The sudden appearance of a staff member abruptly halted the Gray Reaper Emergency Measures Meeting.

Following the staff member's guidance, they arrived at the isolation room for the "Theme Park Invitation Doll."

Inside the isolation room, the doll was crying mournfully, using its foot to stitch its severed arms back together.

Outside the isolation room, researchers had gathered from all directions, causing a commotion.

I demanded an explanation from the staff member who had brought us here.

"So, explain what happened."

"Yes, Director."

Upon hearing the explanation, it didn’t seem like anything particularly serious had occurred.

The doll, which had provoked the Gray Reaper and ended up losing its arms, had only gotten what it deserved.

The Reaper is merciless towards Objects, so the Objects should have been more cautious.

The strange part, however, was the disappearance of the Reaper itself.

"Are you saying it really disappeared?"

"Yes, the Gray Reaper looked at the stolen invitation and then vanished."

It couldn’t be confirmed through CCTV.

All footage had been destroyed, as it might have captured the contents of the invitation.

There was a risk that simply glancing at the invitation through CCTV could lead to someone going missing.

"It’s certainly a dangerous situation, wouldn’t you agree?"

I said this with a grin, glancing over at Seoa.

"So, what should we do going forward, Director?"

Kim Jungroe asked in his heavy voice.

"First, circulate a warning to all researchers. ‘There is a high risk of being abducted just by looking at the invitation, even without reading it.’ Completely block access to the isolation room, and instruct that all CCTV and recording be halted."

Given that Objects were also being abducted, it was clear that a broader response was needed.

"And as for the Gray Reaper, there shouldn’t be any major issues. It’s rather intriguing that the Reaper was pulled in just by looking at the invitation. Usually, Objects that abduct others end up spitting them out again, so let’s wait and see."

So far, the Reaper had been nearly immune to such abduction-type Objects.

It was more plausible to believe that the Reaper, bored out of its mind, had deliberately let itself be taken.

Unless this "Theme Park Invitation Doll" is of an unusually high level…

But looking at it crying and trying to sew its arms back together, it hardly seemed like it.

"Honestly, the Gray Reaper getting sucked into something like that invitation shouldn’t cause any problems. But since there’s always a chance of an unforeseen variable, let’s move up the timeline for the experiment we were planning."

The staff started bustling about to advance the scheduled "Theme Park Invitation Doll" entry test.

The Reaper had gone missing!

After hearing the news, I kept slipping away to search for the Reaper.

"Yerin, are you heading out again?"

"Yes, I’ll just step out for a bit to get some fresh air. I’ll be back soon~."

Even though I knew it was unlikely that the Reaper had truly disappeared, I couldn’t shake the anxiety.

However, despite searching every corner of the institute, there was no sign of the Reaper.

Even in places where the Reaper might go, it was nowhere to be found.

I sat crouched in front of the Reaper’s bed in the isolation room, hugging my knees.

I must have been exhausted from running around all day, as drowsiness began to overwhelm me.

As I drifted off, I thought to myself.

Reaper, please come back soon.

I was in the middle of a very long dream.

A dream that lasted 30 years.

I watched it from afar, as if I had become a ghost.

In the dream, I opened my eyes in a daze.

The Reaper’s room, old and worn but well-maintained.

It was the same isolation room I had always seen in my dreams.

In the dream, I dragged my uncomfortable body out of bed and started dusting and cleaning.

So that everything would be ready when the Reaper returned.

I dusted the TV, the old game console, the table, and the bed.

It was a habit I had kept up for 30 long years.

Thirty years had passed since the Reaper disappeared.

In the dream, I would sometimes glance at the table and smile contentedly.

As if watching the Golden Reapers play.

In those moments, it felt as though that scene was right before my eyes.

Cough, cough.

In the dream, my health was deteriorating rapidly.

I used to prepare picnics often, thinking I would play with the Reaper, but now I no longer did.

I instinctively knew that I was no longer physically capable of running around with the Reaper.

In the dream, I muttered to myself in a small voice.

"Reaper, please come back soon."

"The Reaper is invincible."

"One day, it will definitely return."

In the dream, I kept murmuring like that, closing my eyes tightly.

And in the dream, I fell asleep with a satisfied smile.

As if the Reaper was right in front of me.

When I closed my eyes, it almost seemed like I could hear the sound of small footsteps.

Tap, tap.

The sound of the Reaper’s little footsteps.

"You’ve finally come."

That’s what I said in the dream.

And in the dream, I met my end.

"Reaper!"

When I opened my eyes, I was back in the Reaper’s isolation room.

Not even ten minutes had passed.

My whole body was drenched in sweat.

Had I just dozed off?

The dream I had felt too long and meaningful to simply be a nap.

It was as if I had truly lived those 30 years without the Reaper.

Seoul without the Reaper was truly horrible.

In the dream, the first to die was Senior Kim Jungroe.

It was because of the Objects that had emerged from the sinkhole.

Then, Sister Park Seoa also died.

It was during the time when the government declared it was abandoning Seoul because they could no longer control the Objects appearing there.

On the day Sister Park Seoa died, something changed in Sister Sehee as well.

She became obsessed with something, completely different from before, and moved the institute to the safe, newly established city.

Though Seoul was officially dismantled, I stayed behind in the building that had once been the Sehee Research Institute.

Because I believed the Reaper would return.

There wasn’t a single place in the Korean Peninsula where one could live in peace.

In a world without the Reaper, I lived only waiting for its return.

The world fell apart without the Reaper.

Or perhaps the world fell apart because there was no Reaper?

Thank goodness it was just a dream.

I woke up in a lavishly decorated guest room.

The soft bed cradled my back, and the gentle lighting created a warm, comfortable atmosphere.

As I got out of bed, a mannequin dressed like a hotel staff member approached to greet me.

"Welcome, dear guest. Welcome to Smile Theme Park!"

Its round face was stitched shut at the eyes and mouth.

It wore a neatly pressed suit and a tall, cylindrical hat.

"Now, before you enjoy the theme park, please accept this."

The mannequin handed me a piece of paper.

A piece of paper with nine stamped smiley faces.

"At Smile Theme Park, we are hosting a stamp event. It’s a simple event where you enjoy the nine rides placed around the park and collect stamps afterward!"

Nine?

Not ten?

The destruction condition I saw was [Collect 10 stamps from the theme park]. So why is this different?

I guess I’ll find out why as I explore.

"Of course, there’s a reward for completing the event. Once you collect all nine stamps, you can board a free shuttle bus home! So please, do your best to collect them."

Clap, clap, clap—the mannequin exaggeratedly clapped its hands.

"But don’t feel pressured to rush around to ride everything. Smile Theme Park operates 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, so take your time and enjoy."

The mannequin continued, pointing around the guest room.

"You can also relax and enjoy your stay in your room. For more details, please refer to the guide provided in the room. And if you need anything, just ring this bell!"

With an exaggerated bow, the mannequin backed out of the room.

Based on what I’ve seen so far, this Object looks like it could be quite interesting.

Except for the fact that there were no humans in sight.

It would’ve been more fun if the park had been crowded with people, like a normal theme park.

A day had passed since the Gray Reaper left for the theme park.

A bus, dispatched at the urgent request of the Sehee Research Institute, was pulling into the institute.

It was a heavily sealed special bus, with bars surrounding it on all sides.

This was the transport used for criminals sentenced to death for committing heinous crimes.

The death row inmates to be used in the "Theme Park Invitation Doll" experiment had arrived.

While many death row inmates were simply consumed as sacrificial victims, these were special inmates.

Death row inmates trained to navigate trap-type Objects.

These inmates were used for experiments involving puzzles or traps.

They were trained and motivated by the promise that if they escaped from the Object, they would be exonerated and set free.

However, no matter how rigorous the training, the acquittal rate for these death row inmates was barely 1%.

Still, it was a better fate than being consumed as food by the flesh-eating Objects, which guaranteed a 100% death rate.

The death row inmates disembarked on the grounds of the Sehee Research Institute.

They were shackled multiple times, with their hands cuffed behind their backs and cuffs on their ankles, making it impossible to run.

Most of the inmates wore dark expressions, except for the woman leading the group, who wore a confident smile.

She was a tall woman, her body covered in tattoos.

Looking down at the police officers, the woman, who seemed to be about 190 cm tall, asked with a fierce grin,

"So, where do we go?"