Chapter 16

A figure dressed in a yellow suit and an overwhelming number of guards entered my field of vision.

The route to the director’s office was clearly packed with an immense number of guards.

I successfully reached the entrance of the corridor connecting to the director’s office with my senior, but I couldn’t find a way to infiltrate the office from here.

I whispered softly to my senior.

“Senior, are we really going to be able to get through this?”

“….”

My ever-confident senior seemed strained, lips sealed tight as they pondered deeply.

Personally, even reaching this point felt like a miracle.

If I had come here alone without my senior? I could definitively say it would have been absolutely impossible.

Their ability to pinpoint guard positions without looking was eerie, and not a single tool pulled out of their pocket was ordinary.

Among them, the lamp my senior called “Watson” stood out the most.

Of course, it gave off a strangely ominous vibe and smelled weirdly of blood, making it an object I disliked.

And for some reason, I often got the feeling that the shadow known as “Watson” didn’t like me.

But its abilities were undeniably remarkable.

In just a short time, “transparency” — it was truly a magical tool.

“Senior, why aren’t you using Watson again? If we use transparency one more time, we might just barely make it through.”

“Watson can’t be used anymore on this mission.”

“Huh?”

“Watson is nice, but there’s a catch. Use it more than three times, and you’ll dry up like a mummy.”

My senior tapped their monocle lightly as they spoke.

Looking at their pale complexion now, they did seem low on blood—was Watson drinking it?

Upon reflection, my senior had asked Watson for help three times:

Once to come across space,

Once to identify the cause blocking spatial travel,

And once for invisibility to pass the guard post.

If what my senior said was true, then Watson must be quite a dangerous object, huh?

“So, what do we do now?”

“I’m thinking about it. Won’t an opportunity present itself if we wait?”

Despite hiding in such an uncomfortable position, my senior remained perfectly composed, which was quite impressive.

Still, where did the Gray Reaper go? I thought they were following us closely until just a moment ago…

***

Holding the heavy gas lamp in my hand, I stared at the deputy director’s office blocking the entrance to the director’s office.

An opportunity will definitely come.

I had a near-certainty that it would.

But as they say, danger is often disguised as opportunity. The chance we were waiting for could also be a crisis.

While hiding and keeping an eye on the deputy director’s office, I sensed the timing I’d been waiting for had arrived.

Restlessness began spreading from the deputy director’s office.

“Junior, get ready.”

The awaited moment had come.

The restless people inside the deputy director’s office suddenly all rushed out and sprinted toward some destination.

“Run!”

We dashed past the now-empty deputy director’s office and raced down the corridor leading to the director’s office.

“Senior? What’s going on all of a sudden?”

The junior, bewildered by the suddenly empty corridor, wore a puzzled expression.

Smiling at their confused face, I replied.

“The final opportunity has arrived!”

***

The deputy director of the Central Research Institute kept thinking deeply.

How much longer should I wait?

Could the Gray Reaper already have left the institute?

No matter how many employees I sent out to patrol or bait them, the Gray Reaper remained undiscovered.

It’s been over three days already.

Even accounting for the possibility of ethereal transformation and instructing everyone to miss nothing, the Gray Reaper’s location remains unknown.

“Deputy Director! The Gray Reaper has appeared inside the isolation room!”

The Gray Reaper appeared right at that moment.

At that instant, the standby personnel started evacuating in perfect order.

Since all preparations had been made before the plan began, the evacuation proceeded swiftly.

The researchers waiting elsewhere must have begun their escape via the nearest routes as well.

As the Gray Reaper was currently located within the designated isolation room, there was no need to worry about escape routes.

Just before leaving the deputy director’s office, I turned back toward the director’s office.

The man who has sat in the director’s seat for 30 years…

The man who died 30 years ago in Seoul Square, leaving only his family behind…

Thinking about that heartless man who continued research even after becoming an object, I exited the escape route.

***

Lying comfortably on the bed in the Central Research Institute’s isolation room, I organized my thoughts.

I learned a few things while hanging out with the detective group.

Actually, it was because I secretly stole a report.

They looked like “detectives with some grand purpose infiltrating an evil organization!” How could I not want to know more?

The content of the reports they investigated was shocking, even to someone like me who’d worked in other institutes.

The concealment of objects marked for termination.

Especially the private hiding of dangerous objects like Hungry Ghosts.

Falsifying statistics by processing deaths within the institute as transfers.

It seemed they even erased records when using people with unclear identities as temporary employees.

If the detective’s report becomes public, it could lead to the dissolution of the Central Research Institute—a huge scandal.

So, this time, I decided to lend a hand for the sake of justice-seeking detectives.

The main issue troubling the detectives was the existence of the Hungry Ghost.

In conclusion, handling the Hungry Ghost directly would solve most of the problems.

This way, the detectives gain a safe escape opportunity—an advantage.

And if the Central Research Institute collapses, I can take care of the ghost cat and piano-playing lizard and return to Sehee Research Institute—an advantage for me!

A win-win world where everyone is happy is being created!

So, I’m lying comfortably on the bed prepared by the Central Research Institute, waiting for the institute to summon the Hungry Ghost.

Judging by the commotion in the institute, it seems I’ll soon face the Hungry Ghost.

***

Together with my junior, we crossed the corridor and burst into the director’s office.

There, quietly scribbling on a report, was a single man.

Or rather, an object.

A humanoid object.

Breathing heavily as I entered the director’s office, my junior gently closed the door.

“Senior, is that person an object?”

“Yeah, it’s definitely an object.”

The man reflected in the monocle was undoubtedly an object.

Officially, the director’s position at the Central Research Institute has been vacant for 30 years—so this must be why.

[As long as the director exists, the institute cannot be destroyed.]

Certainly, an indestructible institute would be advantageous for isolating troublesome objects.

After all, if this were a normal private institute in downtown Seoul, object leakage accidents would’ve forced them to relocate to the outskirts by now.

But since the institute itself became an object, it managed to operate safely in the heart of Seoul.

“No other objects are visible. So, it’s likely this director is blocking our movement.”

“But what do we do now? Shall we give it a whack with a hammer?”

The junior, wielding a massive sledgehammer in both hands, grinned as they looked at me.

Where did they even get such a huge hammer from?

“At last, you’ve arrived! At last!”

Turning at the sudden voice, I saw the director lifting his head and shouting.

“You must be here for something, right? If you give me what I need, I’ll gladly grant your request.”

The object posing as the director smiled meaningfully at me.

That smile looked genuinely pleased—but somehow suspicious.

“Who are you first? I don’t want to deal with someone whose name I don’t even know.”

“Ah, there’s something I should clarify beforehand. I am not actually there. No matter how much you talk to me, I cannot hear you. This doll is merely replaying pre-set actions.”

Our conversation doesn’t sync.

Is this deliberate? Hard to tell… Can’t read the expression.

“If all we need to do is trade, then giving me the cane in my right hand will allow you to escape from this institute.”

And with that, the object resembling the director stopped moving.

“Eh, what should we do now?”

“Don’t know. There are too few clues. Whether trading is the right answer or not…”

The heavy rumbling sound resonating throughout the institute signaled that we didn’t have much time to think.

The released Hungry Ghost was wreaking havoc, shaking the institute apart.

“When in doubt, follow your instincts.”

Overthinking in situations like these usually leads to losses.

***

Tubang tubang.

In a ghostly state, I quickly walked through the chaotic corridors of the Central Research Institute.

Emergency lights flashed intermittently, and lost employees screamed as they ran away.

Following the screams led me straight to their source.

An object I’d only seen in old newspapers.

An object that essentially revealed the existence of objects to the public in Korea.

Facing such a famous object, I was fairly confident.

After all, I could see their weaknesses and was immune to physical harm.

But that confidence evaporated the moment I faced the Hungry Ghost directly.

Powerful objects often exude an overwhelming presence.

The Hungry Ghost before me radiated a presence comparable to—or perhaps greater than—that of a steel tower.

Can this thing even be killed?

What kind of guts made me so confidently plan to handle the Hungry Ghost and grab the lizard and cat?

If the killing conditions were simple, it might be worth trying, but those conditions betrayed me.

[The stone created by the Object of Origins.]

Ah, this is an unkillable creature.