The cat that had escaped the burning building began to run westward, continuously heading west, passing through the ruins.

Even when the ruins ended and a maze-like city appeared, it continued to run without hesitation.

It ran through the busy, eye-catching city without even glancing around.

The characteristic bustling sounds of city conversations, the laughter of children, and the occasional barking of dogs in the distance.

As if it knew the way well, it didn’t stop even at the complex crossroads of the city.

These were streets entirely unfamiliar to me, but they seemed familiar to the cat.

After following the cat for several hours, it finally let out a loud cry in front of a wide-open view atop a high ruin.

"Meowww!"

It was a cry that felt full of accomplishment.

Looking down from where the cat was, I saw a familiar landscape.

It was the view that always appeared on TV when introducing the 'Incheon Gyeyang Mountain Temporary Camp.'

The scene was often shown on TV, as it vividly portrayed the camp's disorder while also offering a rather impressive landscape.

However, seeing the camp in person, rather than on TV, it was slightly different from what I had expected.

On TV, it was frequently described as the 'lawless temporary camp'...

But to me, it didn’t seem rough enough to deserve the titles of lawless or temporary. It looked quite intact.

Yet there was something even stranger.

There wasn’t a single person in the city?

Not a single one.

Following the cat stealthily into the city only amplified that oddity.

Children running up and down precarious stairways.

Laundry fluttering in the wind as it hung across narrow alleys.

Young people gathered in alleys, playing instruments.

Couples sitting on walls, holding hands tightly.

Shopkeepers trying to attract customers as they passed by.

It was a city overflowing with positive emotions and dynamic liveliness.

But I didn’t feel even the slightest warmth.

The subtle sense of discomfort I had been feeling was growing stronger.

The cat, apparently unaware of anything strange, wandered leisurely around the camp, seemingly looking for something.

Perhaps it was searching for another adventure?

But the cat had already stepped deeply into an adventure.

Those fake humans were pretending not to be interested in the ghost cat, but they were watching it closely.

The midday sunlight streamed in through the blinds, casting shadows on the floor, and the coffee machine in the corner emitted its distinctive sound as it filled the room with aromatic steam.

The scent of freshly brewed coffee mixed with the smell of old wooden furniture and books, creating the characteristic atmosphere of the office.

It was the usual detective’s office, but with preparations for a trip underway, it felt a little different from the norm.

While checking the photos pinned to the corkboard on the wall, I was also inspecting the tools.

I adjusted the yellow suit and tucked the pocket watch inside.

Then, I picked up the gas lamp from the shelf.

As soon as I grabbed the gas lamp, a small scream was heard.

"Senior! Are you really going to take Watson with you?"

Junior Number 1 said with a startled expression.

Junior Number 2, who didn’t know much about Watson, looked curious.

"Yes, I have to take it. I’d regret it if I didn’t bring it."

I quietly said while raising Watson to eye level.

And finally, I packed a revolver.

"A gun!? Senior, are you crazy? Are we going to a fight? You said we were going to meet a client! And isn’t that illegal? A gun in Korea…."

"It feels like we might need it. And haven’t you seen the movies? A great detective always has at least a revolver with them."

It was the first time Junior Number 1 had seen me talk like this, so he started re-checking his own luggage.

Then Junior Number 2 asked.

"So, where are we going?"

"Incheon Gyeyang Mountain Temporary Camp."

I pointed to the article pinned to the corkboard.

<Incheon Gyeyang Mountain Temporary Camp, Police Withdraw for Suspicious Reasons.>

It was an article about the camp that had recently sparked controversy.

A man pinched his nose as he descended the stairs leading underground, grumbling.

"Ugh. I can’t even breathe."

The smell of blood was so strong that it was difficult to breathe as he descended the stairs, likely due to the sticky blood flowing down the walls.

The man, a member of the Association, had come to the 'Incheon Gyeyang Mountain Temporary Camp' to make up for a series of recent failures.

He had secretly tried to revive the central research lab but failed.

He had even forcefully pulled the deputy director out of prison for another attempt, but that too failed.

Unable to summon the director Object was considered an act of God, so he had the deputy director run the lab instead, only for the deputy director to end up as a headless corpse.

While preparations to run the secret central lab were facing severe setbacks, finding the director’s location was a small stroke of luck.

While tracking mysterious disappearances at the 'Incheon Gyeyang Mountain Temporary Camp,' which the government had been closely monitoring, the long-sought director had emerged…

He was lucky.

The mission given to the man was simple: 'Recruit the director to the secret lab!'

Following the researcher ahead of him deep into the underground, the smell of blood grew even stronger.

Adding to it was an ominous sound of heartbeats.

Thump, thump.

The sound of numerous hearts beating in unison.

The beating was so loud that it seemed to push the air, and the vibrations were strong enough to make the man's body resonate.

Finally, they arrived at a wide cavern.

In the middle of that cavern stood the director.

"Welcome, nameless member of the Association."

The director spoke with exaggerated gestures and tone.

The man, eager to leave the underground facility as soon as possible, ignored the director’s sarcasm and got straight to the point.

"Director, return to the central lab…."

Clap.

The director cut him off with a clap and said.

"If you’re from the Association, you should know my name. Don’t you?"

"I don’t. I’m too young to know that name, don’t you think? Besides, all documents with the director's name on them were destroyed, so it's impossible to find out."

"…."

"Because of the 'No Name' rule, no one can call you by your name anymore. No one can even record it."

The director fell silent, lost in thought after hearing that.

"Director, or rather 'Maker,' come back to the central lab. Now the central lab can support all the experiments you’ve ever wanted to do."

"Name. A name is trivial. You want me to return to the central lab? That’s great. Or maybe it’s not. Why?"

The director muttered nonsensically, staring at the ceiling.

Sensing something ominous, the man turned to leave, but by then, two researchers had appeared and grabbed his shoulders.

"What, what are you doing?"

The director walked up to the man and held a sharp scalpel to his face.

"My name."

"What?"

"What’s my name? After a test, I found that it’s possible to call my name. I confirmed it with regular people."

"Never, Aaaaagh!"

As the man was about to refuse, the scalpel plunged into his eye.

With a chilling sound, the scalpel was pulled out, and a strange glow emitted from the orb in the director’s hand.

Despite the severe bleeding that should have occurred, the bleeding stopped instantly for some reason.

"What are you so afraid of? Do you think 'No Name' will appear if you call my name?"

"Of course!"

"Why not try? Maybe I’m a parasitic Object that’s taken over the director’s body. It should be fine to name the host of a parasitic Object like the 'Black Butterfly,' right?"

"No, you’re not some parasitic Object!"

"You’re not making sense. Well, you’ll tell me eventually. We have plenty of time."

"Stop, stop! I don’t know! I told you I don’t know!"

But the director didn’t believe the man’s words.

"Hello. Do you have something you’d like to request?"

The senior who had been lingering in front of the police station all day started saying strange things again.

"Didn’t he say that to me too? Is that always his opening line?"

"Yeah, he thinks it sounds cool."

Whisper, whisper. Whisper, whisper.

While I was gossiping with Number 2 about the senior, a woman who appeared to be a client grabbed the senior’s hand and stood up.

Once again, he had successfully gained a client with that strange line.

"Alright, let’s head to the 'Incheon Gyeyang Mountain Temporary Camp' right away."

Since it was a kidnapping case, there was no need to waste time, knowing the destination.

We hailed a taxi and arrived at the 'Incheon Gyeyang Mountain Temporary Camp.'

Unexpectedly, it was a lively and cheerful place.

The children seemed bright and harmonious, and the merchants looked vibrant.

The old men gathered on the mountainside playing Go and Janggi (Korean chess) gave the place a feel far removed from a kidnapping case.

There were so many people around that it seemed impossible to avoid attention.

"Senior? Could a kidnapping really have happened in a place like this?"

The senior furrowed his brow and looked around seriously.

"Senior?"

"I don’t know. Something feels off, but I can’t figure out what."

Following the oddly terrified client, we headed to her residence.

It was a shabby three-story building made of concrete, without even a parking lot.

A small child and a woman came out to greet us as we approached.

"Sis!"

The child ran with open arms and clung to the client’s feet.

But the client turned pale and froze stiff.

She looked like she had just seen a cockroach latch onto her leg.