There Are No Humans in the Monster Company

The day began as always.

Zone D of the Extraction Room, the hallway of dimensional entity containment chambers.

Artificially controlled temperature and humidity, air that seemed motionless, a strange atmosphere.

Today as well, I held the extraction log in my hands.

Calm face, familiar movements.

But deep in my heart, I was screaming in a very low voice, very quietly.

‘Let’s survive today too.’

In fact, I felt like I was fighting more desperately to stay alive here than when I was outside.

Anyway, the first target was D-33, Absent Public Telephone Booth.

Beyond the glass wall, there was only an old 1980s-style telephone booth placed in the middle of the room.

The extraction method for this subject was to maintain a phone call.

I entered the containment room and picked up the receiver.

Normally, nothing could be heard, but after ten seconds, a scream that seemed ready to tear apart my eardrums exploded from the other end of the line.

[Save me! Please, open the door! It’s hot, too hot!]

The pulse of the pen and the warmth of the rosary intensified.

Along with the screams, a black tar-like liquid began pouring out of the receiver and soaked the back of my hand.

I must never let go of the receiver or respond.

I only had to identify the number of voices on the other side using the phone’s numeric buttons and enter the answer.

‘…Five people.’

Each time I pressed a button, the screams transformed into laughter filled with joy.

When the black liquid climbed up my arm and began wrapping around my shoulder, the extraction-complete signal appeared along with a mechanical sound.

I shook my arm, which burned as if it had suffered a severe burn, and hurried out of the booth.

The second dimensional entity was D-56, Half Body.

Inside the glass wall sat a person whose body simply did not exist from the halfway point onward, like a defective 3D model, leaning against the wall.

It had one eye.

One ear.

And yet it continued smiling.

That smile followed me everywhere.

‘The extraction method is to place a hand over its heart and maintain eye contact for thirty seconds.’

The problem was that a human heart is usually positioned slightly to the left.

And Half Body only existed on the right side.

I placed my hand over that transparent half that existed, yet could not be seen.

Half Body slowly turned its head.

The mouth, of which only half existed, smiled grotesquely.

I carefully met the gaze of its single eye.

‘Dimensional entities are something I never get used to.’

How much time had passed?

A heartbeat struck my hand.

Thump!

An unmistakable vibration reached me from that invisible heart.

I immediately left the containment room and headed to the third one.

The third target was D-103, the Record Knight.

A classical-style room.

A record player placed in the center.

And on it, a human-shaped record spinning endlessly.

It was an existence whose body, thin as a sheet of vinyl, had been rolled into a circular shape and fixed as a record.

Bzzzzz… Screeech… Bang!

Every time the record player turned, random memories emerged from within it.

“Mom… where are you…..?”

“The train… the train…!”

“I can’t see the sky… too… too much…”

I put on headphones and gloves.

I had to replace the bronze needle attached to the record.

Only by changing that needle could the distorted information waves be collected.

Tap.

When the needle pierced the record, the figure trembled.

It sounded very much like a moan.

‘……My ears hurt.’

Avoiding the gaze I felt coming from the record, I finished the task.

After completing all three extractions, I let out a deep breath and removed the Manager Myeon face-mask I was wearing.

My hands were soaked with sweat.

“Gasp… ha…”

A wet breathing sound came from behind me.

It was the White and Chubby Furball.

A dimensional entity that, at some point, had started following me everywhere while doing nothing except panting.

“What? Do you want to go through an extraction too?”

The White and Chubby Furball let out a strange sound, like a tiny whimper, and flopped down beside my feet.

I slightly lifted my foot to move away.

And just as I was about to head toward the next containment chamber, I heard a familiar voice.

“Mr. Haeil~! So there you are!”

When I turned my head, I saw Assistant Manager Son approaching from the other end of the hallway, waving the hand that sat on top of his head.

He strode over and patted my back with the enormous hand that served as his head.

“I was just about to look for you. Looks like you finished at the perfect time, huh?”

“Is something wrong, Assistant Manager?”

Assistant Manager Son spoke with an expression that seemed strangely excited, though mixed with a certain degree of caution.

“Extraction Team 2 has returned. Well, to be precise, only one person has.”

“Only one person?”

“Normally the whole team has to stay together until the project is finished, but it seems the schedule dragged on longer than expected. So they sent one person back first to share some zones with us.”

I had always thought it.

The Extraction Room was far too large for only six people from Extraction Team 1 to manage.

And since Manager Myeon was almost always in the office, that meant there were really only five.

Moreover, in Zone D, I practically worked alone apart from the occasional help from Assistant Manager Son and Supervisor Shik.

“You know that team was assigned to Project Wonderland under Executive Director Ahn’s supervision, right? Anyway, from now on they’ll be handling part of Zone D. Since they’re the team we’re most likely to run into, don’t you think it would be good if you at least introduced yourselves?”

Assistant Manager Son draped an arm around my shoulders and guided me toward the office.

“You should especially get along with the supervisor who came back. Human employees need to look out for each other. It seems Manager Myeon contacted Extraction Team 2 because he heard you’ve been having a hard time.”

Human employees.

The moment I heard those words, I unconsciously quickened my pace.

Was it because of precedents like the strange Director Go Gyeol or the suspicious Manager Moon Ara?

Now I felt more anxiety than anticipation.

Could a human who had survived in this place really be considered normal?

“I’ve heard rumors that she has a somewhat cold personality, but even so, people always have something that connects them, don’t you think?”

The hand atop Assistant Manager Son’s head playfully wiggled its index finger.

I nodded silently and followed him until we stopped in front of Extraction Team 2’s office.

Clack.

The moment Assistant Manager Son opened the door, the air inside the office burst outward.

A cold wind.

It wasn’t simply air conditioning.

It felt like pressure, as though someone had forced open a space that had been in a vacuum.

“We’ve come to say hello! Hong Na-gyeom, are you in there?”

Assistant Manager Son’s cheerful voice scattered into the air.

I crossed the threshold and looked inside the office.

A woman who had been sitting neatly at a desk reviewing documents slowly raised her head.

“…”

For an instant, my heart gave a slight jolt.

Short, curly red hair.

Reddish-orange eyes.

And a deep, thick scar running across her entire neck above an immaculate white blouse.

She did not rise from her seat.

Nor did she smile in welcome.

She simply set down her pen and looked at me with a dry gaze.

In those eyes were reflected the exhaustion and melancholy characteristic of human beings, things I had forgotten after living among nothing but monsters.

Assistant Manager Son lightly pushed me from behind.

Looking directly into her orange eyes, I opened my mouth.

“I’m Jeong Haeil, a new employee of Extraction Team 1.”

Even after hearing my voice, the woman remained silent for a long time.

Her gaze fixed on Manager Myeon’s face protruding from my suit pocket, and finally she gave a brief nod.

“I’m Hong Na-gyeom, Supervisor of Extraction Team 2.”

She’s a person.

Definitely a person, but…

‘It’s time to stop having expectations.’

Audit Team Director Go Gyeol.

Manager Moon Ara, Head of the Security Team.

And Hong Na-gyeom from Extraction Team 2.

In addition to Lee Jihyun, who resigned on the very day she started work, and the employees of the Department of Emotions whose heads exploded because of Assistant Manager Son.

Apparently, normal and sociable people simply did not exist in this company.

Then again, when I thought about it, that was only natural.

There couldn’t be completely sane people working in a place like this.

“Alright, Mr. Haeil! Coordinate the zone assignments well with Supervisor Hong! I’ve got a mountain of work piled up because of the external operations, so I’m off.”

Assistant Manager Son waved the hand on top of his head with his usual carefree attitude and hurried out of the office.

When his footsteps faded behind the closed door, an unreal silence descended upon Extraction Team 2’s office.

I stood there awkwardly, looking at Hong Na-gyeom.

She had already picked up her pen again and was writing something on her documents.

The scratchy sound of the pen tip against the paper scraped at my eardrums like a sharpened blade.

‘Should I talk to her? Or wait?’

While moving my lips in search of a suitable icebreaker, Hong Na-gyeom spoke first without taking her eyes off the documents.

“Do you have equipment?”

A low, dry voice.

I was momentarily puzzled, mentally reviewing the word “equipment.”

Then I suddenly remembered the skin coat worn by Moon Ara.

That garment made from the grotesquely intertwined skins of countless body parts, something that looked capable of causing cognitive contamination just by being viewed.

I took out Manager Myeon’s face-mask from inside my jacket and carefully showed her the Virgin’s Benevolence I had received as a joining gift, along with the beads of the Relics of the Smiling Martyr wrapped around my wrist.

“I have the mask and fountain pen given to me by Manager Myeon, as well as a rosary borrowed from the prototype storage room.”

Hong Na-gyeom stopped writing and raised her head.

Her orange eyes scanned the items I was showing her.

After several seconds, her brows furrowed ever so slightly, and she let out a deep sigh.

She looked at my equipment as though she were staring at food that had expired years ago and then rose from her seat.

The sound of the chair scraping against the floor echoed coldly.

“Follow me.”

Without waiting for a response, Hong Na-gyeom started walking.

Watching her back as she moved forward with firm steps, I awkwardly followed.

***

“The monsters—or rather, the methods of Extraction Team 1—are far too crude. Extractions based on intuition and luck inevitably lead to accidents.”

The place Hong Na-gyeom led me to was Zone C, somewhere I had not visited in quite some time.

An extraction area of a higher risk level.

The hallways were darker, and the walls and floors were designed with far greater precision than those in Zone D, clearly demonstrating the difference in rank.

Without hesitation, she walked to the end of the corridor and stopped in front of a containment chamber sealed by a heavy lead door.

Dimensional Entity Name: Universal Employee Benefits Machine

Entity Code: C-91

Type: Object

“This is…”

“If a human wishes to survive, they must possess the ability to protect themselves.”

When Hong Na-gyeom operated the numeric keypad, the door opened accompanied by the sound of pressurized steam escaping.

What appeared inside was an enormous metallic machine resembling a grotesquely swollen vending machine, formed from a complex tangle of giant gears and vacuum tubes.

On the front was a lens blinking like an eye and an insertion slot open like a mouth.

“Stand in front of it.”

At that firm command, I approached the machine without questioning her.

A heavy noise, like chains dragging across the floor, came from within it.

With complete indifference, Hong Na-gyeom pulled out a crisp 50,000-won bill and inserted it into the slot.

‘…Cash?’

Watching the bill get swallowed by the machine, I felt a strange sense of unreality.

‘Come to think of it, I hardly ever have a chance to use cash anymore.’

My salary was still being deposited into my bank account.

But now that I was no longer going out with Moon Ara and spent my days wandering extraction chambers instead of convenience stores, a banknote felt even more unreal than the remains of a dimensional entity.

Clonk!

Satisfied after swallowing the bill, the machine emitted a reddish glow.

“Extend your arm.”

The moment she finished speaking, a thin needle shot out from the side of the machine and pierced my forearm.

“Ugh…!”

Along with a sharp pain, my blood began flowing through a transparent tube into the machine.

Using that bizarre combination of my blood and human money as fuel, the machine began operating with thunderous mechanical noises.

Clack, Crack, Whirr—

Sounds of something being forged, carved, and assembled came from inside.

Hong Na-gyeom watched the scene expressionlessly while checking the time.

“This dimensional entity synthesizes optimal equipment based on the user’s biological information and the value of the equivalent exchange. I hope the value of your blood exceeds fifty thousand won.”

With a slightly sarcastic tone, the machine expelled a cloud of white steam.

Shortly afterward, something solid dropped onto the floor with a dull thud.

Amid the white steam emerging from the output tray, I slowly extended my hand.

“What is this…?”

A bewildered groan escaped my lips.

What I held in my hand was not a weapon.

Nor was it armor.

It was a single white pill, extremely smooth and completely unwrapped.

Moreover, it emitted a faint warm pulse, remarkably similar to human body temperature.

‘They take my blood and money just to give me a single pill?’

For the first time, Hong Na-gyeom’s eyes wavered slightly.

A small trace of doubt crossed her face, which was usually as expressionless as stone.

“…A pill?”

Immediately regaining her usual composure, she stepped closer to the white pill resting in my hand.

“This machine reads the user’s biological information and potential to synthesize whatever they most need to survive. It normally produces protective suits or physical tools. I did not expect it to generate an orally administered consumable.”

“So… does that mean I’m supposed to take it?”

Clutching the pill in my palm, I asked hurriedly.

“Do you know its exact effects or possible side effects?”

At my question, Hong Na-gyeom fully regained her impassive expression and turned toward the door.

“I don’t know. It was designed specifically for you. Since it was created by mixing your blood and fifty thousand won, you will have to discover its function and capabilities yourself. I doubt you’ll die from taking it. The company does not easily let useful humans slip away.”

Her answer was unpleasant.

Without caring about my reaction, she added coldly as she exited the containment chamber.

“Try it when your life is in danger. In any case, this company will provide you with more than enough opportunities to test medicine by risking your life.”

I alternated my gaze between the heavy lead door closing shut and the white pill in my hand.

‘If I die from taking this, will they at least count it as a workplace accident?’

To survive in this insane company, I now even had to swallow unknown substances.

To survive in this insane company, I had now found myself in a situation where I had to swallow medicine of completely unknown origin.

==========

Dimensional Entity Name: Universal Employee Benefits Machine

Entity Code: C-91

Type: Object

Risk Level: Class C

(However, due to the potential danger of synthesized equipment and the risk of explosion in the event of overload, the presence of a supervisor is recommended during operation.)

[Details]

Equivalent Exchange-Based Synthesis Mechanism

Operates using the user’s biological information and capital (money or objects of equivalent value) as fuel.

The greater the value of the sacrifice offered, or the deeper the potential contained within the user’s biological information, the more sophisticated and powerful the synthesized equipment will be.

The machine evaluates value on its own and, if the inserted materials fail to meet the required threshold, it will refuse to operate or will only produce low-quality byproducts.

User-Optimized Personalized Production

Even when using the same sacrifice, it does not generate fixed results.

It analyzes the user’s physical characteristics and current circumstances to produce the tool in the “most necessary form.”

Results range from ordinary equipment, such as protective suits, to special equipment of bizarre and highly creative forms.

Value Recognition and Overload Response

It can devour not only modern currency but also any object in which “value” has been condensed, such as remains of other dimensional entities or metals engraved with special symbols.

However, if an object of excessively high value that the machine cannot properly process is inserted, it will enter an overload state accompanied by black smoke and vibrations caused by abnormal friction among its internal gears.

In that state, the equipment expelled has a high probability of possessing power that is impossible to control.

[Extraction Mechanism]

Extracts special dimensional energy by recovering the high-pressure steam and complex mechanical rotational energy generated during the synthesis process.

[Administration and Usage Manual]

The user must stand in front of the machine so that the red lens (eye) on the front can properly recognize them.
After inserting a specified amount of banknotes into the money slot, the user must allow the needle ejected from the side of the machine to extract biological information from their body. (The sharp pain experienced during this process is part of normal operation.)
Do not leave the containment chamber while assembly and crushing sounds are being heard from inside the machine. If the user disappears before the process is complete, the synthesized equipment will be expelled in an incomplete state and may cause harm to the user.
Reintroducing any object generated by this dimensional entity into the insertion slot is strictly prohibited. Doing so will cause severe errors in the machine’s logical circuits.

[Special Recommendations]

Because the exact use and capabilities of the equipment are not specified in this manual, the user must personally test it in real situations to determine its function and performance.