Humanity Protection Company

TL/Editor: raei

Schedule: 5/week

Illustrations: None.

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The two entered indoors before the rain started pouring.

Lee Yeonwoo stood at the entrance of the lodge, breathing heavily. His chest rose and fell quickly, and his entire body was tensed.

But even in that state, he kept his eyes on the lodge owner. Regulating his breathing, he slowly stepped back.

'His behavior is suspicious. He's not an ordinary person.'

His foot was poised on the stairway leading to the second floor, ready to punch if necessary, his hand tightly clenched.

"You see, with so little hair left, I'm sensitive to things like acid rain."

"...I didn't ask."

He ran his hand through his sparse hair, making an unnecessary, clumsy excuse.

Yeonwoo glared at the lodge owner, then cautiously took each step up the stairs.

'First, I need to arm myself. Let's get the gun.'

When the situation was uncertain and he sensed unknown danger, he knew to grab his gun first.

Yeonwoo rushed to his room and checked the pistol he had stashed in his tote bag. The gun, which he cleaned daily, was in good condition.

Click-

'It's well-maintained. The magazine is fully loaded.'

The weight of the gun brought him reassurance.

After quickly checking his other tools, he slung the bag over his shoulder, passed through the quiet hallway, and descended to the first floor again.

"..."

Everyone had come down to the first floor by then, all staring at the front door. The man and woman who had come in before the rain, the suspicious lodge owner, and the entire research team were tensely watching something beyond the door.

Yeonwoo glanced at the front door, ready to draw his gun from the bag at any moment.

'What is that?'

A shadow of a person was cast on the translucent glass door. The shadow of a headless person raised its hand and pressed against the glass door.

Crack-

The glass door split from the center of the two palms, and finally shattered, sending glass shards, rainwater, and two arms into the lodge.

The headless person, drenched in rainwater and glass fragments, walked slowly into the lodge. Splish-splash, leaving wet footprints, the headless man approached the people.

As people instinctively held their breath and stepped back, Seo Peonho, the man, and the lodge owner exchanged sharp glances.

Bang-!

A gunshot rang out.

It was Yeonwoo. Even as people looked at him in shock, he coldly stepped forward, pulling the trigger on the headless man.

Bang-! Bang-! Bang-!

'Rain that causes your head to fall off? Do people without heads turn into some kind of zombies?'

Bang-! Bang-!

He didn't spare bullets, pouring them into the target. The headless man staggered as if dancing from the sudden barrage, but only slightly moved back without falling. Despite the holes riddling his body, he continued to move.

The distance between them closed.

Yeonwoo suddenly stopped walking. His index finger, wet with cold sweat, repeatedly pulled the trigger, but no more bullets came out.

Click- Click-

He had emptied a magazine. The headless man hadn't died.

'...He won't die?'

Yeonwoo instinctively stepped back and looked at the people around him.

"What are you doing? Aren't you going to subdue him?"

"Well, that, the gun-"

"Uh, uh. He's coming. Quickly subdue him!"

Yeonwoo's shout snapped them back to their senses.

"Choi Hyunsang! Subdue him!"

"Yes!"

At Seo Peonho's command, Choi Hyunsang raised the dirt-covered shovel high. The vertically positioned shovel blade sliced through the air and struck down.

Whoosh-! Thud-!

The shovel split the shoulder and embedded halfway into the upper body.

"Yah!"

Next, the lodge owner swung a long broom hard at the headless man's ankles. Just as he was taking a step, the headless man lost his balance and fell.

Seo Peonho grinned.

"Choi Hyunsang! Gong Yuna! Don't kill him, just restrain him! He's a fresh research subject!"

"Uh… what should we use to restrain him?"

"Isn't there any rope or string?"

"We didn't bring any."

At that moment, the lodge owner rushed out, returning with a red rope from the storage room. He handed it to Choi Hyunsang.

"Here it is!"

With a tired look on his face, Choi Hyunsang unraveled the long rope, holding each end in his hands. He briefly looked the headless man up and down.

The headless man struggled to get up.

The lodge owner pressed down on the joints with a broom, and Gong Yuna stomped on the solar plexus with her shoe.

"I'll tie his legs first."

The red rope tightly wound around the ankles, calves, and thighs. Then it bound the wrists, torso, arms, and shoulders.

Meanwhile, Yeonwoo stepped back and reloaded his magazine, glancing at everyone.

'The lodge owner is suspicious. Seo Peonho too. They hid information from me. That man is also strange.'

Despite the appearance of the headless monster, the man was excitedly filming it. Muttering to himself.

"As expected. This really exists. A world we didn't know about. Good thing I kept searching through ancient documents."

Yeonwoo pondered for a moment.

'Did he film me too? Should I erase his memory and steal his phone?'

He thought about it, not wanting his face exposed, regardless of confidentiality.

But that wasn't an immediate concern. Escaping the dangerous anomaly and suspicious people was the priority.

Yeonwoo pulled a folding umbrella from his bag.

'If I just avoid the rain until I get to the car, I’ll be fine. A few drops won’t hurt.'

He decided to leave the lodge. As he passed the chaotic scene and approached the front door, Seo Peonho's eyes lit up while watching the headless man. Then, seeing Yeonwoo, his face hardened. He spoke in a low voice.

"Mr. Lee Yeonwoo? Where are you going?"

"I don't need the travel allowance. I'm leaving."

"The outside is dangerous, you know."

Seeing Seo Peonho trying to stop him only strengthened Yeonwoo’s resolve to leave.

He glared at Seo Peonho.

"My role here is done. It rained as you wanted. I have no reason to stay. And you withheld information from me."

"But if you leave like this-"

"I'm done here."

Yeonwoo turned and strode out the front door. His sneakers crunched on the wet glass shards.

He disappeared beyond the front door, into the pouring rain.

Seo Peonho looked at Choi Hyunsang, his lips twitching, then clenched his fist. Suddenly, he seemed to remember something, smiled faintly, and then his expression hardened again.

"Well. Will he be able to escape? ...No, that guy might just make it. Damn it."

---

---

Outside, in the pouring rain.

Yeonwoo lowered his umbrella, protecting his head from the rain. He held it so low that the spokes brushed against his head, ensuring his head stayed dry even when the wind blew.

Yeonwoo stopped at the parking lot. His face twisted under the umbrella.

"Who did this…."

There were four cars.

His compact car, the research team's SUV, the lodge owner's sedan, and the guests' sedan.

Except for the sedan that the three guests arrived in, all the tires were slashed. Nails stuck out, and holes made the tires look limp.

It was obvious that driving them was impossible. Yeonwoo gritted his teeth.

'Who did it? The lodge owner? Seo Peonho? No, it doesn't matter who. Escaping is the priority.'

Yeonwoo closed his eyes for a moment and called on the dice to repair his car.

"Can you fix this?"

The dice, excited at being summoned after a long time, bounced and rolled, finally showing the result.

Failure!

Bang-!

A small explosion was heard. Yeonwoo couldn't believe his eyes. Smoke rose from the engine of the once-functioning used compact car. He didn’t need to open the hood to know the car was wrecked.

"Whew."

Yeonwoo sighed. He had bought the cheap car just to get around, but thanks to the dice, it was ruined.

‘It doesn’t matter. I don’t have to drive my own car.’

Yeonwoo moved toward the only car left intact. He memorized the number: 8562.

Then he returned to the lodge.

People were still gathered on the first floor of the lodge. When they saw Yeonwoo approaching, they each grabbed a weapon but then cautiously lowered their shovels and brooms upon seeing his head intact.

Seo Peonho smiled slightly and said, "As expected, the outside is dangerous-"

Click-

The makeshift pistol gleamed darkly as it aimed at the people. Seo Peonho's face hardened.

"8562. Whose car is it?"

"Th-that’s my car."

The man, who had been filming the headless man on his phone, slowly lowered it. Yeonwoo pointed the gun at him.

"Car key. Hand it over."

"What? No, it’s a new car with a lot of payments left-"

"Do you want to get shot or hand over the car key?"

"I’ll give it to you."

The man quickly pulled the car key from his pocket and handed it respectfully to Yeonwoo. Yeonwoo motioned with the gun near the man's head.

"Put it in the bag. If you try anything, I'll shoot immediately. I’ve reloaded the magazine, so I have plenty of bullets."

Holding an umbrella in one hand and a gun in the other, he had no free hand to take the key.

The man, his hands trembling, placed the car key into the bag. The muzzle of the gun touched his head, cold and heavy.

"It's in."

The man stepped back, hands clasped together respectfully. Yeonwoo took a step back as well.

He scanned the faces of the people and left a final remark.

"I checked the parking lot. All the tires were slashed except for this guy's car. Someone drove nails into them. I don't know who did it, but you should figure it out."

Expressions on the faces of the people changed drastically.

The lodge owner’s mouth trembled, Seo Peonho squinted, and the man realized he was in danger and turned pale.

However, this wasn’t Yeonwoo’s concern.

Splash-

Yeonwoo slowly backed away and headed to the parking lot.