96 - Insect

TL/Editor: raei Schedule: 5/week

Illustrations: None.

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Lee Yeonwoo couldn't just give up and go back. One failure wasn't enough to call it quits on this task. He had to try a few more times.

With a sullen expression, he turned and left the alley. Surely there'd be more mascot heads doing their evangelism in the bustling downtown area.

He walked, and walked, and walked some more.

Passing several bus stops and subway stations, the neighborhood names changed. The sun climbed high as people rushed out for lunch.

But while there were plenty of people, not even a hint of a mascot head was visible. Yeonwoo's brow gradually furrowed. His feet, clad in slippers, were starting to hurt.

'Where did they all go? ...I should grab some lunch first.'

Just as he was about to enter a nearby burger joint, Yeonwoo stopped in his tracks. His gaze fixed on the far end of the street.

At the end of the road were two evangelists wearing mascot heads, waving picket signs and shouting loudly at passersby.

"Believe in the Great One and gain eternal life!"

"All your worries will disappear!"

Found them.

Yeonwoo took a moment to compose himself. He mussed up his hair, drooped the corners of his mouth, hung his head, and stretched out his feet listlessly, projecting an aura of insecurity and helplessness.

But his steps soon stopped. Someone else had been caught by them before Yeonwoo could reach them.

Yoo Ji-yoo.

Looking tired as if she'd walked for a long time, Ji-yoo exchanged some words with the mascot head duo, then was dragged away by her sleeve, disappearing into an alley.

"..."

Yeonwoo pondered for a moment, then turned right back around to the burger restaurant.

"If it's Senior Ji-yoo, those guys won't run away."

If one person succeeded, there was no need to try hard. Yeonwoo spent the rest of his time slacking off, and that evening met with the other investigators at a nearby café.

---

---

A quiet café.

The investigators gathered at one table, discussing. The team leader gulped down his iced Americano first, then grumbled.

"Damn it. I failed. They wouldn't even talk to me."

"Me too. I just got lectured about why a student was out on the streets at this hour and told to go to school."

Choi Jae-min also wore a sullen expression as he shoved a sandwich into his mouth, then looked at Yeonwoo. sᴇaʀᴄh thᴇ NovᴇlFɪre .ɴᴇt website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of nøvels early and in the highest quality.

"What about you, hyung?"

"I was almost there, but they ran away."

"They ran away?"

Yeonwoo nodded silently.

"When I asked about their family situation and said I had no money, they just... It seems like they're just a pseudo-religion after money. How did it go for Senior Ji-yoo? I saw her going with them."

"I went into their main building."

A definite result.

The three waited silently for Ji-yoo to speak, and she pursed her lips, wringing her hands.

"I told them I lost my job and was worried, so they said I should do part-time work and took me there. I spent all day just making mascot heads before coming out."

Ji-yoo pulled a mascot head out of her bag. The crudely made round mascot head was all crumpled up and looked messy with its slapdash stitching.

Choi Jae-min took the mascot head and put it on. Then, in a muffled voice, he asked:

"Noona, did you get paid?"

"I got 100,000 won."

"They paid that much for something so badly made?"

As the conversation veered off course, the team leader tapped the table repeatedly.

"Was there anything strange?"

"There were a few suspicious things. Those people wear the masks not just inside the building, but even inside the rooms. There are also restricted areas. And they confiscate electronic devices."

People who never take off their masks. Restricted areas and confiscation of phones. Suspicious, but also typical for a strange pseudo-religion.

Of course, for a pseudo-religion, it didn't seem like money or people were the goal.

"It's ambiguous..."

The investigators sank into thought. Fiddling with coffee cups, eating sandwiches, adjusting eco bags.

But no definite conclusion emerged. In the end, there was no plausible evidence. The team leader casually called out to Ji-yoo.

"Ji-yoo. Are you going again tomorrow?"

"Yes. They told me to come back tomorrow to make more mascot heads. Said they'd pay me."

"Then go and see. Try going for about a week."

Ji-yoo nodded, saying she understood, and that concluded the day's work.

And then, before even a few days had passed.

Contact with Ji-yoo was lost.

---

---

Deep in the night.

The team leader and Yeonwoo were gathered in the newly renovated Anomaly Investigation Team office. Despite the fresh smell of the new office, their expressions were gloomy.

Ji-yoo had disappeared without any contact.

The team leader tapped the desk incessantly with his index finger, furrowing his brow.

"It's been 3 days since we lost contact, right?"

"Yes. I think we should request support from higher-ups."

"No way."

At the firm voice, Yeonwoo looked at the team leader quizzically. The team leader rubbed his tired face.

"We have no evidence. Whether Ji-yoo was just enchanted by a pseudo-religion or fell victim to an anomaly. This isn't enough to mobilize the Special Forces."

If she resigned of her own will and joined a pseudo-religion, the company couldn't interfere.

That's why the team leader hoped there was an anomaly in this pseudo-religion. Only then could he move the company.

"Damn it. There needs to be an anomaly. We need to find evidence of that."

Yeonwoo was silent for a moment, then clenched his fist.

"Then let's raid the place. If we turn it upside down, we can find something, right? At the very least, we can bring Senior Ji-yoo back."

"...Raid that place? How? We don't even know if they're civilians or what."

The team leader conveyed with his eyes to think carefully, that they were a company, but Yeonwoo didn't care.

"Can't you just go there and press the Extermination Team call button, Team Leader? Or we have the natural fluorescent vests now."

If you don't care about the means, there are many ways. You could even cause a ruckus with just a pistol.

The team leader closed his eyes as if contemplating. He clenched and unclenched his fist, bit his lip hard, and finally opened his eyes and spoke.

"Calling the Extermination Team is going too far. But let's use the vests."

"Are we going right now?"

"Yes."

They wasted no more time and got up. They went to the anomaly equipment storage, put on the natural fluorescent vests, took rifles from the firearms storage and slung them over their bodies, and attached small cameras to their clothes.

Looking more like terrorists than soldiers.

Thus equipped, they stepped out into the night streets.

---

---

Even though they were walking through the night streets with large rifles, people passed by them naturally. Even patrolling police just glanced at them before hurrying on their way.

Reaching their destination without interruption, they arrived at a small building in the middle of the city.

"..."

"..."

Yeonwoo and the team leader took a deep breath in front of the main entrance. Enemy territory. Even if they were civilians, if there were many of them, unexpected accidents could happen.

Using the darkly tinted glass door as a mirror, they checked their equipment for a moment.

The team leader spoke in a firm voice.

"Let's go."

Rifle pulled back tight. He smashed the glass door with the buttstock. With a crash, the glass door shattered, glass fragments cascading down like a waterfall.

The two investigators were about to step on the glass shards and enter when they stopped. There was something beyond the main entrance.

A narrow corridor under the lights.

A person wearing a worm mascot head was crawling on the floor, squirming towards them. Wriggling their arms and legs like an invertebrate without joints, making strange sounds like "Kkeugeuk."

Click-!

Both men simultaneously aimed at the mascot head. The team leader spoke in a tense voice.

"Who are you?"

"Security..."

The sound of a mouth full of thick saliva opening came from behind the mask. The mascot head stretched out both arms, gripping the wall and floor as it wobbled to its feet.

The mascot head looked straight at the investigators. But it felt more like it was sensing them with senses other than sight.

"I heard the sound of glass breaking. Who are you people?"

"...Just passing by."

"Huh? Huh?"

The mascot head spun its head around.

The two investigators looked at the mascot head with stiff faces, slightly placing their fingers on the triggers. Despite wearing the natural fluorescent vests, a strange sensation.

The mascot head's spinning stopped abruptly. The sound of saliva dripping could be heard. Then, the mascot head spoke in a confused voice.

"Passing by? Here? Ah. It's not strange. Ah. What is this?"

"...We're passing through."

After a moment of silence, the team leader passed by him, and Yeonwoo followed the team leader into the corridor. Yeonwoo suddenly looked back.

In front of the shattered glass door. The mascot head stood there blankly, turning only its head to watch them.

'This feels ominous.'

Something's not right.

Yeonwoo whispered quietly.

"Something seems off."

"Let's just find traces of an anomaly and go back. It seems too much for just the two of us."

Answering quickly, they arrived at the central hall.

There was no elevator, corridors to the left and right, and stairs going up and down straight ahead. At the four-way intersection, the team leader looked to Yeonwoo.

"Which way feels dangerous?"

If there was an anomaly, it'd be in a dangerous place. He asked the question to get evidence of that, but Yeonwoo calmly looked around the stairs before suddenly looking up the staircase.

"The lower floor feels dangerous-"

A faint sound became a tidal wave coming down.

"Someone's coming down."

"What?"

Rumble, the sound of numerous footsteps gradually grew louder. It wasn't just one or two people. The stair railing shook, and the echoing footsteps filled the space.

The team leader and Yeonwoo looked around in confusion for a place to hide, then realizing they were wearing natural fluorescent vests, stood still in the middle of the hall.

And so they saw.

Numerous mascot heads coming down the stairs quietly without exchanging a single chat. They went down to the basement without even acknowledging Yeonwoo and the team leader.

"..."

"..."

The footsteps descended deeper, gradually fading away.

The team leader and Yeonwoo wore grave expressions. They saw a familiar mask among the mascot heads.

"That one. It's the mascot head Ji-yoo made."

"Yes. It's the one she showed us last time."

There was a woman with familiar clothes and build wearing the crude and sloppy mascot head.

The team leader looked at the stairs leading down to the dangerous basement, then stepped onto the stairs. Without looking back, the team leader said:

"You go back. If I lose contact too, report to the higher-ups. If I get caught too, it's definitely an anomaly."