Humanity Protection Company

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The New Year had barely begun. The atmosphere, previously unsettled by war, now buzzed with a different kind of excitement. People were still making the mistake of writing last year\'s date.

Though only a few days had passed since the previous year, people were busy making resolutions they\'d never keep, envisioning hopeful futures, and enjoying the New Year\'s spirit as if they\'d become new individuals.

Lee Yeonwoo, too, was greeting the new year.

Not as an investigator, but as a department head.

"Please help the less fortunate. My insurance company went bankrupt overnight. Your attention-"

"Not interested."

Hanging up on the spam call that had come through at the start of the new year, Yeonwoo busily moved his mouse.

Click, click-

Yeonwoo browsed through the company system.

The newly created department, the Gambling Eradication Center that sold dice usage rights, was flooded with requests. So many that scrolling through them seemed endless.

"Research institutes, academic societies, departments... Lots of clubs too. Green Association, artists, demons? Why demons?"

Yeonwoo clutched his head. Had the company done some advertising? Why?

\'Why did I name it the Gambling Eradication Center? To tell people not to gamble with dice. That they\'ll fail or critically fail.\'

It was a name chosen with the hope that they wouldn\'t be given work, that they wouldn\'t receive strange requests.

Contrary to his hopes, work was pouring in.

At that moment, Yoo Ji-yoo peeked her head in discreetly. Her eyes, sparkling with curiosity, quickly scanned Yeonwoo\'s monitor before her pupils dilated.

"There\'s even a doomsday cultist? They\'re asking to roll for the end of the world?"

"That\'s not all."

Yeonwoo moved his mouse quickly. There were a few requests so ridiculous they made him laugh.

"The Green Association wants to move the seeds of the Great Tree, an artist wants to unseal the Association President, and a demon just wants us to roll..."

"Doesn\'t the company screen these?"

The proposals that the company should reject had come through as is.

As Ji-yoo made a face of disbelief, Yeonwoo sighed tiredly.

"They say I should sort them out myself."

Charitably speaking, it was trust. Trust that Yeonwoo would reject any requests that crossed the line. That they were entrusting everything to Yeonwoo.

At that point, the team leader got up. As he was gathering his things to go out somewhere, he casually remarked,

"Looks like they\'re trying to analyze your personality."

"Ah! Right, you said your sister went through something similar."

Hearing that, Ji-yoo, whose sister was a ghost in the Intelligence Department, lit up with an exclamation mark as if remembering something.

"She said that from elite agents on up, they\'re seen as biochemical weapons or weapons of mass destruction, so they analyze and test their personalities in various ways."

Individuals with uncommon destructive power, closer to anomalous entities than people. Living weapons.

Since the fallout wouldn\'t be small if these individuals went berserk, the company always checked and analyzed their mental health through various systems and procedures.

But the ghost of the Intelligence Department had discovered that plan while snooping around classified information as usual, and Yeonwoo learned of the company\'s intentions thanks to the team leader and Ji-yoo.

Yeonwoo took a fresh look at the flood of requests. The annoying workload appeared different.

A test paper handed out by the company.

\'Certainly...\'

All sorts of departments and groups. Requests full of individuality and the different rewards they offered.

It wouldn\'t end with just one or two times, and when enough data accumulated, they could analyze a person. What they preferred, what they avoided, what they wanted.

\'They\'re seeing me as halfway to Danger Level 6, so...\'

It was understandable behavior. And there was nothing uncomfortable about it.

"Then I guess I can choose as I please."

Since he had no hidden intentions he didn\'t want discovered.

\'It\'s not like I\'m a doomsday cultist, or have any grand desires, or strongly held beliefs.\'

Yeonwoo comfortably browsed through the list of requests. Looking only for ones that suited his taste.

Ji-yoo asked,

"Still, it\'s your first task, right? It seems like a meaningful job, what are you going to choose?"

"It\'s simple."

Under Ji-yoo\'s sparkling gaze, Yeonwoo quickly clicked his mouse to reject the nonsensical requests first.

"I\'ll reject the doomsday cultist right away. And anything involving the Association President or the like, I\'ll definitely refuse."

The doomsday cultist was excluded from the groups. As well as requests that looked dangerous.

\'Of course I won\'t do anything involving the Association President. This one\'s scary because of the risk of failure or critical failure. And this one\'s just plain dangerous.\'

After filtering like that, the long list was considerably shortened.

Now he just had to choose a request with a reward that appealed to him. Yeonwoo carefully examined the list.

\'Rewards. What should I choose?\'

Money was the most common, with rare equipment or anomalous entities occasionally offered. Yeonwoo\'s eyes slowly read the words, his mind working busily.

\'This isn\'t helpful, but I kind of want it...\'

At that moment, the team leader finished gathering his car keys and wallet and glanced at the one investigator and the former investigator.

"I\'m heading out on a business trip. Kill some time and then go home."

"Ah, you said you were going to give a lecture, right?"

Ji-yoo poked her head up over the desk partition. The team leader waved his hand dismissively.

"It\'s a pain, but I have to do it."

"Oh."

Ji-yoo let out an indecipherable exclamation.

Like a self-improvement seminar, it was a session where a company employee lectured other employees. Sometimes a researcher would teach anomaly studies at an introductory level, and sometimes a combat agent would share operation stories.

And investigators...

"Just tell a few experiences of how you responded on the fly when encountering unknown anomalous entities, and you get paid."

They shared their survival experiences.

Unlike most researchers or combat agents who worked with some degree of acquired information, the job of investigating unknown anomalous entities.

This kind of know-how was useful to everyone, so the team leader tended to give lectures periodically.

The two of them lightly bowed their heads in place. As their heads disappeared below the partition, farewell greetings floated out.

"Have a safe trip!"

"Yeah."

"Be careful on the-"

"Shut up! If you tell me to be careful, it feels like I\'ll have an accident!"

The team leader grumbled as he left the office.

Ji-yoo fiddled with her hair before returning to her seat to browse the internet, while Yeonwoo carefully selected his first task.

He regained his focus after hearing the team leader\'s words.

\'Survival should be the priority. Don\'t they have any decent equipment? Something that compensates for my weaknesses or enhances my strengths.\'

Something that improved cognitive abilities, enhanced regeneration, or maybe increased luck.

But no one had offered such things as rewards, so Yeonwoo chose the request that looked safest.

[Request for Observation Assistance]

- A group of people wishing for Pluto\'s return as a planet in the solar system.

- Pluto, contaminated by anomalies, has been out of observation for a long time. We wish to observe Pluto using the power of the dice.

- Location...

The location was an isolated observatory, and the reward was simply money. After pressing the accept button, Yeonwoo thought lightly,

\'If it\'s just observation, even a failure or critical failure shouldn\'t be a big problem.\'

And so, the Gambling Eradication Center\'s first task was decided.

---

---

Yeonwoo checked the time and left immediately. Ji-yoo, left alone, waved her hand saying it was fine and to go ahead, and Yeonwoo drove out to the quiet countryside.

After leaving the bustling city behind and driving for quite some time, he reached an isolated plain where not even houses were visible, let alone cars.

Clunk-

As Yeonwoo got out of the car, he surveyed his surroundings.

"There really is nothing here..."

A plain where an observatory might be located. Built in a place without even proper roads to avoid light that would interfere with star observation.

Yeonwoo walked along the snow-covered path. As he trudged through the deep snow to reach the main entrance, he was greeted by a closed iron gate and a security guard.

"This area is off-limits except to authorized personnel."

"Ah. I\'m here from the company."

"Huh? We don\'t have any visits scheduled for today."

"I\'m Yeonwoo from the Gambling Eradication Center. Please check with those inside."

Yeonwoo showed his newly made ID. The security guard, holding a taser gun and radio, looked flustered as he called inside.

Yeonwoo stood still for a moment before a strange thought suddenly struck him. A subtle sense of discomfort he only now noticed.

\'...What is it that connects company employees? Most people just believe you if you say you\'re a company employee.\'

Come to think of it, he couldn\'t recall many instances of people being suspicious when he identified himself as a company employee. Even though someone could disguise themselves, or even take over another\'s body entirely.

"I\'ve confirmed it. Please come in."

As the security guard opened the iron gate with an embarrassed smile, Yeonwoo casually asked,

"Are there cases of people impersonating company employees?"

"Almost never."

The security guard spoke as if making small talk.

"There\'s this superstition. They say if you impersonate a company employee, the company catches you and turns you into a real company employee. So people usually just attack or sneak in instead."

"Ah."

It\'s a world overflowing with anomalies. Not many people would dismiss urban legends as just for fun.

Even Yeonwoo doubted the truth.

\'Isn\'t there really a similar anomalous entity?\'

Seeing Yeonwoo\'s doubtful expression, the security guard laughed.

"It\'s just a superstition. Hostile entities impersonating company employees end up getting caught by the company anyway, so it\'s probably just a strangely distorted urban legend. Now, please go inside."

The security guard stretched out his hand, pointing to a tall building. A path stretched straight to it.

"Yes. Thank you for your hard work."

As Yeonwoo entered, a researcher came running hurriedly to the deserted first floor. Looking a bit disheveled as if he\'d just woken up, the researcher seemed somewhat flustered.

"I didn\'t expect you to come so early."

"I came right away, wanting to get the job done quickly."

And even coming right away, it was already afternoon. As Yeonwoo said that, the researcher blinked.

"But don\'t we need to wait until night to observe stars?"

"...Ah."

He\'d thought that even for an observatory, as a company department, time wouldn\'t matter. Yeonwoo made a foolish expression, and the researcher scratched his head.

"Since you\'re here, why don\'t you take a tour of the observatory? Oh right, would you like to see the alien?"

"Alien?"

Suddenly an alien? Yeonwoo adjusted his bag, checking his equipment. Wariness took precedence over curiosity.

The researcher, oblivious to this, made a complicated expression.

"We have the last survivor of a distant civilization destroyed by anomalies."

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