Seoul Object Story
Chapter 43: Object Exhibition (4)

Flap-! Flap-!

Flap-! Flap-!

The Reaper was so excited that it flapped its feet. Its eyes were fixed on the sky, and its arm pointed into the air as if it were trying to grab something.

Tyrannosaurus!

Reaper and I stood in front of a huge dinosaur.

Honestly, I never thought Reaper would be into this kind of thing, but it liked the dinosaur more than I expected.

Dinosaurs, brought back to life using the ability of an Object, could be seen quite often these days. However, their numbers still couldn’t be said to be a lot. After all, their lifespan was problematic, and there were quite a few cases of them killing people.

To think that Reaper liked dinosaurs… Should I take him to the ‘Hwaseong Research Institute’ next time? They have a lot of dinosaurs there.

It would be great if I could get permission to bring the Reaper to the Hwaseong Research Institute.

***

Hmmmmm…

It’s inevitable to be distracted by dinosaurs.

After all, people of all ages and genders love them, right?

But for some reason, Yerin’s expression when she looked at me had become more irreverent than before…

As I enjoyed myself, looking around the exhibition, it was already well past lunchtime before I knew it.

I could go without eating anything, but Yerin couldn’t.

As I looked around for a place to eat, I noticed a booth of a certain research institute. It was decorated like a performance hall, similar to what one might find at a zoo. Though a bit pricey, they had plenty of food.

I sat down and ate a hot dog while watching the performance put on by the research institute.

Instead of dolphins, the Institute had Yetis performing, probably because it was a Research Institute for studying Objects.

A Yeti jumping through a flaming ring.

A Yeti riding on a large swing.

A Yeti getting electrocuted after causing a commotion.

A Yeti riding a huge ball.

A Yeti falling off a unicycle and subsequently getting electrocuted.

A Yeti getting shot from a cannon towards a target.

Though there were some strange occurrences from time to time, it was quite fun. It felt more like a circus than a zoo, but I had no complaints. It was entertaining after all.

After we finished eating and watching the performance, we continued to explore, as there were still many interesting Objects to see.

At the Sejong Research Institute’s booth, there was only one Object put on display.

Wow, an Object that grants physical immunity!

Probably because I still had some human sensitivity remaining in me, but the Object left me in awe.

Just thinking about it, the possibilities were endless. Considering that, It should have been a famous Object, but it was my first time seeing it.

As I looked into it, I found out that it was an Object that had been discovered just a month ago.

Woah, a new Object!

The booth and the containment facility made by the government, the organizer of the exhibition, were equally impressive.

The area was flashy and large, living up to the organizer’s name, but one of the Objects displayed by them looked very dangerous.

It was an Object with human-like limbs and unclear facial features.

Since the Object just sat blankly in the center of the containment room, it made me wonder what kind of thief it was.

After reading the description, I realized it was an Object whose name made sense.

To prevent it from escaping, as many as a hundred employees took turns keeping an eye on it.

Well, it was only natural for them to do that. After all, if they lost sight of that Object, all hell would break loose, releasing every single Object displayed at the exhibition.

I mean, it seemed like an Object that should never have been displayed at an exhibition like this in the first place…

Even if they brought it here because they thought it wouldn’t cause an accident, from my perspective, that was a somewhat complacent way of thinking.

***

While I walked around following the Reaper’s cute ‘flaps’, the booth of the Trinity Research Institute that had recently become famous caught my eye.

Korea’s largest research institute and Korea’s highest-level research institute.

When I visited the research institute community, I often saw researchers from the Trinity Research Institute acting condescendingly.

The Object they were displaying was an Object that once caused widespread fear in Korea.

The general public called it the Fake Steel Tower.

After all, it was an Object that caused as much damage as the Steel Tower did when it first appeared.

Its shape was like several hemispherical steel plates melding together to form a sphere.

As famous as it was, the Magnetic Sphere was rarely taken out, so it was my first time seeing it in person.

The Reaper also looked excited, probably because it was its first time seeing it as well.

The Magnetic Sphere was an Object that posed a significant threat to human civilization, just like the Steel Tower.

However, its area of effect was so small that it was difficult to compare it to the Steel Tower. On top of that, it was far less threatening, as instead of absorbing electricity from lightning or electric eels, it only absorbed the electricity used by civilization.

If such an Object had been teleporting around Korea, it would have been a nightmare. But fortunately, a solution was quickly found.

A researcher discovered that the ability of a magnetic sphere could be easily blocked by applying a magnetic field.

Just by looking at the Trinity Research Institute’s containment room, it was clear that they had placed a lot of electromagnets near the Magnetic Sphere to prevent any accidents.

“Shall we go to the next booth, Reaper?”

When the Reaper showed no reaction, I grabbed its baby-like feet with my hand and shook them.

But still, there was no response.

When I glanced at it, I noticed that it was fixated on the corner of the exhibition ground.

On top of that, its expression was unusually serious.

In the direction it was looking at, there was a huge tree slowly blinking in a golden hue.

That’s where the Bucheon Research Institute booth, that I stopped by this morning, was located…

It was a strange place because it had no track record whatsoever and yet took up a very large area.

As for the tree… it was getting brighter and brighter?

The tree began to glow so brightly that it hurt my eyes.

As everyone looked towards the strange phenomenon caused by the tree, something unusual happened.

Woong-!

Pulses, that were hard to see, shot out from the tree along with a low buzzing sound.

People who were hit by the strange pulses began to fall like puppets with their strings cut.

All of them fell down simultaneously, as if they were doing a ‘Wave’ on the bleachers of a stadium, or as if they were measuring something accurately with a ruler.

The pulses weren’t that fast, but they were still faster than the humans.

When the pulse reached where we were, I felt my consciousness starting to leave me.

My knees buckled and my head fell back.

Even though I tried to gather strength to them, it was of no use.

I desperately tried to hold on to my fading consciousness.

Ah, if I fall, the Reaper will get hurt…

Darkness started to claim my sight and silence filled my ears.

But then, someone gently caught my head as it fell backward.

My memory cut off from the moment I felt the Reaper’s soft hand on my cheek.

***

A pulse emanated from the golden tree, a wave that put people to sleep.

Checking on Yerin, who had fallen headfirst to the ground, I found that there was nothing wrong with her. She had just fallen asleep for an unknown reason. Even with a slap to her cheek, there was no sign of her waking up anytime soon.

The situation was grave. Like the zoo, the exhibition also failed to avoid the curse.

I needed to return to the Sehee Research Institute’s booth, but I lacked the strength to carry Yerin.

Still, leaving her here would certainly lead to her death.

However, if I remained near Yerin, more employees of the Sehee Research Institute would die.

Strange occurrences were already unfolding at the exhibition, where everyone had fallen asleep.

Tang.

With the sound of the circuit breaker tripping, darkness engulfed the once-illuminated exhibition grounds.

The lively music from the speakers had also stopped, replaced only by the growling of biotype Objects.

Electricity had disappeared from the exhibition ground.

Had the Magnetic Sphere broken away from its containment already?

The escape of Objects continued.

It began with a pack of Yetis, their mouths stained with blood.

The Yetis, who celebrated with the blood of their keepers who had electrocuted them, poured out onto the street looking for new prey.

In the distance, the resounding roar of the Tyrannosaurus echoed.

Who could be crazy enough to open the containment room door?

Meanwhile, the Yetis slowly approached Yerin’s vicinity to fill their hungry stomachs.

However, the heads of the stupid yetis who dared to target Yerin exploded.

Since they had no physical immunity or the ability to regenerate, they quickly ran away when they saw me.

If only I had two bodies, then I wouldn’t have to worry…

Should I learn the art of cloning myself in advance?

Speaking of clones, a recent ability came to my mind.

The Mini Golden Reaper.

I didn’t know if it would be of any help since I couldn’t control it however I wanted. But I decided to create the Golden Reapers anyway, I had nothing to lose after all.

One.

Two.

…

I created enough Golden Reapers to fill the area around me.

The dolls that looked exactly like me simultaneously raised their heads and looked around.

However, only one of them jumped up and clung to me.

Just one?

Last time, they all clung to me and the cat, didn’t they?

Another doll stuck to the cheek of the sleeping Yerin.

Afterward, the Golden Reapers didn’t do anything special.

As expected, this ability didn’t seem to be helpful in this situation…

Suddenly, after a few seconds of looking around, the Golden Reapers scattered in all directions like a flock of sparrows.

The Reapers dispersed in all directions like a wave of gold, clinging to the people who were asleep.

Each person had a Golden Reaper clinging to them.

One Reaper per person.

They all clung to those who had fallen on the exhibition ground.