Humanity Protection Company

TL/Editor: raei

Status: 5/week mon-fri

Illustrations: posted in discord

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Inside the newly constructed backup hub prepared for the possibility of headquarters being paralyzed, the director's jaw dropped.

"What the hell is that?"

The CCTV showed chaos unfolding at headquarters.

Suddenly, space shattered and the Warrior walked in with clenched fists. In an ordinary lab, mealworms were dividing. The divided mealworms poured like a waterfall through the path Yeonwoo had opened. Meanwhile, Yeonwoo was fleeing, smashing through all the emergency containment measures.

This accident went far beyond expectations. Wasn't this a bit much, even for them?

"A Level 6 doomsday cultist, a doomsday scenario-level anomaly, an elite agent going berserk..." the director muttered in disbelief.

To be honest, they had expected some kind of accident. But for all of this to happen at once? This was practically war.

'Good thing we evacuated the important resources just in case.'

The director felt a burning sensation in their stomach as they rubbed their chest. As a precaution, they had implemented the headquarters relocation plan the moment Yeonwoo's visit was scheduled. It had been a brilliant move.

They had moved the company's top executives, core personnel, important data, and critical resources.

"We'll have to build a new headquarters after this," the director said, trying to think positively.

The parking lot and other spaces had been getting cramped anyway. There had already been talk of building a new headquarters.

Using this incident as an opportunity to build an entirely new headquarters wasn't a bad idea. Honestly, they had been using the old one for too long. Maybe they could turn this accident into a chance.

As the director pondered how to respond to this situation, they asked, "Did we preserve the data from Yeonwoo's experiment?"

"Yes. Another researcher from the Ordinary Project briefly checked it. They said it's reproducible enough, and the ultimate goal isn't just a dream."

"Is that so?"

If that was the case, there was only one way to respond.

They would abandon the current headquarters and use this accident. It would serve as a smokescreen while the company worked on creating an ordinary world.

"Give instructions to the remaining staff and forces at headquarters. Tell them not to engage and retreat immediately. Then naturally leak information to other groups. Tell them headquarters has fallen.

Send an official notice too. Say the company lacks the strength to protect the world, so they should cooperate in protecting it."

The secretary quickly made calls to various places.

The director's eyes filled with a cold light as they thought, 'It would be nice if other bastards got caught up in this accident and suffered some damage too.'

A bomb had gone off. It was only fair for everyone to share in the fallout.

Just then, another secretary approached, swallowing hard. This one had seen Yeonwoo. Yeonwoo, who had created an anomaly capable of causing doomsday and was now fleeing, destroying all of headquarters' containment measures.

"What should we do about that anomaly? The potential danger is too great."

It was an anomaly that creates anomalies.

If he ever became irreversibly contaminated, went insane, or fell under mind control, who knew what dangers he might bring?

The worst accidents that could happen under the name of probability were far more vicious than any Level 6 entity from other groups.

"Even the Goldberg Club can't destroy the world. They don't have enough gold for that. At most, they might launch nuclear missiles from various countries. But this..."

He had created an anomaly that could bring about the end of the world if left unchecked. With just a bit of luck, mass production might even be possible.

But the director glanced at Yeonwoo and calmly said, "He's not an anomaly, he's still human. And he won't do anything that would endanger himself either."

Sure, he was fleeing like he was having a fit right now, but that was probably because he had panicked after going into the ordinary room and misjudged something.

More importantly, an ordinary world was no longer a faint hope but a realistic goal. Yeonwoo had been the biggest contributor to that achievement.

Besides, they still needed him as a company weapon for the time being.

At that point, the director gave the secretary an order.

"You should check on the headquarters relocation plan. I'm busy enough as it is."

Headquarters was just a space. They had many backup hubs, and even if the headquarters building was destroyed, the Humanity Protection Company would continue functioning smoothly.

------

"I'm going," the Warrior said as he stood up in the dark cave. He exuded a calm atmosphere, and his voice was relaxed.

The Ghost of the electronic world, who had been beside him, jerked their head up.

"Where are you going? You might get attacked if you're not careful."

"To headquarters. I'm going to fight headquarters."

"Are you crazy?"

"No."

The Warrior stared into space, then suddenly clenched his fist. He had felt it since the day he made his resolution. The world within his grasp, the power to shatter the world.

"If we keep hiding like rats, sure, we might survive. We might even be able to scrape by without fighting the company. But what's the point?"

The Warrior looked down at the Ghost of the electronic world. Fire burned in his eyes.

"Running away, keeping quiet, avoiding. Can we really defeat the world like that?"

The Ghost of the electronic world wore a frustrated expression. With the Smoker dead, it was just the two of them left as leaders.

"You'll die if you fight headquarters, you idiot! You need to live to bring about doomsday!"

"Doomsday isn't my goal. I wanted to fight the world, kill the world, to prove I'm stronger. But is a strong person someone who runs away and puts things off when the enemy is tough?"

The space around the Warrior distorted. His aura grew stronger as he continued speaking.

The Ghost of the electronic world stared at the Warrior blankly.

"Level 6? No, then-"

"Even if the enemy is strong, charging in and ultimately overcoming them - that's what being strong means."

So, he would fight the company, the most powerful enemy. Even if death came for him, he wouldn't run. He would fight and overcome even approaching death.

The Warrior pulled back his fist. Power gathered in that fist. The power to strike the world.

The Warrior spoke one last time.

"I'm quitting the doomsday cult. You're the only leader of the doomsday cultists now."

With those words, the Warrior thrust out his fist. The rule headquarters had prepared, that uninvited guests couldn't enter, shattered against that fist.

Then space cracked open, revealing some part of headquarters. The Warrior straightened his back and walked into the shimmering space.

The Ghost of the electronic world silently watched his retreating figure. As the broken space repaired itself, a gust of wind rushed in, wildly tousling their hair.

"If you reached Level 6, you should have stayed with us..."

In the end, the Ghost of the electronic world lowered their head. Then they suddenly looked up and gripped their phone.

A green light gleamed in the Ghost's eyes.

'I can't just sit here. If it looks like he's really going to die, I need to save him. Right, let's make this accident bigger. The more chaos there is, the more chances we'll have to rescue him.'

He was a Level 6 focused solely on combat. Even headquarters wouldn't be able to stop him easily.

That mayhem would look appetizing to other groups too. The Goldberg Club would enter under the pretext of supporting the company, but they'd actually steal information and resources. Artists and demons would join for inspiration and fun.

Bzzt-

The Ghost of the electronic world briefly scattered into strings of 1s and 0s, then immediately spread information to all sorts of people.

Information that this was the perfect opportunity to loot headquarters.

------

'I'm screwed, I'm screwed, I'm so screwed!'

He should never have accepted headquarters' request in the first place.

Yeonwoo ran frantically down the hallway. Behind him, a flood of mealworm heads surged forward. It made a sound like rushing water.

It was already far beyond the point where setting a fire could solve things. Those things were multiplying faster than fire could burn them.

As he ran, Yeonwoo messed up his hair wildly. The situation had become as tangled as his hair.

"No, no!"

Why had he done an experiment to create anomalies? Was he an idiot? If an experiment went wrong, even the company would be terrified, right? They wouldn't leave someone capable of mass-producing doomsday alone, would they?

From the start, when he first felt that sense of crisis, he should have abandoned everything and run away.

'Can this even be fixed? No, before that, how do I escape?'

The emergency sirens blared painfully in his ears. The mealworm heads were chasing him from behind, and somewhere a Level 6 Warrior was probably causing havoc. There was also the potential danger of headquarters itself.

It truly felt like he had been dropped into a war zone.

Yeonwoo's senses sharpened to their limits. Tireless vitality surged through him, he sensed the invisible, and his thoughts raced at high speed.

'Escape is the top priority! I can't use the elevator!'

Yeonwoo had arrived at the elevator without realizing it, but he rushed past. He didn't know the coordinates for the parking lot or exit. Besides, there wasn't time to wait for an elevator anyway.

A wall of mealworm heads surged forward.

"It's hard to move with the dice too!" Yeonwoo said with a frustrated expression.

Whether it was the isolation measures or something else, he sensed that the success rate for spatial movement was extremely low. It would be faster to run a bit and find a place with a higher chance of success.

He sharply turned his body and dashed towards a corner wall.

His senses were heightened to their peak. All sorts of probabilities and possibilities felt almost tangible.

'Not here. I need to move more.'

The image of dice briefly flashed in Yeonwoo's eyes. Those dice began to roll. Continuously, without stopping.

The possibility of a hole opening in the wall, the possibility of one step becoming ten, the possibility that a door's lock had malfunctioned and wasn't under emergency containment.

Successes came one after another, as if he were possessed. Yeonwoo ran without hesitation.

He crossed through empty offices, corridors, and parks - headquarters seemed deserted, as if the employees had already evacuated. A wave of mealworm heads followed through the gaps in the broken containment.

"Not here, not here either. Here, movement? Is short-distance movement possible?"

That seemed doable with a little effort. Yeonwoo swung his hand sharply. He shook off the force suppressing movement.

The possibility that he would be in the place with the highest probability of spatial movement within headquarters.

Clatter-

Success!

And then, Yeonwoo's view changed.

It was the parking lot. Wrecked cars and shattered spaces were scattered about, and even the company's containment measures and rules had been broken. He couldn't feel the force suppressing spatial movement anymore.

"It worked! Now I can move-"

Just as Yeonwoo broke into a wide smile:

"Finally, I see someone from headquarters. I was getting bored since there didn't seem to be any headquarters people around despite coming all this way."

An excited voice came from behind him. A voice brimming with fiery fighting spirit.

Yeonwoo spun around. There stood the Warrior.

"Ah, Yeonwoo? The elite agent who killed Eraser. If I beat you, it means I'm stronger than the boss, right? Good, let's fight."

The Warrior took a stance.

"I'd rather not," Yeonwoo said.

He called upon the dice. A roll for spatial movement.

---