LIGHTNOVELONLINE Episode 149 - 「White Blood」 Cardiac
Before the third week’s broadcast began, a video by the movie-specialized YouTuber CineKing was uploaded.
Yeon-woo, who was browsing the internet for reactions, came across the video.
“Hmm. An in-depth analysis of Ella’s role in the character?”
He was curious about how this YouTuber had analyzed it.
When Yeon-woo clicked on the video, the YouTuber’s voice came through the speakers.
[Hello, everyone. This is CineKing. Let’s get straight to the point. I believe that the supporting characters with different abilities join the protagonist, Jung Do-jin, in this White Blood expedition to support him.]
The YouTuber displayed photos of the members on the screen and explained each one.
[The protagonist, Jung Do-jin, played by actor Ryu Yeon-woo, is literally the firepower specialist. In gaming terms, he’s the dealer. He sweeps through everything on his own. Then, Akhenaton is the utility support. Dipangdal is the driver.]
Finally, pointing to the last remaining member, Ella, the YouTuber continued.
[Although it was briefly mentioned that she has great strength, Ella hasn’t shown much so far. Why is that? Is she just a mascot responsible for cuteness?]
CineKing shook his head.
[A combat squad needs various roles. In gaming terms, there’s the dealer, the supporter, the driver, and the narrator as the informant. The remaining role is the ‘tank.’ I suspect that the cute girl will take on the tank role, creating an interesting imbalance.]
Yeon-woo, listening to the YouTuber’s analysis, looked intrigued.
“Interesting. Quite sharp.”
Although it wasn’t a particularly difficult guess, the fact that the YouTuber posted the video right when Ella was about to start showing her abilities today was fascinating.
As the third week’s broadcast began, episode 7 of 「White Blood」 opened with the small spaceship flying frantically and being chased by the white blood cells’ fighter jets.
The spaceship had already left Trakia and entered Cardiac.
However, the white blood cells’ fighter jets continued to pursue and fire lasers, putting them at risk of being shot down.
Even if they were shot down and crashed, Do-jin, with his powerful body, would likely survive, but the other cells would surely be annihilated.
“Akhenaton! Don’t you have any long-range attack skills?”
“I am a priest of the nation! I don’t have any spells for attacking others!”
Dipangdal was narrowly dodging the relentless laser attacks with his exceptional piloting skills.
Do-jin handed the controls of the spaceship’s cannon to Akhenaton.
“Then come and grab this! Pull the trigger, and the laser will fire. Think of it as a game and try to shoot them down!”
“A g-game? As a priest, I can’t use such profane things… Ugh!”
Do-jin smacked Akhenaton on the back of the head.
“Shut up and shoot already!”
Then Do-jin turned to Dipangdal and commanded.
“Dipangdal! Open the cargo bay!”
“What? Right now?”
“Stop talking and open it quickly. And close it after I go out!”
When Dipangdal opened the cargo bay door, the cargo inside scattered into the air, and Do-jin drew his sword, jumping out through the cargo bay.
He assessed the positions of the scattering cargo and gauged the distance to the rapidly approaching fighter jet.
Approaching the falling cargo, Do-jin gathered strength in his legs and kicked off with all his might, propelling himself towards the path of the incoming fighter jet.
He then drew his sword and slashed through the oncoming fighter jet.
Splat—.
Boom—.
Leaving the exploding fighter jet behind, he aimed for the next one, but its altitude was significantly lower than Do-jin’s.
At the speed of free fall, he would pass through the fighter jet and head back towards the spaceship before he could reach it.
Thunk—.
At that moment, the sound of the spaceship’s cannon firing was heard.
Whoosh—.
The cannonball tore through the air, heading straight for Do-jin.
“Akhenaton, you clumsy fool!”
Even if he shot at the incoming fighter jet, it was uncertain whether he could hit it due to its evasive maneuvers.
In such a situation, it was remarkable that Akhenaton managed to fire in Do-jin’s direction from that distance, where Do-jin wouldn’t even be visible. If that was a skill, it was indeed a skill.
‘Wait a minute. If I use that…’
Do-jin raised his sword and timed his swing to strike the incoming cannonball.
He endured the immense kinetic energy of the fired cannonball with his body, converting it directly into a rebound.
“Ugh!”
He felt a tingling sensation in his arms.
Receiving the recoil from deflecting the cannonball, Do-jin began to descend at lightning speed.
He then raised his sword and pierced through the white blood cell pilot in the cockpit of the incoming fighter jet.
Screech—.
Zap—.
The white blood cell pilot disintegrated, scattering electrical currents.
With the pilot dead, the fighter jet began to plummet.
Do-jin tried to manipulate the controls, but the impact from their collision had shattered all the instruments.
“Narrator! Can you communicate with anyone else besides me?”
[As long as the distance between you and Do-jin is not too far, it is possible.]
Do-jin looked at the receding spaceship.
“Connect to Akhenaton and tell him to meet at the Cerebral Artery.”
[Understood.]
The fighter jet Do-jin was on drew an arc as it plummeted downward.
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“Oh, I understand. Oh, my god.”
Hearing the voice in his ear, Akhenaton prostrated himself on the floor in worship.
Ella, watching this, tilted her head in confusion.
“Mr. Akhenaton, what are you doing?”
“I heard the voice of the god. The god Do-jin said to go to the Cerebral Artery and wait there.”
At that moment, Dipangdal, who was in the cockpit, scratched his head.
“But, Prince, there seems to be a problem.”
“A problem? What is it?”
“The cargo bay door won’t close. It needs to be closed for the landing gear to deploy.”
It seemed that the sound of something bursting from the lasers fired by the white blood cells on the ground before departure was the cargo bay door mechanism.
Ella tilted her head upon hearing this.
“Then we just need to close the door, right?”
“That’s true, but it’s incredibly heavy, so it can’t be closed manually.”
Ella walked over and lifted the door made of steel as thick as a person’s torso.
“Yap!”
Clunk—.
“I’ll hold it until we land!”
“…”
Seeing the small girl lift a steel door thicker than her own body, Akhenaton and Dipangdal’s jaws dropped.
“Prince, who exactly is she?”
“…Honestly, I don’t know either.”
Other than the fact that she came up from the lower region with the god, Akhenaton knew nothing about Ella.
What was certain was that she was definitely not an ordinary red blood cell.
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In the middle of a coniferous forest, which seemed like it belonged in the tundra region, black smoke was rising.
It was the aftermath of the explosion of the fighter jet Do-jin had been on.
Strictly speaking, it was more accurate to say he had briefly rested on it during its descent rather than ridden it.
Near the exploded fighter jet, Do-jin stood up.
He had thrown himself off just before it crashed, breaking several coniferous trees and hitting the ground.
“Ugh, my whole body aches. Last time, it was a sandy beach, so it hurt less, but here, it’s frozen ground.”
[Do-jin, we are picking up a signal from Cardiac nearby.]
“I know. We’ve crossed into Cardiac’s territory.”
[No, I mean the Red Blood Cell King, ‘Cardiac.’]
Do-jin’s face hardened.
It was too distant a goal to be considered a primary objective, but it was still the first goal he had set since landing in this body.
Finding the cell known as Cardiac.
“Where is it?”
[At the summit of the snow mountain.]
Listening to the narrator, Do-jin looked around.
The dense coniferous forest obstructed his view.
‘Hmm, the tallest tree…’
He looked around and found a tree with a thicker trunk than the others.
Tap—.
Lightly stepping on the tree, Do-jin climbed to the highest branch and looked around.
“Is that what you’re talking about?”
In his line of sight, he saw a snow mountain towering in the distance.
[Yes, that’s correct.]
“Wow. I’m excited. I’ve been curious for six years about what kind of guy this Cardiac is.”
Given the dense forest, it seemed faster to run than to use the hoverbike.
Do-jin began to speed through the tundra forest at an incredible pace, heading towards the snow mountain.
After running for a while, the snow mountain that had been faintly visible in the distance now loomed close.
“I don’t have to search the entire mountain, right? The summit is definite?”
[According to the coordinates, yes.]
Nodding, Do-jin began to climb the snow mountain quickly.
However, even after climbing for a long time, the summit seemed no closer.
“…This is strange? By now, I should be able to see the summit. Narrator.”
[……….]
“Narrator?”
[……….]
Do-jin called out to the narrator, but there was no response.
Though communication had occasionally been lost before, he instinctively sensed that something was off this time.
Do-jin stood still, closed his eyes, and opened all his senses.
The energies swirling around him spilled out their information.
Since entering the world within the body, his heightened senses allowed him to see many things he couldn’t with his eyes open, as if they became more visible when he closed his eyes.
The energies, spreading out in disarray like paint dissolved in water, intertwining and mixing with each other, were swirling in one place.
‘Is this the place?’
With his eyes still closed, Do-jin drew his sword and slashed through the swirling energy.
Crrrack—.
The sound of something large cracking echoed, and the surrounding energies collapsed like shattered glass.
When Do-jin opened his eyes, he was not at the snow mountain but standing in front of a cavern that was entirely red.
‘Well, it’s not so much a cavern as…’
A prison.
Inside that red prison, an old man dressed entirely in red, with even his eyebrows and eyes the same color, stood up.
“It’s impressive that you’ve made it into the Atrium, Mr. Jung Do-jin.”
Do-jin looked intently at the old man.
Despite being just an old man with white hair, he exuded a remarkably strong presence.
And it was the first time a cell had pronounced Do-jin’s name correctly.
“I appreciate you not calling me Do-woo-jin. Are you Cardiac?”
“That I am.”
With Cardiac’s affirmation, Do-jin looked around and spoke.
“This place is called the Atrium? A prison is an unexpected use for it.”
The atrium is an organ surrounded by myocardium located at the upper part of the heart.
“It serves its original purpose well. However, it is the most secure place in the body, so the white blood cells must have imprisoned me here.”
Do-jin’s expression hardened.
The cell had just said ‘the most secure place in the body.’
“Do you know that you are a cell inside someone else’s body?”
Cardiac smiled faintly at Do-jin’s question.
“Of course. Just before I was captured, I left a subtle hint with the narrator to guide you to me.”
“…Who are you?”
Cardiac spread his hands, indicating he had nothing to hide, and began to speak.
“I am the last spark to help you save this body. I am Cardiac, the king imprisoned in the Atrium and the father of all hematopoiesis.”
Hematopoiesis.
It was the hematopoietic stem cell that Akhenaton had mentioned.
The cell responsible for producing all blood cells, including white blood cells and red blood cells.
Sensing the need for further explanation, Cardiac continued.
“Most cells live shorter lives than their designated lifespan and then reincarnate. I am the manager who has lived without reincarnation, overseeing this body for all those years.”
Do-jin had thought about this issue before.
Typically, the lifespan of a white blood cell is 12 hours.
And the lifespan of a red blood cell is a whopping 120 days.
However, that is based on the time standard of the outside world.
In this world, with each heartbeat representing a year, even if calculated at one beat per second, the lifespan of a white blood cell is approximately 43,000 years.
And the lifespan of a red blood cell is more than 200 times longer.
Over ten million years.
‘But Ella and Akhenaton didn’t seem to have lived that long.’
It was likely due to the cycle of constant death and rebirth, as Cardiac had mentioned.
‘But to have lived without reincarnation… for ten million years?’
The sheer span of ten million years was hard to comprehend.
The earliest human records, the handprint cave paintings, were only fifty thousand years old.
The Stone Age began two million years ago.
“So, you’re saying you’ve lived through that immense span of time.”
“When you look back, it all seems like a fleeting moment.”
Do-jin looked at Cardiac.
“You said you are the last spark to help save this body. Then there must be a definite reason you brought me here?”
It had been six years since the narrator first contacted Do-jin.
To the being in front of him, it might have seemed like a fleeting moment, but to Do-jin, it was a long, arduous time.
Having come this far, if there wasn’t a convincing reason, he might be filled with rage.
And what Cardiac said next was truly unexpected.
“I can send you back to your original world for a short time, Mr. Jung Do-jin.”
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With those words, the screen faded to black, marking the end of the third week’s broadcast.
Yeon-woo stretched after finishing the monitoring.
“Phew. The content is quite lengthy, but it seems the viewers are following along well, which is a relief.”
Every story that ends poorly receives bad reviews.
While the development and climax are important, how it concludes determines the direction of the reviews and whether it will be recommended to others.
All the hints had been laid out, and to tie everything together, the remaining fourth week’s content needed to be an excellent conclusion.
And of course, Yeon-woo was confident about that.
While organizing these thoughts, his smartphone buzzed.
Bzzz—.
Yeon-woo picked up his smartphone to check the message. It was from the group chat with Han So-hyeon and Son Jin-yuk.
[Son Jin-yuk: Everyone has cleared their schedules for tomorrow, right?]
[Han So-hyeon: Of course!]
Yeon-woo smiled as he read the messages and began typing.
[Yeon-woo: I’m ready as well.]
They had somewhere to go together tomorrow.
It was something they had been discussing for a while. Tomorrow was the day they had adjusted their schedules to visit the set for a cameo shoot, which Son Jin-yuk and Han So-hyeon had been planning.