Chapter 373 - Chapter 373: Chapter 373 – Who is your daughter, after all! (1/2)

Chapter 373: Chapter 373 – Who is your daughter, after all!

It had been over half a year since the mutation began in July of the previous year. Xiang Kun had encountered a variety of mutated animals including owls, spiders, large birds, creatures that seemed to have mutated from ants and wolves, and even humans like Guo Tianxiang.

Through some memory fragments of the mutated spider and its altered form and certain special “branching” abilities, Xiang Kun had learned that the spider had once devoured a mutant plant.

If even plants could mutate, it was not surprising that there were other types of mutant organisms.

However, the scenes displayed in the “Vampire Patient’s” dream, and the process of her being “parasitized”, it made Xiang Kun feel a bit awe-inspired––this parasitic technique was quite direct and excessively brutal.

Even though there are organisms, like parasitic wasps, that forcefully lay eggs in their host’s body, most parasitic organisms quietly infiltrate their host, usually through the gastrointestinal tract or skin. The way the “mutant organism” directly tore open the skin and burrowed in, creating a gory sight, was indeed…too straightforward and savage.

But it obviously had the ability to make the host hallucinate, beautifying the parasitic process, obscuring true perceptions and memories, and even making the host think it was a good thing to be parasitized.

And it probably could also help accelerate the host’s blood clotting and wound healing, otherwise the people who had rushed to the creek side after hearing what happened would have found her wound too.

From the images in the dream, the “mutant organism” initially entered by tearing open the skin on the back of the foot. But later on the van, the “Vampire Patient” used a knife to cut open her own calf, letting the “mutant organism” out.

Looking at its size after it had been parasitizing for some time, the “mutant organism” seemed to have shrunk a bit. It appeared that its mutation and evolution were still towards the direction of exerting control and influence over the host.

Xiang Kun did not think this “mutant parasite” was capable of controlling the host’s every action or being able to precisely master the specific details of the hallucinations seen by the host. It was probably manipulating human body hormones or directly affecting nerve signals to generate ideas in the host’s mind, leading them to fill in the specific hallucinations and details on their own.

Just like Guo Tianxiang’s ability to “Directly Eye Project Self-Fear”, he could only decide that the person having the hallucination would feel fear, and that they would see something they feared. However, he could not control what exactly they saw.

Xiang Kun, being able to create a variety of illusions and even precisely control what others see, and also possessing Xia’s developed “Illusion Reality” ability, naturally knew how complex and difficult this was. It was highly unlikely a bug could do this inside a host’s body, let alone create such complex hallucinations.

Yet, as soon as it entered the “Vampire Patient’s” body, it immediately induced effective hallucinations in her and guided her behavior. This led Xiang Kun to determine that there was a high probability this “mutant parasite” was not parasitizing a human for the first time. It could have had previous experience––one or even several––of parasitizing humans before, mutating or evolving to develop the ability to guide human behavior.

However, the fact that it did not parasitize near the human brain but existed in the calf muscle made Xiang Kun feel slightly puzzled. Either it could freely move around in the human body or, it was not as simple as it seemed, and it may have other means of transmitting influence and disturbance through the nerves that spread throughout the human body.

Just as Xiang Kun was thinking about this, his phone vibrated. It was a call from Xia, who was obviously awake now.

After picking up, Xia directly articulated her judgement, “It seems like she’s been parasitized by a ‘mutant organism’.”

“If the images we saw in the dream are indeed a reflection of reality, then we’re right. This ‘mutated parasite’ not only can parasitize humans but also has some mobility after leaving the human body. It might have already switched multiple hosts and is no longer in Citong City,” Xiang Kun stated.

Old Xia: “Based on her medical records, this ‘mutated parasite’ seems capable of exerting some influence on her body, making her stronger, more energetic and more emotional. It should also have a healing effect on wounds. When she was admitted to the hospital, we examined her. The wound on her calf had already healed, leaving barely a scar, even though the ‘parasite’ must have already left her body. The wound on the dorsum of her foot — I will try to inspect it tomorrow, to see if there’s any sign of a scar. From what we can see now, some effects the ‘parasite’ has on the host may be permanent, including hallucinations and certain physiological responses.”

“Can you tell from what type of insect the ‘mutated parasite’ has evolved?” asked Xiang Kun.

“I don’t know,” Old Xia replied, “this ‘mutated creature’ has some level of intelligence, it could assess the environment and make decisions based on the sensory information or emotions acquired from the host. Its evolution probably follows this direction.”

Xiang Kun agreed with Old Xia’s assessment. After a moment of thought, he said, “Leave this matter alone for now. Focus on preparing the laboratory. I’ll investigate slowly once I return to Citong City. It can’t hide from me within my vision and smell coverage. I may still find its whereabouts, and then I will hand it over to you for research.”

Old Xia said, “It shouldn’t be able to affect me.”

Upon hearing Xiang Kun’s words, she knew he thought the ‘mutated parasite,’ if still in Citong City, might come back looking for the ‘Vampire Patient’ and pose a threat to her.

Xiang Kun knew that Old Xia made a valid point. If the ‘mutated parasite’ wanted to find its previous host, it should have done so long ago and would not have waited this long. Therefore, if Old Xia only focusses on the ‘Vampire Patient,’ it should not be dangerous.

“Except for the third hospital, do not investigate anywhere else. If you find any information, inform me first. I have more experience and means dealing with these mutated creatures than you,” Xiang Kun warned.

Old Xia was very simple: “Okay.”

After hanging up, Xiang Kun couldn’t help but feel regretful. If Old Xia had Little Fatty Girl’s control over ‘Super-connected Objects’ and electromagnetic manipulation capabilities, there would be no need to worry about her encountering ‘mutated parasites’ or other ‘mutated creatures’.

It could even be said that if spotted by her, those “mutated creatures” wouldn’t stand a chance of escaping. Or if her ‘Illusion Reality’ ability could co-manifest some lethal weapons, unlike Old Xia who could only co-manifest food, which is merely a scare tactic without practical use in dangerous situations.

Xiang Kun uses voice input to ask Alice to help him look for ‘parasites’ matching the image in his dream. Of course, according to his previous speculation, this “mutated parasite” has likely undergone multiple rounds of evolution, and its original form might not be the same, it’s possible it wasn’t originally a “parasite”. Even if he looked for it based on its current form, he may not find useful information.

Xiang Kun further assigned “tasks” to Alice based on previous assumptions.