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The Bucheon Research Institute, known for the ‘Maker’ incident.

The Black Agent was still investigating at the Bucheon Research Institute.

A temporary investigation camp was set up in the Bucheon Research Institute parking lot.

The Black Agent was sitting under the camp tent, reading a newspaper.

On the front page of the newspaper, there was a photo of mannequins flying around scattering light powder.

[What is Smile Theme Park? A new object?]
[Suddenly appearing mannequins from the sky! They scattered flyers and disappeared.]
[Once again, a migration surge, Seoul in panic.]

It was an article about the grotesque-faced mannequins that had flown around all over Seoul a few days ago.

Not only the front page but the story was so intriguing that it filled multiple pages.

Just the sight of mannequins flying around, scattering light powder, was enough to grab attention, and they were handing out flyers with strange content, so naturally, people couldn’t help but be interested.

The content of the flyers was directly copied into the newspaper.

[The opening of Smile Theme Park is imminent!]
[In just 30 days, Smile Theme Park will open!]
[Entrance fee is just one coin!]
[Free entry with this flyer!]

The issue wasn’t the promotional text but the map attached to the flyer that caused concern.

The map indicated a vast area, almost covering all of Seoul, labeled as ‘Smile Theme Park’.

Seoul citizens viewed the ominous flyer from the object and had their doubts.

‘Then what will happen to the Seoul that’s already here?’

Naturally, people who had already suffered from the enormous Steel Tower began to think:
‘What if they really demolish all of Seoul and put ‘Smile Theme Park’ in its place!’

In that state of fear, people prepared to flee Seoul before the opening date of the flyer.

A blonde girl peeked at the front page of the newspaper the Black Agent was reading and said,

“Wow, Mister. Is this really okay? Almost all of Seoul is turning into a theme park; we can’t just give up on Seoul, right?”

“Fortunately, they say the object that caused this is identified. It has been found to be the object currently isolated at Sehee Research Institute.”

“Then it might be resolved sooner than we think?”

“Well, it’s highly likely that it won’t be that simple. The government’s removal operation has failed, and now they’re planning to move the object far away from Seoul.”

Currently, the Association and the government were facing a very troublesome situation.

Luckily, they had identified the cause of this flyer incident.

The ‘Theme Park Invitation Doll’ from Sehee Research Institute.

To resolve the situation, there were four possible choices.

First, evacuate Seoul.

This was too financially burdensome, making it the last resort.

Second, put more people into the doll and observe the changes.

This had uncertain results. There could even be side effects that enlarge the theme park.

Third, destroy the doll.

This had already been attempted, but it was observed that even if the doll turned to ashes, it would revive.

Fourth, move the doll outside of Seoul.

This was currently being attempted but had a high chance of failure.

Since Sehee Research Institute was outside the theme park area, the doll’s location and the theme park’s location seemed irrelevant.

What if all the plans of the Association and government failed and most of Seoul was destroyed?

It would be an event too dreadful to imagine.

*

“Hum, I’ll clean the antenna thoroughly.”

Singing a tune, I happily dusted.

I polished the antenna sprouting from the head of the ‘Theme Park Invitation Doll’ until it shone.

It wasn’t really necessary.

In fact, it was something they advised against doing as much as possible.

“Yerin, don’t go beyond the barrier tape, it’s dangerous.”

Even after hearing such words, I diligently polished the antenna shiny every single day.

The doll had already surpassed 20 meters in size.

Actually, there had been a suggestion to move it to the backyard before it got this big, but it was decided not to move the doll and instead tear down all the walls of the isolation room.

It was Seoah Unnie’s opinion that there was no need to purposely provoke a calm object.

By demolishing all the walls to create space, and then planting many steel columns to limit the doll’s movements, they installed equipment.

With all the isolation walls torn down and a spacious area in the middle, the doll lay still without moving at all.

It was no longer even making noise.

There were times it would shudder and let out a pained howl, but the cause was unknown.

Now, its fur was patchy, resembling something eaten by rats, giving it the appearance of a cancer-ridden doll.

Suddenly, an arm popped out from its mouth.

“Huh?”

An unexpected situation!

Given the size of the doll, it was presumed that all the death row inmates who entered had died!

I pressed the emergency call button placed on the table.

The emergency bell echoed through the institute.

Police and employees rushed in to organize the situation.

The police were on standby for the transfer of the prisoner, while employees were prepared with flamethrowers and other equipment for the doll’s rampage situation.

Association employees preparing for the transfer also came rushing in with eyes full of anticipation.

The shouts of the staff reverberated inside the institute.

“One, two. One, two.”

The employees pulled on the hand that popped out from the doll’s mouth.

The woman pulled from the mouth fell weakly to the floor.

The returned death row inmate was a heavily tattooed woman.

As soon as I recognized the woman’s appearance, I quickly ducked behind Seoah Unnie.

The intimidating atmosphere of the death row inmate!

Peeking out from behind Seoah Unnie, the death row inmate didn’t radiate the sharp vibe it once had.

Had she endured too much suffering inside the object?

“Seoah Unnie, doesn’t that death row inmate seem to have changed quite a bit?”

“It does seem a bit calmer now.”

The woman pulled from the doll’s mouth was put back in handcuffs and began preparations for transfer.

After testifying about her experiences inside the object and undergoing a trial, she would surely be exonerated as promised.

Seeing her quietly responding to the police’s questions, it was clear that the atmosphere had changed.

Feeling no longer scared, I stepped out from behind Seoah Unnie, and she asked me.

“O Yerin, are you not hiding anymore?”

“Ahaha, I’m totally fine since I don’t feel scared at all.”

I scratched my head as I replied.

It’s rare for feelings to change like this; it surely was a curious experience.

The death row inmate, having completed a simple investigation, was being dragged out of the research institute, making creaking sounds.

The prisoner transport vehicle was parked at the entrance of the research institute.

Before getting on the bus, the female death row inmate looked up at the sky for a while and then disappeared into the bus, held by the police.

Is there something in the sky?

Looking up, it was just an ordinary full moon glowing yellow.

*

After the death row inmate left, the isolation room of the Theme Park Invitation Doll became quiet.

The police on patrol had also left, making it feel several times more spacious.

“Oh, Seohee Unnie is here too?”

“I just felt like I needed to come.”

When I arrived at the isolation room, Yerin had already arrived.

It had long past quitting time, but for some reason, I couldn’t seem to take a step away.

Perhaps Yerin, the death-seeker, felt the same way.

Gek-gekkek.

Geggekkek.

The doll that had vomited the death row inmate was now breathing heavily.

The doll was about to die.

Just from its breath, that feeling was palpable.

And when the doll dies, the Reaper would return.

What if the Reaper doesn’t return?

I’ve never even imagined that.

The isolation room, abandoned by everyone, was so quiet that I could faintly hear the high-frequency sound from the artificial lights.

In such a silence, a soft sound of powder scattering was heard.

The giant doll, which was about 20 meters tall, began to crumble into powder.

It sounded like the wind blowing through the desert, scattering the powder and echoing in the silence.

“The Reaper has come.”

Amidst the flood of dust filling the isolation room, a familiar glowing light appeared, shining yellow.

Yerin and I dove through the powder and embraced the Reaper tightly.

“Welcome back, Reaper.”

For some reason, today the Reaper also hugged us back tightly.

*

The ‘Theme Park Invitation Doll’ was destroyed.

“Seoah, I’ll leave the aftermath to you!”

With just this line, the head of Sehee Research Institute, Lee Sehee, threw all the reports of the doll’s disappearance and other tasks at me and vanished somewhere, saying she had urgent business.

After the work wrapped up loosely, I went to check what Lee Sehee was doing.

Lee Sehee was found inside the special isolation room of the super-dangerous object, ‘The Gray Reaper’.

And she was asleep.

I rummaged through the recorded CCTV footage to find out what exactly had happened.

In the footage, Lee Sehee and Yerin Oh entered the isolation room.

At first, they fought over who would claim the Gray Reaper, but soon they seemed to find a mutual agreement.

It seemed to be organized as Left: Yerin, Right: Sehee.

As Yerin Oh began the massage first, Lee Sehee followed suit.

They performed the massage three times from fingers and toes to the face.

It had been reported once in the research institute’s database that the Gray Reaper had a tendency to fall asleep when massaged, and indeed it fell asleep in no time once again.

Confirming that the Gray Reaper was asleep, the two moved it onto the bed.

Now that the management task was finished, both of them should have left the isolation room, but they did not.

Rather, they ended up lying down together on the bed where the Gray Reaper was and fell asleep.

Violation of research institute isolation regulations!

By the original rules, they should have been pulled out immediately, but stimulating a sleeping super-object was also a violation of regulations.

There was nothing to do but let it be.

Instead, I pulled out a note labeled [Gray Reaper Mental Pollution Report] from my pocket.