Chapter 496: The Parasites in The Water
Thin cracks spread across the reinforced container.
Leng Pan’s expression changed.
She immediately surrounded the container with a dense mist barrier.
The threadlike creatures continued striking the glass as if they could sense her through it. Despite their tiny bodies, every collision enlarged the cracks.
"They became stronger after absorbing the spiritual spring water," Lu Zhen said.
His palm ignited.
"Should I burn them?"
"Wait."
Leng Pan wanted to understand what these creatures were before destroying them.
She strengthened the mist barrier and moved closer to the container.
The parasites reacted violently.
Hundreds of pale threads gathered on one side of the glass, pressing towards her. Their bodies were nearly transparent, but their heads contained small black spots that looked like eyes.
Perhaps they were not eyes in the ordinary sense, but something was helping the creatures locate her.
Leng Pan stepped to the left.
Every parasite followed.
She stepped to the right.
They changed direction again.
"They are tracking me," she said.
"Move away from the container," Lu Zhen ordered.
His expression had become completely cold.
He didn’t care whether these parasites were valuable research subjects. Anything that targeted his wife needed to be eliminated.
Leng Pan understood his concern and took several steps back.
The parasites continued facing her, but their movements became less coordinated as the distance increased.
"Why are they attracted to me?" she wondered aloud.
"The spiritual spring water," Lu Zhen replied. "They might be reacting to the energy inside your body."
That was possible.
Leng Pan had consumed spiritual spring water for a long time. Her body had also been transformed by the catalyst core and the memories she recovered from her previous life.
To a parasite seeking a powerful host, she was probably more attractive than an ordinary person.
"Let’s test it."
Leng Pan took out a small piece of mutated animal meat stored inside her space and placed it beside the container.
The parasites ignored it.
She then placed an ordinary crystal core nearby.
This time, some of them reacted, but their interest was weak. They moved briefly towards the crystal core before turning back in Leng Pan’s direction.
Finally, Leng Pan filled a small vial with spiritual spring water and placed it on the opposite side of the laboratory.
The effect was immediate.
The parasites stopped attacking the section closest to her and moved towards the vial instead.
"They are attracted to energy," Leng Pan concluded.
"Then the villagers who drink the well water..."
"Ordinary villagers don’t possess much energy. The eggs may remain dormant inside them until they awaken superpowers or absorb enough crystal cores."
Lu Zhen’s expression became solemn.
If that were true, the parasites had an extremely sinister purpose.
They could remain hidden inside ordinary people without causing obvious harm. Then, once their hosts became stronger, the parasites would hatch and consume the energy they had accumulated.
Perhaps that was why the village appeared normal.
The villagers could already be infected without knowing it.
"What about Chief Gao?" Lu Zhen asked. "He drank the water in front of us."
"He either knows how to prevent the eggs from hatching, or he is already infected."
"Can you detect them inside his body?"
"Not from a distance. We need to examine him more closely."
The cracks in the glass continued expanding.
Leng Pan did not dare keep the parasites alive any longer.
She compressed the surrounding mist until it penetrated the container through the smallest cracks.
The parasites immediately stopped moving towards the spiritual spring water.
Instead, they twisted violently.
The purifying mist surrounded each creature and began dissolving the unfamiliar energy inside its body.
A thin, piercing sound came from the container.
It was so faint that an ordinary person might not hear it. Yet, with Leng Pan and Lu Zhen’s enhanced senses, it resembled hundreds of tiny screams.
The parasites threw themselves against the glass in desperation.
Some attempted to burrow into one another, as if hoping the bodies of their companions could protect them.
It was useless.
Under Leng Pan’s control, the mist became increasingly concentrated.
One parasite after another dissolved, leaving behind nothing but small black grains.
Within a minute, none remained alive.
Leng Pan did not relax.
She directed the laboratory system to seal and burn the residue.
Only after everything had been reduced to ash did she withdraw her mist.
"These creatures carry a strange energy," she said. "It is different from the zombie virus."
"Alien energy?"
"Possibly, but I cannot be certain."
They had encountered several alien species, and not all possessed the same abilities.
The creatures in the water could be mutated organisms from Blue Star. They could also be alien parasites deliberately placed inside the well.
Either possibility was dangerous.
Leng Pan looked at the original bottle of well water.
Countless dormant eggs still floated inside.
She sealed the bottle inside several layers of reinforced material before storing it in an isolated section of the laboratory.
"We should take a sample back to the researchers," she said. "They might find a way to detect the eggs inside infected people."
"We first need to determine how many villagers have consumed the water."
"Probably all of them except Old Chen and the sick girl."
Old Chen had been desperately thirsty despite living near a clean well.
Perhaps his exclusion was not entirely a punishment.
What if he knew something about the water and refused to drink it?
Leng Pan and Lu Zhen left the space.
To the others, they had only been gone for a short time.
"What did you find?" Ouyang Jin asked.
Leng Pan reinforced the soundproof barrier before replying.
"The water contains microscopic eggs. When I exposed them to spiritual spring water, they hatched into parasites."
Everyone’s expression changed.
"Parasites?" Janna subconsciously touched her throat.
She remembered how close she had come to drinking the water.
If that young woman had not knocked the cup away, those eggs might already be inside her.
"What do they do?" Blaze asked.
"We don’t know yet," Leng Pan replied. "They are attracted to energy. They ignored mutated meat but reacted strongly to crystal cores and spiritual spring water."
"So, they might target ability users?" Su Yan asked.
"That is my suspicion."