**Chapter 36: I Am the Ultimate Lifeform**
Xia Shang was right.
The day after he spoke with Shinichi Izumi, Hirokawa launched a bloody retaliation.
All 22 people in the Violence Agency were killed, without exception. And Hirokawa's retaliation continued. New information constantly scrolled across television screens: 16 people killed on Ginza A Street, including 3 young children and 1 elderly person; 31 deaths in the Foothold Zone...
The Parasites' crazy actions enraged the police high command! At the same time, it caused countless people to be too afraid to leave their homes. Even more, some cursed the police online for being foolish and completely disregarding the lives of the public. A portion of people even organized online campaigns to support the Parasites, becoming human traitors, commonly known as 'human traitors'.
"It's a good thing Parasites can't reproduce, otherwise things would be really messed up."
If Parasites could reproduce, the plot of the source material would at least increase tenfold. Xia Shang could basically deduce the story's direction: Parasites would infiltrate the upper echelons of human society, gradually gaining complete influence, then use a conciliatory policy to win people over and gain public trust, essentially herding humans. Finally, as the number of Parasites increased, it would intensify the conflict between humans and Parasites. At this point, a group of resisters would emerge, exposing the bloody truth hidden beneath the utopia and attempting to awaken more people. However, the Parasites would quickly devise a solution: sacrifice a batch of insignificant Parasites and secretly control the leaders among the resisting humans who had been subjected to parasitism. The final story would be that the Parasitized leader would publicly announce that all Parasites had been killed, and he would become a hero of humanity. This would become a cycle, repeating endlessly.
The ultimate direction of the story was very dark, but in Xia Shang's view, it was the most logical progression.
Unfortunately, the current number of Parasites is only around a thousand. This number is like a drop in the ocean within human society, unable to stir up much of a wave.
If he wasn't mistaken, the reason the Parasites put forward Mitsuo Goto was likely to gradually infiltrate the upper echelons of humanity.
Their plan is still ongoing because it is their last hope.
As long as Mitsuo Goto successfully gets elected Mayor, he will have the authority to halt all Police activities. Otherwise, methods like hair testing and placing X-ray detection machines in crowded areas are enough to kill the vast majority of Parasites. They would face the crisis of racial annihilation.
"Are they trying to pressure the Police, hoping the Police will abandon all actions against the Parasites? Too bad, you've underestimated the Police's resolve." The screen next to Xia Shang lit up with a message from Police Chief Fujita.
"Continue the operation!"
"Oh dear, oh dear, the story is getting more and more interesting."
...
Over the next half month, the residents of Tokyo and Japan were shrouded under a dark cloud named death. More and more people were killed, with the highest casualties being police officers. News of attacks on Police Departments across various regions constantly spread. As public opinion online grew increasingly turbulent, even the Police were struggling to hold on.
Xia Shang stood at the entrance of a Coffee Shop, looking up. He didn't know when the sky over Tokyo had turned dark.
He calmly walked into the Coffee Shop. Only Reiko Tamura was inside.
"If it weren't for your reckless actions, things wouldn't have escalated to this point." Reiko Tamura sat in her seat, looking at Xia Shang with cold eyes.
It seemed the Parasites had their own intelligence channels within the Police, otherwise, they couldn't have known Xia Shang was the mastermind behind the scenes.
Xia Shang casually sat in the seat opposite her. "Is that so? Are you sure it's my problem? Ultimately, isn't it because you Parasites can't control your killing and eating instincts? You should know that the Police could tolerate one or two killings, but now it has reached an unbearable point."
"I was just the fuse; you were the ones who ultimately ignited the explosives."
Reiko Tamura was speechless. She couldn't refute Xia Shang's words because she knew he was right.
She had originally created the Organization because she wanted Parasites to integrate into human society. But now, the guys within the Organization had gone mad. They considered themselves higher creatures and wanted to rule humans. This went against her original intention when forming the Organization. "Unable to control their instincts, Parasites are ultimately just wild beasts."
"Don't forget, you are also a part of the Parasites," Reiko Tamura said coldly.
Xia Shang picked up the coffee in his hand, took a sip in front of her, and after putting the cup down, he smiled and said, "Please don't lump me in with that bunch of garbage. Compared to them, I am the Ultimate Lifeform."
"Ultimate Lifeform? It seems you're just as crazy as them, and perhaps even more so."
"Is that right?" Xia Shang shrugged. "Fine, say whatever you want. However, you asked me to come here today, surely it wasn't just to say this."
"The cooperation regarding the Foothold Zone incident, you haven't forgotten, have you?" Reiko Tamura said.
"What do you need me to do?"
Xia Shang replied directly.
Reiko Tamura didn't speak but took out a baby birth certificate. She placed the certificate in front of Xia Shang.
"Is this your child? He looks quite cute." Xia Shang looked at the photo on the certificate and praised.
Hearing Xia Shang's praise, a hint of a smile couldn't help but appear on Reiko Tamura's face. Although the smile was fleeting, Xia Shang still caught it.
"I hope that after I die, no one will know this is my child. He just needs to live a peaceful life."
Reiko Tamura's tone was calm, as if she didn't care about death.
Xia Shang frowned. "You can take him to a place where no one knows you and live there now. There's no need for me to do this."
"Because I am a Parasitic Organism, a wild beast that can lose control of its instincts at any time."
After Reiko Tamura finished speaking, she got up and left.
Watching her retreating figure, Xia Shang's eyes were thoughtful. "Emotion is a complex thing. Once possessed, even a Parasyte can change."
He carefully folded the birth certificate on the table and put it into his pocket.
Meanwhile, Shinichi Izumi was currently being chased by a Parasyte. He had clearly used sensing to detect three Parasites on the opponent, yet only one Parasyte appeared before him.
"No, there are three Parasites in his body. That's truly surprising."
"That's right, so I'm called Miki. Isn't that creative?" Miki stood in the middle of the road, his appearance like a fitness trainer from a gym. He smiled at Shinichi Izumi, clearly not taking this opponent seriously.
As Miki's arm split into six tentacles, their speed was so fast that in a single exchange, they cut Shinichi Izumi's chest.
Facing Miki's attack, Shinichi Izumi and Migi could only barely fend it off.
"Shinichi, run!"
(End of Chapter)