Humanity Protection Company

TL/Editor: raei

Status: 5/week mon-fri

Illustrations: posted in discord

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Even the most perfect security program can't always stop people. After all, a lock that only opens with one key is useless if the key's owner decides to sell it.

Tap-tap-tap!

Mark Jung's fingers flew over the keyboard and mouse. Various programs flashed across the screen as he discreetly added a department to the World Alteration Device project.

The Gambling Eradication Center.

The department where Yeonwoo rolled dice for requests.

Mark quickly changed the screen and wiped his sweaty hands on his clothes. His face showed a mix of relief, confusion, and worry.

'Did I do the right thing? Is this okay?'

Yeonwoo's status as an elite agent had been suspended due to suspicious activities. Several more verifications were needed, but Mark couldn't stand by and watch people die. He'd abused his authority.

Doubt crept in, making his eyes waver.

'Yeonwoo. Anomaly Protection Company. Humanity Protection Company. War. What the hell is all this...?'

As he struggled to think with his exhausted and stressed mind, Mark shifted his gaze. A newly appointed director suddenly burst out of the director's office, shouting:

"Change the war scenario! The demon worshipper is on our side! Redirect the forces meant for the worshipper to the Club and Association President!"

"Is the Club an enemy too, sir?"

"Yes! We've already secured evidence!"

The director, looking like he might cough up blood, whipped his head around. He quickly yelled:

"Who's in charge of Yeonwoo? Quickly!"

"That's me, sir!"

Mark stood up, raising his hand. The director and other employees turned to look at him. Mark broke out in a cold sweat as the director waved his hand.

"Yeonwoo is an enemy of the company! You, start working on the assassination plan!"

Mark hesitated before replying:

"There's not enough evidence to consider him an enemy yet. He attacked both the Club, who are enemies, and the demon worshipper, who's an ally. We can't simply judge him as an enemy."

If anything, it seemed like he wanted to undo the apocalypse approaching the world.

The director looked like he was about to die from frustration. As a Level 6 variable, he'd heard information right after the alteration, including the last words of the deceased director.

'He noticed the alteration, wants to create an anomaly-friendly world, and is acting independently with other Level 6 entities. Why would someone like that be on the company's side?'

His voice rose in anger, but the director swallowed his emotions. The atmosphere felt off.

The faces of the employees in the director's immediate secretariat were full of questions. They fundamentally didn't understand this war.

Why fight a war against the anomalies they were supposed to protect? It was hard to understand even counterattacking according to the scenario after being attacked first by the Association President.

"...Are we really going through with the war scenario? They're valuable anomalous entities."

"Isn't Yeonwoo Level 6 too? Why destroy a Level 6 that opposes the world? Wouldn't it be better to capture him alive even if he's an enemy?"

The gap between the Anomaly Protection Company and the Humanity Protection Company became a wall dividing the director and the employees.

Faced with these unsettling gazes, the director took a step back. The Anomaly Protection Company had no justification. But if he revealed the truth about the alteration...

'There's no way they'd go through with a plan to destroy anomalous entities using war as a means.'

Even if the board of directors agreed, it would be meaningless. The company would fall into chaos and surely be destroyed while paralyzed under attack.

In the end, the director blurted out an excuse:

"We were attacked first, is that what's important right now? The company comes first! If the company survives, we can protect as many anomalous entities as we want!"

"...Director. Is it true that we're the Humanity Protection Company?"

An employee sitting near Mark raised their hand. They had overheard Mark talking about the alteration on the phone. Their eyes trembling uncontrollably, they continued:

"I'm asking if it's true that the company altered the world. If so, then we... this world..."

They had too much to say and couldn't get the words out.

Different thoughts flashed through the employees' minds.

The company had no right to rewrite their lives, their mission was a lie, what should they do and why, who should they protect.

"..."

"..."

Heat built up in the secretariat like water about to boil. They set aside their busy phones and pushed away their keyboards, focusing solely on the director.

The director took several steps back towards his office, inwardly cursing. His curses were aimed at the previous board of directors.

'You crazy bastards! Starting this alteration without any preparation!'

How could a mistake twist even the company? If only the company had stayed intact-

That instinctive physical reaction was a clear answer. The employees, nerves connecting the brain and body, let out hollow laughs. Anger, despair, confusion, sadness, doubt.

All kinds of emotions boiled over.

And then, white papers exploded like firecrackers all around. The employees had thrown them simultaneously.

"Even my family was affected by the Association President! I stayed at this post only because of our mission! And now what? That mission wasn't even true to begin with?"

"This dog of a company! Are we just tools? Rewriting us as you please, using us as you like! How is this any different from brainwashing!"

Their mission had been shaken. Their mental armor had come undone. Employees suffering from intense stress let their emotions run wild. Emotions focused solely on the individual.

The director desperately reached out, trying to persuade them.

"The company's alteration was an accident that even we didn't expect-"

"So you're admitting there really was an alteration!"

Smack!

A wireless mouse flew through the air. As the director rubbed his forehead and tried to speak again, this time keyboards, lunchboxes, and fruit were hurled at him.

At that moment.

Mark Jung, who had been coolly observing everyone, suddenly lit up. He'd organized his thoughts amidst the chaos.

'There's only one thing to do now.'

Protecting humanity. That had nothing to do with the company's identity. Because people were dying outside. Because destruction had come. It was something he had to do as a human being.

He climbed onto the table with a bang, spreading his arms wide. A piercing shout burst out:

"Everyone, please calm down. This won't-"

"What's your deal!"

"Agh!"

Mark was hit by a flying monitor and fell with a crash. His foot slipped. He tumbled under the table.

A horrifying crunch of breaking bones rang out clearly. The sound alone was enough to make one feel the pain. For a moment, silence fell.

"Oh."

The person who had thrown the monitor gaped blankly. Their hands waved aimlessly in the air.

"A-are you okay?"

"My arm, my arm."

Mark looked at his broken arm. His elbow was bent as if he had grown an extra one. Maybe because of the adrenaline, he didn't feel any pain.

'No, now's the time.'

Now that everyone had shut up and was focusing on him. Mark quickly opened his mouth.

"Everyone. Let's set aside the complicated issues for now. What we need to do right now is protect people."

"You're saying we were originally the Humanity Protection Company? If even that was the company manipulating us-"

An employee holding a resignation letter spoke, and Mark immediately cut them off.

"People are dying out there. If we leave them alone, it'll be no different from extinction. We need to do what we can. Stop the war and save people."

This simple yet powerful justification reached the employees.

The employee who said their family had been affected by the Association President muttered unconsciously:

"We could change the war scenario to a rescue scenario. It's not even that difficult."

"No, how would we deal with the Club and Association President... Oh, but protecting anomalous entities. No. Ah."

"There are many ways. Assassination, ceasefire negotiations."

Ideas began to pour out. Their thoughts had already shifted to protecting humanity.

Mark shook his head.

"We can use the World Alteration Device."

The director, who had been listening quietly, chimed in.

"That's broken. It'll take a lot of time to fix."

"No. Yeonwoo will fix it with his dice. And he's agreed to make the war never happen."

At that moment, everyone fell silent. They suddenly felt a chill, as if cold water had been dumped on them.

Regardless of what thoughts Yeonwoo might harbor...

"Will that really work?"

A troublemaker. A man who produced chaotic results like his dice. Even the employees who had been spouting all sorts of ideas under the goal of protecting humanity couldn't speak anymore.

The director stared blankly into space for a while before slowly lowering his head. Complex thoughts crossed his mind.

'Humanity Protection Company. Protect humanity from anomalies.'

Perhaps the company had changed its essence at some point? Had it prioritized the eradication of anomalies over the protection of humanity?

After a moment of silence, the director spoke:

"Alright. Let's do that. But after we verify Yeonwoo's intentions with the interrogation device and anomalous entities-"

At that moment, the director stopped speaking. His phone in his pocket vibrated three short times. It was a notification for priority messages about elite agents and the Extinction Defense Device.

The director took out his phone and continued speaking:

"If his intentions aren't dangerous..."

He couldn't believe his eyes. The message contained serious news.

- World Alteration Device completely destroyed. Blueprints lost. Perpetrator: Yeonwoo.

Given enough time, the ultimate safeguard for rewriting the world had been completely ruined.

The director threw his phone and screamed:

"Kill Yeonwoo!"

"Why so suddenly-"

"How could someone who destroyed even the blueprints of the World Alteration Device be on our side!"

Mark stared blankly at the director before suddenly passing out from the pain that hit him.

------

Yeonwoo arrived at the department with the World Alteration Device by spatial movement, before Mark Jung could add his name to the project, just after hearing the location information.

"Is this the device you're talking about?"

Yeonwoo looked at the massive chunk of steel. It was a pile of scrap metal, burst, broken, shattered, and collapsed beyond recognition.

The researcher, who had been 'persuaded' by Yeonwoo, let out a deep sigh.

"It's a shame. It shouldn't have been broken like this. If only this had stayed intact, we could have easily dealt with the current war."

Yeonwoo slowly reached out towards the pile of scrap metal. His expression wasn't good. He could feel the possibilities at his fingertips.

'The chances of fixing this are low.'

As expected of an Extinction Defense Device. The probability of successful repair was extremely low. It was hard to trust his survival instinct too.

Yeonwoo's hand twitched slightly. His sense of survival instinct felt dull.

As if it didn't matter if he couldn't fix this, it wasn't avoiding the possibilities of failure and critical failure. Perhaps it saw destruction as advantageous for a Level 6 device.

"Still, I might as well try rolling..."

Yeonwoo hesitated before rolling the dice once.

The dice rolled.

Miss!

'Misses don't count as numbers.'

Yeonwoo rolled the dice again. After a few more misses, a failure came up.

Bang!

The device exploded. A steel fragment grazed his face. Yeonwoo rubbed his cheek with trembling hands. This kind of thing wasn't life-threatening anyway. But the device to revert the world had been damaged even more.

"No, well. Okay. I just need one success."

As long as he succeeded once, it would be fixed. Yeonwoo quickly rolled the dice again.

After repeated failures, even the blueprints that could have helped with repairs were lost. As the researcher screamed and ran over, Yeonwoo's hands shook violently.

The probability of successful repair had fallen infinitely close to zero.

Yeonwoo stared blankly at the steel debris. He turned his gaze away. This was a lost cause. There was nothing he could do.

And when he couldn't do something himself, he could always make someone else do it.

"I need to see the Club chairman again."

---