Procreator

Daichi looked around but could see that Hikaru was the only one who had a perplexed yet curious expression on his face.

'He's quite keen' he thought. Daichi wondered whether this is because the host was intelligent or because of the parasite's unique personality. In some way, the awakened born from the combination of parasite and human characteristics resulted in a distinct entity different from both. This brought benefits of diversity. A group with individuals weaker than a lone wolf were stronger because they had more options and a larger repertoire of skills to adapt to any situation. The downside was that parasites with a strong sense of self were more likely to be independent and less compliant.

"I do not remember how our original reproductive systems work but it's likely that is has been turned off or altered. I can deduct from the knowledge I've been imprinted with is that parasites with a combination of high and low levels of various factors, trigger genetic elements that lead to activation of the reproductive system. Some of those factors being high host-parasite bonding compatibility and high translation of the directives."

"So, everyone contains genes for reproduction, but it's been inhibited by a genetic regulatory network which were inserted by our 'benefactors'." Hikaru chipped in.

"Yes."

The class went silent.

A bead of sweat rolled down Botan's temple.

No one understood what was being said much less the doe-eyed parasites. Those who were confused, hid behind an impenetrable poker face. The brain-dead parasites on the other hand, never parsed anything since the start of the meeting and were only receptive to simple orders.

"Hah? I don't understand anything you two just said." Kazumi broke the silence. Daichi smiled amusedly.

"Wouldn't that mean the genes were activated the moment the right parasite infected a host?" Hikaru continued.

"Yes. The procreator has been found and is kept in a safe place where she eats." Daichi spoke after guessing Hikaru's next thought.

Seeing that Hikaru didn't speak anymore. Daichi went on.

"The procreator needs a lot of food and so the other task of the harvest teams is to provide a constant supply of humans for her to feed. This also allows us to protect her as she won't be moving out to look for food."

"How many humans are we talking about here?" Junpei asked.

"I don't know. I wasn't imprinted on the specifics. It's possible our benefactors don't have any data on humans. However, she seems to be eating a human every hour or more."

Junpei's face remained stoic but his eyes wavered.

"The harvest has already begun?" Hikaru asked.

"A couple of teams have started bringing in some bodies. Once I finish here, I will do an introductory meeting with the parasites infected adults waiting outside. Then after getting some inputs, the rest of us will commence harvesting once we have perfected our operational procedure."

"Why don't we just feed her human food? It would be easier to buy food, right?"

The one who asked was Junpei, his broad and sturdy shoulders made him look like a tank. Although, a rainbow flower pin was worn on his blazer, none of the students in the past would mock him.

"Unfortunately, we tried that when she had finished eating a pile of bodies. She threw a tantrum and ate one of her bodyguards. She also would vomit out whatever cooking she ate. Not sure if that was a psychological or physiological reaction"

After hearing that, Kazumi laughed whereas Hikaru pondered.

"It's possible that her diet needs sustenance from the host's species or maybe their flesh primes the growing parasites, perhaps increasing human-parasite bonding success rate." Hikaru added.

Daichi concurred. Junpei clenched his hands and dissatisfaction plowed his brow.

After the whole class understood, they went on to discuss tactics for the harvesting. A few phones went off during the meeting.

Ring ring.

Daichi looked at the person who let their phones ring.

"Pick it up."

A female student pulled out her phone and started talking.

"Yes. I'm still in the meeting. I'll be back home soon later. I'll let you know. Okay. I will come home later. Bye."

A brief silence ensued until Daichi asked who it was.

"My mother."

"When were you planning on going home?" Daichi asked as annoyance crept up into his tone.

The girl thought for a moment.

"Until we finish harvesting."

…

"Who else have family members asking them to come home?"

5 students in the room lifted their hands. Daichi looked at the message on one of their phones and mentally facepalmed himself while reading. The mindless parasites lacked emotional IQ to understand what their parents were really asking. They had intended to defer coming back home much later than they had told their parents. It was more important to keep up appearances and prevent discovery of their existences.

It wasn't that every person was needed at the meeting or during harvesting. The need for manpower was like a work schedule consisting of full-time, part-time and casual workers and on-call doctors for inbound and outbound work. Not everyone was a specialist who could not be replaced.

"Please pay attention to the feelings of your host's family, friends and work relationships. It is not required that you be able to assist in the 24 hours of the day and priority should be placed on avoiding suspicion and continuing your host's daily routines until you are needed."

Daichi lectured them by giving them examples of when they should help like during their free time and when it's appropriate to clear out their schedules and appointments. The high-functioning parasites tuned out while the doe-eyed parasites… also tuned out but they listened to the basic instructions.

Daichi realised that he really needed to establish an intelligence department first and have the smarter ones give guidance to the simpler-minded. The simplest solution was having some grunts quit their jobs and dump their partners to clear up their schedules, but he needed workers to identify those situations. There was too much work by himself.

Daichi had another idea to use in addition to an intelligence department.

"Then let's discuss the targets for tonight's harvest."

Daichi asked the students who needed to go home about how many people living in their house and if any of them are home. Another person recorded the address while they brought up maps on their phones.