Chapter 124: Symbiosis

Wang Jinkai did not refute Chu Ning’s sarcastic taunts. He was indeed desperate to understand what had truly happened—why such a terrifying event had occurred. Since Chu Ning was the one who had provided the plan, luring him out and clarifying the entire situation had become an obsession for Wang Jinkai.

In essence, these tasks were a form of deception, a trap carefully set to successfully draw Chu Ning to this place. Wang Jinkai deliberately leveraged the company’s influence to stage a public spectacle! He deeply understood the company’s power and was certain that Chu Ning would be affected by the advertising they had disseminated.

Even the inexplicable phone calls earlier had been orchestrated to ensure Chu Ning’s smooth involvement. All these were prearranged setups by Wang Jinkai. Moreover, he had a rudimentary understanding of the grudges between Tanya and the company. As a businessman operating in the shadows, basic intelligence gathering was still within his grasp.

However, Wang Jinkai did not expect Tanya to be so indifferent, lacking even the slightest desire for revenge. Even without knowing Tanya’s character in detail, it did not matter much. Tanya’s role was ultimately auxiliary; she was not the one who decided everything.

Upon learning that someone had intercepted the item meant for him—after discovering that Wang Jinkai had privately seized the transaction—Chu Ning would inevitably fly into a rage and seek to destroy everything. All of this was part of Wang Jinkai’s plan.

He knew Chu Ning’s nature very well.

Yet Wang Jinkai never anticipated that his plan would almost be aborted halfway and that the protagonist might slip out of control prematurely. He had no idea that Chu Ning was no longer the man he once knew.

Sometimes, change comes not only from within oneself but also from the shifting tides around one.

“I followed the instructions you gave me—yes, the very manual for transforming into a monster!” Wang Jinkai mused that times might truly have changed. In the past, such esoteric knowledge would have been called secret manuals or notes.

Now, it was simply an instruction booklet printed on familiar A4 paper. He couldn’t help but feel a surreal sense of dislocation, as if the arduous knowledge he had painstakingly acquired belonged to another world. He even thought, somewhat unscrupulously, that more than one copy of this knowledge had been made—absurd indeed!

“I followed each step meticulously, everything according to the regulations, without the slightest error. After all, experiments demand rigor, and I am well aware that a mistake in such a personal experiment would be unforgivable.”

Chu Ning, feigning an expressionless demeanor, listened intently. He was genuinely curious about Wang Jinkai’s transformation into something neither man nor ghost, finding this experimental data worthy of study and reference.

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“Oh…” Tanya assured herself that it was indeed time to erase the outdated film and television images from her mind; those were long obsolete, offering little more than a vague frame of reference—almost like the behavioral patterns of ghosts studied before graduate exams.

Wang Jinkai took a deep breath. The problem began in the latter stage, which ultimately led to his becoming a monster.

“The turning point came after I intercepted the item meant for your transaction—the very target you sought!” Wang Jinkai said this with lingering fear, sneaking a glance at Chu Ning. Although he no longer feared Chu Ning’s strength, the pressure Chu Ning had once exerted still caused him to involuntarily look his way.

Hearing this, Tanya’s spirits instantly revived. She cared little for the complex experimental data, as she barely understood it. Even secretly recording it would be difficult, let alone comprehending the content.

All she knew was that it involved a sinister experiment on human refinement; the rest was beyond her grasp. Tanya was certain that even with the legendary instruction manual in hand, she would be at a loss on how to proceed with the experiment.

A flicker of fear surfaced in Wang Jinkai’s voice. The swarming insects hidden within his body writhed wildly, struggling to break free. Pain crossed his face briefly, yet outwardly he appeared calm once more.

“No way! Please, not now…” Tanya silently prayed, hesitant to speak as she watched a body ready to burst at any moment. She did not want those less-than-adorable insects splattering onto her—it would be a nightmare!

“Thank goodness, whew…”

Chu Ning looked on with a hint of amusement at the man who still could not fully control his body. To Chu Ning, those unable to master themselves did not deserve to be called strong. Yet, he remained cautious, knowing that once this man lost control, his power would surge dramatically.

Such occurrences were now commonplace—when strength faltered, one relied on bursts of power, memories, and common mutations.

It was clear from Wang Jinkai’s appearance that he was on the mutation path. Chu Ning had even worried briefly when something seemed off, aware that once mutated, Wang Jinkai was likely to lose his reason.

Controlling his body would mean becoming X-07, forcing Chu Ning to communicate with a swarm of low-intelligence insects—a torment indeed. Awakening Wang Jinkai’s consciousness again was, in Chu Ning’s eyes, a suffocatingly foolish act.

This was outright reckless. Chu Ning believed the correct approach was physical persuasion and education—this was the proper way to communicate with monsters. Not inviting them to “taste” you and deciding life or death on a whim.

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“You don’t need to worry now. I can still control myself—for the time being!” Wang Jinkai glanced calmly at his watch; the time left was running out. He intended to quickly ask the questions burning inside him, lest the person before him disappear when he awoke.

He resisted the burning pain in his stomach and suppressed the urge to devour food. Wang Jinkai understood that the insects within could never feel satiated; at the sight of prey within their hunting range, the swarms stirred restlessly.

Only when Wang Jinkai yielded to their will and consumed food would the insects calm.

Therefore, Wang Jinkai deliberately avoided densely populated areas. Witnessing himself uncontrollably devouring former comrades was a torment he could barely accept.

If their wills clashed, Wang Jinkai already knew the answer: he could hold on with his own resolve for a while, but ultimately, he would lose consciousness and find himself elsewhere upon waking.

After enduring this torment repeatedly, Wang Jinkai gradually discerned the insects’ behavioral patterns. They were creatures driven entirely by instinct, entering a dormant, low-energy state when food was scarce within their field of vision.

When danger approached, they actively enhanced Wang Jinkai’s chances of escape!

Wang Jinkai knew they were trapped in a strange symbiosis. To his knowledge, the X-07 specimen was not meant to coexist with other organisms, yet here they were in a symbiotic state.

This was a conclusion Wang Jinkai reached through personal experimentation, which is why he sought out professionals to resolve his condition.