Thanks for the Invite, I'm on Terra, and I'm a Parasite Chapter 38

"Sir, it's dangerous. Nine out of ten of these refugees are Infected—"

"No, it's fine. She's just a pitiful child who needs help."

As he spoke, the middle-aged man took the girl's frost-reddened hand.

"Child, can I help you?"

He stepped closer to her, his face full of kindness.

Great, someone's helping me...

I can survive...

I can...

Drip...

The girl froze as she suddenly realized that her surroundings had changed drastically.

At some point, she was no longer in that filthy alley. Instead, she was seated in an ordinary single chair.

Before her stood a square chessboard, black and white pieces battling fiercely within that tiny world.

Click!

A pair of hands suddenly picked up a black piece and, without warning, pushed a pawn forward, taking the white king.

"Checkmate."

In her daze, the girl could even smell a faint trace of blood.

She looked up and noticed the player seated across from her.

The next moment, an inexplicable pressure radiated from the other person's surroundings. The scent of blood was even stronger, mixed with wails and sobs. It was as though she sat upon a throne built from countless corpses, sweeping her gaze over the girl with eyes as sharp as blades.

"You lost the first game."

"What...?"

The girl froze, unable even to understand what the other person was saying.

"You should be grateful that I'm still here."

As she spoke, she stood and set the toppled white king upright again.

"What are you talking about? I don't understand. What first game...?"

the girl demanded loudly.

Yet the other person ignored her, merely picking up a black piece and glancing at her with what seemed like relief.

"This is the first time I'm helping you, and the last. Soon, I'll disappear along with your shattered past."

"Disappear... my past? What exactly are you talking about? Do you know who I am—"

"Hey!"

But the other person merely lowered her hood, revealing a face identical to her own.

"There's not much time. I don't have much advice to give you."

"First, don't hold any fantasies about this land. Perhaps there really are one or two shining stars in the vast sea of human nature, but you won't be the one to encounter them. Have some basic awareness of your own luck."

"Second, don't reveal your identity or what makes you special. You shouldn't have awakened at this point in time, but—"

"—your body's instincts sensed some enormous threat and forced you to awaken from the sarcophagus."

"At this point in time, whether it's unknown threats or certain special nations and organizations, none of them want to see you alive."

"Third, do everything you can to find someone."

"White hair, a terrible temper, the ability to never die, and either within them or by their side, there'll be a very powerful, special living servant."

"Hey, hey! That's way too much all at once! And can't you just explain yourself clearly? Who's a threat? Who's a friend? Just say it!"

"What do you mean, this land and the sea of human nature? Can't you stop using such weird descriptions?"

The girl tried to step forward and grab her, but in the next instant, her hand passed directly through the other's body.

"What?"

She turned around and watched as the other's body suddenly became transparent.

"Time's almost up. It's time to go."

"Heh. Good luck, Doctor."

"Or rather, me."

"Hah... hah..."

The girl—or rather, the Doctor—opened her eyes.

Instantly, the pungent stench of blood flooded her nostrils and dragged all her thoughts back to reality.

"What...?"

Her pupils dilated as she stared at the middle-aged man lying on the floor before her.

The luxurious carpet had been completely dyed red with blood. The residual warmth on her palm made her lower her head, only to see that the screwdriver in her hand was still stained with scarlet, warm fluid.

Only then did she realize that all she had left on was the thin undershirt beneath her clothes.

"Ah... my head..."

Fragments flashed through her mind again.

Inspection... Oripathy? But wasn't that thing in the butler's hand just now an examination device?

Inspect her again... Oh.

The room... inspection?

The master brought someone back again...

That girl... she seems much better than the ones he brought back before.

He probably won't touch the ones in the dungeon anymore, right?

Most likely. This one should keep him entertained for quite a while.

Then the ones in the dungeon... clean them up?

Fine.

Holding the screwdriver, she slowly walked over to the "kind" middle-aged man.

There seemed to be quite a few special "torture tools" in the exquisite little leather case nearby.

And now, their owner lay on the floor, his eyes empty and lifeless.

The Doctor stepped forward and examined his wounds.

Then she looked at the marks on the ground.

The instant he stripped off her clothes, her left hand had gripped the screwdriver's handle in reverse, and she had thrust it directly into his throat.

After instantly judging that she was at a disadvantage in size, strength, and environment, she had chosen to comply. The moment she caught him lowering his guard, she pierced his throat, robbed him of the ability to speak, swiftly pulled the screwdriver free, and then, while he was still standing—

She viciously stabbed his left chest, plunging the screwdriver's handle all the way in before twisting it back and forth!

Finally, in case his heart was naturally positioned slightly to the right, she stabbed his right chest twice more after he fell.

With her frail physique, she naturally couldn't achieve something like four punctures in a second.

But from the very beginning, every wound had been aimed to kill.

That had bought her precious time, allowing her to keep using the throat wound she had inflicted first to maintain the advantage she'd gained...

Within a minute, his neck had been pierced through, his left chest had suffered one penetrating wound, and his right chest had suffered two.

It had essentially cut off every possibility of survival for the man before her.

The Doctor stood up and blankly stared at everything before her.

That kind smile the man had worn at the start surfaced in her mind once more.

Yet the next moment, that face twisted into something terrifying.

Accompanied by a gaze filled with greed and desire, as though it wanted to drag her into the abyss!

"Urgh..."

Don't hold any fantasies about this land.

She slowly rose, suppressing her nausea before retrieving her coat from the side.

Second, don't reveal your identity.

She froze, then looked at the black coat in her hands.

Upon closer inspection, she found that it even bore some strange insignias...

"Babel... Tower?"

Realizing this, she immediately tossed the coat aside and looked toward the wardrobe in the corner of the luxurious room.

Suppressing her discomfort, she finally found a relatively ordinary and modest coat among the various strange and revealing women's clothes inside. It seemed to have belonged to the mistress of this mansion.

And...

She paused and looked at the scissors in a drawer beneath the nearby counter, along with... half a bottle of black hair dye.

The Doctor looked at her conspicuous long silver hair, its tips even stained with blood.

Was the hair dye used by that guy?

She turned to look at the corpse on the floor, already cold.

There was barely any hair left on his bald head, aside from a few sparse strands at the sides.

Whatever. She would use it first.

Without the slightest hesitation, she picked up the scissors and cut her long hair off in one stroke, leaving it at ear length.

She then opened the black hair dye and smeared it over her silver-white strands.

Third, do everything you can to find someone.

"Phew..."

The Doctor opened the window, surveyed the surroundings, and began planning her escape route.

White hair, a terrible temper, the ability to never die, and either within them or by their side, there'll be a very powerful, special living servant.

"How am I supposed to find someone like that?"

She sighed, feeling somewhat helpless.

.

"Achoo."

Zuo Jian, seated on the rooftop, was momentarily stunned.

Huh? He was already a special nonhuman lifeform. Could he still catch a cold? That didn't seem very likely.

.

Inside Rhodes Island's landship bridge.

"What?!"