City Parasites (Six Thousand Words)

Everything fits together.

At this moment, Xiao Xiao actually felt a sense of exhaustion.

It turns out that the Shepherds really knew about Noah Project and even participated in its formulation.

It turns out that I am indeed a product of the Pioneer Project, and this project does not belong solely to the indigenous people.

He was filled with strange emotions. He wanted to shoot the man in front of him a few more times, he wanted to curse him and vent his dissatisfaction, and he even wanted to leave in revenge and see the dumbfounded look on the man and the Old Chairman's faces. But in the end, he did nothing.

He appeared to sit quietly on the sofa for a while, then calmly looked at the Shepherds and said softly:

"Then tell me everything now!"

"..."

The Shepherds was also somewhat surprised by Xiao Xiao's calmness, as if the person didn't care about the bombshell news he had dropped.

He wasn't afraid of seeing an angry Xiao Xiao today.

He wouldn't mind taking a few more bullets or getting beaten up, because the more he did, the easier the person seemed to control. So even though he was in a lot of pain from the bullets, he was actually quite excited. But now, when Xiao Xiao suddenly fell silent, he felt a little uneasy. He stared at Xiao Xiao for a moment, investigated him, and then slowly nodded before beginning to speak:

"The problem began with the invasion of Mysterious Source, and our goal is to counter this invading force."

He said with a smile, "I only learned of the Matrix's existence when I was promoted to senior investigator in the Black Forest Biological Laboratory. Back then, the level of secrecy surrounding the mysterious power was much higher than it is now. Now even junior investigators know about it..."

"Of course, at first, Black Forest was just a very mysterious company to me. They always managed to develop amazing, even groundbreaking, products. They were once so powerful that they created a superhuman superhuman force with incredible power for the rulers. They also once shocked the world with just one of their products."

"During that period, the world's technological level was rapidly advancing because of the existence of the Black Forest."

"Everyone believes that the Black Forest is a gift from God to this world!"

"But..."

A strange smile suddenly appeared on his face. He slowly shook his head and said, "Some strange things are also happening."

"In the ten years since the Black Forest appeared in this world, famine, war, disease, it seems that all problems have been solved. As long as you have enough money and power, you will never be affected by these disasters. You can even turn yourself into a superman. But just when some people thought that the world had progressed to a whole new level, problems also arose."

"First, strange people would occasionally appear on the streets. They would gesticulate wildly and act erratically, sometimes attacking others without warning. Later, in some places, large numbers of people would experience amnesia, convulsions, or mass suicides. These phenomena that could not be explained by science attracted a lot of attention, and caused widespread panic."

"The people of the Black Forest participated in the investigation and determined that the occurrence of these phenomena was not due to a virus or anything else, but a strange spiritual force. In the face of this spiritual force, the human brain is like a sophisticated electronic instrument, and this spiritual force can instantly affect the human brain through radiation, causing a normally existing person to malfunction like a machine."

We call this: mental disorder.

"..."

"At that time, the administrative office, with the help of the Black Forest, had already set up a number of investigative agencies to stop these hallucinations. I was one of them. But just as we started trying to find the source of these strange phenomena, we suddenly discovered that a group of special people had appeared out of nowhere. They claimed that they did not belong to this world, were crazy, but possessed terrifying power."

The Shepherds nodded to Xiao Xiao as he finished speaking, "They were the first strangers to appear."

"Our group of investigators were already equipped with a lot of advanced technology and weapons from the Black Forest, but they were shocked to find that these strangers, although they were crazy and always said things that others could not understand, and even their identities were often ordinary people who had not received any training, who had grown up overnight."

"But their power is exceptionally terrifying."

"They can actually use those distorted mental fields as weapons to corrupt or attack others."

"It must be admitted that during that period, the Black Forest Mystery Investigators had several secret encounters with the outsiders and suffered heavy losses. Fortunately, those outsiders did not seem to have any intention of exterminating them. As long as we did not stop them, they would not show hostility. We also arranged for people to investigate them, trying to understand their logic and their purpose."

"But the result..."

As he spoke, a wry smile appeared on his face, "These people have no purpose whatsoever."

"They spring up like mushrooms after rain from among the ordinary people of this world, possessing terrifying power and doing some extremely strange things. Sometimes they will suddenly and purposefully kill an innocent person, sometimes they will suddenly appear in front of a building and set it on fire, and sometimes they can easily change a person's will and turn them into a slave."

"To be honest, we were mentally devastated when we were facing such a group of enemies."

"..."

The Shepherds looked up at Xiao Xiao, a hint of self-mockery in his eyes. "Of course, we figured it out later."

"These people are not actually crazy. They do a lot of strange things because they live in a hallucination. They do things that others cannot understand because their brains can receive a mysterious instruction. For example, a person wearing a Bluetooth headset to make a phone call appears to be a crazy person talking to themselves to someone who does not know that Bluetooth headsets exist."

"The most crucial thing is their goal; what they are pursuing is actually the mental disorder force field that we initially wanted to eliminate."

"At least every time they appear, the harm caused by this force field usually disappears..."

"... Of course, there are times when it's even more serious, but those who cause serious consequences usually disappear afterward."

"..."

"After confirming the existence of this group of people, the Black Forest also reacted by wanting to communicate with them and even cooperate with them."

The Shepherds sighed and said, "But the result was not good."

"Because they are out of step with this world, they despise, even hate, and disregard human life."

"During that period, many of us were killed by them at will, and some of us had our wills twisted immediately after contact with them, either leaking some of our secrets or becoming their spies. After the Black Forest leadership realized this, they immediately made a drastic decision, and a large number of our group died at that time."

"It has to be admitted that, in their own logic, they are normal people."

"But when people with two different perceptions of the world come into contact, the other party is indeed a madman."

"A group of madmen who are unpredictable, cold and cruel, and yet exceptionally terrifying."

"..."

Hearing him say that, Xiao Xiao couldn't help but feel a little uncomfortable.

Since leaving his bedroom, he had considered himself a stranger for a long time, and even his current friends were strangers. Hearing the Shepherds say this, he couldn't help but feel a little disoriented, but he didn't know what to say.

Even subconsciously, I felt a resistance. "Isn't this a good thing?"

"If it's not easy to get close to, then don't get close to it."

"At least, even from your perspective, the stranger is eliminating those abnormal mental disturbance fields, isn't he?"

"..."

"If only that were true."

The Shepherds suddenly turned to look at Xiao Xiao and said, "What's frightening is that this is not the case."

"At first, the Black Forest also believed that the appearance of the outsiders was beneficial to the world, but they soon discovered that wherever the outsiders went, the chaotic force field of the entire city would indeed disappear, but it was not cleared away, but rather collected by them. Moreover, the longer they were present, the more chaotic force field appeared in the city, and the more terrifying its power became..."

"Originally, this city was peaceful and tranquil, but gradually, in just a few years, it has become chaotic and distorted, full of thugs, criminals, and chaotic force fields..."

"They are happy to deal with these incidents, but they can't stop them from happening more and more."

"..."

"..."

Seeing that he was getting more and more agitated, Xiao Xiao suddenly interrupted him, "Are you trying to say that we... that they caused this phenomenon?"

"But in fact, you are the first person I've ever seen who suffers so much from herding and raising livestock!"

"..."

The Shepherds paused, the excitement on his face fading, and explained in a low voice, "I did do it, after all, I need to verify it."

Xiao Xiao raised an eyebrow. "Verify what?"

"Why are there more and more things being verified like this..."

The Shepherds looked at him quietly and said, "Moreover, we have also made some progress. We have realized that behind the strangers, there is a Mysterious Source. It is these Mysterious Source, like a higher-dimensional life form, that have descended into our city. They should feed on that chaotic force field, or rather... feed on human suffering."

"It cannot be ruled out that they were initially attracted by the suffering in the city, but what is certain is that when the suffering in the city could not satisfy them, they would actively create these things in order to obtain more advanced food."

"And the strangers are their shepherds, their puppets who harvest this food for them."

"Can you imagine the consequences for a city if things continue like this?"

"As this pain increases, as more and more of those chaotic mental fields are born, the entire city will collapse sooner or later. Just as this parasitic creature has sucked away all life, the city will die. And there is no doubt that before a city dies, the greatest chaos will inevitably erupt. That should be their favorite... final feast."

"..."

Xiao Xiao's heart suddenly skipped a beat as he listened to his words.

He had never heard of the Shepherds's arguments before, but at this moment, he had a vague feeling that the Shepherds's theory was somewhat consistent with, or even completely identical to, the pattern he had observed in Night's End City.

A higher-dimensional life form that has parasitized the city?

Or is it a body that has been implanted with a new consciousness?

The only difference is whether the body will die or continue to live after this higher-dimensional life form is downloaded.

With these thoughts in mind, he slowly raised his head and looked at the Shepherds:

"Are you saying all this just to tell me that the world is being invaded by Mysterious Source?"

"But..."

After a slight hesitation, he looked into the Shepherds's eyes and said, "I've heard that this invading force..."

"... Actually, we invited them ourselves?"

"..."

"You..."

The Shepherds's eyes widened slightly, and he looked at Xiao Xiao with disbelief. "You even know this?"

Xiao Xiao just stared at him expressionlessly.

"You really are amazing..."

Surprisingly, the Shepherds's face showed a happy expression. He paused for a moment before continuing, "Yes, it took me many years of investigation, including reviewing some confidential documents that were far beyond my authority, to confirm this."

"Our city is being parasitized, our world is being swallowed up."

"But this monster that has parasitized our city and devoured our world was indeed invited by ourselves."

"And the reason..."

He paused slightly, looked at Xiao Xiao, and said, "Aren't you curious about the most crucial question in my story?"

In his Mind Burst state, Xiao Xiao had already thought of this crucial question.

He nodded slowly and said, "The birth of the Black Forest."

Before I entered high school, I was just an ordinary student who didn't care about national affairs. At that time, the Black Forest had already become a behemoth, closely related to everyone's life, and I had become accustomed to it. After becoming a stranger in a foreign land, I only regarded it as a background, and of course, I would not think about those unreasonable things.

But after listening to the Shepherds's story, I suddenly realized something was amiss.

Why is the Black Forest so magical?

Why did it suddenly acquire the ability to change the world and drive its progress?

"Not many people, whether they are outsiders or natives, know this secret."

The Shepherds looked into Xiao Xiao's eyes and said softly, "But I am a curious person, and I once held great power, so I have read some highly confidential documents. Therefore, I know that the rise of the Black Forest is actually related to one person, which should be a woman, or rather, a patient. Those research results that changed the world all originated from her."

"I don't know that much."

"But I know that in those documents, her code name is: Patient Zero."

"..."

Xiao Xiao's heart suddenly skipped a beat as he recalled the woman he had seen during the Insightful Element Enhancement.

The woman who whispered to the doctor that she had seen a huge monster devour the world, the woman who poured out her fear and helplessness to the doctor with tears in her eyes, but the doctor seemed more concerned about her abnormal strength and perception. So, those doctors, or rather the Black Forest, really got what they wanted from that woman: the ability to grant people superhuman strength and perception.

So, are these mysterious forces truly invited by this world itself?

However, the test subjects I saw in that hallucination...

"It all stems from this woman, and the initial loss of control... probably also originated from her."

The Shepherds lowered his voice and whispered to Xiao Xiao, "I initially came up with the idea for Pioneer Project because I saw records of this kind of thing in those classified documents. To this day, I still don't know what the Black Forest did to Patient Zero, but I do know that in the early stages of their research, the Black Forest considered cloning this woman..."

"... or rather, to replicate someone like her by injecting her brain fluid into someone else's body."

"After I met Kuang Juemin, who had become the leader of the outsiders in Black Gate City, we had a conversation. When he began to realize that the natives might not be real flesh and blood puppets, and I realized that the outsiders were not willing to be controlled by the Mysterious Source, but had a longing to return to their homeland, the two of us began to cooperate."

"We exchanged information we knew about each other, and I gave him a lot of research materials on the Black Forest."

"One of my students even voluntarily allowed himself to be corrupted by him, just so that they could exchange information better."

"So, strictly speaking, my friend was the first native to actively try to enter the world of strangers."

"Of course, he didn't play a significant role; the moment he was corrupted, his spirit was already rewritten."

"..."

"Is he referring to the butler in the Old Chairman's small building?"

Xiao Xiao's heart stirred slightly, and he gradually understood many things more.

Why are there so many research materials on indigenous people in the Old Chairman's small building? It turns out they are all related to the person in front of us.

"However, the process was not smooth and we failed many times."

The Shepherds sighed softly, "But we still managed to come up with a plan, a plan that has a chance of success."

"That was Noah."

"We both agree that only the Noah Project can possibly save the fate of both groups. However, because this plan is too bizarre, we have been unable to find anyone who can truly carry it out. Outsiders cannot carry out this plan because they are inherently controlled by Mysterious Source, and they have always lived in a vast fantasy..."

"It's even less likely for the indigenous people, because their spiritual perception is too low to resist the power of the Mysterious Source."

"That's why I decided to copy a plan from that confidential document."

"I persuaded the higher-ups at Black Forest to obtain from them the last batch of brain fluid from Patient Zero, which had been sealed away for many years. I used it to create a batch of drugs in different proportions, hoping to create people who could simultaneously possess the will and perception of a normal person, as well as the abilities of an outsider. Unfortunately, in those experiments, the vast majority of people failed..."

"No, it should be all of them."

"There are indeed a few who have developed some unique abilities, but they do not meet my and Kuang Juemin's standards at all."

"I was even punished by the Black Forest for this, and was removed from the core of decision-making. Kuang Juemin was extremely disappointed. In the years before his death, he tried his best to make up for the plan. However, none of us expected that four years would pass, and Kuang Juemin would even be dead, but the Pioneer Project, which was once considered a complete failure, would actually produce a successor..."

"That's you!"

"..."

The Shepherds's expression hardened slightly as he said this, "You perfectly meet our standards for executors."

"It wasn't until I discovered you had entered the world of strangers that I realized the original Pioneer Project had succeeded, and that batch of drugs had also succeeded. It's just that the effects of these drugs lasted for four years..."

"..."

"Four years..."

Seeing the faint excitement in his eyes, Xiao Xiao remained unusually silent.

Yes, four years...

These past four years have been incredibly difficult to get through...

The Shepherds only looked into his eyes and seemed to realize something. He suddenly smiled, looked at Xiao Xiao frankly, and said, "I won't mind if you seek revenge on me one day. Whether you kill me or torture me, it's your right."

"Besides, I'm not trying to excuse myself, it's just..."

He paused for a moment, looked at Xiao Xiao seriously, and said, "If I had a choice, I would prefer to be the one to carry out the order."

"Unfortunately, I did not pass the drug test."

"..."

Xiao Xiao scoffed at his explanation. "You're quite honest. I can tell you're really happy."

"But didn't you ever consider that I might refuse to help you carry out this plan?"

"..."

He looked coldly at the Shepherds, stating the facts with an unwavering confidence that could bring everything down.

I knew you would think that.

Hearing this, the Shepherds looked at him quietly and said softly, "But many things are beyond our control..."

"Now, you've obtained level four access, right?"

"Or rather, has it completed the fourth stage of enhancement?"

"..."

Xiao Xiao frowned slightly. "So what?"

"This means you've entered the field of vision of those parasitic life forms..."

The Shepherds lowered his voice and said, "Aren't you also curious why Black Gate City didn't show any rejection towards you after you completed the fourth stage of enhancement? That's normal. My efforts with Kuang Juemin saved you from being forced to wander. However, there are many Mysterious Source in this world... Soon, other Mysterious Source will come looking for you."

"Perhaps, it has already arrived..."

"They will stop at nothing to devour you..."

"But it's okay..."

"..."

He smiled and looked at Xiao Xiao, saying, "When they want to devour you, that's when we'll start hunting them down."

"Hunting down the Mysterious Source is the first step in the Noah Project."

"The skeleton of this ship of hope needs to be built with the flesh and blood of Mysterious Source!"