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‘The Betrayer of Humanity’ broadcast echoed through the facility’s interior, the human slaughterhouse.

Flashing red emergency lights created eerie shadows that wriggled across the walls and floor.

Amidst the cacophony of people’s shouts and footsteps, mingled with sharp warning alarms.

Among them were voices from the ‘facility’ children, familiar to the silver-haired girl.

“What should we do?”

The brown-haired girl’s voice trembled.

She looked around, wide-eyed with panic, gripping the silver-haired girl’s hand tightly.

“Why are they mobilizing even the training kids if this atrocity is discovered…?”

The silver-haired girl couldn’t hide her confusion either.

Even so, she was racking her brain to find a solution to this situation.

A very spacious, elongated room, with an entrance and an exit at each end.

Horrors hung thickly in the air.

Footsteps echoed all around.

‘We can’t stay like this. But where should we go?’

Although they had spent quite some time in the ‘facility,’ she couldn’t remember any escape routes.

At that moment, something small caught the silver-haired girl’s eye.

A suspicious object waving its hand in the distance, with a cute sprout growing on top.

[Human! Over here!]

A familiar voice.

The same voice that told the silver-haired girl to eat the fruit.

Moreover, even though it was a very tiny voice, it stood out clearly amidst the noise.

Looking at the brown-haired girl, who showed no reaction, it was probably a mental pollution that only she could hear.

‘But there’s no other choice.’

The silver-haired girl tugged the brown-haired girl’s hand and headed toward where the sprout object was calling.

There was a square hole hidden in the wall.

A hole obscured by meat, making it hard to spot at a glance.

“There’s a hole here! Bloodstains… it looks like some kind of waste disposal hole.”

The brown-haired girl praised her for how sharp her eyes were to spot it.

At that compliment, the silver-haired girl’s gaze unconsciously turned towards the sprout object.

[We need to go fast!]

The sprout object looked anxiously at the silver-haired girl, hopping about.

It seemed very harmless and appeared friendly to humans.

Seeing that, the silver-haired girl thought it was natural to be cautious of a friendly object, but she tried to ignore it.

After all, there was no turning back now that she had eaten the fruit.

Besides, there were no other apparent routes of escape.

The silver-haired girl nodded slightly to the sprout object and threw herself into the hole with the brown-haired girl.

*

Mini Reaper Garden, Marshmallow Plains.

I was lying somewhere close to the courtyard where I could catch a wireless signal, watching a tiny TV.

[Next, we have news about the recent ‘Blue Mist’ incident occurring in the Pacific Ocean.]

[The James Research Institute announced the dispatch of researchers to investigate this incident.]

[Notably, all dispatched researchers will be accompanied by Mini Reapers, known as special objects.]

[In response, the James Research Institute stated that staff members exploring hazardous areas will be selected only if they can go with human-friendly Mini Reapers.]

[In this regard, some research institutes in our country have expressed that excessive dependence on objects is undesirable.]

Finally, the news said that a proper investigation team was being sent out.

Hearing this felt like an immense relief from the daily hassle of investing five minutes.

Hehe.

Every time I heard about that ‘Blue Mist,’ I felt really uneasy, and it annoyed me that other institutes didn’t seem interested in investigating.

They probably found it too difficult to investigate the ocean directly.

James Research Institute is really competent!

After that delightful news ended, I was blankly watching the commercial when an unexpected scene began to roll across the screen.

The TV was filled with Golden Reapers.

In the footage, the Golden Reapers were clustered together, munching on cookies with happy faces.

[The best snack for Golden Reapers!]

[A snack manufactured by a professional research institute you can trust!]

[Golden Reaper Cookies!]

In the final frame, a Golden Reaper hugged a cookie and smiled blissfully, followed by the product logo appearing to end the advertisement.

‘Sehee…’

The narration for the commercial was Sehee’s voice, and the place where the cookies were made was ‘Sehee Research Institute.’

I wouldn’t be surprised if that commercial was also produced by Sehee Research Institute!

Seeing so many Golden Reapers appearing like chicks raised the likelihood of that.

It was surprising that Seoah approved that commercial, but even more so was the fact that the commercial aired at all.

Doesn’t that mean that the number of Attached Humans to Golden Reapers has increased enough to permit such advertising?

I guess I should check how many Golden Reapers there actually are later.

Hopefully, it’s not in the hundreds!

As I pondered that, I noticed a bunch of Golden Reapers rushing towards me with furious expressions.

In their hands, they were holding elongated marshmallows with inscriptions on them.

Upon checking the contents…

[Yellow Reaper - Halo manifestation available.]

[Fake blindfold, Purple…]

<….>

‘That’s my doodle for the halo test, right? I must not have cleaned it up.’

And then the Golden Reapers began to pummel me with the marshmallows.

‘Mama’s rules!’

‘Rules!’

I had to endure being thumped for quite a while as they said I broke the rules I made myself.

Waaaah.

*

A massive research vessel made its way slowly across the endless blue waves of the Pacific Ocean.

As the setting sun painted the sea with orange hues beyond the horizon, the hull glided through the gently undulating waves.

The sea breeze ruffled the hair of the woman standing on the deck.

Occasionally, cries of seagulls could be heard, but most of the time, the sounds filling the air were of waves crashing against the hull and wind sweeping past the mast.

Everyone seemed enchanted by the ambiance created by the sea and the ship, staring blankly at the ocean without saying a word.

The only odd thing was that everyone had Mini Reapers perched on their heads.

The Black Reapers gazed blankly at the sea, quietly from the heads of their Attached Humans.

The Golden Reapers stood on top, arms spread wide as if trying to feel the sea breeze.

The woman glanced down at the Attached Reaper, but her Attached Reaper was still fast asleep with its eyes closed.

Mingming, who had been fluttering around before boarding, had dozed off immediately upon getting on the ship.

Wrapping itself in cabbage, its skin blended in like protective camouflage.

‘This happens every time it falls asleep. Is there a reason?’

The woman smiled gently as she poked Mingming’s cheeks.

Then, she turned her gaze away from Mingming and began to look around the boat.

The ‘James Explorer’ was truly an impressive sight, living up to its name.

Its hull, over 250 meters long, resembled a floating fortress.

Several antennas and satellite dishes rose above the deck filled with cutting-edge equipment, enhancing its presence.

Additionally, its sturdy composite armor and intimidating cannons stood out.

Of course, such features weren’t particularly useful against powerful objects.

The greatest strength protecting this ship would be the ‘Mini Reapers’ scurrying around, as numerous as the crew members.

Seeing the Mini Reapers perched on people’s heads made me feel confident that whatever object came along would be just fine.

*

Deep within the subterranean ‘facility.’

Only a faint light streaming through the window illuminated the room, where two men were present.

One man stood by the window, gazing outside—a sight reminiscent of a night aristocrat.

The other man knelt nearby, bowing his head.

“Your Excellency, why did you let him go?”

“Because I need it.”

When the kneeling man asked, his master looked up at the starlight emanating from the cave’s ceiling.

A genuine smile graced the lips of the man who gazed up at the false starlight, as if he truly enjoyed it.

“At last. I have found the most needed livestock.”

As the man looked up at the starlight, the man kneeling below was startled and raised his head.

Yet when he looked up, his master was nowhere to be found.

“If I acquire that piece, I will gain the power to rise to the surface and dominate everything.”

As if he had teleported, his master’s voice sounded from behind him.

“But that is still not enough.”

At that moment, his master, who had been standing far away, suddenly approached and placed a hand on his shoulder.

The kneeling man became so tense that he could barely breathe under that touch.

“Thus, your role is crucial. Make the lost sheep struggle with hope as much as possible.”

“Yes.”

As the kneeling man replied, squeezing the breath out of his lungs, his master’s presence had already vanished from the room.