Chapter 41: Object Exhibition (2)

The shattered Golden Horn alloy container, and the thick blood oozing out from inside.

The director's experiment failed again.

"It seems there is a limit to just adjusting the alloy ratio. Since we're dealing with a special Object, we'll need to prepare special materials on our side too."

Tapping his fingers on the desk, the director was lost in thought.

He was recalling the numerous Objects he had seen through the cracks of time.

He randomly brought to mind the past or future Objects he had successfully observed that could be useful.

An Object at blocking the intrusion of 'Nameless' that could be obtained immediately.

And the director's thoughts turned to one event.

The 'Object Exhibition'.

He remembered that an extremely useful Object would appear there soon.

The director had his researchers prepare for participation in the exhibition under the name of the Bucheon Research Institute.

It was preparation to obtain an Object crucial for humanity.

***

Sehee POV:

---

Looking up at the sky, it was unusually clear weather.

The warm sunlight pleasantly warmed my skin, and the cool breeze blowing over it felt nice.

Meow.

The ghostly(phantom) cat in my arms also seemed to be in a good mood.

The cloud animals swam freely across the sky.

I even saw a rare cloud whale.

After unpacking the luggage the Sehee Research Institute brought, I should have a cold carbonated drink with the cloud whale as a snack.

This is the Object Exhibition venue.

The place Yerin made a fuss about being excited for.

It was a large festival with many domestic research institutes participating, and even some foreign ones joining.

Apparently many rare Objects were brought in too, so I had some expectations.

A place I had always wanted to visit was realized here.

What I always wanted to see was the 'Object Zoo'.

The 'Object Zoo' had been attempted more often than expected, but it had a sad jinx.

On the first day of opening, there was a mass casualty accident and it was canceled - that was the sad jinx.

After that jinx repeated a few times, no more permits were issued, sadly ending it.

I hope this event can overcome that jinx and conclude successfully.

I hoped the successful conclusion of the Object Exhibition would lead to a permit for establishing the Object Zoo.

I hoped for an enjoyable Object Exhibition.

Hehe.

***

As we entered the exhibition venue, a massive golden tree greeted us in the far corner.

"Wow, unnie(sister). What kind of tree is that? Was there a research institute isolating such a huge tree Object?"

I opened the guidebook to check Yerin's question, and could confirm the details.

"It says it's an Object brought by the Bucheon Research Institute. But wasn't the Bucheon Institute defunct?"

Well, maybe someone took it over and is operating it again?

I briefly wondered why anyone would need to acquire a defunct research institute, but quickly dismissed the thought.

On the way to the exhibition space assigned to the Sehee Research Institute, we could see the Bucheon Institute's booth.

Tired-looking staff were welcoming visitors.

---

The black agent was still in China.

While investigating the Research Institute where the Golden Horn was brought in, the black agent discovered something strange and remained in China to continue the investigation and confirm it.

"Mister, what are you still looking at?"

"There are many inconsistencies in the information about the Research Institute I investigated, so I'm verifying those parts."

Just looking at the recordings of the 'specialized delivery drivers who transported the Golden Horn' to this place, one could sense something was off.

There was something they all commonly said,

<The Research Institute I visited for the delivery was neatly maintained and looked fine.>

<The building itself seemed brand new.>

<Actually, it was a Research Institute I had delivered to even before it went defunct, but when I went after the reopening, it had become a completely different building, which surprised me.>

<They must have cleaned thoroughly, as there wasn't a speck of dust.>

The first common point was that the building was neat and spotless.

<The employees seemed a bit strange.>

<The employees were so rude, it was unpleasant.>

<All the employees looked exhausted and depressed.>

<Even the security staff didn't seem interested in the vehicles entering and leaving the Research Institute.>

<From what I saw, quite a few employees seemed frustratingly gloomy.>

The second common point was that the employees were rude and looked depressed.

While I couldn't judge the employees I hadn't met, the Research Institute I directly inspected was far from such neatness.

A ruin, a building on the verge of collapse.

A severely dilapidated building from lack of maintenance.

As I investigated this strangeness more deeply, even stranger points were discovered.

The acquisition and establishment process itself was strange.

The officials who permitted the acquisition and establishment of that Research Institute could not remember it.

The landowner who sold the land for that Research Institute just signed the contract without receiving any money. They couldn't even remember selling that land.

Having vague memories was the same symptom as the officials.

The black agent wrote down the questions in a notebook,

<Hypnosis object?>

<Reality manipulation object?>

<Whichever it is, it's an annoying object.>

<Even if its use is limited to crime, there could be better applications.>

<Why specifically Golden Horn?>

<The benefits are too small compared to the risks.>

<Utilizing Korean criminals all the way to China.>

<Golden Horn syndrome occurs only in Korea.>

<High probability of primarily operating in Korea.>

<We need to investigate Korean research institutes that have suddenly been acquired or reopened.>

The black agent closed the notebook and stood up from his seat.

The blonde girl also stood up.

"Mister, have you reached a conclusion? Your expression looks like you've decided something."

The expressionless agent nodded slightly and said,

"Yes, ma'am. It seems we've investigated everything worth investigating here. The rest is work to be done in Korea."

The black agent felt the vague outlines of the mastermind behind the Golden Horn case were finally becoming visible.