Chapter 95: Chapter 95: Nighttime Fright (4th update, asking for monthly tickets)
Translator: 549690339
The triggering of the sub-plot happened in the afternoon, considering that the entire teaching staff at Derry Town Middle School could be problematic. Acting recklessly at night in a middle school with no evening self-study was not a good idea.
In addition, a parasite specimen had fallen into Han Dong’s hands; he could use the night to study it at home, potentially finding a starting point for the sub-plot.
The team decided to address the ‘parasite school’ incident tomorrow.
After school.
Cass, Koslin, and Sophia started exploring at night, working as a team of three.
Han Dong parted ways with the three of them, taking the parasite sample back home alone.
His mother had cooked steaks and a big pot of broccoli carrot soup, awaiting their return for dinner.
Han Dong merely pretended to be the ‘son’ as per his memory, and had a normal conversation with his parents at dinner about his day at school.
After dinner, he returned to his bedroom, locked the door, and started his research.
“This ‘mutant parasite’ exists neither in the conventional biological kingdom nor in the original Clown Revival movie,” he pondered.
“Indeed, the movie adopted by Fate Space is quite different from the original one I watched. Not directly pulling out the plot of the original movie was the correct choice.”
“But for now, the information is insufficient. I’ll have to wait until I complete the parasite subplot.”
Han Dong placed the bean-sized shrivelled parasite on the table, ready to proceed with the experiment (He wore gloves throughout, avoiding any direct contact).
A dark-haired woman in a red dress was standing nearby.
“Miss Chen Li, if it shows signs of activity and tries to escape, kill it immediately.”
“Alright.’
Han Dong completely trusted Chen Li’s swordsmanship. Her knife edge covered in an evil aura could instantly decapitate the parasite.
Due to a lack of experimental equipment, Han Dong carried out only a series of simple tests.
First, he tested whether the thing was dead or not.
When exposed to pounding, cutting with a small knife, and even electric shocks, it showed no response.
Han Dong inhaled deeply, fetched a bottle of mineral water, and dripped a drop on the parasite’s surface.
The droplet was instantly absorbed beneath its skin, invigorating the parasite. However, due to the small volume of the water, the parasite only stretched once and then returned to its original state.
“According to Cass’s description, the hosts have a severe inclination to drink water; indeed… only water can activate it.”
Han Dong went downstairs to search for a sturdy glass which he then filled with water.
Plop!
He threw the parasite into the glass and put the cap on quickly.
An incredible spectacle occurred.
The 300 milliliters of water were absorbed in a matter of seconds.
The parasite, having received sufficient water, demonstrated its horrifying form.
Spiky protrusions sprouted from its surface—tactile nerve endings that could effectively connect to the human brain for control purposes. The mouth organ on the parasite could quickly bite through the human skin, enter the bloodstream, and be carried to the brain area.
“Interesting… If this creature were brought back to the world before death for research, several top-level papers could be written. Maybe I could even get my professorship.”
Facing the terrifying form of the parasite, Han Dong felt no fear.
While observing, he deliberated about the solution to the subplot event.
“Cranial parasitism—directly controlling the cerebellar cortex… it didn’t change the brain and appearance in the process of control, but it drastically changed the host’s internal structure.”
“Since the outward appearance remains unchanged, these parasites on the teachers can indeed identify their kind in some way.”
“Right! Recognize their kind!”
A dangerous idea suddenly struck Han Dong.
“Once successful, it could resolve the sub-plot event in the school tomorrow without causing much agitation.”
“I’ll have to work overtime to experiment tonight, leaving the task of investigating the town to Cass and the others.”
Han Dong’s idea was to find the ‘critical condition.’
He intended to have parasites incompletely inserted into the brain, merely adhering to it. That would be akin to creating a harmless parasite.
It wouldn’t affect the host, yet other hosts would see it as the same kind. Consequently, the ‘parasitic subjects’ hidden in the school could be inversely detected.
Han Dong wasn’t going to run the risk of becoming a host himself—he wasn’t joking about his head.
Han Dong planned to locate a character from the system in Derry Town to act as a ‘spy.’
Around 11 pm.
Ding-Dong!
The doorbell downstairs rang, followed by a fairly ordinary English dialogue. It seemed like a friend of his parents was visiting.
Engrossed in the parasite experiment, Han Dong couldn’t allow any distractions, blocking out all external interruptions.
Ten minutes later.
By adjusting the salinity and pH levels, Han Dong finally found a ‘threshold’ that deprived the parasite of its brain control ability without eliminating its activity.
Soaked in such a liquid, the parasite would change into a temporary commensalism creature.
Just when all of these were done.
Chen Li’s urgent voice rang out from behind, “Master! The window!” Han Dong immediately turned his head.
A red balloon was rising slowly from the bottom of the window, stopping precisely in the middle.
Having watched the movie, Han Dong knew that this was the clown’s balloon. He entered the alert state and cautiously approached the window.
Meanwhile, the glow of green light kept flickering on Han Dong’s right arm, and the ghoul’s fingernails grew to about ten centimeters in length.
With her vegetable knife held tightly, Chen Li stood by, ready to chop any horror creature that might come off. The moment they got close to the window.
Bang!
The balloon burst!
The red pieces of the balloon were swept into the void, leaving no traces. However, Han Dong, with his psychic power concentrated, noticed something at once.
On the boulevard outside the window, a clown with a balloon was hopping away. The clown’s slightly swinging left hand seemed to be waving goodbye to Han Dong.
Han Dong was struck with horror.
Despite concentrating on his experiment, he had barely heard the commotion downstairs. In his subconscious memory, there was a memory of someone visiting his house late at night.
For a moment, the two incidents were connected.
“Damn it! Could it be the person who was visiting!?”
Swiftly, Han Dong kept the glass jar with the parasite in his closet and went downstairs to check.
He barely opened the bedroom door.
A piercing chill hit him head-on, making Han Dong feel uncomfortable.
The living room light was flashing nonstop due to fluctuating voltage.
His parents were sitting motionlessly on the couch, staring at the old-fashioned TV filled with static.
On their coffee table was a ‘clown pattern’ red-and-white gift box that had been opened….