In the morning, as the day began, Seoul was struck by a sudden power outage.
The phenomenon rendered electronic devices useless and caused a communication breakdown in the local area.
Before long, the cause of this disruption was revealed—the Magnetic Sphere had suddenly appeared in the middle of Gangnam.
It was an Object that was once feared as much as the Steel Tower, it was something that had caused extensive damage to the Korean Peninsula.
But that was no longer the case.
After all, when countermeasures for particular Objects became known, those Objects would no longer be a cause of fear.
Agents quickly contained the Magnetic Sphere—whose characteristics and containment methods were widely known—with dedicated containment devices.
However, the Magnetic Sphere’s escape hinted at the occurrence of a far more serious incident.
There had been a breakout of Objects at the Object Exhibition!
News of the incident spread rapidly, and footage of the Exhibition confirmed the extremely chaotic scene.
Objects that had been packed tightly within the exhibition grounds were now struggling to break free. That sight suggested that most of the Objects on display at the exhibition had managed to escape their containment room.
Given that the exhibition was intended to showcase the safe containment and management of high-risk Objects, the public now expected to suffer an extensive amount of damage.
[ Who on earth planned this exhibition? ]
[ They’re putting the ‘Gray Reaper’ on display at an event ? They should have considered the consequences before choosing to exhibit it. It’s not enough to punish them for what had happened. They should be liable to what could have happened as well, for making such an irresponsible decision. ]
[ Those who thought displaying the < Thief Who Doesn’t Steal > at an exhibition was a great idea should be arrested for negligence! ]
[ Wasn’t the < Thief Who Doesn’t Steal > an Object that was under special government management due to its high potential for misuse? Why would they take that thing out and put it on display? What on earth were they thinking? ]
On TV, panelists unanimously voiced their demands for those involved to face punishment.
Initially, when this incident was first reported, experts estimated that the chance of fatalities was more than 90% among those inside the exhibition hall. It was mainly due to the presence of a significant number of highly dangerous Objects that were, for some reason, being displayed at the exhibition.
Fortunately, after capturing images of the exhibition using a drone, it was revealed that only a small number of people had lost their lives.
However, the sighting of a small, Gray Reaper-shaped Object walking among the people with blood dripping from it, heightened people’s anxiety.
Furthermore, the fact that everyone on the exhibition grounds was found asleep raised suspicions. What exactly was going on within the exhibition grounds?
However, the government’s response was limited to securing the site with the military.
Many people questioned this approach, but the government’s official statement was as follows:
< Due to the extreme concentration of Objects inside the Exhibition site as well as the presence of Objects that cannot be effectively handled through firearms alone, we cannot allow immediate military intervention. >
< Considering that there have been no further casualties at present, we plan to proceed with caution, as a forced entry may result in greater damage. >
< We cannot disclose the exact timing of our entry, but we will do so once we have secured a list of the Objects on display at the exhibition and have made thorough preparations and equipped ourselves adequately. >
While this response appeared to be reasonable at first glance, it left an impression that the government was trying to buy time.
An old man walked out of a quiet courtroom with a confident gait. It was Oh Muryong, the president of the association, who had been found not guilty on all accounts.
The trial of Chairman Oh Muryong had garnered significant media attention.
However, the focus had now shifted to other pressing matters: the highly dangerous Objects displayed at the exhibition, the failure of the containment of Objects at the exhibition grounds, the power outage at Gangnam Station, and the military’s inadequate response.
The media’s attention was now fixed on these issues.
As soon as Oh Muryong boarded the prearranged vehicle, it promptly departed without delay.
“Sir, you are truly remarkable. With all this commotion, the trial will hardly be a story worth reporting.”
“The number of victims is too small,” Oh Muryong muttered disapprovingly, clicking his tongue. “Buy as much time as possible. I want more bloodshed.”
“Hasn’t it gained enough attention already? Is there really a need for further delay?”
Although taken aback by the chairman’s order, the middle-aged man quickly suppressed his surprise upon seeing Oh Muryong’s cold gaze and responded calmly.
With a crack, the broken tree reverted back to its original form as if time had been rewound. Despite its tree-like appearance, it was an Object with an extraordinary level of regenerative power.
I was already aware of the existence of such a killing condition, but I still tried to turn the golden tree into chopped wood, just in case. But as expected, it didn’t work.
Objects that could not be destroyed by conventional means often had ambiguous conditions, while those that could be easily destroyed tended to have more direct conditions.
The killing conditions would appear in such a manner,
In other words, the golden tree could not be killed by ordinary means. So, as suggested by the hint, the sleeping people needed to overcome the nightmare.
But then, what should I do?
I sprayed water on the nearby people and even kicked them, but they showed no signs of waking up at all.
Instead, the Golden Reaper who was clinging to one of the people grew furious and charged at me.
I gently patted the Golden Reaper, who was hitting me with its tiny fists, and waited for its anger to subside. Fortunately, it quickly calmed down and returned to its original position.
Afterward, I strolled around the exhibition grounds, thinking about one problem after another.
How could the humans overcome the nightmare induced by the tree? Should I try sleeping too?
There wasn’t much time left.
The dark night had abruptly given way to morning.
The Golden Reaper’s duration was being wasted.
This case needed to be solved before the Golden Reaper’s protection, which lasted for a day, ran out.
As I walked quite a distance away from the tree, I stumbled upon a heartbreaking murder scene.
'NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!’
I let out a silent scream.
A lifeless body, torn and tattered, lay before me.
The Tyrannosaurus had met a pitiful demise.
Well, it was understandable.
Since dinosaurs were stupid, they were likely torn to pieces by the Golden Reapers when they tried to eat the humans.
Leaving my heavy miserable heart behind I continued my journey.
I walked around the exhibition grounds, racking my brain for a solution to destroy the tree, but nothing came to mind. The chances of someone overcoming the nightmare seemed too slim for me to simply wait and hope for a miracle.
When I touched the Golden Tree, I felt a pulsating force emanating from it. It was a force that sought to put humans to sleep.
Perhaps because it was something that was aimed at humans, it bounced off of me who was an Object.
But what if I didn’t resist this pulsation? Wouldn’t I fall asleep right away then?
Since I used to be a human, if I were to go into a dream and destroy it, wouldn’t that count as overcoming the nightmare?
With that thought in mind, I allowed the pulsation to enter my body.
In an instant, my eyelids grew heavy, and I lost consciousness.
The Central Research Institute had been disbanded due to public criticism, but the authorities knew how essential it was. They needed a research institute capable of containing ghost-type Objects, a place where dangerous Objects could be safely contained without any particular risk.
Despite the corruption and lack of trust that marred the institute, it was still a necessary establishment.
[ Claims of concealing the Hungry Ghost. ]
[ Accusations of hiding the death of numerous employees. ]
[ Allegations of being a cause of the collapse of Songpa-gu. ]
However, public opinion was too unfavorable to simply revive the Central Research Institute. So the authorities took a decision—to secretly reestablish the Central Research Institute.
That’s why an offer came to me—the former deputy director of the Central Research Institute—who was sitting in prison at the time. An offer to take on the role of deputy director of the newly resurrected secret Central Research Institute.
“It’s strange. Truly strange.”
It was a really strange situation.
If their goal was to rebuild the institute, there was no reason to involve me. To be exact, they had no reason to sneak me out of prison.
Of course, I accepted the offer.
As a result, I found myself standing in front of the new Central Research Institute, holding a letter of appointment.
It designated someone as the director of the Central Research Institute, a man who had died three decades ago during the Hungry Ghost incident.
The completion of the Central Research Institute hinged on bringing an Object in the likeness of this man into its vicinity.
The low thud of the stamp being slammed on the letter of appointment rang out loudly.
With this, the man’s fate was sealed, destined to be locked in the director’s office, writing down his incomprehensible notes once again.
Yet, as soon as I stepped into the director’s office, something struck me as odd.
The room was empty. The director was nowhere to be found.
Ah, so that’s the reason.
The reason why they had chosen me as the deputy director of the new Central Research Institute.
The director didn’t appear even after being appointed.
“Ha, hahahahaha,” I chuckled, a smile unknowingly forming on my lips. I touched the corner of my mouth with my finger.
Perhaps it was because I was that man’s son, but I had a distinct feeling that it was true.
Despite a lifetime of resentment and hatred towards him, I couldn’t help but laugh.
Those who had offered me the position of deputy director must have expected something different to happen if his son was appointed.
However, they were way off the mark.
Now, what will happen next?