75: Chapter 75 Parasitism Failed?

[Tang Zheng: No, it's impossible! For an S-rank Specter to want to parasitize you back then would have been far too simple. With your strength at the time, there's no way you could have resisted. The reason a sliver of consciousness was left for you was merely for a perfect Fusion, to completely replace you and inherit your talent!]

A faint sense of dread slowly enveloped his entire body, as if an incredibly terrifying existence was standing right behind him. Following this, the voice of the Phantom Demon slowly rang out:

"My friend, please do not be afraid. I will not parasitize you, for we have already made a pact."

Chu Xuan ignored the Phantom Demon's voice and sent another message: [Tell me, what is the function of the Charm attribute?]

[Tang Zheng: It can be used to suppress the Specter parasitizing your body; they fear this the most!]

Impossible!

The moment he saw this message, those three words immediately sprang to Chu Xuan's mind. His eyes then sharpened, and without hesitation, he plunged the tip of the fruit knife in his hand into his fingertip.

He crudely pried off a fingernail, gouging out a large chunk of flesh along with it.

The fingers are connected to the heart!

A burning thread of pain rapidly spread from his fingertip. This sharp and clear agony made Chu Xuan's entire body tremble involuntarily, but he gritted his teeth and didn't make a sound, his eyes still fixed on the phone screen.

The text message [Future Tang Zheng] had just sent suddenly changed!

[Tang Zheng: The Charm attribute is a trap; it's a flaw in the System!]

As he expected!

Chu Xuan's eyes gleamed as he pried off another fingernail, gritting his teeth to savor the pain from his fingertip, completely indifferent to the deepening sense of dread surrounding him.

As early as the family of four on Taikang Road, Chu Xuan had discovered that pain could, to some extent, resist the Phantom Demon's influence on him.

At that time, under the Phantom Demon's influence, he thought the four Specters he killed were an ordinary human family. It was the pain caused by the corrosive liquid on his palm that snapped him back to reality.

This was something Chu Xuan had long since etched into his memory.

At this moment, the messages from [Future Tang Zheng] continued—

[Tang Zheng: This is a gamble of the world. All the restrictions, contradictions, conflicts, and irrationalities you perceive are the results of rules colliding and merging! Anyway, I'm about to die, and you're about to kick the bucket, so I don't care anymore. I'll tell you everything.]

Chu Xuan concentrated intently.

[Tang Zheng: Dammit, I can't send it. This must be interference from the rules again!]

Chu Xuan's lips couldn't help but twitch.

[Tang Zheng: Anyway, since you've asked about the Charm attribute, I assume you've noticed that the Specter parasitizing you has been inducing you to increase your Charm? Of course it has! Because the higher the Charm attribute, the deeper its degree of Fusion with you, and the faster the speed of perfect Fusion.]

Even those Specters that fail to parasitize humans and enter a symbiotic relationship are the same!]

Those people mistakenly believe they have mastered the Specters, thinking that as long as they increase their Charm attribute, they can continuously suppress them and even gain more of their power. But in reality, this is not only like drinking poison to quench thirst and wasting spirituality value for nothing, but it's also paving the way for the Specter. In the end, they just give their spirituality value to the Specter and hasten their own death!]

Chu Xuan's heart stirred, and he immediately asked: [Tell me in detail about the cases where Specter parasitism fails.]

[Tang Zheng: Do you still think your parasitism failed? Fine, since you want to know, I'll tell you.]

Those Specters that fail to parasitize humans and enter a symbiotic relationship have only two choices!]

The first choice: Mobilize all their power once more for a forced parasitism. However, this will most likely fail, causing them to dissipate into nothingness. The overflowing transcendent spirituality will then be absorbed by the host, becoming nourishment for their growth in strength.]

There is a small probability they will disappear along with the host's consciousness, merging with the host into a completely new lifeform and giving birth to a brand-new consciousness.]

There is also a slim chance they will simply die outright, taking the host down with them.]

The second choice: Lie dormant silently, releasing eerie power from time to time to gradually pressure and influence the host. As time passes, the host's body slowly becomes weirdified. The deeper the degree of weirdification, the higher the success rate of a second parasitism attempt.]

During this period, if the host increases their Charm attribute, it will indeed provide a certain degree of suppression and control over the Specter, allowing them to gain some of its abilities. However, this process accelerates their own weirdification speed, and the Specter's power will also be strengthened afterward. As one waxes and the other wanes, the host becomes less and less human, while the Specter gradually reaches a point where it can easily seize the host's body.]

It will even guide the host to keep increasing their Charm attribute. When Charm reaches a certain level, the Specter can perform a perfect Fusion, inheriting everything from the host, including their talent and the System!]

This is it!

Chu Xuan's eyes flickered. He had already pried off all five fingernails on his left hand:

[I am currently in the second state you described—that Specter failed to parasitize me and has entered a symbiotic relationship with me! My original Charm attribute was 8 points, and now it has reached 11 points. You must have a way, right? You've already hinted that even if one is truly parasitized with only a sliver of consciousness left, there's still a way as long as they follow your instructions. Not to mention my current state where parasitism failed; you definitely have a solution!]

[Future Tang Zheng] did not reply immediately.

Instead, he sent a message a few seconds later: [Are you still Chu Xuan? I suspect you've already been controlled! How could a human who has just awakened their talent and has yet to grow possibly withstand parasitism by an S-rank Specter?]

Chu Xuan frowned.

Just then, the Phantom Demon's voice rang out again: "My friend, what are you still hoping for? I am so sincere with you, yet you do not trust me? You don't believe I can completely parasitize you at any time? And I warned you long ago not to increase your Charm attribute, but you... sigh..."

The dread swirling around him grew stronger. Chu Xuan gradually felt as if his body were shrinking infinitely, while everything around him seemed to expand infinitely, and his vision grew dim.

"Rest assured, my friend, I will not parasitize you, for our pact still holds! I can continue to provide you with the locations of the False Gods Believers and help you slowly raise your [Heart Bewitchment] Rank... I have never asked you to increase your Charm attribute; it was all your own will. All I need is a suitable vessel. Once you find one, I will naturally leave your body, making us both free."

The Phantom Demon's gentle and magnetic voice made Chu Xuan's head spin slightly, but he did not exchange any more attribute points for Charm to resist this time.

All ten fingernails had been pried off. Chu Xuan held the knife in one hand and sliced off a piece of flesh from his thigh, letting the pain flood his mind to stay as conscious as possible.

With his other hand, he raised a bloodied finger and pressed the button for the voice-to-text function in the mobile chat app:

"Phantom Demon, even now, are you still trying to influence and bewitch me? That so-called search for a vessel is nothing but your pretext!"