A meeting was being held inside the Sehee Research Institute.

In the meeting room were Sehee, Park Seoa, and Kim Jungroe.

The three of them were seated.

On the whiteboard in the meeting room, it was written:

"Sehee Research Institute Emergency Measures Meeting Regarding the Gray Reaper."

"Let's begin the meeting."

Kim Jungroe, with a deep voice, announced the start of the meeting.

"This meeting is to address the differing views of the Deputy Director and the Director regarding the frequent contact between the Gray Reaper and certain individuals."

As soon as the meeting began, Sehee quickly started speaking.

"The changes are clear if you look at the photos. It's hard to dismiss this as something minor. After all, this is about the Gray Reaper."

Sehee spoke confidently.

On the table, which Sehee tapped with her fingers, several photos were laid out.

Each photo was labeled with either 'Yerin on.' or 'Yerin off.' in small letters.

All the photos were taken inside the Gray Reaper's isolation room, showing subtle differences.

The 'Yerin off.' photos appeared slightly darker.

The Gray Reaper's light seemed dimmer, and its expression looked somewhat sullen.

In contrast, the 'Yerin on.' photos appeared slightly brighter.

The Gray Reaper's light seemed more pronounced, and its expression looked somewhat brighter.

After examining the photos, Seoa slightly raised her hand and began to speak.

"I understand that this is the result of isolating Researcher Yerin from the Gray Reaper. But it's still concerning. Isn’t it too risky for such a dangerous Object to have frequent contact with a specific person?"

Seoa expressed her opinion calmly.

"Moreover, there's a high chance this could just be a temporary phenomenon. The Reaper might naturally regain interest elsewhere and recover its brightness."

Sehee countered this argument.

"But that 'interest elsewhere' might not be something favorable from the institute's perspective."

Sehee laid out more photos in front of them.

A photo of the isolation room engulfed in flames with the Reaper standing in the middle.

A photo of the Reaper looking down at a shattered Object with broken limbs.

A photo of a Reaper-shaped hole in the isolation room wall, resembling an Egyptian mural.

These were records of various incidents caused by the Reaper.

"The Reaper without Yerin is ferocious. It doesn't seem to be doing it consciously but rather causing massive accidents unconsciously, as if seeking attention. Oddly enough, when it's surrounded by people, it becomes surprisingly calm, even though it might seem annoyed. Of course, if Yerin is with it, the Reaper solves things on its own—great efficiency."

Finishing her explanation, Sehee laid out even more photos.

A photo of the Reaper holding the leg of a blue lizard to stop it from playing the piano.

A photo of the Reaper pressing its face against the glass of the isolation room where the Skeleton Spider was confined, watching intently.

A photo of the Reaper joyfully riding a tricycle.

"These are recent photos. It's already roaming around different isolation rooms. Well, since the Reaper doesn’t attack humans, it might be okay to keep observing the situation a little longer."

Knock. Knock. Knock.

"Sorry to interrupt the meeting."

The meeting, where Seoa was deep in thought, was abruptly ended by a sudden knock.

"Director, you need to come out. The Gray Reaper has gone missing due to the 'Theme Park Invitation Doll.'"

In the isolation room where researchers were recording the reactions of the 'Theme Park Invitation Doll.'

Inside that isolation room, the doll almost handed me an invitation.

The 'Theme Park Invitation Doll' was politely handing over the invitation, but when it saw my face, it smoothly retracted the invitation.

Then, it turned away as if nothing had happened and tried to offer the invitation to other researchers.

As if it had never tried to give it to me.

When I stood in front of the doll, it turned its body away as if it couldn’t see me.

Twirl.

When I turned, the doll turned too.

Twirl.

When I turned again, the doll turned once more.

It didn’t seem to want to hand over the invitation the proper way, so I decided to steal it by surprise.

I ghosted, hiding to quietly wait for the right moment.

As the 'Theme Park Invitation Doll' was handing over the invitation to another researcher in the isolation room, I materialized and grabbed the invitation.

Got it!

'Huh?'

But the doll held onto the invitation tightly, refusing to let go.

We ended up in a tug-of-war over the invitation.

I pulled with all my might, but the invitation wouldn’t budge.

On the other hand, the doll was trying to shake me off, but it was too difficult with its small body.

The stalemate, which seemed like it would continue, suddenly ended.

The doll’s grotesque stitches that held its mouth shut tore open, and the situation completely changed.

"Urrrgh!"

The doll began to scream in a horrible, grating voice.

At the same time, its muscles swelled, bursting through its clothes.

A doll with a round face and a muscular, bare upper body.

This shouldn't exist.

As the now-muscular doll pulled on the invitation, I couldn’t stand my ground anymore.

I was tossed around like a reed, unable to resist.

In the end, I lost my grip on the invitation and was flung across the isolation room.

'!'

Furious, I checked the doll's death condition.

[Collect 10 stamps from the theme park.]

Great! Thankfully, it has an annoying condition.

I mean, killing it just because it didn’t give me the invitation would be a bit much, so I decided to resolve this without killing it.

With such an indirect and troublesome condition, it wouldn't die easily.

I confidently walked over to the doll and severed its arms.

"Aaaargh!"

The doll wriggled in pain, its arms lying on the ground.

Hmph, it should have just handed it over in the first place.

I picked up the envelope that had fallen to the ground, which had "You are invited to the Smile Theme Park!" written on it.

When I tore open the envelope and pulled out the contents, it turned out to be a simple postcard.

The back of the postcard had directions to the theme park, along with a map.

The so-called map was so poorly drawn that it barely resembled a map at all.

It looked more like a crude drawing of worms.

The instructions for getting there were even more ridiculous.

[Transportation: None.]

[Address: None.]

[Walking: Impossible.]

On the front side, the postcard introduced the theme park.

[Congratulations!]

[Everyone who receives this invitation is invited to Smile Theme Park!]

[This invitation is non-transferable and must be read in its entirety.]

[There are 9 rides available.]

[Think that's too few?]

[Don’t worry. It’s plenty.]

[No one has ever completed all 9!]

[Enjoy the best entertainment of your life at Smile Theme Park!]

After reading the entire message, a strange power emanated from the postcard.

I didn’t resist the power and accepted it.

Soon, the sounds around me began to fade.

The doll's sorrowful cries grew distant.

The surroundings began to darken.

When everything turned pitch black.

Suddenly, I found myself in an entirely unfamiliar place.

In the morning light of the detective agency, I was sitting in a rocking chair, basking in the sunlight.

The case, which I thought was just a simple missing person search, turned out to be linked to something huge—connected to the 'Maker.'

It wasn't related to the original request, so I just left, but the human trafficking and gruesome experiments happening at Bucheon Research Institute were troubling.

On top of that, the connection to the recent expo terror incident was revealed, and now a bunch of police officers was headed to Bucheon Research Institute.

Right now, the Black One was left behind at Bucheon Research Institute for the investigation, but this is going to be a huge hassle.

I’ll have to share the investigation results with the police, explain why I was investigating the institute, and just thinking about it is dreadful.

Or maybe it’ll be simpler than I think since the lady is involved?

While I was pondering about Bucheon Research Institute, I heard a knock on the door.

Knock. Knock.

"Senior! I'm here."

The one who opened the door was Junior Number 1.

Since it seems likely there will soon be a Junior Number 2, I decided to call this long-time junior "Number 1."

"So, how’s Hyejin?"

"Not great, but she’ll bounce back soon, right? She’s got the golden horn, after all."

"Who knows? Mentality varies from person to person."

After the case was closed, Hyejin said she didn’t have the money to pay the fee, so she’d sell her horn if she had to.

Of course, I refused.

It’s illegal, after all.

And in her state, already shocked by her sister’s death, cutting off her horn would surely kill her.

So I made her promise that if she ever showed up with the money but without the horn, I would absolutely refuse to take it.

That said, I didn’t plan on hounding her for the money. She’d only just left the quarantine zone, so finding a job would be tough.

Plus, with so many people after the golden horn, the world was three times more dangerous for someone with it, so I decided to help out a bit.

I told her, "Once you’ve pulled yourself together, get in touch! If you can’t find work, I’ll take you on as Junior Number 2." So, if she’s interested, she’ll get in touch.

And that’s how Hyejin became the prospective Junior Number 2.

Every case I take based on intuition always turns out to be highly rewarding, so this one should be too.

While this case wasn’t a money-maker, maybe Number 2 will be a great help later on.

"Hmm, hmm."

Junior Number 1 was humming cheerfully while polishing two hammers until they gleamed.

"…? What are you doing?"

"Oh, since there’s going to be a Junior Number 2, we’ll need two hammers, right!"

"Ah…."

I rubbed my forehead, feeling a headache coming on.

To be honest, I hired Junior Number 1 based on intuition too, but this is one of those moments that made me question my instincts.