The Biology Department's Appetite
"Khh… Next is the Biology Department…."
After seeing all sorts of things in the Productization Department, the man leading the way muttered in a troubled tone.
I followed silently behind his mentally exhausted figure.
I no longer had the strength to ask anything more.
The things I had seen in the Productization Department were just as unethical and bizarre as those in the Development Department.
The process of stripping away a living human's personality, injecting an unknown liquid into their body, and turning them into a doll.
When a syringe needle was inserted into the head of a woman who had been screaming and wailing for help, she fell silent as the light in her eyes died away—that scene was something I would never forget.
The death of personality rather than the body left the human in a state no different from a vegetable.
Even as a vegetable, the body continued to breathe, and that body was turned into a doll to be sold as a plaything and tool for customers to use.
I also witnessed the process of altering a living human's personality into that of a beast before selling them as pets.
Another product involved an unknown method of flaying a human's skin; when worn, the wearer would transform into an exact replica of the original owner of that skin.
There were many other things, but I no longer wished to recall them.
Ding—
While walking in a daze, my mind already gone, I arrived at the floor housing the Biology Department before I knew it.
When the elevator doors opened, pitch-black darkness greeted me along with a humid heat that felt like stepping into a sauna, pressing down on my skin.
Unlike me, the man stepped forward into the darkness as if accustomed to it. When I hesitated and froze in place, he looked at me curiously and spoke.
"Ah, right. You can't see because you're human? Annoying— Kya, kyahaha!! H-here, use this!"
He had been about to show irritation but quickly switched to a polite tone. After rummaging through his clothes, he handed me a pair of goggles.
'Oh.'
Once I put them on, the things hidden in the darkness became clear.
The scenery was still filled with darkness, but the creatures moving within it were now visible.
I focused my eyes and examined the moving things in detail before flinching.
Bizarre lifeforms were crawling all over the room.
One was a pale pink mass of flesh that looked ready to drip, covered in writhing tentacles as it scuttled about.
Another had a human body and face but crawled across the ceiling on multiple spider-like legs.
One appeared to be walking on two legs like a human at first, but when it turned its head, its entire face was filled with sharp teeth.
A sense of unreality washed over me, as if I had stepped into a monster movie, followed by fear.
"Oh, look who it is. Isn't this the troublemaker who used to be in our department? Today you've come wearing the shell of a lovely career woman."
A cheerful female voice laced with laughter emerged from between the monsters in the darkness, greeting us as we stepped out of the elevator.
Like the other department staff we had passed, she wore a maid uniform. But this time, it was immediately obvious she wasn't human.
Behind her otherwise perfect human form, several bright red octopus tentacles swayed.
"Khet—"
For the first time, the man showed clear embarrassment at her greeting.
"How are you? Doing well? Does that infamous Brainwashing, Corrupting, Parasitic Department suit you? Hmm—??"
Thud.
When she approached and casually threw an arm around his shoulder in a friendly manner, he looked around helplessly, unsure what to do.
I wondered what kind of being she was to make someone who had seemed insane act so flustered.
Swish—
"Newbie?"
She turned her gaze to me standing beside him.
When I bowed my head in greeting, she burst into loud laughter.
Then, looking at me with pitying eyes, she spoke.
"Must be tough meeting such a pathetic senior. Anyway, you two applied for a tour of our department, right?"
"Yes."
"Great, follow me. This lovely big sister will personally guide you two."
She patted my shoulder repeatedly to show familiarity before taking the lead.
As I followed, the man leaned close and whispered, creating a sound barrier near my ear.
"Kyaha, don't let your guard down. She looks pretty on the outside, but she's just a monster. She's only pretending to look like that to make prey drop their guard."
"What kind of monster…"
"A kraken. You know, the giant mythical octopus from the sea. At least I only eat brains. That monster swallows humans whole. And it chews them slowly, savoring every bite. I bet she's licking her lips while looking at you right now."
He chuckled under his breath, amused by my shocked expression.
"Kikiki, don't be scared. She's a monster who knows how to use her head. Otherwise she couldn't work at this company. The real beasts are kept under control and raised separately."
"What are you two whispering about so amusingly?"
While we had been walking and whispering, she had somehow circled behind us and draped her arms over both our shoulders at once.
He flinched and shook her off, quickly putting distance between them.
Seeing that, she laughed heartily before turning to me.
"Want to tell me too? Cute new employee?"
Smack—
She whispered right next to my ear and made a sound like licking her lips.
Recalling what the man had said, my face turned deathly pale. She grinned in amusement, then suddenly furrowed her brows.
"Wait, you—"
Roll—
Her right eye instantly transformed into something inhuman.
A vertically slit orange pupil stared straight at my face before gradually filling with surprise.
"The department head is here?"
Just as she was about to say something to me, another woman in a maid uniform called out to her.
The woman was stroking a tentacle emerging from the dim darkness and smiling as she addressed her as "department head."
At a glance she could have been mistaken for human, but the fact that part of her flowing hair was a tentacle made it clear she wasn't human either.
'So she was someone important.'
Through the woman, I belatedly realized who she was.
Though this was my first time working at a company, I knew how high a department head's position was.
"Oh my— So you were someone important. I apologize."
She had been staring intently at me, but after brushing off the greeting from her apparent subordinate, she whispered to me in a now-polite tone.
Her incomprehensible behavior left me flustered.
"What? What do you mean—"
"I'll leave the rest of the tour to that girl over there. I hope you have a pleasant time. Please forgive my earlier rudeness."
She bowed her head in apology and quietly tried to leave.
"These are visitors from another department who requested a department tour. Guide them to the best of your ability, and be polite. Understood?"
"Yes!"
After giving instructions to her subordinate, she walked away into the darkness without another word.
"Kaha, what were you talking about with that monster?"
The man who had kept his distance approached and asked.
Both our gazes were fixed on her retreating figure.
"Nothing much."
"Really?"
When I answered while hiding my dazed feelings, he gave me a suspicious look.
"Would you two please follow me? First, I'll guide you to the feeding site of my favorite fluid-based lifeform."
The staff member in the maid uniform began leading the way while humming cheerfully.
"People visiting our department for the first time always ask why we keep it so dark. The reason is simple. Many lifeforms in the Biology Department are sensitive to light. And there are many that can't survive without maintaining a humid temperature—"
"Shaa, shaaave meee—!!"
While listening to the staff member's explanation and passing through the darkness, a woman's scream rang out.
"Oh, we've already arrived. Ta-da! This is the feeding site of the fluid-based lifeform!"
The staff member proudly extended both hands to introduce the writhing mass of tentacles inside the room.
But what caught my eye more than the tentacles was the naked woman bound by them, screaming in agony.
Squelch!! Squelch!!…
The bundles of tentacles were thrusting in and out of the woman's vagina, which they apparently saw as prey.
Each time, thick streams of love juices sprayed out forcefully.
"The fluid-based lifeform's favorite food is a woman's love juices! Can you see? Right now the fluid-based lifeform has restrained its prey and is going in and out of her vagina? As you know, women only produce love juices when aroused, right? The surface of the fluid-based lifeform contains a mild aphrodisiac component, so whenever it moves inside the vagina, the prey feels pleasure whether they want to or not and releases love juices. Isn't our fluid-based lifeform amazing?"
"Gyahak! Shaa, shaaave me!! Anyone—!!"
With the prey's pained screams as background noise, the staff member cleared her throat and spoke proudly, chest puffed out.
"Ghaaaaaah—!!!"
The woman's screams grew louder and louder until she eventually threw her head back and began to faint.
It was a scream of pain born from pleasure forcibly induced by the monstrous creature.
Her face, covered in tears and drool, trembled before she let out a sob and lost consciousness, head hanging limply.
She didn't seem dead, but looking at her, I thought it might be better if she were.
"Kyaha! That's nothing. Want to see the site where the raised monsters are fed? Someone as weak-hearted as you would run out screaming right away."
"Now, now—! That's too harsh! Even so, the fluid-based lifeform is showing consideration for its prey in its own way! Look at that expression! That face completely melted in pleasure and happiness!! If she dies in that state, she won't even feel pain! Being able to die like that is happiness, pure happiness!"
When the staff member placed her hands on her hips and shouted sternly, the man created a sound barrier with his hand and whispered to me.
"Kikiki! There sure are a lot of lunatics here, huh? Not a single normal person in this entire company."
I didn't answer.
Because the one speaking to me was also one of those lunatics he mentioned.
"Now then! After passing through this happy fluid-based lifeform feeding site, let's continue the tour! Please follow me!"
The staff member shouted energetically and began leading the way again.
Whirr—
'Huh?'
While following the staff member who was humming happily and swinging her arms back and forth, an unpleasant sound reached my ears and I reflexively waved my hand.
Realizing belatedly that the sound was a fly's buzzing, I looked around and stopped in my tracks.
Amid the waste emitting a foul stench, two women sat motionless, staring blankly into space.
The two naked women were covered in wounds and bruises, their hair disheveled, looking utterly wretched.
"Ah, those are waste products we received from the Development Department! Usually we grind them into minced meat for easier eating, but since some like to chew their food whole, we brought some over unprocessed!"
The staff member spoke energetically, referring to living humans as "those" like mere objects.
She turned to me with a smile and spoke in a cheerful voice.
"They can be used for experiments, turned into products for sale, or used as food! Humans are really useful things in many ways! Don't you think so?"
