He even wondered if this beautiful girl was insane—ready to kill at the slightest disagreement...

But just as he was tangled in these thoughts, he suddenly felt his heart pounding heavily. An intense, sudden sense of crisis overwhelmed him, sending his mind into a state of explosive overdrive.

Countless thoughts and pieces of information erupted in his brain like a volcanic explosion, running at overload.

“Why kill this homeless man?”

“Is Grace Cooper joking with me?... That’s almost impossible. She wouldn’t be that bored.”

“Then, is this homeless man really a homeless man?”

“……”

In this near-frozen moment, Henry Bennett looked at the homeless man, and had enough time to carefully observe his appearance, movements, the bedding and bottles around him.

His eyes were slightly sunken, bloodshot with red veins.

For someone who drinks heavily and sleeps poorly, this seemed normal.

But this homeless man’s eyes were even redder than most, and because of the lighting, his eyes were shrouded in shadow. All Henry Bennett could see were two faintly glowing dark red pupils in the darkness.

It was a feature that could easily be overlooked, but upon closer inspection, sent chills down one’s spine.

With this discovery, Henry Bennett immediately noticed the homeless man’s posture. He looked terrified, body pressed tightly against the wall, limbs trembling.

But if you looked closely, you’d see his legs were slightly bent, half-supporting his body, with his palms resting by his legs, fingers curled tightly, ready to tear something apart at any moment.

This person was slowly adjusting his posture, ready to spring into attack at any time.

He was dangerous!

But even after noticing all this, Henry Bennett didn’t feel he could just shoot this person immediately.

What made him finally decide was the sight of a dark, indistinct object that had fallen beneath the homeless man’s blanket.

At first glance, it was hard to tell what it was, but Henry Bennett observed carefully, noting its size, shape, and the barely noticeable color and texture...

...It was a human thumb, already half-chewed!

So, this wasn’t a homeless man—this was a monster hiding under a ragged blanket in the subway corner, eating people.

And this monster was already in an attacking stance, ready to lunge at him at any moment.

!!

Grace Cooper wasn’t joking with him. She had really brought him to a monster and ordered him to kill it.

So what was there to hesitate about?

The thought formed in an instant, and Henry Bennett immediately pulled the trigger, wanting nothing more than to kill this monster completely before it could leap at his face in a disgusting form.

……

……

The violent impact of the bullets made the homeless man’s body tremble uncontrollably.

But because Henry Bennett was unfamiliar with the gun’s recoil, his aim was wildly off. Even at a distance of two or three meters, he missed several shots, blasting holes in the wall beside the homeless man, sending debris flying.

The homeless man suddenly let out a bizarre scream.

His body, riddled with bullet holes, suddenly split open on the surface, and from within crawled a slender, blood-red monster, squeaking shrilly as it lunged at Henry Bennett’s face.

“What the hell is that?”

Facing this crimson monster, Henry Bennett felt his scalp tingle, a wave of intense nausea rising within him, almost making him retch.

His brain seemed to turn to mush at that moment, but in his state of high tension, he still managed—thanks to his explosive thinking—to see clearly what was leaping at him.

It was, shockingly, a skinned humanoid rat.

It had knotted, muscular tissue, bulging, bulbous blood-red eyes, and even a long, slender tail made of jointed bones whipping behind it.

Black, viscous fluid oozed between its interlaced, sharp teeth, and a putrid stench assaulted him.

……

……

“Don’t turn your back on it…”

Standing to the side, Grace Cooper reminded him in time. In fact, she had spoken even before the rat tore through the human skin.

In her slender, pale palm, she held a black dagger in a reverse grip.

But she still showed no intention of intervening, as if she wanted to see how Henry Bennett would respond to such a sudden mutation.

This old classmate, now a newcomer, had already shown her so many surprising qualities.

So, when facing the true form of the rat-man in a desperate struggle at close range, could he still remain as calm and precise in his judgment as before?

……

……

At the same time as Grace Cooper’s reminder sounded, Henry Bennett widened his eyes, staring at the monster lunging at him.

The deformed joints, the crimson skin, even the strands of saliva flung as it pounced—all of it was burned into his mind, and he instantly made a judgment about it.

This thing was terrifying, its body so strong that even bullets couldn’t stop it unless they hit a vital spot.

Its speed and strength were far beyond his comprehension.

At the same time, for some reason, the moment he saw it, he felt a sense of fear, disgust, and cowardice.

Some instinct within his body seemed to urge him to stand still, not to move.

Just like most people, when faced with something terrifying, their first reaction isn’t to run, but for their legs to go weak, losing all self-control.