Lin Chu turned and left the bedroom, heading into the kitchen.

She had already checked earlier—though this family didn’t have a solar power system like the Yang family, they did have a portable gas stove in the kitchen.

That was why she had brought out some hot water from her space just now. After all, the source could be explained away.

Lin Chu placed the pot filled with melted snow onto the stove, turned the knob, then brought out more mixed hot water from her space and returned to Zhou Ruoqing’s room.

Under Yang Qianqian’s anxious gaze, a ladle of water was poured directly onto Zhou Ruoqing’s head.

Zhou Ruoqing immediately clutched her head and began struggling.

Yang Qianqian hurried over, wanting to help, but had no idea how to ease her pain.

Meanwhile, Lin Chu picked up two hemp ropes from the bedroom floor and walked toward the man curled up on the ground.

He had already stopped crying out in pain. His eyes were shut tightly, and he seemed to have passed out from the agony—but he was still breathing.

Lin Chu tied him up and then searched the floor for a while.

But she didn’t find the snow parasite.

Could it be that once the parasite has successfully taken hold, it can no longer be forced out?

Just as Lin Chu was lost in thought, she suddenly heard moaning from the adjacent room.

She glanced at a family portrait on the table showing the family of three, then turned to Yang Qianqian and asked, “Where’s your classmate’s mom?”

Only then did Yang Qianqian snap back to her senses. “Right! Aunt Ye—I forgot about Aunt Ye!”

She quickly ran into the other bedroom and shortly returned, not sure if she was speaking to Lin Chu or just muttering to herself, “Aunt Ye also got snowed on. Hot water—we need hot water…”

“The hot water in the kitchen ran out. I just put more on the stove—you’ll have to wait a bit.”

Yang Qianqian ran to the kitchen to wait for the water.

Lin Chu walked to Zhou Ruoqing’s bedside and leaned down. From between the fingers of Zhou Ruoqing’s tightly clutched left hand, she fished out a wriggling transparent thread.

She tossed it onto the nearby table and watched it twist violently at first, then gradually fall still.

The entire process took less than a minute.

Apparently, if a snow parasite leaves the host but doesn’t find a new one, it quickly dies.

That explained why people had to be exposed to snow—no one was rolling around in it.

Lin Chu submitted the snow parasite to the system and was pleased to see 20 points added to her balance.

Just after she submitted it, Yang Qianqian came running from the kitchen, carrying a pot of water, and rushed straight into the adjacent bedroom.

A pot of half-hot water was poured over the other woman’s head, prompting a round of intense struggling and howling.

Yang Qianqian couldn’t bear to watch. She returned the pot to the kitchen and came back to sit with Zhou Ruoqing.

Seeing this, Lin Chu took the initiative to go to the other bedroom.

When the snow parasite crawled out of the woman’s ear, she quickly extracted it and placed it on the table.

She observed it, as usual.

But this one seemed thicker than the others she’d seen, and the white on its belly was more pronounced.

Lin Chu thought carefully.

Of all the snow parasites she had seen, the one that came out of her own ear was the thinnest.

The ones from Zhou Ruoqing and Old Yang were about the same thickness.

The one from Zhou’s mother was the thickest—probably around 1.5 mm in diameter.

While she was thinking, a hoarse but clearly angry male voice came from the adjacent bedroom.

Lin Chu submitted the snow parasite to the system and immediately walked over.

The man lying on the floor had opened his eyes and was glaring furiously at Yang Qianqian, struggling to break free of the ropes.

But Lin Chu had tied a very secure foot-binding knot. No matter how much he thrashed, he couldn’t loosen it.

Plus, blisters had formed all over his body. Touching them caused intense pain, making him even more helpless.

Hearing footsteps, he looked up at Lin Chu and let out muffled grunts.

Judging by his expression, he was clearly cursing her, but she couldn’t understand a word.

Lin Chu frowned.

She had hoped to get some information out of him, but it looked like the boiling water had damaged his speech system—there was probably no way to interrogate him now.

She stepped forward and struck the back of his neck with her palm, knocking him out again. Then she dragged him by one leg from the bedroom into the living room.

She got up and went back to the kitchen to boil more water on the gas stove.

She wanted to test how to expel snow parasites from people who had already been successfully parasitized.

Or maybe…

Had the snow parasites already become part of the human body?

As Lin Chu leaned in the kitchen, deep in thought, Yang Qianqian appeared at the door.

“You… you’re the same as them. So why are you helping me?”

Zhou Ruoqing and her mother had stopped moaning. The house was quiet—only Lin Chu and Yang Qianqian’s breathing could be heard.

Lin Chu looked at her calmly and replied, “Even among us, there are different factions. I’m not from the same faction as them.”

Yang Qianqian widened her eyes.

She was still a high school student—exactly the kind of person obsessed with all kinds of fiction.

She understood the idea of factional conflict.

But she hadn’t expected that these parasites had factions too?

“Then… are you in the same faction as her?”

Although Yang Qianqian didn’t say it outright, Lin Chu knew she was asking about her mother.

“No.”

Yang Qianqian eyed her suspiciously. “Then why did she call you her niece?”

“She can call me whatever she wants—what’s it got to do with me?”

“But you also called her Aunt!” The girl’s expression was full of doubt.

“I was just playing along.” Lin Chu shrugged.

Yang Qianqian tilted her head, as if trying to determine whether she was telling the truth.

“I have one more question.”

“Go ahead.”

Seeing how easy Lin Chu was to talk to, Yang Qianqian pursed her lips and hesitated for a moment, then asked, “Your faction… is it more peaceful?”

Hearing her question, Lin Chu found it unexpectedly cute and couldn’t help but chuckle. “Peaceful? No way. I just can’t stand them.”

Her answer made Yang Qianqian instinctively take two steps back.

“Don’t worry. As long as you’re not parasitized by someone from their faction, I won’t touch you.”

As the two spoke, the water on the gas stove began to boil.

Lin Chu turned, picked up the pot, and walked out of the kitchen.