Chapter 18: D-XX The White and Chubby Furball (2)

“…Huff.”

It moved.

The White and Chubby Furball.

More precisely, this monster classified as a rank D dimensional entity without an assigned code slowly waved its short forelegs, hidden beneath its long and abundant fur, and began to approach.

I couldn’t move.

Its round red eyes remained fixed on me.

And something hidden within the fur began to move slowly.

A nose.

It was sniffing.

“Huff, huff huff…”

Its breathing came closer.

My entire body tensed.

Rustle—

Its fur brushed against me.

That soft, long, and slightly damp sensation slid across my shins.

“Ugh…”

I held my breath.

It buried its head against my legs and pushed the nose hidden beneath its fur forward as if trying to hug me.

Sniff, sniff.

I felt its damp breath pass through the fabric and reach my skin.

And then its tongue.

Slow, heavy, and wet.

“It… licked me…”

I stepped back reflexively.

But it didn’t pull away.

It pushed beneath my chin, pressed against my chest, and used its entire weight.

I ended up being shoved against the wall.

Bang!

My back slammed into the metal wall of the containment cell.

“Ugh, w-wait… Manager Batori…”

I turned my head toward my superiors.

All of them were watching from a distance without showing the slightest concern.

Assistant Manager Son had his arms crossed while absentmindedly squeezing his fist-shaped head.

Director Mok nodded gently while waving a few roots.

Supervisor Shik let out a deep growl, but he didn’t move any closer either.

Manager Batori watched calmly with her chin resting on one hand.

And Manager Myeon smiled as always.

“The emotional response is complex.”

Director Mok murmured.

“There is an initial recognition bias accompanied by approach behavior. Rather than caution, it appears to be attachment.”

Assistant Manager Son offered his opinion.

“We’ll also need to verify any emotional residue…”

Manager Batori added quietly.

Manager Myeon nodded slightly and addressed me.

“Employee Jeong.”

I barely managed to turn my head toward him.

One of the faces on his left cheek smiled kindly.

“Don’t worry. If it appears dangerous, we’ll intervene immediately.”

The smile was kind.

But it wasn’t reassuring at all right now.

Because at the moment, they weren’t the most dangerous thing here.

‘What the hell is wrong with this thing…?’

The furball continued burying its face in my legs while panting and sniffing.

As though it were searching for something.

Or checking something.

I swallowed silently.

Rustle.

The White and Chubby Furball moved again.

The head that had been buried in my legs slowly lowered.

White fur slipped between my clothes.

And the next moment—

“Hey! No, wait a second!”

It shoved its face into the pocket at my waist.

“W-wait! Not there!”

With a damp breath, the pocket deformed.

Small, sharp teeth hidden beneath the fur tugged at the fabric.

Startled, I stepped back and tried to push it away with my hands, but it had no intention of retreating.

“Huff huff.”

“Huff huff huff huff.”

It kept pushing its head into the pocket while sniffing.

It shook the pocket fiercely, as if it had found prey.

“Manager Batori, Manager Batori. This… what…?”

“Take out whatever you have in your pocket.”

Manager Batori spoke calmly.

Her voice was as measured as ever, yet strangely firm.

I hurriedly nodded and slipped my hand into my pocket.

There was something there.

Clack.

The sound of plastic.

A small, solid sensation.

‘This is…’

They were snacks I had grabbed in the cafeteria in case my blood sugar dropped.

Chocolate.

Candy.

And a small bag of cookies.

I held them in my hand with a bewildered expression and looked at my superiors.

“They’re just… snacks. I took them from the cafeteria…”

“Give me one.”

This time it was Assistant Manager Son who spoke.

He tilted his fist-shaped head slightly and extended a hand.

I took out a cookie and cautiously handed it to him.

He accepted it and, without even opening the wrapper, tossed it directly at the furball.

“Try this.”

Thud.

It only needed one bite.

Or rather, it rammed the entire package with its head a single time.

Crunch crunch crunch crunch crunch!

Both the wrapper and the contents were crushed and disappeared.

Like a hungry puppy throwing itself at its food bowl.

And then—

Purr. Purrrrrr.

I heard that sound.

A low, soft, and strangely peaceful purr.

The creature buried its face against my legs again.

This time, it rubbed against me with its entire weight.

Purrrr. Purrrrrrrr.

Its fur gently brushed against me.

Its round forehead rubbed against my thigh before pressing itself fully against me.

“Ugh.”

I froze.

‘Is this really a dimensional entity?’

Was this really one of our dangerous extraction targets?

Why was it purring like a cat?

Honestly, if it weren’t for the fact that this creature was the size of a lion and constantly panting, it would seem completely harmless.

“It’s adorable.”

The words slipped out before I realized it.

I felt my superiors’ gazes fall on me, but no one reacted.

The White and Chubby Furball continued purring.

Its round red eyes watched me as they narrowed slightly.

It was a sign of comfort.

Very carefully, I extended a trembling hand and petted its head.

Rustle.

It was fluffy.

Soft.

And strangely warm.

It didn’t feel like a dog.

Or a cat.

Much less like a dimensional entity.

“It’s okay.”

I murmured quietly.

The corners of my lips lifted slightly.

Purrrrr.

The creature rubbed gently against me again.

I was still afraid.

I still didn’t know when it might bare its teeth.

But at least right now.

For some reason, it felt warm.

Purrrrr.

***

Several minutes had passed.

“Haha… haa… It’s okay, really…”

I was still collapsed on top of the furball’s fur, burying my face in it as if I were about to melt.

It was soft, fluffy, warm, and it even smelled nice.

For some reason, it reminded me of the scent of cookies and sunlight.

‘It’s huge, so it’s hugely adorable.’

That thought crossed my mind as my heart beat calmly.

Since joining this company, had I ever felt this peaceful and relaxed?

It was a brief moment of peace obtained in the midst of extreme stress.

With my face buried in that gently swaying belly, I slowly stroked its forehead.

“Yes, you’re just a big white furball…”

Whoosh.

Suddenly, it lifted its head and calmly backed away from me.

“Hmm?”

The warmth of the furball vanished from my fingers.

It withdrew the gaze it had fixed on me and abruptly turned its head toward my superiors.

“Grrrrrrrr! WOOF! WOOF!”

The back that had been slightly hunched suddenly straightened.

All the long white fur covering its body stood on end.

The gentle Purrrrr from a moment ago vanished completely, replaced by a roar fiercer than a lion’s.

I remained sitting there, completely frozen.

“Just a moment ago…”

Then—

Tap.

Assistant Manager Son calmly raised his fist-head and lifted a middle finger.

More precisely, one of the fingers protruding from his head.

The middle finger.

“……”

A literal Fuck you.

The furball responded with an even louder bark.

“WOOF!”

A shriek so sharp it made my ears vibrate.

I squeezed my eyes shut.

“Grrrrrrrrrr……”

Supervisor Shik growled as well.

It was a deep and strange sound.

Mixed within his enormous furry mass was the noise of metal scraping against metal.

Had I been any closer, the vibration would have made my teeth chatter.

At that moment, the furball violently scraped the floor with one of its forepaws.

SCREEEECH—!

Accompanied by a metallic screech that seemed capable of tearing through eardrums, deep claw marks appeared across the special alloy floor of the containment cell.

“………!”

This room remained intact even when other dimensional entities went berserk.

Fear ran down my spine as I imagined what would have happened if those claws had grazed my legs.

My bones and tendons would have been shredded into ribbons.

And yet, while wagging its tail, it continued displaying those claws capable of causing a catastrophe.

I slowly looked toward my superiors.

Manager Batori watched the entire situation with a faint smile.

Her eyes shone with amusement, as though she found it interesting.

But she showed no intention whatsoever of intervening.

The most absurd part was that Director Mok and Manager Myeon were calmly having a conversation.

“Manager Myeon. Did you see it? The flow of the fur over both shoulders changes slightly every time it breathes.”

“Yes, I saw it. Also the asymmetrical pulsing around the muzzle. It’s probably a reflexive response based on synesthesia.”

“WOOF! WOOF!”

“Even so, since the fur around the neck hasn’t bristled, it doesn’t appear to be in a genuinely aggressive state.”

“Fufu. It’s more sensitive than I expected. It has an excellent capacity for identification.”

They truly didn’t care.

While a lion-sized furball roared and sprayed saliva everywhere, those two superiors remained as calm as scientists observing an insect in a laboratory.

I was stuck between them, blinking without knowing what to do.

The same creature that had been rubbing its head against my legs and accepting treats just moments ago now looked ready to attack.

‘What the hell? Why?’

Honestly, I had no idea what kind of creature this thing was.

With my hands damp from cold sweat, I carefully stroked its head again.

The enormous animal.

No, the dimensional entity.

As if the earlier roar had never happened, it rubbed its head against my hand once more.

The red eyes visible through the thick fur looked relaxed.

Its tongue hung out as it panted clumsily.

“Has it calmed down again?”

I asked cautiously.

“A contact-based extraction type with a conditioned emotional response.”

Manager Batori’s voice echoed softly.

It was a calm statement, but a firm one.

Director Mok nodded.

“Confirmed. The energy release based on emotional contact is quite obvious.”

He raised one of his roots and wrote something down on a document.

Shortly afterward, he folded the paper.

“I already have a draft. Once we complete the internal patterns, we can establish the standards.”

“Fufu. It’s quite a docile creature. Employee Jeong, what do you think?”

One of the smiling faces on Manager Myeon’s left cheek tilted slightly toward me.

I smiled awkwardly and nodded.

“Yes… it was quite docile.”

“Then next time we can assign you a rank A entity.”

“Huh?”

“That was a joke. Did you observe anything else?”

My expression stiffened instantly.

‘Which part of that was a joke…?’

As if trying to comfort me, The White and Chubby Furball buried its head in my lap again.

“Grrrr… huff huff…”

I swallowed hard at Manager Myeon’s question.

This was an opportunity.

I couldn’t keep acting like a clueless rookie.

It was time to present a conclusion as a member of Extraction Team 1.

Feeling the heavy weight of the white furball resting on my knees, I carefully opened my mouth.

“Well… I think this dimensional entity is extremely sensitive to emotional contagion.”

At those words, three or four of Manager Myeon’s seven faces turned toward me simultaneously.

I continued without looking away.

“As you just saw, every time Manager Batori or Assistant Manager Son displayed even the slightest hostility, its aggression immediately exploded. It seems to reflect and reproduce the observer’s emotions like a mirror.”

I subtly pointed toward the empty cookie wrapper still in my pocket.

“But at the same time, it modifies its behavior extremely quickly when given rewards. More than a simple predator, I think it should be classified as a highly intelligent interactive entity.”

And there was the most important point.

Why did it only show affinity toward me?

“It’s only a hypothesis, but I think its structure maximizes energy extraction efficiency only when a sense of human emotional stability is projected onto it.”

When I finished speaking, a strange silence filled the containment cell.

Even Supervisor Shik’s low growling stopped for a moment.

Director Mok stroked one of the wooden knots on his chin and nodded.

“Excellent psychological perspective and structured data. We will adopt Employee Jeong Haeil’s record as the primary reference for this first draft.”

He seemed satisfied as he quickly corrected a corner of the document with his wooden fingers.

Knowing that he had adopted my report gave me a strange sense of relief.

As if my place within this strange group had become a little more solid.

Of course, that relief coexisted with the fear that this adorable catastrophe purring in my lap could tear apart the floor again at any moment.

Chomp.

“Huh? Aaaah! Hey, hey, hey, hey!”

It was my pocket.

The same pocket that had caused this entire situation.

The furball was desperately tugging at my pants, trying to get at the cookies.

“W-wait! No! We have to leave now!”

“It seems to want more food. Perhaps we should rename it White and Chubby Furry Pig.”

Assistant Manager Son nodded with his fist-head.

I didn’t know whether he was serious or not, but it was obvious that the furball was ready to keep eating.

Supervisor Shik made a strange sound before turning around.

Director Mok calmly folded the document he had been writing.

Manager Myeon watched me with a faint smile on several of his faces.

“Shall we go?”

The cell door opened once more.

Manager Batori moved forward slowly, and the other superiors followed her.

“W-wait! This… this thing…!”

The furball practically dragged me to the door.

Until the very last moment, it kept its snout attached to my pocket.

Its purring sounded almost pitiful.

“Huff huff!”

“Grrrr!”

It seemed convinced that it was being abandoned.

Moved by that look, I took the last chocolate out of my pocket and offered it to it.

“Here. This is the last one. Eat it and behave yourself.”

Munch munch.

It devoured it instantly.

Then it gently rested its enormous head on my knees.

I stroked it silently.

A strangely pleasant softness.

A warmth that was difficult to leave behind.

But the door closed.

Bang.

The thick cell door shut, and a red light covered it once more.

“Take care.”

I said goodbye quietly.

Even as I walked away, I could still hear its panting in my ears.

“You did very well, Employee Jeong.”

I heard Manager Myeon’s voice behind me.

It sounded as kind as always, though it was impossible to know how much sincerity was actually in it.

I nodded slightly.

“Uh… did I do well?”

Director Mok slowly approached.

“You did very well. It seems that The White and Chubby Furball has grown quite attached to Employee Jeong Haeil.”

And then, once again from behind—

“WOOF!”

A lion-like roar echoed through the hallway.

Startled, I turned around.

But the cell door was already closed.

Only the red light continued blinking slowly.

==========

[Dimensional Entity Management Profile: D-105]

Dimensional Entity Name: The White and Chubby Furball

Code: D-105

Type: Biological

Risk Level: D

(Although extreme caution is recommended, as its physical destructive capability approaches level B.)

[Details]

Emotional Contagion

Reflects the emotional state of nearby entities (observers) like a mirror.

If an observer displays hostility or fear, it immediately inflates its fur and exhibits extreme aggression.

However, when exposed to friendly or calm emotions, it emits “Purrrrr…” type sounds and displays attachment behaviors.

Reward-Based Behavioral Modification

Possesses extremely high intelligence.

Its behavior can be easily controlled through sugary rewards (cookies, chocolates, etc.).

However, if rewards cease to be provided, it may develop obsessive behaviors, such as biting or pulling at the clothing or body of its target.

[Extraction Mechanism]

Extracts high-purity biological energy through the heat it emits when in a state of emotional stability (relief, emotional bonding, security).

[Management and Extraction Manual]

The extractor must maintain a psychological state as stable as that of a person under sedation.

Approaching with anxiety or aversion may provoke physical attacks capable of damaging the alloys of the containment cell.

Sharp metallic sounds or sudden noises are prohibited.

Aggressive gestures directed at the subject (for example, showing the middle finger) drastically reduce extraction efficiency and may cause the subject to enter an uncontrolled state.

[Special Recommendations]

Reacts with particular sensitivity to emotional bonds with human employees.

It is recommended that primary observers be assigned from the Emotional Department or personnel with outstanding emotional empathy capabilities.