༺ Central Research Institute (5) ༻
The man in the yellow suit muttered as he skimmed through the thick dossier handed to him by his junior.
“Wow~ looks like you have collected all the data. From the looks of it, you just need to submit it! You didn’t even need my help.”
His junior hesitated before answering.
“Actually, the investigation itself has been completed. Although I couldn’t see the true form of the Hungry Ghost, I knew where it was. However, the restriction is so severe now that it is impossible to go outside. Especially, this central research institute is so messed up that there’s not even a vent to escape from. Even if we wanted to break the window in order to escape, they wouldn’t budge..”
The junior sighed and continued.
“I thought about waiting until the restrictions were lifted, and I could leave, but something feels off about the current atmosphere. It’s the same pattern as when the ‘Hungry Ghost’ appeared during the investigation. The researchers are staying put, everyone is gathered in the central conference room, and access to the outside is completely restricted. It gives you goosebumps, doesn’t it?”
“Judging from the data, it certainly seems like a plausible situation. The Gray Reaper escaped, and there was even a murder that appears to have been committed by it.”
The man continued while humming the Central Research Institute’s theme song.
“They say it’s the safest national research institute with 0 casualties~ So, when a murder case occurs, it’s a major incident. It’s grave enough to make it worth it to release the Hungry Ghost.”
The man added with a small laugh.
“It was a good thing you called me. If you had waited until the restrictions were lifted, the Hungry Ghost would have been released before it. It would meant that you and this data would have ended up in the Hungry Ghost’s stomach.”
“Then let’s leave immediately!”
The junior eagerly suggested with a bright expression. But the man could only shake his head in response.
“I also want to leave this place, but it’s impossible. My cane does grant me the ability to go anywhere, but I can only use it once every three days. That means we can only leave this place three days from now.”
“Let’s just hope that the Hungry Ghost doesn’t make an appearance before three days have passed.”
***
‘So, what happened next?’
The cat let out a soft meow.
Even though it was an empty containment room, it didn’t feel bad to be lying flat on the cool floor with a kitten laying on my stomach.
At first, I had come here to tease the cat that couldn’t escape. However, after getting a paw to the face from the very frustrated cat, I realized something.
When our bodies were in contact, we could communicate!
That’s why I put the kitten on my stomach and listened to its tale of adventure. The warmth of its body and the softness of its fur. It was nice to spend time just stroking a kitten and not think about anything.
Perhaps because the containment room was a little chilly, the cat also liked my torso which was warm due to the flame in my chest.
‘What? If I want to hear more, I need to stroke better?’
Hehehehe. Laughing to myself, I listened to the kitten’s weeping. The hustle and bustle of the research institute felt like a story that had long passed.
Well, the fact that the containment room was almost fully soundproof might also play a role.
After the murder committed by the piranha butterfly—which I had no involvement in whatsoever—the central research institute was in chaos.
Even though the researchers couldn’t be seen anywhere, the regular employees buzzed around, looking for me.
Sometimes, the employees would try to lure me with things like pudding, making me wonder just what on earth did Sehee Research Institute write about me?!
Seeing there was no mention of the black butterfly at all, it seemed like they thought this incident was my fault again and weren’t properly investigating it.
Though, I think the victim said quite a lot about seeing butterflies as he died.
Currently, far more butterflies flitted through the hallway than before. I didn’t know what criteria the butterflies had for their targets, but if this continued, someone else would surely die again because of their attack.
The disappearance of the researchers was also odd. Perhaps they, being important personnel, were hiding in a safe place when dangerous Objects were moving around?
Though I was content to just remain here, it was time to get up. I was curious about where the butterflies came from, and about the suspicious atmosphere that filled the institute for some reason.
I let the kitten know I was leaving by saying, ‘I’m going now.’ I stood up, holding the kitten gently in both hands. The kitty meowed cutely, wanting to come with me. Sadly, the kitty couldn’t move around the institute in its phantom form like me. If I leap through the wall together with it, it would probably be caught in that Eternal Research Institute or something.
‘I’ll come pick you up when I get the chance.’ I promised before leaving the kitten’s containment room.
Walking down the hallway, I noticed my containment room was suddenly filled with things.
Just like my containment room at the Sehee Research Institute.
A large bed, TV, game console, refrigerator, and snacks were waiting for me.
Even though I thought that spending some time there would be fine, the thought that walking around the institute would surely be more interesting prevented me from doing so. So, I decided to come back for a break later.
The Central Research Institute was vast, with a lot of objects confined in their containment rooms. On the other hand, I was the only test subject in Sehee Research Institute that was permanently confined. Usually, Objects secured by the Sehee Research Institute investigation team would only be studied briefly before being handed over to the Central Research Institute.
The problem was that unless someone gave a tour and explained one saw, one wouldn’t be able to know what kind of Object it was and would only know it just as a strange-looking animal or plant.
Before I knew it, I felt like I was a tourist walking through a zoo, marveling at the oddities with thoughts like, ‘Wow, that one looks funny.’ or ‘Woah, how is that thing even standing?’
Perhaps it was the sense of familiarity that had built up between us, or perhaps it was because of its own special nature, one particular containment room caught my eye.
Inside, a blue lizard the size of a human palm was clapping its tiny hands while playing the piano with its two feet.
As If possessed, I entered the room.
The Blue Lizard was playing a complex piece that sounded quite difficult. He played it with flashy footwork, making it look quite cool, as it looked like it was dancing.
In parts where two feet weren’t enough, it seemed to summon more, almost like it had activated a shadow clone jutsu, effortlessly maintaining the melody.
If this were the Sehee Research Institute, I’d be asking Yerin to bring one of these lizards into my isolation room…
I couldn’t tear my eyes away from the lizard’s dazzling dance, completely amazed.
Making a mental note to bring the lizard along with the kitten to the Sehee Research Institute, if I got the chance, I set off once more to find the source of the butterflies..
While scouring the lab for clues about the source of the butterflies, I stumbled upon a rather suspicious-looking duo inside a warehouse in a corner of the Central Research Institute.
One was a regular employee of the research institute.
The other was a man dressed in a conspicuous yellow suit.
Between the two, it was clear that the man in the yellow suit was the suspicious one.
His clothing and appearance was the cause.
The Central Research Institute had a standard uniform, so it was easy to tell what their job was just by looking at the clothes, but that suit clearly showed that he was not an employee.
What was even more concerning was the fact that his entire body was covered in Objects.
His monocle? An Object.
His cane? An Object.
Even his pocket watch? Also an object.
There were many harmful Objects in the world, so I couldn’t help but wonder just how brave he was to carry them around like that.
“Wait. There’s an object in front of us.”
The man was holding the woman back while looking exactly where I stood. However,I didn’t feel like he could actually see me. After all, if people were to see me, they would typically scream , ‘Ahhhhh! it’s the Gray Reaper!’ and wouldn’t use vague expressions like ‘Object’.
Did he see something through that monocle?
I looked at the man, who was visibly sweating from nervousness, with eyes full of curiosity.
***
Perplexed by the phrase that suddenly appeared before my eyes, I warned my junior.
“Wait. There’s an Object in front of us.”
The words that appeared before my eyes were chilling.
[Uses people’s sadness as strength.]
[Uses people’s grief as strength.]
[Uses people’s pain as strength.]
[Knows the fastest way to kill a target.]
These were the phrases shown by the monocle that was able to determine a small part of the Object’s characteristics. Though the text was visible, the Object remained unseen, so it was clear that it had become invisible like a ghost.
Throughout my career as a detective, I had encountered many Objects, but none with such malicious intentions and terrifying abilities. It seemed like a creature born with the sole purpose of inflicting harm on humans.
Wasn’t this the kind of ability that evil creatures like the devil in folktales would have?
Considering the phantom form, death, and hideous abilities, it wasn’t difficult to deduce what Object it was.
“The Object in front of us seems to be the Gray Reaper. Be careful, junior. Now that I see it, it’s twice as vicious as I thought.”
I thought most of the cases involving the Gray Reaper were false accusations, but was my judgment—which was always accurate—wrong?
Has my brilliant brain become rusty? I thought it was nothing but a lie created by public fear!
