Chen Jia was furious with Lin Wu at that moment. They had traveled together this whole way, yet because of this suddenly appearing woman, he not only watched her throw Xu Jiajia into the black worm pit but now also stood coldly asking her to just watch?

This heartless behavior was infuriating!

“Move!” Chen Jia demanded in a low voice.

It didn’t matter if he wouldn’t save her; she would save her friend herself. Even if she died, it wouldn’t matter since her life was saved by Xu Jiajia in the first place.

Lin Wu, while keeping an eye on the slowly approaching parasites, glanced at Chen Jia with a frown.

They locked eyes.

After a moment, Lin Wu put away his iron rod.

The path to the inpatient building was cleared, and Chen Jia immediately rushed towards the building. She had barely taken two steps before coming to an abrupt halt.

She stared at the interior of the building, utterly stunned, as if frozen in place.

In fact, when a parasite suddenly lunged at Xu Jiajia, furiously ripping at her clothes, a black worm swiftly lunged, biting the parasite. Then, several black worms tore the parasite apart.

They…they were protecting Xu Jiajia!?

Everyone was horrified by this scene. Amidst the blood and carnage, Xu Jiajia, who had been their companion for days and who had looked pale and tearfully pitiful just a short while ago, now wore a faint smile.

She reached out and gently stroked the black worms surrounding her, with a tender and affectionate motion, as if caressing her own children.

Qi Zhen was equally shocked by this gruesome sight, but then he noticed something even more alarming.

“Boss!” the deputy team leader and Zhang Yishuai also noticed.

Several team members looked at the black worms inside the inpatient building, their voices trembling. “B-boss, those worms…they seem to have grown…”

To make sure they weren’t seeing things, two team members wiped their eyes vigorously. They hoped they were mistaken, but when they looked again, they saw that the black worms had indeed grown larger.

Initially, they were the size of a bowl, but now they were noticeably thicker.

Whether it was due to devouring a large number of parasites or not, some had even grown to the size of buckets. Their black bodies slithered and coiled on the ground, intertwining with other worms, displaying an amplified version of the characteristics of the smaller black worms.

Not only did it make them feel nauseous, but it also filled them with fear.

The parasites in the worm pile were finally all devoured, and Xu Jiajia stood there, waving and smiling at them, saying, “Be careful now; it’s about to start.”

With those words, the air was filled once more with a nauseating stench. At the other end of the road, the parasites that had started fighting each other as the stench faded suddenly turned back, surging towards them again.

Drawn by the pheromones, these partially failed parasites couldn’t accurately locate the source of the pheromones.

They sensed the general direction of the pheromones, exploring and searching, with their mating desire overshadowing their violent impulses.

They were being guided, bit by bit, towards the inpatient building.

The stench in the air lessened a bit, and as the parasites crossed the open space in front of the rest area, some were attracted to the humans there, hesitating, switching between thoughts of mating and violence.

Another part of the parasites continued towards the inpatient building, where, besides the pheromones drawing them in, large-mouthed black worms awaited them.

“Yu Xi!” Lin Wu called out in warning.

“We can’t let these black worms continue to grow,” Lin Wu thought. He knew Yu Xi had a special item—the high-temperature perfume she used to break through ice in the last mission world. However, that item’s capabilities were too extraordinary, and it was a unique item that couldn’t be purchased from the points mall; it was rare and hard to come by.

Still, he had previously collected several flamethrowers from other worlds in his space. If things got worse, he had a backup plan. The only issue was that using his space in front of these ordinary people would expose it. Given that the “disguise pill” could only be used once in each apocalyptic world, he’d have to find another way to escape once this was over.

In a split second, Lin Wu had already turned over multiple plans in his mind, arranging everything. But all his thoughts were interrupted by a series of actions from Yu Xi.

She quickly returned to their resting area, pulling a dazed Chen Jia back with her—literally yanking her by the arm and dragging her back roughly, tossing her to the other classmates.

They were nearly scared to death. Damn it! The classmate they had been eating, sleeping, and traveling with for so long turned out to be some kind of “thing”! The sight of “Xu Jiajia” standing amidst the blood and worms, smiling at them, was a complete nightmare!

“Shit…” The boys could only utter this word, their teeth chattering as they asked Yu Xi, “What is that?”

“Is this the time to ask that?” she glanced at them, then swiftly put down her large backpack, opened it, and took out a bunch of grenades, handing them to the people in combat uniforms. She naturally started assigning tasks, “Your weapons are useless against the black worms. Handle the parasites and keep them from approaching the inpatient building. Also, protect these ‘softies’.”

Student Softie Team: …

“Where did you get so many grenades?” Zhang Yishuai was dumbfounded. Their team, due to logistical issues, only had two grenades each, yet she had a whole bunch. “You’re a civilian carrying so many illegal weapons. Where did you get them?”

Although he spoke loudly, he mainly wanted to know where she got them, hoping they could also get some.

Yu Xi glanced at him, quickly recognizing him as the person she had knocked out on her first night in this apocalyptic world after he secretly entered her original host’s residence. She chuckled but didn’t respond.

She took out a loaded submachine gun from her backpack and pulled Lin Wu along, “Let’s deal with the worms.”

Lin Wu: …

She raised the submachine gun and ran towards the inpatient building, shooting the parasites in her path and clearing the way.

Lin Wu watched her decisive actions and cool demeanor. He could only see her eyes due to the mask she wore. He had once thought she disliked bloodshed and didn’t adapt to such methods, which was why she used relatively “gentle” means against the parasites.

Now he understood she wasn’t unaccustomed; she simply hadn’t needed to use “violent” methods until now. At this critical moment, she could still shoot these parasites without batting an eye.

In no time, they reached the entrance of the inpatient building. With only two people against countless black worms, Lin Wu truly felt Yu Xi was fiercer than he was.

Just as he was about to take out the flamethrower, Yu Xi placed a cold, hard object in his hand.

He looked at it.

A crystal-clear pink curved bottle with a familiar crystal butterfly cap and a spray nozzle.

It was the special item that could spray a one-meter high-temperature flame!

Lin Wu was deeply moved. Such a powerful special item must be extremely rare, as he had never seen it in the points mall. Yet she handed it to him without hesitation…

He opened his mouth to speak, but before he could say anything, another two identical perfume bottles were placed in his other hand.

“The bow can adjust the flame size. The third gear is the one you saw, used for breaking ice, with a flame about one meter high. Be careful not to exceed the fourth gear. The fourth gear lasts about ten minutes; beyond that, it will only last one or two minutes,” she explained while spraying the black worm approaching her.

She used the third gear, producing a one-meter-high flame from the bottle. The black worm didn’t have time to react before it was engulfed in the blue flame, writhing and rolling but unable to escape the fire. In moments, it turned to ash.

Although the third gear’s range wasn’t as wide as the fourth, its high temperature was still effective. The perfume’s additional, previously annoying side effect now proved invaluable. As the flame sprayed, a faint fragrance filled the air, overpowering the nauseating stench—a perfect outcome.

Yu Xi was satisfied. She fired at the parasites with her submachine gun in one hand and sprayed the black worms with the perfume in the other. Moving at her full speed of 240 units, she charged into the fray, quickly decimating the enemies with her high-powered weapons. During this, she reminded Lin Wu, “Be careful with the flame range; don’t burn down the building—it’ll collapse.” Given the fourth gear’s wide range and extreme temperature, a novice might accidentally cause such damage.

Lin Wu felt slightly underestimated. Determined to prove himself a reliable teammate rather than a novice, he tucked the two extra “perfumes” into his inner pocket. He then activated his iron rod’s defense mode with one hand and the third gear flame with the other, joining the fight against the worms.

“Stop! Stop!” Xu Jiajia screamed, clutching her head. The intense pain experienced by the burning worms transmitted to her, causing her to fall to the ground and roll in agony. The black worms around her became even more frenzied, all rising and lunging at the two humans killing their kin.

“Back to back!” Yu Xi instructed. Lin Wu understood immediately, avoiding a worm’s attack and positioning himself back-to-back with her, continuing to use the flamethrower. He was already on his second bottle, as the number of worms in the building was far more than he had expected. Xu Jiajia’s madness seemed to amplify the worms’ aggression.

“Use the fourth gear!” With no more parasites around and the others holding off the parasites outside, Yu Xi discarded her submachine gun, took two bottles of the high-temperature perfume, and activated the fourth gear.

Two four-to-five-meter-long flames shot out, instantly turning any worm they touched into ash. Lin Wu, seeing the effectiveness, also switched to the fourth gear.

Back-to-back, they moved in a clockwise direction, the combined flames creating a massive fire wheel that obliterated the attacking worms. However, the intense heat also scorched the building’s walls, service counters, vending machines, and plants, burning them to ashes. Several walls developed huge holes from the flames.

Xu Jiajia, protected by the worms, was moved to a corridor, avoiding the deadly fire. However, the building’s structure suffered, with walls collapsing and crumbling around her.

The fourth gear’s immense power came at a cost; it quickly depleted the perfume. Yu Xi’s two bottles soon emptied, and Lin Wu’s bottle was also nearly dry.

Fortunately, after this round of intense extermination, the black worms were finally eradicated. All the worms were turned to ash except for a few that had protected Xu Jiajia and retreated into the corridor. The two of them stepped over the piles of ash and exited the inpatient building in unison.

All the windows of the building were equipped with security bars, so even if Xu Jiajia was sent to the corridor, she couldn’t escape. Given the size of the black worms, they might barely squeeze through, but they wouldn’t abandon Xu Jiajia. Ultimately, the worms traversed the sea of flames, pushing Xu Jiajia out from between their bodies.

She rolled a few times on the ground and ended up in the open space. Her clothes and hair were disheveled, her eyes red from the smoke, and she desperately lifted herself up, watching the last black worm turn to ash in the flames.

She screamed madly, releasing another wave of the foul odor into the air. However, this time, the stench was much weaker, about a fifth of its previous intensity. This level of smell only made everyone wrinkle their noses slightly, including Yu Xi, who found it bearable.

The open space in front of the rest area and the path leading to the emergency and outpatient areas were filled with parasites dealt with by the team. The massive crisis of being surrounded on both sides was finally resolved.

Xu Jiajia’s eyes were bloodshot as she looked at the unharmed humans standing there. All her “children” were dead.

At this moment, Yu Xi, Lin Wu, and the others had no idea that their actions today had prevented the city of Hai Ru from descending into a far more terrifying hell on earth. Those large black worms were not easy to cultivate. They were the mature forms of the small black worms, growing through the human body as a host, eventually “emerging from their cocoons.” Not all parasites could become hosts; only those personally infected by the “mother” black worm could successfully become hosts.

All these mature forms were personally implanted by her. They didn’t need to mate; as long as there was a host, they could reproduce asexually.

Long before the hailstorm, “Xu Jiajia” was no longer Xu Jiajia. She was not only a fully parasitized advanced host but also a rare “mother” or intelligent host. During the initial awkward period when she couldn’t control her stench and her behavior was unnatural, she took sick leave and hid in her parents’ old house.

She learned to mimic humans, going from uncontrollably reeking of fish to concealing the odor, from bizarre behavior to being able to talk, eat, sleep, and completely imitate human actions—all in about a week.

She implanted worm eggs in her blood relatives—Xu Jiajia’s parents—making them unaware hosts, ready to “emerge from their cocoons.” But when the hailstorm struck, they were injured and sent to the hospital by neighbors, where they were immediately quarantined.

As an intelligent host, she could think and understand the fragility of her current body. In the event of a worm tide in the city, she would be attacked by failed hosts—the ordinary parasites. When she released pheromones, she attracted many failed hosts who, under the influence of the pheromones, wouldn’t attack her but would force her to mate. Given her body’s frailty, she wouldn’t survive such encounters.

She wanted to release her mature forms and feed them, but she couldn’t expose herself in front of humans and didn’t dare go to the hospital alone. Yet, she was clever—she could think, guide, and lure…

In the end, she succeeded. She was just one step away, one final step! They should have devoured all the parasites and most of the humans present. She would have chosen a few suitable people as new hosts to cultivate more mature forms.

At that time, with the mature forms by her side, neither humans nor failed forms could harm her anymore. She would become the ruler of this world. But now, all her mature forms had been burned to death by two humans!

Yu Xi could feel the intense hatred from the other party. It was unbelievable—this entity had become another species, imitating and learning from humans, and now it could even mimic emotions?

“Did you create those black worms?” Although she had already guessed it, Yu Xi needed to confirm to ensure no unknown crisis was overlooked.

“Yes! And you killed them!” Xu Jiajia’s sharp scream was cut short by the pink glass bottle in Yu Xi’s hand. Just pointing the bottle at her filled her with boundless fear. She couldn’t forget the thing that had burned all her “children,” and now it was aimed at her.

Fear made her face show terror. She looked past Yu Xi at the crowd, searching for familiar faces. Quickly, Xu Jiajia found them. She looked at Chen Jia, and tears instantly welled up. “Jia Jia, it’s me, your best friend. Someone wants to kill me…”

Everyone watching felt a sense of discomfort. They knew what Xu Jiajia was, having witnessed the horrifying scene earlier. Yet this disheveled girl, crying so heartbreakingly, still stirred a sense of pity in their hearts. It was terrifying—this girl, who looked exactly like a human, was more frightening than the giant black worms.

“Jia Jia, it’s me. You said I saved your life and that you’d always stay with me… I haven’t found my parents yet. Please save me, Jia Jia…”

Chen Jia took a step forward. Beside her, Zhou Yun and Zhou’s mother anxiously held her back. She glanced at them, giving a reassuring look. They let go, and Chen Jia walked to Yu Xi’s side, looking down at the girl on the ground.

“Back then, was it Xu Jiajia or you who saved me?”

“Jia Jia? What’s wrong with you? I’m Xu Jiajia.”

Chen Jia turned and bent down, picking up a combat knife one of the team members had dropped. She stood in front of Xu Jiajia again.

“There’s no more Xu Jiajia, is there? Everything is fake—you saving me, holding me while crying, keeping me alive… it was all to get here, right? I was comforted by the thing I hated most—a parasite.”

“I trusted you so much, I decided to live for you, no matter where you wanted to go, I was willing to accompany you! Even if it cost my own life, I didn’t care! But what are you exactly? Where is Xu Jiajia?”

Emotionally agitated, Chen Jia’s hand holding the knife trembled. She couldn’t hold back, and tears streamed down her face.

Chen Jia’s tears gave Xu Jiajia hope. She called her friend’s name in a soft voice again: “I’m still here, I’m right here. I am Xu Jiajia. Jia Jia, take me away, please. These people are so scary, I don’t want to die, Jia Jia—”

Xu Jiajia’s gentle plea was cut short by the knife stabbing into her heart.

Chen Jia, with tears streaming down her face, yet her gaze was cold and full of hatred: “Stop using her voice and expressions! Stop insulting her!”

It looked at the girl in front of it with wide eyes, not understanding why.

She was so sorrowful, so why didn’t she save it? Why kill it instead?

It imitated and learned from humans, but ultimately couldn’t truly become one, so it didn’t understand.

Chen Jia withdrew the knife and stabbed again fiercely: “Give her body back to her!”

“Xu Jiajia’s” mouth suddenly split open, and a black spike emerged.

“Watch out—” Yu Xi pulled Chen Jia back, and the prepared [High-Temperature Perfume] sprayed out. The opponent was instantly engulfed in flames, letting out a harrowing scream.

“It hurts so much… Jia Jia… why don’t you save me?”

“It’s me, I am Xu Jiajia…”

“Jia Jia… Jia Jia…”

“You humans… are so detestable…”

Yu Xi used the third setting of the flame. The opponent rolled and struggled in pain, but couldn’t resist such a deadly attack.

Moments later, “Xu Jiajia” was reduced to ashes, and everything returned to peace.

The knife in Chen Jia’s hand fell to the ground, and she collapsed, crying silently.

The fishy smell in the air completely dissipated, and dark clouds loomed over the skies of Hai Ru City.

The humans who survived looked at the gloomy sky, feeling both relieved and sorrowful.

xxx

Three days later, in the outskirts of Liancheng.

This was an open highland area with relatively flat terrain and not much vegetation around.

Lin Wu carefully took out blood bags, adding a proper amount of blood to the four stainless steel bowls in the insect-proof circle. Then, as usual, he burned the empty blood bags and used an alcohol spray to remove the smell of blood from his hands.

He turned around and returned to an RV parked within the insect-proof circle. As soon as he got on, he was surrounded by the rich aroma of beef soup.

“Today, we’re having beef hotpot,” Yu Xi was setting boxes on the dining table: stacks of fresh red beef slices from different parts, tripe, beef meatballs, tofu skin, crispy lettuce, fresh garland chrysanthemum, enoki mushrooms, konjac…

Lin Wu: …

There was a sense of extreme happiness from being taken care of by an expert.

After so many life-and-death tasks, he never thought space could store these things.

Eating was almost negligible when it came to life and death. His space was mostly filled with instant noodles, compressed biscuits, canned meat, and water.

Similar to last time with the fresh food like sandwiches, oden, and tea eggs, it was something he only occasionally prepared after entering the task world, depending on the situation.