Became a Failed Experimental Subject-Chapter 14: Feeling Bloated

He wiped the sweat from his brow and looked down at the parts the kids had torn off.

The monster alarm device—built with rare alloys and specialized tech—was expensive, every single part of it worth a fortune.

Sold on the black market, even this much could fetch a decent sum.

But no matter how many times he told them, the kids had never managed to bring back the most important core component.

The truth was, that part was somewhere no one could reach just by sticking their hand through the bars.

The orphanage director, who’d never actually seen the device with his own eyes, had no clue.

He opened a drawer and pulled out an expensive lighter and a pack of strangely shaped cigarettes.

The lighter was a luxury product—bought with tax relief money meant for food and necessities for the children.

Grinning smugly as he toyed with what, in the monster era, had become a rare and obscene luxury, the orphanage director lit a cigarette stained with an odd hue.

Then, after a brief pause in the call, he dialed back the other orphanage director.

“Where were we? My head’s still spinning—I can’t remember a damn thing.”

[Hehehe, the brats not listening again, huh?]

“Hoo... God, I swear, maybe it’s because they don’t have parents, but they’re dumb as rocks. I keep telling them and they just don’t get it. How hard is it to grab the orange-glass vial?!”

[How much is that thing even worth?]

“Depends, but I heard it goes for at least two months’ salary for a full-time worker.”

[That’s a lot. No wonder you’re pissed.]

On the other end, the other director chuckled in sympathy.

He didn’t see anything wrong with making kids steal.

In fact, he got angry ★ 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 ★ when they failed to steal something valuable.

In the monster era, these two weren’t unique.

There were plenty of others like them running orphanages.

Private orphanages—established not out of some noble desire to care for children who lost their parents, but to milk government subsidies for all they were worth.

For people like them, using the legal loophole that granted leniency for petty crimes in child-rearing wasn’t an exception—it was the standard.

Using the children as punching bags for stress relief?

Even if something went wrong, in this era of constant monster raids, corpse disposal was a simple matter.

Worse yet, these directors kept in touch, exchanging tips on how to turn more profit.

“So... can you give me the details on how you’re making bank these days? What exactly are you doing to buy so many cars?”

[Ah~ mm... see, this isn’t something I should tell just anyone.]

“Come on, don’t be like that. Remember how I handled that body for you last time?”

[Agh... I guess since I owe you, I can’t keep it to myself...]

Then, with a sly giggle, the other director shared his latest business venture.

[Some of the rich folks, you know? They’ve got... refined tastes.

And well, it’s the monster era, right? People get desensitized to violence real fast. That thrill, you know? It’s addictive.]

“Stop dragging it out and just say it already.”

Updat𝓮d fr𝙤m ƒгeeweɓn૦vel.com.

[Hehehe... I’m saying, if you’ve got any pretty kids, let me know. I’ll hook you up.]

“Pretty kids? Oh... you mean that. Doesn’t that stuff fall outside the protection of the exemption clause?”

“So what? Sell to the people who wrote the exemption clause!”

Realizing what was being suggested, the orphanage director was genuinely impressed.

His expression clearly said: Why didn’t I think of that?

[They take care of the bodies themselves, so all we have to do is take the money.

You’ll make way more than with some dumb theft jobs.]

“How much more?”

[Hehehe... about one car per kid? The rich don’t skimp on their hobbies!]

“That much?!”

[Depending on the looks, even more. So aim for the cute ones.

The rest, well, keep using them for the usual stuff.]

“Damn... if there’s a business this good, you should’ve told me sooner.”

[I’m telling you now, aren’t I? Hehe... Anyway, I’ll open up the sales channel for you, so check things out and call me. I’ll take a little off the top too.]

“Khm... yeah, okay.”

As soon as the call ended, the orphanage director began mentally combing through the children—picking out the ones with decent looks.

The first one who came to mind was Na Hye-ri.

Still young, but clearly going to grow into her looks.

He wondered how much he could get for selling her to a rich client.

He’d never thought about that little girl like this before, but now that the image was in his head, it... excited him.

Why didn’t I think of this sooner? His face twisted again in self-loathing.

“Na Hye-ri! Get to the director’s office, now!”

He picked up the intercom with a vile grin, his voice echoing through the orphanage.

A system that let him broadcast at any time.

Maybe it was the drugs kicking in.

Maybe it was the thrill of what he was about to do to a child.

Whatever it was, his face gleamed with anticipation.

“...Disgusting.”

At that point, I’d seen enough.

I dropped down from the ceiling.

Did he really beat her until the blood pooled beneath her skin?

No wonder that girl smelled... delicious.

I’d thought it was strange—starving kids stealing equipment from a government truck instead of food.

“Wh-Who’s there?!”

As my shadowy form descended, I took on a humanoid shape.

The director scrambled for his drawer, pulled out a handgun.

I reached out and crushed the pistol in one hand.

Only then did he realize I wasn’t something normal.

And he stumbled backward in panic.

“Wh-What the hell...?! Are you... police?! A hero?!

Do you even know who I am?! Do you know who I’m connected to—?!”

So if it was a cop or a hero, that name-drop would’ve stopped them, huh?

Too bad for him—I’m a monster.

And that threat means nothing to me.

I gripped his mouth with one hand and crushed it.

“Neither.”

“Ggghhak—! Kuak—!”

I’m a monster.

And even though I’m a monster... I don’t want to hurt humans.

But this thing—this is no human.

“N...nugh... Guh—!”

Shedding the last of my human form, I knocked the orphanage director flat.

Another transformation, another layer of familiarity.

This time, the black panther.

A siren blared outside, wailing to the city: a monster has appeared.

The orphanage director’s eyes widened.

He finally understood.

“Grrrrrrrr...”

“G-GYAAAH—! NO—!”

His fat body crushed beneath a heavy paw,

my tiger claws digging deeper and deeper into his chest.

Crunch. With added weight, I crushed him.

Blood spilled from his eyes and mouth.

Then—the office door creaked open.

“...H-Huh?!”

I pushed down harder, and turned to look.

There stood the girl who’d eaten the least of my meat.

She stumbled back in shock and fell to the floor, unable even to walk.

The sirens were still wailing.

But she didn’t run.

She came to the office.

Was the director more terrifying to her than a monster?

“Sha... Shaheuh...! Shaheuh...! GYAAH! GAHH—!”

Her legs were covered in bruises.

This greasy pig’s stench was already too much, but now...

...it’s making me hungry.

Still, this scene isn’t good for a kid’s mind.

Crunch. I shattered the director’s limbs under my paw one by one.

Then I left him and padded toward the girl.

“Haah...! Huhh...! H-Heuh...?!”

She couldn’t even run.

Trembling where she sat, paralyzed.

I nudged her gently with my head, then gripped the door handle in my teeth.

Closing the door slowly behind her, I caught a blink of her wide, shocked eyes.

From here on, it’s not for kids.

“Sha... Shaheuh...! Guhk—!”

The taste of grease filled my mouth.

I tore off the orphanage director’s head in one bite.

Even with the door shut, the scent of her blood lingered.

I began eating.

Guess I’ll make do without the top-grade beef tonight.

Dinner will be orphanage directors, not humans.

“Crunch... munch... crack...”

Mm.

Too greasy.

****

Despair-Class Monster: Black Cat.

By now, it had grown completely used to erasing its presence—appearing and disappearing like a phantom, as if mocking Yu Anna.

The Black Cat's attacks had continued for quite some time now, racking up over a dozen assaults without ever being caught.

"So in the end, a monster is still just a monster...."

"It’s hunting like a real assassin."

"It’s gotten way too good at hiding... How the hell are we supposed to catch it?"

When news of a Despair-Class monster hunting humans began to spread, the heroes who learned about it before the official reports turned pale.

A Despair-Class monster alone was already a threat serious enough to demand the full attention of W-City—

But this one didn’t behave like any of the others.

Rather than hunting in mass, Black Cat would strike with precision, escape safely, and repeat.

If left unchecked, it looked like the creature would continue piling up casualties, toying with the heroes the entire time.

“But... why only orphanages?”

“All the kids are still alive. Why is that?”

This time, Black Cat displayed a distinct pattern.

It was only targeting orphanage directors.

No one could figure out why—

And yet, the monster never once laid a claw on the children, despite how easy they would’ve been to kill.

Maybe it was just a matter of taste?

From a monster’s perspective, maybe children were too small to bother with?

That theory gained traction when details of the orphanage directors who’d been killed started coming out.

All the victims had been extremely overweight.

The heroes started theorizing that Black Cat was a "gourmet-type" monster who preferred fat humans.

There were monsters that had specific preferences—some hunted women, others targeted children.

Maybe this one just liked chubby prey.

“...These people...”

Yu Anna, reviewing all the data, wore a deeply serious expression.

Every single one of the targets had already been marked for investigation.

The problem was, higher-ups in the government had kept stonewalling progress.

So why was Black Cat going after them?

Yu Anna didn’t think it was a coincidence anymore—there was something these men had in common beyond simply being directors of orphanages.

And yet, she didn’t have time to dig deeper.

The hunt was still going on.

Right now, the top priority was catching Black Cat.

She set her questions aside and focused on predicting its next move.

There were still a few directors on the investigation list who hadn’t been attacked.

It would be one of them.

Only two remained.

Yu Anna deployed heroes to one of the locations, and stationed herself at the other.

If Black Cat came to her, she’d face it alone.

If it went to the other site, the heroes would buy time.

She deliberately left the orphanage directors and children in place.

Black Cat had Lee Han-yeong’s phasing ability—able to slip through solid matter.

Evacuating everyone would just trap them in tighter quarters.

So even if someone had to die, she’d make sure it was only the director.

It was a cruel decision.

But Yu Anna, who had a good idea of what these directors were doing behind closed doors, felt not an ounce of guilt.

“Tch...!”

“Crunch... crack... snap...”

Black Cat appeared—at her location.

She’d been waiting near the children just in case, but the monster had slipped in and already acted by the time she noticed.

The alarm blared.

By the time she sensed the monster's presence, its jaws had already snapped shut around the orphanage director.

That bastard—what had he been thinking?

He’d gotten so close, right next to the room where the kids were sleeping.

If she fought here, the children could get caught in the crossfire.

Yu Anna quickly reached for her communicator to summon backup and secure the kids.

“This is Yu Anna, Black Cat has appeared. I need immediate reinforc—no.”

“Grrrrrrrr....”

“...I’ll handle it. Alone.”

But the moment she faced the Black Cat, something felt off.

Until now, it had always run from her.

Even when she showed up to capture it, it would vanish without a trace.

So why wasn’t it fleeing now?

Why was it holding its ground—edging slightly to the side, like it wanted her to move away?

Why wasn’t it running like before?

Was it worried that if she got close, her powers would melt everything around her?

That the kids in the next room might be hurt?

“...What are you thinking?”