After Being Parasitized by a Monster 53

Chapter 53: I can forget anyone, but I won’t forget you.

The rain was about to stop, but the dark clouds above were still thick and sticky.

The air humidity was very high, and the rows of tall buildings were trapped in a gray haze. The horizon in the distance, however, was bright.

The evening sunlight shone obliquely from across half the globe and was reflected by every structure that had been moistened by the rain. The dim buildings under the clouds were like being hung with LED light strips.

Building 3, 17th floor, apartment.

Following her memory to the unfamiliar door, she could either ring the bell or enter the password. But for more than ten seconds, Cheng Ming just stood there, breathing slowly and adjusting her mentality.

“You’re so nervous,” Xiao Ming said, not minding the trouble.

Hearing this punchable tone, Cheng Ming really wanted to let it out and let it bear all this, but… a monster couldn’t have any psychological pressure.

She could almost imagine the consequences of doing so—it would only be overjoyed and swallow Yan Rong as well, letting the sisters reunite in a fatal way, and then tell her that eliminating the problem was the best way to solve the problem.

Yan Rong was particularly clingy to Yan Li. This was obvious and beyond doubt.

During her two months in the hospital, dozens of calls were from the other.

This level of sisterly affection was the ultimate horror for Cheng Ming.

After working at the research institute for a few years, she had often been woken up in the middle of the night to work overtime, but it had never given her such a serious psychological shadow. Now, when her bracelet vibrated to show a communication request, she felt that the sky was about to fall.

She had to do a lot of psychological construction before she could answer, desperately urging Xiao Ming to search Yan Li’s memories.

At times like this, she would regret it very much. Why had she chosen Yan Li, and why did Yan Li have a sister who was even more difficult to deal with than a parasite…

Suppressing her chaotic thoughts, Cheng Ming composed her expression, pressed the button, and opened the password lock.

Beep.

The door opened.

Two meters away, a figure was sitting.

The dusk outside the floor-to-ceiling window made the background too bright, and the furnishings in the room could not be seen clearly. The person was only vaguely outlined. Except for the top of her smooth hair, which was emitting a faint golden light, her front was completely shrouded in the dark backlight.

Cheng Ming’s hand on the doorknob paused.

Yan Rong was facing the entrance, sitting in a wheelchair, and staring at her who was opening the door.

She had seen her in Yan Li’s memory. The strong emotions that had remained before the other’s death, the most colorful part was all this sister. During the dozens of days in the hospital, there had also been many video calls. It was hard for Cheng Ming not to recognize her.

“Rongrong?” So, although it was unexpected, she still reacted as she had expected. “Have you been waiting here all this time?”

She had indeed told Yan Rong her discharge time, but she had not expected to encounter this when she opened the door.

This stubborn little girl, had she been sitting here all day?

She subconsciously took on the identity of Yan Li as an older sister, forgetting that her real age was actually about the same as the other’s.

Yan Rong did not blink.

Cheng Ming changed her shoes and went forward, naturally extending her arms.

Before entering the door, she had been very afraid of the upcoming physical contact. She had no sisters and didn’t know if it was normal for sisters like Yan Li and Yan Rong to be so clingy. She had to force herself to overcome her psychological barrier.

But now that they had really met, it seemed to be a little different from what she had imagined.

She wanted to give the other a hug on behalf of Yan Li, but Yan Rong had grabbed the wheels and had retreated.

Meeting her puzzled gaze, Yan Rong pointed to her sleeve and then handed her the towel that was on the armrest.

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

…

People were indeed prone to pre-setting the difficulty of their to-do list.

The actual situation was much smoother than she had imagined.

Yan Rong was a well-behaved little sister. Knowing that her sister had escaped death and had her memory damaged, she did not ask too much. After dinner, they chatted for a few words. Seeing that Cheng Ming was a little tired, she considerately let her go to rest.

She herself said that she was going to prepare her lesson plan—her physical condition did not allow her to go out. In order to supplement the family’s income, she would do some online work, such as teaching the children of rich families, which was both convenient and well-paid.

It was one of the hidden benefits of the Defense Center, and she could get access to it through her position.

Many times, ordinary people could not make money, not because they were not diligent, but because they lacked resources and connections. And these things were all enclosed by a high wall called “class.”

Cheng Ming stood up and paused, restraining the urge to leave immediately. She looked at her legs and wheelchair, lowered her upper body, and asked with concern, “Do you need me to…”

She didn’t know the extent of Yan Rong’s physical condition, but based on her speculation, she should have basic self-care abilities.

“No need,” as expected, Yan Rong said sensibly. “Didn’t I live well alone when my sister was not here.”

Before they parted, she extended her hand to her.

Cheng Ming suppressed the urge to turn her head and avoid it, maintained a stooped posture, and let her press her palm to the side of her head, pressing down on the “hair,” and gently caressing it.

She was rarely so close to people, let alone Yan Rong, someone else’s sister. In fact, before today, they were strangers who had never met.

Yan Li had short hair, so the mycelia could only cooperate and shorten the length, clinging to her ears.

Xiao Ming was also obviously very uncomfortable. She felt that it had some restless signs, and immediately warned it not to move.

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

“I can forget anyone, but I won’t forget you,” Cheng Ming’s voice was soft, and she tried to figure out and replicate Yan Li’s tone. “I just need a little time to recover, okay?”

“You’re so good with words…” Hearing this sour voice in her head, she ignored it and just looked at her sister gently.

Yan Rong let go of her.

This hurdle was passed.

The layout of the apartments was similar. Cheng Ming followed her intuition and went to the bedroom.

The person behind her reminded her in time, “Sister, it’s the left.”

She smiled embarrassedly and turned her feet in another direction.

Yan Rong quietly watched her go back to her room until the figure passed through the hall and, click, the door closed, and her line of sight was blocked.

She finally had some space to herself.

Looking at the simply furnished room in front of her, Cheng Ming’s body slowly relaxed a little, but the muscles under her clothes were still tense, as if the other’s eyes had pierced through the door and were still stuck in her back.

In one night, everything had been changed.

It was just that she had already decided to take this path, and there was no turning back. She could only force herself to adapt as soon as possible.

…

A few minutes later, Cheng Ming opened the door and walked out again, turning into the study that she had just passed by.

She wanted to sort out her thoughts. She subconsciously reached for the bedside table, but found nothing—

This was not her bedroom, and there were no notes that she had casually placed.

It was also not good to use her phone. The management of the Security Department personnel was stricter, and she was afraid that Yan Li’s personal equipment was not safe.

Thinking of her own bedroom and so many things that she couldn’t take with her, Cheng Ming couldn’t help but feel a pang of sadness and worry. Fortunately, she had the habit of burning after reading. The apartment was, after all, issued by the Defense Center, and it was a semi-public area where she only had the right to live temporarily. She would destroy anything that couldn’t see the light of day.

As for those that couldn’t be destroyed, Qu Ying had come back, and she should have helped her clean them up…

Cheng Ming thought, while fumbling for stationery in the drawer.

Although it was online teaching, Yan Rong would inevitably use pen and paper when preparing her lessons, and Yan Li would regularly buy and replenish them.

It was just that this sister was too stressful. She would rather not disturb her if she could, and she subconsciously chose to look for it herself.

Rumble, rumble.

The sound of a wheelchair moving came from behind.

It was already very close when she heard it.

Cheng Ming turned her head, and Yan Rong was right in front of her, tilting her head and looking at her. “Sister, what are you looking for?”

…

The sister was like a ghost.

But her sister had just come back, so it was inevitable that the other would pay more attention to her. It was understandable, it was understandable… Cheng Ming soothed her frightened heart.

She tried her best to act normal, and said directly that she wanted to sort out her memories. She borrowed a pen and paper from Yan Rong and went back to her room.

There were still many mysteries, but after reorganizing all the conditions and scrutinizing every detail, she had some clues.

It was just that she had been in the hospital before, and the Security Department had been closely monitoring her. She had been watched all the time, so she couldn’t organize it systematically.

Now, she had to list a series of important figures and key nodes.

Perhaps because she didn’t live there often, Yan Li’s bedroom was obviously not as big as Yan Rong’s, and the furnishings were also extremely casual. The wood veneer, the gray floor, the bed was very hard, and next to the bed was a large desk, and even the chair was saved.

There were a few metal boxes of different sizes on the desk. She guessed that they were either weapons or important documents, but she didn’t know the password for the time being, so she pushed the pile of miscellaneous items to one side and cleared out a small space.

Cheng Ming sat at the desk, cleared her thoughts, and wrote down the first name.

—Cheng Ran.

The chief researcher who had led the mermaid fungus experiment and had created this monster of hers.

It was known that she was a fusion of three parts. The fungus was the Wave-Born Floating Flower Algaefungus that was used as a fusion agent, the fish was the mysterious species Jiao, abbreviated as MM, and the human…

She had been too fragmented before, and it was only after she had calmed down that she had remembered this—she had Cheng Ran’s genes.

The date of birth on “her” ID card was 2140, and then in 2143, at the age of 3, she had become a vegetable due to a high fever, and her growth had stagnated since then. And her actual birth time was 2152, and in 2155, she was stolen from the laboratory by Cheng Ran. She was exactly 3 years old.

A perfect replacement.

Cheng Ran had privately used the genes of her dead, real daughter to incubate this monster of hers.

The unknown point was who had initiated this experiment in the first place, and what was the purpose of creating her.

Cheng Ran had come to the coastal level four biological laboratory because of a project introduced by Jiang Dexin. The time was before the outbreak of ocean pollution in 2143. At that time, the Defense Center had not yet been built, and it was not an experiment initiated by the research institute.

That project was the key.

Cheng Ming made a mark, drew a long line, and from there, it extended to the second person.

—Jiang Dexin.

Her mind was clear, and her pen was fast, but when the last stroke of these three words fell, the handwriting was already crooked, like an earthworm.

Her hand was shaking a little.

A few days after she was admitted to the hospital, she had learned of Jiang Dexin’s death.

When she went to the cemetery with Han Xuhua, she had also seen the name of this outstanding researcher with her own eyes.

It was recorded on it that she had unfortunately died while rescuing important data and materials from the laboratory.

Teacher…

Cheng Ming paused for two minutes and covered her face with one hand to prevent some liquid from dripping down and soaking her notes.

After a moment, she looked up, her expression returned to calm, and she continued to sort it out.

She carefully re-examined her words that night. They were full of self-blame, but there was not a single bit of criticism of her. She should have guessed that she was an experimental subject, but she had never been clear about her harm, and she didn’t know that she was the one who had done it that night six years ago.

So, Jiang Dexin thought that she had killed Cheng Ran. One was that she had pushed that project to Cheng Ran back then, and the other was that she had persuaded Cheng Ran to abandon Cheng Ming… Did she think that the foundation that had organized this project had sent people to attack them on the coast that night?

The foundation.

Cheng Ming circled this noun.

She was basically sure which one Jiang Dexin was referring to.

It could be found on the official website.

The Eternal Natural Science Foundation, or ENSF for short—the main sponsor of the construction of the Defense Center, a large-scale organization composed of several super-rich corporate families and expert scholars, a non-public, comprehensive foundation that could directly carry out projects, but now mainly cooperated with the research institute.

She squinted at these few words, and her brushstrokes went down, and then led to the third person.

—Jin Xia.

She was in Cheng Ran’s team photo.

Professor Jin Xia was one of the direct participants in the experiment back then.

More importantly, she herself was a scientific consultant of the ENS Foundation. This was something that Cheng Ming had only found out after collecting a large amount of information during her free time in isolation and treatment.

…

If she was actually a product of this foundation, then was Cheng Ran’s behavior considered a betrayal?

Was it because her existence had been discovered, and the group of people behind it wanted to settle the score with Cheng Ran, this traitor?