Tres fantasmas de la ciudad

Capítulo 18

Saint-Mei felt her body being swallowed and ravaged by a dark, raging tide. When she awoke, all around her was silent.

Saint-Mei was dreaming.

Soon, Shengmei realized that this was the same strange dream she often had, the peculiar dream she would have every Christmas Eve—floating alone in a pitch-black world—a dream deep in her memory. However, as the dream continued to change, Shengmei noticed that this year's dream was somewhat different from previous years.

She was swimming aimlessly. Although her vision was blurry, and she couldn't tell which way was up or down, the changing currents of the water flowing over her body indicated that she was engaging in vigorous activity. She felt like she had inexhaustible energy, as if she could go anywhere. In fact, her range of movement had far exceeded what it used to be. Saint-Mei found herself happy about this.

Time passed, and she didn't know how much time had gone by. Suddenly, Shengmei felt something strange in the flowing matter around her. There was something nearby, a huge, slow-moving thing wriggling and swaying.

Saint-Mei remembered that she had encountered it many times. Sometimes Saint-Mei would take the initiative and launch an attack on it. Several times she easily defeated it, and several times she became its prisoner.

Just as Shengmei realized her opponent had appeared, she suddenly felt a sensation she had never experienced before surge within her. What was that? Where did it come from? What did it want? Shengmei had no idea. When she came to her senses, she found herself trembling and completely surrounded by her opponent.

The other party seemed very surprised. But it quickly engulfed Saint-Mei.

Saint-Mei felt very comfortable inside the other person's body. She thought to herself that she had finally found a permanent haven.

What exactly was this feeling all about? Saint-Mei pondered this question in her dream.

What does this mean?

I still don't know.

I know nothing.

"Parasite Eve"

Chapter Eighteen

"Let's begin then, the first one is Asakura."

"OK."

After hearing Toshiaki call her name, Asakura took a step forward. Toshiaki handed her the laser pointer. Asakura held her speech notes in her right hand and the laser pointer in her left, and stood in front of the screen.

Once everything was ready, Liming pressed the stopwatch button to start the timer. "Now... first, let's invite Ms. Sachiko Asakura to the stage. Today, her topic is 'Gene Induction of Unsaturated Fatty Acid β-Oxidase '2,4-dienoyl-COAreductase' by Vitamin A Receptors.' Please welcome her."

"Thank you, please show the slides."

With a "click," the projector displayed an image on the screen, and Asakura, glancing sideways at his notes, began his presentation.

“Previously, we discovered that the peroxisome proliferator cloning agent atorvastatin can induce mitochondrial unsaturated fatty acid β-oxidases in mouse hepatocytes. Since reports indicate that peroxisome proliferators bind to nuclear transport proteins—vitamin A receptors—we hypothesized that vitamin A receptors are involved in the induction of these β-oxidases. Currently, the specifics are not entirely clear. In this experiment, we performed chromosomal cloning of 2,4-dienoyl-COAreduclase, an enzyme essential for the β-oxidation of unsaturated fatty acids. We found that its gene is clearly controlled by vitamin A receptors. Here, I would like to explain this to you. Please move on to the next slide.” Another “click” was heard, and another image appeared on the screen.

Liming listened to Asakura's lecture while keeping an eye on his stopwatch. The small seminar room was packed with listeners, including the professor, staff, and students—almost everyone was gathered there. Although the fans were running continuously, the curtains were drawn, making the room pitch black, as the slides needed to be projected. The room felt unbearably stuffy.

With only five days left until the Biochemical Society meeting, the professor suggested a rehearsal beforehand to help everyone relax. So today, the lecture staff and students gathered for a practice session. Without this, there would be no opportunity to correct mistakes, and more importantly, it would prevent stage fright during the actual presentation. Preparing a written script in advance and exchanging it among the lecture staff not only helps correct errors but also eliminates unnecessary nervousness, especially for students presenting at the society for the first time.

Asakura completed the PowerPoint draft much faster than Rimei had expected. She must have worked overtime all night; otherwise, it would have been impossible to finish so quickly. No matter how much Rimei pressed her about when the sketches were completed, Asakura just smiled and remained silent. In any case, thanks to Asakura, the preparations for the Biochemistry Society meeting proceeded smoothly and without delay, making Rimei's job much easier. Perhaps it was because the meeting was approaching, but Asakura seemed even more diligent than usual, arriving at the classroom early in the morning and working tirelessly until late at night. Although this was her daily routine, Asakura showed no signs of fatigue. Seeing her frantic work ethic, Rimei couldn't help but feel a sense of waning ambition.

Asakura continued her presentation with great enthusiasm. She precisely pointed out the key points on the slides with a laser pointer, intentionally raising her voice at crucial points to capture the audience's attention. Asakura's speech was well-paced and engaging. Toshiaki listened intently. He thought to himself, even experienced researchers couldn't deliver such a brilliant presentation; he hadn't expected Asakura to be so outstanding. Toshiaki felt utterly impressed by Asakura's presentation skills. Then, Toshiaki suddenly remembered something that seemed out of place in the atmosphere. He felt that Asakura had become much more beautiful these past few days, as if she were a completely different person.

Although her clothing remained as simple as before—a shirt and jeans—Asakura exuded an unprecedented air of nobility. Perhaps it was due to her new hairstyle, Rimei thought. Asakura used to always tie her hair back in a bun, but now she had curled it. However, Rimei felt that Asakura's increased beauty wasn't solely due to this. Her expression, once cheerful, now carried an added elegance. Whether in her eyes or her every gesture, Asakura radiated confidence.

"...Through the above, we can clearly see the entire process of atorvastatin inducing this enzyme. Since most unsaturated fatty acid metabolic enzymes, like this one, are induced by atorvastatin, we can infer that they possess similar properties. In the future, we will also conduct genome cloning experiments on other enzymes to further understand the specific role of vitamin A receptors. That concludes my report. Thank you."

The image on the screen disappeared, and the lights in the seminar room came on. Liming hurriedly pressed the stopwatch. He had been staring at Asakura's face in a daze and had inadvertently forgotten about the timer.

"Fourteen minutes and twenty-seven seconds,"

"There shouldn't be any problem."

Professor Ishihara nodded in satisfaction, and Asakura also showed a relaxed smile, his expression unchanged from before.

"The allotted time for the speech is fifteen minutes, right?"

“Yes,” Li Ming replied.

"I didn't find any spelling errors on the slides, nor did I feel that any part of the explanation was not smooth enough... What do you think?"

Section 45

Ishihara turned to look at the students who had finished the speech, gesturing for them to offer their opinions.

The students all lowered their heads. Seeing their embarrassed expressions, Li Ming smiled wryly to himself. He figured they were all probably stunned by such a perfect speech.

After waiting for a while, Ishihara saw that no one was moving, so he had to give up. He nodded and then asked the student operating the projector to show Asakura's slides from the beginning. "Let's play them again and check them together to see if there are any mistakes."

To assess Asakura's responsiveness, Ishihara posed various questions about the content of each slide, to which Asakura provided accurate answers. Hearing these responses, Toshiaki was both surprised and delighted. It seemed Asakura had put in considerable effort. Toshiaki had initially planned to offer Asakura hints when she was stumped, but now it appeared unnecessary. While answering questions, Asakura showed no unease or arrogance, demonstrating respect for the questioner in her speech. To ensure thorough understanding, Asakura consciously slowed her speech, speaking clearly, concisely, and accurately. Occasionally, she interspersed her answers with the latest research data, giving the impression of complete mastery.

"Good, very good! It seems you've learned very well." Finally, Ishihara exclaimed in praise.

"Thank you." Asakura breathed a sigh of relief and gave a cute smile.

"Asakura's speech will definitely put a lot of pressure on the guys who are going to publish papers next!"

Ishihara's remark caused the students to burst into laughter.

"Oh my, I'm quite surprised too. It was very well explained! Even the professor nodded in approval, didn't he?"

After the rehearsal for the speech, Liming returned to the research room and praised Asakura's performance in a rewarding tone.

Asakura was a little embarrassed and nodded slightly, saying "Thank you."

"The remaining task is just memorizing the script. Well, as long as you memorize it before the publication date, there's no need to be nervous. If you're still worried, we can practice together again, or you could just bring the script to the publication." "I don't think that's necessary..."

"No, it's necessary. It's easy to forget your lines if you get nervous. Just to be on the safe side, it's best to bring them with you, but try not to look at them."

"knew."

"By the way..." Liming changed the subject, glancing at Asakura's knee, "How's your leg now?"

"Oh, you mean here?"

Wearing jeans, Asakura chuckled and tapped his knee twice with his fist, saying, "See, there's nothing wrong with me. It's just a bandage."

"It doesn't hurt anymore?"

"Yes, and it didn't leave any scars."

On the very day Asakura got her hair permed, Toshiaki noticed that she was walking with a limp and asked her what was wrong.

Asakura said she slipped and fell in the stairwell of her apartment building, scraping her skin. Upon closer inspection, she also noticed a band-aid on her finger.

Seeing that Liming was worried about him, Asakura smiled and comforted him, "It's really nothing. Look, I'm tall, so it's not easy for me to maintain my balance."

Hearing this, Li Ming was quite surprised.

He felt that Asakura was different from usual when he said those words.

Before this, Toshiaki had never heard Asakura talk about his height in a self-deprecating tone, so he found it a bit strange.

However, it wasn't a big deal. That day, Liming convinced himself to dismiss the strange thought lurking in his mind and stopped thinking about it.

"I'll be fully recovered before the conference, so please don't worry about me. It would be a bit ridiculous to walk onto the stage in a suit with bandages on my knees."

As he spoke, Asakura smiled slightly.

At that moment, the fourth-grade students swarmed into the research room, one of them holding a white box in his hand.

"The professor said everyone had worked hard in practice, so he specially allocated funds to buy snacks. We bought cakes, one cake per person!"

"It's a fourth-grade student saying proudly."

"Oh my, this is truly remarkable. It seems everyone performed exceptionally well; the professor is very pleased!"

As he spoke, Li Ming opened the box.

"It looks delicious!" Asakura exclaimed. "I'll make some black tea, everyone grab your cups!"

A tea party immediately broke out in the research room.

The black tea brewed by Asakura was delicious. Toshiaki fully enjoyed this long-awaited moment of leisure.

"Uh, Asakura, why is your cup different from usual?"

While eating the cake, a fourth-grade student asked a question. Liming looked up and realized he hadn't noticed before that Asakura's teacup was indeed different from the previous one.

What about the previous one?

"It must have broken from the fall, right?"

"I don't know where it went."

Asakura's face was filled with a happy smile as she savored the enticing aroma of the black tea. "I packed it all up so nicely, but I just can't find it. If anyone sees it, please let me know."

"Parasite Eve"

Section 46

Chapter Nineteen

"She" emerged for the first time, and unexpectedly, it went so smoothly. Although Shengmei's will had resisted several times, "she" had the upper hand most of the time. The pleasure she experienced outside, embracing Liming, far surpassed the comfort she felt inside Shengmei's body. However, she was not satisfied yet; this was only the beginning. "She" knew about Shengmei's dream. It was because she had slightly revealed a bit of her past memories, thus stimulating Shengmei's nerves. To avoid Shengmei discovering her presence, "she" was usually very careful. However, on Shengmei's birth day—December 24th—"her" caution was completely ineffective. Perhaps on this day, Shengmei's senses would become more acute. Finally, Shengmei had glimpsed the memories of "her" invading the host's body last night. Although "she" didn't think Shengmei could understand the meaning of dreams, she couldn't be careless, because Shengmei might tell Liming about her dream. Even if Shengmei herself didn't know the true meaning of the dream, Liming might notice. It was almost time to take action. That's what she thought.

Now is the time. She no longer wishes to be a slave to her host. Last night's experiment showed that she could completely manipulate her host's main nervous system at will; everything was thought and directed by "her," and Saintly's body only needed to obey her commands. What a delightful master-servant relationship!

That morning was exceptionally peaceful. The cold snap that had raged for days had vanished, and the long-awaited sunlight shone softly through the bedroom window. Tiny beams of light filtered through the mesh of the curtains, making the white sheets appear even more radiant. The numbers on the LCD screen of the electric heater were barely visible when it was turned on. A soft groan came from beside her, and she glanced over. Li Ming's back and bare shoulders rose and fell slowly with the rhythm of his breathing.

It took her a long time to realize that she was sleeping in the same bed as Li Ming.

She tried to gently pat Li Ming's shoulder with her hand.

"...What is it? You're awake?"

Li Ming rubbed his eyes and sat up. His face was slightly swollen, and he looked like he hadn't woken up properly.

She said with a smile, "I... want to register with the kidney donation registry."

While eating breakfast, Shengmei noticed that Liming kept looking at her strangely, his gaze lingering on her. When Shengmei looked up, Liming hurriedly avoided her gaze, casually spreading butter on his toast.

"What's wrong?" Saint Mei asked, finding it suspicious.

Li Ming lowered his head, looking hesitant to speak. After a while, he finally said softly, "...Has something happened?"

"Something happened? What happened?"

Why did you suddenly say something like registering with a kidney donation registry?

Saint-Mei looked up in surprise, pulling her gaze away from the bread. When had she ever said such a thing?

"Of course, there's nothing wrong with going to register... It's just that I've never felt that you're interested in these kinds of things, so hearing you say this today really startled me."