Deep within the Golden Reapers' Garden

In the most secretive and shadowy part of the garden, untouched by the footsteps of their beloved humans, a clandestine meeting of the Golden Reapers was taking place.

The topic of the meeting: the last remaining ninja pudding.

The Golden Reapers, who were rarely seen with such serious expressions, were fully engaged.

Thud, thud.

Hop, hop!

Shake, shake.

The Golden Reapers hopped and dashed about, expressing and negotiating their opinions. They clashed with each other, conveying just how much they needed the pudding through their gestures.

These adorable hand and foot movements were incomprehensible to humans, but for the Golden Reapers, it was a matter of utmost seriousness.

Finally, a decision was reached.

The Golden Reaper who received permission to use the pudding hopped around in joy.

The Reaper, acknowledged as the one who needed the pudding the most, departed with it, receiving the blessings of all.

Carrying a pudding much larger than itself, the Golden Reaper made its way to the backyard of Sehee Research Institute.

There, a passage connected to the garden by the Gray Reaper awaited.

The Golden Reaper’s face was full of smiles as it carried the giant pudding.

"Hmm, hum hum."

James hummed softly to himself as he manipulated the control room entrance of the factory.

"James, could you please be quiet? What if we get caught?" the translator beside him, wearing an anxious expression, whispered as they poked James.

James, still calm, glanced around and replied, "In a place as noisy as this, there's no way we'd get caught just because of a little sound. You're worrying too much."

Just as James said, the area was filled with the continuous noise of running machinery, combined with the unpleasant blare of emergency alarms.

Despite James's reassurances, the translator nervously looked around the ominous factory.

They felt like they were performing a trick by sticking their head into the mouth of a crocodile.

Poking James in the back again, the translator voiced their concerns.

"James, isn't it unnecessary to come so deep into the factory instead of just escaping? We would already be outside by now if we had just left!"

"Of course, there's a reason we came this far. If we just left, we'd definitely be caught by that cute little bear. We're much slower than it, and it's likely already on the move, anticipating our escape."

James continued talking as he pried off the panel attached to the control room entrance.

"Plus, this isn't just an ordinary Object accident. If we don't stay sharp and act smart, we'll be dead before we know it."

"What? This isn’t an accident?"

"I initially thought it was an accident, too."

James tapped on the smartwatch strapped to his wrist.

"But have you ever seen an Object that jams communications? And it happened exactly when we were entering the factory."

"I thought it was because this factory is in such a remote location that there’s no signal."

"If that were the case, we wouldn't have been able to receive the alert about the Object takeover so quickly."

The translator began to panic at the implication that this wasn’t an accident, but a terrorist act meant to kill.

"Why? Who would do such a thing? And in our country, which is supposed to be free of Object-related incidents… A terror attack using Objects, of all things."

"It's good to be patriotic, but let me correct you on one thing," James said, turning to the translator with a serious expression.

"In my judgment, South Korea is the most dangerous country in the world."

"What? How can you say that? I’ve heard about the giant flying jellyfish in China and the fire-breathing boar in the U.S. that destroyed an entire city. At least South Korea doesn't have any Objects like that, so it’s safe, isn’t it?"

"That's the strange thing about Korea. The Ice Throne in Dobong District, the theme park, and now this desert that has appeared—all these Objects could cause massive destruction if left unchecked, but they end up being suppressed or disappearing on their own."

A cheerful mechanical sound rang out from the electronic door as it opened, revealing the entrance to the factory’s control room.

"Ah, finally opened. Well, we can talk more about how dangerous Korea is another time. For now, let's analyze this situation."

The sight inside the control room was horrific.

All the workers who had been inside were now dead bodies.

The translator turned away from the grisly scene, shutting their eyes tightly.

"Come over here and take a look."

"No way! I already fainted earlier today after seeing that steel bear crush someone. I can’t handle seeing anything else!"

"It would be better for you to see this, but if you really don't want to, I can't force you."

Reluctantly, the translator cracked open their eyes and directed their gaze toward the bodies.

"Ugh."

The corpses were drenched in blood, their heads brutally shattered.

"Why are you making me look at this?"

"Can’t you sense anything from this?"

To James, the bodies in the control room were clear evidence.

Evidence of human interference.

The three workers in the control room had been shot to death.

The Objects currently occupying the factory didn't use guns.

"These people were killed by gunfire. And the Objects that have taken over the factory don’t use guns."

In a country like South Korea, where even in the face of numerous deaths caused by Objects, firearm regulations remained strict, a terror attack involving guns was particularly striking.

James’s expression grew more severe.

Yerin pushed me into the car, telling me to hide.

"Reaper, I’m going to go gather some information. You stay hidden, okay?"

She then headed into the factory alone, where the employees were gathered.

Of course, I didn’t just stay in the car—I turned into a ghost and slipped out to watch Yerin’s actions.

Given the seriousness of the situation, the employees looked quite grim, but Yerin was skillfully extracting information.

She mingled truth and lies, claiming that Sehee Research Institute was preparing for recontainment and that they needed the pudding produced by this factory.

Wow, Yerin is really good at lying.

Did she practice this just to skip work?

"Wow, so the containment failures only happen once a month?"

"Yes, that's right. That’s why our Songdo Research Center received an award for excellence last year. Though, it looks like we won’t be getting one this year."

The researcher from Songdo Research Center, who had been managing the Object currently occupying the factory, sighed deeply, looking despondent.

After chatting with the researcher for a while, Yerin then approached the factory employees and started another conversation.

"Really? So, the factory owner went in himself, even bringing in a private Object retrieval team? That’s dangerous."

"Ah, no matter how much we tried to stop him, he was relentless, being a foreigner and all. Just wouldn’t listen."

"And there’s still no contact from him?"

"The junior over there has been calling nonstop, but he’s not picking up. Maybe… well, you know."

The factory worker gestured across his throat, implying the owner was likely dead.

"Thank you for telling me!"

"Well, it seems like rescuing the owner is a lost cause. If Sehee Research Institute is sending a containment team, they’d better be well-prepared!"

As Yerin wrapped up her conversation with the factory worker, she began jotting down notes in her notebook.

<The Object currently occupying the factory is a bear-shaped robot.> <It escapes containment about once a month.>

<It’s a slow-moving Object, so it’s usually quickly re-contained.>

<However, it’s now become extremely agile and dangerous.>

<The factory owner is currently trapped inside the factory. His fate is unknown.>

As Yerin was organizing her notes, a phone suddenly rang.

A factory employee picked up their cell phone and exclaimed in surprise.

"Oh? Oh! It’s the boss!"

"What are you waiting for? Pick it up!"

The flustered employee switched to speakerphone and answered the call.

[Hello, can you hear me?]

"Yes, I can hear you. Boss, you’re safe!"

[Yes, I’m safe. It took a while to get through because of the jammer in the factory. I’m currently in B Block, in a small office above the milling machine.]

"What? B Block?"

[There are more Objects here that need to be dealt with, not just the bear. You’ll need a lot of Object retrieval teams. Don’t worry about the cost—I’ll cover everything. Just get as many as you can.]

Pop.

The call ended abruptly with an unnatural sound, leaving only a static noise.

However, despite having received the long-awaited call from the boss, the factory workers' expressions remained sour.

"That wasn’t the boss, was it?"

"An imposter? Is someone messing with us?"

"Could it be a luring-type Object?"

Yerin approached the uneasy factory workers and asked why they seemed so suspicious.

"Your boss, who you hadn’t heard from, is alive, gave you his location, and even suggested a solution. Why aren’t you relieved?"

"Well, our factory doesn’t have a B Block. And since this is a pudding factory, we don’t have a milling machine either."

"Oh, right. A milling machine is used for cutting metal, isn’t it? So you’ve concluded that it’s an imposter?"

"Or the Object is luring us."

The factory worker seemed a bit shaken, perhaps unnerved by the thought of being tricked by an Object.

Just then, the phone began ringing again.

"Oh? It’s the boss again."

"The chattering ceased as everyone fell silent, the only sound being the loud, persistent ringing of the phone."

Прошу прощения за неполный перевод ранее. Вот продолжение:

"The chattering ceased as everyone fell silent, the only sound being the loud, persistent ringing of the phone.

The factory workers froze, waiting to see what would happen next, the tension in the room almost palpable. The phone kept ringing, the sound growing sharper and more piercing against the backdrop of silence. Finally, one of the employees gathered the courage and cautiously answered the call, once again switching it to speakerphone.

[Can you hear me? It's me, the boss. I'm still in the same place. Why is no one responding?]

The silence in the room grew even heavier. The workers exchanged uneasy glances, unsure of what to do. The fear that this might be a trap gripped them.

'What do we do?' one of the workers whispered, breaking the silence with a trembling voice.

'It could be an Object trying to lure us in,' another replied, his voice filled with dread."