NOVEL NEXT ??? POV:
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A dim red light flickered in the eerie factory corridor. There stood steel columns that looked like well-greased rib bones.
"Huff, huff."
Although the scenery was no different from when I entered the factory, the breath rising to my chin and the uneasy feeling made all the structures in the factory look frightening.
The more I ran, the more I gasped for air. My stomach churned, and my chest felt stuffy. The narrow space of the factory corridor seemed to close in on me with each step I took, as if the walls were trying to trap me.
On top of that, the unpleasant smell of petroleum wafting from deep inside the factory. It was a common smell in factories, which I had dismissed lightly, but I shouldn't have.
That petroleum smell was evidence that this factory was contaminated by something unusual.
I tossed my once trusty Anti-Object Suppression Shield to the ground.
I needed the ability to run faster and longer rather than relying on that puny shield.
"I shouldn't have taken that suspicious foreigner's request."
At the time of taking the request, he was an eccentric person who promised a large reward, but now that I think about it, he was a suspicious person wearing strange clothes.
The lonely echoing footsteps made me feel to the bone that I was alone. All my colleagues who had stood shoulder to shoulder with me had fallen.
In my memory, their last faces were distorted with fear and agony.
After passing through the narrow factory corridor, the parking lot came into my view. Beyond the parking lot, it beckoned me like a shimmering mirage.
Finally!
Escape was within reach.
If I just pass through that parking lot...
If I pass through the parking lot, I can escape.
Because the Object occupying this pudding factory strangely didn't try to leave the factory premises.
Hope welled up in my heart, and I began to believe in my escape.
I firmly resolved that once I got out of here, I would never do any dangerous 'Object Retrieval' work again.
But my hopeful plan vanished like a bubble before I could put it into action.
"Ha...hahahahaha."
A dry, bitter laugh burst from my parched lips.
The hollow laughter that was hard to imagine coming from my mouth echoed through the vast parking lot.
In the center of the parking lot, it was there.
One of the Objects occupying the pudding factory.
A huge 2-meter-tall teddy bear made of steel.
And a monster that didn't match any of the prior information.
The teddy bear moved its strangely unpleasant face and grunted as if laughing like a human.
Was it not that I had successfully escaped, but rather that the creature had been toying with me?
Judging by the teddy bear's attitude, it seemed so.
The legs that had moved powerfully driven by hope of survival and adrenaline were now pinned to the ground by the gravity of despair.
Having lost the strength and energy to flee from the desperate reality, I sank down onto the asphalt.
As my eyes met the teddy bear's eyes while sitting on the ground, its pupils flashed a fierce red light.
As if reacting that prey without any thought of fleeing was no fun.
The fierce-looking Object instantly dashed over and casually threw a steel punch at my head, having exhausted the usefulness of me as a toy.
At the same time, endless darkness swallowed me up.
***
??? POV:
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A man with black hair, blue eyes, and a height over 190cm was looking down at the smart watch strapped to his wrist.
"It's dangerous. Very dangerous. In this amount of time, it is likely that all the 'Object Retrieval' specialists who would have abandoned us and fled have been killed"
"You speak Korean well! Why did you need an interpreter like me if that's the case? Why?"
An angry-looking Korean man shouted.
The foreign man calmly replied, "Well, I'm a genius. It only takes me a day to pick up an unfamiliar language."
"That's not what I mean! If you speak Korean so well, why did you hire me as an interpreter?"
The exasperated interpreter pounded his chest.
The foreign man waved his finger side to side as he answered, "This isn't tourism, it's business, sir interpreter. When doing business, it's only proper to have a proficient local interpreter by your side."
The interpreter sat down on the floor with a despairing expression.
"I shouldn't have taken this job. I should have been suspicious when my employer dressed suspiciously."
"Don't be so disheartened. And from now on, avoid any suspicious interpreter requests that offer to pay a large salary upfront."
The foreign man patted the interpreter's shoulder with a serious expression.
As the interpreter said, the foreign man's attire was peculiar - a stylish pair of sunglasses on his head, a full-body swimsuit-like outfit covering him from head to toe, and a smart watch.
"And to call the versatile outfit designed by this genius 'James' suspicious is too much. I had it specially made to come to the dangerous Korea, you know? The design is perfect, from its appearance to its anti-Object defensive capabilities."
James grabbed the interpreter's shoulders and pulled him up to stand.
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"Don't be so disheartened. As your employer, I plan to take full responsibility. You weren't hired as a bodyguard, so you won't die before I do."
James said with a refreshing laugh to the interpreter.
Of course, it wasn't very reassuring since they both had a high chance of dying in this situation.
---
Reaper (MC) POV:
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I rolled around on the car's backseat camping mat installed by Yerin for long-distance travel. It wasn't as soft as a bed, but it was comfortable enough.
Satisfied with the cozy space stocked with plenty of bread and snacks. No pudding, of course - Now there's only one kind of pudding I'll eat!
I was currently riding in Yerin's car, heading towards a factory located near the sea in Incheon.
Truth be told, I had planned to leave alone, but Yerin insisted on coming along.
"Reaper, that factory in Incheon, they're using Objects to produce pudding. The U.S. has already reached the stage where they're using Objects for manufacturing industrial goods. I wonder when our country will be capable of achieving the same?"
While waiting at a red light, Yerin quickly looked up information about the factory.
To me, who had planned to barge into the factory and destroy all the Objects there, this was surprising information.
They make pudding with Objects?
Then I can't just destroy all the Objects, can I?
I had intended to unleash a horde of Golden Reapers driven mad by pudding deprivation, but I guess not.
---
3rd person POV:
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The blonde girl, living a completely nocturnal life, looked up at the sky and said, "Uncle, the red moon has risen."
The girl seemed displeased.
"It's a completely different moon, which is disappointing. There's no gentle warmth like the sun's, no soft embracing sand. It's just there to exist and be observed. Is this the intention of the one who destroyed the red moon?"
The girl turned her gaze from the sky and gently stroked the black hair of the soundly sleeping agent.
The black agent had gone to sleep early to prepare for the busy day ahead tomorrow.
It felt a bit sad that their living schedules had become so different.
Until the red moon rises again and they can stand under the sun, such occurrences would be frequent.
She wanted to recreate the red moon, but the heart that was supposed to guide her had not provided any guidance yet.
It was a rather gloomy night.
---
Reaper (MC) POV:
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The sky feels itchy.
A strange sensation that humans could never feel.
The sky feels itchy?
Lying in the car, looking up at the sky, I could see the cause.
The red moon I had destroyed was floating in the sky.
Cutely small in size, next to the original moon.
I could tell at a glance.
That moon is mine.
It seems to have been created by defeating the red moon, but even though I've destroyed countless Objects, this is the first time something like this has happened.
Not just leaving behind the ability, but some kind of side effect occurring.
"Reaper, big trouble. There are two moons. Could this place become a desert too?"
Yerin also seemed to have just noticed the moon and was making a fuss.
As if trying to get information, Yerin quickly turned on the radio.
[A fiery red moon has appeared in the sky. Currently, experts say that this phenomenon is not limited to a local event like the desertification crisis in Gangseo District]
[If this moon is a harbinger to global desertification, it means that the devastation predicted by numerous scientists due to Objects has become a reality]
[It took about a week to turn an area the size of Gangseo District into a desert, so one can only wonder how long it would take for desertification on a global scale, perhaps 200,000 years]
[We can only hope not to wake up in a desert a week from now.]
Numerous channels were all talking about the 'red moon'.
There seemed to be a prevailing atmosphere of crisis of desertification, but as the owner of the red moon, it sounded like nonsense to me.
I patted Yerin's shoulder, who looked unnecessarily anxious, to reassure her.
*
Perhaps because we left late, it was already deep night when we arrived near the factory.
The area around the factory was crowded with people who looked like personnel.
Is it okay for them to be loitering around like this when the factory is occupied by dangerous Objects?
While Yerin went off to have a pointless conversation with the personnel, I was observing the surroundings of the factory.
There was an unpleasant smell.
The unpleasant smell I had smelled in the desert before.
For some reason, it smelled like I might accidentally unleash the Golden Reapers again this time.