Qingmu chuckled, surprised that Yu Jianguo would bring up such a matter, but still asked, "Whether it counts or not depends on how clearly you explain it."
Yu Jianguo said, " Pengcheng used to have a girlfriend named Xiaohui. They had a good relationship. Although they didn't live together, she would stay at his place for a few days every now and then. This girl was very good-looking, beautiful, and virtuous. She was always very welcoming to me, treating me like her own uncle. Pengcheng later changed his way of addressing me to Old Yu, but she still called me Uncle Yu. They were already discussing marriage at the time. Pengcheng said that his parents had passed away, and he wanted me to kowtow and serve tea to him at the wedding, and also wanted me to speak on behalf of the groom's elders. I joked at the time that I, Old Yu, couldn't afford to give a red envelope." He sighed as he spoke, "Alas! Such a good couple, but they broke up. What a pity!"
Is it because of Zhao Pengcheng?
"Yes," Yu Jianguo said. "At first I didn't know. I just hadn't seen Xiaohui for a long time and thought it was strange. Pengcheng wouldn't say anything, so I figured they must have had a fight. As an elder, I had to try to mediate. So I went to find Xiaohui. That night, Xiaohui cried all night, saying that Pengcheng... he's changed."
What has changed?
"It's about that aspect," Yu Jianguo said somewhat evasively.
Qingmu said, "Explain yourself clearly, don't leave out any details you know, otherwise no one can save him." After saying that, he filled Yu Jianguo's glass with wine.
Yu Jianguo took a sip of his drink and said, "It's nothing, just that kind of thing in bed. Xiaohui really treats me like an elder, so she doesn't shy away from telling me everything. Pengcheng used to be quite normal in that area, but later I don't know why he became more and more indifferent, and Xiaohui always had to take the initiative. Then, he started to deliberately avoid it, and simply stopped doing it altogether, and then he even took the initiative to break up with me."
"At first, I thought Pengcheng was just under too much psychological pressure because of revenge. I'm a man too, I can understand that kind of thing; when men are under too much pressure, they're prone to problems in that area. I told Xiaohui that it wasn't important, that she could just buy some medicine and it would be fine, that men's health is only temporary. But Xiaohui said it wasn't like that; Pengcheng wasn't impotent, because he still responded when Xiaohui initiated. Xiaohui said Pengcheng didn't love her anymore."
"I found it strange at the time. How could Pengcheng just stop loving such a wonderful woman like Xiaohui? Besides, I knew Pengcheng didn't have any other women outside. Even if he didn't love her anymore, as a man, how could he be impotent with such a beautiful woman like Xiaohui? Then I thought, 'Oh no, has he fallen for men instead of women?' I used to hear about these kinds of things on the news, but I always just took it as a joke. I couldn't accept it if it happened to my own family. Old Zhao is dead, and the Zhao family only has this one son left; they depend on him to carry on the family line!"
"When I got back, I confronted Pengcheng, asking him what was going on. Pengcheng said he hadn't changed his sexual orientation, nor that he didn't love Xiaohui anymore; he just wasn't interested in it. I said, 'If you still love her, how can you not be interested? We're both men; don't try to fool me with this!' Pengcheng said he didn't want any love; he just wanted to live alone for the rest of his life. He said Xiaohui is a good girl and should find a man more suitable for her."
"I tried to talk him out of it several times, but he always stammered out similar things. I could tell he didn't really love Xiaohui anymore, but he hadn't fallen in love with anyone else either. He just lacked romantic feelings; he seemed indifferent. But he wasn't going to become a monk; he was still busy with his work. I guessed that his mind had become a bit twisted after taking revenge, which was why he was like this. I suggested he see a psychologist, and he did, but it didn't help. He and Xiaohui eventually broke up."
After listening, Qingmu fell into deep thought. His intuition told him that this was very important information, but he couldn't quite figure out what it meant.
Subsequent events proved his intuition correct. After he told Professor Mei Yiqiu about it, the professor, along with him and several other biology experts, discussed it at length and finally proposed a hypothesis:
Parasitic Consciousness differs from human reproduction; after a human is successfully parasitized, significant changes occur in their love and mating behaviors.
Human sexual desire stems from both physiological and psychological needs, and regardless of the specific need, its root lies in our sexual reproduction. If one day our cloning technology or other asexual reproduction techniques become more advanced, or if human lifespan increases sufficiently to reduce the need for reproduction, then human sexual and reproductive functions will decline.
The decline of sexual desire first manifests as a weakening of psychological needs. This means that psychologically or consciously, one abandons the abstract emotion of love, and the emotional satisfaction derived from physical intimacy and caresses between men and women decreases significantly. Then comes the gradual physiological detachment and loss of sexual desire. For example, one might first regress to having a fixed estrus cycle like animals, instead of being in heat anytime, anywhere. Next, the estrus cycle becomes shorter, and the intervals between estrus cycles become longer, eventually leading to the elimination of sexual desire and even the complete atrophy of sexual function.
Parasitic Consciousness have their own unique way of reproducing. They don't care how long the human body can reproduce, because they can leave at any time. This determines that they don't need love and sex in their conscious essence. They will gradually become sexually frigid, but not impotent, because physiologically, they are still part of the human body's structure.
The professors' conjectures were all proven correct in the near future; the parasites did indeed become sexually frigid most of the time, only becoming sexually active during their fixed estrus cycles. If they were to take over the Earth, humanity would eventually become extinct. This Parasitic Consciousness is probably how these parasitic entities destroy one life form after another.
While in prison having a family meal with Yu Jianguo, Qingmu was naturally oblivious to all this; he simply felt that this was important information.
He certainly had no idea that at that moment, the Dream Foundation was hosting a lavish party in a secret Europe base. The party was called Primitive Revelers, where Parasites in heat gathered together and mated like a pack of wild dogs in heat.
Such mating practices exist in various parts of the world and continue according to their plans, forming fixed locations and rituals. Any member of their group can enter to seek mating whenever they are in heat. They do not pursue love and have no emotional needs. They do not need caresses or sweet words; they only need direct release.