Wiggle, wiggle.

Wiggle, wiggle.

The Reaper was excitedly flapping both feet.

His gaze was fixed on the sky.

His arms were stretched out as if trying to grab something in the air.

A Tyrannosaurus!

The Reaper and I stood before a gigantic dinosaur.

Honestly, I didn’t think the Reaper would like something like this, but he was more excited than I expected.

Dinosaurs revived as Objects were surprisingly common.

However, there weren’t many living specimens left.

This was due to their lifespan issues and the fact that many were killed.

Who would have thought the Reaper liked dinosaurs? Maybe next time, I should take him to the "Hwaseong Research Institute" where they keep a lot of dinosaurs in isolation.

It would be nice if I could get permission to take the Reaper to the Mars Research Institute.

Ahem.

It’s natural to be captivated by dinosaurs.

Who doesn’t like them, regardless of age or gender?

Yerin’s expression as she looked at me seemed a bit more disrespectful than usual...

We had been enjoying our tour so much that lunchtime had already passed.

I’m fine without eating anything, but Yerin must be getting tired.

As we looked around for a place to eat, we spotted a booth from a research institute.

It was set up like a performance venue you might see at a zoo, and although it was a bit pricey, it had plenty of food available.

We sat down, munching on hot dogs and watching the performance put on by the institute.

Since it was an Object research institute, instead of dolphins, yetis performed.

Yetis jumping through flaming hoops.

Yetis riding on giant swings.

Yetis getting zapped by electricity when they slacked off.

Yetis balancing on large balls.

Yetis falling off unicycles and getting zapped by electricity again.

Yetis being shot out of cannons toward a target.

Although some parts were strange, it was quite entertaining.

It was more of a circus than a zoo, but since it was enjoyable, I had no complaints.

After finishing our meal and the performance, we resumed our tour, and there were still plenty of fascinating Objects to see.

At the Sejong Research Institute booth, only one Object was on display.

<Unbreakable Cube.>

<It renders surrounding objects immune to physical destruction.>

<No side effects have been reported.>

‘Wow, an Object that grants physical immunity!’

Even though I still had some human emotions left, I couldn’t help but be impressed by this Object.

Even just thinking about it briefly, the potential uses seemed endless.

This was an Object that should obviously be famous, but it was my first time seeing it.

As I looked into why, I found out it was a brand-new Object discovered only a month ago.

Wow, brand new!

The isolation facility created by the government, which was hosting the expo, also stood out.

As the host, their setup was grand and large-scale, but one Object in particular seemed extremely dangerous.

<The Thief Who Doesn’t Steal.>

It was an Object that had limbs like a person but an indistinct face.

It just sat vacantly in the center of the isolation room, making me wonder why it was called a thief.

<If not kept in sight for more than 10 seconds, it disappears.>

<When it vanishes, it reappears in front of the nearest locked lock or door.>

<It then quickly unlocks it and disappears again.>

<There are no reports of any lock or container it cannot open.>

After reading the description, I understood why it was named that way.

To keep it in sight, a team of about 100 employees took turns watching it.

Of course, if it escaped their sight, it would unleash chaos by releasing all the Objects exhibited at the expo, so this was only natural.

But really, this seems like the kind of Object that should never be displayed at an expo...

Even if they thought it was safe to bring it here, it still seems like a rather careless decision.

While wandering around in response to the Reaper’s excited flapping, I noticed a booth from the recently famous 'Trinity' research institute.

The largest research institute in Korea.

The top research institute in Korea.

If you visited research communities, you often saw researchers from Trinity showing off.

The Object they had brought was one that had once terrified Korea.

Commonly known among the public as "Fake Iron Tower."

When it first appeared, it caused damage comparable to the Iron Tower.

<Magnetic Sphere.>

Its form was a sphere made of several semicircular metal plates fused together.

Because of its notoriety, this Object was rarely taken out, so it was my first time seeing it in person.

The Reaper also seemed intrigued, as if he was seeing it for the first time.

<It absorbs electrical currents from civilization within a 1-kilometer radius.>

<It rotates at high speed in proportion to the amount of electricity absorbed.>

<It is impossible to destroy by physical means.>

<If not properly contained, it will teleport after a brief warm-up period.>

The Magnetic Sphere was an Object that, like the Iron Tower, was hostile to human civilization.

However, its range was much smaller and less threatening compared to the Iron Tower.

It didn’t remove natural electricity, like lightning or electric eels, but selectively removed only the electricity used by civilization.

It would have been a disaster if such an Object had teleported around Korea, but fortunately, a solution was quickly found.

A researcher discovered that applying a magnetic field easily blocked the Magnetic Sphere’s abilities.

Looking at the Trinity isolation room, I could see that they had placed numerous electromagnets near the Magnetic Sphere to prevent any potential accidents.

“Reaper, shall we head to the next booth?”

When the Reaper didn’t respond, I grabbed his tiny foot and shook it.

But there was still no reaction.

He just kept staring at a corner of the expo hall with an unusually serious expression.

He was looking in the direction of the slowly blinking golden tree.

That’s where the Bucheon Research Institute booth was, which we had briefly visited in the morning...

It was a strange place, occupying a vast area despite having no notable achievements.

The tree was gradually, and then more rapidly, starting to glow brighter.

As the tree began to glow so brightly that it was becoming unsettling, an unexpected event occurred as everyone stared at it.

Wooooong.

A low vibration resonated, and an almost imperceptible wave emanated from the tree.

People touched by the wave started collapsing like marionettes with their strings cut.

It was as if a wave was sweeping through the crowd in the stadium’s stands, causing people to fall simultaneously as if measured with a ruler.

The wave wasn’t that fast, but it was faster than a human could react.

When the wave reached us, my mind started to fade.

My knees buckled, and my head tilted back.

No matter how hard I tried to hold on, it was no use.

I was barely managing to stay conscious, but it was slipping away.

If I fall like this, the Reaper will get hurt...

My vision went dark, and the sound around me faded.

As I fell backward, someone gently caught my head.

The last thing I felt before losing consciousness was the soft touch of the Reaper’s hand on my cheek.

A wave emanated from the golden tree.

It was a wave that put people to sleep.

After checking on Yerin, who had collapsed headfirst, I found that she was in perfect health.

She had just fallen into a mysterious sleep.

Even after patting her cheek with my palm, there was no sign of her waking up.

The situation was dire.

Like a zoo, the expo had also failed to avoid its jinx.

I needed to return to the Sehee Research Institute booth, but I didn’t have the strength to carry Yerin.

If I leave her here, she’ll definitely die.

But if I stay near Yerin, then all the Sehee Research Institute employees will die instead.

The expo, now filled with sleeping people, was already descending into chaos.

Thud.

With the sound of a circuit breaker tripping, the once brightly lit expo hall was now shrouded in darkness.

The lively music that had been playing through the speakers also ceased.

The only sounds left were the growls of the biological Objects.

The electricity had vanished from the expo hall.

Did the Magnetic Sphere escape containment?

The escape of Objects continued.

It started with a pack of yetis whose mouths were smeared with blood.

Having feasted on the blood of the handlers who had previously shocked them with electricity, the yetis burst onto the streets in search of new prey.

In the distance, I heard the mighty roar of a Tyrannosaurus.

Who in their right mind is opening all the isolation room doors?

The yetis, now hungry, began to slink toward Yerin.

I crushed the heads of the foolish yetis who were targeting Yerin.

Without physical immunity or regeneration abilities, the yetis finally recognized me and fled in a hurry.

If only I had two bodies, I wouldn’t have to worry...

Should I have learned the clone technique in advance?

Speaking of clones, an ability came to mind.

Miniature Golden Reaper.

I wasn’t sure if it would be useful since I couldn’t control it as I wished, but with a do-or-die attitude, I created Golden Reapers.

One.

Two.

...

I created enough Golden Reapers to surround me.

The dolls that looked just like me simultaneously raised their heads and began looking around.

The Mini Reapers stared at me, and then one jumped up and clung to me.

Just one?

Last time, they all clung to me and the cat...

Another one clung to the cheek of the sleeping Yerin.

But after that, the Golden Reapers didn’t take any particular action.

As I thought, this ability wasn’t helpful in this situation.

After a few seconds of looking around, the Golden Reapers scattered in all directions like a flock of sparrows.

Like a wave of gold, the Reapers began to disperse in all directions.

And then, the scattered Reapers each clung to a single person.

One Reaper per person.

One Reaper per person.

They clung to the people who had collapsed at the expo.