Parasite (17): Just you

Unlike the citizens, a considerable portion of the populace did not believe in the so-called parasitic species, nor did they believe that their friends and family had been parasitized by the gray mist. They regarded the video released that day as a manipulation by someone with ulterior motives: “What parasitism? I think that strange mist is the most dangerous thing! If you go into that place, your brain will be eaten!”  

There were still quite a few citizens who held this view. After all, the invasion of the parasitic species was not bloody; it was this strange silver mist that had caused the citizens to fall one after another.  

Those who held this view said, “We should find a way to disperse this eerie fog!”  

The mist covered the sky, and they shot arrows into the air…  

Of course, it was completely useless, just like how the Abyss wouldn’t be harmed by weapons, Wen Yi’s avatar similarly would not be affected by human weapons.  

But the player community was different; they were very aware that parasitic species did exist, and quite a few players had had the misfortune of being hunted and captured by them.  

However, they were equally skeptical about the theory that the silver mist was not harmful. The parasitic species were very scary, but what about this silver mist? Wasn’t it also super scary?  

The people outside the mist were torn about whether to go in, while those inside the mist hesitated about whether to run out of the mist’s expanding range.  

Although they didn’t feel uncomfortable in the silver mist for now, what if it caused chronic erosion?  

Player Wang Mingming was right on the outskirts of the Silver Mist area. He was very lucky because, due to being a diligent streamer, he indeed hadn’t been targeted by the parasitic species in the early stages.  

But now that the parasitic species had revealed their true appearance, and with one-fifth of the citizens being parasitic species, the parasitic species naturally didn’t care if the Parasitic King revealed his existence.  

Wang Mingming’s situation had thus become dangerous again. His speed was not fast enough, and he was just a few days away from leaving the instance. If he fell at this point, it would be a real shame.  

As a result, now suddenly a mysterious silver mist zone had appeared, and the silver mist zone kept expanding, stopping just as it reached the International Trade Financial Center.  

Should he hide at home or risk going to the Silver Mist Zone? Unable to decide, the cowardly Wang Mingming chose to seek help from his own thigh at the first opportunity.  

“Boss, boss, do you know what’s going on with this silver mist?”  

The moment he sent the message, Tan Xiao didn’t respond.  

Wang Mingming also didn’t dare to make a call or send a video that might affect the boss. What if the boss happened to encounter a parasitic species and was fighting it? If that affected the boss, it wouldn’t be a plea for help but rather a grudge.  

In fact, Tan Xiao was, of course, fiercely battling with a special parasitic species, and it only ended when he couldn’t take it anymore and shouted for a strong stop.  

Once he had recovered, Tan Xiao finally reached for the phone placed on the bedside table and then received many messages.  

There were colleagues, friends, former classmates, and of course, Wang Mingming, the so-called player.  

He looked up at Wen Yi to confirm once again, “Is the area covered by the silver mist a safe zone?”  

Wen Yi nodded, “It’s a safe zone for humans who haven’t been parasitized, but not for Yan.”  

Tan Xiao could be said to have unconditional trust in his boyfriend. So he said to Wang Mingming, “Silver Mist is in a safe zone. You don’t have to worry about being parasitized in the safe zone.”  

Although he had previously added Wang Mingming as a friend, he did not agree to let him share his information with other players.  

After all, he was not a real big shot. The player Wang wasn’t very smart, and it was easy to fool him. But if he added more players, it was easier for him to slip up.  

Wang Mingming was excitedly calling from the other end.  

Tan Xiao then sent a message: “You can come to the safe zone. If possible, after you successfully get here, try to inform other players and citizens to also go to the safe area, of course, prioritize your own safety.”  

Wang Mingming clenched his fist: “Alright, boss, I trust you!”  

He did not doubt Tan Xiao’s identity because players die when they were parasitized, so they didn’t have to worry about being deceived by their own kind.  

This time, the parasitic species in the instance were so abnormal, but players could form small groups without worrying about infiltrators. Because of this balance in mechanics, the instance was set to normal difficulty.  

Wang Mingming still thought that this instance, even if it was normal difficulty, was the hardest among the normal ones, and it might even be much harder than some hard difficulty instances.  

Don’t be fooled by Wang Mingming’s current safety; it was all due to luck, not skill!  

However, before notifying others, Wang Mingming still said, “Boss, are you available over there? If so, can we do a video call? I have no other intentions, just want to see if the person chatting with me is really you.”  

You could tell he had a bit of vigilance, but it was not particularly strong.  

Tan Xiao hesitated for a moment and said, “Wait for me for two minutes.”  

He really had no face to meet anyone like this, and the bedroom was excessively messy, with wrinkled sheets, torn fabric, and all the bite marks on his body.  

Tan Xiao changed into a full-body outfit, went to the bathroom, washed his face with plain water, and then used foundation to cover the red marks before video calling Wang Mingming.  

After chatting with the other person for a few sentences, Tan Xiao opened the window and pointed the camera outside: “See? This is the Silver Mist Zone where I am now.”  

After Wen Yi’s explanation and assurance, he no longer worried about the two of them being exposed. According to Wen Yi, there was no place safer than their community right now. If that group of people were to find out, let them come.  

After all, if Yan came earlier, fewer citizens would be parasitized.

Actually, Wen Yi wasn’t that kind either. It’s just that compared to them coming to his doorstep, it was better to let that General enter his area. This way, he could quietly take out the other enemies and Tan Xiao would be safer. 

After all, Wen Yi didn’t know what special backup the leader had. If he could secure a stable position, why would he take such a huge risk?  

Tanxiao deduced something from Wen Yi’s previous reaction. He tugged at his shirt button; perhaps Wen Yi’s expansion of the silver mist was related to his frenzied demands from himself.  

If he continued to exercise with Wen Yi, would the Silver Mist area continue to expand?  

Various thoughts flashed through his mind. Regional expansion might save more innocent citizens, but… but to the mad citizens, wasn’t Wen Yi also an outsider?  

And that level of crazy expansion, would it really have no impact on Wen Yi?  

Although he occasionally regained energy, if a person does the same thing for a long time, they would still feel tired and bored.  

He was now physically energetic, but mentally he already felt weary and even somewhat resistant to such things.  

Take a break and discuss it tomorrow. At this rate of expansion, it would only take a day or two for the entire City A to become a safe zone.  

“Let’s go eat first,” Tan Xiao said, “I’m super hungry right now, I feel like I could eat a whole cow.”  

He never thought about being some kind of savior; he just hoped to protect himself and the people he cared about. If he could save more people while ensuring his own safety, that would be even better.  

Since the area was now a safe zone, Tan Xiao didn’t plan to rely solely on himself for cooking. He first drank two boxes of milk, then boiled some eggs. While waiting for the milk, he ordered a large amount of takeout that was still being prepared.  

In this area, many parasitized people had fallen and died. The deceased were sent to the hospital located in the safe zone, where their empty brains were fully exposed under the CT scan.  

But even with so many people dead, those who needed to survive were still diligently trying to survive. Unless their own family members were affected, everyone still went to work and lived their lives as usual.  

Many shops in this area had closed due to the incident, but there were still quite a few businesses nearby operating normally and processing transactions.  

When Tan Xiao was ordering, there was a hint of regret in his voice: “This is the life of a corporate worker. Even if the apocalypse comes and the world changes, as long as order is still functioning within certain limits, we workers still have to work hard.”  

Wen Yi, grinning, wrapped his arms around his neck: “Actually, you don’t have to work so hard. We’re both married now, I can support you.”  

The wealth he had could never be eaten up, so it would be no problem for Tan Xiao to spend hundreds of thousands a day.

Tan Xiao glanced at him and said, “Come on, it’s better for me to go out to work. I’m afraid of being drained by you if I stay at home every day.”

Work exploited the physical and mental well-being of corporate slaves. Being with Wen Yi was enjoyable, but it still drained him. Moreover, it was all legal and reasonable. There should be a balance between work and life, with a combination of work and rest.  

The two of them finished a huge pile of takeout, then threw the stacked takeout boxes downstairs and took a stroll around the neighborhood.  

At this point, those who had fallen have already been taken away, and this area looked as normal as ever.  

After all, parasites did not specifically target certain groups. When those people fell, order still operated normally. If someone took the opportunity to cause trouble, General Yan would be the first to be arrested and taken into custody.  

From day to dusk to night, the sky in their area was gray. It’s just that by nightfall, the sky darkened, and the silver-gray mist became less noticeable.  

Only by looking up and searching for the moon and stars in the night sky would one discover that the light sources were shrouded in a layer of silver mist. The moon was dim, and the stars, which were not bright enough, were even more dull and lackluster, making it impossible to find their presence in the mist.  

Actually, this scene was quite eerie, but just thinking that this silver mist was part of Wen Yi made Tan Xiao feel at ease.

The two of them were strolling leisurely around the community, and when they saw residents walking their dogs, Tan Xiao said, “After this is over, why don’t we get a pet, a cat or a dog.”

Actually, he preferred cats more. After all, for him in the past, as a corporate slave, he really didn’t have the energy or spirit to walk a dog. Cats are more independent, and when he was home alone, he could come back to find a cat waiting for him.  

When he was hospitalized after getting hit on the head, Tan Xiao had the idea of bringing a little kitten home. However, his body hadn’t fully recovered at that time, and later, with his busy work schedule, he didn’t even get the chance to revisit that idea. Instead, he brought home Wen Yi, the extremely clingy big cat.  

Now that they were married, their work, emotional life, and living situation had all stabilized. With such a large house, it felt a bit empty with just the two of them living there.  

They were both men, or rather, one was not even human. It was definitely impossible for them to have offspring across species, so raising a furry child wasn’t a bad idea.  

Tan Xiao seriously thought about it: “The house is so big, we can keep two pets, one cat and one dog. That way, we will have both cats and dogs, and our family will be complete.”  

Other people had both a son and a daughter, and they had both a cat and a dog. Moreover, when the two of them go to work, the cat and dog could still be each other’s playmates, and they didn’t have to worry about them being lonely.

Wen Yi, however, was not very willing: “No way, isn’t having me enough for you?”  

He leaned close to Tan Xiao and said, “I can turn into a cat or a dog for you. Whatever form you want, I can do it.”  

His possessiveness was much stronger than that of the average person. Work had already taken away a lot of Tan Xiao’s time. He could not tolerate other beings occupying his lover’s limited time in life.  

Wen Yi extended his palm, and the silver liquid immediately coalesced on the ground into the shape of a small kitten: “What kind of cat do you like? Ragdoll, cow cat, tabby cat?”  

Seeing that Tan Xiao didn’t say anything and seemed to have not given up the idea, Wen Yi glanced around and saw a beautiful wild cat, so he turned the small ball into a very cute little orange cat.

He continued to persuade his partner: “Kittens and puppies have such short lifespans. You’ll be so sad when the time comes to part ways. Whatever you want, I’ll become it for you. I promise to be obedient, well-behaved, and not troublesome. I’ll be very clingy and stick close to you.”  

Tan Xiao, unable to decide whether to laugh or cry, said, “Hurry up and put it away, you big cat. Aren’t you afraid of being monitored? What if someone sees it?”  

Wen Yi couldn’t help but hum: “Did you forget? I’ve destroyed a lot of the surveillance cameras here, and besides, there aren’t many people on the streets right now.”  

“Alright, I promise I won’t raise anything else, just you.”  

Compared to the kittens and puppies that weren’t brought home, of course, Wen Yi was more important.  

But speaking of cats and dogs, Tan Xiao stopped in front of a toy store.

For the peace and security of City A, and for the harmony of his family, Tan Xiao waved his hand and directly cleared out the toys and a few pieces of clothing from the store.  

In summer, you should wear lighter clothes.  

Due to overexertion during the day, they did nothing in the evening and just had a good night’s sleep.  

However, by the next morning, when Tan Xiao opened his eyes, he saw Wen Yi wearing the clothes he bought yesterday, and a pair of cat ears appeared on his head.

It was not the kind of cheap toy you buy from a store, but rather fluffy cat ears created through mimicry, with very cute pointy triangular ears and a tail.  

He actually managed to intuitively grasp the essence of the role, maintaining the setting where the little cat’s ears and tail were particularly sensitive.  

The big cat’s voice was a bit hoarse, and it was holding a sandwich made with a breakfast machine in its hand: “Master, you’re awake. I’ll feed you breakfast.”  

The silver mist arrogantly spread outward, and this time it was Yan’s turn to escape.  

A cornered dog will jump over the wall, and so will a cornered leader.  

It even taught itself the means of threats, taking hostages to threaten Wen Yi.  

However, Wen Yi was not foolish. For the people important to him in this world, he immediately turned the area they were in into a safe zone. As for those who were not important, they did not affect Wen Yi’s expansion.  

If he stopped now, it would be unfair to those who were once victims. Moreover, he understood that as long as these creatures remained in a state of awakening, they would continuously devour all living beings in this world until they had no energy left and fall into a dormant state.  

For the greater good and for the future of everyone, Silver Mist’s expansion speed became even more ferocious, and he was not afraid of General Yan exposing his identity.  

When a being possesses absolute control, the world will submit to them rather than oppose them.  

After all, Wen Yi was not a kind-hearted person, but he was also not a violent existence. As long as he was not provoked, he would not harm the innocent.  

50%, 60%… 90%, 100%!  

The entire sky above City A was shrouded in silver mist. The area outside City A was separated by a boundary, and the silver mist from Wen Yi stopped when it touched the boundary, enveloping the entire City A in just a few short hours.  

However, his digestion speed was objectively not that fast. For a terrifying existence like General Yan, the rate at which energy disappears was very slow, and of course, it would not willingly be devoured.  

Seeing that Wen Yi was neither yielding nor resisting, General Yan directly abandoned the somewhat cumbersome human shell and merged all the parts he had separated into a massive gray mist, attempting to engulf Wen Yi in return.  

Both were beings of great wisdom and immense energy, so why should it lose to Wen Yi!  

However, the unwilling general discovered that he had no way to digest the silver mist that had entered him. Instead, the mist broke through from within, attacking from both inside and outside, and quickly consumed him in his unwillingness.  

After the death of General Yan, Wen Yi ate too much for a short time, but the silver-gray mist did not dissipate. It shrouded the sky until the last Yan who was parasitizing humans in the city was eaten by him.

On the 30th day of the mission, Wang Mingming finally received the system’s notification.  

[Congratulations to the player for successfully completing the Parasite instance!]

[Congratulations on achieving the achievement: The Demise of the Parasite]

[Congratulations on completing the side mission: indirectly saving 1 million citizens.]

[Congratulations on completing the mission: Successfully rescuing other players…]

Wang Mingming used his influence as a streamer to indirectly affect one million people. He went to the safe zone at the first opportunity. Although he didn’t directly save any citizens, the indirect impact still earned him substantial rewards and high ratings.  

[Congratulations to the player for achieving a B rating this time!]

This time, Wang Mingming achieved a much higher clearance level than last time, but it was only a B rank, not an A rank. After all, he couldn’t directly put any Yan into a deep sleep successfully.  

As for the indirect impact, Wen Yi didn’t eat those Yan because of Wang Mingming. If Wang Mingming was considered indirect, then all the players in this copy could be considered indirect.

The system prompt sound from Tan Xiao’s side was much more gorgeous, but unfortunately he couldn’t hear anything.

When the 30th day arrived, Mr. Tan, who had worked hard for nearly two months, was removed from the system’s copy.  

And this time, perhaps because he possessed sufficiently powerful strength, Wen Yi briefly regained his past memories.  

He remembered himself as Dr. Wen, and also remembered himself as weak, pitiful and helpless. Tan Xiao had not lied to him. Every time they separated, they would meet again.

Eternally falling in love at first sight, eternally being in love, although separation still causes him pain, having hope prevented him from falling into madness.  

At the moment Wen Yi was teleported out of the instance, the silver mist enveloping City A completely dissipated.  

As a super-large city instance, the special parasite had left, but there were still other special NPCs supporting the City A instance.  

Since all the parasites were eaten by Wen Yi, although other instances would still appear in City A, the “Parasite” super-large instance had still completely collapsed as usual.  

[Congratulations to the player Tan Xiao for successfully completing the Parasite dungeon]

…

The first two notices were similar to Wang Mingming’s, but there were more to come.  

[Indirectly saved 100,000 citizens, awarded the title of Junior Savior]

[Indirectly saved 1 million citizens, awarded the title of Intermediate Savior] 

[Congratulations on completing the side mission: indirectly saving over 10 million citizens, earning the title of Senior Savior.]

[Congratulations on completing the side mission: indirectly saving over 50 million citizens, earning the title of Ultimate Savior. This title is the highest level and the only one of its kind.]

Because Tan Xiao obtained the special title of this series and activated the only title first, Wang Mingming did not receive the relevant title rewards.

[Ultimate Savior: A unique permanent title that takes effect without wearing it. Wearing this title will make you more cohesive, increase the initial favorability of NPCs by 20%, and increase the success rate by 20% when persuading and inciting.]

Don’t underestimate this kind of probability; for a lucky player, even the lowest probability was still 100%.  

Besides the title of Savior, Tan Xiao naturally also earned a large amount of game points and game currency.  

Besides the ring on his chest, he also had a gold wedding ring on his hand, along with a shiny black card.  

[This is a black card with no limit: a certain monster has given you all its wealth. With this black card, you are the richest person.]

Tan Xiao returned to the system space again, but this time, the space at home seemed to have changed a little.

The space expanded, and the walls were no longer just plain white; they were filled with furniture and decorations that hold many cherished memories.  

Besides these, there were several large boxes added to the house, containing things that made Tan Xiao feel both strange and familiar.  

There were many cute stuffed animals on the sofa now (caught with Wen Yi at the mall outside the school).  

This time, the TV didn’t broadcast the news; instead, it switched to the movie channel and started playing a sci-fi film.  

This movie was about how, with the development of artificial intelligence, robots gained their own consciousness and then took control of the leaders of various countries, ultimately dominating the world.  

The movie channel host asked, “Zhuang Zhou¹ dreamed of the butterfly. Will the cyberpunk world dream of electronic butterflies?”  

Tan Xiao didn’t know either. Perhaps he was too tired in the previous world. He didn’t rush out, but fell asleep on the sofa due to exhaustion.

In the real world, the player game forum was completely blown up because of Tan Xiao’s existence.

Notes

1. Zhuang Zhou was an influential Chinese philosopher. He is credited with writing—in part or in whole—a work known by his name, the Zhuangzi, which is one of two foundational texts of Taoism, alongside the Tao Te Ching. ↩︎