Chapter 11 : IF-098 ‘Tsuchinoko’ Part 3

[Registration Number: IF-098]

[Object Name: Tsuchinoko]

[Object Classification: Lowest]

[Threat Level: Neutral]

[Fake]

Tsuchinoko (/) is a cryptid known to inhabit Japan.

It resembles a snake but has a short and thick body with a bulging midsection, giving it a unique appearance.

It is said to have special abilities such as rolling rapidly down slopes or jumping up to the height of an adult male.

In the 1970s, there was a widespread frenzy to capture a Tsuchinoko, but no scientific evidence has confirmed its existence.

[Reality]

IF-098 appears to be a species of snake belonging to the order Squamata, suborder Serpentes.

It has a flat, cylindrical body approximately 40 cm in length, 20 cm in width, and 15 cm in height, with a degenerated tail that is close to being a vestigial organ.

IF-098 has an inverted triangular head about half the size of its body, equipped with a pair of venomous fangs and a muscle toxin with an LD50 of 8 mg/kg, classifying it as a typical venomous snake.

IF-098 possesses at least three additional joints and skeletal muscles per rib, which allow it to expand or contract its body freely.

Its normal movement speed is about 2 km/h, but when it transforms into a streamlined shape, it can accelerate up to 20 km/h.

Furthermore, when feeling threatened, the entity compresses its body and “launches” itself, reaching an instantaneous speed of 76 km/h and jumping up to a height of 2 meters.

IF-098 has extremely sensitive perception and can detect even the slightest presence.

When it senses human presence or other potential threats nearby, it exhibits peculiar behavior—it deliberately flattens its body to “look like an ordinary snake.”

The reason why IF-098 has evolved to mimic a regular snake, despite having no significant ecological differences, remains unknown.

This trait of disguising itself upon detecting movement makes it difficult to distinguish IF-098 from other snake species.

The entity’s strength falls within the normal range for creatures of similar body weight.

Many IF-098 specimens have been captured or eliminated by the FPL and hostile forces.

However, unlike its presumed relative IF-257, known as the “Ring Snake, IF-098 has shown no evidence of lethal bodily transformations such as high-speed spinning.

[Containment]

IF-098 is to be housed in a 3m × 3m acrylic terrarium.

The environment must be maintained at a temperature of 26 ± 2°C and a humidity of 65 ± 5%.

The enclosure must have at least 3 meters of clearance at the top due to the entity’s launch ability.

Food should be provided once a week in the form of 200g of crickets, super mealworms, or rodents, adhering to a reptile-preferred diet.

Due to the “compression-launch” behavior, the required ceiling height has been adjusted from 2m to 3m.

Following an incident involving the lid breaking, all facilities housing IF-098 must now ensure increased ceiling height.

[Experiment Log: 098-A-14]

[Author: Researcher J, FPL 4th Research Institute]

[Experiment Overview: IF-098 exhibited an average of 3.2 compression-launch events per day.]

[However, as of January 1st, three days prior to this report, the frequency of this behavior has drastically decreased, and no further occurrences have been observed.]

[Despite normal readings in weight, diet, and environmental conditions, the cause of the decreased activity level remains unknown.]

[This experiment was conducted to investigate the phenomenon.]

[Experiment Parameters: Temperature Changes, Increased enclosure temperature to 32°C: The entity flattened its body, becoming completely compressed.]

[No other changes were observed.]

[Decreased enclosure temperature to 20°C: The entity puffed up, forming a perfectly cylindrical shape.]

[No other changes were observed.]

[Changes in Feeding Method]

[Live prey fed with tweezers: The entity consumed the food normally.]

[Food fixed to the upper wall: The entity showed a clear feeding response but, for unknown reasons, did not attempt to move toward the food.]

[When the food was dropped near its mouth, the entity ate it normally.]

(Experiment details omitted for brevity.)

[Results: Even after conducting standardized cryptid ecological verification tests, the cause of the reduced activity could not be determined.]

[Notes: The entity’s stress levels have also significantly decreased along with its reduced activity. Previously, an average of 5.7 attack attempts per month was recorded.

[However, since ■ Month ■■ Day, only two incidents have been reported.]

[This type of biological response is commonly seen when an entity interacts positively with members of its own species.]

[However, since no other IF-098 specimens are currently housed at the 4th Research Institute, the exact cause remains unknown.]

[IF-017 Specialized Strike Force – Codename: “Munmu”]

A member of the specialized strike force assigned to IF-017 stood by the containment chamber entrance, rechecking the condition of the equipment he had been issued.

Despite his diligence, he couldn’t help but feel ridiculous.

‘After all, what was a strike force meant to do?’

The FPL’s elite soldiers, trained to respond swiftly to paranormal incidents and unpredictable threats—that was what a strike force was supposed to be.

Weapons that suited him were heavy machine guns and flamethrowers, not… cleaning supplies.

‘What was the point of inspecting cleaning tools before entering the containment chamber of an anomalous entity?’

He found it absurd and grumbled to himself.

He held resentment toward the security chief, and even more toward the director of the 4th Research Institute for giving him such an assignment.

Not that the order was illogical—on the contrary, it was perfectly reasonable.

“IF-017 keeps scraping at the chamber floor… If the stone dust accumulates past a certain threshold, it might eventually be recognized as an object, breaking the spatial anomaly. That would be a disaster. We urgently need the assistance of the strike force. Right? Please, hurry and open the entrance… No, I mean, clean up the stone dust.”

‘A more urgent crisis than this?’

‘Where?’

He had to go right now.

He recalled those exact words from his orders.

‘But why the hell did it have to be him?’

People always joked that the “Munmu” unit stationed at the 4th Research Institute had the easiest jobs among all strike forces.

But still—this was ridiculous.

‘A Beta-class elite like him, risking his life to clean?’

That was Gamma-class work, not his.

Irritated, he continued adjusting his black bulletproof vest.

“Beta-class personnel, Daniel Johnson. Requesting access to IF-017 containment chamber.”

“Access granted.”

***

Then—

Beep—

The containment chamber door slowly opened.

Beyond it, IF-017 was still there—continuing to scratch away at the floor.

Lying flat on the ground, it slowly lifted its head and gazed toward the entrance, seemingly reacting to the warning light’s sound.

Its tail, which had been flickering non-stop, came to a halt, and its wing feathers stood stiffly upright.

He moved forward cautiously, tension gripping him.

To that deadly IF-017-1, the being it worships as a god and parent—’what more needs to be said?’

Its appearance resembled that of a young girl, but surely that was just a disguise meant to lower one’s guard.

So far, it had only been docile because it was asleep.

Once awake, it would undoubtedly be as savage as any other monster.

He had no doubt about that.

Though he had no real weaponry—just his usual handgun—he kept his hand ready to draw it at any moment.

And then—

IF-017 rose to its feet.

“…!”

As he swallowed dryly, IF-017 trotted lightly toward him.

The moment he reached for his gun—

A completely unexpected voice rang out.

“Gyaa…!”

IF-017, meeting his eyes, beamed at him with a pure, radiant smile.

—Gasp!

Through his communicator, he could hear a sharp intake of breath from Researcher H, who was observing the situation.

But he had no time to care about that.

He was utterly flustered.

The expression IF-017 had just made—it looked exactly like the relieved smile of a mother who, after years of trouble with her children, finally sees them doing something right and realizes maybe I didn’t fail as a parent after all.

IF-017 didn’t even reach his chest in height.

And yet, why was that the first thought that came to his mind when he saw its small face?

While he was frozen in bewilderment, IF-017 had already approached him and started flapping its wings.

Tap, tap.

Every time the creature made a small, hesitant jump, its hands left faint dust prints on his black bulletproof vest.

When he lowered his gaze, he saw IF-017’s eyes sparkling as it tugged at the hem of his clothes.

‘What is it trying to say?’

It wagged its tail energetically, trying to maintain eye contact with him.

The problem was… he had absolutely no idea what it meant.

—’Uh, huh, oh… wow.’

Even Researcher H, listening through the communicator, didn’t seem to understand the gestures either.

He reminded himself of his orders.

“Clear the stone dust from the containment room floor. That’s it.”

IF-017 had an almost bewitching presence that made him instinctively want to reach out and pat its head, but he resolved not to react.

For all he knew, if he so much as touched it, its face could suddenly distort into something monstrous, and it might rip him apart.

‘He’d seen it happen before, before joining the ‘Munmu’ unit.’

IF-017 was still energetically flapping its wings and pointing at something, but he ignored it.

Instead, he took out his cleaning tools, bent down, and silently started sweeping up the dust.

When he didn’t respond, IF-017 stopped moving.

Then, it tilted its head.

***

After a moment, as if understanding something, IF-017 nodded.

Then, to his horror, it reached out and placed its hand on his head.

‘What if it turns hostile because I ignored it?’

His entire body tensed.

But—

IF-017 simply patted his head twice.

Then, with its tail, it lightly tapped his back before walking away.

As if telling him, Good job.

Keep it up.

That reaction… it completely drained his tension.

His shoulders sagged as he finally let out a breath.

‘Why had he been so on edge?’

‘Why did he think that thing would suddenly turn violent?’

Fully relaxed now, he continued sweeping the stone dust into the vacuum.

Then—

Wait.

It tapped my back and walked past me.

‘Where is it going?’

A sudden realization struck him, and he turned around—

And his heart dropped.

IF-017 was walking straight toward the wide-open containment chamber exit, smiling leisurely.

‘Shit.’

‘Why isn’t it closing?!’

A normal containment chamber would have immediately sealed the doors to prevent any hostile anomalous entity from escaping.

If this were any regular containment facility, the emergency system would have already locked everything down.

But IF-017’s containment chamber was different.

It was designed like a vault, built not to keep something dangerous inside, but to absolutely protect what was inside.

For that reason, there was no need for fast-closing doors.

As long as the containment was durable, that was enough.

After all, the thing inside wouldn’t even wake up if a bomb went off nearby.

The doors only began to close after the warning lights had fully activated.

And they closed agonizingly slow.

Of course, nowhere in the design was there a function to prevent the “contents” from casually walking out.

He stared, utterly dumbfounded, as IF-017 happily trotted through the open exit.