Chapter 306

An open lot near the James Tower located in the Songpa District.

The area was bustling with employees busily tidying up equipment.

At the center of the lot, a slightly scorched Golden-Mecha-Tyrannosaurus rocket lay scattered about.

James stood looking down at the rocket with a hint of pride in his mutterings.

“Recovering a Tyrannosaurus-shaped rocket? This is obviously a world-first, right?”

His muttering carried a touch of absurdity as well.

Lowering his head to look at the table, he saw the Golden Reaper enthusiastically chewing on something over an opened newspaper.

This Golden Reaper was the one that always followed James around and was currently trying to munch on some tough dried squid James had left out for amusement.

The Golden Reaper struggled to tear into the stubborn squid with its tiny teeth, but to no avail.

Are they just too weak… or are their teeth a bit soft?

Even if the Golden Reaper’s bites don’t hurt humans, it does seem inconvenient for eating tough food.

“Hmm.”

The Golden Reaper looked up at James with a dejected expression, holding the large squid in its mouth.

Upon seeing this, James grabbed the squid from the Golden Reaper’s mouth.

“Ack!”

Thinking James was taking away its snack, the Golden Reaper clamped down and dangled precariously.

But when James grabbed the Golden Reaper and pulled, the squid slipped out of its mouth.

“Ang-dae!”

Watching the flailing Golden Reaper with a smile, James said,

“I’ll cut it for you, just wait.”

Using small scissors, James carefully snipped the squid into bite-sized pieces for the Golden Reaper.

Mmm.

The Golden Reaper then began munching on the squid with a slightly embarrassed look as it sat nearby.

“How long will it take this Golden Reaper to finish just one piece of squid?”

As James watched the enthusiastic chewing, he flipped through the newspaper on the table.

A photo appeared showing dozens of Red Reapers flying around, burning slime.

[Angels of Communism. The Red Reapers save the world from threats!]

was the headline.

Until now, the activities of the Gray Reapers and Mini Reapers were often conducted at the frontlines of Objects, so the general public only had vague impressions like “The Gray Reaper destroyed some Object.”

However, this time’s “Dark Green Slime Incident” was different.

It was a direct threat experienced by almost everyone worldwide since very few people live without animals like cats, pigeons, insects, or plants.

There were numerous reports of dining tables suddenly sinking with dark green slime oozing out from underneath.

When Objects threatened them directly with no clear solutions in sight, the Red Reapers appeared just in time.

Because of this, the popularity of Red Reapers, Gray Reapers, and Mini Reapers has skyrocketed.

Red Reaper fan sites have popped up everywhere, and many previously unknown deeds attributed to Gray Reapers and Mini Reapers are being rediscovered.

Things were shaping up nicely in James’ opinion.

Eventually, humans would inevitably live under the protection of Gray Reapers and Mini Reapers.

Moreover, seeing the Red Reapers wielding sickles and hammers sparked discussions that Reapers might understand human culture.

Reapers who understand humans and protect them!

Such perceptions were gradually spreading.

The only problem?

Rumors that the Mini Reapers favor communism. How should this be handled?

But no matter how much James thought about it, there didn’t seem to be any solution.

***

Deep within the Mini Reaper Garden, beyond the Black Sugar Desert.

I arrived at a region no Mini Reaper had ever reached before and looked around.

After destroying the Green Moon, this new area had formed within the Mini Reaper Garden.

It was a jungle made entirely of colorful jellies.

Jelly trees.

Jelly rocks.

Jelly rivers.

Jelly vines.

The variety of shapes and colors made it fun to explore.

It felt like a giant plastic block playground made of jelly.

Though the shapes resembled toys, the jelly’s characteristics were still present.

Mmm.

I lounged on a sunny jelly rock, munching on jelly while gazing at the sky.

Without Yerin feeding me snacks or Mini Reapers offering tribute alongside my mom, I used shadows to tear off pieces of jelly.

I combined the tentacle summoning ability I gained earlier with the shadow manipulation skill obtained after destroying the Purple Moon.

While I couldn’t give physical form to shadows like the Purple Reaper, combining them with tentacles proved surprisingly useful.

By stretching out a shadow…

And summoning a tentacle from it…

I could easily grab jelly beyond the tentacle’s normal range!

Enjoying jelly snacks while lying on the squishy rock, I suddenly remembered the Green Moon.

“Since I captured the Green Moon, I’ll soon gain abilities like the Mini Reapers. Wonder what they’ll be like?”

Mini Reapers usually appear linked to the moons, so maybe I’ll become a Green Reaper with bacterial-level numbers?

The abilities I’ll gain seem related to nature, but exactly how they’ll manifest is completely unpredictable.

“When the Green Reaper appears, the Mini Reapers will probably go festival-crazy again.”

I can already imagine the Gold Reapers shouting ‘New youngest member!’ with enthusiasm.

Lost in these thoughts, something suddenly burst out of the jungle’s shadows with a “Puff!”

?!

It was a small object I’d never seen before, but it held a heart containing a small log.

Ah, so that’s the Green Reaper.

Looks similar to the Orange Reaper, quite different from other Mini Reapers.

Still, glad the figure is proportioned like a Mini Reaper.

It had cat-like ears and floated gracefully through the air.

Following the Blue Reaper, Red Reaper, and Orange Reaper, another flying Mini Reaper had appeared.

“Ming?”

The confused Green Reaper looked around, then spotted me and let out a small cry before circling excitedly.

“Ming!”

Then it cried louder and started flying off urgently, as if there was some pressing matter.

“?!”

***

Nearby a large hospital close to the Sehee Research Institute.

The sole survivor of the James Space Station had arrived in Korea via the Mini Reaper Garden.

Though not physically injured, they suffered from severe psychological shock and remained hospitalized.

“No… Mingming, don’t go.”

The woman was trapped in endless nightmares.

Repeated dreams of Mingming dissolving into light.

“Dripping sound.”

Faintly glowing golden eyes.

A final comforting “Meeeng” sound.

“If only I could see a different moment.”

Though their brief journey together was short, the woman shared countless memories with Mingming.

Yet the only thing she could dream of was this nightmare.

When the woman woke up after Mingming dissolved into light.

In the dim hospital room, the woman glanced around with blurry eyes after sleeping too long, then closed her eyes again.

If she sleeps again, she’ll see Mingming.

***

When the woman fell asleep again, a small green object peeked out from the corner of the room.

“Ming…”

It was Mingming returned from death.

But Mingming couldn’t approach the woman right away.

Because its appearance had changed drastically.

Mingming had transformed into a Green Reaper due to the influence of the Gray Reaper.

After confirming the woman was asleep, the Green Reaper flew back into her embrace.

“Meeeng.”

Feeling the warm attachment of the Affectionate Human, the Green Reaper closed its eyes contentedly.

***

In the quiet Seoul Forest rejecting civilization, a massive object stood amidst the stillness.

The Special-Class Object: Steel Tower.

On a night devoid of human-made light, clouds slowly parted to reveal moonlight pouring down.

When the seven-colored moonlight illuminated the towering Steel Tower reaching toward the heavens, an ancient presence seemed to awaken.

Crackling sounds echoed.

Despite being indestructible to all human weapons, cracks began forming on the Steel Tower.

From the cracks emerged an eerie black light, darker than the darkness enveloping Seoul Forest.

The crumbling surface of the Steel Tower resembled a demon shedding its shell.

Slowly, very slowly, the interior of the Steel Tower revealed nothingness.

Its outer layer continued to crumble, yet the tower remained standing firm.