Chapter 19: Mount Takao
As soon as the weather cleared up, Xia Shang completed the discharge procedures and was successfully discharged from the hospital.
The first thing he did after being discharged was to call Reiko Tamura and then rush to the Coffee Shop to retrieve the remaining information she had. With this information, he estimated his fusion progress could reach 90%.
"Are you trying to fuse Parasytes? How were the experiment results?" Xia Shang flipped through the information, discerning some clues from it.
"Don't try to pry into things you shouldn't know, otherwise I can't guarantee that I won't kill you myself."
Reiko Tamura's eyes fixed on Xia Shang, her expression extremely cold.
"OK, when the time is right, I think I'll see it with my own eyes."
Xia Shang was about to leave with the information when Reiko Tamura continued, "The School will resume normal teaching in a month."
"Got it."
Over the next month, Xia Shang frequented various famous gourmet food establishments throughout Tokyo.
Perhaps due to the severely negative impact of the incident caused by Parasyte Mr. A, the number of dismemberment murder cases like before significantly decreased.
However, based on Xia Shang's guess, they likely hadn't stopped killing; they were just more inclined to act in remote, rarely visited corners when doing so.
"Shinichi, over here." In the Maid Cafe, Xia Shang sat by the window and waved at Shinichi Izumi.
"Why did you ask me to come to a place like this?"
Shinichi Izumi looked around curiously; it was his first time in a Maid Cafe.
"I heard the coffee here is quite good, so I specifically came to try it. Don't worry, I won't tell Satomi Murano." Following that, Xia Shang asked the maids beside him to leave, as there was no need for outsiders to know about their conversation.
"Recently at School, you haven't had any conflicts with Reiko Tamura, have you?"
Xia Shang took a sip of coffee before asking.
Shinichi Izumi sat across from him, unable to help but furrow his brows. "Just yesterday, I wanted to confront her, but she left, and she also said something."
"She believes that all creatures on Earth are following some kind of command. For example, flies instinctively know how to flap their wings, spiders are born knowing how to spin webs, and when she occupied a human brain, she also received a command, which was to completely devour the human species!"
Shinichi Izumi leaned back in his chair, his gaze fixed on Xia Shang. "Did you also receive that command?"
Seeing Shinichi Izumi's nervous look, Xia Shang picked up his coffee and shook his head. "I'm completely unaware of any so-called command. Moreover, the command she mentioned sounds more like instinct, doesn't it? That is to say, killing or eating humans is an instinct that Parasytes are born with."
"Instinct?" Shinichi Izumi fell into thought.
"So, it's like a lion hunting an antelope, and the Parasytes' hunting target is humans."
"That seems to be the case for now." Xia Shang nodded, agreeing with Shinichi Izumi's statement.
But Shinichi Izumi still couldn't understand. If that were the case, then Parasytes should have appeared at the dawn of humanity, not suddenly intrude into human society like they are now.
"Why did they suddenly appear?"
"I don't know either. Maybe we'll find out in the future."
Xia Shang didn't want to continue discussing this issue with Shinichi Izumi because it was pointless. The appearance of Parasytes seemed more like a result of the Earth Consciousness's manipulation. There was an intractable problem between them and humans. Just because they appeared, would humans stop destroying the environment? That was clearly unrealistic.
"Oh, right, are your parents still at home?"
Xia Shang's question left Shinichi Izumi a bit confused. "Is there something you need them for?"
Xia Shang vaguely remembered that in the Source Material, Shinichi Izumi's parents were attacked by a Parasyte while traveling, and his mother was killed by a Parasyte. The Parasyte that killed his mother even parasitized her body.
"I just wanted to visit your house."
"They went traveling yesterday and won't be back for a while." "That fast!" Xia Shang exclaimed subconsciously.
"What?" Shinichi Izumi felt that Xia Shang was acting a bit strange today.
Xia Shang felt a headache coming on. He hadn't expected to be a step too late. Perhaps Shinichi's mother had already fallen victim. "You know the situation with Parasytes, why didn't you stop them? Moreover, now is absolutely not a good time to travel. You should know that Parasytes love to attack humans in remote, rarely visited places."
Hearing Xia Shang say this, the worry in Shinichi Izumi's heart was rekindled.
The reason he hadn't persuaded his parents was that he couldn't find a reasonable excuse. He was afraid that if he revealed Migi's existence, Migi would kill his parents. After all, ultimately, Migi was still an existence without emotion, just like Reiko Tamura and Mr. A.
"Nothing should happen. There have been almost no Parasyte murder cases recently."
Shinichi Izumi could only use this to convince himself.
"Where did your parents go traveling?" Xia Shang thought about whether he could still salvage the situation.
"They didn't tell me when they left."
Shinichi Izumi shook his head.
Xia Shang put down his coffee and sneered, "You actually dare to gamble on the possibility of your parents being attacked. What if your parents are killed? Can you bear that consequence? Or do you just not care?"
Facing Xia Shang's seemingly cursed words, Shinichi Izumi stood up angrily. At the same time, he knocked over the coffee on the table. In an instant, the scalding coffee soaked his clothes. The sudden commotion attracted everyone's attention.
However, as the unease in his heart gradually intensified, Shinichi Izumi looked down at his right hand.
"You're right, traveling is clearly not a good choice before the Parasytes are dealt with." Being soaked by the coffee actually sobered Shinichi Izumi up quite a bit. "Some things, when it's time to face them, can never be avoided."
Shinichi Izumi opened his mobile phone's contact list, found his mother's name, and tapped to call.
Beep beep!!!
Finally, after more than ten seconds, the phone call connected.
Listening to his mother's familiar voice on the other end, Shinichi Izumi's voice trembled with excitement.
"Ask them where they are now," Xia Shang reminded him from the side.
"Quickly tell me your location!"
Shinichi Izumi asked anxiously.
"There's no time to explain so much. When you come back, I'll tell you everything."
Soon, Shinichi Izumi got their location. "They are at Mount Takao. It only takes an hour to get there from here."
Hanging up the phone, Shinichi Izumi couldn't wait to depart.
"Shinichi, no human should ever know about my existence." Migi emerged from Shinichi Izumi's palm.
"Shut up! Do you believe I'll just cut you off?"
Shinichi Izumi picked up the small knife used for cutting food from the ground and held it against his right arm.
Migi could feel that Shinichi Izumi was serious this time.
"Are parents really that important? Humans are truly strange creatures."
"How could Parasytes possibly understand human emotion? You are just a group of emotionless creatures!" Shinichi Izumi didn't even change his clothes soaked by the coffee. He stood by the roadside and stopped a taxi.
"Mount Takao, please. Thank you."
(end of chapter)