After Being Parasiticized By A Monster - Chapter 53

Chapter 53: “I’d Forget Anyone Before I Forget You.”

The Pressure of a New Identity

The rain was easing, but the clouds above remained heavy and viscous. High-rise buildings were imprisoned in a gray haze, yet the distant horizon was bright. The evening sun cast a slanted light across the globe, reflecting off every rain-slicked surface. The dim buildings under the clouds looked like they were strung with temporary LED lights.

Apartment Building 3, 17th Floor.

Following Yan Li’s memory, Cheng Ming stood at the unfamiliar door. She needed to either ring the bell or enter the code, but for tens of seconds, she remained motionless, slowly breathing to adjust her mindset.

“You’re so nervous,” Little Ming commented, enjoying the spectacle.

Cheng Ming could just imagine the consequences of letting Little Ming take over: it would gleefully consume Yan Rong, declare that eliminating the problem was the best solution, and inform her that a monster couldn’t possibly experience psychological pressure.

Yan Rong was intensely attached to Yan Li—a level of sisterly affection that was pure horror to Cheng Ming. In the hospital, dozens of calls had come from her. She had been on a battlefield, yet the thought of answering a call from Yan Rong had caused her far more psychological distress than any late-night emergency ever had.

She pushed down her chaotic thoughts, set her expression, and entered the code.

Beep.

The door opened.

A figure was sitting two meters away. The twilight outside the floor-to-ceiling window was so bright that the indoor furnishings were indistinguishable, and the person was merely a dark outline. Only the smooth crown of her hair glowed faintly gold in the back-lighting.

Cheng Ming paused, her hand still on the doorknob.

Yan Rong was in a wheelchair, facing the entrance, staring at her.

Cheng Ming had seen her in Yan Li’s memories—the most vivid part of her dying emotions—and in numerous video calls during her hospital stay.

“Rongrong?” Despite the surprise, Cheng Ming reacted as planned. “Have you been waiting here all day?”

She had told Yan Rong when she would be discharged, but she hadn’t expected this stubborn girl to wait at the door all day. She unconsciously adopted Yan Li’s older-sister persona, forgetting her actual age was similar to Yan Rong’s.

Yan Rong did not blink.

Cheng Ming stepped in, extending her arms naturally. She had dreaded this moment of physical contact, steeling herself to hug her, despite having no sisters of her own.

But Yan Rong simply wheeled herself back a step. She pointed to Cheng Ming’s sleeve and offered her a towel from the armrest.

“Sister, you’re wet. Go take a shower and change your clothes first.”

…

Reality was proving far easier than her fearful anticipation. Yan Rong was a cooperative younger sister. She asked few questions, seemingly accepting that her sister had survived a near-death experience and suffered memory loss. After a quiet dinner and a brief chat, Yan Rong considerately excused her, saying she needed to prepare lesson plans for her lucrative online teaching job.

Cheng Ming stood up, resisting the urge to flee immediately. She looked at Yan Rong’s legs and the wheelchair. Leaning in, she asked with practiced concern, “Do you need me to—”

“No,” Yan Rong replied sensibly. “I’ve managed perfectly fine on my own while you were gone, Sister.”

Before parting, she reached out her hand. Cheng Ming suppressed the instinct to recoil, maintaining her posture as Yan Rong gently placed her palm on the side of her head, stroking the short, Yan Li-like fungal hair.

“How much do you remember, Sister?” Yan Rong asked.

“I’d forget anyone before I forget you,” Cheng Ming said softly, striving to mimic Yan Li’s affectionate tone. “I just need a little more time to recover, okay?”

“Quite the sweet-talker, aren’t you?” Little Ming’s cynical voice sounded in her head. Cheng Ming ignored it, gazing warmly at her “sister.”

Yan Rong finally released her. The first hurdle was passed.

Cheng Ming moved toward what she intuited was the bedroom.

“Sister, it’s the left one,” Yan Rong reminded her.

Cheng Ming offered an embarrassed smile and changed direction. Yan Rong watched her until the bedroom door closed, sealing her from sight.

…

Untangling the Web

Finally alone, Cheng Ming felt her body relax slightly, though her muscles beneath her clothes remained tense, as if Yan Rong’s gaze could still pierce the door. She had chosen this path, and now she had to adapt quickly.

A few minutes later, Cheng Ming came back out, heading toward the study she had passed earlier. She wanted to organize her thoughts. She instinctively reached for a bedside drawer, but realized this wasn’t her bedroom; her old notebooks weren’t here.

She was also hesitant to use a phone, as Security Department personnel were closely managed, and Yan Li’s personal devices might be compromised. She consoled herself with the thought that Qu Ying would surely clean up the un-destroyed items she’d left behind in her own apartment.

Cheng Ming began rummaging through the desk drawer for stationery. Even for online teaching, Yan Rong would need paper and pens, which Yan Li would regularly replenish. She preferred to find them herself rather than disturb her overly attentive sister.

Rumble.

The sound of the wheelchair moving came from behind. It was very close.

Cheng Ming spun around. Yan Rong was right there, tilting her head. “Sister, what are you looking for?”

…

This sister is truly a ghost. Cheng Ming reassured her startled heart—it was understandable for a sister to be attentive after such a close call.

She maintained a normal demeanor, admitting she needed paper and a pen to organize her memories, then returned to the bedroom.

Sitting at the simple desk, Cheng Ming cleared her mind and wrote down the first name.

—Cheng Ran.

The chief researcher who created her—the monster—by fusing three components: the fungus (Flotage-Flower Algal Fungus), the fish (MM, a mysterious species of Shark/Jiao), and the human…

She had Cheng Ran’s genes.

The timeline was clear: Cheng Ran’s real daughter was born in 2140, became comatose due to a high fever in 2143 (age 3), and stopped growing. Cheng Ming was actually born in 2152 and smuggled out of the lab by Cheng Ran in 2155 (age 3). A perfect substitution. Cheng Ran had used the genes of her own deceased daughter to incubate the monster.

The unknowns were the project’s initiator and its purpose. Cheng Ran started working at the coastal Level 4 Lab before the contamination outbreak in 2143, suggesting the experiment was not originally the Institute’s.

The Project was the key. Cheng Ming circled it and drew a line to the second name.

—Jiang Dexin.

Her handwriting turned shaky and crooked on the last stroke. She covered her face briefly to prevent tears from blurring the paper.

Jiang Dexin’s death—sacrificed while salvaging important data—was now recorded on the plaques at the cemetery.

Examining Jiang Dexin’s final, remorseful words, Cheng Ming realized the woman had never condemned her and likely didn’t know she was the one who had attacked them six years ago. Jiang Dexin believed she had caused Cheng Ran’s death in two ways: by recommending the shady Project to her, and by urging her to abandon the child. She believed the Foundation that ran the project had sent assassins after them on the coast.

Foundation. Cheng Ming circled the term.

She was certain Jiang Dexin meant the Eternal Natural Science Foundation (ENSF)—a large non-profit organization that bankrolled the Defense Center’s construction, composed of wealthy families and expert scholars, and currently partnered with the Institute.

She narrowed her eyes at the name, drew another line, and pointed to the third person.

—Jin Xia.

She was in Cheng Ran’s team photo.

More importantly, Professor Jin Xia was a Scientific Advisor for the ENS Foundation. Cheng Ming had only learned this after extensive searching while in isolation.

…

If she was truly a product of the Foundation, was Cheng Ran’s act of stealing her a betrayal? Was the group behind the Foundation seeking to eliminate Cheng Ran for being a traitor?