That was it. As expected, there is a way.’

There was a way.

As expected, I wasn’t destined to die here.

I smiled slightly in my fading consciousness.

“Wait.”

Jin Jaehee stopped abruptly and looked at me.

She was holding a sword in her right hand.

“I found it.”

At those words, everyone who was still holding on to their sanity looked at me.

I ran my hand over my mouth.

And I straightened my back and looked at Jin Jaehee.

“A way to get out of here.”

(To be continued in the next episode)