Chapter 7 : Parasite
Chapter 7: Parasite
This time, the overall commander of the operation, Luo Zhen, had originally remained calm, but when a helicopter crashed and vanished over Tao Mountain Island, and the entire advance team suddenly lost contact, even he grew anxious.
From the satellite map view—
The buildings on Tao Mountain Island had not changed much. Only, on the original streets, there now appeared one after another of massive things that looked like stone ridges yet also like tree roots, crisscrossing the island, as if forming a strange formation diagram.
But due to the thick fog blocking the view, the specific situation could not be seen clearly.
Soon, the exploration report from the advance team was transmitted.
【Currently exploring Area One, making first report.】
【Unusual mist has appeared on the street, one island resident found, preliminary observation shows the target’s physical condition is normal, but the target has lost vision and fallen into confusion.】
【Requesting follow-up teams to conduct rescue, the advance team will continue deeper exploration, preparing to approach the first high wall.】
But not long after, an urgent and brief distress signal came through the communication.
“Requesting support!”
“Requesting support!”
“A large number of unknown individuals have appeared, a large number…”
After listening, Luo Zhen immediately looked toward the displays, but most of the screens only showed thick mist.
Occasionally, some images broke through, but they were intermittent, with only fragments of shadows so blurred they were unrecognizable.
He immediately shouted.
“Report the specific situation at once!”
“Hello!”
“Respond immediately if you hear me!”
“Respond immediately if you hear me!”
Unfortunately, on the other end was only silence—silence so heavy it made one’s heart tighten.
Very soon, a formation of helicopters arrived over Tao Mountain Island.
But—
As soon as the leading helicopter entered the island’s airspace, it began spinning, then instantly lost control and plunged downward.
Something even stranger occurred: in the images seen from above, the helicopter vanished the moment it fell, just like the advance team that had disappeared earlier.
Luo Zhen ran to the ship’s side, imitating Lu Gang before departure, raising a camera and gazing at Tao Mountain Island from afar.
The island shrouded in dense fog was like a vast gray mouth, devouring everything around it.
At this moment, from the sky came the sound of something flying rapidly closer, making Luo Zhen’s heart jolt.
“Who?”
The instant that figure descended from the heavens, it was like a shooting star streaking across the blue sky.
At the same time, it was accompanied by an intense noise and commotion.
On one ship after another, all personnel, who had originally been nervously watching the “empty” sea region, now all lifted their heads to look at that “shooting star,” erupting instantly in voices.
“What’s that sound?”
“A bird?”
Luo Zhen immediately noticed that the one coming was a being resembling the Feathered People of myth and legend—half-human, half-bird in form.
“That infected with Double Pupils, called Li Jun?”
“How could he have come here?”
A sinister island, an ancient being, failing technology.
One uncontrollable factor after another pressed down upon him like dark clouds.
The sky.
When Li Jun descended, he happened to also see the helicopter dropping.
Only, Li Jun flew straight down, reaching near the ground in an instant, whereas the helicopter drifted sideways across the island, unable to land for a long time.
After losing control, the helicopter spun madly. Inside, the two pilots continuously sent out distress calls and reported their situation, but there was never any response.
It was as if, whenever the helicopter passed through certain regions, the signal could no longer transmit outward, leaving the pilots extremely anxious.
At this moment—
Something even more terrifying happened.
The captain and co-pilot were engaged in hurried dialogue and operations, but when they lifted their heads to look outside, they saw a figure descending from the sky, like a giant bird swooping directly upon them.
That thing was like a vicious eagle attacking small prey, latching onto the helicopter.
“Zhi zhi zhi!”
Those two limbs, that seemed both wings and claws, clamped onto the helicopter door, fixing itself tightly against the craft. As the claws clenched, a terrifying, ear-piercing screech rang out.
Even the two pilots, who had not been frightened by the impending crash itself, were in that instant so shocked that their voices cracked.
“Something’s attacking us?”
“What does he want?”
“Stop! Outside, stop damaging the cabin door immediately.”
“What are you trying to do?”
“Who are you?”
After all, the perspective of looking out from within a helicopter was very different from looking in from the outside.
In the pilots’ eyes, at this very moment, they were like prey trapped in an iron cage.
And that unknown “monster” outside was tearing at the helicopter, as though to dig them out of the cage and devour them alive.
The “giant bird” outside looked calmly inside, while the pilots within stared back in terror, weapons in hand.
The helicopter drew closer and closer to the ground. Looking down, they could already see the buildings of Tao Mountain Island as if within reach; soon they would brush against the rooftops.
The helicopter spun faster and faster, its tilt growing steeper and steeper.
With one violent lurch, the pilots were thrown upward, weapons flying from their hands.
“Zhi zhi zhi…”
And still, the “giant bird” clung tightly to the helicopter, spiraling down together with it.
Finally, the “giant bird” suddenly exerted force with both hands.
The sound of metal screeching reached its limit, followed by a resounding crack.
He had actually ripped off the helicopter’s door with his bare hands.
The door burst open.
Gusts of wind rushed inside.
The two pilots’ faces were puffed up by the wind, their eyelids forced upward, making their eyes look much larger.
They were finally able to clearly observe the appearance of the giant bird—it actually looked somewhat human.
The figure was not only wearing clothes, but also carried a backpack.
The co-pilot’s assistant was stunned: “A person?”
The captain blurted out: “How could a person look like this, have you ever seen someone who can fly?”
In the midst of the helicopter’s spin, the “giant bird” outside contracted its body and swiftly climbed into the cabin, every movement filled with raw strength and lightning speed.
The two pilots, while feeling the world spinning around them, suddenly blacked out before their eyes.
“Ah!”
“He’s inside.”
With a blur before their eyes, the next instant they were outside, seized by the “giant bird” and carried through the air.
The pilots were successfully taken out, while the helicopter crashed into the ridge of a small mountain on Tao Mountain Island.
When the two pilots finally stood on the ground, they were still in a daze.
The helicopter had inexplicably lost control and started falling.
That figure appeared, grabbed hold of the helicopter, tore it open, and carried them flying in the sky.
To them, it felt as if a long time had passed, but in reality it had been only moments.
Before they could react, everything was already over.
They now stood at the island’s edge.
Watching the figure’s back as it walked toward the village on the island, with each step the strangeness upon his body gradually withdrew, turning him back into the appearance of an ordinary human.
There was a sense of someone brushing off their sleeves after finishing a matter.
Throughout the entire process, the man had not spoken a word, which made him appear all the calmer, as though everything was under his control.
The captain gaped: “So he really was a human.”
The assistant was drenched in sweat: “They told us this mission was special, but they never said this special! What, did they send us to fly a helicopter against monsters?”
The captain was still in shock, not yet recovered: “Ripping apart a helicopter with bare hands—that’s just absurd.”
The assistant asked: “Why would he save us? Could he be from one of those… classified departments that aren’t made public?”
The captain replied: “You just said it’s not public, how would I know.”
As they spoke, that figure had already vanished.
The two turned and looked out toward the sea, where they could see ships.
There were also anxious patrol boats. The personnel aboard seemed to want to land on the island, but without orders they could only pace restlessly and shout something.
This was natural—everything happening on the island was too sudden. To recklessly send people ashore without understanding the situation would be no different from “Calabash Brothers saving their grandfather.”
But the two of them called for rescue and fired a flare.
Yet the people outside still seemed unable to see them, even though the patrol boat was barely a hundred meters away.
In the end, the two found a piece of wood on the shore, hugged it, and swam across.
After they had left Tao Mountain Island for some distance, they were immediately discovered.
Of course, in the eyes of others, it looked as though they had suddenly appeared on the surface of the sea, like a magic trick.
“Quick!”
“Hurry over there!”
The people on the patrol boat immediately shouted, steering toward them.
Very soon.
Luo Zhen appeared before the two. Upon seeing them, he was both delighted and greatly relieved, then quickly asked:
“How did you get out?”
The captain gave a serious report: “Report, we were saved by a bird-man.”
The assistant’s eyes widened, thinking—
“Someone saved you, and you call him a bird-man?”
But after some thought, he couldn’t come up with a better term to describe that person.
Luo Zhen’s eyes flickered, and he said:
“That was one of the Feathered People from the Classic of Mountains and Seas.”
“Give a detailed report of everything you experienced on the island, and all the sights you saw.”
“Especially regarding Li…, the person you just encountered.”
On the ground.
Lu Gang led the advance team away from the pier. As soon as they entered the village, he felt something was wrong.
On the narrow streets that could only fit one vehicle, strange fog filled the air. On both sides were low houses or two-story buildings, and the originally bright light above their heads had turned dim.
Lu Gang and the advance team members cautiously moved between the silent streets and the shadows of the houses. As they proceeded, doubts began to rise.
“Where exactly is this fog coming from?”
“Why has the sun above us turned this color? This light makes me dizzy.”
“Report, all the surrounding houses are empty.”
“Where did all the people go?”
The further they walked, the thicker the fog became. Even a single meter ahead, people were invisible.
Not only that, Lu Gang encountered another problem.
“What’s going on, why has the signal gotten so weak?”
“Don’t spread out too far. If you get too far apart, we might lose contact.”
“Could this fog actually be blocking signals?”
At this moment, a team member discovered a survivor.
“Island resident sighted!”
“Island resident sighted!”
“Report, we’ve found…”
When Lu Gang heard that an island resident had been found, he immediately moved to the front.
There, in the dense fog, stood a figure, blurry and indistinct.
The feeling it gave—
It was like a sketched silhouette, a body no longer made of cells, but of thick strokes of carbon lines.
They identified themselves, and then medical personnel carrying kits stepped forward to examine the figure.
This person was strange, as if blind and deaf, standing in a daze, mumbling incoherently.
Meanwhile, Lu Gang promptly reported the discovery.
During the report, suddenly, not far away, several meters high, a light appeared.
The light immediately caught everyone’s attention, and the team members became alert.
“What is that?”
“Looks like… a traffic light?”
“How could there be a traffic light? It wasn’t marked on the map!”
Only then did Lu Gang and the others realize they were standing at the very center of an intersection.
Someone immediately pulled out a tablet, checking the map and zooming in.
“No, this intersection should be further south. How did we end up here?”
“We’re lost.”
“But we came ashore from the western pier—it hasn’t been that long. Even if we got lost, the distance doesn’t add up!”
Finally, Lu Gang halted everyone’s discussion.
“Because this place is abnormal. Reason doesn’t apply here.”
“Everyone, be alert to any changes around us. Do not spread more than a meter apart.”
Lu Gang led the entire advance team, bringing along the island survivor they had just found, and continued forward.
Everyone walked very slowly, extremely cautious.
Their target was one of those high walls that looked like stone ridges and tree roots.
But after they passed through layers of dense fog, they quickly found themselves back at the same intersection.
The glowing light above reminded them they were moving in circles.
“What’s going on?”
“How did we end up back here?”
“We clearly walked in a straight line!”
A group of professionally trained people, carrying all kinds of technological equipment and instruments—
And yet, in broad daylight, at the center of an intersection with a working traffic light—
They were lost.
It sounded laughable, but Lu Gang felt a strong sense of danger.
If they lost direction here, not only would they fail to reach their objective, but even retreating might become impossible.
As he pondered countermeasures, movement appeared in the surrounding fog.
The red light in front flickered once, then turned green.
Noises rose within the mist.
Lu Gang saw huge, black, mottled shadows stretching in front and behind, densely packed and endless, like a long serpent.
Then he realized it was a massive crowd of people, as if all the missing islanders had gathered here.
“People?”
“Are they the island residents?”
“Unknown, stay on guard!”
The crowd drew nearer. Even when they were within one or two meters, nearly brushing past them, only vague silhouettes could be seen in the fog.
Men and women, young and old, all were there.
But they were strange—their eyes were empty, as though blind to everything.
“Something’s wrong. These people aren’t right. Tell them to stop.”
Lu Gang suddenly felt a dangerous aura and immediately gave the order.
But—
No matter how loudly they warned or called, these people seemed unable to see or hear anything.
Still, they walked on, moving along the crosswalk beneath the traffic light.
Lu Gang immediately gave another order: “Everyone, close in on me. Do not leave the formation. Do not move about on your own.”
“All members, pair up into groups of two.”
Instantly, the two long lines, like serpents, pressed closer together.
In a great tide, they flowed through the center of the intersection, merging into one.
Lu Gang stood motionless, eyes sharply observing, ears straining to catch the muttering of the crowd.
Directly ahead, a man carrying a briefcase spoke nervously.
“I don’t want to go to work. Every day it’s work, work, work. I’m sick of it, I don’t want to go.”
Behind him was a female student, seemingly a high schooler.
“I don’t want to go to school. School feels suffocating. Exams are coming, I don’t want to, I really don’t want to.”
Silhouette after silhouette passed by, in every direction, all muttering similar words.
“Work is exhausting… studying is exhausting… life is exhausting… I don’t want to go home.”
Suddenly, within one of the advance team’s two-man groups, someone shouted.
“Lu Qing, what are you doing? Why did you suddenly leave the formation?”
“Lu Qing! Lu Qing!”
Right after, that man reported.
“Report, report!”
“Lu Qing has broken from the formation. I can’t see him anymore, I can’t see him…”
Anxious, he tried to step forward to search, but at that moment several figures brushed past him, muttering their whispers.
His eyes too grew vacant, and he was carried along, swept away with the great tide of people crossing the intersection.
“Lu Qing!”
“Lu Chao!”
“Respond, respond immediately!”
Lu Gang called out the names of those two team members, but received no reply.
He then began a roll call. But once he did, he realized more than half the advance team was gone.
Lu Gang knew something was very wrong. He immediately began reporting outward, trying to send every detail of the situation.
“Requesting support!”
“Requesting support!”
“A large number of unknown individuals, a large number of…”
But by now, the crowd flooding across the intersection was only growing denser.
Some of them pressed against him, squeezing his body.
Like a river’s current, they swept him away.
It felt just like standing on the stairs after school dismissal.
You wanted to go up, or stand still, but the torrent of people carried you downward.
In an instant—
Lu Gang suddenly felt his body completely out of control, forced to march along with the others, moving farther and farther.
Lu Gang had fallen into danger.
One could even call it a desperate situation.
He and the entire twenty-man team were engulfed by the tide of countless people, walking endlessly through the streets. None of them could see each other, not even communicate.
He could not act according to his own will. Yet unlike the others, he seemed able to retain some basic awareness.
Because in the midst of despair—
In his mind, Lu Gang recalled what the Director had instructed him.
“No, I must do something.”
“On this island are thousands of lives, and beyond that lies an even greater crisis. I came here with a mission.”
“I don’t know if my last call for support was received by Luo Zhen.”
At this moment.
From somewhere came strange noises, like something producing a harsh sound.
“Ku ku ku ku…”
Lu Gang paused, then suddenly realized it was the sound of helicopter blades turning.
He was overjoyed, for this meant rescue had arrived.
Yet the following sounds dragged Lu Gang completely into darkness—not only the darkness before his eyes, but the darkness in his heart.
The rotor sound grew frantic and strange, finally lowering until it passed right over his head.
Then, Lu Gang heard a violent crash.
He understood—it was the sound of a helicopter crash. The rescuers who came for them had met with disaster.
Lu Gang felt both grief and urgency.
“What happened?”
“What on earth is going on? Why has it become like this?”
After a long time, Lu Gang felt increasingly unwell. It was as if he were beginning to forget his purpose for coming here.
His mind felt like a paste, muddled and swaying, only occasionally surfacing with fleeting images.
“At this rate, it won’t be long before I end up just like these people.”
At this moment, another figure appeared.
Amid the mist.
A person walked against the tide of the crowd. While all others were carried along toward the far end of the street, he alone advanced deeper within.
No matter how the surrounding people pressed against him, nor how the murmurs of the crowd formed a chant-like drone, nothing shook him.
Lu Gang was astonished.
“Who is this person? How can he resist this power?”
“Why is he so calm? In such a bizarre scene, he feels no fear?”
Suddenly, a thought arose in Lu Gang’s mind, and he kept telling himself:
“Follow him!”
“Follow him!”
“Stay with him—maybe I can escape this sea of lost people.”
When that figure passed by him, Lu Gang’s body trembled, and he forced himself to move.
Then, he truly began following behind.
When the figure stepped with his left foot, he too stepped with his left. When the figure stepped with his right, he imitated likewise.
At that moment, he was like the man’s shadow, striving with all his might to mimic and synchronize with him.
For only by doing so could he resist that unnatural force gripping his body.
Step by step.
Lu Gang gradually left the crowd.
After walking several hundred meters, his awareness and movement slowly returned.
When he could speak again, he immediately shouted to the man ahead.
“Who are you?”
“Why are you here?”
The other turned his head, and Lu Gang saw—it was a youth, barely in his teens, at least in appearance.
Yet when he looked closely at his face, Lu Gang felt it was familiar, as though he had seen it before.
Thinking hard, Lu Gang suddenly shouted.
“You are Li Jun?”
Lu Gang could not understand—how had he ended up here?
But now was no time for questions. He quickly pleaded.
“Those people earlier, they’re all ordinary residents of the island. Some of them are even my men. Can you save them?”
Li Jun said: “I can.”
Lu Gang was overjoyed: “Then—”
Li Jun shook his head: “But it’s useless. Those people have already been parasitized. Simply leading them out won’t work. The problem must be solved at its root.”
Lu Gang pressed further: “What is the root?”
Li Jun pointed into the fog: “The root lies deeper inside.”
Lu Gang asked again: “What is inside?”
Li Jun replied: “Only by entering deeper can we understand the truth of the situation.”
Though Lu Gang had countless questions, at that moment Li Jun began walking again.
All around, nothing was visible, only endless layers of mist.
Yet his steps never faltered.
It was as though from beginning to end he knew exactly where he was going, and what he must do.
Lu Gang had words stuck in his throat, but in the end he held them back.
He looked at the figure ahead. He did not know whether it was because of the youth’s silence, or the incredible things he had shown.
But more and more, Lu Gang felt this person was so mysterious he could scarcely imagine.
Lu Gang even thought: “Is he truly Li Jun… or merely someone who looks like Li Jun?”