Chapter 112: Infiltration

Seeing that Xuan Xuan insisted she was fine, Zhan Yu, though still somewhat doubtful, nodded. Before leaving, he scanned the surroundings once more. Her behavior earlier didn't seem like someone who was truly "fine," but since he couldn't pinpoint anything wrong, he let it go.

To avoid prying eyes, Zhan Yu brought her directly to his dormitory. His quarters were essentially a small apartment—a bedroom, a living room, a kitchen, and a bathroom. It was neat and tidy, though perhaps too tidy, lacking the lived-in feel of a typical room. Xuan Xuan glanced at the kitchen; that was what she cared about most. She remembered that Zhan Yu’s grandmother was an incredible cook, and she wondered if he had picked up even a fraction of that talent.

Seeing Xuan Xuan looking around the moment she stepped inside, Wan Qi Weihao coughed twice. He felt his sister had been raised quite strangely; what kind of girl would walk into a man's dormitory and start scouting it out like that? Xuan Xuan glanced at him, but seeing that he didn't speak, she remained puzzled.

Recalling her main purpose, she walked to the sofa and looked down at Xiao Daopeng, whom Zheng Chao had placed there. After a quick examination, she discovered that the small bug near his temple had already ceased all signs of life. She took a knife from the nearby coffee table and gently sliced open the skin on his forehead.

The surrounding group was stunned into silence. Wasn't she just a student? She hadn't even sterilized the tool, and she was just cutting into his head like that? Even Lou Yitong, who had been terrified earlier, was frozen in shock. Kuang Shao was usually bold, but even he had never seen such a thing, and Zhan Yu was taken aback as well. However, no one dared to stop her, fearing that if Xuan Xuan’s hand slipped, the only heir of the Xiao family might be gone. This was no joke.

Xuan Xuan didn't pay any attention to the people around her. After opening the skin, she extracted the lifeless Zerg and then glanced at Xiao Daopeng, whose face was covered in blood, with the sofa also stained red. With a flicker of regret for the cost, she applied a dose of serum to the wound. The onlookers watched in awe as the gruesome gash gradually sprouted new flesh and knit itself shut. Within minutes, aside from the blood still coating his face, no one could have verified that Xiao Daopeng had ever been injured.

Zhan Yu and Kuang Shao both thought silently to themselves: *As expected.* Xuan Xuan had used this type of serum on Kuang Shao in the StarNet, but they hadn't expected it to exist in reality. Such rare medicine—they didn't believe for a second that Wan Qi Xuan Xuan's teacher would have left her behind to travel the stars alone. Zhan Yu became even more determined to keep a close watch on her.

Everyone was filled with shock. Xuan Xuan studied the lifeless bug, frowned, and tossed a bottle of primary antidote to Zhan Yu. "Give him this. I'll be right back." Before anyone could react, she was gone.

"Wait for me!" Wan Qi Weihao didn't dare let her act alone, but before the words left his lips, she had already vanished.

Zhan Yu opened the bottle. "Primary Antidote." Without a word, he handed it to Wan Qi Weihao and said, "You feed it to him. Ah Shao, watch them; I’m going to check it out." He left without hesitation, his feet moving like the wind.

Kuang Shao looked at the group in frustration. He had no idea where the two of them had gone, and he felt it would have been better to just stay and guard the room. Zhan Yu couldn't keep up with Xuan Xuan, but after a moment's thought, he headed toward the spot where they had first discovered the Zerg. She had hesitated there for a long time earlier, searching back and forth. She must have found something.

Xuan Xuan had indeed found something. When she saw Lou Yitong being choked earlier, she felt it was unlikely that only four Zerg were involved; with their level of intelligence, they couldn't have controlled this entire area. She suspected a higher-level Zerg was in control nearby, but after searching for a while, she hadn't found it. She thought she might have been wrong, but then there had been a sudden disturbance. By the time she moved toward it, she saw Lou Yitong being choked, and when she returned to the original spot, all traces were gone.

After returning and examining Xiao Daopeng, Xuan Xuan realized that the creature controlling him must have been that hidden, high-level Zerg. The bug she extracted was different from the ones they had caught earlier, and the ones they had captured lacked the strength to manipulate a host in such a way. To seize control of Xiao Daopeng instantly—even at close range and for only a few seconds—was a terrifying feat. In real combat, even a moment's distraction could lead to a fatal mistake, let alone such precise control. By the time she returned to check again, the cunning high-level Zerg had clearly escaped.

When Zhan Yu found Xuan Xuan, she was looking disappointed. Seeing her, Zhan Yu inexplicably saw her teacher in her and comforted her, "It will eventually show its tail." Xuan Xuan nodded. Indeed, once she finished studying the ones she had, this one wouldn't be able to hide from her for long. With a few spatial shifts, she returned to Zhan Yu's apartment, with him following at a distance. *Where exactly is her teacher?* he wondered.

Back at the apartment, Xiao Daopeng had woken up. His complexion was ghastly, the blood on his face still unwashed. He glanced at the people around him. Were they doing this on purpose? He felt sure they were.

"What is this smell?" Xiao Daopeng couldn't stand the taste in his mouth.

Zuo Chen said sourly, "The smell of your life being saved." He thought to himself that his grand-teacher was too generous; she should have saved the good stuff for him, not wasted it on this guy—he wouldn't have died anyway. And the medicine used on his head—couldn't she have just used something basic to heal it? That scar-removing effect... tsk, tsk.

"What happened just now?" Zhan Yu walked in and asked, his expression serious.

Xiao Daopeng pulled a bitter face. "I don't know. Suddenly, my head felt like it was going to explode, and then I lost all sensation."

Zhan Yu looked at him and then asked Lou Yitong, "Do you remember?"

Lou Yitong’s expression remained timid. "After Xuan Xuan left, he suddenly rubbed his head, looking like he was in great pain, and then he lunged at me and grabbed my neck." She curled her lip. "I don't know why, but I just screamed, and Xuan Xuan came back and kicked him away."

Xiao Daopeng touched his chest. No wonder he felt his mouth tasted strange and his chest hurt. For some reason, he also felt like he had lost too much blood and felt dizzy. However, he didn't see any wounds. Was it a side effect of the incident? He pointed to his head. "Is this part healed?"

Xuan Xuan glanced at him. With his face covered in blood and his skin pale from blood loss, she didn't want to look a second time. She wondered if he would scare himself when he looked in the mirror tonight.

"It's healed," Zhan Yu nodded, then glanced at Xuan Xuan.

Kuang Shao asked, "What did you find when you went out?"

"There is likely a higher-level Zerg than the ones we captured," Xuan Xuan warned. "Be careful lately. If you see those little red bugs again, try to avoid them or crush them. If possible, catch them and hand them to me."

"You didn't catch it?" Kuang Shao asked.

Xuan Xuan shook her head. "No."

Kuang Shao and Zhan Yu frowned simultaneously. There were too many students here; if such a creature remained hidden, with its ability to parasitize others silently, the situation was truly unsafe.

"Is there a way to catch it?" Zhan Yu asked.

Xuan Xuan shook her head. "Not yet. But if they appear, Lou Yitong will be the first to notice." Lou Yitong’s mental sensitivity was far greater than others. Xuan Xuan could only detect them if she paid close attention or was very near, but Lou Yitong’s talent allowed her to detect them effortlessly.

Lou Yitong’s eyes widened. *Her?* How did she not know she had this ability?

"I will teach her; she'll be able to do it in a few days," Xuan Xuan said.

Zhan Yu hesitated. Should he risk keeping the students here for a few more days?

"How long does it take for the parasite to become active?" Kuang Shao asked.

Xuan Xuan shook her head. "I can't tell. It certainly doesn't take just a day or two to gain full control."

"Can any medicine be used to resist it?" Kuang Shao asked. He knew that if it were Xuan Xuan's teacher in the StarNet, it would be no problem, but he wasn't so sure about the Xuan Xuan in front of him.

Xuan Xuan nodded. "Three days." Everything had its balance; with these Zerg specimens in her hands, she could develop a way to suppress them within three days.

"You don't need to go to military training for now. Come to my apartment every day to conduct your research," Zhan Yu said. The Zerg were dangerous, especially these particular ones, and he didn't dare let Xuan Xuan do her research too far away.

Xuan Xuan agreed that Zhan Yu’s place was more suitable. Besides, looking at the state of his kitchen, it seemed to be in use, which had to be better than the cafeteria. In the StarNet, every time she asked Zhan Yu if he could cook, he would only smile without answering. Having a grandmother who was such a good cook gave Xuan Xuan hope; she only prayed he wouldn't let her down.

Xuan Xuan left with Lou Yitong and Wan Qi Weihao. As they passed the boys' dormitory, they heard a scream: "Ghost!" followed by the loud laughter of Wan Qi Weihao and the others. She knew they had done it on purpose. Before she left, she heard the patrol guards asking, "What's going on?"

Meanwhile, the Zerg that Xuan Xuan was looking for was closer than she could have imagined.

"I can fulfill all your wishes."

"I don't believe you."

"Control others. Enjoy the respect and honor others bring you."

"What do I have to do?"

"Nothing. You just need to act as if you don't know I exist."

Xuan Guo’s dreams were filled with these words, and even upon waking in the morning, they echoed in her mind. She looked down at her arm, hidden beneath her sleeve, and clenched her hands tightly. *Control others, gain respect and honor, obtain everything I ever wanted.*