Inside the underground research facility, the mysterious package that appeared in Rojin's bag sat on a pure white table.
The small room held only a few things:
One table, one chair, the package.
And a camera quietly running in the corner.
In the monitoring room, Rojin and several researchers watched the screen.
"There's some bad news."
An investigator in a suit pushed open the door.
"The die inside the package doesn't seem to be unique."
"We found many similar ones on the market, even with identical packaging."
"That really is bad news."
The researcher in front of the screen didn't even turn his head.
Clearly, he wasn't very invested emotionally.
After two seconds, he continued:
"I'm guessing you've already recovered all of them, right?"
Though phrased as a question, his tone was full of certainty.
He didn't believe the institute would let these things circulate freely.
"Yes, Dr. Semur."
The investigator nodded.
Dr. Semur was actually a decent person, generally kind toward others.
Though most of that kindness stayed inside his head.
Still, that made him much easier to deal with than the more unhinged researchers.
"Is the D-class personnel ready?"
"D-43426 is in position."
"Then start the experiment."
After speaking, Dr. Semur turned to Rojin.
"Repeat your feelings at the time."
Hearing this, Rojin recalled what he felt when he first held the die:
"It felt like an ordinary die, like a regular craft item."
"But it gave me a very strong urge to use it."
Dr. Semur listened quietly while writing notes.
"But you managed to resist, correct?"
He caught the key point.
Despite the strong urge, Rojin never used the die.
"Yes."
Dr. Semur was about to ask further when a voice came through the microphone:
"Doctor, D-43426 is ready."
Dr. Semur paused his questioning.
Rather than asking someone who hadn't used it, it was better to observe the subject directly.
After brief communication, D-43426 asked:
"So as long as I cooperate, my death sentence gets canceled, right?"
The D-class prisoner sounded excited.
Although many countries had abolished the death penalty publicly, private executions still happened.
Especially for influential figures who had fallen from power.
Their rivals would never let them live.
"Yes."
Dr. Semur replied coldly.
And even if their sentence was revoked…
Dr. Semur had been here long enough to know no D-class ever truly made a comeback.
"All right, what do I do next?"
Sensing the doctor's impatience, D-43426 dropped the topic.
For some reason, this room made him feel uneasy.
"Open the package and take out the die."
Dr. Semur's voice echoed from the speaker.
D-43426 raised an eyebrow and grabbed the package.
He examined it first.
'Looks like normal packaging?'
A thought flashed through his mind, then he rejected it.
Of course that was impossible.
He tore it open easily.
A yellow die rolled out onto the table.
Its six faces had no numbers.
Instead, they were labeled: "No," "Yes," and "Maybe."
Each appearing on two faces.
"Sh*t!"
"I mean—sorry, doctor."
D-43426's heart skipped, and he cursed reflexively before remembering where he was.
"It's fine. Please retrieve the die."
Dr. Semur's tone stayed flat, almost cold.
Under the doctor's instructions, D-43426 began asking simple yes-or-no questions.
But as time passed, his behavior shifted.
He had gone from cooperating to being controlled by the die.
"Should I blink?"
"Yes."
Without being prompted, D-43426 continued rolling the die.
Whenever it landed on "Maybe," he rolled again.
Until "Yes" or "No" appeared.
Then he would obey the answer absolutely.
The experiment continued until…
"Should I breathe?"
Everyone inside the monitoring room immediately became highly alert.
The yellow die was tossed.
It landed on a negative answer.
Seeing the word "No," D-43426 immediately stopped breathing.
All the researchers in the monitoring room focused intently on the footage.
But not a single person moved to stop him.
Only the continuous tapping of keyboards echoed through the room.
Soon, the pale-faced D-43426 lost all signs of life and collapsed onto the cold floor.
"He's dead."
Roughly ten seconds after D-43426 fell, Dr. Semur spoke.
His voice remained perfectly calm.
As if the one who died was nothing more than a worthless insect.
"Should we continue the experiment?"
Dr. Semur's assistant asked.
Hearing this, Dr. Semur paused for a few seconds.
His eyes swept repeatedly across the experiment log.
"Continue."
Deciding that there was still not enough information, Dr. Semur made his decision quickly.
D-43426's corpse was soon cleared out of the room.
A new D-class test subject was brought in.
But Dr. Semur was not interested in the new test subject about to serve as the next guinea pig.
"If you used the die yourself, do you think you'd be able to control yourself?"
Dr. Semur glanced toward Rojin with curiosity.
In this world, people with special abilities were not rare.
Although the ratio was small compared to the total population, such individuals did exist.
"Not sure. If it were only at the beginning… I think I might be able to control it."
Rojin hesitated for a moment before giving a somewhat vague reply.
In truth, even he didn't know how strong the die's controlling power was.
Nodding, Dr. Semur said to his assistant:
"After this experiment, bring in a ghoul."
The assistant nodded and recorded the instruction.
The experiment inside the room continued.
The new D-class quickly followed D-43426's fate.