After Being Parasitized by a Monster 12

Chapter 12: Humans are truly adept at creating their own disasters, and then, self-destructing.

It was no wonder this parasite called the fungal monster a supplement.

She had suffered a great deal, only to have it all be for its benefit. The more of its own kind it devoured, the stronger it became. Even the inhibitor couldn’t suppress its violence.

Cheng Ming cupped her hands and splashed water on her face, trying to calm herself down and untangle her chaotic thoughts, attempting to review tonight’s encounter.

The good news was that the enemy was weak, so she had dealt with it without much difficulty. The bad news was that it was just a conidium, and there might be some unknown connection between it and the main body.

There was definitely nothing like this in the underground storage room before.

Was it an accident, or a deliberate ambush?

Revenge? But even the Security Department had been alerted. The other party could barely protect itself, how could it have the time to retaliate against her?

Or was it put there by someone… Could it be that after the Security Department had captured it, they were using it to find her, a hidden danger?

At this thought, Cheng Ming’s heart suddenly sank.

…

At 1:23 AM, at the same time Cheng Ming encountered the conidium, in an underground experimental base several kilometers away.

Beep, beep. A red light flashed, and the smart system sounded an alarm.

“Huh? One of the ‘seeds’ has reacted,” the researcher murmured, her voice filled with surprise.

She swiped her pen, opening another interface. The task list contracted, and a grid of intersecting lines expanded.

It was a map that included the coordinates of all the buildings in the city’s Defense Center, corresponding to the current distribution of mycelia in the experimental area.

The survival status of the spores could be fed back to the corresponding part of the main body in real time, allowing for the instantaneous pinpointing of the location of an accident.

“Which one?” Better late than never. Everyone’s interest was piqued.

Qu Ying also looked up at the screen, slightly shifting her stance.

Then, in the instant the data was updated and covered the screen, the expected coordinates did not appear. The electronic flow on the interactive glass screen seemed to freeze for a second, and then, red dots all over the screen flashed simultaneously—

Like a lush tree suddenly withering, the reproductive mycelia at multiple locations shriveled up all at once.

It was completely unexpected.

The red warning lights flickered, covering the entire transparent wall. The vast space fell into a brief, dead silence.

Three seconds later, the researcher broke the silence, shook her head, and stated the fact with regret, “All the conidia are dead.”

“Attacked at the same time?”

If that were the case, the problem would be huge. Everyone’s face was filled with disbelief.

The researcher lowered her head to check for abnormal data. Some people had already taken their tasks and left, and there weren’t many people left. At this moment, the little girl walked over, placed her hand on the glass, and said:

“I don’t think so.”

Hearing this, Qu Ying raised an eyebrow and looked over with interest, asking, “What’s your brilliant idea, Little Yangmei?”

Those present had different abilities. This little girl, named “Yangmei,” was the only “communicator” among them—

“It’s in a very bad mood and is unwilling to cooperate.” Through the glass, she looked up at the “fungal tree” that was countless times taller than her, her childish voice crisp.

Her ability was ultrasound, which acted directly on the nerves, a perfect method for cross-species communication. Although fungi did not have a neural network, it had been discovered that they could transmit electrical signals, similar to human neuron signals.

Communication was only necessary for intelligent creatures.

Everything confirmed that MF204 had indeed developed high intelligence.

It refused to be imprisoned, refused to be used as a tool, and refused all forms of cooperation—

Looking at the data presented before her, the researcher’s pen slowed down.

Finally, she put away her pen and notebook and sighed helplessly, like a mother who had failed to correct her wayward child:

“Prepare for the fusion experiment.”

…

The message she sent disappeared like a stone in the sea.

Cheng Ming had wanted to ask Qu Ying if she could reveal any information, but after waiting and waiting with no reply, she couldn’t sleep well all night, anxious about the possibility of a sudden ambush or screening at any time.

It’s not hard to be a thief for a thousand days, but guarding against a thief for a thousand days can definitely drive a person mad.

Waking up with a groggy head, she had no choice but to force herself to think that no news was good news.

If there was a real emergency, Qu Ying would definitely contact her.

The inhibitor seemed to have slowed down the fusion process. This time, she actually didn’t feel much discomfort—except for the fatigue from staying up all night. After two cups of coffee, she could even go to work as usual.

Now, her main job, besides observing and recording the growth of the algaefungus every day, was still to do some auxiliary experiments for Jiang Dexin.

However, the tasks the latter now gave her were clearly on a higher level than before. She was being groomed as a successor, and some small projects that could be completed independently were gradually being transferred to her.

After staying in the incubation room for two hours, Cheng Ming still couldn’t hold on. She walked into the break room and collapsed on the recliner. Before falling into a deep sleep, she subconsciously said to Xiao Ming, “Call me if anything happens…” Then she realized something was wrong. “Never mind, you need to sleep too.”

She didn’t know how a certain parasite reacted.

The next time she was conscious, she was woken up by the vibration of her bracelet’s to-do list reminder.

As expected, when you’re tired, you need to rest. Waking up and opening her eyes, Cheng Ming felt completely refreshed. She glanced at her “hair” and it wasn’t an illusion, it really was much thicker. Without time to ask more, she first clicked on the new message and took a look.

At this glance, Cheng Ming immediately stood up.

It was an application to purchase Wave-Born Floating Flower Algaefungus.

The source of the information was blank.

She rushed into the system operation room next door and repeatedly traced the source, but couldn’t find the corresponding department number. So she called Jiang Dexin.

The voice from the receiver was as patient and gentle as ever.

The latter said as if it were nothing unusual, “It’s fine, just leave it blank. Just follow the system prompts step by step.”

The incubation room was fully automated. Even for dividing the tanks, there was basically no need for manual labor, so naturally, there was no opportunity for her to come into contact with more.

Although it was a bit of a pity, it was to be expected.

The Defense Center’s control over the Wave-Born Floating Flower Algaefungus was very strict, which was evident from the complete secrecy surrounding which research team was responsible for it and which floor it was stored on.

And a counter-intuitive point was that, at that time, all the information Cheng Ming could find showed that thirty years ago, it was the appearance of this fungus that had broken the deadlock people faced in the face of the mutated environment. After decades of breeding and promotion, it had almost become a model organism for various coastal institutions and laboratories to conduct pollution research and explore the laws of mutation.

Her confusion did not last long.

Later, when she was assigned by Jiang Dexin to assist in extracting marine microorganisms, she learned another secret that was no longer a secret—the third stage of oceanic pollution was coming. Due to the lack of oxygen in the water, the stability of the ocean had been sharply reduced, the frequency of mutated creatures coming ashore had greatly increased, and more monsters were landing and wandering in the restricted coastal areas, even destroying the protective walls. Casualties were frequent.

The cause of all this was this very algaefungus.

The savior had become the index of a new disaster.

This was the reason why the research institute was accustomed to people going missing.

This was probably also the reason why the Security Department hadn’t spent too much effort on her, a potential threat.

Cheng Ming had tentatively asked why.

Jiang Dexin’s image was completely different in daily life and at work. She was usually easy-going and approachable, but she was always rigorous and solemn in the laboratory.

But when she heard this question, she rarely stopped her work, turned her head to look at her, and the reflective lenses blurred the look deep in her eyes.

She sighed, “Where do you think all the experimental waste from the past years has been dumped?”

Her soft and heavy voice was like a prism crashing down, piercing into one’s heart so lightly and sharply.

And so Cheng Ming fell silent.

The answer was obvious—dumped into the sea.

Humans are truly adept at creating their own disasters, and then, self-destructing.

“Do we really not need to verify the identity of the other party?”

Under such a premise, looking at this purchase application that lacked any clear information, Cheng Ming was truly a bit puzzled.

Weren’t they worried about criminals stealing the materials? Or a department employee accidentally triggering the application? Or had some monster evolved to the point of being proficient in hacking skills?

She raised a series of imaginative ideas with a strong sense of crisis.

And then they were all rejected one by one by Jiang Dexin, who was not at all annoyed.

In the end, Jiang Dexin said, “Why don’t you trust your boss?”

Cheng Ming: “…”

Fine, you’re the boss, you have the final say.

Great. Another day of outwitting my mentor.

But her thoughts might have been a bit too obvious.

So much so that after she hung up the phone, even a certain Fish-Fungus could tell, and asked sincerely, “Why can’t you just say you want to know the source of the information?”

She was already annoyed that she couldn’t get any useful information out of Jiang Dexin.

Cheng Ming clicked her tongue, “Why can’t you just say you want to call me a hypocrite?”

Ten o’clock at night.

The searchlights in the entire research institute area had been dimmed a few degrees to save energy, but the automatic sensor lights on the 113th floor of the North Tower suddenly lit up.

Cheng Ming hadn’t left yet.

Presumably, no one else in this building worked overtime as proactively as she did.

She got up at the right time and walked into the manual operation room, exiting the laboratory’s disinfection state.

Having not received a reply from Qu Ying all day, Cheng Ming tried to convince herself not to overthink it, but to little avail. For her now, the research institute was the place that gave her the most peace of mind. To avoid being ambushed on her way out, she might as well find something to do.

For example, finding out which department of the research institute, which sacred figure, was so mysterious and had such high authority.

The first airtight door opened. Cheng Ming entered the buffer room, changed her clothes, and then the second door unlocked. She walked through the dim corridor and into the core area.

Xiao Ming said, “I learned a new adjective today—courting death.”

Normally, Cheng Ming would probably ignore its sarcasm.

But the journey had been too quiet, and besides, she would need its help later… She stubbornly defended herself, “Just a quick look.”

When she came in during the day, the protective facilities seemed to be only at the most basic level one. But now, they were almost at the level of a biosafety level three laboratory. The walls had changed, the hidden secondary protective barrier had been activated, the independent air supply and exhaust system was running, the room was being sterilized, and the negative pressure of nearly 60Pa made her feel that her breathing was affected, and she had a slight reaction of intracranial hypoxia.

Cheng Ming stood in the center of the incubation room and took off her protective suit.

The confidential work of transporting the algaefungus was very well done. Even the specific transmission time was randomly generated by the system. But even if it could confuse the outside world, it couldn’t fool her, who was “guarding and stealing from within.”

The equipment on both sides made a buzzing sound, and the robotic arm automatically picked up the container that she had sorted and confirmed during the day and sent it into the channel.

The pipeline transportation hidden behind the reinforced concrete was intricate and complex. Under normal circumstances, it would be impossible for anyone to know the true destination of the algaefungus.

But “they” were anything but normal.

Her hair writhed and grew like a living thing. The room was kept sterile, with corresponding cleaning devices, and of course, ventilation ducts were not lacking.

Cheng Ming cut off the power, and the mycelia went deep into every gap, exploring the terrain.

After devouring a conidium fungus, the area it could cover had clearly become larger.

The incubation room was completely sealed. To ensure cleanliness, the transmission channel and the air supply and exhaust system ran in parallel. This was the only path connecting the inside and the outside.

“How is it?” Cheng Ming asked.

The mycelia were stretched to their limit. Fortunately, Xiao Ming finally gave feedback at this moment, “It’s possible.”

It had figured out the internal structure and had eliminated the risks for Cheng Ming in advance.

“Where was it sent?”

“I don’t know the structure of your research institute,” it said in a flat tone, secretly reprimanding her for her wild imagination.

Alright.

Cheng Ming touched the wall to get a feel for it, closed her eyes, and felt the direction of the spreading mycelia. Like a cave fish exploring its territory, she slipped into the narrow, deep darkness and disappeared.

…

10:37 PM, directly below the North Tower, in the experimental materials transfer warehouse on the first basement level.

Most of the lights had been dimmed, the freight elevators had stopped running, and the loading and unloading platforms of the human-height transmission shafts had been locked. Only a few staff members were still busy moving items.

In the shadow of a load-bearing column in the corner, two figures, one large and one small, had been standing for a long time. Although they were also wearing one-piece dark blue work clothes and cotton safety helmets, successfully blending in with the passing personnel, having a little girl in a place like this was still out of place. But for such a long time, no one passing by had noticed them.

“So, why do we need two people to escort it?” The little girl Yangmei wasn’t chewing gum this time.

She was sucking on a lollipop and glanced at the much taller woman next to her, her face full of incomprehension. “And it had to be us. Does the Biological Research Institute lack a transport chain?”

“Of course it’s—” Hearing this, the corners of the latter’s thin lips curled up slightly. She turned her head and looked down, the sharp glint under the brim of her hat hidden in the shadows. “—to go fishing.”