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In the late afternoon, not yet darkened by the setting sun, Sehee Research Institute.

Warm sunlight poured into the courtyard of the institute where researchers and mini reapers were rolling around.

Researchers had popped by the courtyard for a brief rest.

The mini reapers were munching on snacks and soaking up the emotions given by the researchers.

As always, something strangely shaped was emerging from the ground in the peaceful courtyard of the research institute.

An anomaly that appeared anywhere there were humans, regardless of the place.

It was a spontaneous generation of an object.

‘?’

And there was a hungry ghost reaper closely observing the object.

Not a mini reaper, nor a variant of a hungry ghost.

A harmful object? It’s ambiguous. Doesn’t seem like that either.

It was as if the yellow moon had created a fake golden reaper, trying to deceive others into thinking it was a golden reaper while radiating mental pollution.

Yet, the slight mental pollution it had couldn’t fool anyone into believing it was a golden reaper, and its appearance was quite far from that too.

It squirmed like a ghost draped in fabric.

It was a golden object with a body as soft as pudding.

It stretched its fluffy little hands into the air, yearning for the researchers’ attention, but nobody seemed to care about the object.

The hungry ghost reaper poked the pudding-sized golden object with its finger.

‘Who are you?’

When the hungry ghost reaper questioned it with will, the golden object turned its head and answered with a will of its own.

‘I don’t know.’

It seemed that the object, being newly born, had no idea what it was.

Moreover, the shape making up the object was wobbling unsteadily, influenced by the surrounding environment.

‘?’

The hungry ghost reaper watched the scene with curious eyes.

Unlike mini reapers, that object lacked the firewood in its heart.

Moreover, it wasn’t under the owner’s control like the objects in the mini reaper garden.

Under different circumstances, the variations could all be harmful objects to humans, but this one didn’t give off any harmful vibe at all.

Even the round-headed object that made light swords for golden reapers had a slightly harmful odor, which had been increasing steadily.

‘!’

As a researcher walked by with snacks, the golden object waved its little hand, but the researcher ignored it and passed by.

‘Sad.’

The golden object drooped like a black reaper, melting away.

It seemed to remember the image of its owner recoiling and yelling, “Ew, it’s Tantalus’ cooking!” every time it brought a wonderfully shaped dessert.

Craving human attention but not getting it, the hungry ghost reaper couldn’t help but feel an urge to help.

Lifting the mushy golden object onto its palm, the hungry ghost reaper conveyed its will.

‘I’ll help you.’

First, it needed to fix that saggy shape.

At the very least, it had to resemble a mini reaper.

The hungry ghost reaper started to manipulate the object in its hand, helping it adopt a mini reaper-like form.

Using exquisite swordsmanship and flames to change the shape of the object.

Then, it brought it to a magic mirror in the courtyard to show the altered appearance.

‘!’

The golden object was overjoyed at how closely it resembled a mini reaper, staring fixedly into the mirror.

It was truly the birth of a golden hungry ghost reaper.

‘It looks like me!’

With a shy giggle, the golden hungry ghost reaper beamed, and the hungry ghost reaper couldn’t help but smile proudly.

Having undergone a transformation, the golden hungry ghost reaper was quickly chosen by a researcher.

‘If you need help, just call out with your will. I’ll come to help.’

Watching the golden hungry ghost reaper gradually distance itself from the courtyard, the hungry ghost reaper sent its will.

The golden hungry ghost reaper waved its hand toward the hungry ghost reaper, expressing gratitude with a very happy face.

It was a slightly special day in the life of the hungry ghost reaper.

*

A man was hiding in a dark hotel room, smoking a cigarette while looking out at the busy street below.

Beside him, a purple reaper leaned against the wall, smoking a shadow cast by his body.

It was a pose so exaggerated and showy that one might question, ‘Is there any need to smoke like that?’ so the man cracked a small smile.

He extended his finger and ruffled the purple reaper’s head.

Seeing the man smile as he smoked, the purple reaper, trying to mimic the smile, stopped and broke into a goofy grin instead.

The man muttered to himself while carefully observing the street.

‘Am I going to come up empty again?’

The person the man was looking for had posted something on a social media site.

He opened his phone and checked a social media account.

[The current government is connected to the ‘organization.’]

[The temporary government of Southern Italy tries desperately to eliminate the ‘selector’ every time they see one, not for the sake of public order.]

[‘Selectors’ are being pushed into the shadows by not allowing them to have legitimate professions.]

[And ultimately, to have them accepted as part of the ‘organization.’]

It was an absurd story posted on social media.

But one line caught the man’s attention.

[Have you ever seen a selector being engulfed by blue light and dying? That occurs when the ‘selector’ rejects the ‘organization.’]

It felt like describing the death of his younger sister.

He had a strong hunch that there was something going on.

And today, he discovered evidence that further solidified that intuition.

‘Definitely suspicious.’

There were strangely many humans from the ‘organization’ on the street.

It wouldn’t be odd for an ‘organization’ that conducted operations regardless of the location to be anywhere, but the problem was the people wandering around.

The issue was the appearance of cleaners acting in a role similar to the organization’s police force.

There was clearly something significant.

Something was important enough for the organization to send cleaners.

‘I should leave before it becomes dangerous. I need to go back.’

He hoped the old man had some related information.

The man took a clear note of the cleaners from the association, dubbed ‘Penguin,’ before leaving the hotel room.

*

As the workday drew to a close, I was hiding in the deputy director’s office, trying to escape from the golden reapers clinging to me.

The golden reapers had started clinging to me, shouting, ‘Mom is so kind!’ when they realized I wasn’t throwing them away.

No matter how much it was ‘Kind Mom Week,’ it was becoming too bothersome, and I had to run away.

They clung on tightly enough to make it difficult to move, risking an early end to Kind Mom Week.

Turning my head, Seoah was sitting in front of a monitor with a sprout reaper, focusing on something.

On the monitor, footage from the ‘spirit camera’ installed in the sleeping room was playing.

Had it been my days as a researcher, I’d have found the spirit camera fascinating, but now that I could see spirits directly, it wasn’t so intriguing.

The screen showed a mini sprout reaper that had once been barely the size of a finger, now having grown to be just slightly smaller than a full-grown sprout reaper.

‘What on earth are they doing?’

Sprout reapers who usually slept cuddled in arms or played together were behaving in an unprecedented manner.

The large sprout reaper had the mini sprout reaper tucked under its side, repeatedly pointing at someone with its finger.

Then, the little sprout reaper would shake its head in response.

Seeming tired from the continuous refusals, the large sprout reaper embraced the mini sprout reaper and laid down on a plant pot.

Then, it started pinching the cheeks of the mini sprout reaper, which had puffed up like a mochi.

Seeing that, Seoah, enamored, grabbed the sprout reaper on her shoulder and tugged its chubby cheeks.

Suddenly, I felt the urge to do the same, so I stepped closer to Seoah and poked the almost bursting cheeks of the sprout reaper.

If the sprout reaper had been as large as a hungry ghost reaper, I would have wanted to give those cheeks a good bite.

During that time, something began to change on the screen.

Poke, poke.

The mini sprout reaper started poking the side of the large sprout reaper with its finger.

As the large sprout reaper stood up, the mini sprout began pointing its tiny finger at a researcher.

Then, the large sprout reaper began to emit a subtle dark blue light, swaying its leaves gently as it drew the researcher’s attention.

And when the researcher looked over, the large sprout reaper plucked a fruit and offered it toward the researcher.

As the researcher, almost entranced, accepted the fruit, the mini sprout reaper had climbed onto the researcher’s shoulder.

‘Oh. So that’s how it works?’

Tonight marked the moment Seoah and I figured out the mechanism of sprout reaper propagation.

*

The man was walking slowly through a familiar alley, with a purple reaper perched on his shoulder.

He was heading to a secluded shop run by the ‘old man.’

As he walked, the purple reaper suddenly sat up in surprise on his shoulder.

Then, with a worried expression, it pulled at the man’s collar desperately.

Sensing something off, the man began to sprint through the quiet alley.

As he got closer to the old man’s shop, a sharp smell of blood began to intensify.

‘The smell of blood.’

At that ominous scent, the man hardened his expression and drew his gun.

The moment he arrived at old man’s shop, it was completely in disarray.

A large hole had been created as if struck by a wrecking ball, making the building look ready to collapse any second.

The thick scent of blood wafted from within.

As he slowly stepped inside through the gaping hole, he found the gruesome corpse of the old man.

The moment the purple reaper spotted the scene, it began to emit an intense anger.

Its whole body had turned black as if soaked in shadow, bubbling like it was boiling.

The old man’s corpse lay crushed, as if hit by a massive steel ball.

‘This mark, is it the work of a wrecking ball?’

It was a sign of a selector wielding a demolition ball.

Why had a member of the organization attacked the old man?

The man sensed that something was off and began to examine the surroundings closely when he noticed something strange.

The old man’s hand felt unnatural.

The right hand was curled only at the thumb, as if trying to represent the number four.

The other hand only had the index finger extended, as if indicating the number one.

Four and one.

It resembled a code frequently used between the man and the old man.

The storage location 41.

He had to check that place.

The man closed the old man’s wide-open eyes and stepped out of the ruined shop.

As he emerged dust-covered from the building, he straightened up and brushed off the dirt from his black coat.

A vigilant light gleamed in his blue eyes, and his lips pressed tightly together.

Suddenly, from the darkness, the sound of metal echoed as a huge man moved into the light of the streetlamp.

“Gunman. You are to be disposed of.”

With a light grip on his gun and rapidly scanning the surroundings was the blue-eyed ‘gunman.’

And tightening the distance between them was the brute dragging a massive steel ball.

As their gazes locked, tension hung in the air, palpable enough to feel even in the surrounding atmosphere.