Chapter 171 - 158: Su Ze, Join My Body

As Mrs. Yun spoke, she took out her phone and tapped on it a few times.

Su Ze’s phone chimed. He picked it up and saw that Mrs. Yun had added both him and Mr. Ya to a group chat.

The group’s name was "Secret Operations Department Comms." Aside from Mrs. Yun, everyone else in the group was a stranger to him.

Mrs. Yun said, "You and Mr. Ya are members of the Secret Operations Department now too. You two will be in charge of searching and patrolling the Dongli University campus. If you run into any trouble, you can ask for help in the group chat or contact Pei Wuhua. Mr. Zhou has already left the campus to hunt for the killer.

"The two of you must stick together. Do not split up."

Her final warning was out of concern for Su Ze’s safety. As long as Su Ze stayed with Mr. Ya, he wouldn’t have to worry.

Su Ze nodded in agreement. After watching Mrs. Yun leave, he immediately contacted Mr. Ya, and the two met up at the villa’s entrance.

"If we just patrol Dongli University aimlessly, we’ll never find anything even if there is a problem. We need to mobilize the masses," Su Ze said.

"What’s your plan, Boss?" Mr. Ya asked.

Su Ze thought for a moment and said, "I’ll contact the admin for the school forum and have them pin a post. We’ll ask students to contact us immediately if they spot anything unusual. With your speed, Mr. Ya, we can get there in an instant."

Mr. Ya nodded repeatedly. "That’s a great idea. We can also ask the students who see it to share it in their class group chats, so even those who don’t check the forum will see it."

So, the two divided the work. Mr. Ya was in charge of writing the post, while Su Ze contacted the forum administrator.

As he wrote the post, Mr. Ya grumbled in resignation, "Why does this kind of thing always happen the second I get back...?"

Soon, they were finished, and the administrator had pinned Mr. Ya’s post on the forum.

While wandering around outside with Mr. Ya, Su Ze opened his phone and checked the "Secret Operations Department Comms" group chat. The group owner had sent a message predicting the killer’s motive and next moves.

The group owner’s nickname was the simple word "Director." Needless to say, this had to be the director of the Secret Operations Department.

The "Director" stated that this analysis came from Professor Liou Wenxin of Dongli University.

In her analysis, Liou Wenxin suggested that the killer was most likely not a human, but a Sacculina Monstrous Beast.

Furthermore, the Sacculina was currently parasitizing the Butterfly Stage powerhouse, Huo Yuanzheng. It would not easily switch hosts until it found one with a higher evolutionary level.

However, if cornered, it was highly likely to abandon its current host and parasitize a weak, inconspicuous human to evade capture.

Therefore, Liou Wenxin’s advice was to avoid engaging the target rashly upon discovery. Evolvers below the Butterfly Stage, in particular, should stay far away to avoid becoming the Sacculina’s next target.

Su Ze thought, ’Since we’re just wandering around aimlessly anyway, I might as well head over to Liou Wenxin’s lab and get the latest update.’

So, he and Mr. Ya started walking toward the lab.

When they arrived at Liou Wenxin’s lab, they found her swamped with work. Her phone was ringing constantly with people asking her questions about things like the Sacculina Monstrous Beast’s habits, potential abilities, mating cycle, and so on...

She was the evolutionary consultant for this operation.

Mr. Ya ran down to the basement to feed his coprophages, so Su Ze waited for a long time before Liou Wenxin finally had a free moment for them to chat.

"Professor, why do you think it’s a Sacculina Monstrous Beast and not a human evolver who absorbed its parasitic ability?" Su Ze asked curiously.

Liou Wenxin poured herself a cup of hot water. She took a sip and frowned, finding it rather bland.

She explained, "I summarized the killer’s MO and analyzed the logic behind it. I found that it’s still acting on animal instinct. First, all the victims are male, which is consistent with how Sacculina prefer to parasitize male crabs. Second, it’s constantly switching to more powerful hosts, which aligns with the parasitic instinct to seek stronger hosts.

"If a human evolver had this parasitic ability, they would have more options and use it more flexibly. It’s also unlikely they would expose themselves so quickly."

"That makes sense," Su Ze nodded. ’If a human had this skill, they’d definitely use it cautiously. After parasitizing a powerful host, they wouldn’t expose themselves so easily. They’d bide their time and plan carefully.’

Liou Wenxin continued, "What I’m more worried about now is an extract from the Sacculina Monstrous Beast falling into the wrong hands. If someone with a low moral compass were to acquire the Sacculina’s parasitic ability, the danger would be far greater than a single monstrous beast wandering into a human city."

This parasitic ability was indeed powerful. Once a person had the power to do evil, even a "good person" could fall into the abyss.

In fact, even Su Ze was a little tempted by the ability. But then he considered its potential side effects... ’Only female evolvers can master it, or you turn into a woman after mastering it.’

’Yeah, no thanks!’

Besides, to use this ability effectively, you’d have to be willing to go all out. After all, parasitism isn’t easy, especially when targeting a life-form of the same or a higher tier. It requires creating opportunities for intimate contact, or even... deeper interaction.

That wasn’t a decision an ordinary person could make.

Su Ze sat down in Liou Wenxin’s lab and decided against going back out to patrol blindly. Dongping City was huge, so the chances of the killer being at Dongli University were slim. Besides, if a problem really did arise, students from Dongli University would contact them.