Chapter 695 - 684: Assimilation
Chapter 695: Chapter 684: Assimilation
As the name suggests, the forgotten alley is a completely overlooked corner.
The houses remain, but the windows are only empty frames, and the doors hang crookedly on their hinges, creaking in the breeze.
The big chill in the Northern Territory drove away nearly two-thirds of Cold Bay Castle’s population, leaving many areas vacant like this one, with the forgotten alley being the most rundown.
But now, there are shadows moving in the alley.
Gray slowed his steps, his gaze sweeping over the figures leaning against wall roots and squatting on steps, their bare skin crawling with white mycelium, clearly parasitized individuals.
He and Ke also disguised themselves.
Before setting off, they used specially made adhesive to stick fake mycelium on their cheeks, the backs of their hands, and necks, making them look no different from the truly parasitized.
At least, they thought so.
But upon stepping into the forgotten alley, Gray immediately felt something was wrong.
"Being watched closely, senior," Ke’s voice was very low, so low that only the two of them could hear.
His steps were steady, but Gray could sense that Ke was a bit tense.
"It’s normal to be cautious on the first visit," Gray responded equally quietly, his gaze straight ahead, avoiding eye contact with anyone.
What he didn’t know was that within the localized Fungal Network of the forgotten alley, all parasitized people were discussing them.
"These two are up to no good."
"Their faces have fake mycelium; are they trying to blend in?"
"Looks like we’re being watched by higher-ups..."
"Who will notify the boss?"
Someone silently retreated a few steps, disappearing around a corner.
Someone else kept staring, their mouth curving into an enigmatic smile.
A few others followed behind Gray and Ke.
Soon, Gray realized they were surrounded.
In front, behind, and on all sides, a dozen parasitized blocked all retreat paths. A tall Demon Race member with horns stepped forward, reaching out to grasp the fake mycelium on Gray’s cheek and pulling it off forcefully.
The Demon held the fake mycelium up for inspection before casually tossing it to the ground and crushing it underfoot.
"Sticking this fake stuff on your face, are you mocking us?" He took a step forward, within half an arm’s length from Gray. "Or are you planning to sneak in to do something shady?"
The others remained silent, but Gray could feel their gazes were colder than before.
"Stop it, all of you!"
Just as Gray prepared to bolt with Ke, a voice came from deep within the alley.
The crowd automatically parted to the sides, creating a narrow passage.
Gray looked up.
Coming through was a bald Vampire, his face similarly covered in mycelium.
He stopped in front of Gray.
His eyes lingered on Gray’s face for a moment, then glanced at Ke beside him.
"Sent from above?" His tone was very calm.
Knowing he couldn’t hide it anymore, Gray simply nodded.
The bald Vampire seemed to have anticipated it, turning around and waving at the surrounding parasitized people. "Disperse already, don’t act like a gang, I’ll handle it."
Someone seemed to want to say something, but upon meeting his gaze, they closed their mouth. The encirclement gradually broke, those cold stares moving away, leaving only a few who stood at a distance, inconspicuously watching.
The bald Vampire turned back, looking at Gray.
"Follow me."
The three entered a room that was relatively tidied up, and the bald man poured each of them a bowl of hot soup.
He took a sip himself, exhaling contentedly, then said, "Sorry, you may have been scared, but please don’t blame them. Us forced into symbiosis with the mycelium, face severe discrimination in other places. Everyone huddles here for warmth and complain together, it’s inevitable they’d be wary of people like you without mycelium, I ask you to forgive them this time."
Gray was noncommittal, nor did he touch the soup, noticing the mushroom scraps inside.
"You’re the boss here?"
"Boss?!" The bald Vampire’s eyelid twitched, quickly explaining, "I count as their leader, but I’m not some boss."
This left Gray puzzled.
Isn’t "boss" and "leader" the same thing?
But he wasn’t interested in wasting time on such minutiae, so he directly asked, "We’re investigating the traitor maliciously spreading spores recently in the city, since you’re the leader here, you should know something, right?"
Ke also placed a hand on the Vampire’s shoulder, "Don’t worry, we only want to catch the perpetrator, we won’t involve innocents."
"Spread spores in the city?" The bald Vampire looked puzzled, "Two masters, I’m really not sure about that. Most of our daily work is clearing the mycelium outside the city, how could we bring spores back to spread them? Isn’t there enough work already!"
The bald man spoke sincerely, but Ke turned his head toward Gray and winked.
Seeing Gray not react, he winked harder.
As Ke was about to continue "hinting," Gray hurriedly winked back at him.
"What are you two signaling each other for?" the bald man said coldly, clearly noticing their interaction.
Seeing Gray and Ke not answering, he sighed: "Really, the Demon Race has so many tricks."
The next moment, blood surged from his sleeve, straight towards Ke’s face.
Gray quickly threw Ke behind him, meeting the blood with a burning fire fist, drying the blood.
He couldn’t help but curse: "You fool, do you even know what ’hinting’ means?!"
Ke knew he messed up, and while retreating from the battle circle, he apologized: "Sorry, this is the first time I’ve done this kind of work!"
But after just a few steps back, he was blocked by the parasitic beings rushing in from outside.
The bald man pointed at Gray and Ke, shouting in the Fungal Network: "We’ve been exposed, kill them!"
Everyone immediately clashed into a battle, and the building in the deserted alley that was relatively tidy was reduced to ruins within three minutes amidst impacts and explosive flames.
Gray and Ke situation was quite dire, but fortunately, it didn’t last long.
The soldiers waiting on the outskirts charged into the deserted alley upon hearing the commotion.
Even though the parasitic beings weren’t weak, the well-prepared soldiers evidently had overwhelming strength, taking little time to suppress the entire alley.
Gray and Ke escaped calamity.
Gray reflected on his carelessness, thinking that spreading spores was merely a personal act of isolated traitors, hoping to root out the traitors in a less intense manner.
It now seemed the entire deserted alley was involved.
Looking at the restrained bald Vampire, Gray couldn’t help but ask: "Why betray?"
Unexpectedly, the bald man, who appeared somewhat dejected before, suddenly became agitated upon hearing this: "Betrayal? You’re the ones who’ve betrayed me! I fought for the Empire, went through hell and back, only to return and be discarded here waiting to die, did you think I wouldn’t notice?"
As he spoke, he laughed: "Ha, but no matter, today it’s me, tomorrow it’s your turn! I’m curious to see what expressions you’ll have when that time comes?"
The bald Vampire was dragged away by soldiers, awaiting judgment, possibly used as sacrifice before the war.
A cry of pain from behind brought Gray’s attention back.
Unlike the highly skilled Gray, the recent scene was more perilous for Ke, who lacked self-destruction ability.
Even though Gray had been intentionally looking out for him, Ke still sustained considerable injuries amidst the chaos.
Fortunately, the soldiers arrived timely and there was no shortage of healing potions.
"Sorry... Senior..."
Seeing Ke’s body covered with wounds, Gray didn’t want to be too harsh on this young newcomer.
"Don’t overthink it, focus on healing, you’ve already made a contribution."
Afterward, Gray wrote a report alone and submitted it.
The next day, he visited Ke and found his spirit much improved, which eased his mind.
However, after this ordeal, deep down, he was even less optimistic about Cold Bay Castle’s future.
...
In the hospital room, eating the comfort items Gray brought, Ke was somewhat surprised by his recovery power.
He originally thought he’d be bedridden for half a month, but unexpectedly, he could barely get out of bed the next day.
Recalling his mistake yesterday, Ke scratched his neck bashfully.
Seemingly he scratched something.
He stood up and abruptly opened his clothing.
Between those scars, mycelium had unknowingly spread.
They adhered to the wounds, filling the missing flesh and blood, that’s the reason his wounds healed so quickly!
In a daze, he remembered during yesterday’s chaotic battle, indeed, the parasitic beings had sprinkled some unknown powder while attacking...
He rushed to the door, wanting to tell Gray and report up, yet suddenly came to a halt.
Parasitism is irreversible, at least no method to undo it has been found yet.
Thinking about the plight of the parasitic beings, the curses of the bald Vampire before being dragged away... Ke hesitated, but ultimately couldn’t open the door.
He leaned against the door, slowly sliding down: "What... should I do?"