Researcher Oh Yerin walked out of the office with a tired expression, dragging her feet.

As she glanced out of the window in the deputy director's office, she noticed that the sun had long set, and complete darkness had settled in.

Hehehe.

Turning her head over her shoulder, she saw Saessak sitting on her shoulder, giggling with a delighted expression.

Once the spectral camera, which she had pressured Director Se-hee to purchase, arrived, they would finally be able to figure out what Saessak really was.

Would it turn out to be Saessak wandering around in spirit form while asleep, or was it just some hallucination—a kind of mental contamination?

Until today, she had been almost certain that it was an illusion, nine times out of ten. But now, her thoughts had shifted slightly.

It made sense because Saessak had quietly given her information she hadn’t been aware of.

At first, it seemed like a faint sound mixed in with the laughter.

But as the conversation about Researcher Oh Yerin's omitted report progressed, Saessak’s voice became clearer, and she began to sense something similar to emotions or intentions.

It was a communication method distinctly different from language.

It wasn’t as clear as spoken words but more like a jumble of emotions. Still, it was undeniably a means of communication and information transfer.

If she translated Saessak’s message into human language, it would’ve sounded something like:

“Oh, she’s lying!”

Along with a joyful emotion came the unmistakable intent to reveal that a lie was being told.

It seemed like a new sense for communicating with Saessak had been awakened.

In the end, when she subtly probed about the hidden "Sugar Flamingo" incident, Oh Yerin confessed.

I placed Saessak in my palm and gently squished its soft, mochi-like cheeks.

Hehe.

Saessak giggled as if tickled, grabbing my fingers.

At first glance, it looked like it was pushing me away, but the new sense I had picked up translated it as “Do it more!”

Squish, squish.

I gently kneaded its cheeks and said, “So, this is how you communicate, huh? A messy, but genuine way of speaking.”

I was starting to grasp how the Objects communicated.

It reminded me of a famous hypothesis: “Objects don’t understand language; they read thoughts.”

That theory seemed to be pretty close to the truth.

While they didn’t read thoughts exactly, they communicated through emotions, which could easily be mistaken for thought-reading.

If humans had communicated by sharing emotions like this, many misunderstandings could have been avoided…

Now that I think about it, this method of communication explains why the Golden Reapers never really watched TV.

The Golden Reapers didn’t understand language, so they probably couldn’t grasp what was being said on TV.

But then, how does the Gray Reaper watch TV?

Tap, tap.

The moment my thoughts turned to the Gray Reaper, Saessak began lightly tapping my cheek with its small hand.

When I turned my head and asked, “What’s up?” Saessak placed a finger to its lips, as if signaling me to keep quiet.

The strong will I sensed from Saessak left me with no choice but to nod in agreement.

I gazed at the now-ruined grounds of the Trinity Research Lab in Gangnam, which had sunk into a ghostly state.

Around me, cloud fish that had turned into fluffy cotton candy floated softly in the air.

The cloud fish, which floated everywhere in the sky, were excellent sources of information. They were the ones who had revealed the culprit behind this entire ordeal.

"Thanks for the directions."

I gave my thanks to the cotton candy fish by taking a small bite out of their delicious-looking side.

'!'

The cotton candy fish protested, demanding why I would take a bite after thanking them.

Well, obviously, I bit into it because it looked tasty. These cloud fish were fish after all, and apparently, not very bright.

Laughing to myself as I sent that thought their way, the cotton candy fish scattered in all directions, fleeing from me.

The first Trinity Research Lab had completely collapsed without a trace.

It was only natural, since it was a lab that was never meant to exist in the first place.

Didn’t the people at Trinity call the black goo "Evolution Fluid"?

In my opinion, that "Evolution Fluid" was the most dangerous substance in the world. I couldn’t understand why everyone was so desperate to use it.

It reeked of malice, and I couldn’t fathom how anyone thought there could be any hope or possibility of humanity’s salvation in that foul-smelling liquid.

After such a complete destruction, I hoped no one would keep talking about "Evolution Fluid is humanity’s hope!"

I watched the swarm of police cars and vehicles from various associations flooding in and began walking slowly toward Gwanak District.

It was time to eliminate the remaining Evolution Fluid.

The research center had a chaotic atmosphere, as I had hoped this would be the day the Reaper finally returned.

The reason? Breaking news.

From the morning, news broadcasts were filled with disturbing reports.

An unprecedented incident had occurred—the Trinity First Research Lab in Gangnam had vanished without a trace.

[This is the Trinity First Research Lab located in Gangnam District.]

[As you can see, the lab has completely disappeared without a trace.]

[It’s an enormous sinkhole.]

[Although it’s smaller than the one in Songpa District, this sinkhole is still beyond anything we’d expect.]

The moment I saw that sinkhole, I knew it instinctively.

"Ah! It must've been the Reaper!"

That meant anyone could easily think of the Reaper as the culprit.

And soon enough, our research lab would be labeled as the failure that let a high-priority Object escape without doing anything about it.

But despite this urgent situation, Se-hee seemed surprisingly calm.

Could she have something up her sleeve?

“Se-hee, are you sure everything’s fine right now?”

When I voiced my concern, Se-hee confidently replied with a grin, “No problem!”

She told me I’d find out more if I went to the Reaper’s containment room. So, I hurried there.

Could it be? Has the Reaper already returned?

But what I found in the containment room was completely different from what I expected.

There was something resembling a Gray Reaper.

Thud. Thud.

A black Reaper, painted meticulously in gray, was wandering around the containment room with its familiar thud-thud footsteps.

It stood about a meter tall, with gray skin, looking quite similar to the real thing.

Aside from the sharp shark-like teeth, it really did resemble the Gray Reaper.

But was this really enough?

I clasped my hands together and prayed to the real Reaper, wherever it might be.

"Reaper, please come back soon before they catch on to this fake Gray Reaper!"

The black-clad agent and the blonde girl, who had narrowly escaped a life-threatening situation, slumped to the ground, breathing heavily.

“Thanks for saving us!”

Sitting on the ground, the blonde girl stroked the Red Reaper who had protected her and the black-clad agent, a soft smile on her face.

The Red Reaper, however, wore a pouty expression, as if displeased with something.

The blonde girl noticed the Reaper’s expression and wondered, Does it not like being petted? She started to pull her hand away.

Thud.

But the Red Reaper quickly snatched her fingers and placed them back on its head, pressing down.

The blonde girl, seeing this adorable gesture, couldn’t help but smile softly as she gently petted the Red Reaper’s head again.

Seeing this, the Golden Reapers and Black Reapers flocked around the blonde girl, all eager for their turn to be petted.

“Okay, okay. I get it. Thank you all for helping!”

The blonde girl repeated her thanks, expressing gratitude to each of the Mini Reapers.

The black-clad agent watched her, remembering the first time he saw the girl.

As the granddaughter of the chairman, she had seemed like someone who would lead a life of endless happiness, her brightness untarnished.

Yet, there had been something about her that seemed distant, which had drawn him to her in the first place.

She had always been surrounded by plenty but had never appeared truly at ease. Now that she had lost everything, it seemed she had finally let go of all her insecurities.

How long had it been since they’d been surrounded by what seemed like hundreds of Mini Reapers? As the fog wall beyond them slowly dissipated, the morning sunlight began to peek through.

The black-clad agent quickly unfurled a large parasol to shield the blonde girl, but she shook her head and pushed it away.

“I’m fine, sir.”

With a playful smile, the girl spread her arms wide, welcoming the sunlight with her whole body.

Her skin didn’t burn, nor did she turn to ash.

Closing her eyes, she basked in the sun’s rays before opening them again with a radiant smile.

“It’s been so long since I’ve seen the sun. It’s beautiful.”

The sunlight pouring over the horizon, full of green trees, shone down on her head.

Her shimmering blonde hair sparkled even more brilliantly in the sunlight.

The black-clad agent, watching her, remarked, “Indeed, it truly is, Miss.”

A faint smile appeared on the agent’s face as well.

After enjoying the sunlight for a while, the girl turned with a satisfied expression and spoke to the agent.

“Sir, I think we need to head to Se-hee’s lab.”

She added softly, mentioning that she felt the need to meet her new ‘mother.’

With most of the Mini Reapers having left the garden, it had become quiet.

One Golden Reaper, walking thud-thud through the now peaceful Mini Reaper garden, spotted something curious.

It was a fluffy, cloud-like ball of fur.

Bathed in the soft light of the garden, the furball sparkled a pure white, large enough for the Golden Reaper to snuggle into.

It floated gently through the air, piquing the Golden Reaper’s curiosity.

Is it the youngest sibling?

With that thought, the Golden Reaper slowly approached and picked up the fluffy furball.

It pawed through the soft, warm fluff, feeling like it was unwrapping a present.

How long had it been since it started rifling through the furball?

Soon, the face of an orange Mini Reaper appeared, its eyes closed in a relaxed expression, as if it were sleeping.

"The youngest!"

The Golden Reaper raised both arms in delight, thrilled by the appearance of a new sibling.