The virus had been spreading for three full days, triggering a pandemic across billions of planets in the entire galaxy. Although nearly everyone had been infected, deaths had only occurred on a specific 5,700 or so planets scattered throughout the system, with Happy Planet at the center.

As a result, the extent of the parasite species' invasion was clearly marked like ink on white paper.

Two days ago, Huo Li had secretly assigned the task of verifying the number of ability users outside the Salvation Alliance. Over the past two days, more than 1,900 high-level ability users traveled between planets while collecting data despite their runny noses, sneezing, and fevers.

At the same time, they couldn't help but complain through their smart brains:

"How come we are also infected by this virus?"

"Exactly! Shouldn’t it just target ordinary people? That would be enough to distinguish the parasites from humans… Ah-choo!"

"What exactly is the physiological difference between ability users and ordinary humans? No one in this world knows, right? That’s why even Huo Li and Alien couldn’t develop a virus that only infects regular humans!"

"Cough, cough! Working while sick is a nightmare!"

"Quit complaining!" C2001, overhearing the complaints from nearby ability users, couldn’t help but scold, "From the looks of it, our bodies are naturally stronger than those of ordinary people, so our symptoms are mild. It’s just a cold—none of us even have a high fever!"

Therefore, after two to three days of effort from over 1,900 sick workers, the verification of all 28,332 registered ability users living outside the Salvation Alliance across the entire star system was finally completed.

Over the past 17 years, many ability users have vanished without a trace due to reasons like moving homes, traveling, or immigrating to other planets. However, there were never any records of them arriving on other planets.

After compiling the data from the 1,900 saviors, the final result was shocking—out of the 28,332 ability users, 11,003 had gone missing over the past 17 years!

This result startled not only the ability users but even the main system itself!

"Parasitic beasts truly lack human emotions; they don't irrationally suspect ability users," the black-haired youth said through the smart brain. "However, the survival instincts of the parasite species guide them to rationally and methodically steal the abilities of ability users."

Thousands of ability users who had once harbored hopes for the parasites’ so-called new world were now speechless. No one had expected the parasites to harbor such an utterly deranged idea!

Abilities have remained an unsolved mystery for millennia. Once an ability belonged to a person, it was like a soul imprint, accompanying them for life. It couldn't even be passed down to the next generation, let alone stolen—such an abstract and fantastical concept had always been deemed impossible!

"I have to admit, this rational guidance is far more effective than the human suspicion you all scoff at," the youth said with a hint of mockery. "You’d better hope they haven’t succeeded yet."

"Xiao Yi, are you saying the parasitic beasts kidnapped those 11,000 ability users to research ability conversion?" At such a critical moment, even the main system had to personally intervene, its voice both gentle and anxious as it joined the discussion.

"As an alien that can be regarded as a cousin of the parasitic beasts," the black-haired youth said, "I guess that they must have established a research base on a hidden planet as soon as they escaped and secured their footing. That place is their true headquarters, the most tightly controlled location—not Happy Planet."

After a brief silence, Xiao Mao, who had also been listening to the discussion, voiced out through the smart brain. "But I haven’t foreseen the destruction of any experimental planet like the one you mentioned."

Huo Li noticed that the moment Xiao Mao’s voice rang out, the youth’s expression became slightly unnatural. However, he quickly buried that flicker of guilt deep within him as he straightened his posture and listened seriously to what Xiao Mao had to say.

"If it were an event as catastrophic as the destruction of an entire planet, I would have foreseen it in advance," Xiao Mao said. Given the situation's urgency, she had no choice but to reveal the secret of her ability. "But in the past 17 years, I’ve only foreseen the total destruction of two planets—one was Happy Planet and the other was a planet whose star exploded."

The ability users fell into confusion. Would an experimental base even exist on a planet where the local star had exploded?

"Planetary destruction refers to the moment when all humans on that planet die, right?" Huo Li pointed out the flaw in their thinking. "Those ability users utilized as test subjects are still alive."

"So using prophecy to locate this supposed experimental planet is essentially impossible," the youth concluded. "If they really have discovered something—say, the emergence of an ability user parasites—their first target would undoubtedly be me."

Huo Li frowned at those words but, in the end, chose not to voice his disagreement.

"Even before Happy Planet was exposed, the parasites had been doing everything in their power to eliminate the last Alien in this world," the black-haired youth continued. "To them, no matter what I say or do, they will never truly believe that I stand on humanity’s side. From the parasites' perspective, as long as an Alien exists—even if they achieve complete victory and turn every single human in the entire star system into a parasite—those billions of hosts are nothing more than fresh incubators prepared for the Alien."

The ability users attending the meeting through the smart brain couldn't help but shiver at that analogy.

Huo Li grew anxious and quickly used his mental ability to warn him: "Xiao Yi, don’t make those kinds of insinuations. I’m afraid that after the war ends, the ability users might…"

But the youth acted as if he hadn’t heard and continued speaking. "If I were to spread black dust across every planet, then within 24 hours, every human and Parasite in the entire galaxy would become a host for the next generation of Aliens. Even now, the parasites still can’t understand why I haven’t done it."

The ability users: 'We don’t understand either! Are you absolutely sure you’ll never do this?!'

Huo Li felt that Xiao Yi was acting far too strangely today. In the past, this method of reproduction had always been a taboo topic, something the youth would never even mention. Yet today, he was bringing up this psychological wound so casually. If they did defeat the parasitic beasts, the ability users might turn their attention to the next threat…

The black-haired youth continued, "So our immediate priority is to spread a rumor that I have already betrayed the Salvation Alliance and humanity, that I’ve secretly claimed an uninhabited planet as my territory, and that I am assembling an army of Black Thread Mutants—waiting for the perfect moment to seize control of the world while humans and parasites fight each other to the death."

"But… 2d14, can’t you just use black spores to infect the entire galaxy?" C2001 cautiously asked, as if discussing a purely technical problem. "Why would you even need a planet to produce an army of Black Thread Mutants?"

The black-haired youth showed no sign of offense at the question. Instead, he responded in a relaxed tone, "The real reason is simple: we need a strategic location to trap these hypothetical ability user parasites—like a planet, for example. As for the explanation we’ll give the parasites, we’ll say that the Aliens created through spore infection are…"

He paused for a long time, unable to bring himself to say, 'My offspring.' Finally, with great effort, he suppressed his deep-seated disgust and continued in a flat voice:

"…simply other Aliens, separate from me as an individual. After all, a year ago, I killed every last Alien in existence—every single one of my blood relatives. From the parasites' rational perspective, this can be explained as an extreme sense of territorial dominance. My possessiveness over my powerful bloodline means I cannot tolerate the existence of any other Alien besides myself."

The ability users were utterly dumbfounded by this bizarre claim. Could the parasites actually believe something like that?

As if sensing their doubts through the smart brain, the black-haired youth reassured them, "It’s called 'slaughtering one's own kin'—don’t worry. The parasites are well aware that this has always been my way of doing things."

Just as everyone was deep in thought, weighing the feasibility of the plan, the main system, which had been silently listening the whole time, finally spoke up to point out a crucial issue that had been completely overlooked.

"We still don’t even know if ability user parasites actually exist. Let me remind you all—the only confirmed information we have is that 11,003 ability users have gone missing."

The realization hit everyone like a bucket of cold water. Then what’s the point of all this discussion?!

And so, the wildly off-topic meeting was forced to end early.

.

Planet Fandu – Philip Hospital

A thin young man in his early twenties coughed as he stepped through the hospital doors. If it weren’t for the fact that everyone had caught some form of the virus lately, people might have mistaken him for a drug addict suffering from an overdose.

A nurse in a pink uniform with a professional smile perfectly in place led him to the waiting area outside the examination room, where he joined the long line of patients waiting for the nanotherapy machine. After only a few minutes, he let out a yawn and sluggishly asked the person ahead of him where the restroom was before strolling off, looking completely indifferent.

Coughing lightly, he turned a corner into the men’s restroom. The moment he confirmed he was alone, the roguish aura around him vanished entirely. Then, his entire body began to fade, blending seamlessly into the air.

Now invisible, the young man clamped a hand tightly over his mouth, determined not to let a single cough slip out and expose his presence.

'I am carrying the survival hopes of the entire Parasite race!' He had to endure this and suppress his cough all the way into the laboratory of this Alien's hospital to find the cure for the virus.

But holding back a cough was no easy feat for someone suffering from pneumonia. He had barely reached the restroom door before his face turned bright red from the strain. Just as he was gritting his teeth to endure—

"Huo Li, it's this one!"

At the very start of his perilous mission, the Parasite instantly lost consciousness. In the final moment before darkness swallowed him, he caught a glimpse of a black-haired figure stepping out from the stairwell—

A figure that struck terror into the hearts of his entire race.