Fighting you is like being in jail.

"I'll do my best."

"It's best not to provoke what's hidden. Once we lift the lid, things will be unstoppable, and it will be too easy for them to eliminate us. They've been lurking longer and deeper than we have, and they've even completely integrated into humanity. We can't fight off such an adversary."

"Hmm. So we're back to that question: what is the meaning of our existence?"

"I don't know. Perhaps it's best to learn more. The more one integrates with humans, the clearer things will become. Otherwise, other creatures wouldn't be able to integrate. There must be some factors here that we don't know about."

"I see, I think I understand now."

Tamiya Ryoko nodded thoughtfully. This information was extremely useful and might even make her change her plans.

If she hadn't listened to these words, she would have recklessly eliminated any unsettling factors around her, but now things are different; she has to consider the possibility of being exposed when she does things.

At the same time, he thought of another group of parasites that were hunting humans indiscriminately and had even set up a fixed cafeteria.

These people should not be contacted.

They are unaware of the monsters lurking among humanity, which may soon be wiped out.

Chapter 228 This world... is too terrifying.

Tamiya Ryoko realized the problem and said no more.

After leaving the coffee shop, I quietly returned to my rented room. Standing in front of the mirror, I looked at my expressionless face and made various expressions with my fingers. However, my eyes were devoid of any emotion and looked very fake.

But she couldn't tell.

"This world is more complex than we imagine. On the surface, there are no problems, but terrible monsters are lurking behind them."

She muttered to herself blankly, recalling the information Mickey had given her earlier.

The biggest problem is that she cannot understand the meaning of the parasites' existence. The moment she awakens, her instinct is to devour her own kind, but such an instinct has no meaning for survival.

It is even accelerating its own destruction.

Parasites are infertile and cannot reproduce; even their bodies are part of their own organisms.

It completely lacks the basic conditions for life, so in theory, parasites cannot be born under such circumstances.

But parasites were born.

This is too contradictory, and there is not even a point of contention.

"What is the purpose of our existence, Parasites...?"

Tamiya Ryoko couldn't understand her situation and felt confused and bewildered.

After washing up, she slowly walked to the bedside, intending to go to sleep. But the moment she stepped into the bedroom, she paused, sensing a kindred spirit.

He turned to look at the source of the aura and began to analyze the situation.

"Moving very fast...approaching. No, this speed is—escaping?"

Tamiya Ryoko recalled the information Mickey had given her earlier: someone was hunting down the parasites.

Is it a ghoul? Or... unknown?

Her intense curiosity drove her to explore, even though it might be dangerous, but she didn't hesitate at all.

I quickly walked out of the rented room and approached the location of others like myself.

Just as they stepped onto the ground of the Intercepting Path, a cold wind blew over them, and the magnetic field of their kind disappeared.

"Disappeared? Died."

Tamiya Ryoko paused for a moment, but did not turn back. She headed towards the last place she felt she was in.

Walking into the dark alley, you can smell the blood in the air after just a few steps.

Then she saw a scene she could never forget.

Countless small animals, half black and half white, resembling both cats and dogs, were seen cleaning the ground and walls in the alleyway with special mops, brooms, buckets, and vacuum cleaners.

Each of them was a worker who was just like a human being, a truly hardworking and conscientious employee.

It is black and white hills, countless black and white hills.

But Tamiya Yoshiko didn't recognize her.

Tamiya Yoshiko couldn't understand what these things were, but one thing was certain: they were definitely unknown things hidden among humanity.

The next second, all the black and white hills stopped what they were doing, as if they had pressed pause.

Then, without making a sound, he looked up at Ryoko Tamiya, his scarlet eyes shining in the dark shadows.

Countless red dots, densely packed, were watching her.

In that instant, she understood something completely.

escape!

Tatata!

She turned and ran, her high heels clicking rapidly on the concrete. She was fast and did not reveal the parasite's abilities.

As for those cleaning the alleyways, Black and White Hill didn't care when Tamiya Ryoko ran away and continued cleaning with their heads down.

"Well, he's just an ordinary person, there's no need for him to do anything unnecessary."

"Anyway, no one would believe it if I told them."

"The things that have recently appeared are killing people everywhere. It can only be said that it's lucky that the creator doesn't know about it yet."

"If this gets out, he'll probably be wiped out on the spot."

Black Hill complained to himself as he quickly cleaned the alley.

……

Tamiya Ryoko, who had escaped, instinctively breathed a sigh of relief only after confirming that Kurokooka had not followed.

"Hidden among humanity are shadows unknown to all... Now it has been confirmed that there are ghouls, the unknown, and black and white animals."

"How many unknowns are hidden behind this..."

"Parasites simply cannot survive in such a world."

She felt her heart pounding, and waves of instinctive fear gripped her mind.

……

The next day, Shinichi originally planned to ask for leave.

Shinichi was called to the office by Ryoko Tamiya as soon as he arrived at school, and he felt a little uncomfortable after seeing Ryoko Tamiya.

Mickey appeared as soon as they met, asking, "What's up?"

Tamiya Ryoko said emotionlessly, "Yesterday I encountered the unknown. The black and white creatures looked like small animals, but judging from their actions, they were definitely a highly intelligent species. They were also hunting parasites."

"What?! This is not what we've seen."

Shinichi was startled and stared wide-eyed at Ryoko Tamiya, feeling as if the world had only just begun to unfold.

A chill crept across my skin, and it felt slightly numb.

At this moment, Mickey cautiously said, "What we found was someone from the class, like Goto Ichiri, who tore apart the parasitized body with her bare hands. The tentacle blades that attacked her had no effect on her at all; they couldn't even cut her skin."

Is there anything else?

Tamiya Yoshiko asked after thinking for a moment.

"The Hot Supermarket is a gathering place for ghouls, but we haven't found any evidence of ghoul hunting. Perhaps they are, but we just haven't discovered them."

"Ah."

"Shinichi, that's enough, we can go now."

Seeing that the exchange of information was almost complete, Mickey urged Shinichi to leave.

But as Shinichi turned around, Ryoko Tamiya remarked with a sigh, "What is the meaning of our existence?"

"Who knows?"

Mickey replied calmly that he had no idea about the question.

……

After class.

Shinichi cautiously glanced at the blackboard, while out of the corner of his eye he observed Goto Ichiri and Hikigaya next door.

Goto Ichiri trembled, his body tense and restless, while Hachiman yawned with a deadpan expression.

Shinichi observed over the past two days that, apart from the strange feeling he got from the two of them, they were no different from anyone else.

However, at that moment, the school's loudspeaker came on.

"A dangerous person has entered the school. All students, please leave the classrooms immediately and proceed to the stadium for refuge!"

what? !

Shinichi stared wide-eyed in disbelief, suddenly looking ahead, while his classmates around him were also taken aback.

"What's going on!?"

"what happened!?"

"Someone attacked the school?!"

The surrounding students were terrified, and Shinichi suddenly heard Mickey's voice.

"Shinichi is one of us."

"What?! No! Don't get caught!"

"They've long since disappeared."

Shinichi turned around in alarm to look at where Goto Ichiri and Hikigaya were, only to find that the two had disappeared without a trace. However, the students around them did not seem to notice anything amiss, as if they had not existed.

What are we supposed to do?

"Just wait, it will be over soon. I just didn't expect someone to be stupid enough to attack the school."

Mickey was speechless yet moved, feeling that his kind were taking things for granted.

At the same time, Tamiya Ryoko sensed someone of her kind and immediately recognized who it was.

It's Mr. A, who met Shinichi yesterday.

"How stupid!"

She couldn't help but curse, her expression turning serious.

Standing in the corridor, Tamiya Ryoko, who was looking out the window at the playground, stopped and began to observe.

A hand quietly patted her shoulder. The sudden touch terrified her, her hair stood on end, and her body trembled uncontrollably.

Fortunately, she restrained her instincts and did not retaliate.

"Tamiya-sensei, I'm sorry. I didn't expect you to be so scared..."

A familiar voice sounded, tinged with apology.

Tamiya Ryoko took a deep breath to steady herself, sighed, turned her head, and said with a faint smile:

"Hiratsuka-sensei, please stop doing this, it really scared me to death."

"Sorry, sorry... I'll treat you to dinner later."

Hiratsuka Shizuka offered an apologetic apology, awkwardly laughing as she smoked a cigarette.

At that moment, Tamiya Ryoko's pupils suddenly contracted. She realized something chilling: she couldn't sense Hiratsuka Shizuka's magnetic field.

This is exactly the same as the two unknowns, Goto Ichiri and Hikigaya.

In other words, the Hiratsuka Shizuka in front of us is also... an unknown!

For a moment, Tamiya Ryoko felt an endless fear, her eyes scanning her surroundings with apprehension, afraid that another unknown person might suddenly appear from the crowd.

How many unknowns are hidden among humankind?

Why are they all hidden among humans?

……

Meanwhile, Mr. A, who had already entered the teaching building, walked along the deserted corridor, looking around with a puzzled expression.