Became a Failed Experimental Subject-Chapter 74: In Search of the Cat

“Is it just me, or are the beetles nowhere to be seen today?”

“Did we take care of them?” ƒreewebɳovel.com

“Wanna die? Say that again and see what happens.”

“Ack!”

W-City, plagued by parasitic monsters.

The heroes patrolling the entire area in three shifts couldn’t help but notice that, for some reason, there were barely any bug monsters around today.

Just yesterday, they had been swarming in the morning, noon, evening, and even at dawn. But today? At most, there were a few sightings during the morning and noon.

After that, the only ones they saw were one or two stragglers that seemed to have fallen behind the group.

Could it finally be over? The exhausted heroes were all secretly harboring that hope, but none dared to say it aloud.

They just desperately took advantage of the brief calm to rest, never lowering their guard, always ready to jump back into action at any moment.

Meanwhile, Yu Anna wasn’t wasting any time, submitting a detailed report to the Hero Archive.

Parasitic monsters that weren’t even kill-class — based purely on their rank, they weren’t even worth worrying about.

When the other cities first received the report, they couldn’t stop laughing at W-City’s predicament.

But the S-Class heroes who knew Starlight thought otherwise — if something was giving Starlight that much trouble, it wasn’t a simple opponent.

And so, the report Yu Anna wrote in a daze caught the attention of heroes who had been monitoring W-City’s situation closely, prompting them to investigate whether there might be parasites in their own cities.

The following day, after the heroes took down four bug monsters throughout the day, they finally managed to fall asleep a bit more comfortably.

Still, they left the alert system on, just in case, letting it ring right next to their ears.

But the alarm didn’t go off until they woke up the next morning.

As they went out on patrol, they heard that the only monsters that had shown up during the night were at best lizard- or frog-shaped kill-class monsters.

The heroes of W-City started to think that the bug monster incident might really be over.

But if that were the case, then why...?

“Blaccky! Blaccky! Where are you?”

Yu Anna, who had already suspected a connection between D-City, the parasites, and Blaccky, was now flying around anxiously, calling out for Blaccky.

But no matter how much she flew around W-City, shaking pieces of meat as bait, Blaccky did not appear.

At first, the other heroes just laughed at her antics, but as time passed, their expressions grew more and more grim.

Blaccky had disappeared.

“Blaccky! Where did you go?”

“You didn’t get infected by a parasite and leave W-City, did you?!”

“Blaccky~! Kitty!”

As the heroes scoured the city for Blaccky, the news of his absence quickly spread among the civilians as well.

Eventually, the heroes stopped their search, but by then, the rumors had already spread too far, and the civilians were also wandering the streets, calling out for Blaccky.

“Blakey~! Blakey, where are you!”

“Kitty! If you come out now, I’ll give you meat! A whole box of it!”

“Damn, why isn’t he coming out? We’re literally calling him, aren’t we?”

“Uh... but come to think of it, has he ever actually come out just because someone called him?”

“Well, maybe he just went to sleep somewhere. It’s quiet now that there are no monsters around, right?”

“Sleep? What sleep?! By now, he should be starving and whining for meat!”

“Then what? Are you saying Blaccky got infected by a parasite and committed suicide or something?!”

“Heartworms are lethal to cats, after all....”

“Aaaah! Blaccky’s gone!”

“Hey! My kid is listening to you!”

“S-Sorry....”

The citizens were now genuinely worried that Blaccky might have died because of the parasites.

The heroes, who no longer had any reason to hide the fact that they were searching for Blaccky, began to use their powers to intensify the search.

The heroes of W-City had gradually adapted to Blaccky’s stealth abilities, developing a technique to spread their powers and detect monsters by scanning the area.

They spread out in formation, releasing their powers like a sweeping wave across W-City.

Even after thoroughly combing through every inch of the city, they found no trace of Blaccky.

It was becoming increasingly clear — Blaccky was no longer in W-City.

The heroes gathered in the meeting room, their expressions grim.

“Where the hell did he go? Just the other day, he was helping us catch those bugs.”

“What if the parasites got to his brain and killed him....”

“Hey, you idiot! You think Blaccky would go down that easily? His regeneration speed is insane. If they chewed through his brain, he’d just blow it up himself and regenerate it!”

“Y-You really think so...? If the parasites got to his brain, wouldn’t that be it? They could just command him to protect his brain, right?”

“Ha... Where the hell did he go? He’s not really dead, right?”

They had always said that they’d have to hunt down Blaccky eventually, no matter how useful he was.

For the heroes, the death of a threatening monster like Blaccky should have been good news.

But there wasn’t a single hero in the meeting room who looked remotely happy.

[Where’s Blaccky? Where’s Blaccky? Where’s Blaccky? Where’s Blaccky?]

[What if the heroes hid Blaccky to protect him from getting infected? Say it’s true! Please say it’s true!]

[Does it make sense for a monster that was flying around with a hero to just vanish all of a sudden?]

[My kid’s getting anxious about Blaccky’s disappearance. He didn’t really vanish, right? He’s just sleeping somewhere, right?]

[Seriously, where is Blaccky? The bugs are gone, so I took ✪ Nоvеlіgһt ✪ (Official version) a day off just to see him, but he’s nowhere to be found.]

The heroes dug through surveillance footage, searching for Blaccky’s last known location in W-City.

They also combed through the community boards, hoping for any sightings of Blaccky.

[Found Blaccky!]

[Where?]

[Where??]

[Where is he? Coordinates!]

[A black, feisty cat is in my house~]

[You son of a bitch, where do you live? Drop your location.]

[Why the hell isn’t that bastard dead from the parasites?]

[I’m reporting you.]

After collectively reporting the troll, the heroes sighed and started discussing the current situation.

The goal of the parasites rampaging through W-City was Blaccky.

Or, to be more precise, it was the Monster Cult’s goal.

“Don’t tell me he actually got infected and went to D-City...?”

“They found the last known location of the suspected Blaccky on surveillance footage!”

“They’re upscaling it right now!”

The hero who burst into the meeting room shouting brought everyone running to the W-City Central Command Center.

The control room, usually filled with unawakened assistants and navigators, was suddenly packed with heroes, all of them crowding around to watch the footage.

“Oh, oh...? That...?”

“Where is he going?”

Late at night, the last sighting of Blaccky was at the very edge of the city wall, heading outside.

Against the moonlight, a large cat-like shadow stood small but unmistakably Blaccky.

The heroes’ eyes all turned toward the map simultaneously, tracing the direction Blaccky had been heading.

That direction led straight to D-City.

“Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck...!”

“Our cat got stolen... like a girlfriend taken by an A-Rank at the Hero Academy....”

“Aaaaargh! My brain is melting!”

“Monster Cult, you bastards! You sons of bitches!”

The reason the beetles had vanished from W-City was because they had achieved their goal of brainwashing Blaccky.

All the heroes came to the same conclusion, and as they did, the air in the navigator room grew heavy with the murderous intent of the gathered heroes.

Among them, the one exuding the most chilling energy was Yu Anna, who stood motionless, her eyes dark and cold.

“...Connect me to D-City.”

“Y-Yes?”

“Connect me. Now. Navigator Na Eunyoung.”

“H-Hiiik...!”

The navigator, shaken by Yu Anna’s unusually fierce gaze, hurried to connect to D-City’s command center.

But there was no response from D-City.

“These bastards ate Blaccky, didn’t they?! Now they’re not even answering?!”

“Those sons of bitches! If an Extinction-Class monster appears, let’s see if W-City sends them any support!”

“Those scumbags who only ever gave Blaccky parasite-infested meat!”

“A city of cult-crazed psychos!”

“Just die already! Disappear from the world!”

“Everyone, shut up!!”

The heroes, who had been shouting and cursing, fell silent under Yu Anna’s furious voice.

Like a quiet wave, like water boiling silently, the heroes’ anger simmered down.

Yu Anna pushed the navigator out of their seat and began operating the controls herself.

A dial tone rang for a moment, and then the line to A-City connected.

[This is A-City Central Command Center.]

“This is Starlight, S-Class from W-City. Get me Cage. Right now.”

[...Cage is currently in a meeting.]

Yu Anna clenched her teeth, her voice so cold and threatening that it carried clearly even through the receiver.

“Hey, what’s your name?”

[What...?]

“When an S-Class hero calls for another S-Class, don’t you know that means it’s an emergency? Get him on the line right now.”

[P-Please wait a moment.]

A moment later, a beep signaled the transfer, and Cage’s voice echoed throughout the W-City Command Center.

[What is it, Starlight? We’re busy over here because of the report you sent. Unless you’re sending us a sample of the parasitic monsters....]

“Send backup to D-City. Right now.”

[Sigh... Hold on. I’m pausing the meeting.]

From the other end of the line, the sound of Cage letting out a heavy sigh was followed by the sound of a door closing.

[I told you before, we don’t have enough grounds for an emergency investigation in D-City. The mental evaluations of S-Class heroes in D-City have come back normal, and so far, there have been no reported hero casualties from these so-called parasitic monsters. All the reports from W-City regarding D-City are based solely on speculation and hypothesis. And wasn’t it agreed that dealing with the Monster Cult would be left to Vector, the S-Class hero of D-City?]

“Blaccky headed to D-City.”

[No way... Was he infected? An Extinction-Class monster?]

The realization hit Cage like a brick.

Blaccky, who had firmly established himself as a non-human predator that didn’t hunt people in W-City, suddenly leaving for D-City was a glaring anomaly.

If Blaccky had indeed been brainwashed by the Monster Cult, it meant they had successfully weaponized a monster.

If Yu Anna’s claims were true and D-City had already been overrun by parasitic monsters, then those parasites would have to be classified as a unique Extinction-Class threat.

City collapse, Extinction-Class emergence, weaponized monsters controlled by a non-governmental force — no matter how they looked at it, the situation was dire.

If things continued as they were, they would have to deal with both the parasitic monsters and a now-infected Blaccky at the same time.

“Didn’t I tell you to investigate D-City?!”

Yu Anna, who had been holding onto her composure until now, finally snapped.

“They didn’t even need to call for them, and they were sending parasites to make citizens commit suicide! But when it’s D-City, they just ignore it and let the Monster Cult run rampant? Did you not read the damn report properly?! Are you dismissing it because they’re just kill-class monsters? Just because no heroes have died, it looks like a light problem to you?! Those assholes who haven’t even experienced it themselves think it’s a joke, huh?! What did you say last time during the call? ‘Oh, you’re struggling against kill-class monsters? Maybe you’re relying too much on Blaccky~’”

Yu Anna mimicked Cage’s condescending tone, then screamed into the receiver.

“Samples, samples, samples! How the hell am I supposed to retrieve samples that melt the moment they’re exposed to hero wavelengths?! I said they’re not just parasites, they’re monsters! Last time a civilian researcher almost lost a hand trying to extract a sample and got infected! And you’re asking me to do that again?! And if I do manage to get one, you want me to spare some hero escorts to guard it while it’s being delivered?! Wow! I’m sure the sample that melts in the presence of hero wavelengths will hold up just fine next to a hero escort!”

Yu Anna’s patience, worn down by the endless barrage of parasites day after day, had finally reached its breaking point.

Support that never came.

Researchers who refused to come because they were too scared of parasites that ate brains, but still had the gall to demand samples.

It was always the same:

Is it hard? Hang in there. But send us research data so we can prevent it ourselves. And take full responsibility for it, too.

No sense of urgency. Just spectators watching the fire from afar, feeling safe in their untouched cities.

“You’ve already had your brain melted by the parasites, haven’t you? Do you think W-City’s a joke?! Is A-City the only real city?! You think you’re the only ones being careful?! You think you’re the only perfect superhumans here?! You say Blaccky is dangerous, so he should be killed before he gets more dangerous?! What about the parasites?! How about you try chasing down these monsters that don’t even register on the alarm systems? Oh~! And now we might have to deal with Blaccky too, who also doesn’t trigger the alarms anymore? You fuc— AAAAAAAAH!!”

CRASH!

Yu Anna hurled the receiver against the wall and clutched her head, screaming.

The navigator, blinking blankly, reconnected the microphone.

“Send the backup, you bastard! Now! Send it to D-City!”

[W-Wait... Understood. This will be considered an emergency. We need to assess the situation in D-City....]

“Screw your assessment! Send them now! They’re not answering our calls, you idiot!”

[...Confirmed. They’re not responding here either. I’ll use my authority to force a connection.]

In the icy silence that followed, even Cage stammered as he replied.

A forced connection to a city command center — a measure only possible for Cage, who held S-Class authority in A-City.

Now that Cage was finally starting to listen, the heroes of W-City exchanged uneasy glances, whispering among themselves.

“Well... she did say what we were all thinking, so thanks for that.”

“But... is she allowed to go that far...?”

“Allowed or not, does it matter? We were getting our asses handed to us, shouting that things were serious, and what did the Hero Archive say? ‘W-City can’t even handle kill-class bug monsters, huh?’ They laughed at us.”

“Fuck, the more I think about it, the angrier I get. Those bastards have never had to deal with this shit.”

After a few moments of muttered complaints, Cage’s voice came through the comms again.

But this time, it was cold, completely devoid of his usual composure.

[Starlight, I’ve forced a master code connection to D-City’s server. Sharing the screen now.]

Beep.

The large screen in the control room flickered, displaying D-City’s server data logs.

The data, incomprehensible to most, immediately drew the navigator’s attention.

His face twisted in confusion as he scrutinized the screen.

“...Why do the records look like this?”

“The alarm records aren’t uploading automatically. All that’s being sent are dummy files.”

“What’s with the hard drive status? If they leave it like that, all the surveillance footage will be erased within a day.”

“How did they pass their regular reports like this...?”

Something was definitely off.

It was too deliberate to be negligence.

It was as if someone had intentionally broken the system.

Or... someone had sabotaged it on purpose.