Parasites were a rational species.
When that vast alien fleet blotted out the sky, tearing through the luminous veil at the edge of the atmosphere and suspending itself in synchronous orbit above Earth, they did not, like humans, madly fling open the lids of nuclear silos in a delusional attempt to use primitive thermonuclear weapons to oppose a civilization capable of interstellar travel.
From the most basic technological logic, a civilization able to assemble a fleet of more than three thousand warships had already achieved a dimensional crushing over Earth's current level of development.
They did not even need to fire their main cannons.
As long as they dumped the refuse from their cargo holds or the meteors captured along their journey toward Earth without restraint, the kinetic impact alone would churn the surface into a scorched wasteland where not a blade of grass could grow.
Not to mention that such a fleet undoubtedly carried weapons of tremendous destructive power.
Yet no one had expected that the fleet's first move would be to send out a single soldier to challenge the entirety of Earth alone.
The news fell like a bomb into stagnant water, plunging both humans and parasites into stunned silence.
Had a civilization truly grown so powerful that a single individual could crush the entire civilization of Earth? No one could discern their true objective, but global defense systems immediately triggered the highest level of alert. All combat units entered first-tier readiness.
Ten days of preparation—so short it was suffocating.
Fortunately, even before the fleet's arrival, the joint cabinet formed by humans and parasites had already completed launch calibrations for all nuclear weapons and missiles.
On the plaza in the Far East, the wind carried the scent of gunpowder as it swept across the ground.
Kevin glanced up at the fighter jet formations slicing through the sky, then shifted his gaze toward the distant columns of tanks whose tracks crushed the earth as they advanced.
He had to admit that the combat departments led by parasites were far more efficient than those of humans.
Had it been a purely human cabinet, they would probably still be arguing endlessly inside a conference room at this very moment.
Just then, a young man stepped forward from among the fully armed soldiers.
"Shinichi Izumi," Kevin spoke his name.
Shinichi Izumi nodded, his expression calm as still water.
His right hand suddenly stretched and distorted in an eerie manner, sprouting an eye and a mouth. Two slender little hands split from his fingertips and waved at Kevin. "Hello. I'm Migi."
Kevin stared at the writhing right hand, a faint crease forming between his brows.
Parasites were monsters devoid of humanity, living by devouring humans.
Yet when parasites entered a symbiotic relationship with humans, they not only refrained from eating them but could even gradually develop emotions similar to those of humans.
"Reiko told me you mentioned my name?" Shinichi Izumi asked, his tone devoid of emotion.
Kevin met his gaze. There was no fear, no anger in those eyes—only an almost indifferent calm.
Standing beside him, Migi's eyeball rotated warily, a trace of vigilance flashing within. He was ready at any moment to retreat with Shinichi Izumi.
"Why are you spreading the parasites?" Kevin asked directly.
Shinichi Izumi remained silent for a few seconds before answering slowly, "It wasn't I who spread the parasites. It was humanity that accepted them."
He paused, then added, "After merging with humans, parasites can repair bodily injuries and organ defects."
"Their ability to transform and their precise control allow them to perform surgical procedures humans could never achieve, and they can assist humans in completing all kinds of tasks."
"Humanity is being replaced by parasites," Kevin said.
"That has nothing to do with me," Shinichi Izumi replied.
Parasites were no less intelligent than humans to begin with. The top individuals possessed logical reasoning abilities that far surpassed ordinary people.
Their only shortcoming was a lack of understanding of human emotions—but given enough time, even that weakness could gradually be filled.
Kevin said nothing.
On the surface, Shinichi Izumi indeed bore little direct responsibility for the spread of parasites.
But according to intelligence intercepted by Red Queen, the truth was far from that simple.
Parasites had originally possessed no reproductive ability, until Reiko Tamura of this world broke through the barrier of reproduction.
And the key figure behind all of it was Shinichi Izumi—he had changed Reiko Tamura, and he himself had completely sided with the parasites.
The atmosphere gradually grew heavy.
Sensing something amiss, Migi quickly rotated his eye and attempted to ease the tension. "You're an alien species? Why concern yourself with Earth's affairs? Are you part of some interstellar alliance that believes we parasites have violated your rules?"
Kevin withdrew his thoughts, his gaze settling between Shinichi Izumi and his right hand. His voice remained calm and devoid of emotion. "This is merely my personal will. Whether human or parasite, you must prove to me that you are qualified to continue living."
"Why?" Migi pressed, his vertical pupil filled with confusion.
"Because I am stronger than you," Kevin replied.
This arrogance was not baseless. He possessed more than enough power to justify such confidence.
Meanwhile, inside the flagship Saintess Prayer suspended in orbit.
Skynet hugged a pile of energy cubes, crunching on them noisily, her eyes fixed on the plaza scene transmitted on the screen.
She turned to Red Queen beside her, excitement evident in her tone. "Sis, that guy is way too annoying. Can I go down there and beat him up?"
Red Queen shot her a glance and countered, "Can you defeat him?"
"Of course not." Skynet curled her lips, then leaned closer with a mischievous grin. "But if sister shares just a tiny bit of computing power and resources with me, I could crush Kevin with one hand!"
"You wouldn't even need a hand," Red Queen said flatly.
"But that wouldn't be fun." Skynet mimed throwing a punch in midair. "Don't humans think flashy moves like Hua's are super cool?"
Not far away, Hua lifted her head at the remark, the corner of her mouth twitching.
How did this suddenly involve her?
Looking at Skynet bouncing around, she simply could not reconcile this noisy troublemaker with the super-intelligent machine capable of waging wars across the universe.
"That is my application of power, not some flashy move," Hua retorted at last, a trace of helplessness in her tone.