Crackling flames filled the hallway as the spider monster's remaining flesh continued to twitch and struggle inside the fire.
It refused to die quietly, but its ability to adapt couldn't keep up with the intense heat. In the end, all that was left was a small pile of pitch-black charcoal.
The three of them stood quietly, watching the fire slowly burn out.
Ivan walked over to the ashes, picked up one of the charred pieces, and crushed it in his hand. It was only the size of a ping-pong ball, covered in tiny holes, and surprisingly hard.
"Too bad. There's not enough left for you to regenerate," he muttered. He opened his palm, revealing a tiny strand of flesh fiber still twitching weakly among the crushed charcoal.
Even though the spider monster couldn't come back, its performance had shown just how insane the potential of its ability really was.
"Let's go."
Ivan tossed the remains aside and followed the other two toward the first floor.
After days of observation and cross-referencing with the original story, Ivan had come to several conclusions.
First, the Desire Mirror could never be truly satisfied. It was like a parasite, latching onto a person and growing stronger the more desire it fed on.
Second, a monster's ability was directly connected to its desire. The stronger the desire, the higher the growth potential. However, that didn't mean the power could grow without limits.
After fully turning, the original consciousness would enter the mirror space, where it could fulfill every single desire. The stronger the desire, the faster it got satisfied. Once the desire was completely fulfilled, the monster in the real world would form a cocoon and evolve into a new human with no desires.
Third, the Desire Mirror would gradually develop its own independent consciousness the longer the host resisted. That period seemed to be around fifteen days. By then, the mirror realized it could no longer control the host.
At that point, it had two choices: coexist and merge with the host, or fight desperately to take over completely. Both paths led to becoming a special infected.
In the first case, the Desire Mirror didn't disappear. It would appear whenever the infected used their powers.
In the second case, if it won, the mirror and host would fuse completely. After absorbing all the host's memories, the mirror would even believe it was the original host.
That was why infected people could never truly control their desire. Desire was like a compressed spring. The harder you pushed it down, the more violently it would explode later.
Of course, there was also Ivan's method — completely shattering the Desire Mirror. However, because of his panel, he couldn't confirm whether infected people who did that could still keep their abilities.
And besides Ivan, no one else probably knew that desires could actually be shattered. So that possibility didn't exist for anyone else.
The three of them walked down the stairs in silence, each carrying their own heavy thoughts. When they reached the fourth floor, they ran into Lee Eun-yoo, who had just stepped out of her room.
"You guys heading to the first floor too?" she asked. She had only come out after hearing her brother's broadcast.
"Yeah," Cha Hyun-soo nodded. But his eyes kept drifting back to the fully healed wound on his thigh. Suddenly, that familiar sensation hit him again. He quickly covered his nose, but blood still leaked through his fingers.
"You're infected, aren't you? That wound on your leg…" Pyeon Sang-wook said in a deep voice. He had noticed Cha Hyun-soo's strange condition for a while but had stayed quiet until now.
Cha Hyun-soo looked at him. "I don't have much time left. I need to do something while I still can."
He gripped the electric pipe tightly and turned to leave.
Pyeon Sang-wook grabbed his shoulder. "You plan on hunting monsters by yourself?"
"Why not? We just killed one together. And I can't get hurt anyway," Cha Hyun-soo replied, his voice growing excited. Killing monsters to protect others… it finally gave him a sense of purpose.
Pyeon Sang-wook noticed the dangerous shift in his tone. This kind of eagerness could easily turn into full-blown desire. Without a word, he punched Cha Hyun-soo hard in the face. "Wake the fuck up. Don't let desire swallow your mind."
Cha Hyun-soo looked dazed after the hit.
"Take it easy. Your body comes first. I'll check you over later," Ivan said with a smile, patting his shoulder.
The concern from both men helped calm Cha Hyun-soo down. Once he came back to his senses, he realized how off he had been. "Sorry… My hallucinations have been getting really bad lately."
...
Meanwhile, Jung Jae-heon and Yoon Ji-soo had successfully brought Seo Yi-kyung to Han Du-sik's room. They didn't stay long since they had promised Cha Hyun-soo they'd meet up with him right after.
Ahn Sun-young was now looking after the weakened Seo Yi-kyung. As she drank some porridge, Seo Yi-kyung suddenly felt nauseous and started dry-heaving.
The experienced Ahn Sun-young immediately noticed. "Are you pregnant?"
"Pregnant?" Seo Yi-kyung instinctively placed a hand on her stomach.
Ahn Sun-young smiled warmly, almost like a proud aunt. "Looks like there's a little one in there. I think I have a pregnancy test in my room. We'll know for sure soon."
She quickly fetched the test and handed it to Seo Yi-kyung.
Seo Yi-kyung stared at the pregnancy test in her hand, still struggling to process the huge news.
...
At the same time.
Ivan and the others had reached the first floor.
Cha Hyun-soo's nose kept bleeding nonstop. The second the residents saw him, they instinctively backed away, putting as much distance between themselves and him as possible. The fear and disgust in their eyes triggered another wave of hallucinations in his head.
"Look at the way they're staring at you," the black-eyed version of Cha Hyun-soo appeared beside him, lips curled in a mocking smile. "In their eyes, you're already a monster. These people you're so desperate to protect don't give a single fuck about what you do. They just want you to die. The sooner and the farther away, the better."
"Give up that naïve bullshit in your heart. Think about it. How did all those people you tried to help repay you in the end?"
The voice dragged Cha Hyun-soo back into painful memories. During his school days, he had once tried to help another boy who was also being bullied. The boy immediately sold him out, causing Cha Hyun-soo to suffer even worse torment from the school tyrants…
These memories flashed before his eyes one after another, trying to drag him down into the abyss.
___
[]~(￣▽￣)~*
Read 12 Advance Chapters—P@t- Captain69