The ability users, who had been restless and stirred up moments ago, froze when they heard the black-haired youth’s question. A chill ran down their spines, and they lowered their heads one by one, avoiding eye contact with the alien on stage. Just a moment ago, they had been engrossed in dreaming about a distant "new world," forgetting that there was a ruthless alien in the room who would kill without hesitation!

To them, freedom was precious, but life was far more valuable.

In the face of overwhelming power, all promises and benefits seemed meaningless.

Even the female ability user who had been shouting at Xu Yun Cheng earlier suddenly sat down, afraid that the black-haired youth would mistake her for a traitor and reduce her to a dried husk in the blink of an eye.

Sitting quietly like chickens in their seats, the remaining 1,900 or so ability users also suppressed their recently ignited hatred toward ordinary humans and any thoughts of switching sides.

The black-haired youth scanned the room and nodded in satisfaction after seeing that no one stood up. "I’m pleased to see that all my comrades here have resisted the temptation. Not a single one of you is willing to side with the parasitic beasts. Since we’ve reached a consensus, let’s officially begin the meeting!"

With a glance, the youth signaled to Huo Li, who smoothly took over control of the proceedings.

"According to the intelligence we’ve gathered so far, the parasite race has already invaded thousands of human planets. Of these, the Happy Planet has been completely occupied and destroyed. As for the others, they are in a mixed state, with both humans and parasitic beasts present," Huo Li explained to the group.

"The parasitic beasts are not particularly strong in terms of combat power, and parasitizing a person takes weeks or even months. Their intelligence is only slightly higher than that of an ordinary human. What makes them truly dangerous is their ability to hide among humans, making it nearly impossible to distinguish friends from foes. Moreover, they’ve infiltrated every corner of the Interstellar Federation and have essentially taken control of its decision-making power.

"Therefore, our next mission consists of two objectives: First, reclaim control of the Interstellar Federation and return it to humanity. Second, use the virus that Xiao Yi and I developed in the experimental bases and hospitals to distinguish parasitic beasts from humans on each planet."

C2001 interjected, "So, does this mean we’re going to take over the Federation headquarters, and then you’ll extract the memories of each official to determine if they’re parasitic beasts?"

"No, I won’t touch their memories," Huo Li replied firmly. "If the highest-ranking leaders of the entire galaxy have had their memories tampered with by my mental powers, it would create a potential risk of memory manipulation. Even after the parasitic beasts are eradicated, this would lead to galaxy-wide instability.

"It’s similar to the Main System, the most powerful AI, which never participates in the rescue efforts during mechanical rebellion apocalypse. If the Main System had intervened in any apocalyptic rescue, no electronic equipment on that planet would be trusted again. Humans would even suspect that the Main System had used that planet as a springboard to invade other planets.

Therefore, we cannot cross that line. We will use other methods to identify the parasitic beasts."

Huo Li didn’t notice that the black-haired youth’s expression darkened slightly when he spoke, revealing subtle disagreement. However, Xiao Yi quickly masked his emotions and began to explain:

"Currently, we’ve developed 12 different viruses. These viruses manifest distinct symptoms in humans and parasitic beasts. What’s more efficient is that they’re non-lethal to humans, but parasitic beasts will die in 3 to 40 days after infection. The advantage of deploying all 12 viruses simultaneously is that the parasitic beasts will initially be confused by the varied symptoms. This will make it difficult for them to realize the differences in how humans and parasitic beasts are affected, thereby reducing their vigilance..."

The meeting lasted nearly four hours before they finally finalized their plan. By then, the Main System, which had been 'out of power' for a while, came back online, restoring all the ability users' system spaces and Earth's teleportation arrays.

Thus, under Xiao Yi’s meticulous coordination and the black threads binding everything together, the only anti-parasitic beast organization in the world was officially established.

.

While the 1,900-plus ability users were not an overwhelming force when facing natural disasters like solar flares or massive alien creatures with limbs weighing tens of thousands of tons, they were a different story from the bureaucrats of the Interstellar Federation, who relied solely on their political power.

The fleet of interstellar starships encircling the Salvation Alliance abruptly announced their withdrawal. At the same time, the Interstellar Federation, established on the central planet of the galaxy, suddenly issued an emergency meeting notice. All officials were ordered to gather at Federation Headquarters that very day.

Unknown to them, this was a trap. The ability users, lying in wait, captured all of them in one fell swoop.

Tens of thousands of Federation officials, from high-ranking leaders to low-level bureaucrats, were divided into thousands of smaller groups. They were closely monitored by ability users and Iron Man-like robots and made to pass through a strange device called the 'Nano Repair Instrument' one by one.

Some Interstellar Federation officials, who had previously been resolute and vocal in denouncing the 'anti-human' ability users, finally fell silent. They had no choice but to believe in the parasitic beast invasion after personally witnessing parasitic, flesh-colored organisms with antennae crawl out from the spines and brains of 40% of their fellow Alliance members.

In less than a day, the control of the Interstellar Federation was fully reclaimed.

Thanks to the parasitic beasts’ tendency for strict secrecy and single-line communication, the massive personnel upheaval within the Federation remained largely under wraps.

Keeping the information confidential was paramount because not every planet faced the same overwhelming infestation as Happy Planet. Television, radio, and the internet on these infiltrated planets were prohibited from broadcasting anything that might alert the parasitic beasts.

Thus, apart from liaison officers from various planets panicking over their sudden inability to contact the Interstellar Federation, most parasitic beasts lived their lives disguised as humans, going about their routines undisturbed.

.

On G Planet, however, a sudden flu outbreak had swept across the entire world. Initially, people dismissed it as a common illness, continuing with their daily work and school routines. But by the third day, as reports of deaths began surfacing in cities worldwide, fear and panic finally set in.

That morning, Nancy bid farewell to her parents as usual and took the subway to her newly joined company. The subway, typically overcrowded during the morning rush hour, was unusually sparse. Only a handful of passengers stood in the car, with plenty of empty seats available. Clearly, many people were avoiding the crowded subway for fear of infection.

Like the other passengers, Nancy wore a thick mask as she sat quietly in her seat, refraining from conversation. The entire train car was shrouded in a stifling atmosphere of depression and anxiety.

The suffocating tension in the subway car reached its peak when a man in a suit, seated to Nancy’s front right, suddenly started coughing violently. His hacking cough echoed through the car, relentless despite his efforts to clear his throat or soothe it with water.

No one dared to approach him. Nancy watched in mounting dread as the man, struggling to suppress his coughing fit, suddenly retched and vomited loudly. The combined strain of his coughing and retching caused him to choke; his once composed face now flushed a suffocating deep purple.

Nancy’s fear escalated. She quickly stood up, taking a few steps back until she was near the train doors. She saw an elderly woman seated nearby hesitantly approach the man, seemingly wanting to help. However, as she got close, the man suddenly spewed a mouthful of fresh blood onto her shoes.

"Ahhh!!!" The elderly woman shrieked in terror.

Nancy couldn’t bear to stay in the subway car any longer. As soon as the train pulled into the station, she bolted out of the train, running toward the streets outside.

However, the streets were no different. The sidewalks and greenery were littered with people who had collapsed mid-journey, stricken by sudden illness. Fever, vomiting, abdominal pain, seizures, nosebleeds, muscle weakness—each patient seemed to display a different and bizarre array of symptoms.

Ambulances, lights flashing and sirens blaring, zoomed past her frequently, each bearing the insignia and slogan of the Phillips Group.

Nancy fought to hold back her tears as she navigated through the chaos, carefully steering clear of the sick individuals around her. She was determined not to risk taking public transportation again. All she could think about was getting home to make sure her parents were safe and unharmed.

Along the way, the massive display screens lining the streets broadcasted live news updates. The anchors urged the public not to panic, assuring them that while deaths had occurred, the majority of patients had stabilized after receiving treatment at the hospitals.

When she finally arrived at their small yard, Nancy's legs felt weak as she struggled to catch her breath. She ran to the door and shouted loudly:

"Dad! Mom! Are you okay!?"

But there was no response.

"Mom! Are you home?"

Still, no one answered.

Crying, Nancy took out her keys from her bag, trying to steady her trembling hands as she inserted the key into the door lock, turned it, and rushed inside.

The curtains in the house were drawn. Even though it was daytime, the room still felt dim. Nancy wiped her tears and quickly ran into her parents' bedroom, but it was empty.

She then ran to the study, but no one was there. However, she remembered that when she first entered, her parents' coats and shoes were neatly placed; it didn't look like they had left the house.

Just then...

"Nancy... Is that you?"

Nancy heard a faint call coming from her room. She hurried toward her room, thinking, 'Mom and Dad, don't let anything happen to you! But who just called me? It doesn't sound like Dad or Mom.'

Without thinking too much, Nancy quickly opened the door to her bedroom.

Her princess-pink room still had the curtains drawn, making it appear somewhat dim. A figure was sitting on the bed with its back to Nancy.

"Mom?" Nancy asked hesitantly, slowly walking forward.

"Nancy, my little baby, you, you quickly come to mommy...," the voice came from the figure facing away from Nancy.

But it was different from what Nancy usually hears. It wasn’t her mother’s gentle, loving voice. Instead, it had a strange, ambiguous tone, almost robotic in its pauses and stiffness.

"Mom? What’s wrong with you?"

Nancy's fear intensified as she looked at her mother's hunched back, causing her to hesitate and stop her steps.

"Nancy, Mom doesn’t feel well… my throat is hoarse. Come here quickly! Please… Mommy feels terrible…"

The voice came again from the sitting figure.

Nancy's concern for her mother finally overcame her fear. Step by step, she cautiously walked toward the woman sitting on the bed, her back still turned to her.