Chapter 48

The inside of the expo was quite chaotic due to the soldiers.

When I woke up from being knocked out, it felt even more like a mess.

I was at the expo when I suddenly felt dizzy, and when I came to, an incident had occurred.

Right now, the soldiers have lined up the expo staff and are sequentially questioning them.

Yerin looked rather downcast.

“Unnie Sehee, looks like this expo is over, huh?”

“It seems so. Over there, I saw quite a few body bags. There appear to be numerous casualties.”

On one side of the expo hall, soldiers were loading bodies into bags and carrying them away in large numbers.

With an incident like this, continuing the expo was obviously out of the question.

From what I heard around me, there weren’t just fatalities—object losses were beyond imagination.

The line kept shrinking until it was Sehee Research Institute’s turn.

The inquiry consisted of simple Q&A sessions.

They briefly asked if we had lost any objects or had any deaths among our researchers.

There were many questions about the Golden Tree.

“Have you ever encountered or seen the Golden Tree at another research facility?”

“Do you know anything about minor rumors or news regarding the reconstruction of Bucheon Research Institute?”

It seemed that the government investigators suspected the expo incident was caused by the Golden Tree.

Truthfully, it’s normal to be suspicious if an unfamiliar object suddenly appears at the expo.

After finishing their inquiry with Sehee Research Institute, they told us to prepare for evacuation.

“Once your evacuation preparations are complete, please submit your paperwork at the desk over there. You’ll receive a number based on submission order, and evacuations will proceed accordingly.”

While packing up at the research booth, Yerin said dejectedly,

“In the end, we never even got to show off the Water Deer Pajamas.”

“Hmm, whether the Reaper would even wear them is uncertain…”

Because, as far as I know, the Reaper has never worn clothes.

Sehee Research Institute didn’t suffer any object losses.

The cute little puppy was still perfectly fine in the corner of the booth, and the incorporeal cat was naturally unharmed.

However, the Blue Lizard, which tends to attract attention, had its head eaten by someone.

According to old data from Central Research Institute, if the tail remains, it can resurrect based on the tail. So, taking the lower half should suffice.

Gray Reaper?

The Reaper was walking around noisily earlier but disappeared at some point.

Probably returned to the research institute ahead of time.

We loaded the objects into the dedicated isolation truck and sent them back to Sehee Research Institute.

The truck driver was none other than the trustworthy Kim Jungrwi.

The remaining researchers carried their luggage and boarded the rented bus.

After loading all necessary items into the vehicles, we left the expo and headed back to the institute.

Inside the rented bus belonging to Sehee Research Institute, driving along the road.

Yerin was looking through the empty digital camera data next to me.

“What are you searching for so intently?”

“I feel like I definitely took pictures, so I’m checking.”

“You must be mistaken. You didn’t even take the camera out, right?”

“For some reason, I feel like I took lots of photos of the Reaper wearing the water deer pajamas, but it must be a mistake.”

As Yerin put the camera back into her bag, she muttered, “Well, something like that happening in reality is impossible, right?”

Thus, Sehee Research Institute’s first expo participation ended abruptly.

***

The expo incident reaffirmed the sad jinx of zoos and concluded.

Lying in bed, I stretched my hand toward the ceiling.

…

I clenched and then opened my fist.

My abilities had increased.

It was because I dealt with objects at the expo.

However, the most puzzling aspect was the change in the Golden Reaper.

The lifespan of the ephemeral Golden Reaper had significantly extended.

This was the first time abilities gained improved automatically.

It seemed the objects killed by the Golden Reaper became its power.

[Is it reasonable that we haven’t caught ‘Maker’ yet? Despite causing such a major accident at the expo?]

[There’s a criminal running around freely! What is the government doing?!]

The TV was filled with stories about the criminals who ransacked the expo.

These were stories about the notorious criminal known as ‘Maker.’

Initially, all sorts of theories and conspiracies emerged.

“This expo incident was a massacre by the Gray Reaper.”

“A new type of Gray Reaper, the Golden Reaper, caused this.”

Starting with these Daily Objects-like opinions, various rumors spread, but they vanished once a particular piece of news broke.

That was the disappearance of the “Indestructible Cube.”

Since the cube was literally “indestructible,” it couldn’t have broken or moved anywhere, so it had to have been stolen.

Given the incalculable value of the Indestructible Cube, the consensus became that the entire incident was staged to steal that cube.

However, opinions varied on who orchestrated this event.

The suspect was identified when the materials for the Golden Tree were revealed.

“The Golden Tree was artificially created using Golden Antlers as material!”

It turned out the Golden Tree was an object made from Golden Antlers.

Naturally, the suspect was pointed out as ‘Maker.’

“A criminal with incomprehensible levels of technical skill who creates objects.”

“A criminal who makes objects using Golden Antlers.”

“A recently active criminal.”

The criminal who uses Golden Antlers to create objects became the prime suspect, ‘Maker.’

In my opinion, there were several questionable points in this incident that were overlooked after public interest waned.

“Why were the soldiers, especially the commanding officer leading the lockdown, found dead at the expo?”

“Why were so many dangerous objects displayed at this expo?”

Such doubts remained.

However, the TV only highlighted ‘Maker.’

I turned off the repetitive TV noise and stepped out of the isolation room.

I should test the new ability I obtained.

***

Abandoned laboratory on the outskirts of Gangdong District.

The director escaped from the expo and relocated here.

Since the incident was conducted under the name of Bucheon Research Institute, exposure was inevitable sooner or later.

A new experiment began in this laboratory.

“Alright, let’s begin the experiment.”

A loud signal sounded as the countdown started.

It was similar to previous experiments.

“Place kidnapped individuals into a chamber made from Golden Antlers and force them to name the object.”

The only difference was the presence of the “Indestructible Cube” inside the chamber.

Soon enough, a sound akin to smashing a massive hammer onto steel plates echoed.

“Nameless” appeared and began violently battering the chamber.

The reinforced chamber, thanks to the cube, demonstrated the durability worthy of its “indestructible” title.

No matter how fast or hard it was hit, the chamber held firm.

The relentless pounding eventually stopped abruptly.

And a completely different phenomenon began.

A sharp, grating sound reverberated throughout the lab.

It was a chilling sound, like nails scratching a chalkboard.

Along with this sound, “Nameless”‘s fingers pierced through the chamber wall.

First, just a finger.

Then the wrist.

Eventually, the entire arm.

As the sharp sound continued, the arm stretched longer and longer, breaking through the supposedly indestructible chamber.

Despite showing signs of damage, “Nameless”‘s arm regenerated instantly.

Unfortunately, the chamber could not regenerate.

“Help! Help me! Please help!”

Seeing the encroaching arm, the man inside covered his ears and screamed.

He continuously cried for help, begging to be saved.

But his pleas went unanswered, just like those of other experimental victims.

Having inserted its upper body, “Nameless” grabbed the man and slowly crushed him to death.

Thanks to physical immunity, the death was slow and painful.

Ultimately, the man was crushed, leaving only his blood pooled inside the chamber.

“The cube couldn’t stop it either. The existence of a way to break physical immunity is surprising… Experiments on ‘Nameless’ will cease. It’s a waste of time until another solution arises.”

The director angrily declared the experiment over.

“With this, I don’t know if we can even start researching ‘KR – 897.'”

Just as the director finished speaking, blood spurted from his chest.

“Oh dear.”

The grotesque arm emerging from his chest was slowly splitting him in half.

Although the director was dying, spitting blood from his mouth, he didn’t look particularly worried.

“Researchers, everyone. Then, we’ll take a day off.”

With those final words, the director was split in half and died.

On top of the director’s bloody corpse, the researchers danced joyfully, shedding tears of happiness.