Became a Failed Experimental Subject Novel - Chapter 41

“Oh… yes, Heo Mu-ryo-ssi, please enjoy your meal.”

Yoo Hye-na handed me a tray as I stood there dejected, and gestured for me to get in line. 30 plates… I pressed the food firmly into the serving scoop and ladle, then weakly went to my seat and ate the free meal.

“Mmm, slurp! Mmm…!”

As I ate the delicious food, I wondered if there was really any need to feel so empty. 30 plates freely served, a free meal—isn’t this practically infinite? Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad to go back to Han Mu-ryo instead of Heo Mu-ryo, I thought, as I ate, watching the woman who was handing out plates and talking to each of the Sector 4 residents.

“That’s great, congratulations!”
“Oh my, already 10 years old? You’ve grown so much!”
“There should be some support from the government for that, go to the welfare center this time and ask…”

The woman wasn’t just someone who handed out food. She rejoiced with people when they shared good news and pondered with them when they spoke of difficulties. Sometimes she introduced new jobs to residents who had lost theirs, and if she saw someone in tattered clothes, she would have another volunteer give them a clean, though used, set of clothes. In a very short time, residents who had received various help thanked the woman as they took their meals.

Was this woman like the head of an employment agency in this free soup kitchen?

“Ohhh…”
“He really ate all 30 plates…”
“Wow~ amazing, they say he ate several times that amount last week, don’t they?”

I ate 30 plates as promised, and headed to the serving area amidst much fewer cheers and applause than last week. Clink. As I put the plate down, the woman greeted me with a strange expression.

“Did you enjoy your meal?”
“It was delicious, but I’m hungry.”
“If you say you’re hungry after 30 plates, I don’t know what to say… I was planning to reduce it even further.”
“Hmm.”

Still, my stomach was about half full. Being able to fill half your stomach with a free meal was an unbelievable stroke of luck. Nevertheless, I was still hungry and swallowed hard, watching the serving line. The woman chuckled softly and pushed my back with both hands.

“Alright, if you’re done eating, go quickly and work hard.”
“Work is over for today.”
“Yes, if your work is over for today, you should go look for your next job~ Good luck!”

Next job, huh… I was pushed by the woman and headed out of the park. Just then, some men passed me and the woman, entered the park, and cut in line at the serving station without waiting.

“Get out, get out, get out!”
“Wh-what…? Hey, get in line.”
“You f*cking dirty Sector 4 beggars… get lost!”
“Haa…”

Dressed in dirty suits smeared with dust, dirt, and dried blood, the men who had taken over the serving station grabbed food from the pots with their filthy hands, stuffed it into their mouths, and then tried to carry off the pots themselves. The woman who had been pushing my back sighed wearily and returned to the serving station. She clapped her hands to get the attention of the rowdy men and said,

“You can eat as much food as you like, but please don’t grab it with your hands, as others are also eating. And could you please not take the pots away?”
“What? Fck, this btch…?”
“You, do you know who I am?”
“Whoever you are, wash your hands over there, grab a tray, and get your food.”
“This insolent btch?”
“Ha, wait a minute, this btch is quite pretty, isn’t she?”

Snap! A fireball the size of a human head appeared above the man’s snapped fingers. Beside him, another man who was gorging on food flexed his arm muscles, making his hand grow larger, and gripped the woman’s waist with one hand.

“Ugh…!”
“Kyaaah! Villains!”
“Manager!”
“Hye-na-nim!”

People screamed in surprise at the identity of the unruly men, scattering away from the serving station. The men who had been standing by the truck rushed forward, boosting their psychic abilities. Crackling! A man with lightning wrapped around both hands and large men with metalized upper bodies. The volunteers were psychics likely at C-class level, but there were far more villains, who also seemed to be C-class.

“Wh-what? Why are psychics here! Are you Espers?!”
“Manager? Is this btch some high-ranking btch? Hehehe, it’d be fun to crush her….”
“Hye-na, you say? Pretty name, too? Hehehe, hey girl, how about we have some real fun after I fill my belly? My psychic ability isn’t just about making my hands swell up, you know?”
“Hey! Go for the psychics first!”

Five suddenly appeared villains messed up the serving line and charged at the two psychics. Meanwhile, the woman caught in the villain’s hand moved her delicate hand from under the large hand and squeezed her hip, and something like a strange radio wave wooshed and spread. Was that a police call signal?

“Run! Fck! It’ll be a pain if Espers come!”
“What are you looking at! Get lost!”
“Wait, you! Come here! Heh heh, fck, why are there so many pretty b*tches living in Sector 4?!”
“Aaaah! Momma!”
“Don’t touch anyone else! If you’re going to take someone, just me…!”

The villains who had broken away from fighting the two psychics tried to escape with the woman and the food. CRASH! I stood at the park entrance, frowning slightly at the villains who were escaping the instantly chaotic soup kitchen.

“Wh-what? Who’s this big guy?”
“Are you a psychic too?!”
“Kill him!”

Then, the villains grew wary and unleashed their psychic abilities on me. A swollen, overflowing, fleshy arm, several fireballs, hardened rock bullets, compressed air bullets, and a pot thrown with enhanced strength.

“Noooo!!”
“Kyaaah!”

Amidst the screams of the woman held in a large hand and the residents, I raised one hand. BOOM! I swatted the first fireball that came at me with the back of my hand, sending it flying into the sky. I took the rock bullet and air bullet with my body, and caught the pot by its handle with my fingertips. With the spinning pot balanced on my hand, I raised my elbow and received the incoming fleshy fist.

SPLAT! With a sound like a bursting pustule, the man’s hand exploded.

“Eh…?”
“Wh-what…?”
“U-woahhh! What is thissss!”

The woman’s surprised voice, those who had unleashed their abilities from afar gasped in horror, and the one who had thrown the punch shrank his exploded hand, trembling in agony with broken bones protruding. I took a step towards the villain whose hand had swollen, then chopped down with the edge of my hand. SLASH! The woman fell from the hand of the villain whose fingers were severed.

“Wh-when did that happen?!”
“Aaaah! My, my haaand!”
“E-esper! Esper was waiting in ambush to catch us!”

I caught the fallen woman and then picked up a pot, using it to whack each of the villains on the head. Ugh! Cough! Ugh! Ock! Agh! The villains, making these sounds, collapsed to the ground unconscious, twitching. I held the woman in my arms and looked down at the writhing figures in pain, saying,

“Get out.”
“Eh, eh…?”
“I won’t say it twice.”
“W-woahhh!”
“A-aagh! Aagh!”

The villains stumbled to their feet, wandered confusedly, and then fled out of the park. I released the woman who had been calmly looking up at my face from within my arms.

“Ung-oh-at…?”

Then, the woman made a strange sound, recoiled her arms, and stood there silently blinking. At that moment, the residents who had backed away cheered and applauded.

“Wooooah! Han Mu-ryo! Han Mu-ryo! Han Mu-ryo!”
“Cool! Wooah!”
“He was a psychic?! No wonder he ate so much, not like a normal person!”

CLANG CLANG CLANG CLANG CLANG! Amidst the cheers mixed with the sound of banging trays, I extended an empty pot to the woman who was standing there dazed. The woman, still dazed, took the pot and blinked rapidly.

Then, she swung the pot hard and hit me on the head.

“You’re a psychic, so why are you coming to a free soup kitchen?!”
“Eph.”

I had saved her, but instead of giving me meat, she hit me with a pot. I, who couldn’t dodge the pot due to her unexpected reaction, was scolded by the woman.

“Go work! Eat at an Esper restaurant! Go catch monsters! What the heck! This is where people who are struggling come to eat!”
“…I catch monsters too.”
“Then why are you eating here?! Catch monsters! Earn money and buy your own food!”
“Even if I earn money, it’s not enough to eat until I’m full.”

That’s probably true, the angry woman’s expression softened for a moment, then she frowned again and glared.

“Wooooo~! I saved her, and she hit me with a pot!”
“But she’s right! Why is a psychic coming here for free food?!”
“Wooooo~! Han Mu-ryo! Thank you for helping! Woooooo~!”
“I’m jealous he hugged the manager! Woooooo~!”
“Wooooo~! The manager’s red face is cute!”
“Just eat your food quietly!”

Was this cheering or jeering? The woman, her face flushed amidst the commotion, grabbed my waist. I stood still, calmly watching the woman pull me with all her might.

“What is it?”
“C-come, come and wash your hands first, your, your body, it’s covered in blood.”
“Hmm.”

I clenched and unclenched my sticky hands, covered in blood and flesh, then resisted the urge to lick what was on them. As I walked along, pulled towards the sink, the residents whispered among themselves, looking at the woman and me.

“Oh my, no matter how urgent, how could she… right here…?”
“It was pretty cool though, suddenly whoosh, bang, crash, whoosh, he saved us.”
“Even so… wow, the manager is bold…”
“Nooo! My hands are dirty! I said to wash them! That’s what I meant!”
“Ahahaha! You have to wash! You have to wash to do anything!”
“Hey!”
“Whoops, hold on, hey! Clean this up! We need to eat!”
“It’ll take some time for the food to come out again because of those bastards.”
“Let’s clean up while we wait, everyone~”

The park, full of laughter despite being a mess, saw the woman biting her lip, her face flushed. She handed me a wet towel, then examined the injuries of the psychics who had just fought.

“Are you two okay? Any injuries…?”
“Hye-na-nim, I apologize. I didn’t expect villains to appear suddenly….”
“I’m fine, ah…! I, I need to make a call, I accidentally made a call earlier… just a moment?”

The woman pulled out her phone from her pocket and called somewhere.

“Ah, unnie? Sorry to bother you on your break, you don’t have to come. I pressed it by mistake….”

A noisy voice on the other end of the line. I could eavesdrop if I wanted to, but I wasn’t particularly interested. I wiped the blood from my body with the towel, then extended my dirty hands. The woman handed me a rubber hose, letting water flow over my hands, and continued her call.

“Okay, okay… hang up, get plenty of rest when you have time.”

Click. The woman hung up the phone and sighed, then looked up at me with wide eyes. Simultaneously, the rubber hose slowly lowered… as I bent my upper body to wash my hands, the woman glanced towards the residents and brought her face close to my ear.

“I… I’m Yoo Hye-na.”
“Hmm.”

Yoo Hye-na. I moved my eyes to look at her at the sudden introduction. Yoo Hye-na, blushing, took a step back from me and said,

“Th-thank you for helping, truly, I thought it was going to be a disaster… You c-can eat a few more bowls. Please, eat more before you go.”
“Really?”
“As a thank you for helping… you said you were hungry, didn’t you?”

What wonderful words. I grabbed Yoo Hye-na’s hand and raised it high for all the residents to see.

“I can eat more rice!”
“Oh my, what a surprise, what? What did he say?”
“Did he say we can eat more rice?”
“Wooooah! Yoo Hye-na! Yoo Hye-na! Yoo Hye-na!”
“Ahahahaha!”

Laughter and cheers. Yoo Hye-na, whose face was bright red up to her ears, pulled her wrist from my hand and grabbed her own wrist.

“Hey, you shouldn’t just grab a woman’s wrist like that! Come on!”
“Wooooah! She’s embarrassed! Woooah!”
“Eat quietly!”

After that, I returned to the laughing and chatting crowd and ate ten more bowls. When I tried to eat more than that, Yoo Hye-na stopped me, saying, “No, this is a bit too much.”

“Didn’t you say I could eat more?”
“A little more! I said a little! That means a small amount! This isn’t a small amount!”
“It’s a little…”
“…Eat just one more bowl, with a little less… no! This is a lot! A lot!”

As expected, all-you-can-eat does not exist in this world…