Chapter 65

Hidden on the rooftop of a nearby building, I looked down at where the Ghost Cat was, and the Temporary Camp at Mount Gayangsan had turned into a chaotic mess.

The joyful party that had been here left scattered remnants, making my heart ache.

I like parties too!

The toppled grill lay on the ground, spilling its contents, while perfectly cooked, golden chicken skewers rolled around on the dirt floor, dripping with juices.

In the empty lot after the party, strange fake humans—neither human nor “Object”—were running around like zombies.

Next to the wrecked party area were some familiar faces hiding.

The Yellow Detective stood casually leaning against a brick wall holding a gas lamp.

A Junior Detective stood tense, gripping a large hammer.

Both of them radiated an aura different from before.

Hmm, if I had to describe it, they’ve become half-Object-like?

After all, someone who can send people flying like baseballs isn’t exactly normal.

I tried to enjoy the cat’s adventure as if watching a movie, but something began to stimulate my senses.

Was it like a ‘boom!’ sound only I could hear?

I had this feeling that something unsettling had suddenly appeared somewhere in this camp.

Most strongly, I sensed overwhelming malice towards humans.

From afar, it kept alternating its gaze between the camp corner and the location of the cat.

Meow, I wanted to keep watching the cat’s grand adventure…

But the detective and the junior are competent, so the cat should be fine.

And there’s Watson too!

Leaving the detectives behind, I started hopping toward the direction where I’d felt that unsettling presence.

***

On the rooftop nearby, letters I remembered seeing floated briefly in my monocle before disappearing.

Letters I’d seen from The Gray Reaper.

The Gray Reaper, which had been observing us, had suddenly vanished somewhere.

Why is The Gray Reaper, who should be at Sehee Research Institute, here?

Though I know The Gray Reaper is often falsely accused Object,

It’s hard not to suspect with how frequently it appears at crime scenes.

Why did it show up here?

Still, things would have been much easier with the help of the human-friendly Gray Reaper…

Rescuing Junior No. 2 looks quite troublesome.

The three-story building where Junior No. 2 hid was surrounded tightly by camp residents.

The welcome party being overcrowded has now become a problem.

They barricaded the rooftop door but won’t last long.

Unlike zombies in movies, these camp residents are intelligent, so holding out indefinitely is impossible.

Already, they’re trying various methods like bringing ladders or climbing the walls.

Junior No. 2 only has three bullets left.

Ugh, no solution in sight.

To rescue the client and Junior No. 2, we’ll need to lure the mountain of camp residents outside first.

Fortunately, these residents have zombie-like tendencies.

If they spot us, they’ll blindly chase instead of thinking.

If they weren’t like this, it’d be like fighting a well-organized militia—an escape would’ve been nearly impossible.

We probably would’ve been captured when we first entered the alley.

“Hey, come over here.”

A quick strategy explanation.

I’ll draw their attention and lead all the zombies away, while Junior No. 1 evacuates Junior No. 2 and the client to safety.

The most critical part of this plan? Surprisingly, the cat.

We’ll rely on the cat guiding us to safety.

After the briefing, the Object-cat meowed as if understanding.

***

Senior recited the shaky plan then suddenly dashed out onto the open lot.

Clap clap. Two claps drew everyone’s attention.

“Everyone, it’s late, let’s wrap up this welcome party, shall we?”

At Senior’s words, the camp residents rushed forward drooling.

Without even glancing back, Senior ran off in the opposite direction.

Once the commotion settled, looking over the wall revealed that all the people had disappeared.

The barbecue site where they grilled and ate chicken skewers moments ago was now completely trashed.

Knocking on the locked rooftop door of the otherwise empty three-story building.

Boom boom boom.

After waiting a bit, Hyejin opened the door, pale-faced and clutching the unconscious client.

Her revolver-tightened hands trembled, and she still seemed confused.

“But why did this happen? Everyone was so kind before…”

“Yeahyeah, it’s okay. Don’t worry.”

All I could do was hug her tightly and pat her reassuringly.

After consoling her for a few minutes, Hyejin calmed down enough to converse.

First, I needed to ask why the client fainted on the rooftop and why the situation escalated to needing guns.

“The client suddenly passed out on the rooftop. I’m not sure why.”

“And you don’t know why you were attacked?”

“I have no idea. We were just having a normal conversation…”

Hyejin clearly didn’t understand what was happening.

“While Senior and I were wandering, we saw kids tearing apart a puppy raw. That’s when we thought ‘we better hurry back,’ but gunshots rang out and the camp people flipped and attacked in chaos.”

“By any chance, were those chicken skewers actually dog meat?”

“Eh? Surely not…”

As we secured the client with cloth, Hyejin muttered something ominous.

Surely not.

It couldn’t be; dog meat would taste different.

“Come to think of it, these people seem obsessed with ‘tourists.'”

“Tourists?”

“Every person we met kept asking if we were tourists and who we came with.”

“I think I mentioned something related to that too. Did we get attacked because we’re not tourists?”

“Well, who knows. This place is definitely weird, so let’s finish the request quickly.”

I carried the client on my back and called the cat lounging on the wall.

“Cat! Lead us to safety now.”

Meow!

With a confident expression, the cat swished its tail and began leading us.

***

Phew.

Breathing heavily after sprinting through unfamiliar streets chased by relentless zombies.

There was no time to catch my breath while escaping from the endless horde.

Jumping over brick walls, weaving through narrow alleys, and knocking over trash cans, but I couldn’t shake off the zombies.

I’m exhausted; I don’t prefer using only physical strength…

Still holding the gas lamp in my hand.

I could’ve asked Watson to hide me right away, but I decided to endure a bit longer.

Even though I know asking Watson three times is fine, it still feels awkward.

While fleeing from roof to roof, something unusual caught my eye at the edge of my vision.

What’s that?

Late night, dressed in black.

Hard to see clearly, but the sporadic numbers suggest a large group approaching.

They were fully wrapped in black cloth like ninjas.

Their synchronized movements.

Unusual attire.

I’ve never heard of such a group existing in Korea.

Silently infiltrating, they began massacring the camp residents without a word.

Thanks to them, the number of camp people chasing me drastically decreased, but I couldn’t celebrate; these black-clad figures were suspicious.

With the situation changed, reuniting with the juniors quickly seemed best.

Lifting Watson, I said,

“Watson, conceal me.”

“Watson, conceal me.”

“Watson, conceal me.”

With a giggling laugh, smoke spread, rendering me invisible.

Let’s go back quickly; something odd is happening.

***

Looking around near the container house, a makeshift fortress of construction materials blocked the view.

Appearing as a pile of stored building supplies from the outside.

Inside, there was a spacious area with a small container house.

This place the cat found was a perfectly hidden spot.

Hyejin looked around worriedly.

“Can anyone find us here? It’s completely out of sight, and it’s extremely secluded…”

“Senior will definitely find us, so don’t worry. Honestly, Senior’s sense is more Object-like than the Objects Senior carries. Plus, if all else fails, we can contact via phone, right?”

Senior is incredibly skilled at finding paths, so there’s no need to worry.

Hyejin will get used to Senior’s quirks eventually.

Putting aside worries, I sat in the chair inside the container to rest when groaning sounds began.

“Ugh…”

Shaking her head side to side, the client ‘Sua’ woke up.

Hyejin immediately approached the waking client and greeted warmly.

“Are you feeling better?”

“Ah, I must’ve fainted. Sorry about that.”

The client still seemed unsteady, unable to fully regain consciousness.

Of course, if someone you knew for a month suddenly turned into something zombie-like, it would be shocking.

Regaining consciousness, Sua, the client, spoke with a very confused expression.

“Ah, but… this might sound like a strange question.”

“May I ask one question?”

“My memory is hazy…”

“What was my name again?”