Chapter 206 - 134: Parasite Experiment
After leaving the chat channel, Lin Yu decisively summoned his clone, Lin Kong. He was going to search for any eyeballs that had slipped through the cracks and see what this so-called "attribute and grade enhancement" was all about.
If he could figure out the principle behind it and unlock the corresponding technology, his territory’s power could easily be taken to the next level.
For a task this obviously dangerous, it was far better to have a clone do it than to ask one of his soldiers or heroes. Not only was the clone unafraid of death, but it could also experience everything firsthand and make the most accurate judgments.
Lin Kong rode the Heaven-Reaching Vines, arriving swiftly at the border. He began searching for any stray eyes in the area where they had battled the barbarians.
Before four o’clock in the afternoon, Lin Kong found it: a tenacious little eyeball in a pool of blood, stubbornly sucking up the gore on the ground in an effort to heal itself.
"Haha, I found one!"
With that, Lin Kong picked the eyeball up.
"SQUEAK SQUEAK SQUEAK~~"
The damaged eyeball made a sound like a mouse, its few weak tentacles flailing against the hand Lin Kong used to hold it.
"Haha, look how helpless it is. This is hilarious. No wonder some people said they were cute!"
Lin Kong toyed with the little eyeball in his hand for a moment before placing it on his shoulder, waiting for it to fuse with his body.
The damaged eyeball was stunned, frozen in place. ’I can’t believe someone is just going to let me parasitize them. Don’t they know the fearsome reputation of the Eye Demon clan?’
The fragile little eyeball tentatively shifted toward Lin Kong’s back. When it saw Lin Kong’s encouraging gaze, it understood. ’This guy wants the benefits our Eye Demon clan can provide!’ It immediately and gleefully burrowed into Lin Kong’s back, sinking its tentacles into his flesh.
Even though it was severely injured and its tentacles were weak, the Eye Demon was still able to pierce Lin Kong’s solid back. Just as a mosquito always finds a place to draw blood, an Eye Demon always finds a weak point on a creature’s body to sink its tentacles into.
Lin Kong felt a slight sting on his back, but the sensation quickly vanished. The Eye Demon’s tentacles had released a paralytic toxin, numbing the host to any pain.
Through his connection to the Territory Core and his soul link with the clone, Lin Yu watched intently from the World Tree’s perspective.
He discovered that the eyeball-like creature’s tentacles cleverly pierced the skin of Lin Kong’s back to make contact with his nerves. The tentacles then extended deeper into Lin Kong’s body, following the nerve pathways. As they spread, they grew thinner, devouring the nerves they encountered and replacing their function.
Once the nerves around Lin Kong’s back were completely replaced, the eyeball manipulated his back muscles, causing them to split open. The eyeball then shifted, found a suitable position, and settled directly onto Lin Kong’s spine.
The muscles on Lin Kong’s back then sealed themselves shut. The eyeball’s body began to sprout more slender tentacles, which replaced Lin Kong’s nerves one by one, following the spine up toward his brain. However, the tentacles stopped just outside the brain, never encroaching upon the tissue itself.
By the time the eyeball ceased all movement, every single nerve in Lin Kong’s body had been replaced.
In other words, if this eyeball were to ever detach from his body, Lin Kong would be left completely paralyzed, a man in a vegetative state.
Lin Kong checked his data panel and saw that his grade had indeed increased by one level, changing from Normal to Excellent.
He tried moving around and felt no discomfort whatsoever. In fact, thanks to the attribute boost, his senses felt sharper. If not for the soul connection that made him aware his entire nervous system had been replaced, he might have actually been fooled.
"All right, the test is complete. Time to kill it."
Lin Kong turned his head and gave an order to a plantoid soldier following behind him.
The moment he said that, the eyeball on Lin Kong’s back snapped open, and an urgent voice echoed in his mind.
"What are you doing?! I thought we were cooperating just fine! Why do you want to kill me?"
"So, you’re the eyeball on my back?" Lin Kong asked nonchalantly.
"Yes, it’s me! I shared my attributes with you and increased your grade by a full level! Why would you still want to kill me?"
"Oh? Did you really think I didn’t know you replaced my entire nervous system?" Lin Kong sneered. "In the future, is this body going to listen to you, or to me?"
"If you already knew that, then why kill me? Without me, you’ll be useless!" the eyeball exclaimed in astonishment.
’I’ve never seen a situation like this before. The books all say that living creatures cherish their lives. Once they realize they can’t live without us Eye Demons, they’re supposed to conceal our existence, aren’t they?’
"Hmph! Death before dishonor!"
Although it didn’t understand the host’s exact words, the Eye Demon understood the intent in Lin Kong’s tone and immediately began to plead for its life.
"Don’t kill me! I can help you improve your attributes and grade! Isn’t that what you want?"
"Besides, I made sure not to invade your brain. You can still think for yourself."
"You didn’t invade my brain," Lin Kong sneered again. "Do you take me for a fool? You think I don’t know if that was by choice... or because you were unable to?"
The Eye Demon was speechless. It was true. Its body was so severely damaged that it didn’t have the energy to sprout more tentacles to take over Lin Kong’s brain. It could only do its best to occupy his peripheral nervous system to ensure it could control his body.