After Being Parasiticized By A Monster - Chapter 18
Chapter 18: Are You Human or Monster?
The alarm blared for a full night and day without stopping.
Her wristband consistently displayed the safety alert, prompting her to wait in place for further notice.
This situation seemed quite serious.
During this time, Cheng Ming patched and repaired. She filled and compressed some holes in the walls. Since she couldn’t find suitable paint, she scraped some wall powder from inconspicuous corners, mixed it, and quickly smeared it on. Then, she cleverly placed covers: moving paintings where possible or applying stickers, trying to make it look unnoticeable.
The goal was to make it invisible to the naked eye for now, and then figure out how to do a professional repair once she could go out and buy supplies.
“So this is what robbing Peter to pay Paul looks like…” Little Ming, while handing her tools, was full of awe.
However, its perpetually calm tone made it impossible for Cheng Ming to distinguish if it was admiration or mockery.
Feeling the slight scratches on the wooden door, Cheng Ming still felt it wasn’t secure enough.
She turned to move the pothos plant from the balcony to hang it up when she turned her head and saw a tall, slender figure by the window curtain, nearly giving her another heart attack.
Fortunately, she clearly saw the thin shoulders and graceful female silhouette—no danger this time. It was Qu Ying.
“Good thing you didn’t go to the shelter,” she said, looking disheveled, with her pants tucked into her long boots and wrinkles in her shirt.
“Sister Yingying!” Cheng Ming called out, both happy and suspicious. “What happened?”
“There was a traitor inside, and the defensive wall was damaged. We’re unsure if any monsters slipped in. Everyone must undergo a security check, starting with the shelters.” Qu Ying walked quickly toward her. “What happened here with you?”
As soon as Qu Ying saw the message, she sensed something unusual.
The body of the Security Department’s Team 4 Leader had already been discovered, confirming she was the first host of the fungal parasite. But MF204 still hadn’t been found, leaving all departments on edge.
The fact that Cheng Ming sent her a message at this crucial moment indicated at least one thing: she hadn’t gone underground.
Cheng Ming didn’t hide anything.
She still needed Qu Ying’s help to cover for her.
Standing by the bed, Qu Ying watched her pull a package of bullets from under the bedside cabinet, and even though she had seen many strange things, this moment was like hearing a wild fantasy—
“Wait, are you saying it came looking for you and you dealt with it?”
Her tone was utterly incredulous. She bent down, gripped Cheng Ming’s arm, and checked repeatedly, confirming that she didn’t have a single injury on her body.
“Yes, more accurately, Little Ming dealt with it,” Cheng Ming nodded and revealed everything. “It was attracted by Little Ming, it seemed very interested in its own kind…”
Listening intently, Qu Ying suddenly interrupted, “Wait—” She fixed her gaze on Cheng Ming, her slightly narrowed eyes particularly deep. “Who are you?”
…
The sudden sense of oppression.
Cheng Ming’s heart skipped a beat, and an inexplicable tension spread. She looked up and asked, “Sister Yingying… what do you mean?”
Qu Ying’s face was solemn. She raised her hand, signaling, “Let me check.”
The loose strands of hair showed a slight tendency to move, and seeing this, Cheng Ming quickly grasped the fungal threads that were faintly showing signs of aggression.
Then she felt a hand touch the top of her head, remaining for about five or six seconds before moving away.
Cheng Ming understood. Since the fungal monster could parasitize a host, was Qu Ying worried that the shell of her body had been silently replaced without anyone noticing?
Qu Ying withdrew her hand, clearly relaxing a bit.
But she still stared directly at her, continuing to ask, “Are you Cheng Ming, or Little Ming?”
This…
Cheng Ming slightly opened her mouth, stunned.
The question was essentially asking, Are you human, or monster?
Qu Ying’s gaze was profound. “Are you still clear about your self-perception?”
Following the unexpected internal rebellion, Qu Ying was worried about her young friend’s psychological state and wondered if she shouldn’t continue to leave her alone.
If even personnel like them, who underwent regular check-ups and psychological counseling, could have such a lapse, Cheng Ming, who was isolated, was truly worrying.
“I am Little Ming,” the parasite suddenly spoke up during a moment of silence. “She is very clear, you don’t need to remind her.”
This instantly provoked Qu Ying, whose mood was already sour from being out all night. Her eyes narrowed, her aura was fully unleashed, and her expression was hostile. “Did I ask you?”
The fish-fungus threads spread out, clearly displaying an unfriendly posture.
Seeing that a conflict was about to erupt at any moment, Cheng Ming decisively pressed Little Ming down, gathered all her “hair,” and held it tightly in her arms to prevent it from crawling out.
She told Qu Ying firmly, “Sister Yingying, don’t worry. If I feel anything is wrong with me, I’ll come to you immediately.”
She held her head high, her expression as resolute as reciting an oath.
Qu Ying took a deep breath, then slowly exhaled with a helpless sigh, straightening up. She was genuinely concerned. “Why don’t you give it a different name? Don’t you feel a conflict?”
Calling a monster by your most intimate nickname—would you be able to distinguish between yourself and it in the end?
“Hardly anyone calls me by this nickname,” Cheng Ming said, not finding anything wrong with it.
Others called her by her full name; her parents called her ‘Sweetheart.’ Only Qu Ying occasionally used her nickname but preferred to call her ‘Little Friend.’
“Then why did they give you a nickname?” Qu Ying disagreed.
She wanted to remind Cheng Ming of the importance of a name. Even if rarely used, it was a part of her, held social significance, and inevitably had a subtle influence on her.
But Cheng Ming suddenly froze.
Right… why?
Or, more accurately, was that name really meant for her?
Connecting this to the function of the Floating Flower Seaweed Fungus (Lang Sheng Fu Hua Zao Jun), something flashed in her mind, but before she could grasp it, a layer of cold sweat had broken out on her back.
Her ears felt clogged like she was drowning, and only after several seconds did sound re-enter, pulling her back to reality.
“Never mind… You take care of your safety. Especially these few days.” Qu Ying sighed in compromise. “As for the security check, I will help you handle the data related to you. You just need to make sure it stays quiet.”
She picked up the pile of miscellaneous items that urgently needed proper disposal, pulled out a bullet head to check the serial number, and tied the bag shut. “The last time there was a monster riot of this scale was five years ago.”
Hearing that specific time frame, Cheng Ming suddenly looked up.
Qu Ying gave her a meaningful look. “That was the day Professor Cheng took you outside the safe zone of the defense center.”
Once every five years.
Such incidents weren’t common, so the screening level would surely be very high.
“There’s one more thing I need to remind you of.”
She raised her hand and tapped the electronic surface, bringing up a symbol on her wrist-connected device.
“See it? Don’t touch any missions marked with this symbol… Well, you work at the institute, so you probably won’t encounter them. But remember it, just in case.”
Cheng Ming looked over, seeing a series of scattered red arcs that converged into a hazy circular whole.
“What is this?” she asked, confused.
“A rebel organization heavily marked and guarded against by the Security Department. We currently suspect it’s an organized, planned group established by monsters with high intelligence.”
Cheng Ming, who had been somewhat distracted, finally woke up to what she was hearing. After a moment of astonishment, she was greatly surprised:
“They are socializing?”
Had mutated organisms evolved to this extent in just thirty years?
This completely defied normal biological logic; could it truly happen naturally?
Even knowing that the rate of biological evolution had accelerated by more than a million times under the current nuclear contamination, it still left her aghast.
Qu Ying put away the holographic projection. “It is indeed hard to believe, but according to the current facts, this is the case.”
Perhaps, to nature, the existence of humanity was ultimately too insignificant. All the truths observed by humans seemed so fleeting and ridiculous when viewed through the dimension of the planet’s lifespan.
…
After explaining everything, Qu Ying grabbed the things, and before leaving, she felt something on her person. She stepped back and handed Cheng Ming a bag of dried bayberries.
She had bought them spontaneously at a 24-hour convenience store before receiving the task to interrogate the traitor.
Fresh bayberries were out of season, and transportation was difficult even normally. They were hard to find here, so she had to settle for the candied ones.
“Want to try one?” Qu Ying smiled at her.
After being in her pocket for over ten hours, the sugar had already melted. Cheng Ming didn’t understand why, but she tore open the package and tried one.
It was sweet.
Very sweet.
Qu Ying kept watching her. Cheng Ming thought it might be some new identification method. She glanced at the nearby trash can, and despite the puckering sensation on the walls of her mouth from the highly concentrated sugar water, she forced herself to eat one after another until she finished them all.
“Was it good?” Qu Ying asked.
Ugh…
Cheng Ming spat out the pit, wanting to be tactful, but afraid that the other person would be inspired to buy her more. She finally told the truth:
“It’s too sweet. Not good.”
Qu Ying smiled.
Cheng Ming found her smile a little strange, her eyes seemingly covered with a layer of fog, an inscrutable emotion.
She said, “I thought so too.”
…
The alarm finally stopped at 6 PM, but the apartment building was still not unlocked.
Cheng Ming was halfway through eating bread on the living room sofa when a large group of heavily armed personnel suddenly burst in.
She turned her head, completely defenseless, and they all stared at each other. Neither side expected anyone to be there.
Immediately, countless dark gun barrels were pointed at her.
“Cough, cough—” Cheng Ming choked and quickly waved her hand at them, rushing into the kitchen to get water.
The leader immediately raised a hand, signaling the rest to lower their weapons. “A living person!”
Sure enough, there was an apartment-by-apartment search.
Cheng Ming didn’t face any difficulties.
She stood aside, washing down the last bit of bread with water, and watched as several technicians pulled out equipment to scan the various rooms.
When she recovered, she put down the glass and explained the situation to the team leader.
She exposed her wrist and pointed at the watch. “My physical condition wasn’t very good at the time, and I didn’t make it to the underground shelter before the safety channel was sealed. I’ve already reported the situation.”
The new leader of the Security Team 4, a short-haired woman who had been urgently promoted, checked the situation and her identity information. She took off her hat and saluted Cheng Ming:
“My apologies. The incident happened suddenly, and the communication was slightly delayed. I apologize for startling you.”
Researchers at the defense center had special honors beyond their job titles, with top researchers even being equivalent to national cadres. Naturally, no one wanted to offend her unnecessarily.
The inspection was complete, confirming no anomalies on that floor, and Cheng Ming politely saw them out.
After closing the door, she returned to the sofa.
She grabbed the notepad she had hastily flipped over onto the seat and looked at the hand-drawn figure on it, sinking back into thought.
She felt that the symbol Qu Ying showed her was very familiar, but she couldn’t remember where she had seen it, even after flipping through her files for a long time.
Monster organization… She pondered, then softly asked:
“Little Ming, have you seen it before?”