Raising The SSS-Risk Beast That Only Pretends To Be Tame Chapter 01

Raising The SSS-Risk Beast That Only Pretends To Be Tame Chapter 01

I was the one teaching Subject-17, the lab’s monster. I rewarded him. I punished him.

He mispronounced a word, so I gave his little ear a gentle tug.

The live chat exploded.

[SSS-class vicious monster, and you actually had the guts to touch him!!!]

[Run. By the time it grows up, the whole facility will be buried.]

[Girl, you’re standing next to an abyss, and you’re leaning in to take a look.]

[Does she not know what 17 is???]

[The hell she knows. She just transferred here last week. The last instructor had a mental breakdown, and the one before that left with three broken ribs.]

********

I stared at the chat feed and blinked.

Then I looked at the unusually beautiful young man in front of me.

Seventeen was well-behaved. He didn’t get mad when I tugged his ear. He just bared his little white teeth, the way kids do when they’re trying not to cry.

“Chloe,” he said, his voice thick with a whiny, nasal tone, “It hur- hur- hurts.”

My heart softened instantly. I let go quickly. “I’m sorry.”

He immediately tilted his head, turning the ear I’d just tugged toward me.

His words came out in fragments. “Chloe, rub… rub it.”

[…]

[What do we do???]

[Rub it and die. Don’t rub it and die.]

[Girl, just do what he says.]

[It feels like the monster sees her as his possession.]

My heart gave a frightened lurch. I reached out and rubbed his ear.

My fingertip pressed gently against the reddened curve of his ear, moving from the tip to the lobe, stroking back and forth.

Seventeen’s eyes narrowed. A low, pleased sound rumbled in his throat. He chased my fingers with his head, like he was begging for more.

“My turn. I rub Chloe’s too.”

He raised his hand. The restraints slid down, revealing his pale, thin wrist.

He wanted to touch me.

This was proof of his learning ability.

I hesitated, frowning, then leaned in a little closer.

His fingers found my ear, mimicking my movements. He pinched my earlobe.

A warm, tingling buzz spread through me.

But then his fingers tightened slightly.

And suddenly yanked.

Sharp pain.

An agonizing sting exploded from my ear, like something had just bitten down hard.

I didn’t even have time to cry out—

Seventeen screamed first.

“Ah!”

His whole body convulsed. His arms and legs spasmed. Sweat soaked his snow-white skin, and his restraints clattered with a violent, earsplitting noise.

The lab’s defense mechanism had activated. It was punishing him for hurting me.

But he was smiling.

His eyes were calm, almost gentle, fixed on me through the strands of hair falling over his face.

The corners of his lips curved upward.

That smile sent a chill crawling from my scalp all the way down my spine.

He was in that much pain, and he was still watching me.

Like he was savoring my pain.

Beep, beep, beep—

The alarm went off. The door to Containment Unit 7 slid open.

I covered my injured ear and hurried out.

My ear was ringing. Warm liquid trickled down through my fingers.

Blood.

Three scientists walked toward me, their expressions varying.

Dr. Cole was in the lead. His gaze stopped on my hand, still pressed to my ear. “Chloe, what did you do to Subject-17?”

“Nothing, I…” I paused. “I rubbed his ear. And he rubbed mine.”

The three scientists exchanged glances.

Dr. Cole’s assistant spoke up. “Ms. Hayes, any physical contact with him is extremely dangerous.”

Dr. Cole nodded. “Chloe, you signed the training manual. For Subject-17, physical contact of any kind is prohibited. Didn’t you read his file before you started?”

I lowered my head. “I did. But I thought… he didn’t seem like…”

“Didn’t seem like what?” Dr. Cole interrupted. “Like he was dangerous?”

I said nothing.

Dr. Cole sighed. “Go get that treated at the medical bay, then come back and write up a report.”

I nodded. “I understand.”

[She finally realizes something’s wrong, right?]

[A monster is a monster.]

[But he didn’t go all out. If he’d squeezed with his full strength, her ear would be gone.]

[He doesn’t want to break his toy.]

[He’s copying Chloe’s movements, but he’s adding his own “understanding” to them. What does his version of “rub” mean? Control. Harm. Making Chloe hurt.]

[Right now he’s like a blank sheet of paper. But the other side of that paper is sketched in hellfire.]