The open space, now completely covered in darkness, crackled with the sound of the large campfire under a sky filled with starlight.

Even from a distance, the warmth of the fire reached us, warming our faces and making the yellow suit glisten in the firelight.

The campfire was far too large for what was supposed to be a modest welcome ceremony.

The warm, golden light from the burning logs created flickering shadows, adding to the unique atmosphere of the campfire.

Junior Number 1 was enjoying his chicken skewers with a carefree expression.

With each bite, he made satisfied noises and mumbled in admiration.

The smoky scent from the charcoal and the crispy sound of the chicken skewers breaking with each bite filled the air.

Junior Number 1 was fully indulging in the campfire experience.

"Senior? Want one?"

"No, you go ahead."

As I silently watched, Junior Number 1, his cheeks puffed up like a hamster, offered me a skewer.

While Junior Number 1 was busy eating, Junior Number 2 was diligently fulfilling his role.

He was by the client’s side, providing mental support.

Just in case, I had handed my revolver to Junior Number 2.

Junior Number 1, who had been eating without a care, suddenly seemed to remember something and asked a question.

"Oh, right! Senior, why did you hand over the revolver?"

"I’m going to look around a bit. You’ll come with me, so finish up and get ready."

Junior Number 1 started looking me up and down with a skeptical expression.

"Hey, can you really sneak around in that outfit? It’s bright yellow!"

"Who said anything about sneaking? I’ll just go confidently."

Taking advantage of the camp’s darkness, I quietly headed out of the open space.

Junior Number 1 followed, still holding onto his skewers.

We walked through the camp, climbing the steep stairs.

The camp was quiet, with only a few streetlights scattered around.

In the distance, the campfire's light felt strangely out of place.

"Hello."

"Are you here for sightseeing?"

"Yes, our group is over there."

"Have a good time."

As we walked around, we frequently encountered camp residents.

There was something off about their attitude when they asked questions.

Too serious, maybe?

"Did you notice anything strange?"

"Not really...?"

"Maybe I’m just being too sensitive. Let’s keep looking around."

Junior Number 1, carrying a bag full of skewers and munching away, didn’t seem to notice anything strange.

"Hey there, are you tourists?"

"Oh my, a young tourist?"

"Are you a tourist?"

Tourist, tourist, tourist.

Even though the initial greetings varied slightly, the meaning was always the same.

‘Are you tourists?’

Everyone was asking if we were tourists.

By now, even Junior Number 1 was starting to notice something odd.

"This is getting stranger and stranger."

"Is it really that important whether we’re tourists?"

"Sure, they can ask, but this isn’t exactly a tourist spot, is it? And it’s strange that every single person is asking."

In a secluded part of the camp, where the campfire’s glow barely reached the sky in the distance, a strange sound caught my ear.

It sounded like the whimpering of a dying puppy.

"Shh."

Lowering myself, I slowly moved toward the source of the sound and saw a group of children gathered in a large open space.

Thud, thud, thud, thud.

The village kids were mercilessly stabbing a stray dog with forks.

The dog whimpered in pain, writhing, before finally collapsing and dying.

Then they tore the corpse apart with their forks and began eating it.

"Gasp."

Junior Number 1 was so shocked that he swallowed his breath.

The children devoured the dog, leaving no trace of its skin or bones.

And once the dog had completely disappeared, they stood up and started playing in the open space again as if nothing had happened.

The adults, who seemed to be the children's parents, showed no reaction.

Hmm, this is definitely strange.

Despite how bizarre this was, my monocle didn’t detect anything.

"What... what is this?"

Junior Number 1, still confused after witnessing the incomprehensible scene, looked dazed.

"You’ve finally seen it. This is the circumstantial evidence that the camp is as strange as the client said. It’s time we head back."

As we were quietly sneaking away from the open space, a loud sound echoed.

Bang!

A gunshot came from the direction of the campfire.

Did something happen with Junior Number 2?

"Junior, run!"

We had to get there before anything terrible happened.

<Gyeyangsan Camp Market.>

A shabby, one-story supermarket.

The exterior showed signs of age, just like the interior, which was decorated with long-discontinued, faded product advertisements.

The glass door creaked as it opened.

Inside were various kinds of cheap snacks that I hadn’t seen since I was a child.

Nom, nom.

I sat in the store, picking out some of the nostalgic snacks I used to eat when I was younger.

They didn’t taste as good as I remembered.

I could have sworn they tasted better...

Maybe it’s because my taste buds changed after becoming an Object, or maybe nostalgia had exaggerated my memories.

The ghost cat was curled up on the market counter, purring and sleeping soundly.

I watched people pass by through the supermarket’s glass windows.

The people running the store?

When I entered the supermarket, the fake humans running it had fled.

I hadn’t even done anything, but they ran away—it felt a bit strange.

I’ll have to play a prank on them if I meet them again.

Purr.

The cat slept.

It had been sleeping all day.

I thought about asking it to come back to the institute with me when it woke up, but it didn’t seem to be waking up anytime soon.

If I left it here, wouldn’t the fake humans try to stab it with forks?

As I picked at various nostalgic snacks and watched TV, night fell before I knew it.

Bang!

A gunshot echoed loudly from somewhere.

The cat woke up at the sound.

"Meow!"

The cat, hearing the gunshot, cried out as if to say, "Adventure has arrived!"

"Meow!"

‘You don’t want me to come? It might be dangerous.’

The cat, ungrateful as ever, insisted I absolutely shouldn’t follow.

It seemed to have its own reasons, something about needing to overcome this adventure on its own.

I waved to the cat as it confidently strutted away.

And, of course, I turned invisible and secretly followed the cat.

Hehe.

The events following the gunshot unfolded suddenly.

We ran toward the open space where Junior Number 2 was.

And as if to surround us, the camp residents slowly began closing in.

Perhaps because of the gunshot, the camp, which had been nearly empty late at night, was suddenly full of people.

"Where are you rushing off to?"

A man asked as he slowly approached.

It seemed like he was trying to start a normal conversation, but that wasn’t how it looked to me.

"Run!"

I grabbed my junior’s hand and dashed into an alley.

As soon as we escaped into the alley, the camp residents revealed their true nature.

"Raaahhh!"

Like zombies who had lost their minds, they started charging at us without reason.

"Wha-? Why are they suddenly doing this?"

With the alley as our only refuge, my junior and I fled from the zombie-like people.

But the alley was a maze, and there were too many camp residents chasing us.

"Senior. Senior. Senior. Senior! What do we do?"

Junior Number 1 asked in a panic as we ran from the people who had turned into zombies.

There were so many people in this cramped camp that even escaping was becoming difficult.

"What do we do? What do we do? What do we do?"

"What do you mean, what do we do?"

I swung Watson like a weapon, knocking down a man who had jumped out of the alley.

"Just hit them!"

"Yes!"

With my permission, Junior Number 1 swung his sledgehammer at an incoming person.

Wham.

When the person and the hammer collided, it made a sound like a popped rice cracker.

Wow, so people can fly like bowling pins even without a car crash.

We kept running through the maze-like alleys.

The shadows cast by the sporadic streetlights made the narrow alleyways look even more complex.

While a few zombies could be taken down by Junior’s strength show, there were too many to deal with, so we had to avoid them.

Following the sound, we zigzagged through the alleys, avoiding the zombies.

We needed to get to the open space where Junior Number 2 was!

But I couldn’t find the right path at all.

Sharp turns, dead ends, and misleading shadows!

Bang. Bang.

Two more gunshots echoed.

Three bullets left.

Should I have given them some extra rounds?

At that moment, a white cat appeared on the wall.

Through my monocle, I could tell it was an Object.

Its ability was <Ghost Form.>.

"Meow."

It was a curious cat, with an intelligent look in its eyes.

The cat looked down at me, meowed once more, and then started running along the wall.

Rather than thinking, I instinctively began following the cat.

"Junior! Follow me."

Twisting and turning.

The route was so complicated it was hard to predict.

The cat seemed to know all the paths and the positions of the zombies as it led us through the maze-like alleys.

It guided us to the open space, the destination, without us encountering a single camp resident, making it seem like our desperate escape was just a lie.

"Meow!"

The cat stretched out its neck, looking proud.

"Wow, did you guide us? Thank you!"

Junior Number 1 picked up the white cat and showered it with pets.

Looking at the open space where the welcome party had been held, it was completely transformed.

The campfire logs were scattered all over the place, no longer maintaining their structure.

The grills, which had been used to cook all kinds of meats, were overturned on the ground.

In front of the small three-story building, camp residents who had turned into zombies were trying to force open the closed door.

Looking up, I saw Junior Number 2 peeking out from the rooftop of the three-story building.

Phew, we made it in time.