With the ghost cat resting on my belly and surrounded by the Golden Reapers, I found myself in a moment of unusual peace.

Meow.

"Hmm? You're asking when we'll go back to the lab? Well, I suppose once we see that the Director's body has been taken to the lab's isolation room, we'll head back."

The cat, clearly impatient with the delay, began to pat my stomach with its tiny paws.

"But don’t worry, it looks like the detective is calling for help, so it might be sooner than you think."

As I lay there chatting with the cat, the detective and one of the juniors who had disappeared earlier reappeared in the clearing.

The detective approached the "client," while the junior headed towards me.

"Reaper, I'm back! Did you miss me?"

The junior slid his arms under my armpits and lifted me up, pulling me into a tight embrace.

He hugged me from behind, pressing his cheek against mine.

How annoying.

I let my body go limp, but the junior simply lifted me higher.

"Wow, Reaper, you’re as flexible as a cat!"

The junior laughed, enjoying himself, while I found comfort in the warmth and the wood for the fire that his presence provided.

The clearing was quieter than before.

The client's younger brother had fallen asleep, and the Gray Reaper was now limp, still trapped in the junior's embrace.

The Golden Reapers, who had been the most lively in the clearing, were now curled up together, sleeping like little balls.

Even in their sleep, they remained scattered around the Director's body, seemingly keeping a watchful eye on him.

A few of them, rubbing their eyes sleepily, continued to monitor the corpse.

Why do the Golden Reapers hate the Director so much?

I approached the client, who was standing by her brother, and handed her the golden heart.

"Ah… I see."

Even without any explanation, the client seemed to understand something significant.

"I always thought there was something strange. The memories of the camp, the things we did… it always felt like I was on the outside looking in, as if I didn’t really belong in those moments. Even though I was supposed to be there with my brother, it felt like the ground beneath me was crumbling."

The client gazed at the golden heart inside the glass jar, gently running her fingers over the surface.

"Before I started feeling that strangeness, the camp was a truly happy place. Even though it was a fake created by an Object, it felt real. We were poor, but we ate and slept together, and the residents were all so kind. It was like a dream, but then, little by little, it began to feel off."

The client let out a deep sigh.

"I wish I hadn’t noticed. It was so comfortable, so happy, but then I started to feel something was wrong. When I was struggling with that sense of unease, my brother came to me with a request. It wasn’t much, really, just something that would take a long time. I wonder if, deep down, he knew that both he and the camp were fake."

She handed the golden heart back to me.

"After that, I made my request, and now I’ve met my real brother, even though I’m not real myself. Please keep the heart, detective. It feels like the right thing to do. And I’ll get the payment to you soon, so please wait a little longer."

Having said everything she needed to, the client looked back at her brother with a lighter expression.

As I held the glass jar, the heart inside continued to beat steadily.

I secured the jar and turned away.

With this, the request was finally complete.

Considering how things usually go with Objects, this could be considered a happy ending.

The phone in the research lab office rang loudly.

"Sehee Research Lab, how may I help you?"

Kim Joong-Roe, my senior, answered in his deep voice.

It sounded like something was happening at the temporary camp on Gyeyang Mountain in Incheon. What could it be? Our lab doesn’t usually have much to do with Incheon.

Judging by the way my senior’s brow furrowed, it didn’t seem like good news.

The only issue I could think of that might concern us was…

The missing Gray Reaper!

The thought of it filled me with anticipation, like Pavlov’s dog hearing the bell.

I quietly got up and started circling near my senior, who was still on the phone.

He waved me away, signaling me to return to my seat, but I stubbornly ignored him, continuing to eavesdrop.

When he finally hung up and stood, I pounced.

"Senior! Was it about the Gray Reaper? Did they find it at the Gyeyang Mountain camp?"

"Yes, you’ll need to get ready to go."

"Yes!"

I threw my hands up in celebration.

Finally, the Gray Reaper!

I hurried back to my desk to get ready to head out.

A few hours after Junior Number 2 called for help, people started arriving at the temporary camp on Gyeyang Mountain.

Of course, it wasn’t the police.

The police were still ignoring everything related to the camp.

The first to arrive were soldiers with an incredibly orderly demeanor.

They must have been sent by the association, considering that Black sent them over.

I had given Junior Number 2 Black’s number, just in case the police ignored our request.

As expected, the police dismissed our call, and Junior Number 2 reached out to Black for help.

Junior Number 2 managed to explain the situation and secure appropriate support.

The soldiers from the association pulled out metal devices.

These were portable isolation tools for securing Objects.

They were here to retrieve the Director's body.

The association agents sent by Black were clearly professionals, specialized in handling Objects.

Without a word, they moved into the clearing and began to clean up the Director’s remains.

They meticulously scraped the ground, ensuring not a single piece was left behind.

Once they had collected all of the Director’s remains, they left the clearing just as silently as they had arrived.

"Wow, that’s what you call professionals, right? Definitely different from amateurs like us," Junior Number 2 remarked in awe.

"I wouldn’t be so sure. In my experience, soldiers as well-disciplined as that tend to die quickly."

"No way," Junior Number 2 replied, looking skeptical.

But from what I’ve seen, it’s true.

The more rigid and precise they are, the more likely they are to fall into the traps of Objects.

The association often forms these highly trained teams, but there’s a reason for that—they’re always getting wiped out.

As soon as the Director’s body was removed, most of the Golden Reapers in the clearing vanished.

The ones who had been curled up and sleeping woke up the moment the soldiers touched the Director’s body, watching intently as it was transported.

Once they confirmed that the body was safely out of the clearing, they melted away into the air, as if dissolving into nothing.

After that, the next to arrive were the paramedics.

They took the client's younger brother, Lee Taehun, to the nearest hospital.

Of course, the client insisted on going with him as a caretaker.

After that, more and more association staff began arriving to clean up the aftermath of the camp.

And finally, the team from Sehee Research Lab arrived to take the Gray Reaper away.

The temporary camp on Gyeyang Mountain looked eerie as we approached it through the car window.

The desolate and quiet scenery gave off an ominous vibe.

Though it was supposed to be a place where people lived, it felt more like a prison camp.

The streets of the camp were littered with corpses.

"Senior, this wasn’t the Gray Reaper’s doing, was it?"

"No, the Gray Reaper had nothing to do with it. From what I heard, this massacre was caused by some cult from China. But it’s hard to get information from overseas, so we don’t know much."

Even if the Reaper had done it, it would have had its reasons, but I was relieved that its bad reputation wouldn’t be increasing any further.

We stopped in front of the massive underground sewer entrance, large enough for a truck to enter.

Senior told us we’d have to walk from here, so I quickly jumped out of the vehicle and started down the ominous sewer path.

The sewer was filled with red water.

The pervasive smell of blood confirmed that this wasn’t just contaminated wastewater but actual blood.

The sewer, dark and reeking of blood, looked like something out of a horror movie. Thankfully, the atmosphere wasn’t too frightening.

That’s because there were so many people moving through it.

A significant number of association staff were hauling blood-soaked chairs and tools outside or transporting body bags.

After a long walk through the sewer, we reached a wide clearing.

There were many people there, but I only had eyes for one.

The Reaper!

The Gray Reaper was lying down, surrounded by the Golden Reapers, fast asleep.

"Reaper!"

The Reaper lifted its head at the sound of my voice, its expression still sleepy.

Rubbing its eyes in a drowsy manner, the Reaper looked irresistibly cute!