Chapter 183
Translator: crow
Chapter Title: The Suspicious Dealer's Rare Entities
"Just saying that, right?"
"A creation myth? Talking like it's some easy riddle that even Sephiroth couldn't figure out..."
At first, the two of them didn't believe me.
"Then I'll be on my way. The angelic stench is filling the office, ruining my appetite, and it's getting hard to bear."
But once Baal finished his business and vanished in a puff of flame and sulfurous smoke, they finally seemed to believe it.
"Lee Seung-hoon the fixer was colluding with a great demon!"
"His name was Baal! Baal! Beelzebub! Isn't that the name of a great demon?!"
After Baal left, the two of them threw a fit.
I had no exact info on my physical abilities, so I was eavesdropping from a spot where my words would carry clearly enough.
"Even the great demon called him 'chairman' and seemed to hold him in favor! We can't touch him recklessly!"
"Not only his ties to demons, but he talked about the world's creation myth! That this world originated from Christianity and fused with worlds created by other gods! Is this true!? Does the Foundation know about this?!"
They chattered on like that before vanishing without a word, probably to report directly to the Foundation.
"What a shame. I wanted to team up like we were doing group homework."
『Group projects are the worst form of assessment, destroying friendships and eroding trust in humanity.』
"Isn't the arguing during coordination the fun part?"
It seemed to take quite a while, as they didn't show up the next day either.
"Mr. Lee Seung-hoon, we have a problem."
Instead, a tiny spider came to visit.
It was a small jumping spider with enormous eyes, but its voice belonged to the suspicious dealer.
"Has there been an issue with the Flower of Paradise Lost I handed over?"
"Yes, contrary to your testimony, Mr. Lee Seung-hoon, its color isn't changing."
"Hmm, it definitely changed when I tested it."
"Does it only change when a human prays over it?"
"I didn't test it with a control group, so I wouldn't know."
We bandied about various theories, but the conclusion was 'we don't know.'
"Since it's just a fragment, its function might have faded. But it's still a Flower of Paradise Lost, so that's fine. Well, until next time."
Once the jumping spider vanished, I pondered the Flower of Paradise Lost.
'A flower that bloomed from a bulb that ended up in my pocket without me knowing after the flower garden collapsed.'
But no matter how I thought about it, I couldn't recall when it had entered my pocket.
'At the time, I'd consumed dried Friendship, so if a bulb had bounced into my pocket from the shock of the garden's collapse, I shouldn't have missed it.'
Yet I only noticed it after it was already there.
This implied the bulb hadn't entered my pocket through normal means.
Maybe only the result of it existing in my pocket remained, without any process.
'Because I was the closest person? Did the flower garden have a survival instinct?'
If it had chosen me as its owner, why hadn't it returned now that I'd handed it to the suspicious dealer?
And why wasn't its color changing for him when it had changed so readily for me?
"No idea. It's a mystery without an answer."
『Where are you going, Mr. Lee Seung-hoon?』
"The ticket I got for the flower reminded me, so I figured I'd go check it out."
I pulled the ticket from my wallet and slipped on my shoes.
"Let's go see the most precious items the suspicious dealer has in storage."
"Why isn't the zoo open on the weekend?"
"Wasn't there that animal liberation group? They had a fatal accident. Probably closed for cleanup."
At a zoo in Seoul.
People out for a weekend outing turned away at the sight of the police line strung across the entrance.
"Will the animals be okay?"
"The zookeepers are probably taking good care of them."
Contrary to the people's guesses, various mechanical devices were activating inside the zoo.
"Space isolation field activated."
"Vision distortion field normalized."
"Anti-intruder auto-warp device activated."
It was the Special Task Force—Children of Dawn—preparing to exterminate entities, temporarily in charge of the Foundation's Korean branch.
"Yeah, got it. No choice. Work hard and answer honestly."
Lee Ha-yul finished his call and returned to his team.
"Team Leader 1 and Team Leader 4 have returned to HQ. Apparently, the surveillance target dropped some unexpected info and variables. But don't worry—they said it's not a big deal."
After checking the gear, he issued orders to his agents.
"Three days have passed since the first incident. From what we've grasped so far, all the animals here are entities or derivatives contaminated by entities, so eliminate every last one without exception."
The task force agents, armed with the Foundation's latest gear, responded vigorously.
"Yes, sir!"
"Let's move."
Lee Ha-yul led them from the front.
"For humanity."
"Shall we go, then?"
I slipped on my shoes, tore the ticket, and just like that—blink—I was standing in a lavish space of marble.
"Impressive. As expected of a place stocked only with top-tier goods."
A red carpet that was flashy yet not overdone.
Flanking it like guards stood about 1-meter-tall Greek-style marble pillars.
Atop each pillar, cushioned pedestals held various items—probably the entities.
'Size roughly a soccer field. Visible pillars: 127.'
Which one to pick?
"Hmm, no descriptions."
The only info available for selection was two-fold.
Appearance.
And the name inscribed on the pillar.
"What's this one?"
The first I looked at was a bald wig.
"Humanity's Savior"
Why would this be humanity's savior?
Just a bald wig—put it on, and something happens to earn that name?
"Riddles make it fun."
I wandered inside, browsing many entities.
"Ten Thousand Won of Happiness"
A plain old 10,000-won bill.
Look closely, and instead of King Sejong, it's one of the Seven Household Gods, Paedal Hwasang.
"Placebo Pills"
A white cylindrical pill bottle.
Labels read: '100 pills', 'Do not take more than 2 per day.', 'For physical enhancement, proceed in stages.'
"Luck-Stealing Straw"
A straw striped in blue and white.
Intuitive name, so obvious use, but I didn't particularly want to steal someone else's luck.
"Parallel Swap Tickets x10"
Tickets with simple human figures, inscribed: 'Swap places with a happier, superior version of me from another world!'
"Feels like they've collected things that are rare to acquire, not necessarily the strongest abilities."
After wandering a good while, I found one that caught my eye.
"Apocalypse Survivor's Survival Kit"
A small bag with a red cross.
Snack bag.
Opaque crystal orb.
Small military knife.
PET bottle layered with sand, gravel, and charcoal as a filter.
Second small bag illustrated with meat.
And a tiny notebook labeled 'Manual'—a set of entities I chose without hesitation.
"So that's how it works."
The moment I selected it, I was back in the garden.
I gathered the scattered items from the lawn and headed inside.
"With a manual, I shouldn't mess up using them. Plus, a survival kit means high versatility."
I checked each one against the manual to see their abilities.
"First-aid kit for surviving the apocalypse."
Three bandages, one bottle disinfectant, one tube ointment, 10 antibiotic pills, 1 suicide pill, 100 alcohol swabs. Used items reset and restock at midnight.
"Fortune cookie for surviving the apocalypse."
Snack bag labeled 'For the lost you' alongside fortune cookie graphics.
Ziplock style, contains one fortune cookie that, when opened, gives the most helpful advice for your current situation.
Resupplies at midnight, like the first-aid kit.
'Let's try it.'
I opened the bag, ate the fortune cookie.
Taste: plain flour cookie. Checked the slip inside.
[Don't forget the bonds you've let slip away. Remember them.]
Couldn't make heads or tails of it.
"Memory crystal orb for surviving the apocalypse."
Toggle on/off: activates effect in 10m radius.
Targets experience their happiest memory as a fully sensory illusion.
"Seung-hoon-ah, happy birthday!"
"Your birthday gift is museum tickets—are you sure that's okay?"
I turned it on, and my mom and dad appeared like phantoms.
My first birthday in middle school year one—the day I first realized their attention was love.
"It's fine."
"Come on, cake time."
"Happy birthday! Happy birthday! To our beloved Lee. Seung. Hoon, happy birthday!"
Warmth, voices, touch—all felt real, but a memory's just a memory.
Still, feeling their realistic presence after so long lifted my spirits.
"Guess it's for mental relief during an apocalypse crisis."
Powered off and moved to the next.
"All-purpose knife for surviving the apocalypse."
Ultra-vibration function—even cuts steel.
Simple but powerful.
"All-purpose filter for surviving the apocalypse."
PET bottle turns any liquid inside into drinkable pure water.
Max 1 liter, no refrigeration.
"MRE ration bag for surviving the apocalypse."
Bag containing 1 pack combat rations.
Max 3 uses per day; nationality changes each time.
No water included.
Uses reset at midnight.
"Let's try one."
The rations that came out: Mongol Empire.
"Not just nationality—time period changes too."
Jerky and fermented mare's milk wine, packaged Mongol Empire style, medieval authentic.
"Perfect stuff for surviving an apocalypse."
『You're missing the most important thing.』
"What?"
『No zombie vaccine.』
"Apocalypse doesn't always mean zombies."
Might come in handy someday.
Even if not, snagging entities with clear, reliable uses felt satisfying.
『Compared to the rarity of the entity you handed over, Mr. Lee Seung-hoon, this is a huge loss.』
"You could see it that way, but how many options were as reliably safe and clear-use as this?"
『Where's your usual curiosity!』
"Nothing grabbed me. If they'd added even a hint of description, my intellectual curiosity might've picked something. No info beyond names—no spark."
Then I headed to the office.
Or tried to.
"External Special Advisor."
"Long time no see."
Ms. Eunseo and Ms. I-hyeon came to my house.
They'd come with grave expressions, speaking in trembling voices.
"All temporary Korean branch agents except us have been wiped out."
Their voices shook, uncharacteristic of seasoned agents.
"Not a single one survived—at the zoo."
An incident that would make even them tremble.