The cry for help showed that he was aware of his own situation. But the strange thing was, while he was drawing shocking messages for help in his notebook, he still went about his daily life as usual, even “turning over a new leaf,” transforming from a troubled youth into a good kid.

So here’s the question: who is this “good kid”… or rather, what is it?

At 9:35, the Bureau of Anomaly Control finally locked onto the poster’s identity and location. It was a boy in his second year of middle school, from a single-parent family, living with a highly controlling mother. He should be at home at this time.

Headquarters immediately notified the local branch, and all field agents were mobilized.

“Director Brooks, we’ve pulled all case files related to ‘parasitism’ from the archives. There are thirteen types of dangerous species with parasitic abilities, most of which are mutant plants. But these plants usually lack the ability to think; after parasitizing, they quickly drain the host, then move on to the next target once the host dies. The only parasitic organism matching your description is a type of butterfly…”

“I found it!” Grace Walker somehow produced another tablet, shivering as she demonstrated her formidable search skills, quickly turning the headquarters’ archives upside down. “It’s a butterfly, scientific name ‘Mirror-Flower Water-Moon Butterfly.’ It says here that its larvae are only the size of sesame seeds. If accidentally ingested by a human, they enter the body, mature within twenty-four hours, and then use a special secretion to control the human nervous system.”

“At this point, if an fMRI scan is performed on the infected person’s brain, you’ll find significantly increased activity in the amygdala【Note】. Other evidence also shows that the infected person’s brain still has its own consciousness, but the neural impulses it generates can no longer be transmitted to the relevant effector organs. The Mirror-Flower Water-Moon Butterfly has no intelligence of its own, but it has a high degree of mimicry. It’s adept at using people around the infected as templates. After the infected person’s brain dies, the butterfly completely replaces the brain and can survive and reproduce in this identity for a long time—sometimes decades—without anyone around noticing. So… doesn’t this mean you’re forced to watch your own body being controlled by something else?”

Dylan Foster remained silent; at this point, maintaining those chains already required all his strength.

The sacrificial ritual was almost complete, just one more to go. The spellcaster only needed to randomly scatter the refined butterfly larvae among the crowd—the most chilling part of this whole affair was the nine hundred and ninety-nine people who had already been sacrificed.

They were parasitized by the butterflies, their own consciousness forced to watch in agony. And even more despairing than this powerless, slow death was the fact that no one around them even noticed.

People went about their days as usual, repeating the same things they said yesterday, blending into schools, companies, and society. Friends who spent every day together would, through the shell of flesh, casually chat with a butterfly harboring ill intent, then come and go as if nothing happened.

So it turns out a person can disappear so painlessly. Is the so-called “soul” of a human nothing but a huge joke?

Out of a thousand living sacrifices, only one mother sensed something was wrong—and she was a control-freak pervert obsessed with her son!

Ten o’clock—

A dozen low-profile black SUVs silently surrounded an ordinary apartment building. The well-trained field agents filed out and split up to head upstairs.

The anxious mother was desperately searching online for contact information of so-called “masters,” her shopping cart filled with items labeled “blessed” and “warding off evil.” Her son, who gave her the creeps, was in his bedroom. The door wasn’t fully closed, so she could see his back from the living room—he was wearing headphones, playing on his phone while doing homework, looking no different from a “normal” teenager.

But she just had that indescribable feeling.

At that moment, the doorbell rang. Her hand trembled as she snapped back to reality. “Who is it?”

“Checking your water meter. The property management notified you yesterday.”

“Oh… coming, I didn’t see the notice. Must’ve been torn off by some brat again.” The woman muttered, got up to open the door, and was stunned by the sight of field agents in black uniforms outside. Instinctively, she tried to slam the door, but one agent quickly blocked the frame and made a “shh” gesture at her. The woman, terrified, clutched her throat and realized she couldn’t make a sound.

The agents slipped into the apartment like cats, their footsteps silent. Yet the “boy” with headphones inside seemed to have ears on his back—without turning around, he jumped up and bolted.

“Target is trying to jump out the window!”

The woman opened her mouth in a silent scream—this was the eighth floor!

In a split second, the “boy” leapt out the window. Something flashed behind him—like a pair of enormous butterfly wings, soaring into the night sky.

The next moment, a whirlwind appeared out of nowhere, enveloping the giant “butterfly.” Immediately after, three agents lying in wait on the rooftop leapt down, casting a large net in midair and trapping him securely inside!

Ten fifteen—

“Reporting in, we have secured the target! Upon inspection, confirmed as a Mirror-Flower Water-Moon Butterfly host. Awaiting further instructions from headquarters!”