After Being Parasiticized By A Monster - Chapter 5

Chapter 5: While Feeding the Monster, She Was Also Being Assimilated By It.

According to Cheng Ming’s years of observation at the institute, a monster is ultimately just a new, specialized life form resulting from genetic mutation, following the rules of its ecological niche… Could they easily change their diet?

“Do you know how much I expended today to cooperate with your screening?” The other party responded calmly. “If I become too hungry, I will unconsciously draw nutrients from you. I haven’t yet, but that is only because I’m suppressing the instinct.”

The voice was so calm it was practically emotionless, yet it carried a hint of reproach, silently accusing Cheng Ming, the host, of being irresponsible.

So, you’re hungry enough to eat anything now? Cheng Ming raised an eyebrow. “Then I’ll go back now and grill you a few more fish…”

The institute was under the strictest surveillance by the LSD. She absolutely could not risk entering the storage room to scavenge for food for it for at least two days.

She had agreed quickly before because of the crowds, worrying the parasite would cause trouble. Now, upon reflection, she felt it was too risky.

“Human food alone cannot meet my needs. You need to be clear about that.”

Sensing Cheng Ming’s intention to retreat, it warned.

…

Late at night, 10:00 PM. Qu Ying finished work.

She exited the main building and walked into the Defense Center’s 24-hour convenience store, quickly purchasing several necessities and a collection of miscellaneous snacks.

She had just completed her previous assignment last night. Her superior had given her a “light task”—assisting the Reconnaissance Department’s operation—to give her some rest time.

This directly resulted in her working non-stop for two days. Rest? Ha, what was that?

The intention was good, but it would have been better had she not been assigned anything at all.

At the self-checkout counter, the bright green cigarette box lying conspicuously in her shopping bag caught her eye. Qu Ying paused for a second, pushed it to the bottom, and placed a pack of gum on top in a futile attempt at concealment.

Just as she was about to leave, she noticed the ice cream freezer was still stocked this late in the month. She turned back and added a red date ice cream bar to her bag.

She was going to see Cheng Ming.

A small shuttle bus stopped at the connection point.

Qu Ying took a long stride onto the transport heading to the apartment complex. Picking up her personal device, she was about to scan the code when a public message popped up—

“Shoreline Coordinates: 32.01, 11. Target Description: Humanoid, undetermined intelligence level, suspected fungal parasite. Requesting backup.”

…

“Cheng Ming, retreat!” In the rushing wind, the voice sounded particularly sharp and abrupt. “It’s coming for you!”

“I know!” Cheng Ming bit down hard, her hand digging into the soil, desperately trying to grip something to steady herself after hearing that.

Her ankle was tangled in filamentous fungi, and she was being dragged.

More hyphae broke through the ground, swarming her body, ripping her clothes, springing out of the shadows like octopus tentacles, aiming to instantly kill their targeted prey.

This was a trap.

The hunter disguised as the prey. Danger quietly ambushed her underground, lying in wait for the deceived target. It was aiming for a sudden, lethal blow on her planned route.

The higher the intelligence of a mutated organism, the harder it is to deal with. As one of the largest organisms on Earth, the creature’s main body was still an unknown distance away—perhaps hundreds or thousands of meters. Yet, its filamentous tendrils had already found her, targeting her limbs, prioritizing the elimination of her combat capability.

Crack. Cheng Ming heard the sound of her own joint dislocating.

Hoo, hoo… Her breathing was heavy, her pulse was frantic, and her skin became incredibly sticky—she couldn’t tell if it was sweat or bl00d. Her nasal cavity was filled with the overwhelming stench of decay.

The hyphae crawled onto her face, trying to drill into every orifice, but didn’t anticipate that this nutritious life form was already occupied by another of their kind and was difficult to breach. They had to settle for a secondary plan: strangulation from the outside.

Cheng Ming was almost fully enveloped. All of this happened in mere seconds; she didn’t have time to react.

Nor did she have time for a detailed conversation.

Before reaching asphyxiation, she twisted her fingers, navigating past the obstruction and squeezing into the hidden pocket inside her clothing at an impossible angle. She had gained the mollusk’s powerful shape-shifting ability after consuming Wang Qi.

While feeding the monster, she was also being assimilated by it.

Two fingertips reached the hard object in the pocket, hooking out the frosted glass bottle. The hyphae sensed her small movement and followed closely. Under its violent pressure, there was a bang, the sealed bottle shattered into pieces, and the liquid inside sprayed out.

It ignited instantly upon hitting the ground and continued to explode.

The hyphae coated with high-concentration peroxyacetic acid quickly shriveled into a withered clump. Under the continuous impact, they broke into countless fragments, losing their aggression, twitching and writhing pointlessly like squid minced into paste.

But even more hyphae seemed to be enraged, continuing to surge up from underground. However, sensing the stimulating chemical, they hesitated for a moment, not daring to advance.

Cheng Ming seized the opportunity to break free of the entanglement. She scrambled, rolling away for dozens of meters, finding a sharp rock protruding from the ground. Mucus rapidly secreted from her skin contact points. She scaled the rock like a gecko, ensuring her body was not exposed to the hyphae’s coverage area.

Watching the still-eager filamentous bodies that hadn’t retreated, she grasped her dislocated joints and snapped them back into place with a few clicks, restoring her normal movement. She was covered in cold sweat from the intense pain, but she gritted her teeth and made no sound, her muscles tightly clenched, not daring to relax for a second.

Just as she was brainstorming her next move to escape, a flash of white light caught her peripheral vision.

The bright light swept across the sky, illuminating half the countryside. The nearby grass stalks and distant tall buildings were bathed in a dazzling white.

Cheng Ming abruptly closed her eyes, instantly dropping to the ground, but she couldn’t completely block the intense light. Tears streamed down her face.

After a moment of temporary blindness, the light weakened, and her deprived senses slowly returned.

The world was eerily silent.

She cautiously opened her eyes. The hyphae on the ground, like dehydrated fish bits, convulsed and struggled randomly, quickly retreating and melting into the mud, as if the main body had suffered a fatal blow.

Cheng Ming realized—the Logistics and Security Department had mobilized?

She pressed one hand against her violently throbbing eye sockets, looking up at the figure on the lighthouse hundreds of meters away. Her heart hammered wildly in her throat.

The searchlight illuminated a tall, straight silhouette. Even at this distance, one could clearly see the long hair flying wildly. Light and shadow interwove, like a sorceress from myth, gazing at the stars and moon.

Boom!

A flash of fire. A crimson meteor rotated and flew from the person’s hand, descending precisely along a predetermined trajectory. It slammed into the empty ground less than a hundred meters from her, exploding with a thunderous roar like a falling meteorite. A storm of gravel was violently swept toward her—

A rocket launcher… Cheng Ming snapped back to reality. This “sorceress” was certainly up-to-date!

“Cheng Ming!”

The moment it spoke, she understood what it meant.

She had to admit, this was the first time she had heard its tone so urgent, so human.

If it didn’t emerge now, this spot would likely become their shared burial site.

“Go back to the apartment.”

Before relinquishing her body, Cheng Ming quickly managed to utter one last command.

…

Late night, 11:25 PM.

In a corner under the streetlights near North Apartment Unit 2, a person stood quietly in the shadow. If one didn’t look closely, they would be difficult to spot even when passing by, like a leopard lying in wait in the grass, patiently remaining motionless for a long time.

Until a faint, subtle movement finally came from one of the floors of the long-silent apartment building.

It was extremely concealed and quiet, but it couldn’t escape her ears.

The figure lifted its head, shifting its posture slightly. The bulging plastic bag in her hand made a rustling noise, scaring away a passing orange cat.

Beep, beep. The red light on the communicator flashed.

Maintaining her upward gaze at the tenth-floor apartment, she raised a hand to press her earphone, listening to the voice transmitted from the other end, and replied faintly with two words:

“Received.”

…

By the time the unlucky tabby cat jumped into the flower bed in a panic and then looked back with curiosity, the spot was empty.

Splash, splash—

The sound of running water filled the bathroom on the tenth floor of Unit 2.

Strands of crimson were stripped away by the water, but they weren’t washed down the drain. Cheng Ming was cleaning herself in the bathtub, carefully collecting all traces.

After washing away the bloodstains, the hair automatically grew and feebly crawled into the tub to decompose the bl00d cells and other nutrients, making the most of every last bit and absolutely wasting nothing. Only when no organic matter remained did she push open the drain, allowing the wastewater to go wherever it may.

“Hiss…” Cheng Ming stood in front of the mirror, breathing heavily, using tweezers to extract the glass shards embedded in her flesh.

The parasitic partner had not only failed to receive a boost of energy tonight but had also expended a great deal, affecting her self-healing ability.

However, after being modified several times by the mutated monster’s torment, recovering her external appearance by the time she needed to go to work tomorrow morning shouldn’t be a problem.

The premise being that her other self agreed to cooperate instead of taking advantage of the situation.

Cheng Ming’s movements were extremely cautious. The glass shards still had some peroxyacetic acid residue, and any contact with the skin caused a searing, sharp pain.

As a strong oxidant, peroxyacetic acid is flammable, explosive, and highly corrosive. It is especially dangerous in high concentration and must be diluted for use. Its primary purpose is laboratory sterilization and disinfection, and the targets of elimination include, but are not limited to, fungi and their spores.

Then, another piece of glass was picked out, hitting the ceramic countertop with a crisp, tiny sound.

The long-silent “roommate,” now that they were safely out of danger, finally posed the expected question:

“Why were you carrying something like that with you?”

Cheng Ming turned on the faucet, washing the tweezers with a loud rush, pretending not to hear.

After a long moment, she lifted her pale face in front of the mirror, water droplets still clinging to her eyebrows and corners of her eyes. She stared, soaking wet, at the person in the mirror—

“And why didn’t you help at all when I was caught?”

She gazed at “herself,” a faint smile even playing on her lips, but the look exchanged between the interior and exterior of the plane mirror was icy cold.

Heh, monster…

She hadn’t originally wanted to show her hand. It could evade detection, and pushing it to a dead end would predictably lead to mutual destruction.

But as the situation stood, she had no choice.

The peace of mutualism was merely an illusion.

It was always a ticking time bomb, the Sword of Damocles hanging over her head.

Not for a moment did she stop contemplating: How exactly can this parasite be eliminated?

Cheng Ming believed that it was thinking the same thing.