Humanity Protection Company

Illustrations: None.

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A man stood at the bathroom door, and a police officer guarded the front entrance. The other officer was not in sight.

Lee Yeonwoo\'s head swiveled rapidly. He spun in place, scanning the entire studio apartment, climbed the stairs to check the loft, and peered out the window to survey the surrounding streets.

But the missing man was nowhere to be found inside the apartment.

"..."

Yeonwoo tightened his grip on his gun as he pondered. A faint smell of blood hung in the air. If he wasn\'t inside...

"Whatever."

The location of the unknown anomaly didn\'t matter. It was better to escape this enclosed space with few exits. Conveniently, the window was open.

Yeonwoo made a beeline for the fire escape by the window.

The fire escape had been hastily installed after the fight with the Demon of Sloth. No need for additional setup. After securing the belt around his chest, Yeonwoo flung open the window and tossed the rope outside.

The rope unfurled with a whoosh.

Seven floors. A dizzying height. People and streets looked tiny below.

Taking several deep breaths, Yeonwoo checked the support firmly before throwing himself out the window. The support and speed regulator bore his weight as he pushed against the window and wall with both hands to descend.

7th floor, 6th floor, 5th floor... 1st floor.

Having safely reached the ground, Yeonwoo first unfastened and tossed aside the belt, then went to sit on a plastic chair at the convenience store across the street.

\'I\'ll wait it out here until the company arrives.\'

Yeonwoo\'s legs trembled as he ignored the strange looks from passersby.

While Yeonwoo was descending via the fire escape.

Ding!

The apartment building\'s elevator arrived at the 7th floor, and Yeonwoo\'s neighbor stepped out. The neighbor, humming with earphones in, suddenly stopped in his tracks.

A police officer stood in front of the neighboring door, bleeding as he leaned his forehead against it.

The neighbor removed one earphone and cautiously took a step forward.

"Excuse me? Are you alright? You\'re bleeding."

"..."

"Hello? Sir?"

The distance closed with each repeated question. The acrid smell of blood penetrated the mask.

The neighbor gulped. Crouching down, he reached out to tap the officer\'s shoulder when suddenly—

Snap!

The officer abruptly stretched out his hand and firmly grasped the neighbor\'s wrist.

"Ack!"

"..."

The grip was like a vise. The officer opened the door and shoved the neighbor inside. The neighbor lost his balance and tumbled past the entryway.

Crash!

"Aah! What are you—"

The neighbor\'s mouth clamped shut between sneakers and slippers.

He looked up at the officer standing in the doorway. Eyes peering down at the neighbor from a slightly bowed head that had been leaning against the door. Lifeless eyes like those of a dead fish.

Thud—

The officer from outside took a step forward, and the two officers\' bowed heads filled the neighbor\'s vision.

"W-why are you doing this to me?"

A voice tinged with tears. The neighbor frantically reached out to brace himself against the shoes and entryway floor, raising his upper body, but it was too late.

The officer grasped the doorknob.

Slam!

The door closed.

---

---

"Yes, Team Leader. I\'ve come outside now. When will backup arrive?"

- Ah. I\'ve sent out the call, and they\'re gathering the spatial containment equipment before departing. Should be here in 20 minutes.

"20 minutes..."

The time it would take for the special forces to mobilize and arrive. Not exactly a short wait, but an eternity for someone caught up in an anomalous phenomenon.

Yeonwoo was about to speak when his mouth snapped shut again.

"..."

Across from the convenience store, in front of the apartment building\'s glass doors, stood a man.

\'He came down.\'

A chill ran down Yeonwoo\'s spine. He jumped to his feet and scanned his surroundings. After checking front and sides, he turned around—

"Ugh!"

His neighbor, standing uncomfortably close behind him, filled his vision. Beyond the neighbor, Yeonwoo saw police officers leaning against both doors of the convenience store.

Thud!

Startled, he stumbled backwards and slammed into a convenience store table. The table screeched as it was forcefully shoved. The trash on top of it rattled.

"Who—ah."

Yeonwoo, suppressing his pounding heart, examined his neighbor closely and realized he too had fallen victim to the anomaly.

\'Emotionless eyes, slightly bowed head. And this feeling. That anomalous entity got to him. But why isn\'t he by the door?\'

There was no time for detailed analysis. The situation wasn\'t waiting for Yeonwoo or company backup.

Lunchtime, with the sun climbing towards its zenith. People passing on the street.

Yeonwoo\'s pupils constricted.

"Lunch? Just grab a quick boxed meal. Excuse me, coming through."

"I\'ll feed the dog and be right down."

"I\'ll come with you! I want to see the puppy too."

People entering the convenience store while focused on video calls, college students chatting as they entered the apartment building. The anomalous entity advancing towards the wide-open doors.

Before he could even warn them, the doors closed. The anomaly would multiply.

Simultaneously, the neighbor in front of Yeonwoo suddenly reached out. Fingers splayed to grab his hair.

"Shi—!"

The reaction was instantaneous. Yeonwoo let out a cry as he swung his bag vertically upwards. Not just his arm, but his wrist too bent for the swing. The heavy, solid bag struck the neighbor\'s chin.

Whack!

A solid hit. The neighbor fell backwards.

Yeonwoo hurriedly fled to the street and rummaged frantically through his bag.

\'Something I can use now...\'

The gun was useless. Physical removal was nearly impossible. So then—

Swish—

A red cord emerged from the bag. Yeonwoo unraveled it and gripped it in both hands. His hands tensed with determination.

\'Let\'s tie them up.\'

Whether doors open or not, they can\'t pass through if they can\'t move, right?

Eyes gleaming, Yeonwoo approached his neighbor lying motionless on the ground. A few steps away, he muttered softly.

"I don\'t know what kind of anomaly you are. But stay put. If you resist now, next comes the chainsaw. You know what\'ll happen to your arms and legs, right? And if you resist that, I\'ll use even harsher methods."

"..."

The anomalous entity remained motionless. It simply lay there in silence, head slightly bowed.

\'It might move.\'

Tense, Yeonwoo began by binding its ankles, then its wrists, and finally secured the end to a utility pole like a dog leash, pulled taut.

Fortunately, there was no resistance or movement, so the rest was just a repetition of the same process. Binding everyone standing by the doors.

The unfamiliar man, the two police officers, the neighbor, the people in the convenience store, even the two college students—all of them.

"Done."

After tying the final knot tight, Yeonwoo surveyed the street.

The anomalous entities were firmly restrained not just at their joints, but also tied to trees, utility poles, and street lamps.

And at a distance, people warily eyeing Yeonwoo. Some pretending not to notice while filming with their cameras, others calling the police.

"What\'s he doing? Filming something?"

"No idea. Better call the police just in case."

"Isn\'t it some kind of filming? Those people are staying so still."

Yeonwoo hesitated before drawing his gun.

\'I tied them up, but it\'s not foolproof.\'

He had to prevent further multiplication here. If their numbers grew uncontrollably after they\'d already moved to attack directly...

\'The dice are my only option.\'

Better not to take such a dangerous gamble.

Bang!

A gunshot rang out. The onlookers gasped in admiration, but when a second shot shattered a streetlight, they finally screamed and fled.

The street emptied in an instant.

Yeonwoo sat in a convenience store chair and checked his phone. The 20 minutes the Team Leader mentioned were nearly up.

"When\'s that backup coming?"

Just then.

Whoosh—a sound like tearing air echoed from the sky.

Yeonwoo looked up.

A massive transport plane was flying low. It dropped something rectangular. The object cast a growing shadow as it plummeted towards them.

"What the—!"

Who drops things without warning?

Yeonwoo scrambled to press himself against a building wall. He felt the black container crash into the center of the road with his entire body.

Boom!

The container smashed into the asphalt road. The shockwave hit him full force. His ears rang, the vibrations reverberating through his organs. Flying debris grazed and scratched his cheeks.

Clang!

The container doors burst open, sending up clouds of dust. Combat troops in black battle suits poured out. Their squad leader at the front shouted:

"Move out! Target is an unidentified anomalous entity..."

The squad leader\'s confident shout trailed off. The charging troops stopped in their tracks, looking around in bewilderment.

People tied up with cords.

Yeonwoo approached them with relief. The troops instinctively aimed their weapons—strange-looking guns—at him.

Yeonwoo raised his hands and said:

"I\'m Investigator Yeonwoo. I made the report. I\'ve restrained them with cords for now, please handle it properly."

"Ah. You\'ve already responded..."

"Those things were teleporting, so I\'m not sure if I\'ve properly restrained them."

After a moment of silence, the squad leader gestured.

"Throw them in the container."

"Yes sir!"

The troops bustled about, roughly tossing the anomalous entities into the container. They handled them like objects, not people.

The squad leader in the black helmet stood by the container watching his troops. Once all the anomalies were loaded, he turned to Yeonwoo.

"Good work. Thanks to you, the operation proceeded smoothly."

"Are you sure they\'re properly contained?"

It seemed like they\'d just thrown them into a container. Yeonwoo shifted nervously as he asked. The squad leader answered matter-of-factly:

"It\'s a spatial containment container. They can\'t escape from inside."

Yeonwoo relaxed, letting his arms fall to his sides.