Became a Failed Experimental Subject Chapter 2: Delicious

That should do it.

After fleeing for a while to shake off pursuit, I waited until I could no longer sense the presence of any Heroes.

Only then did I release my transformation.

The unpleasant sensation of returning to human form washed over , and the hunger I hadn’t noticed before roared loudly in my stomach.

“Haaah...”

First thing I did was check the pants and necklace—both were still intact.

Considering I’d just turned into a massive monster, they should’ve been torn to shreds. But they weren’t.

I guess, unconsciously, I didn’t want them to break.

Monster abilities tend to ignore the laws of physics—things that shouldn’t be possible just happen.

I hadn’t deliberately tried to protect them, but I was still relieved.

Only then did I notice my bare upper body.

Well... not much I could do about that.

Now I looked like so weirdo walking around shirtless and barefoot in firefighter pants.

I dug into my pocket.

Thankfully, the money I had stored in the pants was still there, undamaged.

Next ti I transform, everything but these pants and necklace will get shredded again.

Unless I learn to control the transformation down to the finest detail... but I had no clue how to even start doing that.

I vaguely rember being put through so training back at the lab, but I never actually wanted to control the monster’s powers.

“I’m starving...”

A side effect of the transformation—an insatiable hunger twisted my insides.

From a monster’s perspective, they’re always starving.

A craving to consu humans.

A desire to grow stronger.

An endless tornt that defines their existence.

Even after turning back into a human, that hunger lingered.

I sharpened my senses, desperately needing to fill my stomach.

Sowhere in the distance—I caught a whiff of food.

Following the scent, I soon found a convenience store nestled along the roadside.

I stopped in front of the glass door, but... even that door looked like fragile sugar art to . I didn’t dare touch it. Just stood there.

The store clerk, irritated by the way I was blocking the entrance, opened the door with a frown.

“Uh, sir? What are you doing?”

“...Here.”

I slowly took out the money, being careful not to crush or rip it, and let it fall to the floor.

The clerk hadn’t taken it.

“Give ... food. Anything, as long as it’s the right price.”

“...Haaah.”

The clerk looked pissed for a mont—but after glancing up at my body, he shut his mouth.

He handed ⊛ Nоvеlιght ⊛ (Read the full story) a few rice balls, so fried snacks, and a hot dog.

I took them silently.

As I turned to leave, the clerk mumbled under his breath while shutting the door.

“Damn freak... Co again soti, I guess!”

He gave a nervous little bow the mont I glanced back at him.

I felt a little bad, honestly.

But I didn’t really know how to apologize.

So I just walked outside and started eating.

“Mmh...?”

I guess this is what people an when they say it’s not enough to even reach your liver.

Still—this stuff was shockingly delicious.

Especially the hot dog.

The bread, the sausage, ketchup, mustard...

Was food always this good?

Compared to the unidentified sludge filled with chemicals they used to feed , this was on another level entirely.

At that mont—within the endless void inside —a single, clear desire took shape.

I want to eat delicious food.

Food that isn’t human.

To do that, I’d need... money.

“Money, huh...”

What kind of job does soone get to earn money?

I’d never worked a day in my life. I didn’t even know how.

Maybe I could get a part-ti job, like that store clerk?

But... no matter what I do, there’s one big problem.

This body.

Unless I activate the monster core, my body is just... a bit stronger than a normal human.

But “a bit stronger” by human standards is still way too much.

Right now, walking feels like skating on ice.

Unless sothing’s made of tal, it crumbles like a cookie in my grip.

Is there even a job where I can use this body?

More importantly—can I even live among humans?

I already know the answer.

Even now, from far away, the scent of humans still makes my monster instincts salivate.

Any kind of job would an contact—close contact—with people.

And I honestly don’t trust myself not to accidentally crush so poor soul who bumps into .

I’m not human anymore.

****

“So what I’m asking is—why the hell did a Despair-Class monster show up there?”

Inside the W-City Governnt’s Anti-Monster Task Force headquarters.

All the top-tier Heroes had gathered, clutching their heads in disbelief.

A Despair-Class monster.

A threat so severe that the official protocol is to abandon the city entirely rather than attempt combat.

And yet... it showed up in W-City—and ran away.

“No, seriously... Why would a Despair-Class run away? Are we even sure it was Despair-Class? Maybe it was a sensor malfunction?”

“Nah, its ability to escape was 100% Despair-Class. No matter how hard we chased it, we couldn’t close the distance.”

“Guys, this is not the ti to be joking.”

Most of the Heroes here had been dispatched to the cetery during the ergency call.

They represented the strongest forces W-City had.

Now they were comparing reports, trying to build a strategy against this powerful new monster.

But the more they talked, the less sense it all made.

Was it really Despair-Class?

“I don’t get it. The cetery’s not even densely populated. That’s not the kind of place a Despair-Class shows up.”

“Told you. Sensor glitch.”

“Even if it wasn’t Despair-Class, it wiped out a bunch of Lethal-Class monsters without breaking a sweat. That’s at least Calamity-Class, and even that makes no sense given the area.”

“You think monsters care about theory? ‘Oh, I’m supposed to spawn in Zone A, not B’? Co on.”

“Still! Showing up and running away without doing anything? That’s not just odd—it’s completely irrational!”

The temporary code na was “Code Zero.”

And nothing about it made sense.

It had an animal-like form.

When it fled, it was clearly running on the ground—not flying, not turning into gas or energy.

Which was strange, since beast-type monsters were the easiest to track.

Every district has monster sensors. If it moved, sothing should’ve picked it up.

But it hadn’t.

No trace before. No trace after.

It didn’t drop from the sky. If it could fly, it would've flown off, not run.

The footage captured by Hero bodycams showed a creature with zero matches in the database.

Its powers—similar to “Thunderfang”—matched no known monster.

Which ant...

Sowhere in W-City, an unidentified, unregistered, new-type monster was hiding.

They had to either eliminate it—or issue an evacuation order.

Yet it hadn’t caused a single casualty.

That was what baffled everyone the most.

“Have there... ever been monsters that didn’t attack people?”

“No. All monsters attack humans. It’s instinct.”

“What about weird cases? Aren’t most monsters mutated animals? What if it ca from a zoo or sothing?”

“Even in old records—there’s that case where a family dog turned into a monster and imdiately ate its owner. Human aggression is hardwired.”

“Then why the hell did this one run? If it really was Despair-Class, it could’ve wiped us all out in seconds!”

“I’m telling you—it wasn’t Despair-Class. Just faulty equipnt.”

That Hero kept repeating the sa denial over and over.

It wasn’t helping.

But the others wanted to believe him.

Unfortunately, the equipnt had accurately identified the Soil Drakes that appeared just before the Code Zero incident.

So blaming the machines was a stretch.

Which ant... the conclusion was as terrifying as it was simple.

“A new type of monster. A special case...”

So monsters—those that surpass a certain threshold—begin to show behavior that defies even monster instincts.

The Sky Serpent that endlessly floats through the heavens.

The Eight-Tailed Fox that built a shrine in the forest and never leaves it.

The Drakken that drifts above the ocean’s surface.

All of them—Obliteration-Class monsters.

So maybe this one—Code Zero—was sowhere between Despair and Obliteration.

“There’s... nothing we can do right now. We can’t evacuate all of W-City.”

When humans flee en masse, it triggers unpredictable monster behavior.

And if they did evacuate the city, only to find the monster had already moved sowhere else...

Then they’d just be delivering fresh at to its doorstep.

Code Zero, the Despair-Class monster, was quiet for now.

So W-City could do nothing.

“We’ll report to central command and keep the hotline open. If Code Zero reappears—it gets top priority.”

Top priority.

aning: if a monster showed up elsewhere at the sa ti, they'd abandon that area—just to respond to this one.

Because a Despair-Class threat ant potential catastrophic damage.

All the Heroes let out heavy sighs as the governnt official finished speaking.

Among them, a woman with flaming-red hair slumped onto the desk and muttered:

“Well, so much for getting any sleep...”

Until that monster reappeared, she’d be on 24-hour standby.

She was W-City’s strongest Hero.

An S-rank.

Her na was Yoo Anna—

the only one in this city who could face a Despair-Class monster alone.

****

On the surface, W-City looked as normal as ever.

But those with sharp eyes could sense it—sothing was off.

The high-ranking Heroes were on edge.

Their tension spread like static, putting the police and lower-tier Heroes on high alert as well.

The information had already been classified, but the rumors had begun to spread.

A Despair-Class monster had appeared.

A special variant.

One that was still hiding sowhere within the city—and whose movents couldn’t be predicted.

The Heroes who knew the truth were all ntally exhausted, crushed by the weight of not knowing when it would strike.

And the monster they were all searching for...

was currently in the heart of the city.

“Mmm... tasty.”

More precisely, it was rummaging through a trash can.

I’d given up on getting a job.

If I tried living among people, I might end up killing soone by accident.

But giving up on good food? That was too much to ask.

Trash cans were like magical treasure boxes.

Fresh food, every day—for free.

Even in this era of monster attacks, people still threw away food like it was nothing.

I lifted a pizza slice from a cardboard box—it had a slightly sour taste, but it filled my belly just fine.

I hadn’t been scavenging long, but I’d already mapped out a few hotspots.

First: the trash bins right next to restaurants.

But they were competitive. Other holess folks were always lurking around.

They usually backed off when they saw my size, but if I stayed too long or ate too much, the mood would turn nasty real fast.

Next: behind the burger joint.

Every now and then, I’d score half-eaten burgers.

And best of all—the park trash cans next to the apartnt complex.

You could find anything there.

Like today: leftover pizza, probably dumped after a picnic.

Even a bottle of soda—half-full, the cap still sealed.

Yeah... not bad.

“Ew! It’s a hobo!”

Kids playing in the park would sotis point at while I was digging through the trash.

When that happened, I’d always wave and say hi.

“Wanna share?”

“Ugh! No way! That’s gross!”

“It’s tasty though...”

“Hey! What are you doing?! That’s not okay!”

The mont I held out the half-eaten pizza, one of the moms chatting nearby rushed over.

There were plenty of people in this world who had lost everything to monster attacks—so her gaze wasn’t exactly full of hatred.

If anything, she seed more wary of my size.

But I didn’t sense any true disgust.

“Mister Hobo! Want this?”

“Thanks.”

So kids even ca over to give their leftovers when they were heading to the trash.

When that happened, I would sit down cross-legged and hold out both hands—so they could easily place the food in my palms.

I had to be extra careful with these cotton-candy-sized children.

One wrong move, and I could crush them without aning to.

“Mmm. Delicious.”