"Er Long!"

Long shouted, his eyes twitching, "No matter what, Zhang Can is one of us, a brother. His infection was fated, but you're going too far!"

"I'm going too far?"

Er Long laughed bitterly, "I carried him back from a pile of corpses. He swore to the heavens he would never betray us, but what did he do? To survive disgracefully, how many brothers did he sacrifice?"

"I didn't survive disgracefully!"

From within a twisted body, Zhang Can's face emerged, his ferocious features showing a hint of panic, "I can't die! My wife is about to give birth, I need to stay alive to see my child..."

"But do we deserve to die? Do they... deserve to die?"

He pointed to the dozen people lying at the hotel entrance, all of them militiamen previously scalded by bodily fluids.

Er Long roared, "You are a coward, a disgrace to Celestial Essence Community, a lifelong stain on my face!"

"No, I'm not!"

Remarkably, Cheng Ye saw a sliver of genuine human fear on the mucous-covered face.

Advanced Fusion Body, still harboring such emotions?

"Can!"

An elderly voice emerged from the crowd. Elder Song, over sixty years old and hunched over, managed to break away from the people supporting him and steadily walked forward.

"Elder Qu?"

Someone stepped forward to stop him, but he waved them off and casually walked towards Zhang Can.

"Elder Qu."

Cheng Ye raised the remote in his hand and said gravely, "You can stand there and speak to him, but you can't move any closer."

"Inspector Cheng, rest assured, this old man has crawled out of the wave of infection and has faced no less than a hundred Fusion Bodies in battle. Can, he's still conscious."

Elder Song forced a smile and only stopped three steps away from the Fusion Body.

"Elder Qu! I'm truly not afraid to die!"

Zhang Can's tentacles trembled violently, like a wounded beast.

"I know, I know it all..."

Elder Song smiled in comfort, suddenly reaching out to slap himself.

The crisp sound stunned everyone, even a look of surprise spread across Zhang Can's face.

"It was Elder Qu, Elder Qu who caused you to end up like this."

"I'm old now, and afraid. I was always in a rush, pushing you to take over, putting too much pressure on you."

Under the dim streetlamp, Elder Song's eyes glistened with a crystal gleam. He murmured as he took a few steps forward, his dry right hand gently resting on the head Zhang Can extended, his fingers caressing the mucous-covered skin.

To the naked eye, the massive Fusion Body suddenly stiffened, and the two tentacles behind it miraculously calmed down.

"The burden of these few thousand people all on your shoulders, Can, you can't bear it, you should've escaped long ago..."

"Elder Qu, I..."

Zhang Can's lips quivered, his mucus-covered face twitched, and he let out a suppressed, human-like wail.

"Rest assured, Er Long wanted me to bring your wife, but I didn't listen to him."

"Now, Elder Qu gives you a chance."

Elder Song bent down, aligning his gaze with Zhang Can's, his voice suddenly sharp and undeniable:

"You go, kneel before Inspector Cheng, admit your mistakes, and you'll still be one of us from the Celestial Essence Community, the hero who emerged from our midst. I will let your wife know, your child know, that her man, his father is a true man!"

"Or, you can now devour Elder Qu, as if these old eyes of mine misjudged you, mistook you, Can!"

"Elder Qu!"

A terrifying roar erupted once again from the center of the Starfish.

But this time, there was no longer any impact, only a blood-colored, painful wail mixed in.

Under the petrified gazes of everyone, this Advanced Fusion Body slowly propped up its body, tremblingly dragging itself toward Cheng Ye with its tentacles.

"Captain..."

"No need." Cheng Ye waved his hand, interrupting what Huang Sheng was about to say.

As an Inspector, he had seen thousands of cases in his manual.

But never had any case brought him such immense shock as this moment.

A person parasitized by a Fusion Body can actually possess emotions, suppress the pollution of the parasite?

Bang.

The massive Starfish Fusion Body knelt down with a boom three steps away from Cheng Ye, its two tentacles flopping down like tattered rags, with mucus seeping out through the holes.

"Inspector Cheng, you weren't mistaken, I... am a coward."

"Shoot, please give this coward... one final shred of dignity."

Cheng Ye was momentarily stunned, then suddenly asked, "What about your wife and child?"

Surprisingly, Zhang Can understood the implication, and his twisted face suddenly grew tranquil:

"I have no opportunity to turn back."

"Can't, or don't want to?"

"Can't." Zhang Can's voice suddenly turned hoarse, "It's pollution, pollution starting from the soul. I can feel it. I truly had a chance to withstand that extraordinary pollution, but I..."

He pondered, squeezing out six words, "Lack one crucial thing."

"What do you mean?"

"Indescribable, but I can feel it, inherently incomplete."

Zhang Can's tentacles suddenly trembled violently, "As if... my soul has a gap, my genes missing a piece!"

"Hmm?"

Cheng Ye was slightly taken aback, but before he could delve deeper into the meaning of these words.

The drones overhead suddenly erupted in a piercing, shrill noise.

"Ah!"

In the previous second, Zhang Can, who had regained his sanity, suddenly grimaced in pain, his eyes engulfed by blood, and the hanging tentacles rose like venomous snakes!

"Quick, kill me now!"

"Zhang Can, listen, you must cooperate with me 100%!"

"I, I cooperate with you, Inspector Cheng, I fully cooperate with you!"

The painful howls were unsettling.

Facing the flailing tentacles, Cheng Ye drew a pistol from his waist, his movements appearing hesitant.

But in the dimension visible only to him, the panel quietly unfolded.

[Zhang Can, 100% (Perfect)]

[Retrievable Range: Intel (Guaranteed), Items (Guaranteed), Skills (Lv1, Probability -15%, Lv2, Probability -1%)]

"It actually shows guaranteed retrieval, with such low probability for skills?"

Cheng Ye's pupils shrank rapidly; this was the first time he'd seen such a description on a search panel.

The blue light of intel and items shone brightly, while the skills appeared dull, shrouded in a gray light.

Perfect cooperation typically increased hidden probability by 50%, but now it showed only a 1% chance to retrieve a Level 2 skill.

Is the energy insufficient?

Or is it that Zhang Can's life form has already reached another level?

"Intel, or, items?"

The charging value is only 69%, one opportunity.

Before using the panel, he wanted to search for intel, to find extraordinary information.

But now, Cheng Ye hesitated for a moment, his gaze falling on items.

In an inexplicable way, he had a feeling that if Zhang Can's life form had evolved, then he would obtain...

"Search, items!"

[Retrieval Successful!]

[Zhang Can (Sub-Ecological)]

[Retrievable Item Range:....]

[Search Successful, you have obtained the special item - Tear of the Horned Starfish]

...

[Tear of the Horned Starfish (Extraordinary Item)]

[Description]: It's said that when a Horned Starfish witnesses genuine emotion, it will shed tears. Each tear holds incredible power, and consuming it can provide massive short-term enhancement, stepping into the extraordinary.

[Power Direction]: Guard

[Usage Effect]: Immediately enters the Horned Starfish Coexistence State of Protection, lasting '5' minutes.

During the duration, you will receive the following benefits:

Strength: Amplified to 3165kg

Speed: Amplified to 100m/4.95s

Defense: Amplified to completely ignore kinetic impact below 157,000 joules

Gain Skills: Carnivorous Recovery (Extraordinary; Lv5), Soul Scream (Extraordinary; Lv6)

[Note]: After the Coexistence State ends, the user will receive the "Guardian Blessing of the Horned Starfish"

[Note]: Guardian Blessing of the Horned Starfish: Permanently immune to mental impact skills (Level less than Lv6)

...

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