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At the modest Mackji Mountain, preparations for the event were in full swing.

The ‘Regular Meeting of the Object Research Institute’ was being held at the Mackji Mountain Research Institute.

The Black Agent was wandering around the event venue, helping with various checks.

What began as work early in the morning had now stretched into lunch time, and as the preparations entered a lull, the Black Agent took a moment to breathe while looking down from the low Mackji Mountain.

The Black Agent was quite exhausted from the disbandment and reorganization of the Association, as well as the numerous incidents that had occurred in Seoul.

The open view from Mackji Mountain offered a slight comfort to the Black Agent’s mind.

A landscape dotted with small buildings that didn’t obstruct the view, lined up like matchboxes.

On the roads, tangled like ribbons, cars were moving about sporadically, resembling beetles.

From up here, the sounds of car horns and engines were adequately softened, transforming the noise into a familiar comfort.

“Ahjussi!”

With the sound of little feet rushing up the stairs, a blonde girl approached the Black Agent with excitement.

The girl, having climbed quite a number of steps, had flushed cheeks and was holding a leaflet for the meeting in her hand.

“Look at this!”

The blonde girl thrust the leaflet in front of the Black Agent’s eyes.

The leaflet displayed the presentation schedule, divided into Part 1 and Part 2, along with their topics.

[Mackji Mountain Object Conference.]
[Location: Mackji Mountain Object Research Institute.]
[Hosted by: Mackji Mountain Object Research Institute, Object Management Association.]
[Part 1 Presentations.]
[Process for Increasing Financial Soundness of the Institute.]
[Research on Trends in Object Increases and Corresponding Responses.]
[Introduction to the Impact of Objects on Humans.]
[Local Production Plans for Object Response Weapon Systems.]

The blonde girl pointed excitedly at one of the presentation topics.

“They found cases of becoming a superhuman due to the indirect influence of objects. Superhuman! Have you seen one, Ahjussi?”

“I haven’t seen one yet. Still, there are research results indicating that the number of cases is steadily increasing, and the government is actively looking into it, so you might see one soon.”

As the Black Agent replied to the girl, the image of a friend popped into his mind.

The Yellow Detective.

He wasn’t the type whose physical abilities would explode, as the topic of this conference suggested.

However, his instincts were almost bordering on foresight, so he could certainly be called a superhuman.

“Who will be the first superhuman discovered in Korea? Could it be me?”

The blonde girl giggled shyly, her head lowered.

In fact, the Black Agent had already received instructions from the Association concerning superhumans.

[If a superhuman is discovered, immediately notify the Association.]
[Do not attempt to capture them, but form a friendly relationship.]
[When the opportunity arises, attempt to neutralize and isolate with sufficient data and resources.]

The Black Agent thought it unnecessary to share such grim tales with the blonde girl.

“In fact, there are probably more cases that aren’t as striking as the superhuman discussed in the presentation. You can see that mentioned here.”

[Records of improvements in sports like the Olympics have been significantly increasing.]
[It shows changes that are difficult to explain through technology and training improvements.]
[As the occurrence of objects increases, we see an amplification in record improvements, suggesting it is also influenced by objects.]

“Wow, does that mean all humans will eventually become superhumans?”

“If this trend continues, it could definitely happen. But when such things will occur is uncertain.”

The blonde girl perused the leaflet, but losing interest, passed it to the secretary behind her.

“Oh, wait! Ahjussi!”

“?”

“Did you know? Today is a Blood Moon. They say a red moon will rise.”

Excited to see the moon tonight, the girl trudged back down the stairs.

*

A loud caw echoed in the peaceful isolation room.

It was the polaroid photo that Yerin had left behind that was causing the issue.

Having placed the photo on the table while watching TV, the head of a black penguin slowly rose from the picture.

Then, with just its head sticking out, it began to curiously look around the isolation room.

Thinking I wouldn’t notice since I had my back turned, it was quite clear that it was observing, but really, I wasn’t just seeing with my eyes…

So, as the penguin looked another way, I rushed in and gripped its neck tightly.

Caw!

So what is this penguin anyway?

From the feel of it, it seems like a ‘harmful bird’ to humans.

Thus, with my right hand still clutching its neck, I wanted to knock its head off with a smack.

The penguin, headless, flapped around before, after some time, melting away into black mud.

A foul, oily scent wafted around, sticky and unpleasant.

I used ghosting to shake off the mud, then observed the photo again.

The penguin, which had always been dancing away behind the photo, was now gone.

What remained was a worthless photo capturing an unsettling and exotic scenery.

I tossed the photo aside and left the isolation room.

The air in this cool research institute corridor.

Though the warm and cozy atmosphere of the isolation room was nice, the bright and cool ambiance of the research institute corridor also appealed to me.

Thud, thud.

As I walked through the empty research corridor, voices began to echo.

There was Seoah and Sehee.

What on earth was Seoah doing out here?

*

After leaving the director’s office with Seoah, we walked along the research corridor.

I hadn’t had the chance to talk with Seoah since the incident with the Golden Reaper, so I thought I should take this opportunity to chat a lot.

“I heard the Golden Reaper placed in the lounge has disappeared. Where could it have gone?”

“….”

It was just icebreaker chatter, but Seoah wasn’t responding.

Instead, she seemed to be sweating profusely; is she feeling unwell?

“Wow, look at that sweat. If you’re not feeling well, just skip the conference this time. I mean, I didn’t want to go anyway.”

“No, participating would be good. The Association is hoping for our participation.”

Seoah decided to take part in the upcoming ‘Mackji Mountain Conference.’

In fact, I was supposed to go, but Seoah was going instead.

Why?

Because, honestly, I didn’t want to go to this conference.

I wasn’t at all interested in presentations about financial soundness and other boring topics.

I was planning to skip it, but Seoah volunteered to go, so I told her to go ahead.

Seoah said she would prepare by herself, but she had almost no record of going on business trips!

Having gone on business trips and on-site inspections frequently, I should kindly guide her!

*

I was walking down the corridor with Director Lee Sehee.

While walking, I almost had a heart attack when I suddenly asked her about the Golden Reaper.

Fortunately, it seemed she hadn’t caught on that the Golden Reaper had been smuggled away.

After that, she kept talking about the precautions for the business trip.

At a glance, the information seemed useful, but it seemed Director Lee Sehee had forgotten it all.

Most of what she was saying was information I had shared with her.

She had informed me to be careful due to the frequent object-related incidents.

The problem was that Director Lee Sehee didn’t follow most of the advice I had given her.

And every time, she got involved in kidnappings, lockdowns, and got caught by the Association…

And now, she was just repeating those stories back to me!

Ah, the more I think about it, the more absurd it gets.

“If you just follow what I said, you wouldn’t be caught in kidnappings at all!”

Director Lee Sehee said confidently.

When I stared at her in disbelief, she seemed to realize something.

The Gray Reaper, who had suddenly appeared, was looking at me with a similar expression.

“Don’t… look at me like that!”

“I just thought of it too. All this information came from Seoah…”

“I’ve been kidnapped enough to know a thing or two!”

Director Lee Sehee became gloomy and fell silent.

*

A few days before the Mackji Mountain Conference, a large, brightly shining Blood Moon appeared.

And it rose again the next day.

Only in the Gangseo-gu area.

The Young Miss seemed a bit excited about the strange phenomenon, but no matter how I thought about it, it didn’t seem like a good omen.

I wrote a report on the enormous red moon that wouldn’t disappear.

I submitted the report to the Association.

It would probably take quite some time for a response.

I need to respond as quickly as possible; hopefully, it won’t be too late.

“Ahjussi! The red moon is out again today, isn’t it?”

“Young Miss, wouldn’t it be better for you to return home while the red moon is up?”

Nodding, the Young Miss cheerfully declined.