The shattered golden-horn alloy container lay in ruins, and within it, blood seeped out slowly and thickly.

The director's experiment had failed once again.

"It seems that just adjusting the alloy ratio has its limits. Since we're dealing with a special Object, it looks like we'll need special materials as well."

The director tapped his fingers lightly on the desk as he fell deep into thought.

He recalled the countless Objects he had seen in the gaps of time.

He began to randomly think of useful Objects, whether from the past or the future, that he had successfully observed.

An Object that was excellent at blocking the entry of other Objects and one that could be obtained immediately.

Then, the director's thoughts drifted to one particular event.

"The Object Expo."

He remembered that a very useful Object was expected to appear there soon.

The director had his researchers prepare to participate in the expo under the name of Bucheon Research Institute.

It was preparation to acquire an Object that was absolutely necessary for humanity.

As I looked up at the sky, I noticed it was a rare, clear day.

The warm sunlight gently heated my skin, and the cool breeze blowing over it made me feel good.

"Meow."

The ghost cat in my arms seemed to be in a good mood as well.

Cloud meats swam freely across the sky.

I even spotted a rare cloud whale.

Once Sehee Research Institute had unpacked its cargo, I planned to enjoy a cold carbonated drink with the cloud whale as my view.

We were at the Object Expo.

This was the place Yerin had been so excited about.

It was a large-scale event where many research institutes from across Korea, as well as some from abroad, were participating.

I had heard that many rare Objects would be brought in, and I was looking forward to it in my own way.

It was like a dream come true to be in a place I had always wanted to visit.

I had always wanted to go to the "Object Zoo."

The "Object Zoo" had been attempted more frequently than I had expected, but there was a sad jinx associated with it.

The jinx was that a major accident would occur on the opening day, leading to the cancellation of the zoo’s establishment.

This jinx had repeated itself several times, leading to a sad conclusion where no further permits were granted.

I hoped that this event would successfully overcome such a jinx.

I also hoped that the successful conclusion of the Object Expo would lead to the approval for establishing the Object Zoo.

I was looking forward to an enjoyable Object Expo.

Hehe.

As we entered the expo hall, a huge golden tree greeted us from a corner in the distance.

"Wow, sis, what kind of tree is that? Was there a research institute that was containing such a massive tree Object?"

When I opened the guidebook to check Yerin's question, I found the answer.

"It says here that it's an Object brought by Bucheon Research Institute. But wasn’t Bucheon Research Institute supposed to be defunct?"

Perhaps someone had acquired it and resumed operations?

I wondered why anyone would bother acquiring a defunct research institute, but the thought soon left my mind.

On our way to Sehee Research Institute's assigned exhibition space, we passed by the Bucheon Research Institute's booth.

Employees with tired expressions were greeting the visitors.

Did that research institute forbid its employees from sleeping? Why did they all look so exhausted?

Still, the massive tree that emitted its own light was quite an impressive Object.

It was a bit strange that such a noticeable Object had never been known before, though.

"Hello. Do you have any requests for us?"

As I was catching my breath, my senior began speaking in a strange manner, cutting off all the context from our surroundings.

If you approach people like that, they’ll probably run away from making any requests!

"Yes! I do have a request!"

But it worked!

"I need to find my sister!"

Why do these strange things my senior says often seem to work?

Since it was difficult to discuss the request in the drizzling rain outside, we decided to return to the detective agency to hear the full story.

We took a taxi in the middle of the night and arrived at the detective agency.

As we opened the door and entered, the agency felt quite different from usual.

The large windows that usually let in sunlight felt eerie at night, and the faint sound of rain hitting them seemed like something out of a horror movie.

Even though Watson, the gas lamp on the shelf, looked the same as usual, something felt unsettling.

It felt as if the lamp had been lit just a few seconds ago.

My senior, who seemed accustomed to the agency's atmosphere, naturally turned on the lights and guided the client to a seat.

He even handed a large towel to the drenched client.

Wait, did the agency always have towels like that? I’ve never seen one before.

My senior skillfully brewed warm coffee and offered a cup to the client.

After listening to the client, it became clear why my senior’s outrageous offer had worked.

The client had already seen my senior on TV and recognized him.

Well, someone dressed in a yellow suit, carrying a pipe, would definitely leave a deep impression after just one appearance on TV.

"I need to find my sister. She was heading to Seoul, but then... then suddenly she stopped contacting me."

The client was babbling, clearly unable to organize her thoughts.

"Oh! Come to think of it, a broker who tried to kidnap me said they had also kidnapped my sister."

"Will… will you be able to find her?"

Summarizing the request, it seemed like a rather difficult case.

It was fortunate that not much time had passed since the kidnapping, but the chances of survival were slim.

Most victims of Golden Horn-related kidnappings are killed within ten hours.

This trend emerged after the penalties for Golden Horn crimes were significantly increased.

Committing a crime involving Golden Horns now carried a sentence equivalent to murder, so criminals would just kill the victim and bury them somewhere to reduce the chances of getting caught.

Maybe the law will change again soon?

Perhaps they’ll introduce a massive sentence for both severing the horn and committing murder simultaneously.

"Then, let's start by finding that broker!"

My senior accepted the request without any concern for such issues.

But what about the fee, senior?

The Black Agent was still in China.

The Black Agent, who was investigating the research institute where the Golden Horns had been brought, found something suspicious and had stayed in China to continue his investigation.

"Sir, what are you staring at so intently?"

"There are many discrepancies in the reports on the research institute, so I'm trying to verify them."

Even from the transcripts of the 'professional research institute delivery drivers' who had transported the Golden Horns here, something seemed off.

They all mentioned the same things.

<"The research institute we visited for delivery was clean and well-maintained, and everything seemed fine.">

<"The building itself looked brand new and perfect.">

<"Actually, I had been delivering to that institute even before it supposedly went bankrupt, but when I visited after it reopened, the building was completely different, so I was a bit surprised.">

<"They must have cleaned thoroughly; there wasn’t a speck of dust.">

The first common point was that the building was clean and flawless.

<"The staff seemed strange.">

<"The staff were so unfriendly it made me uncomfortable.">

<"The staff all seemed exhausted and depressed.">

<"Even the security guard didn’t seem interested in the vehicles entering the institute.">

<"There were quite a few frustratingly slow employees, in my opinion.">

The second common point was that the staff appeared unfriendly and depressed.

Though I hadn’t met the staff, the actual condition of the research institute I had seen was far from clean.

It was a ruin, a building on the verge of collapse.

The building was severely deteriorated due to a lack of maintenance.

As I delved deeper into the investigation, I found more oddities.

The process of acquisition and establishment was strange.

The officials who had authorized the acquisition and establishment couldn’t remember the research institute at all.

Even the landowner who sold the site didn’t remember receiving any money and just signed the contract.

In fact, they didn’t even remember selling the land.

The vague memories were similar to the symptoms the officials displayed.

The Black Agent jotted down these points in his notebook.

<Object with hypnotic abilities?>

<Reality-altering Object?>

<Whichever it is, it's a troublesome Object.>

<Even if limited to criminal use, there could be better ways to utilize it.>

<Why go after the Golden Horns specifically?>

<The risk is too high for the little gained.> <Utilizing a Korean criminal all the way in China.> <Golden Horn Syndrome only occurs in Korea.> <The likelihood of operating mainly in Korea is high.> <Need to investigate research institutes in Korea that were suddenly acquired or reopened.>

The Black Agent closed his notebook and stood up.

The blonde girl also stood up with him.

"Sir, you’ve come to a conclusion, haven’t you? Your expression looks like you’ve made up your mind."

The usually expressionless agent nodded slightly.

"Yes, miss. It seems I’ve investigated everything worth investigating here. The rest will have to be done in Korea."

The Black Agent felt like he was finally beginning to see a faint outline of the true culprit behind the Golden Horn incidents.