After finishing work, I left the deputy director's office at Se-hee Research Institute and headed to the sleep room.

As I entered the sleep room, I saw a sturdy isolation chamber encased in reinforced glass at the center of the room.

It was the isolation chamber specifically made for the sprout.

As I had suspected, the sprout had become more and more vibrant since being moved to the sleep room.

While watching the sprout with a satisfied smile, something strange caught my eye.

'What’s that?'

Opening the reinforced glass and taking the flowerpot out to check, I noticed a small navy-blue fruit beginning to form beside one of the sprout’s leaves.

As I observed the fruit, which resembled a beautiful navy-blue gemstone, I suddenly felt a gaze on me.

Blink, blink.

"!"

I was startled.

The sprout had opened its eyes and was staring at me.

Yawning widely as if sleepy, the sprout gave me a playful smile and plucked its fruit, handing it to me.

"Are you telling me to eat it?"

When I accepted the fruit, the sprout repeatedly mimicked the action of putting something into its mouth.

Then it closed its eyes and fell asleep again.

A fruit given by an Object….

I definitely shouldn’t eat it, but… since it was from the Reaper series, maybe it would be okay?

I started to think like Oh Yerin for a moment but quickly shook my head to dismiss the thought.

What should I do with this fruit?

As we stepped through the gate, a vast, gleaming airport bathed in the soft glow of modern lighting came into view.

The terminal’s elegant, minimalist design was accentuated by its spacious and clean corridors that led to multiple gates.

The check-in area was neatly arranged, and kiosks were strategically placed to provide easy access to airport information.

Despite the airport’s wide and efficient layout, the number of passengers seemed rather sparse.

Everyone walking around appeared to be staff members or researchers.

It must have been because this airport was newly constructed, primarily serving the research facility nearby.

The new and intriguing scenery didn’t lift my mood.

The reason was…

The faint, pleasant smell of something burnt, reminiscent of the blazing Seoul Forest.

That aromatic, charred scent lingered subtly throughout the airport.

Anyway, it definitely wasn’t because I had failed at a prank.

Seeing my scowl, the Golden Reaper, who would usually be playing with my antennae atop my head, now sat on my shoulder, wearing a concerned expression.

It reached out to stroke my cheek as if trying to comfort me.

Picking up the Golden Reaper with my hand, I lifted it into the air. The Reaper beamed at me, extending its arms with a joyful smile.

Seeing that, I couldn’t help but laugh, so I tapped the Golden Reaper’s head lightly, then grabbed Yerin’s hand and followed her out of the airport.

Waiting outside was a large limousine bearing the James Research Institute’s logo, clearly prepared for us.

When we entered the vehicle with Yerin, the interior was just as spacious and luxurious as the exterior.

"Wow, these seats are so comfy," Yerin said, hugging me and shaking my hand as she spoke.

"Then, let’s head off," came the assistant’s voice from the opposite seat, just as I was admiring the sparkling interior. The vehicle began to move smoothly.

As we passed through the nearly empty airport parking lot and exited the airport, a crowd of people gathered near the entrance came into view.

They were holding up signs written in English and shouting.

“Dismantle the cursed barrier!”

“Accept your fate!”

“The end is waiting for us!”

Yerin, curious about the people, pointed at them with her finger and asked, "Who are they?"

"They’re people who believe in destruction. They see Objects as divine punishment," the assistant answered.

Yerin tilted her head in confusion.

It made sense that people like them existed, but they were a rare sight in Korea.

Could it be because, in Korea, Objects, seen as 'apostles of God,' were easier to access, especially once you ventured away from major cities?

In Korea, the public had relatively easy access to Objects.

It was a bit surprising to see people like that in the United States, a country known for its strict Object management.

Yerin seemed to find it odd as well, as her voice carried a hint of curiosity.

"Are there many people who think like that?"

"No, they’re not common at all. But compared to Korea, where large-scale group actions are virtually nonexistent, they’re more noticeable."

Yerin nodded as she continued the conversation with the assistant.

"So, it’s not that the U.S. is unique, but that Korea’s lack of such groups is unusual?"

"That’s correct. There were even reports of the Korean Association feeding doomsayers to anglerfish, but even so, the numbers are still low."

Feeding doomsayers to anglerfish—that tidbit slipped out casually.

Yerin seemed to hear this for the first time, but she brushed it off, thinking the association could very well have done such a thing.

Well, our association in Korea is a bit peculiar.

As we drove past the protesters, who raised their voices at the sight of our limousine, I couldn’t help but feel differently.

The assistant might have thought of them as doomsayers, but to me, they smelled of something much more delicious.

The accommodations, perhaps due to frequent exchanges between research facilities, were incredibly satisfying.

Especially the ball pit!

The Reaper, too, seemed to enjoy the lodging, its usual sulky expression replaced with a smile as it swam through the ball pit.

Jumping into the ball pit, the Golden Reapers flocked around me, instantly warming my heart.

The next morning, the assistant guided us to the helicopter landing pad on the hotel rooftop.

The helicopter parked there was unlike any I had seen before.

At first glance, it didn’t appear to be made of steel but rather of wood.

"Did they attach wood to the helicopter? That’s pretty neat," I asked.

"It’s wood designed to block spirits. It’s essential for where we’re headed," the assistant answered calmly.

So, this was the famous material used for the spiritual barrier.

Upon closer inspection, I saw that the wooden armor had been meticulously and obsessively applied to the helicopter.

Where exactly were we going?

"We’re going to see a view you must see if you come to the Rocky Mountains. It’s a view we show to all new researchers stationed here."

As the helicopter ascended high into the sky, carrying the Reaper and me along, I caught sight of the massive wall—the spiritual barrier.

The Reaper, too, was intrigued, pressing its face against the window to peer down at the view below.

The helicopter didn’t stop at the barrier but continued forward.

We passed beyond the barrier, into the restricted area.

And there, an extraordinary sight unfolded before our eyes.

From the dizzying height of the helicopter, the view below was truly alien.

Even from this altitude, I couldn’t see the bottom of the enormous pit that gaped open in the earth.

Around the pit were jagged scars, as if someone had forcibly torn the land apart.

A swirling, vortex-like black hole, tainted with ominous dark colors, sucked in light, asserting its presence.

No matter how much I squinted, the pit’s center remained invisible, and no matter how far I tried to look, the hole’s vast expanse seemed endless.

No matter how big the U.S. was, something about this didn’t seem right.

Could such a massive pit even exist?

"You’ve noticed, haven’t you? That pit constantly distorts space. The closer you get to its center, the stronger the distortion becomes, making it impossible to reach the core."

The mysterious, time-twisting wood had been fascinating, but the sheer scale of the pit, which I could witness with my own eyes, was on an entirely different level.

"New researchers stationed in the Rocky Mountains learn humility from this view. They also realize just how fragile our seemingly peaceful Earth is."

"It really does make you think…."

I replied softly, my voice tinged with awe.

The sheer magnitude of the Object made me acutely aware of how insignificant humans truly were.

Were humans really okay?

But looking at the Reaper’s bored face next to me, I was suddenly filled with the confidence that everything would be just fine.

The Reaper was invincible, after all. It could handle anything, right?

"Aside from the dangers posed by Objects, it’s also a stunning sight, which is why it’s quite popular."

As I continued to stare at the swirling pit, I felt as if I were being sucked in, accompanied by a strange, unpleasant oily smell that I couldn’t quite place.

Beneath the maze-like streets of the bustling city, a man stealthily made his way into the hidden depths below.

For months, he had been undercover, investigating the ‘Object drug’ spreading across the United States.

And finally, the man stood face-to-face with the reality of it.

The Flaming Iron Pig Statue.

The very Object discovered in Korea had been hidden deep within this underground lair.

His heart pounded wildly.

Now all he had to do was escape and report this.

He just had to wait for the gathering of these doomsayers to end.

As the religious gathering concluded, the man breathed a sigh of relief.

‘Finally, I can get out of here safely.’

But his wish wouldn’t be granted so easily.

A middle-aged woman with a kind smile suddenly approached and offered him a glass of whiskey.

“How about a drink?”

This was unexpected. The man swallowed nervously and accepted the glass.

The whiskey, with its high alcohol content, burned brightly with flames.

As he lifted the glass, an overwhelmingly delicious aroma, unfitting for whiskey, hit him.

It had to be an Object!

As if to confirm his suspicion, the Object detection device on his wrist flashed red.

Red indicated a level 1 mental contamination—a state of complete brainwashing, undetectable to the victim.

In that moment, time seemed to slow as the man’s anxiety skyrocketed.

When had they realized?

“Did you really think you could deceive us?”

Upon hearing those words, the man swiftly threw the glass against the wall and turned to run.

But he hadn’t even taken a few steps before a gunshot echoed, and he tumbled to the ground.

A burning pain radiated from his side.

“You should’ve been more careful, agent.”

“Don’t worry. You won’t die. We need you alive… to become one of us.”

As his vision darkened, the blazing glass of whiskey seemed to inch closer and closer.