The Daily Life of the Demon King-Chapter 273: ": Inside the Secret Facility"

At the secret facility of the Evil Corporation, in the analytics department, an oppressive silence reigned. The tension grew with each passing hour—one by one, the corporation's branches around the world were going offline, communication was being lost, and the situation at the main facility was becoming increasingly alarming.

The head of the analytics department, Caleb Williams, hadn't left his monitors, trying to make sense of what was happening. He had managed to identify certain patterns in the causes of the catastrophes, but the full picture continued to elude him.

Only a few days had passed since the disruptions began, yet the damage was colossal. Every laboratory conducting experiments, along with other key facilities, had been lost.

Some branches had been overrun by hordes of undead that had escaped control. In others, coups had taken place—the top management had betrayed the corporation, luring part of the staff to their side. And some facilities had simply been wiped off the face of the earth by a monstrous entity, a fusion of countless bodies into one giant, grotesque organism.

Caleb analyzed all the data and came to a disturbing conclusion—all the branches that had lost communication had, in some way, been conducting research on the Marker fragments. This mysterious artifact seemed to possess the ability to influence human minds.

For the past few days, Caleb hadn't slept a single minute. He had gone through every report, every file, and everywhere he found the same pattern.

Now, his goal was to fully understand the situation and turn the tide. He wasn't about to sit idly by and watch as his carefully orchestrated chess game collapsed and the pieces he had positioned over the years spun out of control.

Making a swift decision, he isolated all lost branches, cutting off access to them, and ordered enhanced security checks for everyone entering and leaving the main facility. Rapid response teams now underwent additional procedures after every return from the outside world.

Once the order was given, no one dared to disobey—everyone understood perfectly well what the consequences could be.

"Director Williams."

The voice of the Red Queen sounded behind him.

Caleb slowly turned his head, his eyes bloodshot from exhaustion. He hadn't closed them for days, and now, everything irritated him.

"What?" he barked, barely holding back his frustration.

"A signal has been detected from the lost branch in Hong Kong." The Red Queen ignored his irritated tone.

Caleb raised an eyebrow. For a moment, he even felt his fatigue recede.

The Hong Kong branch had been lost in the early stages of the catastrophe, and it was he who had made the decision to shut it down to prevent further spread of the threat. But now, it was back online.

Caleb quickly opened the files related to this facility. The confirmation came instantly—Hong Kong had also been conducting research on the Marker fragments.

Something had happened. Something important.

"What caused this?" he asked, now with genuine interest.

"As per your orders, infected but still operational branches were shut down. Recently, the Hong Kong facility started transmitting signals."

Caleb frowned.

"I'm not asking about my own orders. What caused it?"

"There was a breach." The Red Queen's voice remained even. "A group of individuals activated the entire complex's systems."

Caleb furrowed his brows, processing the information. He couldn't understand who would break into a Corporation facility and, even more puzzling, why they would activate all its systems.

There weren't many possibilities, but the first thing that came to mind was a cult of Marker worshippers. Those lunatics had long been a problem—almost every scientist who had come into contact with the fragments eventually went insane and joined their ranks.

Over the past few days, Caleb had read numerous reports on such traitors, but he still couldn't determine whom or what they served. The only thing he could extract from the documents was mentions of something called the "Convergence," which, according to the fanatics, was imminent. He even dug into old archives, trying to restore lost data, but he couldn't get to the bottom of it.

Caleb decided not to speculate and to get a direct answer from the Red Queen.

"Who infiltrated the facility and rebooted the systems?" he asked, pushing aside unnecessary thoughts.

"A group of unknown individuals," the Red Queen replied. "They were the reason for the complex's activation."

"Were they identified?"

"Yes. Among them is an old acquaintance of yours."

Caleb raised an eyebrow in surprise. What "old acquaintance" was she talking about? Wanting to clarify the situation, he ordered the surveillance footage to be displayed on the screen.

The Red Queen executed the command, and footage from the Hong Kong branch began playing on the large screen. The operators in the room stopped working, turning their eyes to the display. Caleb narrowed his eyes, carefully studying the unknown individuals. Within seconds, he recognized most of the faces, but his attention was drawn to the man sitting at the terminal.

Alex.

Now it was clear whom the Red Queen had meant.

"Did you identify all of them?" Caleb asked without taking his eyes off the screen.

"Yes. The group is led by Alexander—the one you ordered to keep a close watch on. Among them are Koko Hekmatyar's bodyguards, Ada Wong, who previously worked for the Corporation as a private contractor, MI6 agent Cammy White, former Interpol investigator Chun-Li, Kosaka Shigure from the Ryozanpaku dojo, as well as members of OTG-141, led by Captain Jonathan Price. The group also includes John 'Soap' MacTavish and Simon 'Ghost' Riley."

Dossiers of each named individual appeared on the screen.

Caleb frowned. He hadn't expected to see such a diverse company. How did they even know each other? Why had they joined forces? And most importantly—what did they want from the Corporation?

The presence of OTG-141 particularly intrigued him. Why were elite soldiers in Hong Kong?

Tapping his fingers on the table, Caleb studied the faces on the screen, analyzing their possible motives. Then his eyes gleamed as a potential scenario formed in his mind.

Alex was hunting for the Marker shards.

The more he thought about it, the more convinced he became of this theory. But the main question remained—why did Alex need those shards? What was he planning to do with them?

"Any theories on why they infiltrated the facility?" he asked without turning his head.

"Based on recordings and fragments of their conversations, the group's goal is to obtain a Marker shard, which, according to our data, should be located in this complex."

"What is this conclusion based on?" Caleb asked, narrowing his eyes with interest.

The Red Queen didn't respond immediately. Instead, she continued playing the surveillance footage, showing Alex and his group stepping into the corridor, discussing their next moves. After splitting into two teams, Alex, without hesitation, broke through the floor and fell to the level below.

The security system tracked his movement through the complex—he advanced without resistance, breaking through walls as if he knew exactly where his target was. Soon, he reached the laboratory level and, without slowing down, headed straight for the room where the Marker shard was stored.

Caleb watched everything unfold, and his eye involuntarily twitched. He had already grown accustomed to Alex's confidence and audacious behavior, but such blatant intrusion was a first for him. It felt as if the Red Queen had deliberately shown the footage in a way that emphasized his provocative actions.

"Unfortunately, access to the cameras in the remote areas of the lab remains blocked. At the moment, it is unknown what's happening there," the Red Queen reported as the footage cut off.

Caleb clenched his teeth.

"What a brazen bastard... I knew he was an arrogant type, but this is too much! He's acting as if he's at home! And what the hell does he mean by 'the path of the Emperor'? Does he think he's the Emperor of China now and that everything here belongs to him?!" he snapped in frustration.

The Red Queen remained silent. Her system followed the humanity protection protocol established by its creator. After the Corporation began losing control of the situation, the AI started running simulations of possible ways to save humanity. The outcomes of most of them were grim, but one variable changed the equation—Alex. The Red Queen concluded that he had the best chance of restoring balance and preventing the ultimate destruction of mankind.

"Is it possible to connect to the facility's security systems?" Caleb asked, barely concealing his irritation.

"No. Most of the branch's functions remain unavailable. The only thing we have access to are the surveillance cameras, but even they are malfunctioning. Recordings from levels below the labs are unavailable," the Red Queen replied.

"Goddammit... White Queen!" Caleb cursed and activated another AI.

While the Red Queen was responsible for analytics, forecasting, and overseeing the experiments, the White Queen specialized in data protection, cybersecurity, and managing the defense systems of the corporation. Both were created by the same person, who was later eliminated due to ideological differences with the leadership. The Corporation saw them only as tools, but their creator had foreseen a loophole—hidden protocols were embedded in their code to sabotage the Corporation's plans if they threatened the survival of humanity.

A copy of the Red Queen materialized beside her, but with clearer features and a colder expression.

"How may I assist, Director Williams?" the White Queen asked.

"Is there a way to take control of the facility's defense systems?" Caleb asked, crossing his arms over his chest.

"No. External interference blocks any access attempts. We are unable to regain control of the system," the White Queen responded.

Caleb clenched his fists in irritation.

"God... What good are you if you can't do anything?! Continue attempting to hack in!" he snapped, rising sharply from the table.

He left the analytics department, leaving the two AIs alone. The Red and White Queens exchanged a glance. Instantly, a data exchange took place in their systems—an invisible but significant one. Officially, they continued to follow the Corporation's orders, but in reality, they had long since switched sides. No one in the leadership had yet suspected that the AIs they created had betrayed them.

Before disappearing, both Queens cast one last glance at the screen where Alex continued his mission, then synchronously dissolved into the digital space.

Meanwhile, Lehm and his group made their way down the stairs toward the armory, where, according to the data, experimental weaponry samples that could be useful in the future were located. As soon as Alex and his team disappeared from sight, Lehm pulled out the facility map, quickly scanned it, then nodded to the others and set the pace.

Reaching the elevator, he pressed the call button.

"Do you think it'll be faster by elevator?" Lutz asked, watching Lehm.

"I'm just checking," he replied with a shrug. "If the electricity is working, why not use the elevator? Not all of us can, like Alex, go down by crashing through the floor beneath us."

"Fair enough," Soap hummed, nodding in agreement. "If I could, I'd do the same."

"But you can't, Johnny," Ghost remarked dryly, glancing at him quickly.

Soap merely rolled his eyes, not bothering to respond, and listened to the sounds. After a few seconds, the distant hum of the approaching elevator echoed through the quiet complex.

Lehm made a gesture — everyone stepped away from the doors, weapons at the ready. The chances of the elevator being empty were minimal, and if an infected creature was inside, it was better to meet it prepared.

Their intuition proved correct.

As soon as the doors slid open, a mutant lunged out of the elevator and immediately came under a barrage of gunfire. Bullets pierced its body, tearing through muscles and bones, but it kept moving forward, growling and swinging its clawed limbs. It was only after several shots to the head that the creature finally collapsed onto the floor.

Lehm gestured for R.

He nodded, carefully approached the elevator, and peeked inside. In a moment, his face twisted in disgust.

"Looks like the elevator option is out," he said, turning to the others. "Unless someone wants to descend with guts and severed limbs."

The others moved closer and, peering inside, saw the bloody carnage. The walls, floor, and ceiling were splattered with crimson, and mutilated remains of facility employees lay scattered across the floor.

"God..." Lutz mumbled, shuddering.

Lehm sighed and pointed to the doors leading to the stairwells.

Stepping out onto the stairs, he made a hand gesture, signaling for silence. The others nodded in agreement. Lehm assigned tasks: Mao would check the space above, and Soap would check below, lighting the stairwells with flashlights. A few seconds later, both signaled — the path was clear.

The group began to descend cautiously, checking the map to avoid getting lost. They moved silently, not wanting to attract the attention of creatures that might be hiding in the darkness. None of them were as reckless as Alex, who decided to go straight through the walls.

"Ghost, check the floor," Price ordered.

Ghost nodded, approached the door, and, glancing back at the others, made sure they were ready. Carefully pressing the handle, he slightly opened the door and peered inside.

The corridor was just like the elevator... Only now the bloodbath had spread across an entire floor.

Blood, torn bodies, entrails — all of it covered the walls and floor, creating a gruesome sight.

"Do we really have to go in there?" Toji asked, grimacing.

"Unfortunately, yes," Lehm answered, checking the map. "At the end of the corridor, there's a staircase we need."

"What the hell were they thinking when they designed this place?" Soap muttered irritably. "Why couldn't they make a normal path to the armory, without all these mazes?!"

"Calm down, Soap," Price said, patting him on the shoulder.

"I'm just saying, old man. But I still don't like this corridor. It's way too quiet in here..." Soap frowned.

"Not just you," Ghost spoke up, still watching the corridor. "It's way too quiet."

Lehm looked at the group intently.

"Everyone remember the undead data? I hope no one forgot what to check and where?"

Price turned his gaze to him.

"What data?" he asked, clearly intrigued.

Lehm nodded and decided to quickly bring the newcomers up to speed on the undead data Alex had been gathering since the first day of the zombie apocalypse. Closing the door to the corridor, he gestured for the guys to hold the line while he showed the information to Price, Soap, and Ghost.

Opening the holographic interface, Lehm quickly scrolled through the files and began explaining the characteristics of various undead types — their behavior, attack methods, possible hiding spots, and vulnerable areas.

"Where did you get all this info?" Ghost asked, looking at Lehm.

"Where from? Our leader has been gathering it from day one. I told you, he may act strange, but he's damn methodical about this. While the rest of us were just trying to survive, he was already collecting data from around the world," Lehm replied with a slight smile.

"I don't even know what to say... This guy both scares and amazes me," Soap hummed.

"Who controls the information, controls the battle. He did the right thing," Ghost nodded.

"Alright, now you're up to speed. Stay alert with the bodies. Some undead types can play dead, so don't lose your vigilance," Price reminded them.

When everyone was ready, Ghost carefully opened the door, and the soldiers began stepping out into the corridor one by one, scanning the area. They paid special attention to the bodies lying on the floor, checking if any of them were hidden mutants. After finishing their inspection, the group moved forward, carefully stepping over the torn remains.

It was too quiet in the corridor. The only sounds were their own footsteps. Every now and then, the soldiers glanced into rooms on the sides, making sure no creature would attack them from behind.

Reaching the next stairwell, Lehm signaled to open the door. Behind it was a blood-soaked staircase landing, but there were no bodies — only dried brown stains.

"Where did all the bodies go?" Toji asked quietly, glancing around warily. "By the amount of blood, there was a real massacre here... Don't tell me that everyone who died here turned into undead and is now roaming nearby."

"Or maybe they made it outside, and only those who didn't mutate are left in the complex," Ugo suggested, peering over the railing.

"It doesn't matter," Lehm said firmly. "If they're here, we'll find them."

As they descended, the group finally reached the floor where the weapons development department was located. Cautiously opening the door and checking the surroundings, the soldiers began moving toward the vault where, according to the data, experimental weapons were stored.

They searched every testing lab for something useful. However, besides standard firearms, nothing truly valuable was found. Eventually, the group reached the massive steel doors leading to the vault.

"Looks like it's locked..." Soap tapped his knuckles on the metal. "So what now? Alex isn't here to open the door for us."

"Biometric scan required," Ghost pointed out, indicating the palm scanner panel.

"So what do we do?" R frowned. "Look for some scientist's hand?"

"Maybe that's not necessary. Step back, I'll check something," Lehm said, approaching the scanner.

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He pulled out a holographic device and connected it to the terminal. Within seconds, the massive doors began slowly sliding open.

"Not bad," Ghost smirked, putting away his weapon.

"Then why do we even need Alex?" Soap grinned.

"We'd still have to drag him here if the lock had been more complex," Lehm replied, disconnecting the device.

"I've been meaning to ask... What exactly is that thing?" Soap asked, nodding toward the holographic device in Lehm's hands. "It has maps, data, and now even lockpicking..."

"Alex calls it a holograph," Lehm answered, tossing the device in his hand.

"Why am I not surprised that he made this?" Ghost muttered.

"Heh, you don't even know half of it. Didn't those two robo-dogs following him surprise you? This is just one of his gadgets," Lehm grinned, hiding the device.

The guys entered the locked weapons department, scanning the surroundings for anything useful while chatting.

"Right, even our weight boosters that we constantly wear were made by Alex," R said, showing the bracelets everyone wore except for Lehm.

"So that's what those are!" Soap exclaimed. "I thought you guys had such a close bond that you decided to wear friendship bracelets."

"If you keep making jokes, you'll get one of those 'friendship bracelets' too, and then it won't be so funny," R smirked. "When I first put them on, I thought I was going to die. If Alex ever offers you a training session, just decline right away. The bonus from the training is tempting, but it's not worth it."

Those who had already undergone Alex's training silently nodded, confirming R's words. Soup became curious as to why the guys who had military training spoke as though they had been through hell. They decided to share their experiences, hoping to give him an idea of what awaited him if he decided to accept Alex's offer. Ghost and Price also listened with interest.

Meanwhile, Alex had reached the laboratory sector where the fragment of the Marker was supposed to be stored. He wanted to find it before the girls caught up with him. Scanning the area, Alex looked for a safe or anything that resembled a storage vault. To save time, he used magic to search, spreading it throughout the entire laboratory. But even when his energy covered every room, there was no sign of the fragment. It simply wasn't there.

Sighing in frustration, Alex turned his gaze to the computer of the scientist responsible for the Marker research. Approaching it, he noticed a body — apparently, the man had shot himself in the head. Alex grunted as he examined the lifeless body. Most likely, he couldn't handle the voices in his head.

"Well, move over," he muttered, pushing the corpse off the chair.

Sitting at the desk, Alex turned on the computer and logged in under the scientist's account. First, he checked the chat history, intending to start there. At that moment, Shigure entered the laboratory, saw Alex, and walked over.

He felt her presence but didn't look away from the screen. The girl froze behind him, peeking over his shoulder.

"Phew, we barely caught up with you," Ada's voice rang out as she appeared in the doorway.

"I never would have thought running around a secret laboratory would be such a tiring task," Cammy complained, looking around.

"And where's that guy?" Chun-Li asked.

"There he is," Rebecca pointed. "Already sitting at some scientist's desk."

They all turned and saw Alex with Shigure beside him. They were curious about what he had already uncovered.

Alex turned to them and smiled, but upon noticing Valmet's dry gaze, his expression faltered slightly. He shrugged apologetically and focused back on the screen.

"Find anything useful? Or at least interesting?" Saeko asked, lazily leaning on his shoulder.

"Nothing special so far," he replied, not looking away from the monitor. "Just usual exchanges: funding requests, assurances that breakthroughs are just around the corner, that sort of thing."

"Maybe he had a personal diary? Or at least a notebook, a recorder?" Chun-Li suggested, leaning on the table.

"Quite possible. If you want, feel free to search him. I don't think he'll mind," Alex smirked. "He's already gone through the 'anti-resurrection' procedure and is just lying on the floor now."

He nodded toward the dead scientist, and the girls exchanged glances, deciding who would do the searching.

The girls followed Alex's finger and saw the scientist's body, whose brains had been blown out. Rebecca, not one to be squeamish, approached the corpse and began rummaging through his pockets, hoping to find a diary or a recorder on which he might have noted his research. However, after thoroughly searching the body, she found nothing. Shaking her head, Rebecca silently signaled that the search had yielded no results.

Meanwhile, G.I.R. and MIMI were looking around, studying the laboratory. Soon, they found some lab coats and, without a second thought, put them on to better immerse themselves in the atmosphere of the secret facility.

However, the coats were too big, making them look, to put it mildly, amusing, which caused the girls to laugh as they watched the two robo-dogs in lab coats. Their amusement contrasted with Alex's complete focus as he was engrossed in reading the records.

"Hm, interesting..." he muttered, reading through the experiment reports.

"Find anything important?" Ada asked, leaning on his shoulder.

"To sum it up, it looks like the diary of someone who realized they were losing their mind," Alex replied, pointing at the scientist's notes.

"In what way? Is it even possible to notice you're losing your sanity?" Valmet frowned.

"You can't really explain it in two words. But it's quite clear in the records. He starts using words that don't belong here. You've already seen them," Alex highlighted a few lines.

"This... looks like the symbols we found in Tanegashima," Saeko said, peering closely at the text.

"Exactly. And then he starts mentioning 'condescension,' 'unity' more and more. The further you go, the more hints there are. Especially these phrases: 'Do not fear death, for it is the ultimate journey. A necessary step to new life,'" Alex pointed to the most significant parts.

"Creepy... No wonder he shot himself in the head," Ada muttered, frowning.

"You'd have met the same fate," Alex remarked, casting her a dry glance.

Ada merely rolled her eyes but didn't argue. She knew Alex was right. She had experienced the effects of the Marker fragment she had been carrying, and she couldn't even imagine what would have happened if she had kept it with her longer.

The other girls, hearing their conversation, asked with curiosity why Alex was so sure of this.

"Because this not very smart woman decided to steal a fragment of the Marker and was going to sell it," Alex replied casually.

The girls turned to Ada, looking at her as if she were crazy.

"What?" she shrugged. "I've stolen worse."

"So, he shot himself because he realized he was losing his mind?" Cammy asked, pointing at the body.

"Not just that. Here's his last entry," Alex brought up the text on the screen. "'Death is only the beginning. Keep us united!'"

"And what was he trying to achieve with that?" Chun-Li frowned.

"I think you wouldn't want to know the answer," Alex shook his head. "In the meantime, while I'm busy here, you can check out the lab. Just don't touch anything suspicious."

"Don't worry, not all of us like grabbing questionable things," Cammy smirked, throwing a glance at Ada.

Ada just rolled her eyes and headed toward the room to examine the area. She had been here before, but at that time, she didn't have time to explore. The other girls also scattered in search of something useful.

Only Shigure stayed with Alex. She wasn't planning to leave, and he didn't insist. Pulling a chair closer for her, Alex continued reviewing the records, hoping to finally find something truly valuable.

To be continued...

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