After Being Parasitized by a Monster 18

Chapter 18: Are you human, or a monster?

The alarm blared for a whole day and night without stopping.

The bracelet consistently displayed the evacuation notice, telling her to wait for news on the spot.

This time, the matter seemed a bit serious.

During this period, Cheng Ming patched things up. She filled and pressed the holes in the walls. Unable to find suitable paint, she scraped some plaster from an inconspicuous corner, mixed it, and slapped it on. Then she tried to cover it up, moving paintings where she could, and putting up stickers where she could, trying not to be too obvious.

In short, she first ensured that it was not visible to the naked eye. She would find a way to refine it later when she could go out and buy things.

“So this is robbing Peter to pay Paul…” Xiao Ming handed her things, marveling at the whole process.

But the still-unwavering tone of its voice made it difficult for Cheng Ming to tell whether it was admiring or mocking.

Touching the fine scratches on the wooden door, Cheng Ming still felt it was not safe enough.

Just as she turned around, intending to move the green radish from the balcony and hang it up, she turned her head and saw a long figure by the curtain, which almost scared her heart to a stop again.

Fortunately, she could clearly see the thin shoulders and neck, the beautiful female lines—it was a false alarm. This time it was Qu Ying.

“Good thing you didn’t go into the shelter.” She looked travel-worn, her pant legs tucked into her long boots, and the corners of her clothes were wrinkled.

“Sister Yingying!” she called out, both happy and suspicious, and asked, “What’s wrong?”

“There’s a traitor inside, the defense wall is damaged, and it’s uncertain if any monsters have snuck in. Everyone has to undergo a security check, starting from the shelter.” She walked over quickly. “What happened here?”

She had sensed something unusual the moment she saw the message.

The body of the leader of Investigation Department Group 4 had been found, confirmed to be the first host of the fungal parasite. But MF204 had not yet been found, and all departments were very tense.

For Cheng Ming to send her a message at this juncture meant at least one thing: she hadn’t gone underground.

Cheng Ming did not hide anything.

She still needed Qu Ying to help her cover up.

Standing by the bed, Qu Ying watched as she pulled out a bag of bullets from under the bedside table. Even though she had seen many strange things, at this moment, it was like hearing a fairy tale—

“Wait, you’re saying it came looking for you? And you took care of it?”

Her tone was incredulous. She bent down and pinched Cheng Ming’s arm, looking her over and over again, confirming that there was not a single injury on her.

“Yeah, to be precise, Xiao Ming took care of it.” Cheng Ming nodded and told her everything. “It was attracted to Xiao Ming, and it seems to be very interested in its own kind…”

As Qu Ying listened, she suddenly interrupted, “Wait—” she stared at her, her slightly narrowed eyes particularly deep. “Who are you?”

…

A sudden sense of pressure.

Cheng Ming’s heart skipped a beat, and a strange tension filled the air. She looked up, “Sister Yingying… what do you mean?”

Qu Ying’s face was a little grim. She raised her hand and gestured, “Let me check.”

The strands of hair hanging down were a little restless. Cheng Ming saw this and grabbed the mycelia that were showing a faint tendency to attack.

Then she felt a hand on the top of her head, which stayed for about five or six seconds before moving away.

Cheng Ming understood. The fungal monster could parasitize. Was she worried that the host in her shell had been quietly replaced without anyone noticing?

Qu Ying withdrew her hand, clearly a little more relaxed.

But she still stared straight at her and continued to ask, “Are you Cheng Ming, or Xiao Ming?”

This…

Cheng Ming’s mouth opened slightly, and she was stunned.

This question was essentially asking, are you human, or a monster?

Qu Ying’s gaze was deep. “Are you still clear about your own identity?”

After the unexpected rebellion of a department member, she naturally began to worry about her little one’s psychological problems, and began to wonder if she could no longer let her be.

Even they, who underwent regular check-ups and received regular psychological counseling, could have such a loophole. For Cheng Ming to be so isolated was really worrying.

“I am Xiao Ming.” In the silence, the parasite suddenly spoke up. “She is very clear, you don’t need to remind her.”

This immediately ignited Qu Ying, who was already in a bad mood after running around all night. She narrowed her eyes, her aura fully open, her expression unfriendly. “Did I ask you?”

The Fish-Fungus mycelia spread out, clearly displaying an unfriendly posture.

Seeing that a dispute was about to break out over a single disagreement, Cheng Ming decisively suppressed Xiao Ming, gathered all her “hair,” and held it tightly in her arms to prevent it from crawling out.

She said to Qu Ying in a firm tone, “Don’t worry, Sister Yingying. If I feel that there’s anything wrong with me, I’ll come to you immediately.”

She held her head high, her expression as firm as if she were taking an oath.

Qu Ying took a deep breath, then slowly exhaled helplessly after a moment. She straightened up, her heart aching with worry. “Why don’t we give it another name? Don’t you think it’s incongruous?”

Calling a monster by the nickname closest to her, in the end, would she be able to distinguish between herself and it?

“Not many people have called me by this nickname since I was a child.” Cheng Ming didn’t think there was anything wrong with it.

Others called her by her full name, her parents called her baby, and only Qu Ying occasionally called her by her nickname, but she preferred to call her little one.

“Then why did they give you a nickname?” Qu Ying disagreed.

She wanted to remind her of the importance of a name.

Even if it wasn’t used often, it was still a part of her, had a certain social significance, and would inevitably have a subtle influence on her.

But Cheng Ming was suddenly stunned.

That’s right… why?

Or, to be more precise, was this name really for her?

Thinking of the function of the Wave-Born Floating Flower Algaefungus, something flashed through her mind for a moment. Before she could grasp it, a layer of cold sweat had already seeped out from her back.

Her ear canals were blocked as if she were drowning. It was only a few seconds later that sound came in again, pulling her back to reality.

“Forget it… just be careful. Especially these few days.” Qu Ying sighed in compromise. “As for the security check, I’ll help you deal with the data related to you. You just have to make sure it behaves.”

She picked up the pile of miscellaneous items that needed to be properly disposed of, picked out a bullet head and looked at the number, and tied the bag tightly. “The last time there was such a large-scale monster riot was five years ago.”

Hearing this time, Cheng Ming suddenly looked up.

Qu Ying gave her a meaningful look. “It was the day Professor Cheng took you out of the safe zone of the Defense Center.”

Once every five years.

This kind of thing didn’t happen often, so the level of investigation would definitely be very high.

“There’s one more thing I need to remind you of.”

She tapped on the electronic surface of her device and brought up a symbol from the bracelet connected to her personal device.

“See this? Don’t touch any tasks with this mark… Hmm, you work at the research institute, so you probably won’t encounter it. Anyway, it won’t hurt to remember.”

Cheng Ming followed the sound and looked over. It was a series of scattered red arcs that closed into a hazy circular whole.

“What is this?” she asked, puzzled.

“A reactionary organization that has been marked for prevention by the Security Department. It is currently suspected to be an organized and planned group formed by highly intelligent monsters.”

Cheng Ming, who was still a little dazed, finally realized what she had heard. After a moment of shock, she was astonished:

“They’re socializing?”

In just thirty years, mutated creatures had evolved to this extent?

This was simply beyond the logic of normal biology. Could this really happen naturally?

Even knowing that in the current context of nuclear pollution, the speed of biological evolution had accelerated by more than a million times, it still left her stunned.

Qu Ying put away the two-dimensional projection. “It’s indeed hard to believe, but based on the current facts, that’s how it is.”

Perhaps to nature, the existence of humans was too insignificant. All the truths observed by humans seemed so short-lived and ridiculous when viewed from the perspective of the planet’s lifespan.

After explaining everything, she picked up her things. Before leaving, she felt something else on her and came back, handing Cheng Ming a bag of dried bayberries.

She had bought them on the way at a 24-hour convenience store, before she received the mission to interrogate the traitor.

There were no fresh bayberries this season, and transportation was difficult anyway. They were not easy to buy in this place, so she could only use candied bayberries as a substitute.

“Want to try?” Qu Ying said to her with a smile.

After being in her pocket for more than ten hours, the sugar frosting had long since melted. Cheng Ming didn’t understand, but she still tore open the package and tried one.

Sweet.

Very sweet.

Qu Ying kept staring at her. She thought it was some new type of identification method. She glanced at the trash can next to her, but still endured the astringent feeling of her mouth being soaked in high-concentration sugar water and ate them one by one.

“Is it good?” Qu Ying asked.

Uh…

Cheng Ming spat out the pit. She wanted to be a little more tactful, but she was afraid that the other party would buy her more on a whim, so she finally told the truth:

“It’s too sweet, not good.”

Qu Ying smiled.

Cheng Ming felt that her smile was a little strange, as if there was a layer of mist in her eyes, an unfathomable emotion.

She said, “I think so too.”

…

The alarm didn’t stop until six in the evening, but the apartment building was still not unsealed.

Cheng Ming was curled up on the living room sofa, halfway through eating a piece of bread, when a large group of heavily armed personnel suddenly burst in.

She turned her head, and they looked at each other, completely unprepared. Neither side had expected anyone to be there.

Instantly, countless black muzzles were aimed at her.

“Cough, cough—” Cheng Ming was choked. She quickly waved her hands at them and rushed into the kitchen to find water.

The leader immediately raised his hand and gestured for the people behind him to put down their weapons. “A living person!”

As expected, there was an apartment investigation.

Cheng Ming was not given any trouble.

She swallowed the rest of the bread with water and stood aside, watching several technicians take out instruments and scan the various rooms.

After she had recovered, she put down her water glass and explained the situation to the team leader.

She showed her wrist and pointed to the bracelet. “I wasn’t feeling well at the time and didn’t have time to evacuate to the underground before the safety passage was sealed. I’ve already reported the situation.”

The new leader of Internal Security Group 4, who had just taken over in an emergency, was a woman with short hair. After verifying the situation and her identity, she took off her hat and saluted Cheng Ming:

“Sorry, it was a sudden incident, and the information was a bit delayed. We scared you.”

The scientific researchers at the Defense Center had special honors in addition to their ranks. Top researchers were even equivalent to national-level cadres, so of course, no one wanted to offend them for no reason.

After the investigation was completed and it was confirmed that there were no abnormalities on this floor, Cheng Ming also politely saw them off.

After closing the door, she returned to the sofa.

She grabbed the draft book that she had just urgently flipped over on the seat, looked at the hand-drawn graphics on it, and fell into deep thought again.

She always felt that the symbol Qu Ying had shown her was very familiar, but she couldn’t remember where she had seen it after flipping through a lot of materials.

A monster organization… she thought for a moment, then asked in a low voice:

“Xiao Ming, have you seen it?”