Parasite (10): Special leave note

The people from the research institute were locked in a small room, and naturally, they appeared very anxious. After all, they had been diligently conducting their research and hadn’t done anything wrong. They desperately pounded on the bulletproof glass wall, shouting, “Let us out! This is illegal detention!”  

Inside the room, the detainees clamored loudly, but on the surface, there were no visible signs of abnormality. The interrogations regarding their memories also yielded results that were consistent with their personal situations.  

The parasitic species was that powerful? It could even absorb the memories of its hosts? The so-called silver-gray mist couldn’t just be a special effect, could it?  

Outside, the families of the researchers tried to find someone to intercede or apply pressure. After all, the fossil research institute was funded by the CS Group. Many of the researchers working there were already prominent figures in the industry with strong connections. They wouldn’t accept being detained under such unclear circumstances, especially with the accusation of being spies. Even if someone mentioned the parasitic species, they absolutely refused to believe it.  

Fortunately, the leader responsible for the matter had been carefully chosen by Wen Yi. Holding a high position, possessing a broad perspective, and having a strong personality and background, the leader managed to withstand the internal and external pressures.  

The leader set a deadline: “One month. We won’t do anything to them. If no parasitic species are found within that time, we will return them unharmed.”  

If the parasitic species could hold out for a month without being exposed, the difficulty level of this game instance couldn’t be ordinary.  

In fact, within less than three days, a weak and small entity revealed itself, unable to resist consuming its own host. As mentioned earlier, these creatures instinctively craved food. Although those studying them provided sustenance, it was barely enough to maintain their normal physiological functions—preventing starvation but never enough to fill their stomachs.  

If they couldn’t absorb enough energy through the host, they would extract it directly from the host. Since the brain had already been consumed, they turned to the flesh and blood of the host. In just a few days, the imprisoned individuals visibly lost weight, becoming skin and bones in a short time.  

“This level of weight loss is absolutely abnormal; they must really have parasites on them!”  

Reality was undeniable, and the terrifying parasitic species finally received the attention of the higher-ups: “We must quickly research the weaknesses of this parasitic species! Conduct the research in the most secure laboratory!”  

Three days later, more people experienced the same situation, and it continued for seven days until another force came to apply pressure.  

“Don’t think too highly of these monsters. It’s been seven days already. Those who need X-rays should get them, those who need blood tests should get them, and if everything is fine, just send them back.”  

“Exactly, if you’re really worried, just let them stay at home. Keeping them locked up in a small room for a month without any contact with the outside world will also cause problems.”  

Originally, they were all arrogant researchers. If any real issues arose, it would be hard to explain to the outside world.  

The person in charge of the matter didn’t want to release them, but another high-ranking official from City A made the statement. So, after having at least three blood draws in one day and undergoing several full-body CT scans, the researchers who showed no changes were released.  

On the day of their release, Wen Yi specifically drove to each of the researchers’ homes. He didn’t need to get too close to sense the same aura in these individuals. Every one of them, deemed problem-free, actually had issues!  

If only one or two had slipped through the net, it would have been normal, but with so many, there was definitely a problem.  

Thinking of something, Wen Yi ordered, “Turn the car around. Investigate the mayor of City A’s itinerary! Let’s go and run into him!”  

The one who pressured for the release was the mayor of City A. Anyone capable of holding such a position had a similarly strong background.  

The CS Group had its own investigation channels. Wherever the mayor of City A could go, Wen Yi could go too. Moreover, as the heir of the CS Group, Wen Yi’s presence at these places wouldn’t seem out of place or raise any alarms.  

The middle-aged man with a stern expression stepped out of the luxury car. There was no need to maintain a distance; the other party was too close, and Wen Yi could already sense the hidden kinship aura emanating from the mayor.  

It seemed like the mayor sensed something too; he instinctively looked in Wen Yi’s direction. But he didn’t make any special moves. As parasites, the intelligent beings of this world were their prey.  

If a powerful counterpart appeared, as a parasite, it would only feel pleased. Before Wen Yi took action, how could Yan have thought that there was a traitor among them?  

When Wen Yi saw the mayor, he understood everything at that moment. The heart that had been lifted was now completely heavy, and a big stone smashed his few good feelings to pieces.  

These guys were really useless; they let the highest official of the entire city be directly parasitized.  

He should praised the race’s intelligence; shortly after the parasitism, they knew to seek out influential beings. Wen Yi could also sense that the parasite controlling the mayor of City A, using this identity, must have absorbed quite a bit of energy. The other party was stronger than him!  

Wen Yi’s expression darkened; at this moment, he had no intention of confronting the other person directly. “Drive, let’s go back to the company building first.”  

When Wen Yi went out that day, he had already told Tan Xiao in advance to stay at home and not go out. The house was filled with a warm and cozy atmosphere, his presence. Other creatures of the same kind should avoid it, making it safer than outside.  

Besides the surveillance cameras, Wen Yi also left a small part of his body to keep Tan Xiao company. Unfortunately, he didn’t have the ability to teleport, so he couldn’t directly transfer his thoughts from here to where Tan Xiao was.  

Actually, this was quite normal. The ability to devour everything was already terrifying enough. If they were given special abilities like splitting and teleportation, other creatures would have no reason to struggle at all.  

He sent a message to Tan Xiao: “Baby, I’ll be back as soon as I finish my work. Are you still at home?”  

Tan Xiao quickly replied: “Hmm, I didn’t go anywhere today. I’m making you some food now, so you’ll just be in time for dinner when you get back.”  

Every night, Wen Yi would go to the freezer downstairs to stock up, but this didn’t affect Tan Xiao and Wen Yi having regular meals together. Considering that Wen Yi needed to consume more vibrant energy, Tan Xiao had recently prioritized cooking fish, shrimp, and crabs—those that were caught live and kept lively at home.  

After all, slaughtering chickens and ducks, plucking their feathers, and butchering them was too much trouble, but scraping fish scales was quick, and crabs and shrimp could even be steamed directly or marinated raw.  

High-end ingredients only required simple cooking methods; this way, Tan Xiao could enjoy his meal, and Wen Yi could also benefit from the energy of fresh ingredients. It was a win-win situation.  

However, the main cooking method at home was still steaming. Raw pickling made Tan Xiao think of parasites. Even though his lover was a parasitic species, he still had some PTSD reactions when he heard the word “parasite.”  

While organizing the inventory, Tan Xiao was watching a live stream video by Wang Mingming. The other person loved playing games. He couldn’t be said to have a particular talent for being a game streamer, but with enough financial backing, he could be made successful.  

Moreover, to save his life, Wang Mingming extended his live streaming time significantly. He used the gimmick of streaming continuously for 24 hours, which indeed attracted quite a few viewers who loved to watch the excitement.  

Today, since Tan Xiao didn’t have to work, he spent the whole day cooking at home, and now there was a table full of all kinds of delicious food.  

He brought out the steamed lobster and poured the pre-made garlic sauce over it. Just then, the security door at home opened, and Wen Yi came in from outside.  

“Tan Xiao! I’m back.”  

The door was closed, and Wen Yi immediately came over, directly hugging Tan Xiao, who was wearing an apron, from behind. Breathing in the refreshing scent from the other person, he finally felt himself calming down.  

Tan Xiao looked over Wen Yi’s condition, confirmed that he wasn’t injured, and sighed in relief. He gently asked, “What’s wrong, baby? Did someone make you feel wronged when you went out?”  

Wen Yi had let him take a day off today, and Tan Xiao originally wanted to go out with him. But the other party said that the place he was going to might be very dangerous, fearing that Tan Xiao would be targeted by other parasitic species, so he was kept at home.  

Tan Xiao knew that there was very little he could do in this situation, so he neither overexerted himself nor held anyone back and just stayed at home obediently.  

Wen Yi still held onto him tightly, his face sour: “Those guys are completely useless. We gave them the evidence, and they still let the person go.”  

“This really sounds like bad news.” However, after a few days of mental preparation, Tan Xiao was already ready for such things and didn’t feel particularly disappointed. “Baby, are you unhappy today because of these things? Doesn’t this just prove that what you said is true, and the information is accurate?”  

Wen Yi said, “Not just because of this. I felt that the person applying pressure had issues, so I found a way to see the mayor of City A from a distance and ended up discovering that he had already been parasitized.”  

He said gloomily, “I’ve been trying really hard to eat these past few days, but I still feel like I don’t have as much energy as he does!”  

This was a very bad situation because it meant he stood no chance against the latter.  

As the heir to the CS Group, his life had been smooth sailing, and he could have anything he wanted. But now, Wen Yi realized how weak and pitiful he truly was; he couldn’t even protect his lover among his own kind!  

Tan Xiao noticed Wen Yi’s guilt and self-blame. Even though the other party was an alien, he was very sure that Wen Yi’s love for him was real. These emotions of guilt, self-blame, pain, and anger, which were human emotions, were also real.  

He gently cupped Wen Yi’s face, softly placing a kiss on the other’s cheek that held no romantic or sexual intent, like an angel’s feather brushing against it, pure and gentle. 

“Don’t be sad, baby. You’ve already done a great job.”  

Ta Xiao pointed at the phone screen: “Look at this small streamer, he streams 24 hours a day. He works really hard, right? But no matter how hard he works, he still can’t compete with those big streamers, and they can’t compete with some newcomers who suddenly rise to fame.”  

Normal chicken soup was delicious, but sometimes in reality, there was toxic chicken soup everywhere.  

“Of course, hard work is useful; but hard work is not a guarantee of success, and even if you work hard, it doesn’t necessarily mean you will succeed.”  

Wen Yi said in a spoiled manner, “Why are you still pouring cold water on me?”  

He actually knew what Tan Xiao meant, this remark wasn’t meant to blame the other person.  

Tan Xiao said, “Facing reality can sometimes be a bit more comfortable. Sometimes, when there’s really no way out, slacking off can actually be a way of being good to yourself.”  

He used himself as an example: “Before you came, even if I worked tirelessly for 24 hours a day, if Mr. Li hadn’t been reassigned, I still might not have been able to become a department head at KK Smart Company. But I wouldn’t think that not becoming a department head was my fault. Similarly, being weaker than that mayor isn’t your fault.”  

People are not only physically weak, but sometimes their spirits are also very fragile. Therefore, appropriate adjustments are very important. If one insists blindly, it is easy to get stuck in a rut.  

After Tan Xiao faced the initial impact, he made the worst preparations, so he would work hard if he could, and if he failed, he wouldn’t say anything blaming Wen Yi for being useless.  

Although Wen Yi wasn’t human but a powerful parasitic species, Tan Xiao always felt that the other party’s spirit was much more fragile than his own.  

Wen Yi then rubbed against Tan Xiao like a pitiful little cat soaked by the rain.  

He murmured, “Baby, how can you be so good? If you were a little bad, I might not be this sad.”  

It was precisely because Tan Xiao loved him so much that when something like today happened, Wen Yi felt utterly helpless and in great pain.  

“Since you’re feeling sad, there’s no need to think about these things.”  

Tan Xiao said, “Try my cooking and see if I’ve improved. You’ve been out and about for so long, you must be starving by now. Eat something, get some sleep, and everything will be fine.”  

He untied his apron and pulled Wen Yi to sit by the dining table. Normally, they would just sit next to each other, but today, to comfort each other, he playfully pulled Wen Yi onto his lap and said, “Let’s eat like this today.”  

After revealing his non-human identity, Wen Yi thoughtfully adjusted his body weight so that Tan Xiao wouldn’t feel heavy and tired.  

He indeed needed the soothing presence of Tan Xiao. Sitting in the embrace filled with the refreshing scent of the person he adored, Wen Yi felt as if he were in a hot spring, warm, comfortable, and content.  

A full table of dishes, Tan Xiao ate about a quarter of it, and the remaining three-quarters was devoured by Wen Yi like a whirlwind.  

By the time they finished eating, Wen Yi’s mood finally calmed down, and he helped Tan Xiao clear the dishes.  

They had a dishwasher at home, so even if Tan Xiao made a whole table full of dishes, he could just leave the rest of the work to the dishwasher.  

However, while the dishwasher could wash dishes, it couldn’t clean the countertop. Tan Xiao then tied on the apron again. The orange apron with a citrus print on the man added a touch of domesticity to him.  

It was that kind of special, gentle, harmless corporate drone husband vibe. This cozy, everyday scene, however, could make some guys’ minds churn out a lot of useless thoughts: Wen Yi’s appetite was huge now, and he still didn’t feel full after this whole table of food.  

Looking at the warm scene before him, Wen Yi came up with another bad idea.  

He whispered in his lover’s ear, “I’m feeling really down today. I want to try a different way of eating.”  

Because it was the top floor, both the kitchen and the balcony had been fully enclosed. The house used a constant temperature fresh air system, so although there were windows in the kitchen, they were mainly for lighting and external views. The glass windows weren’t easily opened under normal circumstances.  

Their building was the tallest office building nearby, with a total of 88 floors. The apartments were equipped with single-sided windows, so you couldn’t see anything outside, but you could see the outside scenery clearly from inside.  

However, even so, when sitting near the window, there was still that sense of shame and worry about possibly being discovered.  

After all, Tan Xiao could see the neighboring building from his window. His eyesight was excellent; he could even see some people on the lower floors cleaning their homes.  

After nearly two hours, looking at the apron stained on the floor, Tan Xiao’s fingers pinched Wen Yi’s flesh: “The kitchen is not a place to eat. Just this once, it won’t happen again.”  

If it weren’t for Wen Yi being in such a low mood today, he wouldn’t have agreed to “dine” in the kitchen.  

After all, in casual conversation, the bedroom, bathroom, living room, and sofa seemed fine, but the kitchen was different; the kitchen was where cooking happened.  

Wen Yi looked at him with an innocent face: “But it clearly smells and tastes even better now!”  

Tan Xiao blushed with anger and said, “If I say no, it’s no!”  

Wen Yi then obediently replied, “Got it, I’ll do whatever you say.”  

With a smile, he looked at him, then lowered his head and whispered, “Go to the bathroom, let the robot vacuum clean up a bit.”  

The instance was still ongoing. Thanks to Wen Yi and that high-ranking official’s efforts, the fall of City A had slowed down significantly, but citizens were still being parasitized continuously.  

Most of them were ordinary citizens, with a small number being unfortunate and unguarded players. After all, players, as informed individuals, were more vigilant compared to the citizens.  

But if a person was down on their luck, even drinking cold water would get stuck in their teeth, and sitting at home would get them crushed by a meteor falling from the sky.  

Some players had bad luck; their skills were lacking, and they just happened to encounter a parasite transferring its host. It was quite normal to get parasitized.  

However, when Yan parasitized a player, the player’s memories of the game would be erased immediately. This special protective mechanism prevented Yan from following the player to find all the other players.  

The game had progressed to the fifteenth day when Wen Yi sent a message to Tan Xiao: “A Yan parasite has appeared nearby.”  

Some people in their company had been parasitized, and not just one.  

Tan Xiao was taken aback for a moment. Previously, Wen Yi had described Yan as very terrifying, but he just wanted to live a peaceful life, so he deliberately ignored Yan’s existence, pretending he didn’t know.  

He just didn’t expect the speed of the expansion to be so fast. The impact of someone falling around him and someone falling in the distance was completely different.  

He couldn’t help but get nervous: “Who is it?”  

“It’s Zhang Li.”  

Zhang Li was a salesperson at the company. Previously, he had been out in the field for business, and since he interacted with enough people outside, it was quite normal for him to be parasitized.  

After all, the sales group couldn’t avoid socializing, and Zhang Li was the kind of traditional salesperson who relied on wining and dining to close deals. When people were drunk, they lost their awareness and could easily be successfully manipulated.  

“Is Zhang Li the only one?”  

Wen Yi nodded, “Currently, he’s the only one, but there are other people in this office building. However, they aren’t very strong, and I feel like combined, they aren’t as strong as me.”  

After continuously working hard to intake energy during this period, Wen Yi could proudly say that now, compared to himself from half a month ago, he could take on twenty of his former selves.  

Tan Xiao said, “I’m going to resign. You approve it.”  

Wen Yi knew that Tan Xiao actually didn’t want to be confined at home: “Actually, there’s no need to resign now. I can still protect you. The situation hasn’t gotten that bad yet.”  

If things got really bad in the future, he would definitely keep the other person at home, whether they liked it or not.  

But now, as the other person said, the peaceful and beautiful days were becoming fewer and fewer, and time was precious. He still hoped to enjoy life a bit more before things got particularly serious.  

With a smile, Tan Xiao said, “Then I won’t resign. I’ll just take a long vacation. It seems like I haven’t really taken any annual leave in the past three years, so I want to use it all up at once. I have 15 days of annual leave, so let’s round it up to a full month.”  

Actually, in such large companies, if you took a long leave, by the time you came back, your position might be gone, and you couldn’t avoid being marginalized.  

He was previously hit by a billboard and ended up in the hospital. Taking a 7-day sick leave was very difficult. His head felt dizzy and heavy, and he still had to worry about the company’s affairs.  

But now it was different; who would have thought that Tan Xiao’s boyfriend was his own top boss? Unless he and Wen Yi had a falling out, there was no need to worry about things changing.  

However, whether their company would be overrun by parasites after the holiday was another story.  

Wen Yi immediately said with great concern, “Taking a long leave, is something wrong with you?”  

Tan Xiao didn’t change his mind this time: “I have a legitimate reason for taking leave. Please check the backend and have Mr. Wen approve it.”  

Large companies like the CS Group had long implemented paperless offices. Their employees, whether onboarding, promoting, resigning, or taking leave, had to go through the company’s OA system for these related processes.  

In the past, Tan Xiao’s leave requests were handled by his direct superior, then they had to be approved by his department head, and finally, they needed to go through the CEO. But now, he himself was the department head, so when he sent out a leave request, it went directly to Wen Yi’s backend.  

When Wen Yi was reviewing the leave requests, he carefully looked at the leave request submitted by Tan Xiao and found that his boyfriend had taken personal leave.  

15 days of paid annual leave, plus an additional 5 days of personal leave.  

Leave Request Form

Leave Request Reason: My relationship with my boyfriend is very strong, and we are planning to get married. I hope to be granted a few more days of leave to hold the wedding with him.  

Applicant: Head of the Technical Department, Tan Xiao