Seoul Object Story

Chapter 14: Central Research Institute (5)

The man in the bright yellow suit quickly flipped through the thick documents handed over by his junior.

"Wow, it seems like you've gathered all the data. Looking at the materials now, it seems like we can just submit this and be done with it. Was there really a need for me to come?"

The junior replied hesitantly.

"Actually, the investigation itself is complete. We couldn't see the true form of Lophiomus, but we found out where it is. However, it's tightly controlled, and it's impossible to go outside. Especially this Central Research Institute, it's such a messed up place that there's not even a ventilation shaft to escape through. Even if we tried to break the windows, they won't shatter."

The junior sighed and continued.

"I was hoping to wait until the control is lifted and we can go outside. But the current atmosphere is not normal. It's exactly the pattern when the 'Lophiomus' we investigated was about to be released. The researchers are hardly moving around, they're all gathered in the central conference room, and the external access is completely restricted. It's really creepy, you know?"

"Well, that's certainly what the data says, it does seem like that kind of situation. The gray Reaper has escaped, and there's even a murder case that seems to be its doing."

The man hummed the Central Research Institute's CM song as he continued.

"They say it's the safest national Research Institute with zero casualties, but a murder case has occurred, so it's a big incident. Lophiomus would be worth bringing up."

"You did the right thing calling me. If you had just waited for the control to be lifted, the Research Institute would have probably released Lophiomus. So? You and these data materials are going straight into Lophiomus' belly."

"Then let's hurry back!"

The eager junior urged him to leave, but the man could only shake his head.

"I really want to go back too, but it's impossible. My cane can take me anywhere, but I can only use it once every three days. So from now on, three days have to pass before I can leave this place."

"Then let's pray that Lophiomus doesn't show up within those three days."

***

'Huh? So what happened?'

The cat then let out a small meow.

Lying flat on the cool floor of the isolation room with the baby cat on my belly, it wasn't a bad feeling.

I had initially come to the isolation room to torment the cat that couldn't escape, but in the midst of receiving the cat's angry paw swipes, I realized one thing.

We can communicate when our bodies are in contact!

So I've been listening to the cat's adventure story while resting the baby cat on my belly. The warm body temperature and soft fur feel nice as I gently stroke the cat.

The slightly chilly isolation room seems to make the cat enjoy the warmth of my body.

'What? If I want to hear more, just stroke you better?'

Chuckling to myself, I listen to the cat's meows, and the bustling of the Research Institute feels like a distant story.

Well, the isolation room is so well-sealed that hardly any sound gets through, so that helps too.

It's not my fault at all! After the piranha butterfly murder case, the Central Research Institute has been in quite a commotion.

The researchers have become completely invisible, and the staff are bustling around, looking for me.

I sometimes see them trying to lure me with pudding, but what on earth did Sehee Research Institute write about me?!

The fact that there's no mention of the black butterfly story suggests that they're treating this incident as something I did, without properly investigating.

The victim said a lot about seeing a butterfly as they were dying, but it seems they didn't look into it.

There are even more butterflies fluttering around the Research Institute corridors than before. I don't know what criteria the butterflies use to choose their targets, but at this rate, another victim is bound to be bitten and killed by the butterflies.

It's also a bit strange that the researchers have disappeared. As high-level personnel, are they hiding in a safe place when dangerous Objects are roaming around?

Well, while it's satisfying to just keep lying here, it's time to get up and start moving around. I'm curious about where the butterflies are coming from, and I also feel like there's a suspicious atmosphere inside the Research Institute.

After conveying my intention to leave, I picked up the cat with both hands as it meowed cutely, asking to come along.

Unfortunately, I don't have the ability to materialize and move together with the cat. If I took the cat me, it might get caught in that time cracks or something in the Research Institute.

'I'll come back for you when I get the chance', I left a light promise like that and departed the cat's isolation room.

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As I stepped out into the corridor, I noticed that my former isolation room had been suddenly well-furnished.

It was just like the isolation room at the Sehee Research Institute.

A large bed, TV, game console, refrigerator, and snacks were waiting for me.

I thought it might be fine to spend some time here, but the exploration of the Research Institute seemed more interesting, so I decided to rest here a bit later and set out.

The Central Research Institute was indeed incredibly vast, and there were a huge number of isolated Objects. The Sehee Research Institute actually only had me as a fixed isolated test subject.

The problem was that without someone explaining the Objects, they were just strange-looking animals, plants, and objects.

Somehow, I felt like I was wandering around a zoo, making comments like "How funny-looking" and "Wow, how is that standing?"

Among the isolation rooms, one caught my eye, perhaps due to a growing sense of familiarity or the Object's uniqueness.

Inside that isolation room, a palm-sized blue lizard was playing the piano with its two feet, clapping along.

I couldn't help but enter that isolation room, mesmerized.

The lizard was playing a rather difficult piano piece with its nimble footwork, looking like it was dancing.

Where the two feet were not enough, it multiplied its limbs, seamlessly continuing the melody.

If this were the Sehee Research Institute, it would be the perfect time to beg Yerin to get one for my isolation room...

Oh, I admired the lizard's brilliant dance in awe.

I made a mental note to bring the baby cat and the lizard to the Sehee Research Institute if I had the chance, and then resumed my journey to find the source of the butterflies.

During my exploration of the Research Institute, I spotted a suspicious duo in the logistics warehouse - a regular staff member and a man in a yellow suit.

The man in the yellow suit was the suspicious one. His attire and appearance were out of place for the Research Institute, where uniforms are the norm.

Even more concerning was the fact that he was carrying multiple Objects all over his body.

The one-eyed glasses were an Object.

The cane was an Object.

Even his pocket watch is also an object.

Object seemed to have a lot of harmful things, and I couldn't understand how he could carry it around with such audacity.

"Wait, there's an Object in front of you," the man said, stopping the woman, and he seemed to be looking directly at my location. However, it didn't seem like he could actually see me.

Was he able to detect me with that one-eyed glasses? I stared intently at the man, who was sweating nervously out of tension.

***

The sudden appearance of the text in front of me flustered me, and I warned my junior.

"Wait. There is an Object in front of you."

The text that appeared in front of me was full of ominous things.

[It draws strength from human sorrow.]

[It draws strength from human grief.]

[It draws strength from human suffering.]

[It knows the fastest way to kill a target.]

The one-eyed glasses displaying the text were showing only a small part of the Object's characteristics Even though the text was visible, the target itself was not, clearly indicating it was in a ghostly, incorporeal state.

Having worked as a detective and seen many Objects, this was the first time I had encountered an Object with such a sense of malice and ominous abilities. It seemed like an existence born to harm humans.

These were abilities that one would expect a demonic, evil life form from legends to possess - incorporeality, death, and ominous abilities.

The incorporeality and deadly abilities made it was easy to predict who it was.

"The one in front of us seems to be the Gray Reaper. Be careful, junior. It appears to be twice as malicious than what is known about it."

I had always thought the incidents related to the Gray Reaper were mostly false accusations, but had my judgment, which was usually accurate, been wrong this time?

Has my once sharp mind become rusty? I was certain it was a false fear created by the public!