Aberrant Insect

Biodata

Power Progression

Biology and Life Cycle

Abilities & Traits

Parasitism and Host Control

Aberrant Insects hollow out living hosts while preserving enough biological function to imitate normal life. Their tentacles can mimic flesh and nerves, allowing them to operate human bodies and even detached limbs 5 10.

• Infected students can manifest six red tentacles approximately three meters long from their backs 6.
• A parasitized host may appear outwardly normal until the insect reveals itself 4 6.
• Ordinary insects may unconsciously limit their physical output due to habits inherited from human hosts; Zhou Tai did not share this restraint 9.
• Supernatural creatures are far harder to infect because they can sense foreign intrusions into their bodies 25.

Imitation and Infiltration

An Adult Form can reproduce a dead host’s behavior while using their intelligence for deception 5.

• The Silver City infestation avoided areas frequented by extraordinary beings, helping it remain concealed until Yu Xian’s discovery 22.
• One insect hid among Yu Wei’s nerve fibers without fully taking over his body, evading both ordinary observation and supernatural examination 13.
• This method suggested that hidden infections could be far more widespread than previously believed 13.

Collective Consciousness Network

Aberrant Insects possess or are linked through a consciousness network that Zhou Tai’s personalities exploited after parasitizing their consciousness 8.

• Zhou Tai’s personalities could move between Aberrant Insect bodies, hide within the network, and issue commands to infected hosts 8 32.
• Eliminating a single host was therefore insufficient to eliminate Zhou Tai while other infected bodies remained 32.
• The insects became substantially more organized after Zhou Tai imposed cooperation on a swarm previously hindered by fear of death 25.

Brain-Hugging Neural Worm

The Brain-Hugging Neural Worm is a specialized Aberrant Insect variant that replaces a host’s cranial nerves 25.

• It filters all sights and sounds reaching the host’s brain, leaving the victim alive but entirely controlled 25.
• Removing the worm usually cannot save the host because it consumes the brain’s nerves 25.
• Zhou Tai used one to control a living transcendent white ape, demonstrating that this variant could seize a powerful supernatural host 28 31.
• Qilin researchers developed a detection method and began preparations for a nationwide investigation 25.

History

A prior Aberrant Insect outbreak caused the Rongcheng Tragedy, where an entire middle school was secretly parasitized and reduced to living hosts. Several Adult Forms emerged, requiring the sacrifice of Ant-Class police and numerous special police officers to contain them; some infected individuals were never recovered 4 5.

Yu Xian detected the Silver City infestation after Blood of Silver enhanced his senses. He smelled a foul odor from infected civilians and saw worm-like masses beneath the skin of his downstairs neighbor’s daughter. By the following day, he estimated that roughly thirty percent of his school had been infected 4 5.

When Yu Xian attempted to report the invasion, the Public Security Bureau phone line had already been compromised. A chemical-plant explosion then signaled a coordinated outbreak: parasitized students attacked their classmates throughout Silver City No. 3 Middle School 6. Yu Xian’s intervention forced the insects to expose their plans before they could consume or infect the entire city, preventing a disaster that threatened tens of millions of residents 12.

Following the citywide purge, surviving Aberrant Insects gathered near Gold Nugget Mountain under Zhou Tai’s leadership. They began sacrificing large numbers of their own kind to exhaust and parasitize supernatural creatures, aiming to build an army capable of surrounding and conquering human cities 25.

Relationships

• Zhou Tai — A former psychiatric patient whose fragmented personalities infected and exploited the insects’ consciousness network; he became the most dangerous known Aberrant Insect-associated threat 8 32.
• Yu Xian — First detected the Silver City outbreak and repeatedly exposed the insects’ hidden infiltration methods 4 13.
• Qilin — Investigated captured specimens, developed detection methods for the Brain-Hugging Neural Worm, and led operations against the infestation 14 25.
• Yu Wei — An unknowingly living host used by an Aberrant Insect disguised as part of his nervous system 13.
• White Giant Ape — A transcendent creature exhausted and parasitized through a Brain-Hugging Neural Worm, then controlled by Zhou Tai 25 28.

Story Role / Major Arcs

• Silver City Infiltration — Aberrant Insects secretly infect civilians and students, culminating in the coordinated attack on Silver City No. 3 Middle School 4 6.
• School Massacre — Infected students and teachers attack survivors; Yu Xian, Nora, Zhang Shou, and Chen Ling fight to rescue classmates and escape 6 10.
• Hidden-Host Investigation — Yu Xian’s suspicion of Yu Wei exposes the insects’ nerve-fiber disguise and reveals a more sophisticated form of infiltration 12 13.
• Gold Nugget Mountain Regrouping — Zhou Tai organizes surviving insects and begins pursuing supernatural hosts 25.
• Silver General Arena Incident — Zhou Tai controls a white ape through a Brain-Hugging Neural Worm, triggering the ape’s Zhu Yan bloodline awakening and a mass-casualty disaster 28 31.
• Dragon-Level Crisis — Qilin recognizes that Zhou Tai’s host-switching and the insects’ potential spread through animals could make complete eradication nearly impossible 32.