Humanity Protection Company

Illustrations: None.

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Just as Yeonwoo was about to pull the trigger on the groaning Association President, the agent held out a hand to stop him. Yeonwoo\'s red eyes flickered to the agent, who tilted his head slightly, hand to his helmet\'s earpiece.

"Vice Director speaking."

A cold voice crackled through the small speaker.

"Kill all the infected. Make sure it doesn\'t spread outside the factory. Eliminate them thoroughly. Kill the Creating A Better World Association too. This is an attack on the company. Be thorough-ack!"

A thud, then static, followed by the Vice Director\'s scream. Then came the calm voice of a security guard giving orders:

"Disregard that last command. The Vice Director is infected. First unit, evacuate with her. Remaining units, subdue the infected and the Creating A Better World Association."

A pause, then the voice continued with resolve:

"If subduing proves difficult... eliminate them."

Gunfire erupted throughout the factory. Screams and unidentifiable howls pierced through the noise of sprinklers, creating a cacophony of battlefield sounds.

"Is it over?"

Yeonwoo swatted away the hand blocking him. His gun aimed at the Association President as his bloodshot eyes glared.

"Yes. Do as you wish."

The agent stepped back, indicating he wouldn\'t interfere. The Association President opened his mouth, blood trickling out along with what might have been water from the sprinklers or saliva.

"Stop! Don\'t! If you kill me-"

"Shut up. I want to kill you."

Yeonwoo\'s hand trembled slightly as he removed his finger from the trigger. He desperately wanted to shoot, but he had to hold back. That could wait.

Survival came first.

Glancing at the eraser and suppressing his murderous urge, Yeonwoo spoke:

"Hand over the phone."

"If you promise to spare me-"

Bang!

A bullet struck the opposite thigh. The Association President screamed, his body shivering. His face was pale from blood loss, his body temperature dropping from the water.

"If you don\'t want to bleed out, open that app you used earlier and pass it over. No, wait. I could just kill you and take it."

His eyes, infected with the murder disease, gleamed ominously.

The Association President hurriedly pushed the phone towards Yeonwoo, almost throwing it. The device slid across the wet floor, stopping at Yeonwoo\'s feet.

"Agent, please check it."

"Factory management system... So this is how he activated the sprinklers. Doesn\'t seem to be an original feature."

The agent picked up the phone, reporting the situation through his mic while immediately pressing the stop button.

The sprinklers stopped, leaving only a few lingering drops. Yeonwoo carelessly tossed aside his cumbersome umbrella.

Meanwhile, the agent had received some order and began interrogating the Association President.

"Why did you prepare this? Where did you get the murder disease?"

"In case you wouldn\'t help... The plastic surgery machine and oak barrel are our core anomalies. We couldn\'t lose those too."

Sitting in a puddle of blood-tinted water, the Association President muttered weakly.

"I planned to spray it after removing the soldiers\' helmets. But that damn TV..."

"I asked where you got the murder disease."

"It came from the oak barrel..."

Shaking his head as if dizzy, the Association President leaned against the wall and looked up at Yeonwoo with desperate eyes.

"Now please, cure me with that dice..."

Yeonwoo shook his head at the sight of someone clinging to anomalies until the very end.

Compared to company employees who undergo all sorts of experiences and thorough training, his behavior and thought patterns were closer to those of ordinary people. Especially in how he viewed anomalies as if they were magic.

Unable to properly use even a TV, yet talking about using dice and anomalies to change the world.

Then Yeonwoo suddenly realized something.

His red vision. The color of the blood on the floor differed from that of the Association President\'s eyes.

"...You\'re not infected?"

"I took the cure beforehand."

"Cure? Where is it? How much is there? How did you make it?"

As the agent asked urgently, the Association President closed his eyes and spoke in a faint voice:

"Made it with the oak barrel. The recipe... Three mint chocolate cone ice creams, three green tea cone ice creams, three chicken radishes with the broth, five pickles with the brine, two liters of blue ion drink, blend a whole pineapple pizza... Ferment for 3 minutes..."

Yeonwoo and the agent forgot the current situation, shocked by that horrific recipe. They stood dumbfounded, doubting their ears, then looked at each other to confirm they\'d heard correctly.

Yeonwoo, unable to swallow, quickly said:

"That\'s the recipe for the murder disease? Are you trying to sabotage us?"

"It\'s real, it\'s real. So please, hurry and heal me..."

The Association President\'s words trailed off as he lowered his head. His body collapsed sideways onto the broken TV debris. His open eyes stared up at the sprinklers.

The agent shook his head.

"He\'s dead."

"Ah. In that case..."

Yeonwoo fingered the gun\'s trigger, feeling an inexplicable regret.

\'I should have finished him myself- no, what am I thinking? Get a grip. The eraser\'s right there. More importantly, the cure...\'

He secretly observed the agent, who was busy reporting the recipe while gripping the eraser.

"...This is supposedly how to make the cure. What should we do? Yes, understood."

"What did they say?" Yeonwoo asked.

The agent turned, wiping moisture from his gloved hands.

"They want us to try making it for now."

"And how do we get the ingredients?"

"They\'ll send them by drone. We\'re to secure the oak barrel and head to the water tank on the roof."

"The oak barrel...?"

Yeonwoo looked at the agent walking ahead, then beyond him to the center of the factory.

Company employees without armor were rampaging madly, while armored security guards were knocking them out one by one despite taking hits.

\'Is it safer to stay near the eraser?\'

Yeonwoo hurried after the agent.

---

---

It was chaos.

In the factory center where anomalies were being moved, armored security guards and murder disease-infected employees were tangled in a messy brawl.

"Get a hold of yourself!"

"Shut up! I\'ve always hated how you just stand there criticizing without helping! Die!"

"No, I just thought it looked dangerous-"

"Dieeee!"

An employee who had been moving anomalies lunged at a security guard, swinging wildly. But his fists only tore against the guard\'s solid armor.

The guard endured the blows patiently, then suddenly thrust out his fist. It struck the employee\'s philtrum precisely.

Bwuck-!

The employee staggered backward. He slipped on the wet floor and fell backwards. The plastic surgery machine stood where he was falling.

"No!"

The guard reached out desperately, but the pink capsule-shaped machine opened on its own faster than he could react. The employee fell inside.

Bang!

The capsule closed. The guard pounded on it with his fists, but once shut, it wouldn\'t reopen. Instead, a cheerful melody played along with an excited female voice:

Ding ding ding-!

"A completely new you! Transcend human limitations and enjoy the world with a special body!"

Psshh, pink smoke billowed out thickly before the door opened. Even denser smoke emerged. The guard stepped back, aiming his gun at the smoke.

Gulp, the sound of swallowing.

A human shadow was faintly visible through the hazy smoke. As it cleared, the figure became distinct.

"Grrrr."

A monster stood there. Like a werewolf, it was covered in ashy fur with a hunched back. It opened its muzzle wide, drool dripping.

"Damn it..."

Click-

The guard bit his lip as he unlocked the gun\'s safety. Just as the crouched monster was about to pounce-

Swoosh-

The monster\'s upper body vanished. Its lone head and lower body fell and rolled across the floor.

"This is..."

The guard stared blankly at the severed head before hearing footsteps and quickly turning sideways.

Two people approached. A special agent holding an eraser. A man in pajamas dragging his slippers.

People lay collapsed or unconscious along the path they had taken.

"Uh..."

The guard unconsciously stepped back further. The eraser and dice. These were the most dangerous people here. And those red eyes - proof of murder disease infection.

He jumped and aimed his gun.

"Stop! Don\'t move!"

"Okay."

Yeonwoo stopped obediently and raised both hands. Then he gave an awkward smile.

"Could you lower that gun? I keep getting the urge to kill you for my own safety."

"You\'re infected-"

"Orders from above. Help us."

The agent cut off the guard\'s words, pointing to a spot in the factory.

"Carry that oak barrel and follow me. We\'re making the cure."

"Cure? You\'re saying there\'s a cure?"

"Yes."

The guard quickly lowered his gun. As he hurried to lift the oak barrel, he suddenly looked around.

The chaos showed no signs of calming.

"But how do we break through? There are quite a few infected."

"About that..."

The agent looked at Yeonwoo. The guard followed his gaze warily, overhearing Yeonwoo\'s mumbling.

"Slip, ankle fracture, faint, sleep, sensory loss..."

The dice began to roll, targeting the infected.