The God Virus

Chapter 521: Maybe I Should Not Have

"I-I… can't I just come along with you? Can't you take me with you as well?" After some hesitation, Aily gathered her courage and put that question forward.

In response, a shine of amusement gleamed through Virus' eyes who patted her head before voicing, "Sorry, I can't do that… not yet at least."

Feeling even more dejected, tilting her head down, Aily threw another inquiry that felt more like a hope rather than a question. "Ah… of course you can't, I apologize for being such a nuisance. But, will I see you ever again?"

"Hahaha, did you forget what kind of person Blaze was? Even if it's just to keep up appearances and prevent others from suspecting my identity, I need to continue visiting the brothel, so definitely yes! Also, you're not a nuisance, okay? It's just I need to get used to my new identity and settle in for now.

I may let you tag along with me later on, we'll see how it goes." Chuckling in return, Virus told her.

"Really?" A newfound joy at her disposal, Aily probed.

While playing with her earlobe gently, Virus couldn't prevent another peal of laughter. "Hahaha, of course, if the situation presents itself, why not?"

"Let's go then." Afterward, escorting Aily to the entrance of the brothel, Virus, now disguised as Blaze Detox, left to his new home.

As he walked through the streets of Outer Ricando, the closer he got to the inner gate, excitement began building up within him as he looked forward to the journey ahead of him. 'I'm finally entering Inner Ricando.'

"Now I can begin the second phase of my plans." He whispered to himself expectantly.

Since the time Virus had come across Blaze in the auction house, an idea had brightened within Virus' head.

'What if I infiltrate the Poison Deity clan by becoming one of them?' Through that brief notion, Virus had decided to enter the clan as one of their own since doing so would not only unlock the means for whatever information he desired but also remove the possibility of retaliation from the clan. That route was the safest and most efficient path he could possibly think of.

'Keep your friends close, your enemies closer.' Recalling that famous line in the current era of Earth, Virus was adamant about putting on the perfect disguise with no possibility of being recognized and therefore being endangered.

However, Virus understood very well in order to wear the perfect mask, changing his features and physical frame alone wasn't enough. In fact, what mattered most was to be able to imitate the behavior of the real Blaze to a T.

No one changes too drastically in a single night.

Even if one individual does go through a transformation in the essence of their behavior, the evolution usually happens through a gradual process, unless they're about to die.

Hence, to accomplish that goal of preserving the core of Blaze's personality, for more than a month, Virus had done nothing but study, observe, and gather vital information regarding Blaze until he reached a point where he deemed his overall knowledge adequate to simulate a nigh indistinguishable personality.

Anyway, since Virus had reached the inner gate, at last, he was forced to a halt by the guard at the entrance. However, having already prepared for this moment, Virus took out the identity plaque he had looted from Blaze's corpse and showed it to the guard.

It didn't matter they had recognized the drunken dreg reeling toward them since checking the special identity plaque of everyone commuting through the inner gate was mandatory.

Throwing a brief glance at his plaque, the guard simply scoffed at Virus before permitting his entry, "Tch, just enter already."

Based on the way he treated the disguised Virus, it was clear despite being the younger son of the chief of Deity faction, not even the guards held an ounce of respect toward Blaze.

Nevertheless, grinning internally, Virus proceeded to stagger through the gate that led to the Deity-Half of Inner Ricando. However, while he was passing through it, Virus briefly sensed a special type of energy invading his identity plaque from the engravings of the inner wall before retreating after a simple verification. 'Success!

So, there were two security measures taken to prevent infiltration.'

'Apprentice sister Astes, wait for me a little longer.' Pondering up to that point, a resolved glimmer bubbled through Virus' pupil. Now that he was within the enemy territory as one of their own, Virus felt many doors of possibilities opening up in front of him.

Subsequently, recalling Inner Ricando's inaccurate map that could be easily obtained plus the bits and pieces of intelligence he had gathered through interacting with the drunken Blaze for over a month now, he knew precisely where the late Blaze's residence was located at.

Since nighttime had come already, Virus didn't wish to linger around any longer and possibly attract the suspicion of others. Thus, he directly returned to Blaze's residence.

The instant he caught sight of the late Blaze's dwelling, however, Virus felt shaken to his core. 'Is this truly his house? I didn't come to the wrong place, did I?'

'How can the son of Deity faction's chief live in this type of pathetic cottage?'

Currently, there was a shabby one-room wooden cottage in front of Virus' sight which made Virus even doubt if he had pinpointed the right location in his calculations.

The cottage was so shabby Virus felt like a gentle breeze may as well bring the whole thing to ruin.

Alas, Virus knew his calculations couldn't be wrong. Thus, left with no other options, Virus could only sigh helplessly before entering through the door. 'That pathetic bastard must've led a difficult life, it's no wonder he turned out to be the degenerate he was.'

The moment he was inside, Virus felt even more downcast since other than a bed, there was nothing else to be spotted anywhere. In fact, even the ground itself was merely a muddy floor with nothing to cover it.

"Wow, maybe I shouldn't have come here…?"