The space station, engulfed in Earth’s shadow, was now bathed in darkness.

The woman found herself staring into the glowing eyes of the strange creature before her. It was something she had never seen before, neither on Earth nor in space. Despite its bizarre appearance, she felt no fear.

“Ming!”

It let out a cute sound.

The creature was small enough to fit in her arms, its golden eyes radiated warmth, and it exuded the fresh scent of mint, reminiscent of a field after a rainfall.

All these qualities combined gave the woman a strange sense of calm.

She instinctively wanted to reach out and pet it, but she hesitated, recalling her experience as an object researcher. She had learned to be cautious of objects that seemed harmless, as they often carried mental contamination that made them appear more benign than they were.

For all she knew, her hand might disappear the moment she touched it.

As she eyed the creature’s mouth, she couldn’t shake the feeling that if she got too close, it might gobble her up.

Despite her misgivings, another thought crossed her mind.

‘What does it matter? I’m probably going to die out here in space, alone. What harm could come from petting a cute little creature?’

The bitter cold of the shadowed station, the overwhelming loneliness—it all made her reconsider. Maybe, just maybe, a little warmth would make her final moments more bearable.

Slowly, she extended her hand.

The tips of her fingers touched the creature’s soft green surface, which felt surprisingly warm.

“Ming?”

It was as soft as the finest fur, and as warm as a heat pack.

“So warm.”

The woman, entranced by the warmth, gently pulled the creature into her arms.

“Really warm.”

The creature’s steady warmth against her chest melted the fear and loneliness she had been harboring. For the first time since the green moon overtook the station, she allowed herself to cry, holding onto the creature as if it were a lifeline.

Though her chances of survival were slim, having the creature in her arms made her feel less afraid.

“Miiiing!”

However, the creature wriggled, clearly uncomfortable with being hugged so tightly.

“Haha.”

The way it squirmed out of her grip was so cute and funny that she couldn’t help but laugh.

For the first time since the green moon appeared, she laughed out loud.

The courtyard of Sehee Research Institute had become a lush green carpet of thick vegetation.

I was lying on the soft grass, wearing a VR headset that Cheong had gifted me during her last visit. It was the first time I’d thought to try it out.

Cheong and her group hadn’t stayed at the institute as long as I expected. Even with the mini reapers tagging along, they left surprisingly quickly, off to continue their travels around the world.

For a brief moment, I had considered going on a journey myself, but the thought felt too exhausting, so I quickly dismissed the idea.

Every time I went on a trip, some disaster always seemed to happen. It was much more comfortable to stay at home.

Cheong’s companion, the roll cake human, had taken a liking to one of the golden reapers and ended up adopting it.

Even though the roll cake human was technically an object, the mini reapers still showed some interest in it. I figured it was because mini reapers were fond of anything from the garden, including snacks.

As I lay there with the VR headset on, one of the golden reapers began wriggling its way inside the headset, creeping toward my face.

‘Mom!’

When I watched TV, the mini reapers usually behaved and stayed close by, but whenever I wore the VR headset, they would insist on squeezing their way inside with me.

This was the fourth golden reaper that had tried to poke its head under the headset.

I sat up on the grass, and as I did, four golden reapers dangled from the edge of the headset, hanging on by their heads like miniature executioners.

‘This won’t work with the mini reapers around.’

With a sigh, I removed the VR headset, and the four golden reapers dropped onto my lap.

Tossing the headset aside, I turned my attention back to the TV.

[Recent global reports indicate the appearance of phenomena linked to object activity. These include the rapid overnight growth of plants and the reappearance of animals long thought extinct, suggesting a disturbance in Earth's ecosystems.]

[Experts from the U.S. Object Association announced today that these events are likely caused by the green moon recently observed in space.]

[As of now, no method has been found to directly control or eliminate this strange object. Though numerous organizations have launched investigations, no clear solution has been proposed.]

[Experts agree that dealing with an object of this magnitude, which is affecting Earth from space, presents humanity with a new challenge. Given our current technology, removing the green moon appears virtually impossible.]

‘The green moon!’

I jumped up the moment I heard the news.

The golden reapers who had been sitting on my lap tumbled onto the ground, but I paid them no mind.

‘The green moon has finally appeared.’

While dealing with the other colored moons, I had started to form a theory.

It was related to the destruction of the Iron Tower.

The conditions for destroying the Iron Tower and the multicolored moons that appeared in the sky all seemed interconnected.

The vague destruction condition for the Iron Tower, called Nostalgia, and the multicolored moons both gave the same impression.

As I began collecting the moons, my theory seemed to become more plausible.

And now, the final piece—the green moon—had made its appearance.

But as soon as I resolved to destroy the green moon, I encountered a problem.

‘How do I get to space?’

No matter how powerful an object I possessed, even with cloud meat, flying that high seemed impossible.

‘Am I really going to have to rely on modern technology, like a rocket?’

Unfortunately, Sehee Research Institute didn’t seem to have the expertise to build something as complex as a rocket. They were too preoccupied with playing and lazing around with the mini reapers.

I was in quite a bind.

For a brief moment, a wild idea crossed my mind: launching myself into space with a giant black reaper ballista. But then I remembered how precise space travel needed to be and quickly abandoned the thought.

Getting lost in space would be a sad fate.

What should I do?

In the courtyard of Sehee Research Institute, the mini reapers were frolicking through the tall grass, which had grown high enough to reach their ankles, perhaps due to the influence of the green moon.

‘I found it!’

Among them, a golden reaper held up a small bird in its hands, looking victorious.

The tiny bird, a mini version of a parrot, had likely appeared due to the green moon’s effect on the institute.

The golden reaper perched the bird on its head and darted back toward the other mini reapers gathered in the courtyard.

‘A baby bird!’

The mini reapers surrounded the golden reaper and its bird, offering up pieces of their favorite snacks to feed it.

The researchers watched the scene unfold, snapping pictures with smiles on their faces.

In addition to the bird, mini hamsters and rabbits had also begun appearing, all of which were immediately adopted by the mini reapers.

Watching from afar, one of the researchers voiced a question.

“Why do only tiny ‘mini creatures’ appear in Sehee Research Institute?”

“I don’t know. But they’re cute, so it’s fine, right?”

It was hard to believe such a conversation was coming from object specialists.

Meanwhile, Seo-ah was sitting in her office, drafting a report while observing the courtyard.

<An analysis of the green moon’s impact on supernatural creatures and its correlation with public perception>

<Introduction: After the appearance of the green moon, creatures such as phoenixes and dragons have begun to emerge. This study aims to analyze how public perception influences these supernatural entities.>

<...>

<Conclusion and Recommendations: The green moon phenomenon has caused the appearance of supernatural creatures, and these creatures seem heavily influenced by public perception.>

A handwritten note was scrawled at the bottom of the report in pen.

<So, what about Sehee Research Institute?>

On the outskirts of Songpa-gu, in James Tower, the staff was hard at work in one of the facility’s large rooms, wrapping up the final stages of a project.

It was the emergency Tyrannosaurus Project, aimed at dealing with the green moon.

In an unprecedented collaboration between the Korean Object Safety Management Council and the U.S. Object Association, everything from the launch pad to the rocket had been flown in from the United States.

James, looking exhausted with heavy dark circles under his eyes, was poring over the schematics one last time, checking their progress.

“This should definitely catch the gray reaper’s attention.”

In his tired eyes, the reflection of the massive rocket could be seen.

It was golden, shining brightly, and shaped like a Tyrannosaurus—the Golden-Mecha-Tyranno Rocket.