The cold raindrops hitting the concrete floor echoed through the alleyways.

The silver-haired girl, "Cheong," was running hard, keeping her eyes on the backs of her companions ahead.

They had received a request from a client to transport important cargo, and they were diligently moving it.

The task was to deliver the cargo to a lawless area untouched by the hands of the three ruling families of the Free City Union.

In most transport requests, they would have used vehicles, but this time the path was too narrow and winding, like a spider’s web, making vehicles impossible.

Pant, pant.

It was far more difficult for Cheong to run while wearing the mask than she had imagined.

On top of that, it was raining, making her feel like she was going to collapse from exhaustion.

As her vision became slightly hazy, she looked ahead, feeling a strange sense of detachment.

The pattern of the raindrops hitting the ground.

The blurred silhouettes of her companions carrying heavy bags in the downpour.

The icy, sticky rain clinging to her body.

She used to like the rain, back then...

She once loved the smell of wet earth and the unique atmosphere that rainy days brought.

But she couldn’t find anything to like about the rain in this city.

Cold, oily rain with a strange smell.

The rain in this city was not mostly water and, for some reason, was unusually cold.

It felt like the liquid used to cool down this gigantic machine of a city.

‘My body feels heavy.’

Naturally, the rain was harmful to pure humans, so Cheong was dressed in waterproof gear.

But the protective clothing was heavy, weighing down on her.

Pant, pant.

The thick filter in her mask made Cheong’s breathing ragged and shallow.

"Once we get past this block, we’ll be there."

The voice of the man leading the group broke through her foggy thoughts.

"You think you can handle it?"

The woman running beside Cheong asked with concern.

She was asking if Cheong would be able to open the security wall, which was her role in this transport job.

The wall was a relic from the days before the cities had unified, built so solidly that many still remained intact.

There was a way around the wall, but going through it would be much faster.

"I can do it."

Though she was struggling to breathe properly, Cheong forced out the words with determination.

At that moment, the man let out a shout and raised the shield in his hand.

"Stop!"

He set up two large shields like a wall, holding a heavy weapon in his other hand as he scanned the area.

From the dark alley, red glows flickered and moved like afterimages.

"Damn! Scavengers!"

Hyenas that roamed the lawless zones, hunting their prey, began to encircle them.

They looked like sharks smelling blood.

The warm and peaceful isolation room at Sehee’s research lab.

I was lying sideways on the bed, playing with a Golden Spirit.

Looking down at the Golden Spirit sitting on my belly, I wiggled my fingers like I was playing the piano, and the Golden Spirit responded by punching in a boxing stance.

Like it was hitting mitts, it swung its little fists at my fingers.

Dodging and landing blows, the Golden Spirit’s form was impressive—it looked just like a boxer.

‘Golden Spirits are all so good at sports.’

As I continued playing with the Golden Spirit, an interesting story came on the TV.

[According to the Korean Object Association, a large quantity of "Golden Horn" has been found to have been smuggled into China.]

[The Golden Horn is believed to have flowed into the "Free City Union," a notorious lawless zone in China.]

[Since the area is beyond the control of Chinese authorities, it has become a haven for criminals, making it difficult to track the culprits.]

[The Korean Object Association is closely cooperating with the Chinese Association to trace the perpetrators, but there has been no significant progress so far.]

The Free City Union, huh…

It was a well-known place, but I had never been there.

China had handled the Object situation almost as well as the U.S. and Japan, but I had heard that the Free City Union was like a demon’s playground.

Lost in thought, I noticed the Golden Spirit, looking dejected, trying to lift my finger again.

Though it was too weak to lift it properly, it kept struggling, as if to say, "Let’s play some more."

‘Alright, fine, let’s play a little longer.’

When I started moving my fingers again, the boxing Golden Spirit eagerly threw more punches, its face lighting up with excitement.

Mini Grim Reaper Garden, Marshmallow Plains.

After spending some time playing with the Golden Spirit, I wandered through the Mini Grim Reaper Garden.

The sight of many Golden Spirits walking on all fours and Orange Spirits floating around like clouds gave the place an oddly wild, African-like feel.

As I casually watched the Orange Spirits drifting by, a thought crossed my mind.

‘Come to think of it, it’s been a while since I played a prank on the Orange Spirits.’

It had been a long time since I last pranked them by setting the Red Spirit’s doll suit on fire.

And since the Orange Spirits were so kind, they never retaliated, even when I pulled pranks on them.

I started to devise a prank for the Orange Spirits.

Orange Spirits.

The Golden Spirit’s Ice Palace.

My brilliant mind quickly linked these two things together into a fun prank.

The plan was simple.

I would suggest to the Orange Spirits that we destroy the Ice Palace together, then quietly slip away and tattle to the Golden Spirits.

Hehe.

Grinning with excitement, I began gathering the Orange Spirits.

The situation was dire.

There was no explanation for why so many scavengers had gathered around them.

With just three of them, there was no way they could fend off such a large number of enemies.

‘What are they after?’

The cargo they were transporting?

A small amount of medicine and ammunition wasn’t worth such an assault.

No matter how much Cheong thought about it, she couldn’t understand the situation.

She pulled out a small pistol and tried to fight back, but it was hard to aim in the darkness and the rain.

Even if she hit them, it would likely have no effect on the scavengers, who had replaced their skin with tough object material like steel.

"There’s too many!"

The woman with the long rifle shouted in despair.

She was picking off enemies with precise shots, but the number of scavengers swarming through the alleys seemed endless.

The man with four massive arms, wielding two shields and two heavy weapons, was already injured.

One of his four arms had been pierced and hung limp.

As a result, he had lost one of his guns.

He fought back as best as he could, but the man’s skills weren’t enough to accurately shoot through the darkness and rain.

Suddenly, a bright flame cut through the thick darkness, trailing a long tail of light.

With a sharp whistle, a homemade grenade rocketed toward them.

"Damn it! Watch out!"

The man’s desperate shout rang out.

Suppressing fire, then a grenade launch.

There was no way to avoid it.

In an instant, the man and woman threw themselves over Cheong, and a powerful explosion rocked the ground.

For a moment, the girl lost consciousness, but slowly, through the thick cloud of dust, she began to wake up.

‘I feel dizzy.’

‘I think I’m going to be sick.’

Though she felt nauseous and lightheaded, Cheong’s condition was relatively fine.

Ugh.

The man, clearly mortally wounded, was coughing up a large amount of blood.

The woman, unconscious, had collapsed on top of Cheong, not moving.

Step, step.

The scavengers' footsteps grew closer.

Listening to their careless, heavy steps, Cheong gritted her teeth.

She reached into the man’s backpack, pulled out a spare shotgun, and aimed it in the direction of the footsteps.

‘It’s heavy.’

She probably wouldn’t be able to shoot it properly.

Without object-level strength, she wouldn’t even be able to hold it correctly, let alone handle the recoil.

When she fired, her shoulder would likely shatter, and she’d lose her grip on the gun.

But she couldn’t give up.

Even if it was a final, desperate act, she had to try.

"Hoo..."

Cheong exhaled slowly, gripping the shotgun tightly.

As the dust began to clear, she saw something odd in the corner of her vision—a fluffy, white ball of fur, like a cloud.

Looking at the cloud-like ball of white fur, she suddenly felt a strange sense of calm and pulled the trigger.

Boom!

With an explosive sound, the shotgun flew out of her hands.

Unfortunately, Cheong’s shoulder was unharmed.

This was proof that she hadn’t braced herself properly, which meant her crucial first shot had likely missed.

But then, something miraculous happened.

The scattered buckshot struck the scavengers’ vital spots with pinpoint accuracy.

It was as if by magic!

And then, even more strange events followed.

The shotgun, which Cheong had dropped, fired again upon hitting the ground, launching itself into the air.

As it flew, the stray buckshot hit the scavengers again, delivering fatal blows.

Though it could have been a series of accidents, the fact that it happened twice in a row felt uncanny.

An unbelievable scene unfolded before Cheong’s eyes.

In shock, all she could do was watch as the shotgun, propelled by its own recoil, flew through the air, taking out all the scavengers.