The Red Queen's Hypothesis
Before we got down to the real work of the Red Queen Hypothesis, Eileen laid out the information she'd gathered in advance. "Hysinth's Seventh Lab. They seem to call it the Dawn Development Facility by another name. The security is so tight it's way harder to crack than the other labs. Looks like they're not doing ordinary research. But there's something else that's been bothering me..."
"Bothering you?"
"Yeah. This company called Hysinth—when I looked into it..." Eileen trailed off mid-sentence. I followed her gaze and saw a group racing across the cold wasteland, kicking up a massive cloud of sand and dust. They were probably the decoys for our operation.
"Alright, let's move."
"W-wait, hold on...!"
Time was short, so I left Eileen calling after me from behind and descended the cliff. The only window we had was the moment the security forces turned their attention to the decoys. JL grabbed one of the miniature electronic guns loaded with a hacking tool and followed close behind me. Eileen, who had been about to shout something, let out a frustrated groan and hid herself again on top of the cliff.
In the meantime, the cloud of dust drew closer and closer to the Seventh Lab—the Dawn Development Facility. The gang-affiliated mercenaries racing ahead had no idea they were being used as bait.
"Halt! Identify yourselves!"
The booming voice echoed throughout the entire facility, and I instinctively glanced at the speaker. But the CCTV mounted beneath it showed no sign that we'd been detected yet. What they were wary of were the decoys charging openly from the front.
Soon, the sound of hurried combat boots came from beyond the facility wall, followed by fierce shouts from the direction the decoys were rushing in. The menacing whirl of a Gatling gun carried over the commotion and through the wall.
'Looks like their attention is elsewhere now.'
I strained my ears to listen to the sounds beyond the wall. It seemed clear of people. I asked Eileen through comms to disable the security on the outer wall.
JL and I both replied that we understood. Immediately after, all the security devices on the outer wall powered down, creating an opening for us to enter. I went over the wall first with JL's help, then pulled him up after me.
Once inside the Dawn Development Facility, there was still no one in sight. While I quickly scanned the surroundings, JL shot every visible CCTV with the electronic gun. The devices now connected to the physical hacking tool finally fell under Eileen's control. One of the CCTVs swiveled up and down in what looked almost like a greeting. JL gave an OK sign from below it.
The area near the main entrance was still noisy. The battle with the decoys seemed to be in full swing. Taking advantage of the chaos, we pushed deeper into the facility.
"Good, good. It's going smoothly."
Eileen nodded as she watched the windows floating on her retinal display. Beyond the hacked CCTV feeds, she could see Asa and JL moving quickly. So far, there had been no significant engagements, and everything was proceeding without a hitch. JL had attached hacking tools to every piece of equipment he could and was now observing the situation with tense eyes. Even though comms were down, it felt like she was right there with them on the other side of the screen.
As she continued providing support from outside, Eileen suddenly remembered something she hadn't managed to tell Asa.
'I was going to add that Hysinth is a subsidiary of some megacorp.'
Thinking about it, the lack of that single piece of information probably wouldn't cause any major problems. She was about to refocus on the screens when a voice came from beside her.
"What are you doing here?"
Eileen jumped internally but kept her expression neutral as she turned her head. A young man had approached and was now standing right next to where she was hiding on the cliff.
'When did he get up here? I didn't sense anyone at all.'
This was a situation where their infiltration could be exposed at any moment. But Eileen improvised a plausible excuse.
"Ah, um. We received intelligence that some thugs are targeting the Dawn Development Facility today. Looks like those guys down there are the ones. Am I right?"
The black-haired man gave a faint smile and nodded.
"That's correct. This came out of nowhere like a bolt from the blue... You mentioned intelligence, and judging by the equipment you're using, you must be a security specialist?"
"Yes, that's right. I was asked to keep an eye out today and reinforce the facility's defenses."
Eileen deliberately activated one of the anti-air guns she'd hacked in advance. A missile flying toward the wall was intercepted in midair. The man watched, crossed his arms, and nodded.
"Good work. With all those leaked photos circulating lately, everyone's already on edge."
"Understood. I'll keep at it."
Eileen pretended to work by picking up a dummy comm device and watching the main gate. Before leaving, the man turned back to her one last time.
"Ah, my name is Ugris. I hope we can continue working with Ares in the future. Pleasure to meet you."
Eileen waved lightly in return. Once he disappeared, she let out a long sigh and stretched.
'Ares...'
It was the megacorp Asa had belonged to during her days as a Hound. The Hysinth they'd found this time was Ares's R&D subsidiary. Eileen shrugged, thinking what a strange coincidence it was.
'Since it's that Ares, the weapon we're about to steal probably isn't anything ordinary.'
Who knew—maybe it was something that couldn't even be fully captured in those blurry photos.
On the screen, Asa and JL had just reached the area near the underground passage.
JL followed closely behind me, careful not to be seen, while continuously firing miniature hacking tools in every direction. I adjusted my pace from time to time to avoid the white-coated researchers moving through the corridors. Now that we were indoors, we had to be even more cautious than outside. We didn't know the layout, and we weren't sure where the exits were. If we got caught, escaping would be extremely difficult.
We held our breath and kept moving. How many times had we doubled back, turned corners, and mentally mapped out the structure? Eventually, we found a place where all the corridors converged—a sort of central crossing.
The researchers didn't seem to frequent these passages often, so as long as we were careful, we should be able to use it without issue. Moreover, from the fragmented information we'd picked up on the way here, the main research facilities were all located underground.
'This is definitely the way.'
After a quick look around, I slipped out of the hallway and headed for the elevator. JL tried to follow me out, but at the sound of approaching footsteps, he immediately ducked back behind the corner.
The person who appeared before my startled eyes was a boy roughly the same size as me. A little bigger, perhaps. He tilted his head when he saw me but didn't say anything. He simply walked past my frozen form and pressed the elevator button.
I watched him with extreme tension. But as if to make my nervousness pointless, the boy casually turned his back and started whistling. It seemed he didn't find my presence here particularly suspicious.
I continued observing him closely for a while, but he showed no signs of causing any trouble. With a heavy clunk, the elevator arrived in front of the two young figures.
He stepped inside with relaxed strides and pressed a floor with his heel. But instead of descending right away, he stuck his head out the door and asked,
"Aren't you getting on?"
Only then did I snap out of it and quickly board the elevator. It looked like I'd have to leave JL outside. Creating unnecessary problems would be bad.
The boy closed the elevator doors once I was inside. Inside the moving car, filled with mechanical noise, he asked me,
"Where to?"
"Lowest floor..."
"Como Quieras."
He pressed the button for my floor as well and leaned against the elevator wall. I tried my best to suppress the whirlwind of questions spinning in my head and stay as calm as possible.
Judging by his appearance, he was clearly a Hound. So why was he here acting like it was the most natural thing in the world? Had he been rehired by the corporation? How? Had something happened to the Hounds while I was gone? Or was this kid also sneaking in to steal a weapon, just like me? Was he actually an outsider putting on a bold face and pretending to belong?
As I was thinking that, the boy suddenly spoke to me.
"Are you one of the Hounds who passed the test this time too?"
Test? Passed? I had no idea what he meant, but reading the atmosphere, I simply nodded. He stroked his chin as if he'd expected that answer and continued.
"What's your name? I'm Hugo."
"...Asa."
"Asa? Asa, you said?"
Did he know me? When I tilted my head in confusion, he laughed and said,
"I thought you were one of a kind among oddballs, but I never imagined you'd be alive and well, back in Ares's fold."
Ares. So this facility belonged to Ares?
Questions flooded my mind, but I pushed the trivial ones aside for now.
"One of a kind?"
"Ah, if that offended you, I apologize. A guy who always charges into operations alone like a madman, without any comrades—well, you stand out way too much. It's impossible not to remember you."
Suddenly, something Eileen had once told me came to mind. That I stood out so much that just knowing a few traits about me was enough for people to guess it was me. It seemed it wasn't just Eileen's personal impression—it was an objective fact.
My face grew hot for no reason, and I looked away.
"Anyway, congratulations. I never thought someone as distinctive as you would endure that long exile and return to Ares's embrace."
It felt strangely off to hear such mature speech coming from a boy's body. Worried I might look the same, I couldn't bring myself to reply and just avoided his eyes.
That was when it happened.
Attention, all personnel. An intruder has been detected inside the facility. All sectors are to strengthen defenses immediately and prepare for possible intrusion. If you see any suspicious outsiders, report them to the internal line without hesitation...
The timing couldn't have been more perfect. Emergency sirens began blaring throughout the entire facility. The faint sound of the alarms even reached inside the moving elevator.
"..."
"......"
Except for the faint wail of the emergency sirens, the elevator fell into a suffocating silence. The air grew thick with tension.
Through the mirrors lining the elevator walls, Hugo's and my eyes met.
BANG!
Immediately after, my elbow slammed into Hugo's face.