After Being Parasiticized By A Monster - Chapter 44

Chapter 44: “Is There a Possibility You’re Actually Called ‘Fungus-Fish’?”

The Hostile Welcome

Separated by a few meters, the dense fungal threads covered the entire wall, resembling a spider’s web quietly waiting for its prey.

Cheng Ming stared up, feeling a phantom pain in her abdomen and an extreme, subtle nervous tremor. The memory of being cornered in her bedroom by a similar growth months ago was still terrifyingly vivid.

Her pupils involuntarily dilated, and she instinctively stepped back. If Little Ming hadn’t lazily commented, “No neural network formed, it’s just a normal fungus,” she might have had a full-blown reaction.

Swish! The elegant woman opposite her suddenly produced a grading sheet from nowhere.

“Entering the lab without autonomous protective awareness—minus ten points.”

“…” Huh?

Cheng Ming was completely bewildered.

“Oh, right, I almost forgot to introduce myself.”

Seeing her confused look, the woman tucked the sheet under her arm, beamed, and extended a hand in a thick rubber glove. “**Hello, Associate Researcher Cheng! I’m your chief examiner, Zhou Jia.”

…

No one told her the first step was an entry exam!

Two hours later, the thoroughly battered new Associate Researcher emerged from the air shower, took off her protective suit, and sat down in the rest area, looking dazed.

Zhou Jia, following close behind, never stopped writing. Her voice was full of cheerful excitement. “**Congratulations, your final score is minus six!”

The external team members peered in and erupted in a chorus of “Wows” and congratulations, all smiling broadly.

Only Cheng Ming was numb. What were they so happy about?

As a good student who had never scored so low, she had moved past mortification to a state of complete indifference. She knew they were just excited to watch the show.

She had a negative score. So what? Were they going to revoke her new title?

“Seriously, cheer up!” Zhou Jia patted her arm. “Your score is already top-tier. Someone before you was deducted a hundred points!”

Cheng Ming lifted her eyes wearily: “…”

“Alright, alright, I won’t tease you anymore.” The examiner put away the sheet and pulled out a manual. “Now let’s pleasantly begin the training!”

Cheng Ming was stunned. Training now? What was the last two hours for?

Zhou Jia was unfazed. “**Oh, just consider it a placement test!”

…

The Associate Researcher’s New Role

“Cheng Ming,” the tactless Fish-Fungus chimed in, “It looks like you’ve been played.”

Cheng Ming was certain. The Black-Green Cunning Algal Fungus was the same strain that had attacked her. Room 25013 was a training lab, and the high-difficulty “test” was mostly for the examiner’s amusement.

“I know you might want to hit me, but I still control your score,” Zhou Jia said with a provoking smile. “You can choose to put a sack over my head one dark, stormy night after you pass.”

Cheng Ming forced herself to remain impassive. “Let’s start.”

She redid her hair, tucked it into her cap, and zipped up her suit. Little Ming was already threatening to use a “conidiospore” instead of a sack, and Cheng Ming instantly muted it.

“Shut up.”

The intense, five-day training and final five-hour assessment were a brutal ordeal. Emerging from the final test, Cheng Ming felt utterly exhausted.

Zhou Jia compiled the results. “Oh, wow? You passed on the first try! Congratulations!”

Despite the insincere cheer, the hurdle was cleared.

Cheng Ming asked about the Level 4 lab.

“You can’t enter alone!” Zhou Jia was quick to clarify. “You need to be with your Senior Researcher!”

With the red stamp on her certificate, her training was complete. She then spent time on new regulations, contracts, and updating her work file.

Before leaving the training lab, she asked about the aggressive fungus on the wall.

“It?” Zhou Jia looked at it. “**Oh, the Black-Green Cunning Algal Fungus.”

Cheng Ming nearly stumbled.

“Your naming conventions are truly interesting,” Little Ming muttered.

“This fungus is the most cunning,” Zhou Jia warned, advising her to avoid the large algal fungi if she got to choose her direction.

Cheng Ming then tested the waters: “Does it have any practical application value?”

Zhou Jia smiled cryptically and pointed to the confidentiality agreement, specifically Clause 141—which strictly forbade asking about other labs’ research secrets, threatening punishment up to criminal liability and possible life imprisonment.

Cheng Ming realized she had signed a contract that was practically a deed of servitude.

…

The Larger Picture and a Moment of Introspection

Stepping out, the chemical-laden air of the lab invigorated her mind. She finally understood the true relationship between the Institute and the Security Department: Theory and Practice. The Institute conducted basic research, and the Security Department developed those findings into products for practical use. The Defense Center was a unified entity, vast and complex.

The secrets surrounding the place, which were once unattainable, were now slowly being exposed to her. Reaching the level of Associate Researcher meant she finally belonged here.

Three more days passed to finalize her paperwork, discuss new projects with Teacher Jiang, and meet her new team. As an Associate Researcher, she would now lead her own group, though Jiang Dexin remained her supervisor. Her authority and freedom had significantly increased, giving her more room for discreet actions.

With everything settled, Cheng Ming returned to her apartment for a half-day break.

She picked up her phone to text Qu Ying, who had been gone for nearly half a year with no word. She typed and deleted several messages, leaving only a blinking cursor.

“What are you hesitating about?” Little Ming asked.

Cheng Ming dropped the phone onto the bed and sighed. “If you weren’t watching, I probably wouldn’t be so hesitant.”

Little Ming suggested: “How about you close your eyes while typing?”

The parasite was deeply wounded but remained silent.

“I have a question,” Cheng Ming said after a long silence. “Are you fundamentally a fish, or a fungus?” She wondered if she should call it the “Fungus-Fish.”

Little Ming: “…That sounds terrible.”

“**I want to measure your DNA sequence,” Cheng Ming stated, a task she had long needed to do to understand its origins. “Will you cooperate?”

“Do I have a choice?” Little Ming countered, concerned. “You said that after confirmation, you would seriously consider our relationship.”

“…Alright,” Cheng Ming laughed helplessly.

Resting her head on the bed, she smiled and squeezed its fungal threads. “It’s a pleasure working with you.”

Though they were in the same place, their hearts were in a completely different space. Last year, they were enemies; now, they accepted the undeniable truth: they were intimate, inseparable counterparts.

They had accepted compromise, sharing, and unity. Fate was indeed strange. Their bodies were one, and though the mystery of their souls remained, they had both placed their entirety on the scales of their shared life.