Humanity Protection Company

Illustrations: None.

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As Lee Yeonwoo entered the shaman\'s house, the world seemed to shift. Halfway up the mountain stood a torii-like[1] red gate, seemingly connected to the shaman\'s dwelling.

The team cautiously surveyed their surroundings. Drawing their pistols, they remained vigilant, eyes scanning in all directions.

Nearby, a large tree adorned with colorful ribbons swayed in the breeze, while a dirt path overgrown with weeds wound its way down the mountain.

From the village below, wisps of smoke from cooking fires lazily drifted skyward.

"Set up the barricades and deploy the drones!"

The club members sprang into action. They unfolded portable barricades to block the path. Some launched drones from boxes, while others began pitching tents.

"Team 3, stay here and guard the passage. How\'s the drone reconnaissance?"

"Approaching now."

"Keep your distance. Zoom in from afar."

The members moved with practiced efficiency, clearly not their first rodeo. Each performed their role like clockwork.

Meanwhile, Yeonwoo stood still, then slowly slipped his hand into his pocket. He felt the eraser.

\'Got my weapon. Got the dice. bag\'s packed. Is the passage still open?\'

Yeonwoo approached the expedition team\'s leader and asked, "Will the passage stay open?"

"It\'ll close soon."

"Then how do we get back?"

The man furrowed his brow, looking annoyed. "We plan to open it from the outside in two weeks. There\'s also a way to open it from this side in emergencies."

"What kind of-"

At that moment, a shout rang out. The member operating the drone zoomed in on the screen and reported, "Visual confirmed! It\'s an old village!"

The leader hurried over to the member, with Yeonwoo following close behind to see the drone footage.

A mountain village lined with thatched and tiled roof houses sprawled before them. People in worn hanboks worked in nearby fields and paddies, while women carried baskets of potatoes towards the rice fields.

It was a peaceful scene, as if they had traveled back in time.

"Any visible anomalies besides this space? Team 1, approach with me. Investigator, you\'re coming too, right?"

"Yes," Yeonwoo nodded curtly. With the eraser, he felt invincible.

The drone had flown across the sky and zoomed in, so the village was actually quite far away.

As they descended the mountain path, the team leader briefed Yeonwoo on precautions. "Watch your behavior and words carefully. This is an isolated space, and we don\'t know what kind of anomalous entities might be here. One wrong move could trigger something unpredictable."

It was a warning to prevent any mishaps from the inexperienced Yeonwoo.

Yeonwoo nodded calmly. "I know how terrifying anomalies can be. I\'ll stay quiet and leave everything to you."

"Good."

After walking for about half an hour, they reached the village. An old man sitting on a nearby bench widened his eyes. "Who are you?"

"Hello. We\'re travelers who got lost in the mountains. Is there a phone here? Our cell phones aren\'t working."

The leader spoke nonchalantly, but the old man just blinked slowly. "I don\'t understand what nonsense you\'re talking about. Just stay right there. I\'ll go fetch the shaman... By the way, is the war outside over?"

"War?"

Hearing their clueless response, the old man frowned. Deep wrinkles etched his face. "The communists! We fled all the way here to escape them!"

"Ah! That ended long ago. South Korea won. Wait, you don\'t know about that?"

"How would we know that in this mountain village? Anyway, wait here."

The old man reacted casually. He stood up, leaning on his cane, and walked deeper into the village.

The leader and Yeonwoo fell silent for a moment. Yeonwoo spoke first. "This is strange. He doesn\'t seem happy or interested in leaving."

"It\'s been a long time, so that could explain it, but he does seem unusually calm. Maybe life here is good enough?"

From the looks of it, they weren\'t starving and seemed to live peacefully. Perhaps they were content enough with their lives here to lose interest in the outside world.

They stood at the village entrance, carefully observing the surroundings. Soon, they saw the shaman approaching with the old man.

The shaman wore a red hat and red robe, decorated with blue and yellow ribbons, and carried a fan. With each step, bells jingled.

"We have guests."

A sharp voice. A deathly pale face with blood-red lips.

The figure most likely to be an anomaly had appeared. The leader tensed inwardly but outwardly maintained a guileless smile. "Yes. Could we borrow a phone perhaps? We\'re lost-"

"Lost? You?"

"..."

The shaman\'s piercing eyes met the leader\'s guarded gaze. Though the shaman merely glared, the members subtly shifted, ready to draw their guns if necessary.

The leader\'s mind raced. \'Should we subdue the shaman first? No, fighting like this would only put us at a disadvantage. Better to negotiate-\'

The shaman suddenly laughed, their mouth stretching to their ears. "Such esteemed guests mustn\'t be slighted. Follow me."

The bells jingled as the shaman waved their fan. A person emerged from a side door of the shrine to guide the guests to an empty house.

---

---

Night fell.

The members roamed the village gathering information, communicating with those at the red gate via transceivers, and analyzing the data.

"Whether it\'s a legend or some pseudo-shamanic practice doesn\'t matter. What\'s important is the anomaly itself."

"It\'s unclear if the \'god\' they worship is the anomaly, or if it\'s the shaman, or something else entirely..."

They analyzed the local anomaly based on their experience and knowledge.

Yeonwoo crouched quietly in a corner, rolling the eraser in his pocket. \'Boring.\'

While the club members systematically investigated, their approach differed from Yeonwoo\'s experiences. It was slow.

Though safer, Yeonwoo, accustomed to constant chaos, felt restless. \'Maybe it\'d be better if everything just blew up... No, that\'s not right. Or is it? Should I just swing the eraser around? No. Or should I? Would it be dangerous?\'

Thoughts that would horrify the members if they knew. The members remained engrossed in their own discussions.

"Offering death, god of the Samdo River, it seems related to death somehow."

"Right. From what I\'ve gathered, this village has an unnaturally low mortality rate. All deaths are from natural causes in the elderly."

An impossibility for such an isolated village with no medical professionals.

"There\'s no infant mortality either. They say it\'s because they offer death."

"Sounds promising."

The leader rubbed his hands together. This could be profitable. "We could sell longevity for a high price."

He glanced at Yeonwoo, who stared blankly into space, looking utterly disinterested. "Not interested in longevity? I heard investigators like this kind of thing."

"I\'m not interested."

There\'s rainwater. No need to rely on such suspicious rituals for longevity.

Genuinely bored, Yeonwoo heaved a deep sigh. \'Might as well sleep. They said they\'d take the night watch.\'

And so, the day of the feast arrived.

---

[1. traditional Japanese gate found at a Shinto shrine]

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