The day after the protest incident, Yu-Han, Alice, and Kim Ga-Eun were walking somewhere together.
"Me? A euthanasia target?! I didn't touch so much as a hair on those protesters! Besides, they all turned into monsters! Shouldn't I be fine?"
As Alice grumbled, Yu-Han explained the harsh reality.
"Registration is something any dog or cow can do. People register each other for the stupidest reasons, so more than half the country is technically listed as euthanasia targets."
"Wait, then how does this country even function? Shouldn't everyone have killed each other off by now?"
"Well, the system makes the applicants put up the bounty money themselves. So even if they register someone just because they're pissed off, the bounty is usually dirt cheap. Not worth the trouble.
Look, both Ga-Eun and I are registered as euthanasia targets, but no one really bothers...
Wait, hold on. Why the hell is this so expensive?!"
"T-tens of millions of won...?! Yu-Han-C... I've never had a bounty this high on me before...!"
"No, seriously? We killed every last one of them without leaving even a rat alive. There shouldn't have been any witnesses...!"
For the first time, Alice felt like she was seeing Yu-Han genuinely panic.
She wanted to laugh at him as much as she pleased, but since she was in the exact same situation, she couldn't even force a smile.
"Yu-Han, does that mean other sanctioners will come after us too?"
"To be precise, anyone with a sanctioner license can come kill us. Private armies, illegal civic groups, anyone...
But tens of millions? Whose bad side did we get on?!"
"Hah... Ya really askin' that 'cause ya don't know? Dumbass."
At that moment, someone blocked their path.
It was a tiger beastkin woman.
A predator-type beastkin who possessed several times the strength of an ordinary human simply by existing...!
"...!"
"Cat got ya tongue?!
Course you'd be speechless... Standin' right in front of ya is the ace of the Hwang-Ho Euthanasia Center, the great Yi Rang herself!"
"Why is a place like that targeting us...?!"
When Yu-Han spoke in surprise, Yi Rang answered without missing a beat.
"You guys... got yourselves marked by one hell of a big shot!
The opposition leader, Kim Je-Hyeon!
Well, I'm feelin' generous, so I'll give ya enough time to leave a will!"
"Ah, it was that guy? No wonder."
"Yu-Han C! How about pork ribs for dinner tonight?"
"Ga-Eun, are you eating your vegetables properly? Don't just eat meat.", Alice replied.
Yu-Han, Alice, and Kim Ga-Eun completely ignored Yi Rang and continued walking while chatting among themselves.
"Hold up, hey!! You guys really got a death wish or somethin'?!"
"We don't want to die, which is why we're avoiding sanctioners. Isn't that obvious?"
"Huh...? Now that ya mention it, that does make sen—
No, no, wait! You little shits keep tryna play word games with me!
People who yap too much... get shut up by my fist!!"
As the woman named Yi Rang prepared to charge, Yu-Han spoke lazily.
"Ga-Eun, play with her a bit."
"Yes, Yu-Han C!"
"Ha! A mere wolf beastkin thinks she can take on a tiger beastkin?!"
Yi Rang threw a punch, but Kim Ga-Eun caught it effortlessly with one hand.
"Huh...?"
Yi Rang was visibly flustered.
Her punch had enough power to bend a steel pipe, and yet this little kid had stopped it?
Yi Rang tried punching again, and even threw in some kicks, but Kim Ga-Eun blocked them with ease.
No, eventually, as if even dodging had become too much of a bother, Ga-Eun simply let herself get hit while looking at Yi Rang with eyes full of pity.
"It can't be! My punch can bend steel pipes..."
"Yes... please go bend a lot of pipes over there. We're leaving."
At Kim Ga-Eun's cold dismissal, Yi Rang looked slightly indignant.
Alice, feeling bad about just leaving, bowed politely to the teary-eyed woman.
"Well then, take care."
"You guys... makin' fun of me?! I ain't forgivin' this!!"
At that moment, Yi Rang's appearance began to change.
Her teeth and claws grew sharper and larger, her entire body became covered in tiger fur, and somehow, she took on a form completely like that of a tiger.
"That's... 'Furry Mode'!", Yu-Han shouted.
"It's 'Full Beast Transformation Mode,' ya idiot! Now you're spoutin' beastkin-hating crap too?! I ain't forgivin' that either!!"
"You already said you wouldn't forgive us earlier.
Ga-Eun, just chase her away."
"I guess I have to."
Yi Rang, now in the form of a tiger, rushed at Kim Ga-Eun like a wild beast...!
However, Kim Ga-Eun casually grabbed Yi Rang's wrist.
"...?"
"Now that I'm touching it directly, your fur really is fluffy."
"Of course! I groom it every d— wait, what the hell kinda dogshit are ya talkin' about?!"
At that moment, Kim Ga-Eun's body began to rapidly expand, twist, and mutate again.
It was the form of a complete Chimera monster, so disgustingly complex and annoying that even describing it would be a pain...!
Seeing that form, Yi Rang's 'Furry Mode' came undone.
"Would you like to touch my fur too?"
Looking up at Kim Ga-Eun towering over her, Yi Rang's DNA sent an instinctive danger signal.
The alarm bells ringing in her head focused every thought in one single direction.
"Gyaaaaaaak!"
She turned tail and fled without even looking back, her face pale as a sheet.
Kim Ga-Eun watched her run away, then turned to Yu-Han.
"So, Yu-Han C. Should we eat pork ribs first and think after that?"
"No, authentic Italian Margherita pizza."
"You need to eat meat to be healthy! Yu-Han C!!"
"Then tell that damn owner to put meat on it..."
Leaving the bickering pair behind, Alice seriously worried whether the person named Yi Rang would be okay...
***
A few hours later, at the Hwang-Ho Euthanasia Center.
Yi Rang had been summoned before the Center Director.
"Yi Rang, what did you do during your break?"
"W-what would I do during break?!
I just grabbed a bite and went home for a bit..."
At that moment, an ashtray flew toward the top of Yi Rang's head.
Struck out of nowhere, Yi Rang clutched her forehead and looked like she was about to cry.
"You haven't even finished cleaning the toilets, and you dare take a break?!
Well, I've already given up on you because you've always been useless, but now you're lying too!"
"L-l-l-lying...?"
"The euthanasia assignment that came down to the Center this time.
You went off to handle it on your own authority, didn't you? Huh?!"
"...I have a sanctioner license too!
I just wanted to catch those bastards myself and show you I could do somethin'..."
"What an admirable thought...
There were no results, but I could have forgiven you up to that point!
But you, like a complete idiot, went around blabbering the VIP's name!"
"You mean Kim Je-Hyeon C?"
"Don't speak his name so casually!
I kept you around because you were at least useful for menial tasks, but now you've leaked information...
Kim Je-Hyeon Nim ordered us to dispose of you."
"D-dispose...? What's that supposed to mean...?!"
"Just killing you wouldn't be enough to satisfy all the anger you've built up in me, so I'm going to sell you off to the underground auction house.
Well, do your best to sell yourself there.
Living as some rich man's pet might actually make you more useful than you are now, right?"
The Hwang-Ho Center Director laughed vulgarly and gave orders to his subordinates.
They immediately bound Yi Rang and stuffed her into something like an ominous sleeping bag.
"Director! But the name of this place is Hwang-Ho(黃虎)! It'd be weird without me, a Yellow Tiger~! Please!!"
"You're so damn noisy. Put up soundproofing magic too, all of you."
She continued to shout after that, but Yi Rang's voice no longer reached anyone around her.
"Can ya really not hear me?! Director, you baldy!
Haa... Guess they really can't."
In that desperate situation, Yi Rang grinned.
She still had something to rely on.
As she violently shook her bound body, some kind of device fell out with a small thud.
"Voice Control Mode Activated!"
Then, the inside of the sleeping bag (?) where Yi Rang was trapped lit up brightly, and a hologram screen floated up.
It was a Smart Hologram Device.
She had hidden the device in her cleavage so she could secretly watch streaming services during work hours.
"Darin' to sell a person off at an auction house...?
You pieces of trash!
I can just hire sanctioners too...!"
***
Meanwhile, the place Alice's group arrived at was a fairly dilapidated building.
"Yu-Han, why did we come all the way here?
You said there was a surprise gift..."
Yu-Han and Kim Ga-Eun wore meaningful smiles and told her to come in first.
When Alice opened the door and stepped inside, what she saw was a spacious room.
In the center of the room were a sofa, a desktop computer, and a hologram projector. In one corner was what looked like a kitchenette.
There was even a room with a nameplate that read 'Sleeping Quarters.'
"You sleep here from now on. I need some alone time too."
"It's a nice room. Really? You're just giving it to me?"
"I'll charge rent and maintenance fees. I'll make it cheaper than the market price, though...
And this isn't just a living space."
"?"
"We're opening a Euthanasia Center here. There's a limit to working as freelancers."
"I knew it. You intend to work me like your subordinate..."
"You are the Director."
Alice was stunned by those words.
"Ga-Eun will assist you well from your side.
As the Deputy Director, that is.
A beautiful robot Director and a cute wolf-eared assistant—just looking at you two will put customers at ease."
"What about you?"
"I prefer freelancing. Still, I'll help if needed.
You promised you'd reward me properly if I sent you back to Cheongwa Tower, remember? Don't forget that."
"Right. I did..."
For some reason, Alice liked this room.
"Yu-Han, tha..."
Just as Alice was about to finish her sentence, the room's phone notification began ringing loudly.
"...? The Center shouldn't even be open yet."
"Actually, I already opened the Center under your name!"
"You... used someone else's identity without permission...!!"
While Alice raged at Yu-Han again, Kim Ga-Eun trotted over and answered the phone.
Before Kim Ga-Eun could even say hello, a loud voice burst from the receiver.
[Hello!! Is this the Euthanasia Center?! Please save me!!]
"Hmm. I feel like I've heard this voice somewhere..."
"Yu-Han C, I think it's that tiger from earlier today."
[Y-you guys...! Anyway, I'll get you the money somehow, so save me first!! And quit talkin' about me like I'm some damn animal!!]
"Yi Rang C, what happened? Please explain calmly."
This time Alice asked, and Yi Rang explained everything that had happened.
It seemed she had already called other Centers as well, but all of them had rejected her.
"Of course. What stupid Center would trust the words of a stupid woman and fight another Center?", Yu-Han pointed out coldly.
[Th-that's... Then what am I supposed to do...? These bastards are saying they'll sell me to an underground auction house...]
"Why should I care?"
[Waaaaaaah!!]
Alice glared at the back of Yu-Han's head.
As expected, this guy was trash to the bone.
In that case, I should at least...
While Alice was thinking that, Yu-Han spoke up again.
"However, since the Hwang-Ho bastards dared to come for our heads... I suppose we have to make them pay the price. With their lives!"
At Yu-Han's words, the look in Alice's eyes softened slightly.
But she still wasn't entirely convinced.
'Maybe he isn't complete trash after all?
Or maybe he just has to kill them because they're enemies...'