Seoul Object Story

Chapter 11: Central Research Institute (2)

A glass-walled isolation room. The walls and ceiling are painted white.

I was alone in the empty isolation room.

Unlike the expression of the employee who had put me in this isolation room, as if saying 'You're done for now that you've come this far!', I didn't feel much different in the isolation room of Central Research Institute.

If anything, the gloomy atmosphere was more than I had expected.

The dimly lit atmosphere and the rigid expressions of the researchers were quite unsettling.

The expressions of the lower-level employees directly managing the Objects were even worse than those at the Seoul Research Institute.

Just by their expressions, it seemed like they were the ones being isolated, not the Object.

Beep

A loud buzzer sound accompanied the release of high-temperature steam from the wall. I easily avoided it by ghostifying.

It started with firearms.

Buzzer sounds and gunfire. Sudden gunfire without the buzzer.

The Central Research Institute was just repeating these useless actions.

Suddenly, bombs would explode inside the isolation room, and various toxic gases were sprayed. Highly acidic liquids were sprayed, and nitrogen was poured in.

Considering the diverse destruction conditions I've seen in Objects so far, these various attempts are not bad methods, but the focus is too much on destructive methods. There could be solutions that seem completely unrelated.

For example, just looking at the destruction condition of the steel pig statue in the Seoul Forest incident, there are clearly destruction conditions that would be difficult to find with this kind of approach. Of course, they don't know that, so they're doing these experiments.

The lizard trapped in the isolation room across from me was one such case.

The destruction condition for that lizard was [to receive a standing ovation from 10,000 people simultaneously].

The front of the isolation room was completely transparent glass, so I could see not only the people passing by, but also the interior of the isolation room across from me, where a lizard was being periodically killed.

It didn't look physically sturdy at all, and it was just a palm-sized little lizard. The only thing that set it apart was its blue color, otherwise it didn't look like an Object at all.

The lizard's true value was revealed in the experiments. A flamethrower reduced it to ashes without leaving a single bone fragment, but about an hour later, blue flames flickered in the air and the lizard was resurrected.

After that, persistent experiments continued. They tried various methods to prevent resurrection, such as dissolving it in acid and burning it, but the lizard kept reviving.

At some point, they gave up on killing the lizard and moved it to another isolation room.

I had hoped to be moved to another isolation room like the lizard, but it seemed they had no intention of sending me to a different place, unlike that blue lizard. What's the difference between me and that lizard?

***

In the place where the lizard had been, a cat was brought in. The person who seemed to be the cat's owner lured it into the isolation room with snacks and toys.

I thought they would torment the cat like they did to the lizard, but surprisingly, they didn't. The cat was a ghost-like, so they just isolated it without even trying.

The ghostly cat, though trapped, seemed quite relaxed.

However, this relaxation was short-lived.

Apparently bored, the cat tried to stick its head out through the glass wall, and its relaxed demeanor disappeared.

The cat couldn't pass through the wall and just bumped its head against the isolation room glass.

The ghostly cat, trapped in the isolation room, couldn't get out through the glass wall and just scratched at the wall with its claws, meowing. Since it was a ghostly cat, its pitiful cries sounded even more heartbreaking, as if it was bewildered by the situation.

Could it be that this isolation room is effective in containing objects with a ghostly nature?

Carefully examining the walls of the isolation room, a cryptic hint came to mind.

[Fulfills the wish of the Research Institute Director.]

The walls and glass of the isolation room were all classified as Objects. They seemed to be the same Object or derived from the same Object.

The destruction hint was [Fulfills the wish of the Research Institute Director].

This was another bizarre hint. I didn't know who the Director was or what their wish was.

Using Objects to contain other Objects. No wonder the employees looked so confident.

It was obvious why they wouldn't let me out. There was no reason to take me out of the prison that could contain ghostly beings. It would be troublesome if I escaped during transport.

Was it really impossible to pass through? I thought to myself and tried pushing my hand against the wall, but I only felt a slight resistance, and then I smoothly passed through.

Huh? I can pass through so easily?

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However, from the hand that went into the wall, an incredibly loud noise could be heard, like the sound of a crowded gymnasium, with a lot of murmuring and indistinguishable voices mixed in.

It was an incomprehensible phenomenon, but I decided to just go through.

What could happen?

***

An alarm was sounding throughout the Research Institute.

There were indications that the high-risk experimental subject, the Gray Reaper, had escaped from the isolation room.

The problematic CCTV footage presented as evidence showed the Gray Reaper passing through the wall. In the video, the Gray Reaper inserted its arm, seemed to ponder something, and then pushed its entire body into the wall.

Of course, they weren't stupid enough to open the isolation room door just because of that video. It was already reported that the Gray Reaper's intelligence was extremely high, so the opinion was presented that the video was a deception to lure them into opening the door.

Furthermore, the Gray Reaper was not visible on the opposite wall, which further strengthened that opinion.

However, the possibility of an actual escape was also considered, so all external doors and windows were sealed. Personnel within the Research Institute were also prohibited from going outside.

Both field and office staff were assigned the task of searching for the Gray Reaper. The field staff were running around every corner, tracking the Gray Reaper's traces, while the office staff were thoroughly analyzing all CCTV footage to find any images of the Gray Reaper.

I was assigned the task of patrolling the interior of the Research Institute, equipped with a large shield in my right hand and a truncheon in my left. It was a ridiculous idea to chase after a high-risk special-class Object like the Gray Reaper with just this kind of armament.

The only consolation was that the Gray Reaper was unlikely to have escaped outside. After all, it had never managed to escape before, so why would it suddenly try now?

The researchers had all hidden in the internal bunkers, and only the general staff were wandering around, each carrying a large shield, making the spacious Research Institute corridors seem much narrower.

Perhaps that's why the Research Institute corridors looked unusually dark. Black butterflies were densely clustered on the ceiling, and they were occasionally fluttering around.

Now that I think about it, when did those black butterflies appear? About a week ago?

Well, It's nothing serious.

Nothing serious at all.

Come to think of it, there were also a lot of butterflies in the mirror in my dormitory. Is that strange?

Not really strange.

Ah, it stings.

A black butterfly bit me with its sharp teeth.

But wait, do butterflies have teeth?

They might.

The butterflies started to swarm and cling to me.

When did this start? It's been like this since yesterday.

It's nothing serious.

"Hey, why do you have so many bug bites on your arms? It's only early summer, were there that many mosquitoes?"

My colleague's voice sounded strangely distant. Butterflies were swarming so densely that they obscured my vision as they flew down from the ceiling. Were butterflies sitting in my ears, preventing me from hearing properly?

I couldn't see my colleague's face because of the butterflies.

"Hey, what are you looking at? No matter how tired you are, you need to stay alert."

The butterflies were a hindrance. I couldn't even walk properly.

When are they going to get rid of these butterflies?

It's just us field staff suffering like this, the Research Institute always does this.

Amidst the butterfly-filled vision, an intense yellow pierced my eyes.

It was the intense yellow emanating from the Gray Reaper's eyes.

The Gray Reaper was gesturing for me to come over quickly.

Ah, I need to quickly signal that I've spotted the Reaper...

But my body wouldn't move.

Butterflies were clinging all over me, preventing any movement.

And I was too drowsy to even stand.

With the Gray Reaper right in front of me, I lost consciousness.