Inside the conference room located in Sehee Research Institute, a meeting was underway.
Present in the conference room were Lee Sehee, Park Seoah, and Kim Jungrwi.
These three had gathered together.
On the whiteboard of the conference room, it read as follows:
<Sehee Research Institute Emergency Meeting Regarding the Gray Reaper.>
“Then let’s begin the meeting.”
Kim Jungrwi declared the start of the meeting with a weighty voice.
“The purpose of this meeting is to bridge the differing views between the Deputy Director and the Director regarding the excessive contact between the Gray Reaper and humans.”
As the announcement echoed, Sehee quickly began her speech.
“If you look at the pictures, the changes are evident. It’s hard to overlook as trivial. This is Gray Reaper stuff after all.”
Sehee said confidently.
On the table that Sehee firmly tapped lay several photos.
Each photo had small writing on them, either “Yerin on.” or “Yerin off.”
All the photos depicted the isolation room where the Gray Reaper resided, but there were subtle differences.
The “Yerin off.” side appeared slightly darker.
The Gray Reaper’s light seemed dimmer, and its expression looked a bit melancholic.
In contrast, the “Yerin on.” side looked brighter.
The Gray Reaper’s light seemed clearer, and its expression looked somewhat happier.
Upon seeing the photos, Seoah gently raised her hand and began speaking.
“I understand that these are the results of isolating Yerin from the Gray Reaper. Still, I remain uneasy. Isn’t frequent contact between an Extraordinary Hazard Object and specific individuals too dangerous?”
Seoah expressed her opinion calmly.
“Besides, it seems highly likely that this is just a temporary phenomenon. There’s also the possibility that the Gray Reaper will naturally develop interest elsewhere and restore its brightness.”
Sehee rebutted against that statement.
“That ‘elsewhere’ might not be something the research institute would appreciate?”
She pulled out more photos one after another.
A photo of the Isolation Room turned into a sea of flames with the Reaper standing in the middle.
A Reaper looking down on an Object whose limbs had been shattered.
A photo showing Egyptian mural-like holes shaped like the Reaper in the wall of the Isolation Room.
Photos documenting various incidents caused by the Reaper.
“The Gray Reaper without Yerin is ferocious. It unconsciously causes major accidents, craving people’s attention. Surprisingly, when surrounded by lots of people, even though they seem annoyed, the Reaper behaves quite well. Of course, if Yerin is around, everything gets resolved alone! Very cost-effective.”
After finishing her sentence, Sehee spread out more photos.
A photo of the Reaper grabbing one leg of a piano-playing Blue Lizard and lifting it, disrupting the playing.
A Reaper pressing its cheek against the glass isolating a Skeleton Spider, enthusiastically watching.
A Reaper joyfully riding a tricycle.
“These are recent photos. The Reaper has already begun wandering around other isolation rooms. Well, since the Reaper isn’t attacking humans, we can keep observing for now.”
Ding. Ding. Ding.
“Sorry to interrupt the meeting.”
Just as Seoah was deep in thought, the meeting ended abruptly with a knock on the door.
“Director, please come out. The Gray Reaper has gone missing due to the ‘Theme Park Invitation Doll.'”
In the isolation room where researchers recorded the reactions of the ‘Theme Park Invitation Doll.’
That doll inside the isolation room almost handed me an invitation.
The ‘Theme Park Invitation Doll’ politely extended the invitation towards me, but upon seeing my face, it smoothly retracted it as if nothing happened.
It then turned around and approached other researchers, trying to give them the invitation as if nothing had occurred.
As if pretending it had never offered it to me.
When I stood in front of the doll, it acted as if it didn’t see me and turned away.
Spin.
When I turned, the doll spun too.
Spin.
When I turned again, the doll spun once more.
Since it clearly had no intention of handing over the invitation properly, I decided to snatch it instead of using brute force.
I ghosted myself and stealthily waited for the right moment.
The moment the ‘Theme Park Invitation Doll’ handed the invitation to another researcher, I materialized and grabbed the invitation.
Got it!
“Huh?”
But the doll held onto the invitation tightly and refused to let go.
A tug-of-war situation ensued between the doll and me.
Despite my best efforts, the invitation didn’t budge.
Meanwhile, the doll tried to shake me off, but it must be difficult with such a small body.
This intense standoff suddenly ended.
The grotesque stitches covering the doll’s mouth unraveled, completely changing the situation.
“Aaaaaaarrrrgghhh!”
The doll began emitting an unpleasant scream.
At the same time, its muscles swelled uncontrollably, tearing through its shirt to reveal a bulky physique.
A muscular doll with a round face and no top?
Such a thing shouldn’t exist.
Once it started pulling the invitation, I couldn’t stand firm anymore.
I swayed like reeds in the wind, unable to resist its strength.
Eventually, I lost grip on the invitation and was flung away, rolling across the isolation room.
“!”
Fuming, I checked the doll’s death conditions.
[Collect 10 Theme Park Stamps.]
Good! Thankfully, it has an annoying condition.
Since it doesn’t kill for not giving the invitation, I need to resolve this without killing it.
With such indirect and troublesome conditions, it won’t die easily.
I approached the doll confidently and chopped off both its shoulders.
“Ggggggghhhh!!!”
The doll writhed in agony on the floor, having lost its arms.
Hmph, you should have given it earlier.
I picked up the envelope that fell to the ground, reading <You're invited to Smile Theme Park!>
Tearing open the envelope revealed a simple postcard.
The backside of the postcard contained a map with directions to the theme park.
Though labeled as a map, it was ambiguous enough to pass as a worm doodle instead.
The methods to get there were even worse.
<Transportation: None.>
<Address: None.>
<Walking: Impossible.>
The front side introduced the theme park.
<Congratulations!>
<We invite all recipients of this invitation to Smile Theme Park!>
<This invitation is non-transferable and must be read in full.>
<A total of 9 rides await you.>
<Do you think that's too few?>
<Don't worry, it's plenty.>
<Nobody has completed all 9 yet!>
<Enjoy the ultimate amusement at Smile Theme Park!>
As I finished reading the introduction, a mysterious force emanated from the postcard.
I accepted the force without resistance.
Gradually, the sounds faded away.
The doll’s mournful cries grew distant.
The surroundings began to darken.
When everything turned pitch black…
I found myself in an unfamiliar place.
Basking in the morning sun on a rocking chair in the detective agency.
What initially seemed like a simple missing person investigation turned out to be a massive case involving ‘The Maker’ upon deeper investigation.
Although unrelated to the current case, the human trafficking and cruel experiments happening at Bucheon Research Lab didn’t seem ordinary.
Especially with connections to the recent expo terror attack emerging, the police were set to raid Bucheon Research Lab soon.
Right now, Black is staying behind at Bucheon Lab for investigation, which is bound to get messy.
Sharing findings with the police and investigating the lab’s history sounds dreadful.
Or maybe, with Young Miss around, things will wrap up surprisingly simply?
While contemplating Bucheon Lab, a knock came.
Knock knock.
“Senior! I’m here.”
Junior No. 1 entered, opening the door.
Considering the likelihood of another junior joining, I decided to label the older one as Junior No. 1.
“So, how’s Hyejin?”
“Not great, but she’ll recover soon, right? She’s got Golden Horns!”
“Who knows? Mental resilience varies greatly from person to person.”
After completing the case, Hyejin offered to sell her horns to pay the fee since she lacked money.
Of course, I refused.
It’s illegal anyway.
And cutting her horns after losing her sister would definitely kill her.
I made sure to warn her that if she ever brought money with no horns, I wouldn’t accept it.
Not that I planned to pressure her for payment—finding work outside the quarantine zone would be tough.
Plus, with many people eyeing golden horns, life would be thrice as perilous for those who possess them. So, I decided to help her a little.
‘Take your time to recover, and if you can’t find work, I’ll take you on as Junior No. 2.’ That’s what I told her. If she feels like it, she’ll reach out.
Thus, Hyejin became the potential Junior No. 2.
My intuition-driven cases always paid off big time, so this one would too.
Though this case wasn’t about making huge profits, it meant No. 2 would be a big help later.
“Hmph, hoo-hmph.”
Junior No. 1 was gleefully polishing two shiny hammers while humming a tune.
“…? What are you doing?”
“Oh, since I’m Junior No. 2, I need two hammers!”
“Ah…”
I massaged my temples, feeling a headache coming on.
Truthfully, I hired Junior No. 1 based on intuition too, but this was one of those moments when I doubted my instincts.
