Humanity Protection Company

Illustrations: None.

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The Manager of the First Response Division had come in person.

Kim Gapdong had expected maybe one or two field agents at most. He bit down on his split lip.

This was no time to be startled. Squeezing his eyes shut, Kim Gapdong shouted.

“Close your eyes! Don’t look at it!”

Just closing your eyes could block the hypnosis app.

Yeonwoo had already shut his eyes, and Lee Seoyeon urgently covered her eyes with one hand. In the darkness, they heard the Manager’s voice.

“So, you’re friends from the Intelligence Department. That’s a new face over there. But how do you plan to stop me with your eyes closed?”

The Manager stopped mid-sentence. His gaze shifted to Lee Seoyeon\'s thigh. He squinted slightly, recognizing the story of the new recruit with a bomb in her prosthetic leg.

“A bomb?”

The explosion itself wasn’t a threat; they were at a safe distance. But the consequences would be troublesome. The cabinet meeting would be postponed, and key government officials would evacuate.

Lee Seoyeon patted her thigh and spoke amicably, still covering her eyes.

“Manager, I won’t ask why. Just come back with us.”

The Manager shook his head and firmly refused.

“I can\'t do that. I have a job to do.”

“Manager, I may be a trainee, but I’ve learned this much. Anomalies shouldn’t get involved with the government. You know the horrors of the world wars.”

They had learned from history what happened when anomalies intertwined with the state.

That’s why the company’s policy was to avoid excessive interference in politics or government and to prevent nations from possessing dangerous anomalous entities.

The Manager knew this well, but he also knew the outcome: extreme weather, humanity hurtling toward self-destruction.

‘They have no idea. There\'s no point in convincing them.’

The Manager moved silently. There was no need to fight among their own. They each had to do their best in their given roles.

After taking about three steps, the Manager suddenly stopped. While the two Intelligence agents were looking in the wrong direction, a man with his eyes open was staring at the Manager.

The moment the man raised the phone emitting a pink glow, he spoke first.

“Investigator Lee Yeonwoo.”

“…So, you’re that investigator.”

The investigator with the dice. The odd investigator constantly entangled in incidents.

The Manager lowered the phone. There was no need to provoke someone capable of resistance, someone unpredictable.

Yeonwoo drew the pistol from the eco bag but pointed the barrel to the ground.

“I don’t intend to fight. I understand your actions, Manager.”

“Really.”

“I do.”

The Manager’s demeanor changed at those words. Half skeptical, half intrigued, his tense face slightly relaxed. He spoke probing words.

“What do you know?”

“Scenarios and plans. Five million.”

Three significant words. The two Intelligence agents above their heads were puzzled, while the Manager showed interest, tilting his head slightly.

“Then you should know. This is something that needs to be done. So, why are you here to stop me?”

“I’m not here to stop you. I’m here to meet you.”

Before continuing, Yeonwoo carefully chose his words. The Intelligence agents were listening. He had to be cautious.

Fortunately, it wasn’t difficult to fabricate the story.

“I belong to one of the factions as well. I’m here to establish a cooperative relationship on their behalf.”

That’s why he was involved in this situation. Not to stop a terrorist attack, but to support him.

“What are you talking about…!”

“Yeonwoo!”

The two agents\' faces twisted, but they had no right to participate in this conversation. The Manager and Yeonwoo continued their private discussion.

“Which faction?”

“The Clock Repairmen.”

“Never heard of it.”

Yeonwoo nodded. It was the only one in Korea. It would be strange if he knew about it.

“It’s a faction made up of several domestic and international organizations.”

The Manager\'s eyes widened slightly. Even the Humanity Management Company communicated with allies from overseas, but they couldn\'t claim to have a unified group.

“Are you sure? Not just sharing general goals?”

“I’m the head of the Korean branch. We have a unified goal and have combined our strengths.”

Of course, it was more facade than substance, but it was all in the presentation. Yeonwoo maintained a confident expression and posture.

The Manager muttered the name "Clock Repairmen" a few times, then glanced at his wristwatch.

9:45 AM.

There was a little time to talk.

“Interesting. What methods do you-”

At that moment, a sudden explosion erupted.

Boom!

The Manager, Yeonwoo, and the two Intelligence agents all turned their heads to the right.

Yeomingwan. The building where the cabinet meeting was taking place erupted in blue flames. It was a terrorist attack.

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Boom!

A blue flower of flames blossomed, radiating heat and noise. The fiery flower consumed oxygen as it grew larger.

Simultaneously, the Blue House descended into chaos. People poured out from all directions like a disturbed beehive.

The footsteps of civilians and soldiers shook the ground, and shouts filled the air.

“It’s a terrorist attack! Move quickly!”

“What is that?”

“Where is the Anomaly Management Agency? Call them!”

Armed police and soldiers ran frantically, their faces filled with urgency.

The troops running in groups briefly glanced at the company employees but moved on, as seeing people in fluorescent vests here was normal. They ignored them and headed towards Yeomingwan.

“Idiots…!”

The Manager\'s face twisted like a demon’s. The sound of his teeth grinding was especially clear, adding to the cacophony.

Kim Gapdong pointed a trembling finger at the blue flower.

“What is that! Isn\'t that an anomaly owned by the company! Why is it here…!”

"Some radical fool must have meddled. I’ll blow his head off."

Kim Gapdong, Lee Seoyeon, and Yeonwoo looked at the Manager.

The Manager quickly regained his composure and calmly gave orders as the head of the First Response Division.

“Agent Kim Gapdong. Trainee Lee Seoyeon. Report this to the company immediately. If that thing isn’t contained, it will destroy the entire area.”

A blue flame flower that grows by consuming oxygen.

Once fully grown, it would scatter seeds in all directions, and those seeds would grow by consuming oxygen. If left unchecked, it would continue until Earth’s oxygen was depleted.

Kim Gapdong and Lee Seoyeon’s eyes widened, and they quickly pulled out their phones to make calls.

“This is Agent Kim Gapdong! There’s a terrorist attack at the Blue House-. What? Which faction are you with? I’m telling you, it’s a terrorist attack using a blue flower! Yes!”

“Emergency report, emergency report. This is trainee Lee Seoyeon from the Intelligence Department Audit Division. Location: Blue House. It’s an anomaly-based terrorist attack.”

Turning around, raising their voices, and whispering rapidly.

Meanwhile, the Manager and Yeonwoo remained silent.

The Manager knew that brainwashing would be difficult in this situation, while Yeonwoo was contemplating whether to run away.

The blue flower that had grown even more in a short time filled one corner of their vision.

‘I’ve informed the Humanity Management Company faction, so I can leave now.’

The goal was achieved. The terrorist attack wasn’t his concern. Humanity would face extinction in 15 years anyway.

“Then I’ll be going-”

Yeonwoo turned to say goodbye to the Manager and saw someone.

On the road crowded with people running, someone was walking leisurely. Wearing a fluorescent vest like theirs, holding a cylinder filled with blue particles.

He stopped when he saw the Manager.

“Manager of the First Response Division? Too bad, you’re a step too late.”

The Manager turned to see the man’s face. He spoke coldly.

“Operations Manager of the Special Forces. You’ve crossed the line.”

“Hey, you were planning to do the same thing, don’t act all righteous with me.”

The man twisted his mouth into a smirk. He pointed his cylinder at the Manager’s phone.

“Brainwashing people or killing them—it\'s the same thing. Let\'s not fight among ourselves if we’re aiming for the same goal. All roads lead to Rome, don’t they?”

“It’s different. This is something the company won’t tolerate—”

“And what if they don’t? They don’t have the capacity to do anything. And who are they to object?”

While the Manager maintained his composure, the other man’s eyes suddenly blazed with anger. His voice was filled with rage and heat.

“The company has given up on Earth. They could save people, but they chose not to.”

He slammed the cylinder down like a knife.

“Kill 7 billion people, and the extreme weather problem is solved. It’s not even that hard. Just release a few of the anomalies the company is holding back, and nuclear weapons would look like toys!”

“That’s not even worth responding to.”

Yeonwoo took a step back, listening to their conversation. He assessed the situation and gleaned the ideology of the man’s faction.

‘The Humanity Extermination Company? Their solution to the climate crisis is to kill humans?’

It was understandable but hard to agree with. Especially since the root cause of the extreme weather hadn\'t even been identified.

\'Can I really join hands with these factions?\'

The man suddenly calmed down, his emotions swinging to the extreme.

“If the preservation plan goes ahead, only 5 million will survive. Maybe more if all the groups are combined. But if we kill 7 billion, 1 billion will survive. That’s saving more lives.”

“You think we don’t know that?”

Directly taking 7 billion lives. The company would no longer be the Humanity Protection Company.

“If we do that, the company can never return to what it was.”

“We’ll take the blood and bear the responsibility. You, the Humanity Management Company, just need to manage the remaining humans well. Just put your spoon on the table we’ve set.”

The Manager shook his head firmly, his expression hard.

“We’ll handle things our way. We don’t need your help.”

“Really? Ha ha. So, you plan to obstruct us to the end?”

“You’re the one who’s obstructing me right now.”

The man readied to throw the cylinder, while the Manager subtly lifted his phone, its pink glow flickering.

The man with the fiery eyes and the cool-headed Manager stared at each other without blinking, ready to attack at any moment.

At that point, Yeonwoo stepped in. Clearing his throat a few times, he walked over to stand next to the Manager.

The tension dispersed slightly. Both the Manager and the man looked at Yeonwoo, the outsider.

“Investigator Lee Yeonwoo.”

“That investigator?”

The man flinched, gripping the cylinder filled with blue seeds tightly. The cylinder was now aimed at Yeonwoo. The Manager chimed in.

“He’s part of the Clock Repairmen faction.”

“Never heard of it. What kind of faction is it?”

“A faction dedicated to solving the extreme weather problem.”

“How?”

The man’s eyes began to spark again.

Yeonwoo spoke.

“We plan to use all anomalies and technologies, regardless of whether they belong to the company, hostile groups, or allies, to find a way to combat the extreme weather.”

The Manager and the man’s expressions became complex. A mix of shame, regret, and reflection crossed their faces. They both moved their lips slightly before speaking softly.

“Honest and idealistic.”

“…Not bad.”

Protect humanity from anomalies.

The Manager and the man had chosen an easier path to achieve this. They decided to manipulate humanity with anomalies to survive the extreme weather—a perversion of their mission, actions that could be defined as hostile.

On the other hand, the Clock Repairmen had not lost sight of the Humanity Protection Company’s original mission. They aimed to face the extreme weather head-on, remaining true to their principles.

Even if the path was narrow and faint, it couldn’t be ignored.