Chapter 5: Welcome to Extraction Team 1
amUtp“Huhk…!”0KBpM
xxJgmI opened my eyes gasping and saw a ceiling different from the office’s.4gzJ
6FtoA completely white ceiling, illuminated by sterile lights and perfectly clean, like a dried and stretched membrane.u9ynhj
Ttg5dIt looked suffocatingly cold.IzR9
oVmOcI tried to get up instinctively, but at that moment my arms, firmly tucked beneath the blanket, resisted stiffly.WgC9C8
H92V0CcSomething was stuck in my wrist.gGck
mEmswd‘…Where am I?’Nna
VawJWhen I slowly turned my head, a place both strangely familiar and unfamiliar appeared.myxRV
1l2uXDIA stretcher with medical charts, shelves neatly arranged with medicine, an immaculate white space, and even a small infirmary bed.EBhCpe
pKFIt looked like a completely normal infirmary.LM3
yFcOjExcept for certain impossible things.CD8Fbws
wikGi53For example, a jar with pulsating eyeballs inside.Rt2
om22Glass tubes glowing like frozen black blood.Q0k
qfSQAnd emergency equipment connected to something beating like a heart.DTP
CiRdMy gaze finally stopped at the end of the IV needle stuck in my arm.XM56
lwA5sThe liquid slowly flowing through the tube looked far from a normal saline solution.Cy5B9I
FNYleIt was a murky fluorescent green liquid.evOM1F6
4seEA crooked label was attached to it that read.UCOIsO
L15“Vitality Potion (Industrial Use)”UE75
PB5uQQAnd bubbles floated inside the liquid, violently boiling from time to time.Mvb6
FfoU0It looked very similar to the things I had seen yesterday in that extraction room.4ztj
zsrA chill ran down my spine.mfGKfs
6D1MNOI didn’t know exactly what it was, but I was absolutely certain it wasn’t ordinary saline.xnw6
QwEc2“No… this can’t be.”sZgcJGo
EZKDt71I grabbed the IV tube with trembling hands.TkUg01k
RqMautNMy arm throbbed as though trying to warn me while I forcefully pulled to rip it out—G5c7W61
nLBulsShhk.r4n9
iM2ZThe curtains suddenly opened, shattering the silence.sDA3z
RpQNH4And the thing that appeared behind them wasn’t very human either.LynD4Tb
XWEnEZIt wore a white coat.Ze7
3owc2FThe typical clean coat of a hospital doctor.n58Gvag
hAhBut protruding from inside were dozens of black gelatinous tentacles.F3z
UTgAyThe tentacles slowly crawled across the floor.xhXxfzZ
2WaEcpSome held stethoscopes on their own.34OyLN
aygOthers carefully cleaned sharp metal forceps.1ztq
DhYSItVAnd a few slithered while brushing against the tips of my feet.qnBx
MaZDNH‘At least it dresses like a doctor.’xFgpVi3
yx3TIn this damned company, if something wears a coat, it’s a doctor, and if it wears a tie, it’s an office worker.daL
Vie2K6zApparently having too many arms or melted legs doesn’t affect job evaluations.qXNiA
3hef3When the creature slowly lifted the sleeve of its coat, a bunch of shiny flesh masses resembling tongues protruded from inside.UD0lHwo
nMAOne of them wriggled like a tongue and spoke.wabyRU8
3allWw0“Pa-tient awa-ke on his o-own. Excellent reco-very. Marvelo-us.”AyiDzM0
3O3kEvery time that tentacle-made mouth pronounced words, the syllables warped like melting jelly.OM0NapV
7hSiIqfA voice filled with an unpleasant sensation.Hjqp
o2OceThe grotesque doctor took another step toward me while making wet and sticky sounds.io0b
k9OInside the coat, unknown organs and protrusions twisted around, producing repulsive noises.4wX
pTYWn9X“Reco-very confirmed. Enough rest.”Hmi
wVewFOne of the transparent tentacles took the IV and skillfully removed the needle before pressing gauze against the wound.8VbYUY
I8uIt had no gloves or fingernails.3Wzb7D6
8k1X6Only a layer of mucus coating its surface, releasing a scent similar to disinfectant.lPD45Lx
fhe“You are fine now. You may return to work.”X6GlYHu
m96CZ“Ah… thank you, doctor… I suppose.”HzC
Y3ESInstinctively, I ended up speaking to it respectfully.QEuHAx
Xi1The mere fact that that mass of tentacles wore a white coat was enough to grant it a professional title.99RthME
kv4B3vTo survive in this company, intuition and manners were mandatory.HriNT
uizwThe tentacle doctor seemed satisfied and lightly waved one of its tentacles.xS489J
J1MZ2I didn’t know whether that meant “goodbye” or “next time we’ll meet during lunch.”PcI
ZYiyClack.dPJer
smqAt that moment, the infirmary door opened and familiar footsteps began approaching.iReb3Pd
e4xsYhBA firm walk.DJ3cY
nNf7And an unpleasant sensation that was all too familiar.nfj
wPJI automatically turned my head.3iFDrCo
OFY0“Oh— you’re awake already, rookie?”0hBxro
SeTeHand Head.O6o
j2DrGCMNot Assistant Manager Son.jWO
IVI9A large-built man dressed in a completely normal suit.ojJXUV
2iRBut when I saw the fist atop his head opening and closing again, a wave of nausea ran straight through my brain.uXScpV3
8yB439“You fainted, huh? Health is important in this company too.”iRNy3E7
KNcvW“Ah… yes. I think I pushed myself too hard even before coming here. I stayed up all night preparing to find employment… but I’m fine now.”3NFw
414ZGIt was a surprisingly natural and calm lie even to myself.GcA3OZS
ouMFear instantly turned me into an actor.NQEg
XyoGAoThe forced smile remained perfectly attached to my face.D2uus2
rtF8GAQ“Hahaha, I see! Young people these days really do work hard. I like seeing that hardworking attitude!”BXVuD3v
z5q44IW‘I don’t want praise from you….’zd0KU0
0aApTo begin with, how the hell did he even speak?7WCpqg
qFtgEnHe had no mouth or human head.NvHswb
w2pFmpWhere was the sound coming from?uLf5wu
5YUFWhen I slightly turned my head again, the hand serving as Assistant Manager Son’s head was opening its fingers and slowly waving them as if greeting me.zIl4
jL39“The serum was special, so you should already be full of energy. Let’s hurry, lunch break ended a while ago already. Manager Myeon more or less handled the morning work.”gU4I
Bhn“Yes. Thank you. I’ll get ready immediately.”HLA
AmCdBI carefully followed Assistant Manager Son out of the infirmary while slowly getting off the bed.FQT
eTKMy legs were still trembling slightly, but I held myself together solely through my determination not to faint a second time.AL0
uWYkAfter the tentacle doctor lightly patted my cheek with one of its tentacles and left, I finally managed to leave the infirmary.oEWWvP
ZQQStTLAssistant Manager Son was already leaning against the wall outside the door.VRudvu
ciU8vThe fist atop his head twitched again before speaking.FOhsE
xWOwG“What a shame about lunch. Our cafeteria is excellent. The menu is always very fresh.”AIR5c
V6jNo matter how much I thought about it, I seriously doubted that this company cafeteria served anything like fresh bibimbap or duck salad.8shR
xbmT“Yes. What a shame.”kIkEiF1
r0Rk“Or maybe you’re the type who brings homemade lunch like Manager Batori.”ljT
aqsiAuC“Yes. Honestly, I prefer bringing my own food.”1DG
0X3OgDwThe answer came out automatically.VF7Y
svuw2RrAt the very least, if I brought my own lunch, I’d have an excuse not to go to the cafeteria with Hand Head.dmp
SmF9kUUpon hearing my response, Assistant Manager Son’s head made a clicking sound while one of his fingers struck the thumb.FhiwoB
LG3Sf“That explains it! Our rookie really is diligent! Then let’s finish work quickly too.”mFokA
J4xpfalWith the sound of the infirmary door closing behind me, I once again advanced toward another nightmare.A8ag
DFk“By the way, Haeil… what did you study?”tMWP
pEShJmAs he walked beside me, Assistant Manager Son continued slowly opening and closing the enormous hand he had for a head.um6W
3MdcTTOCrack, crk.M30NS
c20Every syllable driven into my brain was accompanied by the sound of the joints in that fist twisting, like bones scraping against one another.o3lQF2
2x6VgM6Every time that hand slowly opened and closed, I felt as though unfamiliar joints were creaking inside my own body.fYw7I
2NyxbeI never imagined the day would come when a monster would ask me typical job interview questions.fGtQP
B19dsk“I studied Psychology. But I dropped out of university when I became a noncommissioned officer, so technically I only finished high school.”5YwmP
bHODl2MI kept my head slightly lowered to avoid making eye contact while responding.q1EOvZ
IeMKThough of course, since he didn’t actually have eyes, it really didn’t matter where I looked.LjSppCW
YFY“Oh, what a peculiar background. And I like that you studied Psychology. Mental fortitude is quite important in our department.”4KgoV
vA3I was already feeling that down to my bones.ZCpRo4
ClsxAssistant Manager Son slightly tightened his fist.PvBko
L745z“Anyway, you did well joining our team. Extraction Team 1 is quite a good department.”In0Gb
ZyZRt“…Yes, it seems that way.”usLk5o
hgYCSII replied while trying to sound as sincere as possible.I4pD8
luCThe fluorescent lights at the end of the hallway flickered faintly as we crossed that irregular space.HCF6L
KL4sThe floor was impeccably polished, but on the reflected surface, I felt as though the shadow of someone who wasn’t me was following behind.3mYBKx
Bue9Ignore it.lHd
wWFY4tNGetting used to it is the only way to survive.YinAx
tyAcl“Almost everyone here is talented, and our team always has the best performance. Of course, that also makes some people look at us resentfully, but properly extracting from dimensional entities is impressive no matter what.”V2IX7
wKLw6oj“Extracting… from dimensional entities?”JIb5CK
yuixk1“Yes. You know, those little buddies you saw yesterday during the tour.”1rA
7WWUe3Hearing that unfamiliar word again, I asked without thinking.7OLdk0p
qM9Assistant Manager Son nodded.glVX
SWqROr rather moved his wrist.UR2xe
YKhXWhatever counted as nodding for him.wJl
9YhYR8r“We extract the energy source from them. Most remain isolated under control.”8fIFUH6
OzOAlthough saying “isolated under control” was pretty debatable considering I had made eye contact with them and could even feel them on my skin.aly
4kUk3“The work we do consists of drawing a stable amount of energy every day from those isolated entities. It’s like milking cows, I guess.”Pmwu2
E5Q“Ah….”LzEoo2A
rscIU“Sounds complicated, right? Don’t worry. We’ll teach you everything. Normally we also do field work, but lately we’ve been resting a bit. The Anomalous Disaster Management Department has been causing too much commotion.”iZ30Fv
sjFFaced with that flood of incomprehensible terms, I forced a smile.SfKKfP
sJZ“The extracted energy then goes to the Refinement Team. There they remove impurities, and afterward they send it to the Fusion Team. And the Fusion Team uses that to….”wvUnI
MR0h7Assistant Manager Son lightly rubbed his fist.T0qWkbi
wht83The movement of that palm without warmth or sweat sent a chill down the back of my neck.25eDLwE
VNyY5“No, there’s no need to explain that much to you yet. Do you have any questions?”Vbu6hu
yAWtF“Then… the dimensional entities….”ge0rw
qYR“Yes?”2AT3Yv
V24h“No, it’s nothing. I was just curious about how you handle dimensional entities.”FAh7IqF
yH6ZvAs I swallowed the questions that kept surfacing, I thought about it.KtQTHwr
SzfThe baby monster from Human Resources.5OH3OH0
gsyThe seven-faced Manager Myeon.OmI
MaxZ2DAssistant Manager Son with the fist-shaped head.RIrdi
HANauEIThe tentacle doctor from the infirmary.yR6J
WmCWhy weren’t they considered dimensional entities, but employees instead?TWTS37
kZBYjVThey definitely resembled the absurd monsters I had seen yesterday in the extraction room.GYfHN
xHjPNo, in fact they were even more grotesque.YcMZ
yNpbBut they told me their names, held positions, carried conversations, and sometimes even laughed.EzyIKV
1f1pOThere was something different.bNUZT
lEMbjDefinitely different.Rj7
5CpMBwBut I couldn’t understand what it was.X9VkPF5
6LNk“We’re here.”xma
R5OqAssistant Manager Son said.vlFRu
AAGI raised my head.hUR
UzQIn front of me stood the heavy metal door I had seen yesterday.Pbw7Ra
hDLsIQThe red letters reading “Extraction Room — Sector D” glowed faintly across it.gxd1z
ReqgsBeside the door was a scanning panel large enough to accept something much bigger than Assistant Manager Son’s palm.9Rk2l0S
wF4r8EThe assistant manager tilted his head and pressed his head against it.Ceiw0x1
w18VThat is, his hand.Rm4
EtcBeep—mVTsI
2goAn absurdly cheerful electronic tone sounded, and the door slowly opened.Xrq
OFndEk“Welcome, rookie. This is the place where we’ll spend most of our time working.”aFE
U7cOpI stepped inside the extraction room.4sNZOI0
TWvIt was a space with a strange texture, as though metal, glass, and organic flesh had been mixed together.hAqz3
pdGCountless isolation chambers lined the walls.iHa
UZcC0isAnd inside them, indescribable creatures continued writhing.P09R
ns0UBQzAll of them had different forms.yIq2
GaNZTSome floated in the air, pulsing like gigantic hearts.cWS
jDFOgOthers combined bones, fur, and blood vessels while reproducing themselves and muttering something incomprehensible.CryprZ
SBLAnd others rolled across the floor in states impossible to distinguish between liquid and solid while constantly destroying and reconstructing their own structure.JKAxYqr
Q6PEach isolation chamber was connected to complex tubes, and through them a reddish, viscous liquid was being pumped.UEcD
8MhnAll of that liquid eventually gathered inside an enormous transparent tank positioned in the center, where it concentrated and churned as though it were fuel…
or blood.Eqp
9lWcCThis was the extraction site.eU6m
zfuAt7oAnd those things were the dimensional entities.kad
i6YThe place where I would work.ZnN
dp7DwThe work I would have to do.HzMO3zF
JIvqgvGThe dizziness struck me again.djCsm
RZlQuCHMy vision wavered and the world began to sway.pPdb8
Jht3And then something strange crossed my field of vision.KYDPLZu
3FZ‘…What is that?’B1oLf
gQMThat was when I saw her.fU9dJ
l57gdIn the middle of that extraction room overflowing with grotesque monstrosity stood a person.7Rbfc
eJVajQShe wore a white coat.dcMqhV
mq4xS7Her long, completely white straight hair fell to her waist.tp81n
10WoJrIOn her skin, so pale it looked transparent, not a single blood vessel could be seen.Msx
q9pHYcHer eyes were a deep ruby red, yet carried an inexplicable sadness and emptiness.rT4nJ
SRdswCold.CPOOId
XTdCtwBeautiful.NEcQpf
dQ6I exhaled unconsciously.ks7s
SdP7ty7Her appearance was so perfect that even looking at her felt disrespectful.xLhf
oxKIt was as though she gathered all the beauty in the world into a single existence.yVC
aW1UrXHer mere presence resembled a mirage of salvation.WNALXQe
iOb2PyA balance.Em2x
EnFbrThe fact that there was a living person there and moreover, someone so noble and dignified just that alone made something inside me collapse.DWfc
DtCMy legs began trembling.LkLZi
xtsvmB8“…Haeil?”zkKXZ
G6mEHdI heard Assistant Manager Son’s voice beside me, but it sounded distant, like an echo inside an enormous water tank.WcJcD
kUqr2I only looked at her.FQ7wsWs
Tl8She didn’t even turn toward me.EW4AK
s7CW8She simply stood in front of a gigantic isolation chamber calmly reviewing some sort of record.5oJa
VgtjoaIt no longer mattered what she was doing.ixIt73G
gKIKi4At least in this moment, I felt overwhelmingly relieved by the mere existence of that woman.VkTf72
5ccMvAnd exactly three seconds later, that feeling was shattered to pieces.MsKg
P1fK“You’ve arrived. You’re quite late.”to3
ZQxm7l1She spoke without even turning her head.7Ds7KQN
Pl9Her voice was beautiful and clear, like jade beads rolling across glass.Xb0
6kFuF5qBut behind the tablet she was holding, something red began dripping.K81lZ
LYp7aGgDrop.3Nccf
UlxDrop.P98
iMPjcIt wasn’t ink.vrt
RmMYQPIt was the metallic smell of blood.iDXN6FC
pIfmKXv“Ah, Manager Batori. The rookie fainted this morning. We took him to the infirmary to put him on an IV.”gYsxI8
tZkAt Assistant Manager Son’s report, she slowly turned her head.hRZ1
gppKwVtSkin white as porcelain.qwpP
xzGdyqRed lips.QlNyUFl
AFGkrPHA perfect face.0hF9q96
skLVFBBut the instant my eyes caught the red stain around her lips—OQi2
D0XkRiiip.GKj3NUB
8mnjqXWith a nauseating sound, her cherry-like lips split open all the way to her ears.ktutg3y
iVoVGmrThe skin tore apart, revealing sharp shark-like fangs and a gigantic red maw.eIXI
s0PAll the beauty from before vanished.VlbzGUK
gAcaxbGIn front of me remained only the monstrous mouth of a predator.z59
9nNvDl“Hooh… So this child is the new member of my lineage you were talking about?”2a3fwi
yV8cKcNBetween her torn lips, a tongue as long as a serpent’s slowly slid out and licked the red liquid around her mouth.J48Imwu
PHU‘Ah…….’LLRloI
sZLeYW8I had truly felt relieved.6I5
xXNDBecause I thought I wasn’t insane.6RTU1N
T60AWHBecause I believed I had seen a noble existence.gLAed
O1pBut the moment those beautiful cheeks split apart, I felt as though I had seen the true nature of an angel hidden behind the mask of the Bible.XTAL8no
Akr8NNThe beauty was a lie.ESwGT
2MjbAnd the truth melted my spinal marrow from my feet upward.gTGhGH
dFuWhile staring at that grotesquely torn face, the only thing I could do was desperately cling to my consciousness so I wouldn’t faint from fear.HQ4m5
sjrHer elegant voice carried a soft metallic tremor, like an old classical music record playing on an antique gramophone.KhLFHE
CIA6“You really do seem very fragile. Such a miserable and repressed face. The taste of your blood… no, your expression… is extremely delicate.”qMp5
oZiThere was something strange in the way she spoke.ADt
zN0dFShe was definitely smiling.gyVt
viNfBut it was the smile of a beast licking its lips before eating.41X4W
PHAZXPI stood completely frozen.xIeJF
N8KplWThe certainty that I had found a human being shattered into pieces with every word she spoke.Y3d5L4
Ue7vL“So… you are Jeong Haeil, correct?”ZH511i
Ihcch5Creak, creak.c1ng
Tc9QuBeneath the elegant curve of her neck came the sound of vertebrae turning like gears.UQlqnbr
f5lYNHer head twisted grotesquely nearly one hundred and eighty degrees to look directly at me.UViq0
cxvI felt a horrible dizziness, as though I were staring at an unfocused world.Vmz
32NTM“I’ll remember you. Now that you’ve become a member of my lineage, I hope you survive for a long time.”VO8E
h1oWJThose words were not encouragement.fspKW
8VIXnThey were a prophecy.Kunjy
8D3A curse, or perhaps simply the desire of a gourmet contemplating fresh blood before tasting it.jYTZ
What did you think of this chapter?
Report comment
Please select the reason for reporting this comment. False reports may result in account suspension.
0 Comments
There are no comments yet. Be the first!