The power of the flames were so strong that they were pushed back to the capsule. Even while they were screaming, they did their best to try to advance.
They left the survivors without change, locked in the capsule. They will be released once this is all taken care of. It will become a problem if they are released and change later.
Burning the hosts went smoothly. Even if the outside was burned, the inside may not be, so Hercules followed after and finished the job up.
Parasites come jumping out of the hosts that are burned black. Hercules caught them instantly and popped them. They really are disgusting.
They did not neglect the clean up because there could not be a single mistake. They need to avoid letting even 1 go that could infect a force member.
Several hours passed. 90% of the 1199 capsules were done. Now, they only have 1 more leg to go. There are only 17 survivors left.
No matter how much they search through sleeping rooms 2 through 8, it seems it would be difficult to reach over 200 people. According to the lieutenant, the uninfected would not be more than 0.1%. This might as well be annihilation.
“Huh?”
The force members look at capsule number 1156 and are puzzled. They do appear to be hosts, but their behavior patterns are different from the 9 they killed before.
The others tried to break open the capsule, but these guys are just staring. It feels weird because they are glaring with their bloodshot eyes.
“What are you looking at?”
He got close to the bulletproof glass and taunted the host.
Kya!
The host opens its mouth. Is it angry? It acted special, but it reacted to the provocation. There! Try making a fuss.
It did not take even 0.1 seconds. A parasite flew out of the host’s mouth, penetrated the bulletproof glass, and flooded the force member’s face.
The force member’s body bends reflexively. The 2nd stage of his body modifications helped him barely avoid the tentacles’ attack.
He would have already become a host if he had been in the conditions of his beginner days.
“Da-damn!”
The force went back in a cold sweat. They do not have the courage to go forward and press the button. They had almost lost their lives with an involuntary provocation.
After a bit of noise, the force members’ attention was directed to capsule number 1156. It cannot be an ordinary parasite if it can get through bulletproof glass.
-[Avoid it!]
Lim Si Hyun yelled. Avoid it? When they avoided it already? The force members did not understand, and they were losing consciousness when they did.
The host’s tentacles inflated and a parasite flew out of the hole at the end. It is a dark brown.
It is comparable just in appearance to the clear or white parasites.
As soon as it spit out the brown parasite, the host’s skin crumbled and withered like that of an elderly person. Eventually, it became flaccid and died.
It had already gathered all of the nutrients from the host.
The brown parasite went into the metal armor. It did not penetrate it. It is body armor, but there are holes for ventilation to make action easier.
The parasite had attacked one of those. It could not get through the strong impact tights and traveled up, entering orally and heading straight for the brain.
The host was hidden by the metal armor and started to go through abnormal transitions.
If a good seed meets a good field, the fruition must also be good. The Lifer who had been remodeled with body modifications is the best ingredient for the parasite.
“It’s too late to save him!”
“Kill him!”
While it was transitioning, the force members used the flamethrower on the host. The flames covered the metal armor, but the transition did not stop.
The material itself is strong against heat and cold and he even has the impact tights, so the effect is weak. It is unbelievable that a mutant is benefiting from their gear.
“Hercules! Take care of it!”
“Kill the enemy!”
Hercules hits off from the ground and rushes. When the force members saw Hercules charge like a bull, they quickly left the site.
Bang bang!
It struck the metal armor with its shoulder. The host flew 10m and hit the wall. There was not much damage and it stood up right away.
Hercules put pressure on the host’s neck and chest, scanned its insides with its eyes, and tried to rip the metal armor off with its hands.
Zing!
The scanning results are delivered through the hologram. The mutation process is included. A thread-like, brown parasite made roots in the brain.
It is abnormal as though looking at a living being rather than a brain.
As it was infected by the parasite, the physical ability multiplied. Numerically speaking, it is similar to Cha Jun Sung or Park Jin Hyuk.
“It’s at least a level 3.”
“At most a level 4.”
Cha Jun Sung and Koharu face each other. Since parasites are not mutants with constant shape, it is hard to make a distinction just from appearances.
According to the stats shown on the hologram, the mutation is in progress from level 3. It can evolve with rich nutrients and time.
The host kicked at Hercules’ temple hard with its foot. The power was strong and made Hercules let go.
Kiki!
The host takes a stance like a human. It is awkward, but it is not behavior that a mutant should be showing. This is the fear of parasites.
Parasites dominate their hosts’ brains. Humans have the highest intellect in the world. Inevitably, they will advance as much.
It has the memories of when the host was human, and uses what it knows.
A restriction per se is that it uses the host’s brain less if it is of a lower level and more if it is at a higher level. If it is level 3 or 4, it will use the brain at least a little.
-[Metal armor shock absorber, breakage rate under 1.5%. Mutant level, level 3.]
Hercules relaxes its neck after being hit, and gives the mutant a level.
Intermediate or lower. If it were the Slayer, there would be 5% damage and more. It is still impressive. A bug had changed a person into a level 3 mutant.
Kyak!
Papat!
The host avoids Hercules. It went up against Hercules once and realized that it cannot win. It is agile and not easily caught.
Huh?
There is a change in the hologram. The brown parasite that fused with the brain divides into hundreds. Then they came out through the host’s mouth.
Papapapat!
The parasites as small as ants spread all over the floor and enter the mouths of the burnt hosts. What are they trying to do inside dead bodies?
Chomp chomp.
They are eating the corpses. They exclude the burnt parts and eat away at the rest. The force members were swinging the flamethrowers around even more because of their aversion to the effect on the brain.
The parasites avoided the flames and repeated their actions several times. They grew bigger and bigger. After a while, they were the size of a human fist.
They killed most of the parasites, but dozens of them avoided the bullets and flames to survive. They had the vitality of cockroaches.
“Do I need to get involved?”
Pew pew!
Park Jin Hyuk hit the parasites with his Head Hunter. It was like a turtle was crawling. There were so many that he could not kill all of them and missed half.
They hear the sound of something being chewed. The host chews and eats the parasites. This is how it makes up for the nutrients it lacks. The serious part comes next.
The host trusts its metal armor, and walks around to eat the dead parasites. It seems it does not matter whether they are dead or alive.
Kyak!
The host roared, pressed the release button, and took the metal armor off.
It had used the force member’s memory. The impact tights are swollen. Its bulky muscles and veins are showing through the thick fibers.
The lieutenant’s nightmares had come alive again. He ran away behind the force members, and goes in a frenzy to the survivors in the capsule. A few even fainted.
The host went around, hiding in places with cover.
It knows what guns and flamethrowers are, and it moved while predicting the paths for attack. They cannot set off bombs because the force has gathered to a small space.
Tatak!
Then it glances over the force from dozens of meters away, on the ceiling.
-[Everyone get out.]
Cha Jun Sung radios in. He cannot fight properly because there are too many Lifers.
-[Are you saying we should ignore it?]
-[This is a space where we cannot attack together. Let’s leave it to Hercules.]
They cannot win fully, but he had brought some equipment that he needs. He believes that he can repair the damage one or two times.
-[Alright.]
-[We’re going outside.]
Lim Si Hyun sent the force to the entrance. Survivors were kept in the capsules. They mean to keep the time since they need to be watched for a day.
The impact tights could not withstand the strength of the inflation, and ripped little by little.
It does not reach 4m in size, but the tentacles all over its body writhe like snakes. It is certain that anyone caught on those will become a host.
“I’ll stay.”
“What?”
Lim Si Hyun and the force are surprised when Cha Jun Sung speaks. If he stays here and Hercules loses, he will die or become infected, which would only exacerbate the situation.
“I need to remain if I am to give detailed instructions. Don’t worry.”
They will combine their power and get rid of it quickly. It is not like Cha Jun Sung to drag it on for a long time.
“We’ll leave it to you.”
Lim Si Hyun closed the door. Inside the capsule are only Cha Jun Sung, Hercules, the host, and the survivors. The environment had become suitable for battle.
“You won’t come down?”
Kihik!
The host has no thoughts of coming down from the ceiling. It is thinking about how it can infect the survivors who are locked up in the capsule.
“What are you thinking about so hard? If you don’t come down, I’m going up.”
Pang!
Cha Jun Sung steps on the wall and stairs and bursts through the air.
Hercules also started up the booster under its feet. It is one level 4 against the 2. There is an obvious outcome, but they cannot avoid battle.