NoveLight ™
The Bucheon Research Institute, made famous by the "Maker" incident.
A black-clad agent was still conducting an investigation at the Bucheon Research Institute.
An improvised investigation camp had been set up in the parking lot of the Bucheon Research Institute.
The agent sat under a tent in that camp, reading a newspaper.
On the front page was a photo of mannequins flying through the air, scattering light particles.
"What is the Smiling Theme Park? A New Object?"
"Mannequins Suddenly Appear in the Sky! They Distribute Flyers and Vanish."
"Another Wave of Migrants, Seoul in Panic."
The article was about the grotesque-faced mannequins that had been flying across Seoul a few days earlier.
It was a topic that garnered a lot of attention, explained not just on the front page but across several pages.
The sight of mannequins scattering light particles as they flew was enough to draw attention, but when they also scattered flyers with strange messages, it became the center of everyone's focus.
The contents of the flyers were reprinted in the newspaper:
"Smiling Theme Park Opening Soon!"
"In 30 days, the Smiling Theme Park will open!"
"Admission is only 1 coin!"
"Bring this flyer for free admission!"
The issue wasn’t the promotional language but the map attached to the flyer.
According to the map, a vast area encompassing almost the entire city of Seoul was designated as the "Smiling Theme Park."
Citizens of Seoul were puzzled by the ominous flyers distributed by the Object.
"So what happens to the existing Seoul?"
Having already endured the vast destruction caused by the Iron Tower, the people of Seoul naturally thought:
"Could they actually destroy all of Seoul and replace it with the Smiling Theme Park?"
People gripped by this fear began preparing to leave Seoul before the park’s opening day, as mentioned on the flyers.
A blonde girl glanced at the front-page article the black-clad agent was reading and commented:
"Wow, mister, do you think this is okay? Nearly all of Seoul turning into a theme park? We can’t just abandon Seoul, can we?"
"Fortunately, they’ve identified the Object responsible. It’s been confirmed that it’s an Object currently in quarantine at the Sehee Research Institute."
"So, maybe it’ll be resolved quickly?"
"That’s unlikely. The government’s recent attempt to eliminate it failed, and now they’re planning to move the Object far away from Seoul."
The association and government were currently facing a very tricky situation.
Fortunately, they had identified the source of the flyer incident.
The "Theme Park Invitation Doll" at Sehee Research Institute.
There were four options for dealing with the situation:
Evacuate Seoul. This would result in enormous financial loss, so it’s the last resort.
Put more people into the doll and observe the changes. The results of this are uncertain. It could even lead to the park expanding further.
Destroy the doll. This has already been attempted, but even when the doll was reduced to ashes, it was observed to regenerate.
Move the doll outside of Seoul. This is currently being attempted, but it’s likely to fail. Since Sehee Research Institute is already outside the park’s boundary, the doll’s location seems irrelevant to the park’s expansion.
What if all the association and government’s plans fail, and most of Seoul is destroyed?
It’s an outcome too dreadful to even imagine.
"Humming. Let’s clean the antenna thoroughly."
Humming a tune, I cheerfully wiped the antenna with a cloth.
The antenna protruded from the top of the "Theme Park Invitation Doll's" head, which I cleaned until it gleamed.
It was an unnecessary task.
One I was advised not to do because it was potentially dangerous.
"Yerin, it’s dangerous, so don’t go beyond the barrier."
Despite hearing such warnings, I cleaned the antenna every day until it sparkled.
The Theme Park Invitation Doll had already grown to over 20 meters in size.
There was a suggestion to move it to the backyard before it got this big, but instead, we decided to demolish all the walls of the containment room.
Seoa Unnie’s opinion was that there was no need to provoke a calm Object by moving it unnecessarily.
So, we demolished all the walls to create more space, and installed a lot of steel pillars to restrict the doll’s movement.
In the wide-open space, with all the walls removed, the doll just lay there, motionless.
It no longer made its keening noise.
Occasionally, it would shudder and let out a cry of pain, but the cause was unknown.
Now, its fur was patchy, as if gnawed away by rats, making it look like a cancer-stricken doll.
Suddenly, an arm popped out from the doll’s mouth.
"What?"
A completely unexpected situation!
Given the doll’s size, it was assumed that all the death row inmates who entered had died!
I pressed the emergency call button on the table.
The emergency alarm blared throughout the institute.
Police and staff rushed in to manage the situation.
The police were on standby to re-transfer the convict, while the staff prepared to deal with any possible rampage by the doll using flamethrowers and other equipment.
The association’s staff, who had been preparing for the transfer, gathered with hopeful expressions.
The shouts of the staff echoed through the institute.
"One, two. One, two."
The staff grabbed the hand sticking out of the doll’s mouth and pulled.
The woman who was pulled out collapsed weakly onto the floor.
The returning death row inmate was a woman covered in tattoos.
As soon as I recognized her, I quickly hid behind Seoa Unnie.
She was a terrifying death row inmate!
Peeking out from behind Seoa Unnie, I saw that the convict no longer had the sharp aura she had before.
Could it be that she suffered so much inside the Object?
"Seoa Unnie, doesn’t it seem like her demeanor has changed a lot?"
"It does seem like she’s calmed down."
The woman who had been pulled out of the doll’s mouth was handcuffed again and prepared for re-transfer.
After testifying about her experiences inside the Object and going through the trial, she would likely be released as promised.
Seeing her quietly answering the police’s questions, I could definitely sense that her demeanor had changed.
Since she no longer seemed scary, I came out from behind Unnie, and she asked:
"Researcher Oh Yerin, not hiding anymore?"
"Haha, well, she doesn’t seem scary at all now, so it’s okay."
I scratched my head as I answered.
It was rare for someone’s aura to change like this, but it was definitely intriguing.
The death row inmate, after completing a brief investigation, was escorted out of the institute with a clinking sound.
At the entrance of the institute, a prisoner transport vehicle was parked.
Before getting on the bus, the death row inmate looked up at the sky for a long time before the police guided her onto the bus.
Was there something in the sky?
When I looked up, I saw only an ordinary full moon shining yellow.
After the convict left, the containment room for the Theme Park Invitation Doll felt deserted.
Even the police, who had been patrolling occasionally, were gone, making the place feel several times more spacious.
"Oh, Sehee Unnie is here too?"
"I just felt like I should be here."
When I arrived at the containment room, Yerin was already there.
It had been long past quitting time, but for some reason, I couldn’t bring myself to leave.
Maybe Yerin, who is so attached to the Reaper, felt the same way.
Kegek.
Kegegek.
The doll, having vomited up the convict, was now breathing heavily.
The doll would soon die.
That feeling was palpable just from listening to its breathing.
And when the doll dies, the Reaper will return.
The idea that the Reaper might not return?
I’ve never even considered that.
The containment room, now empty of people, was so quiet that you could hear the faint high-pitched sound from the artificial lights.
In that silence, there was the sound of something crumbling and scattering.
The massive doll, standing over 20 meters tall, began to disintegrate into powder.
The sound of the powder scattering, like the wind blowing through a desert, resonated in the silence.
"The Reaper has returned."
Amidst the flood of dust filling the containment room, a familiar yellow glow appeared.
Yerin and I ran through the dust and tightly embraced the Reaper’s body.
"Welcome back, Reaper."
For some reason, today the Reaper hugged us back tightly as well.
The "Theme Park Invitation Doll" was destroyed.
"Seoa, I’m counting on you to take care of the aftermath!"
With just these words, Sehee Research Institute’s director, Lee Sehee, dumped the report on the doll’s destruction and other tasks onto me and disappeared, claiming to be busy.
After roughly finishing up the tasks, I went to find out what Lee Sehee was doing.
She was found inside the special containment room for the highly dangerous Object, the "Gray Reaper."
And she was asleep.
What exactly had happened? I reviewed the recorded CCTV footage.
The footage showed Director Lee Sehee and Researcher Oh Yerin entering the containment room.
At first, they argued over who would get to be with the Gray Reaper, but they soon reached a compromise.
They decided on a rough arrangement: Yerin on the left, Sehee on the right.
Researcher Oh Yerin started massaging first, and Director Lee Sehee followed suit.
They massaged from fingers and toes to cheeks, performing three rounds of massages.
The institute’s database once reported that the Gray Reaper tends to fall asleep quickly when massaged, and this time was no exception.
Once they confirmed the Gray Reaper was asleep, they moved it to the bed.
With the care tasks done, both of them should have left the containment room, but they didn’t.
Instead, they lay down on the bed with the Gray Reaper and fell asleep together.
This was a violation of the institute’s containment regulations!
According to the rules, they should be removed immediately, but disturbing a sleeping high-risk Object is also against the regulations.
There was nothing I could do but leave them be.
Instead, I took out a notebook titled "Gray Reaper Mental Contamination Report."