The car pulled up to a nondescript building on the outskirts of the city.
Fei Hanzhu led them inside, through a series of security checks, and finally into a spacious, well-lit room with a large table at the center.
"Please, have a seat," Fei Hanzhu said, motioning to the chairs.
Gu Jin and Lu Siyao sat down, their eyes scanning the room for any signs of a trap.
"Don’t worry, there is no trap here. We have brought here only for investigation." Fei Hanzhu comnted.
He then passed then two cups of water and said,
"Please-"
Lu Siyao without waiting for his instructions, picked up the cup and drank the water.
Fei Hanzhu: "..." You are really not polite, are you?
"First, I want to thank you for your cooperation and for dealing with the threat in the mall. What you’ve encountered is not sothing we take lightly..."
"Skip the formalities." Gu Jin said impatiently.
Fei Hanzhu too didn’t like to beat around the bush and said,
"Okay. So can you tell about the parasite that you saw today?"
"Parasite?" Lu Siyao was shocked by Fei Hanzhu’s words.
"Yes. The thing that you saw today is most likely a parasite. However, if I knew the entire story it would be much more better."
Gu Jin and Lu Siyao exchanged a look, and only when Gu Jin nodded did Lu Siyao start to recount whatever had happened.
Fei Hanzhu listened carefully the entire ti and finally, when the story was finished he said,
"Have you ever felt any other symptoms before the attack?"
However, in his heart, he was wondering whether Lu Siyao was even telling the truth.
How could a 16 year old defeat a low level parasite?
Either she is too talented, or there is sothing the pair is hiding from him.
Lu Siyao shook her head.
"She has." Gu Jin replied.
Lu Siyao turned to look at Gu Jin with a confused expression.
Gu Jin continued,
"Just 2 weeks ago, she felt as if soone was watching her when she was using the washroom."
Lu Siyao tilted her head and thought for a while, then she rembered that she had indeed felt so.
To think that Gu Jin still rembers that incident...Lu Siyao was truly touched.
From Lu Siyao’s expression, Fei Hanzhu understood that Gu Jin’s words were true.
"Okay, then you can leave." Fei Hanzhu said as he looked at Gu Jin.
Gu Jin frowned and asked,
"Do you know why that... thing or parasite...attacked Siyao?"
"I don’t know whether I am right or not but so far, considering all the cases that happened, your friend was attacked because of her innate talent."
"My innate talent? But why?" Lu Siyao was confused.
Fei Hanzhu explained,
"These parasites target the people who have innate talent to increase their level." Fei Hanzhu explained.
"They latch onto individuals who possess unique abilities, feeding off their energy and abilities to grow stronger."
Lu Siyao’s eyes widened. "So, it wanted to use my talent for itself?"
"Even more. Once they completely suck out the host’s talent or mana core, they look for another host.
In a way, you can think of them as leeches who suck your blood to increase their own strength and lifespan."
Lu Siyao’s face paled.
"So, it would have eventually killed ?"
"Yes," Fei Hanzhu confird grimly.
"The longer they stay attached, the more damage they do. In the earlier stage when the parasite enters the host’s body, the host wouldn’t know about it but slowly they take control of the host and beco so proficient that they can even alert with the host’s facial features or body.
Hence once a parasite enters the body of soone it becos difficult to identify them until the later stage.
Once in the later stage, the host can’t be saved no matter what."
Lu Siyao shivered and asked,
"If so then why did that fake ’Liang Bao’ didn’t wait and attack directly? Maybe if it had waited for a few more days then..."
She couldn’t finish her words and trembled.
"There are two possibilities. The first one is, that the parasite residing in that girl’s body realized that it couldn’t hold onto the body any longer and hence wanted to change the body instantly.
Or it realized that attacking you was difficult and couldn’t get any better opportunity to make its move. Either way, it was desperate, and had to act quickly," Fei Hanzhu explained.
Gu Jin nodded thoughtfully. "So, it was a matter of ti and opportunity."
"Exactly," Fei Hanzhu confird. "The good news is that you managed to fight it off before it could do any more harm."
Lu Siyao took a deep breath, trying to steady herself. "So, what do we do now?"
"For now, Miss Lu would have to stay with us."
Gu Jin frowned,
"Just now you asked us to leave? And now you are telling us that Siyao has to stay with you? What exactly do you an by that?"
Fei Hanzhu sighed, looking directly at Gu Jin,
"I asked you to leave. I never gave her the permission to leave."
Gu Jin’s eyes turned cold,
"Mr. Fei you will be disappointed to know this but she doesn’t need your permission to leave."
Domineering.
Fei Hanzhu raised his hands in a placating gesture.
"I understand your concern, Mr. Gu, but please hear out. This is not about permission; it’s about protection.
If Lu Siyao leaves now, she could be in grave danger. We need to ensure her safety and study these parasites further."
Gu Jin’s gaze remained steely.
"And how do we know you can be trusted? You’ve been less than forthcoming so far."
Fei Hanzhu took a deep breath, choosing his words carefully.
"I apologize if it seed that way. My priority is the safety of everyone involved. We have facilities here that can protect Miss Lu and allow us to understand these parasites better.
You are free to stay with her and oversee everything. This is not a detention, it’s a precaution."
Gu Jin was about to argue when Lu Siyao held her hand. Lu Siyao looked at Fei Hanzhu and said,
"I would like to talk with my friend. Alone." She emphasized the word alone so that Fei Hanzhu would leave.
As if understanding her decision, Fei Hanzhu nodded and left.
Gu Jin was enough to know Lu Siyao’s decision and hence she instantly opposed it,
"No! You can’t stay here! You are not so test subject that they need to monitor!"
She didn’t want to admit, that she was feeling insecure.
What if they can’t protect Lu Siyao at the critical mont? What if they forget about Lu Siyao at the critical mont? What if they perford so strange experint on her?
Lu Siyao shook her head,
"They are a governnt body, of course, they will try their best to protect . Have you ever thought, what the world would think if they knew that a person who the Special Officer protects died..."
"Shutup! I don’t care about their reputation. I don’t want...Anyways you are coming with ." Gu Jin said with gritted teeth.
Lu Siyao smiled,
"Jin’er you can’t protect forever. If I stay here, maybe I could learn so military techniques and protect myself in the ti of need?"
For the past weeks, she noticed how difficult Gu Jin’s life had beco. Just to ensure her safety, Gu Jin doesn’t get to rest at all.
She would go to the magic academy, then to Long Mansion, and then to her villa. She wouldn’t sleep the entire night in the fear that soone would attack her.
What was worse was...she could see that Gu Jin had little to no ti to cultivate because she was busy babysitting her.
How could Gu Jin not understand Lu Siyao’s thoughts?
Gu Jin took a deep breath, trying to calm her racing thoughts.
"Siyao, I understand your point, but I can’t help but worry. We’ve been through so much together, and the idea of leaving you here with people we barely know..."
Lu Siyao reached out, taking Gu Jin’s hand in hers.
"Jin, I know you care about . But I need to learn how to protect myself too. This place, these people, they might be able to teach things we can’t learn on our own."
Gu Jin’s expression softened as she looked into Lu Siyao’s determined eyes.
"But what if sothing happens to you? What if they can’t protect you?"
Lu Siyao squeezed her hand.
"Then I’ll be counting on you to co back and save , just like you always have. But we can’t keep living in fear. We need to be proactive."
Gu Jin sighed, realizing that Lu Siyao had made up her mind.
"Alright, Siyao. If you believe this is the best course of action, I’ll support you. But I won’t be far. If anything seems off, if you feel unsafe, you call imdiately."
Lu Siyao was right...she can’t protect her every ti.
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