Black Flag Country.

In a certain mountain hollow, Lu Cheng walked into a cave, and two short knives were immediately placed at his neck.

"I am Lu Cheng." He raised both hands. "I am here to see the Prophet."

A calm voice came from inside the cave: "Let him pass."

The two short knives withdrew. Lu Cheng glanced at the unknown knife-wielder in the shadows and walked into the chamber deep within the cave.

He saw the Prophet sitting by the cave wall, his short dark green hair framing eyes still covered with a black cloth.

"What brings you to me?"

"Many of the elite from the Ascendant regiment within the frontline forces have been withdrawn. Top-tier combatants like Adam from Suroma, Bai Xuewu from Beixing, and others have all returned to their home countries."

Lu Cheng had been lurking within the Joint Force all this time, gathering intelligence, and his primary focus was the movements of powerful Ascendants.

"They are likely being transferred to Fahe," the Prophet said.

Hearing this, Lu Cheng was startled in his heart: "Prophet... you already knew?"

The Prophet neither confirmed nor denied. Lu Cheng paused for a moment before continuing: "I believe this is an opportunity. Without top-tier Ascendants holding the fort, if we strike suddenly from within, the Joint Force will definitely fall into chaos."

"Strike from within."

"Yes. For example, attacking during meetings of Joint Force commanders and other higher-ups. If we can eliminate them, the Joint Force soldiers, losing command, will become a disorganized rabble."

"Lu Cheng, do you know our goal is diffusion, not killing?"

"..."

"You have such thoughts because your transformation is not yet complete. You have not fully accepted the Calling, have not truly become one of us."

Any parasitized form could distinguish whether another was of its kind or not, let alone the Prophet as their leader.

Hearing this, Lu Cheng finally could no longer contain himself: "Prophet, forgive my bluntness! Although I don't know how you made those parasitized forms elect you as leader, I believe you have also not completed the transformation... you are still human!"

The corners of the Prophet's mouth turned down slightly: "You think I am human?"

"Correct. Although I cannot distinguish between humans and parasitized forms, from the first time I saw you, I felt you still retained a human consciousness, not one replaced by spores!"

"..."

Lu Cheng knelt before the Prophet, his forehead pressing against the cold stone.

"Prophet, I want to be like you, to retain my own consciousness as a human, yet also be free from the torment of spore addiction and halt the transformation process. Please teach me how to do this!"

Although Lu Cheng, relying on strength surpassing ordinary Ascendants, had always resisted completing the final transformation, he had recently felt that he was about to reach his limit.

He had a premonition that if he inhaled spores just 2-3 more times, he would completely finish the transformation and become a parasitized form.

At that time, his self-consciousness would be replaced by the spores. Even if he retained memories, it would no longer be his original self.

He had no other choice but to come see the Prophet and beg for his help.

"Lu Cheng, your words just now have already violated the tenet of 'All is for Diffusion'."

Lu Cheng's heart sank. If the Prophet wouldn't help him, then apart from complete transformation, he had no other path.

"However, you are not wrong." The Prophet stood up and walked in front of Lu Cheng. "My consciousness indeed has not been completely replaced by spores."

"I am still human."

"!!"

Lu Cheng looked up sharply, his face filled with wild joy.

He hadn't expected his sixth sense to be right! Even without evidence, he had guessed correctly!

"Prophet, I—"

"I can help you achieve your wish." The Prophet interrupted. "But only after you complete a task."

"A task." Lu Cheng suppressed the excitement in his heart. "What task?"

The Prophet lifted his head, his gaze seeming to pierce through the eye-covering black cloth and the thick cave wall, reaching far to the east.

"Soldiers cannot kill us. Ordinary Ascendants cannot either. However, they have told me that the true threat has already appeared."

They...

Lu Cheng knew the Prophet was referring to those "voices."

The "gentle whispers" that every spore-infected individual would hear in their dreams, in their hallucinations.

"There are two targets in total, but you only need to deal with one."

"Do we need to kill someone? No problem." Lu Cheng replied without hesitation.

Ever since he left the academy and killed several fellow alumni, he knew he had no path of return.

Hands stained with blood cannot be washed clean.

"There is a problem." The Prophet said. "You are no match for them."

"..."

Lu Cheng's face showed surprise.

Even if he wasn't a top-tier Ascendant, as a top-ranking elite student of his academy cohort, his strength was far beyond that of ordinary Ascendants. Especially as the transformation gradually progressed, the enhancements the spores gave him were increasing... Even he was no match? Who could the target be?

"Although you are no match for the target, we will help you. You only need to create an opportunity." The Prophet said.

"May I ask, Prophet, who is the target...?"

"The lecturer from the Beixing Mind Power Development Academy, Shi Jingyi."

Lu Cheng was slightly stunned.

...

Nighttime, Countermeasures Research Office, Subsidiary Base No. 2.

Underground, third floor. Two groups of people in armed uniforms were conducting a shift change in front of a cell.

"Time's up. You can withdraw."

"Finally, shift change. So tired~"

"Hey, remember not to look up at the sky when you go out tonight. Be careful of getting killed by the Rules."

"I'm not that stupid. Besides, once a Rule is announced, you can only return to the dormitory, not leave the base."

After the shift change was completed, the few armed guards who had withdrawn had just reached the elevator when they saw someone coming down from the surface via the elevator.

They exchanged glances. Who would come at this time?

The elevator doors opened, and three people walked out.

A scholar in a white lab coat with somewhat messy hair, followed by a robust, muscular man with a crew cut wearing a green jacket.

The third was a young man dressed entirely in black, with a pale, delicate face and eyes as dark as spilled ink.

The armed guards didn't recognize the young man in black, but they recognized the scholar in the white coat. They all stood straight and said in unison: "Dr. Zhang!"

Zhang Minglu waved his hand: "Alright, you may go. We have business to attend to."

"Yes!"

Watching the three head towards the cell area, the armed guards whispered among themselves.

"Why is Dr. Zhang coming here in the middle of the night?"

"Don't know... The one with him is Captain Longhun, right? Who's the other one?"

"Don't know him. But if he's coming with Dr. Zhang and the others, he's definitely not an ordinary person."

"Are they here to see the parasitized form?"

"Definitely... This is where the parasitized forms are held. What else would they come here for if not to see them?"

Even though they were already far away, their conversation was clearly captured by Guan Tong.

After entering the second stage of Ascension, his Five Senses had greatly enhanced. Not only could he see and hear farther, he could even hear some sounds normal people couldn't.

Sounds below 20 Hz and above 20,000 Hz, beyond most people's hearing range. Guan Tong couldn't hear them before either, but now he could keenly perceive extremely subtle sounds. This sensation was something he wasn't yet accustomed to.

Just like right now, before even entering the room holding the parasitized form, he could already hear the muttering coming from inside.

"Great Prophet... lead us to the homeland in our dreams..."

Was it praying?

"Dr. Zhang!"

The armed guards in front of the cell door immediately saluted upon seeing Zhang Minglu.

Zhang Minglu took out his credentials: "We need to make contact with the parasitized form for no more than 30 minutes. Here is the authorization document."

A guard took it, remotely verified it, and confirmed it was valid.

"Understood, Dr. Zhang. We will notify you in thirty minutes."

The guards opened the sturdy cell door, and the three entered.

The space inside wasn't large. A man was prostrate on the bed, hands clasped together, murmuring incessantly.

Hearing the commotion at the door, the man immediately looked up, his expression switching from pious to ferocious in an instant.

Zhang Minglu turned his head to Guan Tong and said: "You should know, during that [Third Contact] Rule period, all parasitized forms detained by Human Consortium nations were sent to the Xisiya Empire Landing Site. This one was captured by the Joint Force from the frontlines after the Rule ended, confirmed to be a parasitized form."

Guan Tong nodded.

"Although I don't know how you plan to distinguish them... I am very much looking forward to the result!"

The excitement in Zhang Minglu's eyes was hard to conceal.

When he received Guan Tong's call and heard the latter say he wanted to try identifying parasitized forms, he was instantly both shocked and overjoyed.

Although the problem of the Fire Thief Worship Cult was significant now, the issue of parasitized forms was equally serious and urgently needed solving.

If Guan Tong could truly distinguish parasitized forms, then his method would be the key for humanity to completely eradicate these dangerous existences.

So without another word, he made arrangements overnight, wanting to witness Guan Tong's attempt together with Longhun.

"Damned humans! The Divine Kingdom will not forgive you! The Prophet will purify you all!"

The parasitized form in the cell roared. Now Guan Tong understood why Zhang Minglu said they could be 100% certain this guy was a parasitized form.

These lower-intelligence, short-tempered parasitized forms, incapable of telling lies to conceal themselves, were the easiest to identify.

The real difficulty for humans were those parasitized forms who would rather die than admit they were parasitized forms.

Guan Tong walked forward.

"Human!"

The parasitized form lunged. In the next second, over a dozen shadow lines drilled out from Guan Tong's sleeves, trussing up the parasitized form so it couldn't move at all.

"Let go— Mmph!"

Its mouth was also gagged.

Zhang Minglu and Longhun watched silently from behind, not intervening at all.

Guan Tong walked up to the immobilized parasitized form, observed it for a moment, and raised his right hand.

Back when humanity asked the Nano Swarm how to distinguish parasitized forms, among the answers they gave, the only term humans could understand was "Mind Network."

So then...

Guan Tong placed his palm on the parasitized form's forehead and silently thought:

*Establish Mind Network.*