Humanity Protection Company

Illustrations: None.

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Seo Peonho let out a shallow breath.

He looked at Gong Yuna with clear eyes.

She was his prized student, who he had taken an interest in since she was an undergraduate, led through graduate school, and finally brought into the Humanity Protection Company.

And although she was the next person, after Choi Hyunsang and the woman, to be a test subject for the rainwater, the situation had changed, leaving no other choice.

“Gong Yuna. Continue my research... And, Mr. Lee Yeonwoo.”

Seo Peonho turned his head to look at Yeonwoo, who had positioned him in front.

Yeonwoo’s face was expressionless, revealing nothing of his thoughts. Seo Peonho gave a bitter smile.

“I’m sorry. But please spare my student. She won’t trouble you.”

“How do we stop this rain?”

Consistent as ever.

Seo Peonho recalled the rumors he had heard about Yeonwoo. A human totem who attracted all sorts of incidents and accidents. Hadn’t it started raining as soon as Yeonwoo arrived?

‘There must be a reason he’s survived.’

A survival specialist, the epitome of an investigator. Seo Peonho spoke honestly.

“For that, you need to sacrifice seven people. For the details, ask my student... Please, just save my student…”

With those words, Seo Peonho closed his eyes. His legs gave out, and he collapsed. He wasn’t dead yet, as his faint breathing continued.

Yeonwoo looked down at Seo Peonho. Then, sensing someone approaching, he raised his gun.

It was Gong Yuna. She had picked up the syringe she had dropped and was coming closer but then stopped.

"I have no intention of harming you.”

“….”

Gong Yuna stared at Seo Peonho.

Without a word, Yeonwoo walked past Seo Peonho and Gong Yuna, heading further into the lodge. He figured he would provide some first aid or move Seo Peonho elsewhere since he wasn’t dead yet.

But in the next moment, Yeonwoo’s eyes widened.

Stab-

Gong Yuna had plunged the syringe into Seo Peonho’s neck. With her thumb, she pressed down, injecting the transparent liquid.

“The doctor would want this. It\'s something that helps the research before he dies.”

Her voice was emotionless.

After fully injecting the liquid, Gong Yuna pulled out the syringe and rolled it in her hand.

“In fact, the doctor intended to test it on you. He said you would expedite the research.”

“What the hell.”

“If we injected you with the rainwater and you resisted the side effects, we could use your blood as a sample for further research.”

Yeonwoo readjusted his homemade pistol. He couldn’t let his guard down around these crazy people. Both the master and the disciple were the same.

Gong Yuna pulled out her phone and turned on the camera. The smartphone’s camera lens captured Seo Peonho. Gong Yuna’s voice continued.

“September 11th. Rainwater-003 clinical trial. The subject is Seo Peonho. Condition: three gunshot wounds to the abdomen. One minute after the rainwater injection. Gunshot wounds are healing.”

Yeonwoo glanced at Seo Peonho.

The gunshot wounds were indeed healing. Underneath the blood-soaked clothes, the flesh was regenerating. Additionally, Seo Peonho’s hair was falling out in clumps, and he began to convulse, his eyes rolling back.

Something felt dangerous.

“Hair loss progressing. Convulsions confirmed.”

“Hey. First, tell me how to stop the rain.”

Gong Yuna didn’t even turn her head. She recited the knowledge in a flat tone.

“It was recorded that if seven people lose their heads to the rain, the rain stops.”

Seven people must be sacrificed.

Yeonwoo counted the number of people staying here, folding a finger for each one.

‘The man who lost his head, two civilians, three research team members, and the lodge owner.’

Exactly seven, excluding Yeonwoo.

As he was about to get lost in thought, shaking his gun, Yeonwoo suddenly raised his arm and aimed the gun.

The gun barrel pointed at Seo Peonho.

Screech- crack- thud- creak-

Seo Peonho twisted his limbs like a possessed person, his joints bending unnaturally, his fingernails scraping the floor as he struggled.

Yeonwoo licked his dry lips.

"That thing is dangerous, no, it will definitely be dangerous."

He concluded before Gong Yuna could answer. Seo Peonho had admitted it himself—side effects included increased aggression and mental instability.

\'If left alone, he\'ll definitely go berserk like a zombie.\'

Yeonwoo hooked his finger on the trigger, then put the gun back into his bag. Gunshots wouldn\'t be effective. A heavy blow or a sharp cut would be better.

He called out to the man crouching in the corner.

"The guy with the broken car. Let\'s subdue that thing together."

"Y-yes! Yes!"

The man grabbed a long broom that had fallen to the floor, and Yeonwoo took out a tool from his bag.

A mini electric saw, perfect for the current situation.

The blade was slightly larger than the palm of his hand.

Whirrr-

As he pressed a button like a trigger, the RPM increased, and the saw blade spun furiously. The mini electric saw, designed to cut small branches, cut through the air as it moved toward Seo Peonho.

Gong Yuna stood in front, blocking for Seo Peonho.

"Gong Yuna, step aside."

"...I\'ll tie him up right away, so don\'t damage the specimen."

Gong Yuna picked up a leftover rope she had used to tie the headless man. She then tied Seo Peonho\'s ankles, hands, and body.

Seo Peonho, tightly bound with rope, struggled violently. His skin chafed and peeled off, but it regenerated continuously, leaving him writhing.

Whirrr-

Yeonwoo kept the electric saw running. He didn\'t know what might happen next.

Indeed, his caution was not excessive.

Gong Yuna crouched and tied the knots tightly.

"Kyahhh!"

Seo Peonho, his eyes rolled back, raised his upper body and bit into Gong Yuna\'s neck with his gaping mouth.

Thud-

Choi Hyunsang, who had gone outside, returned headless, dragging his torn raincoat as he crossed the broken entrance.

Thump, thump-

The woman who had gone upstairs to call Seo Peonho tumbled down the stairs. She had apparently been injected with the \'rainwater\' in the lab, as her hair was falling out and her eyes were rolling back.

"Kyaaak!"

"..."

The scene turned into chaos in an instant.

Gong Yuna spewed blood from her torn neck. Even now, flesh was being ripped from her neck.

Headless Choi Hyunsang, with his rain-soaked shoes squelching, slowly approached them, while the woman crouched like a beast on all fours, ready to pounce.

"...The guy with the broken car. Take this."

Yeonwoo took out a hammer from his bag and handed it over. He then said,

"Let\'s go up the stairs. If we barricade ourselves on the stairs, we can hold out."

"Ah, ah."

The man grasped the hammer but let it hang limply. His eyes were fixed on the woman. His voice trembled endlessly, just like his eyes.

"Why, ah. Because of me. It\'s because I wanted to come."

He was out of his mind. Gone.

Yeonwoo gave up on him.

He took a determined step toward the stairs. The woman sprang up and charged on all fours. Yeonwoo sidestepped and quickly ran up the stairs.

A scream-like shout came from the man behind him.

"Snap out of it! It\'s me! Agh!"

It was too late. Yeonwoo didn\'t slow down. He entered the lab, which had its door open, and grabbed the computer tower and monitor before heading back to the stairs.

Thud, thud-

Downstairs, the headless Choi Hyunsang was climbing the stairs. One step at a time, steadily.

Yeonwoo lifted the monitor high and, after a quick calculation, threw it.

The monitor flew through the air and struck Choi Hyunsang in the chest. Choi Hyunsang fell backward and tumbled down the stairs.

Yeonwoo\'s expression was grim.

\'This isn\'t going to solve the problem. Coming up to the second floor might have been a mistake. I should\'ve just gone outside with an umbrella.\'

Even as he thought that, he threw the computer tower again, pushing both Choi Hyunsang and the woman down simultaneously. Then he urgently rummaged through his pockets as he ran back to the lab.

‘Calling the company... it\'s too late. They might not come. It would be better to call the police or an insurance company, or a tow truck, and use them as sacrifices—’

At that moment.

Yeonwoo, who had reached the lab, suddenly stopped.

From the lab\'s window, which overlooked the parking lot and road.

A police car and a tow truck had arrived at the lodge. Someone had thought similarly and acted first.

---

---

The lodge owner was pacing frantically inside the storage room.

He spun around the shelves, checked the tightly locked door, and grabbed a traditional straw rain cape and a bamboo hat that had been passed down through his family.

He tore at his thinning hair.

‘What on earth is happening?’

Rain that makes heads fall was not a big deal to him.

He was from a family that had lived in the village for generations, descendants of a shaman who quelled the rain. Naturally, he knew about the rain that made heads fall and the need to offer seven sacrifices. It was his duty.

A while ago, he had a dream that foretold the rain, so he had made preparations….

‘How did I attract new guests, puncture all the tires except for one, and even tear the researcher’s raincoat?’

Then a gunman appeared, the front door was destroyed, and zombie-like humans showed up.

With trembling hands, he turned on his phone and checked the CCTV on the first floor of the lodge. He counted the numbers, recalling the situation.

Two people rampaging, two people bitten and dead, two headless people.

He tore at his hair again.

“We’re short of heads….”

These unknown individuals had completely ruined the ritual. At this rate, he didn’t know how long the rain would continue. He had to stop the rain quickly.

The lodge owner tightly closed his eyes and then opened them. He looked at his phone.

"It should be outsiders that are sacrificed. There’s no other choice.”