Humanity Protection Company

TL/Editor: raei

Schedule: 5/week

Illustrations: None.

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Where the dragon had flown off.

Amidst the strong wind that ruffled their hair and clothes, the employee thought.

‘That dragon may be a bit off in the head, but it never lies.’

Despite discriminating by scale color, it was an anomaly that only hated other dragons.

It liked to teach humans, calling them the burden of dragons, and was thus friendly to the company.

A disaster that had come with ill intentions.

Without hesitation, he pressed the red emergency button firmly with his thumb.

“…Investigation Team Leader. Investigator. I’ve sent an emergency signal. Stay still if you don’t want to be shot by the security team. We’ll release you after the investigation.”

His eyes were sharp, a stark contrast to his previously subservient demeanor.

Lee Yeonwoo let out a bitter laugh. The energy he gained from the rainwater seemed to drain away.

‘How did things go so wrong?’

They had managed to get this far inside, only to be exposed by a racist dragon. He hadn’t seen it coming at all. This company’s security measures were truly strange.

Eventually, Yeonwoo gave up and squatted down in place.

‘Somehow, I’ll manage the aftermath. I haven’t actually caused any trouble. I have connections in the Intelligence Department.’

Yeonwoo gestured towards a cloud cat that had approached. The cat, made of pitch-black storm clouds, slowly wagged its tail and came closer.

When Yeonwoo petted the fluffy body, the cloud cat let out a small thunderous purr.

“Rumble.”

His hand, stroking the moist body, became damp. As Yeonwoo carefully squeezed the cloud cat, water flowed down like rain. The cloud, having shed its water, turned gray.

While Yeonwoo was playing with the cat.

The team leader quietly stared at the spot where the dragon had been, then slowly turned his head to glare at the employee.

“You. Are you out of your mind?”

His eyes were steely, his voice heavy.

The employee was about to speak, showing the emergency button, but the team leader reached out, grabbed the employee by the collar, and yanked him forward.

Because the team leader was a bit short, the employee’s head was pulled down.

"Urrung!"

Frightened by the menacing atmosphere, the cat ran away. Yeonwoo stood up and hurried over to the team leader.

“Team leader.”

His steps stopped. He wanted to say it was okay, that there was no need to go this far, but the look in the team leader’s eyes was alarming.

The team leader shook the confused employee’s collar back and forth. The employee’s head bobbed weakly.

“What the hell are you doing-”

“Who are you? A lackey? You pressed the emergency button just because an anomaly said something? If it tells you to die, will you die? If it tells you to release someone, will you do it? If it tells you to kill someone, will you?”

"That’s not-"

The employee, flustered, stubbornly shut his mouth.

Then, he swatted away the team leader’s hand and said,

"That dragon is classified as green. It's a friendly entity. There’s no reason not to trust it!"

“Bullsh*t. You trust anomalies?”

“You’ve got anomalies under you, too! Parent Detector!”

“My guys are human. And I’m the leader of the investigation team.”

The team leader snorted and pulled a button from his pocket.

The employee’s eyes widened in shock when he saw it.

It was the button to call the Extermination Team.

During an anomaly inspection, if the department was deemed to be under anomaly control, it was used to request suppression or destruction of the department—a notoriously dreaded button.

Click-!

The button was pressed. The team leader grinned fiercely.

“Let’s see how this turns out.”

Yeonwoo’s business was now secondary.

The team leader decided to thoroughly inspect the Anomaly Research Society, remaining true to his original job.

A society that lived with cute, beautiful, and grand anomalies, but had become mentally lax.

The employee gaped, then clenched his teeth.

“Go ahead! Let’s see who’s at fault-”

“Ahem.”

At that point, Yeonwoo intervened. His eyes sparkled as he subtly suggested to the team leader,

“Let’s continue the inspection? We don’t know what else might be hidden.”

A suggestion to move in search of the North Wind and Sun.

The team leader wore a momentarily ambiguous expression, glanced at Yeonwoo, and then turned to speak.

“Now? With the emergency button pressed, everything is probably contained. The elevator must be shut down too. We should wait until the Extermination Team arrives and then thoroughly search every corner.”

It would be impossible for two investigators to search the department without the Extermination Team. They couldn’t fight the armed security team.

But Yeonwoo calmly shook his head.

“The justification is on our side. And as for the containment…”

Yeonwoo dug through his heavy bag while looking at the employee. The bag bulged and squirmed with his movements.

‘Not the mini chainsaw, not the hammer, not the drill, not the cutter, not the blowtorch, not the stun gun, not the handgun... Ah, found it.’

Out of the bag emerged a hand holding a water gun. Yeonwoo pointed the water gun at the employee’s head.

The employee wore a confused expression, as if wondering what Yeonwoo intended to do with a water gun. Yeonwoo explained.

“It’s filled with a hair loss drug.”

“Medication for treating hair loss? I don’t have hair loss.”

“It causes hair loss. Cooperate if you don’t want to go bald.”

“Why would that be a medication….”

The water gun moved closer. The employee’s face turned pale. He looked at the bag with trembling eyes.

“What are you carrying around?”

“Will you cooperate or not?”

The water gun grazed his forehead and pressed against his crown. The employee closed his eyes tightly, his face changing expressions rapidly as he thought.

Suddenly, he opened his eyes wide.

“I’ll cooperate.”

---

---

The employee changed his attitude and guided them to a place in the field.

“This second basement level is a sort of pocket dimension created with the company’s core technology. Naturally, both the elevator and the emergency exit are Spatial Transport Device.”

The team leader stomped along, barely listening, while Yeonwoo tilted his head in curiosity.

‘Is this technology used in the ark or the last shelters?’

With such thoughts, they arrived at a door standing alone in the middle of the field. The dark wooden door was firmly in place, covered in dust.

The employee stood in front of the door.

“This door leads to the third basement level.”

“…What’s on the third basement level?”

Yeonwoo reached out for the rusty doorknob but stopped to ask. The employee answered nonchalantly.

“There are unrealistic creatures.”

“Are they dangerous?”

“Is there any anomaly that isn’t dangerous? Electric snakes, blue flames, cloud cats. They all look cute, but actually-”

Instead of answering directly, the employee circled around.

Swish-

Yeonwoo frowned and aimed the water gun. He lightly pulled the trigger. Rainwater dripped from the tip. Yeonwoo silently pressured the employee with his gaze.

The employee looked at Yeonwoo with a stiff face and then spoke.

“Third basement level. Red Zone. It’s where we contain unrealistic creatures with a hostility rating of Red or Orange. Of course, it’s dangerous.”

With that, Yeonwoo gave a brief nod.

“You open the door and go in first-”

“Enough, why are you so scared?”

The team leader stepped forward, grabbed the doorknob, and turned it. The rusty latch screamed as the door opened. The three of them looked through the widening gap.

The door opened. Beyond the door was another world.

A gloomy corridor lit by red lights. A hallway made of black-painted steel. Countless doors densely packed along the long corridor, resembling a research facility.

He didn't want to take a step inside.

But the team leader crossed the threshold without hesitation.

“Emergency containment's been activated anyway.”

Yeonwoo hesitated, then prodded the employee with the water gun. The employee cautiously followed the team leader, and Yeonwoo was the last to cross the door.

Thus, they arrived at the third basement level, the Red Zone.

“….”

Yeonwoo rolled his eyes, taking in his surroundings.

A long, wide hallway with steel doors lined up on either side.

On each steel door, there were unrecognizable characters. They looked like passwords: QJF20!@, skan20@@, alfo21)). The font and size were all the same, with no distinguishing marks.

There was no way to predict what lay beyond each door.

The employee spoke.

“I don’t know what’s in here. I don’t know how to open the emergency containment either.”

While Yeonwoo squinted, deep in thought,

Creak—

The sound of a door opening echoed. Both the employee and Yeonwoo quickly turned their heads. At the end of their gaze was the team leader.

Frowning, the team leader had opened one of the doors.

“These bastards. They didn’t even do the emergency containment? No, this wasn’t even contained in the first place.”

A room supposedly containing a Red or Orange-level anomaly opened just by turning the doorknob?

The team leader muttered softly.

“Maybe they are being controlled by an anomaly?”

“That can’t be.”

The employee frantically pulled out the emergency button, pressing it repeatedly.

Nothing changed. It was unclear whether the emergency containment had already ended or if the containment protocol had been ignored entirely.

Even under the red lighting, the employee's face turned pale.

‘I thought it was fine to guide them because the emergency containment was over…!’

But thinking about it, if the emergency containment had ended, they should have been able to use the emergency exit.

Something was seriously wrong.

The same thought flashed through all three of their minds. A chill ran down their spines. Goosebumps rose on their skin. In the blood-red light, they fell silent.