After Being Parasiticized By A Monster - Chapter 30

Chapter 30: Little Ming Was Afraid She Would Get Too Cold.

The side effects of the inhibitor.

Cheng Ming quickly deduced the reason.

Her body was currently at a point where the virus and the fungus were in a fierce, anxious standoff. The inhibitor had destroyed this balance. The collapse of the battlefield manifested in various abnormalities on her body’s surface and its derivatives.

She heard abnormal auditory hallucinations. Looking down, two drops of fresh bl00d overflowed from her nasal cavity, staining her collar.

How exactly are the algae-fungal cells arranged in her body…? Cheng Ming frowned, pulled out a tissue to cover her nose, and staggered to the bedside. She grabbed a syringe from a pile of distracting clutter and gave herself two injections of the nutrient solution.

The cool medicinal fluid pushed into her vein. Her fingers felt somewhat weak. She paused and tried to call out, “Little Ming?”

She wanted to confirm its condition, but received no response.

She could only faintly sense that the situation was not too good.

If she was experiencing such obvious discomfort, it was hard to imagine the scene of the battle raging inside her body.

Even with the nutrient solution, her self-healing ability was no longer immediate. She tightly wrapped and bandaged her slightly loosened nail beds with gauze. She took off her stained clothes and looked down at her skin; the situation was equally grim, with patches of texture resembling dry, withered scales.

She walked into the bathroom and ran the water. Enduring the pain, she submerged herself in the bathtub, closed her eyes, and let her head sink in as well, covering her mouth and nose.

There was no feeling of suffocation. On the contrary, it was a comfort, like finally being able to breathe again.

With the barrier compromised, the body housing the marine creature seemed to need water more than ever.

She even wondered if adding some salt would be more effective… but that would make her feel like a fish soup currently being simmered.

Before leaving the next day, Cheng Ming filled her backpack with various hydrating and moisturizing products.

…

The New Research Group

The plan was implemented quickly.

Upon arriving at the institute, she was called to Jiang Dexin’s office, who introduced her to the basic information of the new research group.

Teams from the North and West Buildings had temporarily formed the Fungus-Virus Research Group.

Cheng Ming would participate as one of the main research members.

“The two sides will each assign a main person in charge, so I won’t take up a slot. If you encounter any problems, just come to me.”

The third phase of pollution, accompanied by increasingly frantic monsters, was genuinely threatening coastal security. If they could ultimately develop a biological weapon specifically targeting the excessive proliferation of marine organisms, the contribution would be immense.

This would surely be a huge boon for her future promotion.

Cheng Ming immediately understood the intent behind this arrangement.

Professor Jiang was truly going to great lengths for her.

However, this meant that everyone in charge, besides herself, would be from the Virology Group. As she was still only a Research Assistant, she would be temporarily assigned under a Vice Researcher there to facilitate collaborative research and the application for various instruments and equipment in the West Building.

“Song Manqing, a Vice Researcher who just got promoted this year. I heard she’s only twenty-six. You young people should get along well.”

Jiang Dexin introduced.

To achieve a Vice Senior title at that age was the definition of talent among talents.

From the project to the personnel, Professor Jiang gave detailed instructions on all aspects. Cheng Ming listened carefully, patiently noting all the key points.

The first group meeting that afternoon was to be led by her. She would introduce the basic situation of the Waveseed Flowerglow Algae-Fungus and bring a portion of the virus sample—the contaminated fungal solution had already volunteered to become the virus culture medium. To prevent cross-contamination, it had been moved to the room next to the Cultivation Room for isolated care and cultivation.

The North and West Buildings looked connected from the outside, but their floors were not linked internally. The middle space was used for material transportation pipelines.

Cheng Ming left immediately after lunch.

She had underestimated the time; just reaching the destination took ten minutes. If she performed certain unauthorized actions, she could take a shortcut, but now she had to obediently transfer from elevator to foot traffic to another elevator.

West Building, 101st floor.

As Cheng Ming stepped out of the elevator car, she glanced over and saw someone exit the adjacent elevator—it was Song Manqing, the Vice Researcher she was told she “should get along well with.”

She was indeed young.

A tan shark clip held her hair back. She wore silver-framed glasses and a casual half-turtleneck sweater under her lab coat. At first glance, she looked like a university student.

“Professor Song—”

Cheng Ming identified her from the name badge, extended her hand first, and offered a polite smile, intending to greet her.

However, the other person merely glanced at her, walked past with her hands in her pockets, and left a cold, aloof back view.

Cheng Ming: “…”

She looked down at her own perfectly fine chest badge, ruling out the possibility that the other person hadn’t recognized her.

The smile on her face didn’t falter, and she calmly withdrew her hand.

Geniuses inevitably have their quirks, she told herself, expressing her understanding.

The two walked one after the other to Conference Room 10120.

Before entering the room, Cheng Ming removed her hat, patted her wig, and smoothed the slightly messy hair that had been pressed down.

She used to mourn the loss of hair, then the loss of fungal threads. Now, she was used to it and found that being bald wasn’t so bad; at least she could change her hairstyle every day… Human tolerance, indeed, is lowered step by step.

…

The Confrontation

There were already five or six people in the room. Besides Song Manqing, the other high-ranking person was a rehired old professor, Jin Xia, sitting in the first row near the door.

A doyen in the academic world. Even Cheng Ran would have had to address her as “Professor.” However, she was very amiable, smiling and nodding in Cheng Ming’s direction.

The main task of the research group was to find the mechanism by which the virus targets the fungus, verify its feasibility, and evaluate its harmfulness.

Simultaneously, Cheng Ming’s personal goal was to use the team’s resources during this period to find a way to gain immunity to the virus and save herself.

This was her private motive, which did not conflict with the larger objective.

After finishing the basic introduction, she said, “To be safe, I do not recommend releasing living virus strains. If a key killing substance exists, artificial synthesis is more reliable…”

“Don’t you think that’s time-consuming and labor-intensive?” A voice interrupted her before she finished.

Cheng Ming looked over and, as expected, saw the indifferent smile on the other person’s face.

“Actually, our research group is quite redundant. If the virus is useful, it will naturally multiply if released into the sea.”

“Professor Song Manqing,” Cheng Ming smiled in return, asking back, “Given the current radiation levels, how do you ensure that living organisms released into the ocean do not mutate? If the virus triggers a new ecological disaster and once again becomes a tool to suppress humanity, how do you plan to resolve that?”

Her tone was light, not deliberately confrontational.

But her eyes, like black obsidian, were transparently indifferent from the inside out. Calling out the other person’s full name, word for word, made her response seem particularly uncompromising.

During work hours, she saw no need to maintain any social relationships.

“…”

Song Manqing stared at her, apparently not expecting her to be so impolite. She was momentarily annoyed but hadn’t formulated a rebuttal.

Cheng Ming met her gaze steadily and sharply.

The conference room fell briefly silent, the atmosphere stagnant.

Before Song Manqing could respond, and just as Cheng Ming was about to continue, Professor Jin Xia, who was closest to her, suddenly let out a soft chuckle.

Cheng Ming paused, thinking the old professor had a directive or a reproach.

But the professor’s gaze was gentle. She just chuckled and said, “Please continue.”

Cheng Ming withdrew her gaze and proceeded.

Song Manqing did not interrupt again, though her face remained sullen throughout the meeting.

Cheng Ming didn’t know how she had offended her, perhaps Song Manqing simply thought a research assistant was not qualified to lead such an important scientific project. In any case, she didn’t have the energy to investigate.

The meeting proceeded smoothly to its conclusion.

After Professor Jin Xia, the only official researcher present, gave her guidance and proposed task assignments, the attendees dispersed.

Cheng Ming waited for the others to leave, packed her things, and was about to walk out the door when she noticed Professor Jin Xia had also stayed until the end.

“You are very much like your mother,” she said, smiling as she got up with the support of her student, just to say this one sentence to her.

Cheng Ming had politely stopped. Hearing this, she looked up in surprise. “You know my mother?”

“We met a few times,” she sighed with emotion. “Her achievements are far more than just the Waveseed Flowerglow Algae-Fungus. None of us old bones could keep up. I heard that if her first experimental project had been successful back then, you would at least be an academician’s daughter. What a pity…”

“The first experiment?” Cheng Ming was initially confused, but gradually, her heart began to beat faster. “What was that?”

She remembered flipping through her parents’ past records a month ago and finding that her mother’s research seemed to be related to her… related to the origin of Little Ming.

“That, I’m not sure,” the other person replied, surprised. “Didn’t Jiang Dexin mention it to you? They were university alumni. It was she who introduced your mother when she first came here.”

Cheng Ming was stunned.

This was different from what she thought.

Judging by seniority, shouldn’t Cheng Ran have been first, and Professor Jiang later?

“The institute wasn’t what it is now back then. I heard it was a big project sponsored by many high-level officials, so they built the first Level 4 Biosafety Laboratory here and recruited people from various research institutes. But Jiang Dexin was tied up with her own experiments and didn’t come, so she introduced your mother instead…”

Cheng Ming calculated the time.

Indeed, Cheng Ran was a university professor at the time and didn’t work at the research institute.

No wonder she was a veteran figure at the institute. When she first arrived, the place wasn’t even state-owned yet.

“Manqing is not a bad person, just a bit short-tempered. Be patient with her,” Jin Xia said, changing the subject with a smile. “But you and your mother are cut from the same cloth. Your mother used to argue with us old folks just the same during her defenses.”

To think that the mother she remembered as always gentle and emotionally stable had a time when she fiercely debated crowds of scholars on a stage… Cheng Ming felt a bit awkward, saying, “You’re joking.”

She stood at the elevator door, watching Professor Jin Xia leave. She didn’t press the down button for a long time.

Her reflection in the hall door, where the metal ate up the color, was a darkened silhouette like a faded wisp of smoke.

She suddenly realized she had missed something.

Jiang Dexin—

The person who was once closely associated with Professor Cheng Ran.

The person who took over the Waveseed Flowerglow Algae-Fungus research after her mother disappeared.

The teacher who was her benefactor.

…

The Price of Survival

As expected, she was ostracized by Song Manqing’s team.

But Cheng Ming was more than happy about it. It made it easier for her to concentrate on her own research and saved her the trouble of having to make excuses—she was working on developing antiviral immunoglobulins.

A shortage of manpower meant she could delegate tasks to the intern assistants on the lower floors. They existed to share experimental tasks and didn’t need to understand the specifics.

There are several ways to deal with viruses: direct inhibition of replication and proliferation using drugs, or indirectly boosting the body’s immune system. Her current state was one of indirect supportive treatment, lengthening the battle and giving her body enough time to clear the virus.

But her connection with the parasite inside her was too deep. Even with Little Ming as the first line of defense, the virus was still damaging her physiological functions. She couldn’t rely solely on herself; she had to use the institute’s resources to solve it quickly. The longer she delayed, the worse it would be.

Drug development was too cumbersome and time was short. Immunoglobulin was the best choice—it was easier to obtain and safer than other options.

As long as the key gene sequence was found and inserted into host cells, it could be harvested through large-scale cell culture.

The theory was established; the practical results remained to be tested.

This was the advantage of participating in the research group: she had enough clearance to apply for what she needed without raising suspicion.

With no time for other matters, Cheng Ming began a life of running between the North and West Buildings from morning till night.

Her physical condition worsened daily. She repeatedly experienced her nails and skin spotting, breaking, and shedding. After injecting the nutrient solution, they would improve and regrow within a few hours. The cycle of pain and itching was perpetual, leaving her unable to sleep well through the night.

These symptoms were not obvious or violent, but the slow, dull cutting of the knife was particularly agonizing.

Only soaking in water offered some relief.

Consequently, while sleep-deprived, she would often drift off into unconsciousness while soaking, not noticing as the water turned icy cold.

“Cheng Ming.” A faint call reached her in the haze, but she couldn’t clearly hear it.

However, when she woke up early the next morning, she found herself neatly tucked into her bed, wearing her pajamas, with the blanket properly covering her.

The only possible explanation was that Little Ming had briefly woken up.

Afraid she would get too cold, it had painstakingly looked after her.

The most direct evidence was that when she opened her phone, she found a new alarm clock set, with the note: Water Soaking Pre-Warning.

What kind of jumbled phrase is that…? Cheng Ming’s mood shifted from tense to resigned.