After Being Parasitized by a Monster 54

Chapter 54: No one loves you more than I do.

But why had she been fine for the past six years, with no one coming to trouble her?

Cheng Ming looked at the big question mark at the end, frowned and thought for a moment, then crossed it out with a short line.

The above question was not very accurate.

Someone had come to trouble her, at the beginning of this year.

She added the fourth person’s name.

—Yan Li.

Yes, if she hadn’t accidentally chosen this body, with this relationship that was as distant as eight poles, she would never have thought that Team Leader Yan had a hand in this.

Yan Li was in charge of security for the Redstone Bay off-site experiment. The accident that had happened midway was not an accident, but Yan Li’s doing.

She had had Xiao Ming cooperate and carefully trace the cause and effect, and had finally found a clue.

The person who had contacted her and given her the mission was from a biopharmaceutical company—Shenzhou Pharmaceutical.

The ENS Foundation was first established by the core of this group. It was a large-scale pharmaceutical enterprise that integrated R&D, production, and sales. It had been established for more than fifty years and had been widely involved in many treatment fields such as tumors, cancer, and blood thirty years ago. After the ocean pollution occurred, a new strategic business unit was established, specializing in nuclear radiation-related diseases.

A leading industry giant.

In order to buy medicine for her sister, Yan Li had secretly maintained a long-term and stable contact with this company since six or seven years ago.

This was undoubtedly a violation of the rules.

Therefore, when she first received the invitation to establish a private relationship, she had actually ignored it.

However, some special medicines were expensive and had low production. After the nuclear radiation occurred, many people were found to have various genetic diseases. The lucky ones were saved, the unlucky ones died, and the even more unlucky ones struggled on the borderline between life and death.

The onset of the disease was the same for everyone, but the treatment was not equal. The powerful and influential were at the front of the line.

At times like this, the problem was often not just about money, but that there was no channel to buy it at all.

Going through the proper channels, even with her contribution to the Security Department, and even if she tried to use her authority to gain some private benefits, the queue was still ten years long.

During this period, if a new, more powerful person appeared, they might cut in line.

Ten years, what was the difference between this and just letting someone wait to die?

The old medicine had already developed resistance in Yan Rong’s body and was not very effective. Watching her sister being tormented by the pain day and night, getting thinner and thinner every day, Yan Li had finally rummaged through her things, found the business card, and dialed the private number.

The mission was issued by them, and Yan Li could have refused. From this point of view, they were not short of people.

Because the entry and exit of various places in the Defense Center were strictly controlled, and the “Expel External Threats” squad was more mobile, the other side usually asked her to take some unknown items to a designated location, and she did not have to worry about the specific handover work.

She had no idea whether the things she had done, which seemed to be a “small favor,” were good or bad.

She could only turn a deaf ear and not speculate too much about the things they had asked her to take.

Although she knew deep down that the greater the risk, the greater the reward. How could something that needed to be done so secretively be a good thing.

In any case, her and her sister’s lives had gotten better.

…

At that time, after Cheng Ming had “read” the information provided by Xiao Ming, it was as if she had personally experienced every choice and every inner turmoil of Yan Li. She had not recovered for a long, long time.

Those feelings of hesitation, confusion, self-doubt, and deep fear when facing a behemoth were all imprinted in her nerve impulses.

She had not had such a large emotional fluctuation even when dealing with the endless stream of mutated creatures.

Yan Li herself also knew that she was negotiating with a tiger.

No, that was an overestimation of her.

At most, she was a flea in the tiger’s fur, clinging to the tiger’s fur to barely survive.

A speck of dust that had slipped through the fingers of the upper class was a mountain that could crush an ordinary person.

She had thought that monsters were vicious, but in the end, it seemed that it was the people who ate people the most quietly.

Cheng Ming rubbed her temples with the end of her pen.

The unknown point was, if her identity as an experimental subject had been exposed six years ago, why had it taken so long for someone to come and settle the score with her?

And in the end, they hadn’t done anything to her.

The memory showed that Yan Li had received a message from the upper echelons of the research institute, which had been transferred to the upper echelons of the Security Department, requesting that Cheng Ming return to her post as soon as possible, so the isolation had only been halfway through when she was let go. After that, there was no follow-up to this incident… were they afraid that the research institute would find something unusual?

The relationship between this organization and the Defense Center seemed to be very subtle… she thought, and listed a to-do item.

This line could not be broken. She had better continue to use Yan Li’s identity to contact Shenzhou Pharmaceutical and the ENS Foundation.

As for the research institute—

The tip of her pen stopped at a blank space.

She re-examined the key points she had circled and, seeing Cheng Ran at the beginning, the head of state who had started all this, her mood slowly became gloomy.

…

So, why couldn’t the seawater kill her?

Not long after she had jumped into the sea, she had desperately discovered this fact.

What was more helpless than not being able to live was not being able to die.

With a strong self-destructive tendency, she couldn’t help but repeatedly scratch her arms until the scales were broken and she was bleeding, as if her pain could also make it hurt.

The zero-distance embrace, she could clearly see that the ocean was filled with explosive algaefungus. The mycelia danced with the waves, and the moonlight pierced through the seawater. The faint blue fluorescence shone brightly against the bright red.

“If you can’t accept it, then I’ll take the blame. I’m a cold-blooded monster who doesn’t recognize my relatives, and you’re still Cheng Ran’s clean daughter.”

That was what Xiao Ming had said to her at that time.

At first glance, it was considerate and gentle, but in reality, it was full of sarcasm.

It knew best what would make her break down.

The sea after the tsunami had returned to its gentleness, like a mother embracing her child, fully giving her a sense of security, but it could not give her psychological comfort.

“What, are you addicted to sacrificing yourself?” Cheng Ming laughed crazily. “Is it fun to treat people like monkeys? Is it great!”

Her sudden accusation was unreasonable, or perhaps she just wanted to provoke it.

She hated herself, so she hated it.

However, Xiao Ming did not answer again and went to find food in the water.

Their dispute had no result in the end.

She could not kill it, and it had always consistently practiced its only purpose, which was to keep her alive.

The truth was so cruel.

Forced by the gentle sea, she had no choice but to face this—

Did Cheng Ran know that she was not afraid of nuclear radiation?

Perhaps, on that night six years ago, her mother had not wanted to kill her.

On the contrary, she had wanted to save her.

…

The memories surged up again, and the ink on the white paper was torn into fragmented marks. Cheng Ming could no longer hold the pen, and her fingers were trembling.

Did Cheng Ran love her?

She must have.

But, how much of this love was rooted in that dead daughter?

She was a shameless thief, a dark rat in the sewer, a bacteria that grew and attached to the fur of a beloved animal.

She knew it was ridiculous. She was fighting with a dead person for the love of another dead person.

But she couldn’t control it.

Everything she had gotten was fake, and yet it was all real. So much so that she could neither bear it with a clear conscience, nor could she deny it or let it go.

Moving forward or retreating were both painful.

The tip of her pen had wandered on the page for thousands of times, and every time it was mama, mama, mama, mama, mama…

Cheng Ming.

She paused for a moment.

The two abrupt words clearly appeared on the white paper.

It was another consciousness in her body that had interfered with her writing.

Xiao Ming had domineeringly dragged her wrist with its mycelia and had made her write her own name.

Cheng Ming. Xiao Ming.

“Don’t think about her anymore, Cheng Ming.”

It had keenly sensed her thoughts, and the moment it spoke, it made her unable to tell if these thoughts really came from it or from herself.

However, what is love? Perhaps you are just nostalgic, nostalgic for the warmth that your mother gave you, nostalgic for a stable life… and all these can be created by yourself.

It said, “If you are just greedy for the feeling of being loved, then I also love you.”

No one loves you more than I do.

Because I love you as I love myself.

I love myself is also to love you.

…

It confessed its feelings to her over and over again.

Cheng Ming’s lips moved a few times, and she indifferently pushed away the mycelia. “I don’t love you.”

“You’re being stubborn,” the mycelia stubbornly clung to her. “Your heart is beating faster.”

“You’re really annoying,” she shook her hand, but couldn’t shake it off.

Not wanting the scene to turn into a childish and illogical tug-of-war between children, Cheng Ming forcefully moved her attention away and let the suddenly long mycelia twist around her. She re-stabilized her pen and continued.

Thinking about the incidents she had encountered at the research institute, and analyzing them based on the known information, many of the remaining puzzles now had corresponding answers.

The parasitized Wang Qi should be a member of the monster organization. She had said that she was a companion because she had discovered the characteristics of a monster on her?

The intelligent creature that had been created by the dark green cunning algaefungus had called her and Xiao Ming friends. Was it because it thought Xiao Ming was a renegade experimental subject?

And the fish egg monster that had later infiltrated the incubation room had shown an abnormal attachment to her. Was it because of the mermaid part of her?

…

Her identity was really too exciting.

Looking at the intricate lines that had been drawn, which formed a ball of wool-like mess in the middle, Cheng Ming held her forehead with a headache.

For a moment, she didn’t know if she should describe herself as a zongzi. If she were to strip naked and jump out, there would probably be many parties who would be drooling over her.

She stared at her notes and was in deep thought when she suddenly felt something strange in her chest.

She looked down and saw that the mycelia, which had just been wrapped around her hand, had gone a step further and were desperately trying to drill into her collar.

There was no need for a metaphor.

It was now treating her as a zongzi, and the inside was a fresh and soft filling.

“What are you doing… ah! Ugh.” The cry that had escaped her lips was quickly suppressed into a low moan. The derivatives were targeting sensitive places. She couldn’t hold the pen, and the hard object fell on the edge of the bed with a thud.

The bedsheet was newly changed, and it was wrinkled by her suddenly tensed thighs.

“A good work-life balance is a good working state. You’re under too much mental stress. You can relax a little,” it said with a straight face.

Who taught you to relax like this!

Cheng Ming wanted to shout at it, but her reason told her that she could only block the sound in her throat. She pressed the mycelia that were drilling under her clothes with one hand and panted, leaning on the corner of the table. “Stop messing around, get out…”

It took the opportunity to ask, “Do you love me?”

“No!”

“Oh.”

“Mmph,” Cheng Ming’s eyes suddenly filled with tears, and she curled up into a ball. “Don’t mess around, Yan Rong is next door—”

“She can’t hear you.”

“How do you know she…”

“She certainly can’t hear you if you’re quiet.”

“You’re shameless…”

“Shh, it’ll be quick.”

“Mmph…”

…

On the other side of the wall.

“Alright, that’s all for today,” Yan Rong had just finished a class, closed her book, and said to the camera with a smile.

“Goodbye, sister!” On the other side was a little girl of eight or nine, who waved at her. It was clear that she was the pampered daughter of another family. She had a princess short cut, was cute and polite, like an exquisite doll.

It was just that she was in the process of changing her teeth, and when she opened her mouth, she had the characteristic lisp of a child.

At this age, she couldn’t learn anything complicated. It was more like tutoring than teaching. Yan Rong just had to read poems and tell stories. Through the internet, it also saved the worry that the hired tutor would have other intentions.

The connection was closed, and the screen went dark, but Yan Rong did not immediately close her laptop.

She tucked her hair, which was easily blocking her vision, behind her ear, and with both hands, she typed in some code. After a few taps, a darker interface popped up. Then she clicked a button and entered the key.

She waited for a minute.

The camera on the other side lit up again.

The background was still a warmly decorated girl’s room, but this time, what appeared on the screen was not a cute little girl, but a smaller, round screen—

A smart companion robot, the little princess’s playmate.

When necessary, it could also be a surveillance camera and a communication tool, allowing the adults who were still at work to see their daughter at any time.

Right now, this robot was clearly being requisitioned.

The smiley face emoji was erased, and a line of text appeared on the blank screen, which was emitting a circle of blue light—

“Didn’t your sister just get out of the hospital? Do you have any new clues to provide?”

“No, her brain is damaged. The Security Department has determined that she can’t return to work for the time being.”

“Then why are you contacting us?”

Yan Rong slowly said, “I suspect she’s been parasitized by a monster.”