Chapter 281: The So-Called Point of View
As the story of Parasyte progresses, the protagonist Shinichi meets the parasitic beast that devoured his right hand.
Later, upon encountering a pitiful parasitic beast that infests a stray dog, the same beast that devoured his right hand protects him by killing it.
Finally, moved by the parasitic beast's rescue, Shinichi begins to change his mind.
He even names the parasitic beast on his right hand "Migi."
The manga also reveals the origin of the parasitic beasts.
In their initial form, they emerge from strange spores that fall from the sky.
They then inhabit the brains of various creatures, replacing their hosts and becoming their new hosts.
It's almost as if they had premeditated their actions, parasitizing humans whenever possible.
This leads one to wonder: could these parasitic beasts actually be biological weapons deployed by aliens?
The goal is, first, to allow these parasitic beasts to lurk in human society, causing a massacre and decimating the population.
Finally, they emerge, launch an invasion, and eliminate humanity, ultimately taking control of the Earth.
In short, every time Ren's manga are published, a crowd of puzzle-solving fans flocks to them.
Parasitic attacks and murders continue to occur in the manga.
But what's puzzling is that these heinous murders have not caused widespread panic among the residents.
Even if it were a more common and heinous murder, with more than a dozen similar cases, it would have caused widespread panic among the city's inhabitants.
However, in the manga, everyone goes to work and school as usual.
Thanks to Migi, the protagonist, Shinichi, becomes an athletic star at school, earning the admiration of his peers.
With Yuji's help, he also reconciles with his childhood love, Satomi.
After all, Satomi clearly has feelings for Shinichi.
However, Satomi's actions are frustrated when Migi suddenly appears to disrupt Shinichi's life.
Shinichi quickly manages to hide Migi's trail.
Still, she sensed that something was wrong with Shinichi and asked, "Shinichi... are you Shinichi?".
It was as if she perceived a second consciousness within Shinichi, which prompted her to ask.
Satomi was delighted with Shinichi's affirmative answer.
But then, Shinichi was challenged by a school bully who was also in love with Satomi.
However, with Migi, Shinichi, of course, ended up giving him a good beating.
This instantly increased the fans' affection for Migi!
To have someone who could help him excel in sports and even fend off bullies at crucial moments... how wonderful! Imagine having a partner like that!
But... as the Parasyte murders increased, Shinichi, upon learning all this, began to wonder what he could do.
"So it was someone from Migi's kind who did it?" asked Shinichi, reviewing the recent and shocking murders he had found on his computer.
"That seems to be the case," said Migi. "In fact, I knew it the last time I saw that dog. If it parasitizes a dog, it will only eat dogs. The same goes for humans. In other words, it's a cannibalistic parasite."
Suddenly, Shinichi seemed lost in thought.
"What are you thinking about?"
Migi, sensing what was happening, approached and asked him.
"I wonder if it would be a good idea to keep quiet..." said Shinichi.
After all, now that he knew of the parasite's existence, if he reported it to the authorities, wouldn't he save many lives?
"What do you mean by 'keep quiet'?" asked Migi.
"We can't just leave them be," said Shinichi seriously. "They've been killing people one after another."
Migi, however, seemed confused and asked, "What do you mean by 'we can't just leave them be'?".
He seemed... to lack empathy.
Or perhaps Migi was simply too calm.
When he killed the parasite that parasitized a stray dog, he also showed no empathy.
It was as if the victim he had killed was not of his kind.
However, that time was fine. After all, it was just a stray dog, while Migi now parasitized Shinichi.
All of this could be explained by the differences between humans and dogs.
However, the two exchanges he had just had with Shinichi fully revealed his apparent cold-bloodedness.
Suddenly, Shinichi stood up and spoke enthusiastically, "Listen carefully, we are the only ones who know their true identities... If this continues, the number of victims will only increase... So..."
"So what?"
"So we just need to make your existence public so we can use it in the investigation," said Shinichi.
"What are you talking about? Shinichi, I don't understand your logic," said Migi. "My kind only eat. Isn't that a biological instinct? Do you really hate seeing them get eaten?"
"Of course!" replied Shinichi without hesitation. "Human life is precious!".
"I don't understand," said Migi calmly. "Only my life is precious. I never consider any other life valuable other than my own."
"You're a beast and a parasite," mocked Shinichi at Migi with a hint of anger.
"Are you looking down on me?".
Migi narrowed his eyes and began to threaten, "If you do something that hurts me, I will do everything I can to stop you."
"Huh?!" said Shinichi with some indifference. "Can you go against my will and live? You're just a parasite living in me."
After learning that Migi was now a parasite and could no longer devour his brain, depending solely on the nutrients from his blood to survive, he was completely sure that Migi would not dare to harm him.
However, Migi, suddenly, transformed into a combat state with a sword and threatened him, saying, "I can't kill you, Shinichi, but I can still leave you speechless...".
"Besides, I can also make you lose your sight and hearing!".
This threat immediately terrified Shinichi.
"You're very scared..." said Migi, looking at Shinichi. "Okay, you're tired, rest first."
"You devil..." replied Shinichi angrily, finally stopping his argument with Migi.
Migi, in turn, returned to his "study."
And in the process, he came to a conclusion.
"Shinichi, I looked up the word 'devil'," said Migi, looking at the explanation on the computer. "But I think the closest creature to that word are humans."
"Humans kill and eat all kinds of creatures, while my kind only eat one or two. They are so simple."
"..."
Shinichi was silent for a moment and finally said, "I don't want to hear your reasoning."
In this dialogue between man and beast, the fans have also perceived the difference between their personalities.
"Shinichi and Migi are two extremes. One is extremely emotional and cowardly, the other is extremely rational and selfish."
"In fact, I think Migi is right. The law of survival in nature is, of course, selfishness. It's just that in the human species, this law does not apply."
"That's right. Humanity has become the most powerful species on Earth today thanks to solidarity, help, and mutual support. Shinichi's idea is correct, and we should tell humanity."
"But from Migi's perspective, I think it's correct, right?"
"The person above, you are a human, not a parasite. Why do you use Migi's perspective? You should be seeing things from your own perspective."
"This world is like that. There is nothing absolutely right or wrong, only different perspectives. Different perspectives, different interests, and different attitudes towards things."
"So you can ignore the lives of others?"
"Of course, do what benefits you. When you think the group's interests can benefit you, you can certainly help the group. But when the group's interests require sacrificing your personal interests, then it's definitely better to be selfish."
"That's right. Human collectivism is, in fact, the same. The premise of mutual help is that if you help others, they will help you. If others don't help you and you keep giving blindly, then you're a fool."
"So this time I'm on Migi's side. If Shinichi makes this public, he'll probably become a test subject, which won't help him at all."
"I think what Shinichi did is right. Don't demonize the idea of becoming a test subject too much. Besides, if he helps society kill the parasite, won't his personal safety and that of his family be protected?"
"Well said. First of all, do you think you're willing to be a test subject? If you don't want to, what else can you say?"
"So, watch the parasite kill people and do nothing?"
"It depends on the situation. It seems everyone is a bit extremist. Why not watch the parasite kill people and do nothing if we don't make it public? We can reach an agreement and find a way that doesn't put us in danger while helping the authorities kill the parasite."
In fact, according to the style of mainstream manga, the most reasonable thing would be for the male protagonist to become a parasite hunter alongside Migi, but in old rogue Ren's manga... I can't guess what the next plot will be.
With the release of its first five chapters, Parasyte gradually enriched its setting and intensified its plot.
This rekindled the fans' interest, and in two weeks, its popularity rose to the top five.
This achievement is truly remarkable, a testament to the genius of the manga artist Ren.
Even with a new series, he continues to capture the fans' attention with his exceptional narrative and illustrations. It's not just about accumulating popularity; Ren's narrative and setting are still exceptionally well-crafted.
Parasyte is a true example of this. Even if it had been drawn by a rookie mangaka, it is still a masterpiece that inspires deep philosophical reflections.
For example, the different philosophies between Migi and Shinichi become evident. One is absolutely rational, the other emotional.
One is human, the other a creature.
However, they share the same body. What will be the next conflict? Who will be convinced first?
This fills the fans with curiosity.
And just then, an unexpected visit comes to Ren.
"Moshi moshi~" Ren answered the phone and lazily greeted Ayumi.
"Sensei, are you free lately?" asked Ayumi very seriously.
"Free?" Ren looked at the controller he was holding and said, "It seems I'm still free."
Uzumaki has been serialized to the end, and the script for Kamen Rider Ryuki has been written and filmed by Toei, and has even been on the air for several episodes.
Now, his only job is the serialization of Parasyte.
And everyone knows that, before Ren hired an assistant, he could finish drawing a Fire Punch by himself during the serialization of Chainsaw Man.
Now, with three assistants: Yuka, Hiroki, and Akutami Yuta, it's even faster.
So Ren has been very free lately, playing video games at home every day with the air conditioning on.
Except for an occasional visit from his uncle Hiroki's psychologist, he is not busy at all.
It's just that Trigger Studios and Hyperion Game Development often call him or contact him online to ask for free work. Trigger Studios is producing the first season of the Chainsaw Man anime, and Hyperion is also developing a spin-off game based on the Chainsaw Man intellectual property.
There's not much to say about the anime.
As for this spin-off game based on the Chainsaw Man intellectual property, Kenji Nakamura and his team apparently intended to create a high-level 3D game like Cyberpunk 2077.
However, Chainsaw Man didn't seem to offer much freedom, so they opted for a 3D fighting game, where players collect contracted devils with their characters and then participate in PvP with other players.
This is completely different from Cyberpunk 2077, which makes development difficult and plagues it with countless errors. Finally, Cyberpunk 2077 reached such a high level of completion thanks to Ren's help.
Kenji Nakamura and his team lacked the necessary experience to develop a 3D game independently.
So lately he's been trying to get Ren to help him.
But Ren didn't fall into the trap and paid no attention to what was happening there.
Don't even think about... letting him become a social slave!
"Well... it's like this..." said Ayumi at that moment. "Recently, I received a call from the higher-ups saying... that someone wants to see you."
"Who is it?"
"It seems... it's your former doctoral advisor..."
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