Humanity Protection Company

TL/Editor: raei

Status: 5/week mon-fri

Illustrations: posted in discord

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Something felt off from the moment Yeonwoo woke up that morning. An unsettling feeling, a sense of unease, clung to him as he forced himself awake. It refused to let go.

"What's going on?" Yeonwoo muttered, his eyes glinting sharply as he paced around the cramped room. Any trace of sleepiness had vanished.

It felt like taking off a mask he'd worn for years, or suddenly finding himself without clothes he always wore. Like the legs of a chair or bed he'd been sitting on had suddenly snapped.

More accurately, it felt like he'd lost his bulletproof vest. Like something that had been protecting him was gone, leaving him exposed to danger.

Yeonwoo frantically searched the room, unable to pinpoint the source of this feeling. He wrung his hands, messed up his hair, and even checked his gun.

A knock at the door made him whip his head around. The team leader walked in.

"Oh, Yeonwoo. You weren't at work, so I thought-"

The team leader stopped short as their eyes met. Yeonwoo's hair was matted from not washing, his eyes glassy and devoid of emotion. His body fidgeted restlessly.

Normally, the team leader would have been concerned. But instead, he instinctively took a step back.

This felt wrong. Like facing a dangerous anomaly wearing a human disguise.

Yeonwoo let out a short gasp. Had that much time passed already?

"I'm sorry. I lost something and got caught up looking for it. I didn't realize how late it was."

As soon as the words left his mouth, a thought struck him. 'Why am I apologizing? I'm not even part of the investigation team anymore.'

Yeonwoo's face went blank, like a mannequin's. His mind raced.

'Ah. The team leader. He's the landlord.'

Someone who provided shelter-like safety. And the head of the investigation department too. Creating conflict would only cause problems.

Yeonwoo forced an awkward smile. "I'll just wash up quickly and head out."

The team leader reacted instinctively, drawing on years of experience as a veteran investigator. His hand moved behind his back, touching the folded property contract in his back pocket—ready to exert his rights as the landowner against an anomaly.

Yeonwoo's eyes rolled, following the team leader's hand.

A tense silence fell. The two stared at each other, unblinking, breathing steadily as usual.

Just then, the sound of shuffling footsteps approached. It was Ji-yoo. Her blank face popped up over the team leader's shoulder.

"Is Yeonwoo here? Oh, there you are. Yeonwoo, you've got a letter."

"A letter?"

Yeonwoo's eyes rolled again, but he kept the team leader in his peripheral vision.

The team leader remained on edge. Something was off. The person before him wasn't the Yeonwoo he knew.

'Has he been replaced? Is his mind being controlled?'

The easiest way to find out would be to use the property contract, but he couldn't bring himself to speak. The moment he demanded Yeonwoo reveal his true identity, danger would strike.

Ji-yoo reached out from behind the team leader's shoulder. A white envelope fluttered in her hand.

Yeonwoo stretched out his arm to take it, keeping the envelope low as he tore it open. He pulled out a mostly blank sheet of paper.

His eyes were drawn to the letter. His pupils dilated.

- Human Qualification Certificate Cancellation Notice

Name: Lee Yeonwoo

As this certificate can no longer guarantee that you are human, we hereby notify you of the cancellation of your human qualification.

"Did you oversleep? That's unlike you. You're always the first one here. Did something happen yesterday? The atmosphere feels a bit different."

Ji-yoo tilted her head, studying him curiously, but Yeonwoo barely registered her words. His mind was consumed by the text on the paper.

The next moment, Yeonwoo let out a scream and jumped in place.

"My Human Qualification Certificate!"

The ultimate tool for protecting his sense of self. His means of leveling up the dice to Level 6. It had been cancelled! No wonder he'd felt so uneasy!

He was no longer aware of the team leader's wariness or Ji-yoo's curious gaze. Yeonwoo frantically dumped out his bag.

"Is it really gone?"

A jumble of items clattered to the floor. Guns, fluorescent vests, ammo boxes, bandages, emergency rations, lighters, drills, chainsaws, first aid kits, tents, blankets, and more.

The mess spread across the room, but no matter how much he searched through the pile, the Human Qualification Certificate was nowhere to be found.

It had truly vanished. As suddenly as it had appeared, it was gone.

The team leader and Ji-yoo took a few steps back. Yeonwoo was moving like a madman. Ji-yoo picked up the discarded notice.

"Oh."

"Hmm."

They both realized something, though their thoughts differed. Ji-yoo figured it was bound to happen, while the team leader thought the certificate's absence explained the unsettling feeling he'd had.

'Yeonwoo's always been a bit odd. It's not surprising his certificate was cancelled.'

'Does the Human Qualification Certificate have some kind of perception-altering effect? That would explain why he seems like an anomaly now. He does have dice embedded in his head after all.'

Suddenly, Yeonwoo snatched the notice from Ji-yoo. His hands trembled as he read it again.

A spark flashed in his eyes, and his voice took on an eerie quality.

"They're taking what's mine?"

They couldn't guarantee it, so they were cancelling it? Who gave them the right? Some unknown anomaly deciding on its own?

'No. My peace of mind, my safety is more important. You have to guarantee me.'

He couldn't give up the Human Qualification Certificate. Yeonwoo dashed out, still in his pajamas, heading for the office.

The team leader and Ji-yoo were left behind, awkwardly scratching their cheeks and blinking before returning to the office themselves.

"Let's go. Well, it must have meant a lot to him, so it's understandable he'd be upset about it being cancelled."

"His mind was always a bit strange-"

------

The office was filled with the sound of Yeonwoo furiously typing. The investigation team members kept their mouths shut, warily watching him.

Beyond the unsettling sense of wrongness, Yeonwoo's demeanor was alarming. His bloodshot eyes gleamed.

He looked like a survivor who'd had their food stolen in an apocalypse. It wouldn't be surprising if he exploded at any moment.

In reality, Yeonwoo was preparing to torment the Human Qualification Exam. He'd gathered enough information in a short time. The harsh typing stopped.

Click-!

A notepad opened on Yeonwoo's screen. He carefully typed out words.

'Ways to get it back. Steal. Retake the exam.'

Methods for obtaining the resources he needed. Yeonwoo glared at the black text on the white screen.

Stealing would be easy. He could contact Mark Jung and ask him to collect and send Human Qualification Certificates. Then he could roll the dice on the possibility of each certificate being his.

'Retaking the exam would be simple too.'

He could ask the Goldberg Club for help. He'd just gifted them an anomaly that could see death dates, so he could ask for their assistance with the exam in return.

The exam? He could just rely on his survival instinct and guess. It would guide him to the path of not becoming a beast, of surviving as a human.

But that wouldn't do.

Yeonwoo tapped the backspace key, erasing the two words. He muttered quietly.

"These methods won't work."

They were all temporary solutions. The certificate would be cancelled again, or he might lose his eligibility to take the exam. He needed a way to secure the certificate permanently.

Yeonwoo slowly typed out another word. It was simple.

Blackmail.

Yeonwoo stood up abruptly, a computer pen in his hand. He spoke.

"I'm taking the day off today."

"Oh, uh. Sure, take it easy."

Ignoring the awkward farewells and sighs of relief, Yeonwoo returned to his room. He dialed the number for the elderly branch manager of the Korean Goldberg Club.

------

"...You want me to summon the Human Qualification Exam using Golden Omnipotence?"

"I trust you can do this much, given the gift you received," Yeonwoo said, spreading out his computer pen and A4 paper on a folding table. After a moment of silence, a businesslike voice came through the phone.

"Alright. I'll inform the chairman."

The call ended there. Just before it cut off, Yeonwoo caught the old man's worried mutter.

"Is this how people feel when we try to befriend them? It's giving me a headache."

Yeonwoo ignored it and did a final check of his setup. The A4 paper would serve as the exam sheet, he had a writing utensil, and his phone would act as a speaker for the broadcast.

'My senses are at their peak. Good.'

Now he just had to wait for the exam to arrive.

Time ticked by, flowing like water. Yeonwoo's brow furrowed more and more. He was about to call the old man again when—

Ding dong dang dong-

The familiar chime of the Human Qualification Exam, his first encounter with an anomaly, rang out from his phone. Yeonwoo's eyes lit up. He might have felt nostalgic, but he focused solely on his survival instincts.

There was a burst of static, then a voice of poor quality came through.

"The exam will now begin..."

The voice stopped unnaturally. Questions began to appear faintly on the A4 paper, then froze.

As Yeonwoo tilted his head, the broadcast continued.

"This exam has been cancelled. Furthermore, examinee Lee Yeonwoo's eligibility to take the exam has been revoked."

The static from the phone speaker faded. The faint questions on the A4 paper gradually disappeared. Yeonwoo placed his computer pen on top of it with a soft tap.

"I have two ways to end you, you know."

One was to use the company's destruction plans. The other was to roll the possibility of the Human Qualification Exam being abolished. These were his prepared blackmail tactics.

Yeonwoo smiled.

"Issue me a certificate that can block even Level 6 mental contamination. Then I won't destroy you."

A response came back.

"Attention all examinees. As of today, the Human Qualification Exam is abolished. We will return with a new Anomaly Qualification Exam."

Yeonwoo wore a blank expression.

'This isn't what I expected.'

Faced with an impossible demand, the Human Qualification Exam had chosen to change.

---