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The Sehee Research Institute was even noisier than usual today. Something exciting was happening right next to my containment room!

I could’ve easily snuck in and taken a look, but that sounded like so much work! Plus, it kind of felt like a surprise, so I figured I’d just wait and see. Surprises are more fun when you’re not expecting them, right?

The construction noise was so loud, though. It was impossible to even watch TV, so I thought about heading out to the backyard to lounge around. But before I could make my grand escape, I noticed the Golden Reapers playing some kind of weird game.

Plop-! Plop-!

They were zipping around the containment room like little whirlwinds, their hands clamped over their ears.

It all started when one of them saw Yerin covering her ears because of the construction noise, and now it seemed to be the latest trend among them.

They ran around, giggling like it was the best game ever, even though they kept bumping into each other and rolling around on the floor. I couldn’t figure out what was so fun about it, but their laughter was contagious.

These little guys always find a way to make everything fun, don’t they?

So, naturally, I joined in by giving a playful push to the head of one of the Golden Reapers. They stumbled, lost their balance, and rolled around, laughing even harder.

Tch! Seeing them so happy made my heart feel all warm and fuzzy.

Whenever I got bored in the noisy room, I played this little game of nudging the Golden Reapers. And before I knew it, the containment room grew quiet.

Is the construction finally done?

Just as I was wondering, Yerin burst into the room with a huge smile on her face.

“Reaper, it’s finally finished!” Yerin exclaimed, her excitement bubbling over.

Without missing a beat, she slipped her hand under my armpit, lifted me up, and started carrying me away.

*******So, I ended up in this city that looked pretty fancy, considering it was supposed to be a dump not too long ago.

After poking around, I found out that this place used to be a total ruin a few years back. Now it’s a full-blown city with enough buzz to make your head spin.

The guy who turned this place around seems kind of a big deal.

The dude built all this from scratch, just him and an old gas lamp in the middle of the ruins. Now, he’s basically the city’s father.

As I looked around, there were high-rise buildings shooting up everywhere, still wrapped in scaffolding, with the sounds of construction echoing in the air.

The streets were packed, and the restaurants were bursting at the seams with people.

“Not bad, huh?” I muttered, tickling the Golden Horned Reaper perched on my palm. The little guy flinched and giggled like a kid.

The city was more prosperous than I initially thought.

This city was way more alive than I’d expected. I’d heard it was nothing but a wasteland until recently, so I figured it’d be a barren wasteland, but nope—tons of people, and the buildings were bigger and taller than I thought possible.

But you could still tell it was a work in progress. There were construction sites everywhere, with tarps flapping in the wind and the constant racket of building work.

It was noisy, sure, but you could feel the city growing right before your eyes.

“Now, where’s our client hiding?” I wondered aloud, pulling out my phone to check the map. The Reaper peeked at the screen, looking all curious but totally lost.

“We’ve got to walk a little further, got it?”

The Reaper listened, but the map seemed to baffle it, so it just turned to me with that big, bright smile.

So damn cute.

I couldn’t resist stroking its little head, and the Reaper nuzzled against my finger like a happy puppy.

Sometimes, I wondered if it had some kind of mind-corruption ability, but since it didn’t really hurt anyone, I figured it was fine.

As long as I’m happy, who cares, right? And seeing the Reaper all cuddly made me happy, so it’s all good!

Anyway, as I wandered through the city with the Reaper snug in my arms, the vibe started to shift. The lively, bustling atmosphere faded away, replaced by something darker and gloomier.

The bright lights and cheerful noise? Gone. Instead, everything felt depressing and bleak.

The shiny new buildings gave way to bare concrete structures and hastily put-together shacks.

A heavy, dark atmosphere hung over everything, clinging to the buildings like weeds sprouting through cracks in the pavement.

The makeshift buildings cast long shadows over the alleys and streets, even though it was broad daylight.

The walls were covered in graffiti, and the windows were boarded up. It was like stepping into a completely different world.

A slum? In a brand-new city? Weird.

The people passing by didn’t look much better. They had that worn-down, wary look in their eyes. In the corner of an alley, a man sat, staring with a mix of suspicion and hopelessness.

The closer I got to my destination, the more my anxiety ratcheted up. But I kept going, clutching the Reaper’s warmth like a lifeline.

When I finally reached the meeting spot, I saw a kid standing at the end of a narrow, dimly lit alley. His hat was pulled down low, almost like he was trying to hide.

Is this the client?

I strolled over to him, taking in the musty smell of smoke that clung to the air. The kid turned his head as I got closer, and I could tell he was surprised.

I couldn’t see his face clearly, but the way he gawked at my Golden Horns was a dead giveaway.

His eyes, hidden under the brim of his ratty hat, were a mix of caution and hope.

We exchanged the prearranged questions and answers to confirm our identities—just some old-school code stuff, which we almost never use, but the client insisted.

Seriously, though, why the old-school nonsense? Can’t he just, I don’t know, use a phone or something?

“Hey there, I’m from the Yellow Detective Agency!”

The kid took off his hat, revealing a face covered in some gross, black hexagonal gunk.

Is that Black Rust? Ew, just looking at it made me want to scratch like a million cockroaches were crawling all over me.

The kid coughed, then pulled out a photo. “Please find my family. Please find my Noona. Everyone is disappearing these days.”

This was way more serious than I’d expected.

“I’ll find a place to stay first, then I’ll start digging into it. How do you want me to report in?”

The kid hesitated, looking a bit lost, before giving me his home address.

With that, I left the dark alley, feeling like things were about to get real.

It was the start of a new case, with me and the Golden Horned Reaper on the trail.

*******When Yerin carried me into the containment room, I noticed it was completely empty.

Not a single thing stood out, which, if you think about it, kind of made it special because there was literally nothing special at all!

I glanced over at Yerin, expecting an explanation, but all I saw was a confident grin plastered on her face.

Sehee and Seoah were standing beside her too, looking just as excited. Okay, something’s definitely up…

But even with all my super awesome senses, I couldn’t detect anything unusual in the room—no hidden Objects, no sneaky humans.

Seriously, what’s the deal here?

“Reaper, let’s begin!” Yerin announced, her smile growing even bigger as she started fiddling with something outside the room.

And then... ooooh, I felt something really cool surrounding my body, like a gentle force lifting me up.

Slowly but surely, I started to float in the air. It was even better than lying on the fluffiest bed or drifting on a calm ocean. I felt like I was weightless, just floating there, all cozy and happy.

Wait a minute... could they have installed some kind of electromagnetic magic on the floor?

Oh! This totally reminds me of the time I beat that Dobong-gu frog and got those superconductor abilities.

I remember thinking about asking for an electromagnetic containment room someday, but then, you know, life happened and I kinda forgot. Whoops!

Before I realized it, the Golden Reapers had already joined in, zooming around and having the time of their lives, floating through the air like little kids in a candy store.

Ah, this is the life.

I closed my eyes, soaking in the pure bliss of floating. Someday, I promised myself, I’m definitely gonna learn how to fly for real.

Just you wait...

*******The boy had a dream.

It was a dream of seeing his family again.

They had all disappeared before he even realized it, but in this dream, he was happy—because they were together again.

He had sought help from the renowned \'Yellow Detective Agency\', so he believed, without a doubt, that his family would soon be found.

This dream, this happy dream, was born from that belief.

"Noona!" the boy called out, his smile as bright as the sun.

His sister, standing before him, reached out and gently caressed his cheek.

Slrrrp-!

As if something wet and thick was sliding down from her hand.

Suddenly, the sharp, unmistakable scent of metal filled the boy’s nose.

"Noona?" His voice wavered as unease crept in.

Then, he woke up, a faint tapping on his cheek pulling him from the dream.

What the hell is going on?

Annoyed that his beautiful dream had been interrupted, the boy rubbed his cheek. But when he glanced at his hand, his heart froze.

It was covered in blood.

And that smell... that thick, choking smell of blood was all around him now.

Blinking rapidly, he snapped out of his drowsiness and opened his eyes wide. He wasn\'t in the familiar, rundown house in the slums where he\'d fallen asleep.

No, this place was different. Cold. Dark. He was in a prison with no windows, the heavy iron bars blocking any escape.

And right in front of him, hanging from the ceiling, was a corpse—a hideous, grotesque corpse.

Blood dripped from the corpse, splattering onto the boy\'s face.

The body had been stripped of its flesh, leaving nothing but bones, except for the face. The face...

A horrible thought slithered into the boy’s mind—a thought he desperately wanted to reject but couldn’t.

His hands trembling, he looked up to see the face of the corpse.

“Aaaahhh!”

His scream tore through the silence as the face of his worst nightmare stared back at him.

It was his Noona.

The corpse was his Noona.

And with that terrible realization, the boy’s world went black as he lost consciousness, collapsing into the darkness that swallowed him whole.

*******I made my way through a dark, grimy alley, heading toward the boy\'s house, kicking trash out of my way as I went.

But even after finding a place to crash, I still couldn’t start looking for his Noona because, duh, I didn’t know who she was.

Seriously, how could I have been so dumb? I should\'ve gotten at least some info before letting the kid go!

It was such a rookie mistake that my cheeks burned with embarrassment. Ugh, I was better than this!

“It’s gotta be fine, right?” I muttered, glancing down at the Reaper wriggling in my hands, feeling a bit of dread creeping in.

As I got closer to the boy’s house, this weird, nasty smell hit me out of nowhere.

Is that the smell of burnt ashes? My gut twisted, and I broke into a run.

When I finally reached the place, I was met with a complete wreck.

The door had been slashed to pieces by something sharp, and claw marks gouged into the walls made it look like a wild beast had gone berserk in there.

And as for the boy? Not a trace. He was gone, just like that.