Heretic

What's going on?

Exhausted after a long day of work, Kaili desperately wanted to lie down in bed and rest early. However, if a group of people were gathering to do something nefarious, her home nearby could potentially be affected.

In this world, there's always a kind of scum who don't dare to harm the rich but mercilessly attack poor people like her.

Thinking of this, Kaili lowered her footsteps and slowly approached the construction site, stopping only when she could barely hear the conversation and make out the silhouettes.

"The Goddess has come one step closer to us."

"The divine will finally favor us."

"Those damned Superhumans and rich people, when the Goddess descends, we'll kill those sons of bitches."

Although Kaili couldn't clearly see the speakers' faces, their voices sounded somewhat familiar.

Hearing this, she felt relieved and wanted to turn back.

Poverty breeds chaos and misfortune, and unfortunate people always look for something to comfort their misery. Some cult followers were not uncommon.

Just as she was about to tiptoe away, Kaili heard a new conversation.

"Cover up the traces of the Goddess's arrival, otherwise the Association of Superpower Users and their dogs will sniff it out and come."

"If anyone approaches this area and can't join us to become a believer of the Goddess, kill them. To prevent the news from leaking."

"Like that little rat in the darkness, if you don't come out now, don't blame us for being unkind."

Kaili's heart sank. These people spoke of killing so casually; she didn't want to associate with such lunatics.

Running away carried the risk of death if caught, but joining the cult wouldn't kill her immediately.

At worst, she could report these people to the Police Station tomorrow.

Despite her resolve, she still hesitated as she stood up.

During her moment of hesitation, Kaili saw a homeless man being kicked out from the shadows opposite her.

The homeless man had dark skin, a scruffy beard, and was filthy all over. He seemed to have been ambushed from behind, face-planting into the dirt.

"Hey, I've been sleeping here the whole time. You just didn't notice me."

Kaili recognized this homeless man as someone who often harassed her. He frequently groped women who were alone.

Now, abandoning his usual arrogance, he tried to reason with the cultists. Kaili found it somewhat amusing.

The cultists clearly had no intention of reasoning with him. The leader questioned him in a hoarse voice: "Join us, or die."

Faced with the inquiry, the homeless man's eyes darted around. He spread his hands and said, "As you can see, I have nothing. What's the benefit of joining you?"

"The Goddess will bring fairness and freedom to her believers. We will no longer be oppressed by the rich and Superhumans."

Years of a carefree life had stripped the homeless man of his ability to conceal his true emotions. Hearing this, he couldn't help but laugh out loud, even cracking what he thought was a humorous dirty joke.

"Almost every deity says that. It's just a lie to deceive fools. If the Goddess would spend a night with me, I'd become her most devout believer."

As he finished speaking, he finally sensed the atmosphere was off and belatedly added, "...Not funny?"

"Sacrifice this damned blasphemer to the Goddess, to show our loyalty and dispel the Goddess's wrath."

The leader angrily gave the order.

The homeless man immediately got up to flee. He punched one of the approaching men in the stomach, then grabbed another cultist's collar and pushed him into another cultist.

"Make way!" A voice rang out from the crowd, and the cultists quickly cleared a path.

The homeless man's heart leapt with joy, and he took off running.

A loud buzzing sound erupted. The homeless man hadn't run more than a few steps before he was pinned to the ground. He frantically turned his head to look behind him.

Just then, a chewing-sucking mouthpart pierced his eyeball. Blood splattered, and a faint sucking sound could be heard...

The homeless man's body, lying on the ground, twitched a few times before going still, gradually shriveling up.

Confirming the homeless man's death, the crowd erupted in cheers.

The person who had sucked the blood slowly stood up, their appearance returning to human form. Their voice was hard to distinguish amidst the cheers.

"High Priest, many people in the neighboring district want to join us too."

Kaili collapsed to the ground, her whole body limp. She covered her mouth tightly, not allowing herself the slightest possibility of making a sound.

She watched helplessly as the group busied themselves at the construction site, assigning tasks, chanting slogans, and finally dispersing, leaving the scene clear.

It wasn't until much later that she crawled up from the ground and ran frantically home on all fours.

"Dad, Mom, and Brother!"

Kaili pushed open the door with one thrust, her eyes filled with terror.

"At the construction site, I saw..."

Her eyes widened, her hand gripping the door frame slightly curled, unconsciously stepping back.

Her brother, shirtless, was handing a blood-stained shirt to their mother. He smiled at Kaili, "If you hadn't worked so late, we would have told you earlier."

Dad sternly rebuked, "Why are you still standing in the doorway? If I hadn't pushed that homeless man out, you would have been discovered."

"You don't have to believe in the Goddess if you don't want to, but as believers, we just want to tell you about her," Mom said gently as she took the shirt.

Kaili hesitated for a few seconds, then took off her shoes and closed the door.

If it weren't for her family's help just now, she would have certainly been discovered. Since her family was still quietly protecting her, what did she have to fear?

She complained, "You really scared me to death."

The warm light came on, and Kaili's family sat around the dining table, enjoying a late-night snack while chatting.

...

"Yuan-ge, wait a moment."

Gao Changze crouched by the door of the villa's hall, his fingers rapidly tapping on the screen, finally pressing hard once to lock the screen.

"What's the matter?"

Qi Yuan was dressed and ready to go out. Seeing Gao Changze running over, he stopped opening the door.

"We want to see that conjoined person again."

Gao Changze rubbed his hands like a fly, trying to widen his eyes to make Qi Yuan feel his insignificant sincerity. "There are some suspicious points about her. I want to confirm them."

Qi Yuan suddenly realized, "You want to confirm if the conjoined person's superpower is parasitism or symbiosis?"

It had been several days, and Gao Changze was only asking now. Wasn't his reaction a bit slow?

"How did you know?!"

"Is she?"

Yin Qingran, who had been secretly eavesdropping, disengaged from her parasitic state and asked a different question from Gao Changze.

"She's like you, not only able to parasitize but also possessing other superpowers."

Qi Yuan recalled what he had seen under reconstructed vision at the time. The other person's superpower was mental amplification.

This superpower, which had nothing to do with parasitism, also possessed parasitic abilities, completely defying common sense. Moreover, under normal circumstances, even if a parasite lends their power to the host, they still use the two abilities separately.

The fact that the two people could use their abilities synchronously was exactly like Yin Qingran, as if cut from the same mold.

The only difference was that she wasn't as lethal as Yin Qingran, so the synchronization effect wasn't as good as Yin Qingran's.

Yin Qingran immediately furrowed her delicate brows. "Gao Changze has been rejected by them for several days. My ability level is only A-class, not a match for that Smith. What can I do to exchange for your help?"

Qi Yuan initially wanted to say it wasn't necessary, that he could consider it as payment for her housekeeping. After all, this house was too big and not easy to clean.

But on second thought, he might need someone to run errands for future plans.

"I'll find you when I need something. What do you want to know?"

Although Qi Yuan didn't specify what he needed, Yin Qingran didn't care. "Information about the person who helped them separate."