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Pung pung pung.

It sounded like the air was bursting from the spotlight.

The spotlight was heavily illuminating an abandoned building.

It was a thorough security network, as if something was being wary.

Owl hoot hoot.

The ominous-voiced owl cried pitifully and ran away from the light.

“Unidentified vehicle spotted near the target building! Do not let your guard down!”

Men in blue uniforms began skillfully organizing the scene.

A man in a black suit was standing in front of the unidentified vehicle, listening to the reports.

“This… It seems to be our vehicle.”

The agent in the black suit let out a deep sigh as if finding it bothersome.

“I don’t think we’ve received any notice that another team is coming here.”

His tone suggested he had some insight into the matter.

“The hood is still warm, so it doesn’t seem like it’s been long since they arrived. Let’s proceed with caution.”

The black agent touched the hood and then pulled his hand back as he spoke.

“We can’t neglect the investigation just because it’s our vehicle. Please compile the ownership and related information and submit it. I will report to the higher-ups.”

Having organized the situation in a stiff tone, the agent in a black suit headed towards the abandoned building where the light was concentrated.

Just as the black agent approached the building, a blonde girl blocked his path.

“Uncle!”

“Young lady. You’ve come.”

The girl, holding a notepad and pen just like the black agent, spoke with a slightly pouty expression.

“Uncle, why did you leave me again?”

The black agent secretly went on a business trip to avoid bringing the girl to the dangerous scene, but he couldn’t escape from her.

It was probably the bodyguards and secretaries standing around her that made it possible.

The girl, appearing to be an elementary student, was the granddaughter of the Association President of the “National Object Management Association.”

Though she was under investigation for corruption, her power had not diminished.

The black-suited agent resigned himself and decided to just take her along.

*

The black-suited agent examined the marks on the wall, then opened his notepad and wrote down a few words.

Seeing this, the girl opened her own notepad and scribbled something before dashing towards the scene and picking up a piece of concrete to hold it up high.

“Uncle! Isn’t something wrong with the investigation? This place looks too old for a research institute that had people just a week ago.”

The blonde girl said with a worried expression.

The black agent pointed around the lobby with his finger and spoke.

“Young lady, from here to there, there are traces of desks. They are very recent traces. It should be more visible in the daytime.”

While the black agent wrote and sketched simply, he simultaneously gave various instructions to the surrounding staff.

Seeing this, the girl opened her notepad and mimicked the agent, scribbling along.

As they proceeded with the investigation, they discovered a man sprawled on the floor.

“Ah! This must be the person who drove the vehicle outside!”

The blonde girl declared confidently, placing her hands on her hips and puffing out her chest.

“That’s likely. There are no items to identify him, but I do remember this face. I passed by him once at the Korean temporary headquarters.”

As the agent agreed with the girl’s statement, she chuckled happily.

The black agent instructed a blue-uniformed staff member.

“Secure him well and keep watch. There may be several things we need to ask.”

And with that, the black agent boldly walked forward again.

*

Despite the abandoned building emanating a rather eerie atmosphere, the presence of many personnel bustling about with their flashlights significantly diluted that feeling.

The men, thoroughly searching every room, arrived at a suspicious-looking area.

It was a place filled with charred remains.

The blonde girl asked, displaying an uneasy expression.

“Uncle… Could this be human remains?”

The girl’s face had gone pale.

“With such an eerie atmosphere, it’s likely human remains, right? Who could have done such a horrifying thing?”

Though she always acted like an adult, she seemed to lack resilience for matters like this.

Seeing her, the black agent approached quietly and gently patted her head.

At that, the girl smiled brightly, her mood visibly lifting.

“This definitely looks like the work of an object.”

The black agent concluded it was the doing of an object.

The girl tilted her head and responded.

“Huh? An object? There’s nothing here, though?”

“It’s a corpse that died instantly from extreme heat. There are no traces of it being moved, and no traces left around. That’s something only an object could do.”

“Well, thinking like that, it does seem to be an object.”

“Let’s pull out. After properly preparing for the object, we’ll re-enter during the day. Entering like this feels too dangerous.”

Believing there was an object that could harm lives, the agent ordered a retreat.

He thought there was no need to take risks.

The black agent then turned and began walking out of the building.

*

Hanging upside down from the chandelier of the abandoned building, I looked at the blonde girl.

She was a curious little kid.

She acted all haphazardly yet held an elegance.

Though she looked like a child, she had quite a bold side and used vocabulary that seemed quite mature.

I couldn’t help but think she was a modern noble who’d received good education.

I initially just wanted to check if people coming to this building were in league with the zombie makers and then leave, but I was captivated by the girl and continued to watch.

Based on my observations of her following around, it seemed there was no need to worry about crime chasers.

I didn’t know who they were, but they were far more competent than I had expected.

Who knew there were such capable people in Korea!

Clap clap clap.

I clapped silently in ghosting mode, where no one could hear.

Now it was time to leave everything to them and head to Sehee Research Institute to rest!

*

When the sun was high in the sky, heavily armed staff rushed towards the basement.

The black agent waited, arms crossed, for their call.

“All clear!”

Only after hearing those words did the black agent unfold his arms and slowly descend the dark staircase with the girl.

The basement of the abandoned building appeared to be used as a laboratory, with related experimental records scattered about carelessly.

“Uncle, it looks like they didn’t even bother to destroy these experimental records; they just left them on the floor.”

The girl, buzzing with curiosity, picked up a crumpled piece of paper from the ground and said.

“With just this experimental log, they can’t avoid a medium sentence, yet they leave it lying around….”

The black agent also picked up a piece of paper to check it as he spoke.

“It certainly doesn’t seem like they tried to hide information. So it must be one of two things: They’re absolutely confident they won’t get caught, or they’re already accumulating evildoings that can’t even compare to what’s scattered here.”

The blonde girl’s expression turned horrified.

“Could there be worse atrocities than this? Kidnapping, confinement. Extracting the eyes of living people. Replacing them with objects made of their insides haphazardly. Just reading that makes my mind go blank.”

The girl shook her head as if wanting to forget the information she didn’t want to know.

Passing through the corridor littered with papers, the black agent and the blonde girl arrived at a huge room.

An incredibly expansive room.

Hanging on both sides of the room were racks that looked like they were meant for hanging pork, and the center of the room was flooded with spilled blood.

And in the middle of that blood was the head of a man, his tongue sticking out, laid bare.

Seeing the sight, the black agent approached the girl from behind and covered her eyes.

“Ah! Was there something else here?”

The blonde girl grumbled but showed no resistance.

It seems she had seen something unpleasant in a similar situation before.

“This man is one who is wanted in Korea.”

The black agent looked at the head of the sprawled man and quickly inferred his identity.

“You must have seen him in my office. He’s the middle-aged man who set up a fake research institute and kidnapped many people.”

The girl nodded her head.

“That man with the golden horn that’s wanted, right? I remember!”

The black agent snapped his notepad shut, signaling the end of the investigation.

“Since we’ve recovered most of the golden horns confirmed to be leaked, we’ve finished the priority tasks.”

The black agent looked at the numerous golden hearts lying around the room.

“From now on, we really need to find out who orchestrated this.”

*

The man who seemed to know something about the incident ultimately proved to be of no assistance.

“I mean, there were ghosts!”

When asked what had happened in the building, he kept rambling on about ghosts.

His words were disjointed, and he hadn’t seen enough to clearly identify what kind of object it was.

Moreover, when the investigation unit arrived, there was no trace of the object left behind.

Even asking why he was there turned out to be of little help.

This man was closer to a day laborer dragged along due to debts.

In other words, he knew nothing.

Continuing the interrogation was pointless.

The black agent stood up, cradling the drowsy girl in his arms.

As he left the interrogation room, he opened his notepad.

On the notepad was a simple sketch.

The only trace that seemed to hold evidential value.

It had been left on the man’s clothing at the time he was discovered.

Neatly imprinted were two tiny footprints, looking like those of a baby.