After Being Parasiticized By A Monster - Chapter 10

Chapter 10: Don’t Go There, It’s Dangerous.

A large underground bunker base.

The metal walls, painted with activated alumina as a desiccant coating, opened to the sides, and Qu Ying arrived fashionably late.

Five or six people were already gathered at the site, mostly adults, standing or leaning. The youngest, a little girl, was blowing a bubblegum bubble with her hands tucked into her pockets, looking mature beyond her years.

They were all “elites” heavily cultivated by the department.

In front of them was a large glass cover filled with a transparent liquid. Everyone looked at the filamentous body crawling all over the experimental area, their expressions varied.

This was the fungal monster that had triggered the public mission across the entire zone two weeks ago.

It was the most potential “embryo” in their department to date.

“Thank you all for taking time out of your busy schedules. I will keep it brief.”

The experimenter, dressed in a white lab coat with two braided pigtails, held an electronic notepad. After a short opening remark, she swiped her stylus, and a growth curve and densely packed experimental data popped up on the light screen in front of the crowd.

The growth record for one day was interrupted, followed by a sharp drop in values.

“As you all know, on the evening of the 17th, it breached the Level A protective shield, escaped to coordinates 32.01,11 outside the isolation line, and was discovered by the Investigation Department after four hours of hiding. The Thermal Weapons Department subsequently arrived and nearly destroyed it.”

Contrary to her girl-next-door appearance, her voice was rigid and mechanical, like an AI reading data.

“Currently, the vegetative hyphae have been completely repaired, but there is no temporary conscious reaction.” She circled the data discontinuity on the 17th. “We suspect it has developed an advanced intelligence level comparable to that of primates.”

After all the information was presented, a new light screen popped up, showing the available mission options.

“Now, based on the information we have, we hope you will use your specialized skills and brainstorm to assist in the subsequent advancement of the project.”

Qu Ying was slouching, having reached out several times for a lighter, but looking at the walls—which were made of dry, flammable material—she tucked her hand back in, letting out a lazy laugh. “All the plans were kept secret from us, and now that you can’t contain it, you remember us.”

When she saw the public mission, she had secretly mocked which department was so careless and unlucky.

Who knew the clown would be herself?

As her words fell, a few scattered snickers broke out in the crowd. Clearly, she was not alone in her thoughts.

The experimenter maintained a gentle curve at the corner of her mouth throughout.

After the expressions of dissatisfaction subsided, the large circular base returned to silence. Looking at the mission list, another woman asked after a moment:

“Did you not conduct a symbiosis experiment?”

If symbiosis succeeded, the project would meet its intended goal, and the final product would likely become their “teammate”—although, based on past data, the probability was no higher than 30%.

“Symbiosis is impossible. It kills the host. Its danger level is assessed as HR-Class.” the experimenter replied.

“How did it escape?”

“A staff member privately opened the drainage valve, and it escaped through the pipes. The perpetrator is dead. It is preliminarily judged that it can invade the cranial nerves.”

“What about this entry?” A slender finger pointed to a bold line on the virtual light screen—Search for MF204 Tending Object.

MF is the acronym for the species of fungus, and 204 is its project number.

“According to feedback from the Thermal Weapons Department, at the time of the interception, it was entangled with another unknown object. We suspect there is another female strain nearby, the source of which is unknown.”

Qu Ying cocked her head. “Why ‘female’?”

“A simple inference: biological instinct.”

“How are you going to search?” Qu Ying retracted her hand, letting out a mysterious scoff. “Some fungi are naturally parasitic. If it hides inside someone, it’s impossible to find unless you do a full-zone screening…”

The person next to her seconded with a “Tsk”: “These demons are getting more and more arrogant.”

“What about the Biological Research Institute?” The little girl, who looked only six or seven, popped a bubble she was blowing while listening to the adults’ conversation.

Under the scrutiny of the surrounding crowd, she spoke in a light, childish voice, “They must be hungry. Doesn’t the institute’s basement have a lot of ‘food’?”

…

The building was very quiet at night.

The nearly kilometer-high structure soared into the star-river, cutting off the clouds and the moon. The initial feeling was one of overwhelming grandeur, but looking at it often felt oppressive.

The Defense Center, which was supposed to guard against monsters, was itself like a brutal monster invading human society.

Cheng Ming was at the foot of this behemoth.

Basement Level Two. After countless successful infiltrations, she was intimately familiar with the place. Coupled with the soft-bodied creature characteristics she now possessed, she walked along the walls for a moment, hung upside down from the ceiling for another, and squeezed through narrow gaps to crawl into pipes… Where a master thief would fly over walls as if entering an unmanned realm, she transformed into a slug-like creature in a drainpipe, crawling in the shadows.

“One day I’m going to die of self-disgust.” Finally leaping down from the ventilation duct and reaching her destination, Cheng Ming self-mockingly spread her hands, disgustedly shaking off the unidentified slime.

This was an almost unsolvable reality—

She refused to easily surrender control of her body, so she had to take charge of everything herself, forced to become proficient in various unusual skills; yet, once the blending deepened, once she mastered those bizarre abilities and became accustomed to her non-human form, she was only coming closer to the monster she most wished to reject.

The nutrient and inhibitor solutions were only for emergencies. Unsure if the Security Department still had eyes on the scene, she actually preferred to continue using the nutrient solution to placate it.

But clearly, Xiao Ming was not accepting this perfunctory treatment.

“Why can’t you live on intravenous glucose solution every day?” it countered at the time.

It was strange. She actually heard a hint of acrimony in that sentence.

Cheng Ming really wanted to nod and say that if it meant eliminating it, she truly wouldn’t mind suffering a bit. But unfortunately, she and it were now inseparable. She had to live, so she could only reluctantly accept that it had to live too.

Radiation affected electronic equipment. The camera in the storage room had been damaged a long time ago, but because monitoring here was largely inconsequential and no one cared, the relevant department had been lazy about sending someone for repairs unless a safety inspection was imminent.

The temperature was very low. She zipped her jacket all the way up, completely sealing her neck.

Although it was casual wear, it was issued by the Defense Center. The outer layer had a special coating, providing a certain degree of radiation protection.

One side held the cold storage for fragile and perishable marine organisms. The other side had sealed jars and hibernation pods, mostly shallow-sea fish.

Rare specimens or those already studied and tagged were off-limits. Most other samples had duplicates, and due to long-term experimental depletion and constant movement in and out, the quantity was long uncountable—a veritable seafood buffet.

Xiao Ming clearly preferred live things. The hyphae, eager as if opening a tin of meat, immediately unscrewed the huge sealed lid, crawled into the human-height glass container, randomly selected a lucky specimen, wrapped around it, and feasted. Shredded flesh and bl00d water overflowed the container, until finally, even the red bl00d cells were absorbed completely, and the culture medium returned to a clear and tranquil state.

Crunch, crunch, slurp, slurp… Although it wasn’t her mouth doing the chewing, the sense of immersion was so intense it was as if the fish-fungus was staging this gourmet feast right inside her brain.

Cheng Ming frowned in discomfort, still unable to stomach the savage scene. She turned her back to tend to her own business. She took out her portable paper and pen, walked along the specimen rack, observing and recording.

She was noting which materials had recently changed significantly, which could to some extent determine the recent experimental focus of the institute. Regardless, knowing more information wouldn’t hurt her.

Huh?

Walking to a new row of metal racks, the very first jar of alcohol she saw felt a bit off.

If she remembered correctly, this spot should have previously contained an animal, but now it held a large cluster of seaweed, dark and oily, clinging to the wall, filling the entire view.

Wait… is it algae, or fungus?

She flipped back to her previous record and found that there had indeed been a change.

Had the entire area been replaced? She looked out, but the end of the aisle was obscured by containers of various sizes, the light distorted, making it a dark blur. Deep-sea organisms don’t rely on sight, so being parasitized hadn’t enhanced her vision.

But her other senses had subtly changed.

Something over there was attracting her.

“Don’t go there.”

The hyphae had retracted at some point. A portion was resting on her shoulder when Xiao Ming suddenly spoke.

The voice, in this eerie atmosphere, added to the unsettling feeling.

She steadied herself, gripping her notepad, and asked, “Why?”

“Dangerous.”

It only said these two words, refusing to elaborate further.

With a clear precedent in mind, Cheng Ming was highly perceptive. “Dangerous for you, or dangerous for me?”

“Dangerous for us.”

This conversation felt familiar.

To believe, or not to believe?

The glass separated light and darkness, a chaotic scribble. Cheng Ming looked at the hazy, overlapping images, as if standing at a massive crossroads, where a wrong turn might lead to being crushed into paste by oncoming traffic.

Was it offering a well-intentioned warning for the safety of their shared entity, or was something hidden there that was detrimental to it, something it didn’t want her to see?

After a moment, Cheng Ming lowered her brow and let out a soft laugh. “Xiao Ming, do you know? For a person, talking halfway and hiding things like this is a deliberate temptation.”

She was trying to bait out more information, hence her frankness: “If you don’t explain clearly, it will only make me more curious about what’s over there…”

With that, she took a step forward.

It was a threat.

And it fell silent.

Cheng Ming intentionally slowed her steps, carefully observing every movement around her—was this an acquiescence? Or was it speechless after being called out?

But before she could think further, a “BANG” exploded less than three meters away from her!

There was no need to pressure Xiao Ming any further, nor for her to risk an unknown danger. In the flickering of the overhead lights, she had already seen the true face of the mysterious hidden collection.

Clumps and clumps of curled and tangled algae-fungus, along with a dark green-black culture medium, flushed onto the floor, swelling, spreading, and regurgitating the animal specimens it had swallowed, leaving only sparse skeletons.

Sewage splashed her chest, soaking her below the knees. Facing the menacing hyphae and the indescribable odor, she held her breath, her pupils slowly contracting behind her protective goggles.

An old acquaintance… no, an old “fungus” acquaintance.

But it felt a little different.

Every strand of hyphae seemed slightly fuzzy.

…

“Of course. This idea has already been implemented.”

The experimenter fully affirmed the young girl’s prediction. “It’s just too early to expect results. Therefore, we still need everyone’s utmost assistance in various aspects.”

Qu Ying immediately turned her head, frowning. “What did you do?”

The experimenter smiled: “We took a portion of its conidia and stored it in every underground storage room of the institute.”