༺ Central Research Institute (2) ༻
White painted walls and ceiling, a mirror on one side.
I found myself trapped in an empty containment room.
The staff member who had escorted me wore an expression that seemed to say, ‘Now that you are here, it’s over for you!’ However, I didn’t notice anything particularly different in the Central Research Institute’s containment room.
What did catch my attention, though, was the extremely gloomy atmosphere of the room. It was far worse than what I expected.
The researchers walked about, their expressions stiff. Even the low-level employees who directly managed the Objects appeared to be in a far worse state than those at the Seoul Research Institute.
Their expressions made it seem as if they were the ones kept under quarantine, not the Objects.
Bzzz-Beep-!
An unpleasant buzzing sound rang out as high-temperature steam jetted out of the wall. Not wanting to get hit by it, I slipped into my phantom form avoiding the scalding steam.
The experiments conducted on me after I entered this containment room were all like that.
It started with guns. Sounding the buzzer before firing the gun, shooting without sounding the buzzer, and many more.The Central Research Institute seemed to like repeating completely useless things.
Their experiments so far were like this: they detonated a bomb inside the containment room, released various types of poisonous gasses, sprayed what appeared to be a highly acidic liquid, and even poured liquid nitrogen.
Considering the variety of Object’s destruction conditions that I had seen so far, these diverse attempts were not bad methods. However, they focused too heavily on destructive methods. I had to deduct some points. After all, there were times when the answer was a method that was seemingly completely unrelated to the Object.
Taking into account the destruction condition of the Steel Pig Statue from the Seoul Forest Incident, it was clear that there were difficult to find conditions that this method alone couldn’t uncover. Well, the fact that they did not know this, was the reason behind their useless endeavors in the first place.
In fact, the lizard confined in the containment room opposite mine was one of those cases.
The condition for destroying the lizard was…
[Receiving a standing ovation from ten thousand people simultaneously].
The front of the containment room was made entirely of transparent glass, allowing me to see all the people passing by, as well as the inside of the containment room on the opposite side. Inside that room, the researchers periodically killed a lizard.
Physically, the lizard did not look particularly strong, and was only as big as a person’s hand. Except for the fact that its entire body was blue, it didn’t look like an Object at all.
However, the lizard’s true strength was revealed during an experiment. The researchers had used a flamethrower to completely reduce it to ashes, leaving not a single trace of a bone. Yet, after about an hour or so, blue flames danced in the air as the lizard was revived with a resounding boom.
After that, persistent experiments continued. Although various methods were used to prevent the lizard from resurrecting, such as melting it with acid and burning it, the lizard continued to return to life.
Before long, as if they had given up on eliminating the lizard, the lizard was moved to a different containment room.
I was also looking forward to being moved to a different containment room like that lizard, but it seemed like they had no intention of sending me anywhere else unlike that blue lizard.
Just what’s the difference between me and that lizard?
***
A cat came into the containment room, which used to be occupied by the lizard. The person who seemed to be the cat’s owner lured the cat into the room with treats, toys, etc.
I had expected the researchers to burn and attack the cats like what they did to the lizards, but to my surprise, they didn’t do that. They probably decided to just confine the cat since it was a ghost-like Object.
Being a phantom cat that could be seen but couldn’t be touched, it appeared quite relaxed despite its confinement.
However, its tranquility was short-lived.
The moment the cat pressed its head against the glass, seemingly out of boredom, its relaxed mood disappeared. It hit its head on the glass wall of the containment room, unable to pass through like usual.
Being blocked by the wall, the phantom cat started scratching the wall with its claws and meowed. Probably because the cat was taken aback by the situation, its meowing seemed really pitiful.
Don’t tell me? Does this containment room have the ability to trap phantom bodies?
As I looked closely at the containment room’s wall, a hint with unknown meaning appeared in front of me.
[Make the Research Institute Director’s wish come true.]
The walls and windows of the isolation room were all Objects. They all seemed to be the same Object, or at the very least, Objects derived from the same Object.
The destruction condition was [Make the Research Institute Director’s wish come true].
Once again, what I got was an utterly nonsensical hint.
It offered me absolutely nothing as I didn’t know who the director was and what their wish was.
I see. Containing an Object inside another Object. It explained why the employees who escorted me here looked so confident.
The reason they didn’t take me out was also clear now. There was no reason to take an Object which was able to turn into a phantom-like state out of the room. After all, It would be quite embarrassing if the Object escaped during the process of transporting it.
Was it really impossible to pass through the wall? Thinking so, I put my hand on the wall. Contrary to my expectations, I only felt a little bit of resistance before my hand passed through.
Huh? It was possible to pass so effortlessly?
However, as my hand penetrated the wall, I could hear a cacophony from the inside of the wall. It reminded me of the clamor of a gym full of people, filled with indistinct murmurs and incomprehensible voices.
Even though it was an incomprehensible phenomenon, I decided to just pass through the wall.
After all, what’s the worst that can happen?
***
An alarm rang out within the laboratory.
The Gray Reaper, a subject with the highest danger level, had escaped from its containment room.
The CCTV footage presented undeniable evidence of the Gray Reaper passing through the wall. In the video, it stuck its arm inside the wall, contemplated for a moment, and then hurled its entire body into the wall.
Of course, despite the footage, we didn’t do something stupid like open the containment room’s door.
Since it was reported that the Gray Reaper possessed a very high level of intelligence, it was suspected that its actions were just a ruse to make us open the door.
This theory was further strengthened as the footage showed no sign of the Gray Reaper on the other side of the wall that it had thrown itself into.
Of course, there was also the possibility that it had really escaped. In response, we had sealed off all the doors and windows leading outside, and prohibited all personnel within the laboratory from leaving the premises.
Regardless of whether we were field operatives or doing a desk job, we were all tasked with one mission: find the Gray Reaper.
All field operatives scoured every inch of the institute chasing the Gray Reaper’s traces, leaving no stones unturned. Meanwhile, the desk workers meticulously examined the CCTV footage for any glimpse of the Gray Reaper.
I was assigned the duty of patrolling the interior of the research institute, armed with a large shield in my right hand and a baton in my left.
It was stupid to search for a very dangerous Object, capable of turning into a phantom, armed with only such weapons. After all, weren’t we dealing with the infamous Gray Reaper from the scary rumors?
Thankfully, it was highly unlikely that the Gray Reaper had gone outside.
But really, did it even make sense for the Gray Reaper, who had never been able to escape before, to suddenly try now?
The only people who were walking around the institute were the regular employees, as all the researchers had hidden in the internal bunker. With each of us carrying large shields, the once-wide lab hallway looked unnervingly narrow.
Maybe that was also the reason the lab hallway looked particularly dark, further obscured by all those black butterflies on the ceiling.
Those black butterflies would occasionally fly around the halls.
Come to think of it, since when did those black butterflies appear? Was it about a week ago?
It’s not a big deal.
It’s not a big deal.
Wait, now that I think about it, I also started seeing a lot of butterflies in the mirror of my dorm room. Isn’t that strange?
It’s not that strange.
Ouch, it stings.
A black butterfly bit me with its sharp teeth.
Wait? Do butterflies even have teeth?
They might have it.
Suddenly, those butterflies flew towards me.
When did this start? It’s been like that since yesterday.
It’s no big deal.
“Hey, what’s with all those insect bites on your forearms? It’s still early summer, are the mosquitoes around already?”
My colleague’s voice sounded distant, as if muffled by the fluttering of the butterflies. Could it be that some of the butterflies sat in front of my ears? Was that why I couldn’t hear clearly?
The butterflies obstructed my vision, making it impossible to see my colleague’s face.
“Hey, where are you looking at? Snap out of it! No matter how hard it is, you have to come to your senses.”
The butterflies kept getting in my way. I couldn’t walk.
Just when will they get rid of the butterflies?
Although this was a common affair in the institute, whenever things like this happen, only we, the field operatives suffer.
Within my field of vision, filled with butterflies, a bright yellow glow caught my eye.
It was an intense yellow, emanating from the eyes of the Gray Reaper.
It beckoned to me, gesturing as if to tell me to quickly come towards it.
Ah, I need to sound the signal to announce that I’d found the Reaper…
But my body refused to obey.
The butterflies enveloped me, making me immobile.
An overwhelming drowsiness overcame me, rendering me unable to stand.
Before long, I lost consciousness, with the Gray Reaper in front of me.
