What Could I Do?

Xiang Kun had anticipated that the "Mutated Parasite" would fail to infect him.

But the fact that it was in such a dying state after the parasitism failed was completely unexpected by Xiang Kun.

What exactly is the reason?

While taking photos with his phone of the "Mutated Parasite" in his palm that was on the verge of death due to a failed parasitism attempt, Xiang Kun pondered why this situation had occurred.

He quickly came to a basic conclusion:

Based on his own behavior and that of the various "Mutated Creature" he had encountered before, they all went into a deep sleep after drinking blood, and this "Mutated Parasite" should be no exception.

Therefore, if the "Mutated Parasite" wants to drink his blood, it needs to do one of two things.

Either control him, make him hallucinate like other hosts, and let him construct his own ideas to accept the fact of parasitism, thus becoming a new host.

Or just kill him outright.

In other words, although the "Mutated Parasite" had just torn through the skin and muscles of his arm, causing blood and flesh to fly everywhere, which was quite gruesome, it was very likely that it was not sucking blood, but merely completing its parasitic process, or trying to kill him.

Therefore, the "Mutated Parasite" is likely not mutated because it sucked his blood, but rather because its parasitism failed.

Based on Xiang Kun's previous assessment, this "Mutated Parasite" affects the host's mind by synthesizing or guiding the secretion of multiple neurotransmitters.

The numerous fine tentacles or hairs that grow after the "Mutated Parasite" infects the host are likely used to connect to the host's nerves, blood vessels, and other basic structures, and may even extend directly into the brain. In addition to creating hallucinations, these tentacles are probably also responsible for modifying the host's body.

But just as a normal person's body has an immune system that fights off foreign invaders such as parasites, bacteria, and viruses, Xiang Kun felt that his body should also have an immune system now.

During the parasitic process, the "Mutated Parasite" may have triggered his immune system, which is bound to be very different from that of an ordinary person. It may have more aggressive and fierce ways of "fighting back," but he did not know about these ways before, nor did he have the opportunity to test them out little by little like other abilities.

Moreover, when the "Mutated Parasite" extends its numerous slender tentacles and fine hairs, it is likely that it is in a relatively weak state. Through those tentacles, Xiang Kun's immune counterattack may be able to directly reach its most vulnerable area.

Xiang Kun also had another hypothesis: if the "Mutated Parasite" could share the host's sensory information or processed sensory feedback, could it be overwhelmed by the massive amount of information when "parasitizing" or "accessing" its own sensory feedback?

It's important to understand that the amount of information Xiang Kun can currently perceive and process in his brain is several orders of magnitude greater than that of other normal humans. This massive amount of information could indeed overwhelm the information processing organs of the "Mutated Parasite."

But regardless of whether it was attacked by the immune system or a guess based on overloaded sensory feedback, in theory, the damage should have gradually stopped after it stopped parasitizing and crawled out of Xiang Kun's arm, and then the insect would have begun to repair itself with its powerful regenerative ability.

However, judging from the current situation, the insect showed no signs of recovering and was visibly growing weaker—and this time Xiang Kun was quite certain that it wasn't acting.

As time passed, the wound on Xiang Kun's arm had healed, and the "Mutated Parasite" had completely disappeared.

Xiang Kun certainly didn't want the insect to die. He had many questions about the insect that required further experiments and research to resolve.

For example, how does it perceive its surroundings after parasitizing others, and how does it determine that it or other "Mutated Creature" are approaching?

Furthermore, while Xiang Kun has some conjectures and speculations about how it affects the host's thinking, induces hallucinations, and modifies the host's body, the actual methods still require rigorous experimental proof and the assistance of equipment for observation.

Each of these discoveries is of great value, and Xiang Kun can use these analyses to improve his understanding of his own abilities and other things, and thereby find ways to apply them.

At the same time, the observation and research of "Mutated Parasite" can also help him find more clues about the origins of mutations in "Mutated Creature".

But the reality is that the insect failed to "parasitize" him and ended up dying itself.

His and Lao Xia's future Research Base, the secret laboratory's sample number 002, is gone.

What could he do?

Of course, Xiang Kun had anticipated this situation beforehand. In extreme circumstances, if the "Mutated Parasite" threatened him, or if he had no confidence in controlling it and bringing it back, or if he accidentally killed it.

Then the only option is... to eat it in time.

After all, once a "Mutated Creature" dies, it will turn into gray powder after a period of time, and there is no way to take it back for research.

However, eating it might yield more useful information and provide new "energy" for its mutation.

This "Mutated Parasite" is so small that it has no purpose in "sucking blood," so you can just swallow it whole.

But before choosing to eat it, Xiang Kun first entered a "Hyper-Sensory State".

Although he believed he had not been parasitized and was quite certain that the "Mutated Parasite" did not have the ability to cause him to hallucinate, he still wanted to be on the safe side to confirm whether everything he was seeing was real.

Could it be that the parasite actually succeeded in "parasitizing" him, and everything that happened afterward was just something he imagined to "convince" himself?

Fortunately, under his "Hyper-Sensory State," Xiang Kun was certain that the corpse of the "Mutated Parasite" was in his hands.

However, Xiang Kun discovered that compared to when it was inside Fan Jiading's body, the cognitive information of this "Mutated Parasite" had undergone some very peculiar changes. These changes were not morphological, but rather seemed to be mixed with some strange information in its cognitive information.

But he doesn't have much time to observe and think right now. He's unsure how long it will take for the "Mutated Parasite" to turn into gray powder after it dies. If he doesn't eat it in time, it would be such a waste if it really turns into powder and disappears.

After emerging from the "Hyper-Sensory State," Xiang Kun threw the insect into his mouth, chewed it, and swallowed it.

Actually, given the size of this "Mutated Parasite," there was no need to chew it, but just to be on the safe side and out of curiosity, he chewed it a few times anyway.

It has almost no taste, and it's a bit chewy, like a piece of rubber.

While chewing, for some reason, Xiang Kun recalled some Bear Grylls memes he often saw online before, such as "crispy chicken flavor," "rich in protein," "you can eat any part except the head," "it's not much, but it's better than nothing," and "this isn't the best thing I've ever eaten"...

At the same time, he thought about the taste of the stir-fried beef noodles he had tried during the day, and some strange thoughts popped into his head, such as "It's rare to be able to actually eat something, it would be great if it could be processed and cooked," and "If there were a hundred of them, I could stir-fry a dish of them."

Of course, this is just wishful thinking.

After consuming the "Mutated Parasite," Xiang Kun found a corner in the house slated for demolition, sat down against the wall, and, succumbing to drowsiness, closed his eyes and fell asleep.

When Xiang Kun opened his eyes again, he glanced at his phone, which was displaying a timer; twenty-three minutes had passed.

Then Xiang Kun closed his eyes again, recalling the information that had popped into his mind while he was asleep.

Just like how he had dreams after absorbing the blood of other "Mutated Creature" and falling asleep, gaining some of Mutated Creature memories, he also had a "dream" this time.

However, in this "dream," he did not see any images or hear any sounds; what he felt were some very unusual sensory information.