Humanity Protection Company

TL/Editor: raei

Status: 5/week mon-fri

Illustrations: posted in discord

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The helmeted stranger grabbed the Club member's shoulders tightly. As the member's body was pulled forward, the stranger thrust their face close, bringing the pitch-black helmet mere inches from the member's nose.

A gurgling, phlegm-filled sound emanated from within. Through the semi-transparent, blood-stained faceplate, the vague outline of a zombie's face was visible. It was a grotesque visage, half-rotted with only the rough contours remaining.

"Gwaaargh!"

"Get off me! Get away!"

The member wailed, his face contorted in fear. He flailed his limbs and pushed with his palms, but couldn't overcome the zombie's strength.

The zombie headbutted the member while still wearing the helmet. Its teeth clacked audibly behind the faceplate.

Fresh meat was right in front of it, but the helmet prevented it from feeding. The zombie continued to slam its head against the member. Thunk, thunk, thunk, until the member's skull would crack.

Until the helmet would be stained with his blood.

"Ugh!"

The world spun dizzily. Everything turned red with blood. The zombie's hungry cries and the thunderous impacts filled the member's ears.

That's when luck finally decided to intervene.

Crash!

The helmeted zombie, forever doomed to hunger, toppled over. Its grip on the member slipped.

A lucky break had arrived.

"Attack, no, run, gotta run...!"

The member, his head cracked and bleeding profusely, staggered backward. Something was off with his balance, though he couldn't tell exactly what.

He couldn't even blame the old man who had abandoned him, nor did he think to draw the gun tucked in his jacket.

'I need to get somewhere safe! If I waste any more time, I'll run into another anomaly!'

It was the right judgment, but also a misjudgment. Was there truly a safe place? Even if there was, could he make it there?

The member ran desperately down the icy path. Despite his shattered sense of balance, his luck kept him from falling.

In contrast, the zombie kept tumbling behind him. The sounds of it falling and wailing echoed from behind.

How long had he run with blood clouding his vision?

"...Huh?"

Reaching the edge of the park, the member spotted a strange flower.

A mugunghwa flower.

In the dead of winter, on a snow-covered park path. Despite the weather, shy buds were forming on the mugunghwa.

A light pink flower was blooming rapidly, as if time had been fast-forwarded.

It was an accident. An anomaly. An event he couldn't avoid, no matter how lucky he was, had found him.

"No way, right?"

The member stopped, gripped by an inexplicable sense of dread. His hands trembled, not from the cold, but from fear.

'No way, right? This can't be real, right? Running into three anomalies in just a few hours? This doesn't make any sense.'

If a person's fate was this twisted, could they even be called human? They'd be more like a magnet for anomalies.

These thoughts, coupled with his dulled and slow reactions, made him miss his chance. The moment he could have survived.

The mugunghwa flower, which had been covered in snow from a sudden gust of wind, burst into full bloom.

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The member thought he heard a childish singing voice. "The mugunghwa flower has bloomed." He also recalled the children's game where you had to freeze when you heard those words, or you'd be out.

Carelessly, the member took a step back.

"Ah."

His heart plummeted. And then it never beat again. His heart had stopped.

The member collapsed backward. His eyes, which he couldn't bring himself to close, stared blankly at the gloomy sky. A single snowflake drifted down onto his wide-open eyes, as if in disbelief.

The snow melted from his still-warm body temperature, mixing with blood to form bloody tears that trickled down his face.

No matter how lucky you are, you can't always be lucky. Moreover, if you lack the skill to seize opportunities, even good fortune will pass you by.

The member, who had been living off Yeonwoo's fate without earning it, died on a winter park path.

------

You have to cut your losses quickly. The old man abandoned the unlucky member and immediately returned to the safe shelter, contacting the Club Chairman.

"This project is a failure."

"I know. I saw everything."

The Chairman's voice came through the phone. He sounded troubled, as if the recent events had given him much to ponder.

The old man asked, his voice tinged with confusion, "But didn't we at least get information about the dice? We didn't come away empty-handed."

"The dice is certainly interesting. The problem is Yeonwoo, that man. Don't you feel like we've been deceived by the packaging of the dice?"

"I'm not sure I follow..."

The Chairman fell silent for a moment. Struggling to find the right words, he finally spoke plainly.

"If we look at just the dice, there are many ways to use it. But the company's higher-ups used Yeonwoo, not the dice. Like a nuclear bomb. Now I understand why."

Many Club members were blinded by profit. They overlooked dangers or other aspects. Or even if they knew, they tended to take reckless risks repeatedly.

But high-ranking members like the Chairman had seen many things, and he had quickly grasped Yeonwoo's true nature.

A man like radiation or a swamp. Someone who brought accidents to those around him, or dragged down everything he was involved with.

Just look at how much time and resources the company had spent dealing with accidents caused by Yeonwoo.

"We should put him on the blacklist, not the VIP list. He's the type of person who only brings losses when you get involved with him."

"Like the President of the Artist Association?" the old man asked.

The Chairman sighed before answering, "In some ways, he might be worse than that person. Even if you approach him with good intentions for mutual benefit, you get nothing in return."

"So what are we going to do from now on?"

The Club's approach would have to change. The old man spoke, considering various possibilities, and the Chairman decided on a policy for dealing with Yeonwoo.

"Living as if we don't know each other is probably best. Whether we earn his hostility or goodwill, nothing good will come of it."

"I understand. Oh, and what about the gold acquisition project?"

"Let's just explore relying purely on luck. If we use Golden Omnipotence to get information, we'll barely break even, won't we?"

They could create gold with Golden Omnipotence. But they'd have to pay an equivalent price, so it wasn't worth it.

With that, they wrapped up their discussion about Yeonwoo and the exploration.

"Also, be wary of the doomsday cultists. I have a feeling those guys are about to make some desperate moves."

"True. They'd do anything to avoid withering away. I'll be careful."

Their conversation continued, warning each other about other potential dangers.

------

Deep in an underground cavern.

High-ranking doomsday cultists gathered, groaning in pain. The Smoker, shrouded in black smoke, had grown faint. The Warrior was wrapped in bandages like a mummy. The Ghost of the electronic world sat in a corner, clutching their head.

Pain-filled moans echoed through the cavern, which reeked of medicine like a hospital ward. It was all due to the aftermath of war and the machinations of various groups.

Curses, sniping, misfortune, spatial distortions, viruses, attacks, rebellions, and more. Fantastical assaults composed of all sorts of anomalies.

"I'm really dying here..."

"If only that person with the eraser was still here, we wouldn't be in this mess."

They all expressed the same regret.

The one who had become one with the eraser. If he had survived intact, all these schemes would have been erased.

But he was already dead, and the eraser had been taken. The doomsday cultists, who had accumulated too much bad karma, couldn't hold out.

The Ghost of the electronic world, clutching a phone, muttered, "It's Yeonwoo. That guy's the problem. He's the reason we're in this mess."

The doomsday cultists weren't stupid. They had analyzed the cause in their own way. The single cause.

Starting with resolving the climate anomalies, killing the doomsday cultist with the eraser, infiltrating their gathering to deal with Glasses and the Reptilian boss, and finally turning the afterlife fragments against them with bad luck.

A man who brought doom to the doomsday cultists.

"He killed the guy who was like a nuclear bomb, took out the Reptilian boss who had the biggest influence, and even Glasses who was our brains. How did he manage to pick off just the right people?"

"Maybe the company prepared him specifically to deal with us."

"Can we stop talking about the past?"

At that point, the mummy-like Warrior raised a hand. He was holding a half-empty bottle of vodka, which sloshed as he gestured.

"Don't we have enough problems as it is? It's hard enough finding solutions to those."

A moment of silence fell. They closed their mouths tightly, as if forgetting their pain.

The situation was truly dire. They had no Danger Level 6 entities, few doomsday cultists remained, and almost every group was sharpening their knives to hunt them down.

Not wanting to die before the world and humanity ended, they struggled desperately to survive.

The Ghost of the electronic world spoke gloomily, "Recruitment isn't working. No matter how many ads we send out, no one's joining."

"We can't secure a Danger Level 6 either. If we had that kind of ability, we wouldn't be in this situation to begin with. Our only hope is you."

The Smoker coughed and looked at the Warrior.

"How's it looking? Do you think you can do it?"

"No."

The Warrior, who had vowed to fight and defeat the world, clenched his fist. His bandaged hand, looking like a teddy bear's paw, swiped through the air.

"I can beat radiation now that I've escaped from the Red Giant. I'm stronger than radiation. But I still have many weaknesses. There are many things I can't hit."

"The future looks bleak."

The Smoker exhaled a cloud of black smoke. It was as dark as their future.

Meanwhile, the Ghost of the electronic world groaned, clutching their head as they pondered.

"If only Glasses was here, we could've found a solution. Glasses. If we think like Glasses..."

Glasses, who used to come up with grand strategies and all sorts of clever tricks.

The Ghost of the electronic world recalled the face of their departed comrade, trying to think from his perspective. Memories of collaborating with him, the strategies he devised, how he utilized situations.

All these memories became a legacy, shining brightly in their small mind.

Suddenly, the Ghost of the electronic world looked up. Their once-dull eyes now gleamed. It was as if Glasses' spectacles were glinting.

"The climate anomalies!"

"What are you on about? You're still not right in the head, so get some rest. We're really done for if you get hurt too."

"Have a drink and go to sleep."

Despite the worried scolding from the other two cultists, the Ghost of the electronic world shook their head vigorously. They even jumped up.

"When the climate anomalies were resolved! What did we do?"

"What did we do? We tried to divert some of the anomaly components..."

The others began to catch on. The Ghost of the electronic world clapped their hands.

"That's it! We can get what we lack from others!"

"...How? That doesn't sound easy."

The Smoker paused, about to light a cigarette. Smoking in the sealed cavern didn't seem like a good idea.

The Ghost of the electronic world excitedly flapped their hands.

"Let's poach company people! We'll recruit Danger Level 6 entities too!"

"Again, how?"

The voice was tinged with irritation now. The Ghost of the electronic world moved quickly. Their hands dissolved into strings of 0s and 1s, diving into the phone to retrieve classified documents.

"The first doomsday cultist was a company employee! Why? Because they thought humans create anomalies!"

The classified document was clearly displayed on the phone screen.

It stated that humans were the origin of anomalies. That if all humans died, anomalous entities would disappear and no more would appear. That humans were the cause of this irrational universe.

"If humanity goes extinct, anomalies will vanish too! We must die for the sake of intelligent species and life in the universe that will be born after humanity! Let's use this to recruit company employees!"

"...It's better than just sending out spam texts."

The Smoker showed a glimmer of interest.

Many company employees had lost their minds. During the climate anomalies, a faction called the Humanity Genocide Company had formed, willing to kill 6 billion people to resolve the issue.

Couldn't they use that grand sense of mission to mass-produce fanatical doomsday cultists?

The Warrior took a few swigs of vodka and asked, "What about Danger Level 6? No matter how many people we gather, we can't do anything without power. We'll just wither away."

"We'll steal that too! We just need to recruit people who are on the verge of reaching Level 6!"

"...Like Yeonwoo?"

"That's right, he's a target too!"

The Ghost of the electronic world nodded vigorously.

"He's a problem because he's our enemy! Imagine how reliable he'd be on our side!"

"That's true, but would that guy do something like this?"

They all knew the basic information. Yeonwoo was their archenemy, so they knew him even better.

First of all, he had a survivalist tendency. He didn't seem like the type to do dangerous things, regardless of the cause.

But the Ghost of the electronic world's eyes sparkled with confidence as they spoke.

"We have a few anomalous entities for recruitment."

The Warrior and the Smoker looked at each other briefly before nodding.

"Well, I guess things can't get much worse from here."

"If we succeed, we might be able to turn the situation around."

And so, in the dark cavern, a plan was hatched.

------

Yeonwoo prepared to leave work. Though "leaving work" just meant moving from the office to the adjacent room.

"I'm feeling pretty good today."

After checking the window one last time, Yeonwoo walked out with a bright smile and a spring in his step.

He had finished cleaning thoroughly, and the payment for the request had just come through. True to the Club's reputation, the money matters were handled cleanly. They had transferred the cash without any fuss.

With that, Yeonwoo left the office, firmly closing the door behind him.

At that moment, Yeonwoo's face suddenly twisted into a grimace.

"Why do I suddenly feel so bad?"

The fate that brought murder cases wherever he went had returned. Yeonwoo, who had enjoyed half a day of freedom, instinctively made an unpleasant expression.

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