The Damned Demon
chapter-601

Another week passed,

The drive had been long and largely silent, with only the soft hum of the car's engine breaking the stillness. A young, stunningly beautiful woman with bright blue eyes and silky blue hair was sitting in the car, dressed in a casual top and jeans, along with another man who looked as if he was in his late twenties but was at least twice older than her.

However, he couldn't help but sneakily and occasionally steal glances at her youthful and bountiful bosom while making sure his gaze wouldn't linger long enough for her to notice.

But how the hell did he not notice this marvel all these years?

"There are no teleportation portals surrounding this place. I know that is why we are in a car right now. But why?" Rachel asked as she shifted her gaze towards Lenny who quickly shifted his gaze as if he was looking elsewhere before.

Lenny smirked and said, "This is a very high-security location and classified. It doesn't even exist in any records. But installing a teleportation portal in this place could attract unwanted parties since these portals emit powerful mana. The last thing we want is our enemies trying to compromise our projects."

Rachel nodded in understanding before looking out the window. It seemed like she can't come here alone without being watched and obviously no unauthorized access would be entertained.

As they approached their destination, the landscape grew increasingly desolate, giving way to a sprawling complex encircled by high-security fences and guarded by personnel who looked more like combat-ready soldiers than typical security guards. Each carried the demeanor of someone well-versed in combat with many years of experience, their eyes scanning relentlessly.

Just as their car got closer, Rachel could feel their auras and had her brows raised to sense that they were all at least A Rankers.

The car pulled to a stop in front of a nondescript building, its exterior plain and unassuming, yet the atmosphere buzzed with a tense energy.

Lenny stepped out first, offering his hand to help Rachel from the car, "Here we are," he announced with a hint of pride in his voice as they walked towards the building.

Rachel looked around, her eyes noting every detail—the positions of the guards, the surveillance cameras, the way the sunlight barely reached the ground here, shadowed by thick, high walls, "It's more fortified than I expected," she remarked, trying to keep her tone neutral yet curious.

Lenny chuckled softly, "Well, we can't be too careful, especially not with something as big as this. Project Mars isn't just another run-of-the-mill operation. It's the future of our kind."

Rachel briefly furrowed her brows upon hearing the way he said it.

They passed through several security checks, each more stringent than the last, before finally entering the core of the building. Inside, the aesthetic shifted dramatically. The dim, utilitarian corridors gave way to a high-tech environment humming with advanced technology powered by powerful mana. Rachel followed Lenny through the sterile, echoing hallways of the facility until they arrived at a heavily secured door. A retinal scan later, the door slid open with a quiet hiss, revealing a massive room that made Rachel's brows raise.

Inside, the room was dominated by two distinct structures, both cylindrical in shape, crafted from a sleek, metallic material that shimmered slightly under the bright overhead lights. She could easily recognize them as teleportation chambers but more sophisticated than the ones she knew.

The first was considerably larger, which Rachel suspected was designed for mass teleportations. It stood imposing and silent, a giant tube that seemed to pulse with a life of its own, the air around it vibrating with the hum of contained energy.

The second structure was smaller, which she guessed was intended for individual teleportations. It was no less impressive, equipped with a complex array of sensors and interfaces that blinked intermittently. Both chambers were powered by mana, evident from the visible conduits that ran along the walls and floors, glowing with a soft blue light that traced patterns of intricate circuits. These lines converged on the bases of the teleportation cylinders, where the mana was funneled and amplified, which Rachel guessed should create a stable portal to Mars.

"This is it," Lenny said, gesturing towards the platform, "The gateway to Mars."

Rachel stepped closer, "It's incredible," she admitted. "So, this is how you send people to Mars?"

Lenny approached the smaller chamber and explained, "Exactly. Each teleportation is calibrated to precise parameters to ensure safe arrival on Mars. This smaller chamber allows for precise and controlled transport. It's perfect for sending specific personnel or critical supplies without the need for large-scale operations. We only use the bigger one for emergencies since it considerably uses a lot more resources."

He then looked at her with a suave smile, "You're about to be one of the few among us elite to step onto another world, Rachel. How does that feel?"

Rachel met his gaze steadily with a light smile, masking the churn of her thoughts, "Exciting," she replied, "and a bit surreal."

"Let's get you prepped then. I will follow you right behind," Lenny said, signaling to a technician who approached with a tablet.

The chamber's door slid open, revealing a compact interior that seemed to fold space around itself. The walls were lined with panels of mana-infused crystals that pulsed rhythmically, synchronized with the larger energy flows of the facility. "Once you step onto the platform, the chamber will create a mana bubble around you, aligning your molecular structure with the coordinates set for Mars. But you have to put on this suit since there isn't mana or enough oxygen in the air over there," Lenny handed over a thin white suit with a subtle bright blue glow.

It was a bit heavy as Rachel held it in her hands and she could see that it was powered by mana too. But this suit was far more sophisticated than the ones astronauts used to go to space.

Lenny continued, "It's completely safe, tested with both inanimate objects and live subjects in case you are worried since this is the most large-scale teleportation in the history of mankind."

"Of course not. How can I not trust the tech that my dad funded?" Rachel stepped into the chamber after putting on the suit, feeling the slight buzz of mana under her skin, a tingling sensation that was both exhilarating and unnerving. A glass visor also popped up from the suit, covering her entire head while pushing in oxygen for her to breathe.

The door closed behind her, and the lights within the chamber intensified, casting her shadow in multiple directions as the circuits on the platform began to glow brighter.

"Initiating teleportation sequence," a technician's voice announced over the intercom. The walls of the chamber seemed to spin, the lines of glowing mana blurring into a vortex of light that encased Rachel in a cocoon of pulsating energy.

The last thing Rachel saw before the world slipped away was Lenny's reassuring nod through the transparent wall of the chamber.

She felt her body getting stretched and contracted through space for a millisecond or less before she found herself standing in another teleportation chamber, her surroundings completely different.

As she emerged from the cylindrical teleportation chamber, she was greeted by a dozen guards, arrayed in stark contrast against the rusty, reddish Martian landscape.

Each guard was clad in heavy white suits designed to withstand the harsh Martian environment, their faces obscured behind black glass visors that reflected the pale light of the distant sun. Standing in formation, they seemed almost statuesque, guards of this world.

Stepping onto the open bridge that connected the teleportation hub to one of the main complexes, Rachel paused, taking in her surroundings with wide eyes. The bridge itself was a marvel of engineering, suspended over the red Martian soil that stretched endlessly into the horizon with so many people in suits walking to and fro.

Ahead, massive structures rose against the backdrop of Mars's stark beauty, their metallic surfaces gleaming under the weak sunlight.

However, the most imposing structure that caught her eye was a solitary black pyramid-shaped building that dominated the landscape.

Its sleek, metal-like surface and sharp angles gave it a foreboding presence. Towering 400 meters high, it pierced the thin Martian atmosphere, a monolith of human ambition and technological prowess.

Behind her, the buzz of the teleportation chamber announced another arrival. Turning, she saw Lenny step out, his attire less cumbersome than the guards', tailored for both function and leadership. He approached with a confident smile, seemingly at ease in this alien world.

"Welcome to Mars, Rachel," Lenny began, his voice carrying a mix of pride and excitement. "This," he gestured expansively, "is the culmination of years of covert preparation and hard work from your dad and us. What you see around you is the future—a foothold for humanity in space."

"I never knew you guys had already made such a development on this planet. Are you guys still busy transforming the atmosphere of this planet to produce mana on its own?" Rachel asked with knitted brows as she noticed the subtle vibrations underneath her feet.

Lenny curved his lips and said, "It isn't as complicated as that, but of course…your dad will make sure he will succeed in this project within 6 months."

Rachel wondered what other operations were going on in this place. She then looked towards the black pyramid and asked, "What is that pyramid building? It looks quite important."

Lenny's expression suddenly turned serious as he mumbled, "That…is off limits.