Chapter 482
On the top floor of James Tower, in an office overlooking the dense jungle, James was enjoying a rare peaceful moment.
Until recently, the view outside his window had shown the city lights of Seoul, but now it had completely transformed into a different landscape.
“It’s not so bad…” James murmured as he gazed out at the green forest below.
The deep greenery stretched endlessly, like an emerald wave, and the branches swayed gently in the wind, whispering to one another.
The hot chocolate in his hand exuded a sweet fragrance.
As he watched the warm steam rise and dissipate into the air, James drifted into thought.
It was a peaceful moment that he could never have imagined under normal circumstances.
Since the collapse of global communication networks, the flood of reports and messages had come to a brief halt.
The computer screen was off. The monitors, which would normally be filled with countless windows, now sat like quiet black mirrors.
The stillness felt unfamiliar to him.
But, in some ways, it wasn’t unpleasant.
It felt, for a moment, like the world’s pace had slowed.
At that moment, a massive shape appeared outside the window.
A cloud-like creature, fluffy as marshmallow, with its tail slowly swaying, was heading toward James Tower.
Its large white body gleamed gently under the sunlight, and atop it, many Golden Reapers were riding.
“They’ve arrived.”
James murmured quietly.
His voice carried a sense of waiting.
Carefully setting his hot chocolate down, he slowly stood up from his seat.
His steps were calm, but his eyes shone with anticipation.
Finally, the long-awaited report had arrived.
Now, in a world without communications, these cloud creatures were the most trustworthy messengers.
James paused by the window for a moment, watching the numerous cloud creatures coming and going from the tower.
As he arrived at the cloud creature platform, a sight that still felt foreign, no matter how many times he saw it, greeted him.
It was a scene right out of a fantasy.
At the enormous entrance to the cloud creature platform on the building’s exterior, there was a transparent, bubble-like membrane, and countless white cloud creatures were constantly passing through it.
Golden Reapers, wearing little postman hats, were busily moving about, each carrying cylindrical packages far larger than their own bodies.
It seemed like the Golden Reapers enjoyed their work, as their steps were light, and their little faces were always bright with cheerful smiles.
At that moment, one Golden Reaper noticed James and walked over excitedly.
The little postman hat bobbed along with each step.
The Golden Reaper held a rolled-up letter in its hand.
“James!”
With a bright smile, the Golden Reaper handed over the letter. James smiled warmly in return.
“Thank you.”
As he gently patted the Golden Reaper’s head, the little postman giggled happily.
As soon as his hand withdrew, the Golden Reaper dashed off toward the postman snack corner, as if it had been waiting for this moment.
There, it eagerly chose a large pudding and began eating with a happy expression.
Around them, many other Golden Reapers had gathered in groups, enjoying their snacks of choice.
From sweet cakes to s’mores with white Reapers sandwiched in between.
James looked at the letter in his hand and fell into thought.
No one had expected that, after the collapse of global communications, the Golden Reapers’ postal service would become the most reliable means of communication.
Of course, once the Golden Reaper communication network developed by James Institute was distributed, the situation would change. But until then, these small and cute postmen would be the primary messengers of the world.
“Who would have thought we’d return to the age of letters…”
James couldn’t help but marvel at the irony of the situation as he walked back to his office.
Behind him, the sound of the white Reaper’s cries echoed softly.
Kwee-hee-hee.
As James opened the door to his office, a familiar sight greeted him.
His attachment Reaper was still struggling to get inside a prototype capsule that it had firmly grasped on the desk.
James smiled and gently told the little one to give up.
“Angdae!”
However, the Golden Reaper shook its head vigorously, pulling its body out of the capsule.
Its little face was filled with a firm resolve that it couldn’t give up.
Its round eyes sparkled, and its tiny fists were clenched.
But to James, the chubby Golden Reaper seemed unlikely to fit into the capsule.
It was physically impossible, not to mention the limited space inside.
“By the way, this forced obesity has been lasting for more than double the usual duration…”
There were many cases where Golden Reapers returned from meeting with the Gray Reapers having gained weight, but this was the first time he had seen it last this long.
James decided to wait until the attachment Reaper gave up on its own, and sat down at his desk, pulling out the letter he had received from the cloud creature platform.
The letter was a report from the Japan branch.
As soon as he read the first sentence, his eyes sparkled.
“Impressive.”
An exclamation slipped from his mouth.
The content of the report exceeded his expectations.
It detailed the astonishing success of a small number of Mini Reapers managing to destroy the dome.
James leaned back in his chair, deep in thought.
He had not anticipated such quick progress.
Of course, he hadn’t doubted their abilities.
The people attempting to breach the dome in Japan were veterans, having fought many battles in the labyrinth.
They understood these kinds of situations better than anyone, and their experience was vast.
“As instructors, they’re perfect.”
He imagined the training program centered around the labyrinth veterans for dome destruction and flipped through the report.
Each page detailed their accomplishments.
As he closed the last page, a small murmur escaped from his lips.
“Now, we can handle the dome’s initial response without needing the Mini Reapers.”
On his palm, a golden gemstone glimmered softly.
It wasn’t just a decorative piece.
It was a special gem full of energy used by the Mini Reapers, delivered by his attachment Reaper.
Now, not only could they operate the dome destruction device without the Mini Reapers, but there was also a growing possibility of successfully developing an object-based attack weapon using firewood.
“Of course, humanity won’t be able to survive on its own just yet…”
James fell into deep thought about the future when suddenly, an odd sound caught his attention.
He turned his head to see an adorable, but rather amusing sight.
His attachment Reaper, half stuck inside the prototype capsule, was flailing its tiny legs in the air.
James smiled warmly and approached the Golden Reaper.
Carefully pulling it out of the capsule, the little face was filled with disappointment.
“Angdae. The Detchi transformation isn’t working…”
Looking down at his gloomy attachment Reaper, James pondered.
“I’ll have to design a new capsule that even the Gray Reapers, with all their extra weight, can fit into.”
In his mind, the blueprint for a new capsule began to form.
It would be spacious enough to accommodate the now super-chubby Golden Reaper.
Inside the empty dome, the colorful universe began to unfold magnificently.
Colors that seemed to melt like rainbows painted the sky, and below, the bizarrely distorted interior of the dome settled into darkness.
The air was transparent, yet it seemed to transform like part of a living body, twisting the materials inside.
The bizarre plants and minerals tangled together in a strange mixture where the boundaries between air and space had dissolved.
And within it, there was a faint but clear presence, unmistakably of a Foreigner level.
“Well, then, let’s begin.”
“Hug…”
As I gently nudged the Hug Reaper’s back, it hesitated, reluctantly stepping into the realm of the Foreigners.
At that moment, a thick fog began to rise suddenly from the dome.
It spread like a living creature, slowly pushing away the dome’s mutations.
The bizarre plants that had been entangled in the air quickly reverted to their original forms as they touched the blue mist.
The mist was so thick that it blocked the light pouring from the colorful universe, and the dome’s influence was slowly absorbed by it.
In the dense mist, the Hug Reaper suddenly appeared.
Instead of its usual bright and warm expression, it looked slightly gloomy.
It flickered in and out of view like a ghost, appearing and disappearing at will.
The Hug Reaper maintained a state that felt both real and unreal, like it was part of the mist itself.
It was the perfect Mini Reaper for a horror film.
“Hmm.”
But the more I watched the Hug Reaper, the deeper my curiosity grew.
The mist rapidly consumed the realm and the Foreigners’ influence, blocking even the colorful universe’s impact.
But the presence felt like a special Mini Reaper level.
It was something I couldn’t understand based on my common sense.
As I looked up at the sky, the colorful universe itself seemed to resemble a blue spiderweb, slowly melting and blending with the mist.
“?!”
But as I looked closer in surprise, the colorful universe was still just the colorful universe.
