༺ Central Research Institute (7) ༻
I could see my senior, clad in a yellow suit, and a huge number of security guards in the periphery of my vision.
The passage leading to the director’s office was riddled with a large number of security guards.
Even though we were able to infiltrate as far as the hallway outside the director’s office, we could not find a way to infiltrate the director’s office from our current position.
In a hushed tone, I asked my senior.
“Senior, we will be able to enter, right?”
“….”
My senior, who was always confident, was currently silent. He was probably contemplating whether this was going to be difficult or not.
Personally, I considered it a miracle that we had made it this far in the first place.
What if I had to come here alone without my senior?
I could definitely say that it would have been an absolutely impossible task.
His ability to figure out the location of a guard without looking was marvelous, and the tools coming out of his pockets were anything but ordinary.
Among them, the most exceptional was the lamp that my senior called ‘Watson’.
However, I disliked the Object as it gave me an ominous feeling and exuded a bloody smell.
Also, for some reason, I often felt as if the shadow called ‘Watson’ hated me.
But its ability was undoubtedly impressive.
Although it was only for a short period of time, its ‘invisibility’ was truly like a magical tool.
“Senior, why don’t you use Watson again? If you use invisibility one more time, we might be able to get through, even if it’s a close call.”
“Watson can no longer be used in this case.”
“Pardon?”
“Though Watson is kind, it has a caveat. If I use it more than 3 times, I will probably dry up like a mummy and die.”
My senior said while tapping on his monocle.
Looking at him, I noticed that his complexion was a little pale, as if he was lacking blood. Was it Watson who had sucked his blood?
Now that I thought about it, he had already used Watson three times.
The first time was to move them through space.
The second one was to tell him the reason behind the teleportation being blocked.
The third one was to turn them invisible while they were passing through a guard post.
If what he said earlier was true, that wasn’t Watson a fairly dangerous object?
“Then what should we do?”
“I’m still thinking about that. If we wait patiently, won’t an opportunity present itself?”
It was quite amazing to see him looking undisturbed even though he was hiding in a very uncomfortable position.
By the way, where did the Gray Reaper go? It had been following us just a few moments ago.
***
Feeling the weight of the heavy gas lamp in my hand, I looked at the deputy director’s office, which was blocking the entrance to the director’s office.
An opportunity would undoubtedly arise.
I had a hunch that was close to certainty.
However, just as they say, a crisis holds the potential for opportunity. This moment of waiting for the opportunity could just as easily turn into a crisis.
While I was hiding, my gaze fixated on the deputy director’s office, I felt that the moment I had been waiting for had finally arrived.
It was evident from the commotion unfolding inside the deputy director’s office.
“Junior, get ready.”
The opportunity we had been waiting for had arrived.
In a flurry of movement, the people in the deputy director’s office all left the room and ran towards a certain place.
“Run!”
We blitzed past the vacant front of the deputy director’s office, and ran down the passage leading into the director’s office.
“Senior? What’s happening all of a sudden?”
My junior looked puzzled as she looked at the suddenly empty hallway.
I just smiled at her baffled expression and responded.
“Our last chance has come!”
***
The deputy director of the Central Research Institute thought over and over again.
How much longer should he wait?
Could it be that the Gray Reaper had already left the institute?
No matter how many times the staff patrolled or tried to lure it out, the Gray Reaper still could not be found.
More than three days had passed already.
And despite being warned to remain vigilant due to the Reaper’s phantom form, its location remained unknown.
“Deputy Director! The Gray Reaper has appeared inside the containment room!”
But suddenly, the Gray Reaper had appeared once again.
At that moment, the employees who were on standby began to escape with utmost efficiency.
Since all preparations had already been made long ago, the escape was accomplished quickly.
The researchers who had been stationed elsewhere should have started escaping through the nearest route as well.
Since the Gray Reaper had appeared inside its designated containment room, there was no need to worry about the escape route.
Just before leaving his office, the deputy director looked towards the director’s office.
He was a man who had occupied the director’s chair for three decades.
A man who had met his death in the Seoul Plaza incident 30 years ago, leaving behind only his family.
Thinking about the indifferent man who had persisted in his research even after becoming an object, the deputy director set out to escape.
***
I comfortably lay down on the bed within my containment room at the Central Research Institute, gathering my thoughts.
While going around with the detectives, I had learned a few things.
In fact, I couldn’t resist sneaking a peek at their report.
At first glance, it had the same atmosphere of ‘Detectives who have infiltrated an evil organization with a very important purpose!’ plot. So, I couldn’t help but get curious.
The contents of the report were quite shocking, even for me, who had previously worked at another research institute.
It detailed the concealment of an Object that was reported to have been killed.
On top of that, that Object was a dangerous creature called The Hungry Ghost.
They also seemed to have manipulated statistics by transferring out people who had died within the research institute.
In particular, they seemed to have used people with uncertain identities as temporary employees. So that even if they were to die, their records would be destroyed.
It was a major incident that could lead to the disbandment of the Central Research Institute if the detective’s report was made public.
So this time, I decided to lend a hand to the righteous detectives.
The crux of the detectives’ concerns lay in the existence of ‘The Hungry Ghost’.
So, If I could deal with the Hungry Ghost, most of their problems would be solved.
The detectives would benefit, as they were waiting for a chance to escape safely.
Meanwhile, if the Central Research Institute were to collapse, I would be able to take the ghost cat and the piano-playing lizard with me to the Sehee Research Institute, which was a huge benefit!
A win-win scenario where everyone is happy!
That was why I was lying comfortably on the bed prepared by the Central Research Institute while waiting for the Hungry Ghost to be released.
Judging from the commotion around the institute, I felt like I would soon be able to face it.
***
I crossed the hallway with my junior and kicked the door to the director’s office.
Inside, there was a man quietly scribbling down a report.
No, it was an Object.
A human-shaped Object.
My junior, panting heavily, followed me into the director’s office and gently closed the door.
“Senior, is that person really an Object?”
“Yeah, it’s definitely an Object.”
The man I saw through the monocle was clearly an object.
Officially, the position of director of the Central Research Institute had been vacant for the last three decades. Was this the reason?
[As long as the Object is the director, the Research Institute will remain indestructible.]
An indestructible research institute would prove very useful for containing Objects which were notoriously difficult to kill.
In fact, if the research institute which was located in the middle of Seoul was a private research institute, not a national one, there would be a lot of object leaks. That was why they were inevitably driven out to the outskirts of Seoul.
However, if the institute itself were an Object, it could exist in the middle of Seoul, without having any major accidents.
“I don’t see any other Objects. Then, that director is probably the one who is blocking our teleportation.”
“So, what should we do now? Shall we hit it with a hammer?”
Before I knew it, my junior already held a hammer in both hands and looked back at me with a grin.
Just where did she get that big sledgehammer?
“It’s finally here. It’s finally here!”
I whipped my head at the sudden words and saw the director raising his head while shouting.
“You all came here because you needed something, right? If you give me what I need, I will gladly give you what you need.”
The Object in the form of the director smiled at me with a meaningful expression.
The expression on his face looked really happy, but it also made him suspicious.
“Before that, who are you? I don’t do business with someone whose name I don’t know.”
“Oh, I remembered, I have to tell you something. I’m not here. No matter how much you talk, I can’t hear you. This doll is just playing back some recorded movements.”
The conversations simply did not connect.
I couldn’t discern whether it was acting like that on purpose or not… I mean, I couldn’t even read its expression.
“All we have to do is make a deal. Place your wand in my right hand, and I will help you escape this laboratory.”
After saying that, the Object that took the form of the director stopped moving.
“Uh, what should we do, Senior?”
“I don’t know. I have no clue whatsoever. Doing business here might be the right thing to do. But it might also be the wrong thing to do.”
Unfortunately, the heavy vibrations echoing throughout the institute told me I didn’t have much time to think about it.
Before long, the sound of the freed Hungry Ghost going on a rampage and destroying the institute could be heard.
“In this kind of situation, the right thing to do is to just follow our heart.”
After all, the more you worry in such moments, the more you lose.
***
WEE-WOO-WEE-WOO!
I slipped into my phantom form and walked quickly through the chaotic hallway of the Central Research Institute.
Inside the institute, emergency lights were blinking while the panicked employees who seemed to have lost their way were screaming and running away.
Following the sound of the screams, I quickly discovered the source.
It was an Object that could only be found in old newspapers.
In fact, it was a creature that made the public of Korea aware of the existence of Objects.
Even when my opponent was such a famous Object, I still felt quite confident.
After all, I could see my opponent’s weaknesses on top of being immune to physical damage.
However, that confidence shattered like a bubble as soon as I faced the Hungry Ghost in person.
In general, Objects with absurd abilities often felt intimidating.
However, the presence of the Hungry Ghost in front of me loomed larger than life, rivaling even the presence of the imposing Steel Tower.
Was it even an Object that could be killed?
On what basis did I think It would be easy to deal with the Hungry Ghost and dare to even think about taking the lizard and the cat with me?
It would be worth a try if the death conditions were easy, but even those conditions betrayed me.
[Stone made by the Object of Beginning]
Ah, okay. So, this guy is unkillable, huh?
Just what on earth even is this ‘Object of Beginning”?
