Chapter 273

A man was fleeing for his life, gasping for breath.

“Damn it. Damn it. Damn it. This is definitely those guys’ doing!”

Most of the companions who had come out with the leader had panicked and scattered.

It all started when the boss’s object, which had been functioning perfectly fine for two years, suddenly malfunctioned.

Getting your eyes pierced by rebar sticking out from cracked concrete after tripping over a rock?

Could happen.

A companion falling to their death when the cracked concrete floor collapses suddenly?

Could happen.

An accident where the safety pin of a grenade automatically pops out while a companion with a habit of tapping their explosive-laden gear gets startled and BOOM!

Could happen.

Slipping on oily rainwater and plummeting off a rooftop?

Could happen.

But all these things happening simultaneously? Definitely not normal.

Something ominous was lurking among them.

Then someone screamed in terror.

“It’s a curse! A ghost’s curse!”

Some lost their minds and began running around like headless chickens.

‘Curse? Ghost? That’s ridiculous.’

The man struggled to keep his wits about him.

He suspected the ones the captain was after were behind this.

Fortunately, a few level-headed companions remained by his side.

Tightly wound, they pursued their fleeing quarry.

“Hold up!”

The lead companion abruptly stopped everyone.

“There’s something there. Something stained crimson!”

In an instant, some ghostly white thing streaked past the alley entrance, smeared with blood.

“Aaaah!”

One companion shrieked in terror.

“It’s a ghost! The ghost has appeared!”

Mad with fear, he started shooting wildly into the alley.

As bullets disappeared into the dark alley, the sound of concrete crumbling grew louder, accompanied by an unsettling vibration.

“Damn.”

The man looked around.

Rundown buildings loomed threateningly, as if ready to collapse at any moment.

“Stop! Please stop!”

He ran to the companion consumed by madness and wrested the gun away.

But it was too late.

The vibrations from the bullets grew stronger until part of the building finally collapsed completely.

BOOM!

Dust and debris blanketed everything.

Miraculously, the man survived without being crushed, but his companions weren’t so lucky.

They met a grisly end, buried under the rubble.

The man tumbled violently, his bones breaking and skin tearing as if hit by a car.

After rolling out of the alley’s darkness, he caught sight of the quarry they had been chasing.

“Haa… Haa… Made it out alive?”

The man panted heavily, celebrating his survival, but unfortunately, it wasn’t over yet.

From the wreckage of the collapsed building, something white stained with blood slowly approached.

It was the figure of a grim reaper.

“Pl… please save me…”

With great effort, the man turned his head and reached out toward the quarry they had been pursuing.

But at that moment, a massive steel structure fell from the sky.

“Ah.”

Seeing it, the man closed his eyes, sensing his impending doom.

***

On the outskirts of the Free City Alliance, in Scavenger territory.

It seemed the scavengers had stopped pursuing for some reason, but Cheong’s group was still cautiously making its way through the alleys.

Above Cheong’s head perched an unidentified fur ball.

The fur ball had flattened slightly, as if asserting itself as a hat.

“Are you sure that’s okay?”

The sniper with her rifle slung over her shoulder asked Cheong uneasily.

“Yeah, it’s fine.”

Cheong picked up the fur ball from her head and hugged it tightly, then playfully poked its tiny limbs, smiling contentedly.

The woman watched her warily, as if observing someone afflicted by mental pollution.

How could she be so affectionate toward such a sinister object, covered in blood?

The woman quickened her pace to walk alongside the man leading ahead.

(Still haven’t found anything?)

She whispered to the man.

(I’m not as skilled with machines as ‘Cheong.’ I’m looking, so just wait.)

The man, with his large hands ill-suited for his tiny smartphone, was trying to find information about the mysterious object attached to Cheong.

He was having trouble finding information.

Not only was accessing the Chinese network from the Free City Alliance difficult, but connecting to overseas networks from China was also challenging.

(Ah, I found it!)

Finally, after much effort circumventing various obstacles online, the man discovered information about the strange object.

[Name: Orange Reaper.]

[Estimated as a special-class object similar to a derivative of the Gray Reaper.]

[A derivative object of the special-class Gray Reaper.]

[Aside from flight capabilities and the ability to control cloud fish, no other abilities have been revealed.]

The woman nearly shouted in surprise upon seeing the information on the screen.

(Special-class? It’s special-class?)

Around the Free City Alliance, quite a number of objects frequently appear that can be hunted and modified into equipment like prosthetics, but strangely, a special-class object had never shown up before, making this discovery even more shocking.

(Special-class, huh? According to the mercenary manual, ‘special-class’ means it can’t be handled…)

(Maybe the classification system is different since it’s designated in Korea. Still, we should observe it carefully without provoking it rashly.)

(Right.)

While the man and woman whispered to each other, watching Cheong, the group arrived in front of a massive wall.

“It’s the security wall. Once we get over this, the mission is complete!”

Cheong looked up at the security wall with an expression that seemed somewhat relieved and happy despite the ordeal.

***

The creation of the ‘Giant Mother Golem’ was completed with sparkling starlight adorning it.

This ‘Giant Mother Golem’ had become a massive structure decorating the Marshmallow Plains.

It seemed intended to be summoned by the Blue Reapers when called.

[Mom Golem!]

[It’s really Mom Golem!]

Since a golem as large and radiant as the giant mom had been created, the Blue Reapers appeared extremely delighted.

And I became happy too.

For some reason, the Golden Reapers had given me a vacation.

Thus, I was able to return to my isolation room after a long time and rest comfortably.

‘Mom’s vacation!’

‘Vacation!’

Except for the requirement to always stay with the Golden Reapers during vacations, it was no different from usual.

From antennae to fingers, toes, and strands of hair, the Golden Reapers clung to me everywhere.

Ugh, it’s annoying.

If the Golden Reapers weren’t so soft and squishy like cushions, it would have been incredibly uncomfortable.

I buried myself in the soft bed and used the warm, squishy Golden Reapers as blankets instead of a quilt.

I turned on the TV and started watching the news after a long time.

[Hello. Here’s a breaking news update.]

[A smuggling ring trafficking golden horns was apprehended through cooperation with Chinese police. The suspects were shockingly found to have remodeled their entire bodies with objects.]

[This indicates a hole in the blockade set up by the Free City Alliance to prevent object remodelers from escaping.]

[In response, the Chinese government declared a state of emergency and urgently deployed experts from the association near the Free City Alliance to thoroughly re-examine the blockade system.]

[The Chinese authorities have announced they will continue to strictly address illegal smuggling and object remodeling. We’ll keep you updated with the latest developments.]

[That concludes the breaking news.]

Chunks of gold made by melting down golden horns were displayed on the news screen.

Unlike regular gold, they emitted a warm color as if containing the sun.

Comparing it with the back of the Golden Reaper watching TV together, it was definitely a similar gold color.

Glancing over, the Golden Reapers were watching TV blissfully without understanding the content, swaying their gold antennae innocently.

Even though they don’t understand the content, their gold antennae sway gently.

As the eldest, shouldn’t you study a bit?

While thinking that, I poked the Golden Reaper’s antenna.

Then the Golden Reaper gently nibbled on my finger and giggled “Hehe.”

Well, it’s cute…

Do I need to do more?

***

On the outskirts of the territory of the ‘Wei Family’ within the Free City Alliance.

After passing through the enormous security wall-like structure, Cheong and her group arrived at the delivery location for the commission and were waiting for the receiver while arguing quietly.

“Cheong, think about it again. There’s something suspicious about this commission.”

The woman was clinging to Cheong, suggesting they abandon the commission.

Returning the commission item and bringing it back to the broker who assigned the job.

Actually, there were quite a few oddities about this commission.

How did they know and track them?

More attacks than expected.

The appearance of ‘Tank,’ the leader of the scavengers.

And finally, the sudden disappearance of the scavengers.

But Cheong slowly shook her head and stubbornly refused.

“It’s a commission from the ‘Wei Family,’ one of the three families ruling the Alliance. If we quit, it’ll be hard to work as mercenaries.”

“That may be true, but…”

“Besides, if the commission item is valuable enough to attract the leader of the scavengers controlling a region, rejecting it might cause even bigger problems.”

Cheong muttered seriously.

(And I need to take on this ‘family commission’ to make a lot of money. There’s something I must do.)

Her voice was so low that even the woman nearby couldn’t hear it, but the Orange Reaper sitting atop Cheong’s head like a hat could.

‘I’ll grant it. That wish of yours.’

The Orange Reaper silently vowed with determination, unseen by its human attachment.

Thud thud.

Just as the woman was about to suggest reconsidering once more, polite footsteps began to approach.

At that moment, the man tensely said,

“Damn it, those family guys give me the creeps every time I see them.”

The person sent by the family appeared dressed in what looked like neatly tailored gray suits.

The problem was that there was no distinction between clothing and skin; everything was seamlessly connected.

It resembled a high-grade mackerel cut into hexagonal pieces and stitched together haphazardly.

Like a statue of a person wearing clothes, where the skin and clothing were fused together.

And eyes filled entirely with black pupils, lacking any whites.

Their appearance was truly unsettling.

“You’ve brought the item.”

Upon hearing the receiver’s words, the man placed the bag he had been carrying onto the ground.

The receiver picked up the bag and briefly gauged its weight with his hand.

He soon nodded and spoke.

“Good work. Once the item is verified, the agreed-upon amount will be deposited. You may leave now.”

The receiver’s tone was rigid and official.

Like a programmed machine, there was no fluctuation in his voice.

His gaze towards the group was indifferent and cold.

Thus, the conversation ended.

Cheong and her group departed silently, as if accustomed to it.

The strange fur clump disguising itself as a hair accessory on Cheong’s head was extremely tense and couldn’t take her eyes off the ‘receiver’.

‘Harmful Object!’

Though the scavengers patched together with objects were human.

This receiver was a 100% pure object that had never been human, and extremely dangerous.

***

The open lot where Cheong’s group had left fell silent.

The receiver carefully confirmed there was no one around after the silence enveloped the area.

Then he opened the backpack sealed with a specially designed lock.

A brilliant golden light shimmered across the open lot.

The contents of the backpack were cubic chunks of golden horns smuggled from Korea.

After putting the backpack back on his shoulder, a look of relief briefly crossed his face before returning to his emotionless expression.

He glanced around cautiously, but only silence greeted him.

At last, he began muttering to himself softly.

“The scavengers seem to have caught the scent…but the goods have arrived safely.”

Pausing for a moment, he added more forcefully,

“Yes.”

After checking his surroundings again, a subtle smile played on the corner of the receiver’s lips.

As if gaining something precious, his eyes sparkled.

“And although confirmation is needed…”

The receiver slowly continued while stroking the backpack.

“I’ve discovered a pure human suitable for the grand endeavor.”

His voice carried both anticipation and caution.

Holding the backpack firmly, he nodded again and began walking briskly.

Through the sunlight-dappled dust, the receiver’s figure gradually faded into the distance.

[!– Slider main container –]