After Being Parasiticized By A Monster - Chapter 1

Chapter 1: “Why are you so quiet only when I take a shower?”

It was the sixty-third day since the parasitic infection. There were no obvious changes to her body, only that her skin was now incredibly delicate and smooth, and she felt a greater thirst for water.

After finishing work, Cheng Ming returned to her staff apartment, walked into the bathroom, and stripped off her clothes.

The showerhead hissed, and the hot water flowed over her skin.

Through the fogged-up mirror, one could faintly see a translucent layer of scales on her neck, shimmering and quietly fluttering in the running water as if it were an illusion.

She touched the slightly exuded, slick mucus, feeling the perfectly achieved state of symbiosis. Compared to the past two months, she was much bolder now, even daring to joke with the unwelcome guest inside her body.

“Why are you so quiet only when I take a shower?” she asked.

“…” It made no sound.

“It can’t be that you’re shy, can it?” she mused to herself, teasing it. “Speaking of which, I don’t think I’ve ever asked you—are you female or male?”

This was clearly a question biased by a human perspective, so, as expected, there was no answer.

Washing away the fatigue of the day, Cheng Ming turned off the mixer tap and wrapped a bath towel around herself, stepping out of the shower stall. Her feet left a trail of wet footprints on the floor.

She stopped as she reached the edge of the carpet.

It was a bit cold.

Whoosh— The window hadn’t been fully closed, and a gust of wind blew in. The sheer curtain rippled and billowed like a wave.

The windowsill below was clean, with nothing unusual. But a spot in the center of the carpet ahead was slightly darker, the tie-dyed khaki color shifting to coffee, subtle like shredded ginger fried with potatoes.

If it weren’t for her current state—being half-fish monster—making her extremely sensitive to changes in moisture, she would have easily missed it.

Very clever.

It’s an intelligent organism.

A slight moist breeze touched the back of her neck.

It was ticklish, lacked warmth, and carried the salty tang of seawater.

Her arrector pili muscles instantly stood to attention, and the fine hairs on her entire back bristled.

A chilling sensation crept up, causing a slight numbness in her scalp and tightening every muscle below.

Cheng Ming knew the thing was right above her head.

Yet, her hands remained clasped over the fabric at her chest, maintaining a normal routine, slowly tucking the corner of the bath towel securely.

At the same time, her gaze slowly lifted. She observed the room in the reflection of the glass opposite—

Just above and in front of where she stood, a shadow was hanging upside down from the ceiling. Its torso was symmetrical, vaguely humanoid, but its four limbs were twisted as if boneless. Where the neck should be, rows of red flesh filaments resembled the ctenidia (gills) of a mollusk.

Species: Unknown.

Level: Unknown.

But the single fact that it could grasp human psychology and possessed intelligence was enough to classify it as MR-level or higher.

It was hanging its head and staring at her.

The gaze was sticky, wet. She could imagine that if she took two more steps forward, the thing would drop like a ghost-faced spider, wrapping her in its preparatory web to be consumed whole.

But even not moving forward wouldn’t help now.

It had found her.

It had discovered that she had discovered it.

In that millisecond interval, the thing lunged.

Thud!

Excruciating pain instantly shot through her body. Her spine was crushed by the weight, and a wet, cold sensation stuck to her back like a blanket in the rainy season.

Her brain was buzzing, but her ears were eerily quiet. There was no sound other than her own gasps of pain—not even breathing.

Perhaps this mutated monster was amphibious and possessed a different physiological system—like gills, or pores and bl00d vessels beneath its thin skin.

Out of her ingrained researcher’s mentality, she twisted her head as much as possible, attempting to observe the features of the monster behind her to determine its origin.

But the next second, her eyes widened.

She saw a face.

A human face. A familiar human face.

It was Wang Qi, another assistant researcher candidate she had seen in the institute today. Had nothing gone wrong, the two of them would have participated in the promotion defense tomorrow. Since they had applied for the same research group, only one would ultimately remain.

The monster behind her opened its mouth. A heavier scent of the sea washed over her face, right next to her ear. It spoke in human language, its tone excited: “Cheng Ming, you are indeed like us. You are one of our companions.”

Us? What did “us” refer to? Was there a group of intelligent monsters? Or, was the institute already infiltrated by other mutated organisms?

While speaking these words that sounded like “we finally meet,” the mollusk-like monster’s squeezing force became increasingly terrifying. Cheng Ming felt her skeleton groan under the pressure, her organs tearing. She felt like she was being fed into a meat grinder.

The metallic smell of bl00d filled her chest and nasal cavity. Struggling, she tried to discern an expression from the completely morphed and deranged mass of flesh and vaguely guessed the other party’s motive.

It was likely that Dr. Jiang Dexin, the head of the research group, favored her, creating a sense of crisis for the monster. Since it couldn’t win the competition, eliminating the competitor was a method that would solve the problem once and for all.

With oxygen delivery blocked, Cheng Ming’s mind began to scatter.

The physical body was facing a fatal threat, which complied with the third protocol.

The access rights to the cranial nerves opened up. In an instant, another dormant consciousness surfaced like an iceberg, seamlessly taking over the nervous system. Hormones were mobilized systemically, cells rapidly divided and differentiated, shattered bones healed, muscles regenerated, teeth sharpened, and hard scales grew.

Fish—the most primitive vertebrates, the undisputed rulers of all waters.

“She” had endured for too long. Given the chance to act, she brazenly asserted her existence.

With a burst of tremendous power, “Cheng Ming” flipped over and instantly hurled the thick, muddy mountain off her back. With a single bite, she used her terrifying bite force to sever the opponent’s throat.

No bl00d flowed out; the enemy was slick like a giant squid. So, the second bite was delivered—effortlessly, like reaching into a bag or shucking a clam—sharp teeth easily penetrated the virtually non-existent skull, sending flesh splatter everywhere.

A perfect explosion.

Ice-cold liquid splashed onto her face, like a firework bursting open.

Simultaneously, the hair on “her” head grew longer and longer, twisting and dancing as if it had become an independent, unknown, and uncanny organism. It swarmed together, enveloping the blurring humanoid mass below.

The latter twisted and struggled, trying to make a sound, but was drowned out by layers of dark ocean. The hair strands cut into the flesh, severing the connective tissues that transported nutrients, and pierced into the bl00d vessels, using them as nutrient-rich soil to gushingly draw out vitality.

In the blink of an eye, the mutated organism that orchestrated tonight’s assassination silently shriveled into a gaunt, dry hide, becoming still.

A billion years ago, fungi formed multicellular structures, and hyphae began to spread across the primordial Earth, fighting for living space and seizing nutrients. Four hundred million years ago, jawed fish dominated the ancient oceans, ushering in an era of iron teeth and copper jaws.

Every layer of soil, every fossil, records their magnificent epic.

—Breaking down ready-made nutrients, returning organic matter to inorganic matter, is the fungi’s most skilled trick.

Soon, the skin and skeleton also vanished, leaving only wrinkled clothes and large puddles of sticky moisture on the mottled carpet.

And the “hair,” finally sated, retracted into the main body, leaving wet streaks behind.

After an extremely long period of chaos lasting mere seconds, Cheng Ming once again heard her own fierce panting. She was prostrate on the floor, her vision unfocused, her body taut as a fully drawn bow, yet her fingers were trembling slightly.

She had always known that the hybrid parasitic organism inside her—a fusion of fish and fungus, tentatively called the “Fish-Fungus”—was an extremely brutal predator. But she had to admit, she still struggled to accept this non-human part of herself.

Even though she was quite experienced with scenes like this, the thought that she had just spoken to Wang Qi today, even if only for a few quick sentences—her vivid presence still imprinted on her cerebral cortex—only for her to become a handful of rot in the blink of an eye… she still felt an urge to vomit.

The salty stench lingered in her mouth. Cheng Ming crawled up and rushed into the bathroom, hunching over the sink and dry-heaving non-stop.

After repeatedly scrubbing and rinsing her mouth, Cheng Ming lifted her face to look at the mirror. “Why can’t you give up your primitive method of attack?”

She could provide energy to the parasite inside her, but it was just a drop in the ocean. The monster born of the sea needed to feed on sea monsters. To keep from being completely drained, she had to maintain a weekly frequency of sneaking into the institute’s underground storage room to forage for it.

And its feeding process was incredibly violent. In the past, she couldn’t tolerate it. Every time it finished off various “seafood” in front, savoring the bloody remains, she would furiously clean her mouth afterward, throwing up violently from the overwhelming stench.

After several times, it finally had to compromise and switch from raw swallowing to absorption via fungal hyphae. Thanks to its considerate mercy, the symptoms of nausea had somewhat lessened.

But not by much.

“…” It was silent for a long time, finally speaking again through her vocal cords. And strangely, she could actually detect a hint of emotion in that flat, almost AI-assistant voice. “Next time, be careful, and—put on some clothes.”

…

The bath towel had fallen apart during the fierce struggle just now.

No wonder it relinquished control of the body so quickly this time.

“Are you really shy?” Cheng Ming put on her pajamas and cleaned up the floor. Her emotions had largely stabilized. She sat back on the bed, applying moisturizing lotion while still having the leisure to tease her “roommate.”

In this era, those researching marine life truly needed a strong heart.

“It’s that your human skin, when uncovered, is too ugly. It disgusts me,” it retorted quickly.

It was so quick that Cheng Ming felt it sounded a little angry and embarrassed.

“Have you sensed any of your kind inside the institute?” She set aside the joke and moved to the main topic.

Although their contact was minimal, the fact that she hadn’t noticed anything unusual about the other person even face-to-face was telling. Was Wang Qi accidentally parasitized by a monster like her? Or was she already killed, and this monster happened to have shapeshifting abilities? Or had it always been a monster disguised as a human?

And Wang Qi said the word “indeed”… Could they, as fellow monsters, detect her abnormality?

Any of these speculations sent shivers down her spine.

This was the Binhai Defense Center. The front line, the most impenetrable and trusted line of defense, where she worked every day.

Now she was being told that perhaps many monsters were mixed in, even right beside her, communicating with researchers, working, and living life as normal people without a care in the world?

“If I said yes, would you risk exposure to report it to the Security Department?” the parasitic Fish-Fungus replied.

Its tone was level, carrying a subtle mockery.

It seemed to be mocking Cheng Ming for worrying about the safety of others and the future of the institute, despite being a “monster” herself now.

Cheng Ming’s hand, covered in lotion, paused.

Just as a hint of terror crawled up the back of her neck, she heard the other party change the subject—

“Unfortunately, no,” it added faintly. “I mean, even if there were, I wouldn’t be able to sense them, because of your restrictions on me.”

Cheng Ming: “…”

She put down her hand and tried a different line of thought.

She murmured softly, “Actually, Wang Qi is very capable. Even if she couldn’t join Jiang Dexin’s team, there are plenty of research groups that would want her… Why did she choose to risk killing me just to grab this spot?”

“What’s so special about Jiang Dexin’s research group?”

Cheng Ming paused again.

As an intern researcher, she didn’t have the authority to know about the core experiments. But as the daughter of the “Cheng Professors”—one of the institute’s founders—and now Dr. Jiang’s key successor, she knew that Jiang Dexin was in charge of a critical project.

“…A fungus, the culprit behind the third phase of marine pollution.”

After thinking it over, she decided to be honest.

Mainly because they were in symbiosis now; she couldn’t ultimately hide it from the parasite.

The room fell into a short silence.

“What did you name it?” it asked after a moment.

“‘Wavetide Floating Bloom Algae-Fungus.’ How does that sound? Doesn’t it sound poetic?” she offered a small joke.

“That’s very much your style.”

Its tone… Cheng Ming couldn’t tell if it contained a hint of ridicule or something else… Her eyebrow twitched, and she said no more.

So, this Algae-Fungus is important to you mutated monsters, is that it?