Alex watched as the others prepared their gear for the raid on the Evil Corporation’s lab in Hong Kong. He had no idea who was currently in control of the facility, so he didn’t want to take unnecessary risks with his people. Did the Corporation have an advanced AI managing all their sites worldwide? Possibly. But even if that were the case, it was better to be cautious. He had no intention of reenacting the Resident Evil scenario.

While the others were busy with preparations, he headed toward his motorcycle, deciding to have a little fun. Since they were in China, why not add some atmosphere? Only one character came to mind, perfectly fitting the situation. The only thing left was to change outfits. After all, heading into a lab in shorts and a T-shirt was, to put it mildly, not the best idea. Sure, Alex could fight demons, mutants, and zombies in pajamas if needed, but he didn’t want to waste time on unnecessary explanations.

Opening a compartment on his motorcycle, he discreetly pulled out clothes from his inventory. Since he had decided to fully embrace the role, why not bring to life the image of Qin Shi Huang, which he had used in Valhalla during Ragnarok?

“Alvitr, my dear, mind helping me complete the look?” he asked his spoiled partner mentally, adjusting his outfit with a light smile.

“I’m not your costume designer!” Alvitr replied irritably.

“Come on, don’t be mad. It’s not a big deal for you.”

“Fine, but this is the last time! And don’t even think about dragging me into your cosplay games again!”

Smirking, Alex put on the claws that Alvitr had transformed into. Two long claws covered his index and middle fingers on his right hand, while three sharp claws adorned his left—on his index, middle, and ring fingers. He swung his hands a few times, testing the balance and comfort. Then he considered wearing a blindfold like Ying Zheng had, but quickly dismissed the idea. Alex didn’t like anything limiting his vision.

After finishing his outfit change, he grabbed Yamato and headed back to the group. As soon as he appeared, all eyes were on him—some filled with surprise, others with interest.

“We’re here prepping gear for a stealth mission, and you went to change outfits? You gotta be joking,” Soap said in disbelief.

“Mou mantai!” Alex replied casually, waving a hand.

The group exchanged glances, not understanding what he had just said. Alex smirked and looked at Rebecca, who gave him a thumbs-up, approving his new look. Then he glanced at Valmet and Saeko—both nodded in agreement, confirming that the outfit suited him.

“What? Someone translate what he just mumbled!” Soap frowned.

“He said, ‘Relax,'” Chun-Li explained.

“Exactly, Soap, relax. It’s my hobby, and I’m not giving it up, even if the world is falling apart,” Alex replied lazily.

“Trust me, this isn’t even the weirdest thing,” Sasaki Shio added, crossing his arms. “He showed up to rescue us once wearing a Hawaiian shirt and shorts.”

“You are one seriously weird guy…” Soap concluded, shaking his head.

Alex just shrugged and told everyone to get ready. Then he spoke with the Ryozanpaku masters, warning them to stay alert in case of unforeseen circumstances. He also reminded them to relay a message to Brunhilde: if something went wrong, the ship should move a few kilometers away from the port to avoid attracting a massive horde of undead. Hayato assured him that he would pass the message to Brunhilde as soon as Alex and his group left the ship. Alex nodded, satisfied with the response.

While he was talking with the martial arts masters, the others had already secured transport for the mission and were making a final check of their gear. The girls—Rebecca, Valmet, Saeko, Chun-Li, Cammy, Shigure, and Ada Wong—crammed into one Humvee, bringing along GIR and MIMI. The guys had to settle for another vehicle. In the end, it took three vehicles to get everyone to the lab without issues. One carried Lehm and his team, another had Price, Ghost, and Soap. Seeing that there was no room left for him, Alex decided to ride with the latter.

“Looks like I’m going with you guys. No space in the other Humvees. You don’t mind, do you?” he asked, opening the door.

“Hop in, mate,” Price smirked.

Alex smiled and, before getting into the vehicle, waved his hand, signaling the convoy to move out. Valmet, who was behind the wheel, responded with a quick flash of the headlights. Once he was sure everyone was ready, Alex climbed into the Humvee and shut the door.

As soon as the aircraft carrier came to a complete stop and lowered the ramp, Alex closed his eyes and spread his mana throughout the city, trying to assess the situation. He didn’t sense any significant presence of demons, mutants, or zombies, which made him a bit wary. The only explanation that came to mind was that the undead might have lost interest in the city after the disappearance of the Marker shard, which was now in Ada Wong’s possession. Either way, the lack of a massive enemy presence made things easier.

Once the ramp was fully lowered, Valmet started the engine and was the first to drive off the carrier. She was followed by the Humvee carrying Lehm and his team, with Alex, Price, Ghost, and Soap bringing up the rear.

Sticking his arm out of the window, Alex waved to the girls remaining on deck. The route had already been planned out—all they had to do now was reach the lab in one piece.

Cracking the window open slightly, Alex lit a cigarette, but he immediately felt Ghost’s intense gaze on him.

“If you want to ask something, just ask,” Alex smirked, looking at him. “Otherwise, I’ll start thinking you’re trying to develop telepathy and picked me as your first target.”

Soap, sitting in the front seat, couldn’t hold back his laughter and burst out laughing. Even Price chuckled at Alex’s jab at Ghost.

Taking a slow drag from his cigarette, Alex turned to Ghost, who was still staring at him.

“Who are you?” Ghost asked, his voice simple but firm.

“You mean what I did before all this?” Alex tilted his head slightly, trying to gauge his thoughts.

Ghost nodded, confirming the guess. Judging by their faces, even Price and Soap were curious. They had been wondering for a while who Alex really was and how he had managed to stay under the radar for so long.

Alex smirked. He was used to these kinds of questions by now.

“Nothing special. I was a mercenary. Did odd jobs here and there,” he said casually.

“Aren’t you a little too young to be a mercenary?” Price asked skeptically, glancing in the rearview mirror. “You don’t look a day over eighteen.”

“Well, I’m not telling you you’re too old to be a soldier,” Alex chuckled.

Price laughed. “Ha! Fair enough. There was a time I thought about retiring… But, as you can see, that didn’t quite work out.”

“Heh, though I doubt any of us will get to retire now,” Soap remarked with a grin. “We’ve only got two options: either the dead eat us, or, if we’re lucky, we live to see old age.”

Alex smiled and nodded in agreement. He knew damn well that retirement was no longer in the cards for them. If they didn’t eliminate the root of the problem in this world, no one would ever be able to sleep peacefully again. Taking another deep drag from his cigarette, he watched the ruined buildings and empty streets passing by.

He knew that in some universes, the situation was much worse than here. There would always be places where nightmares reached their peak. But even in this world, where two powerful beings had decided to claim it for themselves, the situation was far from hopeless. Alex wondered how many universes had already been consumed by Davot and the Avatar Nyan-Nyan, who called himself the Minister of Monoliths. He didn’t even want to imagine how many lives had been destroyed by these two.

If he didn’t deal with them here, they would just escape, regain their strength, and continue their bloody march through other worlds. And then the cost of hesitation would be even higher.

“Looks like we’re here,” Price’s voice snapped Alex out of his thoughts.

Alex looked up and saw that Valmet and Lehm had stopped the Humvee near a partially destroyed building. He got out of the vehicle, followed by Price, Ghost, and Soap, who were already readying their weapons and scanning their surroundings.

Grabbing Yamato, Alex approached the others and surveyed the tall, weathered building, which appeared to have been an office center. The corners of his lips twitched into a smirk—thank god it wasn’t an abandoned mansion with secret passages leading to a dungeon.

“Why are you smiling?” Ada asked, noticing his expression.

“Oh, just thinking that in horror movies, the entrance to secret labs is always hidden under old mansions,” Alex replied with a grin.

“Damn, that’s true,” Lutz muttered, nodding. “It’s in every second movie!”

“Well, it’s a classic cliché,” Rebecca pointed out, resting her hands behind her head.

Alex nodded approvingly and even listed a couple of examples from movies.

Deciding not to linger outside, he gestured for everyone to head inside. Ada took the lead, showing the way to the elevator that would take them to the underground complex. Alex periodically sent out mana pulses, checking for any unwanted guests inside the building.

Following Ada, he carefully scanned the area for anything useful, but the building seemed to have been abandoned for a long time. Crumbling walls, peeling plaster, broken windows, and furniture debris—a typical scene of neglect.

After a few minutes of navigating through rubble and climbing over fallen beams, they finally reached a utility room.

“A utility room? They hid the entrance to the secret lab in the damn utility room? Why?” R muttered in confusion.

“Why not? Who, besides the janitors, even comes in here? It’s much better than hiding it in one of the toilet stalls,” Alex shrugged.

“True enough,” Soap snorted. “But how would that even work? Would we have to flush ourselves down the toilet or something?”

He snickered at the image, and Alex couldn’t help but laugh.

Still grinning, he pushed open the door to the utility room and peeked inside. To his surprise, the room was quite spacious. He gestured for Ada to go ahead, offering to let her show what they should do next.

The girl rolled her eyes but went in first. The others followed her, looking around curiously.

Ada approached the wall, removed the cover from a hidden panel, and placed her palm on the scanner. Nothing happened.

“Looks like there’s no power,” she said with a deadpan expression, stating the obvious.

“No way?” Chun-Li couldn’t resist making a sarcastic comment.

“If you’re so smart, try opening it yourself,” Ada retorted, rolling her eyes.

Alex took control, stopping the girls before their exchange could escalate into an argument. He then asked Ada to point to the wall that should open after the fingerprint scan. Once she did, Alex waved his hand, signaling the others to step back to a safe distance.

“Are you planning to break through the wall with your hands?” asked Cammy, surprised by his actions.

“Exactly,” Alex smirked. “Too bad I don’t have any candy, so maybe next time. Now step back another step.”

Cammy didn’t understand why he mentioned candy, but she didn’t argue, just shrugged and took a step back. The others followed her lead.

Once he was sure everyone was at a safe distance, Alex gripped the scabbard of Yamato tighter, then grabbed the hilt and swiftly drew the katana. In the next moment, his blade blazed a blurry silhouette in the air, delivering a series of precise, lightning-fast strikes. Within seconds, the wall and the hidden metal doors of the elevator were sliced into neat pieces, which crashed to the ground, disappearing into the darkness of the shaft.

Sliding Yamato back into its scabbard, Alex approached the edge and looked down. The elevator shaft descended so deep that even with a bright flashlight, the bottom couldn’t be seen. He felt the familiar urge to just jump down and test his endurance.

“Wow, that’s deep…” Lehm whistled, shining his flashlight down. “Good thing we’ve got descent gear. Without it, we’d be climbing down for half the day.”

“Yeah, can’t even see the bottom,” Soap confirmed, also peering into the darkness.

To better assess the depth of the shaft, the guys threw down a few glow sticks. They tumbled down, bouncing off the walls, until they finally reached the bottom, casting a faint greenish light.

Alex, watching this, smirked and then turned to the others, standing with his back to the shaft and shrugging nonchalantly.

“Alright, I’ll go first. Don’t slow down, follow me. GIR, MIMI, behind me!”

Before anyone could object, Alex simply leaned back and easily flew down.

“HEY!” Ada shouted, but it was too late.

His cheerful laughter echoed in the shaft, as if he were not falling into an abyss, but simply sliding down a roller coaster at an amusement park.

GIR and MIMI exchanged looks, their eyes lighting up with excitement. Without hesitation, they laughed and followed suit.

“WOOHOO!” they cheered as they jumped down.

The others stood frozen, staring into the darkness of the shaft. Their faces expressed a mixture of shock and complete confusion.

“What… the hell was that?!” Ada gasped in disbelief. “He just jumped down? And you guys aren’t even bothered?!”

She turned to Rebecca, Valmet, and Saeko, hoping to see some reaction on their faces… but they just shrugged, as if it was the most normal thing in the world.

“Why are you making a fuss?” Rebecca smirked, pulling out her gear. “Better hurry up, or we’ll miss something interesting.”

Without wasting any time, she attached her carabiner to the rope and without hesitation, jumped down, not spending a single second thinking about it.

Those who had known Rebecca and Alex for a short time exchanged glances, suddenly realizing they had joined a group of real lunatics.

Valmet sighed deeply and glanced at Saeko, who stood with her usual calm smile. Without saying a word, Valmet stepped forward, secured her carabiner to the rope, and started descending. Saeko, not falling behind, did the same without hesitation.

Meanwhile, Alex crashed down with a loud bang, landing directly on the roof of the elevator, which was at the very bottom of the shaft. The metal structure groaned under his weight and then finally collapsed, burying the mechanisms inside.

Right after him, with laughter, GIR and MIMI landed, clearly enjoying the freefall. Alex lazily dusted himself off and looked around. The only exit from there were the massive metal elevator doors. He approached them, effortlessly grabbed the panels, and slid them open, revealing a long, dimly lit corridor.

“GIR, MIMI, take a look around,” Alex ordered, getting them to their feet.

The robots’ eyes lit up, illuminating the space ahead. Alex followed, carefully studying his surroundings. At first glance, there was nothing suspicious… except for the fact that the corridor looked perfectly clean, despite being a secret laboratory.

A moment later, sounds of people descending by ropes echoed from above. Alex turned and just in time, offered his hand to Rebecca to help her land.

“I thought it’d be all bloodied here… or at least there’d be a couple of dead bodies lying around,” she said, looking around. “But it’s all so clean.”

“Maybe it’s just the first level? Or maybe no one’s had the chance to get here and escape,” Alex shrugged.

“Who knows… Maybe the rest will look just like how a secret laboratory lair should look in horror movies?” Rebecca said with excitement, clearly inspired by the thought.

Alex shrugged again. He wouldn’t be surprised if on the next floors they encountered disfigured bodies, blood-written messages, and other classic horror elements. After all, this was where the shard of the Marker was being studied.

Moments later, Valmet and Saeko descended. Alex helped them out of the shaft, and the girls, surprised, noticed the same thing Rebecca had — the perfect cleanliness, instead of the expected mess of blood and bodies. While the others continued descending, Alex and the girls discussed what might lie ahead.

When everyone finally reached the bottom, it was Soap who spoke first:

“Alright, so where do we go now?”

Alex thought for a moment, rubbing his chin.

“First, we need to find something like a breaker or at least an outlet,” he replied.

“An outlet? What, are you planning to charge your phone?” Chun-Li smirked, narrowing her eyes.

“Almost. I’m going to charge this entire complex, but how exactly—well, that’s still a secret,” Alex grinned. “Ada, lead the way.”

Ada nodded, but before moving on, she innocently reminded Alex that he’d have to pay extra for her services as a guide.

“Seriously?” Alex rolled his eyes. “Money doesn’t mean much here.”

“You can pay with something other than money,” Ada added with a sly smile, squinting a little.

Alex shot her a dry look and, not wanting to continue the conversation, moved forward. What was going on in that woman’s mind remained a mystery to him, and he wasn’t planning to figure it out.

As they moved forward, the group carefully examined their surroundings. Only Alex, with his hands behind his head, looked like he was just out for an evening stroll.

Finally, in one of the rooms, Alex found what he was looking for — an outlet.

“Come here, GIR,” he called to the robo-dog.

GIR obediently walked over, and Alex, humming to himself, yanked the outlet from the wall, exposing the wires. He pulled a cable out from the back of the robot and began connecting it to the system.

“Wait… you’re planning to power the whole complex from your dog?” Lehm asked in surprise, lighting a cigarette.

“Kind of,” Alex nodded, not distracted from his work. “Its cores can power half of Tokyo. For this place, it’s nothing.”

Ignoring the astonished looks from the others, Alex finished the connection and placed his hand on GIR’s head.

“Slowly, GIR. Start gently so we don’t burn out the wiring,” he ordered.

GIR nodded and began slowly directing the electric charge through the cable into the outlet. Gradually increasing the voltage, he monitored the system until, finally, the lights in the room began to flicker and then lit up steadily. Alex nodded, signaling that they could continue — it was important to power up the entire complex so that the electricity wouldn’t cut out at the worst possible moment.

When the light was fully restored, the others stared at the robo-dog with curiosity. Their thoughts immediately returned to Alex’s words about GIR’s core being able to power half of Tokyo. Now they were wondering what exactly was hidden inside this mechanical creature. However, Alex wasn’t about to reveal the secret. After all, if he told them that inside GIR and MIMI were miniature stars generating massive amounts of energy, no one would take him seriously.

“Well, we have light — that’s something. Where to next?” Chun-Li asked, stepping closer to Alex.

“Not sure yet. We need a map to navigate. Don’t count on Ada remembering every corner of this complex,” he said, disconnecting GIR from the outlet.

“Hey! I’m actually a very responsible spy, in case you didn’t know,” Ada protested.

“Yeah, sure, I know. Don’t forget, I’ve read your file. But a map won’t hurt,” Alex replied, rolling his eyes.

Ignoring Ada’s protest, he walked over to a computer in the corner of the room. Like a seasoned office worker, Alex powered up the system, connected his phone to it, and waited for it to load. Humming a tune to himself, he rummaged through the desk drawers looking for something useful.

“You’re acting like you’ve spent your whole life working in an office. It’s so natural that it’s actually a little creepy,” R smirked.

Alex just smiled and shook his head. When the system finished loading, he grabbed his phone and started hacking into the access. With considerable experience in such matters, Alex easily penetrated the complex’s system, quickly downloaded the map to his device, and then sent it to Lehm’s holographic display so he wouldn’t forget later.

Everyone gathered around, studying the underground lab layout. It became clear why Ada had compared this place to an ant hive. The branching corridors, numerous rooms, hidden passages… Alex immediately marked three points of particular interest: the armory, the lab, and the very bottom level of the complex.

The armory could contain experimental weapons that might come in handy later. The lab was the place where the Marker shard might still be, if it hadn’t been taken out yet. And the lower floors… Alex felt there was something truly important down there.

“I don’t want to disappoint you, but if we start searching every corner, we’ll be here for a week, maybe longer,” Cammy remarked, pointing out the obvious.

“We don’t need to comb through everything. We’re interested in three places: the armory, the lab, and the lower level of the complex. The rest doesn’t concern us,” Alex said, pointing to the necessary spots on the map.

“Then it’s settled. Let’s split into two groups: one will go to the armory, the other to the lab,” Lehm suggested.

Alex nodded. Unplugging his phone from the system, he handed the map to GIR so it could navigate the space. When they stepped out into the corridor, the decision was made to divide the groups. Lehm and his team, including Price, Ghost, and Soap, would head to the armory. Alex, along with the girls, would go to the lab.

Alex gave Lehm a sideways glance, fully understanding why he had suggested that particular division. Lehm caught his gaze, smirked, and, without taking the cigarette out of his mouth, simply raised an eyebrow, as if saying, “Well, you’re not opposed to this, right?”

Alex rolled his eyes and sighed. It was all so obvious. Lehm was just playing along with the situation — wherever Alex went, the girls always ended up around him.

“Alright, since we’re split up, now we just need to figure out how to get to the right places,” Soap said, studying the map.

Alex smirked, stepped forward, and with a broad smile said, “I don’t need this. The road lies where I walk!”

At those words, everyone exchanged looks, throwing strange glances at Alex. Valmet simply sighed tiredly and placed her palm against her forehead — he was at it again with these antics. Rebecca, on the other hand, burst out laughing, remembering how Alex and In Zhen had spoken in a similar manner.

Alex completely ignored the reactions around him and sank deeper into the persona of the First Emperor of China. Since he had dressed the part, he might as well stick to the role.

“What, sorry?” Soap asked, digging in his ear as if trying to make sure he hadn’t misheard.

“Looks like memory isn’t your strong suit, huh?” Alex snorted. “I told you. I follow the emperor’s path, and the road lies where I walk.”

With these words, he pointed with two fingers at the corridor ahead and, before anyone could say anything, he gave a slight stomp with his foot. The floor beneath him instantly cracked, and without giving anyone time to react, Alex fell through, disappearing to the lower level.

Everyone stared in shock at the hole in the floor, then slowly turned their gaze toward Rebecca, Valmet, and Saeko — the ones who understood Alex’s nature the best.

“Is he okay in the head?” Soap cautiously asked. “I mean… he’s not insane, right?”

“Don’t worry about it. He gets like this sometimes, but he’s not dangerous,” Valmet replied, taking a step forward. “For now, we should catch up to him. Good luck.”

With that, she jumped down.

Rebecca, chuckling at the stunned expressions of the guys, scooped up GIR and MIMI and also dove into the hole. Saeko followed, nodding goodbye to the others and gracefully jumping down as well.

Ada Wong sighed, rolled her eyes, and jumped down too, clearly not wanting to fall behind.

The last to leave were Chun-Li, Cammy, and Shigure, leaving the guys standing alone in the empty corridor, silently staring at the hole in the floor.

“Lehm, is this how it always is with you guys?” Price broke the silence, turning to his old friend.

“Sometimes,” Lehm admitted reluctantly, taking a drag. “Most of the time, he’s fine. But when he’s bored… he gets like this. Like back on Okinawa.”

“You mean that one time?” Soap perked up.

“Yeah. When he fought a horde of mutants using a gold ingot he called Richard,” Lehm nodded, exhaling smoke.

“Wait…” Ghost stared at him in disbelief. “He fought a horde of mutants with… a gold ingot? You’re kidding, right?”

“I wish I could say yes,” Lehm smirked.

“But honestly, it looked damn cool,” Todzi added, nodding in approval. “Like something out of a game.”

“Alright, guys, we can chat on the way,” Lehm interrupted, tossing the cigarette aside and stepping forward. “We need to get to the armory. I’ve got a bad feeling about this place. Stay alert and keep an eye out. We don’t know what’s hiding here… but judging by all the monsters in the city, they probably escaped from here.”

The guys silently nodded, agreeing with Lehm. The place already felt creepy, and now, with Alex and the girls gone, the atmosphere felt even more oppressive. The silence of the corridors, the muffled sounds of distant footsteps, the flickering light… all of it made them uneasy.

Meanwhile, Alex continued on his “imperial” path, methodically breaking through the floor and descending lower. He didn’t even glance at the map — he didn’t need to. Landing on the level with the laboratories, he quickly looked around but didn’t waste time searching for an entrance. Instead, he simply moved forward, smashing through walls one after another.

The girls following him barely managed to jump into the new holes and listen to how Alex continued to destroy the underground complex.

“We should’ve brought Brunhilde,” Valmet grumbled as she landed on another floor. “She definitely could’ve stopped him.”

“Aw, come on,” Rebecca giggled. “It’s fun! Tell me, why would we want to take those boring stairs down when we have a husband who can just pave the way straight to the goal?”

“It’s funny to you, but we just passed floors filled with torn-up corpses!” Chun-Li protested. “At least no one’s attacked us yet… Though maybe all the monsters are just afraid of your guy.”

“You’ll get used to it,” Saeko replied with a light smile.

Finally, they reached the floor where Alex stopped breaking through the floor. Looking around, the girls immediately noticed the huge hole in the wall — there was no other way through.

Valmet sighed heavily, fully understanding that there was something in Alex’s personality that reminded her of Koko when she acted like a spoiled child. Now her future husband was exactly like Koko used to be. Back then, Valmet had to worry about what trouble Koko might cause, and now she had to keep an eye on Alex.

“At least we don’t have to search for him,” Cammy remarked, a slight optimism in her voice.

“Can’t argue with that,” Ada nodded.

Without wasting a second, the girls moved forward, passing through the walls Alex had broken down. Shigure was moving the fastest — she clearly intended to catch up with him first.

Meanwhile, Alex continued heading towards the required laboratory, paying no attention to his surroundings. The frozen vials containing the bodies of zombies, mutants, and demons didn’t interest him at all. To him, they were just useless junk — he already knew what to expect.

The main thing now was to reach the laboratory where the Marker shard should be and do it before the girls caught up to him.

If the shard was still there, Alex didn’t want to carry it around. The last thing he wanted was to expose anyone to the Marker’s influence. Plus, he wasn’t sure if the avatar of Nyan-Nyan could see through the shard and track its location…

To be continued…

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Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep