c9: My Idol is the Monkey King
After eliminating the first parasite, Broly didn't stop moving.
Following the coordinates sent through the group chat, he adjusted his direction and headed straight toward the second location at high speed. Even without fully unleashing his power, his movement speed far exceeded that of ordinary humans, his small figure flickering through the streets like a shadow.
At the same time, Su Xiaoyou had already arrived at another target location.
Inside a ramen shop, she gripped her alloy staff tightly and launched her attack.
The parasitized individual in front of her was the shop owner.
Originally, he had been an ordinary man with a peaceful life—a gentle wife and a well-behaved daughter.
But from the moment the parasite invaded his body and took control of his brain, that man had ceased to exist.
The memory of what had happened lingered in fragments.
It was an afternoon.
The parasite had just successfully taken over the host and was still in a state of confusion, trying to understand its new body.
At that moment, the little girl, his daughter ran toward him with a bright smile and wrapped her arms around his leg.
"Daddy, I'm home!"
To the parasite, however…
She wasn't family.
She was food.
Without hesitation, the creature split open the man's head, revealing its true form, and devoured the six-year-old girl on the spot.
Not long after, when the wife returned home, she met the same fate.
Her body was dismembered and stored inside the refrigerator.
…
Back in the present, inside the ramen shop, the air was thick with the metallic scent of blood.
The parasitized man stood behind the counter, a blood-stained white scarf wrapped around his neck. In his hand, he held a heavy cleaver.
On the cutting board beside him…
Lay half of a human corpse.
The moment he saw Su Xiaoyou rush in with her weapon, his head instantly split open.
Eight flattened tentacles extended outward, writhing like living blades.
In the next instant, the tips sharpened and lashed toward her at terrifying speed—so fast they left only afterimages in the air.
Su Xiaoyou reacted quickly.
With agile footwork, she narrowly dodged the first strike.
The tentacle slammed into the wooden floor, slicing it open with ease and leaving a deep, jagged groove.
Before she could even stabilize her stance, the remaining seven tentacles attacked simultaneously from different angles.
She raised her staff and blocked.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
A rapid series of metallic impacts rang out as the tentacles struck her weapon repeatedly, like a storm of blades crashing down.
The force behind each strike was immense.
Under the relentless assault, Su Xiaoyou was pushed backward step by step.
Sharp pain spread across her body.
Her arms and thighs were slashed by the blade-like tentacles, blood quickly soaking through her clothes.
If she hadn't reacted in time and severed one of the incoming tentacles mid-swing, her limb might have been completely cut off.
Her breathing grew heavier.
At that moment, Broly's earlier words flashed through her mind, "If there's danger, call me. I'll be there immediately."
Gritting her teeth, Su Xiaoyou swung her staff again, forcing the tentacles back and creating a small gap between them.
She retreated a few steps, tightening her grip on the weapon as she fixed her gaze on the enemy.
A faint warmth suddenly spread across her cheek.
She reached up instinctively
Blood.
One of the earlier attacks had cut her face.
The parasite slowly retracted its tentacles, its head returning to the appearance of a normal human.
In the form of a middle-aged man, it stared at her coldly and spoke in a flat tone:
"Your body has already reached its limit."
"With the next attack… I will cut you into pieces."
Su Xiaoyou could feel it clearly.
Her strength was nearly exhausted.
Each collision had numbed her arms, and her movements were starting to slow.
This parasite's physical strength was far beyond that of the previous one.
However She didn't retreat.
Instead, she raised her staff again and smiled.
"You can try," she said lightly. "The next strike will be the one that shatters you."
The parasite paused for a moment.
Its instincts analyzed her condition rapidly.
"Is she bluffing?"
"Her energy is nearly depleted."
"But… that confidence…"
For a brief moment, doubt flickered within it.
However, it quickly suppressed the thought.
Dragging the fight out was not an option.
The disturbance had already become significant.
If more people or worse, other parasites were drawn here, the situation would become troublesome.
Among their kind, unnecessary exposure was considered a risk factor.
If labeled unstable, they might be forced to abandon their current host and relocate.
That was something it wanted to avoid.
The parasite's expression turned cold again.
It made its decision.
End the fight immediately.
The parasite had already fully adapted to this human body and had no intention of abandoning it again.
"I don't care whether you're bluffing or not," it said coldly. "This final attack… I'll cut you into pieces!"
In the next instant, its head split open once more.
Eight flattened tentacles burst outward, their tips instantly transforming into razor-sharp blades. With terrifying speed, they lashed toward Su Xiaoyou from multiple directions, sealing off all possible escape routes.
Faced with this life-threatening attack, Su Xiaoyou's breathing previously rapid and unstable suddenly slowed.
Her mind entered an unprecedented state of calm.
In that moment, a memory surfaced.
"Xiaoyou, have you decided what weapon you want to use?"
"I want to use a stick!"
"A stick? That's not very elegant for a girl, and it's hard to learn."
"No! I want to learn it!"
"Why?"
"Because… I am Sun Wukong! The Great Sage Equal to Heaven! The Monkey King of the Water Curtain Cave at Flower-Fruit Mountain!"
In her memory, a younger version of herself had draped curtains over her shoulders like a cloak, holding a wooden stick, wearing a monkey mask, and running in circles around her mother.
"Just caught a few demons, subdued a few monsters, why are there still so many evil spirits?"
"Monster! Take this from me!"
"I'll beat you until your soul scatters and your spirit vanishes!"
…
Thinking back to that scene, Su Xiaoyou almost laughed out loud despite the danger.
Embarrassment surged through her so intense she felt like she could dig a hole in the ground and hide in it.
But at the same time…
Something within her changed.
Her body relaxed completely.
Every cell seemed to awaken, her blood circulation accelerating as her heart pounded powerfully.
At the very edge of life and death she broke through.
Her physical strength, reaction speed, and coordination all surged at once.
In that instant, her figure disappeared from where she stood.
To the parasite, it was as if she had vanished entirely.
Before it could react she reappeared directly in front of it, like a phantom.
With both hands gripping her alloy staff, she thrust forward with all her strength.
The staff pierced straight through the parasite's open mouth, driving through its entire body in a single, decisive strike.
Blood splattered outward, staining her face.
The parasite's movements froze.
Then… it collapsed.
Su Xiaoyou pulled the staff out, her breathing steady but heavy.
Without hesitation, she stomped down on the parasite's core form, the writhing organism that had emerged crushing it completely.
By now, the commotion had already drawn attention.
Voices could be heard gathering outside, footsteps approaching rapidly.
Without wasting time, Su Xiaoyou turned and left the scene immediately.
As she headed toward the next location, she felt an unprecedented sense of vitality coursing through her body.
The breakthrough had pushed her into a heightened state, her stamina and focus far beyond what they had been before.
If she encountered another parasite now, she was confident she could end the fight within minutes.
In truth, one of the main reasons she had refused Broly's help earlier…
Was because she sensed that she was on the verge of breaking through.
She had never considered herself a genius.
Everything she had achieved came from effort training harder than others, pushing herself further each time.
And she had learned one thing:
Only by facing real danger, by standing on the edge of life and death could one truly surpass their limits.
Of course, there was another path.
If she had used the gene enhancement fluid she originally planned to buy, she could have reached this level without such risk.
But instead, she had spent those points to help Broly obtain a space pod.
So now…
She had to rely on herself.
…
On the other side, Broly moved swiftly through the city.
Following the locations sent by Naruto's clones, he systematically eliminated every parasite he encountered.
Each battle ended the same way.
One strike.
Complete destruction.
Even when multiple parasites appeared together, they were unable to withstand even a fraction of his power.
To Broly, this level of opponent posed no real challenge.
After dealing with several targets in succession, he slowed down slightly.
The disturbances caused tonight were already significant.
Continuing further might attract unnecessary complications.
He decided to stop for now.
As he made his way back, however, a faint sense of unease crept into his mind.
For some reason…
He was worried about Su Xiaoyou.
That stubborn, overly determined girl.
Passing through an intersection, he suddenly spotted a figure ahead.
Su Xiaoyou.
She was leaning against a wall, her body covered in wounds. Her clothes were torn in several places, stained with blood.
Yet even in that state, she was still moving forward.
That night, she had single-handedly defeated ten parasites.
The sense of accomplishment filled her mind, pushing her forward through sheer willpower.
But her body had already reached its limit.
Her vision blurred.
Her legs gave out.
Just as she was about to collapse, a small figure appeared instantly beside her.
Broly caught her before she hit the ground, effortlessly lifting her onto his shoulder.
From the outside, it looked almost comical like carrying a sack of rice.
But his expression remained calm.
He could clearly sense it.
Her energy… her presence…
It was far stronger than before.
She had broken through her limits.
Broly understood immediately.
That was why she had insisted on fighting alone.
He adjusted her position slightly and continued walking.
"She really is…"
He paused briefly.
"…a stubborn girl."
.....