As work began, X habitually switched the surveillance feed to the newest containment unit.
In the days to come, he would likely regret this unconscious action—
"Hhh—hoo—"
"Hrr—hoo—"
Before his eyes could even make out what was inside the containment chamber, his ears were seized by a series of heavy, rasping breaths that made his skin crawl.
The sound was like a human pushed to the limit after extreme exertion, yet also like some unnameable horror recorded only in ancient legends.
Then, at last, his retinas received the image transmitted through the monitor—
At that moment, X suddenly felt that the company's decision to place a "cognitive filter" over the Manager's vision was both wise and merciful.
The Abnormality before him—O-06-20—could only be called "bizarre" if one were being generous.
It possessed a blocky mass of flesh that barely qualified as a "head." From it grew a disproportionately long, pale-blue, humanoid arm, ending in five razor-sharp claws.
Its face was chaotically arranged with four blue eyes and two mouths of different sizes that constantly opened and closed. From the larger mouth hung an enormous, grotesquely oversized tongue, wet and slack.
Its body resembled that of a large dog—but it had only three legs.
The front right leg was a completely exposed, chalk-white bone. One of the hind legs looked like a swollen, wrinkled red intestine, yet its end was abruptly connected to a human foot.
The torso itself was nauseatingly translucent. Inside writhed tangled masses of red, blue, and green substances, resembling human organs stuffed inside at random.
From its abdomen, two streams of unknown black liquid continuously leaked out—whether it was stale blood or something far more disgusting was impossible to tell.
"..."
Even through the thick cognitive filter, X could still imagine just how distorted, horrifying, and unnatural this so-called "dog" truly looked.
Perhaps this was the most real and cruel part of life inside Lobotomy Corporation—
The anxiety of knowing death could come at any moment, and the bone-deep terror of having to face such twisted entities head-on.
Netzach wasn't wrong.
No matter how much he tried to understand or empathize, there was still an undeniable gap between him and what the employees had to confront in person.
"Since you look like a dog… let's start with instinct work."
Forcing himself to refocus on O-06-20, X issued the first work order of the day.
—
Employee Work Area — Control Department Main Lounge
"Employee Justin, please proceed to Training Department Containment Unit No. 3 to perform instinct work on Abnormality O-06-20."
The Manager's command echoed through the lounge.
"Hey… Justin, wait a second."
A level-four employee from the Control Department grabbed Justin as he was about to leave.
"Don't go yet. I need to tell you something."
"What's up, X i?"
Justin stopped and turned, looking at the usually quiet colleague with confusion.
"It's… about that newly contained Abnormality. Yeah—the one you're about to work on."
Recalling what she had just seen, the level-four employee named X i instinctively pressed a hand to her chest, her face still pale.
"I took a walk near the Training Department earlier… and I happened to glance at it through the skylight."
She lowered her voice, as if the monster were lurking nearby.
"Damn it… what was the company thinking, bringing in something that terrifying today…?"
"Can you cut the chatter?"
Justin glanced toward the inconspicuous camera tucked into the corner of the ceiling and reminded her helplessly,
"If I don't move within two minutes, I'll be marked as disobeying orders."
"Fine. Then listen carefully."
X i took a deep breath, her expression deadly serious.
"When you're working on that Abnormality, you have to stay completely focused. Reduce every possible chance of error to the absolute minimum!"
"You're one of our mainstays. If even you go down to that thing, then there probably won't be anyone left in the whole company who can manage it!"
"Heh… X i, are you related to the Manager or something? You sound exactly like him."
Instead of being alarmed, Justin laughed.
"When I was chatting with him earlier, he said almost the same thing."
"I'm not joking!"
X i grew anX ious, her voice rising despite herself.
Realizing it, she quickly lowered it again and leaned closer.
"There was a clerical worker in the Training Department—an idiot—who just took one curious look over my shoulder and went completely insane. Instantly insane!"
"Ever since the Information Department started issuing Abnormality response manuals for clerical staff, something this ridiculous hasn't happened in ages!"
"When you say 'ages,' do you mean a little over a week ago?"
Justin deadpanned.
—
—Employee Audrey, please proceed to Training Department Containment Unit No. 2 to perform insight work on Judgement Bird.
—Employee X i, please proceed to Safety Department Containment Unit No. 2 to perform repression work on Der Freischütz.
—Employee Georgia…
One order after another was issued, and the surrounding employees began moving accordingly.
"Alright. The courage assessment the Training Department gave me is higher than yours anyway."
Amid the flow of people, Justin patted X i on the shoulder, signaling her to Relax .
"But thanks for the warning. See you around."
"…See you."
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