Squishy

Her hands moved across the keyboard, click-clacking away as Cylanna tried to comb through the data they all had taken. The slimegirl continued to move slowly in its container as she tediously went through each point--all the while her mind went in circles, thinking of what she could put in at the end of this report. After all, despite the fact all this fascinating new data needed a summary of what they meant and all that, what the higher-ups wanted was something else. A use for it.

Instead of just the wonder of a sort of slime--or maybe gel-like structure was somehow able to deform and then reform itself, they wanted to know how to use it to get profit. For money. Greedy fucks.

She made a disapproving sound as she typed down the rest of the conclusion, her mind now petering at the ending. She knew she had to write it, to summarise everything she had written beforehand. It sucked to know how the higher-ups didn't care for anything before it. What they laser-focused on would be this conclusion, the end result. Nothing else. She had been in the meeting once, when she was still a bright-eyed newbie researcher excited to meet the heads within the esteemed Life Frontiers Laboratory. The

best

for biological research! Especially since they were more or less the only ones who had a hold for these monsters that suddenly just appeared on Earth.

Then those heads barely even looked at the report she had painstakingly made, having spent years of her life researching. They looked, flipped to the end and put it to the side, as if she had done nothing of note, as if those years of hard work, of not sleeping in the university lab was nothing--

She forced herself to inhale, to shake off those lines of thoughts.

Okay. Think about it calmly. How did the other researchers manage to gain profit from the specimens they were assigned to? The one with that dragongirl pretty much turned it into a sort of steam engine, using the heat it was emitting to boil water and the steam as an energy source. It just needed food, and while it needed a lot more than what its size was showing, it was a very clean energy. Barely any waste was produced, as the waste itself was what we, humans needed to turn into energy. Especially when compared to coal and other fossil fuels that energy companies were still using. Add the fact that its shedded scales were also incredibly hard and yet light, making itself into a new potential material for armors and many more possibilities. It, after all, had promising properties even from first glance.

And then the mermaid, which the researcher just recorded and sold its voice in a form of records. It was very huge on the internet, with a variety of people begging for more and more of the music with every play they did--for a moment, Cylanna wondered if perhaps, there were some sort of adverse effects. But well, the heads had approved of it so it should be fine.

Those were clear and easy ways to market the monstergirls' talents and abilities. Meanwhile what she had was... what? Just a sort of living agar? Jelly? Gel? She wasn't even sure what the being was, as everytime she checked it, the consistency seemed to change with every test she did. Urrrgh...

Gurgle...

Her stomach grumbled, demanding her to give it sustenance unless she wanted for it to constantly make its noises. She was very tempted to do so, as the hours had long since grown late, as evidenced by the numbers the clock was showing.

23:14

blinked at her, and she pushed the clock away, a little frustrated over still not having any ideas even as the time trickled on.

"What can I even do... They want to get money without spending too much. Why must they be such greedy bastards?" She groaned, cradling her head because of the headache forming in her skull. Her empty stomach still prodded at her. Everything felt like it was too much.

Just moments ago she felt like she had a handle on things, that she just needed an idea and everything would just be fine. Then she had no ideas, and she was hungry and alone and nothing was open. There weren't any vending machines for her to get some snacks from either, as the higher ups had said those things were 'distractions'. That everyone would just keep buying there and spending time when they could have been working.

"Mm, why don't I help you there, Cylanna?" A sudden voice made her jump, as she didn't expect someone to be in the room as her without her knowing about it. After all, the door was noisy, and she was sure all of her coworkers had gone home hours ago.

She looked around, blinking and trying to find who had talked. And yet she couldn't see any humans around her. Maybe Cylanna had hallucinated the whole thing? With her tiredness and hunger, she wouldn't be surprised if she saw a steaming hotpot right in front of her, perfect with meat and vegetables cooking within it.

"You are looking in the wrong place, dearie~" The voice called out again, and this time Cylanna could finally hear where it came from.

The enclosure. She lifted her head up, towards the glass in the middle of the room, where the slimegirl was residing. But it wasn't just moving around aimlessly anymore. It was looking straight at her, at Cylanna with a dangerous look. Something made her shiver, but she pushed it away. She was overthinking for sure.

"What do you mean by that?" She snarled, feeling cornered despite the fact she also felt silly for answering this slimegirl. It was probably just repeating people's words. Even if it was conveniently telling Cylanna it would

help

her. Somehow.

The slimegirl moved slightly, even if Cylanna would be troubled to really say it moved in a traditional way. More of a rippling through its gelatinous body, making certain body parts bounce and move in an eye-catching way. One that made Cylanna look away with a flush, suddenly realising how naked the slimegirl was. Especially when the body also looked a certain way.

She had never paid

that

much attention to it. Her mind was always on something else, mostly on the numbers and words she would have to put in the daily report to the higher-ups. But right now, despite the looming deadline, she couldn't think of anything anymore--and so her brain latched onto the only distraction it was given.

The talking slimegirl, who was still moving in such a way, that made Cylanna fascinated. The sheer difference between a mammal like herself, compared to this slime without any sort of bones or solids inside. Well, except for that little 'core' in the middle of its body, but that wasn't anywhere close to bones and sinews and organs that filled every corner of her body.

"Just that I'm willing to help you find something... 'profitable', if I understand you right." A smile, a teasing tone was felt from it, and Cylanna moved with uncertainty from the pressure she felt off of it. "I'm still not sure of this obsession your 'higher-ups' are having with it, but I do like you, Cylanna dear, and I'm willing to help."

Even if every part of Cylanna wished to say yes, she knew she couldn't. Her hands pressed down, right hand gripping the mouse hard as she heard what the slimegirl was saying. "I--what. Wait. How do you know I need something--"

"I'm not deaf, I could hear you complaining for a while now."

That rebuke made her flush. She had been airing out her frustrations, it seemed. That was one of her bad habits she usually did at home, but the mounting frustrations made her do it even in the office. At least only the slimegirl heard her. "... Okay, fine." She grumbled, before realizing something. Narrowing her eyes at the slimegirl, she focused upon it. "Wait, why didn't you talk before now?" She asked, suspicion forming within her. Especially with how it offered help, as if waiting for her to be at the end of her ropes.

"You didn't need my help before then, nor am I interested in talking with everyone else in this place. None of them are as interesting as you~" It answered smoothly, the gel turning slightly pink-ish in color during that moment.

"Wait--why is your color changing?" It had never done that before. It was always some sort of clear-ish substance, even if it distorted sight, like water. She stood up, wanting to see closer at all the new information forming right in front of her eyes.

The fact the slimegirl itself was able to talk. To be able to change colors. All of these meant there were so many things she didn't know yet, and her researcher heart really wanted to dig into this. To find out and see.

What else had she missed over these past few months?

"Mm, we always have been able to, but I have intentionally kept myself clear since that seemed to be the easiest thing to do." It replied easily, but before anything more was said--Cylanna's stomach rumbled again. "Oh? Seems like what I'm about to tell you is fitting in the current situation."

Cylanna could feel embarrassment coloring her cheeks, and she wished that she could just go under her table and hide. And yet all she did was look at the slimegirl, wishing it would just tell her what it meant now. "S-so? What is it?"

"Patience~ But well... You can 'eat' me."

The redness intensified as she gaped at it. "E-Eat?! What... but... Won't that be... Bad?" She managed to ask, feeling very confused over the invitation. It was like if she had said that someone could eat her flesh--okay that thought didn't need to be continued.

Nonetheless the slimegirl replied to her easily. "While taking too much off my body would be a bad idea, just a little bit will be enough to fill your stomach. Our body is nutritious, you know?" The slimegirl said, rippling and jiggling her body a little more.

"Um. But. Won't it be painful?"

It shook its head. "No, we don't feel 'pain' like you mammals do. Didn't you already take some samples off my body in the past?"

"T-That's that, and this is this!" She defended herself, even if it was really weak. But even as she mulled this over, Cylanna knew that she was already defeated. There was no choice she would refuse it. This was the only way she could see to finally finish this report that had been floating at the back of her mind. "If I'm doing this... can you tell me your name, at least?" She said as she moved her chair to the console next to her table, preparing to press the sequence of buttons that would command a robotic arm to come from the top of the enclosure to take some samples off the slimegirl.

"Me? Hm... You can call me Myrielle." It giggled after, as if it said a little joke to itself.

Cylanna wasn't sure if it was at her expense or not, but well, nothing to do about it. "Myrielle... Alright, I'll uh, activate the robot now." She said, inputting the commands needed and the robot arm immediately went down from the roof, a vial already in its hand to take the needed sample. In fact, instead of waiting for the robot, Myrielle went and pushed in one of its 'fingers', if those could be called one.

Myrielle allowed the robot to close off the vial, cutting the goop off its body as the robot arm went up again, transporting the vial straight to the container outside. A place for Cylanna to immediately research the slime if she wanted to.

"Go on then, Cylanna dear. You have gotten the most nutritious food you'll ever taste." Myrielle said, smiling at Cylanna easily. The finger from before had grown again, as if nothing had happened.

"I... I'll test it first." She said futilely, knowing what the answer would be. After all, they had tested this before.

"Hehe, nothing bad is in it, but if that's what you need to be sure... Continue on then." It teased her, a lilt in its voice that made Cylanna look away stubbornly.

Her fingers flew across the keyboard, typing the various commands needed for the auto-check. It didn't take long, with the sample properly taken and in decent quantities that the machines could separate a drop each for each test.

From checking the molecule set up, the possible effects of it against humans' digestion, how to separate them into its various ingredients--each of them were done quickly and efficiently, every apparatus whirring and crying as everything came up green. Nothing problematic, beyond a few mysterious compounds that were found to react harmlessly against human tissue.

Safe. Safe. Safe.

Cylanna should be reassured, but all she felt was apprehension and uncertainty. The slimegirl didn't say anything more, only looked upon her with expectation. Besides, her stomach was still empty, a slight ache already forming as she delayed her dinner. She didn't have much choice, in the end did she?

Lifting the container, she looked at the clear slime in the vial. It didn't look scary, it just looked like a vial of agar, but even less solid. If she swayed the glass, she knew it would swish a little bit. Taking it closer, she inhaled a little on top, sniffing a sort of light scent that made her shudder and shiver--in a good way.

The experience made her lift it ever closer, taking deeper drag that made her nerves light up, mouth drooling slightly. Her stomach rumbled again, this time making its voice heard even harder.

Why did she feel so uncertain before? Each inhalation seemed to soothe the warning in her mind, smothering it under the gooey feeling. Making her feel all melty... She tipped the vial right into her mouth, letting the viscous liquid drip into her throat, allowing her to taste the slime. To remember the slight sweetness that oozed into her mind, coating, covering them within the glops.

She swallowed them all, mind fuzzy and slow, as if she was within a vat of slimes... Her feet moved as she tried to ponder, stomach warm and yet still hungry. Not for food. For something else...

The slimegirl motioned for her to come closer, and Cylanna didn't think before she just walked towards there, mind already forgetting what else she wanted to do. It wanted her to come close, so she would. That felt like it should alarm her and yet, she couldn't drag anything out of her beyond placidity. Everything else was under the goop, thick slimes she couldn't penetrate with her mind.

"Good girl~ How are you feeling now?" It asked her, the lilt from before coming back in full force. One that made her body want to melt straight down, but all she could do was let her feet drop, kneeling right in front of it--her? Cylanna was uncertain, but she couldn't think much beyond letting loose a soft moan. "Mm, I see you are really affected by now. Good, good. We have a few hours ahead of us..."

Words were said, poured right into the gooey mess within Cylanna's head. To be swished and melted and combined, and all she could do was shiver as she listened, knowing she couldn't do anything else.

Noises filtered in first, of footsteps and familiar voices talking with one another. Slowly she blinked, feeling weirdly refreshed even though she was looking right at her monitor. The conclusion of the report had been made and staring at her.But Cylanna didn't remember writing a single syllable of it.

In conclusion, from the various vitamins and ingredients detected within the slime, the slimegirl can be used to revolutionise the health industries, mainly aiming towards the health-conscious market. This is possible because even a little slime will give enough nutrition for a single day's food, and the person in question just needs to drink enough for the liquid intake needed. Even beyond the health-conscious market, people who have no time to settle down and get food will also be helped...

And so on. She could just save this and send the report to the higher-ups. Her eyes surreptitiously looked to the bottom right, and she saw

07:57

written there. Not a lot of time until the new day of work started, and in fact, she could hear her coworkers coming in already. None of them called out to her though luckily.

Probably already figured out she had worked here all night, and would definitely bite their heads off if she hadn't inhaled her coffee. But weirdly she felt wide awake, without any of the tiredness she expected. Surely she just kind of wrote everything and then blacked out until morning?

... She shrugged in the end. Trying to think this over made her head start to hurt and so she just saved the document, turned it into a PDF before sending it straight to her higher-ups. Whatever would happen, would. Nothing else she could do now.

Instead, she stood up and walked towards the coffee machine, picking the darkest brew the machine offered and chugged it down. That was the signal her coworker needed, and the whole reason she did it in the first place.

"So, how did yesterday go? Seemed you... had quite the rough night." Melia asked, immediately sidling next to her, her own hands getting hot chocolate off the machine.

Cylanna blushed slightly, before she brushed her hair a little bit with her fingers. "Well things are okay, I think I managed to land a breakthrough yesterday." She answered, licking her lips slightly. Hm, she kind of wanted to get a little bit of food... but the workday just started.

"Hm? Do you need me to go get you something off the cafeteria boss?" Seemed like her coworker immediately noticed that little hint, and all Cylanna could do was nod gratefully. "Gotcha! Just stay here and I'll grab one for you. The breads should be reaaaaal fresh today."

"Heh, I'll look forward to it."

The wait didn't take long as Cylanna made another mug of the bitter liquid, sipping it slowly as she let her mind ruminate over what happened yesterday. There were a lot of blanks, but she remembered vaguely how she talked with the slimegirl yesterday--

Wait. Talked.

She looked towards the enclosure, an uncomfortable feeling brewing in her guts. The coffee she just drank felt heavy, as she started to realise what yesterday meant. At how the slimegirl wasn't just repeating words without clue what it meant, and instead was acting with understanding of those words, and knowing how those affected Cylanna's responses.

"Aaaaaand here it is, oh great leader!" A bread was shoved onto Cylanna's hand, jarring her out of her thoughts as she stared at the grub. "Grabbed the one with sausage on it, I figure you'll want something a bit fuller than the usual fare."

"Thanks, Melia. You can go back to your work now." She replied, giving her a small smile as Melia mock-saluted and left her alone. The bun was soft and springy, and the sausage mixed well with the herbs. It should've filled her up, and yet even as Cylanna ate through everything and drank another cup of coffee, she could still feel a little bit of hunger clawing at the edge of her stomach. Not too much that she needed to get more food right now, but it was a little bit concerning.

Usually half of the bread and a cup of coffee would be more than enough. Was it the slime she had eaten yesterday? Well, drunk? That was the only difference in her diet between a few days ago and today's. But she didn't remember anything inside the slime's makeup that could cause this, so to blame it would be jumping the gun. It was more likely that Cylanna was just too ravenous over skipping food yesterday night after the slime drinking. Locking onto that as her conclusion, she nodded to herself.

Yes, that sounded right in her head.

With that certainty, Cylanna walked back to her own desk, and that was the cue everyone needed to ask her about what had happened.

"So how did you find what you need?"

"Did you send the report?!"

"Are we going to be okay--"

Various questions were thrown out, all too fast for Cylanna to catch. They overlaid against one another, shouts as each one wanted to be the first one to be answered.

"C-calm down!" She managed to shake out once, her voice a little bit too shrill for people to hear. But she could see a few shutting up, and that boosted her confidence. "CALM DOWN! I'll answer all of you, but I can't when you are all shouting like that!" This time her voice was way louder, startling a few and shutting them up. Which helped to make a few others close their mouths as well, until everyone was silent.