Humanity Protection Company

Illustrations: None.

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"Even if the memory eraser works..."

The squad leader stroked his helmet as the infected huddled in a corner of the factory. I told him the memory eraser was medicine, but his voice sounded strained.

"Memory erasers are always in short supply... We won\'t have enough for this. We\'ll have to try other methods first."

There wasn\'t enough to carelessly administer memory erasers. The company would use various devices or other experts instead of wasting scarce resources.

"I was just letting you know."

Lee Yeonwoo nodded casually. At least he had enough for himself. Just one sip would do the trick.

"More importantly, when will company support-"

Beep-beep-

The helmet\'s enhanced reality UI flashed. The squad leader spun towards the factory\'s main entrance.

"They\'ve just entered the grounds. The mental purification specialist was late, so they\'ve only arrived now. Apparently complaining about the timing being off."

"Those specialists are always like that. It\'s not the right season, the weather\'s bad, the stars aren\'t aligned - always full of complaints."

The security guards grumbled but started lazily opening the factory doors.

The iron gates creaked open with a dull noise.

Beyond them, the quarantine unit in protective gear stormed in. Carrying disinfection tools and heavy equipment, they scattered in all directions, shouting at the top of their lungs.

"Move according to plan! Those extracting the murder disease from the water tanks, head to the roof. The rest, start collecting the murder disease sprayed around the factory!"

"Yes sir!"

Whirrr-!

Something like a vacuum cleaner roared to life, sucking up any scattered liquid with a slurp.

The air dried instantly.

Wherever the quarantine unit passed, they left behind a bone-dry factory floor.

Through the now pristine factory entrance, someone resembling a wizard strode in with measured steps.

The person wearing a strange pointed hat and thick robe spoke in an irritated tone:

"For heaven\'s sake, do you think purification just happens by itself? Magic is delicate work. You could\'ve kept all those infected locked up and done this slowly. Why the rush?"

"...The vice president was infected too."

"I saw. Dealt with her first thing. Now, let\'s see the other infected. I\'d like to finish this quickly and get back."

The squad leader looked at Yeonwoo, who was closest. He was infected with the cure, after all.

But Yeonwoo stepped forward briskly, pointing towards the infected gathered in the corner of the factory.

"They\'re gathered over there."

"Hm? They seem docile."

Seeing the people huddled together, sitting politely with hands folded and chatting quietly, they didn\'t look like people with contaminated minds.

"The threats worked well."

"Huh. Then there was no need for me to hurry. No, never mind. Say no more."

The wizard, or whatever they were, rummaged in their robe and pulled out a glass bottle. Tilting the bottle containing what looked like black paint, they began drawing a strange pattern on the factory floor.

At a glance, it was hard to tell what kind of design it was.

"Bring them over one by one. Keep the quarantine unit from interfering. And I can\'t purify them. The conditions aren\'t right. I can\'t connect with that side."

While the guard went to fetch an infected person, Yeonwoo asked probing questions.

"If not purification, then what? Are there any side effects?"

"Oh, don\'t interfere! If I make one mistake, I\'ll have to start drawing from scratch!"

Though he barked angrily, his hand drawing the pattern never wavered. The paint poured steadily, his gestures fluid.

Yeonwoo obediently shut his mouth and stepped back to observe. He could just watch the treatment process directly.

The wizard completed the pattern while taking a few steps, then straightened up.

"It\'s ready."

Immediately, an infected person was pushed into the center of the pattern. Their eyes rolled wildly. Anxious muttering escaped their lips.

"A company wizard? What is this? Are you messing with some other dimension?"

"You wouldn\'t understand even if I explained. Let\'s see, the instructions I need to give..."

The wizard ignored the infected person completely. He pulled out a crumpled paper from his robe and read the printed text on it.

His voice flowed quickly and businesslike, hardly seeming to give genuine caution:

"Warning. Don\'t look at it too long or too deeply. If you\'re not careful, your mind could be devoured whole. Side effects. You may experience persistent feelings of emptiness and anxiety.

This can lead to binge eating, excessive drinking, self-harm... Anyway, no major issues."

"Wait, what are you-!"

"I\'m starting."

Snap-!

He snapped his fingers. At that moment, the infected person\'s mind flew into a strange world.

A pitch-black abyss. They couldn\'t see an inch in front of them, not even themselves. The infected person flailed their limbs in panic, but only felt the sensation of floating, as if in outer space.

- Where am I! What did you do to me! wizard! I\'ll shove that cure down your throat too-!

As the resentful voice echoed,

Slurp-!

Something in the darkness, rough and grating like sandpaper, swept across their mind. It felt like their mind was being torn away. A feeling of emptiness, as if a hole had been punched through their soul.

- Uurgh! My, my mind! Give it back! Don\'t eat it!

Just as the company employee desperately reached out, screaming,

The world returned.

From an unknowable abyss, back to the factory.

"Next."

Yeonwoo watched intently as the wizard gestured dismissively and the company employee collapsed to the ground.

Tears poured down their face as they let out animalistic groans. An indescribable sense of loss from the void in their mind.

"Ah, ah... No. It\'s mine. It\'s my mind."

"Ah, there are so many people. Hurry and clear them out. I need to process the other infected."

"The side effects seem severe..."

"They\'ll be fine after some time passes. Or should I not treat them?"

Grabbed by the guard\'s hand, they were dragged away like a sack.

It was similar for the others afterwards. After treatment, they cried, fell asleep, or went berserk. In severe cases, they couldn\'t move their arms or became vegetative.

Yeonwoo, who had been watching this whole process, quietly backed away. No matter how you looked at it, the side effects were too strong.

\'This is treatment?\'

It was no different from cutting off an arm because the finger got dirty. It would be better to drink the memory eraser.

Yeonwoo took out the memory eraser from his bag and looked at the agent.

"This helmet records everything, right? After I drink this, show me the recording."

"...Yes."

After taking several deep breaths, Yeonwoo took a small sip of the memory eraser. The tasteless and odorless liquid disappeared on his tongue, and his memories evaporated. Yeonwoo\'s eyes grew unfocused, as if drowsy. Then, a few seconds later, his eyes snapped wide open.

His pupils extremely dilated.

An unfamiliar place, an unfamiliar situation.

"This is..."

He backed away, looking around, retreating towards the factory entrance. Memories quickly replayed in his mind. He dealt with the man at the door and...

Went somewhere with the agent holding the eraser.

"Special Investigator Yeonwoo. How much do you remember?"

"I remember riding on your motorcycle. Did I drink the memory eraser?"

Looking at the memory eraser bottle in his hand, it had decreased a little. Yeonwoo\'s expression turned strange.

\'I voluntarily drank the memory eraser? And where is this, what\'s going on?\'

It was strange that he drank the memory eraser, strange that there was a wizard drawing a magic circle, and strange that company employees were huddled in a corner, wailing.

Seeing Yeonwoo\'s eyes darting about in confusion, the agent said:

"Should I give you the helmet? Everything is recorded here."

"Wait a moment. Has the problem that required me to drink the memory eraser been resolved?"

"Do you feel like feeding something to others or sharing pain with them?"

"No. Why would I do such dangerous things..."

He was fine. The agent nodded his helmet. Then he raised his hand and started to push up his helmet.

"You\'ve been cured. I\'ll give you the helmet."

"No need. Just send the recording to the company information network separately."

The hand lifting the helmet stopped. The agent, pressing the helmet back down firmly, asked quizzically:

"You don\'t need it right away? Won\'t you feel uncomfortable?"

"I can check it in a safe place later."

From Yeonwoo\'s perspective, this was the scene of a major incident. Who knew what other problems might be lurking.

Yeonwoo quickly turned away.

"I\'ll be heading back to my home- no, my home was erased. Anyway, I\'m leaving."

"You didn\'t drive here-"

"I can take a taxi."

"Do you even know where-"

More questions holding him back. Yeonwoo waved his hand dismissively at questions that weren\'t even issues.

"I can check the location information on the utility poles. Goodbye. Please send me the recording."

With that, Yeonwoo made a swift escape. The security guard and agent stood there dumbfounded for a moment before fiddling with their helmets.

The scene was mostly cleaned up.

The security detail prepared to return, and the agent had no reason to stay either.

"I suppose we can part ways now."

"...I\'ll be heading back too."

They left the factory. All that remained were people wailing in pain, quarantine unit members busily recovering the murder disease, and the wizard returning alone.

---

---

Yeonwoo determined his location from the information on the utility poles. He immediately called a taxi and dialed someone. The first person to call in his current situation without a home.

It was Mark Jung, who had come from headquarters and negotiated with Yeonwoo.

"Yes, Special Investigator Yeonwoo."

"That house I was supposed to get last time. Is it ready?"

"We\'ve chosen the building, but things like air conditioning and furniture aren\'t prepared yet. It should all be sorted out in a few days."

Just a few pieces of furniture. With his home erased, there was no time to be picky. Yeonwoo adjusted his grip on the phone and spoke softly.

"That\'s fine. I\'ll move in now. Where is it?"

"It\'s at..."

Mark Jung added the address in a few words. The same city he had lived in before, not far from the Anomaly Investigation Team.

Yeonwoo moved the phone slightly away from his mouth and called out the address to the taxi driver. The taxi driver stepped on the accelerator impassively, and the taxi sped down the road.

"Sir, we\'ve arrived."

"Ah, yes."

Waking up from a brief nap, he had arrived.

Yeonwoo got out, stretching his stiff body, then stopped.

A wide area surrounded by barbed wire. A vast expanse without even a convenience store, let alone neighbors. Mark Jung waved his hand in front of the barbed wire fence.

"You\'re here? Let\'s go in. You\'ll like it. I put my heart and soul into choosing this building."

Creaaaak-

The wire fence opened with an eerie scream. Beyond it was a wide-open space with a single abandoned house standing alone. A place where ghosts might live rather than people.

Yeonwoo rubbed his eyes, wondering if he wasn\'t fully awake, then slowly turned his head to look at Mark Jung.

"...This is my house?"

"Isn\'t it great?"

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