parasitism eve - Chapter 14
However, Mariko knew it must be that person!
Mariko knew in her heart who the footsteps belonged to.
It's the kidney donor!
It's the corpse whose kidneys were removed! It's come to reclaim its kidneys!
Mariko once read a manga before she developed nephritis. It was a strange manga she borrowed from a friend. She had long forgotten the author's name, and could only vaguely recall parts of the plot. But she still vividly remembered how she felt after reading it. That night, she was so scared that she didn't dare go to the toilet.
The protagonist is a young girl who falls down the stairs and is unable to move her limbs. The adults and doctors around her believe she is dead, but in fact, the girl is fully conscious and aware of everything happening around her. However, she cannot tell anyone that she is still alive. The girl is taken to the operating room, where doctors are going to remove her heart for a transplant. The girl desperately tries to make the doctors realize she is alive, but she cannot; she can only watch helplessly as her heart is removed from her body. Afterwards, the girl is buried, but her resentment remains. She awakens from her grave, determined to retrieve her stolen heart.
Finally, the girl, now a zombie, went to the transplant recipient and ripped out her own heart. Mariko remembered that was roughly what happened.
The terrifying face of the girl depicted in the manga was deeply imprinted in Mariko's mind. When she heard about the "dead body kidney," Mariko's first thought was this manga.
To this day, Mariko still doesn't know who her organ donor was. She has asked the nurses several times, but the answer she always receives is that there are regulations requiring confidentiality.
In fact, the donor might not be dead. Just like in that comic, the donor might be fully conscious and desperately trying to prove they are alive. Nevertheless, the doctor named Yoshizumi still operated on them to remove the kidney, and the donor was completely at his mercy. The donor will come back to me.
The footsteps sounded like those of the donor. That was all Mariko could think of.
Mariko knew that the zombie would eventually come to reclaim the kidney that had been implanted in her. It had a large hole in its abdomen, with blood vessels and intestines protruding from it. It walked towards her, cursing as it did so.
One day, when that door opens, a face just like the girl in the comic book will appear. It will reach into its own body, fiddle around haphazardly for a while, and then remove the kidney that rightfully belongs to it. Then, its bloodied and mangled body will die in bed.
Section 35
"Parasite Eve"
Chapter Thirteen
Despite the persistent high temperatures, Li Ming insisted on going to work at the university without taking a single day off. The air conditioning in the research lab wasn't very effective, but the culture room and mechanical room had air conditioning, so he wouldn't sweat while conducting experiments there. Coming to work was at least more comfortable than staying in his stuffy, humid apartment, which felt like a sauna.
"Eve1" continues its proliferative momentum as always. Since the addition of the peroxisomal proliferator antacid, it has been dividing at an even faster rate than before.
"Eve1" was clearly induced. However, Liming was not satisfied with the current research results. Atorvastatin was not the only peroxisomal proliferator; if other reagents were added, the proliferation rate might be even faster. Liming decided to take all the peroxisomal proliferators from the lab's refrigerator and add them to "Eve1" to observe the changes. Retinoic acid and several growth factors were also added. Some papers suggest that peroxisomal proliferators can induce mitochondrial β-oxidase because they can bind to vitamin A-like receptors, which are DNA-binding proteins and likely play a role in controlling the genetic activity of β-oxidase. Liming measured the amount of tritium-traced thymine deoxyribonucleotide incorporated to understand the extent of "Eve1's" proliferative capacity.
The results were beyond expectations; the combined effect of adding retinoic acid and peroxisomal proliferators was several times greater than under normal circumstances. The readings obtained using the liquid scintillation agent were unlike anything Liming had ever seen before. Liming could only sigh in amazement.
“Teacher, I want to…” Li Ming was looking at the data on his desk when a voice suddenly came from behind him.
Looking back, I saw Sachiko Asakura standing behind me.
"What's up?"
Liming then realized that besides himself and Asakura, there was no one else in the research room. A few days ago, the staff and students who had attended the lecture had taken leave to go home for the Obon festival.
Asakura lowered her head, looking somewhat hesitant to speak. This was completely unlike her usual straightforward personality. After several prompts from Toshiaki, Asakura finally got to the point.
"I think it's about time to start preparing for the course."
"Ah...right, right."
"Therefore, I think we should put 'Eve1' on hold for now and take some time to continue with the previous experiments..."
After Asakura mentioned it, Toshiaki finally remembered that there was still this matter of learning the academy. What happened? He was probably too focused on the research of "Eve 1".
The annual Japan Society for Biochemistry and Physiology is a large-scale academic conference where biochemists and molecular biologists from across Japan gather to exchange research findings. This year's conference will be held in September in the city where Toshiaki resides. As is customary, the Physiological and Pharmacological Lecture Series, to which Toshiaki and Asakura belong, selects several members each year to present their papers at the conference. The lecture series also specifically stipulates that master's students should be encouraged to participate and give presentations. This is because doctoral students have many opportunities to present their papers at the conference, while undergraduates and master's students only have the opportunity to present in front of a large audience upon graduation. Therefore, from the perspective of gaining experience, participating in the conference is ideal for undergraduates and master's students. Through participation, they can not only train their ability to articulate their views clearly and logically in front of an audience, but also experience the satisfaction of having their experiments explained to others. However, if it is their first time presenting at the conference, they often focus too much on their own presentation without considering the audience's level of understanding, or they are too nervous and their preparation is insufficient. It can be said that the teacher's job is to guide students to overcome these problems. Asakura had never presented a paper at a conference before, so naturally she wanted to prepare in advance. However, she knew nothing about things like how to create slides or how to present her ideas. Toshiaki should have provided her with some guidance, but he hesitated to do so.
Realizing this, Liming immediately apologized to Asakura. "Ah... right, right! I'm sorry, let's temporarily suspend the analysis of 'Eve1' then."
Upon hearing this, Asakura showed a surprised expression.
Toshiaki asked Asakura if she had collected all the data needed to create the slides. Tomorrow, Toshiaki planned to teach Asakura how to use the scanner, as she also needed to add a few photos to the image library. That evening, before going home, Toshiaki checked on "Eve 1" again. Asakura was in the machine room measuring absorbance.
Although Riming verbally agreed to Asakura's request to discontinue the "Eve1" experiments, he secretly planned to continue the experiments independently behind Asakura's back. In short, he would first add some peroxisomal proliferator and retinoic acid to "Eve1," then perform several subcultures to observe the effects. He thought it was very likely that the characteristics of "Eve1" would change. Riming took a culture flask from the incubator and placed it under the microscope. Through the lens, he could observe vibrant, healthy cells.
For Liming now, the surprise brought by "Eve1" was far more important than the academic conference itself. He was also going to attend and present a paper at this conference, but all the data were from six months prior, not from the analysis of "Eve1." Generally, to attend an academic conference, one must submit a preliminary report several months to six months before the conference, along with an abstract of their paper. Therefore, after that, no matter how impressive the data obtained, if the content was unrelated to the topic, it was difficult to publish it at the conference—and of course, it was impossible to change one's topic on the day of the conference. However, Liming had a strong urge to publish his data from the "Eve1" research at the conference. Publishing the results of his research over the past few weeks would certainly cause a huge sensation. Moreover, this data would definitely be published in top-tier academic journals. Mitochondrial researchers would be absolutely astonished after reading his paper. At that time, letters requesting "Eve1" samples would pour in from research institutes around the world, and the life of Saint-Mé cells would continue worldwide. Li Ming was thrilled at the thought of all this.
Several colonies of "Eve1" had formed at the bottom of the flask. These were all produced after subculturing last night. Only a very small number of cells were added at the time, and unexpectedly, daughter colonies formed so quickly. Liming was once again stunned by the incredible proliferation rate of "Eve1," almost like invasive cancer cells. If subculturing wasn't performed when the cell count was relatively low, the flask would be filled with newly proliferating cells in just one day. Perhaps this was a manifestation of its powerful proliferative ability.
Liming was aimlessly observing a cluster of cells in the center of his field of vision. Suddenly, he heard a noise.
At first, Li Ming thought there were flies buzzing around, but in short, it sounded like a slight rumbling sound.
However, this sound was neither a buzzing nor a squeaking sound; it couldn't be described in words. It seemed to be coming from both the sky and the floor, giving the impression that something was vibrating. After a while, the sound grew louder.
Li Ming found it strange, so he looked away from the microscope and surveyed his surroundings. When the sound grew louder, he realized the source was very close to him. The roaring sound varied in intensity, like waves rising and falling, but the frequency of these fluctuations seemed unstable. Li Ming felt his body vibrate, resonating with the sound, and even the electrons within him seemed to sway in rhythm. Li Ming stared at the flask on the microscope table. Ripples appeared on the surface of the culture medium inside. Orange ripples expanded outward from the center of the flask, precisely where the microscope light was shining. Li Ming swallowed. The sound grew even louder. The ripples collided with the flask walls, the scattered waves intertwining to create complex patterns.
"It's 'Eve 1'!" Li Ming exclaimed in his mind.
"Eve1" is breathing! Realizing this, Li Ming hurriedly pressed his eyes against his glasses. The colony was pulsating continuously.
"Thump," "thump." The surface of the colony vibrated up and down, like a heart, sometimes bulging, sometimes sinking, as if the colony itself had become a multicellular organism. Unbeknownst to him, the colony had grown—the proliferating cells must have expanded outwards. The ever-expanding colony filled Liming's entire field of vision. "Thump," "thump," with each vibration of the restless colony, the scene before him changed completely.
After observing for a while, Li Ming finally understood that the ripples on the surface of the culture medium were caused by cells. The pulsation of the cells caused the culture medium to vibrate, producing that deep sound. Li Ming couldn't take his eyes off the glasses; the colonies were deeply captivating him. It was the first time in his life he had seen something like this; it seemed like a completely new life form. However, this wasn't the end of it.
The colony began to change; its shape was gradually altering. Liming was astonished. The center of the colony bulged high, becoming like a mountain peak. Two opposing circular depressions appeared on its upper left and upper right sides, beneath which a horizontal, "I"-shaped crack formed. The cells at the top of the colony underwent a dramatic morphological change; they became as thin as fibroblasts and arranged neatly in a specific direction.
“How could this be…” Li Ming exclaimed in disbelief.
What is about to appear here is a human face!
The entire colony was trying to form the shape of a human face. Two eyes, a nose, a mouth, and even hair were visible. The cells were still actively pulsating, and they were differentiating further.
Gradually, the face transformed from its rough, rugged outline into a shape as refined as a mannequin in a store. Yes, this was a face Li Ming had seen before!
Section 36
"What's going on...?"
It's Saint Beauty!
It was Saint-Mei's face! Saint-Mei was staring directly at Rimin. Even Saint-Mei's eyes and full lips had been regenerated by cells. Exactly the same as Saint-Mei in life.
Cell differentiation had ceased. A perfect face clung to the bottom of the flask. Liming stared at Saint-Mei's face, feeling an unusual dryness in his throat.
Saint Beauty's lips are moving!
The lips and tongue moved slowly, changing into four different shapes in turn before Li Ming's eyes.
A different sound emanated from the flask than before. In fact, Liming himself couldn't be sure if he had heard the sound; it might simply be a resonance within his body. But Liming clearly sensed it. "TO-SHI-A-KI…"
That's what it sounds like.
"Saint Beauty!"
Liming shouted. There was no mistake, this was Shengmei. Liming desperately called out to Shengmei, wanting to speak to her.
"Saint Mei! It's me! Can you hear me, Saint Mei? I can hear you!"
"Thump!" Something made a sound.
Li Ming suddenly raised his head. It was the sound of the incubation room door opening; a dark shadow flashed past behind the frosted glass above the door.
I don't know who discovered it.
Did anyone hear that sound just now?
Li Ming ran over and peered through the crack in the door. There was no one there; the person had probably already left.
Could it be Asakura? This thought flashed through Liming's mind, but in the end, he didn't go out to see for himself.
Liming returned to the microscope and continued his observation. However, what Liming saw this time were only tiny "Eve1" colonies, no different from what he had seen at the beginning. No matter how hard he looked, he couldn't make out Shengmei's face.
The roaring sound was gone. All traces had vanished without a trace.
What exactly is that thing?
Li Ming stood there blankly for a long while.
"Parasite Eve"
Chapter Fourteen
"Are you alright?" One day in June, when Shengmei woke up, Liming immediately asked.
Saint-Mei lay flat on the sofa. A blackboard hung on the wall, and opposite it was a large bookshelf. The neatly arranged hardcover books all had titles in English. It looked like a room in a university—since there were no lab equipment or workbenches, it was probably someone's research lab.
Saint-Mei shook her head and sat up. Suddenly remembering that she had fainted due to a heart attack, she hurriedly pressed her hand to her chest. After confirming that her heartbeat had completely returned to normal, Saint-Mei breathed a sigh of relief and adjusted her posture to sit on the sofa.
A man stood beside Saint-Mei, looking at her with worried eyes.
"Are you really alright now?" the man asked again.
"Yes, it's... much better now. I'm so sorry to have troubled you." Shengmei bowed repeatedly to the man.
"Ah, you should get some rest." The person scratched their head. "This is our lecture discussion room. It's Sunday, and no one else is here yet. Would you like some water or something?"
"...Excuse me, then, I'll have a drink."
"Okay, it'll be right there. Please wait a moment."
To calm Shengmei down, the man smiled kindly and left the room.
The room fell silent. Saint-Mei lowered her head and sighed softly. Then, she straightened her disheveled collar.
The face of the man who had just left the room reappeared in Shengmei's mind.
Section 37
In the large classroom, before the slide projector started working, the face she saw behind her was this face. It was also the face that appeared in her vision when she was about to lose consciousness due to a heart attack. Yes! Shengmei remembered; she had fallen into his arms, and she remembered her cheeks burning hot at that moment.
At that moment, she was pondering the English letters appearing on the screen. What letters were they again? Saint-Mi traced the footsteps of her memory step by step. It seemed to be someone's name.
Saint-Mei closed her eyes, trying to recall the letters on her eyelids. NAGA… she remembered, NAGASHIMA, that was the name. Saint-Mei suddenly opened her eyes and raised her head. How come she hadn't remembered it before?
Seimei finally remembered: that person was Toshiaki Nagashima. How stupid of her!
The man came in carrying a cup.
"Please have some water."
He smiled and handed her the water glass. Shengmei nodded her thanks and brought the glass to her lips. The cool, refreshing oolong tea slid smoothly down her throat.
"Well... thank you. You must be... Senior Nagashima? I'm sorry if I'm wrong, please forgive me."
Liming looked at Shengmei in surprise, his expression seeming to say, "How do you know my name?"
“Didn’t we meet once two years ago?” Seimi smiled brightly. “At the instrumental music club’s welcome party. You may have forgotten, but I was a freshman back then. My name is Kataoka Seimi.”