Chapter 44: Soul-Hosting Demon

"Amy? Wake up, look who's here?" John gently pushed his daughter, but Amy didn't react at all.

Amy's mother, Joan, said, "Amy has been conscious for less and less time recently. Five days ago, she only occasionally... had episodes, but today, she was only awake for a short while. We're worried..." As she spoke, she covered her mouth, unable to continue.

Zhang Zhang Ningning hurriedly supported Joan and pleaded with Yang Yi, "Yang Yi, please..."

Yang Yi reached out to touch Amy's face. She was pitifully thin, her skin dull and lifeless, loose, with prominent cheekbones, looking older than her own mother.

Amy's breathing suddenly grew heavier. When Yang Yi's hand fully pressed against her face, her eyeballs beneath the eyelids spun rapidly, as if she were about to wake up immediately.

Yang Yi felt a stir in her heart and sent her telekinetic power silently enveloping her.

Amy suddenly opened her eyes, glaring fiercely at her.

Her eyes were pitch black, with no whites, no pupils, like a mindless beast.

"Amy!" Joan let out a terrified scream. "How did her eyes turn like this! What's wrong with her?"

John also stepped back in fright.

Were her eyes not like this before? Then, did the stimulation from the telekinetic power cause this change?

Yang Yi unleashed her telekinetic power to fill the entire room, wrapping Amy layer upon layer, like an insect trapped in amber.

Amy grew even more ferocious, emitting a roar that was not human. In an instant, everyone in the room felt dizzy, as if the sound could directly attack the human mind.

Yang Yi was already prepared; she sealed Amy's mouth with telekinetic power, pinning her firmly to the bed so she couldn't move at all.

"Has she had this kind of situation before?"

"No! Before, Amy only screamed wildly and bumped into walls. Occasionally, she had moments of clarity. She said... she felt there was a monster inside her body, fighting her for control of her body..." John, holding his dizzy head, quickly explained.

Yang Yi's heart skipped a beat. She thought of the "It" inside her own body, and the "It," how similar they were.

But compared to the two consciousnesses within her own body, the monster inside Amy was far more frenzied, seeming to possess more bestial nature.

Before she could ponder the similarities and differences, a loud "clang-clang" suddenly came from downstairs, as if many people were simultaneously banging on doors in a frenzy.

Amy revealed an excited smile, her pitch-black eyes shooting out malicious light.

Yang Yi swept her telekinetic power downstairs, her expression darkening. "Zhang Zhang Ningning, protect Uncle and Aunt!"

As she spoke, she reached out toward Amy, and the dark matter energy was instantly drained dry by her.

Amy immediately began to struggle, barking at Yang Yi like a wild beast. The banging on the door downstairs grew even more intense.

Amy's room was on the second floor, with the window right behind Yang Yi. John gathered his courage, walked to the window, and took a look, then stepped back in terror, "Outside! There are so many people outside! They're banging on our door! Are they crazy?"

Outside the window, under the streetlights, countless shadowy figures rushed out of their homes silently, as if summoned by something, gathering toward Amy's house.

Zhang Zhang Ningning was extremely uneasy. She shielded Joan behind her. "What's going on? Why are they banging on the door? Are they coming for us?"

Yang Yi remained expressionless. The energy around her had already been sucked dry by her, but her outstretched hand did not withdraw. Gradually, black mist-like substances flew out from Amy's body.

After leaving Amy's body, these black mists curled, twisted, and struggled in the air as if they had life.

As the black mist on her body was sucked out, Amy's reactions became more and more intense, and the look in her eyes directed at Yang Yi grew increasingly malicious.

The crowd outside the window grew larger and larger. The door downstairs made a huge noise, and chaotic footsteps rushed up to the second floor.

"Zhang Zhang Ningning," Yang Yi remained very calm, "block the stairs."

Zhang Zhang Ningning clearly lacked combat experience. Only after Yang Yi called out to her did she snap out of her panic.

Looking out the door, she was terrified. She saw a crowd of people with wooden expressions packed tightly in the stairwell, all with pitch-black eyes just like Amy, scrambling to climb up, only to get stuck in a heap at the stair turn.

Zhang Zhang Ningning hurriedly pressed both hands against the wall and activated her earth-control ability. The wall moved as if it had life, blocking the crowd.

"W-what... what should we do now?" Zhang Zhang Ningning asked in panic, as if treating Yang Yi as her anchor.

Yang Yi did not answer. As more black mist was sucked out, Amy's face sometimes showed struggle, sometimes resembled a mad beast; the two emotions constantly switched on her face, as if two consciousnesses inside her body were constantly fighting for control of the body.

Her complexion grew increasingly gray and bleak, wrinkles crawled across her skin, and her hair visibly changed from golden to white before her eyes.

Yang Yi hesitated and stopped her hand. She feared that if she continued sucking, the black mist inside her body wouldn't be fully extracted before her life force drained away first.

The banging on the walls downstairs did not stop; those people who had inexplicably gathered still did not give up. Rustling scratching sounds came from outside the window; some people seemed to be trying to climb in through the window.

Outside the window, a sea of black-crowded people piled on top of each other, forming human ladders to climb up.

"Mom... Dad..." Amy called out weakly.

John and Joan, the couple, rushed over together in surprise. Suddenly, a strange black light flashed in their eyes, and they lunged directly at Yang Yi.

At this moment, Yang Yi was facing away from them, using her telekinetic power to disperse the crowd outside, completely unprepared.

Zhang Zhang Ningning opened her mouth to warn them, but it was too late.

Two figures moved as fast as lightning, but when they reached Yang Yi's side, they met an invisible wall and could not get any closer.

Only then did Yang Yi calmly turn around. With a "Boom—Boom—" two sounds, John and Joan's bodies were pressed directly to the ground by telekinetic power.

"You have a bit of wisdom, but not much."

Yang Yi said to Amy, "You managed to infect so many people in the community within six days; it makes no sense to spare the two people closest to you. If this is your trump card, then you're underestimating people a bit too much."

Zhang Zhang Ningning had just breathed a sigh of relief, but was then shocked by Yang Yi's words. She hurriedly looked at Amy on the bed.

She saw Amy's pitch-black eyes gradually calm down; the bestial nature vanished, and a human-like thoughtfulness even appeared: "... You... hiss... You are Yang... hiss... Yang Yi. I saw you on TV!"

At first, she seemed unfamiliar with this human body, but soon she could converse fluently.

"Are you Amy now, or some otherworldly species?" Yang Yi frowned slightly.

"Of course I'm Amy!" She turned to Zhang Zhang Ningning and said, "Zhang Ningning, did you forget? We made an appointment to go hiking together last week... Oh right, I heard this God of the Mortal World also likes Chris Norton? Zhang Ningning, you have a rival now!"

"Are you really Amy?" Zhang Zhang Ningning asked in disbelief. "What did you do to Uncle and Aunt? And what about so many people outside? Why are they..."

"They are fine! If it weren't for the God of the Mortal World you invited to ruin my good deeds, they would already be fully infected." Amy looked at Zhang Zhang Ningning in disappointment. "Zhang Ningning, I always considered you my best friend. Why did you ask someone to hurt me?"

"No, no, I just wanted to cure you!" Zhang Zhang Ningning stepped forward excitedly.

"Don't look at her eyes!" Yang Yi suddenly realized something and shouted a warning.

Zhang Zhang Ningning froze. A pitch-black darkness surged from the depths of her pupils, gradually expanding to fill her entire eye socket.

Yang Yi had no choice but to press Zhang Zhang Ningning to the ground as well.

Only then did Yang Yi realize the method she used to infect so many people—eye contact.

But why, when she and Amy stared at each other for so long just now, was she completely unharmed?

"What exactly are you?" Yang Yi stared tightly at the withered girl on the hospital bed.

"I am Amy, and Amy is me." A strange smile appeared on her wrinkled face. "We are now one. If you kill me, you kill Amy."

Yang Yi recalled the other "it" inside her body, which also always said: "You are me, and I am you."

The sound of slapping against the walls downstairs grew louder and louder; the entire community was in uproar, as if countless people were gathering in the darkness.

With such a huge commotion, Yang Yi felt that in the short term, unless she killed them all, the situation would be hard to resolve.

But this was the Ark Kingdom, and she was a guest from afar, even equivalent to an enemy from the Ark Kingdom's standpoint. If she acted rashly, it would most likely cause an international dispute.

Yang Yi did not like to show off; if a matter could be left for others to solve, she would never voluntarily take it upon herself.

If coming here was just to help Zhang Zhang Ningning with a small favor, the meaning of the matter had now changed.

Amy was pinned to the bed, unable to move, yet she looked at Yang Yi with a strange and arrogant air, as if she knew Yang Yi could do nothing to her.

The noise outside the window grew louder and louder: running sounds, scratching sounds, meaningless roars, growing ever louder.

Yang Yi let out a cold smile; her telekinesis spread out, and in an instant, the entire community was covered by telekinesis. Gently pressing down, all the uproar turned to calm, as if the previous boiling had been nothing but an illusion.

Amy's expression changed drastically, and black blood actually flowed from her eyes.

The crowd outside wanted to respond to her movement, but they only surged slightly before being suppressed by Yang Yi once again.

Yang Yi glanced at her coldly, took out her phone, dialed Director Zhou's number, and explained the current situation.

Director Zhou's voice was very serious; he instructed her not to act rashly, saying they would immediately notify the Ark Kingdom side and would arrive right away.

Amy's expression grew even more resentful and venomous, but her body was as if pressed down by an invisible mountain, unable to even move a finger.

Yang Yi followed the same method, sucking the black mist out of Zhang Zhang Ningning.

Zhang Zhang Ningning's face visibly changed from fresh and tender to haggard, as if she had stayed up all night for a whole week; she slowly opened her eyes: "Eh, what happened to me?"

"You were infected. How do you feel now?"

"I feel very tired, my whole body aches, and my head feels dizzy." Zhang Zhang Ningning struggled to open her eyes; everything around her came into view, and only then did she recall what had just happened.

"How are Uncle and Aunt? How is Amy? Why did this happen?"

Yang Yi said impatiently: "Didn't I say it? You were all infected."

Zhang Zhang Ningning immediately fell silent, looking at Yang Yi uneasily.

Under this gaze, Yang Yi realized her tone had been very poor.

The hunger inside her body had begun to stir when she entered this house, and until now had reached a peak. Though far from the temptation of the refined life source in the Misty Town back then, it was enough to make her restless and uneasy.

Yang Yi extended her hand; the black mist slowly writhed in her palm. Undoubtedly, it contained a trace of Zhang Zhang Ningning's life force, but more of it was a chaotic evil power, as if too much filth had been mixed into a small dessert, making one feel both regret and disgust.

"Who are you? What monster are you? Why can you suck out my power?" Amy finally broke through a bit of the telekinetic suppression; her sharp voice pierced the eardrums like a knife.

Yang Yi's expression shifted; she deliberately mocked, "What? Is that so hard?"

Amy suddenly seemed to think of something, looked sharply at Yang Yi, her face full of terror, then suddenly murmured to herself: "Impossible, impossible, how is that possible? How could she..."

As she spoke, her expression changed again, her face twisted with ferocity, and her whole body convulsed like a struggle before death.

A pitch-black energy leaped out from Amy's body and fled toward the outside of the house.

The entire community was covered by Yang Yi's telekinesis; that pitch-black energy crashed into an invisible wall and was bounced back.

Amy's resentment and mockery did not stir Yang Yi's emotions, but her fear and escape did arouse Yang Yi's anger; a nameless fire "whooshed" up from her heart.

She extended her hand, and the black energy struggled as it was sucked onto her hand.

Yang Yi leaned close to this black energy ball, prodding it a few times with telekinesis; "it" struggled endlessly, desperately trying to escape this palm's domain, yet could not even fly out of her palm.

Yang Yi asked coldly: "What are you afraid of? Why are you so afraid that I can suck out your energy?"

"My lord, please forgive me. I am only a tiny parasitic soul demon. If I had known this was your pasture, I would never have dared to steal your lambs..."

The pitch-black energy trembled violently, accompanied by a rustling hiss; while begging in a low voice, it shrank smaller and smaller in her palm.

It was another language she had never heard before, yet she could miraculously understand it, just like the Fire Demon last time.

The words "pasture" and "lambs" made her heart tremble; a strong sense of discomfort surged up from her heart, as if, in some mysterious way, an invisible giant mouth above her head was slowly opening.

"Speak clearly!" Telekinesis formed several steel needles that stabbed viciously into its body; it hissed wildly in pain. "Tell me everything you know!"

"Okay... hiss... my lord! Please spare me, I will tell everything..."

"First, tell me why you are afraid that I can suck out your energy?" Yang Yi slowly withdrew the telekinetic steel needles; that energy ball shrank even smaller.

"My lord, although my ability is not worth mentioning, merely parasitizing the souls of intelligent life to sow seeds, but once successful parasitism occurs, we can become an inseparable whole with the host. Only a few high-ranking lords can completely separate us from the host..." Amy's voice grew weaker and weaker, as if suffering heavily from injuries.

Yang Yi's heart jumped; she suppressed her excitement and asked coldly: "Who are they?"

"There is the noble Lord Deslaide, Lord Brophiel, and Lord Asasde, Lord Leyatori... and the supreme..." Amy murmured, as if she dared not speak that name, or even the title.

"Who?" Yang Yi's heart pounded wildly; she leaned closer, wanting to hear more clearly.

The name Asasde surprised her, yet the name it had not spoken made her heart race uncontrollably, as if she was about to push open an ancient, mysterious door.

Just at this moment, the pitch-black energy, compressed to its extreme, instantly broke through the telekinetic suppression and lunged into her brain.

Too careless; it had actually hidden a move...

Yang Yi shuddered all over; a bone-chilling coldness controlled her.