Chapter 10
I Was Getting Used to It
A few repeated days had passed.
Every time an extraction ended, money labeled as allowances was deposited into my account, and welfare point notifications kept coming in.
I had only been here a few days, so I didn’t dare ask what I could use those welfare points for, in case it got me marked as someone “too eager.”
Still, I guess humans really are creatures of adaptation.
Now, when I open the door in the morning, I automatically lower my voice. I don’t flinch anymore when seven faces turn toward me at once. I even manage to accept coffee from my boss with the head made of fists.
For some reason, I’ve started to feel that these people(?) won’t tear me apart for no reason.
Sometimes, Deputy Myeon insists I still need more adjustment training and keeps sending me on tours of B Zone.
Every time, I drag chains with Chief Shik and walk down the hallway, locking eyes with dozens of pupils in front of the containment doors.
Sometimes, it even becomes a literal eye fight.
Because some entities only respond if you don’t look away from their thick, mucus-like gaze.
Anyway, right now I’m standing in front of containment room D-11.
Normally, my job is extracting from D-class entities rather than B-class ones.
The entity’s name is “The Silent Swan.”
It is an amorphous dimensional entity without a clear form, emitting cold at regular intervals inside the containment room.
If you knock in a specific rhythm within the time limit, resonance occurs and energy is extracted.
“Tap. Tap. Tap……”
I memorized the rhythm.
This is my fourth time doing this job.
It’s a floating shape made of white pointillism, but sometimes a faint smiling mouth appears in the air.
Every time I see that, cold sweat runs down my back.
But I don’t throw up anymore.
The nausea still rises to my throat sometimes, but I force it down.
The most useful skill I’ve learned in this company is controlling my own organs.
“You’re doing great. Ha-il.”
“Ha-il, you’re the future of our team.”
Assistant Han says this every time he sees me these days.
It doesn’t feel bad, but it doesn’t feel like real praise either, so it still feels distant.
Chief Shik also growls in a slightly softer tone now and pats me on the back.
Sometimes it hits my spine like a hammer.
“I’ve gotten used to it… more like…”
I thought as I started the second round of knocking.
“Hell-like. But I guess I’ve adapted.”
That was when it happened.
[Beeeeep——— BEEP. BEEP——]
A grotesque, sticky metallic siren echoed through the entire extraction facility.
It would’ve been better if they just said there was a fire, but this wasn’t fire or water.
It was my first time hearing it directly, but I had definitely heard about it from Assistant Han.
—If the siren rings in the extraction room, it means something has opened. You run fast, Ha-il. Sprint.
A coldness that hit deeper than vibration—straight into my bones.
It wasn’t sound through my ears. It was a warning ringing through my spinal cord.
The ceiling began to tremble faintly, and red emergency lights spun at the end of the corridor.
I instinctively turned around.
Chief Shik was already there at some point.
He stood silently, unmoving, staring in one direction.
I followed his gaze.
Beyond the steel doors were extraction zones C, B, and even more dangerous areas beyond that.
“…What the hell…”
I had just gotten used to D Zone.
I looked down at the tablet in my hand.
The screen was off, and my reflection looked like a stranger.
That expression said it clearly.
It was too early to get used to this.
The siren sounded again.
This time it was closer—like it was ringing right beside my ear.
[Special dimensional entity containment breach. All containment units opening. All personnel proceed to suppression protocol immediately.]
“What the hell?! Are you insane?!”
I staggered back and pressed myself against the wall.
I heard it clearly.
All containment units opened.
All of them.
Boom.
Boom.
Boom.
Something massive passed behind me like a shadow.
I turned toward the sound.
It was Chief Shik.
Chains carved through the air as he ran.
Without hesitation, he sprinted forward like a beast.
As the steel doors opened automatically, red emergency lights flared like burning eyes, and he disappeared inside with his mane and chains whipping behind him.
Far away, something white and gray flickered.
I gasped.
“Let’s go to the office.”
I didn’t care about the others.
If I stayed here, I would die.
I ran toward the exit of the corridor.
It was close.
My steps turned into a sprint.
But then—
“Aaaaagh!!”
A scream.
And at the same time—
CRUNCH!
The sound of metal being crushed.
I stopped instinctively.
Something stood in the middle of the corridor.
Something that looked like a human shape.
Or rather, something pretending to be human.
A suit covered in grease stains.
From both shoulders, black spirals twisted outward like living things, reaching into the air.
Its face was empty.
No eyes. No nose. No mouth.
Just smooth skin like a blank mask.
“…What is that…?”
It tilted its head slowly.
A buzzing sound filled my ears as it took a step forward.
Ripples formed across its mask-like face.
The skin twisted—briefly forming a copy of my expression before disappearing.
Like it was testing how to become me.
I searched my memory for containment manuals.
[C-2 Containment Zone]
Entity: “Nameless”
Code: C-2
Type: Biological / Composite (after synchronization)
Warning: Do not maintain eye contact / direct viewing may cause identity collapse / requires neutralization material removal
Fragments of the manual exploded in my mind.
The tablet in my hand was already broken.
Nameless.
An entity that creates cracks in the identity of what it sees, then takes over the body.
And I was facing it directly.
If I look away, I lose my mind.
If I keep looking, I get mentally eroded.
“What am I supposed to do?!”
It stepped closer.
Its mouth opened.
Or rather, its skin split vertically down the center, revealing a black void that pulsed.
“I found you.”
And from inside it—my voice came out.
“This place doesn’t really suit you.”
Thump.
My heart echoed.
“You should run more. You already think you failed again, don’t you?”
Thump.
My brain echoed.
“You already felt it, right? You and this place don’t match.”
Thump.
“There must be a more fitting place for you. Somewhere I belong—”
My lungs echoed.
It was all my thoughts.
My deepest, fragile desires.
Cracks in my sense of self began leaking out.
“No… I…”
Did you think that?
Something rose inside me, blurring everything.
On its face, my terrified expression appeared.
Logic? Manuals?
In a place where only random death and inevitable death exist, it’s all bullshit.
It tore apart.
Survival was always just desperate struggle.
The moment I thought that, I slammed myself into the wall.
Bang!
Bang!
Bang! Bang!
I hit my head repeatedly.
A sharp signal returned through my nerves, and my mind snapped back.
Words from textbooks became shards that sliced through Nameless’s voice.
I slammed my forehead against reality.
“Shut the hell up!!”
My shout echoed through the hallway.
“Doesn’t fit?! Me?! This place?! You telling me to leave?! Screw you!!”
My skull felt like it was tearing open.
But I kept going.
“No!! I belong here!! Perfectly!!”
My eyes widened like I was insane, smiling as I stepped forward.
“I was never normal to begin with!! You think I belong somewhere?! I’m a damn failure!!”
“You are a failure. Trash.”
“I went to college and still had no money!”
“With just a bachelor’s degree you can’t even get a counseling desk job. Go to grad school, Ha-il.”
“I tried the military and got kicked out. Came back unemployed with only a high school level life!”
“Private Jeong Ha-il, it hurts, please save me, Private Jeong Ha-il.”
I pulled out every disgusting memory it echoed at me.
I hit my chest and screamed.
Depression, failure, defeat—all of it became armor wrapping around me.
“Headless freak, seven-faced bastard, vampire monster, chain-dragging beast—ALL PERFECT!! THEY FIT ME!!”
Nameless trembled.
Cracks spread across its face.
“I am the perfect employee for this damn ‘Fate Always Comes True Co., Ltd.’!!”
Boom.
It staggered back.
A drone descended from the ceiling.
[Target stabilized. Energy remaining: 15%. Initiating recovery.]
It couldn’t break in.
My life was too already broken to be invaded.
Nameless dissolved into smoke and was sucked into the drone.
I collapsed.
“Haah… haah…”
My body lost strength.
I touched my chest, trying to steady myself.
Then—
Rustle.
Something moved in the distance.
Was Chief Shik returning?
Strangely, I felt relieved.
I turned with a faint smile.
“…Huh?”
My vision blurred.
No—it collapsed.
It was like oil being poured into my eyes.
Everything melted.
Colors bled together.
The lights turned into blood.
The walls melted.
The floor dissolved.
“I’m done… right? It’s over?”
I blinked.
Again.
Nothing improved.
Then I understood.
My eyes were melting.
“Aaaah!!”
Panic surged through my body.
I covered my eyes.
I had to block it—
Ssshhhkk.
“Gaaah!!”
The smell of burning rubber hit me.
My skin was burning.
Hands, face, everything.
I was melting.
This wasn’t hallucination.
It was real pain.
I couldn’t speak.
My vocal cords refused.
I was going to die.
Then—
THUD.
Space bent.
Something long and thin appeared.
Silent.
Its body moved like torn black plastic.
Even with my melting eyes, I saw it clearly.
Another entity that destroys perception just by being seen.
I slammed my face to the floor.
I couldn’t even scream.
My tongue was melting.
So this is how humans die.
Just then—
BOOOOOOM!!
The ceiling exploded.
Something massive broke through.
And suddenly—the pain stopped.
Coldness returned.
The burning in my eyes cooled.
Through my blurred vision, I looked up.
And saw it.
The entity that had been behind Nameless.
Now pinned beneath enormous tree roots.
Thick, twisted, ancient roots bursting through space and structure.
They tore the entity apart like flesh.
Screams filled the corridor.
And at the end of the roots—
Someone stood.
At least, the upper body was human.
A suit.
Neat black shirt.
Gold-buttoned sleeves.
Polished shoes.
A perfectly arranged green tie.
But skin made of bark.
Hair made of green leaves.
Roots growing through shoulders, neck, wrists.
Eyes embedded between knots in the wood.
All of them blinked at once.
He bowed slightly.
Too calm.
Too natural.
One hand hanging like a branch.
The other touching his chest.
“Excellent resolve. I heard you clearly.”
A voice like wet wood in an ancient forest.
He raised his head.
Wooden eyes pierced through me.
“Nice to meet you, Employee Jeong Ha-il.”
I knew it immediately.
The rumored Head of Department Mok… was this monster.
