Chapter 354

A girl with silver hair that shimmered like moonlight entered a narrow room.

Beyond the window of the narrow room, the ceiling of a dark cave and its glowing objects reminded one of the night sky.

As fake stars faintly illuminated the windowsill, the girl who had returned after a long day pulled something out of her pocket.

Resting on her palm was a round fruit that gleamed like a jewel.

The girl stared at it intently and muttered to herself.

“What in the world is this…?”

It was too perfect—a flawless sphere without any blemishes or stem.

It resembled an expensive piece of jewelry or an ornamental orb.

But when she pressed it lightly with her finger, it felt soft and elastic. Bringing it close to her nose, she detected a sweet fragrance.

‘…’

The sweet scent made the silver-haired girl feel saliva pooling in her mouth.

For some reason, this strange orb looked incredibly delicious, like a tasty fruit.

Without realizing it, the silver-haired girl swallowed her saliva.

At that moment, the mini sprout reaper perched on her shoulder grinned happily and let out a “Hehe.”

Its expression was filled with anticipation, as if saying, “She might eat the fruit soon!”

However, shaking her head, the silver-haired girl carefully placed the fruit on her desk.

Though she wanted to eat it right away, the education she had received stopped her.

“It’s definitely mental pollution.”

Even so, the girl, captivated by the fruit, couldn’t bring herself to report it to the facility.

“As long as I don’t eat it, it should be fine… Right?”

After gazing at the fruit for a while, the silver-haired girl sighed, walked toward her bed, and soon fell asleep under the covers.

The mini sprout reaper slumped in disappointment.

“Hmm… She’s not eating it right now?”

Looking down at the sleeping girl, the mini sprout reaper wore a dejected expression.

“I wanted to make eye contact with my attached human sooner…”

The mini sprout reaper wanted its attached human to eat the fruit as soon as possible so they could communicate together.

After all, this underground city was a truly dangerous place filled with harmful objects.

***

5:40 AM.

Just like always, it was another ordinary morning at the “facility,” but the silver-haired girl’s expression wasn’t.

No matter how much she convinced herself it was just a ridiculous nightmare, she couldn’t shake off the growing unease.

Especially after hearing during breakfast that someone would soon “graduate,” her anxiety only worsened.

The silver-haired girl’s footsteps were faster than usual, and her gaze sharper.

Although the dream hadn’t changed, it felt increasingly vivid with each passing day.

“I must graduate first.”

Biting her lip, the girl mumbled to herself.

If the dream was ominous and unsettling, then preventing it from becoming reality was the solution.

“Be the top performer and graduate quickly.”

But there was one problem with the silver-haired girl’s plan.

There were no clear criteria for who graduated from the facility.

The trend seemed to favor kids with powerful abilities and excellent grades, but nothing was guaranteed.

Still, the silver-haired girl had no other choice but to try.

***

Morning training time at the “facility.”

The silver-haired girl put on her training uniform and headed to the training grounds.

Inside the massive concrete building, the children’s training sessions were underway.

As she opened the door, a familiar voice greeted her.

“You’re here early today!”

It was her closest friend, the brown-haired girl.

Seeing the bright smile of the brown-haired girl, it overlapped in her mind with the image of being butchered and spilling her insides.

“Yeah, I thought I needed to work harder.”

The silver-haired girl forced a smile.

The brown-haired girl, sensing something odd about her expression, looked curious but quickly regained her cheerful demeanor.

“Is something wrong? You’ve been acting weird lately.”

Unwilling to burden her friend with tales of her terrible dreams, the silver-haired girl simply shook her head.

She focused solely on the training instead.

Her performance skyrocketed during the subsequent tests.

Despite the overwhelming effort causing blood to rise in her throat, the silver-haired girl swallowed it back and continued.

She had to maintain this pace until the next graduation announcement.

“Humans…”

The mini sprout reaper tried to comfort her sweat-soaked cheek but passed right through as its ethereal hand couldn’t make contact.

Time passed.

The silver-haired girl consistently achieved top results and excelled in object response training.

But behind her success lay relentless anxiety and pain.

After training, she returned to her personal quarters and vomited blood while showering.

Every night, the silver-haired girl had the same dream.

Dreams of the brown-haired girl graduating—and then being slaughtered the same day.

Each morning, drenched in cold sweat, she woke up and redoubled her resolve.

“I must graduate first.”

Though it felt like her lifespan was being drained, the silver-haired girl didn’t stop.

Then one day, an unexpected graduation announcement came.

Exhausted but hopeful, the silver-haired girl approached the list with a faint smile.

“Phew, lucky me—I was almost at my limit.”

But upon seeing the name on the list, her smile vanished instantly.

The brown-haired girl’s name was there.

Just like in her dream.

“So it really came true…”

Paralyzed, the silver-haired girl stared blankly at the list and tears streamed down her face.

At that moment, the brown-haired girl ran over joyfully.

“I’m graduating! Finally, I can fight for humanity!”

But the silver-haired girl couldn’t respond.

She could only look at her friend and cry.

Confused by her reaction, the brown-haired girl hugged her.

“Don’t worry. You’ve worked so hard—you’ll graduate soon too. I’ll wait for you on the other side.”

But the silver-haired girl’s crying wouldn’t stop.

The mini sprout reaper cried alongside its attached human, patting her cheeks futilely with its intangible hands.

***

Early morning, Mini Reaper Garden.

As soon as I woke up and started walking across Marshmallow Plains, messages flooded in via the Mini Reaper Network.

“Human, I’m healthy!”

“No issues.”

“Mom!”

This was the morning report I assigned a few days ago after hearing about the mysterious fog incident around the Pacific Ocean, directed at the Mini Reapers stationed along the East Coast and Japan.

Some just giggled or shouted “Mom!” but that was fine.

If anything serious happened, they’d tell me.

The real issue lay elsewhere.

“Annoying.”

“Extremely annoying.”

“Too many Mini Reapers to report on…”

I was starting to regret assigning this daily 5-minute reporting task.

Checking each report and ensuring no one was missing became tedious.

After enduring the laborious 5 minutes, I collapsed onto the Marshmallow Plains.

“This is exhausting… Next time, I won’t assign such tasks.”

While reflecting on my past mistakes, I noticed the Discolored Reaper practicing martial arts nearby, moving awkwardly.

Initially thinking it was dancing, I realized it was actually training.

Poor coordination compared to me.

Watching the Discolored Reaper train filled me with warmth.

The comforting thought that “there’s someone worse than me”!

Hehe.

Lost in laughter, I heard an unusual sound.