Became a Failed Experimental Subject-Chapter 43: A Beast-Like Man

Did I screw up giving him more food?

The moment I made the decision, that thought crept in like a reflex.

“Villains don’t come to the soup kitchen anymore.”

“It’s been so peaceful. It’s nice.”

Ever since Han Muryo effectively became the soup kitchen’s bouncer, Zone 4 had gone absurdly quiet.

According to the local cops, not only had villain attacks at the soup kitchen stopped, but there hadn’t been any villains acting up in the entire district at all.

[We’ve got word Gu Seoryong was spotted on a train headed to City B.]

“Oh yeah? So that means unnie won’t be obsessing over her anymore, right?”

[Obsessing...?]

“Come on, you never cared that much to begin with, unnie. Not that I blame you. You’ve got enough on your plate without worrying about me.”

[You... you didn’t have to say it like that...]

“...Sorry. Rest up. You said you were busy all weekend.”

The news claimed that villain boss Gu Seoryong had vanished. Without her, the rest of the villains were collapsing like a house of cards.

W-City was still arresting the stragglers, and the headlines blared: ‘Gu Seoryong on the Run – Fall of a Crime Capital’ and ‘Victory in the War on Crime – Starlight Leads the Purge.’

When even the reporters who usually screamed “This is Starlight’s fault!” were finally giving her credit, didn’t that mean she was doing something right?

Maybe I should stop feeding Han Muryo now... but for some reason, I hesitated.

“Muryo? Could you carry this too?”

“Mm.”

After I asked him to watch over the soup kitchen and stop any villain attacks, I often saw Han Muryo sleeping nearby, taking in the smell of rice while we prepped for the weekend meals. And I’d think: How can such a huge guy sleep all day?

Like a bear. He only got up when it was time to eat, passed out when he was done, and occasionally jolted awake just to stare blankly at something—then fell asleep again.

I got sick of watching it and made him help just once, and—Jesus. He worked like a machine.

Han Muryo was a human forklift.

“Wow... is it even legal for someone to carry that much?”

“I’ve never seen us finish prep this fast.”

“Strength-type psychics really are built different.”

He’d haul 40, 50 kilos of supplies like they were feathers. Unloaded the buffet tables by himself, left them ready for setup. Carried the gas tanks for the kitchen with one hand.

There was something mesmerizing about the way his muscles casually lifted things that should’ve taken four people.

With him around, our prep time dropped to a third of what it used to be. Dishes got stacked and tossed into trucks so fast the volunteers didn’t have anything left to do.

“Even without fighting villains, isn’t Muryo earning his meals?”

“Maybe a tenth of what he eats, sure.”

“Well yeah, the man eats enough for ten people...”

And that wasn’t even all. Han Muryo played with the kids in Zone 4 like a pro.

He was weirdly popular with them. For someone so huge, he wasn’t scary at all to them. Kids walked right up to him without hesitation.

Maybe that animal-like aura of his was actually comforting.

Kids do love animals, after all.

“Alright, thanks for the hard work, everyone!”

“Thanks, Director!”

“Bye-bye~!”

“See you next time!”

“Is the director moving away?”

“No~! I’ll see you next week!”

After each volunteer shift, the crew split into two trucks and left Zone 4.

That was when Han Muryo would disappear. No one saw him again until next weekend.

Sometimes I think... he’s like one of those cats you only see if you go to their alley.

He’s there—but he ◈ Nоvеlіgһт ◈ (Continue reading) could vanish any moment, and no one would be surprised.

“Hyena-nim, thanks for your hard work.”

“You two as well. Honestly, I think you can stop guarding me now. Why not go back to being proper heroes?”

In Zone 3, where W-City’s commercial buildings were packed tight, the Starlight Foundation’s truck pulled into its rented garage. After sending off the other volunteers, I tied up my hair and turned to the two psychics beside me.

They were the temporary guards unnie had sent, saying things were still dangerous.

Before that, I’d had weaker psychics taking turns watching over me during my volunteer work.

“Haha, it’s fine. We don’t mind.”

“Yeah, thanks to this we haven’t had to fight any monsters. It’s been nice.”

“That’s... not really something heroes should be proud of.”

I didn’t want them to get hurt, of course. But to me, a hero was someone who fought monsters.

Always. Unflinchingly.

I knew that was unfair. I knew I shouldn’t expect that from them. But deep down, I did.

“Well then.”

“Take care, Miss.”

I tied my hair up higher, put on my glasses—enough of a change that most people wouldn’t recognize me.

For the average person, that was all it took to not realize I was that Yu Hyena.

Combined with my ability—what I’d named Heat Haze—it worked even better.

Unlike my sister Yu Anna, I awakened my power much later. And it was pathetic. E-Class.

E-Class meant: no more dangerous than a toddler.

My ability raised my heat resistance just enough to grab hot pots, and made my hands feel warm in winter.

Totally useless in a monster fight, but perfect for normal life.

Though... there was one trick to it.

I could use the slight heat distortion to bend light. Barely—only by a centimeter or two.

But even that was enough to look like someone else. Just once, it even deflected a mugger’s knife on my way home.

A useless power—but for me, Starlight’s sister, it was exactly what I needed.

Still... I’d always wished I had something else.

As I walked home, using my ability, that faint shimmer hiding me—something felt off.

This chapt𝙚r is updated by freeωebnovēl.c૦m.

“...Weird.”

My sixth sense flared.

Someone was tailing me.

Couldn’t be paparazzi anymore. A mugger?

If I could outrun them, great—but my sprinting speed was below average.

I reached for the emergency button in my pocket. Hesitated. Then bolted into a dark alley.

Whoever was following me broke into a run. My heart pounded harder.

Just as I turned a corner and saw a few men smoking, I ran up to them, desperate.

“Please...!”

“Whoa now, miss. Something wrong?”

“Hehehe...”

They grinned, pulled out knives.

The guy chasing me caught up. Gasping. Also with a blade.

“Huff... huff... you bitch...”

“Haah... haah... haah...”

I panted. Tongue clicking in disgust.

A gang robbery. Regular humans, then.

In this world gutted by monster attacks, it wasn’t just villains who committed crimes anymore.

Unlucky, that’s all this was.

I pulled out my wallet. Threw it at them.

“Here... take it. Just let me go. I want to go home.”

“Well now, isn’t that nice? So easy to deal with.”

“Damn, she’s loaded.”

I hoped that was it. Just guys who were hungry. Desperate.

As I tried to slip past them—

“Hold it. You’re from Zone 3, yeah?”

“Looks like a rich girl. Let’s get her parents to cough up some cash.”

“Haah... I don’t have parents. They’re dead.”

“Really? An orphan slut? Even better!”

“She won’t report shit. Let’s have some fun with her. She’s pretty cute.”

“Kuhh... I like the feisty ones...”

Should’ve just let him starve.

That thought crept in uninvited, the moment things got real.

Just as Yu Hyena reached for her pocket, something thudded onto the pavement from the shadows of the alley.

“...What the—?! Ngh?!”

SHUNK!

A black blur shot forward like a bullet—disarming the knife in front of her in an instant.

THWACK THWACK THWACK—like popcorn exploding, the muggers were tossed into the air, smacked into the walls with a crunch.

“Ugh!”

“Gah—!”

“Fuck—!”

Groaning, clutching their broken limbs, they stared up in horror as a massive beast of a man stomped forward.

“...Do any of you have parents?”

“Wh-what... the fuck is this guy?!”

“I’ll take that as a no.”

“Wha—Han Muryo?!”

From the shadows emerged none other than Han Muryo—the psychic who’d been hanging around the soup kitchen lately.

His bulky frame shouldn’t have moved so fast, but he glided like a predator. Without hesitation, he grabbed each thug’s hand—

—and crushed them.

“GAAAAHHHH!”

“MY HAND! MY FUCKING HAND!”

“S-STOP! PLEASE!”

“Why should I stop?”

“S-spare us—”

GRRRRRRRR...

CRACK. CRACK.

Even as Yu Hyena pleaded with him, he kept going—smashing hands until blood dripped freely from his own.

She stared, frozen. Maybe it was the darkness. Or the blood. Or the sheer weight of him.

But this didn’t feel like the same gentle bear of a man she knew.

He looked... dangerous.

Swallowing hard, she forced herself to speak.

“Y-You can’t do that... Criminals should be judged by the law. That’s not how this works.”

“There’s no police here.”

“That doesn’t mean you can just do this!”

“They pointed knives at you.”

“...Still! That’s excessive force! It’s illegal—you’re a psychic!”

“I heard thieves used to get their hands chopped off.”

“Th-that’s barbaric.”

“Is it?”

“Well... I mean, maybe that should be the punishment, but still—this is the age of monsters...”

“Hm.”

Han Muryo blinked—like a curious animal processing a new sound.

Then, after a long pause, he stepped away from the whimpering men.

“...Fine. I’ll leave one hand each.”

“AAAAAH—!”

“P-Police! Get the police—!”

“Haaa... haaa...”

As Yu Hyena exhaled in relief, the muggers scrambled to their feet and fled, limping and clutching their remaining hands.

Han Muryo turned to her, face unreadable, and said in that flat, blunt way of his:

“You look like you’ve gained weight.”

“Th-that’s rude!”

“Kidding. You’re a psychic, right?”

“Not much of one. I can’t stop villains or monsters...”

Beep-beep-beep-beep.

Yu Hyena pulled out her phone, sent coordinates to the police about the attack. Then glanced up.

Maybe it was the night fog. Maybe the fresh blood. But he looked different than he did during the day.

Sharper. Wilder. Like something just barely holding back.

Her heart thudded hard in her chest.

“Han Muryo... why are you here?”

“Hunting monsters. Nearby.”

“What? But... the alarm didn’t go off.”

“I killed it before it could.”

Was that... a joke?

No, it couldn’t be. Monster alerts trigger the moment something enters range. Heroes respond to the alarm—they don’t beat it.

Even Starlight couldn’t do that.

Yu Hyena stood stunned for a second, then her cheeks suddenly flushed red.

“Y-you shouldn’t lie like that, Muryo... A-and you can’t just follow a woman around like this either.”

“Follow? I didn’t see any footprints.”

“N-not footprints. I mean... stalking. Y-you know what that means, right?”

“Stalking?”

“I-it’s when you secretly follow someone you’re interested in... you weren’t doing that, right...?”

When he circled behind her and inspected her back for literal tracks, she nearly exploded.

From her head, heat shimmered in waves—Heat Haze, flickering uncontrollably from the sheer embarrassment.

Her temperature spiked. She couldn’t regulate it anymore.

Han Muryo stared at the distortion floating above her head—and swallowed audibly.

“You look delicious.”

“You can’t say that to a girl!!”

“...Mm.”