Chapter 93

Late evening, slipping quietly through the slightly ajar door, the Golden Reaper began to stealthily move through the rarely visited corridors of the research institute.

Carefully placing one foot in front of the other on the pristine tile floor, step by step with utmost caution.

In the middle of the dimly lit corridor, sporadically illuminated by faint lights, there was a space glowing brightly.

It was the 24-hour operational management office.

Inside, a single night manager sat nodding off, looking utterly exhausted.

An old grandfather who always greeted me with a warm smile and offered sweet rice cakes every time we met.

Though the rice cakes weren’t particularly tasty, they carried a comforting warmth that made me fond of this grandfather figure.

I usually rewarded him by hopping onto his shoulders and giving him a little massage after our encounters, but sneaking past him like this felt kind of heart-wrenching tonight.

Next time, I’ll give you double the usual massage!

With this small promise in mind, I tiptoed past the management office in my signature wobbly gait.

Fortunately, the dozing grandfather didn’t notice the tiny shadow crossing the floor.

But in front of the Golden Reaper loomed an even bigger obstacle.

A large room filled with humans stood directly in the path toward the Attached Human.

Huge machines hummed noisily while sullen-faced humans sat around them.

Ugh, so many tired-looking people…

Hang in there! I’ll play with all of you next time!

The objects inside the room were mysterious, but judging from how restless the humans became whenever we approached, these must be important contraptions.

I hid behind one of those machines and started to carefully make my way across.

Slowly, ever so slowly, to avoid being noticed.

“Hey, check this out for a sec.”

“What is it?”

Voices! This is bad—I might get caught!

I have to stay still until the humans stop talking.

“Just come over here. Can you see it?”

“Could it be hiding?”

The soft murmurs of the humans carried a playful tone—maybe even when bored, humans like us enjoy playing tricks!

“Never seen a Reaper hiding before.”

“Should we pretend not to notice?”

More humans are gathering now…

Don’t get spotted!

“Take one picture each and then disperse! The Reaper can’t move right now!”

Click-click.

After a flurry of strange sounds, the humans began to scatter.

Phew, what a relief.

Somehow, I managed to go unnoticed.

But why does everyone seem healthier after hearing those ‘click-click’ sounds? I’ll have to investigate this next time!

***

The mansion of the Director of Trinity Research Institute No. 3 always exuded an ominous atmosphere.

On a late night, the Director was receiving a report from their butler.

“The two Night Crow operatives we assigned have both perished. Further operations appear impossible at this point.”

“Is that so? How far did the Night Crows manage to progress?”

“They successfully shut down the factory and stole the bag. However, the Gray Reaper suddenly appeared and took the bag away, leaving only the factory shutdown as a success.”

Calmly setting down the wine glass in hand, the Director rose and gazed at the golden-horned decoration, speaking.

“At least we managed to shut down the factory—a stroke of luck amidst misfortune. James’s factory must never be established in Korea. We cannot allow alchemy to spread here.”

“…”

“You seem to think that even the factory shutdown will ultimately fail due to the Gray Reaper.”

Kuk-kuk-kuk.

The Director chuckled lowly.

“But don’t worry. This factory harbors an Object that not even the Gray Reaper could handle—an exact replica of the Object the Gray Reaper failed to deal with.”

With a satisfied smile, the Director returned to their seat and enjoyed another sip of wine.

***

Deep within the Pudding Factory.

Once brimming with energy, the factory now lies eerily silent except for the occasional ear-piercing emergency alarm that adds to the unsettling stillness.

And the rhythm of that alarm seems broken, irregular, heightening the sense of chaos and confusion.

The red emergency lights pulsate in sync with the alarms, casting long, distorted shadows and bathing the cold steel structures in an ominous crimson glow.

At the heart of this sinister steel labyrinth lurks a massive Strange Object moving about.

A Hungry Ghost drenched in black liquid.

Resembling the Hungry Ghost that disappeared into the Songpa District sinkhole, this Object shares its grotesque tentacles and glossy, smooth skin—but emits a foul-smelling black ooze that drips continuously.

This black oil oozing from its skin seeps into the factory floor, spreading a putrid stench and contaminating the surrounding ground.

Occasionally, it opens its gaping mouth filled with sharp, threatening teeth and violently gnaws on nearby metal structures, despite having no apparent reason to remain in this desolate place.

Yet, it clings possessively to a machine deep within the factory, as if guarding something precious.

***

After the dramatic entrance and exit of the bear, the Reaper suddenly reappeared and handed me a peculiar document case.

An elegant, vintage document case.

It looks expensive, but where on earth did they find it?

Since it doesn’t feel like the Reaper obtained it properly, I should probably return it to the rightful owner if they show up later.

Tiptop-tiptop.

The Reaper walking slightly ahead of me seems a bit bored and has started playing alone on the asphalt flooring inside the factory.

Hopping from one white line to another drawn on the asphalt.

Pretending not to care or pay attention to anything, yet their tiny feet never miss a single white line.

Hehe.

If they realize I’ve noticed, they might get upset—better pretend ignorance.

I silently cheered for the Reaper’s asphalt adventure in my heart.

***

Walking through the factory interior paved with asphalt alongside Yerin, we eventually reached a building marked with “<7>” on its wall.

Upon entering, countless Objects surrounded Yerin and me.

Pink rabbit-shaped dolls.

Objects wearing chef hats and holding cooking utensils.

“Pudding!”

“Pudding!”

These chef-hat-wearing objects, armed with tools and shouting “Pudding!” clearly existed to make pudding.

Finally found them.

The pudding-making Objects.

Now if we can get these Objects back to work, delicious “Ninja Pudding” will surely be produced.

There were just a couple of problems though.

The gaze of the rabbit dolls seemed far too hostile.

They looked ready to pounce if I wasn’t there to hold them back.

For killing machines rather than confectionery ones.

And the nauseating stench emanating from their bodies.

That black liquid smell.

If these dolls were to make pudding, the resulting dessert would carry such a foul odor that it’d ruin any appetite.

Should I destroy them despite losing some abilities?

Or perhaps try taming them like a Cute Puppy?

As I pondered deeply, a desperate voice echoed.

“Rescue team? Please save me!”

It was the thin, gasping voice of a man struggling for breath.

Looks like there’s no time for taming; better proceed with the ability degradation option.

***

The Interpreter was nearing their limit.

“Please save me! Please save me!”

Breathing was becoming difficult, feeling like I was about to suffocate.

The menacing sound of the killer rabbits swinging their cooking utensils was closing in fast.

“Hurry up, you’re going to get stabbed in the butt in about five seconds if you keep this pace!”

Meanwhile, James running ahead looked surprisingly calm, almost leisurely.

Turning back at his warning, a huge foam spatula lunged straight at me.

‘This is it. Never taking another job like this.’

Just as despair set in, a golden light flickered before me.

A tiny golden glow.

Even under the ominous red lighting, it shone brilliantly, slicing through the兔子 with radiant waves of gold.

‘I’m saved!’

Overwhelmed with relief, the Interpreter collapsed to the ground sobbing.

***

Leaving the survivors to their celebrations, I quickly turned my attention to observing the Garden of the Golden Reaper.

“Reaper? What’s wrong?”

Yerin tilted her head curiously as I suddenly closed my eyes, poking my cheeks repeatedly.

But I have more pressing matters to attend to.

Pudding!

In the center of the Golden Reaper’s garden stood an unfamiliar facility.

A gleaming golden chef’s hat.

Golden-scale cooking utensils.

And a matching prep station.

Thank goodness, no rabbit-shaped puddings in sight here.

Approaching the new culinary setup with curiosity, the Golden Reapers each grabbed a chef’s hat.

As soon as they flipped them over, rabbit ears sprouted magically, and they immediately began preparing pudding with practiced ease.

Their cooking process was unique.

Not your ordinary pudding preparation, but a highly specialized assembly-line production.

One Golden Reaper melted loads of sugar, testing it with a quick finger-dip before munching happily.

Their newly grown rabbit ears twitched approvingly.

Another happily mixed eggs while yet another snuck bites of sugar as they transported ingredients.

Each had their own distinct task, yet there was undeniable teamwork.

The sound of boiling water, whisking eggs, and glasses clinking created a symphony-like performance.

Watching the precise choreography of their cooking movements was mesmerizing.

Success!

The taste was practically palpable already.

No doubt the Ninja Pudding will be perfect.

Hehe, once it’s done, I’ll have to take a bite!

Achieving our goal somehow feels so satisfying—it makes me happy.