Humanity Protection Company

TL/Editor: raei

Schedule: 5/week

Illustrations: None.

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Though the situation had been resolved, an uneasy feeling lingered. From Future Lee Yeonwoo's incomprehensible reaction to the Ark's uncertain existence, things felt off.

"...I should check if the intruder really left. As for the Ark, no need to dig deeper."

Whether the Ark existed or not wasn't crucial right now. The intruder's potential return was the main concern. Yeonwoo spoke up.

"Am I free to go now?"

"Right. Write up a report about your abduction and submit it."

The communication cut off, leaving the screen black.

Silence fell over the conference room.

Amid the snoring of collapsed agents, Yeonwoo started rummaging through his now-lighter bag but changed his mind and turned away.

'I'm not sure what exactly happened. I'll need to sort out my thoughts on the way back.'

He been unexpectedly relocated to the Anomaly Research Society.

Whether by taxi or public transport, the trip back to the shelter would take time. Enough time to gather his thoughts.

Yeonwoo left the Anomaly Research Society, walked to the edge of the plain, and hailed a taxi.

"...Please take me here."

While the quiet driver focused on the road, Yeonwoo examined the bag that had received the thread of possibility.

'Did it turn into an anomaly? Is this the reward?'

It seemed future Yeonwoo had obtained some kind of information. The bag, once bulging with tools, was now slim and light.

However, the tools hadn't vanished. When he reached deep into the seemingly empty bag, he could feel them. Just like a magic bag.

'This is handy.'

Though there seemed to be limits on weight and space, it was far better than a regular bag.

'If this is the reward, what did he discover?'

As Yeonwoo absentmindedly stirred his hand inside the bag, lost in thought, he felt something like tissues or memo paper.

Pulling it out, he found a few square napkins from a hamburger joint. They had text printed on them as if from a printer.

Yeonwoo placed the napkins on his lap and quietly bent his head to read.

-It was brief, but you did well. I'm going back. I won't come looking for you again. From now on, it's best if we don't see each other. It would only be uncomfortable.

The message from future Yeonwoo was printed across several napkins.

'How did he manipulate the probabilities...'

Sinking into various thoughts, he continued reading.

-I found the conditions for awakening the Ark. Haha. I relied only on probability and possibility, without even understanding their meaning. I was arrogant.

Next page.

-The reward ends with upgrading your bag. Looking at you, there doesn't seem to be much else I can help with. Well then, stay alive.

End.

Yeonwoo looked at the napkins several times before putting them back in the bag.

He turned his head to look out the taxi window as it sped down the highway. The scenery and cars passing by quickly.

And his own face, faintly reflected in the foggy window.

"It's really over."

A small voice drowned out by the humming of the car.

He sensed that future Yeonwoo had found clues about the Ark and left.

Yeonwoo closed his eyes.

'What I need to do now is...'

It was time to learn from future Yeonwoo's mistakes.

'Don't rely on the dice. Still, learn to manipulate probabilities. But mainly, sharpen my own survival instincts and skills.'

Leaning back comfortably as if sleeping, breathing calmly, Yeonwoo dug into his inner self. He recalled three sensations:

The intuition of dice results, the glimpse of future Yeonwoo's form, and finally, the feeling of repelling the threads.

As Yeonwoo nodded off pursuing these elusive sensations, he fell asleep.

---

---

"We've arrived. Is this the right place?"

Yeonwoo opened his eyes at the taxi driver's voice, wiping his mouth. Looking out the window with sleepy eyes, he saw the fence surrounding the shelter.

"Yes, this is it."

After paying, Yeonwoo stretched and walked through the fence into the building.

Opening a hatch in the building's floor, he descended to reach the shelter's corridor.

Yeonwoo suddenly stopped.

"...Why does it look so bad?"

Was it because he had seen the final shelter? The shelter he had once found so appealing now seemed entirely unappealing.

Yeonwoo shuffled along with a frown. The corridor's texture and the concrete walls looked extremely worn.

The situation room was somewhat better, but the strong sense of discomfort lingered.

"It's too big for just me. It takes forever to eat and clean up. And I'll have to climb a ladder every day for work."

As the drawbacks piled up, Yeonwoo's expression soured, but he quickly shook it off with a sigh.

"It's no different."

The final shelter or this shelter he called home were the same. Neither could withstand a serious attack from a dangerous anomaly.

Sitting in front of a large monitor, he placed his hands on the keyboard. Logging into the company's network, he found a message from the team leader.

-Office construction isn't finished, but we've set up training. Starting tomorrow, you'll get drone training and a license at the company's aerial weapons institute. Once construction's done, someone from Intelligence will train you on surveillance equipment.

"Ah, licenses..."

Training to use the equipment the company had started providing to investigators.

While equipment support was good, the prospect of training was annoying. Yeonwoo began writing the report on his encounter with the intruder with heavy hands.

His face darkened.

'Accidents, training, commuting, reports, work. I'm going to die. Should I quit?'

And so another day passed for Yeonwoo.

---

---

The aerial weapons institute was on a mountainside.

A research facility disguised as a military base. Occasional gunshots echoed, and people in various outfits traversed the roads.

After parking, Yeonwoo went straight to the training room, where he saw several people there for drone training and investigation team members waving at him.

"Oh, Yeonwoo!"

"Hey, you made it!"

Yoo Ji-yoo was sleeping with her head on the desk, the team leader was shouting loudly, and Choi Jae-min, the parent detector who surprisingly wasn't in school, was huddled in a corner.

Yeonwoo silently took the empty seat among them. A tired voice emerged from his tired face.

"Hey, everyone."

"Why do you look so worn out? Weren't you working from home?"

"I went out to work."

"You worked?"

The team leader gave him a puzzled look. It was odd that he, as the investigation team leader, didn't know about this work. Then he suddenly realized the situation.

"Special investigator?"

"Yeah..."

"What happened that... Ah, if it's confidential, don't say anything."

The team leader, who hadn't noticed anything unusual for days, was bewildered but accepted it. It wasn't the first time this had happened.

But Choi Jae-min turned around in his seat, his eyes sparkling.

"What's a special investigator?"

"Just... an investigator affiliated with headquarters."

Yeonwoo, slumped from mental fatigue that even rain couldn't wash away, suddenly raised his head.

"Oh right. I moved. Want to come for a housewarming?"

"You already found a place?"

When the team leader, who knew that Yeonwoo's old studio building had been erased, asked, Yeonwoo nodded.

"There's a building I got from the company. It has a lot of extra rooms and it's safe too. You can move in if you want."

"Me, me! I want to go!"

Choi Jae-min raised his hand quickly. Then he fired off questions.

"Is the house nice? How are the rooms?"

"It's good. It's safe. It's a bit inconvenient, but there's a lot of company tech. Like a generator, security system, and resource management."

"..."

The expressions of those listening quietly became strange. No matter how they heard it, it didn't sound like an ordinary house.

Suddenly, Yoo Ji-yoo lifted her head groggily and looked at Yeonwoo with bleary eyes.

"Is that really a house? From what you're saying, it sounds more like an emergency shelter."

"It is a shelter. A company-built shelter that can house up to 50 people, they said."

The sleepiness cleared from Yoo Ji-yoo's eyes.

"A shelter? ...So when the company said they'd give you a building, you took a shelter? You turned down an apartment in Seoul?"

Her voice and eyes were full of disbelief.

Yeonwoo looked back at them as if they were the strange ones.

"Why would I take an apartment? If that's the case, I should take a sturdy shelter. An apartment would collapse after a few attacks, wouldn't it?"

"No, no."

Yoo Ji-yoo, fumbling for words on where to start her rebuttal, stared blankly at Yeonwoo.

"A shelter would withstand attacks that could destroy an apartment multiple times. The cost-effectiveness-"

"That's not... Actually, thinking about it, it's good. Yeonwoo, you have unusually bad luck... Can we come for the housewarming after the training?"

As soon as Yoo Ji-yoo naturally changed the subject, Choi Jae-min and the team leader showed interest.

"I haven't been to a company shelter yet. Is there anything it lacks? What should we bring as housewarming gifts?"

"Let's go today, okay? I need to text my mom that I'll be home late."

"You don't need to bring gifts. Really, the shelter has everything."

As they were having this conversation, the front door of the training room opened, and a researcher stood in the doorway, shouting.

"Trainees! Let's go out! We're going to practice with drones!"

"What about the theoretical training-"

"Ah, we don't need that. As long as you know how to use them roughly, it's fine. You can learn the details while operating them in the field."