茶杯狐 -CUPFOX

However, the fact that it seemed to be on the verge of death after the parasitic failure was beyond Xiang Kun’s expectations.

So, what was the reason?

Xiang Kun, while filming the “mutated parasite” on his palm with his mobile phone, which was on the brink of demise due to a failure in parasitizing, pondered why such a situation occurred.

Soon, he had a basic conjecture:

Based on his own behavior and that of other “mutants” he had encountered, they all slept after feeding on blood, and this “mutated parasite” should be no exception.

Thus, if the “mutated parasite” wanted to drink his blood, it would need to do one of two things.

Either it would have to control him, making him hallucinate like the other hosts, fabricating a worldview to accept the fact of parasitism and becoming a new host.

Or it would simply kill him outright.

In other words, although the “mutated parasite” had torn open the skin and muscle on his arm, causing a bloody, terrifying mess, it was possible that it didn’t feed on his blood at all but was merely attempting to parasitize him or trying to kill him.

So, it’s highly likely that the “mutated parasite” didn’t end up in this state due to drinking his blood, but because the parasitization failed.

According to Xiang Kun’s previous judgement, the method the “mutated parasite” uses to affect the host’s intelligence is likely achieved via the synthesis and guidance of various neurotransmitters secretion.

The numerous slender tentacles, or fine hairs, that a “mutated parasite” grows after parasitizing might be used to connect to a person’s nerves, blood vessels and other fundamental units, and may even extend directly to the brain. Besides inducing hallucinations, these tentacles should also be responsible for transforming the host’s body.

However, just as normal human bodies have immune systems that ward off foreign invaders, such as parasites, bacteria, and viruses, Xiang Kun believed that his body should also have an immune system.

During the parasitization process, this “mutated parasite” may have triggered his immune response, and his immune system must be greatly different from that of ordinary people, likely having a more aggressive and vicious retaliation method. However, he was previously unaware of these methods, nor did he have the opportunity to experiment with them like he did with his other abilities.

Furthermore, when the “mutated parasite” extended its numerous tentacles and fine hairs, it was likely in a rather weakened state. Through these tentacles, perhaps Xiang Kun’s immunological counterattacks could reach its most vulnerable areas directly.

Moreover, Xiang Kun had another speculation. If the “mutated parasite” could share the host’s sensory information or feedback from processed sensory information, would it be possible that it was overwhelmed by the massive amount of information while attempting to “parasitize” or “access” his sensory feedback?

Keep in mind, the sensory information Xiang Kun is currently able to process is several orders of magnitude greater than that of normal humans. This huge amount of information could indeed make the “mutated parasite’s” organ for processing information incapable of handling it.

But whether it’s being attacked by an immune response or sensory feedback overload, logically speaking, the resulting damage should gradually cease once it stopped parasitizing him and crawled out of his arm. The parasite should then begin to repair itself with its formidable regenerative power.

However, from the looks of it, there is no sign that the creature is recovering from its weakened state. Xiang Kun could visibly see that it was getting weaker, and this time, he was sure that it wasn’t pretending.

As time passed, the wound on Xiang Kun’s arm from the parasite had healed, and the “mutated parasite” had become completely motionless.

Xiang Kun certainly did not want the bug to die. He had many parasite-related questions that required additional experiments and research to answer.

For instance, how exactly does it perceive its surroundings after parasitizing? How does it determine when he or other “mutants” are approaching?

Then there were the ways it manipulates the host’s thinking and guides hallucinations, the methods it uses to transform the host’s body. While Xiang Kun had some speculations and guesses, the actual process still required rigorous experimental proof and instrumentation for observation.

Any one of these discoveries holds immense value. Additionally, Xiang Kun could potentially enhance his understanding of his own abilities and other things based on these analyses, thereby discovering applicable methods.

Simultaneously, observing and studying the “mutated parasite” could help him find more clues to the origins of the mutations in other “mutants”.

However, the reality was that the bug failed to “parasitize” him and ended up killing itself instead.

The 002 sample for the upcoming research base and secret lab, which he and Old Xia were to investigate, had just disappeared.

What could he do?

Of course, Xiang Kun had also contemplated this situation. If the “mutated parasite” were to threaten him under extreme circumstances, or if he utterly failed to control or bring it back with him, or if he accidentally killed it…

He would then have to… just eat it in time.

After all, after dying, every “mutant” turns into grey powder after a while, leaving no opportunity to take it back for research.

If he ate it, perhaps he could gain more useful information and provide his mutation with new “energy”.

This “mutated parasite” was so small that it didn’t make much sense to “suck its blood”. He just swallowed it whole in one bite.

However, before choosing to swallow it, Xiang Kun first entered a “Super Sensory State”.

Even though he believed he had not been parasitized, he was quite sure that the “mutated parasite” had no ability to make him hallucinate. But just to be safe, he still needed to make sure that everything he was seeing was real.

Could it be that the parasite had actually successfully “parasitized ” him, and everything that had happened was just an imagination he concocted to “convince” himself?

Fortunately, Xiang Kun confirmed in his “Super Sensory State” that the corpse of the “mutated parasite” was indeed in his hands.

However, Xiang Kun noticed that compared to when it was parasitizing Fan Jiading’s body, the cognizance information of this “mutated parasite” had undergone some quite peculiar changes. These changes weren’t in its form, but seemingly mixed with some strange information within its cognizance pattern.

But he didn’t have much time to observe and think at the moment. He wasn’t sure how long after death the “mutated parasite” would turn into grey powder. If he didn’t eat it in time and let it turn into powder to disappear, it would be a waste.

Upon exiting the “Super Sensory State”, Xiang Kun threw the bug into his mouth, chewed it a few times, and swallowed it.

Actually, given the size of the “mutated parasite”, there was no need to chew it. But just to be safe and out of curiosity, he still chewed it a few times.

It didn’t have any taste, and it was a bit rubbery when chewed, like a piece of rubber.

While chewing, weirdly enough, Xiang Kun remembered some memes about Bear Grylls he often saw on the internet: “Crisp, chicken-flavored”, “rich in protein”, “once the head is removed, the remaining parts can be eaten”, “it is not a lot, but it’s better than nothing”, “this is not the most delicious thing I have ever tasted”…

At the same time, he was reminded of the taste of stir-fried beef ho fun he tried during the day, and some bizarre thoughts emerged, such as “It would be nice if I could process and cook it since I can finally actually eat something” and “If I had a hundred of these, I could stir-fry a dish”.

Of course, these were just thoughts.

After eating the “mutated parasite”, Xiang Kun found a corner in the condemned building to sit against the wall. He succumbed to sleepiness, closed his eyes, and fell asleep.

When Xiang Kun reopened his eyes, he looked at the timer on his mobile phone and found that twenty-three minutes had passed.

Then, Xiang Kun once again closed his eyes, recalling the information that had surfaced in his mind while he was in deep sleep.

Just like the previous times when he had swallowed the blood of other “mutants” and had a dream after falling into deep sleep, gaining some memories of the “mutant”, he had had a “dream” this time, too.

But in this “dream”, he didn’t see any images or hear any sounds. What he felt was some very unusual sensory information.”